MORE TRAVELING STORIES

Traveling is always a good source for blog material. For example, this post and this one detail previous business travel experiences. I was out in California at a job interview yesterday and encountered the kind of minutia that I find secretly hilarious. (I took pictures with my phone, but they did not turn out well enough to bother posting.)

AIRLINE BOLDLY PERMITS MID-FLIGHT USE OF PACEMAKERS

It had been a long day, and I was flipping through the Southwest in-flight magazine to see what kind of red wine they offered. The page with the beverage choices also went into detail about what sorts of electronic devices were permitted and when. Under the heading “Always Permitted” was this bizarre cartoon of a pacemaker lodged in someone’s chest.

Even assuming that people with pacemakers would ever consider this as a potential problem, what exactly are the airline’s policy alternatives?

“We have reached our cruising altitude of 34,000 feet. It is now safe to resume circulating blood to your vital organs.” Or perhaps better yet, deal with it on the ground. “Thank you for flying Southwest. Let’s begin lining up. After boarding Groups A and B, we’ll move onto Group DNR.”

INCREDIBLY REDUNDANT ALLERGY WARNING UNLIKELY TO DETER PEOPLE DUMB ENOUGH TO NEED IT

After amusing myself with the pacemaker thing – and drawing an odd look from the woman two seats over for snapping a picture of the in-flight magazine -- the flight attendants distributed some snacks.

I cannot remember the last time an airline gave me actual peanuts because of the prevalence of peanut allergies, but here was a small package clearly labeled “DRY ROASTED PEANUTS.”

I flipped the package over and saw this disclaimer: “Produced in a factory that processes peanuts and other nuts.”

No kidding? I guess the bag with a big “PEANUTS” on the front containing oddly peanut-shaped food does leave some uncertainty. Thanks for clearing that up.