I don't get the demand for these non-stop long haul flights, megalomaniacs who think their business may collapse if they are gone for a second longer than they need to be. Business managers who think stop-overs are a rort! I gather the same poor people are being made fly economy by companies on this flight, because I doubt holiday makers would pay the premium for non-stop, like the premium charged by Singapore or Cathay Pacific for non-stop. If they were on a Concorde or one of the up coming Boom supersonic flights then that is a different matter, because non-stop won't be 19hrs if they can travel that far without refuelling.
Here are my rules for dealing with long haul flights for anyone not experienced enough in travelling;
- If you flying long haul for business then fly business, if you're company won't fly you business for long haul then they are a crap company and not worth working for, don't go and find a new job! The savings are going straight into your managers bonus, even if your manager comes from some charity. Big companies usually bleat that they fly so many people they cannot afford it, but when you fly lots of people regularly you don't pay the market rates, they get business for closer to premium economy rates! Secondly, the cost is always the excuse, I recently had a owner/manager who kept cutting costs, he pulled the pin on business class saying it was too expensive, then we found out he'd discharged two full mortgages years in advance with money ripped out of the business!
- Don't get sucked into flying Qantas by default, it's controlled by British Airways, there are a myriad of great services vying for your business. If you like going to dinner at the local Chinese for dinner then try Singapore or Cathay Pacific, don't be afraid. They all fit in with my next point;
- If you are going on holiday, break your flight into two legs each not longer than 11hrs.
- If you can stop-over for 24 - 48hrs on the way through, you might be surprised what you find.
- If you can't stop-over but have a lengthy wait, treat yourself halfway. At most major airports there are any number of day spas or day hotels that might not be cheap but treat yourself anyway. You can find them all online, do not book through the travel agent to get the best rates. It's amazing how much better you'll feel at your destination.
- Keep an eye out for specials, I book well in advance, and I find that in the interim I might see some crazy good deals saving hundreds or even thousands. Do not be afraid to change your booking if such an offer arises. Beware, sometimes startlingly cheap airfares are because a stop-over destination is going through renovations or rectification, so do not get stuck in the airport, with the money you save extend and get out of there and spend a day or two!
- Leave and return mid-week, and Tuesday is usually the best days for deals because of the way airlines report and pay sales bonuses.
- On board, eat when they offer you food.
- Sleep when they dim the lights.
- Don't drink too much, a couple of small glasses with lunch and dinner is fine as long as you back it up with water.
Happy flying, from someone who has logged millions of kilometres.
PS: Upgrades - Airlines rarely or won't give free upgrades to flyers who book through Ted's dodgy discount ticket service or similar, those tickets have a different class allocation and you are basically persona non grata. If there a lots of standby passengers waiting for an economy seat the upgrade order is generally airline frequent flyers, full fee paying passengers who book directly with the airline, discount fee passengers who have booked directly with the airline. Some airlines will offer crazy low upgrade fees at the stop-over point or at check in counter, so it's always worth asking the question.
Racing NSW, the organisation that deliberately runs it's horses in the opposite direction to the rest of the country so local trainers are favored, wants the VRC to shift the date for the Melbourne Cup to prove that the VRC has a nationwide focus on developing racing!
FMD, that is Sindney La La Land at it's best!
PS; Is V'Landeys' call a sign that The Everest is in financial difficulty?
Rumors surfacing that Vescio is one of or the ring leader of a group of AFLW players allegedly pursuing legal advice over the terms and conditions for future AFLW seasons.
At least that is apparently how a couple of the footy media organisations want it publicly represented.
I'll leave it to you to guess which media organisations and who they employ!
On a more serious note, I have to laugh when I read these AFL / AFLW pay disputes. The media and player associations carry on like they are so far removed from the next level that they may as well be supernatural extraterrestrials wearing red underwear from Krypton.
But I can tell you without fear or favour, you could wipe 750+ names from the AFL playing lists and within 12 months of full-time AFL coaching you'd barely notice them missing. The ones with opportunity are not that much better to the ones who just fail to make a list, and the perception of competitiveness is all player relative!
I'm the proud owner of a new pair of spectacles, never had them before, never needed them before!
One thing that is driving me crazy is cleaning them, smudges are like a red rag to a bull and give me the sh1ts!
So I'm throwing the question open to the collective wisdom of our forum members, what is the best way to clean or keep your spectacles clean while still actually using them? I've already wrecked one pair of rimless beauties by plowing into a microscope eyepiece!
Please do not offer my sons wisdom, which was to just wait, up until my eyesight has deteriorated to the point I can no longer see the smudges!
I've been reading Jacinta Ardern's (NZ Prime Minister) claims of social and fiscal inequality for the outbreaks of measles in NZ. While I have lauded her in the past for some efforts following the Christchurch murders, I'm going to call this one bogus socialist bullcrap. Just like here in OZ, immunisation is free in NZ, it is a country with a small population that is very well covered by district nursing services across all groups including the Pakeha, Maori and Moriori communities.
The biggest cause of loss of herd immunity are inner-city left wing anti-vaxers and well-to-do's. The middle class elite who think their status, high mobility and wealth will see them through any crisis, they think their 10th floor penthouse apartment or 3m walled inner city garden can keep them safe. The irony being this group is frequently populated by health professionals and new age influencers, they are highly mobile, so they "spread the cause" fast and free, surrounded by an air of education and even more opportunity, but it seems very little intelligence!
These are people who should know better, but seem to be obsessed with the very low probability risks. They'll cut ties with friends and family rather than get a whooping cough inoculation!
These are the hypocritical people that point at the struggling or down-trodden and say, "It's their fault!"
Ardern should know better, but she can't help return to her privileged roots!
It's interesting reading articles being written at the moment about the US Open, in particular the fact that tournament organisers have deliberately scheduled Carlos Ramos away from the matches of Serena or Venus Williams. Why is he racist? Of course he isn't, but he isn't easily bullied into submission by Serena's poor behaviour either.
So I suppose as far as the US Open is concerned Serena is the big show and calls the shots!
But I can't help but think that the tournament organisers have basically rewarded Serena for bad behaviour, at least it seems like that on the surface of it!
Williams was later fined $17,000 by the US Open. She was penalisd by Ramos for verbal abuse after calling him "a liar" and "a thief", rejecting his judgment that her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was breaking the rules by communicating with her during the match.
Mouratoglou later admitted that he had been sending Williams signals, but Williams has said that she never saw them. She also smashed her racket on the court, incurring an automatic penalty.
So the liar and thief was the one crying wolf, yet the Ramos has been relocated!
Who says cheats never prosper, I wonder if other players think the tournament is fair and a level playing field?
Apparently medical science is now more than ever before close to offering a male contraceptive pill.
But, I often wonder at the absolute bona fide of feminism and equality.
I appreciate in many areas it's both right and makes sense, but a male contraceptive doesn't seem to be one of them!
For a very simple reason, ............ Trust me baby, I'm on the pill!
Where is the bulk of the risk, the majority cost of a deception or error, with the male or the female?
Some things just shouldn't be, doing something because you technically can doesn't always make sense! I think they made a movie about this, .......... Gone in 60 Seconds!
I'm neither a fan nor opponent of unions, and I don't give a stuff about Setka and won't comment because I haven't followed this case at all out of disinterest. Guilty plea or not!
But politics and society I am keenly interested in, if you hadn't already gathered.
While I accept female might perceive herself as best situated to identify misogyny, I'm not sure that makes a female the best choice to sit in judgment, so is having a female magistrate in this case a conflict of interest?
Surely, it would have been prudent for the solo magistrate to step aside?
I don't see how this can be any different from politicians condemning a socialist judge in a case about democracy, an atheist sitting in judgment of a case about religion, or a pacifist judging events of war!
Maybe they are impartial, but how is that proven, and their word and track record is certainly not really good enough?
Carlton were dismayed that no one showed support for their former skipper Marc Murphy after his ribs were broken in an encounter with Giants' enforcer Shane Mumford in the first quarter of last Sunday's 93-point loss to Greater Western Sydney.
The Blues were 39 points down at the time but it was only skipper Patrick Cripps who made any attempt to remonstrate with Mumford as Murphy lay on the ground in pain.
Blues coach Brendon Bolton revealed that Cripps was particularly disappointed at the team's response at that point and said the moment was an opportunity for teammates to express their feelings.
"It is important to fly the flag when someone gets hurt," Bolton said.
It's interesting, all the outrage about this spelling error, but is it an accident?
I do know that in many security printing applications it's a very deliberate strategy to add controlled defects or mistakes to batches of currency or credit cards. They do it because counterfeiters will often remove those defects as part of the counterfeiting process in trying to make a perfect copy.
Interesting Starc is suing an IPL franchise for $1.5M in missed contractual payments due to injury.
I've been aware for some time that the biggest issue for IPL players is actually getting paid those lucrative contracts. It's the subcontinental way to avoid paying if you can, it's considered very good business, and if they get away not paying you it's your fault for providing them the opportunity!
Oddly, if you are a contract member of the BCCI test squad, as opposed to any other foreign player, I believe your IPL payments are guaranteed.
I'm not sure how that form of discrimination flies legally?
