bookofjoe

United Airlines to charge fat people double

No, this isn't the Onion; rather, it's the gist of Susan Carey's April 15, 2009 Wall Street Journal story, which appears below.

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Bulging Fliers May Pay Double

UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, matching the policies of many rival U.S. carriers, said obese fliers who can't fit into airplane seats without infringing on their neighbors may have to buy a second seat.

And if the flight is absolutely packed, the large traveler may have to disembark and wait for another plane that isn't as crowded, United said. The No. 3 U.S. airline by traffic said it was receiving "hundreds" of complaints a year from customers whose personal space was invaded by bulging seatmates. The new policy, effective Wednesday, applies only if the large passenger can't be moved next to an empty seat at no charge.

If the flight is full, United said it will try to find a later flight with open seats or sell the customer a second seat on a later flight at the same fare the traveler originally paid for the first seat.

Southwest Airlines Co. has had a similar policy for 28 years. It requires customers of size to purchase additional seating in advance, but will refund the second seat fee after the trip if the plane had empty seats. Like United, Southwest says if the large passenger can't lower the armrests at his or her seat, that is a sign that additional space must be arranged.

Alaska Air Group Inc.'s Alaska Airlines also requires the second seat to be bought in advance, and will refund the cost of it if the flight had empty seats. Alaska said the second seat earns as many frequent-flier miles as the first, but the extra miles don't count toward elite status in its program.

Continental Airlines Inc. requires that all large fliers buy second seats, and charges high day-of-departure fares if the passenger waits until the last minute to purchase it rather than booking in advance at the lower rates. If the flight is full, Continental will let the passenger rebook without penalty.

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Cartoon up top by John O'Brien.

2nd Generation Hard Case Tactical LED Infrared Night Vision Flashlight

A lot going on here: Infrared light for use with night vision equipment, as well as small red, green and blue LEDs that can be used individually for map reading, etc.

Waterproof and rated to survive up to a 15-foot drop.

Bonus: Though made to run on 2AA batteries, it can still produce a beam, albeit dimmer, with a single AA.

That's the good news.

The bad news: coming "real soon now."

In the meantime, there's the Gen 1 iteration: $64.95.

Icahn v Kerkorian: Battle of the bankrupt billionaires

I had to laugh when I looked at today's Wall Street Journal front page lead story (above), headlined "Icahn Battles Kerkorian In Big Vegas Showdown."

Talk about dumb money.

Here you've got two aging megamoguls (Icahn's 73, Kerkorian 91) doing the only thing they know how to do: spending every waking moment playing Monopoly — albeit with real money.

I wonder: if they stay busy enough (Icahn once told his wife, when she was upset he was so busy she couldn't talk to him while they were at their summer place in the Hamptons, to phone him like everyone else did), does that enable them to keep their attention focused on the future instead of looking down, à la Roadrunner, at the bottomless canyon below?

Bankrupt?

Yes, without a doubt.

Because the only currency with any real value is time, and both of these guys, while they may have limitless money, are on borrowed time.

The highly-leveraged iteration.

One heartbeat away, as they say of the vice-president.

Grace note: the black borders around their photos in the paper (top).

I wonder if that's a tacit editorial concurrence with my take.

Nah, couldn't be.

Could it?

"Tombstone" has more than one meaning....

Pebble Candles

7.4cm Ø x 3.2cm H.

Set of 3: £10.

[via Milena]

Simpsons Stamps Coming May 7, 2009

Doh!

Finally.

Get

yours

here.

IceBlok — 'Keep beverage ice where it belongs'

Finally.

From the website:

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IceBlok

Chill beverages without the shocking splash of wayward ice cubes with this set of 4 inserts.

Simply add ice to glass, slide IceBlok in, and sip drink: IceBlok stays in place to keep ice out of your face.

Dishwasher safe rubber.

4"Ø.

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Set of 4: $11.99.

Dreams of a voice-controlled computer

It can't come soon enough.

I cannot tell you how many times every day I see the drop-down menu above, requiring me to mouse over the OK button to move along.

Oh, but for the ability to say "OK" and have the same thing happen.

Built-in, off the shelf and requiring no learning curve, installation or other rigamarole.

Real soon now, maybe.

Proust Armchair — by Alessandro Mendini

Above, the very first one, conceived in 1976 and realized in 1978.

"Mendini created a new interpretation of the pointillism style."

The chairs have hand-carved and hand-painted wooden frames upholstered with multicolor fabric matching the colors of the frame.

The first (above and below)

was completely hand-painted — fabric and all — by Mendini.

Below, a 1996 version.

And a 2001 iteration:

Produced by superego.

[via designboom and Simko]