Emergency Preparedness in Israel
The recent Saturday morning 40 meter roundtable had a lively discussion with Danny Wax 4X1DM, a
well-known geologist, who is concerned about the possibility of a major earthquake hitting us in the maybe
not-too-far-off future. Danny suggests that we build "Warblers" -- cheap 2 watt PSK-31 transceivers
(coupled with laptop computers or possibly "Palm-Pilots") for 80 meters that can provide country-wide
night-time reliable emergency communications with low-battery-power consumption. In the eventuality of
such a disaster, telephone, cellular, and internet service will be down, as well as the electrical power grid.
The sorry events in the USA with the Hurricane Katrina disaster have served as a wake-up call. Should
we adopt this technology, it could very much enhance our emergency network. More deliberations will
doubtlessly follow.
Baltimore seeks image makeover
The city wants a makeover, or what's known in the tourism industry as "destination repositioning." The
Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association is paying Landor Associates $500,000 to revamp the
city's image. The company already has built brands for such locations as Madrid, Spain; Florida and Hong
Kong. Baltimore has tried slogans before, including "Charm City," "The City that Reads," and "The Greatest
City in America." None of them caught on. There have been other unflattering nicknames, though: The
Heroin Capital and The Murder Capital. Three critically acclaimed television crime and drug dramas shows
are partly to blame, according to a recent report by the image consultants. "The perception of Baltimore is
The Wire, The Corner, Homicide (Life on the Street) ... a hopeless, depressed, unemployed, crack-addicted
city," the report states. The company is expected to come up with a half dozen concepts for Baltimore by
next month, and a decision on the brand is expected by April.
Airlines Continue to Upgrade Web Sites
Squeezed by high fuel costs, airlines continue to turn to their Web sites and other technology to save money
and make customers happy by speeding up the check-in process. Many airline travelers, of course, still buy
their tickets at reservation counters or over the phone from call centers. But the airlines are pushing
customers to book travel online, which saves the carriers on labor costs. The Web site of American Airlines,
the largest U.S. carrier, draws upward of a million visitors a day, and its revenue has increased 60 percent
from a year ago, accounting for 35 percent of American's total ticket sales, said an airline vice president, Bella
Goren. Fort Worth-based American won't provide precise dollar figures for online ticket sales, but Goren said
it had 10 days in September with more than $22 million in bookings apiece. American, a unit of AMR Corp.,
also is trying to boost sales of hotel rooms and rental cars on its site. This summer, it began working with a
seller of last-minute vacation packages. Still, those side businesses remain a tiny fraction of the site's revenue.
American is also adding capabilities to its airport self-service kiosks, such as confirming standby status and
paying for extra baggage. Airport kiosks have been growing in popularity. Consulting firm Accenture Ltd. said a
recent survey showed that nearly nine in 10 business travelers check in and get boarding passes at kiosks.
The most successful airline Web site, in terms of percentage of an airline's tickets sold online, probably belongs
to Southwest Airlines Co. The Dallas-based carrier sells more than half its tickets on its Web site, which has
allowed the company to close some of its ticket-selling call centers. The airline has also looked to technology to
reduce the need for labor at the airports. Over the past three years, it has paid Dell Inc. $12 million to install
technology that, among other things, lets Southwest issue paper boarding passes instead of the reusable,
color-coded plastic ones that the airline used for many years. The paper passes contain a barcode for each
passenger, including those who print their boarding pass at home. Southwest uses about 350 touch screen
ticket readers at airport gates to track each customer who gets on the plane, said Don Harris, Southwest's
senior director of airport technology. Southwest is working on using information from the boarding passes,
along with factors such as cargo and fuel, to calculate the weight and balance of each plane load, Harris said.
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