Feds call degree-toting flight attendants over-educated

by Tom Johansmeyer on

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you don’t need a college degree to be a flight attendant, regardless of what arises in the interview process. This lumps them in with waitresses and parking lot attendants, other jobs in which a BA is considered over-education. Yet, 29.8 percent of flight attendants have at least a college degree, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, along with 317,000 waiters, more than 140,000 receptionists and close to half a million customer service representatives.

These revelations come on the heels of continued debate over whether a college degree is worth the cash it costs. Historically, a degree has been seen as a way to get ahead, but there are too many philosophy majors trying to cobble together livings as bloggers (guilty), making many wonder if higher education worth a price tag that can stretch well into six figures.

The BLS data reveals that 30,000 flight attendants have BAs or above, making it the job with the highest rate of BA degrees per worker on the list.

[Via Business Insider, photo by Herkie via Flickr]

Daily gear deals – $200 portable Blu-ray player, $8 netbook case and more

by Scott Carmichael on

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Tuesday November 2, 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today’s first deal is for an XtremeMac dual charger for Apple devices. If you travel with an iPod and an iPhone, or you have a second iPod for the kids, then this handy charger is for you. On sale from sellout.woot.com for $14.99. Click here for this deal.

Next up is a bargain pack from Microsoft. In their mobility kit, you get a notebook webcam and a wireless mouse. On sale for $32.99 over at Scoobydeal.com.

Protect your netbook in style with this Brenthaven case. It’ll hold machines up to 10″ and comes in three different colors. Lowest price is $7.67 for the silver version. Click here for this deal.

Not a fan of watching movies on the small screen of your iPod? Consider this Panasonic portable Blu-ray player. This player launched at $499 earlier this year, but now dropped to just $199. Reviews are a mixed bag, so research before purchasing. Click here for this deal.

Europe blocks cargo and mail from Yemen after terror attempt

by Scott Carmichael on

As can be expected after a major terror attempt, international governments are making major changes to their security procedures to prevent any repeats.

The first changes involve how cargo is handled – because not surprisingly, a lot of the way cargo is screened had been ignored for years, while airports focused on shoes and bottles of shampoo.

According to a BBC report, the only reason things didn’t end in disaster was because a recently captured al-Qaeda member turned himself in and told authorities about the bombs. This means that despite Yemen being a known home to terrorists, bombs could simply enter the international skies in a UPS box.

Now this huge hole has been discovered in the way cargo is screened, the temporary solution has been to simply block all cargo coming from Yemen. In the United Kingdom, Somalia has been added to the list of countries on a no-cargo list. As of right now, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the United Kingdom have all put a hold on any cargo, and some of these countries have even banned inbound mail. Germany also banned passenger flights from Yemen, which means Italy is the only country still allowing passenger air travel from Yemen.

Not entirely surprising is the fact that the man behind the tips is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who started making bombs after he was released.

If there is such a thing as an upside to this most recent event, it is that passengers should not be impacted too badly, but anyone who does regular business with Yemen may find life becoming slightly more complicated.

[Image: AP]

Skooba Design announces new line of checkpoint friendly laptop bags

by Scott Carmichael on

When the TSA relaxed its rules for laptop scanning back in 2008, Skooba Design was one of the first to bring a checkpoint friendly back to the market. Since then, they have been churning out a great assortment of bags, including the newest from their lineup – the Checkthrough Executive Brief.

This bag builds off the success of their orginal Checkthrough bag, adding a whole host of new features. Of course, the most important feature on their bags is their laptop screening compartment. To speed things up at the checkpoint, you simply unzip the laptop portion, and unfold it. A clear window shows the TSA agent that a laptop is in the bag, and since nothing is placed in front of, or behind the laptop, it can stay in its bag, well away from clumsy screeners who may drop it (or worse).

The bag is available in small (for machines up to 15″) or large (for machines up to 17″). In addition to the laptop compartment, the bag also offers about 2-dozen other pockets and compartments. One pocket is designed specifically for your passport and travel documents. Another pocket holds USB thumb drives. Other features include lockable zippers and a strap to attach the bag to a rolling case.

The small Checkthrough Executive Brief retails for $149.99 and the large is just ten Dollars more. Both bags are available at skoobadesign.com.

One special design feature worth some extra attention is that Skooba Design Checkthrough bags are the only Rapiscan Tested bags on the market – this means that they have been tested by one of the companies that provides x-ray machines to airports. With this testing, you can be sure that the only reason a TSA agent doesn’t cooperate is because they don’t know their own rules.

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Brits complete London to Cape Town drive in record time.

by Kraig Becker on

Awhile back we posted a story about three adventurous Brits who had set out to drive from London to Cape Town in the hopes of setting a new speed record for that route. Their road would take them across three continents and 20 countries, covering more than 10,000 miles in the process. Late last week they completed their mission, arriving at the finish line nearly two days ahead of the previous record.

Mac Mackenney, Chris Rawlings and Steve Mackenney drove their Land Rover Discovery into Cape Town last Thursday, arriving 11 days, 14 hours, and 11 minutes after they had set out. That time beat the old mark, which was set by Eric Jackson and Ken Chambers back in 1963, by 1 day, 18 hours, and 37 minutes. Perhaps even more impressive is that the trio had to average approximately 870 miles per day, in a wide variety of conditions, to arrive when they did.

The three men took turns driving, navigating, and resting, staying on the go nearly all the time. They did blog about their journey on the Max Adventure website, where they told tales of harrowing border crossings, interesting encounters with locals along the way, and the blur of countries they passed through as they sped toward the finish line.

While Mac, Chris, and Steve were certainly hoping to break the speed record, they were also hoping to raise some money and awareness for the Help The Heroes organization, a charitable foundation that helps wounded British soldiers to recover and get on with their lives. The team hoped to raise £10,000 through their adventure to donate to this very worthy cause. As of this writing they’ve raised about a third of that.

Personally, I applaud the boys for setting the new record, but this certainly isn’t the way that I would like to make that same journey. Give me that same Land Rover and I’ll take six months to explore the route. Seems like the ultimate road trip to me!

[Photo credit: Max Adventure]