Cheers to our favorite subterranean rodent of the day!!
Phil sez 6 more weeks of winter!!!
http://www.groundhog.org/
Groundhog’s Day 2009!
Buh-bye!
Don’t let the door hit you in the rear…
xoxo,
Garrett
Yay! It’s the holidays!
OK, it’s almost the holidays — perhaps I have to wait until tomorrow (Thanksgiving) for such a proclamation. Meh, I’m ready now!
Was waiting for some server stuff to complete tonight and stumbled across this — a web snowflake maker! It’s really cool. You can cut snowflakes just like you did when you were a kid. So here’s my first attempt at holiday joy this season. Cheers!
You can make your own at http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/
Mmmmm, Bacon….II
I don’t know what my obsession with bacon is lately….
But really, I do consider it queen of all the meats. It’s not only good by itself, but improves the other meats when in combination. That is leadership.
Virgin America LAS-SFO-SEA Oct 2008
From a trip report I posted to airliners.net.
The actual trip to Vegas was nice — very relaxed. I didn’t even bring my laptop!! Although I later was feeling quite detached from the world. Guess I have Internet addiction, but since I can claim that is my career hopefully I can avoid those nasty visits to the therapist LOL!
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Bottom lines at the top:
–Nice new airplanes, of course.
–Nice staff, not outlandishly cute, but happy & professional
–Exit row reservation of $15 is worth it
–Upgrade to first class $50 worth it…perhaps
–Red is cool, but needs some work. Holds promise
–Will definitely fly again; all-in-all superior to other competitors that I have flown
In brief…my first time on Virgin America as I was trying their product to see what the fuss was all about after a 3 day quickie in Vegas. I usually fly either Alaska (We’re nearly slaves to it in SEA for west coast stuff) or Southwest for short trips like this.
I forgot my camera — 20 lashes with a noodle, I know.
LAS-SFO VX909
Scheduled: 3:35P
Actual: 3:35P
Load: 85-ish%
Reserved an exit row window on this leg. Found the legroom more than some domestic first class cabins I’ve sat in. Definitely worth the $15 for me. Seats are comfy and did not feel “squashed” into them and I’m a pretty big guy. The side wall does start curving into your headroom if a window seat, though. Not enough to make me unhappy for 1.5 hours. Weather was gorgeous all along the coast, so spot on-time departure. Arrived 40-35 minutes early into SFO!
The Red in-flight entertainment is nice, but still seems buggy — slow screen redraws and artifacts. Google maps is slow. TV is good. Music good (obviously as a Virgin product…) Navigation of the screens was a little confusing, but I’m getting old and analog, so perhaps it’s just me. Once the kinks are worked-out and the final features added it will indeed be killer.
Now had a 4 hour layover in SFO, but that was planned — had dinner with some friends which was fabulous. Returned to the airport an hour before departure only to find a gate change to the other side of the SFO Int’l terminal to G83. Quite long walk — not something you want to do when you have no time.
SFO-SEA VX748
Scheduled: 8:45P
Actual: 8:45P
Load: poor (perhaps 33%?)
Got an upgrade to first class on this leg. After cheap Vegas hotel and no gambling I figured i could afford the $50 upgrade luxury to try it out — I AM an airplane lover after all, so it’s research, at least this is my excuse to myself… 🙂
First class is really akin to a good International business class. Unbelievable seat pitch — I could not reach-out and touch the seat in front of me without getting out of my seat. Seat comfy. Only annoying thing was there is no place to rest a single drink glass as the arm rests are padded and contain the tray table on one side and the Red screen on other.
We were served a BBQ chicken salad, which I poked thru as I was stuffed from dinner, but it was good and appropriate for the quite late hour. All-in-all for this short flight the $50 wasn’t particularly worth it when I knew from the first flight that $15 extra scores an outstanding seat totally sufficient for 1-3 hour coastal flights.
I later sat in a “normal” coach seat for a few minutes. It did feel more constricted, obviously, but I would not hesitate to sit in one of these either. As good or better than other airlines.
Oh, and we arrived 30 minutes early in SEA as well. Must have been the excellent weather, I’m sure. Vividly shows you, however, how much delay airlines pad into schedules some times (yet still are late…I know, a huge other topic! 😉
Summary:
IMHO this is a superior product compared to the normal airlines I endure when doing quick flights on the west coast. Perhaps not mind-blowingly so, but definitely a noticeable step above the rest. If Virgin America flies to a destination I want to go to I will choose them over anyone else from now on; let’s hope that network of theirs is expanded. I think they have the potential to really take-on a certain airlines if they can hang in there during the tough times and passengers take notice.
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http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/135267/
Witty runways
I’m a sucker for witty writing that is of the dripping-with-sarcasm-yet-only-one-inch-from-the-truth category.
This is a prime example. Although Seattle is finally getting it’s 3rd runway this November after decades of constipation, London Heathrow (perhaps the most important international aviation gateway on Earth) is just now getting it’s druthers and really getting deep into the expansion mode.
So my fellow airliner geeks at airliners.net (a.net) have risen to the occasion and have commented on possible timelines as such!
to wit, in part (fair use):
“June 2009 – Submit public tenders for various designs for its replacement.
July 2009 – All designs rejected by local residents.
August 2009 – A rare and previously thought to be extinct breed of dust mite is discovered in T2.
Late-August 2009 – A charity single entitled “Save the mites = Save our future (and our Children’s future)” is released by two ex-Pop Idol nobodies. It goes straight in at number one.
September 2009 – Local residents set up an action group called T.W.A.T.S – (Team Worried and Against Terminal Success) which pickets Parliament to demand that the area is left for animals to graze on, as anything other than this course of action represents what basically amounts to Planetary Homicide. They lodge their formal complaints to the planning commission, which rules that in light of the new complaints against the massive expansion of Heathrow airport and the obvious and irrefutable damage replacing the terminal building will do to London’s green belt, that all previous planning permissions and tenders are null and void. A new planning process is started.
October 2009
The best airline (any?) commercial ever
OK, I’m late to the party… (big surprise!)
This commercial that United aired during the Olympics is simply a masterpiece. It is an epic film in 60 seconds.
Normally I’m not a huge sappy guy, but this one softens even my hard edges. It is so nuanced and heartfelt — literally; the way the heart gets cut-out and slipped in a pocket. They way you see the light thru the empty heart during the presentation. They way the bird flies thru it and the score is outstanding. Plus just a hint of United’s famous use of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” at the end, which has to be one of the most effective, and really great, corporate identities out there.
Just too bad United is really going through some rough times, as obviously they have some incredible talent and feeling somewhere in that leviathan body. This is beautiful.
Anyways, here it is…
My new favorite blog
And no, it’s not mine! 🙂
http://www.bsideblog.com/travel/
This guy is hysterical — he writes about his travel experiences. He’s an awesome writer (apparently what he does for a living) and he says it like it is! The travel section of his blog is just a part of his other subjects. But it’s the one’s that I identify with the most.
He used the word “gauche” in a post. Always a plus in my book.
He’s also obviously a Child of the 80’s like me, For example, on JetBlue’s videos channel:
“Anyway, I’ve watched a good number of videos on the three-headed monster that is MTV-VH1-VH1 Classic. Highlights have included “No Air” by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown (my new guilty pleasure), “We Built This City” by Starship (my all time favorite guilty pleasure), “Foolish Beat” by Debbie Gibson (a guilty pleasure I didn’t even realize was a guilty pleasure until it came on), “Wishing Well” by Terrence Trent D’Arby (a smooth pleasure), “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles (a goddamn pleasure), and “Touch My Body” by Mariah Carey (a funny video pleasure). I should note that for whatever reason, I was oddly compelled to sing along to “We Built This City,” but I restrained myself out of respect for the passengers and/or any small animals that may be aboard. I should also note that while I’ve seen the video many, many times in my life, this was the first time that I carefully studied Grace Slick’s dance moves, and let me say that while rhythm might not be her strong suit, no one can touch her when it comes to teetering over on her side / clapping oddly.”
I especially loved the first few points of his “Top Ten Worst Baggage Claim Annoyances.”
Say it, man, say it!
Mmmmm…. bacon.
I look like Kevin Mitnick…
This pleases me very much in a very sinister way…
For those not in the know here’s the Wikipedia article on Kevin Mitnick, old-school cracker of the early Internet.
The best quote of that entire article (emphasis mine): “Mitnick states that he compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes that he gained by social engineering. It is notable that Mitnick did not use software programs or hacking tools for cracking passwords or otherwise exploiting computer or phone security.”
People: beware.