Travel
Category archives for Travel
Scientific Commuting: When Does It Make Sense to Take Alternate Routes?
Posted by Chad Orzel on August 12, 2011 I am an inveterate driver of “back ways” to places. My preferred route to campus involves driving through a whole bunch of residential streets, rather than taking the “main” road leading from our neighborhood to campus. I do this because there are four traffic lights on the main-road route, and they’re not well timed, so…
Hello, Southern Maryland: Talk Wednesday at St. Mary’s College
Posted by Chad Orzel on April 12, 2011 I’m in last-minute-revision mode here, made mroe frantic by the fact that SteelyKid developed a fever yesterday, and had to be kept home from day care. I did want to pop in to note that I will be giving the Natural Science and Mathematics Colloquium at St. Mary’s College in Maryland tomorrow, Wednesday the 13th.…
The Internet Makes Everything Better
Posted by Chad Orzel on January 15, 2011 For one obvious example, I’m typing this on a plane– Southwest has started doing wi-fi on some flights, and it is totally worth $5 to be able to web-surf in flight.It would be even better if the flight wren’t packed, so I could type more comfortably, but I’m ok with just reading (once I post…
Ballistic Air Travel
Posted by Chad Orzel on January 13, 2011 I am in Florida for a meeting this week, having flown from Albany to Ft. Lauderdale. Due to the vagaries of the air travel system, though, this required a change of planes in Orlando. The Orlando-Ft. Lauderdale flight is sufficiently short that I like to think of it as a ballistic route– you’re not cruising…
Invasive Searches and Underage Drinking
Posted by Chad Orzel on November 23, 2010 Kevin Drum posted an anti-rant about the TSA, which argues that the new scanners and pat-downs aren’t an outrage because they really mean well: I’m not trying to defend everything TSA has put in place. Some of the stuff they do, like the penknife and nail clipper bans, really is stupid. And maybe backscatter scanners…
Non-Dorky Polls: Travel Day
Posted by Chad Orzel on May 25, 2010 I’m going to be spending the bulk of today in transit between Albany and Houston, with a layover in Orlando (whee!), so here’s a pair of related poll questions for you to consider: The most enjoyable way to travel between two cities in the continental US is:customer surveys The least enjoyable way to travel between…
Houston, We Have a Problem
Posted by Chad Orzel on May 22, 2010 The problem is “What should Chad do/ see in the evenings while he’s at DAMOP next week?” This is the major physics conference in my field, so my days will be pretty well booked up with talks and posters, but there’s not much after 6pm other than food and socializing. If there’s some not-to-be-missed Houston…
Belated March Meeting Wrap-Up
Posted by Chad Orzel on March 25, 2010 I did one sketchy update from Portland last Tuesday, but never wrote up my impressions of the rest of the March Meeting– when I got back, I was buried in grading, and then trying to put together Monday’s presentation. And, for reasons that will become apparent, I was unable to write anything up before I…
Southwest Airlines and the Traveling Salesman Problem
Posted by Chad Orzel on March 14, 2010 I’m en route to the March Meeting in Portland, which involves a three-hour layover in Chicago, between two flights on Southwest, my preferred airline. I’m always impressed by how much more efficient Southwest seems that the other major airlines. One weird manifestation of that efficiency is the flight plans that Southwest uses. Where most flights…
Congratulations to Frederick Franke and James Morton
Posted by Chad Orzel on March 12, 2010 I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m on the local committee that selects nominees for the Watson Fellowship, which is one of the best committees to be on, because you get to interact with some of our best students doing things that they really love. This year, we’re thrilled to have two of our nominees…
