I was saddened to hear about the explosion yesterday that killed 3 and injured more at a rocket test site out in Californias Mojave Desert. Workers there were running some tests on a system for Spaceship Two, a project backed by Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines. Branson wants to eventually launch several private, manned vehicles to reach space, for his Virgin Galactic enterprise.
For more information regarding the test site explosion and the related press conference, visit the LA Times.

I happened to glance up this morning as the NBC Today Show was playing in the background and saw Peter Greenberg doing a travel segment which caught my attention (being a travel guy and all)The segment was on the “Dangers of Driving Overseas“. It was a long segment (4 minutes or so) and I found it interesting.
At the end of the segment — which I must say was visually compelling and the story telling excellent; I found myself shaking my head in wonderment.
Why is it that most TV travel segments allude to websites and information “YOU CAN FIND” on the internet and don’t take the time or effort to post it somewhere easily accessible to help us find IT.
I am pretty sure my wife, mother and dozens of family members who might have been watching that segment and wanting to investigate it further on the internet don’t have Tivo to replay those 2 seconds of nuggets where a site was briefly mentioned and a quick check of the NBC Today Show website shows no links whatsoever.
The people that need this information the most, those with time and flexibility (or the parents of loved ones) to take exotic trips and drive are most likely not the most Internet savvy — without a simple way to find the information it will just be a fleeting moment of TV in the background…
I dare anyone to watch it and then try to remember the names of the sites mentioned without replaying it a few times.
Sigh … at the end — he warns us that information to help us IS OUT THERE but HARD to find.
OK, highlighting the problem is interesting — maybe even compelling TV, but providing a shortcut to the information that will help everyone is REALLY MORE IMPORTANT.
BTW, If you watched the segment live or at the link above and are interested in those sites that were mentioned the links are below:
US State Department - Road Safety Overseas
ASIRT - (Association for International Road Travel)
Make Roads Safe - G8 and United Nations Campaign
World Health Organization - Fact sheets from the World report on road traffic injury prevention