mike carey

He said 'for some people', it has nothing to do with what he thinks. You and he may well have non-discriminatory attitudes, not all people do, it is those people @marylander1940 was talking about. Or are you seriously suggesting that everyone has moved on from racially based preferences and he didn't notice, because that is what your post suggests.

My January 2020 flights to and from New Zealand were the first time I have ever paid cash-money for international business class seats. (I have done so on domestic flights, and first once on a Malaysia-Singapore flight.) And yes, J-class flat beds, whether you've paid for them, had an upgrade or had the fare paid by an employer, are great. Not that they are needed between Auckland and Sydney or Melbourne. My determination years ago that life was too short for economy air travel has waned, and being satisfied with premium economy or taking the risk of a points upgrade from economy have worked their way into my travel planning, as has the idea that for a couple of hours, economy is bearable, but not on a low-cost airline. So far. So, as with most things, at times it is worth paying more for quality on what is functionally the same product or service.

It's easy to be unaware of the fact that there are false negatives and false positives if you are not watching all this closely, especially somewhere that has a flood of cases each day that obscures the details. Even here, when the numbers are low enough that there is public discussion about any false positives that are reversed, because one, two or three fewer cases seems to make a material difference, it's easy to 'know' about such tests but for the fact not to register. It's only when a false result hits you personally, either for a loved one or for yourself, that you really think about it and for resentment possibly to bubble up, and for it to be 'about' you. It's not, it's the way things are. More power to you @Epigonos for laughing it off. The inconveniences and deeper trials of this pandemic are not over, anything that helps us to live through them, individually or collectively, is to be welcomed. You have given us all a positive way to approach it.

Did he 'steal' it, or was it his brand and seeing it there absent-mindedly thought he'd brought it with him? Perhaps unlikely, but impossible?

It would have confirmed so many stereotypes if you had said, 'Actually I'm a lawyer, but I didn't want to say that.'

Some may have felt that was rather too much of a challenge. A lack of ambition perhaps, but still.

I love the way some people think!

Yes, but the term is an abomination! A plot by the capitalists and plutocrats to rob working people of their money by forcing them to replace things that shouldn't have broken. (*Sings 'We'll keep the red flag flying here!'*) *Disclaimer: This is mock outrage, it should not be construed as a serious political comment.*

Joyeux Noël!

I have no words ...

In my trips to these forum gatherings (and the other travels I've had in conjunction with them) the men I've met have been 20 or more years younger than me, and none of them has shown the slightest hesitation in meeting me. Others I've simply chatted with at the gatherings have engaged with me on twitter. That said, I never assume anyone is open to a meeting, and ask. For most, ageism doesn't come into it. As I've said before, if it's safe, I'll be there again.

Fenugreek is one of the classic spices used in Indian cooking. Perhaps I need to break out my Indian recipes and start making them again. (Lately I've favoured Thai curries.)

It's nothing official, but today is widely known in Australia as 'Gravy Day' It comes from a 1990s song by Paul Kelly. The words of the song set it on 21 December. The song is a letter a prisoner is writing to his family about missing them for Christmas, and talks of quirks of their normal family Christmas gatherings, and lamenting the separation. A couple of days ago the Economist published an article noting that the sentiments in the song resonate with the sorts of separations that families will be facing this year. In a quirk, the federal government today announced the appointment of a new Chief Health Officer. His name? Professor Paul Kelly. Anyway, happy gravy day.

If I'm not mistaken, the vaccine achieves a 90% success rate across the population, not 90% protection for each individual.

Possibly several times!

'Safe' isn't a binary and like safer sex, it's not a matter of it being 'safe' or 'unsafe', but rather safer or less safe. I think it's safe to assume that there would be some protection from a first injection but that it would develop slowly so may not be measurable before the time the second jab is due. One or two jabs, protection will not be immediate and it won't be a silver bullet. I can't see either the advice on mask, distancing, hand washing and cough etiquette, or the willingness of many people to be less cautious about those measures changing for some time after the vaccinations are rolled out, if ever.

It took me a while, but eventually the penny dropped.

WUT?? It's not pizza without olives (and anchovies as was mentioned in another thread).

When it comes to the men on here, some of us can only dream, at least for the moment! Well, we can do more than dream, we can create a 'to do' list!

This is an interesting map showing the population centres of each state in 1900 (blue) and 2010 (red). Most of them are surprisingly similar after 110 years, but three stand out, California, Nevada and Florida, with the centre of gravity shifting from SF to LA, Las Vegas growing from almost nothing and the growth of population in south Florida. The relative growth of the DC suburbs compared to the rest of Virginia also shows up clearly. It's one of heaps of maps a geographer/demographer in Melbourne tweets. You can see more of his stuff at

Not just a pretty face!

I haven't done it for years, although I had 30 years of my life when it was a regular occurrence, spit polished black leather uniform shoes and (at times) boots. Our combat boots went from black leather to a light tan with a suede-like finish late in my time. I still have a couple of pairs of leather shoes but I rarely wear them preferring sneakers. Shoe shine stands are not as much a thing here as they are in the US, so using them is not something that I've ever done (either here or when I've been in the US). The one time I remember having my shoes (boots to be precise) shined was by a kid who 'hassled' the guests in the hotel where I was staying in Cusco.

Vin Marco posted this on twitter, I can't say I'm affected by either dimension.

I'm due for a trip to Sydney but not before Christmas.

No, or at least not yet, noticed him a while back but haven't followed through. Now that I've read some of his reviews ......