Why you should visit Mall of America

Pull some time off from your daily routine and visit Mall of America. This is something you will really enjoy.

If you think this something you can associate with a Joke then why don’t you explore it.

Airports to test all the liquids to identify explosives

According to The Transportation Security Administration, the new technology is in development that will screens bottles for liquid explosives at the USA’s busiest airports this summer.

The agency plans to deploy 200 machines at airports to detect a certain explosive in the containers passengers are allowed to bring through security checkpoints.

“It’s designed to detect a very specific type of liquid threat that is found in common household liquids,” company marketing director Bruce Cumming tells USA TODAY. The TSA says the machines address some of the concerns raised in August after a thwarted terrorist plot to bomb U.S.-bound jets with liquid explosives.

USA TODAY says “the hand-held machines will not ease restrictions that limit passengers to carrying small containers of liquids and gels on board aircraft, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said. They will primarily check bottles holding medicines, baby formula and other items that passengers can carry on board in unlimited quantities.” Howe tells the paper: “It may not necessarily mean any specific benefit to the traveling public other than enhanced security.” The TSA already has tested the devices in Miami and Newark.

Kids made their parents go online

They are the digital natives – kids aged 8-14 are sitting down at the computer to help their parents share photos, plan travel, and even file taxes. Kids who are computer competent are becoming pivotal sources of information and planning for the family.

According to “Surfin’ on Mom’s Turf: Cyber Chillin’ With 8-14 Year-Olds,” a report released by Stars for Kidz, 14 percent of kids have helped parents prepare their income tax return online.

“In this 8 to 14 age group, these kids are the first strong generation where they have had all these sophisticated levels of technology from childhood, and they function intuitively,” said Adele Schwartz, research director at Stars for Kidz.

“What we see is the kids who are computer competent are becoming pivotal sources of information and planning for the family,” said Schwartz. “Kids think moms [parents] are clueless, while that may or may not be true, kids are quicker and they find [information online] easier.”

About 77 percent of kids shop on the Internet. Almost 10 percent in the survey report said they have a credit card, though the number is self-reported. Another method of payment is gift cards. “Their greatest delight is that they love going online to spend, they love using gift cards online,” said Schwartz.

The “Surfin’ on Mom’s Turf” study was conducted in two parts. Quantitative interviews with small groups of nine- and 10-year-olds and moms of children of the same age were conducted from January through March. The focus groups helped with attitude and behavior and aided in the formation of a 10-question online survey, the second component of the study. The online survey was taken by 6,064 children aged 8 to14.

The first flight with Passengers of the new airbus A380

Some exclusive pictures of “The first flight with Passenger of the new airbus A380″

Cheap and Healthy: Eat in London

Hey, just got an article which was published on 23rd of April, 2007. I really find it interesting and thats the reason I am covering it on my blog. This is really for newcomers who are visiting London for the 1st time.

The International Herald Tribune’s In London, Where to Eat on a Budget offers suggestions for dining on the cheap in this fabulous (and fabulously expensive) city. Picks include Spanish tapas, classic Brit fare and Asian fusion in neighborhoods like South Kensington and Notting Hill (destinations not ordinarily associated with budget finds). With the dollar at 50 cents to the British pound right now, American travelers heading to the UK need all the help they can get!

Enjoy:)

Disney becomes no Smoking Zone

Disney becomes no Smoking Zone

From June 1, visitors to Disney will no longer be allowed to smoke in rooms or outdoors on balconies and patios at any of the company’s 22 hotels, resorts and time-share properties. Smoking is already limited to designated areas within theme parks and public spaces. Hotels that are near Disney, but not owned by the Walt Disney Company will not affected by the ban.

Few undiscovered Parks in California

Are you tired with all over crowded places? Are you in search for a crowd-free Parks? Then, I think you must look at these National Parks in California which are rated among the crowd-free parks here….

Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon

Less busy than Yellowstone, Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon are two separate National Parks managed as one, which means you only have to pay one entrance fee for the both of them. Sequoia National Park truly is an undiscovered California treasure. In the park you’ll find the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world; Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States; the second-largest road-free wilderness area in the United States, and Crescent Meadow, a Sequoia-rimmed meadow called the “gem of the Sierra” by John Muir.

Channel Islands National Park

Each island has its own endemic plants and animals, leading the Channel Islands to often be called California’s Galapagos. Over 2,000 species of plants and animals can be found within the park, which consists of five of the eight Channel Islands along the southern California coast from Point Conception near Santa Barbara to just north of Los Angeles. The park is lightly visited, never crowded and beautiful year-round. Fall is the best time to visit this California National Park though, because blue and humpback whales can be seen migrating.

Death Valley National Park

Home to one of the starkest landscapes in California, Death Valley is a geological wonder filled with exposed rock and sparse vegetation. With 3.4 million acres, Death Valley is the largest National Park in the contiguous U.S. The 18-mile drive from Furnace Creek to Badwater is a must, along the drive you’ll see fantastic salt formations, colorful views and the lowest place in the western hemisphere.

Mount Shasta

According to John Muir the beauty of Mount Shasta turned his blood to wine. Located in Northern California, Mount Shasta is the largest volcanic peak in the contiguous U.S., a towering mountain with one of the highest base-to-summit rises in the world. Snowcapped Mt. Shasta has pristine mountain lakes and rivers, majestic forests, and miles of backcountry to explore plus plenty of skiing, snowboarding, fishing, golfing, mountain biking, rock climbing and hiking.

Joshua Tree National Park

Located in south eastern California, Joshua Tree National Park includes two deserts, each with an ecosystem whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation. This California National Park gets its name from the unique looking Joshua tree which can be found in the higher, slightly cooler Mojave Desert. The geologically unique landscape of the area features hills of bare rock, broken up into loose bolder, making the area huge for rock climbing and scrambling enthusiasts. Barker Dam, Keys View, which offers views of the Coachella Valley and Salton Sea, bird watching, and Hidden Valley (not the salad dressing) are all must-sees of the Joshua Tree National Park.

Travel Humour

• You love the window seat in an aircraft? But there is the lady who called up the travel agent asking for an isle seat so that her hair wouldn’t get messed up by being near to the window.
• A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, “Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the tarin to Hawaii?”
• A man called up a travel agent and asked, “Is it possible to see England fromCanada?” When the agent say ‘no’, the man said, “But they look so close on the map.’
• A woman called and asked, “Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to who?”. “No, why do you ask?” the travel agent asked. “Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I’m over-weight, is there any connection?” she replied. After putting her on hold for aminute, the travel agent explained that cite code for Fresno, California, is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

7 Mistakes Not to Make on Your Next Family Road Trip

You’ve no doubt thought of everything. The enormous suitcase that brained you when it slid from the closet is now nestled in the trunk, well-packed with your family’s wardrobe for the week. Your kids have enough snacks to forestall whining for days if necessary. You spent the morning neatly stapling computer-generated directions for each leg of your trip. And if you drive at high speeds — with the flow of traffic, of course — you’ll make the eight-hour drive in excellent time. So what are you missing? Well, for starters, you’ve already made several mistakes that could turn your family car trip into a disaster.

Mistake #1: Make sure you are not Packing the wrong bag
When you’re driving, there’s no advantage to consolidating your family’s clothes in that indestructible bag you use for flying. Think nylon or canvas duffel bags — 24 to 30 inches long — one for each person’s things. You’ll be carting more bags around, but you’ll be able to put your hands on everything more quickly. Plus, repacking the trunk will be easier, especially if you’re fitting small bags around a stroller and all those jugs of laundry detergent you bought.

Mistake #2: Altering meal times
A common road-trip blunder is disrupting your family’s normal meal schedule. If you don’t hit the road until late morning, there’s a temptation to drive through lunch and snack your way to dinner. You know your kids will have no restraint when it comes to snacks, and neither will you. Plus, if after hours of gorging you make a spontaneous lunch stop, you’ll be wolfing down food while your kids complain about not being hungry. And if lunch is thrown off, you’ll all be out of synch by dinner. By evening, your kids will be starving after both refusing to eat lunch and losing interest in the car snacks, and if it’s later than you usually eat, dinner will be a miserable whinefest. Solution: Keep it simple and eat all your meals at the usual times.

Mistake #3: Pacing the day badly
Nothing will sour a car trip faster than hitting the road at the wrong time. It’s all-too-tempting to leave work at 4 or 5 p.m. on a Friday to get on the road for a weekend getaway. The good thing about this is that, regardless of their ages, your kids will immediately slide into comatose naps. The bad thing is that when you pull into your destination at 8 p.m. they’ll be up, all night. A different tactic, hitting the road after 9 p.m. so that your kids will fall asleep and stay asleep works wonderfully — until you stop a few hours later. If they don’t come to immediately, chances are they’ll be wide awake by the time you’ve carried them inside. Best bet: Sacrifice the evening escape and leave the following morning (or early enough the next afternoon so that a nap won’t be disruptive) and ensure you’re off the road for the day by dinnertime.

Mistake #4: Denying you could get lost
Computer-generated directions are nifty, but accurate to a fault; one wrong turn and they’re next to useless. Bring a real road map. Also, invest in a portable GPS device or request one for your rental ($10 or less daily fee) — Hertz and Avis fleets are well-equipped with them. The first time a GPS generates an accurate course correction is the first time it pays for itself. Still, GPS isn’t perfect. Like computer algorithms and your well-meaning friend’s husband, they can overcomplicate directions and, at times, fail to identify streets. So pack the map no matter what.

Mistake #5: Driving like an idiot
We do stupid things on vacation that we don’t do at home: skydiving, paying retail, eating organ meat we can’t identify, and, curiously, driving more cavalierly than we normally do. This is a mistake no matter who’s in the car, but the fact that the stakes are higher when you’re driving with your family can’t be overstated. One of the more perplexing things we do on the road is break traffic laws, making illegal turns or speeding down the highway because we’re keeping up with the flow of traffic. Sure, you can get away with it, and if you’re a good driver you might rationalize the risk to your family. But don’t underestimate the risk of being pulled over. Any leniency you might have been hoping for from that approaching highway patrolman will evaporate when he sees you have kids in the back.

Mistake #6: Not setting a budget for the little things
It’s puzzling that many of us tirelessly research airfares, hotels, car rentals, and online coupon codes with the hope of saving a few dollars, yet when it comes to buying incidentals on the road, we’re essentially careless. You wouldn’t dream of giving your second grader a $50 weekly allowance at home. But for a week on the road, if you dare consider the sum of a pack of sour candies here, a souvenir pen there, a keychain for her BFF over in that store, and the other little things for which you’re constantly breaking $5 bills, giving each kid a $50 allowance with a “once you spend it it’s gone” proviso can end up being a good deal. A debit scenario works equally well for grown-ups, too.

Mistake #7: Forgetting that the journey is the destination
If your goal is to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, you probably shouldn’t be traveling by car. One of the benefits of road trips is that you can pull over at the farm rather than give the kids a blurry glimpse of a cow; eat the best steak and eggs of your life at that nondescript roadside diner; and take that throwaway snapshot over by the guardrail that ends up being the quintessential photo of you and your daughter. Hundreds of potentially undiscovered moments are around the next corner, which is why treating a drive as a means to an end rather than as part of your journey is the biggest mistake of all.

Is Expedia spamming its customers?

According to ZDNet’s columnist David Berlind, Expedia has manipulated its information systems and business processes in a way that extends the life of a transaction so that the travel site can spam its customers with special travel deals and offers even though its customers may have opted out from such offers.

For whatever reasons, Expedia apparently believes that its e-mail qualifies as a transactional e-mail and is therefore exempt from the Can Spam Act. It’s probably for this reason that e-mail is also void of any instructions or links for unsubscribing. So, is that it? Since Expedia sees its coupon offers as transactional e-mails, does that mean I’m stuck and that I must receive them from here until eternity?

There’s no coupon in the e-mail, just a reminder that you have access to one. So maybe that’s how Expedia does it. It loads everyone’s account with a special coupon and then, Expedia thinks because they’ve loaded one into your account, it gets to send you e-mail about it.

Sorry, that work-around doesn’t work for me. My sense is that Expedia is way out of line and is operating in open violation of the Can Spam Act on at least two counts. First, ignoring the e-mail preferences of its customers. Second, sending commercial e-mail with no clearly marked unsubscribe links.