This afternoon is a catch-up afternoon. I'm recuperating from the New York trip. After a couple of hours of Manhattan traffic I arrived at the airport a few minutes before the cut-off for the flight. Thinking I'd be really smart I picked up a sandwich to-go for an on-board dinner. What I hadn't taken fully into account is the notorious traffic at JFK Airport. Days ago I had wondered to a couple of friends that the return flight was scheduled to be 40-minutes longer than the Las Vegas to New York flight. Spending over an hour and a half in line waiting for our takeoff to arrive I realized why the additional time was necessary.

The trip, however, was great. The main reason for the trip was a technical conference put on by the Law School Admissions Council. It was great. I wish it had happened some time ago (though the main purpose was to talk about a new product that would not have been discussed). Hopefully there will be more to come and more discussion with the technical needs of all the member schools.

Now it's home to work on catching up projects and getting documentation written.

Pretty good. Leaving Chicago this afternoon I debated taking the standby on the earlier flight. Of course it meant giving up my isle seat for what would likley be crammed in between what Southwest euphemistically calls "Customers of Size". Much to my delight I was instead slated into an aisle exit row seat where I gladly forgo the "reclining" seat for the awesome leg room. I could have easily used the 15-inch laptop instead of the 12-inch but I ran the battery down at the airport choosing to charge the 12-inch instead.

Of course nothing is perfect. Something about being in the row with the teenager who ignores the repeated request to close the window shade is quite annoying. I like looking out the window as much as the next person, but when the cabin is dark but for a single very bright light a few feet away the eyes are playing a constant game of trying to adjust to the light and many other customers are unable to see the movie.

On the topic of teenagers and movies, or teen movies, Netflix delivered American Pie 2 the other day. It is much better than the original and is full of good laughs at the expense of coming-of-age teens.

America West has a great American classics music channel with folk songs, The Boss, The Beach Boys, Elvis Pressley and Lee Greenwood's classic anthem. Less successful is the in-flight entertainment and cafe. First the entertainment system. The last flight it didn't work at all. This time about a quarter of the seats don't work and the screens are in terrible condition. The on-board "cafe" this afternoon was stocked with only a few breakfast meals. None of the lunches advertised. The last trip was similarly poorly stocked with only "snack packs" and not the sandwiches advertised.