Yes.

At least he's not as bad as the guy I used to work with that wore shirts that were three sizes too small, and pants that looked like he'd owned them since 1975. To make it worse, he had man boobs that were of a size that if they were on a woman, you'd wonder if there were real or if they were silicone. He also once showed up with two shoes that didn't match and wore them that way all week, and then told me over dinner one night that when he was home, his wife always told him what to wear, but that she didn't help him pack.

I wanted to tell him his wife should do two things for him — clean out his closet, and pack his suitcase for him. I had to bite my tongue on that one.

I shed no tears when I found out we had laid off that individual. Nobody really liked him, and he was always a walking train wreck when it came to professional appearance.

It is reassuring to know that I am not the only one this happened to. In my case, though, it was a sort of East London accent that appeared in my head.

I've got the "Dear God, why can't the temperature always stay below 74° and the humidity low genes?"

Morning Box -- Mind if I ask WWTBD?

Looking at two options for a flight next Wed the 16th:

218 EWR-TPA dep 6:30p, arrive 9:39p
318 EWR-TPA dep 8:35p, arrive 11:44p

No checked bags, can't leave Manhattan until about 4:45p or so. Have an hour drive to Sarasota after arrival for meetings the next morning, and I'm already going to be short on sleep from flying into NYC early that morning.

Here's the real dilemma: the earlier flight is a 738, and the later one is a 739. I'm sportin silver these days, and a look at the seat maps shows an upgrade possible on either flight (exits are empty, elite sections with a smattering of seats filled, back is packed), but it clearly looks like the later flight has a better shot. However, there is dinner in F on the earlier flight and just drinks on the later one. Furthermore, I'm guessing the earlier one will have a 45 minute taxi, while the later one should be only 10 or so.

Amtrak is definitely preferable to the MARC. MARC is not very luggage friendly, and if you take one of the evening rush hour trains from Union Station and board within 10 minutes of departure time, you often end up standing. Standing is not bad on the express train that doesn't stop until BWI, but gets old on the train that takes 50 minutes. Unless the timing works out such that the MARC is better, I almost always pay extra and take Amtrak.

Nope, that's the attitude I'm taking. All loss is good loss, and three pounds in the grand scheme is virtually nothing. If I have to wear or do something in which the three pounds is a factor, there are certainly ways to shed it quickly and safely in order to meet whatever obligation.

I am getting no download speed on the Microsoft Updates released yesterday. :rolleyes:

^

Glad to know I made the right choice then.

Even taking the Acela round-trip to BWI is cheaper than the mileage and parking at the airport when I lived in Houston, or when I lived in Atlanta and was still driving to the airport.

Do you think you will be able to get to EWR from Manhattan in time to take the earlier flight? That's what I'd do, if only because it takes me more like 1 hr 20 min to drive to Sarasota (granted, I am going to Lido Key, don't drive particularly fast, and always hit traffic on University Pkwy which probably wouldn't be an issue at 1 am) and so I'd be looking at about a 1:30 am arrival assuming the plane lands on time.

You and my fiancee need to have a meeting. You can have her for a few days; drag her around the country and find such a place as you are describing, on the condition it not be named San Diego. When you find it, we can be neighbors.

Where in Manhattan will you be at 4:45p? Odds of making the 6:30p departure are slim unless the answer is on the NJT train leaving the city.

I'm still gaining muscle on the running / triathlon activities so I'm back over 200 for the moment. Expect that to start going down any week now ...

Microsoft must know that the new Windows was clearly not your idea.

Fine, if San Diego is out, what about San Francisco? I prefer it anyway. Sure, there's less sun, but it's generally cooler, and overall I like the city better.