Page 46 - March 2015 Volume 19 Number 3

PERSPECTIVES
By Kevin R. Dingman Virtual Distractions
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is hesitant to let one through security. After three hours with a computer guy during the set-up procedure of the new traveling companion, we agreed on several TSA, EPA and APA (American Psychiatric Association) approved backup systems. The strategy would be this: allow some warm-up time before boot-up, use a flash drive and an external hard drive, e-mail important documents to myself, and something new: rental space in “The Cloud” – a virtual safety deposit box for data, on an internet s s e e r r v v e e r r. . N N o o k k e e r r o o s s e e n n e e , , n n o o w w i i z z a a r r d d a a n n d d n n o o s s h h o o t t g g u u n n . .
Head In The Clouds
It’s coincidental that the term Cloud is used to describe
the internet server “place” in which our data is stored. The electronic revolution has created a generational paradigm shift in where our attention is directed. To say that the expression “Head In The Clouds” is accurate would be, well, not only accurate...but ironic. I’m sure you’ve seen people, many of them in fact, with their heads hung low, staring at an electronic device as they walk or drive. My carrier and others are hiring new crewmembers by the bushel, mostly young, and mostly flight attendants. You didn’t know they came by the bushel? I say young because of generational differences. A difference in work ethic, colloquial language, manners and attention span, as well as their incessant use of electronics. But it’s not just the younger generation that’s distracted by electronics. I guess because we are a bit slower in learning and using new tech, electronics distract us older folks just as much, or more, than the tech-savvy youth.
Electronic distractions come from the usual suspects: social media, music, e-readers, e-mail, and texting. Often their use is at an inappropriate time – like when I’m trying to conduct a pre-departure crew briefing (a mandatory event in the part-121 world). And, occasionally, it’s during the gate-arrival phase, when we’re supposed to be disarming the inflatable slide function of the passenger exits. We’ve even “blown a slide” or two because they weren’t disarmed in time. I’m certain it’s happening at all the airlines and it’s not just the newbies making mistakes; it’s all crew members that are allowing themselves to be rushed or distracted, often by electronics.
Insidious and Overwhelming Unfortunately, we pilots have the ability to stick our
head in this new societal, and metaphoric, cloud just as MARCH 2015
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reoccurring grievance. The electronic workhorse travels in my truck, the cockpit of the MD-80 and aboard the Duke, in a well-padded aluminum briefcase.
It receives no exceptional handling though: TSA scans and searches, hotel van loading and unloading, jarring, dropping and wide variations in temperature and humidity are its lot in life...well, they were its lot in life; its virtual existence has faded to an eternal black screen. A forensic investigation exposed the smoking gun: a combination of cold temperature start-ups (due to the minuscule clearance inside the hard drive) and a malicious virus had both conspired against the unsupported Windows XP operating system, destroying both the mind and body of the hard-working hard drive.
Measured and Mature
The operating system, programs, pictures, music and
documents were all lost. SAFE MODE was apparently not so safe after all. The apocalyptic event called for a measured and mature response. An unbridled OMG, and the whimpering appeal “There’s No Place Like Home”, which had worked in the past, both failed to help. Next, a Geek-Wizard from the Emerald City computer fix-it store was desperately sought for consultation. But neither the whimpering appeal nor the Wizard were able to return me, or the hard drive, to Kansas. The alternative response was to order a new laptop – but not from Kansas.
Come hither and behold for all to see! The Dell Inspiron 5000 running Windows 8, the newest Internet Explorer and the latest torturous iteration of MS Word, version one-gazillion. Never approach a steer from the front, a horse from the rear or, from any direction, a person over fifty with a new PC; especially one who neglected to back up their old data. Certainly you’ve had a comparable level of been-there-done-that. Not since getting my first smartphone have I struggled so desperately to not throw it into the air and blast it with a couple rounds from my 12 gauge. I obviously needed assistance...and counseling.
Using a kerosene heater to pre-heat the hard drive would produce too much carbon monoxide, and the TSA
• • • •TWIN & TURBINE
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safe mode was the