Mind-blowing view on our first morning.

The start of a few of my favourite photos from Yosemite. In the valley floor, before starting on the Mist Trail up to Nevada and Vernal Falls.

Perhaps there is no for-profit business model for social networking. It’s been nearly twenty years and a lot of impressive money and brainpower hasn’t figured it out. Does social networking need a for-profit business model?

Makes me feel optimistic about my own future in a content production powerhouse. But content providers need to find the best balance between providing content, selling ads to their audiences AND providing function,
giving their content to their audience in the way that the audience demands it. Providing just content online is simply not enough.

Terminal 3 was pretty packed, as loads of people turned up early for flights. By the time I was in the queue for the bags, it was still more than 3 hours before the flight (about 20 mins to go). I don’t think operationally BA could take people’s bags before that time hence the large, not-moving queue…but loads of people in the queue didn’t realise this and were stressing out about how there were BA staff just not letting our queue move and that staff at check in desks weren’t doing anything etc etc. Thankfully I was in the first 50 people as by the time the 3 hours hit the queue was huge.

Once I’d sorted the bags I just mooched around T3 – it was pretty busy. Had some sushi. No windows to check the weather though, so it wasn’t until I walked to the gate about 45 mins before the departure time that I noticed the snow… wasn’t too heavy at that point.

BA11 – SYD-BKK in Economy

Boarding was all fine, I got my exit row seat (which I’d paid US $75 for) and all was well until the Captain checked out of the wing window and didn’t look too happy – we had to wait for a deicer to show up (which took an hour and a bit), deice the plane (another hour and a bit) and then we could go… so we took off about 11.45 from a 9.15 departure time.

I got about 5 hours sleep. Food was passable! Exit row seat was well worth the money.

Arrived in Singapore – I was changing planes so I went to investigate the next flight which also came from London, departing half hour after mine. It had been delayed too, but they were managing to pick up time in Singapore so it was boarding already so I got in the security queue and then pretty soon after was on the plane. Total turn around time was about an hour or so.

I had pre-selected my seat for this flight – not exit row, but was OK with a few inches extra leg room and space on the RHS as expected. Otherwise not great. BA’s planes and interiors on their jumbos in Economy are getting pretty tired. Thought all was going well with noone sitting next to me until a girl showed up at the last minute to take the seat… she was quite loud, chatty and friendly and then got stuck into the alcohol in the drinks service after take-off. Then she went up to see a friend in Business. In the meantime a member of the cabin crew came and asked me if I thought she was drunk – at the time I thought no, said she was just a bit friendly but did get stuck in, so maybe. She came back before the meal obliterated – couldn’t understand her at all, she was even louder and I was thinking – ‘Oh, god….’ I just wanted to get some sleep!

After we’d been served the food, the cart went by her again and didn’t stop for us, but she managed to grab 3 mini bottles of wine without the cabin crew noticing. That was enough for me – when she went to the bathroom and I went and found the head cabin crew person who had spoke to me before and told her. She came and had words with the passenger, who then disappeared again (I assume back to Business to find her friend). In the meantime I asked if there were any other spare seats – I was told no, the flight was full.

I closed my eyes to try and get some rest. About 20 mins later another member of staff tapped me on the shoulder and said I should grab my stuff, i.e. they were going to move me. I can only assume the passenger had got worse and they took pity on me. I got moved up to Business! Yay. Only one seat left in the corner, with no pillow, but I was happy – loads of legroom, lie flat bed, blanket, and privacy. I didn’t really get any sleep – it was UK daytime by then, although dark outside. I chatted to one of the other cabin crew later in the flight and apparently the Captain had to get involved and read her the riot act at one point.

The rest was uneventful until we landed at Sydney. Immigration queue was huuuge, took about 25 mins to get through. There was no sign of my bag, and I had a feeling it wouldn’t have made the tight connection in Singapore so went to the luggage desk and they confirmed that – in the end it showed up and was delivered to me a day later… the system worked.