Timely advice from Matt Gross, the New York Times’ “Frugal Traveler,” for “Staying in Touch Internationally, on the Cheap” using SkypeIn and SkypeOut with iPhones or unlocked cell phones.
Related: As Airfares Fall, Save Even After Buying
Archive for March 25th, 2009
Frugal Travel: Saving Money on International Calls
Posted in Foreign Travel, Frugal Travel, Science & Technology, World Wide Web on March 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Big City Blues (& Yellows): NYC Hikes Subway, Bus Fares (Taxis OK)
Posted in Brooklyn, Business, Economy, New York City, U.S. Travel, Urban Affairs on March 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »
On the same day the New York Times reported that the city’s yellow cab industry is being spared from the worst effects of the recession by allowing riders to pay by credit card, the MTA announced major fare hikes for public transportation commuters:
“After a fiery hearing Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted 12 to 1 to approve subway, bus and commuter train fare hikes from 25% to 30% and impose severe service cuts, including elimination of two subway lines and 21 local bus routes. . . .
“Starting May 31, the monthly MetroCard, now $81, will cost $103 and a weekly MetroCard, now $25, will cost $31. The one-way bus and subway fare will rise from $2 to $2.50, a whopping 25% increase.
“Commuter train fares rise June 1, while MTA bridge and tunnel tolls jump July 11. Service cuts also include longer gaps between trains and the closure of a few stations overnight.” (more @ The Daily News)
R.I.P. – George Kell (1922-2009)
Posted in Baseball, Obituaries, Popular Culture, Sports on March 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »
“George Kell, the Hall of Fame third baseman who won the American League batting title in 1949 with the Detroit Tigers and was a longtime broadcaster for the team, died Tuesday at his home in Swifton, Ark. He was 86. . . .
“Kell played in the A.L. for 15 seasons, was an All-Star 10 times and had a career batting average of .306 with 2,054 hits. He hit at least .300 in nine seasons and led the league’s third basemen in fielding percentage seven times.
“He captured the batting crown in a race that went down to the final day of the 1949 season, finishing a few decimal points ahead of Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox. Kell’s batting average was .34291 (rounded off to .343) to Williams’s .34276.” (more @ NY Times)
Sana Krasikov Wins 2009 “Sami Rohr Prize” for Jewish Literature
Posted in Books, Jewish Life, Literature, Writers & Writing on March 25, 2009| 1 Comment »
“Sana Krasikov is the 2009 recipient of the $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for emerging writers of Jewish literature. Krasikov wins the Prize for her debut short story collection, One More Year (Spiegel & Grau) . . .
“The Sami Rohr Prize is the largest monetary prize of its kind in the Jewish literary world, and one of the largest literary prizes worldwide. In 2006, in celebration of Sami Rohr’s 80th birthday, his children and grandchildren inaugurated the Sami Rohr Prize to honor his lifelong love of Jewish literature. The Prize considers fiction and non-fiction in alternating years.” (more @ Jewish Book Council)
The 'Not-So-Rough' Guide 