Virtually every big disaster comes down to human error – Chernobyl, Bhopal, plane crashes. To be more precise, they come down to  small mechanical failures, compounded and created by human panic, or confusion, or failure to communicate. In an unusual work environment, like a nuclear power station or a plane cockpit, the way people relate to each other can make the difference between life and death. How’s that for psychology at work?

I recently read and enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers”, which has a significant chapter on the human role in air disasters, and in particular the bad safety problems once suffered by Korean Air. It’s shocking and fascinating to read some of his transcripts of terrible, avoidable disasters that came down to people feeling too inhibited, confused, and distressed to be able to speak up at crucial times. Gladwell reports on two South American pilots who simply felt too inhibited by the assertive and vocal air traffic control crew in New York to be able to communicate that their plane was almost totally out of fuel and due to crash. Both pilots and the passengers lost their lives.

Air Korea’s poor safety record was for some time a source of mystery, as their equipment was as up-to-date and in as good condition as anyone’s. If it weren’t for the “black box” reportings of everything that’s said in the cockpit, it might have remained a mystery. Korean culture is highly deferential to authority, and authority in a Korean plane cockpit was vested and embodied in the captain. Before each flight, the co-pilots and crew would be expected to bring his meals and attend to his every need. The net result of all of this was that in any problem or difficulty, no-one would voice an opinion that ran contrary to that of the captain, despite the desperate need. It’s painful to read the transcripts of the co-pilots trying desperately to communicate that the plane is in trouble to their captain. “Captain, the weather radar has helped us a lot.”

I always think of those co-pilots when I hear it said that people are the same everywhere, or that culture and environment do not affect how people respond. The pilots were unable to overcome the cultural inhibitions binding them, even though they knew well the outcome could be their deaths. Korean Air, by the way, now has an excellent safety record, but getting it involved intensively training their air crews to put deference aside and communicate honestly and robustly in the air. The patterns of culture and communication we live in affect the results of all our lives profoundly on a daily basis – the question is, is it in the way we’d like?

To all my American friends. Especially those presently in transit to their dreaded fam-damnly gatherings.

And remember… religion, politics and alcohol don’t mix well.

No doy demasiados detalles sobre los planes para no dañar las sorpresas. Las noticias sobre juegos seguirán entrando casi diariamente. El rincón literario tendrá actualizaciones menos frecuentes.
La meta es tener, inicialmente, un mínimo de 7 actualizaciones semanales, preferiblemente de temas variados.

Los planes y el origen del nombre del sitio están íntimamente relacionados: este sitio recopila mis aspiraciones de muchos años, desde la época en tercero cuando mi queridísima amiga Carmen llamaba “Careyuca” o “Carebatata” a la gente. He tenido varios proyectos de diversa naturaleza, desde musicales hasta desarrollo de juegos, pasando por la vez que me quise dedicar a escribir ensayos sobre temas políticos y sociales.

Aquí he decidido hacerlo. Como me di cuenta que es demasiada diversidad, pensé que esto sería lo que, en buen dominicano, se llama un “arroz con mango”. Así que quise comprar “ArrozconMango.com”, pero alguien ya lo tenía.

Buscando en mi mente qué podría dar esa idea de mezcla y síntesis, mientras hablaba con don Vic y don rvidal, me surgió esta idea. Por supuesto, nadie compraría este nombre. Excepto yo. Así que aquí estamos.

Me han preguntado si habrán juegos On Line en este sitio. La respuesta es sí, pero no de inmediato. Habrán más noticias, de diverso tipo. Y habrá algo relacionado con charlas interesantes, ideas que vale la pena compartir.

Un abrazo a todos los que me han estado apoyando en el inicio del sitio. Realmente valoro mucho cuando entro al tablero y veo que las visitas se mantienen por encima de ciertos niveles.

Si quieren algo, mencionenlo. Si eso está en planes, confesaré. Si no, puede que lo incluya. Y en todo caso, probablemente termine confesando otro de los planes.

Salud!

En el próximo capítulo…

Más noticias sobre juegos.

Planes de millones, millones de planes, principios y finales, todos los días son iguales.

Sospechosos habituales, me importa una mierda todo lo que hablen, ¿Sabes?… Si tienes que venir, no tardes.

Todo en regla, sin un fallo.

Si hay una explicación, la hallo.

No termina, camina, odia o estima, problemas en el aire, ese es el aroma.

Este es mi juego y estas son mis normas.

Hey folks, well today is a pretty shitty day, I got my period. I woke up early got all dressed up nice straightened my hair, put make up on because I had an interview to go to.
Well it’s a bit far but still. My interview was at a Lexus dealership . It’s at erin mills. Anyway, so I did all that and I’m pretty sure they don’t want me because to finish off the interview the guy said ” Well, we’re still in the process of interviewing other candidates , but you will certainly hear from us if you meet the qualifications .( With those cynic grins on their faces. ) ” Which translated into realistic understanding means, thanks for coming but you’re not hired. So, I need a job. Bad.

On my way to the interview I was passing Pearson airport and it was the coolest thing, a plane was landing and one had taken off and was flying over Highway 427… IT was wicked , I got stuck in a trance for 5 seconds or so and nearly didn’t see the people breaking in front of me.

All I could think was… Where was that plane headed… And wished I were on it. Sometimes I have the urge to just drive in and ask if there are any standby tickets, and just get on a plane to god knows where.

Oh well.. Where is that investor!?

36 Weeks to 50

Wow!

Well for the past month,  I have been on the adventure of my life.   My husband Kevin and I travelled to Nepal to Trek to Everest and spend time with the girls we save from Contract Bonded labour.   And all I can say is Nepal was not what I was expecting.  After a 32 hour adventure of planes, trains and airports,  we arrived in Kathmandu at 11pm on a Thursday night.  Our good friend and NGO director Dinesh Sapkota picked us up at the airport and derived us to our hotel.  We were up by 6am to get ready to leave for Lukla (the small village where you begin your trek to Everest)

The landing strip in Lukla is one of the shortest and highest altitude in the world.  It is also the steepest, which helps because it’s the shortest.  We hook up with our porter (the Man who will be carrying our bags) Jelging and away we go.  Kevin, Dinesh, Wangchuk (our guide) and his brother Jelging (our porter).  The 5 of us become fast friends.

Day 1-4  We hike through a very lush, green and garden laden part of the trip.  It is beautiful and parts of it are very steep.  Our last 3 hour up to Namche is pretty much straight up and we get our first glimpse of Everest from 2 different spots on the trail.   We arrive at Namche about 3pm, ready for a beer or something. We are now at about 11,000 feet.  What I can’t seem to get used to is the bodily function noises most of the Nepalese men make.  Lots of snorting, and spitting.   And lots of smells…

After dinner, we play cards for a while and hit the hay by 8pm. 

We spend the next day doing a 600 meter day hike up and then back down to Namche to help with acclimatization. 

Day 4 we hiked to a famous small little village where there is a  large Monks Monastery. The first half of this hike was easy and the second half was again, pretty straight up.  I am now starting to get headaches.  And as we arrive, we find out they are preparing for a famous Monks festival.  So we get to see some of the ceremonies.  We stay in a VERY Modest (I’d say primitive)  tea house.  So I have to do lots of talking to myself to handle it.  I even have a moment when I realize I am not as tough as one should be for a trip like this one.  Ahhh,  the Linda ‘princess syndrome’ is showing it’s face.

Day 5 Up at 6am,  and off we go to climb another 500 meters to a small town called Dingbouche.  I am starting to get headaches again.  I take a short nap to try and get it to go away.  We have tea and dinner and once again hit the hay by 8pm. 

(here is where I feel we make our hiking mistake)  We should have stayed one more night to acclimatize a bit better.

Day 6 I slept really well here.  Kevin is still not sleeping.  He has not slept for 5 nights now.  They say you start to get crazy dreams when you are in high altitudes,  I dreamt last night that Al Pachino was the master mind behind the 9-11 disaster.  I think he needs to play a few more nice guy roles…

We hike up yet another 500 meters to  Labouche.  And once again the second half of the day was straight up.  When I reach the top of this hard ridge,  we are at the place where many memorials have been built to honour hikers and climbers who have died on these trails.  And there are many.  Kevin and I have a photo taken in front of Scott Fisher’s memorial.  He is the expedition leader of the Everest Summit team that experienced so much tragedy back in 1996.  The book “Into Thin Air” was written about that event.

Here is also when my “BAD” Altitude Sickness really kicks it up a notch.   I am not doing so well now.  As my head feels like it’s going to explode! And I mean literally.  It’s like the worst red wine hangover you many have ever had.   I guess that’s what they mean by swelling of the fluids on your brain. 

Day 7 Kevin has been up since 2am,  with diarrhea and vomiting.  These are also part of the “Altitude Sickness”  And to think we paid for this for  our holidays.  The temperature in our room is about -15 degrees Celsius.  And the entire place we are staying in smells like an outhouse.  It’s tough to say the least. 

Up at 8am,  and we decide to spend a few more hours seeing how we feel to try and make a decision on whether we should spend the day and try and acclimatize or go down.  I leave this decision up to Kevin as this is his dream.  So at around 10 am that morning, after Kevin reflected on helping a man into a helicopter the day before who was unconscious from Altitude Sickness, he decided we need to go down and try and get better.  That was a long, cold, windy, and very silent day let me tell you.

 More Everest and Nepal in my Next Instalment.

Linda

Cheers!

Un espacio en el sitio para literatura: poemas, cuentos, ensayos y hasta novelas, todos textos originales e inéditos estarán juntos aquí.

Por supuesto, cada tipo de texto tendrá su propia categoría.

Este poema se titula “Sitio”.

No sé qué, pero me falta
desde cuando en la mañana
el ojo anuncia amanecer.

No sé qué, mas me doy cuenta
por lo mucho que ahora cuesta
no suspirar sin querer.

¿Dónde estás, sitio mío, que no te veo?
Ni en las sombras de mediodía, ni en el silencio
¿Dónde estás, mi sentido, que no te encuentro?
Ni en brújula, ni astrolabio ni en el viento.

Me has dejado,
aunque sea por un rato,

Perdido a medias en un mar de certezas indeseadas.

iajrz.

Muchas sorpresas para el sitio este mes y en diciembre.

Como fue prometido en el capítulo anterior, la Página “Sobre Mí” tiene contenido.

Hay planes en formación que les dejaré saber más adelante, con los que el sitio irá tomando forma y expandiendo.

Mientras tanto, comienzo con las noticias sobre la Industria de los Juegos.

Las noticias son, por ahora, una simple recolección de hechos, no artículos completos. Con el tiempo lograré artículos más completos. Pueden esperar: Noticias sobre la industria, enlaces a post-mortems de proyectos de desarrollo de videojuegos, artículos y hasta algunos juegos criollos cuyo desarrollo se perfila en el horizonte. Por supuesto, reviews, hasta el momento de juegos para consolas portátiles, están en planificación junto con lo demás (pero probablemente lleguen primero).

Sin más preámbulo, algunas noticias sobre la Industria de los Juegos:

• La Vicepresidenta de Asuntos Corporativos de Nintendo, Denise Kaigler, renuncia tras casi dos años en el puesto.
• Sale al mercado (Estados Unidos) Karaoke Revolution, para Wii, 360 y PS3
• Edición especial de DSi en colores azul y negro, y con software adicional preinstalado, para el “Black Friday”
• Sale al mercado (Estados Unidos) King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame, para PC
• Gameloft, estudio creador de Hero of Sparta, ha reducido significativamente su inversión en juegos para Android OS, el Sistema Operativo de Google para teléfonos móviles.
• Sale al mercado, para Nintendo DS, Fighting Fantasy.
• Sale al mercado, para PSP, otro juego de la popular serie Tekken: Tekken 6.

Eso es todo hasta ahora.

En el próximo capítulo…

Más información sobre los planes. Y, a instancia de Lory, explicaré de dónde sale el nombre.

Abbey and I went to Rome! It was pretty fantastic.

Photos!

It all began on Friday morning, at about 4. Here’s how it went…

4am: Wake up, finish packing, walk to train station for…

5:10: Train to London

7:05: Arrive in London at Victoria Station

7:10 ish: Get on the first tube train we can to…

7:30: Get to Paddington Station and buy at ticket for the…

7:40: Heathrow Express…

8:05: to Heathrow Airport. (Duh.) The do the Passport thing and the securtity thing and the get to the terminal which involved going down a lot of halls, up stairs, down stairs then up stairs (not kidding) down some halls and find the terminal for our…

8:30: boarding for our…

8:55: plane to Frankfurt, Germany.

9:15: Actually leave, stupid rain. Which means…

11:45: is when we actually get to Germany, 15 minutes late. AND the plane parked out in the boonies, so we had to wait for a bus to come and get us. So we don’t get to the terminal until…

12:00: Which means that we now have half a hour to do the passport thing and the find the terminal thing. Which was a little worrying.

12:10: Especially when they made us do the security thing again! What? That was frustrating, who has to re-do security after a stop-over?

12:15: Still waiting for security. Especially when I finally go through the metal detector. Which was apparently on the fritz, considering 2 our of 3 people was beeping. Unfortunately, I was one of the two. Instead of “empty your pockets and try again” I got “Over here. Arms out.” And got entirely frisked. Poked and proded with a metal detector, crazy lady’s hands all over me, in my pants waist band, shoes off… Ugh. SO, now it’s like

12:20: and we need to run. And who’d have thought the terminal would have been so far away. I mean, we turned down this hall way and it was, well REALLY long. So we were sprinting, with back packs. And my shoes untied. Then Abbey’s backpack broke.

12:30: But we made it. We’re running down the hall way almost to the gate, and the man at the gate waves to us and smiles. Which was nice. Haha. He didn’t want to murder us for being so late. We were definitely the last two. We left the gate about 30 seconds after we sat down. But, we were rewarded with apple juice and sandwiches on our flight.

When we finally go to Italy, we were pretty happy. But… the Airport is like 30 minutes away form Rome. So we had to find a bus. Didn’t understand the busses, so we found a train! And that we understood.

The train station was about 4 blocks from our hostel (I bought a map in England). Of course we want two in the wrong direction, so we had to back track. But we found the hostel, after walking a block past it on the wrong side of the street. Once we got there, it was kinda sketchy. But we went in and it was much less scary, and rather cosy. The front desk lady, not only spoke English, but I’m pretty sure she was American.  We were supposed to have a quad room; then we got there and she’s like “I’m sorry, is it ok if we put you in a double?” Um, duh. That’s fine.

Obviously, we were tired. So we laid in bed for a while, and then decided to set out for the Trevi Fountain because Abbey had heard it is pretty at night.  Natually, we had to get pizza for dinner.  I’m not sure if it was so delicious because I hadn’t properly eaten all day of if it was just that good cuz we were in Italy. But what ever. Tasty pizza.

The fountain was gorgeous, but packed. We hung out for a while anyway, then headed back towards the hostel. But naturally we had to get Gelato. Which was amazingly delicious.

By the time we got back to the hostel, we both were ready to collapse. Which we did.  We read for a while, then went to bed at like 9. We are that cool.

Saturday was our big day. I read some where that people start lining up to get into the Vatican about about 6:30 in the morning. That was a bit early in the morning for us, but we did leave the hostel at 7:30. And it was a long walk.

We did detour a little bit to take some pictures.  Like we went past the Trevi Fountain in the day. Too bad we were there too early, and the water wasn’t turned on yet. Empty fountain, so like the Trevi Statue with a moat?

When we finally got close enough to the Vatican to see St. Peter’s, I was really excited. It was quite the long walk down the street to get there.  Luckily, when we got there there was barely a line for security and we went right in the the Basilica. St. Peter’s tomb is in there, pretty fancy set up he’s got going on.

It was purdy

Then we wanted to go to the Sistine Chapel. We had to go out of the Basilica, walk around the Vatican walls, and go back in the Vatican on the other side.  There are sooo many museums in the Vatican. We saw Egyptian stuff, Greek stuff, Roman stuff, early Christian stuff. and of course the Sistine Chapel.

Now we’re tired. Really tired… I asked google maps, and so far we had walked 4.5 miles, not including all the walking we did around the Vatican and the museums.

Next, the Pantheon. 2 miles to get there. That was fun, the pillars were huge.

Off to the Roman Forum! 1 more mile. We got to the Forum, we found the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Sure was the biggest Unknown Soldier monument I’ve ever seen.

On our way to the Colosseum, we walked past all of the ruins from the forum. Pillars, arches, buildings. Pretty cool.

Then we got to the Colosseum. Nice and huge, however all pictures kinda look the same. It’s pretty symmetrical.

Then we decided to make the trudge back to the hostel. To fuel our systems, more Gelato was in order. Duh.

At the hostel, we decided it was necessary to drink wine as we were in Rome. So we bought some cute little bottles. And drank them while watching music videos (the only english on the tv) and eating chocolate, pringles and carrots.  Dinner of champions.

The next morning we hung around the hostel for a while. Debating drinking the rest of the wine for breakfast. Don’t worry, we decided not to. We had some time before our flight back so I found a market on the map that was close to the train station. Unfortunately, it was closed on a Sunday morning. But there was a park a little further so we went there to chill before heading to the train station.

Once we got the the airport we had to check in, but the check in machines didn’t like us. The first one found my passport, but said I didn’t have the correct flight number. Then it said Abbey’s passport didn’t exist. Not a good start, but the next machine went much better, all various importing things existed to this computer. Security was easy, no more beeping.  We were flying Lufthansa (a German airline) to Frankfurt again. And while we were waiting at the gate, there was a lot of abnormally quick German going on around us, sounding a bit stressed. Abbey looked at me, but two terms of German doesn’t allow you to decipher people talking that fast, especially when you’re trying to eves drop. So Abbey went to check the departures board. And they changed our gate. But that was an easy fix, and we left no problem.

However, I was worried about going through Germany again. I did NOT want a repeat of last time. But things went much better, the plane left on time, landed on time, actually taxied to a gate… woo hoo! And we had time to spare. So I went in search of a postcard, proving I was in Germany. While I was sitting on the plane I searched my brain for how to ask where I could buy a post card, but I didn’t get to use it. Because 1) the place was deserted and 2) everyone speaks English anyway and apparently we look THAT American, because everyone spoke English at us.

Next step was customs back in England. But I guess we had to walk really fast/run to get to them first.  When we got there there weren’t many people ahead of us which was good. There was “poop-face man” (he was interrogating people for 3 or 4 times longer than the other lady) and “scary lady”.  Abbey went first to scary lady, and I watched her try to explain what we were in England, etc. Apparently, the lady didn’t see her visa in her passport which caused all sorts of problems. Then the person who sits at the front of the line telling people which booth to go to told me to go to “poop-face man”. However, when I stepped up to his booth, he says in his mean way “Ma’am get BACK!” Ok fine. But then I got to go to “scary lady” but then I got to tell her I was with Abbey and had the same program, visa, etc. so I didn’t take near as long as Abbey did.

Then we ran some more. We had to get down to the Tube station so we could hopefully take that instead of having to take the Heathrow express.  Ok, being on the Tube for a hour. No so much fun. Riding sideways, rattling around, stopping and starting. Ew. I didn’t feel so good. But we finally got to the station where we switched Tube lines and made it to Victoria so we could catch our bus. But then we had to run 3 blocks to the bus station.

So this was definitely the trip of running. But the last bit was our own fault. Not fault I guess, decision. To take the Heathrow express like we did on the way out of London, it’s a 20 minute Tube ride to Paddington (£1.60) and then a 20 minute train ride (£18) to Heathrow. And to take the tube it’s an hour (£2.20). So the tube takes 15 minutes longer, but costs £17.40 less. Um, no contest. Tube from now on. Too bad we learned the hard way.

Once we finally made it to the bus, with about 5 minutes to spare. Resting time. It was a longggg weekend. But it was a lot of fun

Sorry the blog took so long

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Para un escritor, ¿qué mejor ejercicio que escribir?

Un poco cansado de vender mis servicios de creación de contenidos, actividad a la cual, a decir verdad, no me he dedicado por mucho tiempo, pero cuyo ejercicio me ha abierto los ojos, he decidido poner mi contenido de calidad en mi sitio.

Como persona “polifacética y peculiar”, según escribí en mi perfil de blogger, tengo muchos temas qué explotar.

Esta es una actividad de menos de medio tiempo, pero que condensaré con constancia y rigor.

Como todo programador, he de decir: Hola, Mundo!

Bienvenidos a mi mundo. O a mi ventana al mundo. O a la ventana del mundo a mí. En todo caso, bienvenidos.

En el próximo capítulo…

Actualizaciones al sitio. Creación de la página “Sobre Mí”.

¿Por cierto, qué piensan del nombre del sitio?

November 22, 2009

Today I woke up to a terrible rushing sound outside of my window. It sounded like a plane flying low and I thought that was pretty strange. I looked out the window and the sound got louder and louder. It sounded like a hurricane but there was no wind. The leaves on the trees didn’t move, my house didn’t shake yet the sound kept getting louder. Then I saw four planes disappearing into the horizon. The sound continued long after they were out of sight. Then it was quiet. They appeared again about ten minutes later. I realized they were fighter jets as they passed overhead. They came from the NorthWest and headed NorthEast I wondered if something was going on in the city. This happened about five or six times and then it stopped. There was nothing on the news so maybe it was just a test flight? I don’t know but it was pretty weird.

I did a quick Google search and found an article from April. Apparently this happened over Jersey City and people panicked and evacuated the office buildings along the Hudson. Turned out it was just a photo shoot. I don’t think that’s what this was. I asked my friend Keith who is a Marine Vet and he said he had no idea.

If anyone from the North Jersey area has any idea what was going on or has any other stories of this event please let me know.

I’m guessing they’ll be an article in the newspaper about this tomorrow.

***Update: I just found a forum discussing this event *apparently* they were doing a flyover over Giants Stadium. They were circling on standby. This makes absolute sense to me because it started around 12PM and ended around 1PM. Also they were headed towards Rutherford which is where the Meadowlands is. Is this a regular event? I’ve never heard of this happening before.

Thinking About Chartering A Private Jet? Here Are 5 Things to Consider

by Daniel Pott – Hosted by Bruce Oliver

Traveling can be quite the taxing experience. As you travel you will find that especially flights on commercial airlines can take up a good portion of your day. Security checks, crying children, long lines, and flight delays can fill your day, so much so that you may find that after a commercial airline flight you may even need another whole day to recuperate from the experience.

A private jet charter offers many advantages over flying commercially and the following are some of the reasons why:

1. ACCESSIBILITY. If you decide to travel with a private jet charter, opposed to a commercial flight, you have the convenience of traveling on your own schedule. Then there is also the ability to choose your take off and landing destination. Since private jets can land in smaller areas than a commercial flight you have more chooses in airports, therefore allowing you to choose one that is closer to your final destination.

2. ACCOMMODATING. If there is an emergency, or an urgent issue arises that requires you to fly somewhere on short notice you may be able to charter a private jet the same day, or the next day. You are not forced to find an expensive seat on a flight that is inconvenient for you, instead you determine what is best for you.

3. CUSTOMIZATION. When you charter a private jet, the jet can be suited to meet your specific requirements. You can choose how big a jet you need, how many people will be on the flight, what will be served, in terms of food and beverages, and if there any other amenities you may need on the flight. This can be very beneficial if you are traveling on business, and need to work during the flight.

4. COMFORT. Roomy and spacious charter jets make you feel like you are in a home away from home. No loud babies screaming, no kid kicking the back of your chair, you are riding in comfort and this means that you can take in a business meeting or take a nap, whatever works best for you.

5. TIME. No more headaches of standing in line, going through security checks and dealing with long lines and flight delays. With a private jet, you are on the plane securely without the hassles of large
airports.

About the Author:

There are many
advantages to a jet charter, opposed to traveling with a commercial airline. For more information on private jets charter log onto www.privatejetscharter.net.

Join the Program

People are taking their pets with them on vacations and business trips more often these days so it’s no wonder why at least once a week someone will ask a travel related pet question to me or someone else on staff at the clinic. With Xmas and Thanksgiving just around the corner pet-owners are looking for how they’ll be able to bring their four-legged friends home with them for the holidays so I thought that i’d address the most common questions that I hear in a multi-part series on Traveling With Pets.

Traditionally, pets have often been checked as baggage, flying in the baggage hold with passenger luggage. However, baggage holds may not always be adequately shielded against the extremes of heat and cold that can occur during flights. They can become particularly hazardous if animals are exposed to extreme temperatures for extended periods because they miss connecting flights or have to wait out delays. There is no way to monitor or assist pets that become uncomfortable or ill during the flight. In fact, due to concern for the health of pets that fly as checked baggage, the US government recently enacted regulations requiring better training in pet handling for airline employees and requiring airlines to notify the Department of Transportation of any adverse incidents involving animals. Also, many airlines now refuse to ship pets as checked baggage during the hottest months of the year.

For smaller animals, flying as carry-on baggage is a good solution. Most airlines allow passengers to bring a small dog, cat or other pet into the passenger cabin as long as it is quiet, odorless and safely restrained in a pet carrier throughout the flight. This is a good alternative to checking pets as baggage, because temperature and air pressure remain at a safe level inside the cabin, and pet owners can monitor animals at all times for signs of distress. Generally airlines limit the weight of carry-on pets to about 40 pounds, including the weight of the carrier, and carriers must be small enough to fit under the passenger’s seat. Most airlines require advance notification of the animal carry-on and limit the total number of pets that may be in the cabin at one time. Pet owners should notify airlines of their intention to bring a pet as early as possible to ensure that space is available. Depending on the airline, there may be a fee for using the carry-on option.

Every airline establishes its own set of policies regarding shipping pets, whether as checked baggage or carry-on luggage. Owners should discuss these policies with their airline before they book a flight. Airline personnel can also help owners choose a flight that will be most comfortable for their pet. Early morning or late evening flights are coolest in the summer, for example, and flights with a minimum number of stops are the safest for animals. Less crowded flights available during off-peak hours can protect pets from the stress of large crowds and a great deal of cargo. Airline personnel can also ensure that pets do not share cargo space with materials that could be toxic to their health, such as toxic chemicals or shipments packed in dry ice.

Regardless of how pets fly, there are precautions owners need to take to be sure traveling is safe and healthy. AAHA suggests, and major airlines require, that traveling pets be examined by a veterinarian no more than ten days prior to the date of travel. Current health and rabies vaccination certificates from the veterinarian will be required at the time of departure. A veterinarian can also provide the owner with specific feeding instructions. The age and size of the pet, time and distance of the flight and regular dietary routine must be considered. Regulations state that dogs and cats must be at least eight weeks old and weaned at least five days before flying. Pets should also be exercised and picked up promptly upon arrival.

A sturdy pet carrier, available from most airlines or pet shops, is another important precaution. The carrier should have hard sides—with the exception of carry-on pets, which may ride in a soft-sided carrier designed specifically for that purpose. The carrier should be ventilated on at least two opposite sides, with exterior rims or knobs to prevent blocked airflow, and it must be large enough for the pet to stand, turn around, and lie down comfortably. It needs to be free of interior protrusions and have handles or grips. It needs to have a leak proof bottom covered with plenty of comfortable, absorbent material. It should also be marked with a large, highly visible label reading “Live Animal,” at least one inch tall, including arrows indicating the carrier’s upright position. Finally, both the pet and the carrier should be well marked with the owner’s name, address, and phone number, and the pet’s updated health certificate and the feeding plan from the veterinarian should be posted on the carrier.

Sometimes the best decision is not to fly with pets. Some animals do not function well in unfamiliar surroundings, and an unhappy pet can make a trip miserable for everyone. To help ensure a safe and pleasant trip for you and your pet, make sure to consult your veterinarian beforehand.

The next article in the series will be on keeping both you and your pets safe when you go on long road trips in the car (you’ll be surprised at the % of accidents each year that are cased by an excited dog running lose in the car).

From Foul Play to Christmas Vacation, from The Jerk to Bowfinger, who really has the funnier movies?

It’s the comedy showdown!!! They will battle against each other. What will the winner get you ask? Well, nothing, but we will know who has the funnier movies. I handpicked ten of their greatest movies and gave each of the movies a rating. Then I added up the results. It was a tight one, but take a look who won this battle. Will he be crowned the king of comedies? We’ll see…

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!!

CHEVY CHASE

Foul Play (1978) 3/5 points

Caddyshack (1980) 2/5 points

Fletch (1985) 5/5 points

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) 5/5 points

European Vacation (1985) 4/5 points

Spies Like Us (1985) 5/5 points

¡Three Amigos! (1986) 3/5 points

Funny Farm (1988) 5/5 points

Fletch Lives (1989) 5/5 points

Christmas Vacation (1989) 5/5 points

STEVE MARTIN

The Jerk (1979) 3/5 points

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982) 4/5 points

Roxanne (1987) 4/5 points

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) 5/5 points

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) 3/5 points

L.A. Story (1991) 5/5 points

Father of the Bride (1991) 4/5 points

HouseSitter (1992) 4/5 points

Mixed Nuts (1994) 4/5 points

Bowfinger (1999) 5/5 points

…AND THE WINNER IS: CHEVY CHASE (with a score of 42-41)

Economy is basically economy whichever airline or aircraft you fly but on a recent trip to Beijing via Dubai on Emirates there was a little twinkle in cattle class as night fell two hours out of Gatwick enroute to Asia. The new 777 has a surprinsgly sensuous lighting system which dims the cabin through a series of ambient shades of yellow, orange and blue while dots of tiny constellation LED’s glimmer on the ceiling. More sophisticated than sticky glo-stars in a bedroom and not as impressive as the Greenwich Planetarium, nonetheless the 777’s lightshow was an unexpected highlight in the humdrum of eight hours of Economy.

Relaxing the seat-back, an operation that normally brings frustrated noises from the person behind and only slightly eases sleep, also was a little different as I found myself being tipped gently into the seat and head-rest an inch or two more than I’ve experienced before. I can’t say I slept like a baby but it is the first time I have ever got shut-eye on long haul. Maybe the introduction of a few child’s mobiles in addition to the night lights would work. Now there is something to think about Boeing.

When on a business trip, avoid alcohol on an airplane – drinking at high altitudes makes you more inebriated. It is said that one drink on an airplane, counts for two drinks on the ground. If they put one of those mobile staircases up to the airplane exit and you fall down it, taking out a senior citizen or a vacationing family with small children in the process, that will not be good imaging for your company.

When traveling for business, you are representing your company and should, dress, speak and behave in a way that inspires confidence in your business and products.

Courtesy of “The Culture and Manners Institute” www.cultureandmanners.com

24hours in 1min 12seconds

1second in the movie = 20minutes

Every yellow dot is a plane with at least 250 passengers.

Source

El deseo de David de derrotar a Goliat era tremendo, pero fue el Señor quien puso ese deseo en su corazón y el que le dio a David las fuerzas para cumplir la tarea.

David estiró el brazo y tocó las tiras de cuero que le oprimían la muñeca. Las sentía seguras, pero ¿estarían bien apretadas? ¿Responderían en el momento que lanzara la piedra lisa con su honda? Él creía que sí. Tocó de nuevo, pero esta vez para asegurarse de que tenía la bolsa de cuero en su costado. Allí tenía cuatro piedras más en caso de que fallara con la primera, pero no creía que eso sucedería. Estaba confiado, simplemente seguro —sin ninguna arrogancia— de que estaba haciendo lo que Dios quería que hiciera. El movimiento enemigo que veía frente a él y el olor a guerra que lo rodeaba, no lo atemorizaban. Observaba el horizonte con osada seguridad mientras aquel hombre gigantesco se le acercaba. No me le acercaré mucho, pensó. Apenas lo suficiente. ¡Entonces se lanzó corriendo resueltamente a la línea de batalla hacia la victoria!

¿Cuántas veces no quiso usted alcanzar una meta, pero se sentía inseguro o temeroso? Quizás el desafío le pareció demasiado grande, o pensó que le faltaban la capacidad, la educación o los medios para lograrlo. Como joven, David probablemente tuvo que encarar algunas de estas mismas preguntas. Se preguntaría, muy probablemente, qué le depararía la vida. Mientras cuidaba las ovejas de su padre, tuvo tiempo de sobra, no sólo para pensar en esas cosas, sino también para desarrollar una relación con el Señor.

A Dios le tomó años preparar a David para el papel que asumiría un día como rey de Israel. Pero durante ese tiempo, David nunca perdió de vista las prioridades que Dios le había dado. El día en que se enfrentó a Goliat, todos los preceptos que el Señor le había enseñado convergieron para el momento de la gran prueba. Primero de Samuel 17 presenta este histórico acontecimiento: cuando el joven entró en el campo de batalla para enfrentarse a un veterano guerrero, la ventaja parecía estar a favor del enemigo. Pero no era así. Con un rápido y seguro movimiento, David dio en el blanco y logró su objetivo. Él había sido enseñado a creer que, con la ayuda de Dios, triunfaría —y lo logró.

Fíjese metas aunque el desafío le parezca grande

La nación de Israel había sucumbido al temor. El rey Saúl había montado su tienda a una distancia prudente del campo de batalla, y le inquietaba el no saber cómo podía salir de este horrible apuro. Cuando David se presentó, una refrescante sensación de esperanza recorrió el campamento. Pero no todo el mundo se alegró de verlo; incluso su hermano se sintió enojado porque había venido (v. 28). La oposición siempre es segura cada vez que usted le dice sí a Dios, especialmente cuando comienza a confiar en que Él hará algo que parece imposible. Sin embargo, la idea del fracaso nunca pasó por la mente de David. Tenía una prioridad, y ésta era la de defender el buen nombre de Dios (vv. 26, 36, 46, 47). Es que fijarnos metas de acuerdo con los parámetros de Dios nos asegura siempre la victoria.

A pesar de que no todas las metas que usted se fije serán de naturaleza espiritual, cada una de ellas debe ser conforme a los principios de la Palabra de Dios. El secreto para alcanzarlas es tener un propósito correcto. Si su única motivación es lograr más para tener una sensación de éxito personal, es posible que Él no le permita alcanzar su objetivo. David sabía que el Señor lo había unido para ser rey de Israel, pero la posición y el estatus no eran su propósito; su motivación era su amor al Señor. A él no le preocupaba no tener una casa grande, ni mucho dinero en el banco, ni los amigos ideales para sentirse importante. Su preocupación era honrar a Dios, y ésta fue la diferencia entre su éxito y el fracaso del rey Saúl.

Muchas veces nos fijamos metas demasiado bajas, o que no están de acuerdo con lo mejor que Dios tiene para nosotros. Se pueden lograr fácilmente, pero son de poca ayuda para aumentar nuestra fe en Él. Por otro lado, fijarse metas poco realistas puede desalentarnos si no las alcanzamos. El deseo de David de derrotar a Goliat era tremendo, pero fue el Señor quien puso ese deseo en su corazón y el que le dio a David las fuerzas para cumplir la tarea.

El plan de Dios en cuanto a la fijación de metas

Las personas se pregunta muchas veces: “¿Me producirán satisfacción los planes que Dios tiene para mí?” Yo les digo: “¡Por supuesto que sí! Los planes de Dios son maravillosos, mucho más de lo que ustedes puedan imaginar, siempre rebosantes de bendiciones y de esperanza” (Ef. 3:20). Si nos conectamos a los sueños que Él tiene para nuestras vidas, no sólo aprenderemos cómo fijarnos prioridades que agraden al Señor; tendremos también una sensación de realización y un regocijo verdaderos. Para la fijación de metas, se deben considerar varias cosas. Son las siguientes:

Una idea clara de lo que usted desea lograr. David sabía lo que él quería: destruir al enemigo. Si usted permite que el temor y los pensamientos de incompetencia invadan su corazón, no logrará sus metas. Pero en el mismo momento que usted comience a creer que Dios le dará la victoria, sentirá un cambio de actitud. La fe en un Dios soberano que le ama incondicionalmente, avivará su esperanza. En vez de sentir que no puede hacer algo, usted comenzará a decir, como el apóstol: “Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece” (Fil. 4:13, cursivas añadidas).

Un deseo ardiente. Las personas que dicen: “Espero poder hacer esto algún día”, pueden olvidarse de lograr sus metas. La pasión y el deseo profundo de agradar y honrar a Dios, son los requisitos fundamentales para lograr cualquier meta, no importa lo enorme que pueda ser ésta.

La confianza. Me sorprende escuchar a algunas personas hablar de sus capacidades, de sus títulos y de su confianza, sin duda, en sí mismas antes que en Cristo. Ahora bien, pensemos en el historial profesional del apóstol Pablo, que era todo un informe de su calidad teológica. Era el maestro “perfecto” por su formación, su labor y su actitud. Sin embargo, él escribe: “Y ciertamente, aun estimo todas las cosas como pérdida por la excelencia del conocimiento de Cristo Jesús, mi Señor, por amor del cual lo he perdido todo, y lo tengo por basura, para ganar a Cristo, y ser hallado en él” (Fil. 3:8, 9).

Una línea de acción. Independientemente de que su meta sea espiritual (como el tener más intimidad con Dios) o personal (como ahorrar para unas vacaciones), pídale al Señor que le ayude a desarrollar un plan. En cualquier caso, hay que poner por escrito los objetivos y encomendarlos a Él. Pero la rendición es esencial; si usted no le da a Cristo cada una de las áreas de su vida, nunca experimentará el verdadero éxito que Dios quiere que usted tenga.

Un diario. Las metas tienen que ser definibles y medibles. Llevar un diario de sus avances y marcar los acontecimientos importantes le ayudarán a mantenerse enfocado en el objetivo, vigorizado y dirigiéndose en la dirección correcta. Lo más probable es que si usted no tiene una fecha límite para ver realizada su meta, nunca lo logrará.

Perseverancia. Lo peor que usted puede hacer es comenzar algo y nunca terminarlo. Si se rinde, el recuerdo del fracaso le quedará grabado en la mente. Por tanto, sea perseverante. Fije sus ojos en la meta, y no se desvíe hacia ningún lado. Recuerde que el desánimo es una de las herramientas favoritas de Satanás, y que él incluso tentará a otros creyentes para que lancen dudas sobre lo que Dios le ha pedido a usted que haga.

Control de las emociones. El enojo, el temor, la inseguridad, la desilusión y muchas otras emociones pueden impedir que logremos nuestro objetivo. El corazón de David estaba puesto en la victoria y en la honra de Dios, y por eso no titubeó. Si bien Goliat se burló de él, su trampa no le funcionó.

Valentía para actuar. David le dijo a Saúl: “No desmaye el corazón de ninguno a causa de él; tu siervo irá y peleará contra este filisteo” (1 S. 17:32). Si usted deja que el temor se apodere de su corazón, nunca tendrá la valentía que necesitará para acabar la tarea. Es bíblico tomarse el tiempo para evaluar el costo de alcanzar la meta (Lc. 14:28-32), pero cuando lo haga, que su evaluación sea de acuerdo con los deseos, las normas y el deseo del Señor para su vida, no conforme a su limitado entendimiento. Dios ve todo el panorama. Sabe lo que habrá más adelante, y reconoce cuán importante es que usted desarrolle confianza en Él.

Una dependencia consciente de Dios. Muchas veces, las grandes victorias están constituidas por pequeños logros. David le dijo a Goliat: “Jehová te entregará hoy en mi mano”. No dijo: “Por mis grandes capacidades voy a alcanzar este objetivo, ganar esta batalla y vencer a este enemigo”. El corazón de David estaba dispuesto a exaltar y honrar a Dios con su vida. Cuando ésa sea la motivación de sus acciones, usted no sólo alcanzará sus metas personales, sino que también podrá lograr cosas para Dios.

Autor: Desconocido

Son algo tentativos pero creo tener un plan A y un plan B (no sé cual es cual todavia) para el período final/comienzo del año 2009-2010. Son los meses de diciembre y enero en los cuales estoy de vacaciones de la uni y cuento con tiempo libre en la mañana.
El plan A (o B) es, si cuento con el dinero, hacer un viaje… Lo ideal al exterior… Italia con mi mejor amigo ya que él va en enero. Si es menos, algún viaje dentro del país.
El segundo plan, en caso de no tener tanto dinero, es retomar clases de natación. Hace años estaba en natación pero lo dejé por falta de tiempo. Ésto será en la mañana a una hora razonable entre 8 y 9 entre las horas que no tenga que despertar tan temprano y que no haya tanto sol. Al parecer estas clases no son tan caras y es más económico que un gym. Aunque tengo que comprarme los implementos como el traje de baño y otras cosas. Pero me servirá para mi estado físico y mi apariencia que también me preocupa hasta cierto punto