7 November 2022

Clean shot of Stone Mountain

That was as close to being right above Stone Mountain as I have ever been. Just a couple of weeks back, I was there on the top with a bunch of folks that were in my hostel (dorm) back in 1985.

Interesting fact: Stone Mountain used to be called Rock Mountain long time back. And even before that it was called Lone Mountain (in the local Indian language)

31 October 2022

Wait. Where am I?

Landed in Chicago airport. Flying Delta from Atlanta. In the last 4 years, I have probably done this 80 times or so (counting the pandemic period!). I was on a call as I walked out of the plane, instinctively took a right turn and soon realized that I was totally lost.

Where the heck was I? Why does the airport have so many bright lights? Which airport did I land in?

I walked back to my gate. And took a few minutes to put the whole thing together.

Delta has now moved from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5. Terminal 5 is the international terminal. It is much much better than the previous one. It is so much more spacious, well lit and the Sky Club? infinitely better.

I am really, really happy Delta has moved. Now I have to wait another month till they start Clear in this terminal.

#firstworldproblems

28 September 2022

Again, what does that level of precision get us?

Why thirteen thousand nine hundred AND TEN dollars? As long as it is the maximum fine (assuming it is an egregious violation), why not throw in another meagre ninety dollars (meagre relative to the absolute value) and call it fourteen thousand even???

I just don’t get the utility of this level of precision. I was half afraid there will be a “Local taxes extra” after this.

I can almost imagine, in a court of law, somebody getting indicted and counting all those $1000 bills and suddenly going “You got change?” 🙂

25 September 2022

Cold start to the morning

I am going to stop asking the baristas to make me a nice cup of cappuccino. This is the third time in two weeks that my way of talking got in the way and I landed up with an iced cappuccino.

Whoever has iced cappuccino?

To be fair, every time, they have quickly corrected the mistake and made some great cappuccino for me.

1
12 August 2022

First time in Atlanta!

Fifteen years in Atlanta area and today, for the first time, I took the public bus. I did not have my car with me when I landed in Atlanta airport. Took the MARTA train. Which I have done a couple of times before. And then instead of Ubering up the rest of the distance, took the MARTA bus. It dropped me within a two minute walk from the new house!

18 July 2022

Airport #151

First time in Hartford, CT airport.

The airport was dead – and I mean dead dead – when I landed. And it was not even 10 PM!! Curiously it is called “Bradley International Airport”. I was wondering about that International bit. Looked up every single flight that leaves or comes in to this airport. All 27 of them.

The only one that qualifies – kinda – is a Frontier flight to/from Puerto Rico. That is not even “international” in the sense you do not have to do customs or immigration.

That is a bit of stretching, I say!

17 July 2022

Gorgeous Columbia River

Beautiful view of the largest river in the Northwest from the airplane. As best as I can tell, that angular dam in the middle of the picture, is the Rocky Reach Dam – famous for being the first dam to be designed to let young fish have a bypass to find their way to the ocean.