shakes on a plane

A big YAY! to the FAA, who graciously decided to maintain its rule that cell phones can’t be used on planes. They say it’s because there’s no conclusive proof that phones won’t interfere with a plane’s navigation/communication tools, but I’d like to think a certain amount of common sense—or at least a fear of air rage—also has something to do with it. Because, let’s be honest here, I can’t imagine the general public would honestly be okay with having to spend hours in a confined space listening to a dozen one-sided cell phone conversations flittering about the cabin. Especially when you consider how many people still talk LOUDER THAN NECESSARY when using cell phones. Planes are annoying enough as it is, unless you’re lucky enough to afford First Class, which I’m not. You’ve got the cramped space, the long toilet queues, the stale recirculated air, the crappy in-flight entertainment, the crying babies, the whining toddlers, the seat-kickers, the push-their-seats-so-far-back-they’re-lying- in-your-lappers, the people behind you who gab loudly at 3am when you’re attempting to snag even a few minutes of precious sleep. Imagine throwing cell phones into the mix. Cell phones with egregious ringtones. Surely I wouldn’t be the only person shaking with rage? Granted, not everyone hates cell phones as much as me, but even people who use them and love them would surely find their patience wearing thin after listening to nonstop cell-gabbing on a long flight. A quick puddle-jumping flight might be okay, but a transatlantic, transpacific, or transcontinental flight? Highly unlikely. Air rage already exists; won’t cell phones make it worse? For me it’s bad enough when the plane lands and everyone immediately pulls out their phones to start gabbing while the plane slowly makes its way to the gate. I can’t imagine dealing with that on a long flight to Europe. So kudos to the FAA, and let’s hope they don’t change their minds on this one.

A big BOO! to Mother Nature, who, after giving us a tantalizing glimpse of spring’s balmy, delicious powers, proceeded to smack us over the head with the blunt hammer of winter. I actually like cold weather—I love winter and I much prefer cold weather to hot weather. [PA Dutch accent] Well I do believe I mind the heat something awful now, ain’t? [/PA Dutch accent] But this is the one weekend when I’d like warm, calm weather, because Mom and Bill are planning to visit me tomorrow so we can see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. Shivering beneath the blossoms won’t be fun, but it’ll be doable. What won’t be doable will be visiting the blossoms if they’re all dead/missing from the subfreezing nighttime temperatures, the flurries, the strong winds. Heck, we even had hail the other night during a thunderstorm. So, basically, at this point I’m not sure if our day will have be cancelled yet. The cherry blossoms outside my office are still holding strong, so presumably the ones at the tidal basin are doing okay as well, but the images shown on the National Parks Service’s online Cherry Blossom Cam aren’t very helpful. It’s hard to tell from those images whether the blossoms are doing okay or not. If they are still around tomorrow and Mom’s visit proceeds as planned, I think I’ll suggest that we eat lunch at the Elephant & Castle, a British pub in DC, mostly because they serve curry chips, and I heart curry chips. Whether our day gets canceled or not, my weekend will also involve working (shocker!) and doing some massive updates to my quotes collection. Yawn.


song heard most recently before posting:
Looks Like We Made It—Barry Manilow