December 2008 Archives
There is an pandemic out there that must be addressed. In the past week I have been to two airports where a moving walkway is being repaired but they don't shut off the recording of a woman reminding users that "the moving walkway is ending." At General Billy Mitchell International Airport it repeats every 10 seconds (yes, I timed it). At MSP, it repeats every 20 seconds or so, and the woman has an English accent.
<tangent>Why are we giving moving walkway voiceover work to foreigners when there are plenty of Americans who could do it?? Congress: please hold hearings on this immediately. We should use TARP funds to re-record these recordings using American women.</tangent>
Midwest canceled my DCA to MKE flight that was supposed to leave at 7:30 this morning (something about weather in Milwaukee that caused them to cancel the flight – nevermind that it is 55 Degrees and raining there). So Midwest put me on a direct flight to Thurgood Marshall International Airport on Delta that leaves at 10 AM instead of one to Washington Iran-Contra National Airport that would leave at 1 PM.
Fortunately for me, this itinerary change "upgraded" my TSA status to SSSS (I believe that's the highest you can go before getting on the coveted "no fly list"). For those of you who don't know, SSSS is added to your boarding pass by the airline (thank you Northwest!) for extra screening because of suspicious ticketing activity -- in my case, making the mistake of assuming that Midwest could fly from Milwaukee to Minneapolis in the rain. Needless to say, this whole SSSS flagging thing is just silly because it could be easily circumnavigated by anyone who would want to avoid such extra screening scrutiny. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in this issue read the article about TSA screening written by Jeffery Goldberg in The Atlantic from a few months ago. Anyway, if Blogger Bob is reading this, Officer Eggers at MSP was nothing but courteous and professional as he swabbed my belongings. He did make me throw away my 4.6 ounce tube of hair product even though it was clearly only 1/3 full. I was tempted to -- but decided not to -- empty the contents of it into one of their little ziplock baggies and carry it that way. Is that even allowed? That stuff is expensive!
I've been in Minneapolis for the week, surviving the freezing cold climate.
I went to see Milk last night with my friend A. from high school. It was an excellent movie not only for its portrayal of the GLBT civil rights movement but electoral politics as well.
I'm finalizing the list of films I want to see that came out at the end of 2008. I definitely want to see Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, The Wrestler, The Changeling, and Gran Torino.
After nearly three years of living in Northwest D.C., I'm finally moving closer to work and into the Capitol Hill neighborhood. I already know I'll be sad to lose the excellent representation of 1st Ward Councilman Jim Graham. This is also the first time since moving out here that I won't live on the Green or Yellow line.
I'm moving in January, but I've already gone a little overboard in planning the layout of my new apartment. I'd appreciate any feedback you have on my planned layout.
