24 Sep 09 Future trip with Zachary & Tristan : Kuroshio Sea Tank at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
Well, yet another place where I hope to one day visit myself and introduce Zachary and Tristan to the wonders of our world.
Credit to Jon Rawlinson for this superb production on his Canon 5DMKII camera. It’s nothing about the camera but more about the talent of capturing the awesome scene. The song by Barcelona is perfect too.
It’s the Kuroshio Sea Tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan.
Pretty magical place to be with the people you love, no?
Tags: animals, Kids, Kuroshio Sea, Love, Travel
23 Feb 09 Tarifs pours vols et urgences familiales Air Canada bereavement sympathy airfares for family emergency
English further down
Je discutais l’autre jour avec une amie / collègue concernant les tarifs spéciaux offerts par les lignes aériennes pour des cas de voyages reliés à des urgences familiales. Ces tarifs sont généralement seulement disponibles pour des voyages internationaux et dans le cas d’un décès ou “décès imminent” …. J’ai réalisé par la suite que je pourrais, sous peu, avoir besoin d’utiliser ces tarifs… 
Selon la page officielle d’Air Canada:
personnes qui doivent prendre l’avion en raison du décès ou du décès imminent (soins intensifs, crise cardiaque, phase terminale de cancer, accident grave) d’un membre de leur famille immédiate.
Veuillez noter que ces tarifs spéciaux représentent une réduction fixe sur certains pleins tarifs sans restrictions, pour certaines liaisons internationales seulement. Aucune autre réduction n’est applicable. Les tarifs pour urgence familiale sont offerts uniquement pour des vols aller-retour assurés par Air Canada et Jazz.
Dans bien des cas, il est possible d’obtenir de meilleurs tarifs en magasinant en ligne à aircanada.com. Les tarifs pour urgence familiale visent à offrir le maximum de souplesse pour les passagers qui doivent voyager à l’occasion d’une urgence familiale, mais ils ne représentent pas nécessairement les meilleurs tarifs du marché.
Pour bénéficier de ces tarifs réduits, il faut réserver directement avec Air Canada en mentionnant le code de référence CIC*160/33 ou ACP #671717. Comme Air Canada mentionne que ces tarifs sont pas nécessairement les plus bas disponibles, je suggère de vérifier es autres tarifs disponibles via un engin de recherche de tarifs comme Kayak.
Voir l’information détaillé sur le site d’Air Canada.
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I was discussing the other day with a friend é colleague about special fares offered by airlines for travel related to bereavement or family emergencies. These fares are generally only available for international flights and in the case of death or “imminent death” … I realized afterwards that I may, shortly, find the need to use these fares…
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Tags: airfares, bereavement, deuil, français, special fares, Travel
13 Feb 09 Continental CO3407 plane crash in upstate New York – dozens dead
Well, it is 00:40 EST and I just finished cleaning up a silly mess of broken glass from the floor while walking from the bedroom back to the kitchen to refill my water glass.
As I was muttering about the mess, putting a little bandaid over the miniscule little scratch on my foot and trying to keep Lady Grey (cat, not resident Princess) I thought to myself.. it could be worse.
Naturally, I twittered my mishap.
Then I saw a tweet about a Continental Express plane crashing in Upstate New York.
Continental CO 3407 in flames (David Dupre, AP)
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Tags: Airplane crash, CO3407, Colgan Air 3407, Continental 3407, Travel
22 Jan 09 Frankfurt airport closed! Air Canada AC9132 / Lufthansa LH1051 diverted back to Dresden and back again…
Sigh… network problems at Frankfurt airport which caused the loss of the weather network data connection to the air traffic control tower had FRA closed for almost an hour this morning between 6:35 and 7:25 (Germany time).
… which had my moms flight AC9132 (codeshare with Lufthansa LH1051) returned back to Dresden from Frankfurt since the latter was closed.
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Tags: AC875, AC9105, AC9132, Air Canada, FRA, Frankfurt, LH1051, LH470, Lufthansa, Travel
11 Oct 08 CTV W5 Capital Shame : The great decline of Canada’s national Capital – Ottawa caught in huge crack and meth crisis
I just watched a truly disheartening and frightening CTV W-Five episode covering a subject that is often not discussed – far less so by the Federal ministers on Parliament Hill just blocks from one of the worst drug, prostitution and homelessness problems anywhere in the nation. None of them, including Public Security Minister Stockwell Day, accepted to meet with CTV W-5 saying they were “too busy”…
They hounded the Premier of Ontario, but he also brushed off a reporter and hustled into a building…
Personally, I am not surprised by this report. I’ve been to Ottawa many times over the last 20-25 years; my ex-wife and much of her family were from there, as was my late stepfather.
In January 2008 I began a series of about a ½ dozen business trips, one every month or so, to the National Capital Region and usually stayed in hotels in the Downtown, or Byward Market area. The Byward Market is a charming 3-4 square block neighbourhood which, by day is a nice selection of multicultural restaurants and farmer market type stands. It’s next to one of the largest shopping centre’s in the Ottawa metropolitan area; the Rideau Centre Shopping Centre.
Now being a Montrealer, I like to explore a city’s nightlife and evening culture – we have a massive choice of cafés, lounges, showbars and nightclubs in Montreal – around the market.
A few of the times I stayed in hotels (including the Econolodge and Marriott Courtyard Inn) near the Byward Market. Those are both nice hotels; granted the Econo Lodge Downtown at 475 Rideau street is pretty much no-frills motor inn more than hotel with rooms straight onto an inside parking lot that is directly onto Rideau street across from a 7-11 and in the vicinity of churches, residential homes and … well a little pic of the Econolodge :
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Tags: Capital Shame, Crime, CTV W-5, CTV W-Five, drugs, Health, Ottawa, Politics, Television, Travel
