mike carey

You may find those are azdr's pronouns, not those of the provider in question.

Clearly it was locked because we didn't need one. For over two years.

Haha, yes, I now have four US and three Australian transit cards with funds on them, including a Sydney one from before the system was credit/debit card enabled. I haven't been to London for a long time but knew you could use cards/phones there. In a Points Guy video comparing ways to get to LHR, one guy CONSPICUOUSLY used his Amex Gold Card. Product placement much?

New members cannot edit or delete their posts, but need to report a post if they want to do so, and a moderator will do it.

Yes, it's serious, there are long term effects from particulate inhalation, even for healthy people, and short term effects aren't limited to those at risk. We lived through the same thing in the summer of 19/20, Canberra having the worst air quality in the world at times. I had orange skies and the smell of smoke in the air in New Zealand.

I only just saw the topic. I haven't used them to book but I have used them to research as that gives you an idea about what is possible. Most of what I have read about using them is that in 95%+ cases you book and fly without incident, but as with every means of booking the test is what happens if there are issues, either yours (change, cancellation etc) or the airline's (cancellations, delays, missed connections). One issue to consider is that consolidators may have their own T&Cs that add to the airline's so check that. If you're booking on-line (which from this post is not clear), my inclination would be to research with them and see if you can find the same or a similar fare on the airline's website (they pointed me to airlines I wouldn't have thought of, and reputable ones not Air Burkina Faso!). Since you said you were talking to providers, that implies that you would have a point of contact if any issues arise on your trip. Whether $100 is a big deal really depends on what the total fare is (Captain Obvious, I know). As I implied, I assumed 'consolidator' to mean the on-line ones like Expedia, and what I have learnt is about using them, and resources like Google flight searches and Amex travel. If there are consolidators in the US that are accessed by phone that's not something I'm familiar with (although it doesn't sound too different to a travel agent). Good luck! But then, you're Lucky.

@handiacefailure I'm an android guy not apple (I started to write 'I'm an android not an apple guy') and I don't remember any trouble using Google Pay in the US in April, although that might have been pure luck with the places I tried (I had a card I used half the time that wasn't loaded in my wallet). In some places they still wanted a signature as well rather than a PIN ffs. I suspect that the point of sale terminal technology needed for chip and pin is also needed for mobile wallets and some big firms haven't seen the need to invest in it yet. And I can use Google Pay to tap on and off public transport in Sydney (not, or not yet, in some other Australian cities). I believe that also works in NYC but I knew I needed a physical Metro Card for the JFK air train so I didn't try.

Bon anniversaire!

Good grief! I'm gob-smacked! PINs have been the only thing here for about 10 years (apart from contactless for below [usually] $100). The financial authorities decided that signatures were insufficient for security so they made chip and PIN the standard. Signatures aren't accepted as proof if a transaction is disputed.

The rule was that everyone gave way to the right, and through traffic had right of way over traffic turning across them. So there was a rule to prescribe which vehicle has right of way whenever two vehicles met at an intersection. Not many of those intersections these days, usually one cross-street is given precedence and the other will have give way or stop signs. I can't quite get my head around US four way stop signs because stop signs here mean stop and give way to other traffic (who's there first makes no difference). Once you get your head around it, it's no more complicated than our no-stop-signs intersections. Yes, it is when your brain is set the other way as well.

Moderator's reminder to stay on topic and avoid political tangents. This thread asks about flow on effects from the current public discussion about trans issues on attitudes towards the rest of the LGBTQ+ community. It is not about trans issues themselves.

Agree, and that lounge is a pleasant place to do it!

The risk to people not used to the way traffic runs is more front of mind in the UK with all those Europeans, here less so. You see them here occasionally, most often if the traffic will come from an unexpected direction, one way roads, divided roads with a wide central reservation. There's enough of the signs on the road that it's not a surprise to see them here.

Sheesh, politics!

Why would anyone want to do that?

I don't have experience in continental Europe but elsewhere I have had no issues with ATMs, but take some Euros (don't buy them at the airport) and your CCs, and some green in your wallet. Remember that the Euro is the currency in many countries and the ATM experience will vary between them. There may be places that don't take CCs but in some countries cash isn't taken (or rarely so) such as Sweden (not eurozone), and in most countries plastic (or your mobile wallet) will work.

Must be southern hemisphere.

Yeah it does. Are you suggesting it doesn't in some rich developed countries? Or one? Government and civil society combine to address, if not always immediately to solve things as they arise. Surely that is just the way things are?

I TOLD YOU TO GET OFF MY LAWN! I'll show you, I won't mow it.

The way there is likely to be evidence that it is not happening is if the authorities had considered it and rejected it. If it's just a rumour that 'someone heard' and passed on there won't be contrary evidence. The burden of proof is on those claiming that something is happening.

Heaven forfend! Then again, given the detail in which we've canvassed the culinary advantages of Queens, perhaps that isn't a fate worse than death. But what would I know?!

I wonder which of these gentlemen is Mr E. I mean everyone has heard of Sweet Mr E of Life, so it would be nice to see what he looked like.

Wasn't there a novella about that?

You paint an idyllic picture of a weekend there (or second prize, a week). Why would anyone take a weekend trip to, say the Caribbean, when Fire Island is on offer?

The human body does adapt to higher altitudes, athletes train at altitude for a reason. The greater the altitude change the longer it takes, but I understand it takes days rather than weeks or months. Santa Fe is at over 2100m so that could take a couple of weeks or so to adjust fully from sea level. I remember feeling the effects distinctly in Quito (2850m) for a few days, then a little at higher altitude at Cusco (3400m). I still had to take it easy for the rest of the few days I was in the Andes but felt fine. I lived at about 350m before the trip but I'd been travelling for a month or so at lower altitudes. I was younger (ahem) and had no underlying conditions, and had been exercising more than usual in that previous month, so those would have been factors.