1. Flight to the UK was mostly uneventful, slightly bumpy over the Hudson's Bay, but otherwise quite smooth. Notable elements: The Departed was good, the US-sourced breakfast was nasty, over-sugared, and ultimately did not agree with my digestive system.

2. The connection at Heathrow to my Milano flight was easy and difficulty-free...( Read more... )

1. Matt Frei's description of his recent negative travel experience and past harrowing flights was amusing...but I do hope this is followed up with a serious comparison to the European experience with passenger rights and compensation.

2. Beebs reports on the proposed road pricing scheme with a highly dubious opinion survey of a mere 1006 ( Read more... )

1. The price of cold weather...the North East of the country is resembling the mid-90s Montreal ice storm - with power outages and cold-related deaths. Hereabouts, the central valley is declaring a 75% loss on this year's citrus harvest (prices on oranges are expected to rise $0.50 a pound), and a total loss on this month's artichoke harvest...and ( Read more... )

The neat thing about United Airlines is Channel 9 - you get to listen in to the cockpit, and all the radiochatter between the planes and groundcontrol on that frequency. After a slight delay boarding the crowded Boeing 777, "United 74 Heavy" was off to SFO. Unusually, the flight attendants were informative, and warned the passengers about the poor ( Read more... )