If things had gone according to plan, I would have arrived in Austin last night just in time to join my friends for one of our customary sushi-and-bubble-tea outings at Pango.

Instead, for the second time in a row, my departure from Newark was delayed by a massive thunderstorm groundi8ng all departures from the airport.

And once again, I found myself cooped up in the plane when this occurred.

Not only that, but in anticipation of my stepping out immediately upon my return, I was looking quite spiffy in my new red shirt. The which, in the end, was seen by essentially no one but the friendly (but happily wedded) Miramax employee sharing the row with me. A rather disappointing debut.

She found herself making her first visit to Austin for the premiere of Spy Kids 2 (which one hopes will enjoy a more momentous reception than the aforementioned red shirt.) Thanks to a pleasant conversation with her about Austin and Princeton and movies in general, the whole ordeal was not quite as excruciating as the 6-hour in-plane horror story I had last time.

And, as today is laundry day, and no one in Austin has actually seen me in my sleek red accoutrement, I can wash it and wear it to Tony's birthday celebration this evening with impunity.

Heaven for small favors, as they say.

Next time, though, I shall have to try another airport.

I am, apparently, cursed by the rain god of Newark, New Jersey.

Thanks to a BlogSnob referral, I've found an interesting online photo project—Bookslut will probably love it.

Shoot Your Shelf is a project in which you take a picture of a shelf in your house—bookshelf, medicine cabinet shelf, or whatever. No cleaning or organizing allowed, so you're on your honor to resist the temptation to surreptitiously insert Italo Calvino in your shelf full of Tom Clancy, or Flaubert next to your Helen Fielding.

Cheating, however, offers a marvelous opportunity for reputation adjustment.

Is your blog preoccupied with matters of pop culture and which celebrities are dating each other? Submit a photo prominently featuring the Qabbalah and the I Ching on your shelf, to show you're grounded in deeper mysteries.

Is your blog a navel-gazing confessional? Post a photograph of books about third-world volunteer opportunities, to show your concern for others. Or a shelf full of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, so people will know your preoccupation with yourself is not only self-indulgent, but artistic.

Is your blog a shameless self-promotion for your "serious" writing—novels, tech manuals, or whatever? Post a photo of a shelf full of them—you're shameless, remember? Better yet, post a photo of your book next to a respected authority in the field. If you just wrote a usability manual, photograph it next to Jakob Nielsen's latest and enjoy the fruits of respect-by-association!

So, remember—you're on your honor. No cleaning or organizing.

It's not your problem if you don't have any honor to be on, right?

After several recent summertime visits to New York City, I can identify with Aaron over at 601am—standing on the subway platforms (not air conditioned in NYC, and very muggy), he is "sweating enough liquid to hydrate a small desert country."

I read his solution to this problem and I laugh and laugh. The accompanying picture is the pièce de resistance. It's a crazy idea, but the situation is desperate.

I empathize completely.