Sleep is for the weak, right?

Sure, if you can get a solid 3-4 hours, you can keep going for days/weeks/months. That's what having a child is like, especially if you're the primary parent for feedings. I admit I wasn't, but that time wasn't good for sleeping for other reasons, so I do know the long-term effects of sleep deprivation.

Unfortunately, my mind never shut down last night so sleep was something that came in sitcom-sized doses. Feck.

Guess I've a lot to remember about life on the road aside from the odd liberation it brings.

Houston

So I'm here now. It sprawls as I remember it did, much like the other parts of Texas I've visited more recently, like Brownsville. One of the guys I was at dinner with suggested that anyone who'd been here more than 10 years should have bought a concrete plant since everything's a strip mall. It's strange to notice that new strip malls are being built without the old ones being completely full yet. Has strip mall occupancy echoed the .com era or the public's passing fancies where the newest and shiniest (storefront in this case) was the one to head towards, leaving the currently available and accessible resources unused?

Sprawl is about waste, unfortunately. More trash, more used space, just more, more, MORE. It is kinda sad that our nation is running down this track at a faster clip than it should be. Most likely, it's about the attention span that the populace has for the current "hot topic." Sprawl may have been the issue a few years ago, but now it's Anna Nicole, Britney, and hybrids. I'd mention Iraq, but that's been a constant for more than 6 months, so it's faded into the greenery in the minds of many. Besides, the news media, our lovely 5th Estate (or is it the 4th?) can sell more ads with bimbos than bodies, so Britney is at the top of the cycle, following Anna Nicole, Paris Hilton, and any other dimbette that you can name. Dimbette, though seemingly centered on women, actually applies to men as well like K-Fed or J-Lake or any male American Idol contestant. Unfortunately, the masculine of something like that just sounds like another female-oriented term, i.e. dimbo, and not something that is easily identified as gender-neutral. Perhaps it's compliment is the standard dimbulb, long a staple in my house for describing the questionable actions of my very loving and loveable but less than sharp dogs.

If there's a linguist out there who cares to weigh in, by all means, leave a comment.

Anyhow, time for bed, since I'll need to be on-site at 9 local time with breakfast at 8. Considering it's past midnight, I best get to steppin'.

Not to Boston, but still Houston and Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv in 2 weeks. Not going to Boston now and I admit I'm pretty happy about that.

Certainly, there'll be other places I'll have to go, and that's fine by me. Boston isn't among my top five places to go. Sure, I still know a few people there and have a relative or two, but it's just not where I want to be.

Rather be at Glacier Park, actually. Someday, maybe.

Things I learned today....

• Anyone who said "It's about the journey, not the destination," never took commercial airlines to get to that destination. Ditto with the US "rail system" a/k/a Amtrak.
• From the Pacific NW, it takes a long time to fly anywhere interesting. Sure, we've got gorgeous scenery, ocean, mountains, and all things outdoors. However, if you just want to go someplace that actually looks different than it does around here, then you need to go a long way by plane or train.
• Very very very few flights across the USA are done in anything larger than a 757. Most are done in the "ultra-efficient" 737-700,-800, or -900. What does this mean? While new planes are nice, they are more and more adept at shoehorning more and more people in each plane as the airframe evolves. Accordingly, you get less space and are much less likely to get seated next to someone hot as you are the traveling salesman who's eaten once too many times at Applebee's or Garlic Jim's. Of course, if you're traveling with someone, then the chances of getting someone hot next to you go up. If you're traveling with child(ren), then substitute "cute" for "hot", since referring to your kid as "hot" probably doesn't go over well with strangers.

Why do I mention all of this nonsense?

I will be going to Houston, Boston, and then Tel Aviv all in the next 3 or so months. While the Tel Aviv trip will most likely have a 777 for the international portion, all the domestic flights will be on single-aisle jets for 4-6 hours at a shot. Ugh. The headphones can only cancel out so much noise from the person next to me who seems to have some sort of walrus-like breathing issue.

I like my personal space and prefer to share it only with those I invite into it. Airline travel basically invokes Imminent Domain and forces you into situations that normally would cause panic or at least erratic driving. Alas, though, this is the way of modern "convenience." Pack more in! More features, less space! Look at the Efficiency!

Ick.

I used to love flying, and part of me still does, although mostly the takeoff and landing routines. The strange contra-dance-like flight patterns at some of the airports can be fun, simply because of the things you see. Landings can be neat when the airport seems to come out of nowhere; landing at Oakland comes to mind where you come in over the Bay for a while then suddenly the runway pops up beneath the plane like someone pulling a pizza from the oven at a pizaa shop. That's pretty cool.

I've heard from my Dad and others that the landing pattern in Hong Kong is like that, only there are a lot more buildings involved. Same with Osaka, I think, if that's the one that's basically an airport that's 4-6 feet above sea-level on a man-made island.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Between the rally-driving that some of the approaches and takeoffs can be, well, there's about 4 hours of the flying equivalent of NASCAR. Yawn...left turn....yawn...slow right turn....yawn...meal service....yawn...whadda you mean $6 for this so-called sandwich?

Yeah, the sheen of flying's worn off. I don't even do it that much anymore. Guess I'm just on a trajectory to become a curmudgeon like Andy Rooney. Actually, there's no guessing.

I know it'll happen; I'm going to be a coot.