Yesterday, a cacophony of irritating noises permeated my brain on board an otherwise pleasant United flight from Orlando to Newark.
Some airlines think they have improved service by providing free entertainment streaming on personal mobile devices. And of course, in-flight wifi is becoming ever more commonplace. Actually, what the airlines have done is saved a bundle of money on maintaining those personal seat back screens. They've also created a major new source of in-flight irritation.
The problem is not the airlines per se, but the inconsiderate and ill-mannered behavior of un-civil society members on board.
Let me make things clear. If your child is playing a game on their mobile device, turn off the sound. I don't want to hear the bloops and beeps.
If you are watching a video, turn off the sound or use headphones. I am not interested in your video, no matter what it is.
If you are texting inflight I don't want to hear a chime, buzz, or bell each time you receive a message. Turn them off.
If you are listening to music, use headphones and keep the volume at a level so that I don't have to listen to your music. I don't want to hear it no matter how good you think it is.
Cabin crews — please add a blurb to your in-flight announcements regarding courteous use of personal entertainment devices. Require use of headphones with any sound generating device. If you hear or see someone violating this request (which ought to be a rule) instruct the violator about expected behavior. Don't ignore it to the point where I need to call you over to deal with it.
What does a ship's captain know about information security? A lot, apparently, if that Captain is Richard Phillips of Maersk Alabama fame. If you recall, this ship was the target of a failed hijacking attempt by four Somali pirates in April 2009. The ultimate failure of the hijackers, despite their early success in penetrating the perimeter of the ship, was in large part due to the leadership and strategic skills of Captain Phillips.
I recently had the opportunity to hear Captain Phillips speak at an event where the target audience was information security professionals. The lessons of the Captain's experience were very relatable to that audience.
When Captain Phillips joined the crew of the Maersk, he took a couple of days to settle in and observe. He was concerned that security seemed a bit loose on board and decided to drill the crew. He did this repeatedly, each time learning from the failures of the previous drills. He and the crew, working together, improved things to a point where each member understood his role and responsibilities in case of an attack.
Sound familiar? Through iterative testing and analysis he helped his crew understand the policies and the actions that would increase their chances of repelling or surviving an attack by intruders. He made sure that any attack had to go through multiple layers of defenses. When the attack came, not everything worked as planned and practiced, but enough worked to ultimately assure the lives and safety of the crew.
From Captain Phillips' experience, it reminds us of our need to have policies that make sense and procedures that can be followed, especially under the worst of circumstances. He reminds us to educate our teams and organizations on their roles in executing those procedures. We need to test, test and test again. Learn from failures and successes and you and your crew will survive to tell the tale.
Hopefully you won't need the help of US Navy SEAL marksmen to repel your next attack.
Anyone who listened regularly to the shortwaves back in the 1970s knew about Gilfer Associates of Park Ridge, New Jersey. They were a source of books, gadgets, and radios supporting the SWL habit. The company was run by Oliver P. (Perry) Ferrell and his wife, Jeanne. Perry was at one time the Editor of Popular Electronics Magazine.
I came across this recent blog post by Susan Ito, a former employee. It paints a nice picture of what is was like to work for the Ferrells as an after school employee.