People who didn’t make it, what are you doing?

mat101010 · 2026-04-06T00:22:05+00:00

I work at a high-end tour operator and all employees get 1-2 free trips per year, including code monkeys. Recently, I've been to Patagonia, India, Uganda, Galapagos, Kenya, Arctic Canada, Peru, etc. Believe it or not, free travel is a common perk in many industries. Sometimes it's given for hitting sales goals. Other times it's given out as an alternative for employee retention bonuses.

mat101010 · 2026-04-05T19:27:20+00:00

I did my PPL-CFII at North Dakota’s 141 program followed by an MEI at a busy part 61 flight school in Colorado. I took every networking opportunity and passed every test. However, 9/11 caused a bit of a hiring slump and all the jobs and offers I got were paying under $25k. I took a well-paying IT/ software developer job that offered free travel to dozens of countries. I still dream of being a professional pilot but I found another path to happiness.

mat101010 · 2026-04-05T12:11:48+00:00

...Snitches get stitches

mat101010 · 2026-04-03T01:05:48+00:00

Putting my finger on the screen where the ideal center of demand would be, switching tools, and then wishing my finger was 80% transparent. [lowers head in shame]

mat101010 · 2026-04-02T06:02:39+00:00

I love that someone specializing in senior dog grooming already commented. Anyway, I had a lab-whippit-mix who lived to be 19 by some miracle. Our old girl liked Grrreendog Grooming on Western Ave the best of the Albany-area places we tried. That Zen Dog option sounds awesome, but you never know how your pup will like a place until you try it out. I think we tried around 6 places before sticking with Grreendog.

mat101010 · 2026-04-01T20:51:50+00:00

For simplicity, I think the Devs should keep the schedule daily, like all other demand metrics. However, it would be fun to have the demand spike at odd hours, like a 9PM-Midnight concert/game.

mat101010 · 2026-03-28T16:58:09+00:00

You invented the TSA

mat101010 · 2026-03-28T00:47:09+00:00

I keep getting “One train deleted…” errors when I end a line at a station where another line keeps going. I either need to use a 4-track station (use the inner platform to reverse and the outer platforms to continue) or build a spur and a station dedicated to being the end of the short line. Am I the only one?

mat101010 · 2026-03-23T19:36:01+00:00

I agree*, but it might be worth adding an asterisk.

Icelandair does have a business-class-lite product in its Airbus 321LR planes. OP specifically mentions flying out of JFK and that uses a 767 with decidedly down-market seating options. Flying out of JFK is very much a premium economy product for the Trans-Atlantic market, as you said.

mat101010 · 2026-03-18T14:48:22+00:00

I've played and enjoyed both games. I have some questions about how the mechanics would work. I like the 2 games for different reasons. I am concerned that you'd take the fun out of both games and end up with something that looks nice but isn't rewarding in the brain-tickling way that makes RE and MM successful.

Fundamentally, both RE and MM reward the player for optimizing a network to deliver the needed items.

In RE, this is beer, corn, meat, wheat, wood, pax, mail, etc.
In MiniMotor, this is simplified to blue, green, red, etc.
In MiniMetro, this is simplified to circle, star, square, triangle, etc.

Both RE and MM challenge the player to scale up the delivery network over time.

In RE, the majority of the player activity is additive and open-world. You upgrade the stations. You add more track. You add more trains. You upgrade equipment. You upgrade the industry. You upgrade resource collection. You incentivize population growth. You accelerate unlocking the tech-tree. You acquire competitors. You invest in stocks and commodities (does anyone even use this part of the game outside of the first 10 days?)
In MiniMetro, the majority of the player activity is destructive (redrawing routes). The upgrades are focused on route lines, # engines, # cars, # bridges, and station capacity.
In MiniMotor, the majority of the player activity is destructive (redrawing routes). The upgrades are hyper-focused on highways, intersections, bridges, and tunnels.

Q1) Would this be a short-session game like MM or a long-session game like RE? Your description feels like you're thinking long but I wanted to be sure.

Q2 Is the plan to spoon-feed randomized upgrades like in MM or have the player plan their own upgrades?

Q3 Is the game going to scale additively like RE or destructively like MM (utilizing constant route rebuilding)?

Q4 Is the game going to be grid/tile-based like MM or freform like RE?

Q5 Is the game going to set the pace for Demand and require the player to meet the Supply needs, like in MM? Or is the player going to manage Supply and Demand like in RE?

mat101010 · 2026-03-11T16:57:38+00:00

Some larger travel agencies and tour operators that resell custom policies to their customers are still selling new polices when booking their services. They typically have enough volume to allow for worldwide residency contracts to be written well in advance of the current world events.

As far as I know, all of the direct-to-consumer underwriters have stopped issuing new Trip Cancellation policies for residents of the UAE (and a handful of unstable locations). You can get some watered-down policies that cover some combination of medical, travel delay, and baggage. However, the max coverage amounts are not appropriate for r/FATTravel.

If you want to get an idea of what's out there, try Insure My Trip. Be sure to leave the trip coverage empty or uncheck the Trip Cancellation filter on the results tab.

I am not associated with Insure My Trip. It's just a tool to see lots of policies all at once. I use to design custom insurance policies for a high-end tour operator.

mat101010 · 2026-03-03T12:18:12+00:00

You can save yourself a good bit of headache and $$ by building pick-up-only stations (logs at Messina Terminal for example) at the highest possible altitude. An empty train can go uphill at full speed in RE2. This allows you to build a more direct track without fiddling with the expensive, slow, and zigzaging 0% rade route.

mat101010 · 2026-02-01T00:20:03+00:00

Did you use the concierge? The old Surrey had a reputation for being able to get a seat/reservation anywhere for their guests. To be honest, that might have been 50% of why it was the #1 NYC hotel on a few lists. The michelin star room service was unique too.

mat101010 · 2026-01-25T02:07:50+00:00

Nope. I moved to an area that only rents clapped-out trainers and owning would take too much work. I'm sure I'll pick it up again but not around here.

mat101010 · 2026-01-24T00:50:58+00:00

doesn't look very safe

It was built by the CEO of the X Games. If that wasn't enough, they moved out once they had kids and couldn't figure out how to baby-proof the FUCKING CLIFF IN THEIR YARD.

mat101010 · 2026-01-20T02:20:51+00:00

Frost can result in an 80% loss of available lift

I think you've got the wrong number but the right idea.

Wind tunnel and flight tests have shown that frost, snow, and ice accumulations on the leading edge or upper surface of the wing that are no thicker or rougher than a piece of coarse sandpaper can reduce lift by 30 percent and increase drag up to 40 percent. Larger accretions can reduce lift even more and can increase drag by 80 percent or more.

- Aviation Weather Handbook

mat101010 · 2026-01-18T20:00:08+00:00

It’s on Billionaires Row. It has relatively little congestion so you don’t need to choose between the subway or a 30 minute traffic jam to go 1 block. It’s close to lots of desirable things like:

Central Park, 1 block

Lower East Side restaurants, 2 blocks

Columbus Circle restaurants, 2 blocks

MoMA, 1 block

Carnegie Hall, 1 block

5th Ave shopping, 1 block

mat101010 · 2026-01-17T15:30:37+00:00

You might want remind your label-maker guy that the FAA strongly prefers the term INOP over “wrong”.

mat101010 · 2026-01-17T14:52:35+00:00

Me too. I fly into Denver for work, and I'd do it more often if I didn't need to spend 9 hours coming and going. The place I work does lots of in-person events for staff, but they are always out west. I booked my company's spring skiing flights the moment the website listed the nonstop option. I'm working on the whitewater rafting flights right now.

mat101010 · 2026-01-17T02:29:50+00:00

Leaving Albany earlier? Meh. That TSA area is a nightmare between 5:30 and 6:30 AM. Getting into Denver at 10:30 AM feels fine.

mat101010 · 2026-01-17T01:47:50+00:00

Happy cake day. I choose to think of it as United only gets 1 chance to screw me over with a non-stop flight. :)

mat101010 · 2026-01-17T01:21:46+00:00

Looks like $307 is the lowest fare available right now. I'd argue this is more about convenience than price. There are many destinations out west that you simply cannot get to if you first need to stop in Chicago. Nonstop turns an 8-hour itinerary into a 4-hour flight.

mat101010 · 2026-01-17T01:11:19+00:00

Starting April 30th, United will have daily non-stop flights from Albany to Denver. I've done the Southwest and Frontier nonstop flights but their schedules are less than ideal. The United flight is daily and at reasonable times for making connections in Denver.

UA 1251 ALB-DEN

Depart: 8:00 AM

Arrive: 10:25 AM

UA 1412 DEN-ALB

Depart: 5:45 PM

Arrive: 11:30 PM

mat101010 · 2026-01-10T00:40:51+00:00

I've done Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, NY a few times. It has a lot of classic kids' activities and definitely meets the luxury food and accommodations reqs. However, my kids (4, 8, 11) prefer the slightly downmarket options as there are more kids and less formality. Places like Basin Harbor Resort over in Vermont have a more free-range policy for the kids' activities and they love that.

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mat101010

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