Exciting addition to OBOW!

Hear ye, hear ye! A new editor is joining OBOW. He is a man who needs no introduction to readers of this or several other travel sites: Frank II. Please welcome him and show him the same kindness you’ve shown me over the years. 

A word of explanation — a number of factors have greatly reduced the amount of time I can spend working on OBOW. I’ll continue to be involved but you should see a marked increase in post quantity and quality with the addition of Frank II.

(Brad)

Update on November 1, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Thank you Brad and to all Onebaggers.

I’m looking forward to adding my unique take on travel news, views and reviews to this terrific website.

Frank II

Toner "bomb" aftermath

Patting you down because someone in Yemen ships an apparent bomb doesn’t make sense. And everyone knows this. And nobody in the US or the UK security apparatuses cares.  Most OBOW readers in the UK are probably not fans of Peter (brother of Christopher) Hitchens, but he does state the truth about the latest…whatever it was….pretty plainly:

What, precisely, are these ‘hallmarks of Al Qaeda’ that we are constantly being told that such things have? How are they distinguished from the hallmarks of all terror organisations?

How powerful would they have been if they had detonated, assuming they could have been? And what on earth do they have to do with the ludicrous persecution of airline passengers, as apparently suggested by former Home Secretary and Defence Secretary  and one-time Communist John ‘without a shot being fired’ Reid, who said this was a ‘cautionary tale’ for those who ‘want to reduce essential security measures.’

‘Doctor’ Reid added that these measures might be inconvenient for passengers but were nothing  compared with the ‘tragic consequences  of loss of life’ caused by a terrorist attack.

While true, this is a classic nonsequitur. ‘Doctor’ Reid has to show how these measures would have prevented such deaths. If he tried to do so, it would quickly emerge that most of them were not in fact essential. - Daily Mail (UK)

I love a good “cautionary tale.” Our governments are great at telling tales.

Update on November 1, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Update on November 1, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

TSA statement:

“TSA is in the process of implementing new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide as one of our many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe. Pat-downs are one important tool to help TSA detect hidden and dangerous items such as explosives. Passengers should continue to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams, among others.”

Unpredictable mix. Thought that had been around for awhile. I can think of other adjectives for the TSA’s “mix.”

The new norm

Pat downs. Learn to love them. This will be one nasty holiday travel season. 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/10/29/pat-downs-may-soon-become-norm-at-airports/

Obvious to all the world

US travel “security” measures are a worldwide embarrassment and irritant:

European air officials accused the United States of imposing useless and overly intrusive travel security measures, calling Wednesday for the Obama administration to reexamine policies ranging from online security checks to X-raying shoes.

British Airways’ chairman made the first in a wave of complaints, saying in a speech to airport operators that removing shoes and taking laptops out of bags were “completely redundant” measures demanded by the U.S.

He was joined less than 24 hours later by British pilots, the owner of Heathrow airport, other European airlines, and the European Union. The EU submitted formal objections to a program that requires U.S.-bound travelers from 35 nations to complete online security clearance before departure. It called the system burdensome and said it could violate travelers’ privacy. - ABC News

Now that I think about it, “OBLIVIOUS to all the world” would have made a good headline too.

Update on October 28, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Biggie smalls

Is it a big phone or a small tablet? They call it the Streak. Here’s Luke’s take from the OBOW Forum:

I am condsidering the new Dell Streak for this very reason. 5” screen, 3G and wifi, expandable to 32 gb. Phone, GPS and media center in one. It has a large enough screen that it is truly readable, and with the addition of a portable bluetooth keyboard, easy to do email and document editing.

It is big for a phone, but if you’re more typer than talker it might just work. I’ve heard concerns about battery life but haven’t had time to research that.

STREAK VS. IPHONE

Update on October 27, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Update on October 27, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Congo carry-on crocodile tragedy?

If true, sad. Tragic. Bizarre.

A lesson to anyone who wants to smuggle a crocodile onto a small domestic flight — you should probably decide to check your baggage instead of bringing a carry-on.

According to the Daily Telegraph, A flight to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Aug. 25 crashed into a house, killing 19 people and the pilot, because a crocodile escaped from a sports bag and passengers became panicked. The balance of the aircraft shifted because of the stampede, and the plane went down.

This new information comes from the result of an inquiry and testimony from the plane’s lone survivor. Actually, we should mention there was another survivor — the crocodile. Sadly, as he wasn’t the one who put himself in a sports bag, he was killed with a machete. - National Post

From the Daily Telegraph source story:

A report of the incident said: “The terrified air hostess hurried towards the cockpit, followed by the passengers.”

The plane was then sent off-balance “despite the desperate efforts of the pilot”, said the report.

The plane was a Czech-made Let L-410 Turbolet, one of more than 1,100 produced as short-range transport aircraft and used mainly for passenger services.

Update on October 22, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Nice bag, old Chap

If you’ve a weakness for canvas and leather, prefer tea to coffee, and are sick of soulless mass production I have a bag maker for you. Chapman (UK) has updated their line for 2011 and as always there are some interesting pieces. The Gamekeeper (pictured) is a nice size and weight for the light traveler (L18”xH11”xD5”/0.75kg).

Pilot is over it

When we say it, it means nothing. When an airline pilot says it … maybe it still means nothing:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (CBS/AP) — A Tennessee pilot who says he’s tired of being manhandled by security agents is waiting to see if he will lose his job because he refused a full body scan.

ExpressJet Airlines first officer Michael Roberts was chosen for the X-ray scan Friday at Memphis International Airport. The Houston-based pilot says he also refused a pat-down and went home…

Roberts says he has safety concerns, but called TSA a “make-work” program that doesn’t make travel safer.

“I just kind of had to ask myself ‘Where do I stand?’ I’m just not comfortable being physically manhandled by a federal security agent every time I go to work,” he told the Commercial Appeal. - read more

What's lighter than Air?

Less Air:

Sources have told technology website Cult of Mac that the new 13.3in computer will feature a 50 per cent bigger battery, delivering eight to 10 hours of battery life, and will weigh less than the current model’s 1.3kg. It also boots up incredibly quickly, said the source.

Some reports also suggest that Apple will unveil a smaller “netbook” version of the MacBook Air, with an 11.6in screen, but this is thought to be the more unlikely option. - telegraph.co.uk

I admit, more (and better) screen for the same weight as my netbook would be nice sometimes. Display quality is where Apple shines.

Update on October 20, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

More specification speculation form Engadget.

Update on October 20, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

They’re out - an 11.6” and a 13”:

The new MacBook Air, which is 0.68 of an inch (less than 2 centimeters) at its thickest point, combines features of the iPad with a notebook, Jobs said. The computer’s battery lets users surf the Web wirelessly for seven hours. In standby mode, the battery can last 30 days. Like the iPad, there’s no hard- disk drive or CD-ROM, just flash memory. It weighs 2.3 to 2.9 pounds, depending on the model.

“We asked ourselves, ‘What would happen if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up?’ Well, this is the result,” he said. “We think it’s the future of notebooks.” - Steve Jobs, quoted by Bloomberg

Featherweight roller review

Practical Hacks Kevin has a terrific review of a new ultralight roller (see video below):

If you survey the marketplace for lightweight, wheeled carry-on bags – defining lightweight as less than 5½ pounds (2.49 kg) – the landscape isn’t exactly cluttered.  A Saks offers a 4.8 lb. wheeled duffel, Travelite offers a “Starlight” wheelie that checks in at 5.07 lbs (2.3 kg) but is only available in Europe, and then of course there’s the Landor & Hawa IT-0-2, which tips the scales at 5.02 pounds (2.28 kg).

Update on October 15, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Fodor's city apps

…are on sale for $3.99 for a limited time at the iTunes store. Apps for Rome, London, Paris, San Francisco, and NYC. Learn more here.

Low tech from Tom Bihn

One pound of durable, analog data processing power - the Field Journal Notebook from Tom Bihn:

Update on October 5, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

No wheels equals "weird"

In this ABC News story on the invention and 40th anniversary of the rolling bag we learn that no wheels is just not normal.

 “It’s almost strange to imagine luggage that doesn’t have wheels,” (Briggs & Reilly CEO Richard) Krulik said.

Heather Poole, a flight attendant for a major airline who writes a popular blog about flying, calls the rolling bag “the best thing to happen to travel.”

“To me, it’s weird not to see somebody not rolling a bag,” she said.
 

And we learn that wheels are what killed chivalry.

“At this time, there was this macho feeling. Men used to carry luggage for their wives. It was like the natural thing to do, I guess,” (wheelie bag inventor Bernard) Sadow said.
 

Not necessarily. One of the reasons I went with a convertible bag years ago was to help my tour leader wife. My free hands meant I could carry my bag and roll hers, thus leaving her free to watch after the students. And everyone knows that if you carry it on your back or shoulder you begin to be conscious of the weight, and you carry less and less and less.

Update on October 5, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Probably an isolated case (not)

In Nigeria…

The 3D full-body scanners procured for thorough body check of passengers at the nation’s major airports for security reasons are now being abused by security officials from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), THISDAY can confirm.

They use the machines, installed in the wake of the Farouk AbdulMutallab affair, to watch the naked images of female passengers for fun…

THISDAY discovered that during off-peak periods, the aviation security officials, who are trained on the use of the scanners, usually stroll from the cubicle located in a hidden corner on the right side of the screening area where the 3D full-body scanner monitors are located.

They do so to catch a glimpse of some of the passengers entering the machine and immediately go back to view the naked images, in order to match the faces with the images since the faces are blurred on the monitors while passengers are inside the machine. - THIS DAY

Update on September 30, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

And isn’t this comforting?

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the push aims to counter terrorists who might use international flights for attacks by smuggling explosives through overseas metal detectors. Such devices can’t stop suicide bombers from hiding unconventional weapons under their clothes. A Nigerian man is under federal indictment for trying to blow up an international flight headed for Detroit in December by igniting powdered explosives in his underwear.

“We need to move to the next stage of screening,” Napolitano told USA TODAY. Terrorists “have kind of figured out the magnetometer business.”- USA Today

Videos by OBOWer Boris!

Update on September 28, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

“Of course I would love to hear what you (and other readers of 1bag1world) think. I couldn’t have done it without all of the advice I got before setting out.” - Boris

More power for the blue shirts

TSA or CTU?

The new head of the Transportation Security Administration say he’s giving 10,000 of the agency’s employees access to secret intelligence information to better enable them to detect threats and stop terrorists.

John Pistole told an aviation luncheon that he views TSA as a counterterrorism agency. He said his goal is to get the latest intelligence to all employees who have what he called an “action need” to “inform their judgment and decision-making.” - AP

No word on whether the TSA will be employing Jack Bauer.

Update on September 28, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

More on TSA’s latest:

Floating carry-ons

The peanuts on this flight had better be good:

Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson said Monday that Virgin Galactic is on track to offer commercial space travel within 18 months, and that space hotels are next on the drawing board.

The project’s SpaceshipTwo, an aircraft built by aviation engineer Burt Rutan and designed to carry paying customers into suborbital space, had its maiden flight in the California desert in March.

“We just finished building SpaceShipTwo. We are 18 months away from taking people into space,” Branson told a business conference in Kuala Lumpur, adding that the fare will start at 200,000 dollars. - AFP

Google as I may, I can’t find any info on luggage allowances.

Rolf rips scruffy packers

Rolf’s week two report contains this gem:

In general, I’m surprised how easy it has been to stay clean and odor-free while traveling without luggage. When standing in line for train tickets with a group of European backpackers in Fes the other day, I was intrigued at how unkempt my fellow vagabonders looked. Even with their rucksacks full of spare gear, they looked as if they hadn’t washed any of their clothes in over a week. I felt like I had just scrubbed up for a job interview by comparison. - Rolf Potts no-bag RTW blog

He’s right. This is what you don’t want to look or smell like. And it’s quite possible not to.

Steve Jobs or Dwight Schrute?

iNinja? At least we know why Jobs wears that baggy, all-black clothing now.

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said he’ll never come back to Japan after officials at an airport barred him from taking Ninja throwing stars aboard his private plane, SPA! magazine reported in its latest issue.

A security scan at Kansai International Airport, near Osaka, detected the weapons inside the executive’s carry-on luggage in July as he was returning home to the U.S. from a family vacation in Kyoto, the Japanese magazine reported, citing unidentified officials at the airport and the transportation ministry.

Jobs said it wouldn’t make sense for a person to try to hijack his own plane, according to the report. He then told officials he would never visit Japan again, the magazine reported. Apple declined to comment. - Bloomberg

(Insert geek joke here)

Update on September 17, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Jobs and Apple deny this story.

Gauging a rip-off

Thanks to Cindy for pointing out this infuriating story - bmibaby has mis-sized sizers, thus wrongly penalizing many fliers for “oversized” carry-ons.

As a result, thousands of travellers may have been mistakenly charged the fees over the past three years.

The airline has admitted the problem and will change all 60 of the under-sized gauges at the 30 airports it operates from, including East Midlands, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff.

The issue has raised questions over the accuracy of gauges and weighing scales used by other airlines.

Most airlines pay check-in staff a bonus linked to the value of the excess baggage fees they collect. Confusingly for passengers, different airlines operate different policies on the size of hand luggage they will allow. - Daily Mail

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1310456/Budget-airline-overcharges-hand-luggage-years.html#ixzz0zQLCOifd