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Day Zero This at times may be long and boring and full of information that others don't need or wish to read. I am trying to detail my experience for the month and will include prices and small details that may bore others. Just an advance warning. It is always very difficult to find a good price on airfare ticket going to Brazil. But this time Delta Airlines had a ticket that was around $2200 with 30,000 miles to upgrade for first class. I jumped at the ticket. Well, I would not say that I necessarily jumped at the ticket. I called Delta Airlines several times in order to find the best price of the ticket. After several calls I got ranges anywhere from over five or $6000 and finally down to the 2200 I felt comfortable with. I tried to leave from Dallas Forth Worth but it was going to cost over 1200 more and I decided the drive to Austin was fine for me. I stayed one night at an airport hotel called Fairfield Suites Hotel. It was around 90USD. It is about 8 miles from airport and as I had to return a rental car, I booked that room. Austin Airport is small. It is not a big place but it is very easy to get from rental cars to the check in. As I had a business class ticket, I am allowed 3 bags. Most people know I like to travel with lots of shit, but on this trip, I got everything into 2 suitcases and 2 carryons. I can't believe it. But, as I'll be taking GOL Airline on at least 4 or 5 other segments during the course of the month, I thought packing light was a good idea. The airplane ride BOEING 767-400 was fine. It was supposed to be the lay flat beds. However these beds are not the same size as the beds that are lay flat seats that go over to Asia. These beds were smaller in width. And your feet had to go in front of above the chair in front of you. It was nowhere for a really big guy to be comfortable. And, if you selected an odd number row by the window, it meant your shoulders were pushed against the plane if you have big shoulders. As soon as I got to hotel, I got on Internet and changed my seat assignment for when I return to USA in a month. I did like the new Tumi bathroom accessory bag that is given to business class passengers. I love Tumi and this was a pleasant surprise. I have about 10 Tumi luggage pieces and love that I will now get some free. The meals on the Delta flight were tasty and the crew was pleasant. However, for the business class section, they took the 2 bathrooms from the front and it left only 2 bathrooms in the rear. In other words, lines the entire time. Not sure why on earth they would configure the new planes like this. I'm not really sure what happened with this German passenger. But after the breakfast meal we were all standing in line to go to the restroom. The pilot of the airplane went to the restroom, came out of the restroom, and relocked the door to the restroom from the outside as well. I thought odd but perhaps he had an accident. After the pilot relocked the door so no one could enter another pilot came down to use the restroom in other word, he was saving the bathroom for the pilots. The German passenger got very irate and started yelling and screaming and calling them every name in the book. It was crazy experience that I didn't think what happened on an airplane and especially in the business class section. The pilot warned him that if he did not call down that he would have to have someone restrain him and have police waiting on him when we got to San Paulo. I tried to intervene the best I could and told the guy keep his mouth shut but he didn't listen to me or anyone else. He was extremely obnoxious, overly rude and very boisterous. I'm surprised they did not put him in restraints on the plane. He felt he was entitled to the restroom as a paying customer before the pilots. He said this to them and told them he would never fly their fucking airline again. When we got off of the airplane in San Paulo Brazil there were policemen waiting outside. I do not know if it were waiting for him or waiting for someone else. I do know that they made a call on the airplane sound system for a passenger with the German name to see the people outside. Typical of Brazil, once we got to the airport the lines to get through immigration took almost 45 minutes. After immigration, I had to pick up my luggage which was all waiting there in a belt that was not moving. The belt was piled high with luggage falling all of the place. For such a world class city, the airport sucks! I decided that I would take the taxi from the airport. The cost from the airport in some Paulo to my hotel was 116 R. I decided that I would get the taxi from the booth at the airport. It is never advisable to just let someone that's telling you that they will your taxi driver without the official medallion. I decided this time I will be a bit more adventurous than I have passed and stay in the hotel I have not stayed in before. I chose to stay at the Holiday Inn express. The Holiday Inn express had a special promotion to where you can stay each night for 5000 points. Being the point guy that I am I realize that 5000 points for one night at the Holiday Inn express versus 40,000 points for one night at the Intercontinental downtown was just too big of a difference to pass out, so I booked The Holiday Inn Express. It took me about 50 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel. I arrived early morning plane was late and it was rush hour. The traffic was horrible to get to the hotel. The Holiday Inn Express is in a very nice-looking neighborhood. I have not had the chance to explore around the area yet. But at least they have a room ready for me when I arrived. Since I am one other priority club members I was able to check in at 9 AM. The room is very basic but clean and livable for a week. My day zero going from Austin Texas to Atlanta airport and then on to San Paulo was a very long day zero. Now, it is time for my Brazil Adventure 2013.

Please don't encourage me to comment on that group. Best regards, RA1

Obama Circumvents Gridlocked Congress To Advance LGBT Rights Amanda Terkel -- The Huffington Post Read it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/obama-lgbt-congress-hud_n_2766940.html

Not to worry about too many details, at least as far as I am concerned. I have been east and west a lot but not South America so I would like to learn from others as much as possible. I am hoping the German passenger was drunk or otherwise incapacitated. Why would any thinking person want to inconvenience someone who has the safety of the passengers and aircraft in their hands? Nothing like having one of the pilots hopping on one foot and then the other because they need to piss. OTOH, one would like to think the pax would willingly let a pilot go to the head of the line (no pun intended) so they can immediately return to their duty stations. There should be no need to lock the door to make this happen. Many times I think the world has taken leave of their senses. For instance, why should the TSA bother a pilot other than to verify his credentials aka ID as being real? He or she does not need a weapon to fly the aircraft into the ground. Only the ill will to do so. Have fun and keep the reports coming. Best regards, RA1

thank you for the report! have a lot of fun and take pictures!

I can see that, now you mention it. (We will not pursue any alternate parsing of "snake handler." )

Oh, those Pentecostals. I must have been thinking of the hard drinking, pot smoking guys in local 386. Best regards, RA1

Where I grew up, those were the Pentecostals.

Irrelevantly, except from the same site... http://www.holytaco.com/classic-taco-a-flowchart-to-deterine-what-religion-you-should-follow/

What is the source of that commentary? I am not a critic, I don't even play one on TV. I don't think a much of most critics. It is easy to throw stones. It is much harder trying to create entertainment or something else for that matter than it is to piss on it. I also don't give much weight to those who perennially piss and moan about the failed efforts of shows like this. By their very nature these shows are difficult to put on. They are an awards ceremony where people are recognized by the industry and who in turn recognize those who helped them achieve their success. The Oscars is full of stars that people like to ogle. So they televise it. Then people complain that it is not very entertaining, more like an awards ceremony. LOL So they try to fold some entertainment in to the show for audience appeal which appeals to the show sponsors. Most people are not in character so we get their real persona which may not be as sparking as the characters they play on the screen. The timing is off which is not surprising as real people are interacting in a mostly unscripted environment. Off stage is probably chaos fifteen minutes after the show start. Like battle plans in a skirmish, show plans don't last long once the show dynamics stray from the course. So to coordinate so many individuals and set-ups with show tunes and vocalists with orchestras, get the presenters to their marks where the hopefully encounter a working teleprompter etc., jokes and commentary are used to provide segways between acts/performances/presentations or just to fill space while unplanned disasters occurring off stage are overcome. No doubt some is ad-libed as the backstage catastrophies unfold. So not all the jokes and commentary work all of the time. Big deal. It is live unscripted TV. As for me. I liked McFarlane. I enjoyed the show. I'd like to see him back again but he said once was enough because of all the time it takes away from the rest of his life/work. I didn't know anything about him before this other than a week or so before the Oscars I heard he was a creator of one of the adult animation shows -- maybe Family Guy? He can sing, he can dance, he can tell jokes, has an edge, he's easy on the eyes. What's not to like? Yeah, not all the jokes worked. Yeah, some of them were a bit off color. He's trying his stuff out. It was hist FIRST time. HE's a multi-dimensional entertainer. They make the best emcees. I thought it was one of the better shows they have had.