So I started pouring neat vodka last night. Ended up watching Ghost Rider. It was so over-the-top, so Nick Cage-flavored, packed in so many well-worn tropes, poorly written, and used CGI that hasn't held up well. It was so bad, it was really good. It was like watching a pro-wrestling match except everyone is on fire. For the first time in my life, I enjoyed "cringe".
Not sure what to make of the new season of Westworld. On one hand it's streamlined and energized but on the other the new aesthetic is so vastly different that it's almost a different show. Newest episode was probably the weakest so far but still quite enjoyable.
Onward is squarely C-Tier Pixar, on par with most of their sequels. Just doesn't feel very fleshed out.
Thanks partially to Joanna Robinson's writing in Vanity Fair, I'm keeping up, understanding, and enjoying the show. She makes it appear that there's actually a through line.
Season 2 is a trash fire with two really good character study episodes mixed in. If you didn't care for Season 1, the rest of the series probably isn't for you.
Medical Police was great. I really enjoyed the first three seasons of Letterkenny and still enjoy it as background, but it uses pretty much the same formula for seasons 2-7 (I haven't started 8 yet), so it doesn't feel like it is going anywhere, although it remains funny.
Before coffee, I read this as a deep-cover mole in Steph Curry's family. And I was thinking of how I'd have to make it work as a mouthguard consultant.
Same. My "worst" vacation ended up being tense due to stress with my ex (which is why she is now my ex!), but I still very much enjoyed the places we went (Sweden, Spain, and Portugal).
I went to a fantastic place with someone I don't care for now - and that start of the not caring for her now really manifested on that vacation. (actually beforehand, but being with her for 10 straight days really amplified that)
I was trying to come up with one too and was unable. Sure, I've had plenty of bad times on vacations (terrible allergic reactions, minor injuries, things getting taken, etc), but on no trips has the bad outweighed the good.
Usually takes some sort of unplanned serious event to make it a bad one. The only such one I readily recall that qualifies as miserable came when several of us on a racing series road trip came down with some summer heat aggravated stomach virus in late July in Vancouver, BC. I really hate being sick on the road.
Runner up was another racing series trip which was interrupted by an engine failure in the hauler rig in the middle of nowhere, mostly because in addition to cutting our biggest trip of the season way short, it was quite expensive, in part because of the remote location.
Heh, even some of miscues were fodder for laughter among the other family members. Once in Hawai'i, coming back from a dark gray sand beach, the heat melted the glue holding my Nike sandals together, and I was shuffling on the way back to the car, desperately trying to keep them from completely coming apart (asphalt is hella hot in Hawai'i!) which made everyone else laugh, and at dinner that night, describing "Sandal Melting Beach" incident made my wife nearly pass out with laughter.
I don't take enough to have a "worst" but the family trip to Scotland in 1993 in which my mother chose to process her grief on the first trip "home" after her mother had died, as well as cope with her irritation at my (much younger) cousins, by spending the entire time shouting at me and my brother left something to be desired. The peak (or nadir, as you prefer) was the 110dB "debrief" at a small hotel on Skye about how I was turning into an alcoholic like her father.
it wasn't all bad, but there was definitely a constant background hum of emotional disarray. It's probably because the vast majority of my family trips growing up were duty visits to family, so a degree of weirdness is just kind of baked in. I can remember 5 trips that were distinctly vacations, and I'm told we went on a couple more when I was a toddler that I don't remember. So let's say 7 total "vacations" between birth and the summer between first and second year of grad school.
I spent my 40th birthday with a friend in Luxor, Egypt, being stalked by an Egyptian fella who found us everywhere we went, and staying in a hotel room with no lock on the door. The food was terrible, the weather sucked, the hotel was a dump, the Valley of the Kings doesn't live up to the hype, but the temple was nice I guess.
Egypt is home to the most persistent people I have ever met. I am sure that quality comes in handy when you need to procure something necessary. But it also means you get stalked for days by people trying to convince you that they are your friend. I spent a month there and I was very conspicuous.
Once there, you have to kind of adopt the viewpoint of the Egyptian, not really a western tourist. They get upset with the clothing tourists wear - even men. So the imperative to cover up even in summer, with long sleeve shirt and long pants, is appreciated. I adopted Egyptian-style clothing, actually a black turtleneck I got in Istanbul, some khaki pants, and suitable footwear. Sometimes I donned a kheffiya. Generally it's a good idea to be less noticeable. I traveled quite extensively around the country for 4 months and avoided the tourist-boat syndrome. At Siwa Oasis I rented a donkey to get around. It's actually a paradise for the curious, adventure-minded traveler and the prices can't be beat, as things like bread and fuul are subsidized by the government. The m.ore Arabic you can speak, the better. If you ask folks for a hotel location in a small town you'll get a blank stare. If you ask for a fundu they will gladly show you the way. The very persistent merchants abound in Cairo, Giza (Pyramids), and Luxor, and other touristy spots.
We tried, for our two-family June (now canceled) trip to Spain. She was diligent and had good contacts, but turnaround time was 24-48 hrs for every question we asked, during which we saw our lodging options getting booked out from under us. But now everything's wide open!
Yes. All of our work travel is done through American Express Business Travel (not actually affiliated with American Express the credit card folks), who get us better rates and terms than are otherwise publicly available.
does someone actually handle it for you, or do they just have a portal for self-service? The last big company I worked for had a Concur portal with all of our rules built in, in an effort to try and make us stay on policy. However, they weren't very hard to manipulate - I wasn't supposed to take direct flights to NOLA but it was easy enough to get them to be the only choice that appeared cost compliant, and nobody ever forced me to stay at the Days Inn at $114 / night when I could get the GSA $133 / night reimbursed for the customer while I stayed at one of the nicer Marriott brands.
also whenever i needed to make a change to my itinerary (delays leading to missed flights, changing plans, etc) they had to go through concur rather than me talking direct to the airlines which was dumb as hell as i had status
I am that rara avis, the person who had very few problems as a United passenger - I can only think of one equipment based cancellation and as it was personal travel I was able to use my meager status to get on a later plane without too much trouble. And my bags even showed up at the same time!
over the last two years i flew over 200k miles so just based on stats i had more problems but also i was flying with american which actively got worse over time
Same with me. One was flying back to Louisville on New Years and the flight from ORD to SDF was cancelled because of weather, but not in ORD. The incoming pilots were stuck in Denver. They put us up in a hotel.
The other, which was the big one, was having the flight from EWR to Albany, NY cancelled due to bad weather in Albany. Ended up getting a car and driving for 4.5-5 hours after waiting at the airport for 6 hours for them to get our bags out of holding which didn't end up happening. This sucked because it was No 1's masters graduation. At least our SFO-EWR flight made it. His mom ended up getting her flight cancelled before she left SFO so she missed graduation.
We have a self service portal, but also people available to help us for more complicated trips (or more senior people/VIPs). I'm entitled to the VIP line but almost always use the portal because I can make it give me what I want with clever queries and I can usually find it easier than the agents can.
Nope. I buy all my tickets directly from the airlines (almost always United or maybe SW when No 2 flies back to Nashville) and don't use any of the aggregators. I may go to google flights to get an idea of prices.
This is by far the worst airport I've ever been to.
You fly until you see the town of Lukla, which is literally 3 dozen or so buildings built into the side of a mountain. As you approach, you see a single, impossibly short runway (1,727 feet), which is about one one sixth the normal length. And then you notice the runway goes up the mountain. You fly in at an angle steep enough to where you think you're going to dive into the ground. In the end, the pilot flairs his flaps and brings the nose up. You land with a punishing bounce, the pilot hits the brakes, and you use every last inch of that runway.
Apparently, when you leave, the short runway leaves you with a gut-churning drop until you can gain enough speed.
I learned later than you have to come in fast because otherwise you'll stall. You can also see the wreckage of two (now 3 planes) that are in the culvert below the landing strip that crashed at that airport. They leave them there because there are no roads and it is a 3 week walk to get to one even if you're not carrying plane wreckage. Also, they blow a horn ahead of a plane's approach to warn people to get the oxen off the runway.
Kai Tak is an airport I love, but the "fly straight at Lion Rock, see the big grid painted on the side of the mountain, then turn right and fly between buildings into the runway" is not for the faint hearted. Man, I miss Kai Tak.
When I lived in HK, I remember a captain coming on the speaker about putting tray tables away etc, etc... and then ending his announcement with "for those of you visiting Hong Kong for the first time and sitting on the right side of the plane, look out your window because you're in for a treat".
I vividly remember that I could see what people in the condos were watching on TV and see what type of clothes they had out to dry.
The pre-renovation Beijing and Delhi airports were the worst. Beijing was commie-style. A big ass hangar with literally no food and stores that sold exactly the same thing (books about party leaders, tea pot sets). Delhi gets a nod because they built stairs above the main exit from the terminal, so you literally had to duck to leave.
Terminal 1 is still like that, but they have Burger King. I'm usually in there for an hour though, so I'm not super concerned with Beijing. I wonder what the new airport is like.
Renovated Beijing is nice, plenty of stands to buy snacks & stuff. But even though you're past security, they don't let you bring airport-purchased liquids onto the plane (for intl flights anyway).
IAH, top to bottom. Terminals designed to exploit the massive acres of open real estate; allow at least two hours to make a connection. Worst ever gate agents. Icky food served up by sketchy food service providers. I refuse to book a flight that connects through Houston.
Frankfurt cuz they're *ssholes. Our flight from Italy was delayed, showed up at the gate and asked the agent if our plane was still there. They shrugged and told us to run. We asked if they could call ahead. "Nope." Then we got yelled at going through the lines at customs laden w/ luggage. Arrived to find the plane had left a long time ago.
The formerly excellent food court has been getting upgraded - and it's not a good thing. Everything is now $15 and up fancy food court stuff - like Gordon Ramsey's airport restaurants and name brand Chinese places.
Last time I transited through, I was hankering for some cheap Cantonese barbecue (usually available at one of the HK fast food places) but they're all gone.
Also, they've really turned the advertising WAY UP there. I've heard terminal 2 has really good restaurants now though, but I've never ever flown into or out of terminal 2 despite having been to HKIA over 100 times in the last decade
I was there in 1996 and don't remember much about it other than having to spend the night there after losing my passport. Lost it Sat morning on my way to the airport, got rebooked for the same flight early Sun morning, went to the embassy Sat and got my passport (luckily it wasn't Sun), and slept in the airport. I'm sure the airport is now much much nicer than it was back then.
It is better now. There is now an attached hotel, sleeping pods/areas, a free movie theater, a butterfly park, a sky-bar where you can watch the planes land/takeoff outside, a 3 story slide, an indoor garden, showers/spas, free on-off tourist bus that will loop you around Singapore and the back to the airport, and decent food.
what are people's definition of best airport? LGB seems like it might be because not many people fly there so lines are short. I've noticed Burbank is like that, at least the last few times I flew there. Could've been time of day.
For some it seems like it's the amenities or the ambiance.
BUR is super convenient and easy to use. I have never encountered any meaningful lines or crowding there. The downside is there's also nowhere to grab something to eat and nothing to do while you pass the time.
I'd like to amble around Europe looking at Roman ruins, going from place to place by train so I could see the surrounding countryside at a reasonable pace.
I can get there by train (including the train being put on a ferry!) and then rent a shitty Fiat to drive around at foolish rates. I enjoy driving a lot but I wouldn't build a trip like this (including lots of former soviet bloc countries) around a road trip. I'd save that for Spain with all those tasty EU funded roads or southern France for drives like the Route Napoleon.
GR 20 is a long distance trail that traverses Corsica diagonally from north to south. It is considered to be the most difficult of all the GR routes and one of the most beautiful mountain trail in Europe.
GR 20 is a long distance trail that traverses Corsica diagonally from north to south. It's 180km long with variation in height of about 10 000 metres and can be walked in 15 days.
that looks beautiful - and I imagine it's not hugely crowded, if the website covering the way to walk it has all its pictures from 2003 and links to delici.ous
I can travel very contentedly with my mother and one of my brothers and his family. The other brother, in combination with me, is the C4 that makes the whole thing combust.
it's enough of a challenge to travel with just me, the missus, and the daughters; adding anyone else in only works if we agree to meet up periodically like for a meal.
My extended family usually rents out a condo on Lake Tahoe for a week every summer, great thing to bring the kids to. Hopefully that doesn't have to be canceled this year.
I just spent 63 days in Thailand sitting by a pool, going some islands, eating street food, making a quick dash to Singapore and back. That wasn't too bad/
I noticed my elderly neighbor's lawn was getting long. So I shot them a text this morning. I offered up my son to mow it for free, since I assumed that they weren't going out to avoid CV19 exposure. People are now walking on "our" side of the street (the one that doesn't have a sidewalk) to do social distancing. However, people still aren't wearing masks and they pass right next to each other.
My neighbor texted back noting, yes, they aren't going out because they are afraid. Not of the virus, but because they are Chinese and are afraid of racial hatred. We are in a pretty diverse neighborhood and I've not really experience much overt racism. But it breaks my heart that this is the reason they are hiding indoors.
Politico: Trump has replaced the Pentagon Inspector general, essentially sacking the oversight on billions of dollars of the Covid stimulus package and replacing it with his own appointee.
I am curious to find out the angle behind Trump's hydroxychloroquine push.
Is he selling hope, peddling influence with the businesses that make it, own stock in it, or using it as a counter-balance to say that he's "a business man trying to cut red tape against the do nothing Dems"?
"President Donald Trump on Sunday once again touted the potential life-saving benefits of treating coronavirus patients with hydroxychloroquine, a powerful anti-malaria drug, despite a dearth of medical professionals or clinical evidence supporting his claims. It just so happens that one of the largest manufacturers of the drug, Novartis, previously paid Trump’s now-incarcerated former personal attorney Michael Cohen more than $1 million for healthcare policy insight following Trump’s election in 2016."
One of the best articles I read was that a narcissist desperately needs to be seen as doing something productive. Cynically, there has got to be profit in there somewhere. But maybe they're war-profiteering so much off of seized PPE that this is a just a public distraction to spin things as positive PR.
Acting Navy secretary Modly resigning. He obviously put his foot in it with the address to the crew. I think I saw a headline earlier that Trump said he might look into the situation. Modly apparently saw some writing on the wall.
Only once he became embarrassing. The administration was how the unqualified hack was put into the job in the first place and the administration kept him there until today.
"Wow! Big $ GOP donor Mike Gula leaving his firm to sell medical supplies/PPE! Where is he getting the supplies & how can he fill 100 million orders of masks when states can’t get them? What are his relationships? Will his PPE come from fed stockpile?"
The fundraiser, Mike Gula, didn’t specify his new line of work in the email. But in an interview, he said he’d started a new company selling medical equipment that’s been in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company, Blue Flame Medical LLC, was formed Monday in Delaware, according to state records. Its website says it sells coronavirus testing kits, N95 respirator masks, “a wide selection” of personal protective equipment and other “hard to find medical supplies to beat the outbreak.”
Asked how he’d managed to procure such equipment when there are shortages in hospitals across the country, Gula said, “I have relationships with a lot of people.”
Since the day the Senate was briefed on the COVID-19 threat back in January, Georgia Sen. David Perdue and his wife bought up to $185,000 in stock in a company that makes personal protective equipment, according to financial disclosures filed over the past three months.
Perdue’s latest disclosure, filed Sunday, details 110 stock trades (as well as two investments in municipal bonds) involving up to $1.8 million in purchases and $825,000 in sales, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which first reported Perdue’s latest disclosure.
Among his trades last month was a single purchase of up to to $15,000 in DuPont de Nemours, Inc., which makes and distributes personal protective equipment. Perdue, a former CEO of Dollar General, has bought DuPont stock 10 times over the past three months, beginning with up to $65,000 purchased on January 24, the day the Senate received a briefing on COVID-19.
In a statement announcing the briefing at the time, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called the coronavirus an “emerging public health threat.”
There are some qualifiers for the list, but it has been remarkably clear these past 2-3 weeks. We have benefitted from a combo of severely reduced traffic (my infrequent trips from Glendale to the westside have each clocked in at less than 35min) and weather that has shifted from rain to light offshore wind and then back to rain. There is a (now closed) trail above my neighborhood that at the end provides a great 360 view of the LA Basin and I could see Santa Barbara Island (66mi away) on 3 out of 4 of my last trips up there.
Ingredients I have used much more of than I expected:
Bacon
Onions
Avocados
Lemons
Olive oil
Booze
Things I have consumed much less of than expected:
Pasta
Canned tomatoes
Cheese
Anything sweet
I am enjoying having the time and space to really cook, but I think general low-level anxiety has me eating a lot less than I normally would. I am pretty much eating a single meal each day, sometimes supplemented by a snack but not always.
I've eaten only one of the steaks I bought, but I have been making lots of preserved/pickled/fermented things. I guess I've been watching too much "It's Alive!"
I'm not cooking any more than usual. I'm eating less meat at lunch time. My net booze consumption has increased inasmuch I'm drinking once a week instead of no times a week.
I'm eating less meat as the gf is vegetarian. I made some bacon to add to some pasta the other night, added some beef to another dish before that, bought some salami and smoked salmon to eat with bread. Ordered a lamb dish for myself when we got Indian delivered a week or so ago. But I'm definitely eating less meat than usual.
I'm kind of missing deli sandwiches. I made a couple of awesome ones the first week on artichoke/cheese focaccia but otherwise haven't really had bread around the house other than my mostly-failed attempts at making my own focaccia. When I'm in the office I have a turkey sandwich for lunch a couple of times a week.
I made pickled shallots (and just put another jar in the fridge last night) and am buying deli meats and bread SPECIFICALLY so I can eat more pickled shallots.
So I tried a couple of newish one recently, both very good: Aberlour A'Bunadh Alba, I've had the "normal" A'Bunadh with is their cask strength version of their 12 year which is finished in Sherry barrels, a very rich and smooth dram. This I think doesn't see the Sherry, and is more high toned and has I think a greater range of flavors, and a glorious finish (K&L $80)
Also, Nikka "from the barrel" - no age statement, cask strength (squat, square bottle with a twist cap!) and simply delish, wonderfully balanced dram (Broadway Liquors, $99)
I spent 2nd grade in Okinawa while as my dad was in the service. I think the virus has made me nostalgic for better days and those were great ones, so kinda recently developed a new interest in returning for a visit. How realistic is another matter.
My memories are pretty hazy, but I remember being enchanted with Japanese candy, Shogun Warriors, these little Star Wars images that were printed under the bottom of bottle caps that I'd collect, lots of Tokyo Giants and Sadaharu Oh merchandise, my international school, lots of caves throughout the island, ramen shops, crazy storms, learning to skateboard on the roof of our apartment, beaches (one of which I dragged out a WWII era from) and dangerous jellyfish.
I found while at a summer camp on one the adjacent islands. I think between the kids we pulled out like five from under the water that day. At least a couple of them tested as still being "live." My mom probably was not stoked, but I think my officer father got a kick out of it,
I have been invited to (but unable to attend) 4 different Taiwanese weddings in Okinawa in the last decade. (unfortunately, two of those couples are now divorced)
Unfortunately, most of the times I've read something about Okinawa in recent years it's about misdeeds by U.S. military and how the locals want us gone.
My state senator is holding a town hall on unemployment benefits, medical and family leave, and other programs that can help you if your job has been affected by the Coronavirus/COVID-19 or the stay-at-home orders. It's tomorrow (April 8) at 3pm and will be available online afterward.
The guests are: George Warner (lawyer and fellow at Legal Aid At Work’s Wage Protection Program) and Jenna Gerry (senior staff attorney at Legal Aid At Work)
Following up on TBB's comment re: prof titles. I can get away w/ stuff now cuz I'm old as heck. No way would I have tried within my first 10 years of practice. I even used a pair of clear glasses at times to look older. And if I brought in a new associate, male or female, I'd make a point of introducing them as "Doctor X or Y" to build confidence w/ the patients & parents. Short version: I'm old as heck.
Yes, I found that once I got a bit of grey on the sides, people took what I had to say much more seriously. That and a frown-y exhale before answering a question.
I have a student in China who's unable to access his gmail or any part of the Google Suite for my class (this includes his school email) and his regular VPN isn't working. I suggested either the college's VPN or using Tor. Any ideas, frequent China visitors?
Tor is tough. I have three current VPNs all of which work pretty well - I have Astrill which works on my laptop, but not my cell phone. I have a Shadowsocks private server which I spun up using Striesand which took a lot of work and time to do, but has been super fast and stable: https://github.com/StreisandEffect/streisand, and then I use Shadowrocket on my cell phone
DBD AV Club
So I started pouring neat vodka last night. Ended up watching Ghost Rider. It was so over-the-top, so Nick Cage-flavored, packed in so many well-worn tropes, poorly written, and used CGI that hasn't held up well. It was so bad, it was really good. It was like watching a pro-wrestling match except everyone is on fire. For the first time in my life, I enjoyed "cringe".
In the "so bad it's good" category I submit - "Dante's Peak" - so many cliched funny moments, so many obvious plot developments.
Great movie.
Not sure what to make of the new season of Westworld. On one hand it's streamlined and energized but on the other the new aesthetic is so vastly different that it's almost a different show. Newest episode was probably the weakest so far but still quite enjoyable.
Onward is squarely C-Tier Pixar, on par with most of their sequels. Just doesn't feel very fleshed out.
Thanks partially to Joanna Robinson's writing in Vanity Fair, I'm keeping up, understanding, and enjoying the show. She makes it appear that there's actually a through line.
i thought season 1 was a waste of time and still haven't seen season 2
this is not encouraging
Season 2 is a trash fire with two really good character study episodes mixed in. If you didn't care for Season 1, the rest of the series probably isn't for you.
i felt like season 1 was three hours of content in ten hours
I abandoned ship about 15 minutes into s3e2. I think that after last season, my patience with genius robot outflanking everyone is limited.
There are only like 2-3 human characters left so it's now largely about genius robots attempting to outflank each other!
okay maybe I'll dive back in then
Better Call Saul was excellent; as was Insecure.
Loving Better Call Saul this season
Agree re Better Call Saul. Also am really enjoying ozark (Netflix) and watching Brooklyn 99 from beginning.
i'm halfway through season 3 of ozark after starting last week
it's great
I'm two episodes in and it looks promising
2 eps in season 3 that is
currently cruising through Letterkenny. Huge fan thus far
did you watch medical police
you should watch medical police
is it better than fish police
i don't know, some of those fish look pretty hot but that might just be quarantine brain
Medical Police was great. I really enjoyed the first three seasons of Letterkenny and still enjoy it as background, but it uses pretty much the same formula for seasons 2-7 (I haven't started 8 yet), so it doesn't feel like it is going anywhere, although it remains funny.
the people who have recommended letterkenny prior to this dbd have been a certain type of person and that itself has been a barrier to entry for me
You have been installed as a deep-cover mole in Stepford County. Please introduce your family.
Hi. I'm Doug, this is my stay at home wife Megyn. Our kids Yates, Yardley, and Thatcher are in the back playing with our lab puppy, Thunder.
Wouldn't your wife & kids be from a lab too?
Before coffee, I read this as a deep-cover mole in Steph Curry's family. And I was thinking of how I'd have to make it work as a mouthguard consultant.
Worst vacation
I don't think I've had bad vacations, really, just bad parts of vacations.
Same. My "worst" vacation ended up being tense due to stress with my ex (which is why she is now my ex!), but I still very much enjoyed the places we went (Sweden, Spain, and Portugal).
I went to a fantastic place with someone I don't care for now - and that start of the not caring for her now really manifested on that vacation. (actually beforehand, but being with her for 10 straight days really amplified that)
I don't think I've had a bad one, honestly. Some frustrations, disappointments, but nothing I'd describe as bad.
I was trying to come up with one too and was unable. Sure, I've had plenty of bad times on vacations (terrible allergic reactions, minor injuries, things getting taken, etc), but on no trips has the bad outweighed the good.
Usually takes some sort of unplanned serious event to make it a bad one. The only such one I readily recall that qualifies as miserable came when several of us on a racing series road trip came down with some summer heat aggravated stomach virus in late July in Vancouver, BC. I really hate being sick on the road.
Runner up was another racing series trip which was interrupted by an engine failure in the hauler rig in the middle of nowhere, mostly because in addition to cutting our biggest trip of the season way short, it was quite expensive, in part because of the remote location.
Heh, even some of miscues were fodder for laughter among the other family members. Once in Hawai'i, coming back from a dark gray sand beach, the heat melted the glue holding my Nike sandals together, and I was shuffling on the way back to the car, desperately trying to keep them from completely coming apart (asphalt is hella hot in Hawai'i!) which made everyone else laugh, and at dinner that night, describing "Sandal Melting Beach" incident made my wife nearly pass out with laughter.
I know, ya had to be there.
Ouch!
I don't take enough to have a "worst" but the family trip to Scotland in 1993 in which my mother chose to process her grief on the first trip "home" after her mother had died, as well as cope with her irritation at my (much younger) cousins, by spending the entire time shouting at me and my brother left something to be desired. The peak (or nadir, as you prefer) was the 110dB "debrief" at a small hotel on Skye about how I was turning into an alcoholic like her father.
If that doesn't qualify as the worst, I can't imagine what would unless fatalities resulted!
it wasn't all bad, but there was definitely a constant background hum of emotional disarray. It's probably because the vast majority of my family trips growing up were duty visits to family, so a degree of weirdness is just kind of baked in. I can remember 5 trips that were distinctly vacations, and I'm told we went on a couple more when I was a toddler that I don't remember. So let's say 7 total "vacations" between birth and the summer between first and second year of grad school.
I spent my 40th birthday with a friend in Luxor, Egypt, being stalked by an Egyptian fella who found us everywhere we went, and staying in a hotel room with no lock on the door. The food was terrible, the weather sucked, the hotel was a dump, the Valley of the Kings doesn't live up to the hype, but the temple was nice I guess.
Egypt is home to the most persistent people I have ever met. I am sure that quality comes in handy when you need to procure something necessary. But it also means you get stalked for days by people trying to convince you that they are your friend. I spent a month there and I was very conspicuous.
Once there, you have to kind of adopt the viewpoint of the Egyptian, not really a western tourist. They get upset with the clothing tourists wear - even men. So the imperative to cover up even in summer, with long sleeve shirt and long pants, is appreciated. I adopted Egyptian-style clothing, actually a black turtleneck I got in Istanbul, some khaki pants, and suitable footwear. Sometimes I donned a kheffiya. Generally it's a good idea to be less noticeable. I traveled quite extensively around the country for 4 months and avoided the tourist-boat syndrome. At Siwa Oasis I rented a donkey to get around. It's actually a paradise for the curious, adventure-minded traveler and the prices can't be beat, as things like bread and fuul are subsidized by the government. The m.ore Arabic you can speak, the better. If you ask folks for a hotel location in a small town you'll get a blank stare. If you ask for a fundu they will gladly show you the way. The very persistent merchants abound in Cairo, Giza (Pyramids), and Luxor, and other touristy spots.
All the bazaar men by the Nile
They got the money on a bet
Gold crocodiles (oh whey oh)
They snap their teeth on your cigarette
Foreign types with the hookah pipes say
(Whey oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh)
[Dress] like an Egyptian
go bears
*golf clap*
Well played, sir.
ha-ha - this song is like from 1986?
It is indeed from 1986 :)
that sounds perfectly awful
AHHH
Does anyone still use a travel agent? If so, why?
The Americans. Sigh.
We tried, for our two-family June (now canceled) trip to Spain. She was diligent and had good contacts, but turnaround time was 24-48 hrs for every question we asked, during which we saw our lodging options getting booked out from under us. But now everything's wide open!
I book through Chase since they give automatic upgrades whenever they can.
I'm the household travel agent. 😬
Yes. All of our work travel is done through American Express Business Travel (not actually affiliated with American Express the credit card folks), who get us better rates and terms than are otherwise publicly available.
does someone actually handle it for you, or do they just have a portal for self-service? The last big company I worked for had a Concur portal with all of our rules built in, in an effort to try and make us stay on policy. However, they weren't very hard to manipulate - I wasn't supposed to take direct flights to NOLA but it was easy enough to get them to be the only choice that appeared cost compliant, and nobody ever forced me to stay at the Days Inn at $114 / night when I could get the GSA $133 / night reimbursed for the customer while I stayed at one of the nicer Marriott brands.
concur is garbage for that reason
also whenever i needed to make a change to my itinerary (delays leading to missed flights, changing plans, etc) they had to go through concur rather than me talking direct to the airlines which was dumb as hell as i had status
I am that rara avis, the person who had very few problems as a United passenger - I can only think of one equipment based cancellation and as it was personal travel I was able to use my meager status to get on a later plane without too much trouble. And my bags even showed up at the same time!
over the last two years i flew over 200k miles so just based on stats i had more problems but also i was flying with american which actively got worse over time
Same with me. One was flying back to Louisville on New Years and the flight from ORD to SDF was cancelled because of weather, but not in ORD. The incoming pilots were stuck in Denver. They put us up in a hotel.
The other, which was the big one, was having the flight from EWR to Albany, NY cancelled due to bad weather in Albany. Ended up getting a car and driving for 4.5-5 hours after waiting at the airport for 6 hours for them to get our bags out of holding which didn't end up happening. This sucked because it was No 1's masters graduation. At least our SFO-EWR flight made it. His mom ended up getting her flight cancelled before she left SFO so she missed graduation.
that's gross at many levels
We have a self service portal, but also people available to help us for more complicated trips (or more senior people/VIPs). I'm entitled to the VIP line but almost always use the portal because I can make it give me what I want with clever queries and I can usually find it easier than the agents can.
when elevated status is of no use... oh well
I buy direct from Cathay and American Airlines, all other flights & hotels I use either trip.com/ctrip.com or agoda (for hotels)
Nope. I buy all my tickets directly from the airlines (almost always United or maybe SW when No 2 flies back to Nashville) and don't use any of the aggregators. I may go to google flights to get an idea of prices.
Worst airports
Lukla Airport.
This is by far the worst airport I've ever been to.
You fly until you see the town of Lukla, which is literally 3 dozen or so buildings built into the side of a mountain. As you approach, you see a single, impossibly short runway (1,727 feet), which is about one one sixth the normal length. And then you notice the runway goes up the mountain. You fly in at an angle steep enough to where you think you're going to dive into the ground. In the end, the pilot flairs his flaps and brings the nose up. You land with a punishing bounce, the pilot hits the brakes, and you use every last inch of that runway.
Apparently, when you leave, the short runway leaves you with a gut-churning drop until you can gain enough speed.
I learned later than you have to come in fast because otherwise you'll stall. You can also see the wreckage of two (now 3 planes) that are in the culvert below the landing strip that crashed at that airport. They leave them there because there are no roads and it is a 3 week walk to get to one even if you're not carrying plane wreckage. Also, they blow a horn ahead of a plane's approach to warn people to get the oxen off the runway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDfI4tbMUvs
Kai Tak is an airport I love, but the "fly straight at Lion Rock, see the big grid painted on the side of the mountain, then turn right and fly between buildings into the runway" is not for the faint hearted. Man, I miss Kai Tak.
https://youtu.be/5gYENf3Zyho?t=133
When I lived in HK, I remember a captain coming on the speaker about putting tray tables away etc, etc... and then ending his announcement with "for those of you visiting Hong Kong for the first time and sitting on the right side of the plane, look out your window because you're in for a treat".
I vividly remember that I could see what people in the condos were watching on TV and see what type of clothes they had out to dry.
Seeing the giant advertising let me know that I was back in Hong Kong
As an av nerd, that old Kai Tak approach is famous
I spent at least 30 min yesterday watching some Kai Tak videos.
my scary landing airport is Humbolt County in Eureka. you turbo prop right at the cliffs and land at the front edge.
The pre-renovation Beijing and Delhi airports were the worst. Beijing was commie-style. A big ass hangar with literally no food and stores that sold exactly the same thing (books about party leaders, tea pot sets). Delhi gets a nod because they built stairs above the main exit from the terminal, so you literally had to duck to leave.
Terminal 1 is still like that, but they have Burger King. I'm usually in there for an hour though, so I'm not super concerned with Beijing. I wonder what the new airport is like.
Renovated Beijing is nice, plenty of stands to buy snacks & stuff. But even though you're past security, they don't let you bring airport-purchased liquids onto the plane (for intl flights anyway).
That's only for US-bound flights because of TSA regulations.
IAH, top to bottom. Terminals designed to exploit the massive acres of open real estate; allow at least two hours to make a connection. Worst ever gate agents. Icky food served up by sketchy food service providers. I refuse to book a flight that connects through Houston.
I love Pappadeux
gate to rental car is a 20 minute walk and a 15 minute shuttle. We get it, lots of land in Houston.
CDG, JFK, LGA, LAX
Frankfurt cuz they're *ssholes. Our flight from Italy was delayed, showed up at the gate and asked the agent if our plane was still there. They shrugged and told us to run. We asked if they could call ahead. "Nope." Then we got yelled at going through the lines at customs laden w/ luggage. Arrived to find the plane had left a long time ago.
Eff those guys.
Newark NJ
Logan. Esp p/u & d/o, food, staff
Delays: EWR
Best airports
Changi Airport
HKIA (but it's getting worse), Incheon
I know everyone talks about Changi, but I had a better experience at Incheon. I particularly enjoyed the arts and crafts stations.
I was really not impressed by my Changi experience. I loved HKIA though, went through it when it was brand new. I am a fan of Schipol and MAD as well.
The formerly excellent food court has been getting upgraded - and it's not a good thing. Everything is now $15 and up fancy food court stuff - like Gordon Ramsey's airport restaurants and name brand Chinese places.
Last time I transited through, I was hankering for some cheap Cantonese barbecue (usually available at one of the HK fast food places) but they're all gone.
Also, they've really turned the advertising WAY UP there. I've heard terminal 2 has really good restaurants now though, but I've never ever flown into or out of terminal 2 despite having been to HKIA over 100 times in the last decade
I was there in 1996 and don't remember much about it other than having to spend the night there after losing my passport. Lost it Sat morning on my way to the airport, got rebooked for the same flight early Sun morning, went to the embassy Sat and got my passport (luckily it wasn't Sun), and slept in the airport. I'm sure the airport is now much much nicer than it was back then.
It is better now. There is now an attached hotel, sleeping pods/areas, a free movie theater, a butterfly park, a sky-bar where you can watch the planes land/takeoff outside, a 3 story slide, an indoor garden, showers/spas, free on-off tourist bus that will loop you around Singapore and the back to the airport, and decent food.
That would've made my night much better.
also a swimming pool, a new attached shopping mall with a giant indoor waterfall.
LGB
what are people's definition of best airport? LGB seems like it might be because not many people fly there so lines are short. I've noticed Burbank is like that, at least the last few times I flew there. Could've been time of day.
For some it seems like it's the amenities or the ambiance.
LGB has everything. Short lines, not busy, beautiful terminal, pleasant place to be, really captures the SoCal vibe.
Has everything except a huge selection of flights, anyway 😉
i can get a direct flight to/from reno tho so it's pretty dope
BUR is super convenient and easy to use. I have never encountered any meaningful lines or crowding there. The downside is there's also nowhere to grab something to eat and nothing to do while you pass the time.
doesn't guy ferry have a restaurant there
it's guy bullet train
With the short lines and with a carryon I almost imagine you could drive up right as boarding starts and board with plenty of time to spare.
Dream vacation
At the moment I think it'd be a lot of fun to take a motorcycle trip around Europe or South America.
i'd like to hike the pct but it's not easy to take 3-6 months off now, and it's not going ever get any easier than it is right now
Rags hiked a good portion (norcal to oregon?)
I'd like to amble around Europe looking at Roman ruins, going from place to place by train so I could see the surrounding countryside at a reasonable pace.
If you ever do this, Sicily has some particularly good Roman ruins (though not particularly good trains).
I can get there by train (including the train being put on a ferry!) and then rent a shitty Fiat to drive around at foolish rates. I enjoy driving a lot but I wouldn't build a trip like this (including lots of former soviet bloc countries) around a road trip. I'd save that for Spain with all those tasty EU funded roads or southern France for drives like the Route Napoleon.
Given the time, that actually sounds realistic as well.
Alas, the first three words are why it's not realistic any time soon. I also am completely confident that I'd be doing that by myself 😂
Sounds like fun to me, I'll drive if you navigate.
what could _possibly_ go wrong 😂
hike the GR 20 in Corisca
http://corsica.forhikers.com/gr20
GR 20 is a long distance trail that traverses Corsica diagonally from north to south. It is considered to be the most difficult of all the GR routes and one of the most beautiful mountain trail in Europe.
GR 20 is a long distance trail that traverses Corsica diagonally from north to south. It's 180km long with variation in height of about 10 000 metres and can be walked in 15 days.
that looks beautiful - and I imagine it's not hugely crowded, if the website covering the way to walk it has all its pictures from 2003 and links to delici.ous
this is perfectly realistic in terms of expense. just the time away from everyone is the hard part.
Realistic vacation
recheduled version of spring break would be delightful
or rescheduled, whatever
I need to either:
a) find the correct parameters for traveling with my family, or
b) accept that it's unpleasant to travel with my family
I can travel very contentedly with my mother and one of my brothers and his family. The other brother, in combination with me, is the C4 that makes the whole thing combust.
it's enough of a challenge to travel with just me, the missus, and the daughters; adding anyone else in only works if we agree to meet up periodically like for a meal.
We tried a), nearly ended in homicide, and now are firmly in Camp B.
My extended family usually rents out a condo on Lake Tahoe for a week every summer, great thing to bring the kids to. Hopefully that doesn't have to be canceled this year.
I have a house up there for the two weeks immediately preceding Labor Day. I am going to be so disappointed if we have to cancel.
we were supposed to be skiing this week in UT. the snow has been great so ideally we would be there.
but if we werent skiing it might be nice to go to Europe w/ the kids now that they are old enough (13 and 16) to enjoy everything
I just spent 63 days in Thailand sitting by a pool, going some islands, eating street food, making a quick dash to Singapore and back. That wasn't too bad/
Where was the pool?
9th floor of my cousin's condo (she lives on the 17th floor)
Today in covid-19
I noticed my elderly neighbor's lawn was getting long. So I shot them a text this morning. I offered up my son to mow it for free, since I assumed that they weren't going out to avoid CV19 exposure. People are now walking on "our" side of the street (the one that doesn't have a sidewalk) to do social distancing. However, people still aren't wearing masks and they pass right next to each other.
My neighbor texted back noting, yes, they aren't going out because they are afraid. Not of the virus, but because they are Chinese and are afraid of racial hatred. We are in a pretty diverse neighborhood and I've not really experience much overt racism. But it breaks my heart that this is the reason they are hiding indoors.
That last paragraph simultaneously breaks my heart and pisses me off.
Whenever I start having faith in humanity, I drop by Nextdoor to get my daily dose of distance-shaming. Restores my lack of faith.
GOD those people are so fucking tiresome.
Today in our crumbling democracy
Politico: Trump has replaced the Pentagon Inspector general, essentially sacking the oversight on billions of dollars of the Covid stimulus package and replacing it with his own appointee.
https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1247551648181993472
Pelosi and the House have to step up.
Yep. Wish I had any confidence that they would.
I am curious to find out the angle behind Trump's hydroxychloroquine push.
Is he selling hope, peddling influence with the businesses that make it, own stock in it, or using it as a counter-balance to say that he's "a business man trying to cut red tape against the do nothing Dems"?
he and his family are big holders in a mutual fund who's biggest stake in the company that makes hydrochloroquine. NYT reporting that today
he learned how to pronounce it
but also
Major Producer of Hydroxychloroquine Once Paid Michael Cohen Hefty Sum for Access to Trump
https://lawandcrime.com/covid-19-pandemic/major-producer-of-hydroxychloroquine-once-paid-michael-cohen-hefty-sum-for-access-to-trump/amp
"President Donald Trump on Sunday once again touted the potential life-saving benefits of treating coronavirus patients with hydroxychloroquine, a powerful anti-malaria drug, despite a dearth of medical professionals or clinical evidence supporting his claims. It just so happens that one of the largest manufacturers of the drug, Novartis, previously paid Trump’s now-incarcerated former personal attorney Michael Cohen more than $1 million for healthcare policy insight following Trump’s election in 2016."
One of the best articles I read was that a narcissist desperately needs to be seen as doing something productive. Cynically, there has got to be profit in there somewhere. But maybe they're war-profiteering so much off of seized PPE that this is a just a public distraction to spin things as positive PR.
Stephanie Grisham resigns after 10 months of White House Press Secretary, returns to role on FLOTUS staff.
# of traditional White House Press Briefings during her tenure: zero
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/grisham-leaving-white-house-press-secretary-holding-briefings/story?id=70020117
Kayleigh McEnany is the new one. God help us all.
Acting Navy secretary Modly resigning. He obviously put his foot in it with the address to the crew. I think I saw a headline earlier that Trump said he might look into the situation. Modly apparently saw some writing on the wall.
What an absolute tool, utterly unqualified for the position.
If I understand correctly, being utterly unqualified for the position is a job requirement in this administration.
Pretty sure it was the administration that advised him to get out or be thrown out.
I hope the Captain manages to salvage something of his career. The book deal should be a good landing pad, though.
Only once he became embarrassing. The administration was how the unqualified hack was put into the job in the first place and the administration kept him there until today.
Here's the initial story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/acting-navy-secretary-resigns-after-insulting-aircraft-carriers-ousted-captain/2020/04/07/263ba574-78f7-11ea-b6ff-597f170df8f8_story.html
https://twitter.com/RepMaxineWaters/status/1247272463001686017
"Wow! Big $ GOP donor Mike Gula leaving his firm to sell medical supplies/PPE! Where is he getting the supplies & how can he fill 100 million orders of masks when states can’t get them? What are his relationships? Will his PPE come from fed stockpile?"
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/republican-fundraiser-company-coronavirus-152184
The fundraiser, Mike Gula, didn’t specify his new line of work in the email. But in an interview, he said he’d started a new company selling medical equipment that’s been in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company, Blue Flame Medical LLC, was formed Monday in Delaware, according to state records. Its website says it sells coronavirus testing kits, N95 respirator masks, “a wide selection” of personal protective equipment and other “hard to find medical supplies to beat the outbreak.”
Asked how he’d managed to procure such equipment when there are shortages in hospitals across the country, Gula said, “I have relationships with a lot of people.”
I wish some of these godawful people ever faced a real consequence for their awfulness.
Seems like dems are making this stuff for free or at cost, and repubs are selling it & collecting the profits.
This GOP Senator Conveniently Bought a Ton of Stock in a PPE Company After a Private Coronavirus Briefing
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/z3b9ae/this-gop-senator-conveniently-bought-a-ton-of-stock-in-a-ppe-company-after-a-private-coronavirus-briefing
Since the day the Senate was briefed on the COVID-19 threat back in January, Georgia Sen. David Perdue and his wife bought up to $185,000 in stock in a company that makes personal protective equipment, according to financial disclosures filed over the past three months.
Perdue’s latest disclosure, filed Sunday, details 110 stock trades (as well as two investments in municipal bonds) involving up to $1.8 million in purchases and $825,000 in sales, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which first reported Perdue’s latest disclosure.
Among his trades last month was a single purchase of up to to $15,000 in DuPont de Nemours, Inc., which makes and distributes personal protective equipment. Perdue, a former CEO of Dollar General, has bought DuPont stock 10 times over the past three months, beginning with up to $65,000 purchased on January 24, the day the Senate received a briefing on COVID-19.
In a statement announcing the briefing at the time, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called the coronavirus an “emerging public health threat.”
Pros
MLB discussing starting season in May with no fans and sequestered players. Would the players union agree to it?
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29004498/mlb-union-focused-plan-allow-season-start-early-arizona
Cal
Open Door Challenge
https://twitter.com/CalFootball/status/1247324460681756672
Caeser's odds for winning the 2020 Pac-12 Football Championship
OREGON 200
USC 250
WASHINGTON 400
UTAH 500
CALIFORNIA 1200
ARIZONA ST 1200
UCLA 1500
WASHINGTON ST 3000
OREGON ST 4000
STANFORD 4000
ARIZONA 10000
COLORADO 30000
Better hope that new playbook is easy to read.
Happy Birthday Burl Toler III
https://twitter.com/CalAthletics/status/1247575907952287744
Why 1920 Cal was the most pleasant fan experience in college football history
https://www.bannersociety.com/2020/4/6/21172321/cal-bears-1920-wonder-team
I've wanted to visit Prague for years.
so confused...
LA Has The Cleanest Air In The World, Report Says
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/04/06/la-has-the-cleanest-air-in-the-world-report-says/
There are some qualifiers for the list, but it has been remarkably clear these past 2-3 weeks. We have benefitted from a combo of severely reduced traffic (my infrequent trips from Glendale to the westside have each clocked in at less than 35min) and weather that has shifted from rain to light offshore wind and then back to rain. There is a (now closed) trail above my neighborhood that at the end provides a great 360 view of the LA Basin and I could see Santa Barbara Island (66mi away) on 3 out of 4 of my last trips up there.
which trail?
How's your #QuarantineCooking going?
Ingredients I have used much more of than I expected:
Bacon
Onions
Avocados
Lemons
Olive oil
Booze
Things I have consumed much less of than expected:
Pasta
Canned tomatoes
Cheese
Anything sweet
I am enjoying having the time and space to really cook, but I think general low-level anxiety has me eating a lot less than I normally would. I am pretty much eating a single meal each day, sometimes supplemented by a snack but not always.
I've eaten only one of the steaks I bought, but I have been making lots of preserved/pickled/fermented things. I guess I've been watching too much "It's Alive!"
oh you're making crepes suzette with claire
It was so nice to see a stress-free Claire
yes, but all that stress came through when she visited brad and chris's gourmet makes
"this will be easy" - still sees there's 40 minutes left in Gourmet Makes.
Actualluy, quite well. Have plenty of time that doesn't normally exist, especially this time of the year.
I'm not cooking any more than usual. I'm eating less meat at lunch time. My net booze consumption has increased inasmuch I'm drinking once a week instead of no times a week.
I'm eating less meat as the gf is vegetarian. I made some bacon to add to some pasta the other night, added some beef to another dish before that, bought some salami and smoked salmon to eat with bread. Ordered a lamb dish for myself when we got Indian delivered a week or so ago. But I'm definitely eating less meat than usual.
I'm kind of missing deli sandwiches. I made a couple of awesome ones the first week on artichoke/cheese focaccia but otherwise haven't really had bread around the house other than my mostly-failed attempts at making my own focaccia. When I'm in the office I have a turkey sandwich for lunch a couple of times a week.
My fat ass is missing bagel sandwiches, tbh
I made pickled shallots (and just put another jar in the fridge last night) and am buying deli meats and bread SPECIFICALLY so I can eat more pickled shallots.
I have consumed literally all of those things in large amounts during quarantine. Everything on your list.
Whisky
So I tried a couple of newish one recently, both very good: Aberlour A'Bunadh Alba, I've had the "normal" A'Bunadh with is their cask strength version of their 12 year which is finished in Sherry barrels, a very rich and smooth dram. This I think doesn't see the Sherry, and is more high toned and has I think a greater range of flavors, and a glorious finish (K&L $80)
Also, Nikka "from the barrel" - no age statement, cask strength (squat, square bottle with a twist cap!) and simply delish, wonderfully balanced dram (Broadway Liquors, $99)
Yes
I spent 2nd grade in Okinawa while as my dad was in the service. I think the virus has made me nostalgic for better days and those were great ones, so kinda recently developed a new interest in returning for a visit. How realistic is another matter.
I've heard good things about Okinawa. What are some of your memories from there?
My memories are pretty hazy, but I remember being enchanted with Japanese candy, Shogun Warriors, these little Star Wars images that were printed under the bottom of bottle caps that I'd collect, lots of Tokyo Giants and Sadaharu Oh merchandise, my international school, lots of caves throughout the island, ramen shops, crazy storms, learning to skateboard on the roof of our apartment, beaches (one of which I dragged out a WWII era from) and dangerous jellyfish.
Learning to skateboard on the ROOF?
It was a flat roof with a ledge, though kinda short if memory serves. It was the 70s and parental supervision was in short supply.
err WWII era warhead from
Yikes. Your mom must have loved that.
I found while at a summer camp on one the adjacent islands. I think between the kids we pulled out like five from under the water that day. At least a couple of them tested as still being "live." My mom probably was not stoked, but I think my officer father got a kick out of it,
That was an absolutely hellish battle to take Okinawa
I have been invited to (but unable to attend) 4 different Taiwanese weddings in Okinawa in the last decade. (unfortunately, two of those couples are now divorced)
Unfortunately, most of the times I've read something about Okinawa in recent years it's about misdeeds by U.S. military and how the locals want us gone.
As they should. As a military brat, it's sometimes a little sad to see some of the bases were I lived go, but we long overstayed our need to be there.
What? To contain Japan from imperial ambitions, sure, but we're there to protect Japan from regional aggressors, and have been for some time.
alas, the problem often seems to be who protects Okinawa from us.
My state senator is holding a town hall on unemployment benefits, medical and family leave, and other programs that can help you if your job has been affected by the Coronavirus/COVID-19 or the stay-at-home orders. It's tomorrow (April 8) at 3pm and will be available online afterward.
The guests are: George Warner (lawyer and fellow at Legal Aid At Work’s Wage Protection Program) and Jenna Gerry (senior staff attorney at Legal Aid At Work)
https://sd07.senate.ca.gov/
Following up on TBB's comment re: prof titles. I can get away w/ stuff now cuz I'm old as heck. No way would I have tried within my first 10 years of practice. I even used a pair of clear glasses at times to look older. And if I brought in a new associate, male or female, I'd make a point of introducing them as "Doctor X or Y" to build confidence w/ the patients & parents. Short version: I'm old as heck.
Old, but healthier than ever!!!!!
Yes, I found that once I got a bit of grey on the sides, people took what I had to say much more seriously. That and a frown-y exhale before answering a question.
I have a student in China who's unable to access his gmail or any part of the Google Suite for my class (this includes his school email) and his regular VPN isn't working. I suggested either the college's VPN or using Tor. Any ideas, frequent China visitors?
Tor is tough. I have three current VPNs all of which work pretty well - I have Astrill which works on my laptop, but not my cell phone. I have a Shadowsocks private server which I spun up using Striesand which took a lot of work and time to do, but has been super fast and stable: https://github.com/StreisandEffect/streisand, and then I use Shadowrocket on my cell phone
Cairo in the Spring time. Enjoying a shisha pipe and some ahwa mas bout (normal coffee).