mike carey

I did a very @azdr0710 sort of thing today. I went and sat to eat one of their burgers under one of the umbrellas outside the In-n-Out Burger joint just near LAX and watched aeroplanes landing and taking off.

And to add to @Gadfly22's reply, a light year is a distance not a period of time, so 'If a star is 1,000 light years away ...'. If here is an alien 850 light years away, they could be able see that Notre Dame Cathedral was being built but they wouldn't know about the fire for another 850 years.

Indeed, leopard, spots.

It's well to remember that the antibiotic resistant bacteria that are being detected are most likely resistant strains of bacteria that would be present to some level anyway. So the risk that an infection would be difficult to treat has to be balanced against the relatively low chance of developing an infection at all. It's still dangerous but not immediately so. The bacteria will likely become part of a person's microbiome, so if an infection develops it would be more dangerous than if it had been caused by a non-resistant strain. The precautions @Epigonos suggests are applicable regardless of the resistance status of the bacteria, but they are directed mainly at pathogens exposure to which always causes illness, such as salmonella. Complete separation of cooked and uncooked chicken in the kitchen is the key, and washing it carries a risk of cross contamination, especially in a small kitchen where separate preparation areas aren't feasible. As always, thorough cooking reduces the risk, and resistant bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, not to heat.

I also posted this information in this year's Palm Springs thread, but I've repeated it here so it remains visible for the 2020 gathering. I asked the staff at Inndulge about their pricing (the other popular resort among those attending, Canyon Club, is cheaper), and they said that their rooms are sold at their standard rate from when sales start one year out. As the year passes, the prices may vary so lower rates will potentially be available for those who choose to, or by circumstances have to wait until later to book. They have free nights available, but it's for the seventh night of a stay, so not all that much help for most of us whose stays are shorter.

It won't change your decision, I know, but I asked about their rates before I left. Bookings open 12 months out, and at the start it's at their rack rate. There is variability over the ensuing year (so potentially lower rates to be had), but as I see it they're unlikely to approach the rates at the CC. Their free night kicks in for a seventh night (i.e. after six paid nights). They do have rooms starting at $99 in Jan/Feb and in summer, but that's not much help for us. So it looks like some of the cool kids will still be at the Canyon Club! Like others, I had a great time this year, so thanks to @Oliver and @Epigonos for all the work they've put in yet again.

Indeed, I wonder where?

Kosciuszko is the name of the highest mountain in mainland Australia. It is typically pronounced Kossi-osk-ow. In my lifetime the z was added to the spelling.

David, I would love to accept your invitation. I'll be at Inndulge so I should be able to get details from Eric, but if not I'll shoot you a message or call you.

In my rural area today E10 was 143.9c/l and diesel 149.9c/l ($US 3.87 and $US4.03 / US gallon respectively).

I haven't been able to nail it down exactly but it's clearly behind my local time (Australian eastern standard time). As near as I can work out it's UTC (but perhaps European standard time). (The way I've tried to work it out was to note how many hours ago a 'last on line' time was, and try to see when it trips over to a specific time.)

IIRC they don't display contact details between midnight and 6am.

When I was in Philly I was looking at one of the kitchen staff in a restaurant where I was having dinner and thinking it unusual to see a Polynesian in that part of the US. I realised after a moment that he was Latino. So when I first looked at the profile I didn't immediately dismiss the idea that he could have been a Kiwi.

Yes, I'll be in Palm Springs for the whole weekend, and at both events. I enjoyed meeting you for those few drinks in DC in January.

Some escorts do that so well!

That was pretty damn good.

Ok, so this is a completely different tack than the recent serious posts in this thread, but it's a cute story. This 10 year old boy sent a hand written letter to the CEO of Qantas asking for advice on running an airline. I had seen a response to him from Alan Joyce on social media but the airline invited him to Sydney and put out a proper press release on the 'meeting'. https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-hosts-10-year-old-ceo-for-airline-executive-summit/

I think a Bundeswehr uniform would be just as effective.

Come from Away opens in Melbourne in this winter (in July). This story was in the Good Weekend magazine in The Age and the SMH. Some of it recounts aspects of the video posted in the other thread, but I thought it was worth posting. https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/the-tiny-town-behind-a-heartwarming-9-11-tale-20190326-p517pe.html

To watch you work out perhaps? I'm not cynical, of course!

I think that is what I was saying. But without expert knowledge on the subject.

Yep, I knew that, I should have said that its accuracy was perhaps ironic! Max seems more an expert than me, so I'll wait for him to chime in again.

My understanding is that the MCAS affects the aircraft's attitude when sensors indicate that the attitude is making the aircraft unsafe. (The problem is that the sensors have been wrong, and instead of correcting a problem [that in fact didn't exist] it created a different, and catastrophic one.) The problem identified in this South West aeroplane was about engine function, and that is unrelated to the MCAS. From that perspective, your comment that there was nothing to see here was in fact accurate. It was unrelated to the factors that resulted in the 737 MAX fleet being grounded. Whether it turns out to be a systemic fault or just a one off incident remains to be seen.

Not like you to do that!

You deserve it TB. Now all I have to do is work out how to meet you.