Sometimes it’s possible to overplan for delays. A friend of mine was leaving out of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall on Tuesday and planned to get to the airport four hours early. She did this in anticipation of not being able to find parking in the long-term lots, waiting for the shuttle to get to the terminal, checking luggage and, of course, the security checkpoint.

The long story short is that she found a space within five minutes, the shuttle was right there to take her to the terminal, the line at check-in was brief and the people behind the counter were very helpful.

Even the line at the security checkpoint was surprisingly brief, and it only took her about seven or eight minutes to get through.

The biggest problem she had was that she found herself sitting in the waiting area for her plane with a cell phone that had only one bar on the battery ... such are the troubles of the new millennium.

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I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and that you find something to be thankful for; be it shorter-than-expected lines ahead of you or the smiling faces of loved ones when you get to your final destination.

Talking cars

There was a dedication recently that should be of interest to a lot of people, at least to those who drive. It was the opening of the Connected Vehicle Proving Center outside Detroit. It is at this place that cars will learn to talk ... or at least transmit data to central locations and to one another.

For example: What if one car is driving southbound on Interstate 270 and finds that there is a sudden slowdown approaching the interchange with the Beltway? That information could be relayed to a central hub that would result in overhead signs instantly being changed to indicate to other cars (and their drivers) that there is a slowdown ahead. The ability to have cars and trucks transmitting information in real time could lead to a more efficient system.

For years, state highway departments have been trying to come up with all sorts of ways to gather information using sensors imbedded in the road or from overhead locations.

Having the vehicles be involved could be a big help. My only concern is how much this will add to the price of a new car.