More on Airbus Crashes: Schadenfreude

In a previous blog entry (Airbus Crashes -- Boeing Soars) I made fun of Airbus. That's always good sport.

I now have a follow up to the above post. It's gotten worse for Airbus. Much, much, much worse. I direct my reader(s) to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5103642.stm to read the latest. BAE is bailing on Airbus, the French Government wants to rework the accord that prevents government interference because the feel the need to interfere, the stock has dropped another 26% -- though soon it won't much matter as 26% of zero is still zero. (Here's more on Airbus thanks to D. Higgins: Misery at Airbus)

I gloat at the misery of Airbus. Schadenfreude at its finest. I've never had the need to use that word in a sentence until now.

Yeah, go ahead, order an A380. You want to know what's going to happen now? They're going to want that plane out on-time without any more delays. So they're going to rush it. The government will be involved. They will cut corners to deliver on time. There will be flaws. Deadly, fatal flaws. Think it won't happen? Airbus had similar situations with the A320.

From Wikipedia: early crashes, including the Air France A320 crash during an airshow in Habsheim, France, on 26 June 1988, dented the image of the A320 and its new computer controlled fly-by-wire technologies. The cause of the crash remains in dispute, as the investigation was hindered by the tampering of essential evidence. Officially, the crash was attributed to pilot error. However, some suggest that the new computer systems and previously known deficiencies of the aircraft were the actual cause of the accident.

I'm always reassured to fly on a plane where the manufacturer tampers with evidence. I bet you are too. I go out of my way to avoid Airbus planes. It's not just the shady company making the planes, but it's the whole idea of fly-by-wire where there's no actual wire. If the computer on an Airbus fails there is no backup and the plane will crash. Always. Boeing doesn't have this stupidity in design. In an emergency, the pilot can actually fly the plane. I like when the pilot can override the computer.

Airbus Crashes -- Boeing Soars

http://tinyurl.com/medrl <-- Okay, there's the link. Read it first. As I said to everyone who would listen, the A-380 may be an engineering masterpiece, but it's not what people want. And, Airbus, as always, made promises it just couldn't deliver on in order to try and show up Boeing. Boeing on the other hand, came out with a plane to fill a need -- instead of trying to create a need -- and has come up a winner. And now, this. Airbus is being pummelled, beat, kicked, and otherwise attacked. Airlines want their money back, and who can blame them. Airbus plans to deliver a gas-guzzling behemoth and to deliver it late. This after many airports have spent hundred of millions of dollars retrofitting to accept this plane. I believe there is a market for this plane, but Airbus has vastly overestimated it. And the real kicker is, Airbus is famous for delivering planes that do not perform to the promised specifications when originally designed. More will follow, I am sure.

Do it yourself medical procedures

This is a medical product and guys will squirm horribly. However there is nothing here that isn't work safe so share the love. It's just fucking evil if you want my opinion. I thought it was a joke at first when Razzie sent me this, but that's a real product. Some things you should not do yourself at home. There's even a picture of what it does, but trust me, you do not want to look for that picture.


http://www.smartklamp.com/parents/thesmartklamp.html

Market Boy 2 June 2006 (Play Review)

Market Boy, a play by David Elridge was at the National Theatre in London. It was advertised as a comedy about losing your innocence whilst selling shoes in the market set to a 1980s soundtrack. The soundtrack was the best part. Although I liked it, it started out okay and never got any better, and slowly dragging near the end.

Along the lines of Billy Elliot, and set in the same time period, Maggie Thatcher is brutalized (hysterically) throughout the show. As much as an Anglophile as I claim to be, I think I may have missed some of the nuances of the play. From a humour standpoint, it just never took off, and I do get British humour so that wasn't me.

Not much else to say, really, but I thought I'd post this here because if you want a true British theatre experience without suffering through Shakespeare this may be your destination.

Avenue "Q" The Review (1-June-06) London Premiere

I finally got the chance to see Avenue Q whilst attending the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, but that version is a 90 minute edited version (see link at bottom of review). While in London this past week I had noticed the London premiere of Avenue Q was on 6-1-06 and I managed to get tickets albeit with an obstructed view.

It was the same play as in Vegas, only longer. I have to say the missing bits weren't that important and the pace of the Vegas production was better. But the London show itself was considerably better. The only concession to the UK was changing the "Bar" sign to a "Pub" sign -- everything else was still New York, and as I said before it is definitely a New York play.

I highly recommend this play. If you've got a sense of humour, you'll love this play. You can learn more about "Avenue Q" at their main website at: http://www.avenueq.com/



See Also: Avenue "Q" The Review (5-9-06 Wynn Las Vegas)