The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Technology

Emailing Your Way Through The Friendly Skies

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I have been eagerly waiting for the day when we are able to use the Internet while enjoying a plane ride. Just in case any airline execs happen to read this let me be clear that my comment about enjoying air travel is intended to be sarcastic.

Air travel has quickly deteriorated into something that used to be quite fun into a major pain in the ass. We pay more and receive less for the privilege of being locked inside a flying tin can. Since this post is not designed to be a rant about flying I’ll wrap up this section.

But before I do let me express a few more thoughts. It is more than a little irritating to see the numerous ways you ding us for a few bucks more, especially the latest trend of charging for luggage. I’d rather you raise your fares so that you can resume offering food and other services as part of the flight.

Even though I know that I am still being charged $5 bucks for a stale bagel I’ll feel better not having to shell it out on board. Anyway, enough on this and now on to the story.

“DALLAS, Texas (AP) — American Airlines says customers will be able to test in-flight Internet access on two flights beginning Wednesday, with broader service expected to begin in the following couple of weeks.

Facing record high fuel prices, airlines are looking at entertainment and information services as ways to make a few more bucks per passenger.

American plans to charge $9.95 to $12.95 for Internet service, depending on flight length.

The test with technology partner Aircell LLC will begin on one flight from New York’s Kennedy Airport to Los Angeles and one return flight, said Doug Backelin, American’s manager of in-flight technology. The test service will be free, he said.

The airline would not say on which flights it would conduct the test.

American is among several companies preparing to offer in-air Internet service.

Aircell is also working with Virgin America, and JetBlue Airways Corp. started testing free e-mail, instant-messaging and some Amazon.com services aboard one of its planes in December.

The airline will begin charging for Internet service soon on its Boeing 767-200 jets that fly from New York to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami.

Passengers will be able to use e-mail and instant messaging and to download video and connect to secure networks on notebook computers or other wireless devices such as smart phones through three wireless access points on the plane, said Dave Bijur, an Aircell executive.”

One more thing. I’d prefer not to allow cellphone use during the flight as I shudder to think of being forced to listen to that sort of noise for six hours.

He Puts His Money Where His Mouth is

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If you want to change the world sometimes you have to change yourself, or at least take action.

“WICHITA, Kansas (AP) — Neil Young, the rocker who provided some of the soundtrack to Vietnam-era protests, is again trying to change the world — with his car.

Young has teamed up with Johnathan Goodwin, a Wichita mechanic who has developed a national reputation for re-engineering the power units of big cars to get more horsepower but use less fuel.

The two are looking to convert Young’s 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible to operate on an electric battery.

Ultimately, they said, they want the Continental to provide a model for the world’s first affordable mass-produced electric-powered automobile.

“Johnathan and this car are going to make history,” Young told The Wichita Eagle.

“We’re going to change the world; we’re going to create a car that will allow us to stop giving our wealth to other countries for petroleum.”

Young has poured about $120,000 so far into the project, Goodwin said.”

You can find the full story here.

My Next Car

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CNN has a story about my next car. It is a car that you can drive on land and sea. To be clear, it doesn’t matter whether it is fresh or saltwater.

It’s called the “sQuba,” and conjures up memories of James Bond’s amphibious Lotus Esprit from “The Spy Who Loved Me.” That fictional vehicle traveled on land and, when chased by bad guys in a helicopter, plunged into the water and became an airtight submarine — complete with “torpedoes” and “depth charges.”

But “Q” isn’t responsible for this one.

The concept car — which unlike Bond’s is not armed — was developed by Swiss designer Rinspeed Inc. and is set to make a splash at the Geneva Auto Show next month.

Company CEO Frank Rinderknecht, a self-professed Bond fan, said he has been waiting 30 years to recreate the car he saw Roger Moore use to drive off of a dock.

The sQuba can plow through the water at a depth of 30 feet and has electrical motors to turn the underwater screw.

You’ll have to break out the wetsuit, however.

The car has an open top, meaning that the two passengers are exposed to the elements.

“For safety reasons, we have built the vehicle as an open car so that the occupants can get out quickly in an emergency,” said Rinderknecht, 52.

Passengers will be able to keep breathing underwater through an integrated tank of compressed air similar to what is used in scuba diving.

The sQuba’s top speed on land is about 77 mph, but it slows down to 3 mph on the surface of the water, and 1.8 mph underwater.

Email, Email, Email

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This is a post that I would have preferred to audioblog, but since that is currently not an option I’ll spend a few minutes and reach out and click someone. Let’s spend a few minutes discussing email shall we.

I am an email pack rat.

Way back in the early days of my blogging career I shared two posts with you called A comment about email addresses and comments and How many email accounts do I need? If you are one of the few masochists who took the time to read those posts you are probably wondering why I need 24 different email addresses. I don’t blame you because I wonder about that too.

Although in truth I really do not use all 24. Off the top of my head I’d estimate that I use about six of them consistently. A few of them are unofficially retired. I check in on them once every six months or so just to see if there is anything worth looking at it.

The submissions for the great roundup of the Jewish/Israeli Blogosphere come into the talktojacknow-at-sbcglobal-dot-com. You can find the latest edition right here. If you are like the Shmata Queen and avoid roundups let me tell you, you are making a big mistake. Check it out, read it. It is right here.

Anyway, I try to work on the roundup throughout the week. Do a little bit each day so that I have a minimal amount to do Saturday night. I also make a point to file each submission in a folder. Pays to be organized, but do I really need to hold onto all of these submissions. Am I going to be audited by someone. Why do I need them. I think that I just might have to dump some of these folders, or alternatively maybe I’ll use them for some massive anniversary post.

I dunno.

On a different tack but still regarding email here is another comment. I have a bunch of random email messages floating around my inboxes. They’re notes that for one reason or another I have decided to save. They probably should be deleted. What do I really need them for.

I intentionally set up folders so that I could keep my inbox from being overrun. But I guess that it is fair to say that some of these aren’t easily labeled. I set up a miscellaneous folder to handle those. But even with the miscellaneous folder I still find that I have these rogue messages hanging out around the inbox.

They’re the Jack Bauer’s of email. They understand who they serve and why, they just have their own set of rules for service.

Ok, when I start coming up with the wacky television analogies you know that it is time to end the post. This should be my biggest problem. Go read Haveil Havalim and while you are at it consider sending over an entry or hosting.