Sunday, October 28, 2012

Greetings from sunny Amsterdam

Well, there's no bloody hurricane here, anyway.

Of course my flight is cancelled, and United Airlines isn't answering the phone in its Netherlands, U.S., or India call centers. Everybody must be taking a bathroom break at the same time. And, beyond letting me know about the cancellation, the web site is mute about what to do.

So it looks like my visit will be extended for x days. That's a minor inconvenience compared with being flooded and sans electricity if I were back home. But since airline computerized yield management means every flight these days is full or almost full, it's going to be tough re-booking even if UA does decide I'm worth the trouble of speaking to. I hope I don't have to return via Finland or something.

Speaking of far more serious matters: If you haven't been following the bouncing ball in the aftermath of the Benghazi attack, Lawrence Auster sums up the stunning developments. We can't know all the facts, but I have found him to be reasonable in discussing the "known knowns" concerning even people like Obama whom he loathes.

RD

6 comments:

zazie said...

Why not a "détour" to France? It is next door, isn't it?
I leave your blog, to read Lawrence Auster.

YIH said...

And you got to dodge a weeks worth of damn robocalls for polls, surveys, and candidates. I've been getting an average of three a day.
There have been times the phone rings, I scramble to answer it and it's a damn recording.
I doubt there will be much to worry about even if you did return. Living in FL as long as I have the 'crying wolf' aspect of news coverage and the unintentional comedy from it has become old hat.
Even if you're not superstitious, this video is both good and funny ;)

Rick Darby said...

Bonjour Zazie,

Going to France is tempting, since I have learned the earliest I can get a flight back to the USA is Friday.

However, my office would not pay for the détour and I am tired after the conference and shifting hotels twice. Anyway, as soon as I learned we would be spending more time in Amsterdam, I bought tickets for a concert at the Concertgebouw tomorrow night -- not the Concertgebouw Orchestra, but a German Orchestra in an all-Beethoven programme including the Piano Concerto no. 5.

I saw you sent best wishes to Tiberge to stay safe in the storm, and I added my own wishes for her safety.

YIH,

Yes, I've gotten my share of robo-calls and script-reading calls and will not answer the phone unless the readout shows someone I know. It's enough to drive you mental. So I don't miss the last minute election frenzy, and certainly not the hurricane. I worry about the cats, but we have a caretaker service that drops by every other day to look after them. So they should be fine, although being alone in the house with winds howling outside and rain drum beating the roof might frighten them.

YIH said...

Recently there is decent 'turntables' but I heard there is a 'turntable' that can 'read' the grooves of 'records' using a laser.
That's not impossible, if a laser can pull 45gb of data off a ''blue ray'' (blue laser) disc why can it not 'read' an 'analog' 12incher?
You are stuck in the country where the (music) CD was invented perhaps you can investigate that.

YIH said...

Yes, NYC got hithard. The photo on this site is absolutely stunning: The Times Square subway station completely under water with frogmen checking it out.
If it's as bad as it appears, yeah, it'll take weeks (if not months) for things to return to normal.

Rick Darby said...

YIH,

It may be the last time that a New York subway station ever gets cleaned.