On TB bag ownership as an indication of good judgment....

[Adi]

As Buggs Bunny used to say, "mmmmm...could be!"

Then again I recall that trends start for all kinds of reasons and if a rumor started among people of very bad judgment that "to carry Tom Bihn" was cool/in/hip/what those-in-the-know are doing, then I suspect there would be massive backorders (good for Tom Bihn in the short term) and suddenly a lot of people carrying it not out of any kind of judgement but rather because of some kind of herd mentality (probably not so good for Tom Bihn in the long run since trends collapse, often quickly and violently.)

Also then again, the times I've been out and about and someone has recognized my Imago (and now my ID) or been carrying a TB bag, they seem to be of uncommonly good judgment or at least very fine people.

And of course not having to wait at baggage claim is just a good thing!

[jmoz]

So I've not been around here much lately because (A) with the introduction of the DLBC, I now have everything I need (though of course, not everything I want), (B) I've been swamped with things other than travel, and (C) I've not traveled since January, as all my trips have been canceled due to weather. That said, I had a TB-based interaction on Friday that I thought I'd share.

In STEM at least, graduate student recruiting is an important job for faculty, and like most programs, we fly domestic students to campus for a visit to help them see why our department should be the right choice for them. When we're accepting new students into our research groups, it's also a chance to meet the new students and see who might be a good fit. We've managed to have excellent incoming cohorts year-after-year, and I've always been able to get good students, but it's not always clear from a first meeting who is going to be a good fit.

Friday, one of our prospective grad students saw my Pilot (which does double duty as my EDC and also my bag for 1 night trips) on my desk, and commented on Tom Bihn, asking which bag it is. (leading me to believe he's not on these forums, but if he is, "Hi, Danny.") He mentioned that he had used his Aeronaut for his bag for the trip and that it was, of course, overkill for a 1 night trip. The rest of our interaction (which is, admittedly, more important than bag choices) was also positive, and I truly hope he decides to come to our institution.

Given how important judgement is for a graduate student researcher (especially working with sensitive and expensive equipment), I am finding myself predisposed to someone who shows such obviously good judgement. It also means that if he does join my research group and we're going to the same conference, I know I'm not going to have to wait for him at baggage claim!