I didn’t come up with this on my own; I have to give credit to Road Warriorette.

From Amazon.com

Any contact lens wearer has acquired numerous contact lens cases over the years.  At one time Bausch and Lomb was giving away 12 contact lens cases on their website because they were trying to push changing cases every month.

So what do you do with them?  There are probably hundreds of answers if you googled what to do with old contact lens cases, but there are 2 in particular I can think of for traveling:

1. Random lotion/creme holder
With the space constraints of 3-1-1 limiting the assortment of cremes and lotions we can carry around, this allows enough of certain cremes without taking up a ton of space.  You probably want to use a permanent marker to label what is what…and it might be best to label the under part and the lid so you always know which lid to put on which side.

2. Pill holder
Bottles of pills for headaches and other small stuff also can take up a lot of room in a bag, plus it can lead to noise as they rattle.  A contact lens case can only adequately hold smaller pills (instead of multivitamins and such) but it can still save space.

Anyone have any other uses for contact lens cases for travel?
I guess if you lose buttons a lot it may be a good button holder.

Since the holidays ended and the average American won’t fly again for several months most of the public outrage against TSA has died, but there are still some of us who will still work to end the current system.

The location is Schuylkill Expressway N/O Hartranft (Lat: 39.91347, Long: -75.19207). It is in rotation for 8 weeks on an 48′ x 14′ electronic billboard. The total cost was $4,750.80.

http://wewontflybb.chipin.com/we-wont-fly-billboard-campaign-ii is the link to contribute.

From the Charlotte Observer

Many of the 1,560 pilots surveyed “feel pressed to push in areas where it would be better to slow down,” according to a survey summary obtained by the Observer.

US Airways officials say many of the concerns are unwarranted and that the survey is being used by pilots to gain leverage in contract negotiations.

Although I do like to rip on US Airways for various things, overall they do have very senior pilots.  Their pilots have very nice take-offs and landings.  I”m surprised by the statement there are 4,100 pilots though because they all seem to have the same voice.  I guess that 1 guy flies around with the other 4,099.

Sure US Airways fronted by Doug Parker is more vocal about penny pinching as far as on board service so it’s not a far stretch to many that they are probably pinching pennies other places as well.  This story wasn’t very detailed about safety issues about maintenance so I can’t really link it to the previous story about outsourcing.  US Airways has been doing very well in on-time performance, although a lot of the issues I’ve seen that would contribute to an on time push back are issues like checking bags at the last minute due to full overheads (a non-issue before baggage fees) or other issues that seem more in the realm of gate agents instead of the pilots.  Maybe that is the real issue though…pilots think something is not right and instead of fixing the logs or calling maintenance they just let it go.

The billboard about the lack of a contract is back up on Billy Graham Pkwy and the pilots recently held a mini strike at CLT so I do agree with the observer that this probably has more to do with that than actual safety issues.

Today Lucky writes about whether the mint “game” is worthwhile and instead of hijacking his comments with a long post I figured I’d post my response here.

I have not, and will not participate in the mint game.  Why?  Well, I like my bank.  I get 4.25% APR on my checking account.  To some that might scream “sweet! interest on the float too!” but I would hate to kill that gravy train.  They only have 4 branches so if I’m depositing $1000 in coins every 10 days that is hard to shuffle.  If I still had an account at the big banks in Charlotte maybe I would.  If I could have the coins shipped directly to ING Direct or Schwab Bank for deposit maybe I would.  Since I’d have to take time out of my busy weekend (since I’m back to traveling Monday-Friday) and wake up early on Saturday after getting in at midnight I prefer not to.  I don’t even know if my bank has weekend hours so I’d either sit on my coins for a while, deposit them into my husband’s account at one of the big banks, or just not play the game.

For those who don’t know what the mint game is (since I’ve never talked about it) I’ll explain briefly.  The US Mint wants to get people to use the $1 coins.  To encourage this they are selling $1 coins with free shipping so it’s pretty much a cash advance without actually posting to your credit card as such.  This means you get money at face value and get points/miles for it if you use a points/miles credit card.  People went hog wild initially so credit card companies and the mint got suspicious.  The rules changed limiting the number that an individual can purchase at a time.  the website also states: “The immediate bank deposit of $1 coins ordered through this program does not result in their introduction into circulation and, therefore, does not comply with the intended purpose of the program.” You can order up to 4 boxes ($250×4=$1000) every 10 days.

So if you use a lot of cash anyway and can actually use these coins and use other money to pay your credit card, good for you.  If you are getting these coins to deposit and pay the credit card then good for you too.  I just don’t have time.

Although there appear to be several marathon trainers for the iPhone, if you enter “marathon” in the android market there are only a couple of applications: Triathlon and Marathon trainer by Ontri and Race Trainer by CRE.  Since the Ontri application is free (instead of $1.25) I decided to go with that one.

Pros:

from androzoom.com

• I just have to enter the date of my race and the type of race and it calculates what I’m supposed to do each day
• I just have to log a workout on my phone and it publishes it to facebook (because I’m vain like that although I’d prefer twitter)
• It sends a weekly update with the miles logged that week
• There is a web community, although I’ve never used it.

Cons:

• The UI could use some rework.  Many of the runs have a specific technique that should be associated with certain times.  Beyond a few lines it’s cutoff.  Also it takes some reading to figure out what today’s workout is.  It’s at the middle of the screen and is not highlighted
• The training plans are done in time instead of distance.  As a slow person I should focus more on distance since my 2 hour run doesn’t cover the recommended 10 miles…more like 7-8.  Shorter runs have no suggested distance.
• The weekly long run falls on a Wednesday/Thursday for a weekend marathon instead of the weekend which is when I have more time for a 2 hour run.

For a free application it definitely meets my needs.  I can quickly punch in a new race date and it recalculates for me.

I have Endomondo to track my runs with a GPS so when I run outside I use that in conjunction with Ontri, but since I mostly use the treadmill Ontri is my main system of record.

Another solution would probably be just to find someone with a google calendar or something of suggested trainings and sync that to my phone.  That doesn’t have automatic facebook integration though.  Having everything on my phone means I have no excuse for not knowing my next workout.

So I had a post about what NOT to do, here’s a more positive list:

1. It’s a shared space to keep hygiene in mind.  This means do your best to arrive clean.  Showering with perfume instead of taking an actual shower often makes things worse, especially if the person next to you is sensitive to fragrances.  If your feet are stinky think about it before taking off shoes.
2. look before reclining.  Unless you recline immediately after take off, there is a chance that the person behind you may have a laptop out.  Those sometimes get into the groove of the tray table and if you recline quickly it could damage their laptop.  I would prefer not to damage a laptop.  Also, I know it’s not recommended, but I like to cross my legs.  I make sure my knee isn’t touching the seat back, but if you recline quickly i may not have time to adjust before getting my knee smashed into your back.  Look first, then slow and steady.
3. Aside from the window and aisle armrest, armrests are shared.  General consensus is that the middle seat person gets the arm rest, but always play it by ear.  I lean towards the window and rarely use the arm rest.  When I’m in the middle I keep my arms crossed.  Just avoid being passive-aggressive and either discuss the arm rest or relinquish it.
4. Keep sounds to yourself.  If you must make a call before/after a flight please consider your volume.  Also, headphones are the way to go if you will listen to any music.  If I can hear your music through your headphones that’s not good.  Get some passive or active noise canceling headphones so you don’t need to max the volume to hear over the noise of the plane so you can use a lower volume setting.
5. Save person grooming for somewhere else.  Don’t clip nails, pick the nose, floss teeth, anything like that during the flight.

Really it just comes down to common courtesy.  Just think “would I like it if the person next to me did x”.  Sometimes this works, other times it doesn’t.

Since I try to keep this blog professional I decided to use guest post on my friend Mark Bryan’s blog.  Check out my top 10 ways to not be a douche bag on a flight.

If so, Gary over at a View from the Wing details how to dispute the value of those miles if you disagree with the valuation.

Check out his blog post.

The main story on CNN.com today is about cell phone usage on planes. They point out that this topic has led to some fights on flights.

So what’s my take?  Well first of all, aside from rare exceptions you will not get cell signal at cruise altitude.  The idea that people would yak away constantly if allowed is not likely.  Why?  Well because most cell towers point down.  They have an obligation to transmit signal on the ground, not 30,000 feet in the air.  This means that by the time the 10,000 feet chime sounds there is usually no signal.  Sometimes on turbo prop flights we don’t get high enough to actually lose signal, but if you make a phone call over the drone of the turbo prop then I’m pretty sure the person on the other end will hang up very quickly.

The policy currently states that electronic devices including cell phones should be OFF.  Airplane mode is for when you are over 10,000 feet.  I’ve seen flight attendants simply put their phones into airplane mode and slip it back into their pocket though.

What do I think about all of this?  The main thing is they want your attention in case anything happens.  This means my phone is in my pocket or bag and I will not touch it until over 10,000 feet.  If you can’t follow that part of the rule then you are in for a punch from your seat mate or a scolding from the FA.  After the chime for 10,000 feet sounds I dare you to try and find meaningful cell reception.  It doesn’t exist.  There is no reason to leave a cell phone in cell mode during the cruise part of the flight.  Why?  You will just drain your battery as your phone attempts to find signal.  Maybe you hit a pocket and can receive a text message, but I have not experienced significant cell reception on AT&T or Verizon during cruise so you’ll probably lose it again by the time you compose a text.  It’s just not worth the effort to bother.

So, keep it put away below 10,000 and keep it in airplane mode over 10,000 feet.  It isn’t worth it to start a fight with a seatmate because you just had to get to the next level of angry birds.

Here’s a link to the segment.

It pretty much states that airlines are bidding maintenance to the lowest bidder and that company may employ people who have no clue what they are doing, how to read English, and have no background check.  Apparently all airplane parts are supposed to be traceable but at least one company installs parts without the proper paperwork and tracking numbers.

The airlines say that they are in the business of flying passengers, not maintaining aircraft.  To them it makes more sense to outsource and that may be true in many instances.  Someone who knows how to maintain a Boeing 757 I’m assuming could maintain the plane regardless of the operating carrier.  The problem is when the company solely looks at the bottom line.  That is an issue in any industry, it’s not unique to airlines.  I’m surprised airlines would put their name on something that could be unsafe.  The whole point of outsourcing should be competition. If an airline has doubts about the quality of the company they are using, they should find another company.  It doesn’t appear that there is any shortage of vendors.

I tend to prefer free market solutions and I think outsourced maintenance can be the same, if not better than in-house maintenance.  The key is keeping up with the vendors and changing if needed.  I’m sure many of the options cost less than in-house operations so it’s not likely that they would pay more with anyone except the lowest bidder.

If you claim to be in the business of transporting passengers, it is in your best interest to make sure they get to point B.  Shoddy maintenance can cost more in the long run.