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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Been away too long...

WOW. How time flies! Looked at the blog today and noticed I haven't posted since JULY. And the main reason for that is just how busy I've been at work, as we move towards the launch of [our small part of] a new product - one you might have heard of. (Yeah, it's stressful a times, but it's also pretty cool some times as well.) Plus we've had a death in the family, trouble with my oldest son in school, family members in the hospital... You know, outside of my Red Sox winning the World Series (AGAIN, which feels so weird after waiting 30+ years to say it the first time!) 2013 is not a year that I will remember particularly fondly.

So far, 2014 is off to a much better start. And in all that time so has much happened that normally would have gotten me writing! I mean, there's been so much going on in the world, so much great stuff, so much bullshit... I wouldn't even know where to start... So I'm just going to leave it all for now. Yep: I'm not going to blog about ANYTHING of worldly or political significance today. Just a little post to let y'all know I'm still alive, just really busy. And to Conchobhar, and anyone else who's emailed me... obviously I'm really behind on my email as well - well over 1000 unopened in niceguy9418@usa.com's inbox, if you can believe - but I am (sort of) finally getting caught up, so please bear with me. But here's something, unrelated to anything, that I'd like to leave you with, because I just got back from Mexico last night, and I wanted to let you know how bad air travel has gotten. This was on the napkins that Delta was passing out with the complimentary cup of ice with a splash of Coke in it:


Now consider for a moment... Delta's big marketing push right now, one that they're bragging about to every customer on board, is that I can pay extra to "upgrade" to a seat that has as much extra legroom as can fit comfortably on a BAR NAPKIN, with ROOM TO SPARE!

 I don't know, maybe I have an over developed sense of irony but I found that comical.

 Hey: At least they're not Spirit Airlines (who I flew over Xmas, and will NEVER fly again) who not only charged me $40 for every checked bag (as opposed to the industry standard of $25) but wanted $35 dollars for each CARRY-ON bag! (You know... as opposed to the industry standard of FREE.) What's more, when I didn't pre-pay online for that, they wanted $100, per bag - checked and carry-on - at the ticket counter. To which I told them, "Fuck you," after which they gave me a "deal" and only charged me the "lower" price. To which I said, "Fuck you," again, pointing out that their fees are way out of line with those of the rest of their industry. I did pay that, for my family of FOUR, mind you, but also informed them that I would NEVER fly their airlines again because of their outrageous fees. And I won't. Ever again. Fuck Spirit. 

Just goes to show: when you're looking for "deals" with the airlines, always remember to add in the baggage fees! (And remember that on Southwest, BAGS FLY FREE!)

1 comment:

  1. Have you ever noticed how the space shuttle was perfectly centered on that 747 so that it COULD fly? I wonder how that plane would have flown if the shuttle was placed a couple feet more to the rear? Anyone who knows anything about planes knows that balance is the KEY to it being able to fly. But, I guess if safety isn't a great concern then go ahead and load all that extra baggage anywhere it will fit.

    As for the cars being built in Detroit, now that Chrysler is owned by Fiat, it should no longer be considered "American made". Not many consider Toyota an American car company, do they? I think Chrysler lost that ability too.

    As for Spirit airlines. I had a similar experience, last year. I had to repack my bags so that they would fit into the tiny "box" they use to determine what is the proper size of 'carry-on' luggage. I won't fly them any more either.
    Oh, and Southwest makes up for their losses by charging more for their tickets. You will end up paying each airline company one way or the other. But you WILL pay. Of course I'm old enough to remember when taking a vacation meant driving to your destination. Flying was left to the rich people. Someone who is rich enough to take a family of 4 on a vacation using the airlines, has no room to whine about paying an additional $100 here or there.
    People who own BMW's often whine about paying extra for their oil changes too. Same philosophy in action.

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