Travel To Arkansas

The project here in Arkansas is coming to a close. W00t!

I had a horrible time getting here yesterday. My Northwest flight to MEM took off a few hours late yesterday. That caused me to miss my connection to XNA. The next available flight was 8 hours away, so they re-booked me on Delta. Unfortunately, I had a connecting flight in Atlanta, so I ran to catch that. Once I got to Atlanta, the flight to XNA was delayed an hour. I finally made it yesterday evening.

There was a football coach from Harvard football who was also in my situation. Only he was trying to get to Texas…so he ended up flying from Boston, to Memphis, to Atlanta, to XNA, and then to Dallas. I feel really bad for him.

I’m looking for a few weeks on the bench. Hopefully when I get staffed again it will be a local project…or a project on the east coast.

Desks and Bags

One thing about being an IT consultant…it is rare that you get an office or a desk to sit at. If you are looking for a nice desk and a place to put some pictures, consulting is probably not for you. In the few years that I have done this, I always end up sitting in some unusual spots. Here are some places I have ended up:

• In a Brazillian Churrascaria for a few weeks
• In a conference room off of a data center
• In several different hallways
• On the ground in a hallway next to an elevator bank
• In a presentation room overlooking lottery operations
• In a 2nd floor “fishbowl” conference room at Devonshire and Summer
• A desk in an airplane factory
• In a cold foods storage facility
• In several hospitals

Being constantly mobile requires me to carry my entire office in my bag. I finally got rid of the business case I carried and replaced it with a Timbuk2 messenger bag. It is made out of extremely durable Nylon. It is nearly waterproof. It is comfortable, and I think pretty stylish. It also makes me miss my bicycle.

Lack Of Information

I suffered from a severe scarcity of information on my flight from Boston to Memphis this morning. It started like any other Monday, except that when I got to the airport to check in, I was presented with my first economic choice. The airline offered to send me to Northwest Arkansas via Minneapolis because the flight was overbooked. I decided to say no, and forgo the airline coupon, because I wasn’t sure what time the next flight to XNA was if I missed the planned connection. That happens a lot!

Once I was on the plane, they announced that the flight was overweight and that five passengers needed to leave, otherwise the flight would be canceled. They also announced that passengers flying to Northwest Arkansas could have an alternate flight that got in at 4 PM (a delay of 5 hours!). So my second economic choice was whether or not I should get off the flight for the collective good or try to stick it out and see if other people took the (unknown) bait. I have no idea what the reward might have been if I had gotten off the flight at that point. Two people finally left and apparently that was sufficient to allow the flight to depart.

Lastly, before landing it was announced that they would be coming in with a lot of speed and that there would be ambulances and emergency vehicles near the runway. Needless to say, I had a few questions at this point, but no other information was provided. Once we landed, we were told that the flaps on the plane did not work. That was the first informative datum the airline had provided me the entire flight.

Today’s flight was my first brush with an air disaster, atleast to my knowledge.

Itinerary Through November

I moved to Boston…and here is my itinerary for the next month. More updates soon!

Tuesday, October 09
Northwest Airlines Flight 5741 Economy
From: Boston Logan Int’l Airport, MA
6:30 am
To: Memphis Int’l Airport, TN
8:50 am
From: Memphis Int’l Airport, TN
9:35 am
To: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
10:50 am

Friday, October 12
Northwest Airlines Flight 2996 Economy
From: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
5:05 pm
To: Detroit Wayne County Airport, MI
8:24 pm
From: Detroit Wayne County Airport, MI
9:05 pm
To: Boston Logan Int’l Airport, MA
10:54 pm

Monday, October 15
American Airlines Flight 1049 Economy
From: Boston Logan Int’l Airport, MA
6:35 am
To: St. Louis Lambert-St Louis Int’l Airport, MO
8:30 am
From: St. Louis Lambert-St Louis Int’l Airport, MO
9:00 am
To: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
10:10 am

Thursday, October 18
Northwest Airlines Flight 2996 Economy
From: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
5:05 pm
To: Detroit Wayne County Airport, MI
8:24 pm
From: Detroit Wayne County Airport, MI
9:05 pm
To: Boston Logan Int’l Airport, MA
10:54 pm

Monday, October 22
Northwest Airlines Flight 5741 Economy
From: Boston Logan Int’l Airport, MA
6:30 am
To: Memphis Int’l Airport, TN
8:50 am
From: Memphis Int’l Airport, TN
9:35 am
To: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
10:50 am

Thursday, October 25
Northwest Airlines Flight 2996 Economy
From: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
5:05 pm
To: Detroit Wayne County Airport, MI
8:24 pm
From: Detroit Wayne County Airport, MI
9:05 pm, Thursday, October 25
To: Boston Logan Int’l Airport, MA
10:54 pm

Monday, October 29
American Airlines Flight 1049 Economy
From: Boston Logan Int’l Airport, MA
6:35 am
To: St. Louis Lambert-St Louis Int’l Airport, MO
8:30 am
From: St. Louis Lambert-St Louis Int’l Airport MO
9:00 am
To: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
10:10 am

Thursday, November 01
American Airlines Flight 3997 Economy
From: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
5:25 pm
To: Chicago O’Hare Int’l Airport, IL
7:10 pm
From: Chicago O’Hare Int’l Airport, IL
8:10 pm
To: Boston Logan Int’l Airport, MA
11:25 pm

Carbon Producer

The October 2007 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine is devoted to investing in Green companies and ideas. The October issue of the Atlantic also has an article by Henry Blodget on Moral Investing (Ironic, huh?). The idea of “green is good” investing is really catching on in the financial industry, and there are a million mutual funds being launched to take advantage of the idea. Ok, maybe not a million, but a lot.

Another aside: I highly recommend Kiplinger over all of the other personal finance magazines mainly because they earned their credibility.

All these magazine articles and Tracey‘s super-secret project (just wait!), are making me think about my own effect on the environment around me. To put it bluntly, I am a walking ecological disaster. My flights to client sites makes me a big (debit) on our carbon balance sheet.

This leads to my belief that carbon offsets could be a significant barrier to globally-integrated enterprises. Although value creation is global, the movement of services between geographies has an increased transportation and travel cost. As most consultants will attest, we often make big sacrifices in the interest of expediency. We live in luxury and waste far too much to achieve our objectives.

Itinerary Through September

I had some issues with my travel laptop and things are getting very busy with my quickly-approaching move date. Here is my light travel schedule for this month. In October I will be flying out of BOS which does not have direct flights to XNA.

Thursday, September 13
Northwest Airlines Flight 2838 Coach
From: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
4:15 pm, Thursday, September 13
To: Memphis Int’l Airport, TN
5:22 pm, Thursday, September 13

Thursday, September 13
Northwest Airlines Flight 445 Coach
From: Memphis Int’l Airport, TN
7:35 pm, Thursday, September 13
To: Minneapolis St. Paul Int’l Airport, MN
9:41 pm, Thursday, September 13

Sunday, September 16
Northwest Airlines Flight 5616 Economy
From: Minneapolis St. Paul Int’l Airport, MN
9:51 pm, Sunday, September 16
To: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
11:55 pm, Sunday, September 16

Thursday, September 20
Northwest Airlines Flight 2838 Economy
From: Fayetteville – NW Arkansas Regional Airport, AR
4:15 pm, Thursday, September 20
To: Memphis Int’l Airport, TN
5:22 pm, Thursday, September 20

Thursday, September 20
Northwest Airlines Flight 445 Economy
From: Memphis Int’l Airport, TN
7:35 pm, Thursday, September 20
To: Minneapolis St. Paul Int’l Airport, MN
9:41 pm, Thursday, September 20

Novell Cares About Me

I was supposed to be on a flight from Northwest Arkansas (XNA) to Chicago (ORD) today. I gathered from rumors and first-hand accounts that a tornado touched down pretty close to O’Hare. So I am actually pretty happy that my flight got canceled and that I don’t have to experience severe wind shear and a nerve-wrecking descent.

I heard from Tim Daneliuk, a co-worker who lives in Chicago, that our company actually called him to see if he was OK. He lives in the Chicago area, fairly close to O’Hare, so it is a pretty nice thing for the company to do.

I book all my flights though our company travel engine. They must have done a query against the travel database, because I was sent an email asking me to respond with my status! Once I let them know that I am safe, they responded with a kind message.

I’m not sure if it is something that my company just started, but it is a pretty nice thing for them to do. They didn’t call me when the bridge collapsed near my apartment, so it must either be a recent thing or they are smart enough to know that I wasn’t in Minneapolis at the time. I wonder how many other companies do something like this.

Please note that I did deviate from my normal cynicism and sarcasm for this post.

Itinerary Through August

Here is my itinerary through the month of August:

Sun, Jul 29
Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 2810
From: MINNEAPOLIS ST PL, MN (MSP) Departs: 9:30pm
To: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Arrives: 11:23pm

Thu, Aug 2
Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 2925
From: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Departs: 5:04pm
To: DETROIT METRO, MI (DTW) Arrives: 8:20pm
Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 0240
From: DETROIT METRO, MI (DTW) Departs: 9:02pm
To: WASHINGTON REAGAN, DC (DCA) Arrives: 10:25pm

Sun, Aug 5
Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 0625
From: WASHINGTON REAGAN, DC (DCA) Departs: 6:47pm
To: MINNEAPOLIS ST PL, MN (MSP) Arrives: 8:26pm
Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 2810
From: MINNEAPOLIS ST PL, MN (MSP) Departs: 9:30pm
To: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Arrives: 11:23pm

Thu, Aug 9
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 5480
From: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Departs: 4:45pm
To: ST LOUIS INTL, MO (STL) Arrives: 5:55pm
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 1790
From: ST LOUIS INTL, MO (STL) Departs: 6:35pm
To: BOSTON, MA (BOS) Arrives: 10:10pm

Sun, Aug 12
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 0611
From: BOSTON, MA (BOS) Departs: 5:50pm
To: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Arrives: 7:40pm
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 4035
From: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Departs: 8:55pm
To: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Arrives: 10:30pm

Thu, Aug 16
Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 5917
From: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Departs: 4:15pm
To: MEMPHIS, TN (MEM) Arrives: 5:22pm
From: MEMPHIS, TN (MEM) Departs: 7:26pm
To: MINNEAPOLIS ST PL, MN (MSP) Arrives: 9:37pm

Sun, Aug 19
Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 2810
From: MINNEAPOLIS ST PL, MN (MSP) Departs: 9:57pm
To: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Arrives: 11:50pm

Thu, Aug 23
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 1383
From: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Departs: 4:45pm
To: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Arrives: 6:30pm
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 0818
From: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Departs: 7:50pm
To: BOSTON, MA (BOS) Arrives: 11:05pm

Sun, Aug 26
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 0611
From: BOSTON, MA (BOS) Departs: 5:50pm
To: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Arrives: 7:40pm
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 4035
From: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Departs: 8:55pm
To: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Arrives: 10:30pm

Thu, Aug 30*
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 5480
From: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Departs: 4:45pm
To: ST LOUIS INTL, MO (STL) Arrives: 5:55pm
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 1790
From: ST LOUIS INTL, MO (STL) Departs: 6:35pm
To: BOSTON, MA (BOS) Arrives: 10:10pm
*changed plans for long weekend

Mon, Sep 3
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 0611
From: BOSTON, MA (BOS) Departs: 5:50pm
To: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Arrives: 7:40pm
Flights: AMERICAN AIRLINES, AA 4035
Operated by AMERICAN EAGLE
From: CHICAGO OHARE, IL (ORD) Departs: 8:55pm
To: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Arrives: 10:30pm

Thu, Sep 6
Flights: NORTHWEST AIRLINES, NW 5617
From: N W ARKANSAS REG, AR (XNA) Departs: 11:45am
To: MINNEAPOLIS ST PL, MN (MSP) Arrives: 1:44pm

Stranded At Home

I managed to be stranded at home today.

I was flying from Boston to Northwest Arkansas today on American Airlines. I had a layover in
Chicago. The flight from Chicago was canceled, so I requested that they fly me through Dallas or Cincinnati. Unfortunately, there were no flights through those cities. They put me on a Northwest flight to Minneapolis so I could catch a connecting flight.

The NWA flight was delayed due to weather in Boston and they flew the longest path possible into Minneapolis. I ended up spending three and a quarter hours in the air. I missed the connection to Northwest Arkansas, which remarkably found a way to take off on time despite the hail and thunderstorms.

The next flight is at 9:30 PM, and there were no seats on any other flights connecting through Memphis. I’ll be working from home for a day! What a strange way to start off the week.

P.S., ROWTR was the best 10 bucks I have ever spent. I keep finding myself looking for airline and rental car numbers. It is so handy to have them in a single place!

Arc de Triomphe

The Tour de France starts on July 7 this year. The first stage will begin in Britain, for the first time in history. Although I can’t stand doping and politics, I still enjoy watching the drama of cycling races unfold on TV. Sometimes I wish they would just legalize doping so it would just end that discussion forever.

When the tour finishes, it will end up at the Arc de Triomphe. I have scanned in a Holga photograph I took of the Arc below.

And on a side note, Happy 4th of July!