I read some of my friends' blogs which comment on how funny some of the searches are that brought people to their sites. I didn't really know what they were talking about (i.e. how did they know what search had brought people there). Then, I started using SiteMeter. Now, I understand. It's really funny how random thoughts, written down in a blog, can contain the same words (in different order, and completely unrelated context) as those used in a search-engine query.
I haven't been using SiteMeter for very long, so my list of strange searches is not that comprehensive. But there are still a few that bear mentioning. And these don't count the ones that "scrolled off" my SiteMeter history page before I even realized they were available...
Except for "sgt shultz" and "remove crazy glue", the other phrases did not appear in any of the blog entries.
Enough about silly searches.
My wife has been doing an absolutely marvelous job getting the house ready for listing. It's going to be hard leaving this place, as we have put a lot of love, attention, and money into it. Oh well, life goes on.
My parents are home! I picked them up from the airport yesterday, and by 10:00PM, they arrived home to the sound of the telephone. They rushed inside just in time to get a call from my out-of-town sister. Her timing was impeccable. I was unloading suitcases from the car, so I didn't get a chance to say hello. Hopefully, she reads this blog once in a while, and will see that I was thinking of her. The house was darker than it should have been, and the lights in several parts of the house wouldn't come on. We found that a couple of breakers had been tripped. Although we reset them, I detected the sound of sizzling electrical wiring behind the light switch in the part of the home affected by the tripped circuit. I guess my parents are lucky their house didn't burn down. Hopefully, they'll get that wiring fixed immediately.
During the drive home, we were talking about the flight and other stuff while we were in the car. I asked them about the storm they flew around; the one that had come upon them about 40 minutes outside of Phoenix. They were amazed. They asked how I knew, and I told them that I had been tracking their flight across the United States while they were in the air, and I was watching when the plane abruptly changed air-speed and heading. They had arrived more than an hour late, and were worried that I had been waiting at the airport for the longest time. I assured them that, because of the internet tools (I'm still trying to convince them to install an internet connection) I was able to see that the flight had been delayed, and ended up getting to the baggage carousel only 10 minutes ahead of them.
The new terminal at Metropolitan Airport is nothing short of stunning. It has been designed to make things far more convenient for passengers. I have seen well-designed airports before, but this one was truly amazing. The terminal building is a mile long. There are high-speed trams running the length of the terminal. Two trams start at each end of the terminal, and go non-stop to the drop off point at the centre of the terminal. This drop off point is where all the security, ticketing, baggage pickup and passenger pickup goes on. Since September 11th, no unticketed passengers are allowed to go to the gates, but this system was much more convenient both for travellers and their greeters. Rather than waiting by the gate, and walking god-knows-how-long to get to the baggage claim area, then waiting for bags; I can now park within a few feet (I'm not exaggerating) of the terminal entrance, and then go perhaps 100 yards through the terminal to the baggage claim area.
It was a pleasant experience, further enhanced by the fact that parking fees can be paid via ATM-like machines located in the terminal. So, rather than waiting in long lines to pay a parking attendant, pre-paid users of the lot can simply zip through a special gate to exit the lot.
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