apple juice

This post is pretty much spot on:

Amtrak should build a good train:

Amtrak released their new vision for passenger rail expansion in the United States, and I don’t really know what to say except that it sucks. They’re proposing incremental expansion of a national network of slow, infrequent trains that I guess will serve the needs of weirdos and hobbyists who want to ride a train from Birmingham to Shreveport or from Athens to Fort Wayne via Columbus but serves no particular transportation purpose.

I get the politics of this idea — spreading a lot of money around to a lot of different places and making modest upgrades to existing legacy rail lines and thus avoiding any difficult engineering problems or potential land use conflicts.

I just want something big to happen with our national rail system. If I could wave a magic wand we’d nationalize the railroad right-of-ways (like a public utility) and begin upgrades for electrification and higher-speeds across the entire system. The only point of disagreement with the Slow Boring post I have is that connecting smaller places with better service will help them survive – and I think that’s both better politics and economics than assumed.

I’m back coaching skiing again after several years off. I love being out there on the hill and teaching this sport. There aren’t many sports out there that are as dynamic, fast and fun as ski racing. It’s a place where we see real progression with the kids through the year.

I last coached in 2009, and the thing that is blowing me away this time around is the quality and quantity of videos on YouTube about the subject. Here’s a small sampling of what I’ve found so far…

Mikaela Shiffrin breaking down her keys to a good training session:

I’ve watched Dahron Ralves lay out his warm up sequence.

Deb Armstrong just being an awesome and enthusiastic teacher:

And I’ve just recently watched “Ski Dad” (love that) break down carving in his family room with some chairs and kitchen stools.

One of the ideas that Mikaela Shiffrin spoke about above in her video was being a student of the sport.

This such an important concept for anyone who is training for a sport. Being in the mindset of a student speaks allows one to be coachable. Beyond all of the physical qualities that contribute to success, I’ve come to believe that being coachable is one of the best qualities to have – it constantly puts you in the mind of continual experimentation and improvement.