Need to relax? Join my wife and I for a stress free walk down the beach in Carmel. We’ll talk about everything and anything for 25 minutes or so, and along the way we’ll listen to sea birds, hear waves crashing, take in all the dogs, and point out a few jelly fish on the sand. I also spot the most incredible mansion I’ve ever seen, ponder if abalone’s have shells, and ask, “What the hell kind of dog looks like an overgrown Poodle?”
All that and more on this special ‘alternative’ edition of the PlaneMadness Podcast. ~Capt’n Chris
Here’s that mansion~ Drag/Zoom as much as you like…
*Answers to my questions:
Abalones do have shells - Check the Wiki
What kind of dog looks like an overgrown Poodle? …an overgrown Poodle.
Who the hell owns that mansion? Answer still in transit. If I had to guess…
Well folks I realize I’ve been a bit AWOL, but it’s been a good AWOL, f you know what I mean. Actually I had to work on Thanksgiving and so when I got home we split and came up to Monterey, where we are now for some much needed R&R. As I type this I’m in a Border’s Books with Seattle’s Best Coffee. Not bad, just not as good as Starbucks. At least to me.
In the last two weeks though boy have I received a lot of good emails and some had great photos in them too which I intend to post eventually. Speaking of photos you might want to check out my own photography I’ve added to the site. Let me know what you think, those of you that are registered that is!
Something else- On my last trip I stumbled into Tom Hanks and his wife (speaking of Borders, by the way). Yes that’s right no joke they were coming into the Border’s Books near the hotel on my overnight, right behind me - I held the door open for them. Normal people just like us but boy was I surprised (and yes it was them or else it was two look-a-likes who have a son with the same exact name).
Anyway, time to go to dinner. I think we’re up for sushi tonight. I have more time next week and will get episode #23 out then, but in the mean time~
In my humble opinion, this old adage is true… most of the time. But as far as the airlines are concerned, it’s sort of true.
For deeper clarification, these counter-points demand another reference for the thought process I used to derive them. In order to do that and to expand on the premise of yesteryear I set in the previous post, Pan Am 707 Commercial - 1958, I’d like to direct you over to a well written article by TelStar Logistics.
It’s entitled, Small Comfort: The Sky-High Cost of Airline Travel in 1954. It’s a much more comprehensive piece on where I’m going with this topic (plus he’s a better writer). This article generates true insight for it’s reader into just what’s happened over the past 50 years to the price of airline tickets- In a nutshell, ticket prices have gone down.
So back to my counterpoints: Here’s the ‘you pay for what you get’ part. In the 1950’s, airline meals were 5 star and you dressed up to travel, but the cost of a San Francisco to New York round trip ticket was two thirds more expensive back then then it is today. Here’s the ‘it’s sort of true as far as the airlines are concerned’ part: It’s statistically safer to fly today, but you’re paying less for that. Based on the adage, wouldn’t you think you’d be paying more? The simple conclusion is that being safer is something that’s in everyone’s best interest- Yours, your flight crew’s, and the airline’s.
On a lot of domestic US carriers as far as the bottom line is concerned, providing you with a five star meal is not in their best interest- financially anyway. Personally, I’d like to see you eating like kings on my flights, but then again that might be why I’m your pilot, and not in airline management.
Seeing as this is a video of a bygone era, I wanted to show just how stark a contrast it is to today’s industry. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought, what better way to do this then to find a photo of a Pan Am 707 that still existed today? After crawling the Internet looking for pictures of old Pan Am aircraft, I finally found something worth posting, and I think it captures the intent behind what I was after more then any other picture could have.
Telstar Logistics was kind of enough to let me use the thought provoking image below of what’s left from an old Pan Am 707 air frame. Her final resting ground is at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARG), in Pima County Arizona. They have tours available for those interested.
There are so many parallels to draw from the video and what’s left of this 707 that I don’t even know where to start. Actually I think the impact here is better left up to the individual viewer, so I will just leave you without words and let the contrast between the video and the photo speak for itself.
You can see the entire Telstar Logistics Jet Set Ruins photo set on Flickr by clicking here and I highly courage it!
When I saw this plastic bin at the TSA security line yesterday I had to chuckle- There was an ad for Sony in it. Oh and please excuse the poor image from my cell phone camera. In fact, all of the bins had Sony Ads in the bottom of them- Built in. I could just picture the ad agent 8 months ago going through the same line and having one of those “Hmm….” moments, then scratching the newly formed burn mark on their forehead from the light bulb that went off just above it as they were putting their clothes back on. And… walla! A new form of advertising was born, right there in the mind of an ad agent who just got strip searched folks.
So, did it make me want to buy the product? I’d say less so. Going through the TSA security line is a pain in the ass, bottom line, and everyone knows it. So do you really think that people are going to be receptive to a commercial at the same time they’re wondering if they’re going to set the alarm thingy off? Or better yet, when some of them may even be wondering if they might get the hellaciously imagined rectal probe of almost mythical proportions?
~Capt’n Chris
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Well folks I realize I’ve been a bit AWOL, but it’s been a good AWOL, f you know what I mean. Actually I had to work on Thanksgiving and so when I got home we split and came up to Monterey, where we are now for some much needed R&R. As I type this I’m in a Border’s Books with Seattle’s Best Coffee. Not bad, just not as good as Starbucks. At least to me.
~Capt’n Chris
In my humble opinion, this old adage is true… most of the time. But as far as the airlines are concerned, it’s sort of true. 
~Capt’n Chris
~Capt’n Chris
When I saw this plastic bin at the TSA security line yesterday I had to chuckle- There was an ad for Sony in it. Oh and please excuse the poor image from my cell phone camera. In fact, all of the bins had Sony Ads in the bottom of them- Built in. I could just picture the ad agent 8 months ago going through the same line and having one of those “Hmm….” moments, then scratching the newly formed burn mark on their forehead from the light bulb that went off just above it as they were putting their clothes back on. And… walla! A new form of advertising was born, right there in the mind of an ad agent who just got strip searched folks. 
