Six people you always see at airports but wish you didn’t

The Luggage Lunatic

In an age where seat pitch and width are shrinking, carry-on rules are getting stricter and free check-ins are quickly disappearing, you still see the luggage lunatics the second you roll up to the curb. Unless you’re moving to Ouagadougou for good, there is no reason to pack like this. Ever. You’re not Imelda Marcos. Let’s tone down the luggage.

The Octopus Parent

You know who I’m talking about. Poor man/woman carrying two kids in the dual configuration, holding hands with yet more kids of walking age – multiple wheelie suitcases and back-packs in tow; at least one kid crying at all times almost acting as a siren warning you to get out of the way. I have nothing against this group of people and the only reason they make this list is that I want them to get some relief.

The Muse

Lack of experience? Lack of knowledge? Lack of a clue. This species of traveller is fascinated and confused by everything. They usually stand around gawking at things – one hand scratching their head, while their heads bob up and down between airports signs and their travel documents. Hint: there are no directions to your gate on your boarding pass. Do not ever line up behind one of these people and follow at a distance, as they are known to perform Crazy Ivans at random.

The Voyageur Idiot Savant

I don’t know what it is about these people but they are everywhere. Usually they are men trying to impress their kids or the significant other with their wealth of aviation and travel knowledge. I recently overheard a guy telling his girlfriend/wife how revolutionary the 747 was “blah, blah, economies of scale, blah, blah hub to hub” and so on. When she asked which plane he was talking about he pointed and said that one over there! The real kicker was that he was pointing at an A320, which wasn’t even the biggest plane in sight.

The Turnstiles

I’m not sure who created these jobs or why they are still around but you see them at every airport; people whose entire role it is to direct travellers to various line-ups – be it customs, security or check-in. I’m baffled. Where does one even go to apply for such a job? Surely a well-placed sign would do the trick… then again the patent lack of logic and flailing hand gestures some of these folks exhibit is worth the price of admission. On second thoughts, let’s keep these people.

The Blackberry Ninjas

These lovely individuals spend every free second they have looking down at their mobile devices furiously thumbing away. Luckily half of this genus consists of business travellers so they at least know where they’re going and how to get there without obstructing other travellers. These folks look up occasionally and grunt when asked questions but beyond that are a waste of space. If you happen to be seated next to one on the plane there is a more than 50% chance that (s)he will still be hammering away during take-off.

Source: airceo.com

The Editor

Isle of Palms and the rest of South Carolina

The last stop on my News21 road-trip across South Carolina was in the Mt. Pleasant and Charleston area along the coast. I had to cross this beautiful bridge (I took a video of it on my phone but have yet to find out how to get it from my phone to YouTube) and was right at my hotel.

As soon as I got to the check-in counter I asked the lady how do I get to the water. She kindly took out a map and used a marker to plot my course, at the same time providing verbal directions. I threw my luggage on my bed and grabbed the camera equipment, thinking this would be another grand opportunity to shoot some B-Roll. I headed out and took the proper right turn and followed it all the way (across another bridge), noticing the sunset and water appearing right before my windshield.

I paid for parking and let my feet find the soft, smooth sand of the Carolina shoreline. The water of the North Atlantic ocean was warm and inviting. Fishing poles were cast from the pier into the water below. Families were relaxing and kids were playing soccer. Couples walked hand-in-hand along the waterline watching the sunset paint the sky with its shades of orange and purple. Daring teens jumped onto their skimboards in the water, only to fall mere seconds later.

Watching the sky grow darker, I picked up a collection of seashells that I knew would find themselves in the trash can later. For me, this was the best way to end one hectic trip across a state that I had never visited before. The people were truly hospitable and showed their Southern comfort at every moment, sadly not as much on the roads. I believe I have never seen as much green in my life than I did during this trip. I honestly lost count of how many times I pulled over to the side of the road to take pictures of the verde land or the cliche river bridges, and water in general. Despite the green pastures sprawling everywhere, it made me miss the dry-heat I have taken for granted growing up in the Valley of the Sun my entire life. Although I never did get to have a taste of the infamous Southern food, I sincerely felt like I left South Carolina with a satisfactory taste in my mind.

These were some of the photographs from my trip down South.

Rock Hill - South Carolina: as seen through VidMap

I am experimenting with another FREE multimedia web tool that was mentioned during the News21 weekend seminar. It is VidMap and it is a site that allows you to upload your own video from the computer or YouTube.

This video is taken as you are driving, walking, cycling, racing, basically, any kind of video that is a commute from the street perspective.

It is simple and easy to use. Once again, I am providing step-by-step instructions on how to create your very own VidMap.

Note: Before I begin, I uploaded my video into iMOVIE and muted the natural sounds, then added music from iTUNES, shared it to my YouTube account and then uploaded to VidMap.

1. First you must register with VidMap and an automatic activation e-mail will be sent to your inbox with a link to click.

2. It will then ask you to either upload from your computer or Youtube. After you upload your video it will appear under My VidMaps. You click on it and it will pop up beside a google map.

3. The tough part -- waiting for your video to upload -- is done. All you need to do now is zoom in to the location of your video (I prefer the Hybrid function because it gives you land and street names) and plot your start-point (click the blue + sign first) and then left-click for the GREEN button to appear on the map.

4. Then find your end-point and left-click or drag the RED button to appear on the map. You may have noticed some clear buttons that appeared, simply click on those and delete them, they are known as Way Points.

5. Click the SAVE check-mark on the side and then click PLAY to see your VidMap in action.

Here is my example of a VidMap. It is a drive down Main Street in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Using Multiplottr to create location maps

I am researching some multimedia tools to use for my multimedia journalism project this summer and I came across the site: Multiplottr.

I thought it would be a good visual for my project to plot my interview locations since I'm driving all over the state for my New21 project on employer sanctions.

I wanted to provide you with step-by-step instructions on how I created my South Carolina map.

1. Register with your e-mail, otherwise you won't be able to save your maps. Remember, this is a free tool.

2. Start typing in your location addresses (include city, state and zip code), give them a short description and choose between a number or traditional point marker.

3. Click Add to Batch after each entry until you are finished with it, then click Submit.

4. Scroll to bottom to see the finished map. Above the map is the area to Save after you given your map a name, description and choose whether or not you want to keep it public, public and allow people to edit your map or private.

5. Click MyMaps to see a list of all your maps and to further edit your map by adding lines, shapes, distance in measurements or custom markers.

Here is my finished map of all the locations I traveled to in order to conduct interviews.