Greg In The Desert

Having flown a lot in the last few years I been able to fly many airlines. Anymore I pretty much won’t fly unless I can fly Southwest. It has less to do with ticket fares and more to do with how much hassle I get and Southwest gives me the least amount of hassle.

The Southwest iPhone app can alert me to their Ding deals using the notification system which very helpfull. The application can also book flights and check in, I was already doing that through the web interface. The web didn’t always work for me and I hope to have better success with a dedicated app.

Southwest Airlines is Free on the iTunes App Store.

Traveling with Southwest Airlines is now even more convenient with our first iPhone app. Make reservations, check in for flights, and access your Rapid Rewards account directly from your iPhone. Plus, our iPhone app has DING! functionality built in, giving you instant access to exclusive, limited-time-only air fare deals. When a DING! fare is made available, you’ll be notified immediately on your iPhone.

So now there’s no need to boot up your laptop or make a phone call to prepare for your next trip. Just pull out your iPhone to:

· View & book the latest DING! deals
· Book or cancel air reservations
· Book or cancel rental car reservations
· Check in for your flight
· Check flight status
· Review flight schedules
· Access your Rapid Rewards account
· Access helpful contact information

With many of southwest.com’s most popular features now in the palm of your hand, traveling on Southwest is more convenient than ever before.

My indoor cat Saturn has apparently made friends with a outdoor cat. On more than one occasion I have walked up to the back door to find my cat staring at the back door while a black cat is walking off. It usually spots me before I spot it and starts walking away.

I never hear my cat making any indication that she dislikes the black cat and as far as I can tell, they just sit there staring at each other through the glass. Mostly I only notice the quiet since Saturn has stopped running around and spazing out.

Last week I drove up into the driveway and saw the black cat sitting on the front porch, with my cat watching out the front window. The black cat wouldn’t allow me to approach it and ran off. Where the black cat was setting was a large dead rat, with it’s guts pulled out.

I’ve read that a cat will leave a dead animal for its owner as a sign that the owner doesn’t know how to hunt, the cat is trying to show them how it’s done. In this case, Perhaps the black cat was trying to show Saturn how to hunt since she cannot go outside. Or the black cat is trying to impress Saturn with it’s hunting skills.

I have no problem with Saturn learning to become a better hunter through this method. Especially if it reduces the rat population in the neighborhood. Saturn has done a great job at eliminating the crickets, scorpions and other bugs from the house. However unless I get any varmints in the house, Saturn will have to be happy with hunting twist ties and pieces of plastic from the trash.

The American Lung Association is having a New Mexico Skiing Lift Ticket Promotion. Pay $125 for 10 lift tickets with a 2010 Ski Card. If you use this card 3 or 4 times, it will have paid for itself.

10 LIFT TICKETS FOR $125!
Cardholder is entitled to one complimentary adult lift ticket at each of the following ski areas, subject to any conditions listed. Equipment rentals/lodging not included. Limit one card per person.

New Mexico Ski Areas
1. Angel Fire 800-633-7463
Not valid 12/21/09-1/3/10; 1/15-1/17/10; 2/12-2/14/10; 3/14-3/20/10

2. Enchanted Forest 505-754-2374
No Blackout Dates!

3. Red River 505-754-2223
Not valid 12/25-12/31/09; 3/13-3/20/10

4. Sipapu 800-587-2240
Not valid 12/20-12/23/09; 12/27-12/31/09; 1/2-1/3/10; 1-16- 1/18/10; 2/13-2/15/10; 3/8-3/11/10; 3/15-3/18/10

5. Ski Apache 505-464-3601
Not valid 12/19/09-1/3/10;1/16-1/18/10; 2/13-2/15/10; 3/6-3/14/10

6. Taos 505-776-2291
Not valid 12/27/09-1/1/10; Not valid after 2-15-10

Colorado Ski Areas
7. Arapahoe Basin 888-272-7246
Valid Sunday through Friday any day of the 09-10 ski season, excluding 11/27/09; 12/24/09-1/4/10

8. Monarch Mtn 888-996-7669
Not valid 12/26/09-1/2/10; 1/16-1/17/10; 2/13-2/14/10; 3/12/-3/21/09

9. Ski Cooper 719-486-2277
No Blackout Dates! Not valid with any other offer!

10. Sunlight Mtn 970-945-7491
Not valid 12/26/09-1/3/10; 2/13-2/15/10

Howard sent me a message and wanted to know where are the best hikes in New Mexico. I’ve been on plenty of hikes in NM but I’m terrible at remembering where they are. A few of my favorites has been from the top of the tram, along the East side of the Sandia’s and the Pecos.

Trails.com has a list of New Mexico hikes. So does Explore New Mexico.

Can any New Mexico readers suggest others?

The much anticipated TomTom GPS navigation application for iPhone is finally available from the iTunes store for $99.99. At $99.99 (and 1.21 GB) it better be good. It will be the most expensive application I have bought. I will have a more through review in the future.

For iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

Turn-by-turn car navigation for iPhone is here.

Everywhere you go, you can have the most advanced TomTom navigation technology to lead the way. The TomTom app puts award-winning technology at your fingertips, like IQ Routes™ which gives you the smartest, most efficient route any time of day.

Tap and go – Using iPhone’s innovative technology, the TomTom app lets you tap your way from A to B – putting you in touch with all the best routes. Scroll through the menu, or pinch to zoom in and out on a map using the iPhone’s multi-touch display.

Go your own way – Why follow the rest? See your route, your way. Simply rotate from portrait to landscape to get an easier view of the road ahead.

Meet up with friends – Find an entry in your iPhone contacts list, and the TomTom app will find the way there. It’s that simple.

Find a place to eat – Thinking of stopping for lunch on the way? Choose a restaurant, call to reserve your table, then find your way there – the TomTom app does it all.

The smartest routes – Is the shortest route really the fastest? TomTom IQ Route will always calculate the smartest, most efficient route – saving you time, fuel and money. Only IQ Routes™ uses the driving experiences of millions of drivers to work out your route based on actual road speed data.

The world at your fingertips – Always be prepared for what’s around the corner. The TomTom app comes with an up-to-date, detailed map – and you can add worldwide locations to suit you.

You can also make the most of your navigation experience with the TomTom car kit for iPhone. Check it out on iphone.tomtom.com

Map coverage statistics:

Detailed map seamlessly covers the US and Canada with IQ Routes™ data for faster routing.

Countries fully covered (99.9%): the US (all states including Hawaii and Alaska) and Canada (all provinces) and Puerto Rico.

I took some video while flying near Mount Hood in Oregon from my iPhone 3GS. I posted it to Flickr, which I prefer to YouTube due to the better privacy controls. But Flickr only allows 90 seconds of video. I also posted a version to YouTube but I think I may force myself to keep my iPhone videos to less than 90 seconds.

Now that I’ve had some time to use the video capabilities from the iPhone I find it’s OK but not great. It can be a lot better when there’s good lighting. It won’t replace my HD video camera anytime soon but ability to instantly upload to online video sharing sites is a huge advantage.

Since the built in iPhone camera application doesn’t support uploads to Flickr for videos, I used the $2.99 Mobile Fotos app.

Last week I took one of my usual day trips to Portland and lost my drivers license ID. That really sucked. I didn’t have much problem getting through airport security but I wasn’t able to rent a car. Thankfully I was able to get a friend to give me a ride.

My bad luck last week was completely reversed this week when I arrived at PDX (Portland International Airport) and found my name on a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette ZHZ at the Hertz lot (The ZHZ is a special version of the Corvette built just for Hertz). I did not request this car but for some reason they gave it to me at the price of the rental I reserved.

I double checked the rental paperwork in the car and sure enough my name was on it and so was the Corvette. I sat in the car for like 5 minutes just trying to catch my breath. They must have either not had enough cars or upgraded me based on the amount of cars I have rented from them. Or both.

After I completed my business I drove the car up I-5 into Washington. Unfortunately I had mileage limits and only a few hours before I had to be back to the airport. Not that I would ever do anything illegal but I managed not to get a ticket dispite coming across a few highway patrol cars on overpasses. One of them even followed me from a half mile back for a while.

The Corvette is truly a race car. I have never driven a Corvette or a car in a Corvette’s class before so this was a real treat for a car guy like me who has no resources to do car things. If Hertz did this to encourage me to continue renting cars from them then it worked. I will love you forever Hertz!

Since I’m doing a lot of traveling right now I pay extra attention to airline travel related news. I found this story about the name “Dean Martin” being on the Do Not Fly list.

This situation was found the hard way by the State Treasurer of Arizona Dean Martin. Who thinks it’s politically motivated because he doesn’t get along with the former Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano. Janet Napolitano now runs Homeland Security who is in charge of the Do Not Fly list.

It seems odd that Homeland Security would put such a common name on their list. Actually the whole concept of the Do Not Fly list is odd.

Jim Baca posts this unattributed picture of an apparent ATV rider who fell into a bed of cactus. Jim calls it Divine Justice, I call it just plain terrible.

A couple driving from Tucson, Arizona to Chicago had their Chevy Trailblazer crushed when a Mcdonalds Golden Arches fell on it in Window Rock Arizona. 60MPH winds were apparently responsible for causing the sign to fall down. They were pretty seriously injured. This is probably part of the same storm that is in New Mexico now and I’ve had winds this fast at my house before. Imagine driving down the freeway with this kind of weather.

Window Rock is located on the Arizona and New Mexico border, north of Gallup New Mexico and north of Interstate 40. There’s a picture of Mcdonalds on Google Maps that could be the sign that crushed the car.

Via Jalopnik