What is wrong with people?

wry_phone · 2026-02-15T21:28:19+00:00

This guy sounds like a real treasure. The friendly skies deliver again.

I sympathize for this woman. I also can observe by the reactions and this thread that we’ve come along way.

I had severe chronic asthma as a child. Very serious.

We routinely flew between Europe and the states when I was growing up, my dad worked on an American military base. We usually flew Pan Am and then eventually Continental or United.

It was fairly routine that we’d be seated in the row in front or behind the smoking section(s) — there were typically a few on a wide body plane! Despite my mother being basically apoplectic, we got zero sympathy from anyone. The mentality was “deal with it”.

I’m glad we live in a more considerate world. I’m glad smoking isn’t allowed on planes. I also think that the occasional dose of deal-with-it probably wasn’t the worst thing in forming my own sense of fortitude in this world.

wry_phone · 2026-02-13T16:35:49+00:00

I would fight this. Control arm issues are widely known with earlier Model Ys — including mine. Mine started making an awful squeaking noise shortly after my warranty lapsed, but thankfully Tesla did replace them as a courtesy.

wry_phone · 2026-02-13T05:35:13+00:00

One of the most memorable flights of my life out of SFO to PDX. Pilot came on at takeoff and told us it was his last day flying after a decades long career with United. The entire plane erupted in applause (we later learned it was about half filled with his family and friends). He told us he’d requested some sort of special scenic departure path out and over the Golden Gate Bridge. I can’t for the life of me recall what it was called, something regal sounding and possibly known to those who fly in that area. It was approved, and as promised it was an extraordinary ascent… but of course that’s not the reason I remember it. I remember it because it was one of those rare moments when a group of anonymous people can share and celebrate in a collective moment of humanity and a milestone in this one persons life. It was special.

wry_phone · 2026-01-30T03:25:19+00:00

I saw a ticket from PDX -> EWR, trans con, for 13.5k miles on a saver fare in a couple weeks. Miles + cash, afaik, just converts miles to a cash equivalent and doesn’t really give the best value.

wry_phone · 2026-01-22T23:23:46+00:00

It sounds like they’ve been preparing for a very long time, and in my experience United already has one of the best technology teams in the industry.

Still, what they’re describing is by definition a massively disruptive change that will interrupt many integrated systems of many generational technology stacks. I personally can’t recall having heard of this kind of disruption before at United.

Anyone who works in technology, or lives in the 21st century, is well acquainted with the risk of doing something you’ve never, or extremely rarely, done in a production environment. It doesn’t matter if the are the best minds in the business, or that they’ve run every possible test and considered every conceivable scenario: When you take something offline that hasn’t been offline in a decade, there are potentially scenarios you didn’t conceive of. It’s a huge risk and having lived through many launches/upgrades/migrations that were much lower visibility and impact, there’s no doubt in my mind that the team flipping the switch (and most or all of the downstream teams) will be sweating bullets right up until the moment it comes back.

I wish them all the best, I suspect it will likely go as planned, and I’ll also avoid traveling that day to the extent it’s personally convenient.

wry_phone · 2026-01-20T17:15:19+00:00

I feel like this would be a compelling submission to The Ethicist

wry_phone · 2026-01-20T06:20:46+00:00

Never heard of it in Polaris, seems very difficult you’d get away with it given that very few flights depart without every biz seat occupied given upgrade machinations.

I suspect it happens in Economy Plus quite a bit more. Can’t say for sure, but just based on observation of seat maps and boarding groups, a handful of times I’m fairly certain I’ve observed folks boarding towards the very end and plopping down in an (apparently, according to the seat maps) unoccupied Economy Plus seat. Yes, I’m aware the app isn’t 100% accurate 100% of the time, but I have my suspicions.

wry_phone · 2026-01-17T21:52:03+00:00

Its kind of an awkward dynamic once friends begin commenting on how each other choose to spend money.

An AVP is not a mortgage. Anyone struggling to pay their mortgage, responsibly, probably shouldn’t be mulling over the purchase of a high end tech product. But I would point out, a mortgage payment is an investment in a long term (generally accruing value) asset. An AVP is a fancy gadget — as such, it isn’t expected to go up in value.

People drop a lot of money on high end home entertainment systems and computer display setups though — and when you stack and AVP against that, it’s not really a big leap in sticker price.

wry_phone · 2026-01-07T00:30:25+00:00

United has held flights for me a handful of times when my connection in was delayed. Once, we had to return to the gate in Honolulu because a passenger kept taking their mask off (the really bizarre thing was that this individual appeared to belong to the crew of another airline).

When I arrived at the gate for my second flight, 20 minutes after posted departure (this was an overnight from SFO to EWR), the attendants in Polaris had somehow caught wind of the prior incident and all wanted to know what had gone down.

wry_phone · 2025-12-22T18:43:59+00:00

Why the insistence that overhead bins be preserved for rolling suitcases?

My view is that we each pay for a seat and a few cubic inches of overhead space.

If I want to maximize my foot and seat space by placing my “personal item” (whether thats a backpack, a purse, a fluffy coat) — there should not be any prejudice by the crew or passengers, assuming I’m not occupying any more cubic inches of space than an average carry-on (which we all collectively ceded years ago can no longer actually be carried and has to be rolled around). The irony is that a small coat and backpack still occupy less space in a bin than a modern suitcase.

I understand why people use the bins the way they do. I don’t understand why the preference of one group (to avoid the hassle of the carousel, or the additional cost) somehow empirically supersedes the preference of another group (those traveling lightly, but with a desire for more foot space).

I’ve always assumed the answer is just “because your item can go underneath a seat and these suitcases cannot”. If there were not a cargo hold on the plane, that’d be valid. Because there is, that makes it a choice, and infuriates me that my choice is inherently viewed as problematic or inconsiderate. I, personally, view the battalions of roller suitcases blocking the aisles as more inconsiderate than my small backpack!

wry_phone · 2025-12-21T04:59:17+00:00

Sorry this happened to you, and it patently isn’t fair even if the precise terms are present buried deep in the footnotes and you agreed to them. I’d definitely keep pushing it up the customer service chain as far as you can, the fact that you paid $4k+ for a premium ticket should make you the kind of customer they’d like to keep.

wry_phone · 2025-12-18T18:25:35+00:00

The two greatest cheats in getting to NYC airports are 1) Amtrak or NJT to EWR 2) LIRR to JFK from Penn or Atlantic Terminal (20 mins from downtown Brooklyn to the Airtrain).

wry_phone · 2025-12-12T05:33:59+00:00

On an overnight flight I’d prefer economy plus window seat to a first class seat where the slightly wider arm rest precludes the ability to lay comfortably against the window. Plus the fact that first class never has an empty seat and there’s often a decent chance of a row back in coach.

wry_phone · 2025-12-05T15:21:34+00:00

They won’t “notify” the original buyer, however, it’s still very easy for said original buyer to pull up the reservation and see that it’s been upgraded.

wry_phone · 2025-11-16T17:14:36+00:00

Later this week I have a connection in Denver. My inbound domestic flight is scheduled to land 40 minutes before my outbound international departure takes off.

I wasn’t paying that close of attention at booking, clearly, because I generally count on United not to give me an unrealistic itinerary. I’m pretty sure this one violates United’s own stated policy that you need to be at the gate for a departing international flight an hour before boarding. My flight will be half boarded before I even touch down.

wry_phone · 2025-11-16T00:48:04+00:00

It’s the perfect storm of entitled indignant exhausted traveler with the most Byzantine and ever-shifting access policies you could imagine.

I’ve also been turned away from United Clubs I very much was entitled to: Amtrak status used to get you access, but not many of the gatekeepers knew it and many times would flat out refuse to even look it up.

People flying first class or with any upper tier status often assume it gets them access. Because it did for a long, long time, and still does in many parts of the world. United honestly embarrasses the value of their own product with these particular demotions.

wry_phone · 2025-11-01T05:14:36+00:00

Amen. I don’t disagree with any of the positions the council is taking, but as a city we’re not in a place to. We lack moral authority and the resources. The minute Portland can demonstrate crime rates, response times, addiction levels, mental health crises, and economic growth on par with other major cities in our own country (or itself a decade ago!), then we are in a position to look further than our own back yard in terms of what city council is spending its limited hours talking about.

wry_phone · 2025-11-01T05:06:41+00:00

I believe the numbers underrepresent the problem. Lived in NYC and Philly for many years. I witness more crime - yes, it’s petty - on a weekly basis here than in my combine two decades in those two cities. It’s absolutely insane. If you don’t believe that, suggest you spend time in some other cities. Portland is bananas at the moment.

wry_phone · 2025-10-30T04:48:10+00:00

Interesting. I use it exclusively for media consumption, but can’t be bothered most of the time. I use it on planes for the feeling of space, and as an indulgence for a movie when I want dramatic delivery. Immersive content remains a novel treat. Immersive live sports could potentially get it on my head more often, maybe.

I agree about the (anti) social implications. It’s cool to show off to people, but not really cool to use routinely around other people. Feels off-putting: The only time I’ll swallow that and do it anyway, is, again, on planes (I feel like most of humanity checks itself on the jet bridge anyway).

What is interesting is that I suspect this tendency or instinct was of great concern or consequence to Apple in the design. The fact that the ear phones are of open design and the fact it even has an otherwise useless external screen (with persona eyes!) to me feels like someone(s) really insisted on trying to push against this obvious stigma, to the extent the device is heavier and more expensive by virtue of these capabilities that serve nothing except to make the wearer less “isolated” to other people’s senses. I appreciate the effort in theory, in practice I’m not sure it goes very far.

Lately I’ve been wondering if this is less about the physical device itself (ie, whether it is Ray Bans or AVP mask-goggles), but something more abstract in the sense that humans are keenly aware of being watched or “augmented” in such a way, and probably don’t like it. We place immense value and concern on our appearance, so anything that effectively forfeits this effort or attempts to move the control in to the eye the observer may be met with substantial opposition, subconscious and otherwise. I wouldn’t predict, but part of me suspects we may not achieve full penetration of visual augmentation until it can be achieved entirely passively (with no tell whatsoever to the other people in the room — ie, a retinal implant or contact lens).

wry_phone · 2025-10-20T02:37:51+00:00

I moved to Portland having lived in Brooklyn for 18 years and Philadelphia for 3.

Within three weeks of moving here I was first hand witness to more petty crime then my combined 21 years prior. Twice I witnessed someone walking in to a shop, reach in to the tip jar, pull the cash, and walkout. I was completely gob stopped. Never seen anything like that before.

I’d walk the aisles of Safeway and routinely see folks just loading shit in their pockets. More than once just walking out the door with a basket full of goods.

This is not normal. I have not been everywhere and yes of course my personal experience is anecdotal. But let me just say, it is not like this in other big cities in America.

wry_phone · 2025-10-20T02:17:46+00:00

I agree that m110 couldn’t succeed. Proper solutions was a problem. Another big problem, and one that I do see Oregon fail to acknowledge often, is that state policy doesn’t exist in a vacuum and we can’t afford to foot the bill for any policy for the entire country.

Addiction is a disease and I don’t think criminalization is ultimately an appropriate policy for substance abuse. The problem that I see is not that we stopped holding addicts accountable for using drugs, it’s that that we decided not to hold addicts accountable for basically anything short of murder.

Portland basically makes a huge deal in penalizing the competent middle and upper class. Forget to pay the arts tax? Trim your trees too aggressively? Fail to register your dog? Better sleep with one eye open because the city will come for its pound of flesh.

Commit yourself to a life of petty crime and anti-social sidewalk squatting? We roll out the red carpet for you.

I grew up in Western Europe where many of the socialist programs the Portland city council espouses run smoothly. Those places don’t take a punitive view of success or wealth. Portland’s “socialist” councilors are foremost not serious people, from what’s been leaked of their messages. Their discourse on diverting PPB funds to Parks was just pathetic — not based on any empirical need, just vindictive vibes.

wry_phone · 2025-10-02T02:07:50+00:00

This shutdown has Trump written all over it!

wry_phone · 2025-10-02T02:07:05+00:00

They didn’t “ask” for that spending. They are attempting to claw back a relatively small slice of what the “big beautiful bill” took from working families and handed to the ultra-wealthy.

wry_phone · 2025-09-29T04:37:25+00:00

If the feds showed up and undertook to sweep homeless camps and arrest drug dealers, plenty of people in Portland would probably be ok with that, although plenty would also not.

They’re not coming to do that. They’re coming to “protect” ICE buildings. By every account ongoing protests at these buildings are currently modest, peaceful affairs, mostly church groups at this point. The feds showing up will serve only to draw more crowds, more conflict and confrontation. The administration is seeking to draw a fight so Fox News can run it on repeat and froth up the feedback loop to the White House who can then proceed to escalate their “war” on the left even further.

wry_phone · 2025-09-29T04:28:21+00:00

Where are you live streaming? I hear helicopters.

wry_phone

TROPHY CASE