Free Flickr

There had been a few changes in Yahoo! since Marissa Meyer took over at the helm. The Yahoo! Mail had been upgraded. They still used Bing search, but at least they now realised the gem in their possession, Flickr! It could have been Instagram if Yahoo played their cards right five years ago. Certainly it needed fresh impetus and at least now Yahoo! is taking the brand more seriously.

I have had the Pro account for 4 years now at least. it forms one of my repositories - the main one was still SmugMug. It was kinda fun uploaded photos from my bobile on the go. It also had a very strong community driving it through. The fellow user were generally very supportive of each other, and often held meeting in real live. In fact, I had made plenty of friends through the local chapter, KLickr.

For Xmas - or possibly celebrating the apocalype - Yahoo! was offering its Pro users free 3-month extension to their subscription. All you had to do was sign in, look for the banner at the top of your home screen, and walla. After a couple of clicks, your account is extended. Enjoy!

Swimming Time Again

It was a surprising sunny afternoon today. All morning it had been threatening to rain. It sis rain in Bangsar during lunchtime, but that soon evaporated, revealing a clear sky. Which was good since the boys had their swimming lesson at 4. I joined them later after having a couple of hours to myself at the apartment. Compared to last week's it seemed that the bonus, Irfan especially was enjoying it a bit more.

There was a function at the terrace near the pool today, so, the boys did not manage to run around too much. They might miss next weekend's lesson as well since they had a birthday party to attend and I had to travel to Must forms cousin's wedding. So boys, enjoy it while you could ......

The A380

So, how was the ride on the Airbus 380? I won't pretend to be a veteran. I've only ridden on it a couple of times. Both were on the London-KLIA. That meant passing through the bad air over Bay of Bengal, something which I had always dreaded when I traveled as a student on top of a DC10. We were talking about the early 90s here. It was an experience. I could even see the fear in the cabin crew's faces.

Things got better with the 747-400. A much smoother ride all around but still the occasional heavy bumps. So, I was expecting a real smooth ride on the new plane. And yes, the ride was a lot smoother.

BoardingEnough legroom?The seats were arranged in pairs, with six seats across the rowThe central controlI was lucky to have a business class seats on both flights, hence my story may not be applicable to everyone. Boarding was faster than expected as both decks had their own platform. The gate at KLIA was actually double-stories. Hence boarding was smooth. The gate at Heathrow was a bit more sluggish as there was only a single common entrance.

The lower main deck had three compartments. The front housed the First Class - for only 8 passengers. The middle and back cabins were for the economy class.

The upper deck was also divided into three smaller sections. The front two were the Business sections with another Economy compartment at the back. The meals was what you'd expect on an MAS Business Class service. But it had a small compartment by the front set of stairs where you could mingle around a small little space. There were rack of magazines and free flow of drinks here.

It was also here that I had a chat with one of the Chief Stewarts. I actually recognised him from my previous trips. According to him, the upper front compartment was originally planned for the First Class, and hence the toilets were much bigger here. At the last moment, the arrangement was changed and the First Class was moved ton the lower deck. The facilities were smaller down there.

The Business Class seats were certainly an upgrade to the 747-400. Much bigger legroom, and the seats reclined to horizontal. Completely flat. Entertainment was provided via a 15 inch touch screen, with on-demand movie. Nothing fancy. There was ample storage space, with separate compartments for shoes and personal items. There was also a charger and personal lights.

During landing and taking off, the video console would show the view from the tail finThe screen was huge, but rather far away from viewFood at the counter by the front stairwell. No bar I was afraid.Time for meals!Waiting for take-offThe layout was 6 in a row, with a pair of seats each. On both occasions, I was sat on the middle row. For privacy, there was a small blind which one could raise in between the pair of seats. I felt secluded enough when I took a nap, so no complains from me.

On both occasions, I managed at least 6 hours of good sleep on the flights. The landing and taking off was also very smooth for a big plane. There was also a gimmick where the monitors would show a view from the tail camera during taxiing, taking off and landing. More for reassurance maybe.

The A380 was definitely big and smooth. When I travelled on the 767 for my Trans-Atlantic segment, I definitely felt that the other planes were much smaller. Maybe more psychological than anything. It lived up to its billing for sure.

More on my Atlanta trip here.

Enter Sandman

So, what did then boys wanted to watch? Not Wreck-it Ralph. Definitely not them vampire movies. For the last couple of months, they had been talking about Rise of the Guardians. It was towards the end of its run, so getting the tickets was not a problem. The only issue was not that many cinema was still showing it. We were lucky that eCurve was still doing it although the show started later than I hooked for - at 6pm.

My worry was that the boys may be to on tired after the bowling and the afternoon tea. But it turned out OK.

And the movie? It was better than I expected. It started at a fast pace, but dwindled in the middle. I actually fell asleep, before waking up towards the end when the story again picked up. Irfan especially was laughing at the jokes. And the jokes were quite funny. The animation was also quite spectacular. Great fun.

The storyline was also straight forward enough for the boys to understand. Very funny at times although could be quite heavy. Definitely worth the entry fee. Something which I would recommend as a Sunday matinee.

Time for some Zzzz

Wow! It would be a week tomorrow since my return from Atlanta. And boy, it had been quite a week. I managed to do a couple of calls, took the boys out for a couple of outings, a date with Puan Anita and a few restless nights. In short, I need some time to rest. My ageing body couldn't take more if this punishment!

Well, to be honest it wasn't too bad. The calls were carried through with adrenaline. It was only nights following the duties which the fatigue really set in. Tonight was such a night.

I went to visit my Mum who had just returned from Korea after a four nights trip. She had a whale of a time, and managed to see the snow for the first time. She also had a go at skiing, taking a couple of tumbles for good measure. But, by the time I was about to go, I could hardly managed to drive. I was that tired.

I was about to hit the sack when I wrote this entry, just after checking my emails and looking at the lists of things I have got in store for tomorrow. Better get the rest then. Good night ......

More on my Atlanta trip here.