Technobabbles I try to sound like I know what I'm talking about. Don't be fooled.

Philthydelphia

There's something about big cities I've never liked. There's always traffic, they're always dirty, lots of neighborhoods are places you wouldn't want to even stop at a red light in, and panhandlers approach you every five seconds.

Welcome to Philadelphia, PA.

I've been in lots of big cities, some bigger than Philly, but I think the Cradle of Liberty needs to stop cradling liberty and start focusing on improvements. We stayed at a hotel on Roosevelt Blvd. (US-1), and getting anywhere took forever. Even going to my grandmother's house, a mere 1.5 miles away, took ten minutes. Downtown to the Franklin Institute Science Museum? An hour. The problem was the signals on Roosevelt. No matter what direction you come from, what time of day it is, or how fast you go, you will get 90% red signals. And that's a lot of reds: The street has signals about every 500-750 feet for ten miles. Needless to say it slows you down a lot.

Another thing is, depending on the neighborhood, you'll get panhandled more times in an hour than most people brush their teeth in a week. OK, so I exaggerate a little, but it's pretty bad. At one gas station near the zoo (in what one would think would be an upscale, touristy area), I was panhandled twice, and one of the guys went and asked my mom, too. It may be the City of Brotherly Love, but let's leave it at that; I sometimes felt like these guys thought it was the City of Brotherly Money. Or maybe there's a connection between the Love and the Money; one of the panhandlers had insisted on helping us get gas from a recalcitrant pump before asking for money.

Finally (for now), it's just hard to find a hotel room. Anywhere. Anytime. Whether it's mid-week, weekend, or Monday, hotels are booked with either business travelers (going to conventions, seminars, and the like) or families (on weekend vacation). I'm only sampling the summer, of course, but business seminars don't stop during the school year.

Fortunately, I've left Philly, so none of these issues are bothering me any more. But stay tuned; traveling gives plenty of opportunities to write.

There's something about big cities I've never liked. There's always traffic, they're always dirty, lots of neighborhoods are places you wouldn't want to even stop at a red light in, and panhandlers approach you every five seconds.Welcome to Philadelphia, PA.I've been in lots of big cities, some bigger than Philly, but I think ...