Notes
Plain-English notes on travel, prices, and how we build this site. Signed, dated, no fluff.
9 September 2026 · engineering
When the sky went quiet: the NATS outage, seen from a rooftop
Own data: one home ADS-B receiver, 8 September 2026What one home receiver logged during the 8 September 2026 air traffic control failure, and why a hotel site watches the sky.
5 September 2026 · engineering
Which Newcastle? The hardest easy question a hotel site answers
Own photo: St James’ Park, Newcastle upon TyneOne word, ten places, four defensible rules and three wrong answers. What I learned about place names, and what a traveller can do about it.
3 September 2026 · engineering
A hotel price without dates is not a price
Planning a real trip to Sri Lanka and India broke my own wishlist — so searches, hotels and bookings now live together in trips, with the dates kept.
2 September 2026 · industry
The town R&R built: a US carrier is back in Pattaya — and there are still rooms
U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Gage ThomasPattaya exists as a resort because US servicemen came ashore for R&R in 1959. This week the USS Abraham Lincoln brought ~5,000 more. The full-circle history, the rules the city set, and why there are still rooms.
1 September 2026 · engineering
The crawlers that cost me money and pay me nothing
Last month my tiny database bill more than doubled. The culprits weren't visitors — they were SEO companies reading my site to sell what they read.
23 August 2026 · industry
The fixture list is not the fixture list
Kick-offs move for television and away tickets arrive late, so supporters book rooms before they know the date or whether they are going. Why free cancellation is the correct way to book football.