Posted Tuesday, June 14th, 2005 by Justin
(whig.com) Rick Harnish, executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, is waiting for the day when there are four daily passenger train routes between Quincy and Chicago. Before that happens, Harnish said Congress must fully fund Amtrak. In fact, he hopes the United States makes high-speed passenger rail a priority.
“We could be done with a high-speed route between Chicago and St. Louis in two or three years once we get the funding,” said Harnish, who spoke at a joint meeting of the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce and the Noon Kiwanis Club on Monday.
Read Full Story: Is there a need for rail speed?
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Posted Friday, June 10th, 2005 by Justin
(eweek.com) United Airlines on Monday said it received government approval to install equipment on planes that eventually will give passengers wireless Internet access on flights.
United, a unit of UAL Corp., is the first domestic airline to win Federal Aviation Administration approval to equip its planes with technology that provides Wi-Fi, a short-range signal used for connecting laptop computers to the Internet.
Read Full Story: UAL Passengers OK to Surf Web in Flight
Posted in Travel, WiFi/WiMax | No Comments »
Posted Friday, May 27th, 2005 by Justin
Beginning January 1, 2006 a United States citizen will be required to have a passport for any countries other than Mexico, Canada, San Juan or the US Virgin Islands. As of December 31, 2007 passports will be required for travel to any destination outside of the United States.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted Friday, May 27th, 2005 by Justin
Steve Wynn’s new property, Wynn Las Vegas, is setting a new standard in the hospitality industry. The hotel features specialized room keys (similar to Carnival’s Sail & Sign Card), VoIP phones, 2 flat panel TVs in the room(One in the room and one in the bathroom), an input for your mp3 player, a printer/fax machine, high-speed internet access (15 megabits per second - our high speed connection at work is less than 1 megabit), and much more. I think Jim Louderback’s review below is too critical of the property, but his review gives you a good idea of the potential technology has for the hospitality industry. I think Steve Wynn should be commended for trying. .. just give the hotel time to work out all the technology bugs.
Read Full Story: Column from PC Magazine: The Wynn Wraps Guests in Technology
Also be sure to check out the pictures that go along with the review.
Posted in Tech, Travel | No Comments »
Posted Monday, May 16th, 2005 by Justin
(News.com) Casino mogul Steve Wynn has pulled out all the stops for his new $2.7 billion mega-resort in Las Vegas: an 18-hole championship golf course, a private lake and mountain, and a bronze tower housing 2,700 plush guest rooms.
But when its doors open in April, the Wynn Las Vegas will have one unique feature that few visitors are likely to notice–high-tech betting chips designed to deter counterfeiting, card-counting and other bad behavior.
Read Full Story: Vegas casino bets on RFID | CNET News.com
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Posted Thursday, May 12th, 2005 by Justin
When we flew to Michigan, I’m glad that, at the last minute, I remembered to place the pocketknife from my pocket into my checked luggage. The Southwest agent was tagging my bags when I remembered that I still had my pocketknife in my pocket. I wonder how many people unintentionally come to a security checkpoint with prohibited items.
Forgetfulness isn’t a crime, but these days it could get you fined and your name placed on a government security database.
The fines are being handed out at airports across the country to travelers caught trying to pass through security with banned items in their carry-on baggage. Fines can range as high as $10,000 and a criminal referral, according to the penalty guidelines established by the Transportation Security Administration.
Read full story: Forgetfulness can cost you at airports - Terrorism & Security - MSNBC.com
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Posted Wednesday, May 4th, 2005 by Justin
Last weekend we flew to Michigan for Erin’s Uncle’s retirement party. Congratulations to Uncle Howard and a special thanks to Chip and Amy for letting us stay with them. We got a chance to see Erin’s family, many of whom we had not seen in a year and a half. I took a few pictures and uploaded them here. Katelyn had a fun time riding the shuttle bus, watching the planes at the airport and then flying in the plane. Both girls were good travelers.
I also got to try out my new GPS on the plane. In reading on Southwest’s website, I saw where a GPS is one of the acceptable electronic devices. I only had the laptop on for a short time, but the blue on the map shows where we traveled. Using my Holux GPS and Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005, I was able to track our location, altitude (32000 ft), and speed (500 MPH).
A few people have asked where I found my GPS. I bought it on eBay from gps4evyone for $55. If you do a search on eBay for: streets trips GPS, you can easily find the GPS listings. The Holux GPS and software usually go for $50-65. There are several auctions a day, so I just kept putting a max bid of $55.24 until I won one.
Posted in Tech, Family, Travel | No Comments »
Posted Tuesday, April 26th, 2005 by Justin
When I was in Las Vegas in January, they were working on the hill in front of the resort. It was amazing how many trees they had sitting on the golf course waiting to be planted. I can’t wait to see the finished product in person.
(MSNBC.com) Kirk Kerkorian took Mirage Resorts away from him - now he’s striking back
Casino developer Steve Wynn will open the first new resort in five years on the Las Vegas Strip this week.
Read Full Story: The revenge of Steve Wynn
See hotel pictures, details and specials at 4DiscountTravel.com
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Posted Friday, April 22nd, 2005 by Justin
Yes! I can’t tell you how many stories I hear of people who have problems on their trip and do not have travel insurance. We (Quincy’s Discount Travel) always highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. Read this top ten list on why to buy travel insurance from our insurance provider, Travelex Insurance.
My dad is going to Italy this summer and asked if he should spend the extra money on travel insurance. My basic response was that Radio Host, Clark Howard, is a self-titled “cheapskate” and that he highly recommends Travel Insurance:
When do you need it?
These policies should always be purchased when you are taking a cruise, a tour or traveling on a trip that requires pre-payment of thousands of dollars.
Read more: Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
I also just read an interesting article about travel insurance:
(Bankrate.com) With tensions in the travel industry and the global political scene, more travelers are looking into travel insurance.
Read full story: Travel insurance: Much needed and little understood
Don’t get stuck on a vacation without it!
Posted in Work, Travel | No Comments »
Posted Thursday, April 21st, 2005 by Justin
Southwest Airlines is the only U.S. carrier to be profitable every year since 1972. Baseline spoke to CEO Gary Kelly about how he uses technology to help keep the airline turning planes around quickly and maintaining its primary advantage: low costs.
Read Full Story: Southwest Airlines: Flying Low
Posted in Tech, Travel | No Comments »
