Model Ships Blog

The vast majority of taxi owners are not suspicious and the overwhelming majority of taxi journeys pass without incident. However, there have been problems at home and abroad, so it is worth taking basic safety steps. The added difficulty when using a taxi abroad, of course, is the language and cultural barrier.

The purpose of this piece is to make you aware of your safety while taking a taxi abroad, but these safety pointers should be applied just as much in your own country. Safety, particularly personal safety, should become one of your paramount issues.

The first piece of advice is to take a taxi from a taxi rank. Do not take a taxi from a person who is touting his taxi service outside the airport or the train station. Most countries have a structure of organized taxi ranks, but there are always rogue taxi drivers attempting to by-pass the official system.

If there is no taxi rank ask one of the police, that can be seen standing around every public transport building. If that does not work, go into a hotel, restaurant or bar and ask the proprietor to phone you a taxi. Before you get into the taxi, commit the registration number or number plate of the taxi to memory and write it down once you are in the cab.

If you are arriving in the place from a long distance away, know the location of the building you wish to visit. This is easily done by going to Google Earth, typing the address in and printing off the map. Then you know if you are being taken for a ride quite literally. Do not allow yourself to be taken anywhere you do not want to go. Sit in the back so that you have the upper hand if you require it.

Hold you precious belongings near you, then if you have to make a run for it, you will have your essentials and the details of the taxi that you wrote down earlier.

Does the car look like a taxi or does it look like someone’s personal car? You have more likelihood of being ripped off by a private hire car than a firm with a boss and a license to lose. Most legitimate taxis will have the firm’s phone number written on them, so request a card or write it down.

If you are travelling alone, try to share the taxi with another foreigner. Most foreigners are looking for a place to stay as soon as they arrive, so this is not as difficult as it may sound. Do not allow another local to share with you, because you do not know who they are – they could be a team.

Finally, do not be into a car that is in very bad condition. If the driver is on the level, the car will be clean and the windows and the door handles will work. Do not step into a car without internal door handles..

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of subjects, yet is now concerned with RX Safety Glasses. If you would like to know more, go to our website at Safety Glasses Bifocal

A great deal of individuals purchase concert tickets online. This is a fast and convenient way to get seats to popular events. Many events sell out quickly, and the most effective way to ensure getting seats to the event you want to go to, is by going on the internet. It is very disappointing missing an event you were looking forward to for weeks, because it sold out. You can prevent this by shopping on the web.

It is also possible to save a lot of money by purchasing your seats, for a particular event, on the internet. There are often a number of discounts that are not available offline. Some of these discounts can be as much as half off of the original price. The internet is also a good place to locate seats to sold out shows.

The key to locating the ideal bargains is realizing where to should shop. It’s better to shop on the known sites that have a reputation you can trust. These websites belong to the major ticket sellers that also have an offline presence. You obviously want to avoid getting ripped off so it is important to shop with an established company.

When you go on to one of these websites, you will have access to all of the seats that are available and how much they cost. There is a seating plan available, so you know exactly where you will be seated. As soon as the purchase is made, the seats are yours.

A good way to find out about ticket sales in advance, is by joining the official fan site of the artist. Here, you will find all of the concert dates and where you can purchase tickets. The also make announcements on any special discounts that are only available to members of the fan club.

A more risky way to get seats is by shopping on any of the big auction websites. This can be a good way to get last minute seats at a discount. And if you choose not to bid on the seats, there is usually the option to buy without bidding. The major auction sites are monitored to protect you from scams.

It’s also possible to locate opportunities on the classified ad websites. This would actually be a more risky way to go about getting seats and should be utilized as a last measure. These sites aren’t monitored or even regulated, therefore there are a lot of ripoffs that posted on these boards. If you are planning to get your own seats in this manner, it’s vital to do the deal in person.

There are a lot of choices when it comes to purchasing concert tickets online. It is always better to purchase from suppliers that are well know and have a great track record on the internet. The more research you do, may uncover several viable choices where you can save a lot of money. It is a wise decision to compare several deals before you decide to buy.

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On a cold, gray morning in late January 2000, the historic Mapes Hotel in Reno was imploded by 75 pounds of explosives tucked into the art-deco structures support columns. The controlled demolition came despite years of effort by a number of groups within the community and nationally to preserve the building with lawsuits, redevelopment proposals, and grass roots lobbying efforts.

While the logic and necessity of demolishing the Mapes is very questionable, one thing that is certain is that the hotel was an important part of Northern Nevada history. The opening of the Mapes in’47 ushered in a new era in casino gambling, and changed the economy and way of life in Nevada forever. The Mapes was actually the first property in the country to combine a hotel, casino and live entertainment under the same roof. It also became the hotel of choice for celebrities staying in Northern Nevada. Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe stayed at The Mapes during the filming of ‘The Misfits’. Joseph McCarthy, America’s famed anti-Communist crusader, admitted to a reporter over cocktails in the Mapes Lounge that he really didn’t have a list of Communists in the US despite his frequent and vitriolic insistence to the contrary.

During the ‘Rat Pack’ era of the 50′s and 60′s it became along with the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe the place to be seen in Northern Nevada. The 11th floor, window walled Sky Room Lounge hosted performances by a roster of entertainment legends including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Milton Berle and Mae West. Downtown Reno struggled during the’60′s and 70′s but the Mapes continued to prosper. The hotel finally closed in’82, due to financial problems experienced by the Mapes Family brought about by their other Northern Nevada casino holdings.

Reno has yet to experience the sort of growth that has been seen in Southern Nevada, and for that reason the destruction of the Mapes is more open to debate than the hotel demolitions to the south. Even the demolition of The Sands–perhaps the most historically significant casino in the state–is hard to argue against given the inability of such a small property to compete in the current Las Vegas marketplace and in light of the value of the mid-strip real estate.

That’s not the case in Reno, where vacant land and/or buildings ripe for redevelopment are abundant downtown and in the other casino areas of the city. The official reason that the Mapes had to come down was that the city needed the land to expand its vision for downtown redevelopment. While this is certainly a much needed effort, to suggest that the existence of the Mapes was a barrier is absurd. In fact, many of the proposals rejected by the city would have gone a long way to enhance the revitalization of downtown Reno and included artists lofts, office space and other mixed used properties. Despite receiving a number of viable concepts for the Mapes Building, the City Redevelopment Authority rejected all of them and the Mapes was destined for demolition.

The role of the City Redevelopment Authority was questioned throughout the process. Overlooking the Truckee River, the hotel was on a prime location between the downtown casino area and the riverfront district. Back in’96, the city of Reno purchased the hotel and began entertaining proposals for renovation and redevelopment. A number of sound financial proposals were presented that would preserve the integrity of the structure including condominiums, office space, and perhaps most viable, upscale senior apartments. Oddly, all of these proposals were turned down by the citys Redevelopment Agency which eventually led to the demolition of the structure.

Following the 2000 demolition, the lot remained vacant for over a year until a temporary ice skating rink was hastily constructed the following winter. The site now houses a permanent ice skating rink which, while not a bad use for the land, isn’t the sort of game changing improvement suggested by the City Redevelopment Agency and their adamant insistence that the building be demolished. To the contrary, it appears they had no specific plan or even general idea of what to do with the land but for some reason wanted to see the hotel come down. This has led to all manner of speculation, ranging from financial self interest to a rumor that the structure was ‘haunted’ and needed to be destroyed to forestall future paranormal activity in Washoe County. Whatever the reason, the city of Reno lost a valuable landmark that played a significant part in the economic growth of the entire state.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.