I recently had the opportunity to travel on an Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft built to date. The A380 has a full second floor in the hull.  It has a passenger capacity of over 550 in a typical 3 class configuration.  There are two staircases in the cabin.

Boarding can be tedious, given the volume of passengers. At CDG, we boarded through two bilevel jetbridges in the 2F terminal.  I was one of the last 100 to board the plane, and waited approximately 45mins in line.  However, after everyone was situated, the flight was quite pleasant.

The most notable difference in the travel experience in the A380 was the smoothness in takeoff and landing.  There was little indication of the ground speed in takeoff, and the cabin was significantly more quiet than in other aircraft, presumably because the hull is much further from the engines.  I felt less exhausted after my flight, and the lack of perceived motion likely contributed to the flight experience.

All of the A380′s have personalized entertainment screens.  The software suite varies depending on the carrier, but is overall very good.  The touchscreens do suffer from decreased responsiveness, presumably due to a more budgetary resistive touchscreen interface.  Air France, the carrier I took, offers software downloads via the usb charging port.  Its software is still buggy, as the recipe downloads link to nonexistent files.  Hardware amenities in business and first class cabins include additional footrests, extra reclining space, AC power, snakelight reading lamps, and a coat rack.

The lavatories are clearly more updated in design compared to old craft.  As with other modern craft, the faucet has motion sensors, and the lighting has softer modified fluorescent/halogen bulbs.

Travel on the Airbus A380 was an overall pleasant experience.  The amenities will certainly vary depending on carrier, but most of the airlines that have this equipment (Qantas, Singapore, AF…etc) all have decent in-flight services.  The appeal, however, lies in the double decker configuration.  There is something to be said about being able to walk a flight of stairs in mid-flight.

misc travel

I bought in-flight internet for the first time several days ago, via Gogo Internet. It was a 3+ hour flight on a plane with DC outlets underneath the seat.  Airlines have recently been offering in-flight wifi in the past year as a premium service. The technology for in-flight wifi is interesting–the plane actually connects to cellphone towers on the ground to beam data. I had always assumed that satellite technology would be more efficient, but I suppose that operating costs would be even higher.

Given that the connection is based on cellphone tower technology, one would assume standard 3g data rates. That is exactly the case:

Of course, data rates vary tremendously, depending on location and the number of connected users.

Overall, the data speeds were tolerable for email and basic web surfing.

In-flight Wifi starts at $8 per flight if connecting on a mobile device, and $12 upward for laptops. Frequent flyers can also purchase monthly passes. I’d recommend using Seatguru to find the best flight/seats that have power outlets. Be wary of advertised power outlets though; a recent AA flight I took on MD-80 equipment advertised power outlets, but they were in the form of cigarette lighter outlets!

computing

While my GME contract has clear delineations of my job responsibilities as a resident, it is amazing how much additional work we do to survive in the workplace. Back when I was working for the government, nobody breached their job descriptions–there was even a person designated to brew the morning coffee.

In keeping with a concise entry, the following is a list of some tasks I accomplished today. You can decide which ones are reasonable or outright ludicrous:

• Emptied my garbage can into the dumpster: a patient threw a banana peel and apple core in it at 9am–I did not want my exam room to smell like banana the entire day
• Checked my patient’s vision, dilated, them, and filled out a driver’s license renewal form.
• Refused to fill out a disability application for a free Metrocard on an otherwise healthy 33 year-old guy who supposedly had a back injury before he moved to this country. He also had 20/15 acuity.
• Called a primary care physician’s office for records.
• Faxed physical exam requisitions to physician’s office.
• Cleaned the computer keyboard with alcohol swabs.
• Faxed forms to schedule my surgical cases.
• Asked surgical scheduler why he did not fax my surgical cases.
• Spent 2 hrs entering clinic notes on our broken EHR.
• Glared at technician who bypassed my exam lane 3 times while attempting to “find” me to place a patient chart. I was the only physician examining patients in the entire hallway of lanes.
• Called patient to remind her for surgery for tomorrow.
• Performed forced ductions on a STAT 9pm consult in the operating room for someone s/p orbital floor fracture repair. ENT had already closed up the incisions.

medicine work

The majority of newer public restrooms have incorporated touch-free technologies that helps us avoid “contaminating” our hands with germs. Airports were one of the earliest adopters of hands-free flushing, faucet use, soap dispensing, and towel dispensing. Our hospital, too, now has these devices in the newer wings.

The irony, however, of hands-free technology is that it’s almost never incorporated in the restroom door! Aside from the handicap entrances, every single door I’ve seen requires you to turn the handle, and violate your recently cleaned hands!

These same thoughts have crossed others as well. Some people wait until someone else enters the restroom before dashing out. Others use a paper towel to grasp the door handle.  Whatever the case may be, urban planning came up short this time.

misc

I run my server from GoDaddy, the company that hosts those risque SuperBowl commercials annually. I signed up initially because they offer a SSH login and have cheap rates. The server lag, however, is horrible. I automated an annual sign-up initially, and was planning to cancel my service last month when the contract expired.

Unfortunately, I forgot to cancel the subscription since I was caught up managing some emergency room traumas that week.

Dang you, residency. Damn you, GoDaddy. None of the caching mechanisms ever worked to speed up this website. In fact, I tested the site on a Canadian server, and the ping time was less than half of that of the GoDaddy server. I guess I have to live with it for another year. If you are a web hosting service that buys off GoDaddy fees for switching hosts, contact me!

computing rant