US Government fines Travelocity for Cuba Trips

by Neil Woodburn on

How serious is the US government about their Cuba travel ban?

Serious enough that they recently fined Travelocity.com $182,750 for booking 1,500 trips to the forbidden isle between January 1998 and April 2004.

A spokesperson for the site claimed that the bookings were the result of a technical failure (i.e. a failsafe that was supposed to prevent anyone with an American IP address from booking a trip to Cuba). I’m not sure I entirely believe this excuse.

Nonetheless, it’s pretty cool that 1,500 Americans were able to take advantage of this loophole. Unfortunately, now that records of these trips have probably been subpoenaed by the US Government, I’m sure these under-the-radar travelers can now expect a nasty letter from the Treasury Department.

And you thought you got away with it!

Social Networking Site helps find Travel Partners

by Neil Woodburn on

Ah yes, social networking; the wave of the future.

Naturally there are many opportunities in the travel world for social networking and a variety of sites are jumping on board.

One of the more recent arrivals is wayn.com. Where Are You Now? is designed to bring travelers together and keep track of where your travel buddies are currently encamped and where they are heading.

Back when I did a lot of solo backpacking around the globe, this site would have been perfect for hooking up with potential travel partners–sort of like online dating, I suppose. But instead, back in the dark ages before the prevalence of the internet, I’d have to ask around in youth hostels to see if anyone was going my way. Sometimes this worked, and sometimes I just continued flying solo.

Out of curiosity, I plugged in a location through which I once was very concerned about traveling solo–Uzbekistan–and discovered 16 potential travel partners who are on their way there. Very cool.

Highest and Lowest Life Expectancies around the Globe (USA takes dismal 42nd place)

by Neil Woodburn on

When I lived as an expat in Prague, I felt that I lived in a truly unhealthy environment. With all the cigarette smoke, fatty foods, beer drinking, and coal smoke that constantly surrounded me, I couldn’t wait to get my body back to healthy Los Angeles.

Well, as it turns out, America really isn’t all that much better. A recent study has revealed that people in a jaw-dropping 41 countries have higher life expectancies than those in the USA (and no, the Czech Republic is not one of them). This is quite a tumble from 20 years ago when America stood rather proudly at 11th place. Now, even people in countries like Jordan and Guam are living longer lives than most Americans.

A number of factors have naturally contributed towards this demise, with the greatest killer being obesity. Nearly 30% of American adults are considered overweight. Yikes.

So in case you are looking to extend the old ticker, you might want to click on the jump link below to check out the top ten countries with the highest life expectancies. And, of course, since we here at Gadling value the health of our readers, we’ve also included the bottom of the list as well so that you can be sure to avoid these countries.

LONGEST LIVED
• Andorra, 83.5 years
• Japan, 82.0 years
• Macau, 82.0 years
• San Marino, 81.5 years
• Singapore, 81.5 years
• Hong Kong, 81.4 years
• France, 80.4 years
• Australia, 80.3 years
• Sweden, 80.3 years
• Switzerland, 80.3 years
(#42, United States, 77.9 years)

SHORTEST LIVED
• Swaziland, 34.1 years
• Zambia, 36.6 years
• Angola, 36.7 years
• Liberia, 38.1 years
• Zimbabwe, 39.0 years
• Lesotho, 39.5 years
• Sierra Leone, 39.7 years
• Malawi, 40.9 years
• Mozambique, 41.4 years
• Afghanistan, 42.5 years

Miss the Pet You Left? Rent One

by Jamie Rhein on

When I moved to Singapore, I couldn’t quite see how my cat who went outdoors at will in Albuquerque, New Mexico would adjust to apartment living in the tropics. I gave Frank away. I felt bad about that, but I think he was happier without the jetlag and quarantine. Plus, with all the traveling and my job taking up time, having a pet wouldn’t have been particularly practical. I just read about FlexPetz, a rent-a-pet company that got me thinking, though about people on the go who are missing some animal companionship. This is just musing on my part, but it seems like an interesting idea.

The company rents dog time. If you like dogs, want to spend time with dogs, but haven’t the means for a full-time dog in your life, you can get one from FlexPetz for the weekend. You can even get one for less time than that. Some people just take a dog out for a walk for a couple of hours. I wonder if you were a frequent traveler to Los Angeles or San Diego where the company is located if you could rent a dog to keep you company? The idea here is also take care of animals that need some TLC. There is membership involved. The Web site gives the details.The company also plans to set up shop in San Francisco, Manhattan, Boston, London, and Washington, D.C. Tokyo, Paris and Glasgow are some of the other possibilities in the works. Here’s the info link. Maybe this won’t work for short trips, but what if you’re going to be there on an extended project or long bursts of time for whatever reason?

A friend of mine who used to travel for business hated it because she felt lonely a lot of the time. Having a dog for company might have been just what she needed to chase away the travel blues.

Glacial Shrinkage: Taking one for the Environment

by Neil Woodburn on

What do glaciers and shrinkage have in common?

Two things when you combine glaciers with global warming and naked bodies.

Photographer Spencer Tunick, who has been making quite a name for himself by taking pictures of mass nudes, has recently turned his lens towards a good cause: global warming.

The photographer, who never seems to have a problem drumming up nude models, enlisted the help of 600 people who hiked to Switzerland’s Aletsch glacier this morning, took off all their clothes, and posed for the largest mass nude shot ever taken on a glacier (I’m taking a wild guess on this one).

The event was to draw attention to the plight of Europe’s rapidly decreasing glaciers, most of which are expected to disappear by 2080 if warming trends continue. The Aletsch glacier itself has receded 377 feet in the last two years and has become the poster child of global warming within Europe. 600 naked people frolicking on its slopes probably haven’t helped in keeping temperatures low, but has at least raised some awareness about the issue amongst those searching for porn on the internet.