Once again, I was in Southern California.

This post was written a couple of weeks ago, in an airport. And never posted, until now. I apologize for the out-of-dateness, but, as I've noted before, this is a blog, not some real-time, Twitter-like social networking thingamabob.



I like airports.

There's a curious sense of being static - outside of "normal" life. Here, in the departure concourse at Pearson's Terminal 1, it's almost quiet - at around 9:45 in the morning on a Thursday, there are flights departing continuously, but there's no sense of bustle, no crowds pushing, no nerve-wracking "run run run". Compared with, say, Heathrow on a Friday night, this is peace and calm.

And there's more to this sense of being "outside" the usual run of things. With no reasonable internet access (although plenty of paid options), and no need to be on the phone, a certain quiet sets in. I've no reason to frantically call anyone, no need to sign up for the only-slightly-extortionate per-day internet access, and thus no immediate ability to check email. I'm not on Twitter, I don't have an iPhone or Blackberry (yet - although that will doubtless spawn its own blog post in due course), and so I feel, strangely, a bit cut off.

In a nice way.

I'm using an honest-to-goodness text editor to write this post, rather than Blogger's online interface, or something more fancy. I've a few photographs from a recent car show, and a trip to the zoo, to edit - that will take up some time, since I've once again overestimated the amount of time I'd need to get to the airport, check in, pass customs and security, and find myself sitting in the departure lounge. I'm completely off-line, which is an unusual situation in this day and age. And one that could easily be rectified - but I've blogged about being cheap before.

So - how do I follow Eva's peregrinations? I can't check in on the quiet that has recently encompassed the Science Advisory Board, nor post at my other nearly-morbid blog. I can't even see if my recent Faculty of 1000 article review is being voraciously devoured by other scientists around the world.

Ah well. I suppose I'll wander the halls, hoping for interesting airport architecture to photograph. But in the meantime, I'm strangely content - a quiet airport, a chance to sit and think, and of course, write it all down for you to read.

Next stop - Southern California. Again.