Saddest Thing I Read Yesterday

In a comment thread about today's inauguration:

Please don't get shot. We need you.

It's terrible that we live in an age where this not just a plausible thought, but a common one.

Weird Flight Math

Good: I can book the time off.
Bad: Since yesterday, airfare to Phoenix has doubled.
Worse: Airfare from Las Vegas to Calgary has tripled.

Pity For Evil

Turned on CNN and managed to miss all the good bits of the inauguration. I did see Dick Cheney being wheeled out to a limo. According to the media, he's been off the radar for awhile and managed to injure his back when moving out of his office.

I was wondering why moving out of your office would take so long and why someone as high up as the Vice President would be doing his own lifting. Then I realized, if I had that many records to shred to keep from being sent to prison for war crimes, I'd want to do it myself. That takes time and effort.

Estrella Flights Booked

Flights booked.

2009-02-10

US-500 15:35@YYC -> 18:33@PHX.

2009-02-17

UA-2458 (US-468) 12:10@LAS -> 13:52@SFO.
UA-8212 (AC-579) 17:30@SFO -> 21:10@YYC.

Total cost: Roughly $310 CDN.

I'm leaning towards flying from Phoenix to Las Vegas just so I'm not stuck in a car for 8 hours. Flights are super cheap.

Airline math is not like our Earth math. If I were to fly from San Francisco to Calgary, it would cost me twice as much as if I were to fly from Las Vegas to San Francisco to Calgary, even though it's likely the same aircraft. I was briefly tempted to book the flight that way and spend the Wednesday in San Francisco, except that:

1. The airlines are well aware of this trick and specifically watch for it.
2. Booking a flight and not getting onto it (in Las Vegas for example) is a good way to get onto a Homeland Security watchlist.

C'est la vie.