Ideoblog

Autumn dusk in Chicago

Taken with my iPhone.

Why fly?

From today's WSJ: "Coming soon to an airport near you: Fewer flights, less-flexible schedules, smaller planes and maybe more lost luggage."

There is another way: The City of New Orleans.

Last weekend we wanted to travel from Champaign to Jackson, Mississippi to visit our daughter. We considered two ways:

1. Drive two hours to Chicago, take Southwest to Jackson. Take Southwest from Jackson back to Chicago. Drive two hours back to Champaign. Hassle with and pay for parking at the airport, go through security (liquids in little bags, computer out of briefcase, shoes off, shoes on), lug the bags on the plane, cram them into an overhead compartment, face surly employees and passengers all along the way, and pray nothing goes wrong.
2. Drive ten minutes to the train station, park for free, waltz onto the train and into a sleeping compartment with the help of a friendly porter, go to sleep, rockin' to the gentle beat (the train leaves Champaign at 10:30 p.m.), wake up in Memphis, have a leisurely southern breakfast on the train, watch the South roll by for a couple of hours while doing some work . . .

. . . and pull into downtown Jackson around 11:30. Gone five hundred miles and the day's only half done. The return was at dinnertime, with dinner on the train, and an early morning arrival in Champaign. Riding the magic steel carpet.

The plan worked pretty well. The train was late into Champaign, but on time into and out of Jackson and back to Champaign.

It's not for everybody – only those who really care about keeping their sanity.

United to charge for second checked bag

Here's the WSJ article.

According to United, the extra $25 charge only applies in the unlikely event that the bag arrives at its destination.  There's only a $15 charge for lost bags.

Just kidding.

Seriously, plane travel is such a pleasure these days that I don't mind the extra charge at all. 

In fact, my biggest complaint about flying these days is the way you just zoom out of planes when they land.  By giving passengers an extra incentive to clog the aisles with suitcases they can't handle, we'll now be able to walk out of the plane in a restful, leisurely way. 

Thank you United.

9/11 in NYC

This is the first time I've been in NY on 9/11, and it really presents some striking images. Six years ago Manhattan seemed to be on its knees. Today it's a remarkable non-stop shopping/music/business party, from one end of the island to the other – and I've covered most of that ground over the last couple of weeks. From the possible cross-town Series to the possible cross-town election, and all the art, music and money in between, NY is arguably even more the center of the world than it was six years ago. Maybe it won't last – NY and the US have more competition than ever throughout the world, as I discussed in the previous post. But at least then I could say I was there at the peak.

Returning to earth

While the rest of the world seems to be in Berlin, I'm slowly returning from the idyllic English countryside, via Heathrow.   Here's where we were, in the lone guest room of Vogwell Cottage (look carefully in the middle of the picture). Spectacular hiking, great food, and wifi!

  ,

Now back to blogging.

A short break

It's time for a little breather.  Between now and July 27 I'll be tramping the moors of southwestern England and hanging out at a little house in the Devon woods. I promise to spend all that time thinking deeply about SOX and partnerships and backdating, and to come roaring back with startling new insights. 

Three seconds from doom

Consider the scene:  a beautiful day in our nation's capital -- high fifties, perfect sky, stiff breeze.  I'm running down Massachusetts Avenue.  I'm worrying/thinking about all kinds of things:  backdating, corporate governance, politics (I'm in Washington, D.C., embassy row, running by the vice president's house), old age, what I have to do today, etc. etc. 

In fact, as I reflect on it now, the only thing I wasn't thinking/worrying about at this particular moment was being crushed by a large tree.

Apropos of which, about 10 yards ahead of me just to my left, without any warning sight or sound, a large tree broke at ground level and crashed across Mass Ave.  It would have crushed anything taller than an insect that had been standing or running there at that moment.

I run (old age, remember) about a 10 minute miles.  That's about three yards a second. Kinda makes you think, doesn't it?

Now, on to backdating. . .

Laurie Baker

The architect Laurie Baker died in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India at age 90.  A little over a year ago I had a chance to see his masterpiece in that town, the Center for Development Studies.  Here's a picture I took:

Eavesdropping

The WSJ has a report on blogging vigilantism which begins with following anecdote:

Last month, Eva Burgess was eating breakfast at the Rose Cafe in Venice, Calif., when she remembered she needed to make an appointment with her eye doctor. So the New York theater director got on her cellphone and booked a date. Almost immediately, she started receiving "weird and creepy" calls directing her to a blog. There, under the posting "Eva Burgess Is Getting Glasses!" her name, cellphone number and other details mentioned in her call to the doctor's office were posted, along with the admonition, "next time, you might take your business outside." The offended blogger had been sitting next to Ms. Burgess in the cafe.

All I can say is: Yes. More than two years ago I posted this way of dealing with the coming scourge of cellphones on airplanes:

A self-help plan occurred to me a couple of weeks ago as I waited for a plane in the Indianapolis airport. Just across from me a guy filled the terminal with news of the accounting problems the university he worked for was having regarding a major gift, and how he was planning to deal with them. He was talking so loudly I could barely make out the details of the LLC operating agreement the guy down the row was drafting over the phone.

Here's my plan: do what you can to piece together the details of the conversation. Then ask the speaker some questions to fill in the blanks. If the speaker is annoyed, flustered and suddenly reticent, point out that you're curious enough to turn to Google for help with the rest. It would be nice if you could figure out your seatmate's name, from the conversation, briefcase, laptop screen, or whatever.

Know this: if you have a long, loud cell phone conversation near me, you will find whatever details I can glean from your conversation on my blog.

I'm a reasonable person. But let's face it: the need to converse with people by phone didn't increase exponentially with the invention of the cell phone. I understand that people rightly expect to be able to talk to each other in restaurants, airplanes and other public places. But the cell phone is a nuisance because it greatly multiplies the number of potential conversation partners at any given time.

Anyway, be warned.

Beijing ancient observatory

My vote for the best unsung sight in Beijing -- tucked in with all the Las Vegas style hotels, a Ming Dynasty reminder that China is not a latecomer to the modern world.