Heading to Texas for Super Bowl XLV?
You’ll probably start your Texas adventure at Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport. And the airport is ready for you.
From February 2th through February 7th, DFW will greet football fans with video highlights from past NFL games and a wide range of entertainment, including bands, live statues of football players and Rowdy, the Dallas Cowboys mascot.
Don’t tell me this hasn’t happened to you.
You have stuff to do. Deadlines. Work someone will pay you for if you just, you know, do it.
So you pour a cup of coffee and sit down at the computer.
But then, dang, the Internet happens.
Here’s a bit of what got me distracted today.
Air New Zealand posted time-lapse video footage of its first new domestic A320 being built and painted with all black livery.
The paint job has something to do with the All Blacks rugby team, so of course I had to visit that site and then the Small Blacks site as well.
As long as I was visiting the Air New Zealand site, I had to check in on what that wild and crazy furry creature, Rico, was up to. I found this reel of bloopers.
A quick check of email and Twitter sent me off in new directions.
Florida’s Dali Museum was opening in its snazzy new building in St. Petersburg, FL. And as someone who first came upon that museum collection, by accident, when it shared space with a factory in Cleveland, Ohio, I of course had to visit.
While there, I came across this clip of Salvador Dali as a guest on the old TV show, What’s My Line?
Then, of course, it was time to check email and Twitter and catch up on my RSS feed.
A blog post by the folks at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum - 5 Cool Things at the Udvar-Hazy Center You May Have Missed – caught my eye because the Udvar-Hazy Center is just down the road Dulles International Airport.
And then I really got tangled up in the web. A comment on the museum blog post mentioned Anita, “the spider from Skylab.” I didn’t know about Anita so had to follow that thread.
It turns out that Anita and a companion spider, Arabella, were part of an experiment flown on Skylab, a space station launched in May 1973.
According the Smithsonian website:
Scientists and students interested in the growth, development, behavior, and adaptation of organisms in weightlessness provided a variety of biology experiments for flight in the orbital research laboratory. A common Cross spider, “Anita” participated in a web formation experiment suggested by a high school student. The experiment was carried out on the Skylab 3 mission, which lasted 59 days from July 28-September 25, 1973. Astronauts Alan Bean, Jack Lousma, and Owen Garriott carried out the scientific research in space, reported the results, and returned this specimen at the end of their mission. NASA then sent Anita, a companion spider “Arabella,” and the experiment equipment to the Museum.
Anita is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
Arabella is in storage.
(London’s Olympic Stadium – as it will look at completion. Courtesy: London 2012)
Prices for tickets to the 2012 London Olmpics were announced today – and it looks like they’re going to top out at more than $3,000.
But here’s a way to save some dough: go see London now.
As I wrote in my story for msnbc.cm – Experience London ahead of the 2012 Olympics – you can avoid the crowds and get a sneak peek at Olympic venues, the Olympic Park and a wide range of Olympic-inspired arts and cultural events.
The 2012 Olympic Park is being built on 500 acres of a formerly rundown part of London’s east end and will contain the Olympic Stadium, an aquatic center, a Pringle-shaped velodrome for bicycle racing, a handball arena and the Olympic Village, which will house many athletes. The construction site itself is off-limits to the public, but guided walking tours and bus tours currently take visitors through nearby neighborhoods and historic areas and to spots that offer great views of the work in progress.
Many Olympic events will take place outside the official Olympic Park site, in existing sports venues and open spaces. For example, Hyde Park will be used for the triathlon and for marathon swimming. Lord’s Cricket Ground will host archery competitions, and equestrian events will take place in Greenwich Park. These and many other sites are available to visit and tour before the games as well.
Men’s and women’s soccer finals will be held in the new, 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium, which has a sliding roof and is about six miles from downtown London. (The first Wembley Stadium was also at this site and was the venue for the 1948 Olympic Games and for the 1966 World Soccer Cup.) In addition to attending a regular sport or entertainment event here, visitors can take a 90-minute tour of the stadium that includes the England changing room, the players’ tunnel, and famous sports trophies and artifacts such as the torch that started the 1948 Olympic Games. Shorter, 60-minute tours are also available. See Wembley Stadium for prices and more information.
Wimbledon, the grass-court tennis venue famous for being the site of the Wimbledon tennis tournament since 1877, will host the tennis competitions during the 2012 games. Prior to the games, visitors can attend other tennis tournaments and visit the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, which has a collection of historic tennis attire and artifacts, a film about the science of tennis and an unusual tour led by a ghost-like image of John McEnroe.
For information about the North Greenwich Arena and some of the other venues that will host some of the 26 sports played during 2010 Games, see Visit London or London 2012.
And here’s something else you – and your kids – can take full advantage of in London if you arrive before the crowds: complimentary hotel nanny service.
When the Athenaeum Hotel & Apartments decided to hire a team of nannies, several children were on the interview panel. Three highly qualified nannies now share the hotel’s Kids Concierge duties.
Kids under 12 get complimentary meals, access to the hotel’s “Toy Shed” and special attention from The Athenaeum’s nannies year-round, but if your family is planning to pop over to London before the end of this month, take a look at the special package the hotel is offering that includes three hours of babysitting service.
This is a truly great endeavor by some inns and B&Bs across the country.
On November 10th, in observance of Veterans Day (November 11th), more than 300 B&Bs and Inns in more than 40 states around the country will be offering a free night’s stay to active and retired U.S. military members. Here’s the list of participating properties.
Each property is committing to offer at least one room, and many properties are already full. But the program is getting a lot of attention, so check back to see if other properties join the list.
Here’s something sure to be controversial: Singapore Airlines has partnered with OnAir to offer passengers Wi-Fi Internet and mobile services – including the option to make and receive phone calls. The service will begin being rolled out in the first half of 2011.
What do you think?
Get ready: winter is coming and for outdoor fans Southwest Airlines will be hosting free ice-skating in downtown Denver.
The Southwest Rink at Skyline Park will be next to the historic Daniels and Fisher Clocktower, right next to the recently opened Southwest Porch.
Free skating starts November 26th. You can bring your own skates or rent some there.
Ted Stevens, the former senator from Alaska who died in a plane crash earlier this week, had the pleasure of seeing a lot of things named for him while he was alive.
The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is one of them.
The terminal offers free wireless Internet access and is home to the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame and an impressive display of Alaska Native Art.
photo courtesy Kathy Gronau
Photo courtesy Kathy Gronau
It’s been a while since I’ve been up there, but I’m planning to head that way soon.
If for no other reason than to wander the terminal checking out the airport’s collection of taxidermy Black Bears, Kodiak Brown Bears, Polar Bears and a Musk Ox.
Who says airports must be boring?
Things go from bad to worse at new #Berlin Brandenburg Airport. New opening date: March 2013. http://t.co/kR47KGwA #airports
