On Monday, 03 September, I completed my currently usual two flights from Baton Rouge to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Huntsville. My assignment is at Redstone Arsenal with the GFEBS Project.
Those two flights (AKA segments) put me at 140 segments for the calendar year. Therefore, I qualified for DIAMOND status as a Delta Frequent Flyer. This is for the second year in a row.
Is it worth it? Well, if the aircraft has a first class section, I usually get upgraded which is nice. If the aircraft does not have first class seating, and my usual aircraft, the CRJ-200 doesn't, then it is not much of an advantage.
Oh, the complimentary SkyClub membership is nice on occasion when I have time between flights in Atlanta which is the case about half the time.
-30-
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
TO: AVIS Customer Service Comments & Feedback
RA 555167001
Reservation Nr 07238339-US-3
I continue to be aggravated with the service staff at HSV.
When I turned the key in my KIA OPTIMA SILVER Sunday, 26 Aug evening, two (2) indicators on the dash let me know the vehicle suffered from LOW TIRE PRESSURE: the tire icon on the tachometer was lit and the words LOW TIRE PRESSURE were glowing inside the speed indicator. Why can I see these signs and the driver who takes the vehicle to the service area as well as the driver who returns the vehicle to the pickup slot do not?
I drove about looking for the service area in hopes of "airing up" but did not find it. The lone agent on duty was behind the counter in the baggage claim section of HSV; he would not have been able to assist.
I considered not bothering with proper inflation for the week ... if it doesn't bother them, why should it bother me? But, I relented, invested a dollar in quarters, and added air to all tires in hopes of getting the one or more that was low.
This is not the first time I have reported low tire pressure on my rental units from HSV AVIS.
I may have to move to another agency if your HSV staff can't get it together ... soon.
Submitted ~0700 CT, Tue, 28 Aug 2012
Reservation Nr 07238339-US-3
I continue to be aggravated with the service staff at HSV.
When I turned the key in my KIA OPTIMA SILVER Sunday, 26 Aug evening, two (2) indicators on the dash let me know the vehicle suffered from LOW TIRE PRESSURE: the tire icon on the tachometer was lit and the words LOW TIRE PRESSURE were glowing inside the speed indicator. Why can I see these signs and the driver who takes the vehicle to the service area as well as the driver who returns the vehicle to the pickup slot do not?
I drove about looking for the service area in hopes of "airing up" but did not find it. The lone agent on duty was behind the counter in the baggage claim section of HSV; he would not have been able to assist.
I considered not bothering with proper inflation for the week ... if it doesn't bother them, why should it bother me? But, I relented, invested a dollar in quarters, and added air to all tires in hopes of getting the one or more that was low.
This is not the first time I have reported low tire pressure on my rental units from HSV AVIS.
I may have to move to another agency if your HSV staff can't get it together ... soon.
Submitted ~0700 CT, Tue, 28 Aug 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Louisiana Taxes Too Much ... NOT!
From huffingtonpost.com ...
"9. Louisiana [9th of 10 U.S. States With The Lowest Taxes]
"Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 8.2 percent
"Total state and local taxes collected: $44.2 billion
"Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 54 percent
"Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 46 percent
"Despite having the fifth highest average state and local sales tax rate, residents of Louisiana have a relatively low tax burden. A leading reason for this is the simple fact that, on average, residents pay one of the smallest amounts of total state and local taxes in the country. According to the Tax Foundation, property taxes in the state are $565.23 per capita, the fifth lowest amount among states. Louisiana also collects $1.78 in federal spending for every dollar spent on federal taxes -- the fourth highest ratio. This rate of federal spending helps offset the need for higher state revenue from taxes."
COMMENT: So, if the Federal Government spending is cut as apparently a lot of folks in Louisiana want, especially Governor Jindal, that $1.78 back per $1.00 sent will change downwards. Will Louisiana make up the difference with higher taxes? Not according to Governor Jindal.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/france-income-tax_n_1757139.html?1344453539&icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk2%26pLid%3D190145#slide=746246
"9. Louisiana [9th of 10 U.S. States With The Lowest Taxes]
"Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 8.2 percent
"Total state and local taxes collected: $44.2 billion
"Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 54 percent
"Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 46 percent
"Despite having the fifth highest average state and local sales tax rate, residents of Louisiana have a relatively low tax burden. A leading reason for this is the simple fact that, on average, residents pay one of the smallest amounts of total state and local taxes in the country. According to the Tax Foundation, property taxes in the state are $565.23 per capita, the fifth lowest amount among states. Louisiana also collects $1.78 in federal spending for every dollar spent on federal taxes -- the fourth highest ratio. This rate of federal spending helps offset the need for higher state revenue from taxes."
COMMENT: So, if the Federal Government spending is cut as apparently a lot of folks in Louisiana want, especially Governor Jindal, that $1.78 back per $1.00 sent will change downwards. Will Louisiana make up the difference with higher taxes? Not according to Governor Jindal.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/france-income-tax_n_1757139.html?1344453539&icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk2%26pLid%3D190145#slide=746246
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
... not founded on the Christian religion ...
... from the Treaty of Tripoli ratified unanimously by the U.S. Senate on June 7, 1797 and signed by Adams, taking effect as the law of the land on June 10, 1797: “As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen (Muslims); and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”
--30--
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
DELTA: Have a Comment or Complaint?
The Delta Messenger eamil notifying me of the delay of my flight leg from BTR to ATL ...
Monday, May 7, Flight Delta 5371, Operated by ExpressJet Airlines
Departs 4:25 pm Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(was) 4:00 pm
Arrives 7:05 pm Atlanta, Georgia
(was) 6:34 pm
was sent "5/7/2012 7:48:19 P.M. Central Daylight Time"
Getting a notice more than three (3) hours after the new departure time is really not helpful.
--30--
Monday, May 7, Flight Delta 5371, Operated by ExpressJet Airlines
Departs 4:25 pm Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(was) 4:00 pm
Arrives 7:05 pm Atlanta, Georgia
(was) 6:34 pm
was sent "5/7/2012 7:48:19 P.M. Central Daylight Time"
Getting a notice more than three (3) hours after the new departure time is really not helpful.
--30--
Friday, December 9, 2011
Another Letter to the Editor at The Advocate
Reader's Views: Early bus could miss on-time riders
December 05, 2011
In Sunday’s People section, Nov. 27, Slater McKay, Forum 35 outgoing president, thought it “weird” a bus driver would stop “because she was ahead of schedule.”
I would hope Advocate writer Ed Cullen, who interviewed McKay and who is knowledgeable about such things, explained that buses have schedules just the same as airplanes and trains.
McKay would not want to get to the airport for his 8:30 flight to find it had left “ahead of schedule” at 7:30.
James R. Madden
information technology consultant
Baton Rouge
Comments (3)
1) Comment by phil - Monday, December 05, 2011
Gee, if someone goes to a bus stop on time and the bus has gotten there early and has already left, then that person will miss the bus. This seems to me to be a simple concept, and I am not worried one way or the other about it here too much. What I am worried about is spending $millions every year on a bus system that nobody can afford. For me CATS = Can't Afford To Support when you start talking about build-it-and-they-will- come economics.
2) Comment by tradewinns - Sunday, December 04, 2011
there is a schedule for a reason. elderly man, you must be important individual for them to hold a plane for you. i understood the only time an airplane could leave early was if ALL ticketed passengers were seated.
3) Comment by Elderly Man - Saturday, December 03, 2011
I get to the airport early to avoid feeling rushed. I have gotten to the airport so early that the airlines have rushed me onto an earlier flight. Once they even held the plane for me (here in Baton Rouge). Once on a return from a trip to France, I made an earlier connection and then waited five hours in Atlanta my destination for someone to met me at the time originally set.
###
December 05, 2011
In Sunday’s People section, Nov. 27, Slater McKay, Forum 35 outgoing president, thought it “weird” a bus driver would stop “because she was ahead of schedule.”
I would hope Advocate writer Ed Cullen, who interviewed McKay and who is knowledgeable about such things, explained that buses have schedules just the same as airplanes and trains.
McKay would not want to get to the airport for his 8:30 flight to find it had left “ahead of schedule” at 7:30.
James R. Madden
information technology consultant
Baton Rouge
Comments (3)
1) Comment by phil - Monday, December 05, 2011
Gee, if someone goes to a bus stop on time and the bus has gotten there early and has already left, then that person will miss the bus. This seems to me to be a simple concept, and I am not worried one way or the other about it here too much. What I am worried about is spending $millions every year on a bus system that nobody can afford. For me CATS = Can't Afford To Support when you start talking about build-it-and-they-will- come economics.
2) Comment by tradewinns - Sunday, December 04, 2011
there is a schedule for a reason. elderly man, you must be important individual for them to hold a plane for you. i understood the only time an airplane could leave early was if ALL ticketed passengers were seated.
3) Comment by Elderly Man - Saturday, December 03, 2011
I get to the airport early to avoid feeling rushed. I have gotten to the airport so early that the airlines have rushed me onto an earlier flight. Once they even held the plane for me (here in Baton Rouge). Once on a return from a trip to France, I made an earlier connection and then waited five hours in Atlanta my destination for someone to met me at the time originally set.
###
Thursday, December 1, 2011
LSU Student Basketball Band in the '70s
Smiley Anders for Dec. 1, 2011
Musical interlude
James R. Madden responds to a question about the name of the student band at long-ago LSU basketball games:
“In the mid-’70s, I played banjo with the informal LSU basketball band in the Assembly Center.
“I recall the group’s name being ‘The Court Jesters.’
“We were invited to participate in a Mardi Gras truck parade one year; it might have been in Algiers.”
(One word tells you all you need to know about this band: “banjo.”)
###
Musical interlude
James R. Madden responds to a question about the name of the student band at long-ago LSU basketball games:
“In the mid-’70s, I played banjo with the informal LSU basketball band in the Assembly Center.
“I recall the group’s name being ‘The Court Jesters.’
“We were invited to participate in a Mardi Gras truck parade one year; it might have been in Algiers.”
(One word tells you all you need to know about this band: “banjo.”)
###
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