Phil Nickinson

I should really know better than to actually say "I think I'm done traveling for the year" out loud. Because here I find myself, in Palo Alto, Calif., once again. In the same hotel, actually, that I stayed at for Google's Honeycomb event back in 2011.

What the hell am I doing back in California, on the tail end of the Thanksgiving holiday? You'll have to wait a few weeks to find out.

But for now, a few musings from today's trip at 40,000 feet.

  • Today was my first flight since we've been able to use our phones and tablets during takeoff and landing. It wasn't exactly a transformative experience — it just had a better soundtrack for a few minutes.
  • I'm enjoying the beginning of our "Through Glass" series. Look forward to getting some guest writers involved as well.
  • I got my Google Wallet card this week. Not exactly sure why I need a prepaid credit card to go along with my regular credit cards and my debit cart, but whatever. It looks cool.
  • Getting my (usually but not always cute) daughters to record cute little holiday greetings might be more fun than doing regular podcasts.
  • Don't forget that the Moto X is on sale this Monday. As much as I love the Nexus 5 — and I do think it's a hell of a phone, just one with some software issues at the moment — it's hard to beat this deal on the MX.
  • The Android Central app saw more than 10,000 downloads in its first few days of availability on BlackBerry World — which is pretty damn cool to see. It'll be interesting, however, to see if the spike of traffic we saw in those first few days holds up at all. I don't expect it to be anything like those first days — and the holiday weekend skews things in the other direction, for sure — but, still. I'm happy we finally got the app listed. 
  • We've also submitted the app to Samsung's app store. We'll put the word out if and when it's approved.
  • I'm finally catching up on the second season of Homeland. I'd forgotten how quick and easy Google Play is for TV shows. And unlike Netflix, of course, you can store them for watching offline on flights.
  • Also caught most of Pacific Rim on the flight this afternoon. Not a good movie — but still way better than any of the Transformers.

OK, folks. That does it for this round. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. The December holidays will be here before we know it.