Historical flight information:
My flight back from BWI was cancelled on friday, due to Rainstorm Ernesto. I ended up taking the overnight train back, but wondered, if I had stuck around at the airport, would any of the later flights have got me back? Flightstats gives you averages, and clearly has all the data, but the form doesn't let you look back more than a day. Fortunately, the query isn't encoded. The syntax is
http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByFlight.do?airline=%28FL%29&flightNumber=494&departureDate=2006-09-01
The airline abbreviations are here. It turns out the later airtran flights did leave, albeit late, and presumably stuffed to the gills. As it was, I got a few hours sleep on the train, and got to watch sunrise over coastal connecticut, so it worked out all right. Either way I would have been non-functional yesterday.
Columbia, Maryland is creepy. It's an early planned community; 38 years old, and feels like a suburban college campus for grown-ups, all tree lined roads, with clusters of houses and condos set back from the road, with little town centers scattered about. Analyzing the creepy, I identified a few of the factors at work...
1: All the sidewalks were well lit and clean.
2: The trees were well spaced, and far enough from the sidewalk that it didn't crack.
3: I was the only pedestrian, even though the streets were busy.
4: There was no graffiti. I don't mean no obvious graffiti. I mean, I looked. The backs of utility boxes, the underside of (unused) pedestrian bridges, nothing. Not even painted over graffiti.
5: There was very little litter, and what there was was fresh.
6: There were enough parking spaces. All the parking was free, even the multi-level (and spotless) garages. The town appeared to be 50% asphalt, 30% small communities, and 20% landscaped trees But because there were trees everywhere, it felt forested, until you realized that all the apparent forest was just shallow screens of trees.
7: Finally, it wasn't like the midwest either. It sprawled, but it was planned sprawl. It all fit together. There were no wasted triangles of land, no bramble-covered vacant lots; even the drainage ditches were planned drainage ditches. It was all intentional.
I'd imagine it's a nice place to live, but unquestionably creepy. It's probably just like a brand new copper roof that hasn't turned green yet. Once it gets older, gets some more layers, once you can no longer see the plan superimposed on the land, (the entire place was graded... I didn't see a single slope that didn't look like it was put there by a bulldozer.), it will probably be lovely. But I have never been so tempted to buy a spray can and deface something. I sat in my hotel room trying to put together a good tag based on the word tourist.
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(2)
04:24:59 PM,
Sunday 3 September 2006
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A friendly campaigner from the Working Families, the union third party, rang the bell yesterday. They're pushing a ballot question that would allow 3rd party cross-endorsement, which I'm happy about. Of course, he didn't start with that. The pitch was about school funding, which is canny here, since our town has to vote every few years on budget overrides to fund the schools. Of course, he was actually talking about state funding, not town funding. What surprised me, though, was how shallow his understanding of the issues he was talking about was. He didn't understand that the Big Dig was federal money, for example. What he wanted me to sign was a petition/mailing list about increasing state funding back to 2002 levels, but he couldn't explain why it had dropped, whether it was real or nominal terms, whether we had a balanced budget amendment, or how the money would be spent; how state funding was distributed, and so on. All perfectly understandable cluelessness in the general public, but I had somehow hoped for more from canvassers. I may have been spoiled; the last one was our state rep-to-be in person, who was singularly well informed.
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(4)
05:08:09 PM,
Tuesday 29 August 2006
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Little Miss Sunshine is the best comedy I've seen in years. I think I'd forgotten that there was such a good thing as a good comedy. All the actors are funny without being buffoons, and all the reactions are earned. The lack of overreaction is important. It's pretty without being pretentious, and thought provoking. It isn't that it isn't vulgar, I mean, it's decidedly vulgar, but the vulgarity isn't exploitative, but rather actually unsettling. It's the sort I hoped for from Wes Anderson, instead of the dreadful mannered incoherence of The Life Aquatic. Sort of halfway between Roseanne and Woody Allen. There is actually a quite a bit of Roseanne to it.
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(7)
11:08:25 AM,
Saturday 26 August 2006
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My Wodehouse checklist, with publication date and Amazon availability for the Outlook hardcover editions. Posted largely because I'm somewhat appalled at myself for putting it together... but it was getting confusing. I'm up to 39, and I'm not sick of them yet.
| UK Title | Outlook | Penguin | Other | Outlook date | Delivery time | year | US Title, if different |
| THE POTHUNTERS | 1902 | ||||||
| A PREFECT'S UNCLE | 1903 | ||||||
| TALES OF ST. AUSTIN'S | 1903 | ||||||
| THE GOLD BAT | 1904 | ||||||
| WILLIAM TELL TOLD AGAIN | 1904 | ||||||
| THE HEAD OF KAYS | 1905 | ||||||
| LOVE AMONG THE CHICKENS | 1906 | ||||||
| NOT GEORGE WASHINGTON | 1907 | ||||||
| THE WHITE FEATHER | 1907 | ||||||
| THE GLOBE BY THE WAY BOOK | 1908 | ||||||
| MIKE | 1909 | ||||||
| THE SWOOP | 1909 | ||||||
| GENTLEMAN OF LEISURE | 1 | Mar-03 | 1910 | THE INTRUSION OF JIMMY | |||
| PSMITH IN THE CITY | Sep-03 | in stock | 1910 | ||||
| THE PRINCE AND BETTY | 1912 | ||||||
| THE LITTLE NUGGET | Apr-06 | in stock | 1913 | ||||
| THE MAN UPSTAIRS | 1914 | ||||||
| SOMETHING FRESH | 1 | Apr-05 | in stock | 1915 | SOMETHING NEW | ||
| PSMITH JOURNALIST | 1915 | ||||||
| UNEASY MONEY | 1 | Oct-04 | 1916 | ||||
| PICADILLY JIM | 1 | Oct-04 | in stock | 1917 | |||
| THE MAN WITH TWO LEFT FEET | 1917 | ||||||
| A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS | 1 | Jul-03 | in stock | 1919 | |||
| THE COMING OF BILL | Apr-06 | in stock | 1919 | THEIR MUTUAL CHILD | |||
| MY MAN JEEVES | May-07 | Pre-order | 1919 | ||||
| JILL THE RECKLESS | Apr-05 | in stock | 1920 | THE LITTLE WARRIOR | |||
| INDISCRETIONS OF ARCHIE | 1921 | ||||||
| THE CLICKING OF CUTHBERT | May-02 | 2 to 4 weeks | 1922 | GOLF WITHOUT TEARS | |||
| THE ADVENTURES OF SALLY | 1 | 1922 | MOSTLY SALLY | ||||
| THE GIRL ON THE BOAT | 1922 | THREE MEN AND A MAID | |||||
| LEAVE IT TO PSMITH | Jul-03 | 2 to 4 weeks | 1923 | ||||
| THE INIMITABLE JEEVES | 1 | 1923 | JEEVES | ||||
| UKRIDGE | 1 | Sep-03 | 1924 | HE RATHER ENJOYED IT | |||
| BILL THE CONQUEROR | 1924 | ||||||
| CARRY ON, JEEVES | 1 | Mar-03 | in stock | 1925 | |||
| SAM THE SUDDEN | 1925 | SAM IN THE SUBURBS | |||||
| THE HEART OF A GOOF | 1 | Nov-06 | Pre-order | 1926 | DIVOTS | ||
| MEET Mr MULLINER | 1 | May-02 | 1927 | ||||
| THE SMALL BACHELOR | 1 | 1927 | |||||
| MONEY FOR NOTHING | 1 | 1928 | |||||
| SUMMER LIGHTNING | 1 | Sep-03 | 1929 | FISH PREFERRED | |||
| Mr MULLINER SPEAKING | Apr-04 | in stock | 1929 | ||||
| VERY GOOD, JEEVES | 1 | Apr-06 | in stock | 1930 | |||
| BIG MONEY | 1 | 1931 | |||||
| IF I WERE YOU - 1931 - USA | 1931 | ||||||
| HOT WATER | 1 | Mar-03 | 1932 | ||||
| DOCTOR SALLY - 1932 - UK | 1932 | ||||||
| LOUDER AND FUNNIER - 1932 - UK | 1932 | ||||||
| HEAVY WEATHER | 1 | Jan-02 | 1933 | ||||
| MULLINER NIGHTS | 1 | Aug-03 | 1933 | ||||
| THE GREAT SERMON HANDICAP | 1933 | ||||||
| RIGHT HO, JEEVES | 1 | May-00 | 1934 | BRINKLEY MANOR | |||
| THANK YOU, JEEVES | 1 | Apr-03 | 1934 | ||||
| THE LUCK OF THE BODKINS | 1 | Oct-02 | in stock | 1935 | |||
| BLANDINGS CASTLE AND ELSEWHERE | 1 | Oct-02 | 1935 | ||||
| LAUGHING GAS | Jan-02 | in stock | 1936 | ||||
| YOUNG MEN IN SPATS | 1 | Oct-02 | 1936 | ||||
| LORD EMSWORTH AND OTHERS | May-02 | 2 to 4 weeks | 1937 | ||||
| SUMMER MOONSHINE | 1 | Sep-03 | in stock | 1937 | |||
| THE CRIME WAVE AT BLANDINGS | 1937 | ||||||
| THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS | May-00 | used | 1938 | ||||
| UNCLE FRED IN SPRINGTIME | 1 | Apr-04 | in stock | 1939 | |||
| QUICK SERVICE | 1 | Apr-04 | 1940 | ||||
| EGGS, BEANS AND CRUMPETS | 1940 | ||||||
| MONEY IN THE BANK | Apr-05 | in stock | 1942 | ||||
| JOY IN THE MORNING | 1 | May-02 | 1946 | ||||
| FULL MOON | Nov-06 | Pre-order | 1947 | ||||
| SPRING FEVER | 1 | 1 | Oct-04 | 1948 | |||
| UNCLE DYNAMITE | May-07 | Pre-order | 1948 | ||||
| THE MATING SEASON | 1 | Jan-02 | 1949 | ||||
| THE OLD RELIABLE | 1 | 1951 | |||||
| PIGS HAVE WINGS | 1 | May-00 | in stock | 1952 | |||
| BARMY IN WONDERLAND | 1952 | ANGEL CAKE | |||||
| RING FOR JEEVES | 1 | Apr-04 | in stock | 1953 | THE RETURN OF JEEVES | ||
| BRING ON THE GIRLS | 1953 | ||||||
| PERFORMING FLEA | 1953 | AUTHOR AUTHOR | |||||
| JEEVES AND THE FEUDAL SPIRIT | 1 | Jan-02 | in stock | 1954 | BERTIE WOOSTER SEES IT THROUGH | ||
| AMERICA I LIKE YOU | 1956 | OVER SEVENTY | |||||
| FRENCH LEAVE | 1956 | ||||||
| SOMETHING FISHY | 1 | 1957 | THE BUTLER DID IT | ||||
| COCKTAIL TIME | 1 | Oct-04 | 1958 | ||||
| A FEW QUICK ONES | 1959 | ||||||
| NOTHING SERIOUS | 1959 | ||||||
| JEEVES IN THE OFFING | Oct-02 | 2 to 4 weeks | 1960 | HOW RIGHT YOU ARE JEEVES | |||
| ICE IN THE BEDROOM | 1961 | ||||||
| SERVICE WITH A SMILE | 1961 | ||||||
| STIFF UPPER LIP JEEVES | 1963 | ||||||
| GALAHAD AT BLANDINGS | 1 | 1964 | BRINKMANSHIP GALAHAD THREEPWOOD | ||||
| FROZEN ASSETS | 1964 | BIFFEN'S MILLIONS | |||||
| PLUM PIE | 1966 | ||||||
| COMPANY FOR HENRY | 1967 | THE PRULOINED PAPERWEIGHT | |||||
| DO BUTLERS BURGLE BANKS ? | Apr-06 | in stock | 1968 | ||||
| A PELICAN AT BLANDINGS | 1969 | NO NUDES IS GOOD NUDES | |||||
| THE GIRL IN BLUE | 1 | 1970 | |||||
| MUCH OBLIGED, JEEVES | Apr-04 | in stock | 1971 | JEEVES AND THE TIE THAT BINDS | |||
| PEARLS, GIRLS AND MONTY BODKIN | 1972 | THE PLOT THAT THICKENED | |||||
| BACHELORS ANONYMOUS | 1973 | ||||||
| AUNTS AREN'T GENTLEMEN | 1974 | THE CAT-NAPPERS | |||||
| THE UNCOLLECTED WODEHOUSE | 1976 | ||||||
| SUNSET AT BLANDINGS | 1 | 1977 | |||||
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05:52:11 PM, Friday 25 August 2006
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Rain overpants etiquette... Today I wore my rain overpants to cycle to work. Wonderful things. The trouble is, what is the etiquette for taking them off? Could I have removed them in the lobby? It wouldn't actually taking off my pants in public, but it would look awfully like it. People are used to others taking off coats, but not pants. But it seems absurd to retreat to the bathroom, when no flesh whatsoever is going to be exposed. I settled on removing them in my cubicle when no one was about.
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12:03:52 PM,
Friday 25 August 2006
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Erika is making satay cookies. Think peanut butter cookies, made with a thai peanut dipping sauce, (peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and magic chinese chili paste) and coconut. I confess it was my idea, but I'm fairly sure it isn't a good one. We will let you know. Maybe it will. I mean, nearly everything is better with chili paste... (Also, I realize satay properly refers to the meat, not the peanut dipping sauce. Name suggestions welcome)
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(2)
07:14:48 PM,
Thursday 24 August 2006
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What's the word for these things? You know, when a figure of speech is misunderstood and transformed into a different one? Like 'toe the line' becoming 'tow'. Anyway, someone on the local listserv used 'nerve raking' today. I like it. Very suburban.
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(4)
04:57:03 PM,
Thursday 24 August 2006
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We now have to wear lanyards at all times in the office. I dislike having them around my neck. I'm contemplating buying a bunch of shirts with shoulder loops. Though, come to think of it, running it through one side of a button down collar would also work.
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(1)
10:20:36 AM,
Thursday 24 August 2006
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Warm sake isn't terrible, the way very nearly every other alcoholic beverage is terrible. Heat seems to blunt whatever it is that I object to, which lets me see other, pleasant flavors that were obscured before. Once it cools back down, it's particularly horrible, so it isn't that anything boiled off.
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(4)
07:24:19 PM,
Wednesday 23 August 2006
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Things I learned at Tanglewood:
I don't hate classical music. I hate concertos and the celebrity soloists that go with them. Particularly violin concertos. Piano concertos may be all right. Symphonies are an excellent idea.
Debussy's Le Mer is wonderful. I suspect it would appeal to the same people that Loveless appeals to.
Classical music people don't read. I mean, they're sitting there for hours, waiting for the music to start and eating their picnics on the lawn, and there is hardly a book in sight.
Classical concerts function as a sort of vaguely sociable naptime for many people. The purpose of a finale is to stir them up a bit, to make it easier for the ushers to clear them away.
Beethoven's 3rd makes little or no sense when accompanied by rain falling on an umbrella.
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(3)
05:57:56 PM,
Wednesday 23 August 2006
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It's possible Six Sigma isn't hokum, but it sets off the alarms. Intimidating math applied questionably, airy technical sounding gibberish, special expensive training. Really my problem is with management training at all... no amount of training will correct a fundemental lack of sense or lack of interest.
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03:09:31 PM,
Tuesday 15 August 2006
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I'm starting to think that I'll never take the Acela Express. For business trips to Baltimore, it takes too long. You save time by missing the airports, say, 2 hours at departure, half an hour at arrival, but not enough to make up the transit time difference of 4 1/2 hours. It's probably less reliable, as far as delays are concerned, and it's more expensive. And their website is still down. And for personal travel, the faster ride isn't worth the money. I think the solution is to visit Japan or Germany.
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(1)
01:53:46 PM,
Tuesday 15 August 2006
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site & script courtesy of Moss
