We're about to enter another "Forever War" - and I'm Afraid!

 

We've been at war with Iran since February and we have nothing to show for it save 16 dead bodies so far. The Orange Monster (as usual) said that we must defeat this enemy without defining what an American victory looks like.  Like our mistaken involvement in Vietnam, the Monster is on track to sending in American soldiers to fight and die on foreign soil.  And, like Vietnam, America will have a hard time getting out of this war.

 

There is a totally incompetent man holding the office of US President.  He has no concept of any idea of how to end this war.  The Gulf nations who pay for America's troops to fight and die for their oil now demand that we keep fighting this war, as they know that Iran will become much too powerful if America pulls out of this war.  Like Vietnam, pulling out is politically impossible to the powers that be, because they are unable to admit defeat.

 

So, what is likely to happen?  Like Vietnam, America will continually escalate things, thinking that its obsolete war tactics and technology will be enough to defeat Iran.  And, like Vietnam, America will run the financial printing press to pay for this war, destroying the value of the US Dollar.  The UK had a similar problem after WW2, and found that it couldn't afford to be a colonial power any longer.  With America, the debasement of our currency will eventually end the era of our "Pax Americana" - we will no longer be able to maintain the "Peace" around the world that benefits everyone.  World commerce will suffer, and people around the world will suffer because the world order will not provide the stability and safety needed for people to prosper.

 

In eras of instability, our species has tended to make wars.  The US is at war with Iran.  Ukraine is at war with Russia.  Will China finally attack Taiwan?  I see this happening while America is distracted in Iran.  Assuming that this war starts in the next couple of years, what will happen to our computer chip supply?  We have a big problem with data center construction sucking up as many chips as TSMC (and others) can fabricate.  What will happen to our economy if we can't get the computing power we need to facilitate a modern economy?

 

Making war is similar to smoking cigarettes.  Before a nation starts a war, they can have millions of dollars worth of munitions that can be used, just like a smoker who has bought a few cartons to be smoked.  Once used, munitions are like cigarettes - totally worthless.  Both have done their damage, with little value to show for it.  Was may be necessary at times, but should be avoided save for the most extreme of reasons.  One may need to fight to resist bullies, as a nation may need to fight for its survival.  But it doesn't need to fight wars to feed its ego.  We don't need to prove that we're the biggest power in the global playground.  We need to prove we ready to fight when needed, but avoid fights we don't need to fight/

 

Right now, we're in a war we didn't need to fight.  The Orange Monster can not admit that he made a mistake, and that America has lost this war.  Until this happens, things will continue to get worse around the world.  Let's hope that things change soon.... 

A movie for a Sunday afternoon (a short post)

 

OK, most of us reasonably well educated people know of Homer's two classic works: The Illiad  and the Odyssey.  These are classic tales which lend themselves to retelling - either in the ancient Greek time frame, or in some other time frame.  One of my favorite retellings of the Odyssey is the movie "The Warriors".  Same story, just different settings.

- - - - - -

RQS and I awoke knowing that we'd be eating breakfast, showering, and speaking to my brother before leaving for the movie.  Why my brother?  He texted me with another complication for the sale of the family homestead - the title search is taking way too long, and he wants me to chat with the lawyer to see if some pressure can be applied on the title search company to speed things up.  (Their excuse is that we have a very common last name, and it's taking forever to do a proper title search.)

Around 2 pm, we drove to the movie theater, and arrived in time for a 3 pm show.  It was nice to be in a dress again, especially on a nice Summer's day.  For a big box office opening, there were hardly any people in the theater.  And we settled down for the next 3 hours to watch the movie.     

All too soon, the movie ended, and I had to drop RQS off at home.  Again, I hit some traffic and trekked back on some local roads before getting onto the highway.  It was nice to get back home and get into something more comfortable than the dress I wore this weekend. 

Trekking to RQS's place for a change

 

I never know what traffic (and parking) is going to be like when I start out towards RQS's place.  RQS is comfortable with me seeing her as Marian, and has become comfortable with me visiting her as Marian.  Since the weekend would be book ended with days perfect for me to be wearing dresses, I chose to wear a comfortable dress to RQS's place.

 

But first....

 

Right now, I have a basket of laundry waiting to be done.  Yet, I chose to get moving slowly, and start my trip to RQS's place around 2 pm.  Of course, I had to make the obligatory stops at the bank, and at the gas station before leaving town.  Although I expected heavy Friday afternoon traffic on the way to the bridge, I hit almost no traffic.  This looked like an exceptional day - until I hit traffic on the other side of the bridge.  And this caused my trip to take 15 minutes more than usual.

 

Normally, it's hard to find a decent parking space in RQS's neighborhood if I get there after 4 pm.  But this time, I parked only 1 block away.  So, instead of buzzing RQS to carry a 12-pack of soda upstairs. I stacked the soda on top of my suitcase, and wheeled it over to RQS's place.  Once  there, RQS carried the soda upstairs, and I took off my wig once I had a chance to rest.

 

RQS and I wanted to try out a new diner in town, so I put my wig back on, and we walked to the diner.  Neither of us knew what to expect.  The last Queens diner we went to, the Tasty Diner, wasn't tasty at all.  This diner, the Ridge, was the opposite.  We both had large portions of food that were quite tasty.  Yum! Finally, we walked back home and then we were in for the night.

 

- - - - - -

 

Saturday came, and we decided to make this a Jammie Day.  I can't say much about the day, save that we stayed in our Jammies most of the day (with RQS's exception to fetch the delivered pizza).  This was a day mostly spent watching movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime.  This was just as well, as there were flood alerts all across the NYC area.   

I saved someone a lot of money today.

I saved someone a lot of money today, simply because I was in the right place at the right time.  And this should serve as a warning to my readers to be careful of scams being propagated via the internet.

- - - - - -

Going to the dentist is always an expensive day for me.  Today would be more expensive than usual, as I needed both a new filling and a crown on a nearby tooth.  So, I knew that I would be spending over $2,500 for a 2 hour visit.  What I didn't know was that I'd be the catalyst in a chain of events which would prevent an old person from getting scammed by someone claiming to represent a business entity.

My dentist is in walking distance of my apartment, so I got there at the stroke of 1 pm.  As I entered, I saw a gentleman struggling with some financial issue working with "tech support" on the other end of the line.  Overhearing what this man was saying, he was told that 2 payments were made from his bank account, and that the fellow at the other end needed his account number to refund the money.  Of course, the "tech support" person was looking to have a program run on this person's phone to take control of it, scan the phone for financial information, and then suck the money out of all of this person's bank accounts. 

I knew that something had to be done, and I was in luck.  The receptionist was coming back to the dental office with lunch for the gang.  Seeing her as she was about to enter the building, I rushed to the door and told her what I thought was going on and asked for help.  A minute later, I was escorted into the room where my dentist would do his magic, so I could only get the rest of the story after my work was done.  Thankfully, the receptionist got involved and saw the signs of a scam about to start.  (Think of remote control programs which take over a computer or a phone.)  And then she told the gentleman about to be scammed to hang up the phone and reboot it immediately.  Next, she told the man to check his account with the organization, and found that no transactions had been applied to his account.  Phew!  He was narrowly saved from a scammer, and all thanks to the receptionist who knew how to step in and take control of the situation.

- - - - - -

Sadly, none of this could save me the money I had to spend to have my teeth repaired.  But I'm glad that I was able to stop a scam in progress.  I've provided the following links to help my readers identify similar scams and protect themselves: 

https://www.fdic.gov/consumer-resource-center/2023-10/scammers-and-fake-banks

https://www.firstcitizens.com/personal/insights/security/top-financial-scams-targeting-consumers 

https://www.wellsfargo.com/privacy-security/fraud/bank-scams/?utm_medium=www-redirect&utm_source=privacy-security--fraud--bank-scams--index

Additionally, one can also watch the YouTube channel, "Scammer Payback" for more information on internet scams and how they work to stop them. 

 

I hated going into the city as Mario. But the play was worth it.

 

I'm sorry that I couldn't get a picture of the understudy who played Bobby Darin in the play "Just In Time" tonight.  But, I did get a picture of the rest of the cast during the closing number.  (I got caught taking a picture, and I had to put my camera away.)  Thankfully, AI cleaned up the picture better than I could myself, and I can say that if used wisely, AI can be a great assistant to skilled humans. 

But I digress....

Today was going to be the worst day of the current heatwave, and I didn't want to take the risk of overheating if I were dressed as Marian.  (New York City is a heat island, and would be unbearable without Air Conditioning.)  So, I showered and dressed and went out the door as Mario again.

Arriving at the train station, I easily found a parking spot.  However, I was in such a rush, that I bought a round trip ticket at the full price, instead of at the senior discounted rate I usually pay.  And this would be typical of the way my finances would run for the rest of the day.  I reached Grand Central at 4:30, met RQS in the waiting room, then walked over to the Grand Brasserie for dinner.  (It was French Restaurant Week, and we got a better deal than we usually would get dining here.)  The place was noisy, most of the noise coming from the bar area where people were watching the FIFA semi finals.  (I couldn't give a hoot about that sport.  If I wanted to see men running around for 90 minutes without scoring, I'd go to a singles bar before closing.)  It quieted around after Argentina won.  But it also got warmer inside the restaurant.  So, we were glad to  leave the place around 6:15 to make a 7:00 show.

It's always a minor headache to reach the theater district in a heatwave.  Does one swelter underground and walk an undefined distance to the theater?  Or, does one ride in the air-conditioned comfort of a cab, but spend much more money to get to the theater?  We made the mistake of taking a cab.  Midtown Manhattan streets are usually jammed during rush hour.  But the police were making things worse by prohibiting left turns to reach the West Side of Manhattan - even when street signs are directing people to turn left.  We reached 51st Street and 6th Avenue and told the cabbie to drop us off here.  We could walk faster than the driver could get us there.  As we exited the car, the policeman started to give the driver a ticket for stopping.  But what was the driver to do?  I feel sorry for him.  The police managing street flow were making things worse, and we had to make our 7:00 show.

After a bit of huffing and puffing along city sidewalks, we made it to the theater just in time.  We took our seats, and for the next 2 hours, we enjoyed a great musical, albeit with an understudy playing Bobby Darin.  I got busted trying to take a still photo of the star.  But I was able to take a picture of the rest of the cast as we exited the place.

RQS and I look at the subway system very differently.  I was trying to tell her that we'd take the Broadway line, and she was only thinking of route ids ("W" Train, "N" Train and "R" Train) to reach her destination.  Once she understood how I thought about the system, it made sense to her.  So, we walked to 49th and 7th, and entered the subway system.  This station made me very glad that I was not wearing a wig - it must have been over 100 degrees in that station.  I got out at Times Square, while RQS proceeded to Union Square, where she got her usual train home.

It was a long day.  And I'll be glad to get back into a dress tomorrow for my dental appointment.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Some like it hot, but I don't.

Today and tomorrow are going to be brutally hot (again), and the wisest thing I can do is to present as Mario as much as possible.  If it weren't for the fact that the brain generates a disproportionate amount of a body's heat, I'd be comfortable wearing a wig and presenting as a female.  But, with temperatures bound for the upper 90's/low 100's, it doesn't make sense to risk getting heat stroke.

But first....

I had two things on the docket for today.  First was a doctor's appointment.  Second was a co-op board meeting.  Neither of these appointments were desired, as I  would rather have stayed cool and in my jammies and in my apartment.  Instead, I had to get dressed to see the doctor.

Around 11 am, I went to the doctor, and this time, he didn't hector me about my weight.  He must be a little glad that I am losing some weight.  I mentioned an issue I've been having with my legs (he didn't say much about this), and then we discussed a refill of a medicine I've been taking.  When he noticed how much the drug was costing me, he changed the prescription to a generic - and that will save me $150/month.  Yay!

Next, I decided to take a drive while I was out, and went to BJ's for some retail therapy.  I didn't buy anything I didn't need.  But I did buy some things I could have delayed purchasing if I needed to do so. And then, it was back home for the rest of the day.  The air conditioning was cranked up to the max, and it was tolerably cool inside.  But I knew that it would become unbearably warm in the afternoon, and that I'd stay in air conditioned comfort as much as possible.

Finally, it was time for the co-op board meeting.  Tonight, it was a quick one - most of our big problems are nearing resolution, and our next meeting won't be until September.  I was glad it was over.  Yet, it was the type of meeting we should be having every month.  I learned more than I wanted to about one board member - she couldn't even afford to turn on the air conditioning in this heat.  Her lights were off, and she was dressed in a way that allowed as much perspiration to evaporate as possible.

And yet, my day was not finished.  After finishing the bulk of this entry, I decided to take a rest.  And guess who called me....  TCL!   She has no understanding of electronic technology, and had to replace her Cable TV remote.  Around 10 pm, she called me with a problem.  After she replaced her cable remote, the volume control wasn't working.  It showed a different volume level bar on the bottom of the screen, and when she raised or lowered the volume, nothing happened.  I knew exactly what the problem was, and I was not in a position to fix it.  Instead, I directed her to call the cable company's support line and ask for help programming the cable remote.  Guess what...  They guided her through the process of fixing her problem, and I didn't have to spend an hour on the phone with her.  Yay!

 

 

 

Lunch with TCL, with a home without internet or cable

 

Recently, I celebrated by ##'th birthday.  Today, TCL and I scheduled lunch together at a local (for her) restaurant to celebrate.  Sadly, this meant that I'd be dressing as Mario for the next 3 days.

But first....

As usual for a Monday, I dropped RQS off at the train station for her ride home  On the way to get a quick buttered roll at the local deli, I noticed the following:

Guess what's coming to town?   

- - - - - -

Once I had my buttered roll in hand, it was off to TCL's place.  It took less time than expected, and I had to kill time before pulling in to TCL's driveway.  TCL asked me to bring something small and light into her house.  The place reeked of cat!  I'm glad I don't visit that often.  I was glad to be able to get back into the car and drive to the new Italian joint in town. Both of us wanted to try the new place, but we found it underwhelming.  The food was good, but the portions were small.  We'll likely end up going to the "usual" hang out next time.  And then I drove TCL back home. 

I decided to take the Bear Mountain Bridge home, as I expected fewer traffic jams going North, instead of going East.  Although the road was detoured due to a washout,  it didn't take much longer to get to the bridge than it usually does.  And then, it was the "Goat Path" to Peekskill, a 5 minute drive to the library to pick up a book on hold, and a 5 minute trip to the supermarket to pick up food for the week.

Once home, I started on this blog - and then the internet went out for a couple of hours.  There went the Zoom with my Texas friends.  But I didn't want to try to stay awake for them and not be at the top of my game.  So, I sent a message to say that I've postponed things until next week due to an internet outage, and then I tethered my main computer to my phone to catch up on things.