Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Getting down to business class

Getting down to business class

I just read that in light of the current economy, British Airways are seriously slashing their business class flight prices in a 4-day sale starting May 21st. London and North America Business Class fares will be cut by a mega 50%... but you know what, I still can’t flippin’ afford one.

The discount means you can get a return trip to New York for as little as AED 8,490- including all pesky taxes, fees and surcharges. London comes to AED 5,885 and Los Angeles AED 10,855. A bod from British Airways reckons:

“The ongoing global credit crunch continues to dent consumer confidence but these unbelievable fares are sure to attract the UAE’s business and leisure travelers; they represent our cheapest ever trans-Atlantic fares from the Emirates.”

Well, I’m sure they do, but somehow this offer is making me VERY upset, British Airways. I need to go to LA in September for a friend’s wedding and the dates covered by your promotion are just a few days short of when I need to travel. And yes, I do take this personally. Oh, and spending 10k for a seat on plane is ridiculous anyway. You could feed a small orphanage for a week with that much money.

But there’s another problem here... and I lower my head in shame of my petulance. I’ll admit I’m feeling somewhat hard done by now, because of the fact that I know better than economy, and yet I am stuck there. I’ve seen the other side, and yet it remains untouchable. I’m the bird in a cage looking out at the big wide world; the cat who can’t quite get her paw into the fish tank; Dorothy, wishing for Earth from Oz. I know what’s out there, but there still aren’t enough credit cards with free air-miles, or whirlwind airline promotions with enough power to get me back.

My little uncomfortable travel bubble was burst a few months ago when I was treated to a super-comfy business class seat on a flight back from Hong Kong. Ever since then, the way I view flying has changed. The way I view airports has change. The way I view the WORLD has changed!

For starters, there’s the pick-up service. When you pay enough for a ticket, you get picked up. From your house! There’s no stinking cab journey to the airport, no queuing to check in, no getting bashed about the ankles by an over-zealous mother of five with a trolley… and then it’s straight on through to the lounge. Previous to my business class encounter I would shuffle past this sacred section to my hard, plastic seat in the economy waiting area, pay for a nasty overpriced sandwich and pray that the hour before my flight would pass quickly without pain. I would wonder what people did in that hallowed space behind the glass, how the other half spent their time before take-off. Soon, on that momentous occasion of discovery, I found my imaginings weren’t too far off the truth. Free-flowing champagne, all you can eat little sandwiches, a home cooked breakfast… you can even have a mani/pedi in a spa if you want! Magazines are free. People don’t sleep on the floor. It’s beautiful.

Then of course, much to your dismay and halfway through your fourth glass of champers it’s time to get on the plane. Never mind, more champers awaits. The staff know your name and ask you how you are. Drunk, is your reply. You put your seat right back, plump up your pillow and settle in for your luxurious journey. Maybe watch a movie on your 20 inch screen, with the comfort of your padded headphones. If you want something, you ask and it’s there. No buzzing repetitively, squashed in the middle, ignored as a fat man drools on your arm in his sleep and a screaming child pierces your earplugs and threatens to bring the plane down.

I ask you, now that I’ve been to the front of the plane, how can I go back? British Airways needs to think about who they’re upsetting when they dangle such promotions in our faces. They mean well, but sometimes... well, I could just cry. It’s not all their fault, I suppose. What I’ve seen before has ruined me. What previously would have been a dreaded 17 hour flight to LA, is now a dreaded 17 hour flight to LA in economy, as people lounge fully reclined ahead of me in a world of luxurious business I may never know again.

Posted: 21 May 2009

 

Spammers are getting younger?

"The voice of the chairman clove his speech with a cold accent."
That is the subject line of a spam email that has just been dropped into the trash by Spamsieve.
The body of text is random ramblings like this:
"somewhere, smiling out of the bow-window of a club, or taking off his hat to "Seem to have taken a fancy to us this evenin'," Howe heard Tom
objection was that Sunday or his Secretary has just this moment got out ofsomeone to dress up as a dynamiter; and they all swore by blazes that I"
But because I only ever read email as plain text I don't see the HTML formatting or the hyperlink with the splendidly naff anchor text of "Wanna slim down for summer?". This one goes to an AOL website which probably links to a diet pill purveyor.
The random text is supposed to fool spam filters but it didn't get past Spamsieve.
Let us just be grateful the spammers have no real grasp of proper grammar. Their stupidity and the use of juvenile mis-spellings is working against them.
Change the settings in your email software to read and write in plain text. Have nothing to do with HTML email and you will avoid many of the problems associated with email spam.
And please, don't get hooked by anyone that uses "Wanna".
 --
Moving to the USA? Get a quote.
http://www.overseasmovingsolutions.com/moving-to-usa.html

The Conficker worm turns

AN FRANCISCO (AP) - The dreaded Conficker computer worm is stirring. Security experts say the worm's authors appear to be trying to build a big moneymaker, but not a cyber weapon of mass destruction as many people feared.

As many as 12 million computers have been infected by Conficker. Security firm Trend Micro says some of the machines have been updated over the past few days with fake antivirus software - the first attempt by Conficker's authors to profit from their massive "botnet."

Criminals use bogus security software to extort money. Victims are told their computers are infected, and can be fixed only by paying for a clean-up that never happens.

Conficker gets on computers through a hole Microsoft patched in October. PCs set up for automatic Windows updates should be clean.

Hopefully all you Windows users have taken the proper precautions, anti virus software, Windows updates up to date. Oh and you've disconnected your Windows PC from the internet just to be on the safe side.

The Spalding Flower Parade and Flower Festival

It looks like Spalding is getting a flower parade this year after all..

 The Spalding Flower Parade and Flower Festival 2009.

 Some last minute negotiations by local authorities and interested parties has reversed the decision not to continue with the traditional May Bank Holiday flower parade made after last years parade . Also known as the Spalding Tulip Parade because of the floats decorated with tulip heads that parade through the town on the Saturday, it has a tradition going back 50 years.

 This years New Look Parade will include the usual decorated floats and marching bands, together with a floral cavalcade of traditional decorated floats.
Many of these will be on display at Springfields Event centre throughout the flower festival weekend. Other events and attractions include a free circus, RHS displays, garden trade stands, music and entertainment.

  
The Spalding Flower Festival and Flower Parade Saturday 2nd to Monday 4th May 2009

Get quotes for your Overseas Move

Here's a site that makes getting quotes for your overseas move easy.

 We all know moving is a stressful experience, moving overseas even more so. So it's important to get the right moving company for the job.

 Unlike the other comparison websites, this site doesn't just automatically pass your quote request on to a pre selected list of moving companies from their database. That list may well contain companies that are not qualified or capable of satisfying your particular requirements.

 Instead they manually evaluate your requirements from the quote request form and pass the request on to a selection of vetted professional overseas moving companies that are specifically capable of the job. According to your location and destination, type and size of move, special requirements etc.

 Staffed by moving professionals with many years experience in the overseas moving business, they have an enviable list of contacts with the best and most qualified overseas moving companies worldwide.

 No matter where you are moving from or to in the world, they have the contacts and experience to guide you to the right moving company for your particular overseas move.

  --
Moving overseas? Get your quotes here.
Get quotes for your overseas move from anywhere in the world to anywhere. Professional overseas moving companies waiting to quote you.
One simple form will get you several quotes from hand picked overseas moving companies.

Crisis in the newspaper industry. The future of journalism.

This is an interesting piece on the BBC website about the crisis hitting the US newspaper industry.
It highlights the effect on the industry of people getting news from digital sources, and the effect on revenues of the current downturn in advertising spend. To be expected in the current economic gloom, but it won't last.
The question though is when we do claw our way out of the gloom, where will the future advertising spend be?
It looks like there will be fewer newspapers, at least in the US, but I would guess many of them will retain their online content. So print and online advertising in future, and online journalism is the future.

  
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7913400.stm
 --
Professional freelance creative writers for hire in Dubai, UAE, and England.
Creative writing, formal, business and website copy. Marketing and advertising copywriting, editing and editorial content.

Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down

With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.

The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town.

No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai’s major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy.

A new draft media law in the UAE would make it a crime to publish anything that might damage the country's reputation or economy.
Clamping down on the truth may cause more damage than the truth. The population of the UAE knows full well it's economy is in free fall, the property market has crashed and second hand luxury cars abandoned by fleeing migrant workers are almost two a penny at the auctions.
A ban on reporting the facts just makes the government look stupid. But they seem to thrive on that so no surprise there.
If the constant traffic jams on Sheikh Zayed Road have now gone and most of the construction sites shut down, Dubai could become a reasonably civilised place for a holiday.

Microsoft denies it profits from Vista-to-XP downgrades - Business - Macworld UK

Dell, for example, adds an extra $20 to the price to downgrade a PC.

Microsoft, however, may profit from the way it structures downgrade rights. Only buyers of PCs with pre-installed editions of Vista Business and Vista Ultimate can downgrade, and then only to Windows XP Professional .

All three editions are higher-priced versions of their respective lines, a fact that the lawsuit mentioned in passing.
"Customers have been forced to purchase the most expensive version of [Windows XP] in order to 'downgrade' from the Windows Vista operating system," the complaint read.

That was the cause of some confusion last year, when Dell Inc. was accused of gouging customers by charging $150 to downgrade a new computer to XP.

What is all this nonsense about downgrade rights?
Surely the owner of a PC is entitled to run whatever operating system he or she desires without asking for permission from Microsoft or the manufacturer, or paying a premium to do so.
It's laughable the number of different versions of Vista there are, when one version of OSX does it all. And at a cheaper price.
If I buy a new Mac now and want to run an earlier version of OSX I don't need permission from Apple to do so.

BBC NEWS | UK | Nuclear subs collide in Atlantic

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in a collision with a French nuclear sub in the middle of the Atlantic, the MoD has confirmed.

HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant were badly damaged in the crash in heavy seas earlier this month.

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band said the submarines came into contact at low speed and no injuries were reported.

Both the UK and France insisted nuclear security had not been compromised.

It's a big enough ocean, you would think they would be able to avoid one another.
The interesting fact here is that according to sources, the anti sonar devices fitted to both vessels designed to hide the submarines from enemies, may be too effective.
So where do you draw the line between too effective and just effective enough?

Downgrade to Windows Vista. No thanks I want XP. Microsoft's future dilemma?

An interesting scenario for the future.

 Windows Vista was such a disappointing mess that many people who bought new PC's with Vista pre installed opted to downgrade to XP.
There is currently a class action lawsuit against Microsoft to recover the downgrade charges levied by Microsoft. You can read about that here.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=24981

 The rights and wrongs of this action are up for debate. The cost of the operating system is included in the price of the PC so to install an alternative version would entail buying it. The argument here is that Vista didn't work as advertised and Microsoft should refund the cost and or provide the requested XP alternative without charge.

 But the real story here is what happens when Windows 7 is released.
The normal OS downgrade path is to the previous version. In the case of Vista it's back to XP.
But will anyone want to downgrade to Vista if Windows 7 turns out to be another hideous mess?