back to article I've got the power! Or have I? Uninterruptible Phone-disposal Stuffup

In some parts of the world a festival involving chocolate eggs and bunnies is about to begin. For this poor kiosk, it appears festivities are temporarily at a halt. The kiosk in question lurks within the Lehigh Valley Mall, in Pennsylvania, USA. A nice part of the world located near the city of Allentown and not far from the …

  1. Chris Miller

    I love the local US airports that brand themselves 'International' because there's one flight a week to Canada (or Mexico if they're in the south).

    1. onemark03

      US airports that brand themselves 'International'

      What's worse are those American organisations that call themselves "international" but operate only within the US.

      1. herman Silver badge

        Re: US airports that brand themselves 'International'

        Chug-a-lug-a-lug at five miles per hour,

        On my International Harvester!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: US airports that brand themselves 'International'

          To be fair International Harvester was international. We've got an International 885 XL tractor on the farm that was proudly* assembled in Doncaster...

          *indifferently

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Years ago I used to holiday frequently in the NW of Ireland, near "Carrickfinn airfield", a small grass-airstrip place in the middle of nowhere where you had to book the fire brigade from the local town to come out & wait when a plane was due in.

      Some years later I was surprised to find it had become "Donegal International Airport", tarmac strip, fence, terminal building, the works. It was "international" because of the weekly flight to Glasgow. Pork barrel politics at its best.

    3. jake Silver badge

      And I love the ones in the UK.

      Cambridge International comes to mind.

      Insert something about stowing thrones in grass houses here.

      1. Medieval Research Council

        Re: And I love the ones in the UK.

        I flew from there every week to Amsterdam and back over one winter. And a couple of days ago a C130 belonging to the Svenska Flygvapnet flew over my head in the way in to Marshalls. Is that international enough?

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: And I love the ones in the UK.

          From Wiki: "Passenger services were reported as "to end on 31 January 2016",[15] although British Airways/Sun-Air continued temporarily to operate flights from Cambridge to Gothenburg. Since 24 March 2016 tickets have not been available to the general public.[16] As of November 2017 the flights now originate in Manchester with a brief stop in Cambridge."

          Sure it's International. Just not quite as much as the OP's "flight to Canada or Mexico" which are probably ongoing, regular weekly passenger services (or will be again, post-Covid).

          Note that the "International" designation gives certain benefits, tax-wise and etc. I don't know about you, but if I ran an airport I'd certainly take advantage of all the financial incentives that I was legally capable of getting. If adding "international" to the name gives me more, hand me a bucket of paint!

      2. Down not across

        Re: And I love the ones in the UK.

        I absolutely loved flying to Amsterdam on Suckling Airways from Cambridge. No need to leave home more than about 30+40 mins before flight. Drive down to airport, park in front of the building. Wander in, show ticket, get boarding pass (laminated piece of card with number on it), walk 2 feet hand it back and trundle out the doors, across tarmac up the steps to little Dornier. Coffee and nice home made rolls for breakkie in flight.

        Sadly Schiphol end was of course the usual big airport experience.

        Used to do that trip often. Some weeks every day.

  2. TimMaher Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    "Doing an OVH"

    Finally, a new expression to add to the Reg collection.

    1. Blofeld's Cat
      Coat

      Re: "Doing an OVH"

      Having started with DOS I find that I'm pronouncing "OVH" as "Over", as in: "OVH Done", "OVH Cooked", "OVH Heated", "This relationship is OVH", etc.

      OVH and out.

      1. Little Mouse

        Re: "Doing an OVH"

        Roger.

        ...Huh?

        1. Wally Dug

          Re: "Doing an OVH"

          You've got clearance, Clarence.

          1. Tom 38

            Re: "Doing an OVH"

            What's my vector Victor?

      2. jake Silver badge

        Re: "Doing an OVH"

        My brain is convinced that it's a mispleling of OHV, and I always do a double-take. I've probably done one too many valve jobs ...

        1. My other car WAS an IAV Stryker
          Coat

          Re: "Doing an OVH"

          More mix-up: I'm about to take a trip to my parents' place, through multiple metro areas with HOV lanes. With the whole family in the rental minivan we certainly qualify as HOV, but sure hope it doesn't OVHeat! (Thermal, that is, not to be confused with the 'overeat' I might do at a few choice restaurants; if that were OVH-eat you may call me Mr. Creosote.)

          What's that? Go on and leave and take the lame jokes with me? Fine...

      3. Sgt_Oddball

        Re: "Doing an OVH"

        Surely you can't be serious?

        1. Robert Forsyth

          Re: "Doing an OVH"

          I'll bite

          I am serious, and don't call me Shirley

  3. Gene Cash Silver badge

    I love the US airports that brand themselves with the name of a city 100 miles away

    Like Orlando-Melbourne international airport, which is nowhere near Orlando.

    Like Orlando-Sanford international airport, which is closer, but still nowhere near Orlando.

    I keep having people fly in, and have to tell them "sorry mate, you're going to have to pay one hell of a taxi fare" and "no, I'm not going to pick you up"

    1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

      Re: I love the US airports that brand themselves with the name of a city 100 miles away

      Or like "Paris Vatry", beloved of Aer O'Flot, which is halfway between Reims and Troyes, and a good 100miles from Paris.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: I love the US airports that brand themselves with the name of a city 100 miles away

        Heathrow's, what, 30 miles by road from the City of London? Somewhere in that range, anyway.

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: I love the US airports that brand themselves with the name of a city 100 miles away

          I should have added that LAX is also about 30 road-miles away from the City of Los Angeles.

        2. Down not across

          Re: I love the US airports that brand themselves with the name of a city 100 miles away

          Or London Stansted. 42 miles from London. And only 30 miles to Cambridge.

    2. jake Silver badge

      Re: I love the US airports that brand themselves with the name of a city 100 miles away

      Not quite 100 miles. Melbourne is 50ish miles away, and Sanford under 25.

      "I keep having people fly in, and have to tell them "sorry mate, you're going to have to pay one hell of a taxi fare" and "no, I'm not going to pick you up""

      Quite regularly? Instead of enjoying their misfortune, you could actually inform them before they purchase their ticket. You know, be friendly and proactive about it ... the poor bastards are already saddled with having to endure Florida, without adding getting lost to their list of travails.

  4. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

    Buses

    a bus to take us to the aircraft. Which it did. On a bone-crunching 90-minute road-trip

    I remember getting a BA flight from Ottawa to London which had a connection in Montreal. The Ottawa-Montreal leg was a 2-hour bus journey, which had a flight number (and for which I got airmiles!).

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: Buses

      Back in the early '80s I was accidentally flown into LAX. Should have been BUR (Burbank). Arrived just before 4PM on a Wednesday, had to be on site by 6. Have you ever tried to navigate LA freeways at that hour? My destination might as well have been on another continent. You know how expensive it is to book a small, private aircraft at the last minute? Try it with a helicopter.

      I made the meeting. I didn't get the emergency call out +graveyard bonus, though. Seems the chopper ride ate it (which I was blamed for, despite not even knowing the company name before I was on the ground!). This was the incident that caused the company to outfit us emergency field service guys with new-fangled DynaTACs ...

  5. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    "doing an OVH"

    Ouhhh burn ! (pun intended)

    I have the distinct feeling that that is an expression that is going to become part of the El Reg vernacular, if not part of the Urban Dictionary.

    Well played !

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: "doing an OVH"

      "Ouhhh burn"

      '70s on line one. Something about wanting their slang back.

  6. doublelayer Silver badge

    I'm sorry, what?

    "an ecoATM, a device designed to take unwanted smartphones and handout payment to customers without the need to trouble a salesperson."

    Now I have to look that up.

    So, it's a real thing. I would have guessed that distributing thousands of machines which have enough hardware to inspect phones wouldn't be an economical method of entering the used phone market, but apparently they're giving it a go. I wonder what the machine does if you feed it phones that aren't all that common, for example the old phone from a relatively unpopular manufacturer I have in the closet. Then again, I'm also wondering how it will detect various types of hardware issues that aren't easily visible with a camera.

    1. My-Handle

      Re: I'm sorry, what?

      I was also wondering how the machines confirm that you actually own the phone that you put in. Must make it pretty easy for thieves to cash in.

      Hell, I can even see your "mate" (you know the one, the one who thinks he's great and that jokes like that are all in good fun. The one everyone hates but can't quite get rid of) grabbing your phone and putting it in the machine for a laugh.

      1. doublelayer Silver badge

        Re: I'm sorry, what?

        It requires you to scan an identification card before you can put one in, so at least they can identify the thief afterwards. Whether a thief can forge an identification card well enough that the camera accepts it is unknown.

  7. john bertelsen
    Pint

    In the distant past....

    ...when I was at Lehigh Uni as an undergrad the bartender at the A(llentown), B(ethlehem), E(aston) airport used to serve us in spite of our tender age. We were often his only customers. This was in the late 1960's.

    He had a huge collection of cigarette lighters.

    I see ABE has come up in the world.

    1. jake Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: In the distant past....

      "I see ABE has come up in the world."

      Oh, I don't know ... Speaking only for myself, I'm pretty sure I've had more fun at undergrad hole-in-the-wall boozers than I've ever had at any commercial airport.

      In the distant past, of course.

  8. Missing Semicolon Silver badge
    Flame

    APC

    APC UPS? Then an OVH is more than likely! The SLA batteries in those things get cooked within a couple of years.

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