Tag: Florida

Big Buzz In The South Atlantic

I hadn’t been on the computer more than a few seconds when I got an instant message from Bob in Florida. Had I seen what was going on in the South Atlantic?

For tropical weather systems, the South Atlantic is like Death Valley. There are a variety of reasons they just don’t form or exist there. That is, until today.

With no reconnaissance flights and little advance study, it’s tough to say 100% whether this is a tropical storm or hurricane (I guess it would be a cyclone there). But, the photo makes a very convincing case.

Based on some visible satellite image loops I’ve seen, it’s intensifying and heading toward the Brazilian coast. This storm, if it continues, will bring a type of weather unheard of to a place ill prepared to deal with it.

I have looked in all the usual places to find more information on the storm. The Hurricane Center has nothing. Same thing goes for the Navy’s FNMOC. I would doubt the Brazilians have a hurricane forecasting branch of their own.

Stay tuned. This will be interesting. And, I’m not sure it would even get a name as there’s no list for that area.

My Presidential Prediction

This blog is non-partisan. I don’t favor one ideology or candidate over another. I work in a newsroom, which is supposed to be balanced and objective. So, even as the weatherman, this seems like a reasonable policy.

On the other hand, I am not blind. I am watching the ‘dance of the candidates’ as the 2004 presidential campaign gets under way – long before either convention. I can’t remember as early a start. With the insatiable appetite of cable TV news, we’ll soon be sick of it all and anxious for November 2nd, so we can just put all the petty sniping behind us.

I’ve been thinking about the candidates and watching poll numbers over the past few days. Who is vulnerable? Why are they vulnerable? Why is Kerry already head and shoulders ahead of the president (though it is so early that poll any numbers are meaningless)?

It won’t be long before President Bush starts looking to work around his negatives. It is my opinion that he will see Vice President Dick Cheney as a liability.

Again, this doesn’t represent my opinion of Vice President Cheney or President Bush. But, I see the vice president’s association with Halliburton as a huge target for the Democrats. They will try and paint Halliburton as representative of everything bad with this Republican administration and use Cheney’s prior association (he was its president) to drive their points home.

Here’s my prediction. When November comes around, the Republican ticket won’t be Bush/Cheney. The Vice President could find any number of reasons, from health on down, to graciously bow out.

There are a number of Republicans with squeaky clean reputations that come to mind… like Colin Powell or Rudolph Guiliani. Either of those two would more benefit the president’s re-election bid.

I mentioned this tonight to a number of people I work with, and most said it sounded reasonable, though not likely. I called my dad in Florida and he said it was an idea he had thought about, and accepted, a few weeks ago.

If it happens, remember today is March 10, 2004. If it doesn’t happen, it was my dad’s idea.

Greetings from ORD

Six O’Clock is just too early to get up. That puts me on the outs with most of America. I’ve always been a night person – even as a kid. Now, as an adult working second shift, it’s even more ingrained.

It had been foggy on the drive home from work last night and there was still a smudge in the air as I set out this morning. I-91 is normally lightly traveled during my works hours. That is changed at 7:00 AM. There was traffic but it moved smoothly up through Hartford and then into Windsor Locks where Bradley International is located.

It was an opportunity to tune around through morning radio. My friend Bob Lacey, who I met my first day in radio in October 1969, is syndicated, so I tuned around looking for “Bob & Sheri” out of Charlotte. Other than a few days spent in Charlotte itself a few years ago, I hadn’t heard them.

The show is great – woman friendly and FCC friendly. I caught a segment with an improv comedian from Florida. It was funny, thought there was probably more in studio laughter than he deserved. Studio laughter is important because it telegraphs to the audience that you’re funny. I’m serious. It creates a shared experience when you’re listening to the radio alone. As much as we hate ‘canned laughter’ or sweetening on sitcoms, it’s tough to watch them without it.

I found Bob and Sheri on “The Beach” from Long Island. As I drove north the signal faded around Meriden. Bob will be glad I finally listened.

I parked the car at a remote lot and started to pull my bags as the cell phone rang. No matter what I do, no matter how I set it, the cell phone reverts to the same ring… the sound of an actual bell. Most of the time it’s in vibrate only mode, but in the car, out of my pocket, I need the noise.

It was Helaine calling. She had been looking online and United didn’t have a flight with the number I had. Not only that, they didn’t have a flight to Chicago at my time! I told her not to worry… though how was I to know?

At Bradley I approached the United counter and was greeted by a large man with a huge bandage on one finger and that same arm in a sling. He was a fan, greeted me by name, and helped me get what I needed. I always hope at that moment of recognition the words, “and we’re putting you up front today” will follow. It did not. But, he was very nice and the boarding pass process went smoothly.

I’m not sure what happened with my flight number… and seat assignment. My boss, also traveling today, and I were supposed to have adjoining aisle seats. Instead, we’re both in the middle, deep in the upper teens on a flight other than the one listed on our reservations. The flight is overbooked by two.

There is a pecking order to seat assignments. Most casual flyer’s don’t know this, most business flayers do. The seat I’m in is normally reserved for someone’s aunt who flies once a year. Frequent fliers, of which I am currently not, are on the aisle and by the windows and much closer to the front.

The girl, sitting to my left, quickly fell asleep, leaning her head against the bulkhead and her butt toward the armrest. I wish I had retractable elbows. Though both of my ‘neighbors’ are slim, I’m really jammed in. This must be horrendous for someone who is large.

I had casually checked the Chicago weather over the last few days. Originally it looked like thunderstorms might coincide with my arrival. I remember circling Bradley a few years ago as a thunderstorm crossed the field. The pilot came on the PA system and said a thunderstorm was there and, “we don’t do thunderstorms.”

Now, the forecast had changed. By the time I left Connecticut, the front had already crossed through Chicago. In the terminal, with my boss and two others from our sister station in Springfield, I mentioned that it would be a bumpy flight and probably a rough landing (winds were predicted to gust at 50+ mph).

As I write this, we’re in the middle of the bumpiness. The plane has been shuddering as if we’re on a very rough road. A few minutes ago, the pilot came on the PA again, illuminating the seatbelt sign at the same time and telling the flight attendants to sit as well. It’s tough to type when the keys are moving away from your fingers.

He didn’t know if the turbulence would be light or moderate. I extended that for him as I listened to include severe. So far, the turbulence has been far short of that.

Soon we’ll be in Chicago. With no checked luggage, the trip to the hotel should be easy.

Off To Chicago

I’m on my way to Chicago tomorrow morning for a few days. It’s work related, and though it’s not nefarious, I don’t think I can talk about why I’m going.

Hopefully, on my way home I’ll say it was valuable. Right now, I’d rather not be going. But, I’m going with an open mind.

As I packed, I thought about how much of home I was taking with me. I’m taking a laptop. The hotel, right in the center of the city, has high speed Internet access in all rooms and Wifi access from the lobby. Still, I double checked to make sure my modem would work should it be necessary.

I have grown addicted to email, to writing in this blog, and the web in general.

I’m also taking my cell phone. This is such a recent change in our societal norms. It used to be, if you were in Chicago, you were in Chicago… and difficult to find. With cell phones, I’m a local call, no matter where I am.

Earlier this year, while I was visiting my family in Florida, someone called from work asking me if I could be in early to be in a tease. I explained I was on the golf course in West Palm Beach.

I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. But, it’s my choice to take the phone, so I must be leaning toward good.

I’ll also be taking the digital camera, plenty of memory, and a cable to move images to the laptop. Since I’ve never really spent any time in downtown Chicago, I’m looking forward to getting as many shots as I can. Right after I get home, the camera is going to the hospital for a pixel that’s always on.

Chicago’s most recognized landmark is the Sears Tower. But, to me, nothing says Chicago more than the succession of bridges over the Chicago River. I remember seeing that image every week on The Bob Newhart Show.

Considering I won’t be home until midnight tonight, I’m leaving awfully early tomorrow. I’ll be leaving the house around 7:00 AM for the shlep to Bradley. At the moment fog and rain seem probable. In Chicago thunderstorms might show. By the end of the weekend, there’s the chance of snow.

I’ve gotta remember to pack my open mind.

The Change in the Air

We’re getting our first tastes of spring… and it tastes really good. Since the beginning of February, the strangle hold of winter has diminished. Precipitation has been sparse. Temperatures have gotten warmer.

A few days ago, moments after stepping out of the shower and while still in a towel, Helaine called me to the front door. She beckoned me outside to experience a mild day. It was great. And, she didn’t even lock the door behind me.

This morning, on the front steps, I looked down to see the first plants of the new season poking through the still frigid ground. Most of the snow on our lawn is gone, though not all. Within the next few weeks the leaves should start budding on the trees.

Meanwhile, down in Florida, they played baseball today. I heard a partial Mets score on WCBS while taking my shower.

The biggest difference in our local environment is in the sunshine. There are more hours to enjoy it – significantly more. The Sun itself shines from a higher angle in the sky, cutting through less of the atmosphere, producing a somewhat different color than winter’s illumination.

When Ivy was alive, she’d look forward to this time of year and the corresponding solar position in the fall. As the day went on, she’d chase the sunshine, which warmed patches of carpet and marble. During the summer the sun was too high and didn’t come in through the windows. During the winter, when the Sun was significantly lower, it was blocked and of no use to her.

I looked at my car this afternoon and wanted to take it to the car wash. That’s a warm weather reaction.

I thought of taking down the top and riding in the fresh air. When I first got a convertible, I did that in December. The ‘actual’ temperature got the better of me today, so it stayed down. But with the heat blasting, and seat warmers turned on, I might give it a shot next week.

There is still the threat of snow. Helaine reminds me of the April when we paid Frank to do the Spring cleanup in our yard and plow – all in the same week.

Right now there’s no snow in our future that I can see. A few more weeks and we’ll be home free.

I love the Spring.

No Phone Service – The Epic Returns

Helaine went out this afternoon. While on the road, she called. No problem. Later, on her way home, she called again.

Busy! Except, of course, it wasn’t.

It seems like yesterday, but it was the end of September when last our phone died. What a helpless feeling. The phone is our lifeline to health and safety in a way that computers or a cell phone can’t approach… at least not yet.

I immediately went down to the basement and plugged a phone into the network jack, where the phone line enters the house from the street. Dead. The problem was somewhere outside, and so the responsibility of the phone company.

I am much more upset about the way my local phone company, SNET (actually, they are now a very small part of a very large national company and have dropped SNET for SBC) handles outages like this than the outage itself. It seems as if someone said, “We’ve already inconvenienced Geoff… why inconvenience us too by sending someone out on Sunday?”

As far as I can tell, nothing at all was done about this problem today. Nothing.

The last time this happened to me, I made it clear that I thought it was wrong for the phone company, once it knew of an outage, to let a line continue to ring busy – as opposed to a recorded “out of service” announcement.

No change. It still rings busy after being reported.

In 2004, to a child with an elderly parent, a phone that’s busy for hours means the possibility that someone is ill… or worse. If my parent’s phone was busy for hour after hour, I’d call the police to check it out. This is an uncaring policy which must be changed.

Though you can see the status of your repair on-line (a feature I found to be worthless and wrong back in September) you can’t report the outage online. Nor can you easily even get the number to report the outage! Their website lists 611 for residential repairs – a number that won’t work if you’re using a cellphone to make the call, or if you try to get someone out-of-state to make the call for you (as I did today – contacting a friend in Florida via Instant Messenger).

We still have no cell service from the house, but at least our current phones allow you to call 9-1-1 using another carrier’s towers. That service is only available about half the time. The rest of the time the phone is looking for a Cingular tower that’s not there.

The current automated estimated repair time is 01:00 PM Monday.

My Father The Plagiarist

In January, when I went to visit my folks in Boynton Beach, FL, I wrote about the egrets who inhabit a tree at their condo complex. It was one of my favorite entries (in an earlier, more genteel day it would have been considered an essay).

My dad asked, and I gave permission, for my words to be published in their condo newsletter. That has just taken place. There’s only one problem. Only residents can write for the paper. So, my observations of the egrets are now my father’s…. in the first person.

I’m not angry. No, really, I’m not. I’m much more interested in people reading this amazing story of a tree that is also a home. But, should someone compliment his writing, he’d better fess up.

Dieting, Again

Through high school I lived on Devil Dogs and Hydrox Cookies. I never gained a pound.

As I grew older and set out on my own, I kept to that somewhat eclectic diet with a few additions. Working in West Palm Beach, FL, I used to go out for lunch every day, getting a Whopper, minus onions and mayonnaise, fries and a Coke. Again, nothing gained.

I was proud of my metabolism. I wasn’t a gifted athlete or student, but I had a metabolism worthy of envy.

Later, while Helaine and I were dating and she plied me with baked goods beyond belief, I held my size.

Everything was fine until we married and I started to eat on a regularly scheduled basis. As a bachelor, I remember often sitting in a foodless house. Now, there was always food around.

My undoing came when Steffie started eating solid foods. We’d put food on her plate, and whatever she didn’t finish, I would! I started to expand.

A few years ago, my mother told Helaine I was beginning to have a “fat face.” Ouch. But, it was true. I had developed a reasonably significant gut.

I had never dieted and certainly had no willpower. I went on Atkins anyway. It was, to me, a godsend. I’ve got no problem with going all carbs, though I understand how others do.

After a while you miss “sweet.” Nothing on this diet is sweet. Instead, everything you’re eating is salty in some way. Still, the pounds melt off – and they come off from the areas in need.

I lost 25 pounds that first time. Once I had gone to my desired weight, and off the diet, the pounds came back.

People always ask, doesn’t the weight come back when you’re off the diet? Of course, if you eat like a fool – which I do.

Recently, I noticed my suits getting a little tight. Nothing awful, but it’s time, again. Helaine has asked if I’d try The South Beach Diet. She worries about long term effects from Atkins – though I don’t. South Beach is also a little less severe – at least after the first two weeks.

What makes both these diets so appealing is the almost immediate loss of 8-10 pounds. The weight you lose is fat weight. For me, it’s off my stomach more than anything else, and I feel my clothes start for fit. That’s incentive to continue.

It will be interesting to see how South Beach serves me, versus Atkins. After the second week, there is a variety of fruit and all sorts of things Atkins frowns upon that you can eat. The diets are similar in their theory but different in their application.

I’ll be happy as soon as my suits fit properly.

CNET Reviews My Phone

I subscribe to CNET’s cell phone reviews. I’m not sure why. It was interesting reading them while I was shopping around. I should cancel it now.

Today, around three months after I got it, CNET reviewed my cell phone, the LG-G4010. It wasn’t mentioned in the review, but it should be noted that LG stands for Lucky Goldstar. I’m not sure how much confidence is built by having Lucky in your businesses name!

I have a love/hate relationship with this phone. It is as tiny as any phone I’ve ever had, and lightweight. It sits in my pocket most of the day at work. The vibration is strong enough that I seldom miss a call.

There are very few accessories for this phone. I’d like a clip to carry it on my belt. There is none. I’d like a data cable. There is none.

I’m afraid, though physically robust, the phone’s software is not. From time-to-time the phone forgets where my phonebook is stored. Is it on the SIM card? Is it in the native memory of the phone itself? Set it – it forgets it! The numbers aren’t gone, just lost. But, if you’re in the car, pressing a single speed dial number to reach someone and the phone says that entry is empty, you’ve been inconvenienced. It’s doubly true if you no longer know someone’s number, just their speed dial entry.

I’ve set the ringtone, only to have it revert to some other ring tone! This happened during my stay in Florida. I tried to use the least outlandish tone. What I got was the sampled sound of a bell from an old phone. I must have reset this feature a dozen times without success.

Astoundingly enough, the phone doesn’t have one feature that I though every cell phone had. There’s no way to have it wait while dialing. With all my previuous phones, voice mail meant pushing one button, waiting, pushing it again and hearing messages. Now, to get voice mail, I hit the first button, but must dial all the other codes myself – even while driving. That’s not right, since this seems like such a mature feature. Let’s call this ‘forgetware.’

The phone’s grayscale display features a wallpaper pattern. I’d rather not have it. Too bad. There’s no way to turn it off. It can be changed, but not turned off. Strange.

Last, but certainly not least is the manual. The manual is so beautifully designed and printed that when I originally had trouble following what it was saying, I though the problem was mine. This seems like a manual that might have been written in Korean and then poorly translated into English. Whatever the story, it’s a puzzle. I’m surprised Cingular let this get by since it increases their support costs.

All this being said, I still like the phone. I’ve learned to work around some of its weaknesses (like lack of external display) and enjoy its diminutive size. I had read some people complain of short battery life, but that’s not been a problem for me.

Of course there’s still no cell service at home. I am hoping Cingular is successful in its bid for AT&T and that it is AT&T’s cell site that I hear (but can’t use) from my house. That would be huge.

The Vegas term for this is ‘parlay’, a series of bets, each of which has to come true for you to get the payoff. Parlay players seldom win.

Still Playing Poker

I haven’t written about my online poker exploits in a while. I’m not sure why, but it might have to do with how poorly Helaine and I started to do. When I left for Florida, nearly two weeks ago, we were down to $40 from our original stake of $250. We started playing at pokerstars.com about five months ago.

After losing a few games to ridiculous hands (people staying in… calling bets… hoping a 1:100 shot comes through… and it does) Helaine decided she had had enough and ‘retired’. I played on.

I took another look at my play and decided to make some small, but hopefully significant changes to my style. I am not dogmatic in my play. There are some variations (though not many) from game to game. But, mostly, I am consistent in when I bet and fold.

My strategy now favors not losing.

Hold on. It’s not meant as a joke and that’s a sentence with real meaning.

It is possible to set out and bet your cards to win. I found, and it’s based more on anecdotal evidence than well designed research, most of my losses came when I was in trying to squeeze out another opponent and he got lucky (or my assessment of my cards was in error). If you go ‘all in’ five times, and win four (an excellent percentage) you’re still knocked out!

Now, I will be less aggressive in those situations. That means I’ll win a little less per hand, but I’ll avoid some of the significant downside associated with allowing one wrong move to break me.

It’s only been two weeks, but so far so good. From $40 in the bank, I’m now approaching $100.

My game of choice is still the $5.50 single table, sit and go tournaments. Last night, for the first time in a long time, I sat at a 10&#162 – 25&#162 no limit Hold’em table (in other words, real betting with real money, as opposed to a tournament with very fixed limits to your possible losses – or wins). I won $9.50 in under a half hour.

I was surprised to find the table very loose. As a tight player, I think that’s a good thing for me, and brings lots of early money to the pot as optimists try and hit their dream hand. Sometimes they will. Most often, they don’t.

Maybe I’ll start playing more of that, though the concept of ‘no limit’ in this context is scary.

Who Is Your Tech Support?

A few years ago, my friend Kevin gave me a bumper sticker, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Tech Support.” Yet that’s what home computing today is built on.

Try getting support from someone who sold you hardware or software and you’ll find you’re the last person they want to hear from. Have you ever tried to get in touch with Microsoft?

To much of my family and many of my friends, I am tech support. Don’t understand what’s wrong, call Geoff. That’s good and I enjoy it… though it seems a shame that the company’s responsible aren’t carrying their own weight in this regard.

Who do I go to? For Linux and OS related problems, it’s my friend Bob in Florida. For Windows and hardware related problems (and, thankfully, I seldom have software problems I can’t solve on my own), I go to my friend Kevin.

I saw Kevin tonight.

This afternoon, as I was attempting to print 25 sheets of something for Helaine, the Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX connected to Steffie’s computer (but which I print to through our home network) decided to ingest about 25 sheets at once. As the paper jammed into a space much smaller than it could be compressed, the printer started to whine. Gears meshed. It wouldn’t stop. I swear the printer was crying.

I unplugged the it and removed the paper without much problem. But, when I turned the printer back on, I got a paper jam error message. Uh oh. I absolutely knew there was no paper there because the sheets that had been caught had come out whole, though somewhat creased.

After scouting around the net, I realized it was probably the paper jam sensor, not a jam itself. Three choices, new printer, printer service (at most of the cost of a new printer) or do it myself. I didn’t have much choice but the latter.

Being technically inept when it comes to mechanics, I called Kevin on the phone and asked real nice. There was never a question, because Kevin’s the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back and because he really enjoys the challenge of fixing something that’s not really built to be fixed.

I am so upset I didn’t bring the camera, because this printer is a mechanical work of art. As you peel away the layers of a mechanical system, you can quickly see how much thought went into doing it right. The cable runs were neatly held in place by guides. Most terminated in nicely keyed plugs. A few didn’t have plugs but seemed to end with exposed connectors and were stiff enough to insert cleanly in sockets.

The cover came off fairly easily. That didn’t get us to the problem. Next, a rear assembly which drives the paper as it is pushed into the path. Kevin saw this mechanical marvel intuitively and was immediately able to know how it worked and why everything was where it was. There were a few times when I pointed the way, but mostly it was Kevin.

The ability to see how something works is a gift. I think I have it as far as software is concerned. I can look at a program or even look at its code and understand what the programmer was trying to do. Kevin can do that too, and take it one step further by understanding hardware.

The problem was a tiny lever which was supposed to be held taught with a smaller spring. The lever blocked a light sensor from seeing an LED. That’s how it knew if the path was blocked by a paper jam. But, the spring, held by tension alone, had disconnected from the lever.

It required removing three separate assemblies and then, putting them back together. On the first try a cam wasn’t set right. The printer powered up to the sound of plastic gears gnashing. Kevin and I looked at each other. This could be the end of the repair.

We quickly figured out what the cam was supposed to do and where it should be on power up. Bingo! The printer fired up quietly and the indicator for a printer jam stayed dark.

Because we didn’t have the drivers for the printer, that’s as far as testing has gone until right now.

I’m going to plug it into the computer.

The computer has recognized it and is loading the drivers. Success. Now, to print.

Wow. No smoke and a perfectly executed print job.

Kevin would be a great friend even if he couldn’t fix anything. But, he can.

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

This is probably going to be my last entry concerning the Florida trip, and the one I least anticipated before I went to visit my folks.

I had played golf Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. By Friday, my dad was a little sore (I was too) and he begged off. It was a lazy day – very quiet around the house. By early afternoon my mom had asked if I wanted to go to Wakodahatchee.

Sure… except, what is it?

Wakodahatchee Wetlands&#185 is a man made nature preserve in suburban Palm Beach County. If I understand correctly, it is the product of heavily treated waste water (I’m sure heavily treated and clean are two very different words) which is released into a number of manufactured environments.

The actual wetlands were built to allow for a number of different wet habitats. With no human encroachment, the wildlife is varied and flourishes.

For humans, the treat is the 3/4 mile long boardwalk which winds its way through the preserve. The afternoon we went, it was moderately busy. I would guess there were at least 100 people on the boards.

My luck was stumbling upon a ‘prosumer’ photographer. He had a substantial Nikon film camera with a long lens. He stood and shot, watching two blue herons building a nest high in a tree. I’m not sure I would have notified them had he not been so intense.

I took his cue and pulled out my Fuji S602Z. This is a great camera – the best I’ve ever owned. It can be used as a point and shoot camera, but what a waste. Its manual controls allowed me to preset for the shots I wanted, especially with the herons, where I made sure the shutter speed was fast and that I could burst 5 shots in rapid succession with the lens zoomed in fully.

That afternoon, I took some of the best shots I’ve ever taken. I’ve put together an album in my online gallery.

My recommendation (if you have high speed access); use the slideshow mode for the first 6 or 7 images (at least). The sequence with the heron arriving at his nest is really captured well.

&#185 – The official Wakodahatchee Wetlands website hasn’t been updated in over 2 years. A real shame.

The Trip Home – Random Note IV

All the time I was in Florida, every time I spoke to someone back home, or let someone in Florida know I was visiting from the Northeast, they told me how lucky I was to be there, missing the bitterly cold weather.

It is tough to keep that sort of thing in perspective when you’re in the warmth. Hearing about -30&#176 windchills is not the same thing as experiencing them.

A plow just went down my block to try and keep up with the 4-6″ we have on the ground today. Now I understand what they were talking about.

The Trip Home – Random Note III

I had mentioned before leaving that my razor was not making the trip to Florida. I held true to that pledge, but the beard didn’t last as long as I anticipated. I finally cut it off Friday.

Here’s what I learned. The beard was uncomfortable. It was just strange to touch my face and not really get to the face. I can’t describe the feeling exactly, only to say I didn’t like it.

It really didn’t look good at all. Granted, one week isn’t enough time to grow a full beard.

It was interesting that even though my hair is mostly dark with a little gray (though significantly more than a year ago), the beard was coming in salt and pepper… with a significantly higher salt content.

My Cousin Melissa asked to see what it looked like, so here it is. Never to be repeated!

The Trip Home – Random Note

My dad, along with my sister’s father-in-law, dropped me off at Palm Beach International. It’s now a large airport. The West Palm Beach metro is a major growth area.

Saturday afternoon is normally a light travel time, and this was no exception. Who wants to leave Florida on a Saturday to go to the frigid north (it is snowing and accumulating as I write this).

With a little time to kill, I bought a magazine and then went searching for a Cinnabon. No luck again. I am jinxed!

I did stop in a fast food restaurant where I found this ‘napkin’ dispenser. Is there a better way to tell your customers you really don’t care about them then putting in one of these toilet paper dispensers?

I know what they’re doing – trying to cut down on people who grab a handful of napkins. And, of course, these lovely serviettes are much less substantial.

Isn’t my business worth the extra cost of nicer, thicker, unlimited napkins? I decided not to get anything.