They sent you to Alcatraz? For what???

Стервоточинка
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ...

Thank you very much, Mila Love!)))
My husband met and talked to Tony Bennett (in the past) several times in 49-ers Games.:-)

Snafu,
Yeah, they sent us to Penitantionary To feel and appreciate the best view of San Francisco. )))

Well, it's time for packing! Too much fuss about nothing and yet..it's always a bit of challenge! )))Any tips on travelling light?

Mila, where are you going this time? Tahiti, Haiti, Maldives, Emirates? :)

Not so much romantic destination,I am afraid, Snafu. For three weeks I will be helping young Ghanians to build their better and brighter future- a new school...)) also trekking in the jungles and climbing a mountain. Hopefully I would be able to complete my personal challenge in Afrika..)))
So "see" you in in the middle of August!
Bye for now!

"There are sharks in Africa,
There are apes in Africa,
And a bunch of angry hungry crocodiles..."
(Korney Chukovsky)

Mila, have a safe and wonderful trip and come back in one piece :)

Men socialize by insulting each other, but don't really mean it.
Women socialize by complimenting each other, but they don't really mean it either.
:-)

So true... But what is the best approach for a man talking to a woman? Should he try to insult her or compliment her? Maybe it depends on his expectations - does he treat her as a friend or as a potential bride. "Hey, the old horse, where is your saddle?" in the first case and "Good morning, ma'am, you are looking like a princess today" in the other one :)

http://www.thedailybeast.com/a ...

Scary pictures of Derecho over NY.

Helpful info:
https://www.coursera.org/

Hello from Ghana!
very friendly people and amazing country but still in need of further improvement!
Bloody hot and humid and a lot of funny people around. Eating pineapples and fufu..
Have swam in a waterfall, climbed a mountain, shared bananas with monkeys..Amazing life experience!!!
Love from Mila...

Mila in Ghana :)
http://www.facebook.com/photo. ...

Thanks Snafu!)))
I wonder who is who? ;-))

Well i haven't yet seen any of typically African animals apart from those on souvenir shelves... Hoping still to ride a croc..)))

Hello again!
Just a few days left. Should be back next Friday full of photos, presents etc...))

If you think you can - you can.
If you think you can not - you are right.

"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." - Henry Ford

There you are! A few shots from Ghana
monkey sanctuary
http://s017.radikal.ru/i428/12 ...
Volta lake area
http://s018.radikal.ru/i523/12 ...
on top of mountain Afadjato
http://s011.radikal.ru/i316/12 ...
Wli waterfall
http://i069.radikal.ru/1208/9b ...
Canape walk
http://s019.radikal.ru/i639/12 ...

I think that I have just spotted one more beautiful place on this planet and would like to go there again. Once isn't enough...Ghana is an amasing mystery. People are remarkably friendly and helpful if you are stuck in the middle of nowhere. I have managed mountain climbing (850 metres), splashing in waterfall, swimming in Volta artificial lake, slept in the jungles under just a mosquito net and been fiercely bitten by mosquitos...(((, had a night walk in the jungles and a canape walk as well, slept in a tent just 5 meters away from the coast of the ocean listening to the waves and birds. Have built a causeway between the school building and toilets for a local school, learned to make a batik and cook local dishes...It's a unique experience and I doubt that I have had enough. I've fallen in love with the country and its people. Ghana has so much to offer to a visitor. I am thinking about another project to start, just give me some more time..))
At the moment I am packing again, flying to Moscow in a few days..)

Thanks!

Well said

A true Olympic story.
Everybody knows that basketball game and a ball for this game has the same name, 'basketball'. Well, not everybody, actually...
A guy from Russia ('MGIMO finished?' - 'Asked!') entering Dick's Sporting Goods store (sounds pretty funny in Russian, try it yourself as a homework :) and asking a salesperson: "Sir, do you have balls for basketball"?

Texan-style checklist: "Flaps... Fuel pump... Full trottle... Fuck all!"
Наиболее близкий по смыслу перевод: "Елероны... Електрисство... Е..сь все конем, поехали!"
(Sorry, ladies, can't miss this one :)

Snafu
))))))))))

http://www.thatvideosite.com/v/5852


Ж-)

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/ ...

Long link but interesting story

Mila Love, it is too long link - you can delete it after reading.)))

Buy again. Flight to moscow this time.))))
"See" you in September...))))

We are all visitors at this time, this place. We just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love... And then we return home.

Australian Aboriginal proverb

Do you remember where you were at 9/11. 2001?

Here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11:
(Sorry but forum filter does not let to use quotes) . :-(

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic. All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had that -All Business-look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta s main office in Atlanta and simply read: All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination.
No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander, New Foundland. He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately - no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving our request.
While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the hijackings.
We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander, New Foundland to have it checked out.
We promised to give more information after landing in Gander. There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that is nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander. Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM! .... that is 11:00 AM EST.
There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the U.S. After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following
announcement: Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason.
Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the U.S. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground control in Gander told us to stay put.
The Canadian Government was in charge of our situation and no one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near any of the air crafts. Only airport police would come around periodically, look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so more planes landed and Gander ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, 27 of which were U.S. commercial jets.
Meanwhile, bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones, but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada. Some did get through, but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the U.S. were either blocked or jammed.
Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. By now the passengers were emotionally and physically
exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm. We had only to look out the window at the 52 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament.
We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning. Passengers were not
happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without much noise and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the airplane.
Gander had promised us medical attention, if needed, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their word. Fortunately we had no medical situations to worry about. We did have a young lady who
was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without incident despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.
About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th a convoy of school buses showed up. We got off the plane and were taken to the terminal where we went through Immigration and Customs and then had to register with the Red Cross.
After that the crew was separated from the passengers and was taken in vans to a small hotel. We had no idea where our passengers were going. We learned from the Red Cross that the town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people and they had about 10,500 passengers to take care of from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander! We were told to just relax at the hotel and we would be contacted when the U.S. airports opened again, but not to expect that call for a while.
We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started.
Meanwhile, we had lots of time on our hands and found that the people of Gander were extremely friendly. They started calling us the (plane people)We enjoyed their hospitality, explored the town of Gander and ended up having a pretty good time.
Two days later, we got that call and were taken back to the Gander airport. Back on the plane, we were reunited with the passengers and found out what they had been doing for the past two days. What we found out was incredible.
Gander and all the surrounding communities (within about a 75 Kilometer radius) had closed all high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to
mass lodging areas for all the stranded travelers. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up.
ALL the high school students were required to volunteer their time to take care of the (guests). Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander where they were put up in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women-only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were taken to private homes.
Remember that young pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24-hour Urgent Care facility. There was a dentist on call and both male and female nurses remained with the crowd for the duration.
Phone calls and e-mails to the U.S. and around the world were available to everyone once a day. During the day, passengers were offered excursion trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and
harbors. Some went for hikes in the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the schools. People were driven to
restaurants of their choice and offered wonderful meals. Everyone was given tokens for local laundry mats to wash their clothes, since luggage was still on the aircraft. In other words, every single need
was met for those stranded travelers.

Sorry folk, the foolish filter does not want to show prohibited words in text.

To be continued... but tomorrow.

Speaking of 9/11 - I'm pretty sure that most of you already know this link, but just in case you don't:
http://www.maxho.com/index.php ...

No, it's not my LJ. And sorry for Russian in this thread :)

Snafu,
Long time participants of the avia forum perfectly remember of our former Moderato - Hectop))))

When pas-sengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everyone knew each other by name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impres-sing each other with who had the better time. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a chartered party flight. The crew just stayed out of their way. It was mind-boggling. Pas-sengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging
phone numbers, addres-ses, and email addres-ses.
And then a very unusual thing happened. One of our pas-sengers approached me and asked if he could make an announcement over the PA system. We never, ever allow that. But this time was different. I said - Of course - and handed him the mike. He picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He continued by saying that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of Lewisporte.

He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide college scholarships for the high school students of Lewisporte. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addres-ses, the total was for more than $14,000!

The gentleman, a MD from Virginia, promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well. As I write this account, the trust fund is at more than $1.5 million and has as-sisted 134 students in college education.
I just wanted to share this story because we need good stories right now. It gives me a little bit of hope to know that some people in a far away place were kind to some strangers who literally dropped in on them. It reminds me how much good there is in the world.

In spite of all the rotten things we see going on in today’s world this story confirms that there are still a lot of good and Godly people in the world and when things get bad, they will come forward.

Pas-sen-gers we-re cry-ing while tel-ling u s these stories. Fi-Neal-ly, when they were told that U S airports had re-opened, they were de-live-red to the airport right on time and without a sin-gle pas-sen-ger mis-sing or
late. The lo-cal R e d C ros-s had all the infor-ma-tion about the whereabouts of each and every pas-sen-ger and knew which plane they ne-eded to be on and when all the planes were leaving. They co-ordi- nated everything beautifully. It was ab-solu-tely in-cre-di-b-le.

This is the mid part of the text that filter does not like.

Welcome back, Mila Love!
How was the rest of your vacation?

Стервоточинка
**********
Thanks! Coming back from Russia was much more difficult than from Africa..))))
Had a nice food in Urjuk restaurant in Moscow. Nice cheburekis, grilled vegetables and green tea! Fantastic taste and reasonable prices...))

Стервоточинка
http://news.nationalgeographic ...
********
That is the reason for occasional misunderstandings and does explain a lot!...)))

The top 20 greatest innovations in food and drink, in full
1.Refrigeration
2.Pasteurisation / sterilisation
3.Canning
4.Oven
5.Irrigation
6.Threshing machine/combine harvester
7.Baking
8.Selective breeding / strains
9.Grinding / milling
10.Plough
11.Fermentation
12.Fishing net
13.Crop rotation
14.Pot
15.Knife
16.Eating utensils
17.Cork
18.Barrel
19.Microwave oven
20.Frying

Do you agree the fridge is the best food and drink invention? Or should it have been the oven?
;-))

Do you agree the fridge is the best food and drink invention? Or should it have been the oven?
---------------------------------------
Mila, you missed two major ones - brewery and distillation. From my standpoint, Guinness and Glenmorangie are much more importaint than fast food from microwave :)

Вот интересно, почему "Knowledge is power" переводят как "Знание-сила". По мне, вариант "Знание-власть" куда более адекватен. Власть над энергией, природой, страной, конкретными людьми. Если знаешь настроения подданных, то властвуешь без особых забот и волнений. А если знаешь какой-то секрет из жизни человека - можешь вить из него веревки :)))

Sorry for Russian in this thread :)