everything you know is wrong

Jerry Remy, announcer for NESN and the Boston Red Sox, has a local chain of Tcotchkes-style restaurants. This bit of trivia – the existence of the chain and the importance of its owner – lives in a weird limbo between “apropos” and “boring,” depending on the audience. People who live in Boston need hear nothing [...]

goin’ to chicago (sorry, but I can’t take you)

Twenty-seven B-stroke-6 American Express lets you book flights online with Membership Rewards points instead of cash. The site even duplicates the functionality of Travelocity, allowing you to search a range of dates or a couple adjacent airports. Neat. But they’re not always great on follow-up. Case in point: I wanted to check-in for my flight [...]

eight miles high and falling fast

Continental Airlines Flight #482 was scheduled to depart Houston Airport at 1:45 (Central) and arrive in Boston at 6:45 (Eastern). These facts inform the rest of the following narrative. (1) My own damn fault – I thought the plane was taking off at 1:00, not 1:45. So when my ride dropped me at Houston at [...]

iceland part one

I didn’t know what to expect for my first international flight traveling alone, so I got to Logan early. I kicked my shoes off for the security line but, in the current production of TSA security theater, did not have to present my boarding pass. With several hours to kill, I had a few beers [...]

christmas is for children

Let’s not overlook the most important gift I could ask for this season: the Ravens in the playoffs. Expect to see a lot more of the #5 jersey over the next few weeks. I’d say something clever in anticipation of the next playoff round, like, “I hope this year’s Dolphins play like last year’s Dolphins [...]

my hometown

Thanksgiving weekend, comparing and contrasting my experiences in Baltimore (where I grew up) and Boston (where I live): The TSA Boston: Though I’d already put my jacket on the X-ray conveyor belt, the security goon asked me to strip out of my Ravens hoodie as well. Another goon rifled through my toiletries kit before putting [...]

they say money don’t make the man, but damn I’m making money

Here’s a lesson in marginal costs. If you buy business class seats rather than coach on AirTran, you will pay $100 to $200 more. However, if you upgrade at the moment you check in – whether online or at the airport – you’ll only pay $50 more. An empty seat in business class earns the [...]

so much to say, so much to say, so much to say, so much to say

Link dumps in lieu of content: #: Actual inflation up at least 6.9 percent in the past year. Most inflation statistics that you read in the news report core inflation – inflation that excludes changes in the price of oil or food. But if inflation comes from an increase in the money supply relative to [...]