when not traveling

two thoughts:

1)  news has more meaning when you travel throughout the world...i wasn't surprised to read an article entitled "u.a.e. hires u.s.-led mercenaries"....having just returned from the gulf states and spending three nights in dubai, i understood why the crown prince of abu dhabi hired erik prince and reflex responses (formerly blackwater) to protect his emirate from protests and demonstrations...i don't see the emiratis as being tough enough to fight for their form of government...i see a society where the worker bees are from around the world, geeks with degrees who run the banks, the businesses, and the tech companies...these workers (i like to call them the coffeehouse culture) are here to make money in a fairly safe environment, and any hint of danger like violent protest will scatter them to corners of the world eager to take business away from u.a.e...i see a high percentage of immigrants from the philippines, from the indian subcontinent doing the grunt work, again here to make money to send home, possible sources of unrest as seen in oman, but for the time being, working under fairly good standards...and i see an elite living off the emirs, snapping their fingers in the airport, demanding immediate attention to their needs...so how do you assure stability to continue the lifestyle that the emiratis have become accustomed to...the emiratis are willing to pay for an army to keep the emirs in their "thrones" and d.c. seems willing to turn an eye to this...

2) a fun visit i like to make when i'm walking downtown is a visit to the coin and stamp shop and look at stamps and coins/currencies from countries around the world...i have been going to a christmas gathering for the last ten years hosted by some former students...five years ago they started giving door prizes starting with a letter from the alphabets, starting, of course, with a...so, being the teacher that i am, i bought a stamp from abyssinia (google that, winner of my door prize)...today i went in looking for a big bill from an african country (to be told it was zimbabwe)...in 1998, i took a cruise of the aegean sea...in istanbul, i used the atm machine...i didn't know the exchange rate so i hit an amount i hoped was minimal...after all, the exchange rate was like 500,000 turkish lira to the dollar or something obscene like that...i became an instant millionaire...later, when we were in the balkans (in 2008), where they suffered hyperinflation, i bought several bills that made me a billionaire...well, today i joined the rank of the super-rich...i bought me a hundred trillion dollar bill (i'm sorry...that's not usa dollars, but zimbabwe dollars)...and i hear with a smile and this bill you can buy a cup of coffee at starbucks...only don't order the venti...

yep, traveling adds another dimension to your readings, your walkabouts, and your televison watching...and i love the latter...