Indy Telecom & Industrial Media

So, my folks were supposed to fly back to India today through Air France, via Paris. But as it turns out, there was a five-day Air France strike, targeted particularly at the Charles de Gaulle & Orly airports in France.

Of course, we were blissfully unaware of this and when we checked the status online, we had a scare. Rather than inform the passengers that there was a strike, the website just said that their reservations were on a waiting list. The whole thing was so confusing that we finally gave up and just called them. You all know just how much I love talking to Air France.

This time, we decided to call Air France India in the hope of better service. Their Chennai counterparts said that their complete system was down and gave me a number in Delhi to call. I finally called Air France in Delhi, and a surprisingly friendly guy named Suresh helped us out.

Now, it turns out that they may fly out tomorrow, but nothing is certain yet.

And oh, this has cost Air France a rather pretty penny and so apparently, everyone is busy suing everyone else over the strike. The travel agents are suing Air France and in turn, Air France is suing the three unions that were responsible for the strike.

Nice.

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Black Monday crash of 1987, which was something that everyone’s favorite cynic Mr. Taleb would call a Black Swan event.

It would have been nice to look back and reminisce, if it were not for the fact that post August, the markets aren’t exactly healthy today, either.

And in related news, Wallstrip turned a year old this week.  And they celebrated it by talking about one of the two most profitable areas (not sex, since Lindsay Cambpell makes up for it) — guns.

Finally, I’ll be off the weekend and probably a bit for next week. I’m going on a trip to the Smokeys with folks and Lana to hopefully catch some fall colors, so see all you wonderful readers sometime next week.

Have a good weekend, all!

Happy Fourth of July and all that. I was out last night to watch the balloon show at Coney Island Park here in Cincinnati.

It was pretty but a bit of a let-down when the balloons did not take off. On the other hand, the fireworks were fabulous. So, here are some pretty pictures (of the balloons). Enjoy!

Here are some pictures of Lorikeets from the Aviary at the Newport Aquarium.