zman13

Update: We did the Abbott/Emed tests before returning to the U.S. Very easy to take the tests, see the test results and receive the certificate via email. When you are ready to start the test, you have to wait 2-5 mins for an online Emed employee to become available and supervise. Much nicer to do it on-demand instead of going to a clinic/testing center/etc.

Maybe a trip to Funtrackers or another go-kart/arcade/games place? If you really want to see wildlife up close and not spend $40 a person, check out the Texas Sealife Center: https://www.texassealifecenter.org/

To build on #2, jobs are more narrowed nowadays. People get hired because of their knowledge/experience in certain fields. So check out the different areas and figure out where you want to specialize. Do you enjoy audits? Do you enjoy getting down into programming code? Do you like helping people write policies/procedures? Do you like penetration testing?

This is interesting: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/07/20/austin-schools-limited-virtual-learning-covid-delta-variant-cases/8014739002/

Feels like we are headed towards a showdown soon. City of Austin may move to Stage 4 soon. TEA says no funding for remote school. AISD says no remote or hybrid school. Delta variant is spreading.

I looked it up and we both got the name wrong. We are talking about the same place. The correct name... China Family!

A little off Anderson Ln but not too far - Happy Family Chinese is awesome. Don't let the dumb name scare you away.

Just watched it and it's an excellent film. If you enjoy strange people living in a strange place, check it out. The filmmaker chose great people to film.

This is unusual... NYTimes: Haitian government officials said they had requested that the United States send in troops to protect Haiti’s port, airport, gasoline reserves and other key infrastructure as the country has descended into turmoil in the wake of the brazen assassination of President Jovenel Moïse early Wednesday morning. Fears have been growing that unrest in the streets and political turmoil after the attack could worsen what is already the country’s worst crisis in years. Haiti is plagued by political intrigue, gang violence, a public health crisis driven by the pandemic and difficulties delivering essential international aid. The Haitian minister of elections, Mathias Pierre, said the request was made because President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had promised to help Haiti. A deputy State Department spokeswoman, Jalina Porter, told a news briefing on Friday that she could not confirm such a request. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, did say that the United States would be sending senior F.B.I. and homeland security officials to Port-au-Prince “as soon as possible” to determine how best to assist Haiti. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said the Biden administration would respond to the Haitian government’s request and send U.S. law enforcement officials to assist after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The United States remains engaged and in close consultations with our Haitian and international partners to support the Haitian people in the aftermath of the assassination of the president. In response to the Haitian government’s request for security and investigative assistance, we will be sending senior F.B.I. and D.H.S. officials to Port-au-Prince as soon as possible to assess the situation and how we may be able to assist. Our assistance is to help the people of Haiti and to help them get through what is a very challenging time, and has long been even before the assassination of the president. So the investigation is not going to impact the assistance we’re providing to the people of Haiti. But as I announced at the beginning, we are sending because supporting law enforcement efforts on the ground and making sure we are providing resources in terms of women and manpower, but also financial resources is part of what our objective is as well. Haitian authorities have said the assassination involved “foreign” forces, and the police have identified more than two dozen people involved in the assassination of the president, including 26 Colombians and two Americans of Haitian descent. Colombia’s president asked several of the country’s top intelligence officials and an officer from Interpol’s central office in Colombia to travel to Haiti to assist with the investigation, Colombia’s defense department said on Friday. Mr. Pierre, the Haitian minister of elections, said the country had already been facing a large problem with “urban terrorists” who might use the opportunity to attack key infrastructure in the country while the police are focused on their manhunt. “The group that financed the mercenaries want to create chaos in the country,” he said. “Attacking the gas reserves and airport might be part of the plan.” Robenson Geffrard, a reporter for Le Nouvelliste, one of the country’s leading newspapers, said a “sense of uncertainty” and the “shadow of violence” was looming over the capital, Port-au-Prince, raising fears that Friday was but a fleeting interlude before the situation spirals out of control again. “In supermarkets and public markets, people are jostling” to stock up on basic goods such as rice and pasta, Mr. Geffrard said, and there are lines at stations selling propane gas, often used for cooking. The country is enmeshed in a constitutional crisis, with a nonfunctioning Parliament and competing claims over leadership. The Caribbean nation’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, says he has taken command of the police and the army. But the president, days before his death, had appointed a new prime minister, Ariel Henry. Mr. Henry told a local newspaper after the assassination that he was the rightful prime minister. The situation has been further complicated by the pandemic. While there are many legal uncertainties, in the past the country’s top justice has been expected to fill any void in the political leadership. But that justice, René Sylvestre, died of Covid-19 in June. Haiti, the only country in the Americas with no active Covid-19 inoculation campaign, has virtually no vaccine doses, and public health experts say that the coronavirus is far more widespread there than publicly reported. With the prospect of greater turmoil looming, international observers worry that a growing humanitarian crisis could lead to the kind of exodus that has previously followed natural disasters, coups and other periods of deep instability. The Pan American Health Organization said in a statement that the crisis was “creating a perfect storm, because the population has lowered its guard, the infrastructure of Covid-19 beds has been reduced, the security situation could deteriorate even further and hurricane season has started.”

I enjoy action flicks. I had low expectations and this film still didn't meet them. It's like they copied all the boring parts of better action movies rather than copy the good parts.

Oh yeah...definitely make outdoor plans for tomorrow

The $50 offer from the AirBnB is probably at a local pharmacy or a mobile van. That's probably the easiest option. We saw some mobile testing vans in PDC. Even though they are on the approved list, it still cracked me up. Guys were standing by the van, yelling at people going to the beach to come get tested. I fully expected them to offer free drinks with a test or something similar.

The Cancun airport has a list of accepted testing labs: https://sedeturqroo.gob.mx/ARCHIVOS/TABLA-1-C19-ING.pdf We were in Playa Del Carmen and went to Amatista on 5th Ave. Took about 5 minutes to take the antigen test and they emailed the results later that night. It was about $20 USD each.

We stayed on North Caicos for a few days. It's much less crowded than Providenciales. It's a great place if you want to get away from everyone, find some deserted beaches and take it easy. It's not a good place if you want lots of choices in restaurants and bars. There are few gas stations, grocery stores, etc.

Lines at AUS were much shorter this morning. Around 20 to 45 mins to get through security

Going to Mexico - easy Coming back to the U.S - gotta do a covid test and some forms. The airlines have to verify the covid test. The lines at the Cancun airport for that verification can be really long. A few weeks ago, we waited 1.75 hours in the JetBlue line to get our test verified. Made our flight with only 15 minutes to spare.

Saw it last night. Pretty good. A question about a plot point:

I did the efile protest and they offered me 5k below the original appraised value. I've done informal protests before and had good results but not sure if it's worth it in this market. Has anyone had luck with informal protests at TCAD this year?

About an hour after reading your post, I was at HEB and saw the Abbot BinaxNow tests. They look the same as the tests that emed is selling. Each box is $20 and includes two tests. I don't know if you have to pay extra for the telehealth session, but HEB has them a lot cheaper than emed https://www.heb.com/product-detail/binaxnow-covid-19-antigen-self-test-kit/5294009

Very quick and easy. Walking from the gate to Customs took 3x longer than going through Customs.

Wow...I thought episode 7 was brutal.

People are reporting that Academy has more ammo in stock after the line people buy their ammo. So more good news

When we went in 2019, there was a similar advisory. The 2019 advisory wasn't as dire - it was more of the "don't walk drunk around bad neighborhoods at night" type of warning. The local paper usually reports all the crime. Looking at it for the last few weeks, it doesn't seem that bad: https://tcweeklynews.com/index148.htm

If you are feeling really lucky, there are $350 to $450 roundtrip from Austin to Tokyo fares until the end of Feb 2022. Japan is not open right now but might be in the fall or winter. https://escapeatx.com/cheap-flights-austin-to-tokyo-333-413-r-t-aug-jan-2022-american-airlines-delta-united-ana/