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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:ATL is without a doubt the best designed hub in the US, which is sort of like being the world's fastest turtle. Seriously the only good thing about flying through ATL is that its better than every other hub airport in the world because you can actually walk to every terminal without going through security five times.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:21 |
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# ? May 26, 2024 07:53 |
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hobbesmaster posted:Seriously the only good thing about flying through ATL is that its better than every other hub airport in the world because you can actually walk to every terminal without going through security five times. They also have a fantastic food selection there. Mind you it might take 45 minutes to walk to a place you want to eat at... they have a ton of options.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:23 |
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It's certainly better than DTW.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:29 |
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CroatianAlzheimers posted:It's certainly better than DTW. I like the McNamara terminal. Size is right, food is decent, fountain is awesome, tram is quick, and no matter where you are going, it is probably going to be better than Detroit. Never missed even a tightly scheduled flight through there. Obviously the regional terminals are poo poo, but every regional terminal is poo poo.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:37 |
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CroatianAlzheimers posted:It's certainly better than DTW. I don't mind DTW at all (given it's been my airport for like 20 years), mostly because I seem to always be on Delta coming in and out of there.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:38 |
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movax posted:Jesus christ. CNN used to be this: Add it to the list of Cable Channels that went to poo poo in the last 20 years. I remember being a little kid and watching the tracers on an old-rear end TV.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:39 |
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Slo-Tek posted:I like the McNamara terminal. Size is right, food is decent, fountain is awesome, tram is quick, and no matter where you are going, it is probably going to be better than Detroit. Never missed even a tightly scheduled flight through there. Obviously the regional terminals are poo poo, but every regional terminal is poo poo. I was more suggesting that the dining options were pretty bad. Save for the Leo's Coney Island that's there. Good Michigan beer, good coneys, and free wi-fi. It's a decent enough airport as far as airports go. movax posted:I don't mind DTW at all (given it's been my airport for like 20 years), mostly because I seem to always be on Delta coming in and out of there. How do you mean? Do you live around here?
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:42 |
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dietcokefiend posted:They also have a fantastic food selection there. Mind you it might take 45 minutes to walk to a place you want to eat at... they have a ton of options. If you don't go to One Flew South in Term E you are doing yourself a tremendous disservice. I just switched from DL DM to AA, and I will miss H-Jax the most.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:42 |
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hobbesmaster posted:Seriously the only good thing about flying through ATL is that its better than every other hub airport in the world because you can actually walk to every terminal without going through security five times. Admittedly, I haven't flown much, but how many airports actually force you to go through security multiple times to go between terminals? I've never seen it, but I've only been to SAT, JFK, ATL, and SEA recently.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:53 |
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Dulles pissed me off because they didn't have anywhere to smoke in the terminal that didn't require you exiting and getting rechecked by security.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:57 |
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dietcokefiend posted:They also have a fantastic food selection there. Mind you it might take 45 minutes to walk to a place you want to eat at... they have a ton of options. I ate at Five Guys for the first time there. Haha. EightBit posted:Admittedly, I haven't flown much, but how many airports actually force you to go through security multiple times to go between terminals? I've never seen it, but I've only been to SAT, JFK, ATL, and SEA recently. I had to for Philadelphia and it was a lovely experience. rscott posted:Dulles pissed me off because they didn't have anywhere to smoke in the terminal that didn't require you exiting and getting rechecked by security. edit: prepare to be sad if you visit Seattle or any of the California airports.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:57 |
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EightBit posted:Admittedly, I haven't flown much, but how many airports actually force you to go through security multiple times to go between terminals? I've never seen it, but I've only been to SAT, JFK, ATL, and SEA recently. SFO because construction, LAX ?, SMF (Sacramento), PHL (Philadelphia) one terminal if memory serves.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 21:57 |
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CroatianAlzheimers posted:I was more suggesting that the dining options were pretty bad. Save for the Leo's Coney Island that's there. Good Michigan beer, good coneys, and free wi-fi. It's a decent enough airport as far as airports go. I just moved out of MI, but yeah, DTW followed by FNT were my primary airports and I never had issues whatsoever. Parking was painless (copious off-site parking + 24 hr shuttles), security was a breeze and the terminal's clean and modern. My memories of the older terminals are foggier, but after they got the cash to knock down the old ones + build McNamara, it's turned into a really good airport, IMO. My new one is SEA, and so far I've got no real complaints other than seemingly horribly inefficiency in getting people through TSA. Functional public transport to/from is nice too.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 22:01 |
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I think Denver is my favorite for a layover, just because there's so much room to spread out. (I like to get away from people between legs of cramped flights.) Of course, CVG (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky) has this magnificent statue, a monument to the city's history as a hog processing powerhouse: I haven't done a lot of flying on the west coast, but at the end of the month I'm going MEM-LAX-SMF-MSP-MEM, hitting three airports for the first time in my life.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 22:06 |
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movax posted:I just moved out of MI, but yeah, DTW followed by FNT were my primary airports and I never had issues whatsoever. Parking was painless (copious off-site parking + 24 hr shuttles), security was a breeze and the terminal's clean and modern. My memories of the older terminals are foggier, but after they got the cash to knock down the old ones + build McNamara, it's turned into a really good airport, IMO. Ah, right on. Some day I, too, will leave Michigan. Some day...
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 22:09 |
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It's cool I quit smoking, I just remember being kind of put off by it.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 22:19 |
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EightBit posted:Admittedly, I haven't flown much, but how many airports actually force you to go through security multiple times to go between terminals? I've never seen it, but I've only been to SAT, JFK, ATL, and SEA recently. Boston Logan does this. Sometimes you have to go through security to get to another part of the same terminal. LaGuardia is also bad. The beauty of ATL is that it doesn't take very long to get from point to point, which is all you're looking for in a hub. Places like MSP and CLT are horrible.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 22:28 |
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Re: airport chat, my personal favorite is Akron Canton regional. There's really nothing remarkable about the airport itself, but every time I've flown out of there - including a month after 9/11 - security has been a breeze. My last flight out to California departed at 5:30 on a Sunday evening and I might have waited two minutes in line. Flight before that was a red-eye and I only stopped long enough to take my shoes off and stand in the scanner. It's to the point now that bitchy parents expecting everyone to bend over backwards for them have replaced "long waits in line to get through security" as my reason to avoid flying when I can help it.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 22:32 |
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I'm partial to Sea-Tac. The Qdoba's there doesn't stock Cholula sauce though, which I found to be problematic.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 23:02 |
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A little musing on MEM, the airport I grew up with and have known my whole life. My father started working there in the 60s when he was 16, and in the 80s and 90s I got to hang out EVERYWHERE. The towers, the underground offices, the tarmac, de-icing plant (where I spent a snowy 1989 night helping out), etc.. After 9/11, things changed and it was harder to get around if you didn't work there, but I still knew tons of people and always had a family friend at the ticket counter or gate. The collapse of Northwest and Delta's lack of interest in the city really hurt the airport. It's still the second busiest cargo airport in the world (just a bit below Hong Kong), and it hosts C-5s thanks to the Air National Guard, but for passenger service I might as well be living in Little Rock, Arkansas... Except that we don't have Southwest. It's crazy. If it weren't for FedEx we wouldn't really be an "international" airport anymore except for one or two odd flights to Mexico. I do some freelance writing about food and wine, and was going to do a story about Dobbs House, who supplies all of the meals for the various airlines. I remembered touring that facility in the early 90s and how they had a separate kosher kitchen, did tests of meals on actual flights, had proprietary recipes for each airline... Upon inquiring about a tour last month I learned they really just supply ice, soft drinks, and peanuts these days since all of the passenger flights out of Memphis are just brief hops to actual hubs. With the massive consolidation of the airline industry amongst the top few companies and the fact that Memphis isn't exactly an economic powerhouse these days, it is highly unlikely that the trend will ever reverse. But it was amazing to be there for its glory days, when 747s dropped in and even the Concorde would come by for a visit on its US tour.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 23:10 |
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MCO has 4 terminal arms laid out in a >-< shape, with dropoff/pickup and ticketing in the middle. The 2 east terminals share a checkpoint, as do the west 2, but if you're crossing east-west you get to go through the line again. There's also a kickass hotel in the center section. I've never stayed there, but it looks cool:
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 23:12 |
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Geoj posted:Re: airport chat, my personal favorite is Akron Canton regional. There's really nothing remarkable about the airport itself, but every time I've flown out of there - including a month after 9/11 - security has been a breeze. My last flight out to California departed at 5:30 on a Sunday evening and I might have waited two minutes in line. Flight before that was a red-eye and I only stopped long enough to take my shoes off and stand in the scanner. This is why I would rather fly out of MDT vs BWI when heading to LAX. MDT is so much easier/faster. The only problem is that you have to go through either Denver or Chicago to get to LAX, no non-stops.
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# ? Apr 7, 2014 23:44 |
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Geoj posted:Re: airport chat, my personal favorite is Akron Canton regional. There's really nothing remarkable about the airport itself, but every time I've flown out of there - including a month after 9/11 - security has been a breeze. My last flight out to California departed at 5:30 on a Sunday evening and I might have waited two minutes in line. Flight before that was a red-eye and I only stopped long enough to take my shoes off and stand in the scanner. I just wish they didn't get rid of the observation deck they use to have. That was the greatest thing to be able to sit up there and watch your flight come in, or wait for whoever you were picking up. Then 9/11 happened and they closed it down. Terrorists won, drat it. (Actually I think it was closed during some renovations or expansion plans or some such. Still, that was my favorite thing). But yeah, most regional airports will be a cakewalk to get through. PNS, VAP (the former is the better airport, but the latter means you're taking off on the same runway as F15s), even DAB is pretty easy. One or two times I've flown out of MOB were pretty painless. Longest wait in line for security I've had at MCO was still less than 15 minutes, but I've heard horror stories; MSP always felt like a pain in the rear end trying to get through security, but a breeze once you got to the gates. CLE seems like it's getting better, but that's probably because it's losing business to CAK and Pittsburgh of all places. It's been a while since I've been through ATL, but the "at least 1 hour between flights" rule of thumb still seemed a good idea. Only been to Denver once, and I loved it. Only been to Chicago-Midway once and couldn't care to go back there. Milwaukee was pretty cool, too.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:13 |
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Penis.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:30 |
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I've only been through ATL twice, and both were during some massive renovation several years ago. The food selection was poo poo, possibly because of how impossible it was to navigate. Impressive overcrowding. Worst airport experience(s) of my life, beating even 1980s JFK-Heathrow trips.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:37 |
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YF19pilot posted:I just wish they didn't get rid of the observation deck they use to have. That was the greatest thing to be able to sit up there and watch your flight come in, or wait for whoever you were picking up. Then 9/11 happened and they closed it down. Terrorists won, drat it. (Actually I think it was closed during some renovations or expansion plans or some such. Still, that was my favorite thing). PNS also has free wifi, but the last time through, I had a really really marginal cuban at the sandwich shop. On the upside, there were Harriers and Mil-24's on the ramp side. PGH is practically in Youngstown anyway, no goddamn where near anything you could honestly call Pittsburgh.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:43 |
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benito posted:A little musing on MEM, the airport I grew up with and have known my whole life. My father started working there in the 60s when he was 16, and in the 80s and 90s I got to hang out EVERYWHERE. The towers, the underground offices, the tarmac, de-icing plant (where I spent a snowy 1989 night helping out), etc.. After 9/11, things changed and it was harder to get around if you didn't work there, but I still knew tons of people and always had a family friend at the ticket counter or gate. MEM is an interesting airport, air traffic wise. Because the majority of its operations occur overnight, controllers actually rotate through schedule lines of all midnight shifts. At most facilities, mid shifts are blow-off, low traffic, easy money. So you usually work 1 midnight shift a week and your sleep schedule isn't the greatest, but it's fine because the traffic level is low or non existent. Most FAA ATC facilities run a rotating shift schedule, where your work day begins late in the afternoon, and your schedules descends to that your last two days are a very early morning shift follow by a midnight shift. At Memphis, working the midnight shift is like working morning peak hours at any other major airport. FedEx brings a huge "push" of airplanes in overnight. So controllers there stay on a mid shift crew for weeks at a time so that they're properly rested for dealing with it.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:46 |
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YF19pilot posted:I just wish they didn't get rid of the observation deck they use to have. That was the greatest thing to be able to sit up there and watch your flight come in, or wait for whoever you were picking up. Then 9/11 happened and they closed it down. Terrorists won, drat it. (Actually I think it was closed during some renovations or expansion plans or some such. Still, that was my favorite thing).
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:48 |
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YF19pilot posted:I just wish they didn't get rid of the observation deck they use to have. That was the greatest thing to be able to sit up there and watch your flight come in, or wait for whoever you were picking up. Then 9/11 happened and they closed it down. Terrorists won, drat it. (Actually I think it was closed during some renovations or expansion plans or some such. Still, that was my favorite thing). PNS - Penis Regional Airport, Penis Florida (Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional) VAP - ???????????? DAB - Daytona Beach International, Daytona Beach Florida MOB - Mobile Regional, Mobile Alabama MCO - Orlando International, Orlando Florida MSP - Minneapolis Saint Paul, Minneapolis Minnesota CLE - Cleveland Hopkins International, Cleveland Ohio CAK - Akron Regional, Akron Ohio Chicago-Midway - Chicago Midway, Chicago Illinois Milwaukee - Milwaukee International, Milwaukee Wisconsin One post. One post, look at all that. Come on now, you could try and help the hobbyist reader out. https://www.skyvector.com everyone! Type any of the above 3 letter codes in the search bar toward the upper left to find the airports people are talking about. Also look at the neato aviation charts and feel free to ask questions about what you see. The Ferret King fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Apr 8, 2014 |
# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:51 |
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I'm firmly convinced Dulles is the worst airport on the planet
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:53 |
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I saw MCO and was like, Motor City Online was such a great game
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 00:55 |
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I kinda like the Korean security style where the checkpoint's at the gate and they don't bring you through until the plane is ready for boarding. So you retain full access to the shops, restaurants etc until it's time to go. Bit jarring for American travelers, though, and the US-mandated shoe check on the loving load ramp is retarded.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:02 |
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MCO is much quicker to type out than Orlando International, and you do have to specify because there's also Orlando Executive and Orlando-Sanford International.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:04 |
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Godholio posted:I've only been through ATL twice, and both were during some massive renovation several years ago. The food selection was poo poo, possibly because of how impossible it was to navigate. Impressive overcrowding. Worst airport experience(s) of my life, beating even 1980s JFK-Heathrow trips. There was massive renovation going on when I passed through a couple of weeks ago. I kinda feel like Hartsfield-Jackson is one of those places that is just always undergoing renovation/construction somewhere. The Ferret King posted:PNS - Penis Regional Airport, Penis Florida (Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional) He meant to say VPS instead of VAP...Florida Northwest Regional, i.e. Valparaiso/Ft Walton Beach/Destin, shares a runway with Eglin AFB.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:07 |
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Fucknag posted:MCO is much quicker to type out than Orlando International, and you do have to specify because there's also Orlando Executive and Orlando-Sanford International. Nobody gives a poo poo about those two airports and it still doesn't help casual readers understand where "MCO" is. If you say Orlando International, Americans will know what you mean and folks from other countries will have a fighting chance. Three letters are much quicker to type than more-than-three-letters, that is fact, great job. iyaayas01 posted:shares a runway with Eglin AFB. How does that work (sincerely asking even though I've been snarky recently)? The Ferret King fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Apr 8, 2014 |
# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:09 |
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Boomer The Cannon posted:Holy gently caress, how many CAK/Tusc County goons are there? There's a bunch of us here, plus 2-3 others in the NASCAR SAS thread... Check out TFF, most of the Browns posters are localish.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:14 |
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I like flying out of Long Beach, there are no jetways so they pull airstairs up at both the front and back of the plane (for JetBlue's A320s at least) and it's small enough that it doesn't usually get too crowded. Speaking of food, I've connected through Chicago O'Hare once or twice. While on my way to Portland, Maine, the CRJ broke and we had to wait way, waaaay too long for a new one, but that's not the point of the story - the point is, every restaurant and store in that part of the terminal closed at 8 except the Starbucks. Which I thought was weird, but the rest of the gates seemed to have cleared out - is it just that United's last departure bank from that terminal is around 8 PM, and there's no use keeping anything open afterwards?
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:16 |
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The Ferret King posted:One post. One post, look at all that. Come on now, you could try and help the hobbyist reader out. Cool! I was just about to ask about the alphabet soup of airport codes. I only know YYZ and YQX (and strangely, LAX.) Having never flown outside of Canada, my opinions on airports are limited, but I find the talk interesting. So many weather stations.... wdarkk posted:Add it to the list of Cable Channels that went to poo poo in the last 20 years. I remember being a little kid and watching the tracers on an old-rear end TV. A friend of mine had a dad who worked in telecommunications during that time. Just for fun, he found and recorded a satellite feed of the tracers going up, several hours worth. The guy capturing it was bored, as you could hear him yawning on the audio and turning the pages of a book.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:19 |
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CNN was still decent at the start of the second Gulf War Starts at about 40:00. I remember watching it live. I think the downfall of cable news started around the time Youtube and social media got huge, around '06 or so. e- lmao I forgot you could hear the Tomahawks fly overhead
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:23 |
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# ? May 26, 2024 07:53 |
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Snowdens Secret posted:I kinda like the Korean security style where the checkpoint's at the gate and they don't bring you through until the plane is ready for boarding. So you retain full access to the shops, restaurants etc until it's time to go. Bit jarring for American travelers, though, and the US-mandated shoe check on the loving load ramp is retarded. I really do not like this because you end up in a horrible line at the gate with minimal expediting.
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# ? Apr 8, 2014 01:45 |