I’ve got the day off and was going to do some things around the house today but then I remembered that the America’s Sail (the “Tall Ships”) is this weekend in Beaufort. Thus its off in the car for a half-day of photography.
I’ll check in from the coast once I can find a wireless point. Look for some cool pictures this evening.
Before I boarded my plane to Amsterdam last week I picked up a pair of Koss QuietZone Pro noise-cancelling headphones. They were on sale at Rat Shack for 50 bucks. I’ve long been jealous of travelers with their high-end Bose noise-cancelling headphones but couldn’t cough up the $300 or more for a set of headphones. I didn’t have high hopes that a $50 pair would perform well.
Boy was I wrong. They’re great! When they’re actively cancelling they reduce an amazing amount of ambient noise in an airline cabin. I sat there thinking, come on, this doesn’t REALLY work, does it and I’d flick the power button on and off. Sure enough, the wind noise would vanish when it was on. I was astonished at how well it worked!
Three months ago when I made my trip to Australia I had my Sony earbuds and that was it. The plane I flew for that trip, a Boeing 777, had the traditional airplane-headphone jacks in the seat, meaning I could listen with my Sony earbuds but only in mono.
That wasn’t enough to filter the noise out, however. I spent the trip with my in-flight movie’s volume cranked to its highest level. Even then I couldn’t hear some of the dialogue. With the noise cancelling headphones, not only could I hear the dialogue but I had the volume set to the absolute lowest level! I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing (or more specifically, what I wasn’t hearing)!
My only quibble with the headphones is that it is quite mysterious figuring out where to install the batteries! I couldn’t use the noise cancelling on the way to Amsterdam because I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to power them. Only after I’d gotten on the Internet did I realize that one of the ear pieces rotates off, revealing the battery compartment.
If you fly with any frequency and want some relief from the drone of the engines, pick up a pair of these noise-cancelling headphones. Your ears will thank you!
I saw someone’s Mapquest directions left on the company printer this morning and it inspired an evil idea.
Let’s say you’re the IT administrator. Let’s say you devise a clever hack with a transparent proxy so that all directions from a site like Mapquest have some random detour inserted into it. Or perhaps the directions always lead to a particular fast-food restaurant.
That would be cool, and totally evil. Too bad I don’t have the time on my hands to actually implement it.
After watching Warren Buffett donate beeeeellions to his bridge partner BillG I’ve become inspired to get serious about investing. It seems like every picture I’ve been of Buffett, he always looks like he’s having the time of his life (well, most pictures, anyway).
The little dabbling (and I mean little) I’ve done in investing has been fun. Perhaps I’ll start an investment club and get some other people involved. If you think this sounds fun, drop me a note and I’ll include you in on the planning.
I learned that Southwest Airlines is testing the use of assigned seats on its flights. The test will take place on flights outbound from San Diego beginning July 10th.
A lot of Southwest newbies complain about their open seating. Fine. Learn how it works and be prepared next time. Print out your boarding pass before you get to the airport and you’re golden.
I don’t know why Southwest would screw up a good thing. I like the ability to get my pass early and pick my seat as I go. I like not having to sit at the back of the plane, or the middle seat, leaving those for the slackers.
Consequently, if you’re late getting to the gate, it sucks to be you. You don’t get to put that mega roller bag into an overhead bin, nor should you. Don’t delay my flight finding a seat just because you couldn’t be bothered to get to the gate on time.
If Southwest assigns seats, it will become just another airline. That would be a shame.
(h/t, Newmark’s Door)
Update: Post your thoughts directly on Southwest’s Blog.
WRAL alerted me today to upcoming changes in the state’s cable television laws. A bill entitled An Act to Promote Consumer Choice In Video Service Providers And To Establish Uniform Taxes For Video Programming, or short title “Video Service Competition Act” (House Bill 2047) would take away local franchising authority in favor of state oversight. Supporters claim this will enhance competition because Big Telcos like Bellsouth wouldn’t have to negotiate for each franchise.
I have mixed thoughts about this. In essence, what’s wrong with local franchising authorities? When your cable service is out and the lazy repairmen won’t fix it or charges appear on your cable bill that you didn’t authorize, the local franchising authority can be a powerful ally in getting the problem fixed. Does anyone really think the State of North Carolina is going to take these issues more seriously than the local government?
Generally, I’m in favor of pushing authority on issues out as locally as possible. Raleigh knows what’s best for Raleigh. Ditto Durham, Charlotte, and other places. You’ve got to have a really good reason before you consider taking that authority away. What reason, other than Bellsouth lobbied for it, is there to upset the apple cart? Why does Bellsouth not want to play by the rules that everyone else plays by?
The real reason this bill is being pushed by Bellsouth is that Big Telcos want satellite services like Dish Network and DirecTV taxed similarly to terrestrial services like DSL and cable television, even though satellite services don’t use any public right of way! That’s right: Hughes Electronics invested many millions in building and launching their satellites and uplink facilities. Millions of their own, private money. They don’t use public resources like rights-of-way. Why should DirecTV be taxed like a franchise if it’s not making money with public dirt like the cable and phone lines?
To me, this bill sounds like a giant win for the Big Telcos and a big blow for advocates of cable TV accoutability. I welcome comments from state legislators who wish to prove me wrong.
Okay, Okay. I know I begged for rain a few months back. But this is ridiculous! Two inches in two days. That’s plenty, thank you.
Please stop with the rain, ok? Just stop. We don’t need any more now, thank you. You can stop now, can’t you? Please? Pretty please? Just stop? Maybe throw in a sunny day or two?
Last weekend when the family and I went on a bike ride, I realized just how dangerous it is not to be able to hear behind you when cycling. Fortunately there wasn’t any danger on that ride, but the threat exists. You can’t hear anything a fellow rider might be telling you, nor do you hear approaching traffic.
I’ve got an idea that addresses this, but I haven’t baked it long enough to share here. If you’re an investor sitting on a pile of cash, though, you’ll find my email address on my resume. 🙂
Everyone’s asked me how Amsterdam was. Truth is, due to the busy schedule I got less than three hours to tour this city. After the class wrapped on Friday, I packed up the class equipment and took it back to the European office, after which I took a tour. I had a little time to change into more comfortable clothes and spent the rest of the time at the train website trying to plot a course to Amsterdam. I caught a train that took me to Amsterdam Centraal station, arriving a little after 7PM.
First stop was to get more Euros, so I looked around until I found a change place on the main street. Armed with cash, I set out to see the city. Immediately I found two of the students who were in my class and chatted with them for a bit. Originally we were all going to go into town together but the office tour and packing up stuff I did gave them a head start of a few hours. They were headed back at the time, so I ventured alone around town.
So, first stop was the infamous red light district. I had to see what the hype was about, you know? So I walked down the streets and crossed canals until risque pictures appeared on the store signs. I took a walk down one canal side street and up the other. There were windows here and there, most of them with lights in them and curtains pulled. Occasionally I would see a woman in a bikini in a window. She’d be Eastern European in appearance, be a bit out of shape, and look really, really bored. Maybe its because of my sailor past, walking down many similar streets in my time, but nothing I saw here made me even break my pace.
Yawn. On to the museums!
I followed the tram tracks in an effort to find either the Van Gogh museum, the Rijksmuseum, or the Anne Frank House. I walked a good long way, enjoying the canal houses and outdoor cafes I passed along the way before I came upon a crowded square.
I walked over to three ladies holding a map to ask directions. They were Dutch but not from Amsterdam, and told me they thought most museums would be closed by now. I knew at least the Anne Frank house was open until 9, so I asked if they could point me in that direction. A look at my watch showed I had 30 minutes to get there before it closed, so I walked briskly down a side street, following a canal to the museum.
I got to the Anne Frank house with ten minutes to spare, not recognizing the steel-and-glass exterior for the warehouse I’d always been led to believe was there. Once I’d purchased a ticket and entered it became obvious that the interior was still as it was. There were many multimedia presentations running throughout the museum but I skipped most to spend more time in the annex area, where the family lived.
It was sad seeing this tiny space where the Frank and Van Pels families desperately waited out the occupation. Anne’s room itself was no bigger than a closet. So sad. Even standing in the same rooms I could not imagine what it must have been like for them.
At the end of the tour I signed the guestbook, not being able to resist adding my blog address. I was paying my respects to Anne, a truly world-famous blogger.
The rest of the night was spent looking for dinner. I stopped at a place on the main street and enjoyed a decent steak dinner. Then it was a race back to the train station for the 90 minute ride back to my hotel.
Thus completed my visit to the Netherlands. Its a beautiful place which deserves more time to explore. Perhaps next time I’ll visit with the family.
Its a shame we welcome visitors to this country by getting a mugshot and prints from them, like they’re getting booked into jail.
Then again, maybe they are. America is a country ruled by fear.
