San Jose Airport renovates, not a moment too soon

by Grant Martin on

Having had the pleasure of flying through SJC a few times in the last several weeks, I can now officially name Mineta Airport as my official “Worst Airport in the United States“. It takes a fair amount of effort to deserve this distinction from blogger Grant, as I try to be fairly forgiving of travel and airport related issues. But listen Mineta San Jose, for the airport of the great Silicon Valley, you’ve got some serious, serious problems.

  • There are no jet bridges! The last time two times I had to walk onto the tarmac to climb steps into my airplane were in Houghton, Michigan and Marrakech, Morocco. The former’s population is 7010 (that’s 0.7% of you) and the latter is a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.
  • You have no airline lounges in terminal C. Business and first class travelers are stuck milling around the rundown concourse trying to get mobile and wireless reception while families stream around and trip over laptop cords. Yes, I know it sounds elitist to say that, but airline lounges are a proven, profit making device for airlines and help keep everyone sane.
  • No gas stations exist between the expressway and the rental car return. So if you want to avoid the egregious gas refill fees you have to exit the grounds and drive aimlessly around surrounding roads looking for a station.
  • Connection to public transportation is weak. Sure the public 10 bus makes a free connection to the light rail and Caltrains, but it comes infrequently, is poorly labeled and is confusing to catch.

What do business people from around the world think when they come to visit some of the nation’s top technology companies?

Luckily, San Jose recently got the message and is working furiously on the new additions; the first section should be complete some time this year. May the new facilities be ripe with bars, restaurants, lounges and jet bridges, may the wireless flow freely from the walls and may honor be restored to the great Valley of Silicon.

Best City Neighborhoods for Retirement: The Rest of the List

by Jamie Rhein on

Now that I’ve expressed my glee that Columbus’s Short North is listed as one of the best neighborhoods for retirement, here’s the low down on the rest of the list. The original article is from Money Magazine and posted at CNN.com. The version I saw yesterday was on AOL’s welcome page. It’s an abbreviated version. Instead of 30 city neighborhoods, there are 10 with a link to the other 20.

Here they are:

SoFa in San Jose, California. The sunny 300 days a year here attracted me. Cloudy days are the bane of Columbus living. According to the writers, San Jose also has a noteworthy art scene.

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. My closest college friend would probably second this. She lived here for one year and LOVED it. Unfortunately, the year she was living here, I didn’t have the money to visit her. The Back Bay was her dream come true, until her next dream came true which is the life she’s living now. The reason she only stayed a year? Just like the article said, it’s expensive.

Belltown in Seattle, Washington. I don’t know about Belltown, but I do know that Seattle is wonderful. I visited friends in two neighborhoods not far from downtown this summer, and living in either of them would be terrific. If I lived in Seattle, I’d head to Chinatown often.

LoDo, Denver, Colorado. Denver is another honey of a city if you don’t pay attention much to the brown cloud from the air pollution. I was just talking about how glorious the botanical garden is in Denver.

Midtown, Nashville, Tennessee is a terrific place for its music scene. The description of this area sounds a bit like the Short North.

Arts District Dallas, Texas. When I saw this choice, I was surprised. I went to Dallas years ago for a cousin’s wedding. I do remember going to the Blue Goose restaurant (I think that was the name) and liked it a lot. I vaguely remember someone talking about an art scene.

Mass Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis is a bit like Columbus. The article mentions it being a little bit sleepy. I agree there. The Children’s Museum is anything but sleepy. It’s phenomenal.

Copper Square, Phoenix, Arizona. The things you can do here are the same ones offered in downtown Columbus. The difference is, it’s sunny. With the sun in this part of the U.S. comes the heat. That’s a downside.

Riverside/Avondale, Jacksonville, Florida. Interesting architecture, the arts, the river and the weather are just a few of what puts this neighborhood on the list.

You can see the next 20 by going to this link.

Coconuts Call Airport to Complain

by Justin Glow on

See that thing up there? That’s a coconut. With a cell phone in it. Tad Hirsch — a research student who focuses on “the intersections between art, activism, and technology” — created it as a way to monitor the obtrusive sound of low-flying airplanes in the San Jose, California area. When excessive aircraft noise is detected, the coconut rings the San Jose International airport and leaves one of four prerecorded complaint messages. My favorite one says, “I’m trying to listen to my Steven Hawking book on tape and airplanes keep flying by. I can’t hear my iPod.”

I guess this is serious. Or it could be a joke. It’s billed as “art,” I think, so I guess it doesn’t really matter one way or another. Regardless, there it is; Take it how you want it. You should at least listen to the prerecorded messages because those are interesting. And maybe funny. And a bit weird. This whole thing is a bit weird. I’m scared.

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