unicorn

Great news for escorts who come to the US. I'm not sure if that applies to laptops or tablets...

Oops. I meant to say Simone. Anyway, they were showing him with her parents, so I looked up who it was (thought it might be her brother), and wow.

Well, she sure knows how to pick 'em! 😋🍆

Well, at least the hostility is directed towards the owners of the apartments, not the tourists themselves...

I don't think anyone seriously expected Haniyeh and Netanyahu to agree on anything. Both had delusions they could "win." Also, everyone knows that the President of Iran is a ceremonial position. Iranian policy, as almost everyone understands, is directed solely by the "supreme leader" Ali Khamenei. Iran publicly and violently breached Israel's territorial integrity when it killed 12 children in northern Israel last week. Most people understand consequences would ensue.

I can't imagine Israel would have dared kill Ismail Haniyeh while he was in Qatar, but did he really think he could go to Iran and live? Especially after Hezbollah recently attacked Israel? What incredible arrogance and stupidity. Well, hopefully this isn't the start of WW3. If Iran is too bold in its retaliation, this could lead to all-out war.

I've never seen that. I've traveled a great deal, including 90% of countries in the Western Hemisphere and have been impressed that Mexicans always seem to be the tops when it comes to friendliness and amiability, at least when it comes to tourists. I guess things are different if they buy homes and kick out the locals. I'd be surprised, though, if Americans are buying the houses of the average Mexican...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel_(village) "...Abu Simbel is located in one of the warmest and driest regions of Egypt. In the summer months the high temperatures are easily 40 °C (104 °F) on average. Despite the great temperature differences between day and night, temperatures in summer seldom fall below 20 °C (68 °F)."...

Yikes, we went to Abu Simbel in January and woke up at 3:30 AM to get there fairly early in the morning. Yes, it was fairly crowded since winter is probably peak season for travel to Egypt (especially southern Egypt). It was quite hot enough at 8 AM in January, though. When were you able to visit Abu Simbel in the off-season? I would think that in the off-season, temperatures there would be potentially life-threatening...

Except I don't have wrinkles yet.

I was at a neighbor's birthday party last week-end. We were seated at the "neighbors' table" (as opposed to relatives' table), so we got to talk with a lot of our neighbors. We live in a neighborhood riddled with celebrities, and tour vans are constantly plying our streets. When we drive to downtown LA or to Burbank, and we take Mulholland Drive down the hill (as opposed to when we drive to WeHo, Hollywood, the west side, or the valley), and we pass on average 3 vans as we go down the hill. Our record so far is 8 vans (though that's an extreme). In my experience (having lived here almost 4 years), the drivers of these vans seem quite considerate, and always pull over where it's safe to pass. I've never seen traffic back up because of them. Well, one of the neighbors voiced how much she hates those tour vans, and others chimed in. They've never bothered either of us, so I told her I find them amusing, and do a royal wave as they pass by when I'm taking my dog on her daily walk in the park, pretending I'm a celebrity like Kevin Costner, whom I vaguely resemble (though perhaps a younger version of him). Another neighbor said he gave them the finger when someone asked if he was Steven Spielberg (whom he vaguely resembles). (I should note that Kevin Costner, but not Steven Spielberg, have lived near our place). Well, I'd much rather these tourists take these vans than drive up with "Stars maps," clogging up our streets. There are noisy motorcycles which zoom down Mulholland, and some other undesirables, but I don't see these vans as a problem. Some dumb tourists who don't know where they're going when driving around are far more problematic. Tourism provides a great boost for our local economy, and I like to provide a welcoming, rather than hostile response to the tourists. I travel to Mexico far more often than I do to Hawaii, for example, because Mexicans are far more welcoming people than Hawaiians (as a whole). I suppose some tourists can act obnoxiously, but most are quite nice. Places which welcome tourists get a lot more repeat visits, which helps the economy. What's your view on tourists who visit your city? Do you welcome them, and act friendly, or act as if they were a nuisance? Where do you live, and how many tourists do yo get?

I don't know if any of you watch Drag Race France, but in a recent episode, one of the judges, Kiddy Smile, blasted one of the contestants for wearing braids in her hair, calling it "cultural appropriation" (this was a hair coutoure challenge). I felt dumbfounded by her voicing this opinion, given that I had recently seen Kiddy Smiler herself do the exact same thing, wearing an exaggerated Mexican sombrero in her outfit: Wearing portions of styles typically associated with other cultures can be regarded in either a positive light, as in an homage, or in a negative light, as in an offense. Obviously the intention of the wearer should be taken into account, IMHO. However, I would think that if one wants to voice the opinion (and force a contestant to lip synch for her life) that these stylistic expressions, regardless of intention, are always offensive, then one should at least practice what one preaches. I definitely believe that while "cultural appropriation" can be distasteful, hypocrisy represents an even greater sin. 😉

Well, it's definitely too early to say "Trump is Toast" and ring the victory bells. The vice-presidential pick only affects results in that candidate's home state, so Harris would be wise to pick someone from Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania. She'll definitely need at least one of those states. National polls are irrelevant with the electoral college system. What matters is the polls in the swing states, especially the populous ones.

Did you say TONS of friends? Where do you meet these friends? 😳

No, I doubt I could sue United. All of these airlines provide only guarantees which are required by law (and they fight tooth and nail against those laws). Some may recall when another physician, who had patients he had to see, was forcibly carried out, bloodied, when he didn't just move out of his seat as I did (also on United). United does have a program called Global Services, to identify the very few passengers for whom maltreatment would have catastrophic consequences. For example, my brother's wife was the CEO of a major corporation, so she, her husband, and her bratty daughter were enrolled. At family gatherings, my brother loved to regale us with annoying stories of how well United treated them. Obviously, United knew that pissing her off would result in tens of millions in revenue, if she instructed her employees on company business not to use them. What they should have figured out, though, was that pulling passengers out of their seat will result in any good passenger avoiding that airline for life. I've flown other airlines for well over a million miles instead of them since then, and I almost always have at least one travel companion with me. I'm sure that physician they beat up will never fly them again, nor will any of his family, and possibly many of his friends. United hasn't figured out that just because you can do something, doesn't mean it's a good idea to do it. Yes, there are customers who will always go the cheapest way, regardless. However, those customers are probably not your best revenue generators. United has been way under average for airlines' Customer Satisfaction Index for decades (and index which includes such awful airlines as Spirit). Given the length of time this has been going on, it seems United isn't terribly interested in figuring out why.

Doing what's simply easy, as you've learned, can lead to some pretty expensive mistakes. I can only think of one place that I repeatedly go to because it offers an experience so unique and pleasant, that I don't do a whole lot of investigating before booking. There's no place quite like the Almar Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, and I've gone to Puerto Vallarta most years for decades. As long as I can get a decent room rate, I'll go there year after year (though some years, if they ask for their full rate/rack rate, I will go elsewhere). I'll introduce my husband to Paris in April, and have already spent hours comparing hotels, and am not ready to decide at this time. I always try to go to one of the hotel chains with which I have high status and lots of points--Hilton, Marriott/Bonvoy, and InterContinental--but in this case I may not go to one of those places. I compare rates, room size, walking distance to the nearest Metro station, TripAdvisor reviews, photos, etc., including how much of it I'll be able to pay in points, if available. If it's an airport hotel, I also look into the airport shuttle--how often it runs, is it able to accommodate all guests (i.e. size), customer complaints regarding the shuttle service, and so on. All of this is difficult to do on a phone. I often get compliments on how well I plan these trips.

It's useful to know that the US State Department warnings apply to heterosexuals. For example, Jamaica is classified level 3 (although many places within the country as level 4). However, for the LGBT community, it really should be a level 4 for the whole country. Same for Uganda--classified as Level 3 by the US State Department, but should really be a Level 4 for the LGBT community.

I'm surprised that you don't get charged for two rooms when that happens, since almost no reservation arrangements allow for same-day cancellations. There are two methods I use which prevent me from making that mistake. First, I have a folder at home with all of my travel arrangements, arranged in chronological order. When I need a hotel, I refer to the flights (which I usually book first), then the schedule of where I'm supposed to be. If I cancel a hotel, I keep the cancellation notice there. Also, I enter all of the data into my iPhone's calendar application. In that application, it's quite simple to change the time zone to the local one. (As a third measure, I also have a written "black book" record, which I usually carry with me, but that's overkill). This is my third measure, which I agree is simply nerdy overkill:

As indicated on the posting, the diagram represents the US State Department warnings. Any country which takes US citizens hostage (with hopes for concessions from either US or other Americans) will get a Level 4 warning. Russia earned itself that level after the wrongful detentions (hostage-taking) of Brittney Griner, Evan Gershkovich, Marc Fogel, etc. Belarus is a puppet state of Russia's, and can be expected to do the same. You are correct, however, that Japan and Poland are mislabeled on that map; they're Level 1. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Poland.html https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/japan-travel-advisory.html And, as I suspected, New Zealand is Level 1 as well: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/NewZealand.html

I don't think New Zealand is really Level 3.