Carnival Splendor- Opt 1 (2/3/11)

• Nature of the problem
• The Carnival Splendor, a 113,000-ton behemoth, suffered an engine fire early in the morning that knocked out the ship's power, including air conditioning, hot food service, flushing toilets and telephones.The fire was extinguished in about three hours.
• The Carnical Splendor had to be towed by two tug boats into the Ensenada Port in Mexico.
• After the People got in safely, a bus brought the passengers back to California from the port in Mexico.
• The Carnival Splendor is too high to be able to go underneath the Coronado Bridge to go to the three ship yards (BAE, NASSCO, Northrop Grumman ) about two miles south.
• The ship is 215 ft tall and the bridge is only 200 ft tall
• Because of this problem, the liner has to be moved to San Fransisco
• Necessary Repairs
• The ship is currently at the San Diego dock on 10th in downtown, but it will move to San Fransisco to be put on a dry dock for further repairs
• BAE Systems is the company in charge of the repair work
• The engine room must be cleaned up from the CO2 and water before the actual damage can be repaired
• During the 4-6 weeks in San Francisco Bay, the Splendor will be getting a new diesel generator and two alternators
• All the repair work stems from a fire that took place on board the ship in November.
• Cabling and switchboard components are being replaced
• More repairs were discovered when they were repairing the ship
• The cruise ship is unable to start operating until after February
• Time constraints and more problems being discovered just cause more financial problems and more cruises being cancelled 
• Financial Problems/Impact on Passangers
• All guests booked on canceled cruises sailing out of Long Beach will receive a refund or future cruise credit equal to the amount paid
• Passangers will be reimbursed of transportation-related change fees
• Those who choose to re-book will receive a 25 % future cruise discount or an on-board credit
• The total financial impact of the disabled ship is unknown
• Carnival Corporation said that the incident would cost it at least $56 million and affect about 30,000 passengers
• The costs can be expected to rise becuase of other problems discovered, and becuase of further delays
• Fourteen one-week voyages that were scheduled for November, December, January and February on the cruise ship have been canceled
• Because of all the repair work needed, more jobs have opened up
• 125 new job opportunities

Content is King 1/31/11

1. My hobby, or my favorite thing to do is telemark ski. It is entertaining, and keeps me in shape during the winter when it is usually cold outside. I started it a year ago from spring break, and it has really caught my attention. My dad tele skis too so I think that is part of the reason why I like it; it keeps us closer becuase we share something in common.
2. There is The Backcountry Skiing Blog, and on there various companies, and people post videos about their products and their lives. For example a company that makes ski equiptment called Black Diamond posted a video, and in the video they showed their new product. People from different shops also post about new products. For example a guy that works at a ski shop posted about a new line of Tecnica Ski Boots.He described the product, posted a picture, and told his opinion of the product, and below people commented on it. There are links at the top of the blog to different stores that make ski gear like: Backcountry.com, Garmont, BCA (backcountry access), etc. These links are appealing to people and therefore when they see them they are tempted to click on them. When there are links that means the companies are promoting their products. It is a good idea to have the links at the top of the page to help the bloggers be able to see them right when they go onto the sight. Having the links on a blog like this also helps people be able to look at the products that people are blogging and taking videos about. http://www.wildsnow.com/ 
3. I could see myself blogging about skiing as well. I could see myself doing reviews and blog posts about the different mountains that I have been to. I also could see myself posting about my experiences at these mountains, and what the best parts of the mountain are for beginners, intermidiates, and expert skiers. I would put up a trail map of the mountain, and I would include some personal pictures, and then I would blog below the picture so the people would know what I am talking about. I like personal blogs becuase I think they are more interesting, so I would consider doing one of my life as a telemark skier at mountains all over the world. :)