There's an article in this Sunday's NY Times travel section:

The Joy of Cutting It Close
By LUCY FERRISS

I TELL my friends that my schedule was simply too tight, that I miscalculated, that the traffic was unbelievable, or even that I got the departure time wrong. None of these excuses, even when true, explains why I cut time so close when catching the plane or the train. I do it because I like to. I pay the price, and then I do it again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/24/tr...12000mio0iio7f