I realized as I was getting set to write this entry, that my blog has a very "ranty" feel to it. One of these days I should post more positive things. Sorry to disappoint, but this post is not the start of more positive posts. Maybe it is since I offer up a suggestion. You be the judge.
For those of you that live in a media black hole (or just don't pay attention to the weather in the Midwest), in the Chicago area, we had 7-11" (depending on where you take the measurement) of snow dumped on us overnight. The conditions last night were pretty bad. I left work around 8:30 (to avoid the traffic) and it still took 45-50 minutes to go what normally takes me almost exactly (to the second) 30 minutes. As you can imagine this has caused delays and cancellations at the world's #1 (if you're using delays and cancellations as a metric) airport--O'Hare.
Normally I'm not in tune with what's going on at the airport, but today my dad is trying to get back from Oklahoma City, and we are planning on having dinner with my parents. His first flight this morning was cancelled. When he made the reservation, he decided not to take the early flight so that he could sleep a little longer, and so my mom didn't have to brave rush-hour traffic to pick him up. The early flight (originally scheduled to arrive around 8) will be arriving around noon. Doh!
Enough of the story that led up to my little rant. He is currently on a flight that was scheduled to depart at 3, arriving at 5. There is another flight that is scheduled to depart at 6, arriving at 8. His flight is delayed so that it is now getting in at 8:30, with the one that is scheduled to arrive at 8 is still on time [Update: while I was writing this, his 3 pm flight is back on time].
I am sure there are some intricacies with plane and crew scheduling that I may not understand, but why, given two flights and weather delays (non-mechanical), is the flight scheduled to leave earlier actually leaving later? The computer scientist in me thinks that it would be better to minimize system delays, especially on "commuter" routes where there are multiple flights per day using the same type of equipment, with the same individual aircraft make 2 or 3 (sometimes 4) round trips. I think it would be better to have one flight 2.5hrs delayed and one 15mins delayed over 1 flight 3.5hrs delayed and one on time. Routes like these could afford a scheduling mechanism where the next flight takes the next available plane.
Rich brought up the customer service aspect of this in that one plane of upset people is better than two planes of upset people for the delays. I think that given a weather delay, the dynamics change. I would guess that in the case of weather delays, 90% of the people are understanding that there isn't much the airline can do. Maybe I'm being optimistic about people and how they would handle this, but if it were me, I would understand people on earlier flights getting out earlier. The flights may end up fuller as people standby for the earlier flights, etc., but big deal. They aren't making money if the bus is empty.
This handles delays, but how do we account for flight cancellations? Fewer and fewer flights have extra capacity these days, but I still think that packing the flights and using the same strategy (shifting people to "earlier" flights) could work. It's a stickier situation, but one that should work and result in the fewest disruptions. Really, what's the difference if the 9am flight is cancelled or the 9pm flight is cancelled (I know, it depends on if it is a Monday or a Friday, right)? Perhaps day of week *could* be taken into account, but it gets more complex. I know that "hub-and-spoke" (what airlines such as American, United, Delta, etc. use) scheduling is a set of complex choices, but I think this is one way to improve it for the customer when weather happens.
The other way is do flow based scheduling like Southwest. This is where the same plane goes from the east coast to the west coast and back making stops along the way. It's interesting that you don't hear about delays with them too often...
Late this afternoon Beth decided that she was done after a very exciting morning at Alcatraz, and this afternoon at Fisherman's Wharf (yeah, I know it's touristy, but hey--I'm being a tourist this weekend). Granted, this is after a full day yesterday of walking around the city, and spending Friday north in the Point Reyes National Seashore (neat lighthouse, lots of stairs), so it's very understandable.
While she was napping back in the hotel room, I decided to go for a little walk. When I got back I decided to map out my route. Apparently I went about 2.5 miles, with 200ft (both up and down) vertical. I guess San Francisco is hilly....
In other news, my card reader and my laptop aren't playing nicely, so I can't get any pictures out. Those should follow soonly after I get back--and this time I mean it...
I have a few random thoughts from the past week...
| Beth's Parents | Us | |
|---|---|---|
| 1330 CDT | Leave Arlingon Heights, IL | Pack |
| 1530 CDT | Sit in Traffic somewhere in Chicago area | Leave Mount Prospect |
| 1700 CDT | Finally on 41 | Wheels up @ LL10 (we had to kill some time) |
| 1830 CDT | Are we there yet? No. | Oops, we can't land until 1900, time to slow down |
| 1903 CDT | Almost to Terre Haute | Land in Evansville |
| 1930 CDT | Phew. Terre Haute | Headed to dinner |
| 2100 CDT | Almost thereeee | Checking into hotel |
| 2115 CDT | We made it! |
Did you miss me?
The drive was longer than the flight would have been, the weather was better than predicted, and the fun was just as great as expected. We made it back from Cedar Point late this afternoon/early evening. Right in the middle of the tiny storm that went through Chicago. Yeah, that big one they were predicting on Friday that caused me not to fly. I'm not bitter...
Anywho, for those that haven't been, Cedar Point is the best amusement park that I have been to. Ever. In our weekend there we rode 13/17 roller coasters, some of them twice. We had an interesting drive around Sandusky in search of non-chain food (and ended up at Outback--go figure). If you do go there, here are some thoughts about the area and the park itself...
We stayed at the Breakers Hotel right on the park. They have a package that includes park admission for 1.5 days, $30 of "munch money" and some other perks. This package can be yours for the low price of $30 more than a regular 2 night stay. When you add it all up, it makes the hotel about the same as any other hotel in the area, but you get the benefit of being able to walk to the gate (and an hour early, to boot).
Upon entering the park, run--do not walk--to the Top Thrill Dragster, assuming it's in operation. This ride seems to be one of the most finicky rides I have ever seen. The line is long, and the stature is a little unnerving. That being said, it's worth the wait at least once. The smile lasted on my face for more than 2 rides afterwards. Nothing like being accelerated from 0-120mph in less than 500ft. You do the math.
One of my favorite rides in the park is Raptor. For those that have been to a Six Flags park, it's very similar to the Batman rides. It's an inverted coaster manufactured by Bollinger & Mabillard (they have the square rails--Batman, Superman, Iron Wolf, and Raging Bull at Chicago's Six Flags). The big difference between Raptor and Batman? 37seconds vs 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Oh, it has more inversions, too. I could ride this ride all day long and never get tired of it. As with most of B&M's rides, it's worth the wait for the front, and the corners are my favorites.
The biggest surprise of last night was getting in the "1.5 hour" line for Millenium Force at 9:30p (park closed at 10). Even at 10p they were still letting people into the line. I was a little skeptical that they would close the line down or cut off the ride in the middle of the people that were waiting. This is something that I have grown accustomed to in the Six Flags parks. Thankfully, this was not the case. I think the line moved at a record pace. We were seated in the train in less than an hour, and they were still running trains by the time we were back at the hotel (near 11p).
If you have never ridden this ride, I suggest riding it during the day if you have any apprehension about going up 310 feet and being dropped 300. That being said, the ride takes on a whole new personality at night. It almost beats Top Thrill Dragster. Almost. The view on the way up the lift is INCREDIBLE! Once you get to the top, the rest of the ride is almost completely dark. I don't know if it's an illusion, but the coaster seems to ride faster at night.
In general Cedar Point does a great job at moving the lines through. I think part of the reason is that the longer coasters allow them to have multiple trains going (usually 3, but depends on the ride).
The four we didn't ride? Two are kiddie coasters, one was down for maintenance until last night--and I'm happy we skipped it for Millenium Force--and the last one isn't done being built, but it looks like it'll be really cool...
I could go on for hours, but I'll spare you any more of the details. All in all, it was a great weekend, and I look forward to doing it again soonly. Now that I'm back home, who wants to go to Great America? I still have a coaster itch that needs to be scratched.
I'm back from my short trip to the Boston area. Did you miss me? I thought so. What follows are just a few snippets of things that I noticed on this 3 day trip.
First off, do you know how hard it is to find 3oz bottles of your normal toiletries? All the manufacturers seem to make things in 3.2oz, 4.1oz, or 5+oz. I know. I looked. If you're lucky, you normally use one of the few brands that makes a travel/trial size of 1oz.
Secondly, they make you take this out of your carry-on luggage and put it through the x-ray machine separately. What good does this do??? They don't visually inspect it--even if they did, I'm not sure the slightly over minimum wage employees would even know anything about chemicals--and they have the same x-ray equipment they've had since before August. It doesn't sample the liquid or do any other sort of chemical analysis. Why x-ray it? You can't even get enough liquids on a plane to be a viable explosive without these limits.
If you really wanted to get something through security to do something bad, I'm not convienced that the TSA would catch you. Right now it's a very reactionary process. We hear about the possibility of liquids being used as explosives, so we ban liquids. What else is out there that we don't know about? How are we going to stop it? I think the better way to think about security is not through technology scanning luggage and people, but more through psycholgical evaluations of people--but that may be some sort of "racial stereotyping" or something.
I think that's enough for now. I may post a second part with more rants/complaints/comments later.
We live in a heightened state of stupidity. Threat level orange I believe they call it.
If you've been living under a rock, the UK thwarted a terrorist plan to "blow up multiple airliners traveling between Britain and the United States and cause 'mass murder on an unimaginable scale.'" Now I think that quote is silly because I can imagine the number of people on 10 airliners. Even if they were the A380 (which isn't flying yet), that would be 5-6000 people.
In the UK, they are not allowing carry on (or "hand baggage" as they call it there) luggage on any flights with the exception of wallets, travel documents, various sundries (baby products, feminine products, etc.)--if they are unboxed--and keys without electrical keychains.
Here in the glorious US, the lovely TSA is allowing carry on baggage, but that baggage cannot contain anything that is in a liquid or gel state. This includes suntan lotion, pop, water, toothpaste/gel, shaving cream/gel, hair care products. Of course, like every TSA regulation, there are exceptions that no terrorist would ever think of using--breast milk, baby formula, prescription medication (in any form) and juice for small children.
I heard on the news this morning, but haven't seen anything to substantiate it in the TSA documents that LCDs (such as those found in cellphones, laptop computers, digital wristwatches, etc.) would either be prohibited or subjected to higher levels of screening.
I wouldn't have as much of a problem if I trusted the TSA to keep these as short term restrictions until we find out more about the plot. However, according to the news reports I heard, these are intended to go on for a long time.
I feel sorry for the people that are travelling today that had to throw out their toothpaste, etc. because this was just sprung on them this morning. I know that unless I absolutely have to (which I'm not expecting to for work), I won't be flying commercially until they figure this out.
UPDATED: Bruce Schneier found an interesting and timely article monday.
If you're a people watcher, airports can be really exciting places.
You have happy people, sad people, rushed people, nervous people, relaxed people, excited people, tired people--just about any type of person that you could imagine, all in an airport.
It's good to be home.
(I just realized that I had posted this and the next entry)
Today started out fun by waking up nice and early to finish packing. You see,
the lovely wife and I are travelling to the corporate headquarters for the
"2005 Kick-Off Gala." I guess that means that we get to party on the company's
dime ;). Anyway, the alarm starts being annoying around 6:45--I know, some of
my faithul few think that this is sleeping in, but not for me. I finally roll
out of bed around 7:15, SSS, close up the suitcases and wait for the friendly
chauffeur (i.e. one of my cow-orkers that happens to have to go right past our
house to get to the airport).
Thanks to the ancient miracle of 2 day old snow, and stupid drivers, it takes
Poppy about 15m longer than normal to get to our house--couple that with him
leaving a little late == UGH!! Tick. Tick. At 8:20 we finally head on our
way to the airport--normally a 15-20m drive. Riiight. 8:50 sees us pulling
into the parking lot. We get parked just to see a tram pulling away. Great,
we get to wait. Oh. Did I mention that our flight is at 9:38? And we're
checking baggage--more on this later... The next tram is running behind and
doesn't show up until 9:07
We get to the terminal, and sprint for the e-checkin only to have it tell us
that because it's within 40m, we need to see an agent. Oh boy, that line looks
long. Thankfully there are some really nice people that let us cut in front of
them in the line. Too bad there are signs everywhere saying that baggage must
be checked no later than 40m prior to the flight. Guess what this means? We
get to catch the next flight--4h later. Suck.
Well, I guess someone wants us to spend more quality time together. Or me to
not work as much. I feel like I wasted the entire morning waking up early so
that I could be tired the rest of the day for nothing.
Bah Humbug.
I meant to post about this the other day (and it probably would have been more interesting then), but this is the first chance I have gotten onto the big I without having to dialup through my cell phone.
Our trip out to Colorado last weekend was uneventful, and by uneventful, I mean really boring. We got the "privilege" of driving through the most boring state in the world.
Kansas.
The only thing I could think about when we were driving through was "Carry on My Wayward Son" and also wondering what Bill Selfish sees in that state.
I hate Kansas. I hate it's basketball, and I hate driving through it.
Go Illini, beat everyone.
11-0, baby!
Trombone Willie forwarded around an email to the crew of the top ten Vegas moments. This got me thinking about the memorable moments that happened to me. This isn't going to be a top ten, but just a random, unordered collection...
I'll put more in as I think of them...
I think everyone that reads this is going, but it's Vegas time, baby!
(Bwahhh bwahhhh bwah dit daht)
Just booked airfare for our little shinn digg in June. $191 round trip all said and done. Not too shabby. Looks like UAL 251/TED 1411 out there and TED 1412/UAL 245 back. Flying out with Josh, Andrea and Sarah.
I'm am so amazed at how many times the airfares changed on us while we were trying to figure this out tonight. We had a 9a out, 3p back for the same price. When we went to book it, it jumped to almost double. Homey don't play that.
Hotel ....... check
Airfare ..... check
We're getting there! T-3 months-ish...
