There are lots of valid excuses for being late to work. Your power was out so your alarm clock failed to go off. Your kid was sick and you had to take him to the doctor. You passed out at the brothel and didn't have money for a cab. The problem with all of those excuses is that you have no way to prove to your boss that you're telling the truth. But validating your tardiness just got simpler if you take the subway in New York City.

According to the New York Post, the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is going to start emailing commuters notes to provide to their bosses to verify subway delays that may have caused late arrivals. The New York City Transit division has long provided notes to commuters but required individuals to call a customer service number and then wait upwards of two weeks to receive a letter in the mail. These notes detail what lines the commuter claimed to have been using and any reported delays during the specified times.

In an effort to modernize, the MTA will soon allow commuters who were inconvenienced by subway delays to submit an online form and then receive an expedited email response. They hope to have the online system up and running by mid-2009. Currently, 34,000 people per year contact the MTA for notes to prove that they didn't simply oversleep due to the heavy drinking that they rely on to help them cope with their mind-numbingly droll lives.

As a NYC resident who relies on the oft-delayed subway system, I'm looking forward to the ease of use of this new online system. Granted, my habitual tardiness can only been blamed on pathological use of the snooze button and a penchant for long morning showers that involve a good cathartic cry. But all my boss needs to know is that the F train got held up because of sick passenger. Everyone's just more comfortable with that story.

Virgin America launched it's community website yesterday, where you can dig deep into the annals of VX history and read stories from contributing authors. Over at community.virginamerica.com, you can also find links to the assorted tentacles that the airline has slipped into the interwebs via Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Soon, yes, you can be a Virgin America groupie too (I already have my monogrammed VX beret, treehouse pass and pajamas, thank you.)

Where did all of these testamonials come from? Stories at the community website are culled from a variety of sources including VX employees and passengers like you. So if you're absolutley bursting with praise for the airline, this is a great place to show your gratitude.

I wonder what criteria are required for getting your experienced published? Will VX only allow fun, happy experiences to make it online? Will they accept critical or analytical stories? I have a few fun storiess from Virgin America events that I could submit....

One of the best ways to travel without leaving your home is through photography. Pictures have the ability to draw us into new cities, cultures, and traditions, allowing us to discover worlds that were once unbeknown to our eyes. And now thanks to Google we have a new way of traveling not only around the world, but through time as well.

On Tuesday the Google blog announced that the internet company is making a LIFE photo archive available on Google image search. LIFE made a name for itself in the history of photojournalism, capturing many of the world's most important moments on film, but the really cool thing about this archive is that many of these images have never been published, meaning that we're getting to discover ones that have, until now, been sitting in old archives in the form of slides, negatives, etchings and prints.Twenty percent of the collection is currently online, and when they're done, there will be over 10 million images to search through.

What are some of the highlights of the collection? The Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination; The Mansell Collection from London; Dahlstrom glass plates of New York and environs from the 1880s; and the entire works left to the collection from LIFE photographers Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gjon Mili, and Nina Leen. There are so many amazing pieces by some of the most influential photographers, it will be easy to spend hours searching the archive. And when you find one that really strikes your eye, you can even order a high-quality framed print of it.

You can access the collection here.

Kayak has been tinkering with their search engine in the past few weeks (you may have noticed that they started publishing AA fares again) and just today unveiled some of the tweaks that they made.

The most interesting one I found was Kayak Insight. The tool basically takes your departure city and tells you what cities people are searching for as their search is made. I showed up and plugged in Detroit, and up popped Fort Lauderdale, $233. Pause. Then up popped Hawaii, $600. The map continues to populate like this as you browse around in a few tabs, then when you come back in a few minutes it's got a huge map of where people are planning trips all over the world.

Cool trick, but what is it good for? Well, for Kayak, it's a good instructional tool to tell people where they can go for how much. I can get to New Orleans next weekend for $150? Sweet! Salt Lake for $100? Rad! It's also a fun little app to figure out just what the heck people are thinking in planning their vacation.

Watching Detroit for half hour, (I didn't watch it the entire time. Really. I have friends.) what was the most searched region? Florida, duh. It's cold up here.

If I were Kayak, I would collect this data over time and sell it to tourism boards as a marker of how much interest travelers have in a city. Or perhaps they're already doing this......

Check out your own home city at kayak.com/insight.

For me to get home for Thanksgiving, I'm lucky enough to only have to take Amtrak. Even though train stations are popping at the seams with travelers during the November holiday weekend, airports are even worse. And this year is no different.

As a matter of fact, during this year's Thanksgiving and Christmas travel periods, airlines will operate about 2,500 to 3,000 fewer domestic flights than compared with the same periods in previous years. That means that one way or another, you're probably going to be affected. To visualize just how your travel plans might be impacted, USA Today's travel blog Today in the Sky has put together an interactive graphic to show how flight cutbacks by airlines could affect your travel choices.

The graphic can be used to find flight changes for select days from every domestic airport with flights to the following seven hubs: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston (Bush) and Minneapolis-St. Paul. The map is dotted with red and green squares to signify fewer or more flights to the hub, making it pretty simple to see what routes are going to be more problematic. But if you're lucky, you'll find that your particular route has that great green box, meaning that you'll actually be able to take advantage of more flights to get you home for the holidays.

To check out the graphic for yourself, click here.

The newly designed website of VRBO--Vacation Rentals by Owner is a snap to use. Clicking on a particular region of one of the maps is one way to zoom in on a specific destination. Click on a state, for example, and whoosh, there you are browsing the bounties.

In each state, rentals are divided into regions. I went to Montana and then to Butte which pointed me to four vacation home rentals, two with rave reviews from people vowing to return, and two where people haven't left comments.

The world map gives you the option of heading to a specific continent and then narrowing down to a country search. Or you can browse the list of locations, also on the home page.

The homepage also has a section divided into two categories: Family Reunion or Group Travel, and Cabin Rentals and Beach Rentals. This is another design element that helps narrow a search.

If you have no idea what country or state will capture your fancy, start clicking away at the various options. Photos and detailed descriptions help with the yay or nay sorting. See what captures your eye.

With 110,000 vacation rentals and 21,000 worldwide locations, VRBO is great place to find that vacation spot to suit your needs. For people who are looking to post their vacation rentals, check this site out. You'll be in good company.

In two days, my husband, 4-year-old daughter and I are going to be leaving for a two-week trip to visit my in-laws in England. And I am panicking: not because I don't like my in-laws (I do) or because I don't like the cold (I don't, but I'll deal) ...

... I'm panicking because I haven't finished packing.

I know some of you are thinking, "Dude, you have TWO DAYS. What's the rush?" And, in fact, you do have a point -- two days should be more than enough time to pack for a two-week trip. But the thing is, with a four-year-old little girl and a 39-year-old husband, who, if "Being Forgetful" were an Olympic sport he'd handily take gold, all of the "remembering what to pack" rests on my shoulders. Luckily, (1) I'm a list-maker, and (b) I like to share. So as I make my packing list right now, as I type, I thought I'd share with you the Top 10 Things I Pack First Before Going Abroad:

Gadling is nothing if not a clearinghouse for great information in the name of public service. To that end, and in the spirit of our Catching the Travel Bug series, I am pleased to share with you the wealth of knowledge that is SitOrSquat. This delightful website has carved its own niche on the internet as the preeminent place for user-reviews of public restrooms.

Simply plug in a city name and using the power of Google maps and the assistance of user-generated and uploaded content, you'll be able to check out reviews and photos of restrooms in parks, restaurants and bars. The only limitation is how often users actually upload content to the site.

For example, from time to time I like to grab a Jameson on the rocks at Welcome to the Johnsons, a dive bar on the Lower East Side of NYC that is themed like an old 1970s living room. It's dirty, cheap and loud. Just the way I like my bars (and my women). But, it may not be the best place to get into a fight with that afternoon's burrito. Not sure if you can handle it? Well, check out their toilet ahead of time.

So the next time you're hitting the ground in an unfamiliar city or neighborhood, be sure to grab a guidebook, a Zagat guide and peruse SitOrSquat. You and your underpants will be glad that you did.

Planning a trip for Obama's Inauguration? Expedia will help you.

Expedia has set up a whole host of tools to get you to D.C. and into a hotel, car, tours (don't miss the FBI!), or whatever you need with as little hassle as possible.

The Expedia 56th Presidential Inauguration Site features travel tips like which airports are nearby, what suburbs to stay in if the city's booked, and all kinds of activities to try, including a list of great free activities like the Inaugural Parade!

It's going to be a momentous occasion in Washington D.C. and all over the country. Don't you want to tell your grandchildren you were there?

The best advice I can give you? Book now. Like, today. Everything's gonna fill up fast.

Fresh off the PRNewswire, Gadling has received word that the good people at Eros Partners, LLC have launched the "first dating website focused on business travelers." Of course, the word "dating" is used loosely here as the site, along with Eros Partners' other ventures, is geared more towards casual encounters than long-term relationships. But, hey, business travel is lonely so you might as well get your johnson some action while you're on the road securing the Johnson account. Am I right?!

The new site, Travelingencounters.com, allows users to create a profile in their home city and then calendar up to four business trips. Once calendared, the user's profile shows up in searches for the other cities, as well. According to the press release, "a member's private profile focuses on intimate topics such as health, grooming and their views on adult subjects." I have a sneaking suspicion that the "adult subjects" are not a reference to opinions on how to diversify your 401(k) investments.

Eros Partners is the same company that brings you a wide array of adult sites, including one that allows users to rate their experiences with "escorts" more than one that focuses on casual or discreet relationships. So keep that in mind before you browse too much in the office. But what you do on your private time on business trips is your...well, business. As for me? I'll stick to my hotel's wide array of pay-per-view movies and free lotions.