Travel

September 2012. You know, I started this site 12 years ago. I was new at making informational websites and I didn't factor in how much things would change, requiring me to always make updates to this site. Ugh.

Over the years as new search engines have appeared and built the better mousetrap, I've moved them to the #1 position in my recommendations. But sometimes they don't last (Qixo comes to mind), or they sit still feature-wise (like Orbitz) and other sites leapfrog them.

So now there's a new kid of the block, Hipmunk . What's so special about it? Its list of flights is so compact and efficient it's just a joy to behold. You can view (and easily comprehend) lots of flight info without scrolling. It's the better mousetrap, for sure. And for that reason, it's all the rage.

But it's not all smiles and cupcakes. Once you want to search for flexible dates, the output is no longer quite as pretty. And your options for searching for flexible dates pale compared to the other search engines in the first place: You get only + OR - x number of days, rather than + AND - minus like you do with the other engines. And that +/- is good for up to only two days, not three like the other engines. There's a convoluted way to get a more flexible search, but it's, well, convoluted.

So for now, use Hipmunk if you need specific dates, and Kayak if your dates are flexible. Though that'll probably change at some point.

Delta warned about rodent droppings

April 2011. As if we needed more reasons to not fly, the FDA recently gave a warning to Delta Airlines after finding rat droppings "too numerous to count" in the food prep area of a Delta plane. Yuck. (more from CNN )

United and Continental merge

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