Buyer beware

Nowadays, practically everybody uses the Internet. To book a flight, to make a restaurant/hotel reservation or to purchase an item.
It is convenient, fast and utterly cool.
With one caveat. On the Internet you are not talking to human beings, you are communicating with robots.
And while navigating the seemingly serene waters of Ocean Internet, you ought to remember that among the harmless creatures of the deep also lurk piranhas.

IMG_1797A few weeks ago, I was looking to book a hotel room on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.
I fired up my computer and soon after, an ad sponsored by Expedia caught my attention. It showed a nice spacious room, reasonably priced, located at “The Squaw Valley Olympic Village”.
The price per night was shown in big bold characters on the right side of the page.
After picking a date and booking this room for 4 nights, the grand total was shown again, also in bold characters.
Excellent!

I printed that document and then noticed an ominous warning at the bottom of the page:
“This reservation is non-refundable and cannot be cancelled or changed.”
Not able to cancel 3 weeks ahead of time? Who ever heard of such a thing?
A rather peculiar policy.

Upon my arrival to the resort, I was surprised to discover that I had to pay an additional $23.00 per night for a “Lodging Resort Charge” and other minor fees.
Seeing my look of disbelief, the front desk clerk hastened to say, “It says so on your reservation”.
After looking more carefully at my printed reservation form I indeed came across the “Resort Fee” shown in the proverbial “fine print”.

Excuse me for saying so, but this reeks of “bait and switch” tactics. It is a flagrant case of misleading advertising. A few bucks more are not going to kill me, but I hate to be deceived in such a fraudulent manner.
So, before you whip out your plastic and unlock your strongbox, it would behoove you to actually read the fine print.

The room was not what I would call spacious. It had only one nightstand and the single night lamp worked intermittently.
It was stuffy and there was no obvious way to start the ceiling fan.
IMG_1858The bathtub was slippery and the elevator and the bathroom could use a new coat of paint.
The garage was ill-conceived and difficult to enter and navigate. Its extremely narrow entrances proved a hazard to inattentive drivers.

Upon my return to the Bay Area, I logged unto the Internet again and was surprised to read that according to Expedia 92% of the previous guests “recommended” this place.
I certainly won’t.

I also discovered while rummaging through the Web, that contrary to Expedia’s assertions, a great number of people are not exactly thrilled with its operations.
The following sites are not shy about dissing Expedia.

Expedia.pissedconsumer.com, Consumeraffairs, Trustpilot

To sum it up, Expedia is an expedient outfit (convenient, although possibly acting improperly or immorally) and running its business with a rather cavalier attitude.

If you want to book a hotel, check it out online, read the fine print, call the hotel and talk to a human being before securing the deal.
So far, a human being is more amenable than a bot.

Alain

Lamb celebration

IMG_1889Yesterday, the world famous Marin pétanque club (La Pétanque Marinière) hosted its annual Leg of Lamb picnic.
It drew a decent crowd (around 60 registered guests and some stragglers) who came to chomp on the lamb, chew the fat and incidentally toss a few boules.

 

IMG_1891This picnic, which was gratis for club members, reinforces the fact that with a membership fee averaging less than $3.00 a month pétanque is a ridiculously cheap form of entertainment.

And no special equipment is required to play the game.
No helmet, no protective gear, no mouthguard (even though some individuals could use it to keep their mouth in check) and no flashy uniform.
All you need is a set of good boules and you are set for life.
What popular sport can claim this distinction?

But enough said about the virtues of pétanque.

Here are the people who elected to play in the tournament:

  1. Alain Efron & Helga Facchini
  2. Louis Toulon & Tamara Efron
  3. Christine Cragg & Genevieve Etallaz
  4. Rene Di Maio & Lillian Sebban
  5. Bleys Rose & Calvert Barron
  6. Gustave Foucher & Monique Bricca
  7. Philippe Arnaud & Blaise West
  8. Colette Van Der Meulen & Claudie Chourre
  9. Magge Lane & Mireille Di Maio
  10. Joe La Torre & Charlie Davantes
  11. Henry Wessel & Francois Moser
  12. Jean-Claude Etallaz & Susan Holbert

IMG_1888The “piece de resistance” of the picnic was lamb and it was expertly cooked by Jean-Claude Etallaz and Antoine Lofaro.

I am unable to mention all the people who toiled behind the scene to make this event successful but they were many.
Some cleaned the field, some did the shopping, some prepared the meat, some prepared the vegetables, some did the paperwork, some helped to serve the food.
Let’s just say that it was a communal effort that ought to make the club proud.

Back to the tournament.

Three leisurely games were played after lunch and no scores were kept.
The format of the tournament was “à la mêlée » and luck provided a partner.
Personally, I had the good fortune to land a very capable teammate (Helga Facchini) and we did well.
We won 3 games out of three and we could have done better if I had not faltered in the last game.

I managed to take a few pictures, mainly before the tournament, and those quick candid shots turned out pretty well.

IMG_1905Incidentally, we have a new club member and his name is Harold. Please make him feel welcome next time you see him on the field.

The tournament ended with a wine lottery. Some people were extraordinarily lucky and ended up winning three bottles.
Lady Luck can be overwhelmingly generous or dreadfully spiteful.

 

“Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Alain

PS: To look at photos of this event and listen to accompanying background music, turn the sound on, and click on the link “My Photos” located on the right side of this page.

DBAA

Everybody abides (or should abide) by a small list of principles.
A kind of personalized Ten Commandments.

Regardless of your beliefs, the very first commandment on that list should be: DBAA. Don’t be an asshole.

Scholars agree that this sentence was first recorded when Moses parleyed with Pharaoh.

-Let my people go Pharaoh.
-In your dreams, Big Mo.
Don’t be an asshole Pharaoh. Let my people go.
Get lost Matzo Boy!
And so the die was cast.

This admonition should also sound familiar to “Breaking Bad” fans. This is what Jane Margolis (Jesse Pinkman’s landlord and girlfriend) advises Jesse not to be.
It is a wise recommendation!

To avoid being an asshole, one should always remember to “put his brain in gear before putting his mouth in motion.”
Especially in view of the Miranda warningAnything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law and the ubiquitous presence of recording devices.

Whatever you say in a fit of anger or passion (or even worse, cold-bloodedly) will come back and bite you in the “derriere” (and hopefully in the wallet).
It is like a boomerang. In worst cases, it will come back to you and kiss you, Mafia style.

When you slight somebody you should rightly expect retribution because no bad deed should go unpunished.

Vase de SoissonsFrench kids are particularly familiar with the story of the Soissons Vase.

No one is immune from “assholitis”.
It is a debilitating disease that is strangely similar to dementia.
Those afflicted by it exhibit impaired reasoning, delusions of grandeur, arrogance and paranoia.
They are anti-social, rude, intolerant and misogynistic. Attitudes that should not be tolerated anywhere.

Assholitis is an equal opportunity sickness and there is no-known cure for it.

The best protection against these lunatics is to put them in a virtual isolation ward.
Surround them with a wall of silence and let them marinate in their bitter, hateful brew.

Alain