Arriving in Chicago:
Now, I'm waiting in the airport... with WiFi. It's not so bad. I paid extra for a nonstop flight, but it got cancelled. Snow in NYC. My connecting flight is delayed an hour, but I found an electrical outlet, and the WiFi here is only $6.95. Lunch is a Starbucks venti latte, with lots of vanilla sugar.
ADDED: I'm blogging from inside the plane. Nothing to say though. It's crowded.
AND: I'm in NYC. LaGuardia airport was insanely crowded. I made it to my 7 pm dinner and am now ensconced in my hotel with a spectacular view, but it's a view that inclines one toward sober thoughts. We overlook the World Trade Center.
पोस्ट्स
७४ टिप्पण्या:
Have a safe flight...Eventually. :)
Ruth Anne, the link de-hotlinked.
Ann, bon voyage! And I'm glad you shot the pics with your Sony since they look beautiful.
I can see you faintly on the window, though. :)
Cheers,
Victoria
Either your photography is getting better or you are becoming a better editor of it. Either way, I think your photo work is really interesting. It seems stronger graphically. Thanks for posting them here.
Trey
Why would you pay extra for a non-stop flight?
Why are you traveling at all? Aren't you concerned about Global Warming?
Shouldn't you have video-conferenced your way to New York? Taken a train?
Paying for wi-fi for an hour plus a star bucks latte in an airport -- that's about what a poverty level family has to spend on food each day. What a creepy elitist you are.
Reality Check, you're an idiot. Your comment just goes to show that you have no understanding whatsoever of why people thought Pelosi was being a hypocrite.
What does this have to do with Nancy Pelosi?
I have to agree with reality check in this case.
Let's cancel the NBA game allstar game and play it on a video Xbox thingamajiggy.
Hell cancel Las Vegas period. We can gamble at home on the internets.
And no more global warming concerts for you Al Gore (local artists only- no traveling allowed) so you have to rename your concert the local warming concert (and I agree that does not sound so impressive but try & tough it out).
No more nationwide political calcavades. No more barnstorming book tours for Dr. Phil and the like. We can do it all from the comfort of your living room with teleconferencing.
Why are you traveling at all? Aren't you concerned about Global Warming?
I see this more as a "respect for the troops" issue, myself.
Don't mind Reality Check. His hair shirt may be giving him problems today. Perhaps he will sell his computer and give the proceeds to the poor, ala Tolstoy.
All The Way!
Why would you pay extra for a non-stop flight? Is that a serious question? Non-stop is less time-consuming and more efficient.
Why are you traveling at all? Why did the chicken cross the road? Because it was stapled to the back of a frog. No, sorry, got that backwards.
Aren't you concerned about Global Warming? edit: small "g" and small "w;" unless you're writing ironically...then good joke!. Impression I get of Ann's daily life is of someone who leaves a relatively small ecological footprint that makes the occasional use of a plane acceptable. Compared to the average congressman. Though she does sometimes write of solitary drives in the country--serving no utilitarian purpose--when she obviously should have been hitchhiking. You're right, Althouse is killing the planet.
Shouldn't you have video-conferenced your way to New York? I could go either way on this. I don't often advocate person-to-person contact, but I hear some people enjoy it. Some things can't be accomplished with a USB port.
Taken a train? Amtrak offers a one-way ticket from Madison to New York for $184. However, they have to bus you to Chicago to get to the train. Trip time is a minimum 22.5 hours, plus a 2-hour layover in Chicago. Checking Travelocity, with a 2-week minimum purchase, I see a non-stop from Chicago to New York is $123/roundtrip. Travel time (roundtrip) is 4.5 hours.
Paying for wi-fi for an hour plus a star bucks latte in an airport -- that's about what a poverty level family has to spend on food each day. Sucks to be them. Often the downtrodden walk by a snooty Starbucks wondering if there's anyway they too may one day be admitted into such an august and exclusive club. Yes, buying a latte is the first step to gaining admittance to such places as the Bohemian Grove. Once you can order a macchiato, you'll be dining with royalty.
What a creepy elitist you are. Creepy seems a bit much and there's nothing wrong with being elitist. And have you been on a plane lately? Like in the last 20 years? Might make you wish air travel was more elitist.
Is the Wisconsin taxpayer picking up the difference in price between a direct and a non-stop flight?
Are they picking up the cost of your wi-fi and latte?
Are they picking up your hotel bills? If so, how much are you paying per night?
You're not staying in anything more elite than a Motel 6, right?
Glad to see you participating in a panel. Congratulations.
I bet you could have taken a step forward for global warming if you had asked them to accommodate your desire to participate via tele-conferencing.
It's as easy to do as when you "cam" on Yahoo, but you could also get a webex connection.
reality, the State of Wisconsin has set limits on lodging. For NYC, it's probably in the $160-$200/night range. Whenever I've flown somewhere, I've just made the request and the travel office we work through does it. When you travel for business, there is accommodation for your schedule, and rightly so. Per diems for breakfast and lunch are $10, for dinner it's $20. I've charged hotel internet access once, when I had to do some work and couldn't do it anywhere but in the hotel room.
The train at Columbus is on the Chicago to Seattle route. You can take in to Chicago, but then there's a wait as you have to change trains to one of the several NY-bound. From Madison, it's simpler to bus to O'Hare, and take the el downtown, than to drive to Columbus.
One correction on the AmTrak. It leaves from a small town near Madison [27 miles] called "Columbus." Of course, driving Silvio to Columbus also leaves a carbon footprint.
Thanks, Ruth Anne. I'll just add that any self-respecting Badger would have waxed up the cross country skis and knocked out that 27 miles in just a few hours...and shotgunning a 6-pack of Leiny along the way. Another sign Ann has not completely shed her elitist, East coast ways.
Reality Check, go here. Report back with your findings. Often it's more educational to look up the answers yourself, rather than have someone always hand them to you. Education is a lifelong process.
The Motel 6 in Piscataway is only $50.39.
I would hate to think that Professor Althouse is staying at an elitist upscale Manhattan Hotel at the taxpayer's expense. I know she would never do that.
C-130 rollin down the strip
Airborne daddy gonna take a little trip
Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door
Jump right out and count to 4
Me, I'd rather not think of hotels in Piscataway, having had a couple of my most unpleasant, biz-related hotel/motel stays in Piscataway.
Sometimes cheap is expensive.
737 rollin down the strip
Taxpayers pay for Ann's expensive trip
Fly up, hook up, talk a little lore
Eat a fancy dinner and blog some more.
She's going to a symposium to talk about law blogging, something she rarely does and doesn't like to do.
She bought a more expensive non-stop ticket that shows her disdain for the common people.
She did this on the taxpayers' dime.
Wasteful of money and terrible to the environment.
It's really rather disappointing since she has previously expressed concern for global warming and concern for the taxpayers' money.
Dang, I'm really old. I went through Jump School in 1966. There were no female Airborne then. T10 chutes, C119 aircraft (which you were glad to get out of). Jumping from the C130 was a pleasure. 19 jumps and I never made a good PLF. Usually it was feet, ass, head. Good thing I was young.
Reality Check, that's the fourth time that you've asserted - with no support - that this trip is on the taxpayer's dime. Comments at 3:12 PM; 3:39 PM; 4:04 PM; 4:44 PM. Simple choice: either explain the basis for the charge or quit repeating it! As Molon noted upthread, "[w]here does the Prof. say she's on a govt. funded boondoggle?"
Molon_Labe_Lamp said...
1st Jump, I was numero uno in the stick and got to hang out in the doorway for what seemed like ever. then it was time to go and my hot female Jumpmaster slapped me on the ass and said "Go Stud!" The rest is just a violent blur.
an assured solution to the problem of the first guy freezing in the door. That normally only happens in jump school. In an operational jump, the LT is going to yell "Follow me" and be first out and the Plt SGT is going to literally "kick ass" and be the last out. It does remind me of a section in "Starship Troopers" arguably a book about future paratroops.
LT Rico and his Platoon are waiting to jump when the female Captain of the troop transport starship comes over the radio, wishing them "good luck and good Hunting". Rico editorializes that female pilots are used on the troop transport because they are the best pilots and because "if one doesn't understand the difference it makes to trooper morale for the last thing he hears before his combat jump to be a female wishing him well, then you have resigned from the human race".
Well I am sure our carbon destroying professor will let us know if she
a) picked up the charges for her trip herself, AND
b) had no classes or office hours or other official duties scheduled for today or tomorrow
If both of those conditions are met, than I would say the professor paid for this elitist, carbon destroying junket out of her pocket using the $160,000 salary the taxpayers have given her.
Do the troops nowadays still sing Blood on the Risers?
Just for the record, 'reality check' is a libertarian, not a lefty. ;)
Anyway, is there any reason to believe what she says? She has a conflict of interest here.
I am working with her words in her original article where she says she is going to New York for a symposium and she specifically requested a non-stop flight at extra expense. Any information that comes in later may be interesting to you, but is hardly relevant.
I am just concerned about global warming and elitism and the waste of taxpayer money here. Don't you get that?
That's a rotten lie, Naked Lunch, and you take that back.
"Happy Trails to You"...
It's a 'Quicksilver Messenger Service' thing.
Mona - you know I love you.
reality check said...
"Anyway, is there any reason to believe what she says?"
There's a lot more reason to believe what shesays then there is to believe what you say.
"I am working with her words in her original article where she says she is going to New York for a symposium and she specifically requested a non-stop flight at extra expense."
And how do you get from that statement to the premise that this is a taxpayer-funded junket (which is not to concede that there's anything wrong with that even if you're right)?
Here's what you need to get: when you attack someone with no basis whatsoever, you don't get to demand that they refute your allegations or the charges will stand confirmed, you irritating little nosebleed. Who the hell do you think you are?
"I would say the professor paid for this elitist, carbon destroying junket out of her pocket using the $160,000 salary the taxpayers have given her."
Ah, now the lefty instinct comes out: "how dare you spend your money in ways that I disapprove of!" "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." The loony left, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy him before he's banned (or punched in the face, whichever comes first).
RC, you're so desparate to fling things at Ann that you've ripped out your own brain and loaded it into the slingshot. Stop digging.
Do you have a short term memory problem Simon?
Ruth's comment had a similar msg to mine. The advantage of using women to motivate men going out the door.
my verses are different:
Airborne, Airborne, have you heard?
We're gonna jump from a big iron bird
C-130 rollin down the strip
Airborne daddy gonna take a little trip
Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door
Jump right out and count to 4
If my chute don't open wide
I got another one by my side.
If that one don't open too
Look out world, I'ma comin' through.
If I die on the ole drop zone
Box me up and send me home.
Tell my ma, I've done my best.
Airborne Daddy gonna take alittle rest.
...using the $160,000 salary the taxpayers have given her
...not for one minute could I believe the Divine Ms Althouse is paid so little.
Unless that is there are some serious tax-deductible perks we don't know about.
"I would say the professor paid for this elitist, carbon destroying junket out of her pocket using the $160,000 salary the taxpayers have given her."
Ah, now the lefty instinct comes out: "how dare you spend your money in ways that I disapprove of
Do you have some sort of reading comprehension problem? I never said anything about taking her money away.
She is free to spend her $160,000 anyway that is legal. If she chooses to use it to destroy the environment, when she of all people could afford a more environmentally friendly manner of travel (or communication) that is her business.
Really, I am just worried about the environment, why don't you get that?
AllenS said...
Do the troops nowadays still sing Blood on the Risers?
It might be sung in one of the regiment's of the 82nd as a regimental history sort of thing, but I can testify that it did not survive in the training establishment as long ago as 30 years.
Peter, I believe it's $140,000 but she also gets $20,000 for six weeks of summer school.
It's all available online, and you don't need a FOIA.
Gosh, I really shouldn't have gotten a degree in English. I bet I make about the same salary as the people who clean the law building at U-Wisc at night.
Have a safe, wonderful trip, Ann. Don't forget to write!
reality check said...
"Peter, I believe it's $***,000 but she also gets $**,000 for six weeks of summer school."
And needless to say, you've been looking. And by "been looking" I mean "searching for sharp sticks." *eyeroll*.
reality check said...
"Do you have some sort of reading comprehension problem? I never said anything about taking her money away."
Actually, you do - you just call it "taxation." And were that not enough, you want to restrict by law and criticize the way the remainder is spent.
"I am just worried about the environment, why don't you get that?"
I'm almost inclined to take a private jet up to Chicago next week, just to to irritate you. But I'd go so far as to say that you don't give a shit about the environment, RC - the only pattern that emerges from your comments here in terms of your interests and what you care about is how you can poke Ann with sharp sticks today.
Actually, you do - you just call it "taxation." And were that not enough, you want to restrict by law and criticize the way the remainder is spent.
Please don't put words in my mouth, and we'll put S down for "thinks there should never ever be any taxes for anything." That's a pretty realistic attitude d00d.
reality check: Motel 6 = rape.
A single woman travelling alone cannot stay at such a place.
It'll be a lot more expensive for the tax payers to have to pick up the cost of rape treatment counseling.
Peace, Maxine
Seriously, at first I thought RC was mocking his previous posts, you know, in the spirit of humour, and having a little fun at Ann's expense.
I thought, good on him!, finally a crack of self-deprecation appearing
But Jesus, even I realised by the third gnawing-the-same-bone, s/he was dead serious.
Wow. Creepsville.
Cheers,
Victoria
reality check: Motel 6 = rape.
A single woman travelling alone cannot stay at such a place.
It'll be a lot more expensive for the tax payers to have to pick up the cost of rape treatment counseling.
*shiver*
I've stayed at the Y in NYC once, alone, when I was 20 or so. I survived, and I wouldn't do it now, though.
She needs a hotel near midtown, like La Quinta or Comfort Inn, which are above Motel 8, in the safety-metre, but still affordable.
They're about $139 p/n, this time of year.
Cheers,
Victoria
The Barbizon Hotel for Women
They have a curfew, and they don't allow any gentlemen callers after 6 pm.
I think Ann would like the structure.
Peace, Maxine
http://www.travelwithattitude.com/barbizon.html
Peter, I believe it's $140,000 but she also gets $20,000 for six weeks of summer school
...Blimey, I wouldn't get out of Ann's bed for $20k of six weeks of teenage summer school hormones.
I thought you guys were supposed to be the Affluenza capital of the world!
Seeing reality check speak truth to power is just a little less fun than eating a sand-and-crushed glass casserole.
Such a classic nosebleed prick, a humorless PC snivelling cowardly scold, ready to show the uncaring world how much he loves humanity but hates its undeserving people.
And the latte? That's how markets work, you bonehead. Althouse overpays for coffee, and the downtrodden laborers take her money and buy stuff with it. Same for the pricey plane ride and hotel. Maids buy food, baggage handlers pay rent, waitstaff pays off their mortgage. All from Althousian splurgitude.
You seem not to understand the first thing about economics. Twit.
P.S. And in reality check's honor, I'm going to increase my personal carbon footprint 100-fold this weekend just to make the damn temperature go up a degree because this horrendous global warming is freezing my pipes.
"I am working with her words in her original article where she says she is going to New York for a symposium and she specifically requested a non-stop flight at extra expense."
While she may be incurring an "extra expense" by flying nonstop, she is also leaving a smaller carbon footprint by taking off and landing only once, instead of twice (or more). It should also be noted that the plane was flying, regardless of her being on it or not. An aircraft is a mode of mass transportation after all.
It also seems to me that Ann spent her dime to use less fuel and expedite her trip...
and speaking of expediting...
Taking a train, or some other slower form of transportation, would also mean that she was taking even more time off, therefore costing those of us who pay WI taxes more money.
It appears that Ann is actually being more responsible both ecologically and fiscally than you give her credit for, RC.
-JR
I bet all that hair dye is also bad for the environment. Right, Annie?!
AJD said...
I bet all that hair dye is also bad for the environment. Right, Annie?!
No, haven't you considered that Blondie hair is highly reflective and helps counter global warming by reflecting significantly more kilo-calories back into outer space?
Um, Reality Check, a stop-over flight is less efficent than a non-stop flight. For short-haul flight, take-off and climbing is a large portion of the total fuel burn. That's part of the reason the crusing altitude for short flights is lower than long flights, even if it's the same model. It just isn't worth it to climb higher, if all you're gonna do is land soon.
RC, your logic, if it could be called that, seems to be "if it reduces your carbon footprint, you should do it." In that case, I suggest you stop using your computer immediately, save some electricity, and save the environment, in more ways than one. Also, try breathing less.
(Long hiatus from commenting...the new system somehow forgot my password, and I certainly don't remember it. Proof to myself that I am not addicted to blogging!)
Blimey - I hope some of you lot leave your venom at home if you're going to the meet!
About paying for the hotel: I'm a speaker at the conference, and the school that invited me -- New York Law School -- is paying for my travel.
Yes, isn't it amusing that my salary is available on line? Don't forget to count all the money I make from blogads, freelance writing, and honoraria.
am now ensconced in my hotel with a spectacular view, but it's a view that inclines one toward sober thoughts. We overlook the World Trade Center.
Nice to learn that the WTC is inspiring sober thoughts for a change. Bit late though.
Re: "Bit late though."
Q. What kind of pedantic buffoon would suggest that Althouse had not previously held sober thoughts about the WTC?
A. A small man named Alan, who lacks the need for a codpiece.
Hope you have a nice trip, Prof. Althouse.
Don't forget to count all the money I make from blogads
At least you make money off your trolls!
Reality, reality, reality. We have talked about this before you and I. Reread the thread, notice how nobody is paying any attention to the content of your message. You even complain about this.
The good news is that it is your fault that nobody pays any attention to your message! That is good news because you can change that.
Stay on topic, don't insult other people, provide data for your assertions. Then you too can be taken at least somewhat seriously.
Otherwise people here will continue to write you off as a blathering idiot. I believe that you are more and can do better.
Trey
You seem to have a lot more faith in people than I do, Trey. ;)
Simon, it is an occupational hazard!! But if you bother to read some of Reality Check's posts, and I understand if you do not, you will see that he really can turn a phrase. That is a mark of intelligence in my book.
And one left screaming lefty and one more cogent Democrat would be a good thing, even for an Conservative like me. I appreciate the Democrats, it is the liberals that are so annoying.
Trey
It's gratifying to see that Ann's own arguments against Nancy Pelosi didn't hold water with you guys.
She said it was about the elitism, but you didn't buy that. She said it was about the global warming but you didn't buy that. She said it was about the non-stop vs. direct flight, but you didn't buy that. She said it was about the taxpayer's money, but you didn't buy that.
So I guess after all of that, we all of us together concluded it really was just a way for Ann to write another hit piece against a Democrat, the way I wrote one against conservative Ann.
Good job guys!
Better. You are getting the hang of it.
Trey
AJD posted: "I bet all that hair dye is also bad for the environment. Right, Annie?!"
My vote for vapid post of the year. I realize it is early, but I think this one has staying power.
Check out AJD's blog too. A real winner.
Trey
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