I travel by air, a lot. The nature of my job has me moving about the continent on a weekly basis, to the tune of 5 flights (and usually 5 cities) a week. Due to my home geography though I end up doing nearly 100% of my US travel on United – well geography and I find O’Hare more appealing than Detroit or Newark. Typically, my flight has at least one movie, among other syndicated TV shows, playing during the flight. Over the past few weeks I have noticed a troubling trend in the friendly skies – an obsession with the movie Unstoppable.
Folks who love disaster movies, or movies with Denzel Washington as a blue collar worker with a chip on his shoulder, will probably remember this horrid movie from the fall of 2010. In the film, which is based on an interpretation of true events, a big nasty freight train breaks loose and threatens to crash itself into an industrial center in Pennsylvania. This is an absolutely brilliant marketing strategy for an airline. Indoctrinate your customers about the perils of alternate modes of transportation in order to have them put up with your abysmal customer service and general nastiness. I’m much more likely to get excited about a 757 that hasn’t been refurbished since Bush Sr was President (or Kim Campbell was Prime Minister) if I know that my alternative would be to meet my doom by kilo-tonne freight train.
I wonder what the coming weeks will feature? Maybe the whole Speed franchise and some Fast and Furious?
The London International Airport has been undergoing some pretty serious renovations for the last 6 months. Somewhere in the vicinity of 15,000 square feet have been added to the terminal, finally seperating domestic and international arrivals by more than a curtain. The crowning jewel of this renovation was the creation of a new departures lounge.
With the millions that this renovation has cost, and the vision that these changes would modernize the airport for several years to come, there is still one major problem – zero electrical outlets. Sure there is a “business” lounge but it is now on an entirely different floor from departures and the three work areas get utilized fairly quickly.
Was it really too difficult to put some outlets in the floor? How about just near some of the columns? Maybe even put them all in a new “business” area. To be honest, I don’t care where they are as long as they are convenient and accessable. This is the typical lack of foresight that governs Southwestern Ontario.
The Princess had a great idea on Sunday: Brave the tireless
masses of pseudo-American Thanksgiving shoppers to see if we can
find a deal on a wireless home theatre package. So we packed up the
progibey and headed to the A/V circuit. We had the following
requirements in mind:
- Multiple Inputs – HDMI
and Component for current needs and future expansion
- Small Form Factor – fits within a 6″ gap in our
cabinet
- Wireless Rear Speakers – no cords
through the middle of the room
- 7.1 Surround
sound – The room that it will be going in is quite large
After searching on vain for a system that met our
requirements I decided that I might as well utilize the Onyko
system sitting unused in our basement. At the old place we had used
this stellar system to drive the mini-theatre. However it still
posed two problems:
- The receiver is absolutely
huge and would not fit onto the shelf area under the TV
- The side and rear speakers needed to be wired
The first problem was solved by taking out one of the
drawers. The form factor of the receiver was perfect (I’ll add a
picture soon) but I needed to cut some holes in the rear of the
space for cables. The second problem was a bit more of a challenge.
The liberal application of the Internets found a product called
Rocketfish Wireless HD Audio. These guys (I needed two for the 7.1) worked perfectly, well almost perfectly.
The problem that I ran into after the install was a slight interference with the 802.11g bridge that connects the XBox360 to the Synology NAS in the basement. After tinkering with the placement of the bridge and the wireless channel that it operates on the interference subsided.
I’ve been running this setup for several weeks now with only the occasional need to reconnect the signal (single button push on the front of the unit). Music, movies, games, sports and sometimes even just regular TV sound great. The crowd noise during a live sporting event sometimes catches me off guard. I’m just waiting for the 3D TV now.
You know you’re a nerd when software companies give you a discount as a “premium member”. I don’t know if they sent these out to everyone but it made me happy.
I really like Stardock and it’s commitment to independent studios, DRM free software and direct downloads. As such, I think I’ve picked up about 10 games from them this year and look forward to growing my library next year. The 20% off coupon they have supplied will only increase this consumption.
Good on you Stardock. Merry Christmas!
For the love of Pete, why do people use these? Better yet, why do airlines let them? They cause such a giant headache (aka delays to me) during security checks and boarding and likely save only the pass holder about the three minutes it takes to check in at a kiosk. This is a great example of what is great for the individual not being the best for the whole.
In the midst of the worst November snow storm Seattle has seen in the past 12 months (2.5″!!), I managed to get the all weather 2010 Chrysler Sebring Limited. I managed to make it through the chaos of the Seattle Snowfall 2010 without having to abandon my car on the side of I5 (like many others) or smashing it into other vehicles (again, like many others). Seriously, more Seattlites need to get some snow driving experience. To be honest there’s not much to say about the car, much less than the asshats who throw chains on at the first sight of snow and then drive at 25mph down the interstate. It’s a pretty run-of-the-mill sedan.
The four cylinder, front wheel drive powertrain is not very exciting. The interior – 1000 way adjustable power heated leather seats, power moonroof, satellite radio, optional bluetooth system (not functional on my model) was pretty standard. Notable misses were any audio or cruise controls on the steering wheel and a pretty blah design. According to my friend from Manila whom I had to retrieve from her apartment, because when she drove her car made a crunching noise – aka snow compacting – the Sebring was nice because you “don’t have to go slow over those bumps in the road” – aka speed bumps. I suppose this is an endorsement of the suspension, but it also makes me remember to be vigilant in parking lots. You never know when a Filipino in a Sebring is going to come flying over a speed bump and turn you into mush.
I didn’t take many pictures as the exterior is not terribly exciting and I didn’t want to stand out in the relatively chilly weather taking pictures. I do have one pic of the unassuming interior though. See them after the break.
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I can understand announcements in English and in French on Air Canada. I don’t particularly look forward to it, but it’s nice to know that if I was from the backwoods of Quebec, I could be served on our national carrier. What really irks me is repeating all announcements in at least two Asian dialects.
This causes every announcement to take an absurd amount of time and interrupts my ability to enjoy a movie, music or a wonderful article by Maclean’s about how certain universities are too Asian.
As expected, this week I was blessed with an inferior vehicle – the 2011 Chevrolet HHR LT. I’m not sure what that stands for, but I would guess something like Heartless Heaping Ruin.
It’s basically a PT Cruiser clone with all the same problems that would affect any other clone: social stigma, quick degredation of cellular structure and high probability of mutation. Basically, it’s even uglier than the original.
To mirror my prior review, this was my first time driving a vehicle with GM’s OnStar. I found zero use for the service while I had the car. On top of this, lacked the integration of SYNC. I’m no big fan of Ford, but they have done SYNC right. OnStar didn’t pick up my phone when I got near the car, I couldn’t for the life of me get it to connect via Bluetooth and I definitely couldn’t get it to stream music off my iPhone. It just seemed to be a forgotten appendage dangling from the rear view mirror. I suppose if I decided to get in a collision there would have been some use of the system, but that’s not something I typically plan to do on a regular basis with a two thousand pound chunk of metal.
The car was otherwise ok. Features in this model included heated leather seats, automatic headlights, satellite radio, steering wheel audio controls and plenty of cargo room. However, there was a lack of umph from the engine. The four cylinder, front wheel drive really doesn’t accelerate well on the I5. I think the Mustang spoiled me in that regard. Additionally, I always felt that I was going to topple over. For some reason the driver gets the feeling that they are sitting very high in the vehicle. Now, I drive a small SUV at home, but this still felt almost nauseating. It felt like one wrong move and that aforementioned two thousand pound chunk of metal was about to become a bowling ball. At least the authorities would automatically be alerted that I had rolled over…
Pictures of course, after the jump.
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After I’m done punishing myself with some 4500 miles of travel a week (I’m planning on seeing if this keeps me younger – more on that later) I need some way to release some energy. Thankfully, I think I’ve found a task that will last for several weekends and fulfill that need.
We lost a tree in our backyard a few weeks back. By lost, I mean that it was not healthy and had grown in a direction that would cause potential harm to my house, shed or anyone who happened to be in my backyard if it fell. I had recently found out that an old friend of mine had started a landscaping and tree removal business. How serendipitous. For a small fee he felled the target on a Saturday morning.
Proof that the universe functions in mysterious ways is only furthered by the fact that our fireplace was recently renovated (more on that in another article). The renovation included the installaton of a new high efficiency wood insert. My fuel for next year had arrived, forming a crater in my backyard as it fell.
As I have learned, splitting wood enhances it’s ability to dry (surface area to volume ratio). If I really want this wood for next year, it must get split. If it needs to be split, then I’m going to need to do this on my own. My tool of choice? A 6 pound splitting maul attached to a 36″ shaft. Also know as the zombie death apparatus.
There is nothing more satisfying than cleanly splitting a massive round with a single blow. It almost makes up for the immobilizing pain you feel the next day.
Glorious pictures after the jump.
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So, I’ve decided I’ll keep you all abreast of the awesome (or not so awesome) cars I manage to score each week. Thankfully I get to start on a high note, it will likely be downhill from here.
This week I scored a Ford Mustang GT Premium. Not too shabby for a rental. It was particularly more enjoyable than it’s more feminine cousin, the V6.
The transmission was a bit clunky (4 speed auto) but otherwise it was what you would expect from a sportscar. When I pressed down the gas – it responded with a shift down (sometimes two) and great acceleration. I’m sure the folks at SEATAC enjoyed the rubber I left when I exited the parking garage.
Additionally, it was my first time in a car equipped with SYNC. I was impressed with how well integrated it was. Picked up my phone and downloaded my phonebook via Bluetooth. Streamed audio via Bluetooth and was able to charge (and play) via USB. It was a great experience overall and really increased my opinion of Ford.
Karma will see to it that I get a Corolla next week.
See pictures after the jump.
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