The Professor’s Minute Minute – June 12, 2025

 Obscure truths from the edge of Aviation, Technology, Humanity, and Startups—plus one spectacular historical faceplant.

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AVIATION

Pan Am Rises Again? Enter Ed Wegel, the Airline Necromancer

Pan Am is being resurrected—again. This time, the name is tied to AVI8 Air Capital, with serial airline reviver Ed Wegel at the controls. He’s the guy behind GlobalX and prior Eastern revival efforts. Is this nostalgia? Arbitrage? A licensing bet?

Pan Am: because some brands never die, they just keep taxiing in circles.

Source – Aviator.aero

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TECHNOLOGY

Stretching the MAX? 400 Fuel Tanks Later

Marshall Aerospace has delivered over 400 Additional Centre Tanks (ACTs) to Boeing for its 737 series. Now can it also, quietly transform the 737 MAX into a long-haul contender. These tanks are now flying routes like India to Western Europe—without a fuss, fanfare, or fuselage change in the 737 NGs

Sometimes, evolution hides in the belly of the aircraft.

Source – Marshall Group

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HUMANITY

Therapy Dogs Are the Real Class Monitors

Across Europe and North America, schools are bringing in trained therapy dogs to ease student anxiety, improve classroom behavior, and even boost attendance. Turns out, a Labrador is better at calming teens than TikTok.

This is the only school program where drooling is encouraged.

Source – Wikipedia: School dog

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STARTUP IDEA

Driverless Cars… in Lima?

While San Francisco’s AVs panic at intersections, and LA risk being a little toasted, Lima, Peru is quietly launching autonomous shuttle pilots. Developed by MIT-affiliated engineers, the program is proving AVs might succeed faster in chaotic cities than in sanitized ones.

If you can make autonomy work in Lima, you can make it work anywhere.

Source – WBUR

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NOTABLE FAIL

RIP 3K: Jetstar Asia Quietly Exits the Runway

After years flying out of Changi, Jetstar Asia (IATA: 3K) appears to be vanishing without much ceremony. With operations winding down and no official strategy revealed, it joins the growing list of brands Qantas never quite knew what to do with.

A little less quiet is the exit of Silver Airways. 

Sometimes, the silence between codeshares says it all.

Source – Executive Traveller

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Follow the Professor Sabena Blog for daily doses of global obscurity, travel weirdness, and tech whimsy—published nightly at 23:00, wherever I happen to be.

Coming Friday: Our “Best of the Week” goes visual on LinkedIn and Instagram—featuring whimsical graphics and things that probably shouldn’t fly.

The Professor’s Minute Minute – June 11, 2025

 Six curious stories spanning Aviation, Technology, Humanity, and Startup Ideas—plus history’s cautionary tales.

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CURRENT PICKS

1. Aviation – Ryanair Flight Hit by Turbulence

A Ryanair flight from Berlin to Milan was diverted to Memmingen after severe turbulence injured eight passengers during a thunderstorm. Low-cost doesn’t mean turbulence-free.

Source – Business Insider

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2. Technology – UK Court Warns Lawyers About Fake AI Citations

The High Court of England and Wales cautioned legal professionals after filings included fabricated case law generated by AI tools like ChatGPT. Clever, but not trustworthy.

Source – TST Technology

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3. Humanity – Therapy Dogs in Schools Reduce Student Stress

A growing number of schools are introducing trained therapy dogs into classrooms to support emotional wellbeing. Studies show these programs calm students, reduce cortisol, and encourage empathy.

Source – Wikipedia: School dog 

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4. Startup Idea – NOX: Night Trains With Private Cabins

Berlin-based NOX aims to relaunch European night trains featuring private sleeper cabins at airfare-like prices. Routes between Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague are planned for 2027—comfort meets climate action.

Source – RailTech

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HISTORICAL PICKS → 

Notable Fails

5. Betamax – The Format That Lost the War

Sony’s Betamax boasted superior video quality but faltered due to shorter recording times and closed licensing. VHS won the home video battle; Betamax became nostalgia.

Source – Wikipedia

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6. Ford Edsel – Detroit’s $250 Million Misstep

Ford introduced the Edsel in 1957 amidst massive hype—but flopped by 1959. Its controversial grille became a symbol of corporate overconfidence.

Source – Wikipedia

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Follow the Professor Sabena Blog for compact servings of the curious and the quirky. Daily drops at 23:00 local time, wherever anchor strikes.

Friday preview: Expect “Best of the Week” with whimsical visuals on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Reviving the Professor's Minute Minute. Welcome and I hope you enjoy it again

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The Professor’s Minute Minute – June 10, 2025

Six obscure tales where Aviation, Technology, and Humanity meet the bizarre. Curated daily by Professor Sabena. Published at 23:55 local time.

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CURRENT PICKS

1. Aviation – The Flight That Couldn’t Stand the Smell

An Air New Zealand flight was forced to divert to New Plymouth after an odd smell filled the cabin. Emergency crews met the aircraft, fearing a chemical leak. The culprit? Still unknown, but let’s say it wasn’t the landing that stank.

Source – New Zealand Herald

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2. Technology – Boom’s Supersonic Baby Broke the Sound Barrier

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator has successfully gone Mach 1, reviving dreams of Concorde 2.0. Backed by United and JAL, Boom wants you sipping espresso in Paris three hours after takeoff from JFK.

Source – Aviation Week

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3. Humanity – Capuchin Monkeys Are Kidnapping Baby Howlers

For the first time in the wild, scientists captured footage of young capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica abducting baby howler monkeys. It wasn’t aggression—they seemed… curious? Or maybe just bored.

Source – Science.org

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HISTORICAL PICKS

4. Humanity – The Belgian Cow That Won a Mayoral Election

In 2007, the town of Buggenhout, Belgium wrote in a cow named Esméralda for mayor. She won. No speeches. No scandals. Just pasture and peace.

Source – Flanders Today Archive (via Wayback)

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5. Technology – The 29-Word Patent That Haunted Microsoft

A man patented double-clicking a button to trigger an action. That’s it. Microsoft fought it—and lost. For years, one of the simplest actions in computing was legally someone’s personal invention.

Source – TechDirt

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6. Humanity – The German Town That Celebrates Nothing

Nördlingen, Germany throws an annual “Festival of Nothing.” No bands. No banners. Just quiet reflection—and thousands of people showing up to do, well… nothing.

Source – Atlas Obscura

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Follow the Professor Sabena Blog and get your daily dose of the absurd, obscure, and oddly meaningful. A new post (mostly) drops every night at 23:55—wherever in the world I happen to be.

Coming Friday: The Best of the Week goes visual on LinkedIn and Instagram. Whimsy, illustrated.

 

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Thanks

The Day The Earth Changed

Today I posted a comment on TNooz in response to the story of Expedia's decision to 'punish' American Airlines for their behaviour in the dispute with Orbitz and its 48% owner Travelport.

I am saddened by the escalation of the dispute to preemptive actions by Expedia who was not a party to the actual dispute. Moving from vocal to action means that Expedia crossed the line. One in my view they should not have done.

The dispute has moved beyond the basic issue of direct connect and content control to battle of almost epic proportions.

You can find Kevin May's scoop story on TNooz where I also write as a node.

Here is my comment in full on the story.

TEXT FOLLOWS:

Today was one of those days when the world changes. For better or worse. Analysis next year will in my view demonstrate this was the seminal moment when indeed things changed.

Perhaps one perspective is to consider that there is a peeling back of the onion skin. The web is about transparency - as we see here at TNooz - we can comment freely - and this is part of the fabric of today's business and social world.

The true cost of the airline ticket has morphed from a homogeneous single bundled (and commoditized) price to a more transparent view of the components that make up the airline ticket. Obviously that makes it harder from the consumer's point of view to shop. But we all need to get over that. The Genie was let out of the bottle a long time ago and its ain't going back. From today onwards that now includes the cost of distribution. This transparency allows the product owner and the seller to attach a clearer monetary value to its brand - good or bad. Further as this dispute has demonstrated the brand proposition of the intermediary now becomes clear.

In my view Expedia's move is very ballsy but I question whether it was smart. In my view they have traded demonstrating their power for their value as an unbiased intermediary. Sadly if Expedia is not able to offer a level playing field to its customers and ends up in dispute with its supply chain then it must accept that its value proposition has changed. In my judgment that change is irrevocable - another genie out of the bottle that isn't going back. The preemptive action by Expedia today demonstrates how they feel. Expedia can no longer position itself as the champion of unbiased neutral intermediary, which to the consumer is an essential part of its proposition. It becomes clear that the company and its brand have optimized its product offerings to its own selfish ends and now 'games' the customer as much as the suppliers can do through their own direct channels such as their websites.

Thus now the Expedia Company through its own actions has removed the (admittedly thinly veiled) veneer of neutrality from not only the Expedia brand but also its family of brands from Hotwire to TripAdvisor.

The reaction by the intermediaries and organizations who have thrown more than vocal support of support of Orbitz in its dispute with AA, in my view - may have shot themselves in the foot. The consumer will now realize that the intermediary channels as a class are not acting in the best interests of the consumer. As I noted in my 2011 predictions the concept of value finding will now emerge. For those Intermediaries who support the Orbitz and its 48% owner Travelport their position becomes tainted in my opinion. Value Finding will definitely be part of the Social Web. Thus they have forfeited their ability to be an arbiter of customer value which has very broad and deep long lasting implications.

Unlike in media where there is a definitive traditional separation between publishing and editorial content, in travel etailing, the line for an unbiased intermediary has been crossed. Thus anyone owning an outlet will now find it harder to maintain some semblance of neutrality and consumer advocacy.

It gives a whole new meaning (not necessarily good) to Expedia's current tag line - where you book matters.

Cheers

IMG00049-20100912-1607.jpg

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

MARRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS

A Brief Moment In Time

So the house has sold. This has been a year of transition for the O'Neil-Dunne family and friends.

Passages:

Cecelia Ivy Virginia O'Neil-Dunne (nee Knight)
Philip Knight
Mark Wells

And to all those who also passed on - thanks for contributing to the lives of our family. As many people have stated, this was an end of an era. Now it is someone else's turn to be the caretaker of a great family home.

Cheers

OK so its the last day of the year and what are your New Year's resolutions?

Other than wanting World Peace - more so than Sandra Bullock - I would like to see that we all manage to get through 2009 just fine. Not a huge wish but a significant one nonetheless.

I will be busy learning and fighting the good fight.

Watch out City of Sammamish - I am going after your plans to destroy wetlands.

Cheers to you all

Honour to Patrick Cecil "Paddy" O'Neil-Dunne on the 100th Anniversary of his birth.

I would be remiss if I did not recognize that today would have been my father's 100th Birthday.

A visionary, some called him a genius. Reviled by some, admired by many, never one to leave you feeling ambivalent, in the more than 20 years since his death, there have been few days when I have not been eternally grateful for his guidance and even some of his bloody mindedness.

As the old joke goes, "when I was 15" said the young man - "I though my father was an idiot." "When I was 25, I was amazed at how much he had learned in 10 years."

So too was I.

So here's to my father, POD. Fighter, inventor, gambler, story teller, man. You are still missed.

Oh how I hate bad technology...

So here is the transcript of my conversation with "Jenn" Alaska Airlines virtual Assistant.

So seats are showing sold out on the web. So I wanted to see (since I am a premium traveler) if I could get a seat assignment. Here is the transcript.

She REALLY gets me....


Turn Sound Off Turn Sound On

Jenn: Hi, I'm Jenn, your virtual assistant for the Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air Web site. If you need help, or have a question, simply type it below.

You Asked: can you get me a seat?
Jenn: I'm not sure how to answer that. Please try rewording your question.

You are on a page that I will not direct you away from. To leave this page, you must self-navigate.

You Asked: I would like a seat assignment
Jenn: Make sure to select your seats from the blue squares, which indicate an available seat.

You Asked: how can I get a seat
Jenn: Make sure to select your seats from the blue squares, which indicate an available seat.

You Asked: I need help
Jenn: I know quite a bit about traveling with Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. What can I help you with?

You Asked: seat assignment
Jenn: Make sure to select your seats from the blue squares, which indicate an available seat.

You Asked: this is not helping - can you help me get a seat when it is saying seat assignment at the airport
Jenn: Please click on the links provided to find the information you are looking for.
Display Seat Map_PA
No Seats on Seat Map_PA

You Asked: No Seats on Seat Map_PA
Jenn: If there are no seats available on the seat map, it does not mean that the flight is sold out. Seat availability is limited on the Web. You will receive your seat assignment on the day of your flight at the airport. To proceed with your purchase, click "Continue".
Return to Jenn Live Chat

Alaska Airlines Home

The US Navy 1, Whales 0.

Final Result. Referee Rules.

The US Supreme Court in its infinite wisdom has decided that warfare is more important that protecting species. Proving once again that killing trumps life for Homo Sapiens.

I still fail to see where Sapiens comes into this.

The US Supreme Court is lifting restrictions on the US Navy's use of sonar in training exercises off the California coast, a defeat for environmental groups who say the sonar can harm whales. The court, in its first decision of the term, voted 5-4 that it agreed with the plaintiffs that the US Navy needs to conduct realistic training exercises to respond to potential threats by enemy submarines.

This will have far reaching implications for all whales that migrate up and down both US coasts. Particularly vulnerable will be the Killer Whales in the Puget Sound Area.

Another Bush legacy. Thanks W.

Haikus For Bush end
A farewell to GWB
A little light today

Farewell Bush. You Dog.
Your reign is over. Thank God
And God bless you too

W heads back to Ranch
Place he never should have left
Now we have shambles

Cheney go to hell
None of us e’er wish you well
Thanks for left overs

Cheney and Palin
What a horrifying thought
The puppeteer and?

Poor JM chose bad
Chose Palin over JL
He’ll rot in some hell

Palin or Biden
Each could be pres one day soon
Send Sarah to moon

Vote for Ralphie
Yet another wasted ploy
Secret GOP

Fey for President
She’s a better Pailin Yes?
Originals bad!

“My Friends”. End is near
Truly thought I was doing
Good things for you all

GOP and Dems
All agree, the thing that be
Go Vote tomorrow

(substitute for tomorrow – Go and Vote Today)

Political Haikus

10 Special Commemorative Haikus for November 4th 2008

Farewell Bush. You Dog.
Your reign is over. Thank God
And God bless you too

W heads back to Ranch
Place he never should have left
Now we have shambles

Cheney go to hell
None of us e’er wish you well
Thanks for left overs

Cheney and Palin
What a horrifying thought
The puppeteer and?

Poor JM chose bad
Chose Palin over JL
He’ll rot in some hell

Palin or Biden
Each could be pres one day soon
Send Sarah to moon

Vote for Ralphie
Yet another wasted ploy
Secret GOP

Fey for President
She’s a better Pailin Yes?
Originals bad!

“My Friends”. End is near
Truly thought I was doing
Good things for you all

GOP and Dems
All agree, the thing that be
Go Vote tomorrow

(substitute for tomorrow – Go and Vote Today)

Goodnight Yankee Stadium

Tonight - for the last time players and fans will pile into that crumbling structure. And it will be the end. After tonight they start demolishing the Stadium to make way for next season when a new Yankee Stadium will be inaugurated.

The sense of history is palpable.

Sadly only once did I pass through its hallowed halls. When the fans meander out they will no doubt be taking what they can with them (being New Yorkers you can expect them to walk out with everything that is not actually permanently attached. I know some guys who are smuggling in tools so they can take seats out with them...

Cheers Babe!

Cheney tries to create new 4th branch of government

Well we know the law is an ass... and we know that the current US Administration has no bounds for its determination to circumvent key provisions of written and case law. Let's leave aside international law for the moment. So VP Cheney's office argument that his office was a part of the government but not bound by the government protocols.

I quote from CNN:

"Cheney chief of staff David Addington has told Congress that the vice president belongs to neither the executive nor legislative branch of government, AP reported. Instead, he said, the office is attached by the Constitution to Congress. The vice president presides over the Senate."

Last time I checked the US Constitution states clearly there are 3 part of government. Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Cheney I think we can surmise was trying to create a new 4th category. Let's call it the Bushery.

Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a well known Judge - her Wikipedia entry makes interesting reading. She is definitely her own person. Appointed by Clinton - she did support the White House in a FOI case this year. But ruled that Cheney is no such thing as a 4th Branch of the Government and therefore as VP he must maintain all records. Boy will that make great reading when he leaves. I want to see the duck hunting entries!

Cheers

Timothy

Multimedia message

Hello

Matt Drudge - bad for America

I have just returned from Europe and was in the UK when the story broke about Matt Drudge's outing of Prince Harry in Afghanistan.

Well done Matt. You are a fine ambassador for the USA. Up until now most of the rest of the world could personify the things that are bad in Iraq on the door step of the personage of George W Bush. But the outing of Prince Harry apart from being stupid and completely insensitive now places all Americans (in the eyes of at least the British) in the same place as the current President.

If that was the mission for Drudge - then he has been highly effective. For me this confirms the real line between bloggers and journalists. There has to be some ethics in what and why you publish.

While I am not a journalist nor even a consistent blogger - I do believe that we all have the responsibility to behave to a code. While it may not be hard coded, I just hope that people will read my blog(s) with the view that I don't publish everything I find out for sensationalism. Further check the facts and implication. I promise to try.

Cheers

Timothy

Comments? either comment here or send me an email personally to timothyo@t2impact.com

Mike Smith RIP

MieSmit of the Dave Clark 5 passed away yesterday. Another icon of my youth gone. He was the consumate musician who played for the love of it.

I actually sold my last car in the UK to his wife. They were good people!

Cheers Mike