Pretty good. Leaving Chicago this afternoon I debated taking the standby on the earlier flight. Of course it meant giving up my isle seat for what would likley be crammed in between what Southwest euphemistically calls "Customers of Size". Much to my delight I was instead slated into an aisle exit row seat where I gladly forgo the "reclining" seat for the awesome leg room. I could have easily used the 15-inch laptop instead of the 12-inch but I ran the battery down at the airport choosing to charge the 12-inch instead.

Of course nothing is perfect. Something about being in the row with the teenager who ignores the repeated request to close the window shade is quite annoying. I like looking out the window as much as the next person, but when the cabin is dark but for a single very bright light a few feet away the eyes are playing a constant game of trying to adjust to the light and many other customers are unable to see the movie.

On the topic of teenagers and movies, or teen movies, Netflix delivered American Pie 2 the other day. It is much better than the original and is full of good laughs at the expense of coming-of-age teens.

America West has a great American classics music channel with folk songs, The Boss, The Beach Boys, Elvis Pressley and Lee Greenwood's classic anthem. Less successful is the in-flight entertainment and cafe. First the entertainment system. The last flight it didn't work at all. This time about a quarter of the seats don't work and the screens are in terrible condition. The on-board "cafe" this afternoon was stocked with only a few breakfast meals. None of the lunches advertised. The last trip was similarly poorly stocked with only "snack packs" and not the sandwiches advertised.

Killing some time in Chicago this evening I stopped in to look at the Nikon D50. It looks like it will be a great alternative to the more expensive D70. The body is smaller and the grip is smaller, slightly, than the D70 and quite a bit smaller than the D100 making it more accessible to folks with smaller hands.

Well after a few hours of wrangling I did the Treo update last night. The big news is that as advertised it added dial-up networking so the phone can now be a bluetooth modem (which I haven't tested yet). The slowness problem is still there though. It is a bit more annoying now though. The screen comes up to 90% complete instantly and then the same delay plagues waiting to be able to use the phone. Humbug.