A traveling frame of mind has overtaken me, as it tends to do this time of year. Hey, between our extended families living in faraway places and Dan's need to stay in all 50 states at some point in his lifetime, we travel. And though in coming weeks, we will be headed to points west, I'm tickled by the news that a bunch of diamondback terrapins tied up JFK airport runway traffic. Although I woulda loved to have heard what the pilot had to say to his passengers on the American flight that got stuck for a bit while turtles in heat were herded off the tarmac, the closest we have to that is a listen at what air traffic controllers there had to deal with:



If those terrapins are headed for Brooklyn, I hope they avoid the heavily polluted Gowanus Canal.

Of course, Dan comes back from his latest trip to NYC with some stuff from one of his favorite bargain stores, and, for the first time, I took a good look at the shopping bag and wondered...how long has Century 21 had that slogan?

See, thing is, their flagship store in lower Manhattan is right around the corner from the site of the world's most infamous terrorist attack. Are we really in Afghanistan to fight for those bargains? According to Century 21 department stores, we are.

And finally, though I will be out and about for a while, I will have something to look forward to once I return - a certain conference that's being held on August 27th at Xavier University this year.  The registration fee will be increasing to $30 tomorrow from $25, though, so it'd be best to sign up for it today, while you're reading this. Head here to sign up for Rising Tide VI at the reduced rate. I would love to see you there.