Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[Rebecca Ore]

8 hours ago, StokeCreative said:

I've taken students (from uk) many times to NYC and the hotel/street address has always been fine for the ESTA.

 

More worrying for me is if you've been to Cuba (even as a UK citizen) there is still an issue with entry to the States on ESTA. I need to do more research because we are planning a US road trip and supposedly immigration can turn you away at the gate if you don't have a full visa and have been to Cuba.

 

The Cubans will happily stamp a piece of paper separate from your passport.   I've heard that one gringo got argumentative with the passport control guy who then stamped the guy's passport, not the piece of paper.  

 

I've heard that the pieces of paper have Mickey Mouse printed on it.   If true, the Cubans have more sense of humor than the US does. 

 

I think cutting down on tourism is nuts and will get the US more migrants because local jobs evaporated.   Cuba, from a friend's report of her visit there,  was more open during the Obama era than it was earlier.   People were discussing politics other than those still afraid that the bad times weren't over.   She said the kids had a great hustle of asking people to buy milk for them (government does take care of children and there is milk for them) at private stores.   The kids would return the milk to the stores for a cut of the scam, and the store would resell the milk several times.

 

Just asking at the US consulate might get you a straight answer.   Lots of times, things get exaggerated in the telling. 

 

Israel and/or Palestine also do the separate piece of paper for people who will also be visiting both (my California sister and her husband visited Jordan, Palestine, and Israel a few years ago). 

[StokeCreative]

1 hour ago, Rebecca Ore said:

 

The Cubans will happily stamp a piece of paper separate from your passport.   I've heard that one gringo got argumentative with the passport control guy who then stamped the guy's passport, not the piece of paper.  

 

I've heard that the pieces of paper have Mickey Mouse printed on it.   If true, the Cubans have more sense of humor than the US does. 

 

I think cutting down on tourism is nuts and will get the US more migrants because local jobs evaporated.   Cuba, from a friend's report of her visit there,  was more open during the Obama era than it was earlier.   People were discussing politics other than those still afraid that the bad times weren't over.   She said the kids had a great hustle of asking people to buy milk for them (government does take care of children and there is milk for them) at private stores.   The kids would return the milk to the stores for a cut of the scam, and the store would resell the milk several times.

 

Just asking at the US consulate might get you a straight answer.   Lots of times, things get exaggerated in the telling. 

 

Israel and/or Palestine also do the separate piece of paper for people who will also be visiting both (my California sister and her husband visited Jordan, Palestine, and Israel a few years ago). 

 

According to the BBC the USA (still) classes Cuba as a "state sponsor of terrorism", as with Syria etc. I actually went to the USA in March 2019 right before COVID and they didn't stop me then. Perhaps this administration will get around to changing the rule soon. I have a new passport that doesn't have a Cuba  stamp in it, but it depends how good their ESTA system actually is in logging previous journeys, or flags it up at immigration!

[Bryan]

The tree stump saga continues. The threat of rain dissuaded me from hiring a reciprocating saw, but success was eventually achieved using hand tools. It's too heavy to lift, I need to cut it up in situ, but first I need a lie down !

 

[Mr Standfast]

8 minutes ago, Bryan said:

The tree stump saga continues. The threat of rain dissuaded me from hiring a reciprocating saw, but success was eventually achieved using hand tools. It's too heavy to lift, I need to cut it up in situ, but first I need a lie down !

 

👍

[Marianne]

On 09/01/2023 at 16:20, Betty LaRue said:

While vacationing in our conversion van and trying to enter Canada, we were hassled big time. Pulled over & had to unpack every.single.item. When one is on the road for 3 weeks in a large van, there is a lot of stuff and it was packed very carefully over several hours. It wasn’t so easy getting it back in. Then our apples were confiscated. Then our driftwood was confiscated. That was promised to be returned to us on the way out, but when we asked for it, it was GONE. We only planned to be there with a ferry trip to Vancouver Island, one day.

We vowed to never go again. Now the people? The campground we stayed in…very friendly people who gave our dead battery a jump start. The waiters at a restaurant were great.

Border guards…not so much.

 

We have a ton of firewood from a huge fallen oak tree from years past, now nicely seasoned. Connecticut law says we can't transport it to our summer house from NY to use in our outdoor wood-burning stove. We live about 6 miles from the Connecticut border. Invasive species are a huge issue, so no surprises re: the wood and apples. 

 

Worst border guards ever, Russians when landing in St. Petersburg by cruise ship from Stockholm. They let Europeans from all over through quickly, but corralled a group of 14 Americans, holding our passports for over an hour of our 6-hour stopover with no explanation, despite our having paid dearly for a Russian government-approved tour guide to insure we didn't overstay our welcome (as if) or, perhaps, wander off to some unapproved spot.  

 

I had no idea Brits needed a Visa to visit the US. Other than Russia, I've never needed a Visa (or the alternate approved tour guide) to visit anywhere in Europe and I've been all over Western and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia on 6 trips between 1974 and 2011. Is that required for other European countries as well? 

 

I remember when you could cross the border freely between the US and Canada or Mexico showing only your driver's license (or your parents' for that matter). Post 9/11 things have gotten so much more complicated and I'm assuming Covid has complicated things further, though the farthest afield I've been in the past 3 years is Ohio and my passport has expired. I do recall that flying into Mexico even in the 1980's we had to have passports, though driving, it wasn't required. On a one-week trip to Cancun, a friend's passport was due to expire two weeks later and when we arrived she was questioned at length but politely and when my friends and I reassured them that all four of us had a return flight a week later, it was fine. 

[Marianne]

I got lost in the travel sagas and forgot I'd come here to post a good thing!

 

Found a photo of mine in a Google book search that is exclusive to Alamy. The book was published this past summer, so I sent Alamy infringements a note and got the best return email to date:

 

"Hi Marianne

Great spot for this, I'll get it invoiced this month at the Infringement rate, you'll see it in your Statement of Account by the 31st.

Many thanks..."

 

There were several other Alamy pix as well. Will post in the "Have you found..." thread when I have some time. And I'll let you know the infringement amount when it shows up. 

 

And, Congrats Gen!

 

Good work Bryan! Yard work can be exhausting, but rewarding as well. 

[spacecadet]

12 hours ago, Marianne said:

I had no idea Brits needed a Visa to visit the US. Other than Russia, I've never needed a Visa (or the alternate approved tour guide) to visit anywhere in Europe and I've been all over Western and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia on 6 trips between 1974 and 2011. Is that required for other European countries as well? 

Technically not a visa but an ESTA. There's been a visa waiver since the 90s.

You'll need the EU equivalent- ETIAS- from November.

[NYCat]

 

 

Well, somewhat bad but mostly good. I had my dental cleaning today with the amazingly thorough Carol. I love her but she is sooo careful to get every tooth polished. I will need a crown replaced so that is not good for my budget, but I had a fun conversation with my tiny Russian dentist. She must be married to a man named Rodrigues because the name doesn't suit her accent. I mentioned that I had my first dental implant done by Dr. Matthew Hashimoto and she knows him well. She said he has the most amazingly talented hands for dentistal work and I knew he is also a talented singer. He won amateur night at the Apollo in 2012...That is a great honor. Now I keep looking for more on YouTube. He is wonderful.

 

 

Paulette

Edited January 13, 2023 by NYCat

[Marianne]

10 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Technically not a visa but an ESTA. There's been a visa waiver since the 90s.

You'll need the EU equivalent- ETIAS- from November.

 

Good to know. 

I didn't realize you needed a visa to visit here before the 90's. I flew to the UK in 1974 directly from the US and then entered via the ferry from Calais in 1980, and didn't need a visa or other clearance either time. Surprised. I need to get an enhanced license (or a new passport) to fly in the US now too. But not planning a flight anytime soon. If not for Covid, I'd be in Florida or Puerto Rico right now avoiding the cold weather and visiting friends, not to mention shooting beautiful landscapes. Missing the pre-Covid world. 

[spacecadet]

13 hours ago, Marianne said:

 

Good to know. 

I didn't realize you needed a visa to visit here before the 90's. I flew to the UK in 1974 directly from the US and then entered via the ferry from Calais in 1980, and didn't need a visa or other clearance either time. Surprised. I need to get an enhanced license (or a new passport) to fly in the US now too. But not planning a flight anytime soon. If not for Covid, I'd be in Florida or Puerto Rico right now avoiding the cold weather and visiting friends, not to mention shooting beautiful landscapes. Missing the pre-Covid world. 

Yes I still have my B1-B2 visa in my 1987 passport. It required a personal visit to the US embassy in London (though a relative could do it- my uncle did). It's valid indefinitely but of course renderd otiose by the visa waiver, although I used it three or four more times. In 1992, the rest of the family entered on a waiver but I still presented my visa, and was rewarded with a shorter permission to enter for some reason.

AFAICS you can enter the UK on a US passport without further formalities. Of course if the UK had stayed in the EU the ETIAS would have applied here too, but there don't appear to be any plans for a similar scheme.

I don't know you still had internal travel restrictions.

[Jansos]

The sun shone and the sky was mostly blue! (two days running now - things always seem a bit better when the sun is out.)

[Cal]

On 13/01/2023 at 21:21, Marianne said:

If not for Covid, I'd be in Florida or Puerto Rico right now avoiding the cold weather and visiting friends, not to mention shooting beautiful landscapes. Missing the pre-Covid world. 

 

What policies are in place that prevents this happening, or is it personal choice?

[Michael Ventura]

4 minutes ago, Cal said:

 

What policies are in place that prevents this happening, or is it personal choice?

 

Must be a personal choice, no policies that I can think of.  I have several friends and a brother who are all in various parts of Florida for the winter.  It is a maskless society there, except for maybe medical facilities, so maybe that is what Marianne is referring to.  If you are immune compromised, it could be a tougher place to be.

[Cecile Marion]

Spot on, Michael. I live in the northern part of Florida and, though Covid rates here have continued to climb recently, there are no statewide restrictions on travel, masks, etc (though there are some federal controls on US entry from other countries). Even my local medical center no longer requires the wearing of masks, which surprises me. People who wear them tend to be older, possibly immune compromised, or work in the service industry where they come into daily contact with a lot of people.
 

Weather-wise, in comparison to much of the rest of the US, it’s a perfect time to be in Florida. Though we’ve had below freezing temps the last couple of nights, it has warmed up nicely during the day. Right now I’m looking out at a clear bright blue sky and the temperature is 51F. 

[Marianne]

On 15/01/2023 at 12:21, Cal said:

 

What policies are in place that prevents this happening, or is it personal choice?

 

On 15/01/2023 at 12:30, Michael Ventura said:

 

Must be a personal choice, no policies that I can think of.  I have several friends and a brother who are all in various parts of Florida for the winter.  It is a maskless society there, except for maybe medical facilities, so maybe that is what Marianne is referring to.  If you are immune compromised, it could be a tougher place to be.

 

Health choice. I am immune compromised, and had a severe autoimmune reaction to the Covid vaccine back in April 2021, from which I still haven't fully recovered. 3 specialists and my GP say it's too dangerous to get a booster and have advised me to avoid maskless crowds in an airport, so, based on expert advice, it's a frustrating personal choice. I've done some traveling by car with my husband, but were I to drive down to Florida, his work schedule would mean a 22+ hour drive on my own, not feasible given how bad my arthritis has been since the vaccine. I've taken some risks, but trying to keep them reasonable. 

 

Sunny but cold here the past two days, so some nice short walks (about a mile or so), by the Hudson River. So, that's a good thing! 

 

And, a nice long weekend gave us time to play some of the many board games we go for Christmas. Our daughter introduced us to games such as Seven Wonders back when she was in college, and we've been building up a nice collection since then, including the two-person version Seven Wonders Duet. One new one, Odin's Ravens. was missing a couple of cards and they just arrived via air mail from Oxford, UK on Saturday. 

 

Are any of you into the new Euro-type board games? We enjoy the strategy and competition. 

[Harry Harrison]

Discovered that my Fuji X-T2 had a built-in intervalometer function. This means that even though my wife is away I should still be able to take my own passport photos. I imagine it will take me some time to get a decent one though, do I have a memory card big enough?

[gvallee]

Yeah! After 2 months I am finally reunited with my laptop. It was sent away to Perth (several thousand kms away). In turn, a new motherboard was ordered from Europe, which took 2 months. All under warranty, so apart from the freight to Perth, no cost. I can now enthusiastically resume my uploads to Alamy. LOL!

 

Just as well as the monsoon has started in earnest. The rain and black clouds over the tropical range are spectacular. A steaming sauna, which I don't mind. Mandatory fans on full blast to avoid mould in the house.

 

[Bryan]

I've finally come across a heating engineer who understands the wiring of our CH system. For the first time in 30+ years I can set a demand for space heating without also asking for hot water. Our system has always performed erratically, you wondered if it would come on in the morning, or continue to supply heat in the evening - most of the time it did, so a tricky intermittent fault.   I wonder how many houses have their systems incorrectly wired?   Fingers crossed ours is finally sorted - until they make us replace the boiler with a heat pump that is.

[Allan Bell]

1 hour ago, Bryan said:

I've finally come across a heating engineer who understands the wiring of our CH system. For the first time in 30+ years I can set a demand for space heating without also asking for hot water. Our system has always performed erratically, you wondered if it would come on in the morning, or continue to supply heat in the evening - most of the time it did, so a tricky intermittent fault.   I wonder how many houses have their systems incorrectly wired?   Fingers crossed ours is finally sorted - until they make us replace the boiler with a heat pump that is.

 

Nice to see you posting something positive Bryan.😃

 

Allan

 

[Betty LaRue]

On 17/01/2023 at 01:30, Harry Harrison said:

Discovered that my Fuji X-T2 had a built-in intervalometer function. This means that even though my wife is away I should still be able to take my own passport photos. I imagine it will take me some time to get a decent one though, do I have a memory card big enough?

When I take my own, I look at them in shock, then I delete them. Surely, that’s not how I really look.

[Harry Harrison]

11 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

When I take my own, I look at them in shock, then I delete them. Surely, that’s not how I really look.

Slow progress, at least I've got the flash stuff down from the loft, how much retouching are you allowed to do I wonder? No pictures on Alamy of 'Man takes his own passport picture' though....

[NYCat]

You mean it's not a requirement to look ghastly in your passport photo???? I thought it must be.

 

Paulette

[spacecadet]

4 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

Slow progress, at least I've got the flash stuff down from the loft, how much retouching are you allowed to do I wonder? No pictures on Alamy of 'Man takes his own passport picture' though....

No retouching, but considering you can use a smartphone, and the online application process checks the technical aspects, and even does the cropping automatically, while you wait, there's not much reason to do the usual studio job anymore. Even I used window light (and high ISO) last time. But I did use a white background (slide screen).

You can even submit a selfie as long as it satisfies the requirements.

[Martin L]

Harry.

I took passport photos for my in laws .

It seems they want a nice even exposure across the face with no shadows.

I tried with a flash but it wasn't diffuse enough and it failed their checks.

In the end I just had them against a white wall, directly facing a window and they went through ok.

 

Edit: oops, what Mark said as well, didn't read his reply till just now

 

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Martin L

[spacecadet]

Turns out I used windowlight in 2007 as well, but with a pre-DSLR long exposure as the camera was only useable at 100 and there was no easy way to sync it with studio flash. It only went to 400 but oh, the noise. At 6MP.

I'm sure I've used the big softbox for visa pix, though. Well you would if you could.