Electronics

You know that rule on airplanes that you can't use handheld electronics during takeoff and landing? Well, I never really believed it to be true that a little gameboy would screw up the navigation system. Even when I was little and electronics were much less sophisticated, it was hard to accept that my old Walkman would bring down the plane. Or maybe it was just that I didn't want to think I was trusting my life to something that could be disrupted by a teenager's music. Anyway, yesterday I was on a plane and across the aisle happened to be a pilot. He was in uniform and I guess flying to another flight that needed him. So there we were sitting as the flight attendant made her speech to turn off electronics for takeoff and came around to check. The pilot had a case that looked like a laptop case his lap and the flight attendant said he should know better to have a laptop. He murmured something I didn't hear. After she left, he took out his iPod and listened to it during both takeoff and landing. I guess if a pilot isn't concerned about small electronics in the air, then I was right all along!