SAN DIEGO — The San Diego State mens basketball team landed
safely in Denver on Friday afternoon and bused to neighboring Fort
Collins well ahead of Saturdays 1 pm road game against Colorado
State.

The Aztecs reached colder pastures in an afternoon, a stark
contrast to a trip to Laramie, Wyo., earlier this week, one that
took roughly 20 hours to travel an extra 60 miles.

San Diego State took a charter flight to play Wyoming on Tuesday
in hopes of expediting the travel process to ensure the
student-athletes would be home as much as possible during a week
with two crucial road games.

The concept was sound. Weather decimated the execution. The
Aztecs, forced to take a puddle-jumper of a plane because the
original wasnt ready to fly, had to refuel before reaching
Wyoming. They planned on landing in St. George, Utah, but were
forced to circle for an hour before landing in nearby Cedar
Springs.

Snow prevented takeoff, stranding San Diego State in the wrong
state on the eve of an important Mountain West Conference showdown.
They made it to Laramie six hours before tipoff, and were forced to
forgo a shoot-around in favor of a walk-through practice in a hotel
ballroom.

They had to stop in Arizona on the way back, and players claim
they could see their breath while the plane was airborne.

This craziness led to one obvious change of heart.

Charter flights can be nice, forward Jamaal Franklin said,
But, as of right now, Id prefer to fly commercial.

The Aztecs did exactly that getting to Fort Collins, part of a
road trip that was refreshingly uneventful. While No. 13 ranked
SDSU tallied a win over Wyoming, theyd appreciate a win over the
Rams without the headache.

Its in our minds that we have to go right back to the cold
weather, but our focus remains on coming back with a victory just
like we did against Wyoming, guard Chase Tapley said on Thursday
afternoon. Winning takes care of all the negatives.

Last year, a win in Fort Collins wasnt so easy to come by, with
graduated point guard DJ Gay scoring the game-winner on a
last-second jump shot.

This time, the Aztecs expect a similar game. Coach Steve Fisher
says the Rams (13-6, 2-2) are the best perimeter shooting team in
the conference. The Aztecs, however, excel at forcing difficult
shots with stout defense.

The Aztecs believe theyre a tighter unit after this weeks
travel escapades and several considered the trial a character
builder. They also say it will help them retain focus against a
Rams team that has lost two straight by 21 points or more.

(Were) playing a Colorado State team that has gotten pounded
pretty good the past couple games, but they are a very good
basketball team, Fisher said. I know that, they know that and
hopefully our players will understand that. … Well have our
hands full, but were ready to go.

By Catharine M. Hamm

Los Angeles Times Travel editor

January 28, 2012, 3:09 pm

Best airfares found 6 weeks before trip

Even when buying airline tickets, timing is everything.

Passengers can get the lowest airfares if they buy six weeks before their flight, according to a study by Airlines Reporting Corp., an Arlington, Va., company that handles ticketing transactions between the nations airlines and travel agents.

The study looked at millions of transactions for airline tickets over the last four years and found that passengers pay the lowest price, nearly 6 percent below the overall average fare, if they buy six weeks before their flight.

The study also showed that ticket prices begin to soar dramatically about a week before the day of travel, and can rise nearly 40 percent above the average price if passengers buy the ticket on the day of the flight.

Were not advising people to purchase tickets only at this time during the cycle as there is no guarantee they will receive the lowest price of the year, said Chuck Thackston, managing director of data and analytics for the firm. It is just that the data indicates we have seen this pattern over the last four years.

Wi-Fi helps lift airlines revenue

There is a good reason why the nations airlines are moving quickly to make wireless Internet an increasingly common onboard service, along with drinks, food and movies: It generates more revenue from fees.

Onboard Wi-Fi use grew from 4 percent in 2010 to 7 percent last year, and is expected to generate up to $1.5 billion annually by 2015, according to a study by In-Stat, an Arizona market analysis company.

About 45 percent of the nations commercial air fleet is equipped with in-flight wireless Internet, with several airlines, including Virgin America and AirTran, offering the service fleetwide, according to In-Stat.

The nations airlines collected about $155 million in 2011 from charges to use onboard Internet and are expected to collect $225 million this year, said Amy Cravens, a senior analyst for In-Stat.

As onboard Wi-Fi spreads throughout the industry, the study suggests, airlines will find more ways to make money from it, including new fees for Internet phone calls and video chatting from 35,000 feet in the air.

The future of in-flight Wi-Fi will be less about convincing airlines of the merit and more about leveraging the network to provide a broader breadth of services, Cravens said.

Scanners may get more testing

The full-body scanners used at more than 100 airports nationwide have been tested for safety by federal agencies, but the Transportation Security Administration says it is willing to conduct additional tests to address ongoing safety fears about the radiation emitted by the machines.

In the last three months, TSA chief John Pistole has changed his position — twice — on whether new tests are needed.

But TSA spokesman Greg Soule said Pistole is now open to conducting new tests.

TSA is committed to working with Congress to explore options for an additional study to further prove these machines are safe for all passengers, Soule said. There was no word from the TSA on when or who would conduct such tests if they are performed.

The safety of the scanners came up when the TSA recently issued a request for information from government vendors about the purchase of wearable dosimeters — devices that can measure radiation exposure.

To ensure that its employees are provided safe and healthful working environments, the document said, the TSA is planning to perform radiation measurement using personal and area dosimeters at selected federalized airports.

British skier treks across Antarctica

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina –British adventurer Felicity Aston completed her crossing of Antarctica on Monday, becoming the first woman to ski across the icy continent alone.

She did it in 59 days, pulling two sledges for 1,084 miles from her starting point on the Leverett Glacier on Nov. 25.

!!!Congratulations to the 1st female to traverse Antarctica SOLO.V proud, her Twitter message said.

She announced her achievement from Hercules Inlet on Antarcticas Ronne Ice Shelf, where she waited alone in her tent for bad weather to clear so that a small plane could pick her up and take her to a base camp. Other expeditions also have gathered there, preparing for the summers last flight off the continent.

Aston also set another record: the first human to ski solo, across Antarctica, using only her own muscle power. A male-female team already combined to ski across Antarctica without kites or machines to pull them across, but Aston is the first to do this alone.

Australia sees third shark attack of 2012

SYDNEY –A snorkeling guide was attacked by a 10-foot tiger shark off a remote beach in Australias third attack this month. Thats as many attacks as the country generally sees in an entire year.

David Pickering, 26, was leading a group of snorkelers through a lagoon at Western Australias Coral Bay when the shark swam up to him and sunk its teeth into his arm.

I turned around and boom, there he was, Pickering told reporters. (The force) was enough to actually bring me forward and under him because I scraped my knee on his belly.

Pickering said he punched the shark with his other arm and it backed off. He then yelled at the other snorkelers — a couple and their two children — to get out of the water before swimming the 300 feet back to shore.

Im pretty stoked that it happened to me and not one of those kids, he said.

Pickering was taken to a hospital in Perth with severe lacerations to his arm. His injuries were not life-threatening and he was in stable condition, Royal Flying Doctor Service spokeswoman Joanne Hill said.

The attack came one day after a surfer was bitten by a shark at a beach off Australias east coast. Another surfer was attacked at a beach north of Sydney on Jan. 3.

Wire services

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) The New York Giants are getting ready for Super Bowl XLVI and many fans are dishing out big bucks to be able to join them in Indianapolis next week.

LISTEN: WCBS 880s Sophia Hall reports

Randy Weinstein of Power Travel in Plainview says they started getting calls right after Jan. 1 from Giants fans, hopeful their team would be making it all the way to the Super Bowl.

Some people bought Super Bowl packages with tickets and hotels included and they are just looking for air and its going to cost a pretty penny, last-minute like this, said Weinstein. Even the motels are making it non-refundable which is unusual for a motel.

LISTEN: 1010 WINS Gary Baumgarten reports

And its not just air fare and hotels that are expensive. Tickets for the big gamehave skyrocketed with prices on the NFL Ticket Exchange website hitting anywhere between $2,613 to $15,343 each.

More: Good news, bad news for Giants fans in SB tix lottery

Thats a lot of money, said one man outside Penn Station. Wed have to save up for a year to see that game.

While some fans said theyd pay around $1,000 to see the Giants play in person, others say theyd rather save the cash and watch the Super Bowl for free from their couch.

Wish you were going to Super Bowl XLVI? Sound off below…

As Mitt Romney tries to bring Newt Gingrich back to earth, the former House speaker is standing by his high-flying plans to ensure America is at the cutting edge of space exploration.

And the issue, likely more important in the Florida election than any other primary-season contest, has exposed a deep divide between the two front-running Republican presidential candidates.

While Gingrich is floating space-travel plans at a staggering rate — even for a candidate whos been teased for his frequently grandiose proposals — Romney is proudly tamping down the dream.

After ridiculing Gingrich on Thursday for pushing expensive and allegedly outlandish proposals, the former Massachusetts governor on Friday suggested Gingrich was pandering. And, Romney conceded, he does not really have a space plan. Not yet, anyway. Rather, Romney committed to carefully creating one once hes president.

In the politics of the past, to get your vote on the Space Coast, Id come here and promise hundreds of billions of dollars — yeah, you want to hear that, yeah. Or Id lay out what my mission is, heres what were going to accomplish. Im not going to do that, Romney said.

The candidate said he is not going to tell Florida what the mission will be, but how Im going to get there. He said hed bring in experts from across the military, NASA, and leading institutions and businesses, and then create a plan.

It is a risky move on the Space Coast. Romney is trying to cast himself as the straight-talking, pragmatic and fiscally responsible candidate — the one who doesnt just tell voters what they want to hear. Romney has enjoyed a bump in the polls over the past few days, and is looking to hold that lead ahead of Tuesdays election.

But Gingrich, based on the reaction of his audiences, seems to be feeding a spark in Florida. With the space industry facing massive layoffs following the end of the space shuttle program, Gingrich is urging Americans to dream big once again and likening his critics to those who would doubt John F. Kennedy or the Wright brothers.

I am sick of being told we have to be timid, Gingrich told an enthusiastic crowd in Florida on Wednesday.

In that speech, Gingrich unleashed a barrage of space thoughts. He called for a permanent moon base by the end of his second term. He revived an old idea of his to let Americans colonize the moon and petition for statehood once 13,000 of them are in place. He said he wants to approve a Northwest Ordinance for space, which like the original would presumably facilitate the statehood process.

He called for NASA to devote 10 percent of its budget to prize money so the private sector would be incentivized to take the lead on spaceflight — making the mission such a frenzy that the country eventually holds several launches every day.

Gingrich, defending those plans, told Fox News on Friday that we lack a romantic vision of being an American.

He warned that the Chinese would dominate space if America does not step up. And he defended the idea of turning to the private sector. Id like to find enough millionaires and billionaires who say, you know, Id love to be part of space and Ill kick in my share, he said.

Gingrich threw another idea onto the pile. Because the moon contains a lot of water, he said, America could use the moon as a water refueling place on the way to Mars and other reaches of the solar system.

Romney, at Thursdays debate, skewered Gingrichs plans.

Im not looking for a colony on the moon. I think the cost of that would be in the hundreds of billions, if not trillions. Id rather be rebuilding housing here in the US, he said.

Romney later added: I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, Id say, Youre fired. The idea that corporate America wants to go off to the moon and build a colony there, it may be a big idea, but its not a good idea.

Romney, while portraying Gingrichs ideas as folly, is still casting himself as pro-space exploration.

His campaign on Friday released a letter from former astronauts and other space industry experts, including former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, endorsing his approach.

The authors criticized President Obamas approach, saying the president has left the space program in disarray, and said they believe Romneys would produce results instead of empty promises.

Mitt will do more than provide our space program with an inspiring vision and mission of exploration. He will also set aggressive yet achievable goals, adhere to realistic budgets and execute on a carefully drawn plan, they wrote.

But Bill McCollum, the former Florida attorney general who is also Gingrichs Florida campaign chairman, told Fox News that Gingrichs plan for private incentives is critical.

We cant sit back and let the Chinese get ahead of us on space, he said Saturday. You had three other candidates who all theyre talking about is hey, we gotta be more conservative in the sense that we cant spend the money.

He said the country needs to balance the budget, but also needs to set priorities.

The motion requests that Sandusky be allowed to have his friends visit his home, and that he be allowed to travel to meet with his attorney and private investigators working on his case.

Court documents also said Sandusky wants to be able to visit his grandchildren in his home and he wants the judge to allow him to communicate with them via phone, email, text, and Skype.

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of and developed in Silicon Valley and other tech hot houses have been vital to the Demants untethered lifestyle.

I actually feel like Im closer to my parents these last two years, Jason Demant, 28, says of his folks who live in Folsom. Weve made it a ritual to make Skype video calls every week. When I lived three hours away, we never did.

For the past year, the couple has been more settled. After traveling to the United States to get married in February, Sharon took a job teaching English in Seoul while Jason built and ran Unanchor, a website that sells short travel guides written by residents of tourist destinations. He uses Google Voice to field calls and Craigslist to recruit writers. He found a company cofounder on a cloud-based spreadsheet set up to connect startup founders with entrepreneurs who complement their skill sets. He lives on email and, obviously, relies on the Internet to market his business and sell the travel guides, splitting the proceeds with the guides authors.

The Demants represent globalization on a micro-level. Blogger Lea Woodward calls the Demants lifestyle location independent, the state of being able to work from anywhere. And while exact numbers are elusive, Woodward, whos been writing about location independence since 2007, says the trend appears to be growing.

Not only can you run your business online, you can run your life online, Woodward said by email from her home in England. Travelers can now receive scanned snail mail through the Web. They can be paid online and do their banking on the Internet. And when it comes to running a business, the world has been turned upside down.

You can run an online business, which costs less than $50 a month to run and requires nothing but a laptop and a raft of online services, Woodward wrote. This levels the playing field like nothing else in history.

Still, the bottom line is that work is work and that launching a business is still a leap of faith. Jason says Unanchor is not yet making enough money to support him and so he will be looking for a job when he and Sharon return to San Francisco next month. Sharon says shes interested in continuing to teach and shes applied for the Teach for America program. Oh, and Sharon, who was the less enthusiastic at the beginning of the Demants excellent adventure, is ready to return to the United States.

To be honest, Im pretty stoked, she said. I always knew I wanted to live back home. Even though we love living in Korea and the lifestyle is amazing, I really miss the family and friends back home.

Jason says the coming move is bittersweet. The couple has made friends in Korea and Demant is fascinated with the potential of Koreas growing startup culture. But he looks forward to certain advantages in the United States that he was reminded of when he and Sharon visited California for their wedding.

Being able to know that when I walk into a store that I can communicate with someone, he says. Its so nice to be able to ask a question about something and know that Ill be able to understand the answer.

It is not so much that being location independent wasnt for them, more like it was never meant to be forever. And no doubt others will follow the Demants path, learning their own lessons before finding that theyve discovered the place where they were always meant to be.

Contact Mike Cassidy at mcassidy@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5536. Follow him at Twitter.com/mikecassidy.

A two-day travel fair jointly organised by The Times of India and Makemytrip.com began at Hotel India Awadh India here on Saturday. The first day of the event witnessed great footfall, and contended visitors as they found appropriate holiday solutions suiting their needs. Sumit Khanna, a visitor to the travel counselling session said that the session has proved to be really helpful as it saved time usually spent on the research for holidays. There are various packages for all across the globe suiting varied needs of any family. The session will continue on Sunday Hotel India Awadh between 10 am to 5 pm and entry to the fair is absolutely free.

Louisianas Ragin Cajuns will look to get over the .500 mark on the season and at the same time, keep pace in the Sun Belt West race when they travel to Monroe to take on the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.  Gametime is scheduled for 4pm and will be carried on the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns Radio Network.

The Cajuns (11-11, 5-3 Sun Belt) are fresh off a 64-62 win over North Texas and stand one game behind Denver and UALR for the top spot in the West.

The Cajuns lead the all-time series 45-18, but are just 16-14 in games played in Monroe.  Louisiana has won three of the last four meetings at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.  The Cajuns have swept the regular season series the past two years.

In the Cajuns win on Thursday, Bryant Mbamalu had a season high 19 points to pace the Cajuns.  Josh Brown added 12 points and Kadeem Coleby chipped in ten.

ULM (2-19, 1-7) hasnt won at Fant-Ewing Coliseum this year.  The Warhawks, under scholarship restrictions because of APR issues under the previous regime, has struggled to score at times under second-year coach Keith Richard.  The Warhawks are last in the league in scoring offense and have been held under 60 points nine times.  Five of their losses have been by five points or less, including two losses in league play.

Fred Brown and Charles Winborne both average in double figures for the Warhawks.  Winborne is their leading three point shooter (43.5%.)

The game will feature brothers playing against each other.  Senior forward Darshawn McClellans younger brother, Steven, is a sophomore for the Warhawks.  Steven McClellan leads ULM in rebounding (7.3) and is third on the team in scoring (9.4).

This is the first of two meetings between the two teams.  The rematch will be on senior night at the Cajundome on February 25th.

Source: Radio Zamaneh

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive in Tehran tomorrow (Sunday) to discuss Irans nuclear activities. IRNA reports that the IAEA delegation will arrive in Tehran headed by IAEA deputy director general Herman Nackaerts.

The delegation will hold talks with Iranian authorities regarding Irans nuclear program.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Irans representative to the IAEA, told IRNA that the senior delegations trip to Tehran attests to the fact that Irans nuclear activities are peaceful.

On this trip, the agencys concerns will be set in a framework of agreement, Soltanieh said, and the mutual commitments of both parties toward clearing up all ambiguities will be discussed.

Irans representative to the IAEA maintained that Irans willingness to host the agencys inspectors should confirm that Iran is willing to make every effort to clear up all ambiguities and cooperate fully with the IAEA.

Soltanieh added that the purpose of the current trip is to defuse the conspiracies of Irans enemies and their baseless accusations, while proving the transparency and peacefulness of Irans nuclear activities.

Yukiya Amano, the head of the IAEA, expressed hope that Tehran would ease the atomic negotiations through constructive cooperation.

This week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also asked the parties involved in Irans atomic dossier to avoid conflicts and nonconstructive statements.

He maintained that there can be no alternative for resolving the disputes over Irans nuclear program other than peaceful means.

Ban Ki-moon also called on Iran to show more cooperation with the IAEA.

The disputes over Irans nuclear dossier have intensified after the last IAEA report indicated that there may be a military dimension to Irans nuclear activities.

Since then, both the US and the EU have imposed sanctions on Irans Central Bank, and the EU has gone the extra step of imposing an embargo on Iranian petroleum products.

Russia, on the other hand, has condemned the new sanctions, saying nuclear disputes with Iran should only be resolved through diplomatic talks.

Iran recently announced that it is ready to return to the negotiation table with the G5+1.

Related News:

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• Continuation of US Presence in the Persian Gulf: Islamic Republic Retreats from Strategy of Threats
• US Aircraft Carrier Enters Persian Gulf Without Incident
• Will Israel Attack Iran?
• Australia To Follow EU Lead On Iran Sanctions
• EU Ministers Adopt Iran Oil Embargo
• China Criticizes US Sanctions Against Iran
• Report: Irans Closure of Waterway Would Provoke US Response
• Japan Expresses New Caution About Cutting Iranian Oil Imports
• Turkey Resists US Sanctions Against Iran Despite US Envoy Visit
• Iran can block Strait of Hormuz easily: Navy Commander
• US, France Warn Iran On Hormuz Shipping Rights
• Is Iran legally permitted to close Strait of Hormuz to countries that impose sanctions against Irans oil?
• Former Officials Call for President Obama to Reinvigorate Iran Diplomacy

… Payvand News – 01/28/12 … —