Thursday, August 27, 2009

I am soooo high right now

I mean that in a literal sense. I think we are cruising at about 29,000 feet. This plane has wifi!

It's a Delta flight. I'm coming home from a business trip in Florida and Atlanta, and there was a girls in Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport handing our cards with a promo code to use this service for free. It's called "gogo flight internet" and I must say, this is pretty cool.

I just finished reading INTO THIN AIR, about the 1996 tragedy on Mt. Everest. I bought it on Tuesday afternoon and read most of it on the way to Orlando, and I finished it on the way to Atlanta this morning. One of the climbers, a wealthy lady named Sandy Pittman, had planned to transmit a blog post from the heights of the mountain. Turns out that (among many other things that didn't go as planned) her equipment didn't work when she was as high as I am now. This is a much better solution.

And while I'm on the topic, it was a great book. I am insane enough to read it and think, "Wow, I'd like to try that." If only the whole tragedy thing could be averted, that is. I'm just talking about climbing Mt. Everest. I know I won't (I don't have the $65,000 needed to book a guided trip).

That's all for now. I'm going to work on a manuscript for the rest of the flight.

14 comments:

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

That is indeed very cool. The notion of being so connected at 29,000 feet! Just be sure to get your head out of the clouds before landing (I tend to lose mine).So did you find out if the promo was free but in future it will be a paid service?

L. T. Host said...

I'd heard they were going to start allowing that. Neat to know they've done so; so like an airline to charge for it. . . *rolls eyes*. Ah well, next time I fly I'm sure I'll have some sort of manuscript to work on myself!

Mame said...

Get offline, slacker! (I jest)

Word verification: gutme. I need say nothing, methinks.

Vodka Logic said...

Cool, I just flew delta but didn't get a free couopon. Lucky...

I read the book too, very good and very harrowing.

xx

Michelle D. Argyle said...

$65,000???! Wow...

Hey, that's cool about the plane. How much do they normally charge for you to use the service? It better not be $65,000...

Rick Daley said...

They just started the service up. It turns on and off at 10,000 feet. It's $5.95 for a flight, I don't remember the price for the 24-hour pass. The speed/bandwidth was good. Typing in turbulence is tricky, but I get that working on the MS or my work-work too.

I was at 29,000 feet. The summit of Mt. Everest is 29 feet higher. I can't really imagine stepping out of the plane and enduring that environment, but that's what it is at the summit. The thin air, the wind, the cold, the intense solar radiation...and for days on end with no sleep. It was a very absorbing read. I highly recommend it.

Laura Martone said...

I had three thoughts while reading this post:

1. Climbing Mt. Everest costs $65,000?!? Holy bejesus! Just one more reason why I'll probably never do that in my lifetime... my asthma is, of course, the number one reason.

2. Have we really reached the point where we can't possibly take a flight without getting online? I ask this, of course, knowing full well that I'd pay six bucks to get online in a plane, especially if it's as speedy as you say, Rick, and if I'm on a long-ass flight to Australia. I mean, what else am I gonna do? Read? Sleep? Oh, wait, that's what I've always done in the past...

3. Oh, yeah, and which manuscript are you working on? The paranormal one or the irreverent one?

Rick Daley said...

Laura-

The cost to climb Mt. Everest varies some depending on what country you set out from. Nepal is more expensive than China. There are companies that will guide you, using a team of Sherpas to carry supplies up so the climbers don't have to bear a heavy load. Some of the cost goes to the guides and Sherpas, some gets paid to the government of the country you embark from.

I used the wifi because it was free. I think I would need to be in the air for at least 3 hours before I would want to pay for it.

I was working on the paranormal MS on the plane, although I did some work in the irreverent one in my hotel after doing work-work on Wednesday.

Unknown said...

Wow! I've never used the in flight stuff before...very cool!!!

Laura Martone said...

Thanks, Rick, for the clarification. I can't wait to read both books!

Rick Daley said...

Laura,
I can't wait to finish them!

Beth,
This was the first time I tried the in-flight services. I was impressed, it was easy to connect and the speed was great.

Stephanie Damore said...

Unfortunately, I'd probably pay ten bucks to connect even if it was only for a 30 minute flight. What can I say? I'm addicted. Okay, maybe I'm not that bad. I did spend the last 4 days up north without the Internet and I didn't even miss it.

Okay, side note. Because you're so awesome Rick, I've decided to honor you with the "You Don't Say? Super Comments Award"!!! You're excited, aren't you... wait, don't answer. Just, stop on by my blog to claim your award. Later!

Anonymous said...

The idea of reading that book scares me in a totally irrational manner. Glad you enjoyed it.

Caroline Starr Rose said...

I LOVED Into Thin Air. I didn't read it, I absored it. Krakauer could write about tree bark, and I'd be intrigued.

Have you read Into the Wilderness? Really good.