Al's Morning Meeting

Now see what they look like when they crash. 

Al’s Morning Meeting reader Jim Sweeney spotted this story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

A tube kite is a large, inflatable device with a solid fabric floor that is pulled behind high-speed boats, much like water skis, but are designed to become airborne. As boat speed increases, the entire tube is lifted into the air like a kite with the rider on top.

The tube kite can unpredictably dive into the water with the equivalent force of a 70-foot drop and the rider can be thrown by a sudden slowing or stopping by the boat.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission warned users on June 30 that kite tubing has been blamed for at least two deaths nationwide this year, with reported injuries including broken ribs, necks and backs, as well as chest and facial injuries.

I do think it is interesting that lawyers have begun soliciting tube-kite injury cases. 

The CPSC said, in its June report:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers about the possible dangers associated with a new type of water recreation known as "tube kiting."

CPSC is concerned about death and injury reports associated with tube kiting. It is currently investigating two versions of these products to determine if there is a significant product hazard.

Tube kiting is a relatively new form of extreme water sport which is fast growing in popularity, but also extremely dangerous. CPSC is aware of at least two deaths associated with tube kiting this year. A 33-year-old Texas man was killed in late April 2006 while tube kiting, and a 42-year-old man died from injuries associated with tube kiting on June 26, 2006 in Wisconsin.

CPSC is also aware of 12 serious injuries associated with tube kiting. The injuries include a broken neck, punctured lung, broken ribs, broken femur, chest and back injuries and facial injuries, such as jaw fractures. A 14-year-old girl who was tube kiting lost consciousness when it fell about 15 feet and struck the water.

Tube kites are very large, sometimes round, inflatable water devices that can be more than 10 feet in diameter. The tube is hooked to the back of a boat by a tow rope, and the tube rider pulls back on a rope as the boat travels at speeds between 25 and 35 miles per hour. The ride begins when the tube is lifted into the air trailing the boat. Possible reasons for incidents and injuries include: 1) rider's difficulty in controlling the tube, 2) boat operator inexperience and 3) how the tube reacts in certain weather conditions. The conditions of highest concern are wind gusts that can cause the tube to spin out of control, or sudden slowing or stopping by the boat operator, which can cause the tube to nose dive into the water. In some cases, the sudden stopping of the boat might cause the tube rider to continue past the boat and hit it or hit other boats or stationary objects, such as a bridge.

Here is another story from Utah's The Salt Lake Tribune.

Politicians Try to Be Cool on Facebook, Etc.

Like, I like want to attract, like, the young vote, so I like, have created a Facebook page for my Senate campaign. ABC has the details.

Soon, pols will be allowed to buy ad space on Facebook pages. The Lexington Herald-Leader has a story, too.

People have created imaginary pages for politicians on MySpace, too. You have to look pretty carefully to notice that the pages are fakes.

Some of the real sites are absolutely loaded with video clips of the politicians in question --the video is posted on YouTube and linked to a MySpace page.  

A blogger from Ohio who posts to Blue88.com, a site that says it is "dedicated to reviving the Ohio Democratic Party ... from the grassroots up," even posted a memo outlining how to use Facebook as a political tool.

Here is some more coverage of related stories from news organizations around the country:

• Newsweek: "My Political Space" (July 19, 2006)
• The Washington Post: "Candidate Profiles Pop Up on Facebook" (June 19, 2006)
• Medill NewsWire: "UCSB Students Use Facebook for Political Organizing" (April 2006)
• The Associated Press: "Political Candidates Court MySpace Voters"
• The Boston Globe: "Likes: Ice Cream, War on Terror" (Aug. 20, 2006)
  

• The Daily Texan: "Activists Put Facebook to Political Use" (Aug. 8, 2006)
• Daily Pennsylvanian: "Facebook Becomes Political Haven" (July 21, 2006)
• The Digital Collegian: "Politicians to Create Facebook Profiles" (July 20, 2006)
  

A "Can You Find These" Contest

I was passing through Evansville, Ind., last week and spotted something in the Evansville Courier & Press that I wanted to share with you.

This could work for TV and newspaper and online sites and radio could just publish the photos online.

Here's what they did: The paper published eight tightly cropped photos of scenes from around town. Some of them were close-ups of famous/unique restaurant signs. (I have linked to a page with the photos -- just scroll down about halfway.) Readers who identify the landmarks may win a $100 mall gift card. It is just good fun and I love that it is so local.

Bankrupt Airline Suggests Ex-Workers Try Dumpster Diving

In an astonishing display of insensitivity, Northwest Airlines bosses gave workers who were getting the boot a pamphlet on how to save money.

Among the tips: "Don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash." The other tips included taking shorter showers and asking friends for hand-me-down toys for kids.

The Smoking Gun has the document. Bloomberg News says Northwest is now apologizing for the whole mess.

Premium Parking

Journalists covering the Karr hearing in Los Angeles yesterday had to pay -- first $32, then $42 to park at the 210 West Temple parking lot in L.A. (I created a map for you). Everyday citizens pay 16 bucks to park all day. Satellite trucks pay $500 to park.

The spokesman for the parking lot, Dev Trakor, tells me that the Los Angeles County allows the parking lot to charge TWICE what the public pays because media tie up the lot for longer periods of time.

Have you ever heard of media being told to pay more for parking than every other citizen? I am not in favor of media getting preferential treatment, but I don't see why we should pay twice as much.

We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.

Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.