Author: rodney

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Munich Mileage Run, BMW Welt. It’s still a mileage run if you leave the airport!!

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Since UA has a partnership with LH, we can choose which metal to fly for the same price. So of course it’s LH!

So on the never ending quest for status on United Airlines, necessary if you expect to be treated like a person onboard, my friend and I have been doing weekend runs to Germany since the tickets round trip are in the neighborhood of $300 for 11728 EQM (elite qualifying miles). The destination alternates between Munich (MUC) or Frankfurt (FRA). We eat in the Senator Lounge, fly out on Friday evening, land Saturday afternoon, go clubbing to practice German (das stimmt, genau), head back to the flughafen early Sunday morning for the flight back home, arriving around dinner time.

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Yes, lounge food is better on non US carriers.

The traditional Mileage Run involves a cheap round ticket with a lot of EQM, flying the same aircraft there and back and not leaving the airport (or the gate in that matter). So there’s some controversy about if this is actually a “mileage run”. I’d argue that it is since we spend 13 hours between flights.

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S-Bahnhof fur Flughafen Munchen

So this weekend it’s off to Munich. We caught an early flight so we had a few hours to kill before clubbing. My friend crashed in the hotel room and I decided to visit BMW Welt, a pilgrimage that all Bimmer fans should make a few times. The complex consists of the Welt, a very large and swish brand dealership with the latest models on the floor, snacks and drinks (though you can’t buy any there). There’s also the Museum which will be the next post. The Welt includes a training facility for technicians (mechanics) and a delivery area where lucky people can pick up their cars for European Delivery.

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It was February so there was still some snow
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The biggest 4 cylinder BMW
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A large company showcase with BMW’s latest cars and technology
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MT plugin for iphone

I’ve just installed a plugin for MT called iMT (clever!). What it does is provide an iPhone friendly interface to make blog entries from (you guessed it) your iPhone.
It works well, so far. I can write basic, text only entries (no pix or links); said entries can be edited later on when I’m back on mah Mac.
Hmm. Is this now one less reason to bring my Macbrick along on the plane now?
Update from mah Mac: Here’s the link to iMT. And since I do most (but not all) of my flying on UA, I’ll still need my Macbrick for AVOD since UA dun have any. Of course, if I could convert my .avi files to iphone format, then I wouldn’t have to lug my Macbrick…

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Always show up before the gates close

When you fly, you want to make sure you follow the rules. When you know what time the gates will close, always get there BEFORE that time. Don’t expect the doors to be held open for you simply because you can’t be bothered to tell time. Otherwise, you’ll turn out like this:

An embarassment to all the Cantonese in the world

If she tried this stunt in Singapore, she’d already be in cuffs and perp-walked away. If she tried this in San Francisco, she’d be appointed to the Board of Supervisors.
Thanks to Lucky and Cheesie, who both had this video before me!

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BSG! The Oath/Blood on the Scales

Like wow…only three more new episodes and BSG is done!
This two parter left me with a butt-ache. Which means that I was firmly planted on the floor, watching these episodes (mild spoilers after the gratuitous pic!). I think Jack Bauer could relate to the day that Adama had.
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Yeah, I think the General would approve…
Some thoughts: Starbuck is Patton. If any of you are familiar with the movie or his history, you’ll know he was truly alive when he was doing one thing. Starbuck is the same. Except she looks MUCH better doing it.
There IS a reckoning at the end of Blood on the Scales. The question, will there be follow through with the rest? And what about the political loose ends?
Wah, breathless!

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The times are a changin’

A total bummer if you’re a foodie that likes chocky. The corporate owner of Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt chocolates will be closing their original factories in Northern California and will be consolidating their production outside the state. Link here.
Although the official reason was to consolidate production at their Illinois plant, one can’t help but wonder, could the cost of doing business here in California have something to do with it? It costs too much to run production here so the Hershey company moved production to a state that wants jobs from a state that feels entitled to them (and all the tax revenue they can squeeze)?
An unfortunate side effect is that there’s a high probability that ingredients will be replaced by cheaper substitutes and the quality of the product (chocky, which is a serious thing!) will go down, thus cheapening the brand. Bummer. Totally.

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Now THIS is a stimulus package!

When I mean a “stimulus package”, I’m not talking about handouts to unions, such as what has been happening in the United States. I mean this:
20% personal income tax rebate, 40% property tax rebate
Households will get a 20 per cent personal income tax rebate for Year of Assessment 2009, capped at S$2,000.
There will also be 40 per cent property tax rebate for owner-occupied homes in 2009.
The ordinary people are the ones who bear the brunt of the bad economy, not gahmen and their cronies, the unions. In Singapore, the people (not gahmen or unions) are getting tax relief, in the United States, the gahmen and the unions get the free money and the people are forced to pay for it. I mean, if you’re giving out all that money, someone’s got to pay for it. If you’re a US passport holder, just look into a mirror. That’s who’s gonna pay. Sheesh.

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Cold snap over! Pay attention to the Motorcycle!!

During the recent holiday season, the temps here rarely went above 45 degrees. Nighttime was even colder. Not festive at all!
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When this was taken, it was 62 outside. Not cold!
Right after New Years’ Day that ended. It’s been comfy in the 60s and sunshiney for the past few weeks. Yay! Which means…taking the motorcycle out! But before any road trips, I had to get the tires replaced. I wound up replacing the stock Bridgestone Trail Wings (which lasted all of 9000 miles) with a set of Metzler Tourances. Good for riding pavement and the occasional fire trail. Hopefully, I’ll get more than 9K miles out of these.
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I had the work done at Werkstatt and they did a great job, as usual. Besides the tires, I had some Givi racks (PL428) installed. One of them didn’t fit right when I tried to install them. Turns out the footpeg that I was supposed to connect it to was bent a tiny bit, something that I wouldn’t have known to look for. I picked up some soft bags from Craigslist that fit on the racks, but I think I’m probably going to hunt for some hard cases.
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From the Marin Headlands, a tugboat going west.
Then it’s time for a road trip! While the weather holds…

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MacWorld? Har? And bailouts galore!

Well, the first week of January has come and gone and MacWorld has done the same. My reaction: “Har”?
Prior to this year, I’ve been to 12 of these shows. Strangely enough, nothing worth going for this year. All the buzz is in Vegas at CES where Palm (remember them?) may have a device (with a very dumb name) that will give Apple a run for its money (and incentive to improve features and lower its price on the iPhone).
Besides CES, there’s another convention happening concurrently. In fact, the industry that this other convention is showcasing is asking for a bailout (as are the rest of American industry). I wonder if they’ll actually get some?
I’m waiting for the “Legacy Airline Bailout”. Once they get that, nothing will change, except the fares, which will go up. More of the same…