-
June 10th, 2009UncategorizedAnd speaking of surveys, here’s an interesting follow-up to an item in a recent Nibbles post by Sarah White recounting a Ryanair poll of its customers that found them believing the airline should charge extra fare for overweight passengers or require them to purchase a second seat.
The airline declined these suggestions, citing slowed-down and inefficient check-in procedures. But, just for the record, those who fly Ryanair are not particularly mean spirited or resentful of the hefty flier: a survey of 7,032 travelers conducted by TripAdvisor.com found a whopping 75 percent of them in favor of charging obese passengers for two seats.
-
June 9th, 2009Uncategorized
That practical preppy staple of the 80s, the boat shoe, is back-back-back and available in a rainbow of luscious hues, including kiwi green, aqua, ice, navy, and red. These Marine Blue Sebago "Bolton" mocs are tailor-made for pairing with the season's must-have destroyed boyfriend jean; just add a summery white blouse, zippy tote, and nautical-themed earrings and prepare to set sail in style. -
June 8th, 2009UncategorizedAt a boutique hotel in the Cotswolds - Lords of the Manor - you can hire an outdoor butler. So, if you need someone to groom your dog, wash your wellies or iron your map, apparently these are all things that he’ll do for you for a daily rate that starts from £95. From their website:
If you just want to tramp around the gardens and the rolling hills, the staff will bring you a pair of Wellies on a silver tray.
Lords of the Manor is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
-
June 7th, 2009Uncategorized

-
June 6th, 2009UncategorizedIf you're going skydiving, you will have to make decisions about several things. Do you want to do a solo or tandem jump? Probably tandem, as that's what most companies require for a first jump. Do you want to get a video or not? Your budget can dictate your choice on that. And from what height do you want to jump from the "perfectly good airplane"? You'll get to decide. I suggest higher.
Why Jump From Higher?
One of the greatest reasons to go for the highest tandem skydiving adventure your company offers is so that you can enjoy the experience longer. That extra time to wait before pulling the cord can amount to an amazing experience. Have you ever seen skydiving on television? The divers float along, free falling, practically feeling like they're floating on the air, until they reach a lower elevation.
Tandem jump skydiving from highest level available usually doesn't cost that much more. Often, there is a base price for a lower jump, but to go for a higher jump isn't a whole lot more. (As an example, if the 9,000 ft. jump is $159, the 13,000 ft. jump may be $199) Many people feel that they're only going to go skydiving once, they might as well make it as impressive as possible. Paying the additional $40 (in the example) will give them 4,000 more feet to fall before they need to pull the rip cord. Sounds good to me.
Many people choose to tandem skydiving from the highest level available because they can imagine the greater thrill of falling from an airplane from much higher. While even 13,000 feet isn't as high as an airplane flies, it is higher than most birds and much higher than any of us are on a regular basis. Pushing backwards out of the plane when the ground is so far below should give anyone reason to think twice – a splat if you aren't prepared with a parachute, and even a back-up parachute, would be a hard landing. Greater thrill at the highest level equals greater adventure to many people.
Imagine being able to tell your friends and neighbors about your skydiving adventure! Tell them "highest tandem" and they'll know you went for it with gusto! You can be the admiration of the rest of the office – and others will have new respect for you.
Tandem skydiving from the highest elevation can be the added thrill that you wanted when you agreed to go skydiving in the first place – live life to the fullest!
-
June 5th, 2009UncategorizedIf you decide to get into the sport of rock climbing (indoors or out), you need to invest in a lot of equipment. The first investment you make should be to hire a climbing instructor to help make a list of all of the essential rock climbing gear you need. Many of the most popular brands of climbing gear sell what are called rock climbing harness packages. They have a lot of advantages over buying everything separately or trying to make a rock climbing harness.
What's Not Included
There are a couple of things that won't be included in a rock climbing harness package. This is everything in a rock climbing harness package is a one size fits all deal. However, you are going to need a ventilated sport helmet and rock climbing shoes. You can't use any old shoes for rock climbing and you can't use any old rock climbing shoes. You need to invest in the best rock climbing shoes you can afford. If you can't afford them, then seriously reconsider rock climbing as a hobby.
What Is Included
Beginner's kits or rock climbing harness packages are offered by some of North America's most popular climbing gear brands, including Acme Climbing, Misty Mountain and Black Diamond. Special package sizes for kids are usually available. They include almost everything you need to get started (except for instructor, shoes and helmet).
Rock climbing harness packages include the body harness, the belay device, a series of hand holds called chocks, thick D-ring clips called locking carabiners and 10.5 millimeter dynamic rope. Some packages may also come with gloves and books. This is a lot of equipment, but you will probably get a lot more as you progress in the hobby.
Talk To Your Instructor
If you're not familiar with what good quality, safe rock climbing gear looks like, then there's no point buying any rock climbing harness package deal, no matter how inexpensive. Even if you have already bought it, have your instructor look everything over before you use it.
If your instructor finds damage or feels the package won't hold you weight, then just take the financial loss and chalk it up to experience. Your life depends on your rock climbing gear. If you can't return the package from where you bought it, your instructor may be able to buy some of the package items from you, since climbers are always on the lookout for equipment.
-
June 4th, 2009UncategorizedIf you are trying to get yourself all prepared for tandem skydiving then you are going to need to do a few things but most importantly of all you are going to want to go through with a skydiving equipment comparison so that you can find the very best skydiving equipment out there for you.
To do a skydiving equipment comparison it is very easy, and all you have to do is start off by learning about the different brands of skydiving gear that are available to you, and as well what the different companies are that you can shop at for your equipment.
Now to do the skydiving equipment comparison you need to compare the different pieces of skydiving gear that you require and compare the prices from one store to another. This is a great way not only of learning about what your options are here, but also to ensure that you always get the very best price.
Get Help With it
Now if you want to do a skydiving equipment comparison effectively and save yourself a great deal of time and effort at the same time, you can always find a comparison site online which will basically do all of the work for you.
This way you don't even really have to worry about doing any of the work at all. You just type into this site what it is that you are looking for and as a result it will present you with all the options that you have.
Doing a skydiving equipment comparison is really one of the best things that you will ever do. This will allow you to get a much better idea on the different equipment that is out there and make you feel much more comfortable and put your nerves to rest before your jump. It is this equipment after all that you are going to be relying on when you jump out of that plane, so make sure that you spend the time researching and finding the very best equipment that you can rely on.
Skydiving can be a lot of fun but you are going to need to make sure that you are prepared and ready to go. Having a secure and high quality skydiving gear bag, parachute, and helmet are all going to be critical to your jump. Talk to a professional skydiver if you want more information on this.
-
June 3rd, 2009UncategorizedAlong with the ever important rock climbing harness it is important to make sure that you have all of the other rock climbing wall accessories. Even the most experienced people need to make sure that they always have the right kind of accessories so that they are safe and so that they can have an enjoyable time. Skipping steps and safety measures is no way to have a good time so be sure to do whatever is needed in order to have everything in place and put together well.
The rock climbing wall accessories are all important and it is vital to make sure that you have absolutely everything needed in order to have the best time possible. If you are not sure on what all is needed in order to have all of the different rock climbing wall accessories then you need to find that information. There are many books out there on starting up your own walls so you may wan to check those out. Also, just by speaking to someone who has a good bit of experience with rock climbing may be able to lead you in the right direction.
Getting Great Deals
When it comes to something like rock climbing wall accessories it is important to make sure that you are really shopping around. There are many companies and stores out there that charges a lot more then they really have to in order to make a profit. With this being said, there is no reason why you should not take advantage of the lower priced rock climbing wall accessories. If you take enough time out of one day you should have no problem coming across all of the best prices and deals out there.
There are many online stores that you should probably take a look at first simply because the beast deals are often times found online. Whether it is because of overstock or that they just are able to get better deals on rock climbing wall accessories then any other company, they are there pass on incredible savings to you. In store shopping can be a little more exciting simply because you are able to bring home everything that day instead of waiting for shipping but you are going to have to realize that you probably will not get the very best deal that way. Either way, as long as you finally get everything you have been looking for you will be set.
-
June 2nd, 2009Uncategorized
Mija Dog Beds, manufactured by Wowbow and offered through the Swedish online store PID.se, offer a clean-lined, more modern look than many traditional pet beds. Crafted from 10mm thick acrylic and furnished with luxury faux suede cushions filled with shredded memory foam, the line is from London-based designer and dog owner Kim Bull, who got tired of dog beds emblazoned in plaids or paw prints. The bed comes in small (8,332 SEK = $911, in today's exchange rate), medium (9,723 SEK = $1,062), and large (12,505 SEK = $1,366) and in different colors.
-
June 1st, 2009Uncategorized
The parent company of Gulfsteam jets, General Dynamics announced this week that it would be laying off 1,200 workers nationwide. The workers will be a mix of full-time employees and contractors. More workers will also be put on an unpaid leave for at least a month this summer as Gulfstream cuts plane production. With corporations selling their private jets (Starbucks just put another plane on the market this week) and canceling orders for future planes, the industry has hit hard times. The world's wealthiest people have seen their fortunes dramatically reduced within the past year and are feeling especially frugal. The private plane has rapidly become a symbol of greed and extravagance but the lavish spending habits of a few individuals have fueled entire industries which are now hurting.
