How are airplanes like nursing homes?

Seriously. I came across an interesting site that raises that and some other provocative ideas worth thinking about.

RED has been researching what life is like in care homes for the elderly. Have you ever noticed how flying long distance is a bit similar to living in a nursing home?

RED has been researching what life is like in care homes for the elderly. Have you ever noticed how flying long distance is a bit similar to living in a nursing home?

Your meals are brought to you. You are told to stay seated most of the time. Staff do everything for you. You sit in rows of identical chairs. They switch the lights off at bedtime. The TV is always there to keep you quiet. And the more money you can afford to pay the more tolerable the whole unpleasant experience becomes.

Which got us wondering - what would care homes be like if they were designed by Virgin or BA?

I can think of a couple of differences right away, including how to handle bedpans, dementia, prescription meds, sanitation and safety for a fragile, at-risk population, and the distance from emergency medical care. It's a long way between an airline seat and a hospital.

Of course he's not suggesting that residents should be in airplanes but that the services and management of people that airlines use may have something to bring to the nursing home environment which already has those features. I would reverse the question and ask how flying might be made more appealing if airlines took a good look at how nursing home residents are handled.

That part about "the more you can afford to pay the more tolerable the whole unpleasant experience becomes" is also telling. The correlation between fares and flights falls apart pretty quick when the person on one side paid about half what you did because of some "deal" and someone on the other side paid nothing out of his own pocket because he was on an expense account.

So much for the bait.

Here is the switch:

The site that linked to RED is World Changing. All you conservative-type readers hold your noses and go take a look. It's shot through with all kinds of environmental concerns, the kind that card-carrying tree-huggers just love. I happen to be open to that kind of thinking, however, because I have spent three decades serving the public and watching them eat. Don't get me started.

This link is one that has real possibilities. Be sure to watch the video.

What do they do all day?

The Sunlight Network is offering payment to activists and bloggers who persuade Members of Congress to share their daily schedules with the public by putting them on the Internet. In the meantime, we have to speculate as to how they spend their time.

Mix and match the video and audio sound tracks provided and add your own text to create a 30 second video explaining what you think members of congress do with their time. Make as many videos as you want, watch other user-created videos, share them with your friends, and share it with your Member of Congress when you ask him or her to open up their schedule.

Show them that being open is better than leaving us to guess.

The best mix and match video -- the one that the community decides is the most fun, funny, and effective -- (see terms and conditions) wins a $5,000 prize.

Enjoy!