A rip in the fabric...

[Danny]

I came across this article that would prove quite interesting in the face of the 9/11 "phone calls" from the planes.

http://tech.msn.com/Mobile/article.aspx?cp-documentid=513226 is the link for the entire article

but the 2 most interesting paragraphs were....

"I know. Talk about adding insult to injury. The airborne cell phone probably won't become widespread until 2006 or 2007, but that hasn't stopped people from speculating about the demise of having civilized conversation from an airplane. I'm not here to do that, mostly because airline travel was never civilized to begin with, at least for those of us who traveled after the 1970s."

and

"Myth #4: Onboard wireless means your cell phone works on the plane. Not even close."(Did you see that??? NOT EVEN CLOSE!) "It doesn't even mean anything on the plane is wireless-enabled. Consult your airline's Web site carefully before making plans to connect wirelessly. For example, KLM just began offering text messaging and e-mail on its Boeing 777s, which operate on routes to New York, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Cape Town, Dubai, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Manila. A cursory glance at the service might lead you to believe that you can use your cell phone to send messages. Not true. In KLM's case, you use your in-seat, in-flight-entertainment system to send the messages at a cost of $2.50 each. Other airlines have installed onboard high-speed wireless Internet services, but haven't added the cellular equipment."
hmmmmm! I wonder if this Christopher Elliot (author of article) would like to answer a couple of our questions.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

Hi, Danny. Welcome back. It is mind-boggling, isn't it?

Experiment in Cognitive Dissonance:
1. Approach average gung-ho anti-terrorism North American citizen.
2. Say how glad you are that so many important cell-phone calls got through from planes on 9/11.
3. Observe citizen nod head in pious remembrance of God's good will on that fateful morn'.
4. Say how glad you are that technology is finally being installed on jet-liners to allow cell-phone calls to get through at cruising altitude and speed.
5. Observe citizen's mouth slowly drop.
6. Observe drool forming as mental gears spin in endless circles.
7. Shake citizen out of catatonic state.
8. Repeat.

Or perhaps this is more accurate:
1. Approach average gung-ho anti-terrorism North American citizen.
2. Say how glad you are that so many important cell-phone calls got through from planes on 9/11.
3. Observe citizen nod head in pious remembrance of God's good will on that fateful morn'.
4. Say how glad you are that technology is finally being installed on jet-liners to allow cell-phone calls to get through at cruising altitude and speed.
5. Observe citizen nod head in pious remembrance of God's good will on this fateful morn'.
6. Observe citizen go tell his friend about the awesome new technology, adding that "it sure was awesome that God let all those cell-phone calls get through on 9/11! Thanks God!"
7. Shake self out of catatonic state.
8. Bang head against brick wall repeatedly.

 

[aurora]

Khoeli that was really funny.

I have observed from my friends living in the US of A that they are really brainwashed, living from day to day with no interest in the world (only their small world). And these are professors working at universities. (and one was a leftist while he was a university student) I joked to him that he was teaching the economy of the capitalists that he was so much against. They got to him, too.