No One-Hit Wonder Post today

As the decade of the 2000s winds down in one-hit wonder land, I'm feeling really uninspired this morning. I just looked at the 2009 list and thought "Dave" (because I always refer to myself in the third person), "you're not going to be able to make anything out of this crap today."

I will definitely get one out next week, though! There are only two more weeks left, actually, since there are 16 songs in 2009. And then the series will come to an end.

What's next after that? I'm not sure. But we'll see.

Looks like my thoughts on "taking a break" from a regular post like the one-hit wonders are actually coming true.

Anyway, just thought I would post this for those of you who may miss it and wonder where I am if I don't post anything.

Podcast stuff - Episode 15 of Down the Hall (Radio EPLT)

We're back from vacation, with a new episode after a month where you went episode-less (look how I coined a word!)

It's been a month since the last episode went up, and this week we discuss environmental citizenship in the K-12 classroom. We also talk about some stuff that's coming up in EPLT, and talk a little bit about our vacations (not much, though).

It's only 30 minutes this week. You've got 30 minutes, don't you?

Actually, we did add post a short podcast last week about applying for our M.Ed cohort programs, some of which are online and thus open to those anywhere in the world.

However, I'm not on that one at all. That's Jenny and Yvette, another senior program assistant in our office.

Finally, don't forget that we're on Facebook! Please go to the page and "like" us. If we can get to 25 "likes," we can get our own URL rather than the clunky one that Facebook gives pages.

Thanks to my 2 friends who have already done so. What do I have to do to get the rest of you to do it? :P

Let me know what you think!

Long Weekend Blues

We've got a long weekend coming up this week. It's always a joy to get Monday off, and sometimes take a Friday off to make it even longer (I didn't do that this year, though).

But is it a joy for everybody?

There was an interesting article in this week's Maclean's magazine (sadly, for some reason this is is one of the few articles from the issue that's not online) that talked about "Long Weekend Blues" (an unofficial name, which might also be called "Long Weekend Affective Disorder"). People with this problem not only do not look forward to long weekends, they actively dread them.

It's not because they don't want the extra time off of work, either.

As a 37-year-old Vancouver lawyer says, "Every long weekend feels to me like everyone else has big, unusual fun plans. I dread it. It's a reminder that my life is a little slow or empty or something. The last long weekend, there was a truck of people dressed up with brass instruments having the time of their lives. As I watched them drive by, I was like, 'Where are all you people going and how come I didn't know about it?' It just feels like a long weekend is one big party I had no idea about."

Other examples are also given in the article, the common theme being "everybody else is probably out there having fun, and my life is so empty that I'm not a part of it."

The article also quotes Alyson Pancer, a clinical social worker and therapist, who says that long weekends, like holidays, seem to come with expectations. Everywhere you look, there are stories about how busy the airports are or how bad travel is on this weekend. When you're not going anywhere special, that can affect you somewhat.

We, on the other hand, sometimes take advantage of everybody else travelling. Weekend traffic can be annoying, as tourists vie with residents who seem to be out on Sunday drives, not paying attention to things. On long weekends, Sunday driving can be almost a ghost town, which is very nice. We may go out, we may go to a movie, whatever. The city feels less packed because more people are travelling instead of staying home. As long as you avoid the tourist spots, you can also avoid the crowd of people who come to Vancouver on the long weekend.

But I found it interesting because I used to have these types of feelings, and still do to some extent. Not a depression so much as a "should we be doing what everybody else is doing?" Ultimately, I decide it's well worth just getting that extra day of rest, away from the toils of the daily work schedule. But I admit that I have some pangs occasionally.

Others have it a lot worse. They feel like they should be out there doing something fun, because everybody else is.

[Psychotherapist Barry] Rich does say that long weekends are definitely harder on lonely single people, because of "enforced frivolity." We have been led to believe that on long weekends we are supposed to have a really great time, and if we haven't, then we have screwed up big time. "God forbid you really just want to stay at home," says Rich.

He suggests not forcing the issue. If you truly don't want to do anything, enjoy spending some quiet time on that extra day, maybe seeing a friend you haven't seen in a while or doing something you've always wanted to do.

(Thanks to SweetMama)

It seems worse sometimes when you do go back to work and everybody asks how your weekend was, or what you did, and you can't say that you really did anything. Meanwhile, they went this way and that way, to this event or that beach, and it can get a little depressing.

Yet it shouldn't, because we chose to spend the long weekend that way. It was relaxing, allowed us to recharge our batteries, and gave me plenty of time for video gaming.

How is that bad?

It isn't, really. That's why any "depression" for me only lasts as long as the question does. Once we've moved on to work stuff, or a different topic, it quickly dissipates.

I'd be interested in your thoughts, though. Do you suffer from "Long Weekend Blues?" If so, what do you do to combat it? Are married people (especially those with kids) more immune to it because of family activities that usually happen on these weekends? Family barbecues are a mainstay on Memorial Day weekend, for example. But what about when the kids are grown?

Any of my single friends have any thoughts on this?

(Since the article's not online, all the quotes are typed from my reading of the article, so any errors are mine)

Edit: Of course, after I do the post and say that it's not online, they go ahead and put it online.

Book Review - Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Vol 5 - Jonathan Strahan

I used to be a sucker for "best of year" anthologies, loving both Gardener Dozois' annual edition as well as the "Best Fantasy & Horror" edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (later replaced by Kelly Link).

Sadly, the latter is no longer published and I haven't looked at the former for the last couple of years, because I haven't been able to get them from Curled Up With a Good Book (my source for almost all my non-ebook books).

However, this year I was able to get my hands on Jonathan Strahan's edition for 2010. I love both Science Fiction and Fantasy, so this one is a no-brainer for me.

Thankfully, this year's book has a wonderful collection of stories.

My review of it has now been been posted, and can be found here.

From the review:

Tastes differ wildly from reader to reader. In any short story anthology, editors will make choices that just don't agree with any given reader at all. When they're longer pieces, it can make for some dreary reading, unless you decide to just skip that story. Some people are more determined than others.

This year's anthology delivers some wonderful work from the likes of Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, Theodora Goss, and Robert Reed (who I think could populate an annual anthology all by himself). While those are the standouts, almost every other story in the book is worth reading.

There's really not a lot more to say that's not said in the review. I continue to be impressed by Strahan's editing ability and his story choices.

Let me know what you think!

Book Review - Wings of Fire

Do you like dragons?

Who doesn't? Huge, beautiful creatures that can breathe jets of flame from their mouths, lined with glistening, sharp teeth?

Ok, that can be horrifying if you're standing in front of one, but they can have a certain beauty as they fly away as well.

Wings of Fire is an anthology of dragon short stories through the last fifty-five years, including one of the most famous (Gordon R. Dickson's "St. Dragon and the George) from 1957. There are also more modern stories in it as well, including at least one that's original for the book (or at least was published in 2010, anyway).

It's edited by Jonathan Strahan, and I have to say that I love reading his anthologies. I read his "Best SF & Fantasy of the Year" anthologies every year, liking at least 75% of the stories he chooses. In fact, I'm posting the link to my review of this year's edition tomorrow.

Wings of Fire is excellent, and here's the link to my review.

From the review:

Now they have been. Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Marianne S. Jablon, is full of dragon stories spanning the years, ranging from the classic “St. Dragon and the George” (Gordon Dickson, 1957) to “The Miracle Aquilina” (Margo Lanagan, 2010). Many of the greats are represented here, from Anne McCaffrey (“Weyr Search”), Roger Zelazny (“The George Business”), and more modern favorites like Naomi Novik.

The collection is excellent, with a broad variety of styles and genres, even a bit of urban fantasy from Charles de Lint ("Berlin"). Readers can see the genesis of classic series such as McCaffrey's "Pern," and get a feel for why the classics truly are classic. I had never read Dickson's story before, though it’s always been brought up in dragon discussions as a great entry in the field. Now that I have read it, I must confirm its status as one of the best of the genre. It's funny, but also poignant.

There are a couple of iffy stories in the collection, at least to my taste. But others' tastes may differ, so you might like them.

If you like dragons, this is a must-read anthology.

Book Review - Bird of the River by Kage Baker

Kage Baker has long been one of my favourite authors, as my memorial post to her can tell you. I won't go into all of the great works that she wrote that I devoured, because most of it is done in that post.

I wasn't a slavish fanboy of hers, though; I was able to be critical when called for, despite what some of my non-fans might believe. I've ripped two of Baker's books in the past, including the grand finale to The Company series.

However, she could always be relied upon for some great characterization and wonderful writing.

Which is why I'm sad that The Bird of the River is Baker's last published novel. There are some short stories that I haven't read, and a novella that I just bought from Amazon, but this is the last full-length novel.

Thankfully, it's quietly phenomenal. My review is here.

From the review:

This is the story of a river boat named the Bird of the River and a young brother and sister who have to make their way on it after their drug-addicted mother dies in a horrible accident. They also have to figure out their place in the wider world, and thankfully their pseudo-family on the boat will help them with that. Young Eliss is the main character, a teenager who excels at being able to spot river snags that must be destroyed or maneuvered around. As the oldest, she has to take care of her half-brother, a boy with mixed heritage - he's half "Greenie," a race that is horribly looked down upon by the humans of this world. Add to the mix a new passenger who is travelling incognito to search for a lost member of his rich family and a ship's captain who gets wildly drunk every time they reach port, and the reader gets a sense that all is not right with Eliss's world.

Baker's characterization skills are at the forefront here, because there's not a lot of action in the book. But the characters just fly off the page, making you really care about them.

This is a fantasy book that even a non-fantasy fan can like. There are some fantastical elements in it, but not enough to drive a fan of good writing away from the book.

I'm very sad that Baker will no longer be writing.

But I'm very glad that, at least in regards to her novels, she went out on an extremely high note.

Let me know what you think.

One Hit Wonders of the 2000s (Part 29)

It's been over a month since an edition of the one-hit wonders has been posted. Lots has happened in that time period too.

I'm a month older, for one thing.

Where have I been? I've been off on vacation! A fabulous month of sun, beach, sand, and the occasional red meat meal.

(Thanks to the Coventry Telegraph)

I have to admit that I'm a bit tired after all that fun and frolic.

So, did you miss me? I think the interns in the office did. This was their reaction when I came back.

(Thanks to Runner's World)

I'm not quite sure why.

Anyway, it's time to get back into the swing of things. I haven't heard any bad music in a month! We should probably get started and rectify that.

Welcome to episode 29 of the one-hit wonders of the 2000s! We here at One-Hit Wonder Inc work tirelessly to entertain you.

(Thanks to Ferdy on Films)

Whoops! That's from my OSHA file. How did that get in there?

As usual, you can find the link I'm taking these from here.

Here we go!

1) Secondhand Serenade: "Fall for You" (#21) (September 20, 2008)



You know buddy, if you want to keep a healthy relationship, you might not want to take videos of her in her lingerie while she's sleeping and then posting them to the Internet.

Just a thought.

In fact, he's so hooked on it that he films the fun stuff *and* the meltdown. Even the leaving part!

Dude, you have to do something about the fetish.

Soon, he'll be out there filming everything, until the inevitable happens.

(Thanks to NaplesNews)

And then where will he be? Dateless and with a broken camera.

2) M.I.A.: "Paper Planes" (#4) (September 27, 2008)



I really don't know what to say about this one. It's an attempt to be relevant, as it can be interpreted either as a song about attitudes toward immigrants as well as something about weapons sales.

Or, you know, you can just interpret it as a rap with an annoying backbeat that gets on your nerves after a while and makes you want to go postal.

(Thanks to Motifake)

That will work too.

3) Estelle: "American Boy" (#9) (September 27, 2008)



With Kanye West? Ugh.

But then Estelle starts singing, and I actually really like this song. She's got a great voice and the beat is very catching.

And then Kanye comes back.

Watch the excitement level wane to a point that even Cialis can't bring it back.

Not even with a cool bathtub.

(Thanks to Chickaboomer)

It's just gone. I won't hold it against Estelle, though. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?

4) Jennifer Hudson: "Spotlight" (#24) (October 15, 2008)



(incidentally, where's the Old Spice guy? Why do we want Fabio? Go away!!!)

Hudson seems confined to the R&B charts, with the exception of this song, but she's such a talented singer that it's a shame.

This song is really good, so good that I can't really joke about it at all.

Let's see if the Duck Army agrees.



I'd say that's a yes. In fact, they're on the march to kidnap Hudson and make her sing for the Duck God!

Somebody should really call her security.

5) Saving Abel: "Addicted" (#20) (November 22, 2008)



It looks like a porn shoot! But cleaned up for national airplay.

And thus, deadly dull, I'm sure.

Wow, is this video geared to the lowest common denominator. Lots of skin, groping, a song that's explicitly about how good a lay the woman is.

I should turn this off right now.

Nah....

(Thanks to the Bachelor Pad)

I'm busy.

6) O.A.R.: "Shattered (Turn the Car Around)" (#36) (December 13, 2008)

Embedding disabled (stupid WMG), but you can see it here.

It's not a bad song, though it's rather generic.

Thus, I shall make fun of WMG instead.

Really, WMG? You don't want your music passed around for others to listen to? Hey, maybe this song might have more than 521,000 hits since October 2009! You're obviously not trying to hide it from people (otherwise, why put it on Youtube?), yet you don't want bloggers and other sites to be able to embed it.

Quick and dirty poll (for those of you who have gotten this far, so perhaps it will be a bit skewed): How many of you play the embedded videos here? And how many of you actually click on a Youtube link to go off-site and watch a video?

I'd be willing to bet that the latter number is less than the former one.

What's the concern? Music piracy?

Whoa. This is getting much too serious.

Let's lighten things up a little bit.



And there you have it! We've come to the end of 2008, and it's actually not been a bad year (though it was artificially lengthened). We've got one more year to go and then everybody in this office will be out of work.

I may even have to downsize myself.

It has come to that.

Unless I think of something else to do!

In the meantime, it's time to start my Sunday.

Time to take Grandma out on her weekly outing from the old folks home.



Nobody argues when she wins Tuesday night Bingo every week.




One Hit Wonders of the 2000s
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31

New addition to the family - Boneless the Cat!

There is a new member of the Roy family in the household.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the SPCA to see about getting another cat.

We were going to be home for a number of days before heading back to work, and we thought that would be important for any new cat to get accustomed to us, not to mention us accustomed to it. That way, we wouldn't have to adopt one and then immediately be heading off to work the next day (or the next day after that), leaving it alone for eight hours at a time. This way, we would get to spend a lot of time with it during the bonding stage.

There were a number of awesome cats there, but one in particular stood out for me. I didn't realize this until we had already adopted her, but I think it was because she licked my hand when we were interacting with her. I knew she had done it at the time, but I didn't really place that with why I had ambivalent feelings about the other cats that we saw. But that must be why I was so enamored with her. The wife liked a lot of the cats there, but this would be the first cat that we both picked out, so it was important that both of us like our choice. We both agreed that this particular one would be good.

The SPCA had named her Supergirl.

I can see why they might have done so. The cat was found burned in a car engine. She still has two shaved spots on her front paws from where the IV was placed. She also has a scar on her back leg which we think will always be there.

Needless to say, we did not like the name Supergirl, so we've been waiting to see if she would name herself. We've had her since Tuesday, July 12, and she went nameless (other than Supergirl) for most of that time.

We considered calling her Speed Bump, because she treats us like one. Unlike Miss Kittycat, this one walks all over us, and is not averse to just climbing on us and flopping down to fall asleep.

(This was taken by me, while she was on my lap)

And she does like to flop. If you pick her up, she'll often sag like a dead weight, wanting to make the act of picking her up as heavy as possible.

Hey, why not call her Boneless?

So that's now her name. Boneless, the cat!

It really fits her.

Boneless is two years and a month old (we arbitrarily set her birth date as June 30, 2009, as the SPCA said she was 2 years and 2 weeks old). We've had her for almost two weeks now, and she's fitting in very nicely. She's captivated by the rats, but we've got things blocked off enough that she can't get to them. She will stare, however.

She's also tried to get a few places that we've now made it uncomfortable for her to go (trying to get on top of the computer will now knock something down onto the floor, with a very discomfiting "bang" noise as the plastic hits the hardwood, to name one example).

We're still adjusting to her habits, and she's adjusting to us as well. However, she has had no issues coming to us. Even on the first day, she'd come up on the bed and join us, walking over us, lying down on our stomach or whatever.

She's not shy at all, and never has been. That might be because she's older or it might be because she was very well taken care of by a previous owner (perhaps they just couldn't afford the vet bills after the car engine incident?). Whatever the case, she's adorable, and we love her to death.

And we look forward to having her around for a very long time.

Blogging Emptiness

Wow, has it been almost two weeks since I've posted anything here? I find that hard to believe, but dates don't lie. The last post was July 10, and today is the 22nd.

It got bad enough that people had to come find me and ask what was going on.

While I was on vacation, I didn't really do much of anything online. I did no writing whatsoever. I did tweet some, but not a whole lot. It's like I dropped into a virtual black hole.

(Thanks to Science Blogs)

I just didn't feel up to writing. We had a lot of stuff going on in our lives the ten days we were home, lots of upheaval with feline issues and the like. Every time I sat in front of the computer, I just wanted to veg out. Not create anything.

I came back to work this week, and it was more just a time issue than anything else. I returned to Twitter with a vengeance, since it doesn't take very long to write 140 characters, but I just never had the time or energy to come here.

But that will change.

I know I promised this before, but I do plan on starting again tomorrow, or Sunday at the latest. I've got the latest edition of the one-hit wonders of the 2000s to do (it's been over a month! The horrors!). We have a new cat (not the kittens I talked about in the previous post), and I have three book reviews to tell you about, all of excellent books.

And who knows what else? Maybe something will piss me off enough to write about it.

So, to my loyal readers (and I'd love to know how a blog with zero content for 10 days can *gain* subscribers as far as Feedburner goes), my apologies for the long delay in posting.

Hopefully, the new content will be worth it.

Hang in there. The hiatus is almost over.

Posting Update

Posting's been a bit sparse here this week, which is unfortunate and not intentional. Another unfortunate thing is that there will, once again, be no one-hit wonders post this week.

I know, I know. Please, no rending of garments or anything like that.

I've been spending my mornings writing book reviews that I'm horribly behind on (finished a review for a book that I read back in September 2010...Woo!).

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or are Facebook friends know that we have recently adopted two cats (13-week old kittens, actually). I don't want to do a proper welcome post until I have some pictures, but the opportunity to get them has been non-existent. Either they're hiding or they're out but running all over the place.

I promise a post about them once I do have some pics, though. You will get to meet them.

Anyway, I will try to do better this coming week, and who knows? Maybe I'll do an early one-hit wonders post. Don't hold your breath, but it could happen.

We'll also see what else I can come up with.

Please bear with me, though.

Podcast stuff - Episode 14 of Down the Hall (Radio EPLT)

Vacations come and go, but the work goes on!

Want some fun Summer learning activity ideas to help avoid that dreaded Summer Learning Loss?

Episode 14 of the EPLT podcast Down the Hall has now been posted. Actually, it posted last week, but I was in Iowa and not blogging, so I'm doing it now.

In addition to some fun activities in Vancouver (as well as thoughts on how you can find some in your community), we also have an interview with a Master of Educational Technology student, Drew Murphy. He's used a lot of the things he's learned in the MET program to actually come up with a creative educational product that will help many teachers use the web and other social media tools to enhance their teaching.

This isn't a promotional interview, though. While we do talk about the product, the focus is mainly on how he has used the knowledge gained in the program to come up with it.

Finally (and I may do an individual post on this in a week or two), Down the Hall is now on Facebook! Come "like" us and you'll always be notified when a new episode posts.

Or just "like" us because you like me (or Jenny...I'm not *that* vain).

We can live with that too.

Southwest Airlines - Moooooo

We just returned from our annual Iowa trip (which explains the lack of blogging recently...sorry!), and for the first time ever, we flew Southwest Airlines.

While it wasn't the most hideous experience out there, I have to say that I will be thinking long and hard about it before ever choosing them again.

(Thanks to Ellen Barone)

Like all things, airlines included, there are good things to be said. But there are definitely a lot of downsides too.

Let me start from the beginning.

First, and I cannot emphasize this enough, if you're going to be trying something new, look it up online first. See what experiences others have had. I think we would have found some eye-opening stuff out there if we had looked.

But we didn't. Southwest was economical, and we had heard some good things about them, so we clicked "buy" on our tickets and didn't even think about it.

You might not want to repeat that process.

A week or two before we were scheduled to leave, I get an email that offers early-bird check-in. $10 per person, gets you on the plane earlier. Yeah, it sounds like a cash-grab. We don't mind boarding late. We keep our carry-ons under the seat, so we're not fighting for room in the overhead bins.

So I ignore it.

Then we get to Seattle on the day of travel, and this is what we see (not our picture, but this is basically what we experienced):

(Thanks to Martha Stewardess)

Ok, it wasn't quite *this* bad, but it sure felt like it. The line went all the way around the concourse, and was probably 45 minutes long.

I have never seen a longer line other than at Christmas or other potentially huge travel days.

We went outside to the curb-side check-in, and still waited at least half an hour, or maybe even 45 minutes (you kind of lose track of time when you're standing there bored out of your skull).

It was insane!

When we finally got through security (I got body-scanned for the first time!), we go up to our gate to check and see if there are available upgrades to 1st class.

Those of you who have flown Southwest before are probably saying right now "What? There is no 1st class on Southwest!" And you would be getting ahead of me, and I'd have to thwack you for it.

Yes, we find out that there is no 1st class on Southwest. Not only that, but there aren't assigned seats (I knew we didn't have a seat, but I foolishly thought that we would get that at check-in).

Hence, I go back to the very first thing I said in this post: check new things out online before doing them!

See, instead of assigned seats, you are assigned a boarding position, based on when you check in. The categories are A (1-60), B (1-60) and C (1-30). You board based on your letter and number, standing in line in order, and seating is a total free-for-all. Because of our check-in time, we were C25 and C26.

That sounds scary, doesn't it?

(Thanks to Arizona Republic)

The guy was very gracious, and could obviously tell that we were total newbies. He explained that you can check in online 24 hours ahead of time, and will get you an earlier boarding number. If you do the early-bird check-in, that can make it even better. He then marked my wife's ticket so that she could board between Groups A & B, and thus ensure that we would be able to sit together.

He didn't have to do that, so we really appreciate it.

The flight itself was pretty good. Southwest planes have great leg room, so that was a bonus (they'd better, since they don't offer a 1st class option). We were fairly comfortable and all went well.

So for the trip back, we knew we would be better prepared. But there was still something to reach out and bite us in the ass.

I paid attention to the early-bird check-in option this time. It says that it will assign your boarding position 36 hours ahead of time. While not ensuring an "A" category, you'll at least be in the low "B" categories.

Thirty-six hours ahead of our flight, I was stationed at the computer, waiting to pounce. I decided to see if I could pay for the early-bird check-in early, so that I would then just have to check in without having to go through the whole payment process.

Success!!!!

At exactly 36 hours before our flight, I hit "check in" and got an error message, stating you can only check in 24 hours ahead of time.

What???? I paid my money!

I was flummoxed.

(Thanks to The Penultimate Word)

I called up Southwest quickly, because I didn't want to lose our position!

And that was the next kick in the balls.

You see, early-bird check-in can be purchased at any time, and your boarding category is based on when you purchase it. Thirty-six hours before the flight, the computer collects all the early-birds, sorts them by when they were purchased, and assigns boarding categories.

In other words, we could have bought this a week before we even left Seattle (much less Chicago, on our way back) and we would have been one of the first to board, most likely!

The email doesn't really hint at this procedure, though now that I know it, I can see it.

Sheesh!

Anyway, we did get A41 and A42, so we were able to get our seats with no problem on the way home. Also, we did get our boarding passes online, so were able to go to the "check baggage only" line-up at Chicago Midway, which was quite civilized and quick. Even the check-in line wasn't *that* long, compared to what it was in Seattle.

We honestly felt like cattle being lined up and herded onto the plane (hence the title of this post). This process does avoid the usual "everybody gather around the boarding gate and then try to fight for better boarding position" process that most airlines have, when they just call "Group 5" to the gate. I do like that. It's organized.

But the open seating is just a nightmare. The cash-grab of early-bird check-in is atrocious (though I guess they have to make money some way, since they don't charge for your first two bags, another huge plus).

The seats aren't so comfortable that it wouldn't be nice to have the option of awesome seats in 1st class.

I put some of this down on me, for not doing due diligence (CHECK NEW THINGS OUT ONLINE FIRST!). But this is such a foreign concept of boarding and checking in that I wouldn't have even thought to look it up in the first place!

Now I know.

(Thanks to King Quagmire)

And knowing is half the battle.