Airline Slang; Weekend Pill; "Hide & Sleep" Weapons

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Greetings from a computer terminal in the Singapore Airport...The internet terminals in LAX didn't work and I probably lost my money three times on two machines.

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AIRLINE SLANG

AROUND THE WORLD IN A BAD MOOD!
CONFESSIONS OF A FLIGHT ATTENDANT
by Rene Foss
New York: Hyperion
200 pages, paperback, $12.95
2002

Pg. 33:  _The Secret Language of Flight Attendants_
F/A  Flight attendant.
Seniority...
Bidding...
Pg. 34:
Turnaround...
APU  Auxiliary Power Unit...
INOP  Inoperative--broken!
ATC  Air traffic control--or God.
Holding pen...
ETA  Estimated time of arrival.
ATA  Actual time of arrival.
ETD  Estimated time of departure.
PA  Public announcement.
Slinging hash  Serving the meals.
On call/Reserve
Screamer  A passenger who has lost his or her cool...
Steerage  Coach class
Cockpit queen  A flight attendant more interested in the front end of the aircraft than in the chamber of horrors known as the "cabin."
Pg. 35:
Crop dusting  Walking down the aisle while inconspicuously passing gas.
UM  Unaccompanied minor...
Debriefing  Party in someon'e room after a flight.
Pax  Slang for passengers.
Upgrade...
Load...
Widebody...
3-holer  This is an aircraft with three engines...
Pg. 36:
Blue room  This is what is known as the lav, the biffy, the john, or the bathroom.
Jumpseat...
Tuff cuff...
Over the pond...
Slam chick  On a layover, when a flight attendant goes directly to his or her room instead of going out with the crew...
Crash pad...
Pg. 37:
Pilot blocks...
Just a few moments  A long time.  A very long time.
Equipment change  Broken aircraft.

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WINDY CITY, or GROUNDHOG DAY III, or ANYBODY SHOOT ME!  IT'S LIKE A MERCY KILLING AT THIS POINT!

THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY:
MURDER, MAGIC, AND MADNESS AT THE FAIR THAT CHANGED AMERICA
by Erik Larson
New York: Crown Publishers
447 pages, hardcover
2003

Pg. 14:  It was this big talk, not the persistent southwesterly breeze, that had prompted New York editor Charles Anderson Dana to nickname Chicago "the Windy City."

(This book is a number four New York Times best seller.  It got great reviews, even though the 1893 Chicago fair is hardly a new topic...It was seven years ago that I wrote to every politician in the city of Chicago.  Not a single person was even kind enough to return a self-addressed stamped envelope.  A year later, these same people would pass legislation to absolve the activities of a dead cow...I've written to the NEW YORK SUN, with no response.  Last December, I was told that they'd be writing about my Audrey Munson work, but I haven't heard back on that either...NEVER ends--ed.)

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WEEKEND PILL

   From THE STRAITS TIMES, 12 February 2003, pg. H1, col. 2:
_The little blue pill gets a "weekend" rival_
(...)  Though not in time for Valentine's Day.  Cialis, also a drug used to treat male impotence, is made by Eli Lily.  It has been approved for use and is expected to be available here before the middle of the year.  It has been nicknamed the "weekend pill" because its effects last 36 hours. (...)

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"HIDE AND SLEEP" WEAPONS

   From THE STRAITS TIMES, 12 February 2003. pg. H8, col. 2:
_Next: "Hide and sleep" weapons_
   NEW YORK--They loiter.  They sleep.  They hide.  And when an enemy sticks his neck out, they kill.
   The United States Department of Defence (sic) is preparing new weapons that can loiter over a battlefield or sneak into enemy territory and "sleep" until an appropriate military target blunders into their sights. (...)