This animation of the very brief but eventful flight of US Airways 1549 is amazing. It is amazing how calm the flight crew is as they are saying things like “we may end up in the Hudson”.

US Airways 1549 Animation

Whales make an awfully big speed bump is what the residents of Rockland, Maine just learned.

Whales force Royal Caribbean cruise ship to abandon port call in Maine

Call it the revenge of the whales.

The Herald Gazette of Rockland, Maine reports Royal Caribbean has canceled a much-anticipated June call in the budding port town due to a new federal right whale regulation.

The news outlet says Royal Caribbean told officials Friday that the 2,446-passenger Grandeur of the Seas wouldn’t be visiting as planned because of a recently announced federal restriction that limits vessels to no greater than 10 knots (11.5 miles) per hour in a protective area off Cape Cod. The ship would have had to transit the area to reach the town.

Don’t you hate how long it can take to get off of an airplane when you are in a hurry. Even if you do… don’t try this on your next trip.

Man jumps out of taxiing airliner at Dallas/Fort Worth

Authorities say a 26-year-old passenger ran to the front of a taxiing plane, opened a door and slid down (the inflatable emergency exit slide) to the tarmac before being detained.” That’s from The Associated Press, which reports that the incident occurred on American Airlines Flight 1343 from Charlotte to Dallas/Fort Worth on Tuesday. No injuries were reported among the flight’s 87 passengers.

Chris Elliott had a great article about how your browser might be costing you money.

Are online travel agencies quoting higher rates because of your Web cookies?

Are online travel agencies quoting higher prices because of your personal information? It’s been difficult to prove that Web “cookies” were being used in that way. Until now, maybe.

Matt Ilardo stumbled across some interesting proof when he tried to book a rental car through Hotwire.

Other articles that caught my eye:

• Free or Cheap Things to Do in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Top 10 Things NOT To Do During Mardi Gras
• Faulty altimeter caused airliner crash

I booked and paid for a room using Hotwire.com last weekend and then ended up paying for a second hotel room. Why? It turns out that there is a catch with the HotWire service that you should know about.

If you are not familiar with HotWire.com it is a site that sells unsold hotel rooms at a significant discount. It is similar to the better known Priceline.com. With Priceline you bid for what price you are willing to pay (which is a hassle). With HotWire they will tell you what price you can pay for a hotel that is rated a certain number of stars with particular set of amenities. Neither site tells you the name of the hotel before you pay for a pre-payed, non-refundable room. On HotWire you choose a general geographic area, decide if you need the pool at a 3 star hotel or if the 2 star hotel with free internet is what you want.

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