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[personal profile] skreidle
0950MT:
Denver International Airport has some interesting artistic stylings, just to make things a little more interesting. In addition to the colorful tile designs on many of the floors, 1) the path from the gates to the baggage claim (down a hall, around a corner, up an escalator, down another hall) is led by a series of colorful paper-airplane-style steel airplanes suspended from the ceiling, 2) at least the automated train between the concourses has, along one wall of the tunnel, a series of ~8" steel propellors mounted to the wall such that they spin as the train breezes by, and 3) in the middle of one atrium, there's a huge abstract sculpture modeled on a railroad theme.

Come to think of it, the Park Meadows Mall--near my hotel, and where I had lunch with Jay, Jacob, and Jim yesterday--was really nice. The food court, at least, was floored, walled, and decorated with cut stone; the ceiling was at least 50 feet overhead, all finished wood beams and steel; in the middle was an enormous 4-sided stone fireplace.. even the parking garage outside--offering valet parking, incidentally--was decorated in cut stone. Very stylish, very southwestern.

(DIA does offer AT&T Wireless internet, but I don't feel like paying $9.99 for 24 hours of access, one of which I'll be able to use. While the company might expense it, I don't really have a legitimate business need for the connection.)

12:11MT:
Frontier continues to do a good job with the strange food offerings. In addition to a bag of Sun Chips (not strange), the options were wraps: Thai chicken, Greek beef, or veggie/mushroom. The Thai chicken wrap was a wheat wrap, containing chicken, penne pasta, lettuce, green pepper, grated white cheese, raisins, mandarin oranges, and a white sauce. Tasty! But strange.

18:30ET:
Turns out the railroad sculpture (which also includes a globe mosaic) was in Concourse A, so I got some photos. Also got some photos of a nifty mosaic on the floor elsewhere in the concourse--images of people from a bird's-eye view, as one might see from the second floor where I took pictures of them. :D

On the parking shuttle at Dulles, the driver explained how it is that your car can be located if you lose it: When you get your ticket, at least three cameras photograph your license plate, indexing it in a database against your ticket. Then, every night at midnight, a fleet of attendants traverse the entire set of parking lots--no mean feat, there has to be at least a square mile of parking, if not more--scanning every license plate present. Thus, it's a simple task for them to locate your car if you lose it. An interesting bonus of this somewhat Big Brotherly system is that if you try to drive a car out--say, one you stole--which doesn't match your lot ticket, it immediately notifies the police, whose office is in the parking system. (As an interesting aside, apparently a lot of stolen cars are dumped in Dulles's parking lots.)

Uneventful drive home, though a) the dogs shredded part of the couch yet again--cushion on the floor, foam all over it--and I'm pretty sure the dishes in the sink are the same ones that were there when I left a week ago, plus more. :P (Also, though the A/C is set of 72, the living room (where the thermostat resides) reads 78, and the office upstairs reads 86. :P)

Update, 20:00: Yes, the mold and mildew indicate that they were indeed the same dishes. Gah.



By [livejournal.com profile] profworm: Our political opinions do not come as a kit. Why should they? Then people would have to think, and listen!

Date: 2004-09-25 04:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rjb5.livejournal.com
An interesting bonus of this somewhat Big Brotherly system...

And no doubt Tom Ridge himself personally reviews the records each morning for any discrepancies, keepin us safe from all those terrists and folk singers.

Date: 2004-09-25 05:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skreidle.livejournal.com
It did occur to me that they could automatically report stolen cars or expired registration (and maybe even California-style "delinquent on alimony payments" registered owners) to the police, if they so chose..

Date: 2004-09-25 04:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] my2perfectday.livejournal.com
Oh, Park Meadows, how I miss you! ULTA, Express, Old Navy, Steve Madden, Hollister, and a Cheesecake Factory all in one big beautiful mall!

Interesting note: the mall, which is technically in the Littleton/Highlands Ranch area, was built right after the Columbine massacre, and rumor has it that it was built using money donated to Littleton b/c of the tragedy. I mean, Littleton is like the wealthiest suburb of Denver, so I guess they really didn't need the money for anything else, but... ((shrugs))

Date: 2004-09-25 05:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skreidle.livejournal.com
Yeah, that doesn't seem quite kosher, but I guess it was their prerogative.


Very nice mall, though. :)

Date: 2004-09-25 05:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] xviragox.livejournal.com
Now that I think about it, Frontier might have been the airline where I had a hot-pocket type of thing filled with cheese, tomato sauce, and pesto sauce. Very tasty.

Date: 2004-09-25 05:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skreidle.livejournal.com
I'm a fan of tasty food. :)

Date: 2004-09-25 05:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] absolutliz.livejournal.com
I LOVE DIA! Best Airport EVAR! I too, got a kick out of the propeller thingies in the subway. And I love the natural light from the "moutain peaks" above the airport.

Date: 2004-09-25 05:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skreidle.livejournal.com
Can't say as I noticed those, actually..

Date: 2004-09-25 07:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skinglist.livejournal.com
Update, 20:00: Yes, the mold and mildew indicate that they were indeed the same dishes. Gah.

Yuck, maybe he needs to room with [livejournal.com profile] terulia's flatmate who seems to be of the same species.

And that's nifty re: the parking/scanning thing.

Date: 2004-09-25 08:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skreidle.livejournal.com
I even mentioned, on my way out, that perhaps he could wash the dishes while I was gone, but apparently he opted otherwise. It wasn't even a big job--one thoroughly-filled dishwasher, plus a few stragglers waiting for the next load or handwash. Took me about ten minutes to unload the clean, reload with dirty, and start.


I thought it was pretty cool. It came up because we were discussing some things about parking at that airport--one guy's dad (also on the bus) had only previously flown in a Piper Cub in high school, some ~50 years ago, and thus various Dulles-related topics came up, including the "find your lost car" bit and how they might do it. At that point, the bus driver explained all the details. :)

Date: 2004-09-27 07:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skinglist.livejournal.com
I even mentioned, on my way out, that perhaps he could wash the dishes while I was gone, but apparently he opted otherwise. It wasn't even a big job--one thoroughly-filled dishwasher, plus a few stragglers waiting for the next load or handwash. Took me about ten minutes to unload the clean, reload with dirty, and start.

I didn't know/forgot you had a dishwahser, then there is really no excuse. I admit I get lazy at times re: dishes but they;re only there 24 hours max, and that's usualyl soaking at least so it's not congealed when I do get unlazy.

I thought it was pretty cool. It came up because we were discussing some things about parking at that airport--one guy's dad (also on the bus) had only previously flown in a Piper Cub in high school, some ~50 years ago, and thus various Dulles-related topics came up, including the "find your lost car" bit and how they might do it. At that point, the bus driver explained all the details. :)

I'd like something along those lines for the mall, though there I prop the sunroof open and can spot it that way

Date: 2004-09-27 07:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skreidle.livejournal.com
Yup, right next to the sink.


My truck is uniquely beat up, brown and white, and on the tall side--not too hard to spot. :D

Remote control locks (which flash lights and beep horn) are also good for finding your vehicle, if you're relatively close. :)

Date: 2004-09-27 12:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skinglist.livejournal.com
You've seen the pic of my car, most recently in the spoiler discussion, doesn't stand out much, does it? ;)

I use the remote trick for mom's car--hers also sets off an 'alarm' mine doesn't make enough noise to be picked out from general parking lot din.

Date: 2004-09-27 06:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] skreidle.livejournal.com
Funny story: My dad was playing with the remote for my mom's van in the kitchen one day--in the back of the house--and triggered the alarm from there. He then learned that due to all the electrical interference the alarm activity puts out, he had to walk out the front of the house to turn it off again!
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