Tell Me (and Others)

So, we are all starting to really feel the effects of the rising price of Oil.

I found this snippet on another blog and thought it would be great to share….

“$200 oil is still very cheap. 200/160= $1,25 per liter of oil.

1 barrel of oil produces as much energy as 12 workers during 1 year, and at $200 it is still cheaper than Coca Cola.

The problem is that we are used to cheap energy, and this cheap energy is essential especially for aviation. But with production stagnant at approx 85mb/day, and demand rising despite record prices, there might be some dark clouds ahead.”

Aviation is beginning to reel from the rising prices… jet fuel went through the $1,300-a-tonne mark last week. Attempts by airlines to hedge against future price increases is becoming more difficult, as hedging providers are being careful not to be burned by price rises. British Airways are planning to reduce flight schedules commencing later this year. Falling demand for tickets limits the airlines ability to raise fares. Other airlines will no doubt follow the the BA lead. Gasoline prices will continue to rise in line with the price of crude. perhaps, if governments raise taxes in an attempt to reduce demand, then gas price rises will exceed the crude price rises. Oh woe are we! The worst is yet to come.

John Griffiths

OK, here is a link to our photos of Italy. The link will open in a fresh page/tab.

I built this photo album using JALBUM which works great, especially if you have your own hosted site.

Photos follow the sequence Lake Como Region, Milano, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Assisi, Pompei, Sorrento/Capri and finally Rome/Vatican City. We were away 15 days. to May 10 2008.

John

We have just returned from our recent trip to Italy alive and well.

We went on a two week tour organised by GoAheadTours.com and had a fabulous time. Everything went according to plan, apart from two very long airport lay-overs (both in New York’s JFK – 1 of 7 hours and one of 6 hours). Go Ahead was great and we would not hesitate to use them again. The Atlantic crossings were flown on Alitalia. This was the first time we had ever flown Alitalia, and would try to stay away from them in the future. Service was not up to the standard we have become accustomed to with Qantas. The Boeing 767 we flew in from Rome to JFK was pretty much fitted out in a vary basic format (no in-seat video), and the most seats had broken support under whatever cushion was left. In all, a very tired plane. My wife had a broken seat. Our two fiends had broken seats. They partially overcame the problem by placing their blankets on top of the seat cushions. As the flights were all full to capacity, there was no option to switch seats.

The highlights of the trip for me were the Lake Como region of northern Italy and the isle of Capri. Also, we enjoyed a few days in Assisi.

I will post some photos in the next few days and place a link here when I get the chance.

John