The airport in question:

Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is getting goats.

Why get goats?

To provide landscaping services.

The whole story:

The aviation authority have agreed to a two year contract of sustainable vegetation management  grazing services.

All about going green:

The whole point of going with sustainable vegetation grazing is to improve the amount of pollution that is being put into the environment by the act of landscaping. By using animals to do the service there will be a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. There will be no reason to use the highly toxic herbicides that have been used in the past.

About the goats:

There will be anywhere from 25 to 30 goats brought in for the job. They will have access to 120 acres that are loaded with foliage. There are aspects of the land that makes up the airport that are very difficult to maintain simply because these spots are hard, if not impossible to get machinery to. There are hills and creeks that the goats will be able to maintain with ease. The goats will be kept safe and secure by means of security fencing as well as regular supervision. They will spend their days happily munching and their nights in a transport trailer.

This is not the first time that goats will be used at the airport.

San Francisco airport:

Will have goats each summer for just three weeks. They are very effective in clearing the space for a fire break and it only takes a few weeks.

Seattle Sea-Tac airport:

Tried goats and then gave it up. They were not happy with the insatiable appetites that goats have for pretty much anything. It only took them a week to decide that the goats were not a good fit for their airport. It was after they began to devour all of the native plants that they actually wanted to keep.

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Or-was there more to the recent shooting at a Houston airport?

Incident basics:

A 29 year old Texas man, Carnell Moore, shot himself in the temple at the Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport.

What led up to the incident?

On the Tuesday before:

Moore tried to take one of his coworkers for their place of employment. Apparently she was not interested in him romantically and his rejection resulted in an attempted kidnapping. Lucky for her, she was able to wrangle her way out of the mess by talking him down. He wanted to take her to Houston with him, and who knows how that might have turned out.

Moore continued on his way to Houston and stayed there in a hotel until the Thursday airport incident.

Moore posted some cryptic messages on Facebook referring to death and how his life would be “crashing” the following day.

On Thursday:

Moore went to the airport and stayed in the departure area for an hour or so. He carried with him a suitcase. Inside the suitcase was an AR-15 rifle, as well as a suicide note.

He then took out his gun and shot into the ceiling.

The shots drew the Homeland Security officer to the scene that then shot Moore in his shoulder.

According to police:

Moore did not seem to have the intention of hurting other people, according to his actions while inside the terminal.

About the AR-15:

It is a popular rifle for civilian gun enthusiasts. For one reason it is very light weight. It is also know to be very accurate. The magazines for these guns have the capacity of 10-30 rounds or more. They are also ergonomically friendly, basically put, and quite easy to hold. The civilian versions of these types of guns are semi-automatic.

Although police did state that he didn’t seem like he wanted to hurt anyone, the man did carry an incredibly powerful weapon (other than the Glock that he shot himself with) with him into the airport. The damage that he could have done with that rifle is not something that any of us want to imagine. According to Moore’s brother he was suicidal and did consider “suicide by cop” an option. It just makes one wonder what could have happened, to all of those other passengers, employees, and the various individuals that happened to be at the airport that day.

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Tree house hotels:

A Buddhist retreat: In China, on Hainan Island, there is a tree house type of lodging. It is right next to the beach of the South China Sea and is situated within a 5000 acre Buddhist park. There are incredible temples and a myriad of botanical gardens. It gives people a chance to enjoy the peace of nature in a very tranquil setting.

Costa Rica Tree house lodge:

It is located in Limon and has been built around an incredibly beautiful, century old Sangrillo tree that is gnarled and twisted. This lodge has full kitchens and 4 star bathrooms.

High Tech Hotels:

Yotel, in New York City,

The Times Square location is excellent and the look is completely futuristic. The hotel actually has a robotic luggage handler to go with the rest of the Techie feel. To check in, guests use a touch screen kiosk. The rooms have a techno wall that offers a LCD TV and the entirety of plug in’s that you could possibly need for your collection of laptop, IPad, or whatever else that you bring with you.

Hotel Zetta, In San Francisco,

This is the place for techno-freaks. There is an adult playroom that offers 1500 square feet of space that is full of games, From Atari to the latest up to the minute gaming consoles, they have everything. They even decorate high tech, with art pieces created with discarded and obsolete cell phones, games, and other tech bits and pieces.

And: some serious luxury,

Crested Butte, Colorado-

For just  $12,500 a night (to start), you and 10 of your friends or family can stay at the Scarp Ridge Lodge. It offers 7 bedrooms, an indoor saltwater pool and your own personal chef. The biggest problem with visiting and staying in a location that is at 9000 ft.  Altitude is the effects on your body from the lack of oxygen. They have that little issue handled nicely by pumping oxygen into the rooms. The guest simply decides at what altitude level they want it to feel like.

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Yosemite National Park:

The Gaylor Lakes trail is just 3/4 of a mile to get you up to an incredible vista. You can see the range of mountains in the distance as well as the icy blue middle Gaylor Lake. It is also a good area to spot a pika. These are cute, little furry creatures that are related to rabbits.

Lands End Coastal Trail (San Francisco):

The trail begins at the Sutro Bath ruins. Seeing the crumbling ruins is enough reason alone for making the drive. There are many birds (200 species) that enjoy the ruins as well as the much acclaimed river otter that showed up there (they had been absent for over half a century). If there is no fog when you visit it is possible to see the Golden Gate Bridge.  Porpoise and dolphin can also be seen in the bay along with gray whales.

Yellowstone National Park:

For animal sightings and a variety of colorful spring flowers, go to the Mount Washburn hike. During the summer months of May and June is when their might be lambs along the trail. That is the time of year when Bighorn sheep are having their babies.

Blue Springs State Park (Orange City Fl.)

The park is a designated Manatee Refuge and has a large number of Manatee’s that will winter there. The park is over 2,600 acres that includes the largest spring in the St. John River. The time to visit is the middle of November through the middle of March. That is the Manatee season, during which time you can see the graceful creatures but not swim with them. The springs are crystal clear and a constant 73 degrees.

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Jaipur India:

In 1853 the Prince of Wales visited the area and the Maharaja had the whole town painted pink for the occasion. The town has kept the color since that time on its historic buildings and many boulevards.

Izamal Mexico:

Yellow is incredibly bright and in great abundance here. The colonial are painted a yellow that really stands out from the rest of the town.

Juzcar, Spain:

The was painted blue as a promotion for a silly movie. The Smurfs. It was whitewashed before the blue paint. The town received so much attention from tourists because of the color that they decided to keep the color

Chefchaouen, Morocco:

Another city that is bathed in blue. It is a village up in the Rif Mountains that was once a place for Spanish Jews to run to when escaping the Inquisition. This maze of a city has an incredible blue glow to it.

Cape Malay in Cape Town, South Africa:

They started painting their homes bright vibrant and different colors when apartheid ended. The area that is so colorful is the town’s historic Muslim quarter.

South Beach in Miami, Florida:

Pastel art deco buildings are brightly lit up by the sun in this colorful city. At night the neon lights shine in many colors along Ocean Drive.

Willemstad Curacao:

They started painting their homes and businesses anything but white due to a decree from the Dutch governor, so the legend goes. The result is a very pretty scene of a variety of colored buildings along the water’s edge.

Nyhavn, Denmark:

The pastel candies colored buildings that line the waterfront are a treat. There are historic wooden ships docked at the canal along this entertainment district.

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Some places take this challenge more seriously than others.

Singapore:

In the Changi airport there are some refreshing and relaxing choices for those that will be stuck there for a little while. There is a beautiful rooftop pool with a Jacuzzi for some exercise or just some time in the sun. For those that have enough time there is also a cinema on site. The nature trail at the airport is a nice escape from the indoors.

South Korea:

The Incheon International Airport has an 18 hole golf course right there close to the airport. With so many people having to wait through hours long layovers, this is a super nice plus.

Germany:

Germany and beer so go together so well. At the Munich airport waiting passengers, and anyone else that wants to stop in, can sample the beer that is made right there. Sitting and drinking gets better with their regular cabaret shows. The beer garden is a very nice relaxing touch as well.

San Francisco:

The international airport in the city has a lot to offer, including museums. What better for a place where people are forced to wait around? There are several museums for passengers to walk through for some time spent that will give them something to think about.

Sydney:

Being in a plane or in an airport all day can make you feel like you are trapped in an air-conditioned bubble. The Sydney International Airport has an incredible green space built right in. It is a 98 foot vertical garden with well over 8,000 live plants to freshen things up.

Nashville:

Most folks think about Nashville and then music will come to mind. At their airport you will have 100 plus chances to see and hear some great music being played. The airport hosts all these live concerts to celebrate the area’s heritage.

Hong Kong:

You have to wonder if people actually go to their airport just to enjoy the huge IMAX cinema screens. They claim that is the biggest movie theatre of Hong Kong. It is definitely the only IMAX in an airport, anywhere.

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Some tips to avoid jet lag:

1-adaptation-try to change your habits to match the destination quickly. The faster that you can do this, the easier it is to make the adjustment. Start changing your habits to match your destination if at all possible.

2-Sleep on the plane if it is time to sleep at your destination. If you will be arriving at night and then need to go to bed, try not to sleep on the plane. Once you arrive, don’t sleep for more than just a few hours if it is not the time that you would normally sleep. If it is daytime, then get out and walk around in the sun to help your body adjust.

3-People can get very dehydrated on planes, so remember to drink plenty of fluids. Getting dehydrated can make adjusting to the new time harder.

4-While it might make flying more fun, drinking too much is not a good idea. Avoid too much alcohol, caffeine drinks, and smoking like a chimney!

5-Try to get quality sleep while you are visiting. Some people sleep better when they have their own pillow and their favorite blanket. Others might need white noise from a fan to help them sleep. Before you go to bed for the night take some time to check out the curtains. Carrying a sleep mask could be a lifesaver.

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• Triumph

• Elation

• Dream

• Legend

If you talk to one of the passengers that traveled on any of these recently, they will tell you that the names do not give you an honest idea of their experience on board.

The Dream:

Some passengers have described conditions on board as deplorable. In the bathrooms there was such an overflow of excrement that it was all over the floor. The elevators were not working dependably, which made life very difficult for those that do not maneuver on stairs very well. More than 4000 will fly home if they have not gotten home by now.

The Triumph:

The ship was left floating out in the gulf of Mexico after a fire in the engine room. There were over 4000 people on the ship. The cruise was supposed to be only four days long but turned into a disastrous eight days. Human waste was reportedly found running down the walls in certain spots and of course the toilets were overflowing. The AC was out during what turned out to be a pretty warm week, and that added to the misery. The scarcity of food was one thing that passengers found pretty scary.

The Legend:

Has suffered with some technical issues that affected the sailing speed. These issues did not pop up until the last day of the cruise, just this past week or so.

How upset would you be under these circumstances? Mad enough to sue?

The real question should be is it even possible to sue.

You could certainly try, but the success of such a plan is not too good.

Insurance does not cover passengers woes generally because they sign those rights away when they sign up for the cruise. It is in the very small print that most of us don’t look at. If you still want to try and sue then it will probably take a few years just to get to court and then it would be a high cost sort of adventure. Most of these cruise ships are not American based companies so you can’t really depend on American laws to base your suit on. Carnival is a Bahamian company.

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The change hat has people up in arms right now is about knives.

There are also some other items that have been prohibited that will now be allowed.

Knife rules:

Blades must be shorter than 2.36 inches

The width must be no wider than 1/2 inch

Still prohibited:

Those with locking blades

Razors

Box cutters

TSA has stated that allowing these small knives will make the security lines move faster. But seasoned travelers, especially those that work in the industry disagree wholeheartedly. The taking off of the shoes, pulling out of the computers, and confiscation of liquids is what makes things so very slow. Those have now been changed as of yet. Being required to have only 3oz. Bottles of liquids and then having to place them into the quart size baggies is one of those things that make many travelers annoyed. It makes travel more complicated and that is annoying. It will seriously slow down the lines if the security guards have to open and measure all of the pocket knives that go through.

Other items that are now allowed:

Golf clubs

Toy bats

Ski poles

Hockey sticks

Other types of sports sticks

Why are these items allowed on board now?

The cock pit doors are now reinforced and it is highly likely that passengers will be much more motivated to stop someone that is either brandishing a stick or a tiny pocket knife.

A step further…

Former head of TSA, Kip Hawley says that they should allow much more than that.

According to him, there is no threat to a plane or a chance of bringing a plane down, with any pointy or sharp object. That means people should be able to bring machetes, battle axes, and any other blades on board the plane. People can commit acts of violence with many objects. That does not mean though that these acts will gain them access to the cockpit by any means. If the TSA focus is more on bombs and other real threats then it would work better at protecting us all.

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The “Miracle Garden” has more than 30 varieties of flowers that are all very specifically arranged. Creating the garden took around 2 months and had 400 people working to get it finished. The garden is 721,000 square feet and cost so far close to 11 million bucks.

How does it work?

Apparently there are some very nice days in Dubai and those are likely the same months that would be considered the blooming season. From the middle of October all the may until the middle part of may there is the possibility of growing these beautiful blooms. The weather currently in the area has a temp of 70-80 during the daytime and it will usually get down to 50 at night. That means the garden will not lose the water due to evaporation nor will the plants need too much due to the heat.

When is the garden open?

The only planned closing time for the garden will be four months when the weather is at its worst, or at its hottest. The plan is to use this down time to do a redesign so that the garden will have a whole new look for the next year.

What is planned for the future?

The next phase will be getting started this summer. They have plans to build a butterfly garden. There are also plans to create a dome for edible plants. It would give visitors the chance to sample some of the edible fruits. Of course there will also be a retail space built as well because everyone needs a souvenir when they visit.

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