Indianapolis Tickets

Quick Tips For Airline Reservations And Ticketing

By Carlton Payne

 * If your travel plans fall during a busy period, call for reservations early. Flights for holidays may sell out weeks - sometimes months - ahead of time. Don't buy a standby fare or an 'open return' ticket if you need to fly during a high-demand period. You could be stranded for a week or more before a seat becomes available.

* Ask the reservations agent to give you the on-time performance code for any flights that you are considering. This is a one-digit code in the reservations computer that shows how often that flight arrived on time (within 15 minutes) during the most recent reported month. For example, an "8" means that flight arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time between 80% and 89.9% of the time. If you are deciding between two flights with similar schedules and fares, you may want to choose the one with the better on-time record. (Only the largest U.S. airlines are required to maintain these codes.)

* When you make a reservation, be sure the agent records the information accurately. Before you hang up or leave the ticket office, review all of the essential information with the agent - the spelling of your name, the flight numbers and travel dates, and the cities you are traveling between. If there is more than one airport at either city, be sure you check which one you'll be using. It's also important to give the airline your home and work telephone numbers so they can let you know if there is any change in their schedule.

* Your ticket will show the flight number, departure time, date, and status of your reservation for each flight of your itinerary. The "status" box is important. "OK" means you're confirmed. Anything else means that the reservation is not yet certain (e.g., waitlisted).

* A "direct" (or "through") flight can have one or more stops. Sometimes flights with only one flight number can even involve a change of planes. Ask about your exact routing.

* If you are flying to a small city and your flight number has four digits, you may be booked on a commuter airline that has an agreement with the major carrier in whose name the flight is held out. If you are unsure, ask the reservation agent about the airline and the aircraft type; these flights are identified in the computer.

* When a reservation agent asks you to buy your tickets by a specific time or date, this is a deadline. And if you don't make the deadline, the airline may cancel your reservation without telling you.
* Try to have your tickets in hand before you go to the airport. This speeds your check-in and helps you avoid some of the tension you might otherwise feel if you had to wait in a slow-moving ticketing line and worry about missing your flight. Using an e-ticket speeds up the process also.

* If your reservations are booked far enough ahead of time, the airline may offer to mail your tickets to you. However, if you don't receive the tickets and the airline's records show that they mailed them, you may have to go through cumbersome lost-ticket procedures (see the end of this chapter). It is safer to check the telephone directory for a conveniently located travel agency or airline ticket office and buy your tickets there.

* As soon as you receive your ticket check to make sure all the information on it is correct, especially the airports (if any of the cities have more than one) and the flight dates. Have any necessary corrections made immediately.

* Bring a photo I.D. when you fly, and have your airline ticket issued using your name as it appears on that I.D. Many airlines are requesting such identification at check-in in order to reduce the re- selling of discount tickets. (Airlines don't permit tickets to be sold or given to other persons.) On international flights, make sure your name is the same on your ticket and your passport. If your name has recently changed and the name on your ticket and your I.D. are different, bring documentation of the change (e.g., a marriage certificate or court order).

* It's a good idea to reconfirm your reservations before you start your trip; flight schedules sometimes change. On international trips, most airlines require that you reconfirm your onward or return reservations at least 72 hours before each flight. If you don't, your reservations may be canceled.

* Check your ticket as you board each flight to ensure that only the correct coupon has been removed by the airline agent.

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Finding A Good Strategy For Your Backgammon Game

By Arnoldo Watson

 Backgammon is a race game. You have two options: try to win the race by advancing forward; or, give up on the race, make a prime, wait for a shot and hit it. If you choose (or are forced to choose) to hang back and wait - you're playing a backgame, according to some earlier backgammon strategies. Contemporary theory has a more specific treatment of defensive strategies; and, the term "backgame" is used in a more limited sense.

Defensive structures often include one or more anchors. A single anchor on an advanced point (5, 4 or 3) is a holding game. A single anchor on a deep point (1, 2 or 3) is a deep anchor game. Advanced or deep anchor games have corresponding winning strategies; the 3 point, indicated twice, illustrates the difference. Early in the game it acts as an advanced anchor, covering the outer field and affording winning expectations by either hitting an outer field shot or simply winning the race. Later in the game, often behind a prime, it is similar to the deeper points, with winning strategies reduced to hitting a late shot in the bear-in or bear-off or rolling several large doubles.

The defining characteristic of a backgame is that the defensive structure includes two or more anchors. The backgame's corresponding game plan is to hold both points as long as necessary, force your opponent to bear in or off awkwardly, hit a late shot and contain the blot behind a prime. Typically, the backgame anchors are deep and close together (1-2, 1-3, 2-3, 2-4). Keeping them back delays the moment when the winning shot comes and allows time to prepare a prime to contain the piece(s) you hit. If the defensive structure's two anchors are widely separated (1-4, 1-5, 2-5) or are both advanced (3-4, 3-5, 4-5) either can be called a backgame. However, in practice, such structures usually don't turn out to favor the same strategy as the deep anchor backgames. If the anchors are both advanced, one anchor is often lost and the game proceeds as a single anchor holding game. If the anchors are widely separated, one anchor can be lost and the game proceeds either as a holding game or a deep anchor game.

Is there a quasi-backgame? This may be the 1-5 game and there's usually no reasonable possibility of holding both points until your opponent leaves a shot. Even if that is possible, the strategy isn't nearly as threatening to your opponent as a deep anchor backgame. Consequently, you' re often faced with deciding between holding the 5 point, giving up the ace point and losing the race; or, giving up the 5 point, allowing the ace point to be primed and getting gammoned.

If the defensive structure includes 3 or more anchors, it's clearly a backgame. Typically, such structures afford excellent, winning chances. Nevertheless, if your shot comes before you're ready, the result is often a gammon or backgammon loss.

Can a backgame be too "big"? Can you have too many points back? Of course. Players have been cautioned not to let a backgame opponent get too many pieces back. However, it's ineffective to focus on how many pieces back is good or bad. Instead, look at the entire board. Whether more or fewer pieces back is bad or good depends on where they are, both players' forward structures, and the crucial timing of preparing a prime to be ready when the awaited shot finally comes.

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The Basics On Backpacking Tents

By Carlton Payne

 Tent Weight and Size

The qualities desirable in a backpacking tent are different from those tents being pitched next to a car in a campground. The biggest difference being that the backpacking tent will be carried with you and therefore, should be small and lightweight. Most modern two person tents weight around four to five lbs. whereas a roomy family camping tent can weigh twenty lbs or more. Solo or single person tents can weigh less than three lbs and are great if you are hiking alone. However, if you are hiking with someone else, it usually works out better weight wise to split the gear and take a two person tent.

Tent Quality

The quality of the tent is more important when backpacking because there is usually nowhere dry to go if the tent starts leaking. While a top quality tent is not necessary, cheap discount store tents should only be used if the forecast calls for clear weather.
Being tired, wet, and cold knowing the next dry place is at least ten miles away on a rocky trail will quickly put a damper on what should be an enjoyable outdoor experience.

Clips and Sleeves

There are two common ways that tent poles are attached to the tent. One is using sleeves that the poles slide through and the other is using clips that latch over the poles. Some tents even use a combination of clips and sleeves. In general, clip based designs are easier and faster to set up, while sleeve based designs are stronger and can be easily repaired with a needle and thread right at the camp site. For most conditions, I believe the clips are plenty strong and are generally better because of how quickly they allow the tent to be set up and dismantled.

Free Standing and Staked Designs

Free standing tents seem to have become the norm. Their primary advantage is that they can be set up without being staked into the ground. Stakes are still important to keep the tent from blowing around, but the stakes usually do not need to be driven far into the ground. Staked tents tend to be a bit lighter than free standing tents, but need to be staked solidly into the ground to hold their shape. Staked tents can be difficult to set up or keep up if the soil is hard or rocky. I've become a convert from staked tents to freestanding tents after bending multiple tent pegs beyond repair trying to pitch the tent on hard rocky ground.

Single Wall and Double Wall Construction

Double wall tents are tents that require a separate rain fly to keep out water. Although they are slightly heavier than their single walled counterparts and take a bit longer to set up, they are generally less expensive, warmer, and hold up better in wet conditions. While the lower weight specifications and small packing size of the single wall tents make them attractive, the double wall tents are generally a better deal economically.

Three Season and Four Season Specifications

Three season tents are just that; tents designed for Spring, Summer, and Fall camping. Few people go backpacking in the winter compared to the other three seasons, so the vast majority of tents sold are three season tents. Four season tents are built from heavier materials in order to hold up against the winter weather and are bulkier and harder to carry. Some manufacturers offer a 3+ season tent if you are camping early in the Spring or late in the Fall; but unless you are planning specifically to camp in the winter months a three season tent is more than sufficient without undue bulk and weight.

Vestibules

If you don't have room to keep your shoes in the tent with you, vestibules are a great place to keep them dry and yet outside the main tent. Some vestibules provide enough of an overhang to allow the screen or even the door to be open during the rain. I personally enjoy feeling the breeze from a storm while I am dry inside the tent. Most people probably would not consider the vestibule worth the weight, but they are a nice luxury.

Conclusions

While different individuals will select different tents based on various factors, understanding the fundamentals differences between tents can help you pick the tent design that fits your hiking style and conditions.

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Aluminum Sailboats vs. Steel

By Julio Trujillo

 Most sailboats are fiberglass these days, but if you are looking for a really strong sailboat, you are likely to choose steel or aluminum. Fiberglass is fine for normal use, but if you are going cross oceans, or give your sailboat a hard life, metal is best. They are also good materials if you want to get your own design of sailboat built.

The reason aluminum or steel are best is that metals are both strong and stiff, and when hit really hard, they bend - fiberglass and even the most advanced composites will break, and even shatter. Then the sailboat will almost certainly sink. A sailboat with a dent in the hull can keep going.

There are other advantages, too. Fiberglass boats usually have separate keels that are bolted in place. The bolts 'work' in the retaining holes in the hull, enlarging then slightly, and after a few years you are likely to get leaks. Worse still, if you press your sailboat really hard, the bolts can break,and you lose the keel. This happens quite often in racing, and can happen to cruising sailboats as well.

The keel of a steel or aluminum boat is formed as part of the hull, so it cannot come off - and the ballast of lead or steel is encapsulated inside, where it cannot move.

If you are looking for a 20-28 foot sailboat to cruise around rivers, estuaries and a little offshore cruising, then fiberglass is fine. But if you want to go further, or you want your boat to be of a particular design, choose aluminum or steel. Many firms offer excellent designs for metal sailboats, and some offer sets of panels that you weld together - or have welded together - usually complete with instructions.

Twenty years ago, it was much easier to weld steel than aluminum, but with modern welding sets and alloys, aluminum can be welded easily with just a little training - hours not weeks. Therefore, more and more sailboats -and smaller motor boats - are being made from aluminum.

But the next question is: Should I choose steel or aluminum? The things to be considered are:
1.Weight and weight distribution
2.Long life
3.Maintenance

1. Weight advantage of aluminum

Steel is stronger than aluminum, but this is not the advantage it seems with a sailboat because if the panels of the hull are too thin, they are difficult to weld without distortion, and you will end up with a hull with wavy panels. The minimum practical thickness is around 1/8 inch (3 mm) and an aluminum hull made from 3/16 inch (5 mm) plate is plenty strong enough for a 35-foot yacht and is lighter than the steel boat.

If you are building a 40 or 50 foot sailboat, the weight saving with aluminum over steel will be considerable - in all cases this allows the designer to put the weight where it is needed for a good motion at sea - in the keel. As a result, aluminum sailboats usually have a sea-kindly motion. With a racing boat, the reduced weight is an advantage, although a hull made completely from carbon fiber will be a bit lighter, but is brittle.

2.Long life

On the face of it, both steel and aluminum should last a long time, and both need some attention. Both can suffer from galvanic corrosion in salt water - especially in marinas - so you need more sacrificial anodes than with fiberglass, and you need to renew them regularly. Aluminum is at a slight disadvantage in this respect - you must maintain good anodes, but as these usually last more than a season this is not a problem.

Aluminum panels that are exposed to the atmosphere form an oxide film automatically, and this prevents further corrosion. So long as the panels are dry, they do not corrode. Therefore, it is best to leave most of the hull unpainted, and to coat the decks with non-slip panels - these are like rubber mats that are bonded in position - rather than non-slip paint for example.

With a little care, an aluminum hull will last a very long time. Steel is very different because it is always trying to corrode or rust away. It must be treated, then coated to give it protection. It is usually easy to see what is happening outside, and keep the hull in good shape, but not so easy to see what is happening in the bilges, and behind lockers and elsewhere. Almost always, after a few years, a steel hull will start to corrode on the inside, owing to condensation or water getting inside. Therefore, the steel boat is not so likely to last a long time without giving some trouble - unless it has very thick panels - like a ship, in which case it will be very heavy.

Expensive to Repair
When steel starts to rust badly, it costs a lot of money to repair. I have met several people who have had problems with steel sailboats. One couple I knew spent six months, working every day, to remove the rust from the hull of their steel sailboat. Fortunately, the hull was thick and had been well protected so it remained sound.
One sailboat that was about ten years old was found to have rusted badly through the whole hull- and needed repairing extensively, with new panels. The boat was worth about $30,000 in good condition, but it would cost $20,000 to strip the boat out for welding and then to refit it. On top of that the welding repairs would cost $10,000. In other words, the boat was almost worthless.

Another man I met had bought a 32 foot steel sailboat which was only a few years old. On the maiden voyage, he found water in the bilges which he discovered was leaking through the hull. He returned to port, got it safely to a suitable yard, and when I met him first he had started work on repairs.
This steel sailboat had cost $75,000, yet the hull was riddled with rust which in many places could be pushed through with a small screwdriver. He told me the rust was mostly along the weld joints and reinforcements.

I met him a year later, and he had finished welding up the hull. He had had to replace just about every panel below the water line, and was then fitting the boat out. He had help from his father and a friend, but he still reckoned it had cost him $70,000 to repair.
On balance, therefore, I recommend that you buy an aluminum sailboat rather than a steel one, and resist the temptation to paint the complete hull - just have a band painted on the topsides, and of course, epoxy coat the underwater hull before applying anti-fouling.

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