K. had checked in online and was carrying baggage on board only, B had not checked in needed to check a bag, and I had checked in online and was checking a bag. I was the only one of the three with TSA Pre-Check. I was the first one through security. K was about 15 minutes behind me, and was pulled for secondary inspection because of a bottle of water in her bag. It took B about 20 minutes to check in, check a bag, and wait in the security line. None of us are inexperienced travelers, K has flown around the world.
So what are the tips?
1: Check in online, if you can PRINT your boarding pass before you get to the airport.
2: If you are checking bags, use the automated machines to print the bag tag (and boarding pass if needed.)
3: Enroll in TSA Pre-check or what ever express lane option is available in your country. I pay for Global Entry, (in other countries this system goes by other names) giving me the express lane at customs and immigration and the express lane for airport security. Yes I pay for that, about $20 a year, but the screening is easier and the wait much shorter.
4: Be prepared for security screening. Before I enter security I empty my pockets into my messenger bag, keys, wallets, phone. If I am wearing a belt that will set off security it goes in. With Pre-Check I can keep my shoes on unless the shoes have a lot of metal in them (and I won't wear something like a heavy pair of boots to travel in for that reason, the hiking boots or waterproof shoes go into the checked bag.) Toss the oversized liquids before you get there. If I am wearing the larger mechanical watch it has to go in the bag (it will set off the metal detector.)
I have long struggled to get the image in my brain, through my hands and onto paper or canvass. My drawings and doodles don't end up looking anything like the image in my mind. This mystified my father who seemed to have an innate talent for drawing and the couple of times he tried painting his work was amazing (he didn't stay at it because he didn't know what to do with the paintings and it cost money.)
Who have I reached out to? Hillary, Omar, Erica (people I have worked with), Ruth a dear neighbor, Professor Powell from law school and discovered that he is retiring from U of L to take a post at a Law School here in DC.
Who have a talked with? Susan a dear neighbor, random strangers as I am known to do.
What have I been reading? Zorba the Greek, a reread.
What have I been watching? The riggers and crane operator just outside our windows last Friday. The hunky rigger was rather athletic.
What am I listening to? Simon and Garfunkel as I write this.
What am I going to miss this year? Most likely the Indianapolis 500, I will be away from home on race day.
When is the next adventure? Soon, very soon.
Who deserves a big THANK YOU this week? Bobbi for connecting me with a nice little consulting project.
What made me very happy this week? I found Travel Penguin, he had been missing for several weeks, and I feared the worst. He has been with me for over 20 years. I was afraid that he had gotten tossed with a bag that broke on the trip to New Haven in February. He was in a seldom used pocket in my messenger bag, he is now in a private compartment.
What am I doing next? Posts will follow daily, I am going to take a little digital detox starting on Sunday for a couple of weeks. Off on a grand and much desired adventure. Carry on!
The Condo is also undergoing a bit of refreshing. The lobbies and hallways are heated and cooled by massive industrial units on the roof of the towers. A dozen of them in all. The units are original to the buildings - so they are about 35 years old. Plans have been underway to replace and update them for a couple of years. And last week the old units were lowered to the ground, and new units lifted into place. We had a ringside seat, the photo above was taken from the sliding glass doors of our balcony with a 10mm super wide angle lens. The crew worked for about 4 hours, about 50 feet from our backdoor.
2: When you finished high school, what did you expect to be when you grew up?
3: Did you end up doing what you expected to do when you went on for further education?
4: Have you had any mid-life changes of career?
5: Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?
My Answers:
1: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Rich - beyond that no clue.
2: When you finished high school, what did you expect to be when you grew up? A professional Photographer.
3: Did you end up doing what you expected to do when you went on for further education? No, I went to law school at mid life expecting to do construction defects litigation and never did a single case in that area of the law.
4: Have you had any mid-life changes of career? A couple of them.
5: Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? I guess this is it, a happy man of quasi lesure. I really thought a million dollars would be worth a whole lot more than it is today.
Please share your answers in the comments.
Checking a bag frees you from acting as porter and baggage loader/unloader and allows you to take a full size tube of toothpaste with you without fear of being selected for secondary screening and having it confiscated at the airport. With a checked bag, I can move up a size on the bag, and toss in a second pair of shoes, and an extra shirt or two. I always have space to bring home something special that I find when I am traveling.
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have traveled without checking a bag. It happens on a very rare one night trip, maybe when time was tight on the other end to get to where I needed to be after the plane arrived, or the time I went to office and learned that I needed to be in Florida the next morning at 9:00 AM to sign paperwork selling Dad's house, bought a plane ticket, booked a rental car and hotel, and went to the airport without returning home (I was carrying a change of underwear and a fresh shirt in my messenger bag because travel was unpredictable at that time.)
I get free checked bags on the two airlines I fly most often as an airline credit card perk. I pay an annual fee on those cards of about $100 a year, if I fly three or four times a year, I save that back in checked baggage fees what the cards cost me. I get earlier boarding zones as a perk, making it more likely that there is room in the overhead for my messenger bag (that I never leave home without.) And the airline miles add up from using those cards to pay day to day expenses. Again this spring we will be flying transAtlantic on seats paid for with airline miles that were mostly earned buying groceries.
Unburden your travel, check a bag.
I went to work in a local real estate office, and one of my office mates was an electrician, who had worked on the launch systems for the moon rockets. He was selling real estate, doing a little electrical work on the side, and hoping he could return to full time electrical work. There were only a handful of full time industrial electrician positions on the Space Coast.
He had done some thrilling things like connect the power to the external ignitors under the Saturn V that assure that those main engines fire when the fuel starts flowing. He got to talking one day, and said, "How many people does it take to change a light bulb on launch pad 39B?"
First someone fills out a form reporting a light out of service.
Then an electrician verifies that the light bulb is burned out, and it is not an electrical supply or switch problem.
Then the access crew is dispatched to set up a ladder.
Then the electrician returns to disassemble the light fixture, laying the parts out on a soft pad on the a flat surface.
Then a supervisor sends out janitorial, to clean
the fixture.
Then the electrician is sent out to replace the burned out bulb and reinstall the fixture.
Then the access crew goes back and removes the ladder,
Then janitorial goes back and cleans the area.
And a supervisor inspects and verifies that the work has been completed properly.
So three workmen, plus supervisors, at least 9 steps, more if there are any questions or concerns along the way, such as a crack in the glass on the fixture, and he said, "you don't want to know how many pages of paperwork!"
Where am I at with tax returns this year? Done a month ago. (Tax returns were due Monday in the USA.)
Where have I been this week? Out for daily walks, Old Town Alexandria, Huntley Meadows, National Harbor, Mt. Vernon; the weather has been nice for walking outside. The Farmers Market on Saturday morning, Whole Foods, into DC one day.
What have I been reading? I finished a Hemingway novel, I am working on two other books. My Kindle is loaded and ready for an adventure.
What am I listening to? 70s soft rock at the moment.
What made me think, I remember when? O.J. Simpson died. I was working in a department store when the verdict came in, the store came to a quiet halt, and the broadcast was played over the store public address system. I was not surprised, the prosecution had way over tried their case, and the defense was brilliant. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit. I started law school a few months later. If you can't explain your case to the jury in a week, you don't understand the core of your case or you don't have one.
Who deserves a big THANK YOU this week? The service manager, who came up with a 10% discount on a rather expensive service and car repair. I have bought cars for less.
What was I thinking the other day? All of the cars I have owned, 3 Oldsmobiles, 2 VWs (decades apart,) 2 Toyotas (at the same time), 4 Hondas (three new Accords in a four year period,) 2 Mazadas (years apart,) 1 Renault (fun but I couldn't get it repaired,) 1 Saturn, (a cheap reliable car until law school was paid for,) 1 Cadillac - by far the nicest car I have owned. Several of these put smiles on my face, only one real lemon in the bunch, 5 of them bought new. The two Toyotas I got more for when I sold them than I had paid for them.
What made me laugh this week? Two things at lunch with Emily the other day. She is a hair stylist, I told her what I had been paying for a haircut and she said, "to cut what? you don't have much left to cut!" True. Her mother died a couple of years ago, and her father, who is about my age is starting to date, using dating apps. She was warning him about the dangers of meeting strangers, and I said will at least Aileen Wuornos is not still on the loose in central Florida. Aileen was a serial killer of men. Not listed in her bio, is the man she bonked in the head with an orr and pushed overboard in alligator infested waters about a mile from the office I was working in at the time, he lived. Dark humor, but humor.
2: Would you spend a quiet afternoon here reading or writing?
3: Have you read the book Walden, by Henry David Thoreau?
4: Do you live a simple life?
5: Would you hike 30 minutes to get to this cabin?
My answers:
1: Would you live in this cabin in the woods? No. my idea of roughing it is staying at a three star hotel.
2: Would you spend a quiet afternoon here reading or writing? Yes, I may go back next summer.
3: Have you read the book Walden, by Henry David Thoreau? Multiple times, this cabin reminded me of Walden.
4: Do you live a simple life? In a modern sort of a way, yes.
5: Would you hike 30 minutes to get to this cabin? Apparently I would, it is around on the back side of a lake.
Please share your answers in the comments.
Bob posted about a politician who keeps lying about how he was shot. Was it in a war zone, or the tale he told to the police when he was being investigated for discharging a firearm in a national park. He told the police that the handgun discharged when he dropped it while loading it. That is possible, though unlikely. A single action revolver would be most likely to have that happen if he was being careless in handling it while loading or unloading it. Pistols are much safer, and it is nearly impossible for them to accidentally fire, throw them around all you want, drive over them with a car, and they are unlikely to fire.
I seldom talk about this, I am a gun owner. My grandparents gave me a semi-automatic rifle when I was a teenager, I still have it. I spent many hours as a teenager shooting target practice.
When I was in my 40's my father gave me his colt-revolver. I had grown up with it in a locked box in the hall closet. A few times a year it would come out for target practice, a cleaning, then be locked away again. I think I fired it once, before he gave it to me.
When he gave it to me, I went to a professional indoor range owned and operated by a couple of retired police officers, and hired a professional instructor to show me how to handle it safely. The Colt was an old design, single action revolver, a design that has been around since the 1850's. You have to be very-very careful if it is loaded and "half cocked" and you wish to not have it fire, if you carelessly drop it at that point, it could fire accidently if it landed just the wrong way. The instructor meticulously showed me, and had me practice how to safely do that with the gun unloaded, and was explicit in how to only do that under controlled circumstances so that if an accident happened no one and nothing would be hurt. Then we spent a couple hours on the range firing line practicing what I had learned.
I went back to that instructor when I bought my first pistol. He was pleased that I was moving to something modern, and spent time showing me how to handle it safely, and how to safely unload and clear the chamber. You never pick up a firearm without verifying that the chamber is clear - NEVER. You NEVER point a gun at anything you are not prepared to make a big hole in.
No one should handle firearms without that kind of training, and without the instructor signing off that the person has the skills and judgement to safely handle the firearm. It was not required, I did it because I knew I didn't know what I was doing and wanted to do it safely. I live in a state that does not license or register guns. I never have lived in a state that does.
I enjoy target shooting, though it has been several years since I last went to a range. Why do I own them? Because I do. I have enjoyed them over the years. There is no real need or justification other than I do because I can. Kind of like why do I own cameras.
The Colt is a family heirloom, it has been passed onto a family member, with the instruction to go hire an instructor before putting ammunition into it for the first time.
A friend of mine lives alone in a rural part of appalachia. His father gave him a loaded revolver to keep next to his bed. He has no idea how it works, he has never fired one, never loaded or unloaded one, that is how people die. I have urged him to hire an instructor, or contact the local police and say, "would you please come take this thing away."
No one should handle guns, without careful instruction and good judgement. People who lack good judgement, should never be allowed near guns.
The idiot politician is either a liar, or careless, or more likely both. His actions and words show that he lacks the character needed to handle firearms and shouldn't be allowed near them.
The seats in the rows in front of the overwing exits don't recline. This is a safety issue to improve access to the emergency exit. If you are a recliner, best to avoid that row. Exit rows generally have an extra couple of inches of legroom, and most airlines now charge extra for those rows.
I generally avoid the first row. On widebody jets, often the first row of coach on many planes has fixed armrests that can be quite confining. I remember one trip, I had paid extra for the bulkhead row on an overnight transAtlantic flight. The middle row, behind me was empty, and I moved back there, put up the armrests and slept for 4 or 5 hours that night.
Both of us are "full size" adults. When we travel together in coach, I pick seats across the aisle from one another, that way we don't spend the flight bumping into one another's space.
I check seating when I check in, and sometimes move to a part of the cabin with more open seats. With the airlines selling seats without seat assignments, this is not foolproof. Most airlines will fill empty seats from the front of the cabin back. If the flight is full, every seat will be filled.
Some airlines charge extra for seat assignments. Some of those waive that if you join their frequent flyer program (always join, they are free to join, and the perks add up.) Others waive the charge if you carry one of their branded credit cards. More on airline credit cards in another post, but look at the benefits, if you fly more than a couple of times a year the cards are a bargain.
Even in business or first class seating matters. The first row does not have under seat storage for small items, or seat back pocket storage for things like my Kindle. You are also limited to the tray that folds up from the armrest. I avoid the first row, if I can. The worst seat in business class, is better than the best seat in coach.
What is the firetruck doing there? The drivers, one at the front and one at the back, were practicing backing in a tight spaces.
Someone asked Why I was in Cincinnati Ohio last week? Simple answer, someone paid me (paid well at that) to be there.
Where am I going this week? Into the city to the Old Ebbit Grill to have lunch with the daughter of one of my old high school friends. Her mother died a couple of years ago, after a long struggle with poor health.
What have I been reading? Not much, I started a book on my Kindle, but have not finished anything in 10 days.
What have I been eating? Last week in Cincinnati I was with people who believed that two things kept consultants happy, great food, and paying them well. Mexican food, Italian food, seafood, subs, salads, and order what ever wine you want. Since I have been home, I have been cooking again.
What surprised me? I was quiet, asking questions and listening. A couple of times I said, I could tell war stories, but my role this week is to hear your stories.
Who have I communicated with? Spo, Andrew, my sister, my middle brother, the team, the friend we are having lunch with, it was a good week for trading messages. Late last week was not a good time for reading blogs, time was tight, I have been catching up.
What am I listening to? 70's soft rock at the moment.
Who deserves a "way to go!" this week? American Airlines, the flights were early, in both directions.
Who deserves a big Thank You! this week? The owner of zTrip taxi in Cincinnati and Louisville. I got to talking to the guy in the z-Trip polo shirt while waiting for a taxi at the airport in Cincinnati - a long wait about 10 minutes but it went fast with a nice person to talk with. Turns out he co-owns the regional franchise and he was more disappointed in the wait than I was, he comped the taxi ride to the hotel (it was 19 miles.) They are really trying to improve service.
What made me strangely sad this week? Listening to the Carpenters Greatest Hits. Such a great talent, Karen Carpenter died of anorexia. We are so body image driven that people die needlessly from it. Be kind to everyone, of every shape, including yourself. You are all beautiful just the way you are.
