Tagged With "American Society of Civil Engineers"
Comment
Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
Received this e-mail this morning. Today we're excited to share the news that Starwood Hotels & Resorts will join together with Marriott International to create the world's largest hotel company. For our Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG® members, this will mean even more choices in even more places, giving you access to 1.1 million rooms across 5,500 hotels and resorts in more than 100 countries. We will work to bring you the very best of SPG and Marriott Rewards®, two of the most...
Comment
Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
I'm hopeful, since I think the last thing in the world Marriott should want to do is to signal Starwood loyalists that they aren't valued. Wonder how long before SPG rewards will book Marriott rooms...that could be a quick thing to do!
Comment
Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
As I'm also a Marriott rewards member, I wonder when I'll get an e-mail from them.
Comment
Re: Flights to Cuba: lots of planes, not so many passengers
Many returning tourists will be telling their American friends that life in a third world country - like Cuba - is worse than just having only one flavour of Ice Cream.
Comment
Re: Where Gumbo Was #14: A Sewer Journey
How people have solved civil engineering problems is of great interest to many persons. I have visited the Egouts several times over the years. It is very interesting to see how the engineers went about providing - and continue to do provide - this important service for the growing city. A related infrastructure challenge for developing areas is always how to provide clean water for the populace. In Istanbul, it is possible to visit one of the ancient cisterns to see how this feat was...
Comment
Re: Post-Merger AA Route Changes at DCA, LGA
Virign America will bee getting some of AA's slots at LGA - That is a net plus in my book!
Reply
Re: Ghost Images of WWI
Amazing work...and a stark reminder of how recently all this took place.
Reply
Re: Ghost Images of WWI
Recent, indeed. I've taken to comparing events in history to the life spans of people I've known, or who they knew, and it brings it into shocking relief for me. WWI was a fact during the young adulthood of my grandparents, just 5 years before the births of my parents, one of whom is still alive. In that context it seems like it was just yesterday.
Reply
Re: Ghost Images of WWI
The photos are eerie and definitely captivating. Perhaps the most horrific of all the wars, but we always say that until the next ones roll around and are even worse.
Comment
Re: A visit to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello
PHeymont, I never try to judge historic figures through the prism of modern values. Remember in the 18th century slavery was a global institution -- absolutely every country in the world had slaves. And being from Virginia, he knew the southern states wouldn't join northern colonies in forming a new country without slavery being allowed, so I don't think he thought it was time to fight that fight. I think he valued the formation of the new country above all else -- risking his life to do so...
Comment
Re: AA "new tail" wins in close employee vote
Heavy sigh. Good taste seems always to be a minority attribute. I may be forced to rethink my frequent flyer situation, unless they opt to promote the minority to lifetime business class. It seems only fair.
Comment
Re: Sri Lanka: A Land Like No Other. (Part 5) The Elephants of Pinnawala
Thanks, PortMoresby! And we've not even been to the sacred tooth relic in Kandy, the medieval ruins of Polonnaruwa, the beautiful hill country filled with tea plantations and "The World's End", a wildlife safari at Yala National Park, nor any of the nice beaches (but keep reading -- reports on these are coming). Sri Lanka is a great destination, especially now that the civil war is over. I was doubly lucky to not only be able to visit a dear friend there but to have time to leisurely explore...
Comment
Re: AA Plans to Squeeeeeze More Seats into 737s and MD80s
Everyone was right the other day when they suspected that BA was charging for the seat in the restroom. BA finds new Revenue Stream ?
Comment
Re: Fast Start for New Inflight Device Rules
This is ironic. Electronic devices which, themselves, become rapidly obsolete are making videos about them obsolete simply by the popularity of the devices.
Comment
Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert
Great color and variety! Thanks...I'm going to have to get to the desert in spring, sometime. I visited the Sonora desert in December, and recognize some of these from seeing them without their brilliant display (click HERE for that blog) This is certainly a reminder of how little we know a place when we only know it "in season."
Comment
Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert
How many times do folks say "Why did you go there ? There's nothing to see !" That's why I love going the opposite way from the crowd. Beautiful selection of photo's ! Any little beasties on the loose ?
Comment
Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert
There were a lot of these little lizards around, GarryRF. Generally a good sign because if there's rattlesnakes about they hide. Except for birds, everything else was well hidden.
Comment
Re: Up, Up and Away: Airline miles cards with big bonuses
I LOVE my airline credit card, but it's great to have all this information in one place to see if I could do better. Probably not without some whopping fees, but whopping bonuses, too. Thank you sir, for showing us all these choices!
Comment
Re: Up, Up and Away: Airline miles cards with big bonuses
I have a Delta American Express Platinum card that has served us well. The fee is higher than the gold card, but we can check two bags free, priority boarding, and a free companion pass yearly. We fly two or three times a year and the value of the waived baggage fee and the companion pass far exceed the $150 annual fee. The card also accrues one mile for each dollar spent and lately has offered cash back incentives. For example: spend $15 at Panera's using the card and receive $5 credit on...
Comment
Re: Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar
On the 2 nights prior to the massacre, Indian Government buildings had been set on fire. Telegraph poles destroyed and railways attacked. Europeans - including a female English school teacher - had been attacked by mobs on the streets. Stripped naked, beaten and left for dead at the roadside. There were no British soldiers in the town. They were all in the mountains to escape the heat. The Ghurkhas' - Nepalese Soldiers - were trying to enforce the curfew that had been imposed following the...
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 16, 2014: American Golden Plover
That's fascinating! I never thought about the color differences during migration...what a difference it must be for, say, a North American birder in South America!
Comment
Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 16, 2014: American Golden Plover
Yes, Arctic birds are common in southern USA, Central and South America and further north during migration. But to see them in their beautiful breeding colours, you need to go to the Arctic in spring or early summer. This plover had already changed to grey by mid-August.
Comment
Re: HOW YOU CAN SAVE THE ASIAN ELEPHANT
Thanks for sharing these thoughts. Elephants are highly intelligent animals, probably smarter than dogs for example. Wild elephants in Asia are having a hard time because of loss of habitat and conversion of their normal range to agricultural land. Most do not have ivory tusks so unlike their African cousins, they are not slaughtered for their teeth. In Sri Lanka I visited the elephant orphanage in Pinnawala a number of times, which I've previously written about on TravelGumbo at this link .
Comment
Re: American, USAir loyalty programs will merge Q2 2015
Finally! I've been hanging on to my measly 5,000 USAir miles by buying something through their site every 18 months and must again by January to keep them. It's ok as I only buy things I would anyway. The problem is remembering to go through the USAir site to do it. Last time, whew!
Comment
Re: Charleston's Grand Mansions: Middleton Place
I was interested to note (aside from the alligators!) the fact that the house at Middleton was never restored after the Civil War. I noted that at Magnolia plantation, not far away, a small cottage was moved in to replace the original house...and it left me wondering. While the planter class certainly reclaimed power after Reconstruction, they must have taken quite a while to overcome the economic damage they brought on themselves.
Comment
Re: Photography at the Edges, New York & San Francisco
Among my greatest photography influences were Matthew Brady, whose grainy and gritty images of the Civil War made it so very "real" to future generations just learning about it in history books. And of course the great work of Ansel Adams. Far from gritty and grainy. Truly a visionary.
Comment
Re: AA gets its first Dreamliner
I like the image of Boeing handing over a set of keys to AA executives for a jumbo jet. I'm glad to see more of these planes come in to service and hope within the next year or so to have the opportunity to fly one.
Comment
Re: AA gets its first Dreamliner
I'm flying on a 787 late May!Glad to see AA starting to get theirs!
Comment
Re: AA gets its first Dreamliner
Looking forward to a 787 blog from you, Rob! That should be fun.
Comment
Re: Doors of Charleston
The very last act of the American civil war - Captain Waddell of the CCS Shenandoah (built in the UK), walking up the steps of Liverpool Town Hall surrendering his vessel to the Lord Mayor, after sailing 'home' from Alaska to surrender. The shipping offices in Rumford Place Liverpool were the Embassy of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. The CCS Shenandoah was the only Confederate ship to circumnavigate the world.
Comment
Re: Thinking Cuba? Tickets not so easy yet!
Mac. Cuba has already changed since my first visit 15 years ago. Buses and cars are everywhere now thanks to those intrepid Chinese salesmen. Living standards are rising rapidly thanks to the tourist dollar. Fields of Sugar Cane are now rare. Castro has decided that Cuba's future lies in tourism. Bicycles prevail in most Towns and a horse and buggy are common. When I first went to Cuba it was painfully poor. It's like going back in time to a 3rd world country. But with safety and very civil,...
Comment
Re: AA/USAir miles programs merge starting Saturday
All my miles in one pile this morning, enough to go anywhere, and I still can't decide, a truly terrible problem.
Comment
Re: AA/USAir miles programs merge starting Saturday
Yes, the transfer seems to have gone very smoothly...too bad, in a way; I was hoping for an accidental bonus as I once got from Delta (which added an extra zero, back in 1999).
Comment
Re: AA/USAir miles programs merge starting Saturday
Originally Posted by PortMoresby: All my miles in one pile this morning, enough to go anywhere, and I still can't decide, a truly terrible problem. But an enviable problem, PM. If it's the worst thing you have to deal with this week, you're having a pretty fine week.
Comment
Re: AA/USAir miles programs merge starting Saturday
I'm always aware, DrF, I've lived a charmed life (for a commoner).
Comment
Re: AA/USAir miles programs merge starting Saturday
Now I'm really confused. I just learned from your POD yesterday that you were a princess pretending to be a commoner....
Comment
Re: AA/USAir miles programs merge starting Saturday
No, DrF, you read it wrong. A commoner with delusions.
Comment
Re: Don't Leave Home Without...80 million AmEx points
and if he's looking for help using all those points, I'm sure we could help him out with that.... Hard to imagine having all those points.
Comment
Re: UKs First National Civil War Centre to Open With Huge Civil War Re-Enactment
The English Civil War will be re-enacted in Newark, Nottinghamshire England. More details of the event and photos of the Castle are in: http://www.britainexpress.com/...ns.htm?attraction=93
Comment
Re: As scheduled Cuba service nears, charter operators face unknown future
With a few exceptions, the charter prices for Americans were really expensive. So for those companies, the gravy train is over.
Comment
Re: As scheduled Cuba service nears, charter operators face unknown future
On leaving Cuba last year our flight home to the UK was delayed. We had to wait on the plane for 4 hours. The airport had run out of Jet Fuel A1. So a fuel tanker was dispatched to fetch some. I do hope the US embargo stops before I go again. I'm not fighting American Airlines for the last drop of Jet Fuel !!
Comment
Re: Airline scheduling: Hurry up and wait, or run like crazy?
Excellent and informative article!!
Comment
Re: Waived Booking Fees on AA Award Travel
Really good news, because some of those partner flights are hard to book online even when you know they exist. This should make it easier to make connection to a number of areas in Europe without having to do Heathrow...
Comment
Re: TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award
Thank you so much Whitney.!We are proud of you Here's part one of Finding Reiner! https://www.travelgumbo.com/blo...isaster-to-discovery
Comment
Re: TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award
That accolade was well earned! Your story was an interesting mix of travel and history. Everyone who read your words enjoyed it - including me. It was fascinating. Congratulations !!
Comment
Re: TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award
Award well deserved. Toutes mes félicitations!
Comment
Re: TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award
Well deserved award for a captivating, well- researched and well-written story. We're very proud of you!
Comment
Re: TravelGumbo Blogger HistoryDigger Wins National Travel Journalism Award
Thank you very much. Team effort! Three cheers!
Comment
Re: Airline scheduling: Hurry up and wait, or run like crazy?
Of course the king of "Banking" for years has been Icelandic Air. They have made their whole business plan around bringing planes from 10 different North American cities in the morning and having those same planes fly out to 10 different European cities 1-2 hours after landing. This allows 10 plane loads of passengers the ability to mix and match origins and destinations. Then in the afternoon they do the reverse run. For 2-4 hours a day the terminal is full as passengers switch planes, the...
Comment
Re: Airline scheduling: Hurry up and wait, or run like crazy?
Thanks for reminding me of that, Jonathan...since it's where I first noticed it. It's actually so bunched that most of the terminal employees work two short shifts a day, with a gap between.