While I agree the AF could be evacuating people using cargo aircraft, jumping directly to blaming Biden is bullish!t. I seem to remember one Donald Trump throwing paper towels to hurricane victims. So suck it up buttercup, Biden is the president, he may or may not be working with DoD to determine IF evac help is needed, and if they say it is I have faith he will send in the troops.

(Written on 08/11/2023)(Permalink)

Plate readers are common on toll roads, at state borders on major highways, in police cars, and likely many others places I don't know. Data on all of our cars movements is captured all the time. police use it when a crime is committed by searching all that accumulated data for a specific plate, you know the needle in the haystack. They probably set up active alerts too so that when a specific plate is spotted they are notified quickly, allowing them to focus on an area. Do they share it? Probably not. They put up the scanners, they collect the data, it's their data. If I wanted to put a license plate reader on my property but aimed at the street, I could gather plate data myself. I could keep it, or share it. If a bunch of folks did the same, and we banded together to share the data we'd have a bigger picture of traffic and whereabouts, effectively recreating what the government operates as part of public safety. Like ADS-B readers owned by a lot of folks, sharing with an aggr

(Written on 02/08/2023)(Permalink)

I remember that day as I worked at the Pentagon and lived on Ft Meyer not far away. The level of snow was unexpected and they send everyone home early. We waited and waited for our shuttle bus but it never showed. Traffic was obviously a mess, and we could hear sirens and helicopters that we assumed were due to traffic. So we hiked towards the base through the snow. When we got there we found out what had happened. From where we were walking we could have seen the rescue efforts but the snow made visibility less than half a mile or so. One of my friends was on the bridge and helped with rescue efforts. The next day we went by the scene and I'll never forget the tail sticking up out of the water. That all said, I remember the investigations and results. What a mess. Can't believe it's been 40 years. (I feel old!)

(Written on 01/21/2022)(Permalink)

My recollection is that USED to be the norm for all airlines (except SWA). At least up through the 90s if not a little beyond. They called by rows, back to front, then named them as zones, then zones became a way of differentiating pax by ticket price or FF status. I guess they decided differentiation is more important than efficiency.

(Written on 09/17/2021)(Permalink)

The article lists a variety of fines for various bad behaviors, mainly unruly drunk (or high on coke) idiots. But they only fined $30,000 to the guy that tried to gain entry into the flight deck and threatened to kill a flight attendant. Not certain how they are valuing the various offenses, but it seems like that one should have been more, plus some non-monetary penalties too. Like Prison.

(Written on 08/27/2021)(Permalink)

I think a minimum of 1 year on the list regardless of paying it. Otherwise the wealthy can just misbehave, throw money, and do it again. Keep them away from the rest of us for a while.

(Written on 08/27/2021)(Permalink)

In case you're wondering, I'm fine with the mask mandates and have flown several times over the last year and follow the FA's instructions. That's what we're supposed to do. It's ridiculous that public health guidance has become a political football.

(Written on 04/30/2021)(Permalink)

Absolutely Walmart could ban you for wearing the wrong shirt. They are a private company and can enforce a dress code (and they SHOULD (see "people of Walmart" websites)). Would that drive away some customers? Sure! So that's why it's up to them to make reasonable policies and balance their bottom line with the other factors. And why do I believe Walmart should be able to refuse service for violating a policy? Because that's what ALL private businesses can do. Se've seen the signs in shops, cafes, bars, pool halls... our whole lives. "No Shirt, No Shoes,. No Service!" "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone!" If you don't follow their rules, you don't get the benefit of that business. And, remember the big push that you can't force a baker to make a cake for an event he doesn't want to support, which I agree with too.

(Written on 04/30/2021)(Permalink)

It is on the New York Times site, which is a subscription-based service. I don't know if they offer a set number of free articles a month like some other sites do because I subscribe. Also, it's not click bait, it's a long, comprehensive article.

(Written on 01/29/2021)(Permalink)

I've been a passenger on those in multiple configurations and airlines. All in all fairly comfortable, but I've always wondered... Why does the PA howl like it does on every one of them? Some sort of ground hum, always annoying. So personally, I'm looking forward to more modern craft in my travels. Agree it's the closure of a chapter, though.

(Written on 05/01/2020)(Permalink)