I see Joe met with Xi in California and discussed future relations between the 2 countries. Xi assured Joe that all is well and soon Pandas will be arriving to make up for the one on loan that had to be returned.
I exercise a lot of restraint on purchases from Amazon as it's too easy to buy 'things of convenience' as opposed to 'things of necessity'. So far I'm drawing the line with food purchases. I won't do it. The same rule applies with deliveries of food. I'll go out for pizza before I would call for delivery. Seriously, Jabba the Hut would call Domino's... I won't.
Actually, I wouldn't eat Domino's, but that's another story.
Now that the weather is cooler, I would consider something edible from Amazon... like chocolate as a gift for someone. I've heard horror stories from people who bought expensive confections that were melted into 'drops of sludge' when they came off a truck in the middle of a hot summer day!
The dollar stores, another weakness... there are several a few miles from me and Bagel chips with sea salt is a favorite of mine... They don't always have them, so when in stock, I'll get 5 or 6 bags. The same for a few caffeinated drinks without sugar.
I always go through the section with kitchen gadgets. I'm looking for a thin blade knife to replace one I used to curve so it perfectly cuts watermelon. My purchases this year were several 4 inch and 6 inch knives that were an amazing value. Also, I got a few paring knives. I'm guessing the blades on those are 3 inches long with a small moulded plastic handle. Although dollar store purchases, they have much thicker blades and better quality than the ones from a few years ago.
Tonight it was a pear on my list and the paring knife worked great!
paring a pear.
Last year, I blogged about a $10 toaster I bought and put it in the powder room (where the toilet was wrapped in plastic and not being used) only because there was a vent fan in the ceiling. The new appliance emitted a plastic smell that needed to be used a few times for the smell to go away. The kitchen is tiny and I don't often make toast so, months later, it's there next to the Waterpik.
A few days ago, I wanted to toast some sliced Italian bread. The bread was much wider than sandwich bread so I have to switch the slices to get both ends toasted. It's an acquired skill not to burn your fingers flipping the bread. The setting is 'just right' so I don't need to make any adjustments and actually get evenly toasted bread.
I started the toaster and my phone rang. It was a contractor with questions about a recent order that required 2 minutes for me to open a drawing to answer his question. The fan was on so I didn't smell anything, but when I hung up and when back to check, the room was filled with smoke and first part was severely burned.
What was strange is hidden in the ceiling, the vent pipe is connected to the other bathroom with a "T" fitting so both exhaust to the roof in the shared pipe. Somehow the smoke was filling the other bathroom too!
They are on either side of a hallway where I have a smoke alarm. I closed both bathroom doors and turned on the window fan. Thankfully the alarm didn't go off panicking my neighbors.
The bread was so charred there wasn't anything worth salvaging and I had to toast two more slices. The bathroom wreaked of burned (burnt if you're across the pond) for a few days and now all is well.
Speaking of toast. I see Donald Trump Jr. appeared in court for a second time. He and his father's attorneys were unable to explain how a Trump building listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and architectural plans as 63 floors is advertised as 72 floors.
A few news services mentioned 'Trump is toast' and that they may want to consider getting new lawyers, as his team seems to continually blow up his defenses in his various legal disputes.
I grew up in the era of Black & White TV and times when something electronic wasn't working correctly, it would require banging the side of the console to magically get things working again.
Solid state technology changed all that... or did it?
I turned the computer on this morning and got an error message the power supply fan isn't working. Huh? I've got a few computers with spare parts here and could change out a fan if need be. Turning it off and on 2 more times got the same message. The computer would not boot.
I banged it a few times, opened the case and when I powered up air was coming from the power supply fan.
Fixed... just like the old days!
Ivanka is scheduled to appear (by order of the court) Wednesday next week to testify in the New York fraud trial of the Trump organization case. You know, she and Jared have moved to Miami and she's busying raising children. Pretty terrible duty mom as she's appealing on the grounds that she would face 'undue hardship' to find childcare during a school week.
Ivanka dahlink, tell security I'll be there Monday afternoon and I'll bring a suitable nanny. We'll 'hold the fort' until you return. Don't worry... I'll arrange the whole thing, no charge!
I was busy last week and some of it spilled over the weekend into this week. I haven't had much time watching the news, but I see 80% of the news stories are about Trump. When he speaks in public, there is one common thread (he states) that everything against him is an apparent witch hunt. Have you noticed, this man can do no wrong... or so he says.
Run a crooked business and when the government catches up to you, it's a political witch hunt by Biden and those corrupt Democrats. Biden has nothing to do with him intentionally listing properties at inflated prices for better loans and deflated prices for taxes.
His 2 sons were in charge when he was president, but they had 'corporate amnesia' when taking the stand and asked about the accuracy of documents they signed stating it was the responsibility of the accountants... and not them. You have to backstroke when the NY pulls up emails stating otherwise. Small things, like not disclosing the recent $60 million deal Bally's paid for the rights to a New York golf course. Add that to the estimate $250 million penalty the court is seeking.
The court has already ruled that he committed fraud and what the findings are about now, is how much. Trump said the case should be “dismissed immediately” and denies any wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, Ivanka is scheduled to testify. It would appear there is a fine line of perjury versus throwing dad under the bus.
This blog is a long time coming. The definition expat or expatriation definition can sometimes get cloudy, but it's often when someone formally renounces allegiance to his/her home country and actually gives up his or her citizenship, or something different from simply moving to another country. To some, expat could be used as a derogatory word. Cat has a current blog about Traitors and Deserters and clearly states his blog is not about that.
Here's a snipped of his statement:
Catfoot: ...I'm quite aware that people have other reasons for leaving their countries but this blog is not addressing those. Here I'm dealing simply with those who seek a better life. So instead of trying to add other topics to my blog, why don't you post your own blog about the other reasons for emigration...
I heard the term more than 20 years ago where some of the English speaking dating site members were retired in a Spanish speaking country. The main reason was financial. The economy of a simple lifestyle and improved weather was better suited for them.
Honestly, I don't know if they gave up citizenship of their country of birth, or retained it in the event they traveled back to the homeland.
I know one guy who has extended trips to Costa Rica, he says it's because the prostitutes are like 'groupies to a rock star' and often stay at his place for for free.
I have a son-in-law who came to the US from Italy and became a citizen in less than a decade. There was talk he has dual-citizenship, but I'm not certain.
I guess that's another grey area of countries who allow dual-citizenship.
Winter is coming and already I see the trailers off-loading cars with Canadian license plates. They only stay for 6 months out of the year. Why? After 6 months, the US wants to be able to tax their income!
Former New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie made a bad showing when he tried for the Republican party nomination in the 2020 presidential election. He learned a lot and is trying again for 2024. I watched his town hall meeting a month ago and saw the group there enjoyed listening to his logic about the complexity of not only running the country, but how we interface with the rest of the world. He apologized for his short comings in previous situations that cast him in a less favorable light.
Christie knows he's got a tough hill to climb and was booed at a conservative conference on Sunday, later saying it was predominantly a Trump crowd.
Going hard after Trump, Christie is calling him a 'three-time loser,' mentioning his losses that included the classified document indictment and the hush money case.
Can he win the support of Republicans without making false campaign promises?
Hmmm... my opinion is it's doubtful because voters are swayed by BS and not honesty.
Step up your game Chris, you're going against a seasoned professional.
I go through phases of reading car reviews and watching YouTube videos. Although I bought a new car earlier this year, I'm already looking to see what my next car will be in a few years from now.
I'm happy with the size and performance of my Mazda M3 as it's got a 2.5 liter engine. The three previous cars were 2.0, 1.6 and 1.2 dating back 20 years, so this Mazda is a poor man's performance vehicle!
I was explaining to a friend, it's actually changed my personality as I can now pass a car on a 2-lane road and not worry about lag in acceleration.
Listening to a few YouTube videos about my model, some reviews were about the turbo engine that's available on the more expensive cars. I test drove a turbo on a Hyundai and didn't like the delay driving in the city. The salesman stated it 'kicks in' nicely at highway speeds. Thanks, but not interested was my response.
While listening to videos, many were talking about naturally aspirated models. WTF is that I said... I've been driving cars around 55 years and had to look up naturally aspirated.
Oh, I get it. A naturally aspirated engine is one that's non-turbo. Well duh! I suppose all engines were naturally... naturally aspirated prior to the invention of superchargers and turbo power boosters.
It's reported that former vice-president Mike Pence dropped out of the race to win the Republican presidential nomination today. He's quoted as saying: “After much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today."
Sorry Mike, you didn't have a prayer to begin with...
While many think you shouldn't have tried for a campaign, being at the bottom of the polls and never gaining traction. This decision is months overdue.
I'm calling it Bootgate and you can quote me on that! Soon to go viral, people are wondering how tall Florida Governor Ron DeSantis really is. He's out on the campaign trail with hopes to be the 'chosen one' for the Republican party at the 2024 election. A man who's body shape and stature being shorter... he played baseball, so there should be some statistics on that. I think some stories claim he's are around 5'-7" or 5'-8" but mister 'boots' may be hiding something inside... lifts to make him taller. But, how much taller?
I've read that DeSantis has claimed he's 5'-11" and that would mean the lifts would bring him up at least 3 inches. Why the suspicion? One photo showed the toes of his boots are flattened... as if his toes aren't there. 3" lifts would do that as his heels get propped up, his toes wouldn't reach the front of his boots. Simple geometry.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
When approached, he denied it.
Story link here:
What's the purpose of a gag order if you're defiant and have a string of lawyers and followers supporting you?
I'm reading that Trump, despite all the warnings from the judges believes it's political because he's leading in the polls for the next presidential election. He's so confident that he can say and do literally anything he wants.
Every article I've read about his behavior this month always has reader comments that believe he should be reeled in. Why is he so special, when anyone else out on bail with a gag order who doesn't follow the instructions of the court gets to sit in jail a few days and it the offense is serious enough, they get to stay 'on ice' until the trial date.
Yeah... that's what I've been reading.
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