Horizon Air: The Airline of My Dreams

I recently had the unexpected pleasure of flying Horizon Air, a regional subsidiary of Alaska Air with hubs in Portland and Seattle. I found myself on Horizon on a short flight from San Jose to Moscow, Idaho (via Seattle) to attend my cousin's wedding. Not expecting anything different from Horizon, I was at first suprised by the flight attendant's laid back and personable style while making the standard safety presentation. She was cracking jokes and smiling, like she was actually having fun sharing boring mandatory information with us. I have to admit, over the hundreds of flights I have taken, I have come accross the occasional flight attendant magician or comedian, so this by itself was not enough to thoroughly impress me.

It was what came next that really blew me away. As you know, over the last several years airplane food and snacks have gone downhill, recently to a point I would describe as ROCK BOTTOM. We went from complimentary almonds and filet mignon to "snack mix" and $5 snack boxes.

So when the flight attendant handed me a generously sized bag of Tim's Cascade spicy sweet bbq potato chips (delicious) and offered me a COMPLIMENTARY glass of Red Hook ESB or wine from a local Washington winery, I was scared. Was this real? Was she trying to lull us into docile sheep because we were all about to die? Maybe so, because she came back without the beverage cart with the bottle of beer and asked me and my fellow passangers if she could top of our drinks, or if we needed anything else. And not in a fake, this-is-my-job-but-I-don't-really-like-you kind of way, but in a genuine I-am-the-host-of-a-party-in-the-sky kind of way.

So, no, we did not die, and yes, Horizon is for real. They are like a sparkling jewel among a field of lead. As flying becomes more and more of a nightmare, Horizon makes flying a not-so-bad experience. I mean really, who is going to make a fuss on an airplane when they are getting free alcohol and yummy snacks? Not me!

So my question to all you other "airlines" is...what is wrong with you!!!! Too bad Horizon is so small, otherwise I would fly with them exclusively.

Categories: horizonair, airplane, airlines

Google Eager to be Evil

Google recently announced it is “eager” to work with the Republican Party and increase its presence in Washington DC. Google plans to raise money for Republican candidates and lawmakers in exchange for…well…anything Google wants. This news, coupled with recent press on Google supporting Internet censorship in China, is evidence that Google is in fact quite evil after all. What is interesting about Google’s new identity is that the company itself, at least its Mountain View headquarters, is filled with many liberal leaning, razor scootin’ nerds that in no shape or form support GOP shenanigans or censorship.

This begs the question: do corporations really take on lives of their own, with objectives, goals, and values totally independent of those held by individuals within the corporation itself? Before Google began its rapid ascent towards global domination, it gained the trust and user loyalty by being free, colorful, simple, and by-the-people-for-the-people-esque. Stories of Google’s “perfect” algorithm and magical campus reminiscent of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory instilled a sense of respect and wonder for a corporation that other Fortune 500 could not pay to attain.

Alas, it seems as though there really cannot be such a thing as a “non-evil” corporation. Google is now experiencing an exodus from Eden, a fall from grace. I surmise more than a few political science professors are sadly shaking their heads thinking: “Aahhhh, Google…Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.”

But Google is not absolutely powerful; it is dependent on the loyalty of its users. Here is what some Googlers had to say about the news of Google’s increasing friendship with the GOP:

Well, I guess it's time to start avoiding the use of Google internet tools. There are other options for everything they do.

Our country has fallen, worshipping the corporate dollar.

Time to boycott google !
I have just deleted google from my system.

Sickening, I'm disgusted with Google...
ALTAVISTA is my search engine...

I have ZERO interest in any corporation that enables this regime any further.

Google is still the best search engine, but not for long.

You can write Google but it will do as much good as writing George Bush to complain AND probably will put you in a data base marked "ENEMY"

Interesting that you cant find any news about this on Google. Let the 4th Reich continue. Big Brother's dirty little cousin just showed up.

Google is apparently run by extremely stupid managers. What Republican paradigm do they wish to emulate, the corporate fraud or the corporate bankruptcy?

You can get Google results by using Scroogle.com with no tracking your results

Perhaps we still live in a democracy, after all.


Categories: google, corporation, republican

$100 Laptops for the Whole World

A monumental effort to bring computer technology to children in developing countries is being led by Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab. His non-profit One Laptop Per Child has garnered $24 million in funding and support from Google, Quanta, AMD, 3M, RedHat, Nortel, NewsCorp, Brightstar and Marvell.

The goal is to design, manufacture and distribute $100 laptops to schools in areas of the world where computers, internet connections, and even electricity are rare.
The laptops are still in the design phases and distribution to ministries of education in several developing countries including China, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa and India is expected to begin in 2007.

By using a human powered design model, users will have to crank, pump, or pulley their computers for one minute for every ten minutes of use. This is a key innovation that will make widespread use of computers more viable even in remote villages and extremely poor areas of the world.

My question is this: why not give American kids these laptops as well? Why not make Americans earn their MySpace time with a little good old fashion sweat? Requiring one minute of furious hand cranking for every ten minutes of computer use could be just the right solution to America’s growing problems of obesity, fossil fuel addiction and excessively sedentary lifestyles.

Categories: laptop, OLPC, development

Bloggers scoop newspapers on Lonelygirl15 story

The Lonelygirl15 news broke in the blogosphere on September 7th, the moment her fan site was updated with the confession that Bree and Daniel were indeed figments of our collective imaginations:

"Thank you so much for enjoying our show so far. We are amazed by the overwhelmingly positive response to our videos; it has exceeded our wildest expectations. With your help we believe we are witnessing the birth of a new art form. Our intention from the outset has been to tell a story-- A story that could only be told using the medium of video blogs and the distribution power of the internet. A story that is interactive and constantly evolving with the audience."

Their fan site has been intermittendly down since the news, so refer to danah boyd's blog for a copy of their confessional letter

So, with Lonelygirl's fan base sitting on the edge of their desk chairs with their fingers poised on their keyboards to furiously blog and comment about the controversy, the old skool media was taking a relaxing long weekend...what else could explain the fact that the Lonelygirl15 "mystery" story didn't break in mainstream newspapers until today, 5 days after the news broke!?

Maybe they took their time on this story because to the people who really care about it, it was going to be old news by the time newspapers could publish anyway. So why even bother to cover the story? Despite blogging's ability to distribute news from diverse perspectives several times faster than newspapers, many people still only have a vague idea of what they are.

So, for those of us still stuck in the dark ages, here is a list of some newspapers and newsstations that covered the story today. All of the headlines are almost identical, and the story itself is almost uniformly a syndicated article by Gary Gentile, an AP Business Writer. It really makes me wonder, do newspapers as we know them today really have a future? Blogs, independent and amateur news sources, and interactive discussions are the future of news. We are already seeing this with the growing popularity of Digg and other news aggregators.

September 12 Lonelygirl15 stories:

MSNBC: Web video-diary mystery again deepens

KOMO4News: Mystery Of 'Lonelygirl15' Continues To Deepen

GetOut: Online 'Lonelygirl15' mystery continues to deepen

SJ Mecury News: Online mystery of video-diary posting by `Lonelygirl15' deepens
Daily Bulletin: Bree, "Lonelygirl15" mystery deepens

SFGate.com: `Lonelygirl15' Online Mystery Deepens

Pioneer Press: `Lonelygirl15' online mystery deepens

Categories: lonelygirl15, blog, blogger

Lonelygirl15 Works on Labor Day Weekend

While you and I were eating meat, drinking beer, watching baseball, and enjoying the last days of summer, Lonelygirl15 was revving up to cash in on all the hard work her (and her mystery crew) have been doing for the last several months.

What do you do with a blockbuster YouTube hit, watched by millions? Upload onto Revver, of course! From September 1 through September 4, Lonelygirl15 uploaded 8 of her more recent videos, generating a total of 11,975 views (and counting) over the weekend.

Interestingly, she did not upload her videos in order. Why did she upload "Bree the Cookie Monster" on Friday and “I Probably Shouldn’t Post This” on Monday? Why were her older videos not posted? Why is her Revver profile empty, whereas her YouTube profile is warm and inviting and includes a link to her MySpace account.

Maybe, the Revver poster is an imposter. Did this clever person sign up for Revver with Lonelygirl’s name and post the popular videos to cash in on her fame and popularity? I’m sure we will hear more about this soon.

In the mean time, will her diehard fans continue to sit on the edge of their seats in front of the YouTube? Or will they Rev it up to help lonelygirl raise money to support her mysterious cult-like religion? My guess is that YouTube will remain the main outlet for the Bree and Daniel saga, but that more and more people will try to cash in on her growing fan base.

Categories: lonelygirl15

Why Americans are horrible drivers

I recently took a two week road trip through the Southwest with my two friends from Germany. Driving 3000 miles with them on the highways of the good old US of A gave me some insight as to why we have traffic jams even on 6 lane highways.

Unbelievable to most Americans, German highways have no speed limit and are almost exclusively only two lanes wide. Accidents and extreme overcrowding are the only times when German highways experience traffic jams.

Ok, now I will reveal to you the secret as to how German highways could possibly function better than ours:
The left lane is the FAST lane. If a Mercedes is gaining ground behind you at 140 mph flashing its lights and honking its horn, you GET THE HELL out of the left lane. There is absolutely NO passing on the right. This makes for smooth sailing, easy passing, and free and open highways no matter what speed you choose to drive.

In America, drivers think they can sit in the left land going any old speed they choose. If someone coming behind wants to go faster, that's just too bad. They can pass on the right or just slow down. "It's not my problem." This attitude creates blockage of lanes and makes it impossible for faster traffic to pass. It creates "herds" of cars straddling the lanes, passing and weaving any old way just to get ahead of the pack. This is dangererous, inefficient, and ineffective.

In America, we have a speed limit. If everyone really adhered to it, there would be no problem. Drivers in the fast lane would never be going faster than the speed limit, so cars behind would not need to pass on the right. The problem is, some people adhere to the speed limit, some people don't. It is perfectly acceptable to drive about 15 mph above the speed limit, and some people get away with going 20 or more mph above the limit. Sticklers driving in the left lane at 65 mph don't feel the need to move over for speedsters to pass them. Or is it that we simply don't look into our rear view mirrors? I just don't know.

Next time you're driving, do an experiment. Drive in the left lane and every time you gain on the car in front of you, keep driving and tailgate them. See how many people actually move over and let you pass. It's no wonder Americans pass on the right.

Wal-Mart couldn't hack it in Germany

After a miserable performance during its 8.5 years in Germany, Wal-Mart is closing up shop.

Why did the Wal-Mart business model not work in Germany? Simple. Because Wal-Mart couldn't beat German discounters' "every day low prices." Without its low prices, Wal-Mart has nothing.

When I spent a year in Germany and took a globalization course, the Wal-Mart effect was discussed in class. My classmates were confused and baffled about the concept of Wal-Mart. "Why would I drive to the edge of town to wander around in a gigantic store, when I can get the same stuff down the street?"

The German discount model is small, corner grocery stores, dollar stores, and drug stores that offer extremely deep discounts with which Wal-Mart could not compete.

Why do we insist on shopping in gigantic warehouse stores that we have to drive our SUV to and fill up with a month's worth of stuff?

Why not fill small, neighborhood stores with cheap stuff?


via NY Times

Categories: walmart, wal-mart, bigbox, germany

Social Networking Site with a Purpose

eLIFELIST is a new social networking site with a mission: get the most out of life.
Every successful person you will ever meet will say that the the way to get the most out of life is to make goals, write them down, and think about them everyday.

eLIFELIST builds on this principle and makes it potentially more effective and accessible. Here's how it works:

1. sign up for an account

2. make a list of things you want to accomplish in life

3. browse other users. See what's on their lifelists and "add" items to your list if you want to accomplish it too

4. communicate with other users. Maybe someone can help you accomplish a goal. Motivate someone else to accomplish something that you have done

Why I like this concept:

Social networking sites are broad, aimless and cluttered. eLIST has a single purpose: get the most out of life. Setting goals is a tried and true method for success, and eLIFE makes the process fun, interactive and social.

Stop wasting your time trying to get that perfect MySpace background, and go climb a mountain!


See related post: 5 Reasons to hate MySpace

Categories: myspace, socialnetworking