10 Travel Resolutions for a New Year

A new year is upon us and that means new opportunities for travel and vacations.  Here's an article courtesy of the Huffington Post:

Every year we make resolutions. Every year most of us break them.

Travelers are a different breed, however. We usually follow through. Even when we have more will than wallet, we figure it out and get to where ever it is we really want to go.

In fact, for serious travelers, New Year resolutions are even kind of fun to think about -- not just additional demoralizing, self-improvement tasks threatening our self-esteem. Travelers have dream destinations, bucket lists and more ideally, living lists to compile. They are fun, positive and hopeful lists.

So, thinking in that vein, I polled a gaggle of great travel buddies last week, and assembled the following 10 Travel Resolutions that would make us all better travelers in 2014:

-We resolve to be more patient dealing with the trials and tribulations of traveling -- be they TSA lines, surly customer service airline reps, over-packed tardy flights, noisy hotel rooms, boorish fellow travelers or screaming babies. No more whining and kvetching. None of them are personal vendettas against us, and we know how lucky we are to be traveling. We will be more patient this year.

-We resolve to go someplace new in 2014, instead of returning to the old tried and true go-to vacation destinations we normally visit. We will spread our wings, expand our horizons to new experiences, sights, cultures and unique cuisines.

-We resolve to put our money where our mouths are (and beliefs too!) in 2014, and not patronize travel services that, well, patronize us. "No" and, "That's not right," are mighty powerful words that many in the travel business need to hear -- a lot more often!

-We resolve to take authentic, challenging and participatory adventures; less like the reality show, The Amazing Race, and more like the real-life event The Global Scavenger Hunt.

-We resolve to not let technology get in the way of us meeting fellow travelers and indigenous people when traveling (some of us will actually resolve to completely unplug when we travel in 2014).

-We resolve to start speaking up for our vacation and travel rights: 1. Our right to have and take annual time off work (America needs a vacation mandate), and 2. Our rights as traveling consumers (a.k.a. a real Passenger Bill of Rights).

-We resolve to leave our expectations packed, hidden and deep in the back of a closet at home alone, and travel fearlessly without preconceived ideas or prospects. To be free and open to the great serendipity of travel.

-We resolve to integrate travel into our lives more, as we have with a good diet, exercising regularly and sleeping right. Travel is good for us in so many ways, be it physically, mentally and spiritually.

-We resolve to never again bring up the over-intellectualizing, self-aggrandizing, ego-gratifying vapid distinction between so-called travelers and tourists. Anyone who travels is both -- tourist and traveler -- no matter what they think.

-We resolve to not flaunt our travel exploits and long-winded adventure stories to others -- nor to shamelessly show off our travel selfies to others.

Airlines on Track for One of Safest Years

Good news for frequent travelers.  2013 was the second safest year for airline travel, coming in behind 2012.  Read the article below for more information.

From the Wall Street Journal:

GENEVA—Airlines world-wide are on track to complete one of their safest years on record, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Through Nov. 30, this was the second safest year after 2012 in terms of crashes of Western-built airliners. In the 11-month period, there were 11 crashes, or a rate of 0.41 crashes per million flights. One year earlier, there were five crashes, for a rate of 0.21 crashes per million flights.

In terms of fatalities, this year is even safer than last, with 210 deaths, versus 403 in the first 11 months of last year.

Given the small number of accidents, shifts from one year to the next can look big in percentage terms. Safety specialists say that the generally downward trend from a few years ago is significant. Between 2004 and 2008, the world-wide accident rate hovered around 0.75 crashes per million flights, according to IATA.

The lower fatality rate this year, set against the higher accident rate, also "shows the survivability of accidents is improving," said Giancarlo Buono, European director of safety and operations at IATA. "This makes us think that manufacturers and the industry in general are doing a good job in ensuring not only safety but also survivability."

By region, Europe and north Asia were safest, with no crashes. The rate in the Americas was below 0.5 crashes per million flights, while Africa and the former Soviet Union both had accident rates above 2.3 crashes per million flights.

Mr. Buono said Africa has shown "great improvement" in safety despite its high rate, while former Soviet countries are "an area of concern." He said IATA and other organizations are working to help countries with the highest accident rates.

Another area of concern for the industry is pilots' reliance on airplane automation, which has been identified as a factor in accidents including the crash this summer of an Asiana Airlines Inc.  Boeing Co. 777 while landing at San Francisco International Airport in July.

As jetliners have become more computerized over recent years, pilots have come to rely increasingly on the systems. When forced to understand the systems or fly manually, some pilots have struggled.

"In aviation, you always have new threats emerging, and our goal is to manage those threats," Mr. Buono said. Handling automation "is one of those risks."

He said the industry is working to mitigate that risk by modernizing pilot training.

Holiday travel tips: How to keep your data safe and accessible while traveling

The holidays may be a time for reconnecting with family, but long flights and the promise of plenty of unscheduled time make the temptation to bring work along irresistible. But the parade of planes, trains, and taxis—along with the highly coveted nature of laptops and mobile devices—put your data at immense risk. Lose your laptop during a layover or leave your phone in a cab, and you may be looking for a new job come New Year’s. Follow these tips to secure your data while traveling this season and avoid a holiday horror story.

Use the cloud

The best way to make sure your data isn’t compromised if your laptop or mobile device is lost, stolen, or damaged is to not store your data on it in the first place. Instead, use cloud storage. You’ll be able to access your files from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection (and, if the service offers offline access, even when you don’t).



In the event you do get separated from your device, at least you'll know your sensitive work files are safe.

Create your own cloud
Box, DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and Apple iCloud, all offer free cloud storage just for setting up an account. The last three also offer online productivity tools so you can create or edit content directly from the Web. And there are several alternative cloud services for specific needs like heightened security.

For all the convenience of the cloud, there are potential security and compliance concerns with trusting sensitive company or customer data to a third-party. Consumer-grade services typically encrypt the data, but the cloud service provider has the encryption key, and the IT personnel that manage the servers may have access to it.

To get the anywhere access of the cloud but with a tighter rein on your data, consider creating your own cloud with an external hard drive that can be accessed over the Web, like the Western Digital (WD) My Cloud. You’ll be able to get to your files from Grandma’s house in Poughkeepsie, but the data itself will remain safe back home.

Keep your Kodak moments

That quarterly report likely isn’t the only precious data you’ll be toting around on your device this season. The holidays are rife with photo opportunities. How bad would you feel if you captured that once-in-a-lifetime shot of four generations of family gathered together, only to have your Uncle Al spill a mug of mulled cider on your phone in his holiday revelry?

The cloud—a public service or your own—is the best protection for your photos and videos as well. You can manually upload your photos to a cloud service, but who has time for that between the feasting and the football? Fortunately, Android, iOS and Windows Phone can automatically sync photos to Google Drive, iCloud and SkyDrive, respectively. (SkyDrive also recently added the ability to auto-upload photos from iOS devices.) Dropbox, also has a feature to automatically upload and sync photos from your mobile device. And the apps for Facebook and Google+ will sync images to those social networks, giving you the option to share your holiday memories at the same time.

Holiday travel is stressful enough without having to worry about the security of your data. Use these tips and you'll be able stay productive and enjoy the season with peace of mind.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2065604/holiday-travel-tips-how-to-keep-your-data-safe-and-accessible-while-traveling.html