Just thinking…by Mark J. McArdle

Some days are painfully predictable. Others take a course that could not possibly be imagined. Today was the latter of the two.

I awoke early this morning (4:30am) and finished updating this blog, then reviewed our itinerary. The drive to Denver was one I was really looking forward to. Des Moines was just a place to stay, and not much more. But the sites I was anticipating on I-80W were going to be new ones for me, and I was looking forward to that.

We left the hotel right at 8am CDT this morning. Traffic was light coming out of Des Moines, and we made good time (thank you Beltronics) on our way to our first of 2 state border crossings for this stint. The Iowa/Nebraska border is adjacent to Omaha. We crossed at the Missouri river, and Ravindra video taped the border crossing as he has all the previous ones. We provided our typical witty commentary, and proceeded through the Omaha friday morning traffic.

The traffic flow was moving quite well, but there were more cars around us than usual. As he continued to record, I pointed out the unmarked Nebraska State Trooper parked on the right side of the freeway under a bridge. Ravindra turned the camera to him and filmed the cruiser as we passed 3 lanes over. I said that pointing things at State Troopers is probably a bad idea, especially for foreigners in the age of the Patriot “arrest without warrent, hold without attorney indefinitely” Act.

Sure enough, conincidence (I hoped) led the officer to pull out into traffic. I could see him behind me, seven cars back. Then 5 cars back, then 4, and 2 and then right behind me. I was getting concerned. Being in the fast lane (as usual), I decided to call his bluff, or seal my fate. I pulled over one lane, hoping he would sail past me. He didn’t.

The cruiser pulled behind me, and followed me for an agonizing minute or two. Then it happened. The light show started. I was caught, but I knew not for what. I sure wasn’t speeding, and I started wondering in my mind if Ravindra’s camera work had actually been taken for either an obscene gesture, or a weapon.

Being a law abiding lad, I fought the desire to see what my 500HP would do against his Interceptor. I carefully negotiated a couple of lane changes, and secured the car on the right shoulder. The Trooper was right behind me, approaching on foot on the passenger side. Great, Ravindra gets to make the first impression! Please don’t make any wisecracks, I’m thinking to myself.

He gets right to business. “Sir, in Nebraska we have a 100 foot rule, which requires you to be at least 2 car lengths from the car in front. You were following a bit close back there. Can I see your driver’s license please? And is this your car?”

“Yes” say I.

“Can I please have your ownership and proof of insurance?” I hand these to him, and he then says “Ok, can you please come back to the car with me, I have some paperwork to do.”

PAPERWORK!!! He’s going to write me up for following too closely? I was trying not to react, so I carefully got out of the car, and walked back to the cruiser. To my relief, he opened the front passenger door, and let me in. I was afraid I was going to be stuck in the back awaiting my transfer to Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo.

Officer Jason John of the Nebraska State Police asked me a few questions.
1) Where am I going?
Answer: “California, for my last week of work.”

2) Who do you work for?
Answer: “McAfee..You know, the computer security software company?” Now those who have heard me speak of what happens when I mention McAfee to people in positions of authority who control my fate know that I always fear that this will be a user who had some absolutely disasterous experience with their computer, and blamed McAfee. Once again, the answer was “oh yeah, I use that. It’s great.” Phew.

3) Who is the guy in the car?
Answer: Now, I was busting to give him a funny answer. After the McAfee comments, I felt we were bonding. But I resisted saying that my passenger is a drifter I picked up on I-80 who keeps mumbling something about dirty bombs and jihad. I told him the truth: “He’s a friend of mine. I’ve known him since we started University.”

After a few more questions, he instructed me to stay in the car, and that he needed to get some identification from my passenger. Apparently, the “rules” say they have to run the IDs of people they pull over for any outstanding issues. In my mind I’m thinking “Paging Alan Dershowitz”

So now I find myself alone in the cruiser. I look around, and note all the cool toys. There’s front/rear facing radar, a camera filming everything in front of us (my car looked cool on screen, I wonder if I could get a copy of this for posterity). He also had a iPod mounted on the dash. I resisted the urge to check out his playlists.

Then I heard something behind me that scared the $#%$# out of me. My God, there’s a convict in the back of the cruiser. Oh man, he’s left me alone with a killer! I slowly turned my head, to confront my new colleague, and he’s wagging his tongue and drooling a little bit. It’s a huge German Shepherd. Phew.

I return my attention to the action in front of me. I can see Officer John talking to Ravindra. And I can hear him as well! He’s ‘miked’ up as part of the full multimedia recording of his work day I guess. I listen carefully, and he’s asking Ravindra many of the same questions he asked me. Oh No! Another opportunity for mischief to sink us both. Please don’t make up any crazy answers!

Alas, he returns to the car, and says he now has to call in my info. He calls somebody in New Mexico and gives them my name and date of birth. I’d prefer things to be a bit more uniquely keyed than that. Thank God I’m not John Smith.

I hear him say “I thought so, ok thanks.” He says, “Ok, you’re fine. I’m not going to call in your friends info because you seem like to straight shooting guys.”

I reply “Yup, we’re just a couple of software geeks on a long drive.” He hands me back our papers, and I shake his hand and thank him for freeing me.

Back in the car, we both celebrate our awesome Nebraska Takedown and how we masterfully got ourselves out of a ticket. Well, there was no reason for pulling me over in the first place, so I figure he thought 2 dorks like us in an M5 with Ontario plates is something to investigate. Good for him! Aside from the civil liberties/just cause issues, I toast his work ethic.

And Ravindra covertly video recorded me sitting in the cruiser through the side view mirror! I can’t wait to see that.

Onward now, through the rest of Nebraska. Yawn. Ok, nuff said about that.

Very few alerts from the Beltronics, but once we crossed the Colorado border, there was a sting. Fortunately, the little device worked perfectly, and gave me lots of notice of the traps ahead.

As we continued to climb (up to >5000′ ASL) we could make out the faint trace of the Rockies in the distance! Finally, scenery! The tracking data from the GPS provides this neat view of the elevation change on our trip.

We arrived at the Marriott, and are now enjoying some local Pale Ale’s and some nachos. Dinner tonight is in-house. No energy/will to drive anywhere.

Tomorrow morning, is “secret project X”.

Then we drive to Salt Lake City. We have decided to take the mountain route. It will take longer, but what the hell, you only do this kind of trip once…or maybe twice.

Hope you’re sleeping better Cynthia…Ravindra was definitely useful today..Just look at this picture ;)

mJm

Well, we’ve survived day 1. After 1279kms, 3 fuel stops and 1 quick re-planning session, we arrived further than originally planned in Des Moines, Iowa.

The morning started as planned, except I woke up at 3:30am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I finished loading the car, and got ready and was out the door by 6:30am. I met Ravindra at our pre-determined spot, and off we went around 7am.

The trip went very well. Traffic was very light, and the weather was perfect. The border crossing was a breeze, which was one worry I had given 2 guys and a bag with lady’s clothes in the trunk. I didn’t want to have to explain that.

My original plan was to drive for around 8 hours and arrive in Joliet, Illinois. Joliet is known for it’s state prison (the one Elwood Blue was released from at the beginning of “The Blues Brothers”). We arrived in Joliet early, and headed for the Homestead Suites hotel. As we were checking in, the nice lady mentioned the 2-6″ of snow they were supposed to get tonight. Well, with summer rubber on the car, I felt this was worthy of a change of plans, and Ravindra and I quickly agreed to keep pressing west.

This was a great new plan, and I’m happy to say that the weather forcast is clear for tomorrow, and we’ve cut our stint to Denver tomorrow to just under 8 hours.

The Beltronics Sti Driver radar detector worked brilliantly today. It’s a great relief to be driving on an Interstate at a reasonable and safe (but over the limit) speed, and not have to worry as much that you will be the victim of the revenue generation unit of some state police force. I had several warnings with plenty of time to safely reduce my speed. I think these devices, when used properly, allow you to focus more on the road and the cars around you. That’s a plus. It’s too bad that the governments in Ontario sees all speeding the same way, and treat it as a lucrative source of revenue.

Crossing the Mississippi was fun. Seeing it from ground level is certainly different from 37k feet. There was already some flooding, and the weather service says it’s only going to get worse. I hope that doesn’t become a factor on our return drive.

Well, that’s all for today. The next update will come from Denver!
mJm

It is with great anticipation, as well as a myriad of other emotions that I prepare for my final trip to California with McAfee. After over 11 years, I’m moving on. This was an incredibly difficult decision, but I know it’s the right one for the McArdle family.

So, here I am. A full tank of gas (plus a spare in the trunk), my Garmin GPS fully configured for the trip and my new Beltronics Radar Detector – not for use in Ontario :(

The trip is 4523 km (2829 miles) to California and 3619 km (2261 miles) back. The GPS says the whole trip should take about 80 hours in total travel time. I’m reasonably confident I can beat that.

My route has me departing Conestogo around 7am, and arriving in Joliet, IL about 8 hours later. The next morning, it’s off to Denver, which is a mere 15 hours away! That leg should prove quite interesting. I can’t wait to see the mountains! After Denver, it’s up and left to Salt Lake City for the night. That leg should take about 8.5 hours. The final stint is to San Jose, which is another long one at 12 hours. The trip would be shorter without going through Denver, but there’s a cool reason for that detour…But that’s for another day.

I will have company for the trip which will be really nice. My friend Ravindra Conway is joining me. He’s a geek too, and founded a cool Telecom Voice/Data product and services company called Primal Technologies. Check them out! It will be nice to spend some quality time with him. We’ve known each other since frosh week at the University of Waterloo, but this will be the most time we’ve spent together since university.

At the end of my last week at McAfee, my wife is flying in to San Francisco so she can join me for the return trip. She’s never been to LA, so we’re going to drive down PCH 1 (it’s the beautful highway that runs down the coast of California). I’m taking my “Pretty Woman” to the Beverly Wilshire hotel for the night. Then it’s off to Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Amarillo, St. Louis, and Chicago.

I’m going to try to post some updates along the way. I’m hoping to take some pictures, but I’m also mindful of my laptimes ;)

mJm

I’m in Las Vegas this week. I haven’t been here in 4 years, and have generally avoided it. I needed to be here for a few important reasons, but I’d much rather be home.

I don’t gamble. I don’t like to lose, and the odds aren’t in favor of the players here. Who pays for all these opulent, massive casino resort hotels? Gamblers, of course.

I went for a walk on Tuesday night with my trusty camera bag and tripod. There were a few shots I wanted to get. The Luxor with it’s intense beam of light at the top of the pyramid is very cool. So that was high on my list. I also took some shots of the MGM Grand. I like the effect that night shots present with slow shutter speeds. The street traffic conveys an interesting movement to the shots.

The shot below is looking north on Las Vegas Blvd.

This is my favorite shot. It’s the entrance to the Luxor, and the beam appears to be shooting out of the Pharaoh’s head. Quite cool if I do say so myself.

The beam seems to go on forever. Apparently, pilots can see this beam on a clear night from Los Angeles. Neato.

mJm

I’m writing this as I fly from Toronto to Las Vegas to attend a meeting. I purchased Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” today. Let me first say that I’m not a tree hugger, but I do love nature. I believe important decisions must be made based on reliable credible data and scientific method. I’ve felt a hesitance in buying and watching this film because I have a nagging suspicion that this is just Al Gore grasping on to a populist and controversial subject for political reasons. I was a guy who way back in 2000 thought that GWB was a better choice. When I get it wrong, I really get it wrong. I apologize profusely.

The film is extremely thought provoking. I think I have read as much as the average person about Global Warming, and am honestly confused about how much of an effect humanity is having on the globe. There’s so much data. And much of it seems to be contradictory.

The cinematography is incredible. The scenes of Antarctica had me seriously wanting to find a way to see it. But as I thought that, I felt some concern about actually spending the resources environmentally required to get there. Is that the point? My wife just bought a DVD set of BBC’s “Planet Earth“, narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Wow, if you haven’t seen this, then buy it or rent it for a week, and watch it with your kids. It’s phenomenal. And I’ve only seen a couple of the DVDs.

Gore’s presentation is very compelling. I do want to do some fact checking, but his data demonstrates a clear relationship between CO2 and temperature. The loss of our solar “mirrors” at the poles due to the massive calving of the ice shelves is very worrisome. I found the scenes showing photos of glaciers from all over the planet from the past and comparing them to current pictures very troublesome. The relationship between atmosphere, ocean currents, and temperature isn’t something that you can easily explain. The Earth is big, and complex, and beautiful. But it’s also fragile.

Some data from the film:

– Stronger hurricanes are directly linked to higher ocean temperatures
– As atmospheric temperatures increase, ocean temperatures increase
– 2300 daily temperature records were set in the US in 2006
– Coral reefs are begin bleached by increased ocean temperatures

I have 2 beautiful children, and I owe it to them, as do all adults, to ensure that we pass on a planet that is at least as good as the one we were given. But I am internally very conflicted by this. I enjoy the benefits of an advanced society. I love technology, and I love fast cars. Driving a big engined car and limiting CO2 emissions aren’t compatible. But I don’t want to drive a Prius, and I love Formula 1. But I think as responsible citizens, we are capable of dealing with this moral issue.

Al Gore was in Canada recently, and called our Government’s Global Warming strategy “a fraud designed to mislead Canadians”. The silly Minister of the Environment tried to “out green” Al Gore. Dumb strategy.

I have friends who work in the Petroleum industry. I’ve been assured by them that this is paranoid non-science fostered by tree huggers who don’t have a clue. How does one reconcile the concerns with these opinions?

Perhaps Upton Sinclair put it best: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” I find that overly simplistic though, because they are great people, who love their kids as much as I do mine.

This film gives me serious pause for thought. I’m a busy guy, and it’s easy to just punt on this issue, but what happens to the world my children will live in if I do that.

Al Gore asked “Are we capable of rising above ourselves and above history?” I hope so.
What do you think? I’m looking forward to getting home, and watching this with my wife and getting her opinion.

mJm

I’m at the Stephen F Austin Intercontinental Hotel in Austin, Texas. I wasn’t planning on being in Austin when I arrived in San Jose on Sunday night, but such is the predictability of my work life.

I like Austin, as I’ve said before. But I arrived around midnight, and I fly out around 130pm tomorrow, so the Hotel, customer, Airport will be my itinerary.

I don’t have alot to report, but I’m getting some comments about my blog being out of date. The last time I updated it I was in Bangalore (all of 10 days ago), being quite sick. I can report that the Cipro (or whatever it actually was) combined with Immodium and sleeping pills did the trick. I slept all the way from Bangalore to Heathrow. It was just as well, because when I looked at the flight map upon arrival, it became clear that we did in fact fly directly over Iran. In a British Airways 777. Wow. I guess there’s diplomatic tensions, and then there’s business.

I’m really looking forward to getting home. It was a very busy week, but a productive one. I was supposed to be home all next week, but alas, now I have a multi-day work meeting in Las Vegas. Yeah, Vegas. I haven’t been there in about 5 years, and I don’t actually like the town. I don’t gamble, so it’s not really my bag. It is great people watching though. You see all kinds in a casino. I may play craps, because that’s fun, and I almost know how to play it.

Well, that’s all for now. Hopefully when I see the traffic report for my blog I will see some hits from my “stalker” down the street ;)

mJm

I’m now at the Oberoi Hotel in Bangalore, India. It’s a spectacular hotel in the midst of some of the busiest traffic and city noise I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Beijing has similar volumes of traffic, but it’s much more orderly, and the roads are much superior. I guess being a totalitarian state has its advantages when it comes to urban planning.

My departure from Heathrow was uneventful. I keep going back and forth on whether I like Heathrow or not. Right now, I’m leaning on NOT. The “one carry-on bag” rule is utterly ridiculous. When I travel, I bring a computer bag, and a typical roller carry-on. I do this when I travel with checked bags especially because of the risk of arriving without my checked bags. This happens frequently (especially with Air France, but that’s another story).

So, now the rule is “1 bag”. I am traveling with 2 computers, my beloved MacBook, and my company issued Dell notebook. In order to comply, I had to replace the valuables and notebook in my computer bag with dirty laundry, and check the computer bag. The basis of this being “for security purposes” is utter and complete BS. This is just a way for airlines to save time and money by reducing the effect of carry on bags. When I travel regularly in the US for a week, I never check my bag. If that rule became in effect in North America, that would put a final bullet in air travel for me.

Anyhow, the shops at Heathrow are pretty good. But I have no idea what you’re supposed to do with the stuff you buy now that your single carry-on is stuffed to the max. At the gate, we were moved onto a bus, then to the tarmac where we met our Boeing 777. I love this aircraft. It’s a true marvel. The diameter of the engine is bigger than the fusealage of some small commercial aircraft. It’s (to my knowledge), the only twin engine aircraft permitted to fly over the pole because of the reliability and power of the engines. It was only the 747 and the A-340 that could fly on those routes before the 777.

The flight was very light. I was in Club Class on British Airways, and there were only 12 of us in a section that could have held at least double that. So we all spread out for the 9.5 hour flight. I enjoy watching the flight progress on the video map. Flying to India takes you over some places that are truely exotic and controversial. However, I do recall on previous flights flying over Iran, which I thought was a bit odd. On this flight, we flew a more southerly route over Saudi Arabia, south of UAE and Bahrain. As a passenger, I’m quite pleased that we’re not flying over Iran in a BA aircraft, given the very recent tensions between the 2 countries.

After watching a cool thunderstorm over the Arabian Sea, we landed in Bangalore. Customs and immigration were the fastest of any of my previous trips. But, when I exited the arrival area, I didn’t see the Oberoi representative. This is unusual, because they always meet you right at the door, and whisk you away to the hotel. I eventually found him, and knew something was wrong when he was flipping through multiple pages of names to find me.

Upon arrival at the Oberoi, the problem was made clear. They didn’t have me checking in until later today. They have a 12pm check-in time, and I am showing up around 515am. This is the second time this has happened to me in Bangalore, so I definitely have to let the travel department know that I would appreciate a place to sleep upon arrival. And the couch in the lobby isn’t what I’m looking for.

But, as always, the Oberoi staff save the day, and check me in with minimal fuss. The bad news is that the Spa is closed for renovations. And oh, was I looking forward to a massage. C’est la vie.

Up to the room, a brief unpack, and a setup of the portable WiFi router and my MacBook. Presto, I’m online and video chatting with my family. Did I mention I love my MacBook?

The next few days will be a whirlwind for me. I depart Friday morning at 630am and connect through Heathrow to Toronto. I should be home by bed time on Friday night. I’m really looking forward to that.

mJm