Dichroic Reflections

PS report

Some random data on Palm Springs:

Tram ride up the mountain: a little
expensive, but worth doing. Spectacular views -- I'd like to go back to X-C ski or
maybe even backpack, since they do the ork of getting up the
mountain.

Average age in the restaurants: about 65, but
spry.

Windmill farm tour: too damn expensive and emphatically not
worth it. They tell you it's a "ninety minute ride out into the desert" but never
quite get around to mentioning that all of it is zig-zagging arounf not 200m from
the parking lot. And then there was the tour guide's rants on his personal
philosophy of life, which was, by the way, not a terribly original one. Not to
mention the way he kept saying he'd do some "geek talk" any time he was going to
give us numbers. Several of the old ladies and I think some of the men shrieked in
dismay whenever he did that.

Restarants: the two we ate at, The Deck
and Kaiser's Grill, were both excellent, and Palm Drive, the main drag, was fun to
walk around. I was hoping to knock of some of the holiday shopping, but instead
found a gift that will be perfect for my mom's Bat Mitzvah next
spring.

Golf: Sorry, I don't play.

AOPA conference: lots
and lots of sweet airplanes, but the only one we bought is designed to sit on top
of the Christmas tree and go around in circles. (I also bought a little silver
two-blalded prop I'm thinking of making into a navel charm; however, t just
occurred to me that the potential for stupid jokes, if I walk around with a prop
hanging my my belly-button, is frighteningly large.) Fun to walk around the show,
and I learned that my new status as an official employee at work will entitle me
to 50% off list on the avionics made by another branch of the
corporation.

Palm Springs Air Museum: Worth visiting, but try not to
get there an hour before they open. Oops. Our state doesn't haveDaylight
Savings.

Chance to sleep in two mornings in a row: priceless.