Bags of hot air (well, bags of lighter-than-air gas, to be exact) may one day provide a cost-effective alternative (or complement) to coverage-limited terrestrial cell sites and out-of-this-world satellites with an out-of-this-world price tag. A former NASA engineer and an Arizona-based firm are working on prototypes of airships designed to provide cellular service to large coverage areas, and to remote areas out of reach from traditional cell sites.

Bob Jones' prototype for what he calls the Stratellite weighs in at 750 pounds, has five separate helium lift cells contained within a rigid carbon composite airframe, cost about $3 million to build, and bears little resemblance to the Goodyear blimp (the Stratellite has a broad, tapered nose like a shark's head). But the Stratellite is designed not as a leisurely-paced tourist vehicle, or as an ad-in-the-sky, but to go much higher, thirteen miles above ground, and for longer, up to eighteen months at a time. At that height, Jones believes the Stratellite can provide cell service to an area the size of Texas. The prototype's scheduled for test flights beginning later this month at Palmdale.

Space Data's vision for a similar service is based off the more familiar - and proven - weather balloon, carrying to the stratosphere not barometers and thermometers but the equipment to receive, boost, and transmit cell phone signals. Unlike the Stratellite, the 125 foot-long Sanswire 2 targets areas too remote from cellular service, or where cell signals cannot reach them due to terrain features. They've got plans to float a test "tech-demo" balloon over a remote part of North Dakota to demonstrate the tech and the service, and company is already in negotiations with several unidentified cell service providers. If all goes well, they expect to float their first operational and commercial gas bag as early as next year, over western Texas.

After being relegated to the attic of aviation history (especially after great strides in the development of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and the memory of the Hindenburg and other similar airship disasters), airships are making a comeback to the skies of the 21st century. Besides being used as communications platforms - an idea that was toyed with by dot-com companies back before the bubble burst - there are plans to use them for heavy freight too bulky or too heavy for their heavier-than-air cousins, and even a return to passenger service (though as a "cruise ship" service rather than high-speed air passenger transport).

One thing you gotta say about the World of Warcraft community - despite the Wagnerian air of impending Götterdamerung (what with that dreadful Shadow of the Necropolis business and all) - they still manage to avoid taking themselves too seriously, having a few laughs at their own expense. Perhaps this is the secret behind the game's overwhelming popularity (and a lesson for the rest of us).

Take the "Easter Eggs". Most film buffs will tell you that Easter Eggs are those funny little undocumented features on DVD movies - out-takes, interviews, or other "fun" little bits. In WoW, however, Easter Eggs refer to the character names that have pop culture references, mainly Hollywood films. Although these WoW Easter Eggs are too numerous to list here, here are a few of my favorites (for the full list, click the 'Read' link below):

• Hin Denburg, Zeppelin Master Goblin in Tirisfal Glades: refers to the ill-fated commercial airship, Hindenburg, that exploded during landing at Lakehurst NJ in 1937.
• Tyler and Edward, undead fighters in the Warrior Quarter combatting an Abomination: named for a character and an actor (Edward Norton) in the 1999 film Fight Club.
• Klannoc Macleod the Islander, lives on an island off the coast between Ratchet and Northwatch Keep: named for "Highlander" Connor MacLeod, played by actor Christopher Lambert in the 1986 film of the same title.
• Scooty and Sprok, goblins that teleport players to Gnomregan: thinly disguised versions of Scotty and Spock from the original Star Trek.
• Cannoneers Smythe and Whessan, on a quest named The Guns of Northwatch: The "Smith and Wesson" was a common U.S. Army revolver during the late 19th Century. Gunfighters of the Northwest is a classic Hollywood Western released in 1954.
• Old Man Hemming, who sells a 225 "Fishigh" book in Booty Bay: from Old Man And The Sea, a 1958 novel by Ernest Hemingway, about an old Cuban fisherman who chases a giant fish.
• Return of the Ring, a quest in Gnomeregan: Duh...!
• Olivia, Newton and John, bankers in Stormwind: If you've seen the 1978 film Grease, you know all about this one.
• Norman, Innkeeper of Undercity, and Bates, Innkeeper at Sepulcher: a tribute to the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic thriller, Psycho. Don't think I'll be checkin' into either of those places, thank you very much...(LEAVE ME ALONE, MOTHER...!)