Can Holiday Pie Be Considered a Dangerous Liquid?

by Adrienne Wilson on

Before reading further keep in mind that no question is a dumb question. Now having stumbled on this piece originally found in the Consumerist where a man questions TSA as to if his pie is considered a dangerous liquid I think to myself, what a silly question to ask. But wait, no, no… It isn’t as silly as it seems. In these days where even a smile in its most contagious form comes across as a terrorist act, you really do have to ask before making any sudden moves or bringing your pie on board the plane. The writer of the piece featured had been standing by when he heard the question tossed out into the open. In his recount he notes TSA doesn’t consider pie a liquid, but now he ponders if cherry pie filling is considered a gel? Things that make you go hmm, right?

Well in the end our pie-carrying character gets to take his crusted filled sweet potato dessert with him with no fuss, although the TSA employee was looking to confiscate it for her own personal reasons.

via Boing Boing

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of November 19

by Adrienne Wilson on

Now that you’re settling in and letting all that turkey digest and I have your attention I think it is the perfect opportunity to serve you this week’s five favorites found on Gadling.

5. The Post on Hookup Travel:
Face it – the holidays can be a drag without someone there to cuddle with in the lodge on your ski vaca or to without a hand to hold as you stroll alone down a sandy beach on the islands. In short, if you’re single and desperately wishing not to go solo this season check out this piece on hookup travel.

4. Stink 0, Airlines 1:
Here’s an interesting story of a smelly German guy who got booted from his flight for being a little too offensive with his odor. The poor fellow never made it to court and his case was tossed anyway considering his odor wasn’t due to disability or illness. That stinks! (No pun intended.) Read the full deal for yourself.

3. How to Bargain Abroad: The Right Way:
Savvy shoppers know how to bargain, yet there are two ways of going about this sport: the right way and the wrong way. If you’re good and I mean really good at doing it the right way you’re bound to score some awesome goods, otherwise you’ll be like the rest of us suckers getting jacked by high prices. Learn to do it right.

2. Stashing your Goods in Your Sandals:
For all the gift-giving individuals out there, give your loved one the gift of peace-of-mind. These women’s sandals by Reef allow you to stash a credit card or two, a key and some cash in a secret compartment. Pretty cool gear piece if you’ve always been one to cling to your goods on the beach fearing someone would take them.

1. America the Unfriendly:
Say it ain’t so? Or is it? Is it really that hard making it into our borders? Visas that tough to obtain? You be the decision-maker.

Farewell to the DC-10

by Iva Skoch on

Northwest Airlines is retiring the venerable DC-10 on January 8. NWA is the last U.S. operator to use the thirty-five-year-old, three-engined, McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) DC-10. (The last came off the line in 1989.)

While the public generally remembers the plane mainly for a series of terrific crashes in the 1970s (it’s crashed 15 times, killing 1430 people), it has been an industry workhorse. In fact, in an odd way, the horrific and dramatic Souix City crash of United 232 in 1989 illustrated how sturdy the plane was.

Officials expect the DC-10 to continue being used for years, primarily hauling freight. But for passengers in the U.S., it’s flying off into the sunset.

STA’s Black & Blue Friday Sale

by Adrienne Wilson on


For those of you planning to stay inside tomorrow to avoid the shopping mall craziness, be advised that there are still some very good deals to be found without ever having to abandon your comfy jammies or leave your home. In my mind it makes good sense that there would be some amazing sales on airfare when everyone is out and away from their computers. Those sneaky airlines!!! Anyway, as I was getting to, STA Travel is having a Black & Blue Friday Sale and they’ll be discounting tickets to Latin America, the South Pacific and more. At least that’s what they claim in their ad seen above, but I’d seriously take the time tomorrow to take a look and see what’s really going on. Perhaps you’ll nab a great without all the headache of being on the streets.

What Would a Delta & U.S. Airways Merger Mean?

by Adrienne Wilson on

There is something about receiving a letter from the President or C.E.O. of an airline that feels so touching. As if they real care about all the worried frequent flyers concerned about their reward points and the future effect on routing. Well, those airline folks really do give hoot, I mean, we are talking business here, but what is all this Delta & U.S. Airways merger talk about? What does it mean for someone like myself – a member of both frequent flyer programs? For those just as confused as the next man on the topic, I point you towards this Christian Science Monitor article explaining the whole deal.

According to their notes a takeover by U.S. Airways would cause higher fares and fewer seats which doesn’t sound too hot for a passenger trying to get from point A to point B quick, easy and most importantly without spending a fortune. Naturally this would be good news for the airline industry’s bottom line, but do the passengers care about the bottom line or dirt cheap fares? As of the time being, I don’t think flyers have much to worry about. U.S. Airways still has to convince Delta’s creditors and a bankruptcy judge that a merged company will do better than Delta soaring the friendly skies alone.