No, they aren’t.

It used to be a reliable thing that you could fly to London from NY for $400 R/T. I see a few fares like that doing a quick check, but it’s not the given that it used to be that you will get such a fare. I used to be able to fly to Asia for $1000 - NOT ANYMORE. I used to be able to fly around the US…

I would do so...but I live abroad so I don’t have much choice if I want to see family ever.

At least I’m lucky in that I get to fly Asian airlines which are much better and international trips don’t carry a baggage fee. But yeah, I fly around the US much less than I used to, for basically this reason. It’s not fun,…

Yeah no, that’s only true if the prices were actually lumped into the ticket price that way, and as we can see from the weight these planes can actually carry...that’s BS. It doesn’t cost them $25 to take your bag when you’re already paying a fuel surcharge and THEY KNOW IT.

If the entire industry were competitive on a larger scale, then how come it’s not just the route I most often fly that keeps going up, but almost all flights I might take to various parts of the world do so as well? If what you say were true, it would be cheaper than ever to fly USA-Europe (it’s not), or to various…

I can’t think of any routes I normally fly where the prices have gone down...only up. Briefly, New York-Istanbul was a good deal but that seems to be passing. So I just don’t see the “competitiveness”, sorry.

I don’t really care what their reasons are for tacking on ancillary fees...they seem to think, though, that I…

I almost never travel within North America to any destination I can’t get to overland, so it sort of doesn’t matter for me (and even if I do fly I always fly budget airlines as the ‘regular’ ones are not much better for a lot more money). I care about price competitiveness to Asia.

But I moved to Taiwan 9 years ago,…

Yeah...but seriously fuck the Chinese government

I really, really hope this was meant to be sarcastic, George.

The thing about that is, in America, how do you get around if your particular disability means you can’t drive, if you don’t live in one of a very few select cities? The lack of public transportation in the USA more than generates enough crap to encrustify the ADA.

I think a lot of ‘daily grind’* folks don’t know what they’ll do when they get old either. If you know the economy has crapped on you so bad that you can never afford to retire, you may as well enjoy your younger years...

*not meant as disrespect, it’s a necessity for most, so...

See to me that sounds like you got your degree there. I studied abroad in India but I didn’t get my degree there, so I wouldn’t say “I studied in India” or “I was a student in India”.

So, the ID I use in the USA is my New York driver’s license, but the ID I use in Taiwan is my permanent resident card. I have both. I haven’t lived in New York since 1998 and have been in Taiwan for 9 years. However, with an address in New York (my dad’s house), I qualify for Obamacare there, and have it so I’m…

I would wonder then where I did live when I studied abroad as I had no place to “live” in the city where I would return to finish university, and I wasn’t living with my parents. So where was I living if not in the place where I went to bed every night and to class every morning?

I feel like if I’ve paid bills, gotten a local phone #, spent a large amount of time doing things I’d do if I lived there like going to work or class, and rented an apartment for at least one month’s rent, I lived there. The “having a fixed place to stay” is especially important, otherwise you’re just…

They have? My frequent RT tickets between the East Coast and Asia have been doing nothing but going up, and the only competitive airlines offering decent fares on them are Asian ones, not American ones. “Competitive” my ass.

But honestly if they want to make more money they should find ways to make us want to fly…

It’s not totally clear to everyone that the shoe is right in between those two shades? The magenta is a bit closer but also a bit too pink. The purple is close but a bit too purple. Mix them in a 1:1 ratio and they will match exactly.

Honestly this could be written in like 5 lines.

That really depends on the dough. Linzer cookie dough is weirdly sweet, oily and a bit grainy but bakes into delicious jam-filled cookies. And cookies are only crumbly if you make crispy ones or cook them wrong - a good soft gingerbread or double chocolate cookie isn’t crumbly at all.

Sorry but that pie sounds delicious and should be featured in a “Restaurant customers who DEFINITELY should have eaten that” segment.

I had to do one for my Cambridge Delta Module 3...it was a quick affair with just one bullet point in the needs analysis results but apparently I **had** to have it. I’m still not sure why.