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Continental Airlines Failed Me
3/17/2007 07:34:00 AM
So as some of you know already, my flight to Houston was canceled last night. I spent the night in a hotel despite the fact that it was not paid for by the airlines. Now as most people know, airlines will pay for your hotel if they cancel a flight unless it is canceled due to weather. But what does it actually mean to be canceled due to weather? Obviously if there were huge storms in an area and the flight can't take off this would be considered weather related. Also there might be bad weather in the place that you are flying to, resulting in the flight to be canceled. But neither of these are my case; there were clear skies in OKC and in Houston except that they still say it was canceled due to weather. Maybe I could understand if it was canceled because the plane coming in for us was stuck some place due to bad weather there. But again, not my case.My case: There is a plane parked at the gate (even the correct plane) and a fully functional plane at that. It is 20 minutes or so after we were supposed to depart; but never the less, we did have a plane and things were looking good. Until they tell us that the flight has been canceled due to weather. Evidently the crew that was supposed to fly us got delayed some place due to bad weather resulting in them having too many hours of air time and thus canceling my flight.
So I began to think about this, the pilots couldn't have been that affected by weather, after all they were pretty close to landing on time in OKC. Also, do the airlines usually cut it this close for pilot air time? In most business you plan for the worst and strive for the best. This is so that if something does go wrong you will be prepared to either fix it immediately or not even see any issue in the consumers mind. You would have to assume that from time to time pilots do get delayed and have to circle and such, but this should be planed for. But let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they were in the air for too long, Continental Airlines had time to figure out how to get a new crew to the airport; around noon they posted that my flight was going to be delayed and my flight was scheduled for 6 and a half hours later. Why wouldn't they do this? In my mind it was because of how small the plane was and they just didn't care about that few of people.
Let’s go in a new direction now, is there anything that they can't blame on weather? The plane is broken due to some excessive turbulence in its last flight. Turbulence is a part of weather so clearly the flight is canceled due to weather, right? There are numerous more examples that could be filled in here. But the point is, is there anything that they can't blame on weather?
In my opinion the flight was not canceled due to weather, it was canceled due to lack of planning and customer care from Continental Airlines.
Just as a side note: A group of 5 were able to get their itinerary completely refunded and decided to drive to Houston. A couple might be having to miss out on a all inclusive vacation of a life time because their first flight being canceled causes them to miss the rest of the series of their flights and lay-overs. And one girl was scared out of her mind because she was flying without her mother and didn't know what to do.
Now just to give Continental Airlines one thing, they were kind enough to make a new flight for us in the morning. And they were able to change my flight from Houston to Arizona to a later time to accommodate for the time of the flight this morning.
Labels: Airlines, Canceled, Continental, Delayed, Flights, hotel, weather
2 commentsI Bought Votes on Digg
3/14/2007 08:17:00 AM
A sneaky web service offers to get you to the front page of the popular news aggregator for $1 per digg. We'll see about that.Read More
Digg me, I won't pay you though. 0 comments
Let Go, Frou Frou
3/11/2007 01:00:00 PM
So amazingly talented. I am jealous.Labels: Frou Frou, Let Go, YouTube
0 commentsWhat if?
3/10/2007 08:27:00 PM
I can't take credit for writing this, but it is an interesting piece.I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones? What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets? What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? What if we flipped through it several times a day? What if we used it to receive messages from the text? What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it? What if we used it as we traveled? What if we used it in case of an emergency? What if we upgraded it to get the latest version? This is something to make you go...hmmm...where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we dont ever have to worry about our bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!
Labels: bible, cell phone, Jesus
0 commentsDaylight Savings Time
3/07/2007 11:49:00 PM
This year Daylight Savings time starts on March 11th. Don't forget to change your clocks! To find out all of the dates in the future check out:Daylight Saving Time - When do we change our clocks?
If you want to make sure your computer is ready for the time changed check out this post: How to Ease Your Daylight Savings Time Transition
Labels: Daylight Savings Time
0 commentsHow to Ease Your Daylight Savings Time Transition
3/07/2007 08:15:00 PM
What time will your organization's computers think it is on Sunday? Or, more important, will everyone's Outlook calendars be in sync on Monday morning? The United States Energy Policy Act of 2005 goes into effect on March 11 and unless certain updates are applied, the time zone settings for your computers' and handheld devices' system clocks may be incorrect during the four-week period affected by the change. To get the updates and learn how to apply them, the Microsoft Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center is the place to start. There you can find a rundown of all products affected by DST. You can also participate in webcasts and technical chats geared to help you apply the updates. These updates have been released through a combination of channels including Microsoft Customer Support Services (CSS), hot fixes incorporated in Knowledge Base articles, Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), and the Microsoft Download Center. Also check out Microsoft IT Deployment Guidance to learn about the Microsoft internal best practices on easing the DST transition.Labels: Daylight Savings Time
0 commentsMicrosoft to blast Google over copyright policy
3/07/2007 07:05:00 AM
Microsoft Corp. is set to launch a blistering attack on rival Google Inc. Tuesday for what the software giant argues is the Web search leader's "cavalier" approach to copyright protection.Read More
In prepared remarks to be delivered to the Association of American Publishers, Microsoft Associate General Counsel Thomas Rubin argues that Google's move into new media markets has come at the expense of publishers of books, videos and software.
The Microsoft attorney's comments echo arguments at the heart of a 16-month-old copyright lawsuit against Google brought by five major book publishers and organized by the Association of American Publishers, an industry trade group.
"Companies that create no content of their own, and make money solely on the backs of other people's content, are raking in billions through advertising revenue and IPOs," says Rubin, who oversees copyright and trade secret law at Microsoft.
I don't know if this article is just poorly written, but it makes Microsoft sound like idiots in my opinion. It is saying that Microsoft is suing Google over the idea that they are harming the value of intellectual property. It says the following in the end:
Microsoft argued then that open source software jeopardized property rights and threatened to undermine the software industry as it argued in favor of "shared source" software that reinforced intellectual property rights.Is this going to be the start of suing all open source companies, even the ones that make no money?
Labels: Association of American Publishers, Copyright, Google, lawsuit, Microsoft, Open Source
0 commentsStargazers thrilled by total lunar eclipse
3/04/2007 12:07:00 AM
A dark red shadow crept across the moon Saturday during the first total lunar eclipse in nearly three years, thrilling stargazers and astronomers around the world.Read More and see a Picture
Partly visible on every continent, residents of Europe, Africa and the Middle East had the best view of the phenomenon, weather permitting.
About a dozen people gathered at the Croydon Observatory in southeast London to watch the start of the eclipse.
"It's starting to go!" said Alex Gikas, 8, a Cub Scout who was studying for his astronomy badge. "I've never seen anything like it before. I'm really excited."
By the time greatest eclipse, shortly after 5:44 p.m. ET, the light of the full moon was replaced by near-total obscurity.
Labels: Lunar Eclipse, Moon
0 commentsBest Buy Confirms It Has Secret Website
3/03/2007 03:10:00 AM
Under pressure from state investigators, Best Buy is now confirming my reporting that its stores have a secret intranet site that has been used to block some consumers from getting cheaper prices advertised on BestBuy.com.Read More
Company spokesman Justin Barber, who in early February denied the existence of the internal website that could be accessed only by employees, says his company is "cooperating fully" with the state attorney general's investigation.
Barber insists that the company never intended to mislead customers.
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal ordered the investigation into Best Buy's practices on Feb. 9 after my column disclosed the website and showed how employees at two Connecticut stores used it to deny customers a $150 discount on a computer advertised on BestBuy.com.
The amazing thing about this story is that I am pretty sure I had this happen to me about a year ago.
Labels: Attorney General, Best Buy, investigators, Justin Barber, secret
0 commentsNational ID Card Regulations Issued
3/03/2007 02:58:00 AM
The Department of Homeland Security released long-delayed requirements for the standardization of state identification documents Thursday. States must start issuing the new internal passports by May 2008, or else their citizens will not be able to board planes or enter federal courthouses. Civil libertarians say the requirement, known as the REAL ID Act, creates a national identity card that presents significant privacy risks to Americans. Many states oppose the rule as an unfunded mandate and an encroachment on states rights.Read More
Read Even More Here
* Applicants must present a valid passport, certified birth certificate, green card or other valid visa documents to get a license and states must check all other states' databases to ensure the person doesn't have a license from another state.
* States must use a card stock that glows under ultraviolet light, and check digits, hologramlike images and secret markers.
* Identity documents must expire before eight years and must include legal name, date of birth, gender, digital photo, home address and a signature. States can propose ways to let judges, police officers and victims of domestic violence keep their addresses off the cards. There are no religious exemptions for veils or scarves for photos.
* States must keep copies of all documents, such as birth certificates, Social Security cards and utility bills, for seven to 10 years.
Full List of Rules
Labels: Department of Homeland Security, National ID Cards, passports
1 commentsAmmo, weapons, tunnel found in California home
3/03/2007 02:01:00 AM
More than 1 million rounds of ammunition, a cache of weapons and a tunnel were found at a man's home after an explosive fire that forced a neighborhood evacuation, authorities said Friday.Read More
Crews worked to fortify the tunnel, which measured 5 feet wide by 8 feet long, to ensure it was safe. It appeared to be at least 10 feet deep and led into a backyard, authorities said.
The fire Thursday afternoon at the home in Norco, about 45 miles east of Los Angeles, caused some of the ammunition to explode.
The man tried to run back into the house after firefighters arrived and had to be restrained by sheriff's deputies, Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Juan Zamora said.
Labels: Ammo, fire, Tunnel, Weapons
0 commentsDog With College Degree Called to Court
3/01/2007 08:59:00 PM
An attorney challenging the authority of the city's police chief wants the department's police dog to appear in court as an exhibit, because he says the dog and the chief have criminal justice degrees from the same online school.Read More
The issue gives "one pause, if not paws, for concern" about what it takes to get the degrees from the school based in the Virgin Islands, Gene Murray wrote in a court document filed Monday.
Murray is seeking to have a drug charge against a client dismissed by arguing that police Chief John McGuire — who is accused of lying on his job application — was not legally employed and had no authority as an officer.
Labels: College, Cort, Dog, Police
0 commentsHouse panel grills Sirius chief on XM merger
3/01/2007 12:36:00 AM
WASHINGTON--Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin on Wednesday defended the proposed union of his company with XM Satellite Radio before a panel of politicians with varying degrees of concern about the deal's potential impact on consumers.Read More 0 comments
Appearing at the first hearing convened here by the House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Task Force, Karmazin said a combination of the sole two satellite radio players would lower, or at least cap, its prices and provide more programming choices.
For example, one network carries Major League Baseball games, and the other carries the National Football League games, but neither carries both. Sports fans would no longer have to pay to subscribe to both services or buy two different radio receivers if the entities merged, he said. Karmazin also pledged that existing radio receivers for each service would continue to work after the melding of the companies...
Adobe to take Photoshop online
3/01/2007 12:34:00 AM
Hoping to get a jump on Google and other competitors, Adobe Systems plans to release a hosted version of its popular Photoshop image-editing application within six months, the company's chief executive said Tuesday.Read More 0 comments
The online service is part of a larger move to introduce ad-supported online services to complement its existing products and broaden the company reach into the consumer market, Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen told CNET News.com.
Chizen said Adobe laid the foundation for a hosted Photoshop product with Adobe Remix, a Web-based video-editing tool it offers through the PhotoBucket media-sharing site.