A flight I'd love to board

Ahhhhh! There are some things in this world that are simply dripping in cool factor. No, this is marinated in cool, so much that the awesomeness infuses every morsel.

I'm talking about the 747 that's been turned into a hotel!

My buddies over at SpotCoolStuff.com dug this one up, and what a stellar find it is.

As I mentioned in a response to their blog entry, I live in Arizona. We have two massive airplane graveyards (The AMARC in Tucson and Pinal Air Park) and a third smaller one in Goodyear. Each has its share of civilian heavies, C141s and even B-52s. Can you imagine the possibilities if we stopped cutting them up and started doing something really cool with them? In many cases, they're only getting cut up enough to be rendered unflyable. Here's a way better way to do that!

I also know at least one person turned a 727 into a home - I'm pretty sure that's in Colorado.

Caffeine Culture Clash

I like a good coffee, and I like finding new spots to have one. This weekend, I was pretty excited about finding a place called Cartel Coffee Lab down in Tempe (Ash and University). They seemed like the real deal, so Sarah and I went down there for a look.

First impressions were good ... the space is very cool. The problem began when I ordered my beverage: two shots of espresso over ice (I've named this the Brown Bomber, and it is my flagship drink once I had a touch of half and half). The barista reacted as if I'd asked for a Frappuccino.

"Oh, we can't do that," she told me.

I absolutely knew what was coming next, but I decided to play her game (and I hate doing this since I really like baristas a lot, but she left me no choice) ... an icy smile to match hers, an upraised eyebrow, and a pointed question: "Are you telling me you're not capable of pouring a few shots of espresso over some ice?"

"Cooling the espresso that quickly compromises its integrity," she said, as I knew she would.

The first thought to cross my mind is that I've spilled more shots than the barista has pulled, that I've had many a more experienced barista accomplish this with no snotty fuss, and that cooling it just might change the taste - but that doesn't mean that change is bad.

Sarah and I looked at each other and smirked. Then waited a few seconds.

"I could just make you a really dry iced Americano," the barista offered. I agreed, because I didn't feel like heading down to Bunna, or going to Conspire while John (the barista king) was on vacation.

So how was the dry americano? Pretty darn average. Even with a dollop of cream to thicken it up, it still had a funny, almond-like tang that I didn't really prefer. I never get that from the Brown Bomber, though!

The beer world also has people like this: They refuse to use adjuncts in their beer, and they're absolutely terrified of creative thinking and throwing a twist into brewing. That's what makes brewers like Dogfish Head awesome - the sense of adventure, the notion that aging something in an oak cask and throwing in some saffron can do something good for a brew. And it's no different with coffee. Stray off the reservation. Go exploring. There's probably something cool and new out there if you have the smarts to look for it.

Friends don't let friends get hoaxed

It amazes me that people who are perfectly intelligent in many ways continue to get duped by Internet hoaxes. Hasn't this been going on long enough?

I'm thinking about this because there's yet another hoary old tale in my inbox, this one about a car-jacking method. It claims car jackers are posting flyers on the back window of cars in parking lots. The hope here is that the unwary driver will get out and leave the car running to remove the flier. At that point, the car jacker will leap out from nowhere, hop in the car and drive off. No fuss, no muss, right? Sure, except that the item has a four-year history with Snopes.com, which exposed it as a hoax.

Early on, even some police officers forwarded this on, thinking it might be legit. Having their names and those of their law enforcement agencies attached to the thread certainly did their reputations no favors when the truth came out.

"I wish I'd never sent it," said one police lieutenant who forwarded the message.

Unfortunately, I think this points to a lack of analytical thinking. It's much easier to accept something at face value than it is to reflect and think before deciding something is legitimate. I can also say that I've never gotten a hoax e-mail forward from anyone under the age of 30 (I'm 34 as I'm writing this, by the way). I think younger people have a very strong understanding that the Internet is an incubator for tall tales, exaggerations, hoaxes and rumors. I think their elders, though, believe something if it comes from someone they trust. A good friend wouldn't send them a bogus e-mail, right? And what if it's true, and someone they know is victimized when they could've helped prevent it?

But here's the thing: There are genuine risks to our security out there. Giving even just a bit of credence toward rumors and hoaxes can take your eye off those very real risks. Lock your doors. Be aware of what's around you at all times. Don't leave merchandise of any sort (especially laptop computers) visible in your car. Those are real building blocks to staying safe.

As for the next time an e-mail comes into your box telling you to forward it to everyone on your distribution list, think before you hit "FORWARD." Maybe even do a Google search for the scenario. Visit Snopes.com or another urban legend Web site to verify the claim. If the forward insists that police say it's true, see if it identifies the agency or just gives the generic "police say this true" claim.

My general policy when I get a hoax forward is to reply to the sender and provide links to real information. I usually see a marked reduction from that sender.

I just wrote a story for a local business weekly about how more people are starting to move into our downtown area. For Phoenix, that's an accomplishment - the downtown area is really more business than residential. A person in the comment section put it perfectly:

"People have always lived downtown. It's just that now they're living inside a condo instead of a bus shelter."

I'm getting a good laugh out of that.

On a serious note, I am thrilled to see downtown Phoenix evolving. The growing arts district near Roosevelt is just great, and there's a lot quietly happening there. For instance, I always noticed this one building with a simple sign that says "Chadwick & Rueling." I always assumed it was a small law practice. As it turns out, it's actually a team of jewelers. They create more hip, modern and creative pieces.

I found this out while shopping for my wife's birthday. I wanted to get her something that she wouldn't see someone else wearing. I did a little snooping and discovered the law practice was actually a jeweler. I stopped in and met Chadwick; I told him what I was after and some of my wife's preferences, and he dug around for a few samples to get our ideas going. I spotted one cool stone and a setting that was nearly there. He took that info and came up with this:


It's great that we're now able to support businesses not because they're local, but because they're really good at what they do.