Blogging at 30,000 Feet
Whee!
As many of you probably know by now, Peter and I are attending this year's SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles, California. What you may not know is that, to this date, neither of us had ever flown in an aircraft.
I don't doubt, from the demeanor of many of my fellow travellers, that the novelty of flying has long since worn off for them. For me, however, I've been quite enthralled by the whole experience. The incredible power of the craft you're sitting in is completely hidden except during takeoff and landing. For me, at least, it's hard not to draw parallels with roller coasters. Except this is the daddy roller coaster. And it has no rails.
By the time you read this, we will surely have arrived safely in LA. But as I write, we're cruising at 30,000 feet. The clouds float below us in a mocking sort of way, and the horizon recedes into a misty haze instead of appearing as a sharp curve like a well-behaved horizon should. In addition, en route to LA we passed over some pretty impressive mountainous terrain – not the least of which was the Grand Canyon – which had me gaping, open-mouthed, for minutes on end.
I've taken pictures, although my camera is still that cheap old snapshot cam. If you're the sort to look, I've attached a few of them to this blog entry. You also might want to explore the gallery.
There's a lot of stuff going down during this trip, most of which will be pretty amazing. I'm planning to blog about much of it, so you'd best stay posted.
ttyl!
--Alex Markley
- Malex's blog
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Comments
yay flying!
Every time i fly in an airplane, i beg my parents to let me have the window seat just so i can stare out the window the whole time. I always think it's awesome watching stuff get smaller and smaller, then bigger and bigger as we start to land... It's all a big thrill to me! However, i've never thought of it as a roller coaster... I can't stand roller coasters, actually. a roller coaster with no rails is a horrifying concept to me 0.0
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Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!
Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar!
And you'll live as you've never lived before ...
Hello, Mr. Bubbles? Aliens are attacking my house...
Flying!
Flying must be really exciting! I think I would do that too Dragon! ^.^ Stare out the window the whole time if I ever get to fly. I've never flown anywhere but I hope to someday! That's also really awesome, Malex! You flew OVER THE GRAND CANYON!!!!!! I've ALWAYS wanted to visit the grand canyon, and here you flew over it! Lucky you!
I hope to hear from you guys soon, and we're all praying for your safe travel!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Savage Karioke. Find your inner self.
Dragon Karioke. Don't ask.
The funeral was boring till the Irish dancers came in.
How were you blogging from
How were you blogging from 30,000 feet? Did you just queue up the post for later, or did you have an Internet connection on the plane?
--Quentin
I've flown a lot.
But it never gets old for me. I love to look out the window but I also love to watch the people. You never know what gems you might find in your fellow passengers.
And then there's always the knowledge that when you land, you're going to be someplace completely new.
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"If they'd use more than their eyes,
They'd be able to see,
The heavenly beauty,
Inside of me."
-Echoing Green's Supermodel Citizen
You know how to raspberry, don't you Steve? You just put your tongue out and blow.
Likewise
I. LOVE. FLYING!
(Heck, I'm a Pegasus, remember 
)
I've flown ... I don't even know how many times, and it still hasn't gotten old. I always have to have a window seat, my dad always needs an aisle seat for his legs, and my mom needs to feel like she's not moving that much ... so that works well for my fam ;-D
Have fun in LA guys and enjoy Siggraph!
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Learn to laugh at yourself, and you shall never cease to be entertained.
~An Irish comedian whose name escapes me~
The normal ones are boring. They all run-off screaming toward sanity. We just sit there at laugh at their sad attempts.
Have Fun Guys!!!
I went to L.A. two years ago for IYC and that was the first time I ever flew, It sounds like you guys are in for a lot of fun! Good luck in L.A.!!!
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Gimme my gummi bears!
guest: I like your ceiling!
me: do you like the mushroom? its shiny!^_^
Flying is fun.
I have only been on an airplain only 3 times in my life. Once on a big plain going to Disney in Florida. 2 times in a 4 seater plain that on one of them I got to fly the plain but not land it. It was fun to fly the plain.
Have fun in LA guys.
PS
I was taking a merit badge for boy scouts so that is why I got to fly the plain.
...............
Mike- Hey Bob, you know what I hate?
Bob- What’s that Mike?
Mike- Giant Snakes that pop out of nowhere and kill ya.
Bob- You know, I hate those too.
“Crash.”
Random guard tower guy- Wow, good thing that was the guard tower next to us.
Mike- Hey Bob, you know what I hate?
Bob- What’s that Mike?
Mike- Giant Snakes that pop out of nowhere and kill ya.
Bob- You know, I hate those too.
“Crash.”
Random guard tower guy- Wow, good thing that was the guard tower next to us.
Crazy.
It would be crazy to fly a plane! It would also be a lot of fun, I imagine!
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Savage Karioke. Find your inner self.
Dragon Karioke. Don't ask.
The funeral was boring till the Irish dancers came in.
Standing in for Malex
Quentin said:
Did you just queue up the post for later, or did you have an Internet connection on the plane?
He queued it up for later.
It was lots of fun flying! The buildings and trees almost didn’t look real from that high off the ground!
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“The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.” –Psalm 118:22-23
Dress can only compliment beauty that is already there, and makeup can only cover a lady’s flaws – which real love does anyway.
at such heights
You did this all without a net?
The grass might be greener on the other side of the fence
but, it still has to be mowed.
Name a shrub after me...something prickly and hard to eradicate.
Oh Gno!
It's the gnome! YAY! The gnome is back! I hope the gnome is here to stay for awhile.
---------------
"If they'd use more than their eyes,
They'd be able to see,
The heavenly beauty,
Inside of me."
-Echoing Green's Supermodel Citizen
You know how to raspberry, don't you Steve? You just put your tongue out and blow.
YAY
The gnome is always somewhere and this is a good place to be.
The grass might be greener on the other side of the fence
but, it still has to be mowed.
Name a shrub after me...something prickly and hard to eradicate.
I welcome you with a laurel &...
...hardy handshake.
The gnome is always somewhere
I've gnoticed that. I'm glad that place is here for gnow.
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
I just gnow that we've met before...
hehe okay the "GN" jokes are funny, but really.
Glad to see you back, gnome! I've missed you a lot!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Savage Karioke. Find your inner self.
Dragon Karioke. Don't ask.
The funeral was boring till the Irish dancers came in.
Envious
I'm so happy for you guys. I love the pictures. Especially the one with mountains and the one with clouds. I sure wish I could go on a plane trip somewhere.
But I'm anxious to hear how SIGGRAPH is going for you. And I'm very anxious to have you guys home safe.
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
Glad you had fun
Personally, I never want to see the inside of an airplane again after my trip XP
But it's really cool that you flew over the grand canyon!!! What kind of plane were you in??
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Fopsworth doesn't exist, he's really Aisling.
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No see, i'm looking for a knight in shining armor, not a fox on a skidoo.
Lets go!
I know! Let's all go see the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon!
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
let gno
a shovel, some patience and the gnome left a hole in the ground everyone wants to see...of course they seem to enjoy the mounds I made with the dirt I removed from the 'canyon' as much as they enjoy the hole...even named it Sierra Nevadas...the gnome leads a busy life.
The grass might be greener on the other side of the fence
but, it still has to be mowed.
Name a shrub after me...something prickly and hard to eradicate.
*LOL*
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Savage Karioke. Find your inner self.
Dragon Karioke. Don't ask.
The funeral was boring till the Irish dancers came in.
The best part of flying
Is flying sideways. It's awesome - but the smaller the plane, the scarier the sidewaysness.
--
"Sir, I think you've gone mad with power!"
"Of course! Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring; nobody listens to you."
--
"Have you seen how much cotton candy he can eat?"
"Yes! 5.1 Pounds. That's why his blood is so good on pancakes!"
Yeah...
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“The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.” –Psalm 118:22-23
Dress can only compliment beauty that is already there, and makeup can only cover a lady’s flaws – which real love does anyway.
Ah, the banking...
I greatly enjoyed how, even when the plane was banking, it still felt as though "down" was toward the floor. This illusion didn't break until you looked outside, and saw the horizon tilting crazily. It was all very crazy...
ttyl
--Alex Markley
“Suddenly, the world was a bit more orange than usual. And the bunny didn't like it.”
Alex Markley
“Objects in mirror seem closer than they appear.”
Yeah
It was surprising how little I actually sensed the banking too…
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“The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.” –Psalm 118:22-23
Dress can only compliment beauty that is already there, and makeup can only cover a lady’s flaws – which real love does anyway.
*turns green*
Maybe I don't need to see the Grand Canyon after all.
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
Hey...I know you!
Didn't I see you on the Burma Road many decades ago?
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
Well
You don’t need to fly over it… You could just visit it on the ground!
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“The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.” –Psalm 118:22-23
Dress can only compliment beauty that is already there, and makeup can only cover a lady’s flaws – which real love does anyway.
Thank goodness
I like having my feet on the ground. It makes me happy.
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel