It’s been an interesting year for me, as my site actually went through a period where it got real traffic (that’s what you get when you write about a new Apple technology). My post on iTunes Match got the most traffic I’ve ever gotten, something like 1200 uniques to this point, which is a couple of orders of magnitude more than I normally do. 1200 uniques isn’t a lot, but it is when you’re used to only getting read by friends and family (hi guys!). I kind of enjoyed it, so I think one of my goals is to write a bit more about techie/Apple stuff this year, see if I can keep up that momentum.

I think it’d probably also be smart to write a bit more about music. With Spotify and MOG and Rdio, there’s sort of no excuse to not be able to at least try out music, so I’ll pass more of that along as I come across it.

Finally, I think it’s time for ryantoohil.com to get a makeover. That’s on the todo list for this year, and I’ll try to post bits and pieces about my makeover as I go.

Basketball is back

• For lunch, the gf and I walked about 15 minutes down a reasonably tree-lined street to the Five Horses Tavern for lunch.
• We had awesome fried buttermilk chicken tenders and pork belly tacos (really good)
• I had a Hobgoblin beer (there were lots of good options)
• It cost about $30 for two of us
• For dinner, we went across town (could have walked or taken the subway, but we drove the 10 minutes) to meet friends for dinner. The place we were going was packed (we were going for a local beer tasting, so we walked next door, heard some live music and ate some decent, cheapish food.
• Oh, and drank some good beer.
• Then we went down a couple of doors and had a couple of beers.
• The whole thing was probably $30 for the two of us again.

A bunch of good beer, some good food, some live music, and most of it within walking distance. $60.

Today, if I wasn’t lazily watching football, I’d probably walk down that same tree-lined street and go see a movie. If I lived in the ’burbs, I’d have trees, but not the array of stuff in walking distance. If I lived in a bigger city, I’d be poor and stabbed.

I’ll take the happy medium.

“Airlines have been boarding passengers since the first commercial flight, but as they have added new classes of seating to their cabins and new fees for priority boarding — all in the name of more revenue — they have slowed down the whole process.

Checked-baggage fees have only added to the problem, because travelers now take more roll-ons onboard, blocking the aisles as they try to cram their belongings into any available space.”

I took two flights yesterday (and will take two more on Thursday), and I spent most of my boarding time thinking about ways to make it better. The easiest way? Someone (flight attentdant?) should be roaming around bitching at people for doing stupid things (shoving a giant bag into the overhead and taking up the entire thing, sticking all of your belongings in the overhead before anyone else has a chance to even get on the plane, being a general douche).

The simplest fixes I’ve thought of:

• If you can’t put something in the overhead due to its size, weight, or your physical condition, then you should check it. No exceptions.
• You get to put one item in the overhead until the doors are shut and everyone is seated. If you put your jacket or your purse up there, you better hope your carry-on fits under the seat. One item.
• In an economy-boosting measure, all carry-ons that are going in the overheads get tagged when you get to the ticket kiosk. At the gate, you put them in a pile. A team of baggage handlers takes those bags and plays Tetris with the baggage, trying to get your bag near your seat, and fitting as much in the overheads before anyone even sets foot on the plane.

I kinda like the last one the best. These guys (maybe two or three folks?) are working while the plane is getting setup. On a big flight, there’s a couple of hundred bags going in the overhead. They throw all the bags on a hand truck, take it down the jetway, and start maneuvering. Assuming that you can reduce the amount of time it takes to board a plane, and that airlines can therefore get a few more planes out a day, there’s no profit loss. You’re getting more efficient, hiring thousands of new people across the country, and making the flying process might more relaxing for most passengers.

Sure, there are some exceptions. If all the bags won’t fit, they will gate-check your bag for you, and give you your tag as you board the plane. If you’re late, and you missed the pre-loading, they will gate-check your bag for you.

I’m sure there’s some reason it won’t work. But for now, this is the best plan I’ve got. And it’s better than just charging more.

(Via The Brooks Review.)

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First real vacation in a couple of years.

We do 4th of July right in Rutland.

My new favorite picture. And the title of this post is the google search that lead me to this bit of awesomeness.

And it’s better animated.