BitLizard’s Blog

The Internet is such an interesting little place. I ran across this little blog entry ruminating on how to communicate with aliens upon first contact. Embedded in this piece is the factual golden nugget that the TV show I Love Lucy whose broadcast signals have been traveling outbound from Earth at the speed of light since they were broadcast, have reached the potential ears of 105 G-type star systems like our own. I am not sure whether I consider this a good thing or a bad thing. Hopefully they have a sense of humor. If not, they may be headed this way with advanced weapons to keep that sort of humor contained.

Childhood, Future, Science aliens, sci-fi, Science

After my recent trip to Denver on Frontier Airlines, I’ve been reflecting on how much a difference it makes to have an extra inch of legroom in front of your airline seat. Typically I fly Delta or Continental whose jets are far less comfortable. Especially those small Brazilian jets that Continental flies to Houston from West Palm Beach. Those seats actually caused me physical injury which I would rather not describe.

There appears to be an inverse relationship with the size of the airline and the comfort of the seat. Check this article out. Midwest Airlines essentially gives you a business class seat in coach. Its a wonderful thing… and I wish I flew to Kansas City and Chicago more often. But Frontier Airlines is good, as is JetBlue. I can even say nice things about TAM, the Brazilian airline whose long haul planes are very comfortable indeed and the service is a cut well above our domestic airlines – and less expensive to boot. You will also see on the table in that article that Delta and Continental are among the worst for legroom and seat size. And recent news suggests they are both going to squeeze us further.

So if you have a choice, check out the little guys for more seat at the same price or less. And while I’m on the subject of the airlines, I just had to pay Continental a freakin $200 in addition to 60,000 frequent flier miles for the privilege of upgrading two passenger’s round trip tickets. Its seems odd that Continental thinks its a good idea to shore up their finances by draining much of the value away from the frequent flier miles their best customers have accumulated. I can’t think of anything they could have possibly done to make me feel more disgusted with them. Suffice it to say, if I’m not flying to Houston, I will not be flying Continental. Cramped seats, poor service and now thievery have put me off permanently.

Life in General Airline, Continental Airlines, Frequent flyer program, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Midwest Airlines

What a great pleasure it was to meet with some of my very old and special friends this past week. We are talking “long acquaintance” here …  high school and garage band days. My friend Jim – I think its been something like 26 years since I’ve seen him. His brother Ken, bass player for the band, and one of my favorite people of all time. Why has it been 15 years since I’ve talked to Ken? Steve is my life insurance agent (and brother to our drummer). So we manage to keep in touch. And Paul … who I’ve known since back far enough that our first meeting is lost in that grey misty area of the deep past … Paul is in my MSN Live Messenger chat list! But I bet prior to our little reunion last week it had been several years since we traded messages.

Where does the time go? Why don’t I devote real time to keeping in touch with the people who mean the most to me… those where the emotional ties run bone deep. Its definitely perverse in a way. Its that “Important, but not Urgent” category of life’s task list that is so hard to get right. Obviously, this is the reason that sites like Facebook and MySpace are the social phenomenon that they are, providing us an easy way to maintain a connection that your busy life my not otherwise offer much time for.

So Ken, still the most extraordinary cook out this collection of Village Inn Pancake House alumni, broke out the Rib Eye’s and the NY Strips, organized a baked potato bar, threw together a delicious green salad and fed us a great meal on the back porch of his house in the foothills. It was one of the most happy and interesting evenings I’ve had in many years. Thanks, guys. It was great catching up with everyone.

It was with a deep melancholy and, let’s face it, just plain ol’ Rocky Mountain home sickness, that I trudged back at the Denver airport for the trip home. And I confess that when it was looking like Frontier Airlines was going to bump me from their only flight of the day to Orlando, I wasn’t all that upset. One more day in big sky country, granite and pine… there are a lot worse places to be stranded.

Childhood, Family and Friends, My Life Denver, friends