Step one is complete. We’re in Baltimore – spending the night. On to Los Angeles tomorrow.
Right now we’re scheduled to leave here after 6:00 PM. I don’t expect to change that.
Tag: Baltimore
I’m On Hold
Weather is a traveler’s enemy. And, when you forecast the weather for a living, you can sometimes see the enemy vividly, even from a distance. That’s the case today, looking at tomorrow.
I’m writing while on hold with Southwest trying to change our tickets.
Here’s the official Weather Service forecast. I normally don’t use the Weather Service, but this is ‘informational purposes only.’ There’s not much they’re saying I don’t agree with.
Tuesday: Periods of snow and sleet. High around 31. Blustery, with a north wind between 20 and 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible.
Tuesday Night: Periods of snow possibly mixed with sleet, mainly before 9pm. Low near 26. Blustery, with a north wind between 17 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Our cruise leaves Wednesday. Our reservations to Los Angeles are for tomorrow. Miss the flight, miss the cruise.
It’s likely our plane will be canceled or delayed (and we have to make the last connection of the night in Baltimore). All the flights for Wednesday are already booked solid!
I have just convinced Southwest to let us leave today… sort of. We’ll spend the night in Baltimore and spend tomorrow night in Los Angeles before boarding our ship.
Can’t stay. Must pack – quickly. Will explain later.
We’ve Arrived In Las Vegas
We live in a wonderful time. You can get in a plane (or two) and fly cross country. In the history of the world, that’s only been possible for a few decades. Still, 12 hours door-to-door is a little much – and five hours on the leg from Baltimore to Las Vegas was brutal.
My folks had no idea we were coming last night. My cousins told us where they were all eating and we walked in and surprised them… and they were surprised.
We were all very tired, so Helaine and I got settled and went to sleep as soon as we could. First, we looked out the window.
We are on the 25th floor. We have a view looking south down the Strip. Caesar’s Palace covers a significant portion of our view, but we see the Eiffel Tower at Paris, The Rio and Palms, Flamingo and MGM Grand.
Unpacking the bags brought an unpleasant surprise. Either at Bradley or BWI, our bags must have been left outside, uncovered. A few of our suitcases were soaked.
This morning, in the Las Vegas air, they are dry. We’ll have to look one-by-one to see if they’ve been injured.
It’s a football day, and we plan to watch at the Sports Book here at the Mirage. Other than that, our early arrival has left us with little in the way of plans.
What Am I (Not) Thinking
I am writing to you while on my butt at Gate 5 (thanks Northwest) Bradley International Airport. The wireless connection is free, but the only seats near a power outlet are taken.
I wasn’t going to write, but it’s been an eventful ride so far… and the flight is an hour off.
Last night, after I moved my reservations, I printed my boarding pases. Southwest allows you to do that 24 hours in advance. I sat the passes on my desk at work and forgot about them – even when I threw them out with the rest of my trash!
Luckily I remembered before the trash was taken.
Helaine packed the bulk of what we were taking. I packed a computer, camera, cellphone and enough chargers to choke a TSA agent. I event bought a strip plug for all the electronics.
As always I scouted the hallway, taking bags down to the car. I closed the door, Helaine got in and we were off.
A half hour down the road I turned to Helaine to ask if we’d taken everything? Good question when beyond the point of no return. She looked but could see one of the carry ons. Oh sh**.
I got off I-91, pulled into a convenience store parking lot and opened the doors. Helaine got out like the baggage assurance inspector she had become. Yes, everything was here.
On to the airport and the parking lot we use. We unloaded the car into a van and headed off to the terminal. It wasn’t until we’d checked in that I realized
I had left my computer bag, with all the electronics and chargers, in the car.
I called the parking place. Within five minutes their van had arrived with my bag! OK – they deserve a mention for service above and beyond – Thanks Roncari.
And now you’re up-to-date… except for the fact we had to walk by a non-stop for Las Vegas (full) to get to our gate for the first stop in our journey, Baltimore.
More coming from Las Vegas, if I remember everything.
Another Try For Slashdot
It’s addictive – like eating peanuts. I enjoy reading, and posting on, Slashdot.org.
Since the vast majority of what I submit is shot down, I thought I’d post it here as well.
As a diehard Phillies fan (my wife is watching them play Baltimore right now, via streaming video on her laptop) and a dedicated Yankee hater, I look for any possible edge to confirm my faith is not misplaced. Now, there’s an objective mathematical method to show you who is the best at mid-season, regardless of won/loss records. Some teams are playing over their heads while others have suffered from bad breaks. The theory says those anomalies will probably even out over time. From the NY Times: “Known as the Pythagorean standings – more on the name later – they rank teams not by the more traditional measure of victories and losses, but by their building blocks: runs scored and runs allowed, which cumulatively prove to be a better indicator of future team performance than just about anything else. The full story (free registration required) is enough to make a Phillie Phanatic smile, or give some glimmer of hope to downtrodden Red Sox fans. Unfortunately, the online version doesn’t have the chart, showing where everyone stands at the moment, which is included in the actual print version of the newspaper. Nice as I am, my site doesn’t have the bandwidth to host it. Maybe one of the posters here will.
Gene Klavan
When I was growing up, my parents (mostly my dad) listened to WNEW. To me it represented what adult life was about. It was sophisticated and upwardly mobile. The stars of that era of popular music hung out at WNEW and socialized with the disk jockeys.
It was a Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, Steve & Eydie kind of place.
The morning show was Klavan and Finch. Gene Klavan was the comic and Dee Finch his straight man. This past week Gene Klavan died at 79.
I was speaking to my dad tonight, looking for the right moment to tell him about Klavan, when he told me.
I stopped for a minute. Is it right to tell a 78 year old about the death of a 79 year old? And then I asked him.
I didn’t want to pry, but I wondered how my dad looked at death. I think (and he reads this so he’ll tell me if I’m wrong) that he just sees it as a part of life. Where he lives, in Florida, he is surrounded by it.
His life now is the best it’s ever been. He and my mom are incredibly active – much more so than ever before. He says, 78 is an age he never imagined, much less consciously thought of.
I see my parents living forever. But they are so much better at dealing with reality than I am.