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[Max Rockatansky]

Everglades National Park did give me a humorous moment with my wife.  She didn’t know how to react to the alligators at the Royal Palm Visitor center.  I guess her perception as a west coast person was that alligators are hyper aggressive given that’s pretty much all that has ever been presented to her in media.  She wasn’t expecting a bunch of alligators all at once and for them to have total indifferent to humans. 

[1995hoo]

Yes, but think about how you get to that tower.  It’s either by tram or bike along a paved former quarry road.  That felt different to me than say hiking down towards Yosemite Valley along the Old Big Oak Flat Road.

I don’t know, I gave Florida the old college try for three years and it just wasn’t for me.

That's why I began my comment with "I could understand why it’s probably not what you’re looking for."

I could understand why it’s probably not what you’re looking for, but the view from the watch tower at Shark Valley made me feel like I was way the heck out in the middle of nowhere.

Along with the crowd...

It was relatively empty the day we visited.

[formulanone]

I could understand why it’s probably not what you’re looking for, but the view from the watch tower at Shark Valley made me feel like I was way the heck out in the middle of nowhere.

Along with the crowd...

It was relatively empty the day we visited.

Only went once roughly 30+ years ago, but it was pretty empty. Seeing a handful of other families and having to wait 2-3 minutes (gosh!) for a desirable lookout point is pretty typical...

If you desire constant near-unobtrusive isolation, maybe abandoned buildings and urbex are for you.

[Max Rockatansky]

I could understand why it’s probably not what you’re looking for, but the view from the watch tower at Shark Valley made me feel like I was way the heck out in the middle of nowhere.

Along with the crowd...

It was relatively empty the day we visited.

Only went once roughly 30+ years ago, but it was pretty empty. Seeing a handful of other families and having to wait 2-3 minutes (gosh!) for a desirable lookout point is pretty typical...

If you desire constant near-unobtrusive isolation, maybe abandoned buildings and urbex are for you.

They most definitely are.  Those are some of the more frequent features I post on GN.  Pinecrest on Monroe County Station on the Everglades Loop Road certainly caught my attention.  That also was the hook with the Snake Bight Trail.

[kphoger]

Every size of band-aid other than the 'normal' size.

[Rothman]

Sophia Coppola

[kphoger]

Celsius temperature

[Max Rockatansky]

Sophia Coppola

Was she ever considered underrated after Godfather Part 3 and that whole weird cousin incest plot?  Lost in Translation and the Virgin Suicides were the only movies she directed I found kind of noteworthy.

[kphoger]

Katy Perry

[kkt]

Every size of band-aid other than the 'normal' size.

Really?  Sometimes I need a small one so it won't have to stretch across a joint and get pulled off right away.  Or a big one to cover a big injury.

[kphoger]

Every size of band-aid other than the 'normal' size.

Really?  Sometimes I need a small one so it won't have to stretch across a joint and get pulled off right away.  Or a big one to cover a big injury.

They have their uses, yes.  But each box of band-aids could stand to have about two each of those off-sizes.  The rest should all be normal.

And actually, if I have an injury big enough for a huge band-aid, then I usually prefer gauze and tape anyway.

[kkt]

Every size of band-aid other than the 'normal' size.

Really?  Sometimes I need a small one so it won't have to stretch across a joint and get pulled off right away.  Or a big one to cover a big injury.

They have their uses, yes.  But each box of band-aids could stand to have about two each of those off-sizes.  The rest should all be normal.

And actually, if I have an injury big enough for a huge band-aid, then I usually prefer gauze and tape anyway.

I buy a box of big ones, a box of little ones, and a couple of boxes of medium-size ones.  Of course you don't really need bandaids at all; any injury could be dressed with gauze and tape.

[fhmiii]

Sophia Coppola

Agreed.  "Lost in Translation" was a bore, and everything else is uninteresting or pure fluff.  "Marie Antionette" should have had me spellbound (especially since I had a thing for Kirsten Dunst at the time), but I was looking at my watch less than 30 minutes in.

My addition:

Smartwatches, of any variety, that's more than a fitness tracker.  I had a Fitbit, and almost everything I now do with my Apple Watch I could do with it.

[Max Rockatansky]

Scarlett Johansson has made a lot of movies (for me) seem better than they are.  There is a lot of Marvel stuff that is borderline intolerable without her presence in it.

[J N Winkler]

Russell Brand--though I reached this opinion long before the present kerfuffle.

[kphoger]

Big frosted sugar cookies

[webny99]

I've decided that "the hassle of airport travel" belongs in this category, with one catch: TSA pre-check is a must-have.

[Rothman]

I've decided that "the hassle of airport travel" belongs in this category, with one catch: TSA pre-check is a must-have.

Pfft.  Talking out of both sides of your mouth, there.  You go through the hassle of pre-check to avoid the hassle...

[gonealookin]

I've decided that "the hassle of airport travel" belongs in this category, with one catch: TSA pre-check is a must-have.

Pfft.  Talking out of both sides of your mouth, there.  You go through the hassle of pre-check to avoid the hassle...

Signing up for Pre-Check was a one-time hassle ten years ago, which has benefitted me 8-12 times a year since then.  Every time I get in the shorter line, don't have to take my shoes off, don't have to take the laptop out of the bag, I'm thankful I did that.

[JayhawkCO]

I've decided that "the hassle of airport travel" belongs in this category, with one catch: TSA pre-check is a must-have.

Pfft.  Talking out of both sides of your mouth, there.  You go through the hassle of pre-check to avoid the hassle...

Eh, I think I can agree with webny99. I have Global Entry, which comes with Precheck. The problem is, my wife and son don't. So when I travel alone, I definitely like the speedy security and immigration. But when I travel with them, it's not that bad. You just have to plan for it and get to the airport 20 minutes earlier.

[gonealookin]

I've decided that "the hassle of airport travel" belongs in this category, with one catch: TSA pre-check is a must-have.

Pfft.  Talking out of both sides of your mouth, there.  You go through the hassle of pre-check to avoid the hassle...

Eh, I think I can agree with webny99. I have Global Entry, which comes with Precheck. The problem is, my wife and son don't. So when I travel alone, I definitely like the speedy security and immigration. But when I travel with them, it's not that bad. You just have to plan for it and get to the airport 20 minutes earlier.

Speaking of hassles...Global Entry is a nice product, but trying to get it, dear god.  The closest place I could apply would be SFO (about 200 miles); LAS, LAX and SLC are next at 400-500 miles.  Appointments are generally 6 months to a year out at any of them.  I knew someone who was able to get appointments for himself and his wife in Vegas; they flew down from Reno just for that, did the enrollment process and flew back to Reno later that day.

[jakeroot]

I've never been bothered by airport security. About the only thing I don't like are the lines. TSA can be predictable, but not always the lines.

The default experience of flying domestic in Japan is much like Pre-Check, if not slightly better:

+ no limits on liquids but they must be scanned
+ no ID check, just valid ticket check (either scan QR code to open a gate or visual check by agent)
+ shoes can stay on
+ watches and belts can stay on

- laptops must come out
- budget airlines often staff the security line to weigh bags, to force overweight bags to be checked.

[Rothman]

I've never been bothered by airport security. About the only thing I don't like is the lines.

It's contagious.

[webny99]

I've decided that "the hassle of airport travel" belongs in this category, with one catch: TSA pre-check is a must-have.

Pfft.  Talking out of both sides of your mouth, there.  You go through the hassle of pre-check to avoid the hassle...

Pre-check is a one-time hassle, not comparable to the hassle of regular security if you're flying with any frequency.

[Rothman]

I've decided that "the hassle of airport travel" belongs in this category, with one catch: TSA pre-check is a must-have.

Pfft.  Talking out of both sides of your mouth, there.  You go through the hassle of pre-check to avoid the hassle...

Pre-check is a one-time hassle, not comparable to the hassle of regular security if you're flying with any frequency.

Uh-huh.

Let me put it this way: "The hassle of airport travel is overrated because I paid for TSA pre-check and don't need to deal with it anymore myself."