Gadling

The reflection in the water is simply stunning. At first glance, it has a Taj Mahal feel about it.

It is in Barcelona though. Tysonwilliams.com is the photographer and Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is the subject.

I think I almost like it better in its original black and white version. It is less dramatic, but looks more authentic. What do you think?

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr Pool and post it. Make sure it is not copyrighted, otherwise we can't post it here.***

After the issue with the wife of Joel Osteen, here comes another anger management case from the pressurized cabin.

A veteran character actor, E.D. Nixon Jr., was arrested for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant and a police officer at Memphis International Airport on Tuesday.

The 80-year-old actor, the son of a leading organizer in the Montgomery bus boycotts, is accused of striking a flight attendant on a Northwest Airlines plane and then hitting an officer.

Nixon was taken to the local hospital for treatment of high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar before being transported to jail in Memphis.

(He is being held on $1,000 bond, in case anyone is interested in bailing him out.)

Thank goodness they are not attempting to charge for those hideous blankets and pillows most airlines offer!

JetBlue will begin charging customers for an eco-friendly comfort package on their flights. Travel blanket and pillow--featuring a fabric technology, developed by CleanBrands LLC, that apparently blocks dust mites, mold spores, pollen and pet dander--will be available for purchase for $7 on flights longer than two hours. The pair will come in a kit with a $5 coupon to Bed Bath & Beyond.

So far, we have JetBlue charging us for extra leg room, food and drinks, checked baggage and now pillows and blankets. What's next?

How about extra humidity on board? I'd pay extra for that.

This is truly one of the more bizarre frequent flier miles offerings out there. The folically challenged could really score some free air tickets here.

Bosley, the hair restoration company, is offering 20,000 Delta SkyMiles to anyone who's willing to let them take a look at his/her hair. And, if you--by any chance--decide to go through with their hair restoration procedure, you will earn 150,000 miles.

Well, what do you think?

[Thanks, Chris, for the tip]

Another story to be filed under "What's wrong with people?"

Wednesday night, a 40-year old man aboard a Canadian Greyhound bus traveling from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg stabbed and then decapitated a fellow passenger, USA Today reports. He was arrested at the end of the whole thing, in case you were wondering.

This story has gotten extensive coverage all over the world. People have been quoted as saying they'll never take the bus ever again, until safety regulations on buses are in place. I don't know. Can you really draw conclusions from one weird case?

In case you haven't heard exactly what happened, here is a glimpse, according to fellow passengers interviewed by Associated Press:

The victim, who appeared to be about 19, was sleeping with headphones on when his seat mate suddenly began stabbing him as the bus traveled a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway, a dozen miles from Portage La Prairie. He stabbed him about 40-50 times.

The bus stopped and the passengers tried to get away while the attacker allegedly began calmly and methodically carving up the man's body. Unbelievable.

Passengers disembarked and braced themselves against the door to prevent the attacker from leaving while they waited for police to arrive. The attacker went back and brought the head to the front and dropped it on the ground in front of the passengers.

Well, this is a good time to ask the question, I guess. Would you take a Greyhound anytime soon?

Interesting idea, but it honestly doesn't make much sense to me.

Emirates has made a decision to get rid of all paper from the seat pockets on its new Airbus A380. Why? The Economist reports that they're trying to save weight and, hence, fuel.

Don't get me wrong. I think throwing out those silly in-flight magazines is a grand idea. However, can you seriously save significant weight by removing, say, 1000 magazines? Let's say it's the same weight as one passenger (after dinner.)

Does that really make a big difference?

The Economist writes that removing 2kg of paper from each of the 500 seats shaves a tonne off the plane's flying weight. What do they mean by "2 kilos" of magazines, exactly? That's 4 pounds. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I have never been on a flight where you find 4 lbs of reading material in the seat pocket in front of you.

What does Emirates provide for the reading pleasure of their customers? Bridal magazines?

You can't visit Central America and not make at least some effort to see the monkeys. That's just wrong. Monkeys are way too cute to be missed.

Like Costa Rica, and other countries in this region, Belize is also trying to brand itself as an ecotourism destination.

The Community Baboon Sanctuary, a conservation project in which over 200 private landowners in Belize have voluntarily pledged to conserve their land for the protection of the Black Howler Monkey (called 'baboon' in the local Creole dialect) habitat, is well-worth the trip inland. It's only about an hour drive from Belize City.

But, there is a but.

Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes.
Before I begin talking about how cute the monkeys are, I am going to say this: I had never, ever before, seen so many mosquitoes before visiting the Community Baboon Sanctuary (CBS). Anywhere.

The closest I had ever come to this kind of mosquito infestation was in Venice. (Camping outside a city built on a swamp is not a good idea, note to self.)

I know what you are thinking. It's not a very summery photo I picked. that's exactly why. As I'm sitting here, sweating my butt off, this photo actually looks blissful.

Ultraclay! took this picture on Champs-Elysees in Paris, presumably in the winter. I love that the statue looks like it could be a real person, walking against the wind and snow. You could almost picture the Battle of Stalingrad this way.

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr Pool and post it. Make sure it is not copyrighted, otherwise we can't post it here.***

Isn't this heaven? (Sorry if these photos find you in the middle of cubicle hell.)

I took these pictures last week in Caye Caulker, one of the northern islands off the coast of Belize. Most people opt to go to the bigger Ambergris Caye, which is a bit more family friendly, but also more expensive.

Caye Caulker is smaller (about 5 miles x 1 mile), cheaper and hence packed with backpackers. The last time I saw so many backpackers in one place was probably Yangshuo, China. These are the kinds of places where you literally see more backpackers than locals. Kind of defeats the point of adventure travel, doesn't it.

There are a few great things about Caye Caulker, though:

Road rage is so twentieth century.

Try coffee rage instead. According to the much-publicized story of Jeff Simmermon, it sounds quite satisfying.

Simmermon, a blogger from Brooklyn, walked into Murky Coffee, a coffee shop in Arlington, VA earlier this week and asked for his summertime drink of choice: a triple espresso over ice. The barista looked at him and said "I'm sorry, we can't serve iced espresso here. It's against our policy."

Puzzled, Simmermon asked for a triple espresso and a cup of ice instead. Barista had no choice but to comply. He handed him both cups and said: "Hey man. What you're about to do ... that's really, really Not Okay."

Amidst coffee rage, Simmermon looked him right in eyes and poured the espresso onto the ice. (This is the satisfying moment, in case you are new to the coffee rage concept.)

For most coffee shop patrons accustomed to getting their signature drink at will, this would have been the last time they ever ventured into that coffee shop. Not Simmermon. An hour later, he walked back into Murky Coffee and asked for "the strongest iced beverage the policy will allow."

The barista offered "an Americano with four shots and light on the water." He filled up a plastic cup with ice, filled it 3/4 of the way with water and carefully added four shots of espresso. Apparently, diluting espresso with ice is not OK. Diluting it with water and ice is perfectly fine.

Simmermon went back home and ranted about this experience on his blog "And I am not lying". His post quickly made it through cyberspace, generating thousands of comments and inspiring even the Washington Post to write a piece about "coffee rage."

Finally, the owner of Murky Coffee made an official statement on his website:

"No modifications to the Classic Cappuccino. No questions will be answered about the $5 Hot Chocolate (during the months we offer it). No espresso in a to-go cup. No espresso over ice. These are our policies. We have our reasons, and we're happy to share them."

I don't know about you, but this whole coffee culture thing is getting a bit out of control. I don't exactly know who to side with here. The angry customer who, on one hand, wants to boycott Starbucks by giving business to small local coffee shops and, on the other hand, cannot handle not getting exactly and promptly what he wants? Or the staff of the small coffee shop which comes across as a pretentious bunch of posers?

Hmm, tough one. Based on my experience with coffee shop patrons, I am going to have to root for the coffee shop, I think.

Years ago, I actually worked at a Starbucks. Yes, I hate to admit it. It must have been one of the worst weeks of my life. The patrons of Starbucks, and probably of any coffee shop, must be collectively the worst customers of any customers out there. Imagine a group of A-plus personalities at 7am, before they get their morning coffee.

No, they don't tend to be morning people. They get to the coffee shop already pissed off. Then, they get more pissed off because they have to wait in a line, because they have to wait at all, because they coffee is too hot, lukewarm, not sweet enough, too sweet, you name it.

I once had a woman who ordered a triple-grande-skim-light-on-the-syrup-caramel-macchiato or whatever, which I made. Clearly, not to her liking. She obviously wasn't having a good morning. She tasted the coffee, looked at me and screamed: "THIS IS NOT WHAT I ORDERED," and threw the coffee in my face. Literally. I can still remember the taste of the caramel syrup dripping from my nose.

She continued screaming: "At $5 a cup, this is not even worth it!!! WHY AM I EVEN HERE???"

That was a very, very good question.