Flying home from a recent vacation, I had a first for myself. I independently used the in-flight entertainment system to track my flight, listen to music, and watch a movie with audio descriptions. I even played a bit of trivia for a bit. How fun! I’m not sure when United Airlines added accessibility to their in-flight technology, but it was available on the return flights of my trip. The system used TalkBack and a two-finger…
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My wife and I have been on what I’ve called the Escape Winter tour during part of the coldest part of the year for the past few years here in Wisconsin. We tend to book properties through various services, one of which is VRBO. Little did I know that property owners can you review you as a guest through VRBO’s system. Imagine my surprise when for the first time this year in renting multiple properties…
2 CommentsRecently I had the opportunity to view a rocket launch. My wife and I were about 13 miles away from NASA’s launchpad at Space View Park in Titusville, Florida. Here is a bit of audio from the launch. I’m not sure how to add captions directly to this file so a bit of a description follows. The audio starts with a fair amount of crowd noise. Someone was playing a live webcast of the launch…
Leave a CommentUber bills itself as “everyone’s private driver”. I’m sure the marketing folks behind the service can give a full description about what’s supposed to be great about the service. To me, I think of it as a service trying to merge technology with taxis and improve on the situation. The basic premise behind Uber is that you use your smart phone or a web site to request a driver and get notifications about how far…
Leave a CommentA few years ago Aimee and I travelled to India for the wedding of one of my coworkers. We had the privilege of taking part in one of the wedding traditions known as a Barat. Dictionaries will tell you that a barat is a procession lead by the groom with his relatives and friends to the place of the wedding ceremony. It involves musicians, dancing and general celebration as the wedding party makes their…
One CommentAimee posted several travel dispatches while trekking throughout Southeast Asia. One little interesting detail she left out was the fact that she took a couple of elephant rides. A snowy day in Seattle provided a good opportunity to share those memories. Enjoy her description of what it is like to ride an elephant.
One CommentHello All, Sorry I haven’t written any updates in a while, but I’ve been in the sticks of Nepal where email access is nonexistent/unreliable. I’ve enjoyed the country, but aspects of the tour have been very disappointing, and the last several days have not been without drama. Let me explain. We got to a nice resort in Pokhara called Tiger Mountain–very beautiful, remote placewhere Sir Ed Hillary and the Royals once stayed. Gorgeous views of…
Leave a CommentHi All, The last couple of days has been low-key, which I’ve needed for rest, reflection, and shopping. I’ve gotten some uninterrupted sleep, and I think I’m kicking this cold. The first night I was in Bangkok I was awakened by periodic booms. At first I thought it was fireworks, but then it occurred to me it could be gunfire (there are political protests currently in Thailand and Bangkok, but not near where I’m staying…
Leave a CommentXinchao/Sawadee ka, I’m back in Bangkok, having concluded my Cambodian/Vietnamese adventures. I can hardly believe how fast it has gone. I’ve done just about every mode of transportation and saw all sorts of stuff. Most of the time, the experiences were fabulous. Made a few new friends to boot. Let me bring ya’ll up to speed on the last week: The last week has been very fast-paced, and that’s why I’ve been so quiet. Spent…
Leave a CommentI am travelling with a group of 11 other people on my journey through Cambodia and Vietnam. Most are in their 20-30s, and are from Australia, though one woman is from Ireland and a young couple are from Sweden. I am the “token”American. There are two other nurses, two MDs, a paramedic, a nursing assistant, a journalist, a child care worker, a shopkeeper are among those in our group. They are nice people and quite…
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