Thursday December 17th (2)

Readers,

My finals are done and I am on my way home for a well-deserved break. Although back to back finals at 8 in the morning was not the ideal way to end a semester, and I still don't know how to travel time after completing an entire course on the subject, what's done is done. AND, with a 79% on my Spanish final, I safely passed my Pass/No Pass class. Fortunately, I am expecting my other finals to have significantly better outcomes. But without further ado allow me to move on to the daily excitement and our Daily Topic: I'M ON A PLANE

Yes, the time has come. Currently, I am traveling at 602 miles per hour at 34,000 feet. And I'm on the internet. Thanks to Virgin America and their newly outfitted WiFi planes, my frequent cross-country trips are becoming just that much more bearable. Complete with mood lighting and a personal touch screen with endless options, Virgin is truly revolutionizing modern air travel.

Each seat is outfitted with an electrical outlet and a USB charging outlet. No more losing your computer or iPod power halfway through the flight. Additionally, each seat has a handset in the arm rest that allows you to control the console in front of you.

From the touch screen in the seat back, you can navigate through a remarkable amount of options. You can watch TV (live or ondemand), listen to satellite radio, order a variety of movies, play a few games or even order food or drinks to your seat. With three or so touches, I could order myself a ginger ale. And I just did.

Under development is a sophisticated communication system. From the console and using the handset (which includes a full QWERTY keyboard), you will soon be able to send emails or text messages from the air. I am unsure of what kinds of fees will be associated with these services but the technology itself is impressive.

One free communication that is currently available seat-to-seat chat. If you are traveling with friends in different parts of the plane (or if you want to be really creepy and try to talk to random passengers) you can initiate a chat room on the screen in front of you based on row and seat number. You may establish a screen name and chat with anyone on the plane.

And, clearly, the planes have wireless. Usually, the WiFi costs somewhere between $5 and $12 depending on the length of the flight. However, for the holiday season (until January 15th), WiFi is free on all Virgin flights. The only problem now is deciding which features you want to utilize.

Virgin's contemporary approach to air travel appears to be an ideal business model compared to its competition. Until this point in my airfaring travels, I found JetBlue and Southwest to be the best in terms of efficiency, user-friendliness, and cost. However, Virgin has established its niche as the hip (and cheap) new airline.

Between revolutionized air travel and space tourism, the question is: what is there that Virgin can't do?

Ginger ale is here.

-ROF

Daily Food: Papa Ginos

Daily Activity: Air Travel

Daily Song: Come Sail Away - Styx

Daily Attire: Christmas Sweaters

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Boston Temps Near Zero

Daily News No One Should Care About: Dubai Records 6000 Beach Offences

Daily Life Goal: TDR from an Airplane. Check.

Daily Complaint: My Seat Doesn't Recline

Daily Drink: Ginger Ale

Daily Television: Three Sheets

Daily Movie: Up in the Air

Thursday December 17th

Hello My Faithful Followers,

It's 3 am and I don't have the energy to write a full posting tonight. However, tomorrow I will be flying home and bringing you the first ever TDR from 30,000 ft on my new favorite airline, Virgin America. I understand that after my last post you must think that I am being paid by Virgin for advertising. Unfortunately, I am not. In fact, Google Ads thought that my advertisements were making too much money and suspended my account. Therefore, I am unable to advertise for anyone. But if you own a Fortune 500 company and are looking for an endorsement, please contact me at thedailyroutine@gmail.com. And now for the Daily Updates.

Daily Food: Panda Express

Daily Activity: Johnny Milko's 21st Birthday

Daily Song: Kiss Me I'm Irish - Gaelic Storm

Daily Attire: Boat Shoes

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Hopes are Fading for Climate Accord at Copenhagen

Daily News No One Should Care About: Chris Brown Kills Twitter Account

Daily Life Goal: TDR from an Airplane

Daily Complaint: California Winter

Daily Drink: 77

Daily Television: Flash Forward

Daily Movie: Love Actually, Again

Tuesday, December 8th

Readers,

Thanks to The Daily Routine's IT department, we are proud to bring you the first Daily Routine post using Google Chrome. This free web browser has finally been released for Mac computers and is highly recommended by our technical experts. Congratulations Google Chrome on your official TDR endorsement. Today I would like to return to a topic on which we have touched previously. However, two recent news stories compelled me to elaborate on one of the largest (literally) issues of our time. Today's Daily Topic: COMMERCIAL SPACE TRAVEL

On Monday, Virgin Galactic unveiled its second commercialized spaceship. Before we delve further into that topic however, let us first consider the sheer absurdity that "galactic" is becoming a legitimate adjective in the commercial realm and is no long associated with science fiction or Buzz Lightyear.

Virgin Galactic, the brainchild of billionaire Sir Richard Branson, was founded in 1999 to explore the possibilities of space tourism. Over the past ten years, they have helped fund various projects of private space flight innovation and development. In 2004, the Virgin Galactic-sponsored ship successfully flew twice to altitudes over 100 km. This was the beginning of Virgin Galactic's physical space program.

With the unveiling of its first commercial spacecraft, Virgin Galactic has forever changed the face of tourism and commerce. Since 2005, Virgin Galactic has been taking reservations for space flight. Now, for $200,000 (one giant check for mankind), those reservations will finally become a reality for over 300 people who have already registered. For the first time, the Final Frontier is one check away.

The second news story of note was on the concept of space elevators and the economic implications. A space elevator, in the simplest terms possible, uses the centrifugal force of the earth to draw an object up a tall, extensive structure and into space. While the concept is still exactly that, a concept, it is estimated that if the physics and sheer monumental size of such a contraption are mastered, it would reduce the cost of getting people and objects to space by 90%.

While there are many skeptics, some physicists and engineers are wholeheartedly convinced that the idea is plausible. Current setbacks include the lack of a strong enough material to anchor the space elevator to the earth. But scientist predict that within a decade technological advancement will have developed such materials. Additionally, many space-elevator entrepreneurs wish to achieve their dream without government help, opening yet another sector of private space economics.

But what are the implications of space tourism and economic development. Consider the thousands of regulations that would be necessary in a new economic realm. In the Earth-centric realm, new taxes and fees would need to be implemented. As absurd as it may sound, space travelers taxes are probably not such a far off possibility. The safety regulations will probably be astronomical (no pun intended. Okay fine, pun intended). The potential for patents will increase exponentially. Galactic Management will become a major in business schools around the world (or out of it).

A more far-out issue would be that of jurisdiction. Will anyone try to stake a claim on space? What are the possibilities for conflict over regions of space and who governs them? Would we need a space passport? On the opposite end of the spectrum, could space become the first utopian and anarchic society, free from government rule and state boundaries? Will it prove to be a modern day New World, open to pilgrims escaping the persecutions and restrictions of modern politics, religion, economics and culture?

Although space colonization is a far off prospect, private space travel is a remarkable development in what will prove to be an important issue of our generation. For those interested in space travel, visit www.virgingalactic.com.

-ROF

Daily Food: Baja Fresh Nacho Burrito

Daily Activity: Booking My Space Flight

Daily Game: Scrabble

Daily Song: Ground Control to Major Tom - David Bowie

Daily Attire: Vote Khazei Button

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Primary Under Way in Race for Kennedy Seat

Daily News No One Should Care About: Lady Gaga Meets the Queen

Daily Life Goal: I Choose to Go to the Moon

Daily Complaint: The Massachusetts Election Turnout

Daily Drink: Water

Daily Television: Family Guy

Daily Movie: Love Actually