Israeli stations to honor Maccabiah Games June 21-July 21
The Israel Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring a special Amateur Radio operation honoring the largest Jewish
sport event in the world -- the 17th Maccabiah Games -- to be held in Tel-Aviv July 10-21, 2005. 14 Israeli
stations with letters in their suffix from which MACCABIAH can be spelled will be active for 30 days starting
June 21. A special Award will be available for stations having at least 6 valid QSOs with the participating
Special Event stations. The operation is valid for all radio amateurs and SWLs around the world. More
details can be found at the Maccabiah Games page or via www.iarc.org IARC [ARRL Web Extra]
It's Not Really "Zero Gravity" on Space Station,
Astronaut Tells Youngsters
A nephew of US Astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, was among the middle schoolers who
spoke with the International Space Station May 16 via Amateur Radio. The contact with
youngsters at Iroquois Middle School in Niskayuna, New York, was arranged via the
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. Responding to one
student's question--how does the robotic arm function in zero gravity--Phillips took a
moment to correct a widely held misconception about the spacecraft's environment.
Excuse me ... are those live fish in your pockets?
A woman was snared at Australia's Melbourne International Airport after allegedly trying to smuggle 51 live
tropical fish past customs and security officials. She was wearing what appeared to be a custom-made
apron, complete with pouches to hold the 15 bags of fish the woman was supposedly trying to sneak out of
the country. The woman was flagged for additional security, which proved to be her undoing. "We became
suspicious after hearing these flipping and flapping noises," Austrialian customs spokesman Simon
Latimer tells The Courier-Mail of Brisbane, Australia. "You don't see these kinds of alleged concealments
every day." Officials tell the paper that the fish, if released outside their native environment, could have
created quarantine, environmental and health risks.
United scraps once-heralded Denver baggage system
Denver International Airport's automated luggage system was supposed to be a revolutionary,
state-of-the-art approach that would set the standard for other cities. But, United is now ready to give up on
the $250 million system after years of malfunctions that alternately chewed up or lost customers' luggage.
"We have come tothe conclusion that going to a manual approach is best," Pete McDonald, United's chief
operating officer, tells The Wall Street Journal. The system was designed to automatically sort luggage into
carts that moved along underground tracks. The carts were supposed to be able to communicate with airport
computer networks over radio frequencies, automatically sending luggage to the appropriate location. But
The Journal says the data seemed to overwhelm the carts, which occasionally dumped their luggage onto
the tracks where other carts would then run over and cut them up. McDonald says United spends about $72
million a year maintaining the system, says CNN/Money.
Is that my bag next to the sandcastle?
It's unlikely that many travelers expected to see a 3-ton sandcastle at the airport baggage claim. But that's
just what fliers will find in Terminal One at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. Why the massive
sculpture? It's a promotional replica of the Gallery One Residences, a new condo-hotel on Fort Lauderdale's
Intracoastal Waterway. It will greet fliers through Aug. 30.
DON'T FORGET TO RENEW!
If you received a renewal letter, please send us a check today! Do itNOW! Thanks!
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