Orbitz $150 for 5 night and $75 for 3 night package coupon
PROMOTION CODE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
$150 Promotion Code (SUNANDSKI150 )
Book a qualifying hotel or flight hotel package to an eligible destination between October 1, 2007, and November 12, 2007, for 3 or more nights for travel between October 1, 2007, and March 31, 2008, via Orbitz and instantly receive $150 off your purchase through the use of the promotion code. Eligible destinations for this promotion code are: Mexico, Caribbean, Hawaii, Florida, and California, Alyeska, AK; Aspen, CO; Attitash, NH; Banff, Canada; Big Bear, CA; Big Sky, MT; Bolton Valley, VT; Breckenridge, CO; Keystone, CO; Copper, CO; Crested Butte, CO; Durango, CO; Grand Targhee, ID; Jackson Hole, WY; Killington, VT; Lake Tahoe, CA & NV; Mammoth, CA; Mount Snow, VT; Okemo, VT; Park City, UT; Deer Valley, UT; The Canyons, UT; Red Lodge, MT; Salt Lake City, UT; Steamboat, CO; Stowe, VT; Stratton, VT; Sugarbush, VT, Sugarloaf, ME; Sun Valley, ID; Sunday River, ME; Taos, NM; Angel Fire, NM; Red River, NM; Telluride, CO; Vail, CO; Beaver Creek, CO; Waterville Valley, NH; Whistler, Canada; Wildcat Mountain, NH; and Winter Park, CO.. To display qualifying hotels or packages, click “I have a promotion code.” and enter the promotion code, then look for hotels or packages marked with the icon “COUPON.” Limit one discount per hotel room and one promotion code per purchase. Discounts are not redeemable for cash for any reason. Any attempt at fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Orbitz reserves the right to change or limit the promotion in its sole discretion.

I just booked 3 tickets to Hawaii for $322 a piece, all taxes/fees included. And I'll be using this bad boy to book the hotel.

I need to call Clark Howard and get some praise.

Orbitz $150 for 5 night and $75 for 3 night package coupon - FlyerTalk Forums

Amplifying your laptop Wi-Fi

I have always been frustrated with the performance of my laptop Wi-Fi. I tried many solutions to improve the signal from far away routers, but few of these worked. I'll cover a solution that I came up with that finally did yield some results for me.

Most laptops nowadays have a mini PCI Wi-Fi card hooked to an antenna which is located inside a screen plastic cover on the laptop. I was browsing eBay recently and noticed that there were some Wi-Fi amplifiers available that promoted themselves as improving the reception of the signal. Sadly most of those amplifiers are designed to be hooked to a PCMCIA type card or a router! None of them seemed to be specifically made for a mini PCI card.

I decided to buy a Wi-Fi amplifier and hook it to my laptop. I have an ASUS A2H laptop with a Dell 1470 a/b/g Wi-Fi mini PCI card inside, I bought the card for $20 off of eBay. I bought the amplifier for $118, it is a 500 mw bi-directional amplifier called "turbo tenna", the amplifier was shipped from Hong Kong and I received it shortly after ordering on eBay.

Fun.

Homemade Laptop Wi-Fi Amplifier Review

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) positioned itself as a buyer in the U.S. airline industry on Tuesday as its new chief executive said the carrier wanted to take a leading role when the industry consolidates.

"We fully expect that this evolution toward a more consolidated industry will continue," said Richard Anderson, who took over as Delta CEO in September.

"Ultimately, it's our goal to be the undisputed leader in the airline industry. To achieve that goal, we must be on the leading edge of change to keep pace in this dynamic business environment," Anderson, the former CEO of Northwest Airlines Corp (NWA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said on a conference call.

"There are obvious benefits that could accrue from consolidation for our shareholders and employees," said Anderson. "We are evaluating the best path forward for Delta."

From Keep Delta My Delta to...

Make NorthWest My Delta?

Delta Air CEO opens door to consolidation | News | Mergers/Acquisitions | Reuters

So in the tradition of past Freakonomics Quorums on the music industry, street charity, and climate change, we asked a few industry insiders — Clifford Winston, Richard Branson, Gary Topping, Patrick Smith and Josh Marks — to address the following question:

The U.S. airline market is a mess right now, with unhappiness increasing among customers, employees, and executives. While certain companies have become profitable again, the future looks murky. What will the U.S. airline industry look like in 10 years in terms of prices? Customer service? Safety? Technology? The economics of the business itself?

I just want my flight on one of them 787s.

What Will U.S. Air Travel Look Like in Ten Years? A Freakonomics Quorum - Freakonomics - Opinion - New York Times Blog

Tasered and shot with a beanbag gun for videotaping warrantless police search

Tasered and shot with a beanbag gun for videotaping warrantless police search - Boing Boing

Greenspan: I was telling my colleagues the other day...I’d been dealing with these big mathematical models for forecasting the economy, and I’m looking at what’s going on the last few weeks and I say, “Y’know, if I could figure out a way to determine whether or not people are more fearful, or changing to euphoric... I don’t need any of this other stuff. I could forecast the economy better than any way I know. The trouble is, we can’t figure that out. I’ve been in the forecasting business for 50 years, and I’m no better than I ever was, and nobody else is either.”

Stewart: (Leans back in chair)...You just bummed the sh*t outta me!

The Big Picture | Alan Greenspan on The Daily Show

By ANDREW MIGA
Associated Press Writer
AP - Friday, October 12

WASHINGTON - Rep. Barney Frank, a leading gay rights champion in Congress, on Thursday urged fellow gay rights advocates not to let their dispute over protecting transgender workers doom a job discrimination ban that could mark a major civil rights advance for gays in the workplace.

The debate over including transgender people has sharply divided gay rights activists, many of whom are trying to kill a stripped-down bill without protections for transgender workers that Frank and Democratic leaders hope will win House passage this year.

"We're not going to be split off this way," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "We're driven by principle. No civil rights movement has ever left a part of its community behind - and we're not about to be the first."

Frank, D-Mass., one of two openly gay members of Congress, supports transgender protections, but said they don't have the votes.

"Politically, the notion that you don't do anything until you can do everything is self-defeating," he said.

Frank said the public has more awareness because gay activists began educating people about the unfairness of prejudice based on sexual orientation a long time ago.

"These things take awhile," Frank said. "The transgender issue is of relatively recent vintage."

Legislation banning workplace discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals _ but not those who have had sex-change surgery or cross-dressers _ has stalled after an outcry from the transgender community and its allies, including many gay rights organizations.

"Transgender" is an umbrella term that covers transsexuals, cross-dressers and others whose outward appearance doesn't match their gender at birth.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would make it illegal for employers to make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Churches and the military would be exempt.

But when Democrats took vote counts and realized the measure would fail, they substituted a new scaled-back version dropping transgender people from the bill. A second bill to ban workplace discrimination against transgenders was also drafted.

Gay rights groups that oppose a ban that leaves out transgender people have waged an aggressive lobbying campaign.

"Fighting your friends can sometimes be difficult," said Frank.

Foreman agreed.

"I never thought in a million years we would be on the opposite side of Barney Frank and it is painful," he said.

Federal law bans job discrimination based on factors such as race, gender and religion. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have laws against sexual orientation discrimination.

However, only nine states specifically protect transgender people from discrimination: New Jersey, Minnesota, Rhod... [ Read More (0.4k in body) ]

Gay Rights Backers Split on Bias Bill

PARIS, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Air France KLM (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday signalled an imminent joint-venture deal on transatlantic flights by calling a joint news conference by the two airlines' chief executives in Paris on Oct. 17.

Air France KLM declined further comment on the invitation, but it has said it is close to finalising a deal with Skyteam partner Delta that would create better cost-sharing and integration on the transatlantic routes.

A source close to the matter said a deal would be signed at or around the Oct. 17 event.

The deal follows an Open Skies agreement to free up competition between Europe and the United States from April.

Air France KLM and Delta signal j-v deal | Reuters

Fortunately, if startups get cheaper to start, there's another way to convince investors. Instead of going to venture capitalists with a business plan and trying to convince them to fund it, you can get a product launched on a few tens of thousands of dollars of seed money from us or your uncle, and approach them with a working company instead of a plan for one. Then instead of having to seem smooth and confident, you can just point them to Alexa.

This way of convincing investors is better suited to hackers, who often went into technology in part because they felt uncomfortable with the amount of fakeness required in other fields.

The Future of Web Startups

But all that's sort of icing on the cake, the meat of the pack was about how the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act offers a sizable incentive to video game companies for producing games there. Devs and publishers get as much as a 12 percent tax break.

Industry: Georgia is Gaming - Kotaku