Jul 6, 2013

San Diego to London on British Airways

JULY 17, 2012 BY JOHNNY JET 3 COMMENTS

Trip: SAN-LHR
Date: July 10, 2012
Airline: British Airways
Aircraft: 777
Scheduled Departure Time: 8:05pm
Push Back from Gate: 8:36pm
Actual Departure Time: 8:57pm
Miles: 5,470
Flight time: 9:36
Seat: 5A
Cost: Sponsored

San Diego AirportDid you know you can fly nonstop from San Diego to London?! British Airways reinstated the service in June 2011 and I got to experience it firsthand last week. It was my first time flying out of San Diego. Actually, it was my first time ever being inside the San Diego airport! Unfortunately, I was disappointed. It was nothing like what I had imagined. The terminals are old and dark with low ceilings. Wandering around made me feel like a lonely business traveler and I haven’t had that feeling in a long time. The only positives that I could find were that they have rocking chairs around some of the windows, free Wi-Fi and friendly workers.

San Diego to London
British Airways offers this flight daily and year round. BA 272 departs Lindbergh Field from Terminal 2 at 8:05pm (20:05) and arrives into London Heathrow at 2:30pm (14:30). The return flight, BA 273, departs Heathrow at 3:05 p.m. local time and arrives in San Diego at 6:15 p.m. The flights are operated by a three-class Boeing 777 aircraft offering 48 Club World seats, 24 World Traveller Plus seats and 203 World Traveller seats for a total capacity of 275 passengers.

Check-In
Check-in for British Airways (BA) is done at their One World partner American Airlines’ counter (there are signs). Don’t worry there aren’t any American Airlines (AA) flights in the evening so you don’t have to deal with AA passengers. There are three lines: one for economy, one for Club World (Business Class) and one for Bag Drop (people who check-in online and need to check a bag). The lines moved slowly but the agents were overly friendly. The same can be said about the American Airlines receptionist in the Admirals Club Lounge which Club World passengers can use – there’s an open bar, free snacks
and it’s more cheerful than the gate area.

Security at SANAs for security there’s a separate line for premium class passengers and I didn’t have to wait more than 30 seconds. Can’t say the same for economy class as they only had one TSA agent checking IDs.

Club WorldOur flight was 45-minutes late in boarding because of strong headwinds on the inbound flight but the pilot made up some of that time in the air. I had a cool seatmate who was assigned to sit in 5A (a window) but he didn’t realize BA’s Club World seats are in a forward-and-back pattern, with window and middle seats facing backwards, while aisle seats face forwards. He didn’t want to sit backwards even though I told him there’s no recognizable difference or feeling of flying backwards. I was happy to switch because I believe the last window seat is the best seat in the house — it’s like your own little private cubby hole and you don’t have to jump over anyone’s legs to use the loo. FYI: Seats next to each other are separated by a privacy screen so you only awkwardly stare at each other until the safety briefing is over – then they can be raised.

Club World SeatsThere’s so much privacy you might actually forget you are on an airplane. You’ll also love that the seats turn into a 180-degree, fully flat sleeper seat. I slept five hours which is remarkable for me. If you do have difficulty sleeping you’ll definitely appreciate the power port, perfect for working on your laptop, and the wide selection of movies (including the 25 on-demand new release movies), TV shows, video games and audio options – all available with the quick touch of the screen which is nine inches wide. To increase your enjoyment, they also provide noise-canceling headsets. There’s a little drawer on the side to put your phone, camera, book, and bottled water.

FoodFlight attendants serve pre-takeoff drinks and pass out menus and designer amenity kits before taking off. Then right after takeoff they come around with more drinks. The food service took a while but it was really good. Actually British Airways just enhanced its gourmet dining experience for premium passengers. They recently introduced the new Height Cuisine and a special Olympics inspired menu where they worked with Michelin Star Chef Heston Blumenthal. Since working with Blumenthal, the airline has introduced umami rich foods into its menu. Umami is regarded as the ‘fifth taste’ often found in protein rich foods such as seaweed, tomatoes, mackerel and parmesan cheese.

For a limited-time (July-September) on most long-haul flights departing London Heathrow, British Airways has an Olympic menu as an alternative to its regular menu. It was created by chef Simon Hulstone who took inspiration from the airline’s menus dating back to 1948, the last time the Games were held in London. Popular ingredients from the time have been incorporated into his menu, with some dishes reinvented for a modern day audience using local produce.

Did you know roughly 30% of taste and sensory connections are lost at high altitudes?

Dinner
For my meal I started with grilled Mediterranean vegetables (the other option was olive oil poached Hamachi with couscous and balsamic vinegar), fresh seasonal salad, and black truffle risotto as my Main (other choices were: grilled filet of beef, breast of guinea hen, Spanish chef’s salad). Dessert was mixed berry panna cotta and Picon and Chaource cheese with medjool dates but I was starting to fall asleep so I passed.

SnackOf course, after my five-hour snooze I hit the self-service mini bar set up in the galley with bottled water, drinks, chips, Cadbury chocolates, sandwiches, and fresh fruit (which was so good I had two).

Breakfast
About an hour before landing the flight attendants came around with the breakfast tray which came with lots of choices: fresh fruit or cereal (Special K), smoothie or orange juice, tea or coffee, muffins or croissants and a hot bacon roll.

Good to know: The flight was smooth as can be as the seat belt sign was only on for the first few minutes of takeoff and landing! On approach to Heathrow those on the left hand side were greeted to Olympic rings carved out (more like mowed) in the English countryside.

Heathrow Immigration
When we landed at Heathrow just before 3 pm, it was a race to passport control. It was a long walk but once there, it only took ten minutes to clear which was a big relief as I heard reports that lines were two and a half hours long. The agent said he hadn’t witnessed anything like that but he was only brought in a week ago from Ireland to help out. Note: I waited in the normal line because the fast track line (for business class passengers) was closed. The agent told me they close it after 1pm.

Heathrow to Central LondonI followed the signs to the Heathrow Express and usually use one of their self-service kiosks to get my ticket but their PR department supplied me with a free ticket. To get to the trains requires an elevator down and another long walk (they do have free carts). What’s great about the Heathrow Express is that it takes only 15 minutes (21 minutes from T5) to get to Central London (Paddington Station) and the trains depart every 15 minutes so there’s no need to rush. Tickets are available online, at the station, on board and via the Heathrow Express iPhone app. Prices start from £18 for adults and £9 for children over 5 years. For more details visit HeathrowExpress.com.

Good to Know-According to the AP: The US Olympic team will have more women than men for first time
-London Olympics: Tips on how to navigate the city during Games

: SAN depressing T2

: Friendly Admirals Club Agent

: Admirals Club

: Admirals Club Bathroom

: Rocking chairs by gate

: Rocking chair up close

: I heard the AA departure board always says on time

: So check the airport’s departure board

: Boarding time!

: My seat (5A)

: View from seat (old pic)

: View of Club World Cabin (old pic)

: Entertainment options

: TV options

: Movie options

: Bathroom soaps

: Flight path

: Dinner tray

: Main dish

: Snack bar (old pic)

: Breakfast is served!

: London

: Zoomed pic of London

: Crop circles!

: Crop Circles up close

: LHR

: British Airways tails

lapis earrings

http://www.flickr.com/photos/i-love-chloe-too/7634857666/

Jul 5, 2013

Staffordshire bull terrier saves teenage girl in attack in secluded woodland

By Adam Aspinall
28 Comments

Staffordshire bull terrier saves teenage girl in attack in secluded woodland

copied from the Mirror........

5 Jul 2013 00:00

She was taking Midi for a walk when she was suddenly set upon by a stranger who battered her over the head

A schoolgirl was saved by her pet dog when she was attacked by a man on a secluded woodland path.

Megan Jones, 13, was taking Staffordshire bull terrier Midi for a walk when she was suddenly set upon by a stranger who battered her over the head with a stick.

But Midi then came to her rescue, biting the man on the leg and dragging him to the ground, giving Megan the chance to escape.

She managed to run away, then hid behind a bush until the man had gone and Midi found her.

Megan said: “It was very frightening but Midi was fantastic. She is my hero.”

Mum Claire said: “If the dog hadn’t done what she did we could now be dealing with something much worse.

“If Midi hadn’t defended Megan she may not have been able to get away. What scares me is the motives of this man. It makes me feel sick.”

Megan was not seriously hurt but has been left so traumatised that she is afraid to leave her home in Bargoed, near Caerphilly, South Wales.

Claire added: “Megan is usually such an outgoing person but after this happened she hasn’t wanted to go to school or go out with her friends.”

Following the attack, in Ystrad Mynach, police are looking for a man in his 30s, 5ft 10in, of slim build, with brown hair with a long fringe over a side of his face.

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/staffordshire-bull-terrier-saves-teenage-2026911#ixzz2YE8VcQwO
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

Brent Talks--Health Care and President Hillary Clinton

Health care and Hillary.........

Brent--two things--first, call me Wesley Clarke, but I do not think health care should be associated with employment......no, I do not have an answer, other than health care should be the right of all citizens in a leading nation such as the US and not an election talking point--no one benefits from people not having health care. Well, how do we pay for it.....

second--health care could be provided in a much better and more cost effective way--yes, everything should definitely be connected in the cloud or whatever way works best for efficiency and cost. We should all be on the diabetes diet, or just a healthy diet and education in this way will cut cost in the long run. Bloomberg and Michelle Obama have some good ideas. Nurse practitioners can be used in walk-in clinics as opposed to the very expensive emergency room unfortunately being used at times for family practice. We can also give an incentive for reducing individual cost and following the healthy, less-expensive plan--public option and low cost pharmaceuticals are a great idea--a great idea and the people deserve it.

The republican secret--they want health care for their kids, too. Yes, I have heard the guy say it on the conservative radio station here in San Diego.

Also, school nurses and nurse practitioner clinics at schools are a good opportunity to address the health-care needs of all children, rich and poor, and a good chance for a lifetime of education on diet and exercise, etc.

We're not going back, President Obama made a positive change in the health care system for everyone and showed leadership. President Hillary Clinton will carry it further--Good job to President Obama and President Hillary Clinton.

Hillary girl forever---chloe louise

copied from The Hill...............

Hillary and healthcare

By Brent Budowsky - 07/05/13 11:02 AM ET

As the chaos continues surrounding implementation of the new healthcare law, the 2014 election campaign begins and jockeying for the 2016 presidential campaign is underway, the two most intriguing political questions surrounding the healthcare law are these:

First, how will Democrats running for the House and Senate in 2014 discuss healthcare during the campaign?

Second, if Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016, how will she discuss healthcare going into the presidential campaign?

Let me begin with my conclusion. Democrats should not be trapped into defending the healthcare status quo. They should champion and defend the most effective and popular aspects of the law, and champion more aggressively than ever the more progressive (and popular) reforms that should have been included in the reform law but were not.

When the healthcare law was being debated, I believed then, and believe now, that a single-payer system or a robust public option needed to be included to make any reform fully effective. And I believed then, and believe now, that an expansion of the use of generic drugs, or high-quality and low-cost imports of drugs from other nations such as Canada, were also needed to protect consumers and lower costs to government.

As usual in Washington these days, these bold progressive provisions were dropped even by a Democratic president and Democratic Congress with large Democratic majorities. This was a major political mistake, because the public option and similar reforms had strong majority public support, and it was a policy mistake, because it removed low-cost pro-consumer options that would have created alternatives that would have lowered the costs of both insurance and pharmaceuticals.

This is not brain surgery. If mandates forced companies with a certain numbers of employees to pay fines if they do not provide insurance, many companies would limit jobs to avoid the employee threshold that trigger the fines, and would cut hours to avoid the working-hour threshold that trigger the fines. The Obama administration retreat on these provisions was predictable, inevitable and wise.

With the absence of a single-payer system with a public option and lower-cost drug provision, it was also predictable, and inevitable, that insurance premiums and pharmaceutical costs, as well as pain for consumers and the profits of insurance and pharmaceutical companies, would all rise in unison.

I warned Democrats ahead of the 2010 campaign not to be trapped into defending the status quo and treating the healthcare law as a panacea. I offer the same warnings today. The GOP will try to blame Democrats for higher healthcare costs and rising insurance premiums. Democrats should renew the battle for lower costs and lower premiums by championing progressive alternatives.

Enter Clinton. Hillary Clinton has a been a leader in the battle for healthcare reform for a lifetime. As first lady when Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas and president, she was a true champion of powerful healthcare reform that would serve workers, women, children, the poor and the middle class.

Hillary Clinton as secretary of State could not participate in domestic political debates, but carried her interest and her commitment to better healthcare to the global arena. She has a golden and historic opportunity if she runs for president in 2016, and becomes the most sought-after campaigner for Democrats in 2014, to lead the charge for the healthcare reforms that are most needed by America and most favored by voters.

On healthcare the left was right and the right was wrong. Liberal Democrats were right and corporatist and conservative Democrats were wrong. The people want lower insurance premiums, lower drug costs, better care for women and children, better healthcare for American workers and — yes — lower healthcare costs for business that a public option and lower-cost pharmaceutical choices would create.

Should Democrats support the best aspects of the healthcare law? Absolutely, definitely and strongly.

Should Democrats support the status quo of the current law? Absolutely not. Democrats should run against the status quo. Democrats should run against rising premiums and high drug costs. Democrats should run against Republican war against women's healthcare programs. Democrats should use the current law as a platform to launch the next great era of healthcare reform.

Americans have always trusted the Democratic Party of Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton to protect the health of the nation.

Most Americans agree with the Democratic wing of the Democratic party on healthcare. Democrats should not retreat; they should advance. Democrats should not be afraid; they should be bold. Who better than Hillary Rodham Clinton to win an FDR-magnitude landslide in 2016 while championing the healthcare reforms initiated by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt?

Democrats have nothing to fear by letting the next great healthcare debate begin.

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and Bill Alexander, then chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. He can be read on The Hill’s Pundits Blog and reached at brentbbi@webtv.net.

Thanks, Larry, That Was A Good Interview With Greta

Good Role Model--Soledad O'Brien

copied from The Wrap.......

Soledad O'Brien Is Her Own Boss -- and That Means No Jodi Arias Stories

"You get to a certain point in your career where you say I want to now cover what I want to cover," the former CNN anchor tells TheWrap

Published: July 01, 2013 @ 3:31 pm

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By Sara Morrison

Soledad O'Brien was announced as Al Jazeera America's special correspondent on Monday, marking the fourth project for her new Starfish Media Group.

O'Brien may no longer anchor CNN's "Starting Point," but she's clearly keeping busy. In addition to Al Jazeera, she's working with CNN, HBO, and National Geographic -- with several more deals coming in the near future.

With a few minutes to spare between all of those projects, O'Brien spoke toTheWrap about how Starfish Media Group is a new model in journalism, why she doesn't want to be tied down to another network, and how she won't cover Jodi Arias.

TheWrap: Al Jazeera America is now the fourth project Starfish Media Group has announced, right?

Soledad O'Brien: That is correct, we're doing HBO, we're contributing some pieces and some docs to Al Jazeera, I'm in the middle of shooting for CNN and I'm executive producing and moderating the Geography Bee for National Geographic.

The HBO "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" deal was a surprise.

You know what's so funny? It's the only sports show I watch. For me, it made a lot of sense because the writing is so good and the storytelling is so good and I really pride myself on capturing great stories. I always felt that HBO's "Real Sports" was about storytelling around interesting stories.

My first piece for them was about these guys who are MMA fighters who are vets. It's really a story about veterans struggling to overcome terrible PTSD and get their lives back to normal. The way they do it … is through sports. But it's not a look at the sport of MMA. I always felt it's not about the scores and it's not about the stats, it's about the human element that's affected by sports. Right now I'm in LA shooting another piece for HBO "Real Sports" right now, and I think it's gonna be an amazing story.

Also read: Soledad O'Brien Joins Al Jazeera America

What are you hoping to do, ultimately, with Starfish?

The goal has always been creating a new model and you take different platforms -- the CNN, the HBO, the Al Jazeera, the National Geographic -- and do the work that you want to do across the number of platforms, and I think the answer is yes, I think that there’s a new model in journalism. Instead of just doing a bunch of different things, you can do what you do well, what you like to do. Me, I like storytelling. I like good journalism. I like getting into thoughtful stories and I can now do that across a number of platforms for a number of partners.

So when you approach networks to work with, you're focusing on telling a human story?

The focus is, first of all, do they want to be a partner? If they want exclusivity, then we can’t do it. Starfish Media Group is my new company and this company does a number of things. We distribute content, I own "Black in America," I own "Latino in America," so that’s part of it. We produce material so you know, we have teams that go in and produce stories. And I go and report some of those stories. So for me, number one, we ask people, if you want an exclusive deal with Soledad O'Brien, that is off the table. I do partnerships. And those partnerships have to be around the kind of work that is good journalism, smart, and good storytelling, great storytelling. And if you want that, then we should be in business together. We should be working on projects together. There’s a lot of stuff that I don’t want to cover. It’s easy for me to say no to things now.

Also read: Soledad O'Brien Leaving Morning Show, Staying at CNN

When did you decide to do start your own company? Why?

I started about two years ago, talking to CNN and others in my circle. How can you be your own production company? How can you just take the work that I’m working on, that I love, and do that more of that and less of the things that I don’t want to do, like celebrity news or crime stories. I’m not afraid to say this is the stuff I want to do and these are the things I don’t want to do. I want to do what I want to do, and I don’t want to do what I don’t want to do, you know?

So we had this conversation for the last two years and then when the morning show ended, it seemed like a really great time to go ahead and do what I had been planning and trying to do. And I think the timing was right. I think the timing two years ago was not right. But it’s a different time in the media atmosphere.

You said a couple of months ago that you didn’t have to do much promotion to get deals for Starfish Media Group; that a lot of it came to you. Is that still true?

Oh my gosh, yeah. I think people understand this new role. People who reach out to me, invariably they ask me to come and anchor for them, but it’s not what I want to do at this moment. I think people understand that the new model is if you have a strong brand that stands for something, that you do good work, and you know the stories you want to tell, and they’re interested in that work, then there’s a partnership possibility. So, you’re right. It hasn’t been a tough sell.

You know what’s so funny? When they announced that I was leaving CNN almost every single journalist that I talked to would say what network are you going to next? Are you going to be able to land at X? And all I could think about was I don't want to land at X. I want to create my own thing, and work with great journalists who want to do the stories that we do well. I think that people who understand what we're trying to do really get that it can be very successful.

What are the places that want to work with you looking for?

I think that they want to buy into a partnership with a known quantity. We deliver the quality of "Black in America," we deliver great writing, we deliver the quality of "Latino in America." You're going to get great journalism, we're going to dig into stories that are challenging and tough and thought-provoking. That's what I do, and now I just do it for different partners.

If you are interested in having me cover the Jodi Arias trial for you? That's probably not going to happen.

Also read: Who Will Run Al Jazeera America? Who's In, Who's Out, Who Passed

No 24/7 poop cruise coverage?

I covered Katrina, I've covered the tsunamis, all of them, the Haiti earthquake … you get to a certain point in your career where you say I want to now cover what I want to cover. So for one of our first Al Jazeera pieces for "America Tonight," we'll go back to Haiti – I go back there every year – and we'll take a look at what's working and where the money's gone?

There's a lot to do there, so I'll go in and do a couple pieces on, for all the Americans who gave a lot of money, what's happening in Haiti? And then we're going to do a great piece on the variation of the quality of public education across America. That's an amazing story.

So you've been very busy?

I'm literally simultaneously in the middle of starting those stories, I'm shooting right now in LA for HBO "Real Sports" and I just got off the phone with my "Black in America" producers. And my schedule is about 500 times better than it was. I don't have to come into the office at three in the morning and work until four in the afternoon. I'm just working on projects that I'm passionate about that I can actively contribute to.

Also read: Can Jeff Zucker Rebuild CNN From 6 A.M. Up?

When you left CNN, there was a lot of talk about the network losing some of its diverse faces and bringing on several white ones.

Diversity is never about one person, ever. It's about a company's philosophy, what they believe and what they want to put on TV and how they want to serve their viewer. I think I can serve my viewers by making sure that the stories that I cover are over a wide range of topics, just like I did when I was fulltime at CNN.

I always felt like you can't really tell the story and leave out important voices. And by "important" I mean across the board, all the voices. Definitely I'm going to get a chance to continue doing that, but for a number of partners across a number of platforms, because Starfish Media Group is, I think, a real model for future media.

It's a very exciting time to start a new company and to be a CEO as I am now. I think the time is right. Media has changed, the model has changed. Look at what we would consider to be tech companies – Google, Amazon, Yahoo! – are doing. Those are media companies.

We hear so much about how journalism is dying out. Sounds like you, at least, are going strong.

We're in a shift, in a transition. And when you're up close, nose to the shift, it feels like it's going to fall apart. But when you take the bigger view, it's all just shifting. Look at Netflix -- it's a distributor. It's pretty amazing.