While neither the Middle East nor suicide bombers are strong interests of mine, The Attack by Yasmina Khadra (aka Mohammed Moulessehooul) was an interesting and entertaining book, if not always an enjoyable and uplifting one.  The topic is certainly relevant to recent events: Amin Jafaari, an Arab physician and a naturalized Israeli citizen, tries to piece together the reasons that led his wife to commit a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.  The author juxtaposes Jafaari’s humanist ethics with the fatalism of the Palestinian militants he encounters, and in doing so offers Western readers a chance to do the same.

As an increasing amount of media attention is devoted to the psychological makeup of suicide attackers, The Attack may interest many readers.  Others might find the portrayal of Islamic militarism in Palestine rather simplistic.  If nothing else, the author paints a humanizing and somewhat ironic depiction of his characters and the viewpoints they embody.

Yesterday I got a free flight to Sarajevo for the 13th World Congress of Comparative Education Societies. This is the 4th free ticket I have gotten in just over a year and a half using United’s “Mileage Plus” program, which prompted me to look at how much I am getting back for what I put in. Here is a brief summary of my free tickets:

So, basically I get 2.3 US cents for each frequent flyer mile…not bad I guess. This is in addition to free upgrades to slightly-less-cramped economy plus seating (woo hoo) and getting to board the plane first. Here’s a couple of observations that might help others with frequent flyer programs:

1. All programs are not equal: United’s has been pretty good to me, I’ve heard good things about some others in the star alliance (Singapore, BMI, Thai, Air New Zealand, etc.). My experience with British Airways has been much worse.

2. The route makes a huge difference. I have had good luck on international routes…actually United’s miles work best when they are redeemed on other star alliance airlines. My international flights were with Singapore and Lufthansa. The value per mile for domestic routes was not that great.

3. Make it a habit…I charge everything to my United credit card and pay it back before any interest accrues. This has added up to at least one free ticket over time.

This is supposed to be a blog about my thoughts and experiences with (a) my personal goals and (b) international development. However, to start off on a lighthearted note I will begin with a story about my new 2006 Lotus Elise.

Ok, so it is not really my Lotus Elise…actually I rented it for 72 hours because (a) Thrifty lost all records of my previous reservation and (b) due the the “College World Series” there were only 2 available rental cars available at Omaha airport on Sunday at 11:30 pm. The other was a twelve seater passenger van, since the price was the same I made the obvious choice.

Driving a British sports car around Lincoln, Nebraska is an interesting experience: it is somewhat incongruous in a land of where Dodge pickups and large tractors ply the road. Definitely gets a lot of attention although I worry about what an accident with an F150 would look like.

Anyway, the day after tomorrow it is going back and I will once again drive a CNG Ford Contour. Fun while it lasted though.  Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a camera…so my experience will have to live on in my co-workers’ jealous rants.