Just when you thought Air Canada couldn't get any cheaper, or callous: sweet merciful crap. That link takes you to a CNN story this site picked up, explaining that Air Canada's regional operator, Jazz, has decided to save 25 kilograms of weight from each flight by getting rid of the life vests. The rules state that as long as your plane is flying within 50 miles of land, it's okay to do this - you can use the seat cushion as a flotation device instead. So as long as I can swim 50 miles I'll be okay? Oh sweet mother - I think I have to sign up for some advanced swimming lessons before going to my next client, which happens to be on the coast. Let's pray and hope - and assume for argument's sake - that in the unlikely event a plane needs to make an emergency landing it doesn't crash and crumple and otherwise disintegrate catastrophically. If you were to look for a place to land and there were no roads in the area, what would be a better touch-down pad? A bunch...
One of the new things about tracking blogs through Google Reader is that you notice when people have made a posting that they subsequently delete. For example, there are two entries on Greg Mankiw's blog. And they have both since been deleted. The first link is to an article entitled "Mission Accomplished." The second link is to an article entitled "Making Milton Proud." Google Reader preserved not only the headlines, but the content of those articles too. First article: Mission Accomplished from Greg Mankiw's Blog by Greg Mankiw A reader emails me: After nearly two years as your reader, you've pretty much singlehandedly made me a fiscal libertarian out of a former democratic socialist. Second article: Making Milton Proud from Greg Mankiw's Blog by Greg Mankiw From an email this morning: After nearly two years as your reader, you've pretty much singlehandedly made me a fiscal libertarian out of a former democratic socialist. Wow, I did not just see...