A new hobby
Earlier, a coworker and I were joking about how there just aren’t enough things for us to waste our time on online. Know what I’m doing right now? Right now at about 12:20 am ET? I’m watching a Web graphic tell me where a friend’s plane is as it travels its route. There are many such widgets out there. Some use XML feeds. Mine comes from the airport where the plane should land. I think it’s cool technology. Handy when someone’s flight is very, very late. Especially when you can watch the plane fly to the airport, swap passengers, and take off again. I wanted to be able to do that for my delayed flight when I was stuck in Denver the other week, the plane wasn’t there, and the airline wasn’t telling us what was happening.
I’m a big fan of the route he’s taking. Even at night, if it’s clear, you can watch the coastline and know where you are from the geography and rivers and big cities. My favorite trip was with a full moon reflecting off the ocean.
Maybe one day I should learn how to fly. Until then, I can use these cool Web widgets.
