VoIP and ENUM

As readers of my blog may have noticed, I am currently in Boston at the 2nd ENUM Summit of IQPC. The meeting is going very well and I will report in a separate entry soon. Going to Boston involves airlines and airports and I had some "fun" again.

But first I have to report something else: my mobile phone stopped working, but of course I am not incommunicado, thanks to free broadband access in the Radisson at Boston and Skype. I turned off my mobile phone as law-abiding citizen on entering the plane and put it in my pocket. The phone decided to turn itself on im my pocket and, as GSM mobile phones normally do, asked for the PIN. A 7 hour flight provides enough time to push a button now and then and when I tried to turn my phone on in Boston (of course AFTER immigration, for the avoidance of doubt), I first discovered that it was already on (good grief, how many laws did I break without even knowing?), then I discovered that my phone has run out of PIN tries and wanted to get the PUK. Do you know your PUK? I don't, maybe back home if I am lucky.

The airline rant: Since they lost my luggage several times, I am travelling only with hand luggage since one year. Always the same piece of luggage, no problems to take it into the plane. This time at the check-in in Vienna KLM requested that I have to check-in my luggage because it is too large, and the plane is too small (a Fokker 100 ?!). Of course I resisted, trying to explain that I do not trust the Amsterdam Airport, because they lost my luggage alreay 3 times. While I was still discussing this issue with the lady at the check-in counter, a superviser lady stopped this discussion by simply stating: If I do not shut up immediately, I will not fly anywhere today. That's exactly the best method to attract new customers.

To be fair: they did not loose my luggage in Amsterdam, but I am done with KLM.