Dollar is on the rebound, experts say

The U.S. Postal Service doesn't track the changing volume of "wish you were here" type cards. And no organization seems to publish estimates of post card sales. So, in the absence of hard numbers, I'll put the question to you. In this age of travel blogs, cell phone cameras, text messages, and Facebook social-networking websites, do you send postcards?

Murphy the Gnome was abducted from a garden and taken on a world tour. ITN/CNN tells the story:

Why is it so annoying when an airline charges you a fee at the airport or on the plane, such as $15 fee for checking a single bag? The most interesting explanation I've read so far comes from marketing guru Seth Godin. He says there's a problem with "bait and switch" selling tactics. He says that when the airlines charge you one price up-front, and then hit you with a baggage fee at the gate, they "have to be very careful to apply the fees equally because people hate being treated worse than everyone else." For example, if you feel that you've carried the same bags onto flights without being charged in the past, or think that the person in front of you escaped from having to pay a charge for a similar bag, you'll feel resentful for having to pay a fee. Yet here comes Seth's truly insightful point: A key lesson from Disney: When there is both pain and pleasure associated with your service, work extremely hard to separate them by time and geography. Disney charges a fortune for the theme park, but they do it a week before you get there, or at a booth far far away from the rides. By the time you get to the rides, you're over it. The pain isn't associated with the fun part. Airlines, on the other hand, surround the very thing they sell (getting you home) with armed guards, untrained TSA agents, long lines and sneering gate agents eager to take your money when you have absolutely no expectation or choice and when your stress is at its highest. This is a problem in the long run. Do you think the airlines could learn from Disney in this--or any other--way?

Few people are as adept at traveling on a budget as classical musicians, especially when they're on tour. Being musicians, they tend to visit culturally vibrant cities and towns and seek out reliable hotels in artsy neighborhoods. I sometimes scroll through the blogs of some classical musicians to see what funny experiences they have on the road and what trends they're noticing. Does the following story from one classical musician Nico Muhly strike a chord with you? Something to think about: When traveling (or sometimes when not) there are a lot of moments where you approach somebody in a position of some sort of authority, say, a hotel clerk. You brandish your paperwork, you give her your last name. She makes a FACE, and it's this FACE that I want to explore for a second. The FACE is like, "Oh, I don’t think we have your reservation." Even if it lasts a microsecond, that face is the difference, I think, between Okay Service and Not Okay Service. Seeing that face is completely devastating, especially after complicated travel. I got that face yesterday about seventeen times, attendant to every appointment I had. Have you ever experienced this? Or is this peculiar to him?