The irregular and disjointed rantings and ramblings of a lifelong inside-the-loop Houstonian, dedicated urbanist, enthusiastic traveler and loyal University of Houston Cougar fan, who also roots for the University of North Texas Mean Green.
Seriously, how could a mistake like this not get noticed ahead of time?
Britain's second-largest city, Birmingham, has a new skyline — only it belongs to its Alabama namesake.
Birmingham City Council distributed 720,000 leaflets that praised residents for exceeding recycling targets, carrying a message that read: "Thank You Birmingham." The message appeared stamped across a photograph of the city's skyline. But the photo was not of Birmingham, England, but of Birmingham, Alabama.
A little QA/QC is a good thing, folks.
Anyway, I always knew that Birmingham, Alabama was named after Birmingham, England. But I never really gave much thought to other ways in which the two cities are similar:
While the cities have wildly different skylines, there are many similarities between the two - not least a proud industrial heritage.
Birmingham, Alabama - known as the Magic City because of its rapid 20th century growth - was founded on its steel industry. It took its name from the British manufacturing city known for making Jaguar cars and Cadburys chocolate. Both now have growing financial services sectors.
Both cities also share a history of racial tension. In Alabama, Birmingham was a center of 1960s civil rights protests by black Americans. In Britain, Birmingham has struggled with divisions between black and South Asian communities, which led to violent riots in the 1980s and in 2005.
The British city — whose sister city is Chicago — has a population of 1 million. The Alabama city's population is roughly 230,000.
Interesting. But it still doesn't excuse the mistake.
UPDATE: John's take is here. Thanks for the backlink, John!
A couple of days ago a dust cloud descended upon Dubai. Of course, this is not exactly an uncommon weather phenomenon here. Visibility was reduced, but not overwhelmingly so. The dark sky and blowing wind reminded me of what it sometimes feels like in Houston when a thunderstorm is approaching. At least the dust kept the temperatures down; the day's high topped out at only 99 F!
Dubai again. At the rate my passport filling up with UAE entry and exit stamps, I'll need a new one before too long.
The trip out here was not quite as much of a hassle as the last one; I didn't really get any sleep this time, but Delta's in-flight entertainment system managed to not crap out until the flight was almost over so I got to watch a movie and listen to some music to pass the time. I was also treated to an awesome view of Paris as our flight path took us just south of the city. Even though I've never been to Paris, I was able to recognize some of the landmarks rather easily, even from 37,000 feet up: "Oh, look, those towers down there must be La Defense... If I follow that axis, I should see the Arc De Triomphe - there it is, right there - and the Champs Elysees... And if I look across the Seine from that point, I should find the Eiffel Tower... There it is!"Baron Haussmann would be proud. I really wish I had my camera with me so I could have taken some pictures.
Within the span of three months Delta has raised their drink prices from $5 to $7. At this rate, they'll be charging $10 for a beer before the year is out.
The good news is that the office here has accomodated my request to stay in a hotel within walking distance, which means that I don't have to wait in the hot sun for taxis anymore. Of course, the only reason they were able to accomodate me at this particular hotel is because the hotel is offering an August special (August is a particularly slow month for tourism in Dubai) which brings the price to within our budget; it's unlikely that this special will still be available if I come back in September or October. But I'll take it for right now.
One of the project managers here is going on vacation at the end of the week and wants to tie up as many loose ends as possible before she departs, so I imagine things are going to get busier as the week progresses. And I still need to have serious negotiations with those in charge as to what it will take for me to make any more trips out here this year. But otherwise, things at work seem to be going smoothly, at least so far. I even had a productive meeting with a client yesterday, for a change!
I can't say that I knew my Aunt Jane especially well; she divorced my uncle when I was still young and lived in Oregon for most of my life. Last Thanksgiving was the first time I had seen her in years.
Jane, who had relatively recently moved back to her childhood home in northern Oklahoma, had been in an Oklahoma City hospital - ironically, the same hospital where she studied to become a nurse - to repair an aeortic aneurysm. My parents had gone up there to visit her just a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, something went horribly wrong during one of the surgeries to repair the aneurysm.
This is probably not the entire obituary, but the Blackwell Journal-Tribune requires a paid subscription to access their archives so this is all I was able to get. I'll revise this entry if I get a full obituary.
Katherine Jane Johnston, 68, of Blackwell, formerly of Corvallis, Ore., died Aug. 7, 2008, from surgical complications at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City.
She was born Feb. 17, 1940, in Blackwell to Hal and Rena Sommers Wilkins. She graduated from Blackwell High School in 1958 and graduated from St. Anthony Hospital as a registered nurse in 1961.
Her body was cremated. An informal memorial will be 1 p.m. Aug. 10 in the fellowship hall of the First United Methodist Church at Sixth and Coolidge in Blackwell.
Right now my thoughts are with my cousins Laura and Ellie. With the span of less than one year, they have lost both their father and their mother.
Tropical storm Edouard made a slight detour Monday night, making landfall north of Galveston early Tuesday morning and sparing Houston a direct hit. Not that it would have mattered; the storm simply wasn't that strong and, other than some localized flooding, did not cause any major damage as it passed to the north and east of Houston and into the center of the state to dissipate.
Truth be told, Edouard was an enjoyable storm. The cooler-than normal temperatures, the rain and the blowing wind made it feel less like an early-August tropical storm and more like a late-September cold front. Lori got a day off from work, and our yard got a few inches of badly-needed rain. (Besides, having literally gone months without seeing rain, it was actually something of a novelty for me!)
I briefly entertained myself Tuesday morning by flipping back and forth between channels, watching the local news coverage of Edouard. The local stations tried valiantly to justify the hype that they were devoting to the storm, with anchors and meteorologists desperately continuing to insist that conditions "could yet become dangerous" and field reporters pointing to windblown road signs, puddles of rain in parking lots, and even (in Channel Two's case) bark blown off of trees as evidence of Edouard's fury. It would have been funny if it weren't so pathetic. As the Houston Press's Richard Connelly notes:
Everyone complains about TV coverage of potential hurricanes, of course. But if the hype keeps going -- turning a tropical storm/possible cat 1 hurricane into Katrina Redux -- than at some point people are going to stop paying attention. They'll simply remember TV reporters out there talking about swaying trees as if it was evidence of a real storm.
And then you might see a real disaster.
Exactly.
Local media histrionics aside, Edouard was a reminder for that we need to be prepared, because the busiest part of hurricane season has only just begun. For now, however, it's back to the droning heat of August in Houston.
A tropical system formed rather suddenly off the coast of Louisiana over the weekend and is now headed this way. Edouard will probably be a strong tropical storm or even a weak hurricane when it makes landfall sometime tomorrow. As of late this evening its projected track takes it right over Houston: There is, however, a possibility that its track could be shifting to the east. We won't know for sure until it makes landfall sometime in the early afternoon tomorrow.
Of course, the approaching storm has predictably sent the local news media into their usual frenzy, and the evening TV news broadcasts have all contained the obligatory footage of people stocking up on bottled water at the grocery store and boarding up windows on beachfront homes. But even the local media know that there's only so much hype they can render to what just isn't likely to be a particularly devastating storm. The winds and storm surge generated by Edouard are not expected to be severe, and as of this evening no mandatory evacuations have been ordered, even in beachfront communities.
This isn't to say I am taking the storm lightly. While I do not expect damaging winds to reach my house, I am concerned about flooding - we all know what tropical storms can do to Houston - and there's always the chance that wind gust could be strong enough to knock down power lines, leaving us without electricity for a few days. That's a real concern, given that Houston in August is unbearable without air conditioning.
But I'm not especially worried. We're stocked up with water and batteries, we're not in a floodplain and we're not required to be anywhere tomorrow: Kirby's daycare is closed, as is Lori's office, and I work from home a lot of the time anyway. So we're just going to spend the day here at the house and hope that the power doesn't go out.
Everybody stay safe and dry. I'll post an update as I am able to do so.
Another exciting edition of my leastfavorite month is upon us. As was the case two years ago, I'll be spending most of it over in Dubai, where it is even hotter than it is here in Houston.
But it's good to be back home again, for at least a few days. As I mentioned in a previous post, the constant travel is beginning to take its toll - not just on myself but on my family as well - and I'll be glad when it's finally over. So you can imagine the wave of disgust that crept over my body when I received a work e-mail a couple of days ago that started like this:
Hey Thomas, when's the earliest you think you could return to Dubai in September?
I think this is the point where I need to politely put my foot down. I know Dubai is where the work is right now, I know my project managers can't be faulted for the fact that our clients are completely unorganized, and I know I agreed to help out. But this is beginning to get ridiculous. Originally, I was looking at a project assignment schedule of April through June. Then July and August were added. Now they want to tack on September and October. It's like I'm being taken for granted, and it's really not fair to me or my family.
So I've made a decision: if they really need me, I'm willing to compromise. Shorter trips with more time between them - instead of spending three weeks in Dubai and one week in Houston, it should be the other way around - and a hotel within walking distance of the office so I don't have to screw with the taxis anymore. I've already put in my time and I think these are reasonable requests. If they can't accommodate me, they need to find somebody else.
I recently returned from another in a series of business-related trips to Dubai. As I have done for most of my trips there this summer, I flew from Houston to Dubai via Atlanta on Delta Air Lines. My experience with Delta, while not exactly horrible, was not particularly pleasant this time around. You guys really need to get your shit together.
Let me start by saying that I understand that this is currently a very rough time for virtually any major US airline, Delta included. The economy is sluggish, gas prices are spiraling out of control, airlines are hemorrhaging money and several have already called it quits this year alone. And I also understand that I am probably old-fashioned in my belief that customer service should still count for something in today's commercial aviation industry. But the pressures facing the aviation industry shouldn't be used as an excuse for an airline that is poorly-run and indifferent to the comfort and experience of its customers.
I began my most recent trip in early July at Bush Intercontinental Airport here in Houston, where I was greeted at the Delta ticket counter by a long, slow line. I am a fairly frequent traveler and I am accustomed to relatively quick lines at ticket counters, manned by agents that are helpful and efficient. The Delta ticket agents at the counter on this day, however, were neither. They were so slow in doing their job that I began to wonder if I was even going to make my flight, and they were not particularly good at their jobs, either.
Case in point: because I am a Continental OnePass frequent flyer, and because Continental and Delta are both members of SkyTeam, I am entitled to frequent flyer miles whenever I travel on Delta. Normally it's not a big deal: I give my OnePass card to the ticket agent, explain that I am eligible for miles on this flight, the agent adds my OnePass account number to the ticket and I earn the miles.
But not this time: the ticket agent claimed that he couldn't put my frequent flier account into the system because the name on my frequent flyer card did not match the name on my reservation. This is complete bullshit because previous agents were able to give me frequent flyer credit on previous flights even though my names "didn't match" (the difference being that my middle name is not spelled out on my OnePass card). More likely, this ticket agent, who seemed to struggle just to check me in and take my bags, simply didn't know how to add my frequent flier information into the system. Instead, he gave me the number to Delta's SkyMiles customer service center and told me to call them. (When I called them, however, they told me that I'd need to call Continental's OnePass customer service center, and when I called OnePass, they told me that I need to send them a flight credit request in the mail. Why do I think that I'm about to get screwed out of about 8,000 frequent flyer miles simply because one of Delta's ticket agents at IAH doesn't know what they're doing?)
After waiting through the TSA security line to get to my gate, I had to wait in another long, slow line at the gate to pick up my boarding passes for the Houston-Atlanta and Atlanta-Dubai legs of my trip. This is because I was not given the actual boarding passes at the ticket counter, but rather some sort of voucher that I had to trade in for boarding passes at the gate itself. It didn't make any sense, but I've come to discover that it has something do do with Delta's cheesy practice of beginning Flight 8 to Dubai in Houston (which, by the way, keeps me from choosing my seats on Delta's website, because I fly on multiple aircraft). The line was so slow that they began boarding the aircraft before I even got my passes!
The flight from Houston to Atlanta was fine if I ignore the fact that I got to sit in the very back of the aircraft, right next to one of the MD-88's loud-ass engines that completely blocked the view out of my window. And the layover in Atlanta was fine if I ignore the fact that the first leg of Flight 8 arrived at Terminal A and the second leg of Flight 8 departed from Terminal E. But the flight to Dubai on the Boeing 777 departed on time, I managed to luck out and end up with a front-section seat with lot of legroom, and everything seemed fine until I tried to turn on my in-flight entertainment screen.
Nothing. No music, no movies, no flight tracker. Just a dark screen. It didn't even appear to be connected. And as it turned out, my screen wasn't the only one not working. The flight attendants simply shrugged; there was nothing they could do.
The end result was that I arrived in Dubai 14 hours later with a bad taste in my mouth. "Delta really needs to get its shit together," I thought.
My experience on the flight back a few weeks later started out fine enough. The ticket agents at DXB were quick and efficient (and, I might add, were able to add my frequent flyer information to my ticket without any problem), the time spent waiting at the gate was short, there were no hassles boarding the plane and it appeared that we were ready for an on-time departure back to Atlanta.
But we didn't go anywhere. We sat, instead, at the gate, for AN HOUR AND A HALF while a dispute regarding the aircraft's load and takeoff requirements were being resolved.
The explanation we were given went something like this: the flight dispatcher back in Atlanta felt that the Boeing 777 was loaded to the point that, given the length of the runway at DXB, it needed to fly into a headwind in order to generate sufficient lift to clear the runway. That evening the wind was blowing off the Gulf, from west-to-east, meaning that the airplane needed to take off from east-to-west in order to take advantage of the headwind. Problem was, that's not the direction that the runway was operating that evening, and Dubai's civil aviation authorities weren't about to change the airport's operating patterns just for the benefit of one airline.
Finally, it was decided that a cargo pallet would be offloaded in order to make the plane light enough to take off with the tailwind. This was done and, at long last, we were finally on our way. And, to be sure, the aircraft did manage to use almost all of the runway even without that cargo pallet; I was almost worried that the landing gear was going to hit the tops of the trucks driving along Emirates Road as we rotated off the ground and flew into the night sky.
Let me say that I'm obviously glad that the plane was able to take off safely. But there are a few things that nevertheless bother me. Firstly, the concept that your airline's altimetric margins are so narrow that the offloading of a single cargo pallet is potentially the difference between an airplane being able safely clear a runway or not is, in itself, disconcerting. Secondly, it's not a situation that should arise to begin with: Delta knows what the length and standard operation of the runway at Dubai is, Delta knows what the maximum take-off weight for their aircraft is, and there should be meteorological staff either in Atlanta or Dubai who can predict, in advance of the plane being loaded, which way the wind will be blowing that evening. And finally, why did it take so long to reach the decision to remove a cargo pallet in any case? If an aircraft is deemed too heavy to safely perform, offloading some cargo would seem to be the most obvious solution and it shouldn't take an hour and a half to make that decision.
Aside from the fact that everybody on that flight had to spend that much more time sitting in their seat for a flight that is long enough to begin with, the end result was that we got into Atlanta an hour-and-a-half late and a lot of passengers, myself included, missed their connecting flights. This kind of delay is the hallmark of an airline that really needs to get its shit together.
This time my in-flight entertainment system did work, if only just barely. Every time I tried to watch a movie my system would crash and reboot. The guy sitting in the seat next to me had the same problem; he asked a flight attendant about it but all she could do is shrug. At least I could use the in-flight entertainment system to listen to music (which brings up an annoying quirk about Delta's in-flight entertainment software: why is it that, whenever you listen to a CD, you have to press the forward button to hear the next song? Why can't the system play an entire CD all the way through like, say, every other a CD player in existence?) and watch my flight's progress on the flight tracker.
But even the flight tracking software had a glitch in it: somewhere over Greenland, the "time remaining until arrival" clock stopped counting down and started counting back up! What was a six-hour remaining flight time became seven hours, and then eight hours, even as we got closer to Atlanta. It was like the airplane was caught in some weird Twilight Zone episode, and it began to concern me - was the plane slowing down in order to conserve fuel or something? - until I finally came to conclusion that the flight tracking software was simply malfunctioning.
Seriously, Delta: if you are going to spend all this money to put sophisticated in-flight entertainment systems, with screens on the back of every seat in your aircraft, then shouldn't you at least take the time to maintain them properly?
To Delta's credit, the ticket agent at the counter outside of customs who re-booked me was very kind and competent and even put me on the next flight to Hobby Airport, because the wait time was shorter than the next flight to Intercontinental. And the flight back to Houston (which was actually operated by a regional partner) was fine.
But all in all, my most recent experience with Delta Air Lines was lousy. I wasn't treated rudely or with hostility, but I was treated like Delta didn't really give a shit about me.
Like I said, the current economic situation for the domestic airline industry sucks ass, and costs have to be cut somewhere. So maybe you have to furlough your more experienced (and more expensive) ticket agents for cheaper, less-experienced ones, and that's why my experience at the ticket counter at IAH was so poor. And maybe belt-tightening is causing you to defer non-essential maintenance, and that's why my in-flight entertainment consoles didn't work. And maybe you need to load your planes to the fullest order to squeeze as much revenue as you can out of every flight, and that's why I had to sit on the tarmac in Dubai for almost two hours because sometimes those planes become too fully-loaded. And maybe, with the merger with Northwest Airlines only a few months away, the entire airline is in a holding pattern, so to speak, simply biding its time until the merger actually occurs and things actually start happening.
But in your relentless drive to maximize revenues, are you really doing right by your customers (aka, the folks who are keeping you in business)? Do you really think that charging $50 for a second checked bag, or tweaking your frequent flyer program to make it more difficult for rewards to be redeemed, is going to pay dividends in the long-term? Or is it just going to make your customers angry and make them want to fly on other carriers?
And if this is the way Delta Air Lines is being run right now, what's it going to be like a few months from now, when the merger with Northwest begins and chaos inevitably ensues as corporate cultures clash and duplicate services are cut?
Instead of using the current economic situation as an excuse to suck, Delta should be taking this opportunity to focus on customer service, to encourage people to keep flying, and to build its brand with an eye towards the merger. The best way to do that is to GET. YOUR. SHIT. TOGETHER.
Make sure your ticketing agents know what they are doing. If you must operate a single flight on multiple airplanes, don't make it a hassle for the passengers flying it. Make sure your in-flight entertainment consoles work so your customers will have something to do on 15-hour flights. Don't let your planes sit on the tarmac for hours simply because you can't get loading calculations right. Smile. Treat your customers like real people with real needs, not as mere revenue units. Demonstrate to them how bad-ass you think your new, merged airline is going to be in a year or two.
I freely admit that Delta is not my first choice when I fly to Dubai. I prefer the Emirates nonstop because it is, after all, nonstop. But up until now Delta had been my second choice. Now, I'm not so certain.
And finally, Delta: when you made your most recent in-flight video, did you have to choose to feature your scariest-looking flight attendant in it? I can't tell if she just had bad plastic surgery or if she really is possessed by demons, but I can't even watch this video without her giving me the creeps:
Until I read his obituary, I didn't know that Uncle Blackie's real first name was Charles. Everybody just called him Uncle Blackie, and that's how I always knew him.
Anyway, Lori's uncle put up a courageous three-year fight against cancer, but that fight is now over. Blackie's obituary ran on the Montgomery County Courier's website, but since I don't know how long it will be available there, and because I've begun to make it a tradition of preserving obituaries of both my and Lori's family members here:
Charles Ray “Blackie” Lightfoot lost his three-year battle with cancer on July 25, 2008.
Blackie was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on August 13, 1936, to Iris Faye and William “Earl” Lightfoot.
He is preceded in death by his mother Iris, his father Earl, his brothers Steven and Jerry Lightfoot, his beloved sister-in-law Cindy Stevens and, lastly, his son and fishing and hunting buddy Tony Glenn Lightfoot. Also, we can’t fail to mention his dearly beloved furry family members Precious, Two-Two, Whiskey and almost grandson, Beau-Beau.
Blackie proudly served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps. The greatest love of his life was his family, which also included the infinite number of friends that Blackie counted as family. His passion was hunting and fishing. Blackie was lucky in that he was able to combine the two and make it his livelihood. He was a Turbine Engineer for Worthington for many years, but, then, decided to follow his love of the great outdoors, and became a fishing guide.
In 1986, he was hired by Whopper Stopper Lures as their traveling Ambassador. From there, he started working as Fishing Ambassador for Pradco Lures. He also co-hosted many episodes of Honey Hole All Outdoors. Blackie had countless articles written about his fishing and hunting expertise. He was nominated three times for the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife of more than 22 years and love of his life, Lorena. He is also survived by his son “Chuck” Lightfoot and wife Peggy of Pasadena; daughter Selina Bellar and her husband Norman, also of Pasadena; and son Mark Lightfoot and wife Laura of Montgomery. He is also survived by his brother Mike Lightfoot and wife Loretta, his sister Sandy Beck and sister Marinell Belden and husband Jack, also his sister by heart Lois Hesser. He is also survived by countless grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews who he especially adored. Blackie also had many friends that he loved “like a brother.”
Services for Blackie will be held at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, located at 3947 Old 105 W. in Conroe, Texas, as follows: 2 p.m. - visitation for family and friends (refreshments provided) and 7 p.m. - memorial service.
Needless to say, this has not been a very easy few months for Lori's family; the fact that Blackie's death was "expected," so to speak, does not make it any easier. Uncle Blackie was a great guy whom I unfortunately didn't get to spend enough time with; he will be missed.
Visibility was reduced, but not overwhelmingly so. The dark sky and blowing wind reminded me of what it sometimes feels like in Houston when a thunderstorm is approaching. 
At least the dust kept the temperatures down; the day's high topped out at only 99 F!
