News and notes from around the interweb:
- Ann Arbor Marriott Residence Inn sued after woman was infected while swimming “totally unsanitary” there was tons of bacteria and no chlorine in the pool.
23-year-old Alexis Williams was in serious pain as she could not use her leg. It all stemmed from a trip to the Residence Inn in downtown Ann Arbor where she and her little cousins swam on June 24. …”One of the young fellows got violently ill. Projectile vomit. The other little cousin, 7 years of age, spiked at a horrible temperature,” said attorney Ven Johnson.
Williams’ right knee was burning, as she was rushed to the hospital. Doctors there discovered she was infected with the MRSA Bacteria and underwent three surgeries. …The medicine was hard on her kidneys, and she now needed a walker to get around. Williams also has a PICC set in her arm to constantly receive antibodies.
- Nate Silver takes on my back of the envelope claim that
$83 billion is wasted annually arriving at the airport before it’s needed .And of course he’s right that not all airport time is wasted time, but the point is that we’re largely giving up as the amount of time increases – and it really shouldn’t. We shouldn’t be turning airports into monstrosities and simply accept long lines for screening as inevitable – that’s the key takeaway here.
- Airline Pilot In Trouble After Delaying Flight To Wait For Friend
- 6,000 square foot headquarters McDonalds in Chicago has their unique menu items from around the world
- Banker: Perhaps if you told him I ran the second largest banking house in Amsterdam.
Carl: Second largest? That wouldn’t impress Rick. The leading banker in Amsterdam is now the pastry chef in our kitchen.
Banker: We have something to look forward to.I think today’s Uber driver is overqualified. pic.twitter.com/NAfYt0paef
— Lawrence Benjamin (@renaissanceblr) August 6, 2025
- The Economist: How loyalty programmes are keeping America’s airlines aloft “Many carriers now make their money from credit-card deals”
This seems like an extortion racket, who goes in the water if you have a scraped up knee, she could have got that bacteria anywhere.
If I didn’t have somewhere to be at the other end of the flight, I wouldn’t stress out about the delay.
Was that one of those indoor pools? Oof. If I may be your ‘suffering sommelier,’ I must say, ‘projectile vomit’ pairs nicely with ‘explosive diarrhea’…
Also, nice ‘Casablanca’ lines. Classic.
Finally, that Economist article is spot on. The airlines are now just credit card/bank affiliates, who occasionally do need to fly an aircraft to keep the ‘game’ afloat. So, to those who gripe about ‘low margins..’ and ‘but, but, they’ll increase airfares..’ recall that those partnerships and selling those ‘points’ are where the real money in commercial aviation is today.
The Nate Silver article is an interesting analysis, but he still notes that he does his “cutting it close”strategy when he is:
• flying within the United States.
• not checking bags.
• There are some reasonable backups if he misses the flight (he is in NY)
• And even then, he goes on to note that of the flights he missed, all but one was because he misgauged his commute
That is a lot of ifs. I am flying international about half the time these days. I have a hard time getting by without checking bags, since I usually need multiple changes of clothes for work. And even at large airports, I can tell you that if you miss the morning flight to podunk, you are sunk. If there is another flight, it might be full. Finally, traffic problems happen all the time, especially in major cities.
For me, at least, I am happy to work on the laptop in the lounge versus at home or the office for an extra half hour. On the return leg of a trip I may be okay missing a flight – but only if it is the airline’s fault, so it won’t cost me anything. I stick by thinking that if you are okay missing a flight to go somewhere by cutting it too close, you are taking trips you don’t need to take. I fly because I need to be somewhere at a particular time.
In Alaska, the Hilton Garden Inn had to completely redo their pool & all the pipes due to all the pee and urine in the hot tub and pool. Apparently it caused some issues with some of the epoxy/joint sealers used and had leaks (not sure if I believe that excuse, but it always did smell aweful in there).
But the pool area was down for about 16 months. I’m told the Hawthorne Suites drained their pool and gave it a deep cleaning, and of course the urine levels were notoriously high.
I now avoid swimming in ANY indoor hotel pool unless its linked to an outside pool.
And a fun read on urine and pools: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39123085
I always avoid hotel pools. Which usually have germs in them the size of a nickel.
“all the pee and urine in the hot tub and pool” Oh my gosh, pee AND urine!
@This comes to mind — Some folks pay good money for that! Golden… release the ‘pee tape’!
@ 1990
I don’t think I’m sophisticated enough to appreciate the ‘suffering sommelier’s’ recommendations for an experience that could not ever end well !
Also, so would you consider a ‘pee & urine’ infested pool the cheap man’s/woman’s substitute for a ‘golden SHOWER’ ? …
@ haolenate
LOL .. the double entendre of ‘LEAKing’ pipes !! .. And a sincere thank you for confirming my recently acquired germaphobic prohibition of not indulging in any public hot tub/pool. But I fail to see the acceptability of an outdoor pool versus indoor…..