Late last week I was able to get my iPod Touch and sync that baby up with all my music and what not. I can now see the appeal of the iPhone to many people since the Touch is just an iPhone without the phone component. I can use it for most of the applications while I'm here at home connected to my Wifi. There are some gripes and I'll get to those in a second. I just wanted to say that I think it is true that this is the most fun I will ever have with an iPod when compared to my old one or at least until Apple comes out with yet another version thats even cooler.
I downloaded a bunch of apps and most of them work fine. I don't know how useful they will be when I'm on the road since they require a network connection but I did get some games that are really fun. One of the games that I truely like is CannonGame. It's like playing Worms but with a huge artillery cannon. I've been trying out the email and the web browser and both are really cool. I like the web browser more than the email. I'm still trying to get over the no physical keyboard thing. I think I'll still be gunning for my Treo with its regular keyboard.
The video and music capabilities are good. I espeically like it for video since thats what I bought the thing for. It shows my movies in a much larger format so now I can actually read the sub-titles. I haven't had a chance to try out the Nike+ stuff yet but I'm dying to. I just need to get one of the sensors and I'll be all set to try that out. I'm also in the market for a case but they don't have many of those out yet either. One thing I did discover is that it won't play on my current iTrip. Not like I was going to use it for that purpose anyway, my old iPod is now the car iPod in my view. It's mainly there for use in the car because the click wheel is still easier to manage than the touch screen while you drive around town.
I can't wait to take this thing out on the road, it's going to be so freakin sweet! Other than a few small gripes, this new iPod rules!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Enter the ANDROID
Well a new player has come forth in the Smartphone world. Google has released Android which is basically a Google Powered phone. I've been reading around the net about this little gem and trying to see what threat it poses to any phone that I may potentially buy.
Right now it seems that it is no threat at all. This is a barebones smart phone that just uses Google crap. I will admit I use a lot of Google crap personally but not so much on my phone. So why do I consider this phone a non-issue over all? It pretty much boils down to the biggest group of users that have a reason to use a Smartphone and thats business users. The Android phone doesn't have any way for IT organizations to actively manage or push information to Android. The big deal breaker is no Exchange support which most companies run on as well as no advanced security feature set (they let you monkey with everything in the phone). Last but not least (this is huge for me) no desktop syncronization. Thats just plain STUPID! I don't want all my crap in the "cloud". There are some things I keep locally only because thats where it belongs. Security is a big thing for me and I like my privacy.
We'll see how well Android sells, I can see this for teens or something but not for your 20-50 somethings. Even though I don't like admitting this, the iPhone is better than this thing by leaps and bounds in terms of useability and acceptance by IT departments (I'm still buying my Windows Mobile phone and having my iPod touch because I need something that syncs with my desktop seamlessly and I really need the Copy Paste functionality).
More bail out maddness
It would appear that in the infinite wisdom of the government, it needs to use my tax money to start bailing out private companies left and right because they would totally kill the economy. Well, if these companies are going to be bailed out by me and my tax money, whats in it for me? I'm the average citizen who isn't in financial trouble, I pay my mortgage and my taxes on time, and generally don't give a crap what government does as long as my life keeps humming and no one is raising my taxes.
Now with this bailout I expect a little something in return, some interest would be nice but seeing that most of this is for bailing out companies that bought troubled mortgage securities a really nice thing they could do is to reduce my mortgage. There are tons of people that over stretched themselves when they bought their houses and they are allowed to "re-negotiate", so why can't I? I don't think its fair at all to punish people that are making regular payments on their mortgages while people that can't pay have the ability to make some adjustments to keep them in their homes and maybe get the chance to pay lower payments while I'm still chugging along while watching my home value tank.
The fair way to do this would be to take an assessment for say 2008 for all property and renegotiate all outstanding mortgages and re-adjust them so todays value is the baseline for payback to these troubled firms. Granted the firm I'm with is just fine and dandy but still, it would be nice to give the benefit to everyone. Oh and one more thing, I want a stake in any of these companies that need a bailout. I want stock or something that I can hold on to and cash in later for some profit. If my taxes are fueling a bailout I deserve a little something something in my pocket book and not see it go to the government to fund some other social program I will never use. We need to take care of the 95% of the people who benefit from programs and stop focusing on the last 5% because the return on investment just isn't there to the average joe.
Now with this bailout I expect a little something in return, some interest would be nice but seeing that most of this is for bailing out companies that bought troubled mortgage securities a really nice thing they could do is to reduce my mortgage. There are tons of people that over stretched themselves when they bought their houses and they are allowed to "re-negotiate", so why can't I? I don't think its fair at all to punish people that are making regular payments on their mortgages while people that can't pay have the ability to make some adjustments to keep them in their homes and maybe get the chance to pay lower payments while I'm still chugging along while watching my home value tank.
The fair way to do this would be to take an assessment for say 2008 for all property and renegotiate all outstanding mortgages and re-adjust them so todays value is the baseline for payback to these troubled firms. Granted the firm I'm with is just fine and dandy but still, it would be nice to give the benefit to everyone. Oh and one more thing, I want a stake in any of these companies that need a bailout. I want stock or something that I can hold on to and cash in later for some profit. If my taxes are fueling a bailout I deserve a little something something in my pocket book and not see it go to the government to fund some other social program I will never use. We need to take care of the 95% of the people who benefit from programs and stop focusing on the last 5% because the return on investment just isn't there to the average joe.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Treo 800W for Verizon?
Well the rumor mill has it that Verizon will be getting the Treo 800W rather than the Treo Pro. The 800W is already out for Sprint and should be arriving in the next month or so. Thats going to be uber sweet. I was expecting the Treo Pro but that sucker is GSM and the rumors that its going to be CDMA are still rumors while the 800W is currently out and active. I hope it keeps a lot of the cool trimmings that Palm puts into the device and maybe add some apps to make it more useable out of the box. I'll be picking this little gem up in January when I'm due for new every two with Verizon. BOOYAH!!
iPod Touch for ME!
Today I decided to treat myself to a new iPod Touch. It's basically an iPhone without the phone component. It's only 32GB but it has some neat features that I'll take advantage of. It has wireless internet, access to the apps store, Nike+ sensor, and the best part is that it has a large screen. This is somewhat replacing my current iPod Classic 5G that my wife got me. I'm still going to use it but it will be relegated to car useage beacuse I can control it by touch (that sounds funny), ok maybe I should say by feel to change songs and what not really quickly. The iPod Touch is mainly for my plane rides during the week so that I can watch my movies on them. The Nike+ thing will also be cool since I run a couple times a week and it will be interesting to track all that stuff. There are lots of free apps and games available too so that means I will have even more things to distract me while flying the un-friendly skies.This won't replace my phone and I will NOT get an iPhone because I don't like AT&T. My phone will still be my number one device because it is my phone and I can get internet everywhere. I was able to use my discount and engrave it. Now all I need to do is wait for it to ship and to buy a case for it so I don't scratch it up too bad. I can't wait, this is gonna be soo sweet. OK on to the next post!
Another big bail out by the Fed
Well it seems that the Fed isn't done using my tax payer money to bail out companies in private industry. Now its AIG that needs some help and another $85 Billion of tax payer money in order to make sure it doesn't fail. This is starting to get a little crazy. My tax money is to improve infrastructure and pay for projects that make the country a little better than it was yesterday, not to keep failing companies from going bankrupt. Like I said earlier, let them fail. Granted its a sad thing to see people lose their job but the government should not be in private industry, regulate it sure but not actually own and liquidate stuff while risking the money I pay in taxes.
I'm hoping that AIG gets dismantled quickly so that my money will be safe. I'm fine with the Lehman solution but if this continues we're going to be in deep doo doo. If the financial markets need to take a nose dive, maybe its for the best to do the correction and start fresh with some new regulation to ensure this doesn't happen again (i.e. 1929 crash). OK thats it for my rant, time to create some new blog entries about other stuff.
I'm hoping that AIG gets dismantled quickly so that my money will be safe. I'm fine with the Lehman solution but if this continues we're going to be in deep doo doo. If the financial markets need to take a nose dive, maybe its for the best to do the correction and start fresh with some new regulation to ensure this doesn't happen again (i.e. 1929 crash). OK thats it for my rant, time to create some new blog entries about other stuff.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Bye bye Investment Banks!
Things got really interesting this past weekend. The investment Bank Lehman Brothers is going down with a knock out blow to its balance sheet in the form of mortgage securities and Merrill Lynch is running for cover by getting bought out by Bank of America while it still has some value on the open market. To Wall Street, this is a crushing blow because 2 of the major players in Investment Banking just got pounded into oblivion in no time flat. I feel bad for the rank and file people who are losing their jobs over this endeavor, as if the collapse of Bear Sterns wasn't enough, 2 more bite the dust! I do believe that the C level execs that get the fat pay checks should give up something since the companies are basically bankrupt or heading in that direction. Where is the fairness that some CEO gets 10-20 million bucks in severance while everyone else is going to lose their job and probably their savings because they were paid in stock as part of their compensation package?
As far as I can see, the fun isn't going to be over just yet with AIG on the brink and WaMu looking kinda weak in the knees. It won't even take a big whack from a stick to bring them down which is kind of frightening. Now the part that hurts me personally is what this is doing to my 401K which is going into the toilet pretty quick as the market loses ground. Kind of pisses me off but there isn't much I can do except pull out and leave it in the money market account or something where it will be semi-safe.
Could all have this been preventable? Who knows! 20/20 hindsight vision is great but for the here and now it doesn't do anyone any good except to become an example of what not to do in the future. This might be a good thing, kind of like when Arthur Andresen got creamed (I didn't agree with that on a personal note, the Houston firm should have been the one that got clobered and not the whole firm) but more regulation will come of this, stricter rules everywhere and the people that will ultimately benefit are the professional services firms like mine. I wonder what company will flounder at the end of the week. Just so long as the Fed isn't propping it up with my tax payer money I couldn't care less for the most part but it will be interesting to see how the market deals with all this change.
As far as I can see, the fun isn't going to be over just yet with AIG on the brink and WaMu looking kinda weak in the knees. It won't even take a big whack from a stick to bring them down which is kind of frightening. Now the part that hurts me personally is what this is doing to my 401K which is going into the toilet pretty quick as the market loses ground. Kind of pisses me off but there isn't much I can do except pull out and leave it in the money market account or something where it will be semi-safe.
Could all have this been preventable? Who knows! 20/20 hindsight vision is great but for the here and now it doesn't do anyone any good except to become an example of what not to do in the future. This might be a good thing, kind of like when Arthur Andresen got creamed (I didn't agree with that on a personal note, the Houston firm should have been the one that got clobered and not the whole firm) but more regulation will come of this, stricter rules everywhere and the people that will ultimately benefit are the professional services firms like mine. I wonder what company will flounder at the end of the week. Just so long as the Fed isn't propping it up with my tax payer money I couldn't care less for the most part but it will be interesting to see how the market deals with all this change.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Creating the Big Bang!
Today the people in Europe, specifically at CERN, just flipped the switch on the new Large Hadron Collider. So what exactly is this thing? In a nutshell, go read Angels and Demon's by Dan Brown to find out... j/k. What it really does is that its supposed to smash particles together to try and kind of re-create what happened during the big bang. The thing is absolutely huge! 17 miles in diameter I think. It takes two particles and starts spinning them in opposite directions, then when its at max velocity it opens a door so they can smash together and the entire scientific community takes note of what happens.
What they are trying to do is to find anti-matter and to see if matter can also be created in this fashion. I think its pretty cool, although there are some funny rumors that it might open a mini-black hole and suck the whole planet into it causing the end of the world as we know it. I don't think this will happen, it will just result in a really cool explosion and make some nice swirly pictures that will be posted on the internet. They aren't scheduled to start real testing till later this fall but the concept in itself is mighty cool.
I hope they mention this sucker in the show The Big Bang Theory, that show is quite funny and it would tie in perfectly with the characters and the title of the show.
What they are trying to do is to find anti-matter and to see if matter can also be created in this fashion. I think its pretty cool, although there are some funny rumors that it might open a mini-black hole and suck the whole planet into it causing the end of the world as we know it. I don't think this will happen, it will just result in a really cool explosion and make some nice swirly pictures that will be posted on the internet. They aren't scheduled to start real testing till later this fall but the concept in itself is mighty cool.
I hope they mention this sucker in the show The Big Bang Theory, that show is quite funny and it would tie in perfectly with the characters and the title of the show.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Housing Bailout
Late last night before bed and early this morning I saw all the crud about bailing out Fannie May and Freddie Mack. For those of you that don't know who they are, shame on you! They are the big mortgage lenders that banks count on for capital in case they need it. The Fed's decided that a big overhaul was required so they basically took them over and are going to be running the joint. So what does that mean to people like you and me? Well in reality, it just means its another pit that will suck in my tax money and provide no real benefit to me but it will provide benefits to people that made the poor decision of buying houses that were way beyond their means. Another problem I have with the whole bail out thing is that the CEO's of these two companies get to keep a crap load of pay due to the nature of their contracts. Whatever happened to firing someone and them getting nothing because they did such a poor job? Executive pay seems to be getting out of hand with contracts rewarding performance but in the event of trouble, executives get to walk away with full benefits and huge pay out packages as well. If thats not a kick in the nuts to share holders and rank and file employee's I don't know what is.
So was this good for the economy? Short term it probably will be just for the simple fact it has the perception that things are going to be corrected and what not. Long term, probably nothing to scream about. I always remember that this is the Fed's we're talking about here. Decisions need to go through a lot of red tape, lots of ego's need to be massaged, and sometimes it takes an act of Congress to move forward so the agility required to help fix things might need a better solution. I'm all for consolidating them and then taking it apart piece by piece so my tax money can be used for a better purpose than bailing out banks and ex-home owners who made bad decisions. Yes income goes up, housing value goes up, but so does inflation so that pretty quarter that you carry in your pocket might be worth a decent amount today but as time marches on that quarter won't buy as much. Comparison's with the past are dangerous unless the playing field is leveled by calculating what past prices are today and I don't see that kind of stuff in the news. This gives people this false sense that they're making so much more than their predecessors and thus can afford more. Thats the type of thing that has us in this pickle right now because research wasn't done right and we let banks do what they wanted to the detriment of the average tax payer. I say let them fall, if anything it will teach other institutions lessons in higher finance and to be wary. Anyone remember Bear Sterns? I doubt anyone will in 5 years but that is one lesson they should teach to people in college, if you mess up ad enough you'll be nothing more than a footnote.
So was this good for the economy? Short term it probably will be just for the simple fact it has the perception that things are going to be corrected and what not. Long term, probably nothing to scream about. I always remember that this is the Fed's we're talking about here. Decisions need to go through a lot of red tape, lots of ego's need to be massaged, and sometimes it takes an act of Congress to move forward so the agility required to help fix things might need a better solution. I'm all for consolidating them and then taking it apart piece by piece so my tax money can be used for a better purpose than bailing out banks and ex-home owners who made bad decisions. Yes income goes up, housing value goes up, but so does inflation so that pretty quarter that you carry in your pocket might be worth a decent amount today but as time marches on that quarter won't buy as much. Comparison's with the past are dangerous unless the playing field is leveled by calculating what past prices are today and I don't see that kind of stuff in the news. This gives people this false sense that they're making so much more than their predecessors and thus can afford more. Thats the type of thing that has us in this pickle right now because research wasn't done right and we let banks do what they wanted to the detriment of the average tax payer. I say let them fall, if anything it will teach other institutions lessons in higher finance and to be wary. Anyone remember Bear Sterns? I doubt anyone will in 5 years but that is one lesson they should teach to people in college, if you mess up ad enough you'll be nothing more than a footnote.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Entertainment and Politics Don't Mix
Even though very few people read my blog, I just feel the need right now to vent a little. It's a Sunday night and I have to go to bed early but I thought that I would catch the MTV VMA's this year to see if it was any good. The past few years have been a disappointment, the production quality sucked, the presenters made mistakes that were hard to ignore, but the worst part about it is that people keep on bringing in politics into the show. I'm watching a show for its entertainment value, not to hear some big ego'ed dip shit spout off about the presidential election and who he wants us to vote for.
Tonight's host is some dude from the UK, he was in a movie this past year but other than that I didn't even know who he was. He decided in his infinate wisdom to go ahead and start spouting off how we should all vote for Obama. Now I follow politics like every other American, but there are specific times and channels to do that sort of thing like MSNBC of CNN, not on MTV. Promoting people to vote, OK I might be fine with that but don't tell people who to vote for. I personally am a Republican (my father is still questioning that since he's a Democrat and so is the state of Connecticut for the most part) so hearing this dip wad go on for about 5 minutes about Obama and then bashing the Royal Family in the UK was a bit much (after that bit I would have revoked his citizenship/passport). I turned it off and I probably will go on to MTV.com just to watch the musical performances. I was even eager to see some stuff from America's Best Dance Crew but I won't be seeing that live anymore.
I know that there are other shows and what not that have celebrities mouth of their beliefs and stuff but that sort of thing doesn't interest me. If Oprah wants to sing the high praises of Obama, she can do it on a political show but not when I want to be entertained. I guess thats why I'm glad there aren't that many celebrities that like McCain, I don't have to listen to them ruining my shows with their opinion.
It's time for bed, hopefully I won't hear any political crap in anymore shows except for CNN or the odd ball commercial which is also acceptable. Take a hint Hollywood, just because you're famous doesn't mean you know shit about anything. Stop trying to influence people with your un-educated opinions by shutting your pie holes. Pissing off the general public is the best way to become poor since I doubt any of you are talented at anything else. OK rant complete until tomorrow.....
Tonight's host is some dude from the UK, he was in a movie this past year but other than that I didn't even know who he was. He decided in his infinate wisdom to go ahead and start spouting off how we should all vote for Obama. Now I follow politics like every other American, but there are specific times and channels to do that sort of thing like MSNBC of CNN, not on MTV. Promoting people to vote, OK I might be fine with that but don't tell people who to vote for. I personally am a Republican (my father is still questioning that since he's a Democrat and so is the state of Connecticut for the most part) so hearing this dip wad go on for about 5 minutes about Obama and then bashing the Royal Family in the UK was a bit much (after that bit I would have revoked his citizenship/passport). I turned it off and I probably will go on to MTV.com just to watch the musical performances. I was even eager to see some stuff from America's Best Dance Crew but I won't be seeing that live anymore.
I know that there are other shows and what not that have celebrities mouth of their beliefs and stuff but that sort of thing doesn't interest me. If Oprah wants to sing the high praises of Obama, she can do it on a political show but not when I want to be entertained. I guess thats why I'm glad there aren't that many celebrities that like McCain, I don't have to listen to them ruining my shows with their opinion.
It's time for bed, hopefully I won't hear any political crap in anymore shows except for CNN or the odd ball commercial which is also acceptable. Take a hint Hollywood, just because you're famous doesn't mean you know shit about anything. Stop trying to influence people with your un-educated opinions by shutting your pie holes. Pissing off the general public is the best way to become poor since I doubt any of you are talented at anything else. OK rant complete until tomorrow.....
Friday, September 05, 2008
We now take you back to your regularly scheduled blogging.....
I haven't blogged about current events for a long time but thats because I didn't want to break up my vacation blog. I know I know its been over a month since I went and only 2 entries actually have pictures. I've been a bit busy at work of late so I haven't had any time to do real blogging.
Anyway, here are my thoughts on a few topics that interest me at the present moment.
1) The US Open
I have attended this tournament from time to time and I must say that it looks like its been pretty exciting so far. I wouldn't have minded catching a few matches. It's too bad that most of the American players on the Men's side are out at this point but they have been playing pretty well so far. I need to go and catch Wimbledon one of these days but they have some archaic way of getting tickets. I'll get there eventually though. The finals are this weekend and I'm curious to see who's going to be playing in the finals. Being a Friday night, I'm surprised that there are no matches on TV right now. I guess they're going to all the Men's semi-final matches tomorrow and of course tomorrow is the Women's Final.
2) The Republican National Convention
This was something that I haven't really paid attention to in the past few elections, mainly because I really didn't care because I was voting Republican anyway. This year I paid a little closer attention because McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. This is very new because she is the first woman on a major party ticket. It's even more interesting to me that she has no exposure to Washington politics so far. I normally don't blog about politics but just for this brief moment I will. I watched her speech on CNN and it was really good. Any doubts I had before about voting this year are gone and I will be voting Republican once again (I would like some lower income taxes please).
OK I'm very distracted right now watching The Incredibles on Disney Channel so I'm just going to end this sucker right here. I should be able to blog on a more regular basis now. We'll see if I have the time though.
Anyway, here are my thoughts on a few topics that interest me at the present moment.
1) The US Open
I have attended this tournament from time to time and I must say that it looks like its been pretty exciting so far. I wouldn't have minded catching a few matches. It's too bad that most of the American players on the Men's side are out at this point but they have been playing pretty well so far. I need to go and catch Wimbledon one of these days but they have some archaic way of getting tickets. I'll get there eventually though. The finals are this weekend and I'm curious to see who's going to be playing in the finals. Being a Friday night, I'm surprised that there are no matches on TV right now. I guess they're going to all the Men's semi-final matches tomorrow and of course tomorrow is the Women's Final.
2) The Republican National Convention
This was something that I haven't really paid attention to in the past few elections, mainly because I really didn't care because I was voting Republican anyway. This year I paid a little closer attention because McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. This is very new because she is the first woman on a major party ticket. It's even more interesting to me that she has no exposure to Washington politics so far. I normally don't blog about politics but just for this brief moment I will. I watched her speech on CNN and it was really good. Any doubts I had before about voting this year are gone and I will be voting Republican once again (I would like some lower income taxes please).
OK I'm very distracted right now watching The Incredibles on Disney Channel so I'm just going to end this sucker right here. I should be able to blog on a more regular basis now. We'll see if I have the time though.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Last Day in NY
Ahh this is it, my last day in NY. Being a Sunday Claire and I decided that to start things off right we should go to church. I haven't gone to church in a while but thats more because I don't like the churches in South Florida compared to the North East. What better church to go to when you're in NY than to hit up St. Patricks Cathedral. Now this is what I call a church! It's huge, its the seat of the NY Arch Diocese, and its historical. I actually did sit through an entire Mass and went and looked at all the different alters where I could light candles for loved ones. Claire and I lit two candles and went to the store to get a souvanir. The only thing that I didn't like were all the people taking pictures indoors. I don't agree with people doing that inside a church, it seems disrespectful. I'll give them that its a beautiful church but don't interfere with the Mass by taking flash photography. Well thats my gripe about St. Patricks but over all I enjoyed the experience (especially because no one held my hand like they do in the South).
One thing that we did miss out on was our planned brunch in Brooklyn. At this point we were just too tired to go anymore and we also decided we wouldn't have enough time to get there and back and also catch our plane. Instead we ended our stay in NY the way it began, by hitting up Penang for some good eats that will have to last a long time. I don't know when I'm going to be in NY again but I do know that I'm going to remember the food, the sights, and the good times with old friends and of course Claire.
One of the more memorable moments of my final day in NY was actually at the airport. Now I was using reward tickets from Delta Airlines but since I got them so early I was actually upgraded to First Class. It doesn't mean all that much on domestic but it lets you use the short security line, get all the drinks you want, have a bigger seat and more leg room.... you get the idea! I also happen to be a Gold Medallion member with Delta so that lets me use the short security line anyway but I don't normally get First Class. Anyway,Claire and I have our tickets in hand and we head on over to the short line for First Class and Gold and Platinum Medallion members. As we walk towards the line a security agent blocks our way and tries and directs us to the regular line which is decently long. We try and push through and she insists that we should go to the regular line. We proceed to tell her that we're First Class so we can go through the line and that I'm a Gold Medalliion member so even on those merits I can go through the line. She takes our boarding passes and inspects them and just waves us through, no appology or anything like that. How RUDE! I'm sure it was the way I was dressed or how old I look that threw her off. I can sort of understand that. I look young for my age and so does Claire so she wouldn't expect us to be riding around in First Class but at least check and not be rude about it.
After zipping through Security, no thanks to that dumb bitch at the First Class line we found out that our flight was delayed because of storms in other parts of the country. There were a lot of other flights canceled or delayed as well so the terminal was quite busy. I considered going to the Crown Club room but since the delay was so short we skipped it in favor of sitting with the people and getting some grub. This is where Claire and I experience our second run in with people that think we're not entitled to boarding with Zone 1 (basically First Class). When flights run late they normally try and board the plane really quick so they were calling zones pretty quick. When they called Zone 1 (the Zone I was in) I headed to the gate like everyone else and went through the Breezeway Lane. Some woman who was in the regular lane had the gall to ask the gate agent what zone they were boarding since I was walking up to show my pass. The gate agent turned to the woman and said something like this in a snotty tone "Ma'am we're seating Zone 1 and he's Zone 1". That put a smile on my face, take that! I may not look it or dress like it when I'm on vacation but I know I have status and First Class tickets and damn it I'll use it to my advantage! The rest of the trip home was pretty un-eventful. We slept a little on the plane and got some extra drinks but the ride was smooth and pretty plush. Thats the way to end a vacation. I should have taken another couple of days off, that would have been a nice little night cap to it all.
One thing that we did miss out on was our planned brunch in Brooklyn. At this point we were just too tired to go anymore and we also decided we wouldn't have enough time to get there and back and also catch our plane. Instead we ended our stay in NY the way it began, by hitting up Penang for some good eats that will have to last a long time. I don't know when I'm going to be in NY again but I do know that I'm going to remember the food, the sights, and the good times with old friends and of course Claire.
One of the more memorable moments of my final day in NY was actually at the airport. Now I was using reward tickets from Delta Airlines but since I got them so early I was actually upgraded to First Class. It doesn't mean all that much on domestic but it lets you use the short security line, get all the drinks you want, have a bigger seat and more leg room.... you get the idea! I also happen to be a Gold Medallion member with Delta so that lets me use the short security line anyway but I don't normally get First Class. Anyway,Claire and I have our tickets in hand and we head on over to the short line for First Class and Gold and Platinum Medallion members. As we walk towards the line a security agent blocks our way and tries and directs us to the regular line which is decently long. We try and push through and she insists that we should go to the regular line. We proceed to tell her that we're First Class so we can go through the line and that I'm a Gold Medalliion member so even on those merits I can go through the line. She takes our boarding passes and inspects them and just waves us through, no appology or anything like that. How RUDE! I'm sure it was the way I was dressed or how old I look that threw her off. I can sort of understand that. I look young for my age and so does Claire so she wouldn't expect us to be riding around in First Class but at least check and not be rude about it.
After zipping through Security, no thanks to that dumb bitch at the First Class line we found out that our flight was delayed because of storms in other parts of the country. There were a lot of other flights canceled or delayed as well so the terminal was quite busy. I considered going to the Crown Club room but since the delay was so short we skipped it in favor of sitting with the people and getting some grub. This is where Claire and I experience our second run in with people that think we're not entitled to boarding with Zone 1 (basically First Class). When flights run late they normally try and board the plane really quick so they were calling zones pretty quick. When they called Zone 1 (the Zone I was in) I headed to the gate like everyone else and went through the Breezeway Lane. Some woman who was in the regular lane had the gall to ask the gate agent what zone they were boarding since I was walking up to show my pass. The gate agent turned to the woman and said something like this in a snotty tone "Ma'am we're seating Zone 1 and he's Zone 1". That put a smile on my face, take that! I may not look it or dress like it when I'm on vacation but I know I have status and First Class tickets and damn it I'll use it to my advantage! The rest of the trip home was pretty un-eventful. We slept a little on the plane and got some extra drinks but the ride was smooth and pretty plush. Thats the way to end a vacation. I should have taken another couple of days off, that would have been a nice little night cap to it all.
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