Long Plane Ride Home

Posted 08:00 PST Sun Jan 20, 2008 in

Snow on WingThursday was a travel day. Wednesday turned out to be a fun day, but I’ll have to write about that later. I want to focus on the trip home from Washington, D.C.

I woke my normal time — about 0500 my time (0800 local time), made some coffee, thought about what I needed to do, and spent some time at the computer reviewing my email load and moving bits about. The coffee was decent (the water isn’t as good as at home) and welcome. The time difference was pretty hard on me this trip. But, after Wednesday’s extra sleep, I felt pretty good.

So, after my morning email/computer regimen, I took a quick shower and packed my bags. I learned that I need a medium roller-bag/carry-on to make this process easier. I’d like something more effective than my current computer bag, but that may need some additional research. The small duffel I carried was too heavy for the straps/handles with the extra paper harvested from the conference. The one-shoulder Brenthoven computer case, while an excellent case, swings funny when I walk and is really too heavy, fully-loaded, for one shoulder — or at least one of my shoulders. So I need to do some research and decide what is better1.

I walked downstairs about 0915 and checked out. I visited with the staff while waiting for my ride, laughing and making jokes. Tooradj, my Persian red-neck driver, was to arrive about 0930 for the trip to Dulles. By happenstance, I drew Tooradj for the outbound trip from Dulles. He chatted all the long way to my lodging and was open and entertaining. He offered to pick me up on the return trip and I decided to take him up on the offer. I’d much prefer to visit with someone open and friendly than one of the more reserved drivers I often draw.

Tooradj is middle-aged, much like me. He’s an independent contractor and very happy to live in the U.S. He runs his business and has the hustle necessary to be successful here. He talked about his family and laughed a lot. He loves large American cars and we talked about our experiences with vehicles as we rode. His personal favorite is his Ford F-250, which he uses to hunt and fish, preferably dressed in BDU’s. That is the source of his self-referenced red-neck moniker. I laughed about this a lot.

As we approached the Dulles airport, it began spitting snow. Wife had told me that weather might be a problem in D.C. I hoped not, but you never know this time of the year. We arrived at the terminal, I paid my fare, and headed inside to process through security and find my departure gate. I allowed a lot of time, because the Southwest gates are a long way from the terminal entrance. I had no idea how long security would require, so I wanted a stress-free morning and would prefer to wait at the gate than run to the gate.

I was processed quickly and humped it to the gate. I was over two-hours early, so I watched a little television, napped, and talked to Wife. As the morning grew old, the snow came heavier. No announcement of a delay came, however, so I maintained my hope all would be well.

When boarding time came, however, we were delayed. It was only 20 minutes, though, so I was still hopeful of making my connection. The clerk boarded us and I found a seat at one of the windows. I prefer a window-seat so I can lean against the aircraft and sleep. There is something about the stress of flying — I almost always sleep on the aircraft.

I napped a couple of times on the flight. The week was pretty hard on me, particularly in the area of sleep. I was quite anxious to be home to my family and my house. We landed in the City of Lost Wages about an hour late. Fortunately, I had enough time to make my connection without a run. I said goodbye to my neighbor and headed for the next, and last leg of my trip home.

I sat in the Las Vegas airport with the sun in my eyes as it dropped over the hills. I reflected on the week and chatted with Wife while waiting to board and depart for Reno. The sun dipped beneath the hills and my vision cleared. The clerk lined us up and we boarded another full flight. I think I need to buy some Southwest stock. Their flights always seem full.

I fell asleep again on the final leg home. I woke as we started the initial descent into the Reno zone. I watched the city lights as we descended to the airfield, then waited for my turn to debark and head for home. I paid for my parking (it’s expensive in Reno) and called in as I drove home.

It takes a full day to travel across this country. It’s a long way, even via aircraft. I can only imagine what it must have been like in the late 1800’s. That must have been really tough.

I’m glad to be home. I have a week and change before I head to Austin for meetings there. January has a heavy travel schedule for me this year.

1 I really like my Booq backpack. It could be better organized, internally, but it is really an excellent computer/work bag. It does not, however, fit on my motorcycle as well as my Brenthoven bag. It’s a quandary.

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Washington, D.C.

Posted 08:00 PST Mon Jan 14, 2008 in

Bleh. It’s 0715 as I write this local time, but that’s 0415 my time. I’ve been up for an hour, working on my presentation for this afternoon. It is too-damned-early-in-the-morning…

I finished my presentation about midnight last night (time change got me), fell into bed, and turned on the television for a few minutes of mind-numbing. An old MASH rerun was on and it caught my attention. For a comedy, it had it’s moments of serious thought. That was one of the things I loved about the show. Sherman Potter was on a tear, returning from a quick trip to Tokyo in a very bad mood. Of course, the crew thought the worst and expected Col. Potter had received terrible personal news.

What had happened is that the last of his WWI buddies (the group, including Potter, numbered five) died in Tokyo, leaving Potter as the sole survivor of their band of brothers. The dawning awareness of his own mortality, and truly that of us all, was a shock to Col. Potter. As a “prize,” the group shared a single bottle of fine old brandy liberated from a French chateau in WWI. The bottle was to be opened by the last survivor of the group and a toast drunk to them all.

Col. Potter shared his brandy with the MASH crew. It was a time of remembering. The scene worked for me, as I’ve seen that demon up close and personal. My own mortality is evident. I’m not old, but old enough to know that more of my life is behind me than before me. That is OK, because it is the way of things and I know I don’t want to live forever. But, it left me thinking that I want to leave a legacy to those I care for, and have cared for. I would like them to remember me for something I gave them.

No, not something material, but something emotional, intellectual, or spiritual. I hope my friends, students, and family carry something away with them from me that makes their lives better somehow. That would be the legacy I would leave for them. I hope I’ve done that. I can’t know, but it is my prayer.

It strikes me as odd how a television program, and a comedy of all things, can incite such thoughts and feelings. I went to sleep thinking about them.

So, I’m here in D.C. for a meeting. My presentation is prepared and saved in Keynote, PowerPoint, and PDF formats. I’ll dump a copy of it on my flashdrive for the session this afternoon. I’ll get into the shower momentarily, then meet a friend and colleague for breakfast and a work session. I have the formal presentation this afternoon and a couple of committee meetings this week, then return home Thursday. I’m looking forward to a good week.

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Pelicans

Posted 08:00 PST Sun Aug 19, 2007 in

PelicansA few weeks ago we found ourselves in Florida on Sanibel Island for a set of meetings. While there were things about the trip I didn’t much like, the one morning Wife and I spent on the shore was enjoyable and relaxing. These pelicans were a lot of fun and I made many images of them.

We walked along the beach, Wife chasing shells and the occasional photograph of a gull or pelican, me looking for images. Eventually I waded out a few feet from shore to shorten the distance between the birds and myself. The Gulf water was bathtub-warm. I really prefer the Pacific Ocean to either the Atlantic or the Gulf.

While wading (and chasing birds), I discovered their food source. Thousands of small fish swam through the shallows — too small to range the deeper water, but also too small to stay so close in. Their schools proved good foraging for the local birds. I watched a gull try to steal fish from a pelican’s basket, the gull nearly standing on the pelican’s head! That caused us a good bit of laughter.

One of the odd things about our stay on Sanibel Island was the requirement to blind windows at night. Apparently, sea turtle hatchlings may mistake light escaping from the windows as moonlight and be misdirected on their way to the sea. This struck me as odd because there are other non-natural light sources around, such as walkway lamps, overhead lamps for the parking lots, and others. But, we were not to allow any light to escape the rooms!

Also, walking the beach early or late was verboten. I guess turtles and humans cannot coexist on the beach, therefore the humans must go. I’d better stop now, or I’ll get on a rant and it’s too early in the morning for that!

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Off to Austin

Posted 05:00 PST Wed Aug 15, 2007 in

I’m up and about and going to go make some coffee. I’ll be right back… There, the pot is on and I’ll have my first cuppa before long. After all these years, one of my favorite things is that first cup of coffee in the morning1. So, I can smell it brewing and soon I’ll have that favorite thing of the morning.

There… I robbed the pot… “Aaahhh…”

I’m headed for Austin, Texas this afternoon and evening. It’ll be a late arrival because of the time-zone change. As an interesting aside, I intended to rent from Enterprise, because that’s the “approved” business. But, their counter closes at midnight and my flight doesn’t arrive until 0035 (crossing fingers). So, Budget has a counter open until 0100 and they get the nod. The difference in price is not substantial, so who cares. I need a vehicle, they’re open, and the price is reasonable. (Not cheap!)

We have our Manager’s Meeting this morning. Every two weeks the managers gather to review projects, especially those that need coordination between business units. That takes a couple of hours. Then I’ll gather a few things I need from the office and return home to pick up my kit. I’m planning on eating lunch with Wife, then heading for Reno to catch my flight. It shouldn’t be that hard and I’m determined to not try to do too much and back myself up against the time-wall.

I’m actually considering taking my camera along too — which reminds me I should charge the battery, just in case. I have a bunch of images to download anyway, so a few more shouldn’t be an issue. (I’m missing the leading image in my entries anyway, so I need some fresh fodder for my weblog.)

The meetings should go well and I’m looking forward to them. I’ll have the opportunity to spend time with long-time friends and colleagues, whom I miss. Tomorrow night will be a treat when we all go to supper together. The beer and b.s. will flow, as normal, and great fun will be had by all. I don’t know which I prefer — the beer or the b.s. Both are good.

My Fujitsu ScanSnap arrived yesterday. I had some end-of-year money to spend and want to migrate my collection of journal articles from paper to digital (PDF). I do much reading on-screen and storing paper is a hassle (ask Wife). I’ve been looking at this little scanner for a couple of years now. The reviews are very good, so I’m going to give it a try. I may go to the garage this weekend, pull a box of journal articles, and see how it works. If it goes well, I could eliminate 8 — 10 boxes of paper by the end of the year. That would be a good thing.

OK, it’s time for me to ready myself for the day. The first cup is nearly done, Wife is moving around, and I have a good attitude today. I think I’m getting back on-track.

1 That makes me think of Too Much Coffee Man. I’m not really into graphic novels, but this character (and the story) is good.

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A Long-Short Trip

Posted 08:00 PST Sun Aug 5, 2007 in

I spent last Wednesday—Friday traveling. I went to Washington, D.C. for a research meeting. The intent was to present results from our interim research report to the oversight panel, then present the workplan for the second phase of the project.

The bulk of Wednesday was spent in travel. I leave the house about 0430 and arrived at National at about 1700 (both local time). The principal investigator and I checked into our respective hotel rooms and then shared supper together. I enjoy Roger’s company and the evening was pleasant.

Thursday I met David (the other co-investigator) for breakfast and we visited about a variety of things over a shared meal. We met Roger and walked the short distance to the National Academy of Science facility.

It’s a nice place. I really like it and I generally like the folks who work there. We checked in through security and then joined a few others gathered in the conference room.

We worked our way through the presentation, sharing components and answering the panel’s questions.

It was interesting to watch the variety of folks work. The members of the panel bring a wide range of understanding and background to the project. I find those perspectives fascinating and have a great passion for understanding why people think the way they do and why they do what they do.

Near the end of the day, it was clear that the research team and the oversight panel did not share a common vision for the problem. That didn’t surprise me, because I was struggling with the exact formulation of the problem myself.

But, we had some ideas before the end of the day. We dismissed with the objective of finding food and rest and the intent of reconvening the next morning.

At that time, one of the panel members told me “I didn’t sleep much last night. I spent most of the night thinking about this problem.” His presentation was very good, although I disagreed over one point. I wanted more time to think/reflect so I could get my own thoughts clear on the topic.

I think I’ve done that now and am writing some notes to reflect my thoughts. I’ll try to finish those today.

We met and the panel member did an excellent job of presenting his thoughts. I really appreciate that sort of clarity. Noon came too quickly and the meeting dismissed. Roger, David and I grabbed some food and talked about a wide range of topics. Then David and I headed for the airport to work through security and wait at the gate.

We shared a flight to Denver which was to leave about 1800. We worked and visited in the boarding area. I wouldn’t pay for internet access, so I worked on my notes, partly typed, partly handwritten because I was working some basic statistics to get my head around the problem as cast earlier that morning.

I drew the last row of the aircraft — no reclining seats. My head was beginning to hurt and the ride was pretty miserable. I managed to sleep some while listening to my iPod. We arrived in Denver on time and asked the clerk for gate numbers for our final flights. We had a fairly long lay-over, so spent some more time working and visiting.

I drew the back row in my last leg as well, so I asked the clerk for another seat. I got an aisle seat that would recline, so I was happier.

A small child played with his mom and dad across the aisle on the facing row of seats. He made me laugh and that caused a set of interactions with the parents. The little boy reminded me of my own children at that age. It also made me miss my grandsons.

David’s flight was delayed by an hour. Mine boarded 20 minutes late, but then we sat at the gate for another hour. They compensated us by giving free television, so I spent my time watching the SciFi channel. I don’t watch much TV, so this was a kind of treat.

There’s more story here, but suffice it to say that I arrived home about 0030 Saturday morning — making a 22 hours day for me. I was still very tired Saturday evening. But, at least, I’m home again.

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No Linkfest…

Posted 18:00 PST Sat Jul 21, 2007 in

No linkfest this week. I didn’t do much surfing — between work-related meetings, supper with friends, and a poor internet connection, I just didn’t do much.

We’re holed up in Holbrook, Arizona for the night. We’re on the way home and came upon a series of thunderstorms in western New Mexico and eastern Arizona. We planned to spend the night in Flagstaff, but given the heavy storm ahead of us, I decided to bag it for the night and start early tomorrow morning. I figure it would have taken as much as two hours to get to Flagstaff with the weather. I’d rather rise a little earlier and get an earlier start than fight the weather and be exhausted.

So, we’ll start again tomorrow. We should be home by dark tomorrow night.

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Greetings from Sanibel

Posted 18:00 PST Thu Jul 19, 2007 in

I’ll have images later (I forgot my dongle). We’re on Sanibel Island at the Sundial Resort. We came here for a Transportation Research Board meeting. I’m a “friend of the committee” for one of the research committees of Transportation Research Board. I do some committee work and it’s good to be with these people. The intellectual stimulation does me a lot of good.

We’ll head out for Lubbock tomorrow, finish some business there, and then hit the road for Nevada Saturday morning. It’s been a pretty good week, if hard.

I wish I was more of a beach person. I really don’t like summer weather in Florida — too hot, too humid. I think I might like it in the winter, especially for a few days when the weather at home is really cold. It could be a nice respite.

But not now. It’s too humid for me. (Yes, I’m whining.)

Wife and I walked the beach this morning. It’s something I wanted to do all week. She picked at shells while I tried to make images of the birds. Brown pelicans were working a shoal of small fish about 30 feet offshore. Gulls and terns played catch-the-fish, trying to steal the pelicans’ catch. It was amusing to watch and I have a few images of the exercise. it was fun and amusing.

We did have one tragedy — Young Son decided to jump in the swimming pool with cellphone and iPod in pocket. Yep, you guessed it — it was a hard lesson learned. And it was expensive for me.

Oh well…

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