Last March, I downloaded the then-new Kindle reader for the iPhone. I still don’t have a Kindle, nor do I plan to purchase one. But I’ve become quite fond of reading books on my iPhone and have had to take great pains to control myself so that this doesn’t become an expensive habit compared to, say, checking the books out of our local library when available. It’s probably of no interest to anyone, but just for the hell of it, here’s what I’ve read so far on my iPhone’s Kindle Reader since March of this year:

1. Outliers: The Story of Success
2. The Bourne Sanction
3. Thus Spoke Zarathustra (I lost the original paperback copy I had since med school)
4. Descent into Chaos (a really great book about Central Asia)
5. The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals (this should be required reading for every American)
6. Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic
7. Engaging the Muslim World
8. Serial (perhaps the sickest short story ever written, but it was free…)
9. Afraid
10. Renegade: The Making of a President (had a lot of promise, but became a snooze fest after awhile)
11. The Art of War (too damned many annotations-then again, it was free)
12. Truck Stop – A Psycho Thriller
13. Desert Places
14. In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect (had a lot of promise, but got bogged down at times, and I suspect the author is quite conservative, since every Republican president, including W, comes across really well but every Democrat is vilified)
15. Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency (parts were really interesting, other parts not)
16. The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It (I really liked this book-it was very well written and I couldn’t put it down after awhile)
17. The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader
18. Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden (I liked this even better than #17 by the same author, which was also excellent)
19. In the Graveyard of Empires (I’m in the middle of it now. It’s starting to get ponderous, but I remain hopeful)

Not bad though-nearly 20 books, some of which were either free or well under $9.99 and the rest were usually $9.99. Now if only the airlines would let me read during takeoff and landing.

Just got back from the local ER after a pretty eventful night. We were spending the day with some friends visiting from Maryland and I dropped them, along with my family, off at a restaurant in Southampton, PA and went to park the car. After waiting a bit for a nearby space (it’s really cold out right now), I pulled in and saw a sign indicating 45 minute parking only, so pulled out. I saw a spot that was open in the next lane over, so quickly went to grab it before it got taken, and before rounding the bend saw a woman walking several feet from my car and I passed her by. When I got to the next lane in the parking lot, I saw this 45-ish, guy with a beer belly in a red shirt and white hat running towards my car yelling that I had “almost hit” his wife with my car and he started punching my window as I passed, demanding that I get out so we could have it out. I started driving away, but realized everyone I had come with was inside the restaurant so I had to come back, and even if I parked a bit away, someone deranged enough to punch my car window is probably crazy enough to smash my car windows if I made it inside. So I turned down another lane heading back towards the restaurant hoping to find a place to park and wait for the guy to just leave before I left my vehicle. But he was waiting for me, and again came up to the car and punched the windows on the driver side, so hard I thought he was either going to smash a window or fracture his hand. I started driving off again to avoid a confrontation, but then just came to a dead stop a few feet away hoping that my stopping would call his bluff and he’d walk away. But he didn’t. He started hitting my car again, demanding I get out (to duel like gentlemen?). I rolled down my window a little bit and told him to stop hitting my car or else I’d call 911. He said go ahead. I whipped out my iPhone and started to dial when he opened my door (note to self: when confronted by a deranged, possibly dangerous individual, step one is to make sure the friggin car is locked). At that point he punched me twice in the face, nice and hard. I felt a lot of blood running down, but didn’t have any sense of what the extent of the injuries was at that point. But I did slam the door closed and locked it (finally) and dialed 911. He stood there, joined by his wife who didn’t exactly do much of anything, and told me to “go ahead and call 911.” While I was on the phone with the police dispatch, a police car pulled up behind me (a witness had already called the police) and as I was telling my story from my car to the police officer, the crazy white dude and his wife must have walked away (so much for “go ahead and call the cops”). However, the police officer’s companion in a second car stopped him before his car left the parking lot. There were witnesses and they also gave their accounts to the police. I finally got a look in the mirror at what happened and it was pretty ugly-a lot of blood everywhere, a large right-sided inner lip laceration, copious blood and clots dripping from my right nostril, some minor superficial lacerations near the bridge of my nose, and a ton of pain and crepitus over the bridge of my nose consistent with a nasal fracture.

Meanwhile, no one from my family or friends inside the restaurant knew this was going on. While I had been waiting for the cop to come back to my car with instructions, I did the normal thing while waiting with little to do but bleed: I sent out a quick tweet on my iPhone. This was followed by a ton of really generous messages of concern, including several from folks I don’t know but who either were in the area and noticed a local tweet or who must have seen this on the public timeline for twitter. My daughter Arielle had gotten concerned about how long I was taking to park and asked my wife to call, which she did and immediately came outside after I told here what was going on.

Got into the restaurant and tried to get things cleaned up. My coat was pretty bloody, as were my jeans, and the blood still was coming out so I figured it was best to go to an ER. I went to Abington, where I was seen very quickly and professionally. There’s nothing much to do-nasal fractures just have to heal on their own, lip lacerations generally aren’t sutured (I did suture someone’s inner cheek once as an intern, but perhaps that was the practice then, or perhaps some of us did stuff like that for practice?), and nosebleeds just have to be dealt with in terms of supportive care unless really bad. So for now, I’m taking amoxicillin for the lip laceration (probably not needed, but as I’m flying to Mexico in the AM for work, I really don’t want to try to deal with pus coming out of my mouth in another country  or even another state for that matter), packing some kleenex for the flights tomorrow, and putting ice on my face. Hopefully I can get to sleep in a little bit because I’m really tired and need to get up early.

One thing that didn’t surprise me, but that was very nice to see was how fast word disseminates via twitter and Facebook (I had initially only posted about this on twitter, but I got talked into posting on FB as well because, as my wife put it, “You post everything on Facebook that you’re doing-doesn’t this count?”). And we’re not talking about an Iranian revolution-level event here, just a simple assault. Social media, for all its faults, can work really well when major events happen. That’s important to keep in mind the next time someone belittles social media as “just a bunch of teenagers sending crap over the Internet about what they’re eating.”

Some other important points: I chose not to take this guy on outside of my car. Sure, it would have felt good to fight back, but in all honesty, let’s ditch the macho stuff; someone who felt the need to hit a car window with enough force to almost shatter it would have been perfectly comfortable doing the same to me with his fists. Or, if he were packing, with firearms. Also, it occurred to me afterwards that it would have been helpful to either photograph this guy (in case he eluded the police) or else videotape the situation after I had been hit and locked the door. Hindsight is always clear, and fortunately there were witnesses (and the volume of blood in my car and not in the parking lot should make it pretty clear that I hadn’t gotten out to fight with him and was obviously assaulted in my own vehicle). But as someone told me via Twitter, I could have had a viral YouTube video had I gotten a video on my iPhone.

My nose hurts. I have to be up early. So I’m going to bed. Ice awaits.

My usual 7:45 AM flight to San Francisco got cancelled so I have some time on my hands here at Philadelphia International and figured I should do a quick update of some sundry items:

• I went to a Sharing Ramadan event at the Foundation for Islamic Education in Villanova, PA last night to break the fast with a lot of wonderful folks of all different backgrounds and faiths. I was very struck by how diverse the local Muslim population is and how accepting they are. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, white or of color, etc. Everyone shares with everyone else and there is a genuine community. There are so many similarities with Judaism, but at the same time I don’t know that every synagogue is really that welcoming or open to people of different backgrounds. There are indeed Jews of color, but they are often marginalized or dismissed (or worse, mistaken for the “hired help.”). The other thing that delighted me was how much the Muslims I spoke with truly want dialogue and friendship with those of other faiths. We need this, and badly.
• Still working on the torture memos piece very slowly. It’s coming along, though. I am also thinking of trying to put together a piece for harpsichord as well as another piano piece. Now, all I need are the ideas.
• I was really happy to have had two radio premieres in two weeks. I guess that’s not too bad for a gynecologist.
• Speaking of gynecology, I’ll be at the next AAGL meeting in Orlando. We have three abstracts being presented there. Also not too bad for a gynecologist.
• I think Twitter is starting to replace blogging, but slowly
• Great, the flight I got booked on leaving over six hours after the flight I was supposed to take is oversold. Should I take a voucher to wait some more for a flight that gets me in to SFO six hours later than I will now? Uh, I don’t think so…

Lots of good stuff going on, but I’ve been swamped so have not had time to blog.

• Next Thursday, August 6th at 7:30 PM, Bill Solomon and Mike Lunoe will be premiering my work for six marimbas titled bs piece (double canon for bill solomon) at the Berkman Recital Hall, Hartt School of Music in W. Hartford, CT. I’m listening to their latest rehearsal tape right now and it’s absolutely incredible. How they manage to play this without getting lost while syncing with a tape of the other four marimba parts and counting accurately how many times to repeat each measure (17x is not uncommon in this piece) boggles my mind. Kudos to them both for not just taking on my music but for realizing it so perfectly. The score is here. I’ll be posting a MP3 of the performance and possibly even a video once I get it from Mike and Bill.
• Just got an e-mail inviting me to be on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, the official journal of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists. Obviously they’re extremely desperate.
• Composer/performer/MIDI artist Steve Layton is going to be releasing his realization of textbook: music of solitary landscapes in hyperspace (piece for IPS) via iTunes in the coming weeks. Steve’s realization is excellent and took him at least two weeks to accomplish. The piece is over two hours and is continuous, although it will be broken into individual sections for downloading.

Just realized it’s been a year and two days since I switched this blog from my old iBlog-based site to WordPress. Glad I did—iBlog bit the dust (a two-year beta and incompatibility with the latest version of OS X signals bad juju for certain) and aside from not being able to handle javascript, WordPress.com has worked well so far.

As much as I’ve liked the WordPress theme for this blog, I just decided to mix it up. What you’re now looking at is a new theme with what I imagine contains a lot of AJAX code (asynchronous javascript and xml) that permits a good deal of interactivity. Note the keyboard shortcuts and the ability to have all comments visible for all posts. I also think the resemblance to twitter is quite intentional. Let me know in the comments if you like it or not. I’m already not liking the limitations of composing in this template:

• no bulleted text
• no way to add images or categories. Or links (WTF? Isn’t that one of the big features of blog entries?)
• lack of control over the title and permalink

So how did I just add in these bullets (and add a category and tweak the permalink)? By going into the WordPress dashboard and doing it all in the code editor. Which is exactly what this template is supposed to obviate. Sigh…I’m going to give this template a chance, but if I find it cumbersome, I’m going back to the old one. I think this template is great if you don’t do much more than what you do with twitter. But I use twitter when I want to microblog. This blog isn’t a microblog. Can you tell I’m conflicted?

Got back from vacation Saturday evening and I’m already back in the rat race. Even so, here are some brief thoughts before I forget them:

• I’ve been loving MobileMe’s wireless sync between my iPhone, MacBook Pro and the cloud now for several weeks. This is how it should have worked last June. No complaints so far.
• Finally figured out how to get my TiVo programs from my laptop to my iPhone. There are AppleScripts out there along with some open-source apps, but I haven’t gotten them to work. Instead, I finally figured out that Toast Titanium, in addition to downloading content from my TiVo to my MacBook Pro, can also encode the content for an iPhone or iPod. It’s hidden, but if you click on the Convert button, you can take it from there by selecting iPhone/iPod Touch as one of the destination options. Now, Toast will freeze forever if I try to batch several TiVo files at once, and even sometimes with just one file. But it works about 50% of the time if I just convert one file at a time, and it’s smart enough to dump it into iTunes when finished.
• The CD we got of all of us swimming with dolphins near Marathon, FL was blank, but a new one is on its way via snail mail, so I should have them posted to FaceBook and my photo gallery in the coming days.
• The Pope is wrong on condoms vis a vis HIV/AIDS. And by saying that I’m not being “anti-Catholic” or hurtful. I’m calling out the head of the Catholic Church, who is also a world leader, for comments that are, from a medical standpoint, harmful, potentially disastrous, and frankly stupid. I’d be as critical if it were a Chief Rabbi saying crap like that.
• Punishing the conductor of a Palestinian youth orchestra for leading a concert in front of Holocaust survivors is as bad as if Israel were to punish David Barenboim for leading concerts in front of Palestinians. Which Barenboim does. And Israel doesn’t punish him. Look, I’ve been severely critical of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians and Israeli policies towards citizens of Israel who are not either Jewish, or Jewish enough for the Orthodox theocrats there. But the concert by a Palestinian youth orchestra was a good thing, and a very positive thing. Just as Israel needs to accept that the Naqba is a painful historical event for Palestinians, the Palestinians need to come to grips with the significance of the Holocaust. Trying to ignore the Holocaust and to even claim that the Naqba was worse than the Holocaust is historically and intellectually dishonest. It’s also just wrong.
• I’m going to get some parts for zichron together for Brian Kauth and his colleagues. Yes, Virginia, it’s playable. And it’s stimulated more comments on  my blog than any other post. So far, no one has told me it’s a piece of crap. So that’s good news.
• JC Combs has been really great about including my dreck in his Friday Improv podcasts. Check them out on his Web site.
• What’s next for my music? I’m probably going to develop a synthesizer piece I’ve been toying with. I don’t know that I’ll actually notate it, but I might leave it as a synthesizer piece and maybe just preserve it as a Reason file as well as MIDI and MP3 output. We’ll see. Beyond that, I’d love to try to develop a better recording of digitals, because it’s a pretty decent piece and the realization I made a few years ago really isn’t that great.
• I’m probably getting together next week with a composer I’ve wanted to meet who wrote an amazing, long string quartet I used to listen to on LP many years ago when I was in college. Looking forward to it. And no, I won’t say who it is until after the fact.

(Warning: this is a long rant. If you’re like most people and have better things to do, feel free to skip this. I won’t take offense.)

I’m embarrassed to post this, because it reflects poorly on some of my coreligionists. But it needs to get exorcized from my system. Earlier today, my 13-year-old daughter Arielle attended a bas mitzvah (the female counterpart of a bar mitzvah) of a friend at our former synagogue. We had belonged there for many years because we liked the former rabbi (who recently left) and, well, there weren’t any other options where we used to live. This was a Conservative synagogue, and we’re anything but. We finally realized that we were Reconstructionist Jews trapped in a Conservative synagogue, and it was easy to leave using the excuse that we were moving to Wyncote,. The reality was that we were miserable there. That synagogue didn’t reflect our liberal values, and represented a lot of what I have resented about how Judaism is practiced in this country since I was a kid. I’m also not sure it would have gone over well if I had publicized my atheism, and I can say that my criticism of Israel and support of the Palestinian’s aspirations definitely was not well received at our former synagogue. And then there was that time I asked the Israeli ambassador why they were assassinating people against international law…

Anyway, I digress. At the bas mitzvah today, a friend of Arielle’s who happens to be Asian was writing something down very quickly on a sheet of paper when the executive director of the synagogue, who I guess is to that synagogue what the Taliban were to Islamic practice in Afghanistan, came up to the girl and said “Well, I guess you wouldn’t know this since you’re Asian, but we don’t write on the Sabbath.”

Her comment was mind-boggling, and deeply offensive. For starters, it ignores the fact that this girl could indeed be Jewish. My wife has Asian relatives who are, in fact, members of the tribe, and I’ve known at least one Japanese American who was Jewish. But even worse, it’s damn patronizing and inappropriate. Even more absurd is the fact that for all this woman’s talk of keeping the Sabbath, how did she and everyone else get to this synagogue? I know they didn’t walk. Note to this executive director: driving is just as verboten on the Jewish Sabbath as is writing or cooking, if you’re religious and all that. 

I remember when I was a kid. I attended Episcopalian Mass every now and then (long story). The first time I attended Mass I went up for communion. I had no idea what communion was, but a lot of folks were going up there so I didn’t want to be rude by staying in my pew. When I got up to the alter, the priest didn’t look at me and say “I guess you wouldn’t know this since you’re a Jew, but only those who accept Christ can take communion.” Rather, someone politely informed me that I don’t need to take communion, and I took the hint and sat down, totally non-offended.

But today I am quite offended, and especially since I’ve had similar bad experiences with this executive director in the past, wanted to bring it to someone’s attention. I wrote a e-mail to the executive director, cc’ing their new rabbi. Within minutes I got a response from the rabbi. Unfortunately, he totally missed the point, minimized the entire incident, and essentially discounted anything my daughter reported since it didn’t happen directly to her (in other words, Arielle’s reporting of the comment is irrelevant since her friend, to whom it was directed, isn’t reporting it). In essence, he cannot believe his executive director could possibly have said anything inappropriate, as she’s only the best person in the world, has cured the lame and the sick, is developing the cure for cancer, blah blah blah blah. Whatever.

By this point, I’m not only offended. I’m pissed. At a rabbi. One whom I’ve never even met.

So I shoot back with another e-mail where I don’t hold back at all (other than withholding a lot of profanities pertaining to his executive director). I indicate that he should at least take seriously what my daughter is reporting. Why is a 13-year-old more offended by a clearly inappropriate and hurtful comment directed at an Asian teenager but not a rabbi? In the end, this got me nowhere, as the rabbi tried to deal with my e-mail through sarcasm and finally declined by offer to discuss this over the phone and broke off communications. Now Arielle just fired back with an e-mail to him informing the rabbi that he should not be discounting the word of a 13-year-old. I doubt that will change anything.

I could write a tome about how Conservative Judaism is imploding, how it’s irrelevant, how its stance towards gays and interfaith couples is wrong, how its knee-jerk support of Israel to the detriment of all else is harmful, etc. But I won’t. I will say that this rabbi should have just responded to me the first time by thanking me for bringing this to his attention, that this is indeed an offensive comment, that he would take this seriously and speak with his executive director and try to ascertain the facts, etc. That’s what most folks would have done, especially in a leadership position. So why not this rabbi? 

Honestly, on those rare occasions where we’ve had to go back to attend an event at our old synagogue, I’ve come away feeling like I need to be deprogrammed. We love our Reconstructionist synagogue. It’s not perfect; nothing is. But it’s fully egalitarian, supports LGBT rights, is supportive of interfaith couples, does not believe in this “chosen people” crap, rejects the notion that the torah was written by god, etc. And I can say beyond a reasonable degree of medical certainty that no one at our current synagogue would ever, ever, chastise someone of a different race, religion or culture for inadvertently violating a religious custom they would not have known about.   

As I think about it, this executive director had a teachable moment here and she blew it. She could have very politely mentioned to my daughter’s friend that many religious Jews don’t write on the sabbath and out of respect, their particular synagogue would prefer that everyone within its walls observe and respect its customs. This could have led to a respectful discussion of why the more religious Jews do not write, drive, cook, or do anything that could be construed as work on the sabbath. The same way that at Arielle’s bas mitzvah, our rabbi politely invited anyone up to view the torah up close, realizing that many of our guests were not Jewish and might be interested in learning more about why Arielle was doing what she was doing. That’s not at all threatening. That’s not at all patronizing. That’s not a putdown of another religion or culture. But what the executive director of our former Conservative synagogue did this morning was indeed threatening, patronizing and disrespectful to another culture and religion. It was also really rude. Who knows what that Asian teenager thinks of Judaism in the wake of how she was treated earlier today? I doubt her respect for Judaism was enhanced by this encounter.

I’m ashamed and angry that there are people in my faith who seem to work overtime to convince others that Judaism is about feeling superior to others. Now I’m not religious in any way, although I strongly identify culturally with my Jewish heritage and appreciate the fact that a belief in god or the adherence to rituals are not required in order to be Jewish. But even a totally secular Jew like me knows that there is something deeply wrong with telling someone in a patronizing manner that he/she is violating a local religious custom. Unfortunately, that synagogue’s current rabbi has no clue why that comment was offensive. I suppose I could offer this as another example as to why Conservative Judaism is as irrelevant as the GOP.

• As I was riding home on the train from the airport, I caught last night’s video podcast of Countdown. Interesting item about Alan Keyes, to say the least. So Obama’s a “radical communist” who needs to be stopped?

“Obama is a radical communist and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it is coming true,” said Keyes who ran unsuccessfully against Obama for the Senate in 2004. “He is going to destroy this country and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist,”

I always knew Keyes was a jackass (I’m being charitable—no disrespect to donkeys, mind you), but this is not only something that suggests desperation. It suggests sedition. What exactly does Keyes mean by “stop him?” And regardless of what he meant, does no one think it can be misinterpreted by some of the crazies out there as marching orders to do some harm to our President? I’m a free speech advocate, but threats against the President do not qualify as protected speech under the First Amendment. Why isn’t Keyes being investigated for this?

• Eric Holder was correct in saying we’re a nation of cowards for not adequately addressing race in this country. But I also agree with Melissa Harris-Lacewell of Princeton when she writes that Holder didn’t go far enough—he should have indicated what concrete steps his Justice Dept. will do to hold people’s feet to the fire when there is evidence of racial discrimination. It’s great that we have Obama as president, but we’re still hardly a race-blind country. Remember some of the racial attacks on Obama during the campaign, or the “He’s a Muslim” tactic of the far right? And need I mention that NY Post cartoon?

• Almost done with a new piece for saxophone quartet. Another few days locked up in a hotel in Palo Alto, CA and I should be fine. Now I just have to hope it’s playable by the quartet that asked me to write it…

• Just received my second replacement set of ProCable earbuds for my iPhone. This one lasted less than two months. The first pair had one channel die on me for no apparent reason, and its replacement has almost no sound in the left channel. To RadTech’s credit, they shipped out a new set that got to me in PA in two days. But they deny there’s an issue. Their consumer forums would suggest otherwise.

I travel a lot. Right now, I’m at San Francisco Airport (SFO) writing this as I listen to some music on my laptop and simultaneously download a video podcast of Countdown with Keith Olbermann. I fly on the order of 50% or more each month, and have gone from being a Silver member on US Airways to the Chairman’s level, which just means I get occasional upgrades and better seating options. 

Flying, as everyone knows, is a nightmare. And I’ve had my share of them. That said, having flown perhaps 150k miles over the past year or so, I’ve gotten into a routine to try to prevent complications as much as possible. Here are some tips, in no particular order.

• Go to FlightStats and register. This is a great free site that provides comprehensive information about flights, airport delays, etc. It’s indispensable for me. I remember one time getting to an airport gate and wondering why no one was waiting for the plane. Not trusting what the airport kiosk displayed, I went online and checked FlightStats and got the correct gate. That’s how up-to-date its information is.
• I don’t check luggage. Ever. Unless absolutely necessary. 
• Because I always have a carryon, it’s critical to get on board sooner than later. On US Airways, at least, good luck with the overhead bins if you’re seated in zone 4 or higher; you won’t get your bags on because everything is full by then. I check the seat options online a few days before I travel, since it is occasionally possible to switch for a better seat, and one where you can board earlier and hopefully get your bag on with you.
• Unless absolutely impossible, fly direct. The probability of having at least one connection be late or cancelled is not trivial.
• I avoid the bulkheads if possible, since I’d have to put my laptop case in the overhead bin as well as a carryon suitcase. That doubles the possibility of not having space for your bags.
• I train it to Philadelphia International from my house, since it’s reliable, relatively inexpensive (much cheaper, at least, than parking the car for several days at PHL), and on weekends always stops near my house on the return leg. It’s also better for the environment.
• I also try to become familiar with airports I frequent, especially with regard to where AC outlets are. If I’m on a long day flight, like out to SFO, I try to top off my laptop’s battery at the gate.
• Since I don’t carry a second laptop battery, at least so far, I turn the screen down on my MacBook Pro all the way and make sure WiFi is off. I can get at least 3-3.5 hours of battery life this way, enough for a few TiVo’d episodes of The Daily Show and Colbert. 
• Be aware of other frequent travelers—you’d be amazed how many people also commute to the other coast for work on a regular basis. 
• For red eye flights, a travel pillow and eye covers are essential. It’s impossible to sleep when some vantz next to you is keeping the light on all night or the person across from you is watching a DVD on his 17” laptop all night long. And while I’m at it, I also get my iPhone on to a wonderful application called White Noise. I listen to that all night, particularly the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach, and it’s much easier to drown out cabin noise and just sleep.
• I prefer aisle seats mainly because it’s easier to get off the plane faster. When you have to catch a Septa train home, that’s essential.
• If I park my car at one of the off-site parking services, I call them as soon as my plane lands. This way, by the time I’m outside the airport, it’s arriving.