12 - 2006 | ***Dave Does the Blog

So long, and thanks for all the (loaves and) fish

Y’know, after all the ongoing brouhaha by conservative parishes and parishioners within the Episcopal Church, I am more joyful than saddened (though a bit of both) by the votes of…

Y’know, after all the ongoing brouhaha by conservative parishes and parishioners within the Episcopal Church, I am more joyful than saddened (though a bit of both) by the votes of various parishes to break away from TEC and join up with the “Not only do we think it’s wrong, but we think it should be outlawed and illegal to talk about” Church of Nigeria
folks.

I’d rather have an Episcopal Church of many views and beliefs — but if folks don’t want to be in communion with me, do I need to want to be in communion with them?

Snap!

So Margie waited 45-odd minutes on hold with Frontier … and combined her excellent Iron-Fist-Sheathed-in-Velvet speak-to-the-help techniques to quickly get us (a) confirmation that there’s nothing else that we could fly to the LA area, (b) a refund, and (c) the direct number for the Orange Co. baggage handling folks so that she could then call them to track down our bags (winging their way to California without us) and, if she has her way, have them delivered to the in-laws.

She, in case I haven’t mentioned it of late, rocks.

On the road … home

Where at least we have food. And a bed. And gin. UPDATE: Which, to put things into perspective, is a heck of a lot better than the folks trapped at…

Where at least we have food. And a bed. And gin.

UPDATE: Which, to put things into perspective, is a heck of a lot better than the folks trapped at DIA since Wednesday and with no prospects for a flight out until Tuesday-plus have. It’s all relative.

Traffic was very congested going out of the airport (and coming in, apparently), as well as on 225.

The day, overall, was not helped by an incredible array of frickin’ idiots out on the roads — which were still a bit slick, surrounded by snow berms, often unplowed off of main thoroughfares. No, everybody had cabin fever and had to race about to finish their Christmas shopping. Hell, we were delayed at least 5-10 minutes on County Line trying to get past the huge crowds turning in to pick up their Honeybaked Ham for Tuesday. For Tuesday! Why the hell were they playing bumper-car in the lot and blocking through traffic on the main street with that insanity.

Rrrg.

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Well, one of us is in decent spirits

Kitten goes flying with Snoopy. We go flying with nobody. :-(( UPDATE: She really was a trooper through all of this, handling it with more patience and forebearance than her…

Kitten goes flying with Snoopy. We go flying with nobody. :-((

UPDATE: She really was a trooper through all of this, handling it with more patience and forebearance than her mommy and daddy.

It has been suggested that, having missed the 6 p.m. flight, we should have stayed in the security line for another 30-40 minutes, gotten processed through, then go to the gate for the 9:45 p.m. flight and demand either stand-by status or a refund, the idea being that folks would be trapped in the line before they could get on the 9:45 flight.

A successful resolution in that fashion assumes (a) they would let us through security with a departed flight ticket, (b) a hundred angry 6 p.m. fliers would not already be ahead of us, (c) they would let us change to stand-by, and (d) we would be willing to wait until 9:45 p.m. to find out our fate and deal with it, possibly including having to call out Jackie then to pick us up, assuming the police didn’t haul us away for some act of egregious, wanton violence.

I thought not.

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Not this weekend …

Rrrg. Arrgh. Though, at this point, I’d have to point more at the TSA than Frontier. UPDATE: Yes, these Frontier signs were mocking us the entire afternoon and evening. Bottom…

Rrrg. Arrgh. Though, at this point, I’d have to point more at the TSA than Frontier.

UPDATE: Yes, these Frontier signs were mocking us the entire afternoon and evening.

Bottom line, Frontier could have managed the lines much more effectively — better identifying where people should go, better filtering out folks who had confirmed ticket (or not), better handling people who could check in electronically, more consistently announcing information, and keeping much better tabs on the security delays — given the length of that line, there’s no way they should have let us check in an hour-plus before the flight was due to leave (and, as importantly, check our bags through …)

The TSA, though, bears a huge blame. Because, really, the blizzard didn’t really affect them any more than the otherwise heavy holiday traffic (really no additional flights to process), which tells me that having both the north and south security lines stretching for 90-minutes plus around the frelling building can only be because of insanely bad mismanagement.

Which was echoed by a newscast we saw this evening indicating that they were not operating all security lines — and, in fact, closed the south line around 7 p.m., even though the wait on the north line was still an hour-plus.

Stupid idiots.

UPDATE 2: Let me note that some of the Frontier folks we dealt with were hard-working and even efficient. Mostly this was the people out at the curb — the guy at the front of the line routing people around, and the fellow who checked us in (and who managed to blow past the unfortunately-timed reappearance of “Dave Hill, International Man of Mystery.”

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Insecurity

We’re checked in, but the security lines literally circumnavigate the frelling building … UPDATE: We got in the line around 4:45 p.m. We’d made it from the southern bay windows…

We’re checked in, but the security lines literally circumnavigate the frelling building …

UPDATE: We got in the line around 4:45 p.m. We’d made it from the southern bay windows up to the northern end by the International Arrivals … around 5:35 p.m.

Rrg.

When 6 p.m. rolled around, we were only halfway back towards the south security lines. We waited until our flight showed as Departed, before we gave up …

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Queueing Up

The indoors Frontier line switches back and forth multiple times across the Concourse A bridge. Yikes! UPDATE: As a result, the A Concourse security gate was closed. That was going…

The indoors Frontier line switches back and forth multiple times across the Concourse A bridge. Yikes!

UPDATE: As a result, the A Concourse security gate was closed. That was going to have at least some impact on us later on. Before I got through my third full length of the bridge … Margie got to the front (finally) of the curb check line.

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A good pair of omens

The UPS truck made a delivery to the house. Indy Kitty made his way back home. On the other hand, I seem to have messed up the DVR trying…

The UPS truck made a delivery to the house.
Indy Kitty made his way back home.

On the other hand, I seem to have messed up the DVR trying to abort it from recording two things while trying to tune in the news from DIA (which has, indeed, sent off the first jet, but is filled with ravenous would-be passengers standing in line and wondering why they can’t go first …).

Wayward child

Indy finally got back from wherever he’d holed up for the blizzard. Yay! this post enabled by airblogging.com….

Indy finally got back from wherever he’d holed up for the blizzard. Yay!

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“Does the city have enough snow plows?”

That won the award from Margie and Jackie who were watching some sort of interview or news conference the other day regarding City Reaction fo the Holiday Blizzard of 2006….

That won the award from Margie and Jackie who were watching some sort of interview or news conference the other day regarding City Reaction fo the Holiday Blizzard of 2006. “Does the city have enough snow plows?”

Well, yeah, duh, if the city bought ten thousand snow plows, and kept a full-time team of snow plow drivers on constant standby, 24×7, then maybe the streets could be kept clean, or cleaner, or be cleaned up faster.

Of course, it would take a million-zillion dollars, and nobody really wants that. They just want their street plowed. And the streets they may want to drive down. And they only really worry about it when, well, it’s snowing.

It’s a no-win question. If you’re a pol and answer, “Yes,” then we cut to snow-filled streets, little old ladies trying to shovel out their Hummers, and poor families evacuated from the interstate to a Red Cross shelter (“So, does Mayor Jones think these people would agree we have enough snow plows?”). Answer, “no,” and see yourself crucified in the editorial pages for the forseeable future (“Mayor Jones knew we didn’t have enough snow plows, and yet did nothing!”).

The only question is, was it simply a fiendishly cunning journalistic trap, or is it just a reporter being a doofus.

And in a slightly similar note, I was on CNN and some talking head was critiquing the Bush Administration for delays in announcing their New, Improved Iraq Policy (With More Whiteners and Brighteners! “I’ve never seen military policy being thrashed out with so much public discussion and looking into the process and taking this long,” the talking head critiqued.

Um … hasn’t the Bush Administration been (rightfully) criticized over the past six years for shooting from the hip, making decisions without debate or transparency, doing whatever they heck they please just as lickety-split as they can?

Of course, I’ve got next to no confidence that they will make the right (or least wrong) decision in this case, regardless of what they do. But it remains a sign of the perverse nature of punditry that no matter how they go about making their decision (rightly, wrongly, making it or not), someone will be there to find something to criticize.

Now I’m waiting for Bush to send more snow plows to Iraq …

Cartoony goodness

The Fifty Greatest Cartoons of All Time — the list was from the animation industry in 1994, but the YouTube links are from 2006, baby! Excellent….

The Fifty Greatest Cartoons of All Time — the list was from the animation industry in 1994, but the YouTube links are from 2006, baby! Excellent.

Okay, a couple more words …

CNN coverage of the Denver situation. Denver is the fifth busiest airport in the US — but with the storm heading (with heavy rain) off east and north, I…

CNN coverage of the Denver situation. Denver is the fifth busiest airport in the US — but with the storm heading (with heavy rain) off east and north, I expect air traffic this season is going to remain really sucky.

Alas, we can’t pre-print the tix for some reason (and, yes, we checked to see if it was David hill, International Man of Mystery, but the reservation is under David C., so …). And note that the airport opening at Noon will be with just two of the six runways open, so we’re not out of the woods (or plains) yet …

I am only slightly mollified by knowing we’re not the only ones — though it’s not snow, but freezing fog that’s seriously reduced flights out of Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe, for three days …

End of the Crisis

Jackie was able to back out of the driveway and head up the street on various errands of mercy this morning. Meanwhile, the airport is scheduled to open at Noon…

Jackie was able to back out of the driveway and head up the street on various errands of mercy this morning.

Meanwhile, the airport is scheduled to open at Noon (we’re going to pre-print out tickets and plan on being there three hours before flight time), and, most telling, the local news have shut down their “continuing coverage of the Holiday Blizzard of 2006.”

That’s a wrap, folks.

Shoveling out

My favorite work crew. UPDATE: While I was doing business calls, Margie and Jackie and Katherine dug out the 4Runner. I followed up by digging out the sidewalk from one…

My favorite work crew.

UPDATE: While I was doing business calls, Margie and Jackie and Katherine dug out the 4Runner. I followed up by digging out the sidewalk from one end of the property to the other. We have conquered Snow!

Well, maybe. I’ll claim true victory when we get on the plane tomorrow evening.

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Office work

Working in the (unfinished) office upstairs. UPDATE: I would give a bright shiny nickel to not be working today — but I have a nice view out the window at…

Working in the (unfinished) office upstairs.

UPDATE: I would give a bright shiny nickel to not be working today — but I have a nice view out the window at the snowy neighborhood.

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“Don’t Be That Guy”

You will get there sooner or later. You might get there a bit sooner by going too fast for the road conditions — but you might get there a lot…

You will get there sooner or later. You might get there a bit sooner by going too fast for the road conditions — but you might get there a lot later, if at all. And the same is true for those around you, in your vehicle and in others.

Four wheel drive doesn’t mean four wheel stop. Power to all wheels doesn’t mean that snow and ice somehow increase their friction and will let you turn on a dime.

In dangerous conditions, don’t feel “social pressure” to go faster so that the cars behind you can go faster. They may very well be happy to be just following you — and, regardless, their convenience does not trump your safety.

See that guy in the car sitting in the ditch / snow drift / center divider, or spinning around over there, or with the tow crew and insurance inspector standing by? Don’t be that guy.

This has been a public service announcement from me.

No foray for the Forerunner

Jackie’s car on the driveway. this post enabled by airblogging.com….

Jackie’s car on the driveway.

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Drifting away

You can see how the wind left the deck surface clear until last night, but stacked up snow against the BBQ. this post enabled by airblogging.com….

You can see how the wind left the deck surface clear until last night, but stacked up snow against the BBQ.

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DIA MIA

Btw, Denver International remains closed. About 4,700 folks were stranded there last night — yikes. We’d done what we could before we left in case we were stranded. We had…

Btw, Denver International remains closed. About 4,700 folks were stranded there last night — yikes.

We’d done what we could before we left in case we were stranded. We had a blanket in the car, plenty of games and toys and amusements to make use of in case we’d been stuck there.

The airport is currently scheduled to be reopened at 7 p.m. tonight — but that’s not guaranteed. I’m glad our flight out is going on 24 hours after that — and we’ll be at the airport tomorrow by mid-day, just to be safe. And no idea what the ripple effect is likely to be on the air traffic system today and tomorrow …

State of the state

Snow continues to fall outside, lightly — maybe another couple of inches overnight. Not much wind, though, so the large drifts (from bare deck planks to over-topping chairs) have been…

Snow continues to fall outside, lightly — maybe another couple of inches overnight. Not much wind, though, so the large drifts (from bare deck planks to over-topping chairs) have been softened.

As DOF pointed out, the BBC ran pictures of the blizzard (well, actually from the AP). Though most of them look to have been taken early in the day, when there wasn’t much on the ground.

Current NWS warnings:

… Blizzard Warning remains in effect until noon MST today…
Periods of snow will continue through the morning hours. Another 1 to 3 inches of snow is expected with the heaviest totals in the southern Metro areas. Total accumulations of 20 to 24 inches are expected in many locations. As much as 30 inches of snow will fall in the southern and southwestern Metro Denver suburbs and the Palmer Divide area.
North winds of 20 to 30 mph will produce ground blizzard conditions. Travel is not recommended through the morning hours.

Yesterday they actually had all of I-25 shut down from New Mexico to Wyoming. Yow.

Not planning on going anywhere today. I’ll probably go out and do some shoveling this afternoon.

Fortunately (?) I can actually work from home. Um … yippee?