08 October 2001
Airport Security and Other Catching Up
For those wondering about the lack of commentary in the journal over the past few days, Callie and I have had visitors. My parents came to Houston for an extended weekend on Thursday, and they just headed out today. It was a really enjoyable visit, and it was nice finally to have an extra room for guests. I had time to maintain the weblog, but we stayed busy otherwise.
When they flew in on Thursday, security at Hobby Airport (Houston's small airport, used for domestic flights, and serviced primarily by Southwest) was noticeably stepped up from pre-11-September levels (more police officers, more security personnel doing more, and more thorough, pre-flight screening) but not as bad as I expected. Today, security was stepped up another notch altogether, with many National Guard troops roaming the airport as well as guarding secure areas.
It took my parents a little over an hour to get through the Southwest ticket-counter line, which appeared to be fully staffed. On both days, the ticket-counter line was the bottleneck at Hobby, not the security checkpoint. Since Southwest has cut neither personnel nor flights, I suspect service is far worse at other airlines, which have cut both.
Interestingly, I see on the Houston airports site that curbside check-in has resumed at Bush Intercontinental Airport. I wonder if that is the case in most major international airports?
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I've noticed that a fair number of internet editorialists have either posted or promised paypal and/or amazon micropayment links on their websites, with the suggestion that a person can donate if she enjoys the content of the particular site. I've never felt inclined to do such a thing, as this (politics, philosophy, web design, etc) is a hobby of mine. The 80 bucks a year for registration and hosting actually constitutes a pretty cheap hobby, especially considering my other main hobby (this beauty didn't come cheap, nor has the other equipment!). I think I once posted an Amazon wishlist, although I've since decided that I felt tacky even doing that much. I am an Amazon associate, and do receive a commission on any of the fine books you might order through the recommendation of yours truly, but everyone should read those books because they're damn well worth it, not to "support" me (I've yet to cash a check from Amazon, by the way). Ditto my affiliation with Your-Site -- they've hosted me for over a year now at $60/year, and you won't find anyone any better for twice that price. Check 'em out.
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While I'm on the topic of other internet editorialists, I sometimes shake my head at the irresponsible speculation I see from people who do not otherwise seem irresponsible. I read a site today in which the author opined that the Florida anthrax outbreak was most certainly terrorism, albeit a botched terrorism job. That might very well be true -- and Texas might very well have beaten Oklahoma over the weekend had the wind not been swirling so much (as UT QB Chris Simms pointed out -- funny, I didn't know the wind stopped swirling when Oklahoma had the ball) or if Mack Brown had run the ball more (25 times for roughly 25 yards wasn't enough futility I guess) or if Texas had just hit three big plays (as Mack Brown claimed). My point here (aside from the obvious needling of the delusional UT crowd)? None of those things happened; it's just fanciful speculation. Likewise, people who have no connection to the Anthrax outbreak in Florida, no real knowledge of terrorism, and no real knowledge of disease control should probably wait for a few more facts before declaring another act of terrorism has taken place.
Maybe it has, maybe it hasn't. That doesn't sound nearly as sexy, does it? Ah well. We go for substance over style here.
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While I'm commenting on things I like and dislike from other internet editorialists, I should probably mention that I am really enjoying the additional commentary I've been doing on articles I blog (listed in blue in the weblog). But unlike the case with most weblogs, I've always wanted to separate my analysis from the blog of the article itself, a style I copied from Jaffo's weblog. I don't know his rationale for doing his blog that way for so long, but my thought has always been that I want to blog articles that I either like or dislike, I want to be able to indicate why with a single sentence, and I want thoughtful people to go check out the article for themselves. If I were to write 4-5 paragraphs on every single article I blog, why would anyone ever go read the article?!
I realize the other, more verbose, approach is prevalent -- and for good reason, since many people prefer to take cues on political matters from trusted sources (whether it's Rush Limbaugh on the radio or, say, The New Republic website) -- but I'm not interested in being that sort of cue-giver. And since I blog so much opinion anyway, it seems a little silly for me to add MY opinion to EVERY opinion piece I blog!
That being said, I do like the changes I've made, which let me add commentary on those rare occasions when I have an additional point to make, or a connection to demonstrate.
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On a far less serious note -- I am often approached by people in public who strike up conversations or look to me authoritatively (for directions or what have you -- this has happened in London, when students who had lived there six months were asking me all sorts of questions about where things were, even though I had been there all of two days!). I don't know if I look agreeable in public, or if my people-watching somehow signals to others that they should come and engage me. But Sunday, at my favorite brunch place, I noticed a "hair-band" looking guy wandering around the restaurant as we were getting ready to leave. He came over and started chatting with me, telling me it was his birthday. He then explained he was with the band Iron Maiden, and proceeded to explain numerous charity events that band was getting ready to play in the Houston area. I would consider it bizarre if it didn't happen constantly.
[Posted @ 04:58 PM CST]
