AES <siegman@stanford.edu> responded to Marcus Didius Falco who
quoted a Wireless Week article:
> In article <telecom24.157.6@telecom-digest.org>, Marcus Didius Falco
> <falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=3Ddocument&doc_id=3D1340004344
>> www.wirelessweek.com
>> Study: Consumers Oppose Cell Phones in Flight
>> By Susan Rush
>> April 8, 2005
>> news@2 direct
>> Worried about "air rage" and constant phone calls, 67 percent of air
>> travelers would prefer current airborne cell phone restrictions remain
>> in place, according to a new air passenger poll.
>> For more information go to:
>> http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
> I don't know whether I'd have the guts (or the rudeness) to carry
> through on this, but if I found myself on a long flight forced to
> listen to endless cell phone conversations from all around me, I'd be
> greatly tempted to pull out a "boom-box" tape player and switch it on
> with some possibly unpleasant music or audio at similar volume in
> retaliation.
Another solution is to get a pair of noise-reducing headphones. There
are several types, including one, designed for drummers in rock bands,
that gives 29 decibels of passive noise reduction. Others use "active"
noise reduction, which is tuned to reduce jet noise, but not
necessarily conversation.
These have inputs so you can listen to the movie, your iPod or tape
player, or whatever (your white noise machine?).
> Flying, which used to be a moderately pleasant occasion to relax,
> read, work, or just sleep, has become a more than sufficiently
> unpleasant experience in recent years. If cell phone users are going
> to pollute the audio environment in the cabin sufficiently to make it
> even more unpleasant for others, surely so can we music lovers ...
Frankly, flying has never been pleasant. But, if you really are a
music lover, check out the headphones. There is a long series of
articles and tests at:
http://www.thetravelinsider.info/2005/email0211.htm
http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roadwarriorcontent/solitudeheadset.htm
I've seen some of the noise-cancelling headphones at Walmart and Target.
Also some are in the Brookstone catalog.
<http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-3/qid=1098661088/ref=sr_2_3/601-1660826-9295330?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0002Y0VEY>
http://www.virginpulse.com/popup/press-2004071901.htm
The ones for session drummers, which are big and bulky, but may be
what you want are at:
http://www.protravelgear.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=134
There is also a Peltor "Racetunes" sold by American Optical that has
about 22 dB in noise blocking. (The similar and slightly cheaper
"Worktunes" model [which is much more widely available, including many
large hardware stores] has an AM-FM radio but no provision for an
input from other devices.)
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I _used to_ find flying sort of
enjoyable. Back in the 1960's I flew on various occassions to New York
City for weekends (leave ORD on Friday night, return on Sunday
afternoon or evening. To me, it was a lot of fun to be at 20-30
thousand feet, staring out the window at night in black nothingness,
with a scotch and soda, and listening on the in-flight sound system to
Beethoven or Bach or whatever classical stuff American Airlines was
playing. The steaks and dinner salads they served were always good,
and they always had plenty of wine. One flight I took from ORD to San
Francisco in 1968 I think, I traveled in a 'double decker' (the best
word I can think of for it) United Airlines flight with a bar on the
upper level, but you could also eat dinner sitting up there at the bar
instead of in your seat on the lower level if you wished. On the trip
back from San Francisco late Sunday night, I remember it was very cold
and damp, and the cab _just barely_ got me to the airport in time for
the flight home as it was starting to rain sort of hard. That night,
the stewardess pushed a little cart full of very fancy sandwhiches and
drinks back and forth in the aisle all the way home, and I gorged
myself, since I had not had time to eat dinner first. And the airlines
-- at least United and American -- always gave you all the food and
drinks you wanted with their compliments, and free headphones to
listen to music which you were expected to return to the stewardess
when you departed.
I don't think it is nearly as nice these days, with people being
herded like cattle through checkpoints; having your stuff dumped out
all over a conveyor belt to be searched, etc. And I think the
stewardesses are sort of rude now, aren't they? PAT]
Marcus Didius Falco (falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk)