Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Recent Comments:
Delay grounds entire airline for a month {Gadling}
Jul 6th 2009 2:04PM I'm confused...they don't have takeoff slots at one of the busiest airports in the country, but they sold tickets anyway, and I'm supposed to buy the sympathetic tone of your headline and post? Sounds like the cart was placed before the horse here.
Cheesesteak or Hoagie: Which sandwich rules in Philadelphia? {Gadling}
Feb 13th 2009 2:19PM How do you leave Tony Luke's (Front & Oregon) off of this?
iBook G4 benchmarked against hackintosh netbook, comes out even {Engadget}
Feb 3rd 2009 10:42PM I'm writing this comment on a G4 PB 12". 867 MHz, 1GB of RAM, and a busted CD drive, and it's still more than functional as a "netbook". With the exception of flash, I can do everything I need to do on the web, plus use MS Office, iPhoto, etc. Netbook, schmetbook. OH, and it's never melted down, burst into flame, or any of that other crap.
US Airways Hudson river jet takes a trip through Jersey City {Gadling}
Feb 2nd 2009 12:59PM 1) Jets don't have feelings.
2) Your phrasing, not mine:
a: "Poor jet". Sets the reader up for a "bad" thing.
b. "First...". Alerts the reader to a litany of bad things.
c. "...and now...". Associates the next phrase with that litany of bad things.
US Airways Hudson river jet takes a trip through Jersey City {Gadling}
Feb 1st 2009 11:35PM Really, with the Jersey bashing? Riding through Jersey City is as "bad" as ditching in the river and being hauled out? Please.
Gadling's coverage of this story has been horrible. Mr. Hotfelder's post on 27 Jan was pure drivel, and this item, well, wtf?
Kent, Heather, and Jamie keep this blog above water. The rest? Amateurism at its finest.
American Airlines to charge for FIRST checked bag {Gadling}
May 21st 2008 11:14AM I think we all saw this coming.
Also, I believe that in the United States, the $ precedes the value. $15. Not 15$.
HP Mini-Note gets unboxed, causes extreme jealousy {Engadget}
Apr 17th 2008 12:24PM I was just thinking that - I still use my PB 12". For form factor alone, however, I'd give this HP a serious look. I wonder how comfy it is to type on?
How would you change Apple's Time Capsule? {Engadget}
Mar 31st 2008 8:56AM I picked up the 500GB TC, and the only issue seems to be a occasional wonky error where the TC "can't mount the backup image". It's easily clearable, but only after it's manually caught. We missed a we backups that way.
Otherwise, I love it. It's replaced my FiOS Actiontec router - better signal strength, and I never have to cycle it. The utility software is a snap, especially when joining other devices - our Expresses at the printer and the stereo. Much better than the old utility.
Do children on planes bother you? {Gadling}
Mar 27th 2008 5:46PM Zenbabyzen said:
However, my selfish "birthright" will absolutely be exercised, as I've paid my fare for that seat and all the bells and whistles attached. This would particularly hold for an overseas flight to Ireland!! And no, I'm not going to apologize for what I've rightfully paid. Put your books, crayons, MacBooks (good God, how about reading them a REAL book instead of plugging them in to yet another movie?), etc. somewhere accessible to you without the expectation that the rest of us on the plane exist solely to accommodate you.
===
Your reply was pretty good right up until that point...I think I was pretty clear that I wasn't asking anyone - you, in particular, clearly - to accomodate me. It has more to do with what another poster said about "courtesy".
I rarely recline my seatback, for example - those few degrees of recline are pretty negligible, and oftentimes when I glance back, the person behind me may be using their tray table to support their laptop computer or some other paperwork. When i do want to recline, I turn around and - HORRORS! - actually speak to my fellow passenger. I ask them if they'd mind if I recline my seat. Sure, I paid for the "bells and whistles" of a reclining seat. But reclining my seat takes away the bells and whistles the guy behind me paid for - like the ability to use his tray table.
I've been on plenty of flights where the person in front of me has reclined their seatback while I've been working on my laptop. At least on Continental, the reclined seatback makes a laptop pretty much useless for anything beyond watching a video. To have the screen open, the keyboard is much too close to your body to actually type on it.
So, regardless of how you feel about where I stow my stuff, I think it's insane that you consider my rant a "parent moment" when all I'm looking for from you and your ilk is the same courtesy that you seem to be looking for from me -- which is, if you choose to believe, already being extended: I keep my kid quiet. I apologize for the "kid moments."
But you want all that and what, the moon? Tell me, oh hallowed educator: if you've got your seat back, and I'm sitting in the middle seat with my table down with real honest-to-goodness books and stuff on it, and I need to get something for myself or my daughter, where the hell else am I supposed to keep my stuff? My only option is under your seat. So I put some stuff on my lap, some stuff on her tray, lift up my table, try to reach down between my legs in the compressed space that I have...and I'll most certainly bump your seat a few times. And here comes the stink eye from you or your brethren, trust me. I get it all the time. Sorry I knocked your seat, but I don't hear a "Oh, it looks like you're having some trouble, let me give you a hand by sitting up" coming from your direction.
You should get over yourself. And consider this: on Cathay Pacific, the new seats in economy don't recline. They slouch. If you want to sit back in your seat, the seat cushion slides forward and the seatback droops. The leg and table room of the passenger behind you isn't impacted one bit. I would consider that validation of my perspective: the reclining seat screws the guy behind you.
"Parent moment." Hah.
Do children on planes bother you? {Gadling}
Mar 24th 2008 1:56PM I find much of the tone of this post to be common of those who don't have kids - "I try to think that couples traveling with children need to be on the road, perhaps for a family function or emergency..." WTF! It's like once we pass from twentysomething hipsters to thirtysomething parents of infants and toddlers, we're what, supposed to sit at home or just tool around in our minivans?
I'm in the midst of a family trip to Orlando. Our flight from EWR on Continental was a 757 chock full of kids heading to Disney and Sea World and what-have you. I expect it to be the same on the way home. Last year, I flew this route on business, and a business traveller sitting next to me bitched about the unending stream of kids boarding with their dolls and balloons on the ride home. It took every ounce of my willpower not to remind her that while she was only looking after her briefcase and carry-on, those parents had far, far more on their minds - toys, bags, snacks, books, movies, games, and the kids themselves - as they boarded. But I've come to expect a high degree of selfishness from American travellers.
I bet this is boring to you. No, it's not Incan ruins. No, it's not awesome-sounding diving on the Great Barrier Reef. But for the vast majority of American families, the 2.5 hour hop to Florida is exactly what travel is. As a parent, you'll realize that there's a world beyond your self-involvement. I've met plenty of great people travelling with my family, because as a parent you almost always interact with the people around you in transit, whether it's to apologize for your kid's noisiness, or to ask them to keep a quick eye on something while you chase your toddler down the center aisle.
In her 3 1/2 years, my daughter has flown four times - three times to Florida, once to Ireland. On each leg of each trip, she's had exactly one "kid" moment - raising her voice, kicking, or both. And each time, my wife and I apologized to our nearby travelers, settled my daughter down, and continued with the flight.
And...on each of these trips, the person in front of me in coach class has put their seat into the reclining position, making it more difficult to get to those books, crayons, etc. that we packed. It makes it almost impossible to put our MacBook on the tray table to watch a video or play a game. But do these people ask before putting the seat back? Nope. Do they look back and then apologize before claiming their 4 degrees of reclining birthright? Nope. But do they give the stink-eye when we board with our daughter? Hell yes.
Sorry for the ramble, but that's the way it is. You and some commenters may complain about bad parents, etc. - and I do too, because they're out there - but the last thing a well-rounded travel blog needs is a post villifying the reality of travelling with a family - especially from the perspective you've taken.
