Cyber Monday and the Wrong Flight

I am on a flight today headed back to Salt Lake City. I picked today to fly trying to avoid the tail-end of Thanksgiving travel. I also knew I could get some important work done on the flight with the help of in-flight Internet. I'm glad I planned to work as the plane's entertainment service isn't working. They've reset the system 3 times now without success. It is kind of annoying but it means I can focus more of my attention on getting work done. Sometimes you pick the right flight where there are empty seats next to you or something amazing happens. Today is not that day.

Today also happens to be Cyber Monday when all of the online stores have their biggest sales. Once again my e-mail inbox received a flood of messages encouraging me to spend money on potential Christmas gifts. Once again I am not really interested in spending money. It would probably be a good idea to come up with a list of gifts for those on my list before Black Friday and Cyber Monday roll around. Then I could take advantage of some of the deals. Fortunately the discounts seem to stick around up until the big day. Then everything really goes on sale.

One sale I knew would happen today is that from the airlines. I received a special e-mail from both Alaska and Delta as those are the two carriers I use the most. I'm sure I also got one from Southwest but skipped over it as I have not been flying them recently. Don't get me wrong, they are a great airline with spectacular deals. I just prefer nonstop flights and Southwest seems to have multiple legs whenever I want to go somewhere. That doesn't mean I don't check their schedule first as it serves as a great baseline price.

I also received a lot of e-mails from hotel chains that I tend to use for business travel. There are some great deals out there. Unfortunately, for my personal travel I have been scouring AirBnB for most of my overnight accommodations recently. For about the same price as a hotel, I can get a living room and a kitchen. It is only business trips where I use hotels any more. Since the company is paying for it, I don't mind staying in hotels and eating out at restaurants.

Speaking of business travel I should probably get back to work. There is a lot going on this week and I need to get ready for all of the events. Then I can wind down for the Christmas break.

2021 Christmas List

It is that time of year when people are starting to panic about what to get that computer nerd for Christmas. My wife hates trying to guess what I will want for Christmas and so I have to present a list for her early in September. This year that is probably a good idea as the news keeps talking about supply-chain issues and if you don't order gifts now, they might not arrive before Christmas. So for those of you that have procrastinated getting that computer geek in your life something special, here are some things that I would like.

The Gift of Learning

Technology changes at a rapid pace and I am constantly trying to keep up with new advancements. Several years ago I received a catalog from The Great Courses and ordered a few DVD classes on the National Parks and some others on Photography. Since then I have picked up a guitar course and several others. For a few years, my employer provided me with an unlimited online subscription to all of the courses. My wife and I would sit down about every other night and learn about quite a few number of topics that we both found interesting. Early in my career, computers were also my hobby and so if you have someone like that in your life, I would suggest finding their interests and seeing if there are any courses that match their level of experience. There is a great introduction to Machine Learning course (Christmas special of $50 right now) but if your gift recipient is beyond the beginning level, I would look for something else.

The Gift of Experiences

I find that the older I get, the less stuff I want. This may be because I already have everything I want or maybe I am just tired of throwing technology away when it becomes outdated. In any event, I always appreciate the gift of experiences. My son is giving his children a trip to Disneyland for Christmas and my wife and I have been invited. Of course we have to pay for ourselves but we are looking forward to the trip and have decided that it will be our gift to each other for Christmas. While a trip may be well outside your Christmas budget, there are a lot of ideas to help reduce the cost of a trip for someone. You might give them a gift card to help with airfare. There are a lot of airlines that allow you to give gift cards. Southwest and Delta are my two favorite. You could also give gift cards that can be spent at a destination such as Disneyland.

One of the best deals you can get someone that is looking for experiences is an America the Beautiful pass. It is a card that lets a car-load of people into any of our National Parks and National Monuments. It is only $80 for a year and pays for itself after only 2 visits. This year I have visited Volcanoes National Park, Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge, and Yosemite National Park. I got it in May and will probably use it again for Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park before it expires.

The Gift of Photography

When I found out I would be leaving Sony, I made a list of all the purchases I wanted to make at the online company store. I knew I would lose my discount and so I made sure to pick up a new television. Another thing I wanted was Sony's top-of-the-line digital camera. I have helped plenty of friends pick up cameras and lenses over the years. I figured I should get one for myself. I got a great deal on a Sony A7RIV. The only downside is I also needed to get lenses. I did a bit of research and picked up 5 different ones. I won't go into too many details but I am very happy with the purchase. Now if my wife would let me play with the camera before Christmas I could provide a nice review.

You don't need an expensive camera to give someone the gift of photography for Christmas. Perhaps they already have a great camera but could use an additional lens. My guess though is that a newer smartphone might be a better purchase. I generally go several years before upgrading my phone. Check with your carrier to see if there are free low-cost upgrades. While I have a spectacular camera, I use my mobile phone's camera a lot more. The cameras in the latest phones are nothing short of amazing.

The Gift of 3D Printing

My final gift idea for the year is that of 3D Printing. My youngest son got me into 3D printing while he completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. Now that he has graduated, he purchased his own printer but continues to send me ideas of things to print. You can get your own 3D printer for around $200. If that special nerd in your life already has one, there are countless upgrades and supplies that would make great gifts. Just be sure to make sure any upgrades will work with the existing printer. You can also never have enough printing material and that you can find for around $20. Again, make sure it will work with the printer as filament comes in various sizes.

The Gift of Choice

I hate recommending generic gift cards as a Christmas gift but sometimes that could be the best choice. If you want to get some PLA for your nerd's 3D printer but are not quite sure of the filament size, just get a $20 gift card to Amazon and eliminate any worry about if you got the right stuff. It also allows you to tailor your gift to fit your budget exactly.

First Flight Since March 7

This weekend my wife and I braved air travel and headed to Ohio to visit our son and his family. It is the first flight I have been on since March 7. I have to say that I felt reluctant to get on the plane due to COVID-19. After taking the journey, the flight was probably the safest part of the trip.

Normally I would have had someone drop us off at the airport but our daughter had to go to work. We could have parked at the airport but instead opted to take the train to the airport. It meant a 1-mile walk to the train station but I don't mind the exercise and so we did that. In hindsight, we should have parked at the airport. We had to change trains and have a 29-minute wait for a different train line in downtown Salt Lake. Neither my wife nor I minded the wait for our next train. What we did mind was the lack of thought for others on the train. I am not a fan of masks but they are required on the train. Not everyone felt obligated to wear one and about half of the passengers didn't bother. Unfortunately the people that didn't wear masks are part of the demographic in Salt Lake at most risk for COVID-19. I couldn't wait to get to the airport and off that train. Once there, I made sure to use a liberal quantity of hand sanitizer. I hope it works.

The security line at the airport moved very quickly and we found ourselves at the Southwest Airline gates. We had an early boarding number and found a row 4 seats back. I put my wife at the window and I took the isle. Southwest is not loading the planes to capacity so they can ensure all middle seats on the flight are empty. I appreciate that. Furthermore you are required to wear a mask on the flight. If you have some medical condition that prevents you from wearing a mask, they won't let you on the plane. The only exception is young children under the age of 2.

The flight went well to Chicago. The 2 and a half hour flight is the longest I have worn a mask since COVID-19 started. I hated it but am not complaining because I want everyone around me to be wearing a mask. We landed in Chicago and had to continue wearing masks until we got a pizza at one of few open restaurants in the airport. Once we finished the meal, the masks went back on. I have to admit that the airport really felt like a scene out of a zombie apocalypse movie.

The flight from Chicago to Cleveland lasted only 45 minutes and went quickly. My son picked us up at the airport and we had a relatively short drive to his home. Once there I could reflect on my flight experience. I feel a lot more comfortable about flying but it is not something I want to do frequently. In other words, I won't be doing it for work any time soon. I don't think I will be using the train any time soon though and would discourage anyone from doing so until COVID-19 has been resolved.

Airport Flight Delays

I am at the Los Angeles International airport waiting for a flight back to Salt Lake and it is delayed by 2 hours. This whole trip has been plagued by travel delays and so I find myself in the airport wondering how best to spend my time. When I left Salt Lake on Monday afternoon, I finished my ham radio magazine due to a delayed flight. Last night I patiently waited an extra 2 hours for my wife's flight to arrive from Salt Lake so we could spend today at Disneyland. Fortunately I had a car and could drive to get some dinner nearby. I ate at the same coffee shop where they filmed a scene for the movie XXX with Vin Diesel and the food tasted amazing. I recommend it highly.

Even before I headed to the airport this evening I knew that this flight would be delayed simply because it is the last flight of the day and my experience with Southwest is that evening flights are almost always delayed. Unfortunately you cannot plan on the flight being late because if it isn't and you miss the flight, the consequences can be expensive and uncomfortable.

So how best to spend my evening? I have 2 smartphones and a laptop with a full battery as well as my PlayStation Vita. My first thought included using my laptop to write this blog entry. Unfortunately the free Internet connection at LAX is only good for 45 minutes and so I am trying to write quickly. Experience has taught me that when the 45 minutes is up, my network connection gets screwy and requires a fair amount of work to get reconnected. When I am done here I will take care of my work e-mail on one of my smartphones. Then I will pull out my Vita and play some Lego Hobbit. If I still need to entertain myself after that, I will probably be too tired to do anything more than listen to Spotify, Pandora, or stored MP3 files on my phone. Hopefully I will remain entertained.

In-flight Entertainment

Last night I took a flight from San Diego to San Francisco and noticed they had free entertainment available. I was on one of those small regional jets and so there wasn't a screen embedded in the seat in front of me. They simply had a video server on the plane with a number of movies or shows that you could stream to your electronic device. This is something that Southwest has provided for a number of years but I have never bothered taking advantage of it. I was on a different carrier last night and wanted to make sure I wasn't bored so I gave it a look.

The flight attendants were kind enough to let me know that I needed to download the latest app from the airline carrier while we were still at the gate. I pulled out one of my smartphones, the one with the largest screen, and downloaded the app. It was rather large but finished a few seconds after they closed the front door. Once it was done installing, I put my phone in airplane mode in order to comply with the flight attendant instructions. This automatically turns off WiFi capabilities which I could over-ride and turn back on. Nothing really worked until the plane got above 10,000 feet. Then I could browse the available movies and television shows.

At first glance I thought I would have plenty to keep me entertained. Then I realized the flight was only an hour. That means a movie was out of the question. I didn't want to start a movie only to have it stop as we dropped below 10,000 feet to land. So I started looking at television shows. I actually stopped watching television a while ago and so nothing looked interesting. Eventually I forced myself to pick something and tried to watch a single episode. I was instructed to turn off USB debugging on my device or the video wouldn't play. I browsed a few menus on my phone but ultimately decided that I really wasn't that interested in watching the show. Instead I picked up a paper ham radio magazine and read during the flight. Before I knew it the flight was over as was the need to entertain myself.

I think it is great that airlines have started including video servers on their flights and am glad they allow us to bring our own electronic devices to use. No matter how large the seat in front of me is, my laptop or tablet has a screen that is significantly larger. This is even true with a larger number of smartphones. While I didn't bother with a movie or television show on this flight, I'm sure others took advantage of it.

Printed Airline Tickets

This morning I got up and boarded my usual flight to Oakland from Salt Lake City. My son flew with me and we had a nice flight together. As we headed through the airport I noticed a number of differences between our experiences. I always print up a paper ticket after checking in online. My son sent his ticket to his phone and saved on the cost of a sheet of paper. I thought I would comment on the differences seen today.

My son woke up at 7am yesterday and checked in for his flight using his mobile phone. I knew I was going to print my ticket and so I waited until I was near a computer before I checked in. As I fly a lot more than my son, I still had a better boarding position on Southwest because of my "A-List" status. If I needed to check in exactly 24 hours before my flight, I would have used my phone and then had to print a ticket later. Mark this as a win for the ticket on the phone.

We got to the airport this morning and I pulled out my ticket to hand to the TSA representative along with my government issued ID. The security person took my ticket and wrote all over it as she verified my name on both documents. My son had to pull out his phone and hold it so the TSA agent could verify his name with his ID. It actually took a bit longer than my process but not enough to make a difference.

The last and final spot where an airline ticket is needed is when boarding the plane. I just pulled my ticket out, handed it to the gate agent, and boarded the plane without slowing down. My son had to pull out his phone, unlock the screen, find his ticket, hold it just right so the scanner could read the digital code, and then boarded the plane. It is this last process where the paper ticket wins out over the one on the phone.

If I look at the score for each method of presenting an airline ticket, it seems to be a draw. However since I don't rely on checking in at a set time due to my frequent flyer status, the paper ticket has a slight advantage when it comes to boarding the plane. Perhaps I should give the ticket on my phone more of a chance and see if I prefer it though. That is something I will definitely think about.

Tough to go Back to Work

For some reason this Christmas and New Year's vacation seemed longer than previous years. That made it really tough to get up and get on the airplane to go back to work this morning. I don't think I am the only one that found it tough to go back as everyone in the office seemed to share the same idea that another week of vacation would be just fine.

My flight to the office was later than usual and so instead of sleeping, I pulled out my laptop and did some e-mail. I have sort of gotten used to having WiFi on my Southwest flights lately and it helped me get ahead on things in the office before I even arrived. That helped making going back to work a little easier. Now I just need to figure out how to get motivated to go back tomorrow. Maybe I should schedule some time to do some product testing and play more video games.

Don't Shoot the Messenger

When I first started flying between Utah and California earlier this year, Southwest had a flight that left Oakland at 6pm and got into Salt Lake at 9pm. It required me to leave my office at 4 and I sort of had an evening at home. Then Southwest moved the flight to 7pm, which put me in at 10pm. I got to stay at the office until 5pm but sort of ruined my Friday nights. Now Southwest has pushed the flight back to 8:15, which puts me in after 11pm. That totally ruins my Friday evening.

Today is the first time that the flight goes home at 8:15 and I wasn't too happy about it when I made the reservation. I thought about going on the Delta flight, which leaves at 6:15, but wanted to remain loyal to Southwest.

I just logged onto Southwest's website to see if my flight is going to be on time this evening. Right now it is 2 hours late. I won't be home until well after midnight. I checked the FAA's website to see what airports are experiencing weather delays and San Fransisco (SFO) is the only one. That means that Southwest is having problems or at one time during the day, this plane made a stop at SFO and it screwed up the rest of the day's schedule. The net effect is I am not a happy. Sometimes the Internet brings bad news and it is important to remember not to shoot the messenger.

A Good Seat on Southwest

In my post from last week, I mentioned that I live in Salt Lake but work in the San Francisco area. That means I do a lot of flying. I have traveled my whole career and so this is no big deal. The way to make it bearable is to know a few travel tricks. Things like wearing slip-on shoes to the airport so you don't have to do a lot of shoe tying at the security line.

However, the most important trick is to know how to get a good seat on Southwest airlines. I buy my plane tickets several weeks in advance and Southwest generally has the best prices. That means I don't get a seat when I make my reservation. Yes, I have the option of paying an extra fee that allows me to board before everyone, but I found a less expensive solution that helps to be in the first boarding group.

Southwest allows you to check-in, 24 hours before your flight. The order you check in, is the order that you get to board the plane (behind those that paid the extra fee). When I make my flight reservation, I also make an entry in the calendar on my phone. I then set the reminder on my phone so that exactly 24 hours before my flight I can start the check-in process. Since I have an iPhone, I also have the Southwest application which allows me to check in from anywhere. Last week I was at the car wash when the alarm went off. I silenced the alarm and was checked in before the wash cycle completed.

Now that I figured out how to use my calendar to help me remember to check in for flights, I should probably throw in some important dates, like my anniversary and wife's birthday. That reminds me, Mother's Day is just around the corner. Now if I only knew what to get the mother of my children . . .

Travel Day

I am on the road again today. I woke up this morning to catch an early flight to the Bay Area and will be on a flight back home later this evening. I prefer to do a one-day trip as opposed to spending the night in a hotel. There is something very comforting about sleeping in your own bed.

I bought my ticket on Tuesday and so the cheapest airline was Southwest. Those that fly a lot know that Southwest doesn't have assigned seating. You are basically assigned an order that they use to load the plane. The sooner you check into your flight, the sooner you get to board the plane. This makes Internet check-in a very useful tool. The only rule is that you can't check into your flight earlier than 24-hours before it departs. That means if you flight is at 7am MST on Thursday, you can't check in until 7am MST on Wednesday.

I had a conference call yesterday morning when I could have been checking into my flight and so I had to wait until I was done before I could get on the Internet. I was still in the early boarding group and so I was happy with my plane boarding order. Last night when it came time to check in, I was at a Snowbird Ski Team Board meeting. I thought about using my iPhone to check in during the meeting. The only problem was that I needed my confirmation number and I didn't have it with me. I had to wait until I got home. When I finally did check in, I was stuck in the second boarding group.

This morning's flight out was not very full as there were only 60 people on the whole plane. My hope is that the flight home is equally empty. Unfortunately, I don't think that will be the case. Thursday afternoons are huge travel times. In any case, the secret to getting a good Southwest flight is to be on the Internet 24 hours before your flight leaves. And don't forgot to have your flight confirmation number with you.