I just flew into SFO for a short visit to California: two days of family get-togethers in Berkeley and Carmel, then three days of business meetings. (Amazon has several software teams here in the Bay Area, including A9 and Alexa.) I flew down on a UA 737: the plane was full, and it left an hour late, but the flight was otherwise uneventful. (And once again I sailed through SeaTac security without waiting in line; I’m not sure how I do it.)
During the flight I listened to channel 9, read the latest Economist, and browsed the Sky Mall catalog. I noticed that they’re already cashing in on the “no liquids or gels in carry-ons” stupidity; they were offering “his and hers” kits of “essential items” – shaving gear, shampoo, toothpaste, and so forth, enough for a week’s travel. They’ll mail it to your hotel, marked “Hold for arrival”. I don’t remember the pricing, but it looked like something of a rip-off – but how much is it worth to avoid the hassle from TSA? Of course they could simply sell them at the airport: I bought some toothpaste after I’d gone through security, saving me the bother of hunting for a pharmacy near my hotel. (Or perhaps disposable razors are still forbidden…..)
As I pointed my rental car south on 101, I realized that it felt like a long time since I was last here. I just checked (blogs are useful for that), and it’s been nine months. Back in April I spent a week here and in Denver doing “intensive networking” as part of my post-Sun transition. I don’t think I’ve been away from Silicon Valley for this long since… wow, probably the mid 80s.