Articles
Working with Wikipedia
Aug 27th
What’s the deal with Wikipedia? We all use it. We all know what it is. But does anyone really know how confusing it is?!?!
Over the last two weeks, I have been working to make Global Traveler a Wikipedia article. When I started, I figured I would just need to do some research about the company, add in the things I knew and then put in the finishing touches. I was mistaken.
First of all, Wikipedia has a ton of rules. Rules that you never thought would matter but that Wikipedia thinks is super important. There are rules about making lists and including people’s names. One large rule is the “Point of View” rule. You have to be unbiased and present your article from a completely neutral point of view. That tends to be incredibly difficult when you are making a page about a company that you work for. One of my favorite obstacles is that you cannot have a user name that is a company name. Despite reading hundreds of pages about Wikipedia and articles, I never came across this rule. I learned this the hard way when trying to find out something on a help chat. The person in the chat was so serious about this rule that he would not help me until I filed a “name change request.” Wikipedia is not for those people just playing around.
Wikipedia has its own language. Everyday tasks done on the word processor become difficult and bothersome. Pressing ctrl and “B” no longer makes something bold. The Wikipedia user has to use apostrophes (‘’’) to initiate the bold and then another set of three apostrophes to end it. Similar programming techniques are used to get italics, bullets, lists and headings. I would tell you how to underline, but I don’t even know if that is possible in Wikipedia world.
So after you master the rules and the language, there is one more problem. People and robots continually check the site to make sure that people are posting things fairly and legally. I tried to upload the GT logo and immediately two people were leaving messages on my “MyTalk.” If only they knew I had no idea what was going on and didn’t even know how to find their messages! Right now I have my page up for feedback. We shall see how that works out.
Working with Wikipedia has given me a new-found respect for the articles that people put up. Every link is the result of hard work, and every picture is the result of an intense copyright law. It has been fascinating learning the ins and outs of the Wikipedia world, and by the end of the process I hope to be so knowledgeable that I can call others out on their mistakes. My interaction and work with Wikipedia has confirmed my opinion that teachers and professors should count it as a reliable source. If they only knew how hard it was to get information published on it!
– Mary Carpenter, intern
Understanding Airline Cuisine
Aug 6th
Ever wonder what goes into making airline cuisine taste bearable? I read a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about Lufthansa‘s quest to “understand the decline in haute cuisine at high altitude.”
Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s LSG Sky Chefs tested foods at Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, which houses the wingless front of an Airbus A310. Conditions can be adjusted to reduce air pressure, suck moisture from the air or pump in engine noise. Test passengers tasted the foods and drinks, filling out surveys on the various items tasted. A ton of planning went into the taste testing, and lots of findings resulted from the food lab.
Among some of the simplest findings listed in the article:
- Sweet and salty taste perception drops by up to 30 percent while in the air
- Sourness, bitterness and spiciness are barely affected
- Turbulence can ruin a dish that is pleasing to the eye
- Seasonings, like curry and cardamom, fare better than salt and sugar
- Cabin humidity can ruin Champagne
- Caviar defied testing
For the complete article, click here.
So, next time you dig into your airplane cuisine, consider some of these finding before judging the dish too harshly. Good eating at 35,000 feet.
– Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive
Fit or Fat?
Aug 3rd
“Fit or Fat” is the title of GT‘s August cover story. Coincidentally, three clients I visited last week in Miami each lost 20-25 pounds! They all looked healthy before, but after losing the extra pounds, I could see each of them had an extra bounce in their step, which was great to witness.
They each lost weight for different reasons, from health necessities to wanting to feel better. However, what all three had in common was that they all travel frequently throughout the year, domestically and internationally. They also all agreed it was the foods they were eating, or not eating, that had the biggest impact on their success, along with consistent exercise.
After reading GT‘s article, the tips from the experts about staying fit on the road were validated in my mind after seeing my associates. I have experimented with my own ways to stay fit while globetrotting. There is no doubt that it is tough to stay fit when you are in one place, but when your schedule changes every day, like it can for myself and my associates, the challenge becomes even more difficult.
For those of you looking to get fit, on the ground or on the road, I strongly recommend reading our article to get started. Read as much as you can from many sources and take different suggestions from each article to tailor a program that you know you will stick with. It’s only my suggestion, but I found it worked for me. Once you start noticing that your pants are getting looser, you won’t want to stop!
– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
The Thrill of Victory, the Taste of Defeat
Jun 29th
On Saturday, the United States lost for the second time in consecutive World Cups to Ghana. It was a sad day for soccer fans in the United States. The one consistent remark I’ve received from soccer fans around the globe was that the U.S. played a fair game. A very respectable comment from my colleagues around the world, as we were obviously a team that was not favored in the sport, or politically by the referees.
Despite the loss, as I posted before, I love this tournament and will continue to watch. I watched the game on Saturday at a bar in NYC, Firefly, with fellow fans of the sport, all decked out in red, white and blue. It was a sight to see with 200 people watching 10 big-screen TVs as if it was the end of the world if we didn’t win.
Luckily, it wasn’t the end of the world, even with our defeat and valiant effort. However, it reminded me how fun it is to watch a sporting event on a national level. I bonded with people I never met before and will probably never see again, but it equals the same feeling I get when traveling, When on the road, or in an airplane, everyone is on the same playing field with something in common. Sports were a big part of my life growing up, and it’s a great way to bond with a new culture.
If you’re curious about new sports or opportunities to learn about sports in different cultures, check out our monthly “Global Games” column to see what adventures in sport await you on your next trip!
– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
