My new TV should arrive real soon now, according to the UPS tracking list on Amazon's
site. This actually is disappointing news, because I no longer need the thing, and was hoping to be able to cancel the order. But I was too late. It's in town. Probably on a truck this morning winding its way through the streets.

But take a look at the odd path it took to get here:


May 21, 2003 04:03:00 AM SEATTLE WA US IN TRANSIT TO

May 21, 2003 04:02:00 AM SEATTLE WA US ARRIVAL SCAN

May 21, 2003 02:19:00 AM ROCKFORD IL US DEPARTURE SCAN

May 20, 2003 11:41:00 PM ROCKFORD IL US ARRIVAL SCAN

May 20, 2003 09:49:00 PM DALLAS/FT. WORTH A/P TX US DEPARTURE SCAN

May 20, 2003 05:46:00 PM DALLAS/FT. WORTH A/P TX US ARRIVAL SCAN

May 20, 2003 04:41:00 PM LOUISVILLE KY US DEPARTURE SCAN

May 20, 2003 12:41:00 PM LOUISVILLE KY US ARRIVAL SCAN

May 20, 2003 08:41:00 AM INDIANAPOLIS IN US DEPARTURE SCAN

May 20, 2003 08:10:00 AM INDIANAPOLIS IN US ARRIVAL SCAN

May 20, 2003 03:53:00 AM HODGKINS IL US DEPARTURE SCAN

May 20, 2003 01:21:12 AM HODGKINS IL US ORIGIN SCAN

May 19, 2003 11:28:36 AM Bolingbrook IL USA SHIPPED

May 19, 2003 02:57:03 AM US BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

It was shipped from Bolingbrook and took a scenic trip through the skies of the midwest through the UPS central airport in Louisville before making its way to Rockford, IL where it took its final two-hour flight to Seattle. Rockford, according to MSN maps software, is just 87 miles from Bolingbrook. I understand the efficiencies of these hub-and-spoke distribution systems, but it still looks very odd. One would think that a software system that could pull the box out of the air system and onto a truck between Hodgkins and Rockford might be even more efficient. One would think.

But I guess it's just a single geographically dispersed assembly line. Each station on the line has but a single well-defined task: Get this package to Louisville. All decisions about eventual route are made at the center with only minimal intelligence at the periphery.