The view from Newark.

Why, yes, I am in Newark. Sorry to post so late, but I got up at 4:30 to get an early plane, and there was no WiFi in the airport, and I'm only now in a hotel room with internet access.

The taxi arrived early-- it was not yet 5:30 am--and the cab driver engaged me in conversation. Is that your VW Beetle in the driveway? That question was used to drag me into a long discussion about gas mileage and the bad people who buy cars that don't get good gas mileage and so forth. Yeah, I don't like SUVs either, but I don't really want to talk about it before 6 am. He likes driving the early shift, because he likes to see the sun rise, because there are only so many sunrises that are going to take place in one's lifetime, so one ought to try to see them all. Thanks, I always like to think about how short life is first thing in the morning, especially before getting into an airplane.

The people in the airport were mercifully quiet. Everyone seemed to get the idea that it was too early in the morning to talk. I arrived in Newark (for my conference tomorrow) only to find the hotel would not let me check in until 3. So I checked my bag and got on the PATH train for Manhattan, where I spent the day wandering around the Village and SoHo. Photos to follow this post very soon. I must first sort through the 100+ pictures I took before the battery died.