Airduct Administration
Welcome!
Welcome to Airduct Administration. In this course we will be discussing Airduct neutrality; airduct hygiene, health and safety; airducts and spam; and spam spam airducts and spam.
Obviously, airduct administration is metaphorical, and actually this is a page about all forms of ventilation. First for some definitions. Someone who speaks through an airduct and you can't see their lips move is known as a Ventiloquist.
An Airduct must never EVER be confused with an Air Duck. Though this is a common mistake (particularly use of 'Duct tape' and 'Duck tape') an Air Duck is in fact a flying duck. This must not be confused with a flying fuck. What this page is not about, is flying fucks. Back to ventilation...
That's enough of a cover I think. On to the real reason we're here <_< >_>
Operation Airduct: New York New York
Let's twalk about nu Yawk...
Signing off, Agent Air Duck
Mission Brief: Intelligence have just informed us that there are some air-ducts in New York which require, well.... administering; thus necessitating a trip. Several good ducks have died to bring us this information....
To Do
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Not Get visas, cause we don't need to, honest! |
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Book flights |
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Arrange transport to/from airport |
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Book time off work |
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Try but fail to book tickets for 'The Daily Show' |
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Make CD for on the way to the airport |
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Book accommodation |
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Get travel insurance |
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Get some USD |
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Complete detailed itinerary |
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Create a 'To take' list |
Who's going anyway?
Volunteers with the appropriate qualifications are:
- Matt
- Elin
When to go
Possible times to go are:
- Early September (just before Elin goes back to uni)
- Elin would prefer not to be in New Yawk for her bday
Elin goes back to uni: Monday 1st October.
Therefore good dates would be (and remember there is a mid-september festival [see below]):
Times between Sat 1st Sept and Fri 21st Sept.
Suggestions:
Fri 7th - > Mon 17th
Mon 10th -> Thurs 20th
Either way, I would have thought 10 days would be enough to do the job.
Where to Stay
Possibilities..
The Gershwin Hotel - a hotel/youth hostel. Obviously the hotel part of it is more expensive than the youth hostel.
The Hotel Belle Claire - Economy Room (shared bath) $109-$189 apparenly very well situated.
Barbara's recommendation: The Edison Hotel (Times Sq.) - is a 'lovely hotel' -sounds expensive
What to do
There are some suggestions in They Might Be Giants chronicle 'New York City' which outlines places most seriously affected by the Ventilation system meltdown:
"Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, Co-op City, Katz's and Tiffany's* Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, The Empire State where Dylan lived** Coney Island and Times Square, Rockefeller Center Wish I was there"
With this in mind, I have determined the most seriously affected areas as follows:
Brooklyn:
- "Take a trip to Brooklyn. Seriously. If you like cheesecake - go to Junior's. You won't be disappointed" -hmm...cheesecake..
- Brooklyn Bridge - Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, have an ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory at Fulton Ferry Landing – perhaps the best place to take pictures of downtown skyscrapers.
- Coney Island
LOWER Manhattan ("Downtown"):
- The Battery, or 'Battery Park' - trips to see the Statue of Liberty depart from Battery Park so...
- Statue of Liberty - little known fact, The statue of liberty is actually in..New Jersey! But the New Yorkers don't advertise that very loudly...
- "Go downtown at South Street Seaport and get some half-price Broadway tickets. You can't come and NOT see a play."
- Little Italy: Someone suggested the Feast of San Gennaro which is in mid-September and lasts for 11 days.
- Chinatown and SoHo.
- Other places of interest; City Hall, Wall Street, World Trade Center site, Woolworth Building, East Village and Greenwich Village.
MIDDLE Manhattan:
- St. Patrick's Cathedral - The largest Catholic cathedral in the United States.
- The Library - The largest non-academic library in the United States. It is housed in a beautiful building by Carrer and Hastings, which is seen as the greatest example of Beaux Arts architecture.
- Restaurant Row in Hell's Kitchen - In addition to the usual American, Caribbean, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Irish, Mexican and Thai restaurants, there are multiple Afghan, Argentine, Ethiopian, Peruvian, Turkish, and Vietnamese restaurants.
- Broadway
- Rockefeller Center This huge centre needs some attention. Just take a look at this: RC Camera - as you can see, really rather serious. I think it might be a good idea also to check out the top of the centre to get a good overview of the city: Top View
- Empire State Building and the Flatiron Building.
UPPER Manhattan:
- Times Square - (apparently there's a Toys 'R' Us in Times Square that has an indoor ferris wheel among other things. A couple of people have suggested this...how random!)
- Central Park - things to do in Central Park include these 10 things
- Chrysler Building
- "Check out the Museum of Natural History"
- "A Walk Through Harlem. Harlem is worth going to... Sylvia's is the standby, but there's also Sunday Brunch with the Harlem Gospel Choir..."
- WikiTravel have some great (and numerous) ideas for attractions and whatnot.
Daily Show
Transport
Visa
We might be able to go without the aid of a visa! If our passports are machine readable, or something...
Particularly useful Visa info about passports
To the airport
This is now booked with BAA Gatwick - £46.80. We'll drive to Gatwick airport for about 10.20am and park up.
Flights
Flights are booked: We're going with 'Zoom' airlines - £262.90pp - both direct flights, approx. 8 hrs each way
Outbound Flight
| From | To | Date and Time | Flight No | Class | Carrier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London - LGW (south) | New York - JFK (T4) | Mon 10th Sep 2007 13:00 -> 15:45 | UKZ101 | Economy Standard | Zoom Airlines Ltd |
Return flight
| From | To | Date and Time | Flight No | Class | Carrier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York - JFK (T4) | London - LGW (south) | Thu 20th Sep 2007 17:30 -> 06:00 next day | UKZ102 | Economy Standard | Zoom Airlines Ltd |
Max luggage allowance pp = 2 pcs of luggage totalling not more than 20 kgs
When we get to JFK, we can take the tube, or a taxi, see wikitravel
Travel Insurance
Might be wise to get travel insurance. The post office is generally the bench-mark place, from whence to try to find a cheaper quote. I think I used Halifax when I went to Mex/ Cuba. - Matt
Post office - £53 pp
Via Money Supermarket.com - Flexi-Cover - £29 for a 'couple' (it just said that meant 2 people)
At the moment, I'm thinking the Endsleigh 'Essential' cover might by OK, at about £30 pp.
Budget
Budget details are available here.
Recommended food eating
A Big Apple (photo op!), A "Sub", cup a'joe or "kworfee", a chili dog, apple pie, sloppy joe, bagel, runzas/bierocks, Manhattan Clam Chowder, twinkie, sweet potato pie, snow cone, burrito/taco, moon pie, an Italian Hero or "Hoagie", Creole i.e. Jambalaya, cheeseburger, bastrami, a chinese in Chinatown, an Italian in Little Italy and the delights of Restaurant Row.
Recommended film watching
Some of the best films set in New York are as follows:
Miracle on 34th Street, On the Town, Sabrina, Rear Window, Breakfast At Tiffany's, The Manchurian Candidate, Shaft, The Godfather (I, II & III), Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Ghostbusters, Crocodile Dundee, Highlander, Wall Street, Harlem Nights, When Harry Met Sally, Goodfellas, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Being John Malkovich, Eyes Wide Shut, American Psycho, Gangs of New York, Spiderman