In Transit: Philadelphia, PA, 2/27-29

Considering that I just got a new camera, it's very silly of me to go on a trip and think to myself, "I won't have time for any sightseeing; I'll just leave the camera at home."

• The hotel was just a couple of blocks from the City Hall, which is a gorgeous piece of architecture. I didn't have my camera.
• The hotel was right next to Chinatown. I didn't have my camera.
• I dragged my sidekick Nick to a Philadelphia Flyers game (he liked the fighting; kids these days). I didn't have my camera.
• I got to see a Toynbee tile (NW corner of 15th and Race Street, near the crosswalk)! I didn't have my friggin' camera.
  

Not much to talk about regarding this particular trip. The weather was clear but cold, but not as cold as Chicago. The most notable thing about the install is that everything happened on schedule, and it all worked the first time. This is the way it should always be, and yet for the past four months or so, it's been bad luck and unwelcome surprises most of the way with the new hardware I'm working on. So we looked good for a change. Not me. I always look good. But the company looked good, too, this time.

We flew Southwest Airlines, which I'm not really fond of, especially the "cattle call" method of boarding the plane. If you're like me, you'll always be toward the end of the boarding line, so just assume that all window and aisle seats will be taken by the time you get on board. Find a middle seat near the front of the place, to make it easier to disembark later, and look for that middle seat between two people your size or smaller.

Trust me. It's the best way to do it unless you get lucky enough to get an aisle seat.

More information on Toynbee tiles can be found here. It's a very weird form of graffiti, in that it's meant to be looked at (else why do it at all), but it's not necessarily obvious, unlike your basic tagging, which is not much more than a "Hey, look at me!" The message (which may change slightly depending on where you find it) doesn't make a bit of sense, and the unknown fellow that did it originally is clearly a bit deranged. But it's one of those things that helps keep the world a weird place, and I like that.