The personal attacks on Patrick Smith are uncalled for and merely reflect the public's (justified) anger at the airlines. Having said that, it is entirely appropriate to be critical of his technocratic justifications at the expense of compassion for the increasingly frustrated travelling public. His article would be just right for an airline trade journal, but he is actually writing for the general public in a left-leaning magazine. He cannot be seriously surprised at the reaction he has engendered. In fact, I think he is very clever; after all, there is no such thing as bad publicity. To call him an "elitist prick" is rather strong, especially considering his modest salary. It is going too far. Let's say he is a (usually) good writer with a conservative bent writing for a liberal magazine. And each Friday, I think, what will "The Pilot" say this time?"

Isn't that a bit like going to Taco Bell for advice on good nutrition? People who think it is a good idea to do so are a self-selected group, and who can begrudge them a modicum of hope, however false? People like Oprah are not exceptionally clever or talented or hard-working; they are exceptionally lucky. And they naturally and incorrectly attribute their good luck to their own personal qualities. There is no big universal plan working here, no "energies", no "like attracts like", no "purpose-driven life" - just blind chance operating as usual. There is a huge market for selling false hope, from lotteries and gambling casinos to religion and self-help books. Let the buyer beware.

Soon to come from the TSA - strip searching by machine! We will have to go through a "backscatter" machine that basically shows everything - the person on the image looks naked. One can imagine the smirks from security men as young women are forced to go through this. Add these "security" measures to the appalling indifference of the airlines and it is plain that passengers have become nothing more than cattle moving through a stockyard.

Let face it, every English Department in the world could close tomorrow and the world would not be worse off, and possibly better off than it is now. But the same could be said for much of academia - art history, psychology, etc. On the other hand, there would be armies of unemployed, fairly bright but talentless people incapable of doing anything else. These people may do no good, but at least they do no harm. The trillions spent by the Pentagon on death and destruction is far more wasteful. As for reading, I rarely read fiction at all anymore, much preferring non-fiction books in science or biography. I find I am less interested in the product of someone's fevered imagination than I am in the evolution of life, the origin of the solar system or Mao's rise to power. Science writers are generally much better at writing than so-called "writers" of fiction. All art, whether literature, music or painting is a direct communication from the artist's mind to the reader, listener or viewer. Any intermediator is neither necessary nor desireable. I don't need a musicologist to explain why I should like Mozart.

The sense of awe didn't go - but it now takes more to evoke it. At one time people were in awe of steam trains that could go 30 miles per hour! What excitement! Then it was cars. Then airplanes. Remember how exicting it was to watch John Glenn going into space? We were all younger then, too. Society felt younger, more optimistic. Anything was possible. Now, nothing seems possible. The war in Iraq has bogged down into as complete a fiasco as Vietnam. Airplane travel has become routinized and far too familiar for us to remain aware of the miracle it is. There is no solution. Our children will find new things to get excited about before they, too succumb to "been there, done that".

Air travel used to inpsire awe. Now it inspires shock.

Want to know what flying was like in the sixties? Go to China now. Shiny new sparking clean airports, well-dressed and polite passengers, helpful crew, efficient ground security. They even have the open air stairs! My wife and I arrived at Xian airport about a year ago for a flight to Dunhuang, in the Gobi dessert. We arrived at the check in 15 minutes before takeoff. The agent took our luggage and politely called the gate to ask them to wait for us. We were whisked to the head of the security line and got to the plane just as they were announcing our names. After a 90 minute flight with beautiful views of the Himalyas, we landed at Dunhuang and the stairs pulled up. Fresh air, sunshine, I felt like I was a movie star. In China, flying is very much for the elite and it feels like it.

Daylight saving time should be in effect throughout the year. The reason is simply that more people are active in the evening than during the early morning. It is ridiculous leaving work at 5PM in December in the pitch black for the commute home. As another poster said, you don't even see your yard except on weekends. Allowance could easily be made for students to come to school a little later in the morning to avoid waiting for the bus in the dark. The energy savings are an added plus, but the biggest reason is to have more available light in the evening.