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Atlanta trip was good. Business conferences are always an experience. Some bits are good and interesting and stimulating, and others are just mind-numbingly boring. This one had its good parts, but was a bit disappointing because so much turned out to be little more than sales pitches. So you walk into a session thinking you're going to learn about new ways to do your job with your current tools, and it just ends up being a demo of what you could do if you had this piece of software or that bit of hardware. Gah. Oh well, it still beats work, and doing the airplane and hotel things are good now and then.
Atlanta isn't really my favorite city, by any means. We had an event at the Georgia Aquarium, which was fairly impressive. And after the conference wrapped on Wednesday, I checked out the new World of Coca-Cola. Basically a building-sized advertisement for Coke products, naturally, but it's still interesting to see all the old ads and memorabilia and whatnot, and I do enjoy sampling the drinks from other parts of the world. There's a similar (but smaller) tasting room at EPCOT, which I always like to stop into when I'm there. My favorites are Apple Lift (from Mexico and South America) and Mezzo Mix (from Germany). And it's fun to watch people try Beverly, the very bitter Italian flavor.
Traveling was busy, though. Full flights both ways, and long lines at security. I got to the airport several hours early on the way back, hoping to bump up to an earlier flight (which I've done before), but no such luck. Have I mentioned how very much I despise airport security and the TSA in general? Yeah, I really, really do. It's just such a sham and a waste of time and effort. It's been demonstrated time and again that it's not all that difficult to sneak things through security. But aside from that, it's a pretty moot point. 9/11 was the terrorists single shot at that sort of attack. The first 3 planes hit their targets because the passengers couldn't imagine that was what the hijackers had in mind. The passengers on United 93 got the news via cell and airphones, which is why they fought back. In a post-9/11 world, a small group of hijackers would stand zero chance taking over a plane in that fashion--even if the cockpits weren't more secured now, the passengers would overpower the hijackers unless they managed to get a lot of firepower on board, which really couldn't have happened even prior to 9/11. So anyway, now we have these huge lines and stupid rules and removal of shoes all to prevent something that wouldn't happen again anyway. Are we preventing the occasional lunatic from getting onboard with a weapon? Maybe. Are we preventing terrorists from getting onboard with explosives small enough to take out a single aircraft? Hopefully. But for the most part it all seems so excessive, and just a hassle.
Anyway, enough of that. While I was in the ATL, there were a couple of news stories of interest. One is the thing with Governor Spitzer, of course. I think he was right to resign, but not just because he paid for extramarital sex. Prostitution is one of those things I think it's just stupid to criminalize. Like recreational drug use, it isn't going to go away just because it's against the law, so all we're really doing is wasting money trying to enforce those laws, ruining lives by branding people criminals, and losing out on billions in tax revenue that could be collected if it was a normal, regulated industry. So I don't think just that part was grounds for resignation. What I do think constituted that was the monumental hypocrisy of the act--here's a man who built his entire professional and political career on fighting crime and corruption, including prostitution. So to be busted for that very thing.. definitely deserving of every bit of furor he got, and a good time to bow out.
Meanwhile, I read an op-ed piece which related the following exchange between our current chimp-in-chief and a reporter at a recent press conference (paraphrased from my spotty memory, forgive me):
Reporter: Mr. President, what do you say to average Americans who are already short on funds and now facing $4-per-gallon gasoline prices--
Bush: Hold on, what? Did you say $4 per gallon for gasoline? What are you talking about?
Reporter: Uh, yes, several analysts are now saying that we're likely to see $4 per gallon in the near future.
Bush: Wow, I hadn't heard that. That's interesting.
Sigh. So the op-ed writer's take on this was simply that the President whose utter stupidity has been long accepted because he was at least perceived as an Everyman sort of guy, and who has even described his Presdiency as a vindication of the C-student, is still very much out of touch with what's going on with average Americans. Yeah, okay, I agree with that assessment. But I was just surprised that he claimed not to know how high gasoline prices were getting. I mean, he's an oilman and has never ceased to be one just because he's President. Just like Cheney has never stopped being a defense contractor even though he's the VP. After 7 years under the leadership of an oilman and a defense contractor, what do we have? Record high gasoline prices, record high oil company profits, and an interminable war (in, not so coincidentally, an oil-rich region), and plenty of no-bid contracts going to the very company the VP used to work for. Gee, how odd. Anyway, enough of that, just ticks me off too.
Slight conundrum. Got a wedding invitation from my old friend Kirstin. On one hand I really do want to go. But on the other hand, I don't think I should. We were really good friends back when she was in high school and I was in college, but when she left for college in Chicago and I moved away myself, we just lost touch. I've seen her probably twice in the past 10 years, and didn't even have a clue she was engaged until she dropped me an e-mail looking for my mailing address. I still care about her, but I'm just so far outside of that circle now that I think I'd feel like an interloper if I went. At any rate, I certainly don't feel that I'd be missed if I didn't go. And I guess it helps (or doesn't help?) too that the wedding is in Texas, and next month, which is fairly short notice. So I think I'll decline, but I also think I'll feel bad about doing so. Hmf.
Okay, this is plenty long enough. Better get some work done and then have myself a weekend!
Atlanta isn't really my favorite city, by any means. We had an event at the Georgia Aquarium, which was fairly impressive. And after the conference wrapped on Wednesday, I checked out the new World of Coca-Cola. Basically a building-sized advertisement for Coke products, naturally, but it's still interesting to see all the old ads and memorabilia and whatnot, and I do enjoy sampling the drinks from other parts of the world. There's a similar (but smaller) tasting room at EPCOT, which I always like to stop into when I'm there. My favorites are Apple Lift (from Mexico and South America) and Mezzo Mix (from Germany). And it's fun to watch people try Beverly, the very bitter Italian flavor.
Traveling was busy, though. Full flights both ways, and long lines at security. I got to the airport several hours early on the way back, hoping to bump up to an earlier flight (which I've done before), but no such luck. Have I mentioned how very much I despise airport security and the TSA in general? Yeah, I really, really do. It's just such a sham and a waste of time and effort. It's been demonstrated time and again that it's not all that difficult to sneak things through security. But aside from that, it's a pretty moot point. 9/11 was the terrorists single shot at that sort of attack. The first 3 planes hit their targets because the passengers couldn't imagine that was what the hijackers had in mind. The passengers on United 93 got the news via cell and airphones, which is why they fought back. In a post-9/11 world, a small group of hijackers would stand zero chance taking over a plane in that fashion--even if the cockpits weren't more secured now, the passengers would overpower the hijackers unless they managed to get a lot of firepower on board, which really couldn't have happened even prior to 9/11. So anyway, now we have these huge lines and stupid rules and removal of shoes all to prevent something that wouldn't happen again anyway. Are we preventing the occasional lunatic from getting onboard with a weapon? Maybe. Are we preventing terrorists from getting onboard with explosives small enough to take out a single aircraft? Hopefully. But for the most part it all seems so excessive, and just a hassle.
Anyway, enough of that. While I was in the ATL, there were a couple of news stories of interest. One is the thing with Governor Spitzer, of course. I think he was right to resign, but not just because he paid for extramarital sex. Prostitution is one of those things I think it's just stupid to criminalize. Like recreational drug use, it isn't going to go away just because it's against the law, so all we're really doing is wasting money trying to enforce those laws, ruining lives by branding people criminals, and losing out on billions in tax revenue that could be collected if it was a normal, regulated industry. So I don't think just that part was grounds for resignation. What I do think constituted that was the monumental hypocrisy of the act--here's a man who built his entire professional and political career on fighting crime and corruption, including prostitution. So to be busted for that very thing.. definitely deserving of every bit of furor he got, and a good time to bow out.
Meanwhile, I read an op-ed piece which related the following exchange between our current chimp-in-chief and a reporter at a recent press conference (paraphrased from my spotty memory, forgive me):
Reporter: Mr. President, what do you say to average Americans who are already short on funds and now facing $4-per-gallon gasoline prices--
Bush: Hold on, what? Did you say $4 per gallon for gasoline? What are you talking about?
Reporter: Uh, yes, several analysts are now saying that we're likely to see $4 per gallon in the near future.
Bush: Wow, I hadn't heard that. That's interesting.
Sigh. So the op-ed writer's take on this was simply that the President whose utter stupidity has been long accepted because he was at least perceived as an Everyman sort of guy, and who has even described his Presdiency as a vindication of the C-student, is still very much out of touch with what's going on with average Americans. Yeah, okay, I agree with that assessment. But I was just surprised that he claimed not to know how high gasoline prices were getting. I mean, he's an oilman and has never ceased to be one just because he's President. Just like Cheney has never stopped being a defense contractor even though he's the VP. After 7 years under the leadership of an oilman and a defense contractor, what do we have? Record high gasoline prices, record high oil company profits, and an interminable war (in, not so coincidentally, an oil-rich region), and plenty of no-bid contracts going to the very company the VP used to work for. Gee, how odd. Anyway, enough of that, just ticks me off too.
Slight conundrum. Got a wedding invitation from my old friend Kirstin. On one hand I really do want to go. But on the other hand, I don't think I should. We were really good friends back when she was in high school and I was in college, but when she left for college in Chicago and I moved away myself, we just lost touch. I've seen her probably twice in the past 10 years, and didn't even have a clue she was engaged until she dropped me an e-mail looking for my mailing address. I still care about her, but I'm just so far outside of that circle now that I think I'd feel like an interloper if I went. At any rate, I certainly don't feel that I'd be missed if I didn't go. And I guess it helps (or doesn't help?) too that the wedding is in Texas, and next month, which is fairly short notice. So I think I'll decline, but I also think I'll feel bad about doing so. Hmf.
Okay, this is plenty long enough. Better get some work done and then have myself a weekend!
