Traveling the world as a businesswoman , reviewing, sharing business tips and women advice

Cruise ships managed to unload

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:44:00 +0000

Are you considering the possibility of taking part in a cruise? Would you like to know how the authorities deal with unexpected situations while you are on a cruise? If that's the case, then I am sure that you will love to read the msnbc.com article just below:

"

SAO PAULO - Health authorities have allowed passengers to leave a cruise ship that had been quarantined in southeastern Brazil after hundreds were stricken with vomiting and diarrhea.

Royal Caribbean spokesman Rodrigo Dionisio says the 310 people who suffered gastrointestinal disorders aboard the Vision of the Seas have recovered.

He says the ship's 1,987 passengers and 765 crew members started leaving the ship Friday morning.

The vessel will undergo a a thorough cleansing before leaving on another cruise later in the day.

The ship arrived in the port of Santos early Friday from the coastal resort town of Buzios where the first case was detected earlier this week.

Most of the ill were Brazilians.

Buying eyeglasses for a lot less!

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:26:00 +0000

As a businesswoman who knows how incredibly important it is for all of us to find the best quality products for the best prices so that we can save some money for difficult financial periods, I am acknowledged enough to assure absolutely everyone that it is mandatory that we always search the Internet for anything that we may need.

Keeping this in mind, I have been recently looking for the best deals on quality eyeglasses and I came across this interesting article about Zenni Optical in which the author emphasis the high quality of the eyeglasses being sold at Zenni Optical but also states how we can make an incredible deal by ordering from Zenni Optical and paying less than 5 dollars for shipping no matter how many eyeglasses we buy from them. Moreover, by buying from Zenni Optical we will be able to buy eyeglasses for around 15 dollars which would cost over 100 dollars anywhere else! So, how can we possibly miss the opportunity of saving so much money by buying from Zenni Optical in a difficult financial period like this?

In conclusion, if you have always wanted to buy eyeglasses for all the family for the best price ever, then I am more than sure that you will be delighted as soon as you visit the website to which I have linked just above.

Airlines still trying to increase fares

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:19:00 +0000

Even considering the fact that you may have not noticed it yet, the truth is that most airlines are making a major effort in order to increase fares once again so that they can start recovering from the results of 2009 which were clearly bad for most of them. Read the msnbc.com article below and discover how they plan to increase those fares:

"

NEW YORK - U.S. airlines' second attempt of 2010 to raise ticket prices has fizzled, with major carriers pulling back fares over the long holiday weekend, according to Farecompare.com.

Last week, UAL Corp's United Airlines increased fares by $10 per round-trip, and other top carriers followed suit. But by Monday afternoon, most airlines had rolled back their prices, Farecompare.com Chief Executive Rick Seaney said in an email.

"This is (the) second, relatively modest hike to fail this year," he wrote.

Low-cost carriers like Southwest Airlines did not raise fares, which may have hurt major airlines' ability to make the higher fares stick, said Morningstar analyst Basili Alukos.

"There's always a lot of competition," Alukos said. "You've got low-cost carriers preying on weaker legacy carriers to pick up (market) share. I'd attribute the failure of the price increase to that."

In the most recent round of quarterly reports, major airlines said they had seen greater demand, particularly from business travelers, who tend to pay higher prices.

Business traffic rose 1.7 percent in December 2009, the first month of year-over-year growth since May 2008, the International Air Transport Association said on Tuesday.

Still, IATA said evidence suggests some business travelers are increasingly traveling in economy seats, indicating recovery is still a ways off.

"We have to look for new ways to fly in a cost-effective manner," Alukos said of his own company's policy.

Solving our obesity problems

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:32:00 +0000

As a woman who knows how incredibly important it is for us to feel great with our bodies and with our physical appearance when we look at the mirror, I am aware of the fact that it is vital that we always do our best in order to prepare our bodies for the summer season if we really want to impress everyone with a perfect body.

Keeping this in mind, I would personally advise you all to take some time to visit the website that was just launched by “Obesity Medical Center” and which is obviously related to obesity (“obesidad” in Spanish) and all the procedures and techniques around it so that we can find our own way out of the nightmare that we often face in the form of extra weight. In fact, I have also experienced these problems in the past and after having a look at the website to which I have linked just above, I realized that it is now easier to solve such obesity problems if we contact the most experienced professionals.

So, have you also been waiting for the perfect solution to solve all your extra weight problems without having to do some dangerous diets? If that’s the case, then I am more than sure that you definitely need to take a look at the website to which I have linked just above and see how you can start preparing yourself for a major change in your life!

There is always a nice place to go!

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:27:00 +0000

Even considering the fact that we often find it difficult for us to choose a nice destination for our vacations, the fact is that there are many possible solutions for each of the months of the year as you may confirm by having a look at the msnbc.com article just below:

"

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. - Paul MacLeod is a perpetually caffeinated Elvis fanatic who's taking care of business 24-7-365 at the antebellum home he calls "Graceland Too."

Pound on the door at any hour — seriously, it's OK to arrive at 4 in the morning — and the 67-year-old former auto worker will escort you through his discombobulating, floor-to-ceiling collection of photos, records, figurines, cardboard cutouts, candy wrappers, clocks and other random kitsch featuring the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

"I'd give my life right now if I could bring this guy back," MacLeod says in his auctioneer's staccato, his gray hair slicked back in a '50s style.

MacLeod says he rarely leaves Graceland Too, sleeps only sporadically and is fueled by 24 cans of Coca-Cola a day — a claim at least partially verified by the aluminum pull-top tabs he collects in sandwich bags and the stacks of flattened red cardboard boxes on the back porch.

Graceland Too is in Holly Springs, a northern Mississippi town of 8,000. It's a convenient stop for fans on an Elvis pilgrimage, sitting about halfway between Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, Miss., and the King's final home and resting place, the unaffiliated Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn.

No. 1 attraction
Until Graceland Too became a magnet for offbeat tourism, Holly Springs was best known for its traditional — and tastefully kept — white-columned antebellum homes.

"He's our number one attraction," says Suzann Williams, assistant director of the local tourism bureau.

She says that people call daily wanting information about Graceland Too, and that the Japanese and the British are the largest groups of overseas visitors. MacLeod doesn't have a telephone, but the tourism folks take him notes to let him know visitors are coming.

MacLeod is so obsessed that 36 years ago, he named his only son after the man he considers the world's greatest entertainer and humanitarian.

"My son was born Elvis Aron Presley, with one A for Aron," he says, noting the spelling Presley used for years. "I didn't put the other A to his name until Vernon Presley put it on his son's grave."

Floors creak beneath visitors' feet as they walk through the 157-year-old home warmed by space heaters that sit perilously close to raggedy shag carpet and stacks of papers and magazines.

For $5, visitors get to experience sensory overload, harshly lit by unshaded bulbs.

Doorways are decorated with several Elvis-patterned curtains in '70s-era hues of turquoise and lime. There are photocopies of a newspaper with MacLeod's all-time favorite headline: "Elvis Presley Excites Girls, Scares Critics."

A poster-sized display in the entryway declares — sans punctuation — "The Universes Galaxys Planets Worlds Ultimate Elvis Fans."

It’s me or Elvis
"My ex-wife told me, 'Make up your mind. Either me or the Elvis collection.' So that put an end to that," MacLeod says with a chuckle.

MacLeod says he has owned his home since the mid-1970s, and that he's had 368,000 visitors since he started opening it to strangers since the late 1980s or early 1990s.

Heaven help the fact-checker who'd have to verify the statistics he tosses out during his tours, which typically last an hour and a half.

Fans say the random, nonstop flow of information is part of the campy appeal.

Garreth Blackwell, a 27-year-old journalism teacher at the nearby University of Mississippi, said he has been to Graceland Too a half-dozen times and recently took his wife and three friends for a nighttime tour.

"It's kind of hard to talk about this guy, because you come enough you hear the same things over and over again," Blackwell says. "It kind of puts that in your mind, 'Well, maybe this is all true.' You don't ever know. But it doesn't matter because it's a good time."

MacLeod says that he became an Elvis fan when he was 13, and that he attended 120 Elvis concerts.

In Graceland Too, MacLeod claims to have 35,000 records and 25,000 CDs. He says he has 185,000 square inches of carpet that once was in Graceland. He constantly monitors radio and TV broadcasts and records any mention of his idol, claiming to have 31,000 videotapes and 43,000 audio recordings.

Then there's the scrapbook filled with teensy slivers of paper — 1 million mentions, he says, of the name Elvis Presley.

"There's my burial suit up here to come back and haunt my ex-wife," MacLeod says, pointing to a gold number in one of the front rooms.

Walking encyclopedia
Robert Lopez of Los Angeles, who has performed 21 years as El Vez, the Mexican Elvis, says he has toured Graceland Too at least a dozen times and is attracted to its folk-art oddness. He once donated one of his stage outfits to MacLeod's collection — a maroon crushed-velvet jumpsuit with a cape featuring a sequined Virgin of Guadalupe.

He says Elvis MacLeod is a walking encyclopedia about Elvis Presley who helped his father give tours for several years, but was a calmer presence: "The son would translate in a slower monotone: 'What my father said was ...,'" Lopez recalls.

The younger MacLeod moved to New York in the 1990s, and a phone listing for him could not be found.

Lopez also cautions that Graceland Too "might be a slight warning about what too much love can do."

The ceiling of the TV room is covered with baseball card-size Elvis pictures and visitor comments printed on fluorescent pink, blue and yellow paper. Wrote one man from Pensacola, Fla.: "This Elvis shrine is as close to Heaven as an Elvis fan can get. This is the ULTIMATE."

The importance of looking younger

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:10:00 +0000

English review:

As a woman who knows how incredibly important it is for us to feel alright and comfortable with our own physical appearance, I am aware of how important all the rejuvenation techniques, products and surgeries are for us to be able to recover the beautiful appearance that we used to have when we were younger.

Keeping this in mind, I have been recently told about the latest “Corporacion Dermoestetica” technique that only takes around one or two hours and which is know by “blefaroplastia”. In fact, this surgery is provided by the most qualified professionals and is certain to provide us with the best results that we will ever be able to get from a plastic surgery and which will give us all the confidence that we need in order to feel comfortable with our facial expressions, our smile, etc. Furthermore, as these surgeries are absolutely painless, almost any woman willing to improve her physical appearance can take them without fearing that the surgery could end up being worthless.

So, if you have always wanted to recover the amazing smile that you used to have when you were younger or if you would simply like to improve your facial expressions, then I am more than sure that you definitely need to take a look at the website to which I have linked just above and where you will be able to find everything you need to know about these surgeries and the advantages that come with them.

Spanish review:

Como una mujer que sabe como es increíblemente importante para nosotras nos sentirnos bien y cómodos con nuestra propia apariencia física, yo estoy consciente de que es muy importante que tengamos conocimiento de todas las técnicas de rejuvenecimiento disponibles, de los productos que nos tiran años de vida y de las cirugías son para que nosotras podamos recuperar el bello aspecto que teníamos cuando éramos jóvenes.

Teniendo esto en mente, me han hablado recientemente acerca de una de las últimas técnicas de las clínicas “Corporación Dermoestética" que sólo toman alrededor de una o dos horas y que se conoce por "Blefaroplastia". De hecho, esta cirugía es proporcionada por los profesionales más cualificados y es seguro que nos van a traer los mejores resultados que las mujeres serán capaces de obtener con una cirugía plástica y que nos dará a todos la confianza que necesitamos para nos sea posible sentir la comodidad necesaria para mostrar nuestras expresiones faciales, nuestra sonrisa, etc Además, como estas cirugías son absolutamente indoloras, casi todas las mujeres que desean mejorar su aspecto físico pueden tomar estas operaciones plásticas sin temor.

Así pues, si usted siempre ha querido recuperar la sonrisa increíble que tenía cuando eras más joven o si simplemente desea mejorar sus expresiones faciales, entonces estoy más que seguro que usted necesita definitivamente de echar un vistazo a la página web a la que he conectado justo encima y donde usted podrá encontrar todo lo que necesita saber acerca de estas operaciones y las ventajas que vienen con ellas.

Carries know no limits so far...

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Even if you have never seen a carrier in person and if you don't know the numbers behind them and their activity, then you may not be familiar with the amazing number of things that they tend to carry from place to place. In fact, read the msnbc.com article just below and discover how these carriers tend to work and how they are going to be limited soon:

"

ATLANTA - A Delta Air Lines Inc. executive urged other carriers Wednesday to be careful not to increase the amount of flying they do too quickly.

Chief Financial Officer Hank Halter said at a New York investor conference that was broadcast on the Internet that even if a modest recovery occurs in 2010, the world's biggest airline hopes the industry maintains flat capacity.

Capacity is measured by the amount of available seats a carrier offers multiplied by the miles flown.

Halter said Delta could eventually increase capacity 1 percent to 2 percent once demand shows strong signs of coming back. He says demand won't really gain steam until passengers feel that the recession is firmly in the rearview mirror and it is safe to spend.

"People are holding onto their money still," Halter said in his presentation during the Morgan Stanley Transportation Corporate Access Day. "When they are flying, they are flying in the back of the aircraft."

Many carriers have shed capacity over the last 18 months. The impact of the recession on business travel has been especially painful for airlines, which rely on sales of premium seats to boost revenue.

"The challenge for the industry is to make sure we don't come back and start flooding the market with more capacity ... when the demand isn't there," Halter said.

The comments came as Delta, based in Atlanta, continues its efforts to lure struggling Japan Airlines away from its partnership with American Airlines and into an alliance with Delta and its SkyTeam partners. Executives from Delta and American were scheduled to be in Tokyo on Thursday to meet with reporters.

Delta and its alliance partners have said a billion-dollar offer is on the table to lure JAL from its affiliation with American. JAL President Haruka Nishimatsu has said he will make a decision on the offer by the end of the year.

American is working aggressively to try to keep Japan Airlines in its oneworld alliance. American, a unit of AMR Corp., which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, has said that if JAL switches from the oneworld alliance it will cost JAL up to $500 million in lost revenue in the first two years after the changeover.

That figure assumes Delta initially will only be able to replace about half the revenue-sharing and other money that JAL currently gets from its oneworld partners, including American.

During the investor conference Wednesday, Halter did not address the status of Delta's talks with JAL, saying only, "All of SkyTeam would benefit, as would JAL, if JAL would come into the SkyTeam alliance."

Buying new holiday frames

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:38:00 +0000

As a businesswoman who tends to work afterhours and knows how important it is that we always look extremely glamorous and classic on the most important meetings but also in our daily life, I would say that we should pay attention to every detail of our outfit and that includes the eyeglasses that we own!

Keeping this in mind, I have been recently looking for the best deals on holiday frames so that I can feel glamorous during the upcoming Christmas season, in which everyone tends to show off some new outfits that were Christmas presents. Personally, I have found some interesting holiday frames on the website to which I have linked above but see the image below to check out the ones that I have loved the most:

In fact, I used to pay over 100 dollars for all the prescription eyeglasses that I used to buy but these ones cost less than 15 dollars and still offer us all the quality warranties that we should always look for! So, what else could we really ask for? I mean, I tend to wear prescription eyeglasses on a daily basis but as they used to be extremely expensive, I have never managed to buy multiple ones so that I could combine them with different outfits…

Fortunately, thanks to the fact that ZenniOptical.com sells stylish prescription eyeglasses online from $8 and offers an amazingly wide range of frames, I will now be able to buy dozens of different eyeglasses so that I can always match them with my glamorous outfits.

America's smartest people live in Minneapolis

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:32:00 +0000

Even if you don't plan your travels keeping in mind where you will be able to find the most interesting persons, the truth is that you probably would love to discover where you will be able to find the smartest ones. Having said this, I would personally advise you to take some time to read the msnbc.com article just below:

"

By Adrien Glover

What U.S. city has the most intelligent citizens? According to Travel + Leisure’s 2009 America’s Favorite Cities Survey, the answer is simple: Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Now in its fifth year, the survey—which was open to the online voting public this past summer—covers 30 U.S. cities and was expanded this year to include even more urban areas, such as Cleveland, Providence, and St. Louis.

Its “People” category consistently ranks as the most talked about, with voters weighing in on such topics as what U.S. city has the most attractive people (Miami) or the least (Philadelphia). Not surprisingly, the question of which city is home to the country’s smartest people has also sparked discussion.

Some may credit the weather—for keeping people indoors with their noses in books—for the high IQs of Twin Cities residents, but the heady city is full of clues: top-ranked Macalester and seven other colleges; the Utne Reader and beloved independent Common Good Books; Minnesota Public Radio and the smart radio stylings of Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion; the revered Guthrie Theater; and a local culture that prides itself on being in the know—and knowing it all.

“The enormity of artistic and cultural opportunity paired with outdoor activity make the Minnie-apple a standout city,” says Annie W. Mathisen, a 35-year-old attorney who was born in Minneapolis-St. Paul and then returned as an adult because of the area’s high quality of life. “We can boast having inventive minds, from Lucent to Prince. I think Minneapolis fosters an environment where intelligence is valued and constantly fed—no matter what your mind is hungry for,” she says.

But there are other intellectual hotbeds, too. The freethinking bastion of San Francisco—home to countless high-tech companies and Internet entrepreneurs—ranks among the survey’s top 10 smartest cities. Washingtonians are no dummies, either. With a diverse population and an army of cunning politicians, our nation’s capital gets high marks for smarts.

Other cities, however, are the class clowns to the straight A students above. Orlando, for example, may be home to the most magical place on earth, but survey-takers voted their residents’ intelligence a bit less mesmerizing. Dallas, too, ended up toward the bottom of the intelligence list.

Sure, smart people live all over the United States, but maybe some cities really do have more collective brainpower than others.

Discovering Europe

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:18:00 +0000

As a traveler who simply loves to discover every corner of the most famous cities all around the world, I am often seduced by the idea of taking part in a train adventure all over Europe so that I can discover how Europe developed and how people tend to live in those countries.

Keeping this in mind, I have been recently reading some interesting articles on travels from UK to France and other glamorous countries all over Europe so that I can have a more precise idea of what I can expect to find in those countries and which spots I should definitely avoid missing if I intend to take full advantage of my trips. As a matter of fact, I have been reading some interesting news about the St. Pancras railway station and other station to airport possibilities that may allow me to take full advantage of fast services that will easily make it possible for me to travel from city to city in short periods of time! Moreover, if you decide to go from St Pancras International, London to any destination across Europe that has always attracted you, then I would personally advise you to take some time to visit the websites to which I have linked above and where you may discover more about the great possibilities that you have this winter all across Europe but mainly in Paris and Brussels as they are just a few hours away if you choose St. Pancras railway station to get there.

So, have you always wanted to do some shopping for Christmas anywhere across Europe or would you like to enjoy some festivals in Europe during the winter? If that’s the case, then I am more than sure that you will definitely benefit from having a look at the website to which I have linked just above and where you will be able to get many and interesting information about these trips.

NYC unlicensed airport taxis to be cracked down!

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:15:00 +0000

Even if you have never been to NYC before, the truth is that you must be familiar with the general idea that everyone in the city does everything possible in order to fulfil their "American dreams" so you may end up facing some amazing surprises. In fact, read the msnbc.com article just below and discover how many taxis are just unlicensed:

"

NEW YORK - With the holiday travel season gearing up, authorities are cracking down on the swarms of unlicensed taxi drivers who hustle passengers at New York City airports.

Port officials and prosecutors announced Tuesday that police had arrested 17 men at Kennedy International Airport in an enforcement sweep timed to coincide with a new law imposing tougher penalties on unlicensed hacks. An 18th driver was arrested at LaGuardia Airport.

Under the new state law signed last month, the drivers could face up to 90 days in jail and fines as high as $1,250. Previously, violations usually resulted in the equivalent of a traffic ticket.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the new legislation "should go a long way toward putting an end to the days when airport hustlers accepted paying a minimal fine simply as a cost of doing business."

The crackdown takes aim at the small army of quick-talking drivers who approach passengers as they emerge from the terminals and offer them a ride into the city for an under-the-table fare, negotiated on the spot.

These trips aren't always a rip-off. Unlicensed drivers often charge equal to, or less than, the legal flat taxi rate of $45.50 (plus tolls) for all taxi trips between Manhattan and JFK.

But these unauthorized pickups can be problematic, too, especially when drivers come across someone who isn't familiar with the city or U.S. currency. One driver arrested Monday at JFK had offered an investigator a ride to Manhattan for $85.

In one case in June, a group of French tourists were effectively held hostage for a time as the unlicensed van that had picked them up at JFK was chased through the city by police.

Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said enforcement of the law would keep "potentially dangerous" drivers off the streets, including those who lack proper insurance, while protecting the livelihood of those who do business legally.

It is possible for us to look younger!

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:40:00 +0000

English review:

As a woman who knows how it feels to look at the mirror and see how the years pass by and make us look older, I am experienced enough to assure absolutely every woman that it is vital that we take some plastic surgeries and some rejuvenation techniques that make it possible for us to look younger and even more beautiful.

Keeping this in mind, I have been recently looking for the best solutions on botox so that I can make my facial expressions and smile look just like when I was twenty years old! In fact, thanks to the latest techniques and technologies it is now possible for us to achieve amazing results as you may confirm by having a look at the website to which I have linked just above and which will redirect you to “Corporacion Dermoestetica”, which is one of the most successful clinics all around the world providing women with amazing results on facial rejuvenation. Moreover, all the services that they provide come from the most experienced and successful professionals, making it absolutely sure that we can feel confident about the final results that we will get.

So, if you have been waiting for the perfect moment to discover how botox can really change your life, then you definitely need to take some of your time to have a look at the website above and see how you can recover the amazing smile that you had when you were younger.

Spanish review:

Como una mujer que sabe cómo es mirar el espejo y ver cómo pasan los años y como ellos nos hacen parecer más viejas, yo tengo la suficiente experiencia como para garantizar absolutamente todas las mujeres que es de vital importancia que consideremos la posibilidad de tirar partido de algunas cirugías plásticas y algunas técnicas de rejuvenecimiento para que sea posible que nosotras logremos parecer más jóvenes y más hermosas.

Con esto en mente, he estado recientemente en busca de las mejores soluciones de botox para que yo pueda hacer mis expresiones faciales y la sonrisa parecer igual que cuando tenía veinte años. De hecho, gracias a las últimas técnicas y tecnologías, ahora es posible para nosotros lograr resultados sorprendentes, lo que puede confirmar al echar un vistazo a la página web a la que he conectado justo por encima y que le redirigirá a "Corporación Dermoestética", que es una de las clínicas de mayor éxito en todo el mundo ofreciendo a las mujeres los resultados más sorprendentes en el rejuvenecimiento facial. Además, todos los servicios que ofrecen vienen de los profesionales más experimentados y exitosos, por lo que es absolutamente seguro de que podemos tener confianza en los resultados finales que iremos tener.

Por lo tanto, si usted ha estado esperando el momento perfecto para descubrir cómo el botox puede realmente cambiar su vida, entonces usted definitivamente necesita tomar algun de su tiempo para echar un vistazo a la página web por encima y ver cómo se puede recuperar la sonrisa increíble que usted tenía cuando era más joven.

How to behave if a flight is canceled

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:17:00 +0000

Have you ever experienced the feeling of knowing that your flight to your favorite destination has been canceled on the last minutes? Even if you didn't, the truth is that it can get pretty difficult to accept one of those major decisions of the airlines as you may witness by reading the msnbc.com article just below:

"

By Christopher Elliott

Travel columnist

Tribune Media Services

Q: I'm trying to get a long-overdue refund from American Airlines, and I need your help. Last year, my husband and I had tickets for our honeymoon on American Airlines. On the morning of the flight from San Diego to Orlando, we got a phone call that said our itinerary had been changed. However, the new flight was almost two days later.

This was unacceptable to us since it was our honeymoon, so we called the airline's customer service department. They were unable to find us a closer flight so the agent said they would just refund our money. We ended up buying new tickets on another airline.

As you can probably guess, we never received the $1,374 refund we were promised. The tickets were paid for with a debit card so the refund should have been issued back onto the card.

We tried calling American Airlines about this and they said the refund had been issued. But when we called our bank to ask them about it, they said there was never any refund. I have also e-mailed American Airlines customer service about this and they just replied that the refund had already been issued. Then, when I emailed them again and asked for some sort of proof that the refund had been issued, there was no response.

We're stuck. Is there anything you can do? — Sarah Paynter, San Diego

A: American Airlines should have refunded the money you spent on your tickets by now. On second thought, it shouldn't have ever come to this. When your flight was canceled, the airline should have found a way of getting you to your destination in a timely manner — not two days later.

Your rights as a passenger are outlined in American Airlines' conditions of carriage — that's the legal agreement between you and the airline. (Here's a link to the full document). See paragraph 18, which deals with delays, cancellations and diversions. It specifies that when cancellations and major delays are experienced, passengers will be rerouted on its next flight with available seats.

"If the delay or cancellation was caused by events within our control and we do not get you to your final destination on the expected arrival day, we will provide reasonable overnight accommodations, subject to availability," it adds.

Not so long ago, airlines would buy a ticket on another airline if the delay were their fault, like a mechanical problem or a crew shortage. Ticket agents at some carriers still have the authority to endorse a ticket to another airline.

I don't think you should have taken "no" for an answer. Telling an American Airlines representative that you're on your honeymoon might have gotten you a flight to your destination without spending any extra money.

In a situation like this, having a skilled travel agent would have also been useful. A trusted travel adviser — especially someone who specializes in honeymoon vacations — would have known whom to call at American. If nothing else, that would have saved you and your husband from a lot of unnecessary stress.

As to your refund, airlines often talk a good game when it comes to returning your money. In fact, they take weeks, and sometimes months, to process your credit. Why? I haven't heard a good explanation yet.

When you're trying to track down a refund, you're better off sticking to e-mail. If the airline sends you something in writing that promises a refund, finding the money will be much easier for your bank. Even if the money never shows up, your financial institution may return the funds if it interprets the correspondence as a letter of credit, or an intent to pay you. That can't happen if you call the airline.

I contacted American on your behalf and it promptly issued a $1,374 refund to your card.

My summer trip in Australia

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:56:00 +0000

As a woman who really loves to travel all around the world, I am already planning my next summer trip to Sidney, Australia. In fact, I intend to save some money on this trip as well as getting some extra freedom in order to discover the city…

Keeping this in mind, I have been looking for Cheap car hire deals in Australia so that I can save some extra money for some other trips that I am already planning.

So, if you would also like to know where to find the best deals on car hire anywhere in Australia, then you definitely need to visit the user-friendly and extremely interactive website to which I have linked just above.

"Exotic" restaurants in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:53:00 +0000

You don't really need to be a man to go to Las Vegas and enjoy the best food in the city but you probably need to be one if you plan to go to the "special" restaurants that are available in the city and where you may find it difficult to pay attention to what you are eating... Below you may read another interesting msnbc.com article where you may read more about these restaurants:

"

Most of America knows the strip mall as that random and anonymous assortment of chain stores, outlets, and fast food joints given cohesion by its giant parking lot, and anchored by its Starbucks. Rarely do we think of it as a natural cache for a city’s culinary genius.

Yet strip malls are precisely where you’ll find some of the most surprising—and best—cuisine in Las Vegas.

The gastronomes and food critics who now glut Las Vegas—all fiercely proud of their knowledge of the city’s "locals only" restaurants—will advise you to forget the big-name chefs for at least a few meals during your visit. Sure, the big names are all here; you can sample their food both on the Strip and from the trademarked boxes in the frozen foods section of your local grocery.

But head off the Strip, and you’re more likely to find chefs actually in their kitchens and changing Las Vegas from a town that relies on its chefs’ marquee names to a city that really cooks.

Still, as eager as Las Vegans are to impart their dining secrets, you should expect nearly every recommendation to be prefaced with the caveat, "Don’t let the fact that it’s in a strip mall put you off." Is it some kind of cosmic coincidence that the city’s best places happen to land on this side of a giant parking lot from a busy thoroughfare? No. It’s because most of Las Vegas is a strip mall.

You can grouse about these restaurants’ lack of atmosphere, or embrace them as an even more delicious secret for being shoehorned in between Old Navy and Dillard’s.

But often, the seedier or more generic the strip mall, the better the surprise. For example, Commercial Center, a 50-year-old whitewashed collision of disparate storefronts on the fringes of downtown, holds Lotus of Siam, a Thai restaurant with a nationwide cult following (that may or may not look past its neighbors, some of whom practice a profession even older than cooking).

Sometimes these great restaurants require a short drive—and some sharp eyes. On the other side of town in Las Vegas’s Summerlin neighborhood is Rosemary’s. You might pass it several times before you spot it next door to the Stein Mart.

But this is where you’ll find some of the Strip’s most renowned chefs on their nights off, digging into carefully crafted Creole and Midwest-influenced American dishes. Others, like French bistro Marche Bacchus, hold an entire secret landscape beyond their storefront portals.

Bon appétit.

Grandfather clocks for our home

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:45:00 +0000

While most women tend to ignore the beauty and familiar appeal of grandfather clocks, the truth is that I am not one of those women and I do love grandfather clocks and the entire mystic and magic around them and their story.

As a matter of fact, I have recently read this interesting article about Howard Miller clocks and I felt that I should also get some space in my house so that I can place one of these amazing clocks in my main wall. Moreover, after having a look at the website to which I have linked in the first paragraph, I realized that Howard Miller’s clocks are affordable if you buy them on a dedicated online store such as that one. In fact, see the picture below and confirm how incredibly charming this clock is and how it could easily be placed in carpeted floors to give extra beauty to any room that we may have at home:

So, would you also like to buy a new grandfather clock but you didn’t know where to search for them? If that’s the case, then I am more than sure that you will be delighted as soon as you take some time to visit the websites to which I have linked above and where you will be able to find the most incredible grandfather clocks for the best prices ever!

Las vegas: a land of unbelivable events

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Even if you have never been to Las Vegas before, the truth is that you simply can't denny that you have already heard some great stories about amazing events that took place in Las Vegas. In fact, if you would like to know more about another great event taking place in Las Vegas, then I would personally advise you to take some time to read the msnbc.com article just below:

"

LAS VEGAS - The New York-New York Hotel & Casino has its winning Vinny.

The Las Vegas Strip hotel announced the winner of its Vinny vs. Vinny spokesVinny competition on Monday, declaring Vinny Blue "the ultimate go-to guy for all things New York-New York."

His real name is Thomas Cassell, and he's originally from New York but now he lives in Las Vegas. Voters cast ballots at the hotel and online.

The battle to be The Vinny included a Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest, an ESPN Zone arcade challenge and an Irish jig showdown at Nine Fine Irishmen.

Cynthia Kiser Murphey, New York-New York's president and chief operating officer, said Vinny's job is to give guests an idea where to go, what to do, what's hot, and what's not — all in a New York kind of way.

New York-New York is a subsidiary of MGM Mirage.

The best online pharmacies

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:46:00 +0000

As you probably know, our jobs can get extremely demanding and may make it extremely hard for us to keep up with all the stress and effort that comes with any job. Keeping this in mind, I often find it extremely important that I search for the best medicine products online so that I can fight any headache or similar problem that comes with my job.

Having this said, if you tend to buy tramadol online or if you would like to know which the best websites for buying tramadol are, then I would personally say that you definitely need to have a look at this tramadol hcl 50 mg tablets bluebook so that you may also order tramadol online with the confidence that you will be getting authentic and effective products that will surely come in handy when you need to recover from a difficult day in your own company or simply in those days when you tend to feel some pain in any particular areas of your body and you tend to need a pain relief solution. In fact, tramadol is one of the most effective and recommended pain relief solutions from doctors worldwide, showing you how you can easily trust this product in order to find a solution for any pain problem that you may be facing.

So, if you have always wanted to find the best deals on tramadol online and if you never managed to discover a good website where you could compare the prices of online pharmacies on this product, then you definitely need to take some of your time to visit the website to which I have linked just above and see with your own eyes how incredibly helpful and user-friendly that website is! Finally, start ordering and see how tramadol can really boost your lifestyle and change the way that you tend to face your problems.

Taking the most out of Bahamas trips

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:41:00 +0000

Even if you are not a fan of paradisiacal destinations, the truth is that you simply can't denny the beauty of some destinations all across the world such as Bahamas! In fact, if you plan to enjoy a summer vacation there with your family, then I would personally advise you to take some time to read the msnbc.com article just below and see how incredibly helpful it will be for you:

"

Great surf, great sun, great people ... the Bahamas is made for families.

For the sporty family
If your clan's idea of a good time involves swimming, spelunking, or anything that works up a sweat, pack your gear and head to Andros's Small Hope Bay Lodge, a rustic resort hidden in acres of mangrove and Andros pine. This unpretentious charmer feels like tropical summer camp but is actually a world-class diving destination—and the best place for kids to get their first taste of scuba diving.

The string of simple coral-rock cottages is anchored by a lodge with batik-covered daybeds and a bar fashioned from the hull of an old sailboat—but has no phones or TV. You don't miss them, though, with all the kayaking, snorkeling, nature trails, shelling, and diving.

At night, kids eat in the ramshackle rec room, stocked with board games and coloring supplies, while adults mingle with staff members over conch fritters in the lounge. Communal tables and ample portions of home-style food—think cracked conch, freshly baked orange cake—give things an easygoing dinner party feel; hey, even sports fans need some downtime (242-368-2014; smallhope.com; doubles, $470, all-inclusive).

For the laid-back family
Admit it: You hate planning. (We understand.) Non-type A families will love Hope Town on Elbow Cay, an islet that's a short ferry ride from Great Abaco. With a low-key vibe and an easily navigable layout, it brings to mind a tropical Nantucket.

Book at the cheery Hope Town Harbour Lodge; the ferry will drop you right at the hotel's pier, and the staff will carry your gear—bodyboards, strollers, and all—up to your room. Oceanfront cottages have decks so you can keep an eye on the sand-castle construction from above (242-366-0095; hopetownlodge.com; doubles, $175-$225). The tiny town is best explored on foot or bike, and because it's closed to motor vehicles, kids can run free.

Sun Dried-T's, a harborside kiosk, rents bikes with big baskets for beach gear (242-366-0616; bike rentals, $10 a day). The more ambitious should call Froggie's, which can arrange daylong snorkel trips to nearby Abaco National Park (242-366-0431; froggiesabaco.com; day-trips, $70). At night, hit the beloved Harbour's Edge—kids will scarf down conch fritters before scampering off to raid the board game collection, leaving adults to watch the sunset (242-366-0087; entrées, $20-$32).

For the multi-generational family
There's Grandma. And the teenagers. And your sister and her toddler. Luckily, Grand Bahama has something to satisfy every constituency. There's no need to rent a car; simply base the crew in Lucaya, a self-contained resort area just beyond Freeport with both ocean and intracoastal marina access.

The beach side is dominated by the sprawling Our Lucaya complex, which has two resorts, four pools, and 13 restaurants linked by paths. Book the older generations at Reef Village, where the tranquil lanai suites have their own private beach (242-373-1333; lanai suites from $700). Closer to the action (and the water slides), the ten-story Radisson has two-bedroom suites with kitchens (242-373-1333; ourlucaya.com; suites, $589). If Our Lucaya is a bit too Disney, try the marinaside Pelican Bay Hotel, where the friendly staff will track down beach reads and DVDs for movie night (242-373-9550; pelicanbayhotel.com; suites, $189-$209).

By day, the more active family members can trot over to UNEXSO, a spit-and-polish dive operation with its own pool for beginning scuba lessons (242-373-1244; intro lessons, $109), or explore the rest of the island on a day-trip with Grand Bahama Nature Tours (242-373-2485; grandbahamanaturetours.com; day tours, $79). For something less rigorous, sign up with Paradise Cove, a modest family-owned beach club on the island's western end. They'll transport you to their sandy stretch, where you can snorkel out to Deadman's Reef or lounge on the beach (242-349-2677; deadmansreef.com; snorkel day-trip, $35 for adults, $20 for children).

At night, everyone can regroup at Iries, a stylized Caribbean joint inside Our Lucaya; there are dishes like roasted grouper with papaya chutney, as well as a kids' menu (242-373-1333; entrées, $21-$35). On the marina side, the Port Lucaya Marketplace is kitschy but convenient, with plenty of eating options. Grab a table at Pisces, a quirky Italian spot with delicious conch pizza (242-373-5192; pizzas, $12-$30).

And watch the horizon for ...
Another reason to go to Andros. We're predicting that the island's improved Tiamo Resort will become an instant fave among families when it reopens this October. Major renovations will add more solar panels and a bio-diesel generator. But what really makes it family friendly is the variety of outdoor activities, from sailing to up-close encounters with rock iguanas. Thanksgiving break in the Bahamas, anyone?

Learning how to play poker

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:11:00 +0000

English review:

Even considering the fact that I am a woman, the truth is that I love card games such as Poker and which tend to be extremely interesting and challenging when we decide to play these games with our friends or simply play poker online. In fact, by playing poker online we will have the chance to both to get some extra entertainment from the game but also the possibility of earning some extra money that we can spend on something that we really love or need.

Still, it is extremely important that before we start playing poker with our friends or online, that we know the basic rules and combinations that will be able to help us achieve victory on this game, making sure that we don’t end up losing a lot of money just because we didn’t know how to plan our own strategy. Keeping this in mind, I would strongly advise you all to take some time to visit the websites to which I have linked just above and where you will be able to find all the important information about poker that you will need in order to play the game with all the confidence that it requires. Moreover, you may even download some poker content (in Spanish people would say “descargar poker” ) so that you can already start practicing at the same time that you read the rules and get the basic ideas on how to plan your games.

Spanish review:

Aun considerando el hecho de que soy una mujer, la verdad es que me encantan los juegos de cartas como el poker y que tienden a ser sumamente interesantes y desafiantes cuando decidimos jugar estos juegos con nuestros amigos o simplemente jugar poker online. De hecho, jugando al poker online, tendremos la oportunidad de conseguir tirar alguno entretenimiento extra del juego, pero también la posibilidad de ganar algún dinero extra que podremos gastar en algo que realmente necesitemos.

Sin embargo, es muy importante que antes de empezar a jugar al poker con los amigos o online, que nosotros nos informemos sobre las reglas básicas del juego y las combinaciones que pueden ayudarnos a lograr la victoria en este juego, asegurándose que nosotros no acabamos perdiendo dinero simplemente porque no sabíamos cómo planificar nuestra propia estrategia de juego. Teniendo esto en cuenta, yo les recomiendo vivamente a todos a tomar algún tiempo para visitar los sitios web a los que he conectado justo encima y donde usted podrá encontrar toda la información importante sobre el poker que necesitará para jugar el juego con toda la confianza que se requiere. Además, puedes incluso descargar poker de modo que ya puedes empezar a practicar al mismo tiempo que lee las reglas para que puedas tener las ideas básicas sobre cómo planificar tus juegos.

Do you love gourmet? Tokyo is your destination!

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:07:00 +0000

People tend to love to eat the best and most incredible plates all around the world. Still, you probably don't know where you should go in order to find the most incredible ones, right? If that's the case and if you would like to know where you will find the most famous dishes, then I would advise you to take some time to read the msnbc.com article just below:

"

TOKYO - The Epicurean king who oversees the Michelin Guide fears he may be banished from France.

His shocking crime?

Awarding Tokyo more three-star restaurant ratings than Paris, thereby crowning the Japanese metropolis the new gastronomic capital of the world.

"Trust me, they'll wait for me at customs there," Jean-Luc Naret, director general of the famed guide to exceptional eateries, joked Thursday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. "Because they'll say how dare could you have more three-stars in Tokyo than in Paris?"

Michelin's latest Tokyo edition goes on sale in Japan on Friday, and Naret has been in town this week promoting what many consider to be the bible of culinary skill. This time, Michelin's undercover team of inspectors has bestowed its highest three-star rating to 11 restaurants in Tokyo, one more than in Paris.

Tokyo also beats Paris in the total number of stars received — 261 awarded to 197 establishments.

That's 34 more than when the venerable guide made its Asian debut in Japan in 2007.

Michelin's ranking system considers the quality, consistency and value of a restaurant's food, with three stars designating "exceptional cuisine, and worth the journey," without taking into account the service or ambiance, according to the guide.

The first Tokyo edition sold 300,000 copies — 150,000 of which were snapped up in the first 24 hours. Since then, Michelin has released guides for Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Osaka and Kyoto in western Japan.

Not everyone in Japan was pleased that Michelin had landed in Tokyo. Critics attacked its culinary selections. Some chefs said they didn't want to be in the book. Others questioned how a group of foreigners could judge Japanese food.

To mollify naysayers, the company used only Japanese inspectors for the 2010 Tokyo edition, Naret said.

Placating his fellow Frenchman may be another matter.

"Forget everything that you know about Japanese food," Naret said he would like to tell Parisians. "Just go to the other side of the world, and you will understand what Japanese food is all about."

Naret added that statistically speaking, it's not really a fair contest. Tokyo is home to 160,000 restaurants, compared to 60,000 in Paris.

And France still wins the country count with 25 three-star establishments nationwide to Japan's 18.

Finding the best postcard templates

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:54:00 +0000

As a woman, I know how sentimental and incredibly important postcards may be for our emotional stability or the expression of any message to someone else no matter which is the nature of that message.

Keeping this in mind, if you are looking for the best postcard templates so that you can create your own postcards to send to your friends or anyone special, then I am more than sure that you will be able to find all the templates that you will ever need on the website to which I have linked just above. Furthermore, the website is so incredibly user-friendly and easy to navigate that you will find what you are looking for in just a few seconds!

Las Vegas: luxury is just a few miles away from us

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Have you ever been to Las Vegas before? Would you say that it is one of your favorite destinations? Well, if you believe that Las Vegas doesn't have much to offer you, then you definitely need to read the msnbc.com article just below and discover a new world for you as I am sure that you will be surprised with what you will find in Las Vegas:

"

By Andrew Lincoln

We sent intrepid writer Andrew Lincoln on a mission to see just how low some of the world's most over-the-top hotels would go. Turns out that, with a little ingenuity, these days you can get it all for a lot less.

A man who works at a casino was sitting next to me in a restaurant not long ago. He had a watch that looked like a hubcap from a Bentley, except that it had diamonds on it. He'd worked for Bellagio, the hotel-casino that helped reinvent Las Vegas as a luxury destination for the masses in 1998. He'd worked for MGM Grand.

He'd worked for Wynn. He would be going to Las Vegas in a week, he said, and he would be staying in a room that was 900 square feet, where you could talk on the phone and watch a flat-screen TV while you were in the Jacuzzi.

The kind of room that even on discount Web sites goes for $900. Only he would be paying, if things went according to his plan, no more than $200 a night. And what was his secret? I asked. Because people who tell you stuff like this are usually dying for you to ask what their secret is.

"The thing people don't realize," he said, lifting his glass of pinot noir, "is that if you want a better price on a room in Vegas, all you have to do is ask. So I'm planning to negotiate. In Las Vegas, you just can't be afraid to ask."

Las Vegas has always been the place where Joe Six-pack could live like a high roller for a weekend. If you couldn't afford to go to Paris and stay at the Hôtel de Crillon, you could at least go to the Paris hotel in Vegas and have men in French sailor hats open the door for you.

But in 2009, those of us on this side of the check-in counter find that the math is even more in our favor. Last year, Las Vegas added close to 9,000 hotel rooms to the existing 133,000. And in 2009, 14,000 more hotel rooms are scheduled to open.

Meanwhile, you've got slumping demand: Last year tourism was down 4 percent compared with the previous year, and this year's numbers are expected to be even lower. That's why you hear about extreme measures. We're talking rooms going for $40 a weeknight at places like the Excalibur.

These days, there are simply too many ridiculous rooms with hot tubs and wet bars and views of the bright, gleaming desert floor to go around—and I consider it part of my patriotic duty to not let all those marble baths go to waste.

So I will accept The Budget Travel Challenge: Spend three days in Las Vegas seeking out the most extreme luxury for as little money as possible, using any sort of bargaining techniques that don't require identity theft and can be reproduced by savvy travelers.

Having been to Vegas several times, I have identified what I believe are the six best luxury hotels: the Bellagio, the Venetian, the Palazzo, the Wynn, the Encore, and the Trump (there's the Ritz, too, but it's miles from the Strip, so it doesn't count for me). I want to stay exclusively in those hotels—and in the high-roller rooms at that. And that's just the beginning. I was going to test the man with the watch's theory and find how much you can get in Vegas simply by asking (and asking, and asking).

Method one: The Internet

The air just smells different in the Wynn Las Vegas. They pump in a fragrance that makes it feel like stepping inside the lint trap of a large, well-maintained dryer. The smell hits you as soon as you enter the atrium and make your way to the front desk, hidden, as all things in Las Vegas are, somewhere beyond the casino floor.

A woman dressed like a flight attendant from a superior society greets me at the front desk with a smile. I wait for her to see that I reserved my room through Priceline and realize that she doesn't have to kiss my butt. It's one of the 2,063 Resort rooms, the lowest grade. The rate for it on Expedia was $200, so I called the Wynn directly. The agent said she could do $189. I called back and told them I gambled a lot and wasn't very good at it. I told them I was going to stay at the Bellagio if they didn't give me a better price.

Every time I called, I got a different rate: $209, $179, $129. But they wouldn't go under $109 (9 is apparently their lucky number). Then I went on Priceline and started the bidding at $60. I kept going up by $5 increments and ultimately scored at $90—a day before checking in.

I'm pretty psyched about the rate, but the thing is, once I'm at the front desk, I want to ask for more; after all, I'm just getting started with this challenge, and I have lots of tricks.

My plan is to call downstairs when I get to my room and tell them something inventive—my room smells bad?—and see where that gets me. But the woman preempts me: "It looks like we're all sold out of our Resort rooms. You've been upgraded to the Tower Suites." My new room would have gone for $350 at full price. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. It's that easy?

The Tower Suites section of the hotel, with about 300 rooms, has its own entrance and front desk and is even more elaborately marble-paneled, gilded, and flowered than the main section. And the room? Is it really better? Well, yeah, it's better. It's about 650 square feet, with cranberry-colored walls, remote control drapery, Warhol prints, and a phone in the bathroom (hurrah!). But the feature you'd be paying the extra $150 for is the view; my room overlooks the mossy puzzle pieces of the vaunted Wynn golf course, and beyond that the Las Vegas basin.

Besides the high-end hotel room glut, there's another high-end glut in the food scene. Ever since the Bellagio opened its doors and introduced America to Le Cirque, casinos have been all about signing up name-brand chefs to open name-brand restaurants.

In the Venetian alone, you will find Mario Batali's B&B Ristorante, David Burke's eponymous restaurant, Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico Steakhouse, and Wolfgang Puck's Postrio—and that's not counting the seven other fine-dining outposts whose chefs I do not immediately recognize. So what happens during a downturn? You get the tasting menu at Daniel Boulud Brasserie, in the Wynn, for $48 if you eat before 7 p.m.

It's actually not so bad eating at 6:50, which is when I'm seated on my first night and served a tasty glass of viognier. The meal starts with an amuse-bouche (a lobster knuckle on a cracker, topped with green-tea cream) and ends with a plate of petits fours. There's also a very fine piece of skate served with a brown-butter sauce over pureed potatoes and roasted cauliflower. I take a not insignificant pleasure in knowing how much money I'm saving on all of these delicious things—in this case, about $20.

Method two: The walk-up

It's Thursday. Tomorrow is the weekend, when Las Vegas will get more expensive, but for now the dream of the "Scarface" suite for $14 lives on. Today I'm going to test out the cash-in-hand theory. You may be able to negotiate on the phone from your hometown. But, logically, you should have more pull when you're standing there with your bills.

My strategy is to start with the Expedia rates so I know what I've got to beat. Then I'll go to all the hotels and see if I can do better at the front desk.

First stop is the Encore, twin sister to the Wynn, which I want bad. There's no real reason, except that it's newer than the 4-year-old Wynn (it opened last year)—and the prices are generally higher online. Today, the rate is $239 on Expedia, and the woman at the front desk says she can give me a room for $219. Upgrading to a Tower suite is an additional $100.

"But I got the identical thing at the Wynn last night for $90!" I toss back.

Still, I am denied.

I'm quoted a great deal at The Palazzo Resort—$179 for the basic room, and the upgrade to the Siena Suite is only $100. That's $279 for a 1,283-square-foot room with a Jacuzzi, two bathrooms, and a living room that could very well be sunken, the agent says, if I am lucky. I try the Bellagio last. But when the deal isn't as good, I call the Palazzo from the Bellagio's lobby on my cell phone.

"That'll be $469 for the Siena Suite," the woman on the phone says.

"I was just there," I say. "The guy at the front desk told me to be sure to say I wanted the walk-up rate. It was $179 plus $100 for the upgrade."

"It's $469," she says flatly.

The "walk-up" rate seems to require just that. Because once I'm back at the front desk at the Palazzo in person, I'm quoted the $179 rate again—or $279 for the whole-shebang suite, which I go for, naturally. Having checked in, I seek out the fourth floor of the hotel, where, spanning the expanse between the Palazzo and the Venetian, is Canyon Ranch SpaClub, one of the largest known spas in the universe. I got nowhere bargaining with the folks at the Wynn's spa or the one at the Bellagio. Some of them are doing 20-percent-off deals for locals, but I think getting a counterfeit driver's license stretches the journalistic boundaries of this story.

But Canyon Ranch is running an online special: $280 for a 50-minute massage, a 50-minute facial, access to the gym for the day, and a $20 gift certificate for lunch at Canyon Ranch's grill or café. All told, you're saving about $60. And, since I was able to convince the staff to tack on gym and spa access for the next day (normally it runs $40), it's closer to $100 I'm not paying. After three hours of hands-on services and pan-flute music, I emerge from Canyon Ranch in as relaxed a state as I've ever been in Las Vegas. Which lasts about 17 minutes.

Method three: The gamble

And that brings us to what is perhaps the craziest glut in Las Vegas: four separate shows of Cirque du Soleil. There is "O, Love", and "Zumanity", and the act I get tickets for, Kà. How are there that many people on earth who can put their own foot in their ear while bungee jumping through a flaming hoop?

Saving money in Vegas involves an awful lot of taxiing. A concierge at the Wynn tipped me off that the best ticket prices in town are found at the discounter Tix4Tonight, which has an outpost across from my hotel in the Fashion Show mall. I end up paying $100 for a voucher good for a seat that usually costs up to $150.

To be issued the actual ticket, I have to haul myself back to the MGM, where Kà is performed, but the payoff, a 10th-row-center seat, makes the extra effort worth it.

After picking up my ticket, it's back to the Palazzo for my free day at Canyon Ranch. I do everything—the steam room, the Finnish sauna, some kind of herbal hot room that has a rock crystal fixed to the ceiling—and then I fall asleep in one of the relaxing chairs next to a naked guy reading a Martha Stewart magazine.

At dinner the night before—the $60 prix fixe at Craftsteak in the MGM Grand—I met a man who told me he works as a pit boss at the Bellagio. The pit boss is the guy who oversees blackjack dealers and the like, making sure everything is kosher and identifying high rollers in order to give them perks to keep them in the casino.

We were both eating at the bar, having the winter tasting menu, which is a beautifully obscene amount of food: four appetizers, two kinds of steak, scallops, three side dishes (including a copper pot filled with Yukon gold potatoes pureed with at least 17 sticks of butter) and a cranberry crisp with vanilla ice cream. The pit boss told me that the best time to get a deal on rooms is at 8 p.m. At that point, all the rooms the pit bosses haven't doled out to high rollers are turned back over to the salespeople, who are deputized to sell them cheap.

I make the rounds of all my target hotels, step up to the front desks, and ask for deals. It's Friday night, so the prices have soared. The Encore is $750 online, and the staff won't go below $279 at the front desk. The Bellagio's best walk-up rate is $199 (about $50 less than the phone rate), but the woman at the front desk says there's no chance for an upgrade. At the Trump, though, the man on duty quotes me $169.

I pause and see if he'll take the bait.

"Sir, we can go to $129 if you want the best possible rate," he says, poker-faced. "Or we can do our 900-square-foot suite for $169."

"Sir," I say, taking out my credit card, "I am a 900-square-foot kind of guy."

I go to my room—a view of the pool and the Strip beyond, high-thread-count white sheets, and a kitchen with a Sub-Zero refrigerator. Then it's off to Kà, which basically blows my mind. I sit in my seat and mouth "holy crap" over and over (I am not exaggerating, sadly).

Before the show, the couple next to me tell me they paid $150 each for their tickets. I give them the card for Tix4Tonight. Then I start boring them with all the ways I have learned to get luxury on the cheap. The man is polite for a while, but there's an exciting explosion on the stage that indicates showtime is approaching.

"Fireball!" he says, meaning "let's not talk any more." "Fireball!" I say. I refrain from telling him how much I'm paying for my hotel room.

The best deals on diesel generators

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Even considering the fact that I am a woman who does tend to spend many hours at work, leaving just a few hours in the day to spend at home, the truth is that I am the one who does all the maintenance at home and who is always aware of the needs to replace the diesel generators at home.

Keeping this in mind, I recently had to substitute my old Diesel Generator, which was already malfunctioning, meaning that I had to make a major research on the best deals on generators such as a Pto generator or a Diesel Generator so that I could cover the energy needs at my home. In fact, after browsing the Internet for deals on generators on my area, I was able to find the diesel generators deals to which I have linked above and which are probably the best ones that you will ever be able to find!

So, if you have been waiting for the perfect moment to replace your old diesel generator or if you would simply love to buy a more efficient one for your business or simply to cover your needs at home, then I would strongly advise you to take some time to visit the website to which I have linked above.

Public restrooms: what you should know about them

noreply@blogger.com (jfmc) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Even if you have never taken part in any cruise or if you don't have any traveling experience at all, the truth is that it is always vital that you are aware of the risks and advantages of public restrooms. In fact, I would strongly advise you to take some time to read the msnbc.com article just below and see with your own eyes how dangerous these places may be:

"

NEW YORK - Going on a cruise? To cut your risk of getting sick while sailing the high seas, avoid using the ship's public bathrooms.

Stealth investigations of 56 ships operated by 9 large cruise lines found evidence that only about 30 percent of frequently touched bathroom surfaces were disinfected daily.

Though visibly clean, public toilet seats and flush devices, stall handholds and door handles, inner restroom door handles, and baby changing tables "on most, but not all, cruise ships" are not being cleaned and disinfected thoroughly, Dr. Philip C. Carling, of Carney Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, noted in an email to Reuters Health.

Lack of disinfection, he and colleagues note in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, may significantly increase risk for illness, and particularly for the severe diarrhea and vomiting caused by highly contagious Norovirus.

Therefore, Carling cautions cruise passengers to minimize public restroom use, wash hands with soap and water rather than alcohol-based hand rubs, and be aware of the disease transmission potential from all publicly touched surfaces.

Carling's group enlisted 46 health professionals to check 273 randomly selected public restrooms daily during cruises between July 2005 and August 2008. The ships, most originating from U.S. ports and 82 percent from the 5 largest cruise lines, accommodated up to 3600 passengers each.

Armed with handheld ultraviolet lights to pick up florescent traces of a transparent, but easily cleanable solution they had previously sprayed on surfaces, the cleaning spies identified surfaces left uncleaned for 24 hours.

Of the 2010 toilet seats evaluated, just 50 percent had been cleaned. Likewise, just 42 percent of toilet flush devices, 37 percent of toilet stall doors, and 31 percent of toilet stall handhold bars had been cleaned.

And, only 35 percent of interior bathroom door handles and 29 percent of baby changing tables had been cleaned.

Post-outbreak cleaning and disinfection practices on cruise ships, although important, are not enough, the researchers say. Increased efforts to prevent outbreaks with better disinfection practices are clearly needed.