As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.
Quote of the Week:Â “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou
Humor Break: (Our favorite couple love to travel. They reported the following conversation from their most recent trip.)
Bev: We would like the big bag to go to our destination. We would like the smaller bag to go to Los Angeles.
Airline Representative: I am sorry ma’am but we can’t do that.
Al: Sure you can. You did it on our last trip.
Stat of the Week: I love looking for quirky facts that might interest or affect our readers’ profile. Many of you fly. So here are today’s QFs (quirky facts). U.S. airlines reaped 3.5 billion in fees for checked luggage. And if you are one of those folks who just can’t seem to make up your mind, you paid another 2.6 billion in change fees. One might think the airlines are committing flyway robbery, but somehow they only made a 2012 profit of 3.7%, up slightly from 3.2% in 2011.
Action Tip: If you are making flight plans, might want to avoid Frontier Airlines. Unless you book with them directly on their website they will assess you a $25 or more fee for carry-on luggage. By the way, if you still call it “carry-on luggage†you are hopelessly dated. The correct reference these days is “hand baggage allowanceâ€. Kind of sets the stage for fees, doesn’t it!
Self-Development Corner: Care to start the second half of 2013 with a little schooling? Next week Coursera offers Competitive Strategy (July 1, 6 weeks, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, in English).
Being a holiday week to celebrate our past in the United States, perhaps you might like to extend the celebration by calculating the future: Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy (July 1, 8 weeks, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, in English).
Happy learning!
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.
The Maya Angelou quote reminded me of one by Mark Twain. Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Love the humor break…terrific and by the way, got home at midnight and have no idea where my luggage is. Maybe it is with Bev and Al. Didn’t hear from you on the bagel preferences…talk to Karen and get back to me. Gracias and have a nice 4th.