September 20 2020, 23:45

This is what the Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia looks like, along with our state flag (with a blue background). We have grown accustomed to it (since 1776), but it may be a novelty for you.

The woman is on top, Amazon-style, the king is defeated, tyrant-style. This signifies liberation from the oppression of monarchical Britain and the birth of a new free republic. In the tyrant’s hands is a chain, symbolically representing the shattered shackles of English colonial trade and Western expansion, and in his right hand is a useless whip, symbolizing the so-called “Intolerable Acts” of the metropolis.

The Latin inscription, “Sic Semper Tyrannis”, translates as “Thus always [happens] to tyrants”. It is attributed to Brutus during the assassination of Julius Caesar.

It somewhat reminds of Saint George the Victorious, except the figure is a lady in revealing attire, and instead of a dragon, there’s a king.

September 19 2020, 18:40

It’s interesting how marketing on Amazon works. Bought a manual coffee grinder and found a little note inside: “leave a review and we’ll send you another one.” They did send it. Bought a Bluetooth headset a couple of weeks ago, and it was the same deal. Now I have two Bluetooth headsets. Each can be connected to two devices, so now I can listen to four devices at the same time! Two with my left ear and two with my right.

September 17 2020, 15:42

In Istanbul, an interesting trick is widely used: “sorry, your card didn’t go through. Maybe cash?”

Checking into the hotel. Will you pay right away? Okay, let’s. Oh, the card didn’t go through. Alright, I say, then I’ll pay later. I go into the city. Starbucks Reserve. It’s like the coolest Starbucks “in the neighborhood”. Oh, sorry, it didn’t go through. I give another one. “That one didn’t go through either”. I say, I’m patient, I have five more, and now I’ll call my wife, she has.. Hooray, finally, it didn’t go through, they say. We enter a restaurant to eat. We ate. They bring the bill. I hand over the card. It didn’t go through! I give another one. It didn’t go through! I say, no problem, I have five.. A girl comes by: “we have another terminal, maybe this one will work?”. It worked. I return to the hotel. I want, I say, to pay today so I don’t have to worry tomorrow. We tried the same cards, six declines in a row. I say, no problem, now we’ll contact booking, I’ll argue with them, and they will allow me to pay through the personal account. I say, theoretically it might affect the hotel rating, so maybe you can find some terminal that, by chance, will work? They looked – one worked.

The hotel receipt said “Error 14. The number does not belong to a credit card / The card number is incorrect.” (translated from Turkish).

In the cafe — “Error 12. Rejection. Invalid Transaction. Undefined transaction authorization”.

Obviously why. In this country, with the pandemic, small businesses survive however they can, and cash is a classic way to avoid taxes and bank commissions. It has always been like this, I just didn’t notice this particular tactic in my previous three visits.

P.S. By the way, in Istanbul nearly 100% of people on the street — in masks. Here the police fine you for not wearing a mask, the fine — about 9,000 rubles (900 lira).