Travel

My brother had his house built on 35 acres in Hill Country, Texas, just outside of Wimberley. Here is an aerial view to give you a little perspective. He took it from a neighbor's plane (some people out here have their own runways).

Today is my travel day. I should get to my brother's late in the afternoon -- perhaps I'll do a post from there. I don't want to make you feel bad or anything, but check out the weather in Hill Country, Texas -- mid to high 70s during the day, high 40s to low 50s at night. Cheer up -- I hear the first day of spring is just around the corner.

In preparation for my flight to Texas tomorrow, I went to the Transportation Security Administration's Web site to see if there were any updates to the carry-on rules. I still have to check my blackjack, brass knuckles and throwing stars. Bummer.

Include me as one of them:

INDIANAPOLIS — Looking at a smart car from the outside, you immediately begin a mental list of people who wouldn't touch an 8.8-foot vehicle with a 10-foot pole.

I will be in line to buy "the tiniest car marketed in North America" when every other vehicle on the road is that size or smaller. I want a fighting chance out there.

Drat. Another vacation plan down the tubes:

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- Attention climbers: Please keep your clothes on while climbing Mount Everest.

Nepal's mountaineering authorities are calling for a ban on nudity and attempts to set obscene records on the world's highest mountain, officials said Wednesday.

I try to keep the old fogy "this country is going down the tubes today" stuff to a minimum; I really do. But have you heard of "glamping"?

Had to happen: fake cigarettes on the street:

Authorities seized nearly 600,000 packs of cigarettes with brand names like Marlboros and Newports, half of which are suspected of being counterfeits from China, prosecutors announced Monday.

Happy 38th moon-landing anniversary. I can still remember how stunning it was to see Armstrong take that first step and hear him speak those words. It was the greatest step ever taken in human exploration. What would the world be like today if we had used that as a starting point instead of . . . just . . . losing . . . interest?

Sure, we all like to visit places like New Orleans, but on days like this we should be grateful we live in tornado country instead of hurricane country. As scary as a tornado is, its terror is relatively short-lived. We hear about it coming and hide in the basement and the thing either hits your house or not, all of the action taking place in a few hours. Hurricanes terrorize people for days. Will it get here, or will it veer, will it build in strength or fizzle?

This is just such an awesome idea on so many levels. For one thing, it taps into our early history as a continent-filling, westward-moving inevitability. Useful ideas don't go away; they just change. How would it be if the city of Fort Wayne just bought an empty building downtown and said, "Send us your ideas for using this space, your business plans, your financing proposals, and we'll give the building to the winner"?