The Freddies have been awarded (I cast my ballot too) and I would have an idea - not that anyone asked for my opinion - but I cannot help it.

The voting should be only for qualified travellers, the super-voters, if I might call them like that, travellers who have been using different airlines and hotels. I have mostly flown Air Canada (at least 95% of my flights I think) so my vote should not be very relevant. I mean someone who has been flying different airlines during the year (and a few times for each airline) would be more qualified than me to vote. Also, I have stayed most of the time at a Marriott, but someone who stayed at different hotels chains would again be more qualified than me to vote.
For example, my wife said that United Airlines was worse than Air Canada or British Airways for a transatlantic flight but she is not a frequent flier so again her vote would not be relevant (not that she cared to vote).

• The user registers on a website, enters the membership cards and allows the website to retrieve information from their loyalty programs (in exchange for their time they get an entry in a draw for some prizes).
• Based on a certain algorithm (for example at least 20 flights with 3 different airlines and at least 50 nights with 3 different hotel chains) the ‘qualified’ voters are selected.
• “All men are equal but some are more equal than others”; someone’s ballot who spent 150 nights at different hotels would be more important than of a traveller who spent 50 nights only, etc.

I know it would be more complicated and it take some work to set-up this system but it will be fairer for all parties involved and the awards will be more meaningful.

I came across an article that says: “Not eating for 12-16 hours can help people quickly reset their sleep-wake cycle, according to a study from the Harvard Medical School. This discovery can drastically improve a person’s ability to cope with jet lag or adjust to working late shifts.”

I didn’t know about this and as they mention Harvard it might be true (however the article doesn’t have a link to the study itself). When I travel to Europe first 2 days are usually wasted, so first time I travel there I’ll see whether it works. If I want to be up at 6 AM I have to stop eating at 2-6 PM the day before which might be hard as I usually wake up during my first night and eat and eat.

The full article is here .

Somewhere in Japan, like 50 people and 1 tennis court:

Somewhere in North America, 2 tennis courts and 1 person playing by himself:

“Save $230 off a Sony Tablet and Digital Noise Cancelling Headphones bundle until April 28, 2012.” So said the e-mail.

However, the website says the offer is valid until April 31 !?! April has never had 31 days but these are details.

The offer seemed too good to pass up.

I tried to convince my wife to buy it for her but she said she had been happy with her RIM Playbook (she’d given it to her nephew) and she would buy again a Playbook if she needed a tablet. I wish more people would think like her and as a result RIM stock would recover (by the way I keep sending my ideas to RIM what they should do; they have an email for investor relations but I think they stopped reading it as they must have been receiving only hate mail for a long time). 

I don’t have a tablet and I don’t think I need one for now but I would need some noise cancelling headphones for my travels so the deal was tempting. However, the thought of spending time to read reviews about the tablet than the hassle of returning it if I didn’t like it or find a  good use for it was too much for me so I decided not to purchase the bundle as good as it seemed.

The Air Canada Boeing 767–333 was flying on 13 January 2011  from Toronto, Ontario, to Zurich, Switzerland. Approximately halfway across the Atlantic, during the hours of darkness, the aircraft experienced a 46–second pitch excursion. This resulted in an altitude deviation of minus 400 feet to plus 400 feet from the assigned altitude of 35 000 feet above sea level. Fourteen passengers and 2 flight attendants were injured.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigated this occurrence and authorized the release of this report on  29 February 2012. However, I found out about it only today while listening to the radio so initially I thought it had been just released.

From the report (tip: mouse over the acronyms to see what they mean) :

The FO initially mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft but the captain advised again that the target was at the 12 o’clock position and 1000 feet below. The captain of ACA878 and the oncoming aircraft crew flashed their landing lights. The FO continued to scan visually for the aircraft. When the FO saw the oncoming aircraft, the FO interpreted its position as being above and descending towards them. The FO reacted to the perceived imminent collision by pushing forward on the control column. The captain, who was monitoring TCAS target on the ND, observed the control column moving forward and the altimeter beginning to show a decrease in altitude. The captain immediately disconnected the autopilot and pulled back on the control column to regain altitude.

Findings as to causes and contributing factors

1. The interrupted sleep obtained by the first officer prior to the flight increased the likelihood that rest would be needed during the overnight eastbound flight.
2. The first officer slept for approximately 75 minutes which likely placed the first officer into slow–wave sleep and induced longer and more severe sleep inertia.
3. The first officer was experiencing a circadian low due to the time of day and fatigue due to interrupted sleep which increased the propensity for sleep and subsequently worsened the sleep inertia.
4. By identifying the oncoming aircraft, the captain engaged the first officer (FO) before the effects of sleep inertia had worn off.
5. Under the effects of sleep inertia, the first officer perceived the oncoming aircraft to be on a collision course and pushed forward on the control column.
6. The frequency of training and depth of the training material on fatigue risk management to which the flight crew were exposed were such that the risks associated with fatigue were not adequately understood and procedures for conducting controlled rest were not followed by the flight crew.
7. Although the seatbelt sign was on and an announcement about potential turbulence was made, several passengers were injured during the event because they were not wearing their seatbelt.

Findings as to risk

1. North American–based pilots flying eastbound at night towards Europe are at increased risk of fatigue–related performance decrements.
2. The use of multiple safety occurrence reporting systems may result in some safety issues not being properly identified and analyzed.
3. Some passengers may not be aware of the inherent risks in not wearing a seatbelt at all times when seated.

Other finding

1. As the aircraft cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was only capable of recording for 2 hours, the event was overwritten.

Th full report is here.

Also,  I read that the Air Canada Pilots Association president Paul Strachan said: “The current regulations are not sensitive at all to the time of day … (North Atlantic flights) are certainly fatiguing in comparison to most other flying.” He reportedly said Air Canada operated trans-Atlantic flights with two pilots whereas U.S. carriers used three to share the load. I didn’t know about that.

Globe and Mail said: It’s insulting enough that Ryanair asked its female flight attendants to lose weight so the carrier could save fuel.
So I had to google and find out whether Ryanair really asked this:
The Huffington Post: But the real kicker is what flight attendants have been asked to do. Airline spokesman Stephen McNamara told The Telegraph: “We encourage staff to watch their weight – with the motivation of appearing in the annual Ryanair calendar.
So there is a difference between asking and encouraging.
I went to the source as well (the article in The Telegraph): “We cut costs wherever possible, and the changes will represent a significant reduction in weight,” said Stephen McNamara, a spokesman for Ryanair. “We also considered removing armrests, but decided against it. We even encourage staff to watch their weight – with the motivation of appearing in the annual Ryanair calendar.”

However, it seems in not such a distant future passengers will be charged according to their weight.

It [Raynair] has also been a vocal supporter of an airline “fat tax”, under which overweight passengers would be asked to pay more.

Some of the comments for The Telegraph article:
Passengers should be charged according to their weight, since increased weight causes increased fuel consumption. Such a charge would, of course, be a genuine “Environmental Tax”. Perhaps, obese passengers should get wider seats if they pay accordingly?
Since I weigh a mere 60 kg (133 lbs), then I would support such a measure – especially when I am forced to sit next to some fat b*st*d whose stomach is overflowing into my space.

When you arrive at the airport you should be weighed.
Persons deemed to be overweight (based on height and medical charts) should pay an excess.  It will encourage a healthier lifestyle and thus there will be more room for “normal” passengers sitting next to fatties.  Also; Aircraft will be more lightly laden – especially as cheats wearing special many-pocketed coats will be caught out at the weigh-in.

I travel every week and most of the time I do not sleep properly. So I bought the app as it was only $0.99 and #1 paid app position in many countries, including Germany, Japan, France and Russia (so many people cannot be wrong).

How it works (from the Sleep Cycle site)
Have you ever woken up feeling completely wrecked when the alarm clock goes off, despite the fact that you have slept “enough” hours? When this happens you have probably been awakened during a deep sleep phase, and your whole day can turn into one long zombie marathon.

Other days you spring out of bed with a smile on your face, feeling completely rested even though you shouldn’t. As the alarm clock goes off, chance seems to play a big role in how your day will become. But does it really have to be that way? This is where the Sleep cycle alarm clock application comes into play.  

During the night you go from light sleep to deep sleep, occasionally entering into a dream state which is called REM-sleep. These are things that your normal alarm clock does not care about, and will go off at the set time regardless of whether you are in a light sleep phase or in the deepest sleep. However, since you move differently in bed during the different phases, the Sleep Cycle alarm clock is able to use the accelerometer in your iPhone to monitor your movement and determine which sleep phase you are in. Sleep Cycle then uses a 30 minute alarm window that ends at your set alarm time and wakes you in your lightest sleep phase.

“This isn’t really something new. These so called bio-alarm clocks have been around for years and work very well, but they usually come with a hefty $200 price tag. I realized that the iPhone has all the components needed, and decided to make an alarm clock that works exactly the same, but sell it for a dollar or two instead.” Maciek Drejak, the programmer behind the application, says.

Does it work?
It doesn’t (for me) and I stopped using it. It would be too easy, a $0.99 investment to solve my sleep problems or at least some of them.
I ‘analyzed’ my sleep graphs and at the beginning of the week I get some deep sleep, but as the week progresses the deep sleep diminishes (stress due to work?) and only at the end of the week-end I get back to ‘normal’ but it takes a few days; I travel and the cycle starts again.

Last recordings from Sunday to Sunday:

“My country is not a country, it is winter.”  I read this quote at the Musée de la civilisation from Quebec City and I liked it. I was there at the beginning of April and it was cold (very by my standards).

The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Quebec City.

Photos from the Citadelle of Quebec.

The Citadelle is the home station of the Royal 22 Régiment of the Canadian Forces and the Governor General of Canada by tradition resides here for several weeks out of the year. Being a miltary base you can not just wander around and you have to visit it with a guide. The residence of the Governor General can be visited too, but our guide said that a different guide is needed for the residence. I tried to convince her that the guide might be inside due to the cold and we should just ring the bell and see who answers but she didn’t want to. 

Changing the Guard takes place during summer. If I happen to be in Quebec City in the summer I will visit the Citadelle again to see the mascot, a goat.

Wolfe and Montcalm, the adversaries in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759 and with the British victory over France this decided the development of Canada.

The only place in Quebec City where I saw the STOP sign in both languages is the Battlefields Park (it includes the Plains of Abraham) managed by the National Battlefields Commission, a federal government agency. Usually it is only in French.

It is interesting that the French are mentioned as the enemy when various battles are described, and I have seen this in many places, federal places all of them I think. Here, someone managed to erase the word ‘l’enemi’ in “Les Anglais occupent une redoute que  l`ènemi“, but it is strange that the English version was neutral and just said the English and the French, no mention of the word ‘enemy’ (I thought I took a photo of the English version too, but I cannot seem  to find it). I would have expected the other way round: the French version not to have the vord ’enemy’ and the English version to be clear who the enemy was :).

Face to face

I stayed at Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. The suite with a very small bathroom was good but I did not like the slippers were not wrapped (when this happens I assume they re-use them so I have an uneasy feeling). Also the shower head was very simple, could not adjust the flow so it sprayed everywhere.

Life is simple: Eat. Sleep. Surf the internet. / Eat. Sleep. Surf internet. / Eat. Sleep. Speak French. / Eat. Sleep. Drink bier. / Eat. Sleep. Play soccer. / Eat. Sleep. Drink wine.

End of World bier, I suppose we will see more and more of these products.

Other photos from Quebec City

Even if I said in my other blog Why I Stopped Reading the Business Section I didn’t have anything better to do so I read the business section a few days ago and an article drew my attention.

Delta, the world’s second-biggest airline by traffic, is in talks with Conoco to acquire its Trainer, Pa., facility at a cost of $100 million to $150 million, one person familiar with the matter said. Delta would hire an outside firm to run the refinery.
The move could help supply Delta’s operations at La Guardia airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and save it most of the so-called crack spread, or the difference charged by a refinery between the cost of a barrel of crude and a barrel of jet fuel. In March, the spread between jet fuel and Brent crude, which is the benchmark that determines the price of most crudes delivered to the East Coast, was $12.85 a barrel, according to energy consultancy IHS Purvin & Gertz.

It is something unheard of. “We are a little uncomfortable about the company going outside its core expertise,” said Hunter Key, an analyst who covers Delta for Wolfe Trahan & Co. “I can’t recall any other airline buying a refinery.”

It would be interesting to see the outcome; perhaps this will start a trend among airlines.

Yes, it is the best lounge I have ever been to. Period. The lounge didn’t feel at all like a lounge, it felt like a small and elegant restaurant.

And as a matter of fact for a second year in a row, the Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) has been voted Best Airport in North America in the 0-2 million passenger category according to Airport Service Quality (ASQ), a world-wide survey lead by Airports Council International (ACI).

I was surprised that I was asked for my boarding pass only at the security gate but not at the line itself. This was a first for me. You show it at the security gate then again at the line and for me it seemed standard procedure, I didn’t know it was possible to show it only once.  So I suppose this and the quality of the lounge contributed to the award, I didn’t get a chance to wander around not that I had this desire since I had access to the lounge.

The board doesn’t say anything about the category so initially I thought it had been voted best airport in North America.

but the plaque for 2010 mentioned the category. Anyway, I suppose the oversight is understandable in the excitement.

Perrier water and many import beer

The wine is kept in a horizontal position like in a cellar, nice touch!

What kind of washroom is this?

And the fireplace: