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Pressurized aircraft are set up so that at cruise alt. they're never pressurized beyond the equivalent of about 8,000 ft. MSL (to create sea level press. at high altitude would require a much heavier pressure hull); they do so by means of a bleeder valve that's set for a specific pressure. There's an air inlet, with a compressor behind it. The compressor keeps going, pressurising the fuselage, until the valve pops open. Your ears pop during climb and descent because you're going up to or down from 8,000 feet fairly rapidly...

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Good question. somebody else definitively answered this... I never wondered about that, m'self.

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The FAA, FBOs (renters), and insurance companies all require a logbook endorsement to prove you are OK to fly a complex aircraft (this includes retractables). It's usually just one ride with a CFI who is similarly endorsed. Technically, it's not a "rating".
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You mean a type rating, yes?  No, but in the case of FBOs, they'll want to give you a "checkout ride" even if you've already logged time in the same A.C.
BTW, "general aviation" refers to any civilian  aircraft that is not used by a scheduled carrier. Technically, any  a.c. can be considered "GA"... like John Travolta's 707, for example.It's a GA plane that requires a type rating.  Doesn't just refer to light aircraft... So, to be a smartass, I'd say technically you might need a type rating for some GA aircraft... even a "demilitarized", privately owned jet fighter falls under the term "G.A".

FAA definitions of "type" and "rating":
"TYPE- As used with respect to... airmen, means a specific make and basic model of aircraft, including modifications thereto..."
"RATING- means a statement that, as part of a certificate, sets forth special conditions, privileges, or limitations."
  For example, my Private Pilot Certificate says: "Ratings: Private Pilot; Airplane, Single Engine Land". There's no mention of an IFR rating, because I don't have one. this means I can't operate any kind of jet, so that's covered by default. No mention of multi-engine a.c. means I can't fly twins, etc. either, without a multiengine (pilot) rating. Likewise seaplanes. I'm also not legal to operate a balloon, blimp, or dirigible, because it says "airplane"...

International Civil Aviation Org. definition of G.A.:
"GENERAL AVIATION- All civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services and non-scheduled air transport operations for renumeration or hire."
FAA definition:
"GENERAL AVIATION- That portion of civil aviation... except air carriers... and large aircraft commercial operators."

Yeah, you would be hard-pressed to find an airplane with an adjustable pitch prop and no flaps or retractable gear, so you pretty much need a complex aircraft rating to fly an airplane with an adjustable pitch prop.

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But you're not at 30,000... you're at about 8,000, in terms of pressure. Airline food tastes like crap because it is, IMHO. I have a book called "Unfriendly Skies" written anonymously by an airline captain who suggests, among other things, that the way to get a decent meal on an airplane is to request a special-diet meal (kosher or low-sodium) in advance; they make fewer of those, and supposedly they're better-prepared. At least that's the way it might've been in the 80s when the book was written...
I wouldn't know, because I'm usually in Coach on three-hour flights, eating peanuts...

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Technically yes this is correct. However as rotty said its only a preassure of 8000 feet. Added to the cabin enviroment with low humidity your taste buds become ineffective. We did a whole two weeks in my food tech class on this, with the final project being to come up with a healthy new meal for airlines with enough flavor in it to make it an ideal meal for a flight. you'll find all these meals have some sort of spice or herb or added salt in them to at least give them some taste. Also the main reason they taste awful, is because they are cooked in a warehouse in huge ovens/pans. Then they are quickly re-heated in flight which tends to dry the food out and kill off most of the flavour.

Hmm... I like airline food, I can have them all day and make myself super fat!!!!!!! 

but then you would need to buy two tickets. 

LOL. I've seen people sit on them then jump up screaming, kinda funny, I have to turn my back and laugh at them.

Also there are the really smooth people who slide into them and "trip" and fall into the window or side of the aircraft.