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All posts for the month February, 2018

Farting Passenger

Posted by golfkat on February 24, 2018
Posted in: Action, Cultures, Entertainment, Travel. Leave a comment

From Weird News/Huff Post:

Sometimes plane travel really stinks.
A flight from Dubai to Amsterdam had to make an emergency landing in Vienna after a fight broke out because one of the passengers wouldn’t stop breaking wind.

The fart-induced fracas happened Feb. 11 aboard Transavia Airlines Flight HV6902 when two men sitting next to an apparently very flatulent man raised a stink about his repeated gas attacks, according to Fox News.

When the alleged perpetrator didn’t stop, his disgusted seatmates reportedly complained to the airline crew, who apparently did nothing.
Instead, the captain issued a warning to the two complainants, accusing them of noisy and aggressive behavior and making threats, according to the NL Times.

When the freedom-from-flatulence fighters wouldn’t stop griping about their fellow passenger, a fight broke out on the plane, according to the Dutch language newspaper De Telegraaf.
The pilots then made an emergency stop in Vienna and removed the complainants, but apparently not the farting man. Two women sitting in the same row as the angry men were also forced off the plane as well.

All four people reportedly shared Dutch and Moroccan ancestry, but the two women claim they were simply sitting in the same row as the men involved with the incident.
The women are now taking the Dutch budget airline to court, according to the Metro.

Now, rewind back about 15 years ago, on our first trip to Costa Rica. I assume we were on United Airlines, and sitting in First Class on the return flight from San Jose, Costa Rica to San Francisco. We were in the second row, behind a middle aged woman of Latin origin. No sooner do we get airborne, and the gas starts flying.

I start by fanning the area with the airline safety card. The flight attendant is amused, but does nothing. When the gas attack continues, I start fanning more forcefully. I look around at the other passengers sitting close by. They have covered themselves with the airline’s blanket, and are laughing uncontrollably underneath!!

What to do? Move back to coach, or hit the emergency button so the oxygen masks deploy? I was getting ready to barf!

We are only 20 to 30 minutes into this flight. Mercifully, the seat belt light is turned off, and the middle aged lady, a term which I use loosely, heads to the potty. Thankfully, upon her return, it seems that the cabin has returned to some normalcy. But every time I look at my fellow passengers, they start laughing uncontrollably, again!!!

That was the end of the incident, but perhaps I should have asked for some type of refund or credit on the flight. On what grounds? Air sickness due to flatulence? It was an amusing and stinky experience.fartfart1Airplane staff walking in the seat isle.

First Asian American Gold Medalist

Posted by golfkat on February 24, 2018
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Most people do not know that Dr. Sammy Lee was the first Asian American to win a gold medal at the Olympics.  He was born in Fresno, to parents of Korean decent, does that sound as familiar to us as Chloe Kim?  Dr. Lee went to Occidental College, then on to the USC School of Medicine.  He had to join the Army Reserve to pay for his medical education.  He suffered continued discrimination throughout his life.  He won gold medals in both the 1948 and 1953 Olympics.  He passed away in 2016 at the age of 96.

Forgotten in the hype of our Korean immigrants, the real first gold medal winner of Asian American decent was a Filipina American named Victoria Manola Draves, who was also the first woman to win two gold medals in the same Olympics.  She won in both springboard and platform diving, two days before Dr. Lee won his first gold medal in the platform diving competition.  She died in 2010, and suffered much of the same discrimination that Dr. Lee faced through much of his lifetime.

Fast forward several decades to Kristi Yamaguchi, who won her gold medal in 1992 in Albertville, France.  She was the first Asian American to win the gold medal in figure skating.  Nathan Adrian from Cal (graduated with honors in 2012)  won gold medals in two Olympics as a swimmer.  His infectious smile is a great image of the Olympic spirit.

One in particular that caught my attention was short track speed skater, Apolo Anton Ohno from Seattle.  He won eight medals over two Olympics.  His father owns a hair salon in Seattle, where he still styles hair.  He participated and won the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars competition.  He is serving as a color commentator for short track speed skating at the current Olympics.

The story of the great Hawaiian swimmer, Duke Kahanamoku is equally inspiring.  He won three gold medals and two silver medals in three different Olympics.  He also made the water polo team in 1932.  The Duke was known as the “Father of Modern Surfing” as well as a great beach volleyball player, actor, and businessman.

But nobody has matched the charisma and competitive style of our latest hero, Chloe Kim.  Not only did she win the Snowboard Halfpipe competition by blowing past the competition, she nearly scored a perfect 100 on a run that she did not need to take!  And at the age of 17.  Her parents immigrated here from Korea, to make a better life for themselves and their family.  And she won despite the hype and pressure of being the world’s best.

The next time you jump on that chair lift, or dive into that swimming pool, you may be rubbing shoulders with the next Olympic champion!

PS:  I wish I had gone to South Korea for the Olympics!

The Longest River, the Biggest. . . .

Posted by golfkat on February 24, 2018
Posted in: Action, Cultures, Entertainment, Travel. 1 Comment

Spanning nearly 4,345 miles—roughly the distance from New York to Paris—the Amazon River is an awesome natural wonder, home to fascinating creatures like pink dolphins, piranhas, Amazonian manatees, and crocodile-like black caimans. It snakes through a total of eight South American countries, including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (to name a few), though its largest portion can be found in Brazil.  On our trip to Amazonia, we probably saw less than 100 miles of this great river.

When they say everything’s bigger in Texas, they ain’t kidding. At a length of 255 feet—just 15 yards shy of an entire football field—the massive car wash at the Buc-ee’s convenience store of Katy, Texas, is truly the leader of lathering and the sorcerer of scrubbing.

The world’s longest car wash, which opened just this year and cost upwards of $3 million to build, features 25 brushes, 17 high-powered blow dryers, and suds in pink, yellow, and blue. It takes five minutes to go through the entire building and  can accommodate up to 16 cars at a time. Never been there!

The world’s largest, active volcano is Mauna Loa.  It is located on the island of Hawaii, which is the largest island in the archipelago itself—it’s name means “long mountain” in Hawaiian. Along with four other volcanoes, it forms the very structure of the island. Mauna Loa is considered a shield volcano, meaning that was created by the flow of lava over time. Such volcanoes are not particularly tall (at least in the world of volcanoes). Instead, they grow wide likes shields (hence the name). When measured, Mauna Loa’s lava tallies more than 56,000 feet, though its actual elevation is only 13,679 feet.  The island of Hawaii is my least favorite, too much lava for me!


The largest recorded colony of ants in the world stretches 6,000 km (3,700 miles) from northern Italy, through the south of France to the Atlantic coast of Spain, and is made up of a species of Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) introduced into Europe approximately 80 years ago. The ants have shown the ability to recognize each other even though they may come from opposite ends of the colony. The discovery of the ‘supercolony’ is the result of research carried out by Swiss, French and Danish scientists whose findings were published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. We saw some large ones in the Amazon, but not this big!  So much for making an ant hill out of a mountain.

The 1971 AFC Divisional Playoff Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins, played on Christmas day, was a seesaw battle of touchdowns and field goals that didn’t end until halfway through a second overtime period. The marathon game lasted eighty-two minutes and forty seconds and by all accounts was one of the most exciting games ever played.  I may have watched that game!

My longest “drive”, not on a golf course, was from the top of Chile to the bottom, a total of 2670 miles.  We were limited by the availability of transportation available seasonally.  Some we had to fly back and forth, some we took a 12.5 hour bus ride, plus a side trip to Buenos Aires and Mendoza, Argentina.  My longest train ride was on the Trans Siberian Railway, from Vladivostok to Moscow, and on to St. Petersburg, a total of 6,000 miles!
Zeus was a Great Dane, 44 inches tall, according to Guinness. He was the size of an average donkey.  Zeus lived in Michigan and only reached the age of five.
Well, now what is your favorite biggest or longest?Angkor Wat 067bad rideMoscow3 09020171016_123153DSCN9710

More Berlin Wall Stories

Posted by golfkat on February 19, 2018
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 Though most of the Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989, some portions remained as a memorial to the Cold War.  But an amateur historian has discovered a 262 foot (80 meters) section of intact wall in an isolated suburban area of Berlin.  The surviving stretch of wall is still outfitted with Y-shaped metal joints, through which barbed wire was threaded to prevent digging through. Also visible are metal posts which held electric wires and trip wires, also meant to deter the potential escapee.

Are You One?

Posted by golfkat on February 19, 2018
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Who is in the air at any one time?  The exact numbers, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware, are on average, 9,728 planes with a total of 1,270,406 people. That would make the skies the 156th most populous country in the world, right between Estonia and East Timor.  The US alone has 61,000 people in the air at one time.

A few years back, Virgin America conducted a highly scientific study on its Facebook page, in which 41% of men admitted to crying at in-flight movies, and 55% of people said they felt more emotional while flying. We, too, have straight up bawled watching Gran Torino on a flight, so we looked into it — the stresses of travel, plus the decreased oxygen and mild hypoxia one experiences at altitude, has a major effect on moods. It’s not just you.

KLM was the world’s very first airline, established in 1919.  They were followed by Qantas in 1920.  Qantas also invented Business Class back in 1979.

An airplane lands or takes off every 37 second from Chicago’s busy O’Hare Airport.

My favorite Singapore Airlines, spends $700 million on food each year, along with $16 million for my wine.

During a three hour flight, you can lose as much as a liter and a half of body fluid.

What was the original name of JFK Airport in NYC? ** answer below

Alaska Airlines was the first to use the internet and on line check in back in 1999.

The Boeing 747 plane has flown more than 5.6 billion people, roughly 80% of the world’s population.

Each and every day, 2 million passengers in the US board a plane for 30,000 flights.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao is the CEO of VietJet Aviation, and is soon to become a billionaire, thanks to her idea of staffing her planes with bikini clad women. It might be controversial, but it’s a pretty brilliant plan.

Since July 2015, Air Malta has been offering services aimed at enhancing customers’ experience. This includes hand, feet and neck massages for passengers for free, apart from spa vouchers as well as beauty products.

Since 2011, people flying between New Zealand and Los Angeles have had the chance to purchase skycouches, otherwise termed as cuddle class. These are basically seats that can turn into couches or beds, very useful for couples and families.

The no-frills airline flies to over 90 destinations in Europe, Israel and North Africa. The interesting thing is, it offers a ‘blind booking’ service, wherein you select what you’re looking for on your trip such as a party city or the city with the best shopping, the dates you want to travel. The airline provides a list of potential destinations that you might land up at and you don’t find out where you are going until after you book your ticket.  I like this idea!

KLM offers a ‘Meet and Seat’ service, wherein you can view other passengers’ Facebook or LinkedIn profile details and see where they’ll be sitting, long before your flight leaves the ground. You can then select where you would rather sit as well. It’s a good way to avoid annoying kids, but it can also be a little creepy.

So, next time you are getting on that flight to your ideal vacation destination, just think of a few of these weird, but true facts!!!flight1flight2flight3flight4

Super Bowl Eats

Posted by golfkat on February 17, 2018
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It seems like every year, despite none of our favorite teams playing, we watch the Super Bowl.  And we eat throughout the day, starting with drinks and appetizers, followed by a big meal.  Or, if you are a party animal, you are attending a party with lots of great food.  Well, at least, lots of food.

So, how will this play out?  Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest day of food consumption, following only Thanksgiving Day.  The best guess is 2400 calories per person.  And what is the total Americans will spend on game-day parties?  A mere $14.1 billion!!!!  And don’t be surprised if the NFL wants a percentage of the sales.

How about some wings to go with our craft beer?  According to the National Chicken Council, yes there is such an animal, Americans will consume 1.33 BILLION chicken wings (up 2% from last year) on Super Bowl Sunday.  I am not a big wing fan, but it does amount to $82 million.

Domino’s says that the Super Bowl is the third busiest day for pizza delivery.  Halloween in number one followed by New Year’s Eve.  Domino’s alone will sell more than 11 million slices of pizza, more than 350% of a normal Sunday.  Total pizza sales is around 12.5 million pizzas. One in seven families orders takeout or have food delivered.

Here are some equally crazy numbers:

  1. $227 million of potato chips, $225 million of tortilla chips
  2. $13 million on veggie trays
  3. $10 million on deli dips
  4. $89 million on popcorn
  5. $58 million on deli sandwiches
But what about adult beverages?  Beer leads the way with $1.2 billion (only 50 million cases).  Wine is only $594 million, and hard liquor is $503 million.  And be warned, I am sure the checkpoints will be in place that evening.
My favorite food item is guacamole.  The Haas Avocado Board estimates 105 billion pounds of avocado will be consumed today.  As they say in Southern California, where most of them are grown, Holy Guacamole!!
In the “other” category are: four million pounds of pretzels, and 2.5 million pounds of nuts.  Only 10% of us will served grilled food, like dogs, burgers, and steaks. Soda is only $2.4 million, mostly I would guess, as a mixer.  Antacid sales increase by 20% after the game!
So, what do we munch on during the game when we are home.  Fairly simple, we just have guacamole and tortilla chips, perhaps a glass or three of bubbly or a beer during the game.  Some sushi would be a good snack.  Somewhere around dinner time, regardless of where the game might be, we have a nice dinner.  Last year was sea bass, the previous year was Maine lobster.  This year?
The best Super Bowl party I ever attended was up at Northstar at Tahoe (ski resort).  After a day of skiing, we hit the party happy hour combination at the lodge.  Of course, it was a Sunday night, and we were due back at work at 8am Monday morning.  We did not make it since we got “snowed” in.  It was a wild party, half the crowd rooting for the Steelers, and half for the hated Cowboys.  What made it so great?  Not the food or the booze, it was the enthusiasm of the crowd!
If you are going to a party, please have a designated driver or use Uber or a taxi.  The police will be out since they know we have been partying for at least 4-5 hours.wingsnye bubbento box

They Say: Stay Away!!!

Posted by golfkat on February 8, 2018
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Do You Pre-Check??

Posted by golfkat on February 8, 2018
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From Conde’ Nast:

If you still don’t have TSA PreCheck—meaning, you don’t know how glorious it is to breeze through pre-flight security with your shoes and belt on and laptop safely packed—then maybe this will sway you: For just $85 (covering a five-year membership), your PreCheck will work at more than 180 U.S. airports. And as of yesterday, Air France, Brussels Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and World Atlantic (a Caribbean charter airline) all agreed to recognize the trusted traveler program, the TSA announced, bringing the total number of participating airlines to 47.

Joining the PreCheck club is far from simple: Carriers have to meet all TSA security requirements and upgrade reservations systems to sync with the U.S. government’s Secure Flight prescreening system; after all, as Traveler‘s Barbara Peterson reported, even if you’re an existing TSA PreCheck member, it’s the airline that issues the boarding pass, and it’s that document that displays your PreCheck eligibility to the agent manning the entrance to the checkpoint.

Among those are a few that I use regularly:  Alaska Airlines, United, American, Hawaiian, and Singapore.
Bottom line:  It saves time, though the rules seem different at each airport.  Some require all metal out of your pockets, others require a cell phone, laptop or tablet to be removed.  Jackets too!  None allow liquids over 90 ml, something that I have “tested” inadvertently, when I forget to toss my water bottle.  But remember, you can take an empty bottle through TSA, as well as FROZEN liquids!!!
This certainly makes train travel much easier, and visitor friendly.  I can bring a bottle of wine, champagne or beer without fear of confiscation.  But overall, I am happy with PreCheck, and encourage you to purchase it as well.prepre1pre2pre3