Tagged With "new labor laws"
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Re: Celebrating New Year's in Sri Lanka
This year the Sri Lankan New Year's Day is on Easter Monday, 13th April - at least that is what one of my friends there tells me.
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Re: Tickets: Check before you cancel!
British Airways are trying their best to hold on to their customers' money. We have had 4 flights from Frankfurt to London cancelled by them (on two separate bookings). Whilst by law they should simply refund the money to the credit card, they send you links involving only 'travel vouchers' and phone numbers with automated messages directing you to the same vouchers. It is extremely difficult to find anything to do with actual refunds, but I am persisting. I also am pursuing claims under EU...
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Re: 12 Countries ask vouchers instead of refunds
I have said it before and certainly have not changed my mind: why do airlines think they are above the law? There are plenty of other businesses suffering severely at present, but they do not have the option of hanging on to their customers' cash to keep themselves afloat. The way in which airlines have behaved over this issue is simply disgraceful and will have done nothing to engender goodwill amongst their customers. Indeed, many might - at a stroke - have destroyed the benefits of their...
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Re: Back to Future, with an Orange Roof
"The existing tenants will be relocated by the company." I can't help but wonder if the sidewalk qualifies as "relocated" after reading about the new California tenant protection law and how Iowa law deals with the issue.
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Re: Fotografiska, New York's new photography museum
Looks interesting, but the entrance fee is rather steep!
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Re: Fotografiska, New York's new photography museum
Yup, it is pricey. On the other hand, Museum prices have been going up in NYC.
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Re: EU Parliament Ends Cell Phone Roaming Charges in 2017
Yes, it will apply to prepaid plans, which many Europeans as well as visitors use, but it's not as happily absolute as some of the celebrators make it sound. The final June 2017 step depends on a reform of the European wholesale roaming market in which carriers pay each other for roaming use, and is also subject to limits for those who roam "too much." Here's a quote from one of the Parliament members who was a leading proponent of the law (which also originally included provisions for net...
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Re: Miscou Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick, Canada (Where Gumbo Was, #134)
Very interesting!! Such a beautiful location too!
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Re: Miscou Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick, Canada (Where Gumbo Was, #134)
Interesting story. A little known bit of Canadian history. Thanks. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
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Re: Visiting My Backyard—Riverside Park
Glad kids are still using the park. I also think I going to parks is an important part of growing up and in most cases very safe. A few years ago FBI statistics showed crime was at a 40 year low in a lot places in the US, but perception was crime was the highest its ever been. The rates might of gone higher a bit in the last few years but crime is still at historic lows.
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Re: Visiting My Backyard—Riverside Park
It was my backyard, too, for quite a while. We lived at 99th St and West End, a short walk away in the late 40s and early 50s, and my uncles used to take me for walks there. My father tried to teach me to ride a bike there (our family story is that I learned, but he didn't teach...go figure). Later, I went to Columbia for several years; aside from anything else, it's where I escaped from tiny apartments and roommates to spread the Sunday NY Times out on a bench. Glad to see it's alive and...
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Re: Visiting My Backyard—Riverside Park
It's always gives a "feel-good factor" to revisit the playgrounds of our childhood. I remember the field where I hit my first six runs in cricket. To do it today I would have to hit the ball through 16 windows. Time and bad City Planners can be so cruel.
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Re: Oct. 4, 2018: British Car Show, Delaware City DE
Thanks Garry. I am aware. My sister-in-law had an MGB at the same time we had our Midget.
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Re: Biggest Apple Ever: NY Gets 54M Tourists, Expects More!
Are you sure that number is correct? Paris does just over 20 million visitors a year.
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Re: Biggest Apple Ever: NY Gets 54M Tourists, Expects More!
We'd have to compare the methods used by the two cities in counting. Tourism figures are notoriously difficult (are business travelers disaggregated? Regional visitors? etc.) It's possible that if Paris used the NY methodology, it would have a much larger figure.
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Re: Biggest Apple Ever: NY Gets 54M Tourists, Expects More!
Originally Posted by PHeymont: We'd have to compare the methods used by the two cities in counting. Tourism figures are notoriously difficult (are business travelers disaggregated? Regional visitors? etc.) It's possible that if Paris used the NY methodology, it would have a much larger figure. Gotcha. A bit of an apples and oranges comparison. Sort of whether to count all migratory birds or only the snowbirds.
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Re: Ellis Island Finally Open a Year After Superstorm Sandy
This is good news. Makes me want to go to NYC just to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
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Re: Montreal: Je Me Souviens
I'll give it some thought while cruising the Hawaiian Islands later this month, if I have a minute when not learning to hula dance, eat poi and look down into volcano craters. Aloha from Montreal, in the Province of Quebec where our provincial government wants to pass a law making it illegal for Muslim women to wear the hijab, for Jewish men to wear the skull cap (forget the proper name) and for South Asian men to wear turbans, if they work in government institutions (i.e. schools,...
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Re: And the tallest US building goes to?
The judges have chosen the "fairest in the land". I would be happy to tour both buildings. The ingenuity of architects and engineers never ceases to impress me. Some buildings that I have particularly enjoyed touring - the World Trade Center and the Rockefeller Center in NY, the dome of St. Peter's in Rome, all of St. Paul's in London, the Reichstag in Berlin and all of the small historical buildings at Greenfield Village, Michigan.
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Re: 25 Yr Old Wins $ 1M Picasso for only $ 135 US
I saw this in the paper this morning as well. Apparently there are only 10,000 tickets left... Gotta admit it's tempting...only way I'd ever own a Picasso...just wouldn't go with the rest of my decor though...clashes with "Dogs playing poker."
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Re: 25 Yr Old Wins $ 1M Picasso for only $ 135 US
Originally Posted by JohnT: I saw this in the paper this morning as well. Apparently there are only 10,000 tickets left... Gotta admit it's tempting...only way I'd ever own a Picasso...just wouldn't go with the rest of my decor though...clashes with "Dogs playing poker." No John, don't think it would clash with the Dog picture. Welcome back. Hope you've recovered from your jet lag and have settled into "life as usual" (ie. starting to plan your next trip).
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Re: 1000's Drawn to North Dakota
I have not done that, Rob, but I do have some friends in North Dakota. The wages are good, but before anyone makes the jump there, be sure you understand the cost of housing and such. Apartments and homes are in short supply and expensive. But as you pointed out, so is labor. So if you can share an apartment with someone and are willing to work more than 40 hours a week, you can save a nice stash of cash. Don't just go. Educate yourself. There are excellent job opportunities in the Dakotas,...
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Re: A Bridge to Everywhere
I like bridges in gardens too. Something just so peaceful about them. Here's one from Rikugien Gardens Tokyo
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Re: Spotted on the Road, New Orleans
Reminds a little of a Corvette, but it's been very modified that it's hard to be sure.
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Re: Walking through New Orleans...nibbling
What's gonnin' on Paul? No breakfast at Angelina? No muffaletta at Napoleon House? No pastry at Sucre? Appreciate you got to Cochon, but did you go next door to the butcher? And the best shrimp and grits in town is at Atchafalaya.
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Re: Walking through New Orleans...nibbling
Sorry, but we had a train to catch! Next time, come along...
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Re: Walking through New Orleans...nibbling
Sorry...not on the tour (and frankly, not on my mind, either!)
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Re: Jersey Shore in Winter
I lived in Seaside Heights for five years...I really enjoyed this article and the photos!!
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Re: New Orleans—Museum Highlights Young Voices of Resilience
Great post! New Orleans is such a vibrant and amazing city with rich history & culture. The people of the city lived through such a horrific event, but to see that some light has come out of the darkness is uplifting.
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Re: New Orleans—Museum Highlights Young Voices of Resilience
It's a nice chapter in the grim story of New Orleans post Katrina. Thanks for sharing this with us; I hope the Children's Museum ends this exhibit with a flourish. The city and those who stayed are resilient. Kudos to them and to the many other Americans who gave of their time and resources to help the city recover and rebuild. There's no place anywhere like New Orleans and I need to get back there sometime soon.
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Re: New Orleans—Museum Highlights Young Voices of Resilience
Thanks for, in a way, welcoming me back. My last visit was a grim one, working as a volunteer preparing flooded houses for rebuilding (or demolition) a year after Katrina. In many ways, I've put off coming back, in part in anger at how little was done and how long it took, and in part a fear of finding something like New-Orleansland. While I know nothing can ever be the same...and many things shouldn't be...I see, both through the report and through the children, reason to return!
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Re: New Orleans—Museum Highlights Young Voices of Resilience
Great piece! Yes, it is good to hear from our children about what they learned in the past decade living in New Orleans after the storm. So many were impacted, many were harmed and suffered PTSD. Great to hear kids speak about the positive outcomes from their Katrina experiences. I can't wait for the new LA Childrens Museum to open in its new and amazing facility in City Park, another NOLA gem. Ya'll come visit soon and often to experience a city like no other, New Orleans. It has not been...
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Re: New Orleans—Museum Highlights Young Voices of Resilience
Thanks for this great piece Whitney! I'm glad New Orleans is focusing on the strength and resiliency of the people (especially the children). I too would like to visit soon.
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Re: April 4, 2018: Mother sheep and lamb, Wales
Whether landowners are in favor or not, public access to footpaths and other rights-of-way are protected by law in the UK in perpetuity. Any landowner who tries to fence them off or otherwise deny access will soon find an angry mob of activists helping them correct their "mistake". http://www.environmentlaw.org.uk/rte.asp?id=207 Lovely photo!
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Re: Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Canada. Where Gumbo Was #36
Close but no cigar on Central Park's designer (who also did my backyard, Brooklyn's Prospect Park). Birkenhead was the work of Joseph Paxton, while the other two were done by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Olmsted visited Birkenhead in 1850, three years after it opened, and while he was already thinking about Central Park, which opened in 1858. In his book "Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England, Olmsted wrote about Birkenhead: "five minutes of admiration, and a few more...
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Re: Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Canada. Where Gumbo Was #36
In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted won a design competition to improve and expand Central Park with a plan he entitled the Greensward Plan . 8 years AFTER Olmsted visited the Peoples Garden - Birkenhead Park England. He said "that in democratic America there was nothing to be thought of as comparable with this People’s Garden" So he took the plans back to New York. Entered the Central Park competition 8 years later. And won using Paxton plans from the Peoples Garden in England as a guide.
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Re: Rando Review: SoFi Café
Thanks,It does look like a great healthy place. If you go back,please update on us on their lunch choices too. From their menu that looks interesting too.
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Re: AirBnB vs New York. Update
From the Bloomberg article: "Airbnb has been working hard in recent months to change the law in the company’s favor." This limited characterization makes me wonder whose side Bloomberg is on, given any individual NYC host or user has more to loose or gain than Airbnb, since the company will succeed with or without NYC listings. Given the timing of the original law, it seems clear that it's largely commercial interests that back the law limiting just who can participate in the short-term...
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Re: AirBnB vs New York. Update
Everything you say, P, is logical and fair. The problem becomes compliance and enforcement, not a separate issue. A segment of people will always try to game the system and it's impossible to enforce these kinds of regulations in such a complex and populous place. Even here, where I live in a relatively rural place, I suspect I'm the only one in a large county collecting and paying the short-term occupancy tax. I do it, not because I'm honest, but because I don't want to think about possible...
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Re: AirBnB vs New York. Update
I think my proposal as written could work; in my haste I left out one aspect and that is that Airbnb or similar would be expected to require that a host supply his or her city registration number, or look it up on city website. The company would be subject to penalty for unlicensed listings or for handling rentals beyond the limit. Of course if the host rented through other agencies beyond the limit, that would not be on Airbnb...some city enforcement mechanism would be ended but that's true...
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Re: Photography at the Edges, New York & San Francisco
I did, indeed, go to the two exhibits at the Met...and they actually have a relation to the SF show that PortMoresby has described. Marville, in particular, was working at the beginning of photography, without all the digital devices, or even a light meter, and with media so slow that a photograph of a relatively busy street appears to be empty of traffic—because during the 30 seconds needed to expose that plate no one stayed in front of the camera long enough to register an image! The Paris...
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Re: Photography at the Edges, New York & San Francisco
Maybe "monochrome" is a better word for what we think of as black & white photography. An extreme example would be cyanotypes, in shades of blue. Many thanks, PHeymont, for your descriptions of the Met shows, and for reminding me that everything old is new again. The addition of Man Ray's fantastic picture above is perfect. Joyeux Anniversaire, Tour Eiffel.
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Re: Photography at the Edges, New York & San Francisco
Speaking again of black&white, the monthly events newsletter from Mrs. Dalloway's Literary & Garden Arts store in Berkeley just arrived. Down at the very bottom was this intiguing notice which I mean to check out in person in 11 days. Mrs. Dalloways is at 2904 College Avenue in Berkeley. mrsdalloways.com "The Watchmaker Series." Beautiful black and white silver gelatin prints on archival quality paper. Ready for 8 x 10 frame. $65. When Craig was asked to fix a case that contained a...
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Re: Photography at the Edges, New York & San Francisco
Among my greatest photography influences were Matthew Brady, whose grainy and gritty images of the Civil War made it so very "real" to future generations just learning about it in history books. And of course the great work of Ansel Adams. Far from gritty and grainy. Truly a visionary.
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Re: Photography at the Edges, New York & San Francisco
Did you know that the visionary faked 'Moonrise, Hernandez'? Yep. I guess you could say "enhanced". There was no moon. Information courtesy of a friend who worked with AA. Said he was the nicest guy ever.
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Re: Photography at the Edges, New York & San Francisco
I enjoy photos of local history. Places that you can visit today with buildings that remain mostly unchanged. This is Lord Street Liverpool around 1890. ....and present day Lord Street - (from a different angle)
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Re: Photography at the Edges, New York & San Francisco
Another addition to the list of current shows of great photography, this one in Paris. Ten years after his death, Henri Cartier-Bresson at the Pompidou, until June 9th.