I love the idea of the SAX-40, a quieter, much more fuel-efficient passenger plane discussed in this Wired article. Too bad it won’t become a reality any time soon:

“It’s not likely to happen in my lifetime,” says Blomberg of the SAX-40. “By the time this plane becomes a reality, most of us will be deaf or dead.”

Oh well, at least we will have the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2008. It’s no SAX-40, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Tim Bourquin, my favorite tradeshow startup blogger, has been busy lately with some great posts. Like this one on why you should be very, very careful with sponsored sessions. And this great rant about the cost of high-speed Internet at hotels and convention centers:

I’ve continually complained about the cost of high-speed Internet at convention centers and hotels since the first day I saw the convention center order form back in 1998. The trouble is, back then I could somewhat see the justification because centers and hotels were spending a lot of money to build the infrastructure. It was expensive to offer so it was expensive to buy.

But the convention centers and hotels are still charging for the service like it was 1998. $1,200 for two or three days is absurd - beyond a rip-off - and it was costing us booth sales. How is it that I can get more reliable and faster upload/download speeds at home for about $40 a month and yet for two days it costs $1,200?

Excellent question. I believe the answer is that they do it because they can. Same rationale as for the exhorbitant phone rates in rooms. Now if someone can just come up with a solution for the connectivity that would parallel how cellphones have made the hotel phone rates irrelevant…

Here’s a cute article from ArkansasBusiness.com about the life and times of a hotel front desk manager. I loved this bit:

What’s the oddest request you’ve handled from a planner or organization regarding meetings?

Each conference has its own topic of focus. No, our UFO Conference has not requested – but I am sure would have welcomed – a “flying saucer” landing in the parking lot. We did have to draw the line when we were asked if a leashed tiger could be brought into the convention center. They did agree to leave him in his cage outside.

It always amazes me when I hear of some things planners and hoteliers have to do to keep their attendees happy!