Thoughts from the Road

I'm sitting in an airport Italian Restaurant in the part of the Milwaukee Airport set aside for the plebeian airlines (Southwest, Midway, Frontier et al).  So far, so good.  Some random thoughts after nearly 48 hours in The Badger State.

1.  You know the farcical stereotype of people who live in Wisconsin all talking funny and being over the top nice?  It's true.  Really.  It is.  You should have seen the staff at the hotel I stayed in--I was moved by their dedication to friendliness.

2.  Milwaukee's really a pretty big town--much bigger airport than I supposed.  What are all these people doing here in a place that is simply inhuman in the winter?  Drove past the baseball stadium---beautiful structure. 

3.  My flight is delayed an hour--I'll get to home base tonight about 1:30am, then up and off to the Pentagon at 0515...Poor planning on my part.

4.  I spent most of the last two days in the company of dedicated research scientists and engineers.  I'm amazed at how smart these guys are---ridiculously so.  Made me think how much I hope that we start making guys like this again--in mass numbers.  Maybe some will walk away from finance--we can only hope.

5.  As I said, my flight is delayed an hour---the first time in memory that Southwest has let me down.  I know, I know--an hour delay isn't a big deal these days.  It is when you're looking at a short night of sleep, though.

6.  Ten days until vacation with the Kitten/Kittens.  We're headed to St. John USVI for nine days--a very, very necessary break for me.  Will likely keep blogging though--that's not work.  The radio show though....that's a different story.

7.  Congrats to brother Sam Shapiro, who is ending his "life in the age of Obama" stint among the unemployed for a new job.  Happy to hear it, old boy.  What are you going to do with the blog dedicated to being unemployed?

8.  I'm just heartbroken about Bristol Palin and Levi.  Heartbroken.

A Summer's Drive

Drove down to Clayton, NC and back this weekend to be present for my sainted Mother's 75th Birthday.  As the ONLY out of state brother in attendance, my "Favorite Son" title remains out of reach (GG, TDP, SS take note). 

I got underway from Clayton this morning at 0730.  The vast majority of the NC portion of the trip is roughly 70 miles on US95 North--where the speed limit is a pleasant 70.  Between my onramp to 95 and the VA/NC border, I saw no police cars--nada, zero, zilch, null.  Between the Virginia border and my crossing the Potomac into Maryland on 495 I saw 15 cop cars!  The heat was out in the Old Dominion with a vengeance today--so I kept with the flow of traffic.

I do have another issue though--it's probably not enough to get on the "pet peeve" list, but when a cop has someone pulled over and is walking to or from the unlucky lawbreaker--THERE IS NO REASON TO SLOW DOWN.  The Cop is not in a position to operate his gear.  There were several times today where nervous nellies slowed to 55 as they passed--with really no reason.


I have an observation, or a question, really. At driving school, or in driver's ed class--do they tell women drivers that they are not allowed to look over at the car passing them?  I'm amazed at the road discipline of your average female driver--whilst my own head is apparently on some kins of weird swivel.  But that's just me.

On Travel

I'm in Newport, RI this week at the China Maritime Studies Institute's annual conference. Newport is a great town--I've spent a good bit of my adult life here going to various Navy schools. I'm staying in a fantastic old hotel--the Hotel Viking. I stayed here about ten years ago, and it had gone to seed a bit. Some upgrades have been implemented since then and it is really a nice place to stay.

One MAJOR complaint though. Remember those hotel room coffee pots? The one's I've written about here on the blog, the ones whose pots are seemingly equipped with some kind of "dribble" feature rendering them unable to be poured without excessive spillage? Well, I'd KILL for one of those right now. It's almost six am, room service doesn't start for another half hour, there is no free coffee in lobby until 7 and there's NO COFFEE POT IN THE ROOM. I've already fired off a feisty email to the management. Hmph.

United, Continental to Merge Into One Giant, Crappy Airline

As the US Airline industry continues to consolidate, leaving air travel every day more like the $12 bus from Chinatown in DC to NY, Continental and United are proposing to merge into the world's largest crappy airline. Joy of joys.

These days I go out of my way to fly Southwest. I love LUV.

Some Realism On Air Travel

Here's an interesting column from this morning's WaPost--adding a little realism to what people seem to remember as the "golden age of flying".

I remember having to dress up for flights in the early 70's--not an airline rule, but clearly the norm. Not anymore.

Spirit Air has announced that they will begin charging for carry-on bags. GOOD! I have no problem with that. You should be charged for your seat, and for whatever else you bring along. Anything that can be done to minimize carry-ons is OK by me!

On The Train

As I write this, I am speeding along the Northeast Amtrak corridor (well, speeding is a relative term) from Wilmington, DE to Stamford CT where I have some "bidness" to transact tomorrow. Tonight I'll be staying with friends of the Kitten who are now my friends, yet another benefit of coupled living.

Have I mentioned how much I like taking the train? Anywhere? I have plenty of leg-room (not a trick when you are as modestly sized as I, but none of the big fellas look too cramped either), my cell-card is giving me access to the interwebs, I can get up and stroll about as I see fit and can simply stare in a daze out the window as I watch the various suburban and urban settlements of the Northeast reveal themselves to me--but only for an instant.

I could do this regularly--certainly more regularly than flying. Flying is such a bother--the train is simply a better way to travel--at least in this part of the country. We've had plenty of running gun-battles here about government financing for highspeed rail, but when I think about the stuff I want the feds involved in--and there isn't much--moving people and stuff around this great land of ours seems right in their sweet spot.

On The Road Again...

Heading out to San Diego today, back home Thursday. Lots to do out there, so the output may suffer. Hopefully, the other bloggers will keep up their stellar performance.

Airport Musings....

So I'm at BWI awaiting my flight. No posh club here to hang out in, I'm chilling on the Southwest Concourse next to a gentleman who is jealously surrounding his Washington Post with his arms, as if I were tying to read surreptitiously. Dude, I have a computer....I can read online.....

Long-time readers know I am wont to post from airports. I used to travel a good bit in my last job, and it afforded me a good bit of time in the Admiral's Club, a perch from which I could pass along my thoughts gathered during my standard two hours of dead time before boarding.

I'm here not quite 2 hours prior, but there is plenty to talk about. So here goes.

Security: Thought things would be ridiculous after the Nigerian adherent of peaceful religion attempted to blow himself and 200 others up. But it was the same old, same old. Which brings me to my second point.

The traveling idiots: We've been at this airport security stuff hammer and tong for eight plus years now. I am astounded by the number of people who continue to have some difficulty getting with the program. Shoes in the box. Coats off. Cell phone, watch, jewelery in the box. Computer out of the case. Bagged liquids. I manage to get stuck behind the traveling idiot with startling frequency.

Airport wheelchairs: This is the biggest traveling scam there is. If you emptied this airport out, perhaps you'd find oh, 20,000 people. If you compared the frequency of the wheelchair bound in a community of 20,000 with the number who claim this conveyance in an airport, you'd find a statistically significant increase in "free riders", that is, folks who generally don't use the wheelchair but then choose to in airports. Front of the line on security, get onboard early, etc. I know, I know--just be happy I'm not in a wheelchair. I'm just sayin'. Additionally, there should be wheelchair security entrances--ways to enter the general terminal for the wheelchair bound and their traveling companions only. Same with SUV strollers....

Fancy men's stores in airports: Jos A Bank, Brooks Bros.....great decisions to place stores in airports. Dudes are ALWAYS forgetting things. Like ties.

Cinnabon: Why is there no Cinnabon here? Why must I be denied the glories of the 1200 calorie gut bomb, the nation-feeding sweetmeat, the insulin atomic blast? Why dear Lord, why?

On the Road Again...

I'm off to do a little work for "the man" on the road. Things could be a little slow from me for a few days. Then again, who knows.