Flight Control June 10th, 2009 @ 8:48 am PDT
The absolute best iPhone app on the market right now has got to be Firemint’s FlightControl. You are an air-traffic controller tasked with routing planes (and helicopters) to the correct landing strip at one of three different airports. It sounds simple — and it is easy to learn and play — but after you’ve gotten […]
Around the World November 18th, 2006 @ 12:40 am PDT
Tonight I’m in Phoenix, AZ at the Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains. My dad is here for a business convention and I am quite happy to be his golf partner for the weekend. (Apparently the UCLA Bruins football team is staying at this hotel as well, which is odd because we’re not very close to […]
False Authority Syndrome October 25th, 2006 @ 9:21 pm PDT
Once again I found myself in trouble at the Los Angeles International Airport, and once again it was (arguably) my own damn fault. Last Thursday I flew Southwest to Providence, Rhode Island to testify in court on behalf of my dad, who was in the midst of a textbook “frivolous lawsuit”. I detest being late […]
How To Fly Without ID September 14th, 2006 @ 8:28 am PDT
I happen to be one of the (apparently very few) people in this country that has not only read the Constitution of the United States, but also understands it and — by gosh! — thinks it’s a pretty good way to run a country. So I tend to get really, really upset when presented with […]
Virgin Potty Talk March 17th, 2004 @ 2:20 pm PDT
Even though they allow for high-volume servicing and back-in-a-flash trips to the john, the point-and-shoot-a-stinky-deodorizer-cake oddity known as the men’s restroom urinal has been, for women, a constant enigma. But nothing will prepare you for the men’s room in the newly-designed Virgin Airways Clubhouse in New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, terminal 4: Urinals shaped […]
Airport Security April 12th, 2002 @ 10:24 am PDT
I can’t remember where I found this one, but Checking Out the Checkpoints – The curious irrationality of airport security is a great editorial.
Little Pieces of Paper March 25th, 2002 @ 12:08 pm PDT
from a review of “The Social Life of Paper” On a busy day, a typical air-traffic controller might be in charge of as many as twenty-five airplanes at a time – some ascending, some descending, each at a different altitude and travelling at a different speed. He peers at a large, monochromatic radar console, tracking […]
Miami, Part II July 27th, 2001 @ 4:20 am PDT
Grrr … and, even though I can access GreyMatter to post, for some reason the folks at AT&T have determined that davidgagne.net is a porn site or something. The Public Phone 2000i won’t let me view my own page. So. I guess I’ll go read Rolling Stone. The paper, handheld, old-fashioned version. In a chair. […]
Miami July 27th, 2001 @ 4:15 am PDT
I am standing at an AT&T Public Phone 2000i in the Miami International Airport. I’ve got several hours to kill here and I thought I’d check my eMail. Unfortunately, although I love the redesign at Hotmail.com, I can’t figure out how to retrieve my POP mail. It’s very frustrating. I doubt I have any interesting […]
Camarillo Airport March 7th, 2001 @ 2:53 pm PDT
A quick flight
