Infrastructure Successes and Failures:

In the last month John and I took separate (but equal!) vacations in Paris. John completed the Paris Marathon while I took my high-school daughter to visit this wonderful city on her Spring break. On our way back we were routed through Heathrow and had the bad luck of experiencing British Air's now infamous Terminal 5 on its first day of attempted operation. The BA planes were full of wonderful and expensive propaganda about how amazing and wonderful T5 was going to be (reminded me somehow of those olds jokes about a computer salesman who never consummates his marriage instead spending each night telling his new bride how great it's going to be). It took over two hours for our luggage to be unloaded into the new and marvelous baggage hall that was designed to be so efficient that it doesn't have any food or even anywhere to sit down (because the baggage will come so quickly!). Only the Brits can screw something like this up so badly (all those old British Leland auto assembly workers must now work for BA). Anyway, as they often cheerfully say "Sorry!"