When airlines go into bankruptcy, the value of your miles is in doubt. While no previous airline bankruptcies have led to loss of miles, and the miles of their FFM programs were accepted by other airlines, there is no guarantee that this will happen in the future, and no insurance programs to guarantee that you will be able to use them. Something to think about. As low as the dollar does go, at least it’ll be worth something.
The new currency?
Scott points to an article on the Guardian website that talks about the value of frequent flier miles in these days of the weak dollar. I’ve been reading a lot on this topic and trying to bump up my miles in United’s program. FrequentFlier.com is a pretty good site for information on maximizing your miles. A few months ago I found another site that I cannot relocate at this point. It allowed you to explore the many conversion options to move miles from one program to another. I had about 11,000 miles in Continental’s program that would have expired in…
I’m doing my own variation on Scoble’s tsunami donation scheme.
He’s donating $5 for every time he uses the word ‘blog’ on his blog. I’m teaching a Polynesian Music class at UH-Hilo this semester. I mentioned to the class that I have this thing about Hawai’i island being referred to as ‘The Big Island.’ As my friend and colleague Kekuhi Kanahele has said, ‘Please don’t call it the Big Island; it has a name.’ Following up on that, I told the students that I’d donate $5 for every time I used ‘Big Island’ in class. I couldn’t even get through that class period without using it. $5 more owed. My…
I can’t help but wonder how much of my monthly wireless bill goes to paying for advertising costs.
It seems as though every fourth or fifth television add I see is for a wireless company. My initial two year contract is nearly up, and I’m seriously considering either cancelling it, or perhaps changing to a plan that allows me to buy blocks of minutes and pay as I go. I simply don’t use the phone enough to justify the $50 a month plan that I have.
One of the Idiot-Cowards has been arrested.
See below
Battered dollar hits another low.
If GW doesn’t the the trade deficit and other factors under control soon my European Ph.d. plans are going to end up costing me a lot more than I care to think about. When we visited Ireland in summer of 2002, the exchange rate was about $.94 per Euro; it’s now $1.35. [ via Curry.com ] P.S. Yes, I know the British still use pounds and not the Euro, but the picture is just as ugly there, over $1.90 to the British pound. Ouch.
It’s Official: I’m going to Sheffield.
I just received notice that my grant applications for travel funds was approved by our Research Council, so barring any unforseen circumstances I will be travelling to Sheffield, U.K. next summer to attend the International Council For Traditional Music World Conference.
Night Thoughts of a Field Linguist.
Kevin Roddy is a friend and former colleague at UH-Hilo who is pursuing a Ph.d. in Linguistics, and is doing field research on the Satawalese language. It’s very interesting to follow his work on the web.
I have many things to be grateful for this year, but one stands out above all others.
That after 9 months in Baghdad, my son is still alive and well. I’m praying that I’ll be able to say that again next year.
British Council USA.
With my Ph.d. abroad options seemingly down to Sheffield and Queen’s University Belfast, the British Council USA’s site seems to be a great resource for information on purusing my Ph.d. in the U.K. Lot’s of great information and a scholarship database for foreign students interested in study in the U.K.