"Nobody ever listened to me until they didn't know who I was"

It was a Manhattan Bar in the late 1990s. The restaurant was busy as usual and the maitre'd offered a bar stool. The trip was non descript.

There's always a certain friction when visiting New York. Traffic, cost and time consumption for the usual & routine. But, plenty of delights as well. It's always fascinating to chat with locals and visitors alike. Pre Uber (a mystery later solved), I often dialed Dial7 for a car.


I always enjoyed watching the visuals above and below ground.

The bartender went on and on about a concert later that evening. Massive Attack. Ah, I knew it and enjoyed their music.

Little did I know and much like my Uber - who made that happen - mystery, that the Banksy question would later be solved and shared. Hidden in plain sight!

Simon Gardner, James Pearson & Blake Morrison:

The British street artist’s identity has been debated, and closely guarded, for decades. A quest to solve the riddle took Reuters from a bombed-out Ukrainian village to London and downtown Manhattan — and uncovered much more than a name.

Explore in amuz.

A Deep Dive Into US Marine Corps History

Explore US Marine Corps history at the Parris Island Museum.



Immersive scene recorded in amuz on Apple Vision Pro

Explore South Carolina in amuz.

Road Trip: The Reluctant Case for a Minivan

I confirmed that we could "skip the line" as Avis promises upon arrival. The text message arrived along with an app notification upon landing. Proceed to space ____, enter the car and depart.

All good.

Until we arrived at space ____. No car and no such space at SFO!

Happily, several very helpful Avis folks were nearby, walked with us to confirm that indeed, space ____ did not exist, nor the Toyota RAV 4 we reserved, while "skipping the line".

Back to the Avis counter where RAV 4's were not to be found. "Would you like a minivan?" I grimaced, then thought a bit and asked what model? "Honda Odyssey". I said sure, let's roll. No more waiting.

Off we went.

The Odyssey's sliding doors, four very comfortable adult seats, mid-car climate control and adaptive cruise along with plenty of storage space made it an ideal road trip auto as we traveled north, south, north again then far south over 10 days.

Carplay worked reliably as did the wireless charging. The car's performance and responsiveness are middling at best.

But then, it's a minivan.

An ideal and comfortable ride for a gorgeous road trip. Easy in, easy out.

Minivan's have fallen so far out of the overton window that Dan Neil's last Odyssey review dates to 2011 though a Chrysler minivan discussion occured in 2016. (I may have missed more recent analysis - maybe).

There are alternatives.

We saw many tricked out Sprinter vans along with endless Teslas and SUVs. And, the occasional very interesting car. A 1977 Ford Bronco graced the Ojai Farmer's Market. $85,000!






Explore California in amuz.

About that tippy A321

"We are not going to deplane yet, until our ground crew removes bags from the back of the plane. This is done to prevent the airplane from tipping backward".

While waiting to deplane a new United A321 recently, I wondered about the push and pull of constraints and optimization. Airlines have stuffed more seats into planes while slicing and dicing products from carry ons, legroom, seats and checked baggage. These choices cascade to more crowded gate areas, transit/parking and of course security queues.

In my a321 example, airline optimizations lead to a longer turnaround, that is more time on the ground and less in the air, generating revenues. Perhaps Airbus design/manufacturing choices play a role as well, adding more length to the rear rather than toward the airplane's nose.

Addison Schonland recently published a chart on single aisle turn times:



Explore in amuz.

The Joy of a Morning Swim: West Coast Edition

38F, 42F, 54F. It matters not. Northern or Southern California!

















Explore California in amuz.

January above Madison

Explore Madison in amuz.