I was never smart enough to figure out the "game" or to deal well with situations in which my travel expenses were greater than my charge for services, but my nephew, the road warrior of road warriors, solved my problem, simply suggesting that I increase my charges to avoid potential embarrassment.

Of course, at 27, he bills portal to portal, attempting to amass a fortune before departing his youthful years. My sister, an attorney with occasional jaunts overseas, bills at a split rate, one hourly fee while traveling, the other while working on her client's problems. She does claim that if she ponders a legal matter while high above the Atlantic, she logs it and bills out the time at the working rate (which seems only modestly less than the hourly charge for surgeons during the critical stages of heart transplants or skilled plumbers).