Please remove your space helmets

Hilarious article in The Economist about in-flight announcements [subscription only].

Your life-jacket can be found under your seat, but please do not remove it now. In fact, do not bother to look for it at all. In the event of a landing on water, an unprecedented miracle will have occurred, because in the history of aviation the number of wide-bodied aircraft that have made successful landings on water is zero. This aircraft is equipped with inflatable slides that detach to form life rafts, not that it makes any difference. Please remove high-heeled shoes before using the slides. We might as well add that space helmets and anti-gravity belts should also be removed, since even to mention the use of the slides as rafts is to enter the realm of science fiction.

Wanderlust

Another year living overseas comes to an end. The usual remnants of wanderlust: expired visas, wads of currency, maps, ticket receipts, vaccination records.

Before moving home, I embarked on a whirlwind tour of China with old friends. Wei kindly introduced us to her Beijing family and helped us navigate the backroads of Huang Shan, Guilin, and Yangshuo.

Now that I'm back, the sedentary lifestyle has much appeal. I'm spending most of my weekends in town, but it's hard to pass up a three-day scenic hike in Southwest Colorado, from Cascade Creek (near the Purgatory ski resort) over two mountain passes to the old mining town of Ophir, just outside of Telluride. After being battered by hail and freezing rain, we camped by Island Lake (12,400'), easily one of the most beautiful places I've slept.