Random Thoughts

[gonealookin]

When I want to sit at the bar I usually ask a person if the stool next to them is available.

At an airport bar it's a little different.  Many more people are alone, and I consider that a reasonable assumption.  So asking that doesn't seem necessary.

So today there was a woman sitting at the bar in PHX, with an empty stool to her left, but she was taking up part of the empty counter space with her laptop.  I debated asking the question but decided to just grab the chair.

She immediately asks for a to-go container for her food, and also asks for a cup for the rest of her drink (which she was denied because you can't take alcohol outside the bar area).

She left the rest of her drink, and after she boxed the food she says to me angrily, "Next time you're going to sit next to a lady at a bar, ask for permission first.". I didn't respond.  Then she said, "I'm leaving so now you have all the space you want!" and stomped away.  I said, 'Thank you."

Yes I could have asked the question, but it's a crowded airport bar without many seating choices.  I didn't think I needed to respect her alleged right to take up an extra space for her laptop.  If you need extra space, don't sit at the bar, wait for a table to open up.

I'm always one to hold the door for ladies, let them go ahead of me, etc., but that one was fortunate my only reaction was the "Thank you."

[kkt]

Why can't I highlight a section of text and have it all switch to upper case? Or even better, have the first letters of each word change?

Because you are not using EMACS.

[kkt]

But wait, who's the Monarch, again...?

My point is that, even though the governor general is technically the monarch's representative, the monarch doesn't even decide who gets the job.  So what power, really, has the monarch even had since the 1930s?

No hard power.  Soft power.  Weekly meetings with the Prime Minister in private, in which the monarch can ask questions and expect answers, caution, and advise.  (Who else has permanent access to the PM, regardless of which party they are from, potentially for decades at a time?)  The monarch can set an example in the charities they support.

[PColumbus73]

When I say 'pair bonding' out loud, it reminds me of a former Attorney General.

[ZLoth]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

[Scott5114]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

It doesn't matter whether it's actually useful or not, you will take what your corporate overlords deign to give you, and you will like it, peon!

[gonealookin]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

My receipt for my between-flights meal in PHX yesterday:

Personal size pepperoni pizza:  $22.00
A pint of Four Peaks Kilt Lifter:  $14.00
Tax:  $3.27
Tip:  $6.73
Total:  $46.00

At any airport restaurant that's sit-down rather than grab-and-go or counter-serve, that's about average.

[TheCatalyst31]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

I got one of those last year, and it didn't even cover coffee and yogurt. It's definitely not adjusted for inflation.

[ZLoth]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

It doesn't matter whether it's actually useful or not, you will take what your corporate overlords deign to give you, and you will like it, peon!

Gee, Scott, your negativity seems to be up recently. I know it is partially sarcasm and partially humor, but still.... I understand some of your sentiment. If it weren't for some of the airline passenger bill of rights, we wouldn't even get even food compensation.

Having said that... is $12 enough? I don't think so. The airport already has a captive audience, and the costs of running a business in an airport is definitely passed along to the consumer. I'm sure many of the business travelers don't care as it is part of the per-diem for travel. But for the pleasure traveler like me (I traveled  this weekend to attend a Toastmasters conference), it's something else.

[NE2]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

I traveled  this weekend to attend a Toastmasters conference

Have you truly mastered toast if you need the ham and cheese?

[Rothman]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

It doesn't matter whether it's actually useful or not, you will take what your corporate overlords deign to give you, and you will like it, peon!

Gee, Scott, your negativity seems to be up recently. I know it is partially sarcasm and partially humor, but still.... I understand some of your sentiment. If it weren't for some of the airline passenger bill of rights, we wouldn't even get even food compensation.

Pfft.  One time I was delayed on a flight from Denver to Dulles back in 1991 or so.  All I got was a list of hotels where I could stay on my own dime.

[TheCatalyst31]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

It doesn't matter whether it's actually useful or not, you will take what your corporate overlords deign to give you, and you will like it, peon!

Gee, Scott, your negativity seems to be up recently. I know it is partially sarcasm and partially humor, but still.... I understand some of your sentiment. If it weren't for some of the airline passenger bill of rights, we wouldn't even get even food compensation.

Pfft.  One time I was delayed on a flight from Denver to Dulles back in 1991 or so.  All I got was a list of hotels where I could stay on my own dime.

It depends on the reason for the delay or cancelation. If it's a mechanical issue, or something else that's the airline's fault, they'll put you up in a room. If it's weather-related you're on your own. I've somehow experienced both in the past year, and I don't even fly all that much.

[1995hoo]

We received $12 vouchers last week when our flight was delayed. We were eating at Legal Sea Foods when I got the electronic notification about the vouchers, so we simply applied them to the bill. They didn't nearly cover the meal, but it didn't much matter. The notice that flight was delayed came before we had left for the airport, so we didn't waste the whole day there. The only reason we decided to eat at the airport was to beat the rush-hour traffic ahead of the revised flight time. I chose to view it in terms of the vouchers paying for our drinks.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm pretty sure that I can find something at a food court that would mostly be covered by $12. 

[Scott5114]

Gee, Scott, your negativity seems to be up recently.

I will admit I haven't been having a very good time of life the last few weeks. Nothing particular causing it, other than the state of the world seems to get further and further from what I would consider ideal and I've kind of lost hope it will ever actually get any better. And I've still got sixty more years of this shit to put up with, for some reason...

Having said that... is $12 enough? I don't think so.

There was a Washington Post article that asked that question recently. The reporter got ahold of the major airlines for comment and their response was basically what was in my post, just gussied up in corporate PR speak.

[PColumbus73]

My birthday is coming up and I'm kind of dreading it. I haven't been on speaking terms with my father and I'm expecting that if he sends a card, what he writes in it would be self-serving or self-aggrandizing.

[formulanone]

We received $12 vouchers last week when our flight was delayed. We were eating at Legal Sea Foods when I got the electronic notification about the vouchers, so we simply applied them to the bill. They didn't nearly cover the meal, but it didn't much matter.

Unfortunately, the menu starts at $40 at airports' Legal Sea Foods so it's pretty much a no-go for travel expensing unless I haven't eaten all day.

[elsmere241]

My birthday is coming up and I'm kind of dreading it. I haven't been on speaking terms with my father and I'm expecting that if he sends a card, what he writes in it would be self-serving or self-aggrandizing.

I hear you.  My relationship with my parents has never been that good either, and my father and stepmother are going to come down this Friday night to have dinner with my wife and me.  It's a long story, but it involves the way my parents treated me over the years, constantly coming down on me for everything.  Now that I know I've had AuDHD all my life and was really always was doing my best under pressure, my parents really only saw underperforming in school, immaturity, laziness, and bad behavior - even to the point of my mother asking we when I was 29 "Why do you have to be so evil?"

It doesn't help that five months and five days after my mother died in January 2010, my father married her best friend from college.  At least after they married my father has stopped baiting me over and over until I blew up, and then coming down hard on me for blowing up.  Over the years, especially lately, I've called him on the phone less and less often, because I have had less and less reason to.  My wife is more nervous about this than I am.

[1995hoo]

A man attends his son's spelling bee.

His son goes up to the microphone and the moderator says, "Your word is 'SEAWARD.'"

The boy looks directly at his dad, whose heart sinks because he knows something bad is coming.

The boy then speaks slowly and clearly into the microphone: "SEAWARD. C-U-N-T. SEAWARD."

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Driving from MSP to Duluth on I-35 and there not being one current work zone. Blew my mind.

[Rothman]

Driving from MSP to Duluth on I-35 and there not being one current work zone. Blew my mind.

It was pretty work zone free when I lived in the area...for a couple of years.

[vdeane]

As I don't want to ruin the thread this is a response to, I'll post this here:

Relax.  The sun will expand into a red giant in the next month or so.

[Scott5114]

The sun will expand into a red giant in the next month or so.

god if only

[Max Rockatansky]

The sun will expand into a red giant in the next month or so.

god if only

I'll have some fingers to point if the sun doesn't cross the orbital plane of Venus come late August.

[kkt]

Is a $12 food voucher issued by the airline for a extended flight delay enough to pay for a meal at airport prices? It just barely pays for a cheap ham-and-cheese sandwich without a drink.

the point is not whether it's fair.  the point is that's all you get.  go enjoy your cuppa coffee and have a great day.