Author Archives: Greg Fischer

Airlines – Welcome to Airline Fare School!

Posted on Friday, July 24, 2009 by Greg Fischer

My misspent career in the travel industry began in the spring of 1979 at the tender age of 23 when I was hired as a reservations sales agent for TWA in their San Francisco call center. I was laid off … Continue reading →

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Alameda’s Crosstown Coffeehouse – an end and a beginning

Posted on Sunday, July 19, 2009 by Greg Fischer

My first impulse was to title this post “Requiem for a Coffeehouse” but I concluded that was both too somber and, I hope, not really accurate. Last autumn I mentioned the Crosstown Coffeehouse in the first of two posts about … Continue reading →

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Chico bloggers to invade Alameda

Posted on Thursday, July 16, 2009 by Greg Fischer

For several years I’ve told fellow Norcalblogger, Steve Brown (“But This is Chico, too”), what a great place Alameda is for someone like him, a self-described flaneur who enjoys walking amidst a mix of old and new and everything in … Continue reading →

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Airlines – You’re going to love this

Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 by Greg Fischer

I picked this up from several of the travel industry blogs I read. Story in brief. – Dave Carroll, a musician from the band “Sons Of Maxwell”, flies United from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Omaha, Nebraska – Dave sees his … Continue reading →

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Airlines – United Airlines, travel agencies, and credit cards

Posted on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 by Greg Fischer

It hasn’t gotten a lot of press outside the travel industry but a recent move by United Airlines may change how you buy airline tickets.

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Airlines – The best frequent flyer programs for not-so-frequent flyers

Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2009 by Greg Fischer

If you live in California, Oregon, or Washington but are not an especially frequent flyer it still pays to be enrolled in two airline mileage programs to capture the benefit of the trips you do take. Membership in more than … Continue reading →

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Broken laptop? Call Eric!

Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 by Greg Fischer

Right after I got back from Reno three weeks ago my old laptop failed me. Specifically, the “on” button kind of collapsed into the case. I couldn’t turn the darn thing on. I went to a local computer store and … Continue reading →

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Destinations – Downtown Reno: a work in progress

Posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 by Greg Fischer

I’ve been in Reno many times over the past 45 years, for fun (as a child, young adult, and middle-aged adult), and for work when I was with Amtrak or AAA. Reno’s downtown area has been on a largely downhill … Continue reading →

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Running – Eric Lerude, creator of the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey

Posted on Friday, June 12, 2009 by Greg Fischer

In my last post I gave a leg-by-leg account of my team’s experience running the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey (RTO). This post takes a look at Eric Lerude, the fellow who conceived and brought to life the event. But first a warning. … Continue reading →

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Running – “Big Relays”

Posted on Friday, June 5, 2009 by Greg Fischer

For runners or non-runners who’ve never done a relay event like the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey (RTO) that I just wrote about, here’s a an explanation followed by a chronology of my team’s experience this past weekend. The chronology will turn the … Continue reading →

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