Amtrak has decided giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars in wine, cheese and champagne wasnt enough. The U.S. taxpayer-subsidized railroad is now giving free rides to itinerant writers.

Two dozen writers will be selected starting this month for the #AmtrakResidency program. Each will get a private sleeper car on a round-trip, long-distance route to work on their craft in an inspiring environment.

Writer Jessica Gross offered this advice to Amtraks blog: Dont be too ambitious with what you plan to get done: Allow for time spent gazing out the window, letting ideas work themselves out in your mind. Its that kind of deep thinking that the train is particularly good for, and that can be more difficult to achieve in the interstices of busy day-to-day life.

Amtrak asked for $2.6 billion in federal support this year, and has long struggled to turn a profit. An inspector generals report last year noted the system loses tens of millions of dollars a year on food and beverage service, including free food provided to passengers on some routes.

Sexy Babe on state computer

State officials quickly removed a pornographic video titled Sexy Babe that was found on an Ohio Department of Natural Resources website.

The Columbus Dispatch reported about the video after the newspaper was contacted by a reader. It was on a page where companies can upload large files such as maps that are used as data for tracking more than 100,000 wells permitted since 1980.

Turns out anyone could upload files to the site. In addition to two porn videos there were music files and other non-official-looking files, the Dispatch reported.

State officials took down the materials and began requiring credentials to upload stuff to the site, the newspaper reported.

Spending dimes to make nickels

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GovWatch: Amtrak, porn on state computers and spending dimes to make nickels