Construction Below

The construction continues beneath my apartment. I hate to complain about noises, but I work from home. At least I try to stick to the home office to write one half of the world's longest screenplay. So perhaps I have the right to complain out loud. And the noises start at 7 am!

It's really muffled banging noises, either the occasional hammering or sound of large men moving heavy objects. The drilling has stopped for the most part, although there was another incident not too many weeks back when I thought that I would need to steady all of the dishes and glasses with my hands lest they bounce to the floor.

All this for a clothing shop frequented by the noisiest demographic in existence. No problem, we'll wait and see what happens to the noise levels when Urban Outfitters finally opens.

At the Hotel, Don't Touch that Drinking Glass

A recent television report exposed the common practices of the hotel staff, which should make your stomach turn. If you haven't already seen this video, which is doing the email rounds at the moment, you can check out the video here.

It's not just that the drinking glasses aren't being cleaned with soap and water, it is also quite disturbing that they maids have found other unusual ways of giving these glasses that clean look— from a good wipe down with your used washcloth to a few squirts with a toxic blue chemical probably used for toilet cleaning.

This is too disturbing to think about, but good to know that it isn't just the door handle or remote control that holds all of the serious germs. I guess it's time to drink the old fashioned way: directly out of that mini bottle of gin or cola or tonic. Or you could take a swig out of one followed by the other so that the cocktail is actually created in your mouth.

It reminds me of other reports on the quality of drinking water on airplanes. Remember that story?

Iran and Watersports

It was not even a year ago when a British military vessel somehow "wandered" into Iranian waters. They were boarded and 15 serviceman and women were taken prisoner by the Iranians for 12 days. Read more here.

Apparently, the U.S. Navy had some excitement of its own on Sunday when three of its ships nearly entered into a skirmish with Iranian Revolutionary Guard fast boats in the same region. This news article reports that the Iranian ships radioed the message: "You are going to blow up within minutes." They moved in and out of formation— and I have no idea what kind of shape that looks like— but it must have been pretty menacing since our guys went on the defensive. However no one was hurt in the incident.

I suppose that the Persian Gulf's Strait of Hormuz, should not on anyone's top five luxury cruise routes.

A Song "Chinese Food On Christmas"

There was a time before I knew my handsome Scotsman and before I started to partake in the traditional Christmas feast every year. During that time, I didn't decorate or celebrate or eat roast turkey. My family had other traditions. You see, like the song says, life without Christmas isn't so bad as long as Chinese restaurants and movie theaters stay open on Christmas day.

My sister sent this link to me the other day. He sure gets the lyrics right.

Black Mambas and Spitting Cobras

It was in 1997 when my grandmother and I were traveling with a group on the Botswana/Zimbabwe border. This was before Mugabe entered the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, before he confiscated land from the whites, and before the country became of land of "political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse" according to the CIA World Factbook as well as most publications.

Despite the occasional highway check points with machine-gun wielding soldiers, I knew that Zimbabwe was one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I was sure that my adventurous grandma agreed. Then our guide started telling stories. Politics aside, he was beginning to convince us that Africa had to be the scariest places to live or travel, especially if you have a fear of snakes.

Of all the dangers, he focused on one in particular: the Black Mamba. It was the most dangerous snake in the region, he told us. It is the longest snake in Africa and can reach a length of 14 feet. The snake can lift one third of its body from the ground and blend in with surrounding tall grasses but once it gets a whiff of potential prey, it can move up to 20 mph toward it. It one of the fastest snakes in the world.

(Grabbed off of Wikipedia.)

Our guide described the time he was riding his horse on a blissful sunny day when suddenly, the infamous snake attacked. It stood up as tall as the animal's neck and injected its venom more than 50 times before it gave up and slithered away. The horse dropped to the ground and died within seconds. The guide watched us react with some amusement. Some of our fellow travelers refused to believe the story but most of us started to search near and far for any unusual movement. We were certain we were being watched by one of these reptilian beasts.

Although we were excited to be in the midst of real wilderness, both my grandmother and I were relieved to get back to the hotel.

News: Largest Spitting Cobra

Have you heard of the newly named species of cobra, the largest in the world? The naja ashei was once a member of the black-necked spitting cobra species but it was recently confirmed to be a wholly new species of cobra. It is native to Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia so one can suppose that some locals already knew about the creature before the scientists gave it a brand new name and place in the taxonomy.

However, scientists aren't exactly wasting time when they study and reclassify species. According to National Geographic News, this species actually delivers twice the venom than previously thought—enough for 20 people in one bite. This will affect the dosage of antivenin administered to bite victims.

Yes, snakes are scary but they are part of our natural ecosystem. Unlike some urban-dwelling insects, which I truly believe in destroying, I believe that the snake has an important place in
the world, as long as it isn't in anyone's back garden. If the snake stories are too much to bear, scroll down and look for the previous entry on the adorable kitten. Yes, put your mind at ease with thoughts of kittens...

For more information on the largest spitting cobra, visit:
Physorg.com
and
National Geographic News