Random Thoughts While Flying Home from Seattle

Frasier was filmed in Seattle I had fogotten that.  Apparently Seattle has an all Frasier channel, because I watched parts of four episodes while I was in and out of my hotel room while getting packed and getting stuff ready to go.

Nordstrom and REI all began in Seattle, as well as the more well-known Boeing and Microsoft.  Given Seattle's fame for computer software, it was ironic that my conference had more AV problems with Powerpoint than I had ever seen before.  (But that was because the guy running the conference used his students to do AV, instead of the hotel's staff, I guess to save money, but it was a joke.)


Is there a mobile app for checking into Southwest that would let you preload your info and then it would fire off the "check-in" click the instant the 24 hr window opened?


The Seattle airport had free wireless, does that surprise you? Wish they all did.


The crystal I was bringing back for JA apparently triggered suspicion in the TSA agent scanning my bag.  My bag was pretty loaded with clothes and I kind of had to laugh at how hard it was for him to closed it again after checking through it.

Twice on flights this trip  there as been an individual who immediately gets up after landing and pushes there way up  the aisle until people finally step out to block their way.  Is the tea party mentality taking over air travel as well?  It got me thinking about how such simple courtesies as waiting your turn are transmitted into the general population.   How do your learn how to behave in shared public space? To consider others interest as well as your own?


Every Southwest plane I could see landing at the Midway airport had a puff of smoke that came up from the tires when they hit the tarmac.  Is this normal for every airplane landing?  I know when we landed we slammed pretty hard and I was actually pushed out against my seat belt.  Maybe Midway just has a very short runway?

Why don't soft drink cans spray when opened during an airflight?  They are canned at essentially sea level (Atlanta) and opened at an aproximate cabin pressure equivalent to 8000 feet, isn't that enough difference to make them spray?  Is it that they are kept cold enought that they don' overpressurize?

Its great that Southwest doesnt have puddlejumpers, I hate those.

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There was a moment around 11 pm last night that it looked like the Red Sox were going to finally stumble into play-offs, despite their best attempts otherwise.  Starting out the day tied with Tampa Bay, they needed to win and the Rays needed to lose for the Red Sox to advance to playoffs and avoid becoming the answer to a trivia question about the worst September collapse of a playoff team ever.
 
But at the moment, it seemed like the sinking ship had finally righted itself....

...At Camden Yards,the Sox were up 3 to 2, with  two outs in the bottom of the 9th, nobody on, and Papelbon pitching. At Tropicana Fields, the game was in extra inning, but the Yankees had two runners on with only one out...


And then the games took on the same cast as the whole season and shades of 1986.  Papelbon, one the game's best closers inexplicably gave up three straight hits, once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.  Then the  Rays got out of the top inning and later scored to win 8 to 7.

And so, the dream turned to nightmare season ends, and Red Sox fans are left asking...
...Did trading Manny bring back THE CURSE?

(Or maybe Theo Epstein should have traded for some pitching back in August.)