Worst. Airport. Ever.

Just came through Dulles IAD. That airport sank right to the very bottom as my worst airport ever. Here's what happens to you:

1) UA 824 from Sao Paolo arrives 30 minutes early, at 6:30am. Terminal D. Woo-hoo!
2) You get on an obsolete "moon buggy" to Immigration and Customs in Terminal C. Boo!
3) Only 2 people are working. To handle 2-3 big planeloads.
4) More Immigration officers trickle in at 7am.
5) Clear immigration at 7:45am.
6) You get dumped outside of the sterile area. So...
7) Clear TSA security. "We remember 2001" posters everywhere.
8) Ride moon buggy again, back out to Terminal D.
9) Barely make it on to an 8:30am flight. Wonder what decade you just visited.

Bem vindo ao Brasil!

I can't believe I forgot to wear my Orkut t-shirt. Doh!

Tahoe?

Nope, the hills above Saratoga!

Hayward Fault Tour

Google Earth tour of the Hayward Fault, courtesy of USGS. We're so screwed.

Cars > Houses

This mashup suits my tastes better.

Life at 100BPM

Beaterator. Good stuff.

Like Gran Turismo 3

Crazy driving in the Lefortovo Tunnel, Moscow.



Is it me, or does the bus just keep on driving?

Best. Airport. Ever.

We took a long weekend trip to Portland this past weekend, and discovered the joys of PDX. It's now atop my shortlist of favorite airports, alongside HKG.

Lots of carpeting in a brand-new terminal building. Nice layout. WiFi. Friendly people. Moving walkways. Not too crowded. Hot dogs aplenty. The kid loved the place so much that we got to the Hertz counter like 90 minutes after the plane landed. (And, if we weren't laden with kid luggage, we might've even tried out the in-terminal public transit connection!)

PDX has good-old payphones...


... and hot dogs!

The kombucha helps. Somehow.

This very timely article in the SF Chron's Food section shows all the stuff now clogging up my arteries.

To the company's credit, there are some really, really good healthy food options here. So the problem is really just my propensity to put fatty meats on the plate just because it's, well, there.

It's all that Chinese DNA screaming, "You don't understand -- It's FREE!"