Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 4:15am, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up 30 minutes later.

I’ve been having some numbness in my left little finger. I’m thinking it’s probably related to the arthritis in my thumb area but it certainly doesn’t make it any easier typing an ‘a’.

I left the apt at 8am for Smartfit. While I was on the treadmill I noticed a Fitness Test button. Daniel is busy manning the front desk today so I’ll ask him about it next week. I was on my last machine when Nebraskja walked by and said “hello”, and …that’s when I realized today is Ash Wednesday.

I stopped at the Pasteur pharmacy and asked the pharmacist if they had my Allergy Relief tablets (Diphenhydramine). He came back with 12.5mg liquid while mine are 25mg tablets so I told him thanks but I’ll order them from the US. I had a latte in Ganso & Castor and viewed an interesting documentary The Don’ts of Visiting Chicago which you can find if you go to WoltersWorld.com and search for Chicago. I left at 10:15 and stopped at the copy center to print my email but I understood it wouldn’t look good because it isn’t formatted. I told her I’d return later with it as a .pdf on my memory drive. I ordered the allergy tablets and they are expected to arrive by Monday (in Florida) so they should arrive her in 2-3 weeks. I’d rather take two every evening (they’re to help me stay asleep) but now I only have enough for one a night for two more weeks. ☹

Teresa called at 11:30 and told me she’s hungry and could we meet sooner. I told her I’d meet her in Crepes & Waffles at noon. I got dressed and took a Didi to Santafe mall arriving 10 minutes early. I stopped at a nearby store and printed our flight confirmation. Everything looks to be in order but I guess there’s no hurry with the next step, reserving a rental car.

I found Teresa with MT second in line to enter Crepes & Waffles. Right after I greeted them, the restaurant opened and we took an inside table. They got salads from the salad bar and I ordered their chicken with cheese & broccoli crepe. We each had a fresh juice and the total came to 110,000 pesos ($26.75).

They wandered through Dollar City but whatever they were looking for I guess they didn’t find it as they left empty handed. We were ready to head back to the apt when Teresa got a call from Laura. She was in El Tesoro and would join us in Santafe mall. Instead of leaving we went down to Valentina’s and had lattes and a shared slice of yogurt cake. Teresa got another call from Laura and we left and returned to Envigado by taxi.

I double checked and my credit card covers travel cancellation & interruption insurance so I don’t need Travel Guard’s flight insurance I purchased yesterday (even though it covers more things). I checked their policy and the first requirement is to be a resident of the US. That might be a technicality, since I am a citizen, but it could give them an out to cancel any claim. I see I have to send them a cancellation request so I called them and a voice message gave me an email address where I can send the request – United@AIG.com. I sent a quick email asking for a cancellation of my policy #984436050 and a full refund. (Later they acknowledged receiving my request and they should respond within 5-7 days.)

I left the apt at 3pm and had a latte in Eduardo Madrid while doing 12 chess puzzles in The Woodpecker Method. My 18 English muffins were ready by 5pm and I paid 45mil and returned to the apt.  I thought they would be in a box like last time but they were in three plastic clamshell containers. Sixteen went into the freezer and the other two in the fridge. In the future I’ll order sixteen and ask if I can bring my own plastic containers. (We don’t need more plastic in our rivers, oceans or air.)

I finished another lesson on ChessMood.com.

Your Honor is back on Netflix an I watched another episode.

 

EL ARROYO

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 5am, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up 20 minutes later.

After working on the computer for half an hour I went back to bed. At 6am I heard the Ara truck arrive but I must have eventually fallen asleep as I was awakened by my 6:30am alarm. (That 20 minutes or so made a big difference in how I feel.)

Traffic must be bad this morning as Didi was recommending something like 23mil (one driver offered 35mil but I declined). I finally got a ride for 22,300 pesos and I arrived just after the doors opened. Upstairs I had to wait a couple minutes for Jose. Today he had the French toast while I ordered 3 scrambled eggs con hogao with Italian sausages (they are small) and a latte (and a bottle of water to go) for 49,822 ($12), tip included.

Jose had already informed me he has to leave at 2pm today.

On the way to the food court, right around the corner from Parmessano, I noticed a new café named Coffee Shop 😊. I like that name, I’ll check it out more closely next time.

I had the Black pieces in the first game and I screwed up my 8^th move and I struggled after that resigning on the 45^th move. It was now 11:30 so if the next game is as long as this one we will finish right at 2pm.

I had the White pieces in the second game and he made some time-wasting moves then on my 17^th move (he didn’t see my threat) and on my 18^th move threatened checkmate and the only way to prevent it was to sacrifice his queen for my knight. (I wonder if I would have found this move last week before I did all the tactic training lessons.) He gave up his queen for my knight but continued playing finally resigning on the 29^th move. It was only 1pm when we said our goodbyes.

I ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado for 18,100 pesos and we encountered a few raindrops on the way.

I went up to the 3^rd floor and had my usual bowl of granola and yogurt with fresh fruit and a small latte for 39,115 ($9.50). Downstairs I had a large latte in Urbania.

Akash040976 lost our game on time – 3 days wasn’t enough for him to make a move? – increasing my rating to 1555.

Teresa called at 3:15 to inform me there was a downpour and I shouldn’t leave. I asked her to call me back when the rain stopped and 20 minutes later she did.

I stopped in Exito and bought a medium size (no large size available today) carton of eggs and two bags of milk and returned to the apt by taxi. (There are security guards at the Exito exit to show your receipt but I just wave it in the air and keep on walking. 😊 )

When I checked Google Flights, I found the lowest price I’ve seen yet so I booked it right away on my credit card. Round trip for 2 through Houston to Chicago June 15^th to July 15^th for $1,508.20 (including taxes and flight cancellation insurance). I hope I didn’t screw that up somehow!

Teresa informed me that MT wants to go with her tomorrow to a yoga class in Santafe mall tomorrowand I’ll meet them for lunch afterward.

 

EL ARROYO

Monday, March 3, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 4:15, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up 45 minutes later.

After working on my computer for a while I went back to bed until Teresa got up about 30 minutes later.

After breakfast (my usual two scrambled eggs and an English muffin with strawberry preserves) I completed a ChessMood lesson before l left for the gym at 8am.

I completed my workout in Smartfit; at one point I had a little twinge in my back, strangely not the lower or upper back but toward the side but it soon went away.

I was having a latte in Ganso y Castor when Michael (the Canadian) stopped by. He told me he was happy because now he physically has his 3 new debit cards. He had a question for me regarding the tourist stamp. He said he went to Immigration last Tuesday and was told something about 32 days + 90 but didn’t really understand. He started to tell me about dates last year when I stopped him. I explained the clock starts over again with the new year. He has 90 days and he can apply for another 90 days but I told him what I don’t know is how many days/weeks in advance he should apply for the 2^nd 90 days, just don’t let the 1^st 90 days expire without having the renewal. He thanked me and left. I left at 10:30 and returned to the apt.

Teresa wants to go to Santafe mall this afternoon after lunch. I told her let’s go early so we can beat the rush hour traffic coming back.

I was reviewing my Next Level Training notes when I came across this quote, “Exercises must fit your current abilities or your time is wasted.” I thought of my struggles with the large book of puzzles and made the decision to switch to my book The Woodpecker Method.

Just before 2pm Teresa decided she didn’t want to go to Santafe mall so I left a few minutes later.

I stopped in Gana and paid the DirecTV bill of 189,900 pesos.

In Eduardo Madrid bakery I has a latte and ordered 18 (should fill 2 layers of the box) English muffins to be picked up Wednesday afternoon.

About 2:45 it started pouring.

By 4:30 the rain had lessened to just dropping so I returned to the apt.

I have been watching the series Your Honor on Netflix but for some reason tonight it wasn’t available, not even if I do a search for it, ☹ so I started watching Zero Day.

 

EL ARROYO

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, finally waking at 5:30 and getting up at 6am.

This month I remembered to backup my hard drive.

I left the apt at 8:30 and listened to Margaritaville three times on my walk to Sao Paulo Plaza. (I almost have the lyrics memorized.) Glenn soon arrived with Bianca. As usual we shared what we’ve been up to and tips for living in Medellin.

Mrpattata03 finally resigned our game increasing my rating to 1552.

Teresa called and informed me that San Peregrino isn’t having their special mass today so she wants to go out for lunch. I suggested El Correo but not until about 2pm and she agreed.

I had 2 lattes and calentao with scrambled eggs. When the check arrived I was surprised they already had the change for my 100mil bill. 😊 Well, that’s efficient.

At 10:45 Glenn left and I made a trip to the restroom. The last stall had a hook for my bag but it’s now only held by one screw so I stuck a plastic hook to the door; we’ll see if it’s still there next time I visit.

I walked back to the apt.

1:45pm and Teresa changed her mind again and asked me to order from Chiclayo. I used previous Whatsapp messages to place an order but they have a new delivery company that only wants money transfers and I want to pay in cash as usual. It took a while but they finally allowed me to pay in cash.

Michael Sito had given me a hard drive loaded with movies and series and tonight I watched the documentary Bobby Fischer Against the World.

We had a little rain in the evening but it didn’t last long.

Teresa told me that after their spat the other night, Laura moved into a hotel. Fine with me.

We had more rain in the evening but it had stopped by the time I went to bed at 10pm.

 

EL ARROYO

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 3:30, finally waking/getting up at 5:45 thanks to a bird singing right outside my window.

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to the mall. There was a line outside Auros and only one worker so I walked a little further to the Bancolombia consignacion ATM where there was no line. I deposited cash in Laura’s account (for Smartfit) and another account for my health insurance. Back at Auros there was only one person in line and now two workers. I got a laminated copy of my new cedula made for 10,600 pesos.

Upstairs in the mall proper I got in a medium long line in my bank to pay the apt rent. Ahead of me was the guy from our building who previously rented our garage space.

I made a withdrawal from a Davivienda ATM and finally got a mix of bills. 😊

Downstairs I had a latte in Urbania. I left at 11am and bought a preferred iMax ticket to Se7en (8.6) for the 3:20pm showtime. I bought a 6-pack of Coke in Exito before returning to the apt by taxi.

I completed a couple more lessons on ChessMood.com.

I heard thunder as I left the apt at 2:15. By the time I got in my Didi the raindrops had begun. At the mall I went up to Cine Colombia and took a seat in their lobby. At 3pm I bought a medium soda to go with my free popcorn and entered the theater. I’ve come to not like this iMax theater because the speakers are too loud so sometimes I have to put my fingers in my ears. When the credits started I wanted to see if Kevin Spacey was listed. I saw Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, but before or after Gwyneth Paltrow a couple walked in front of me to get to their seats. ☹

The movie was great but again I had to cover my ears a couple times with the loud background music. At the end, the credits listed “John Doe: Kevin Spacey” first which is fitting.

Outside I was happy to see no line for a taxi but my driver insisted on putting our complex in his cellphone but by that time we had missed our turn so my trip cost 8,300 pesos instead of the usual 7,400. As they say here, “cada peso cuenta”.

I found out Laura will be here for another week so I told her we need to find some time to talk about Chicago.

While Laura was putting on her makeup, she and Teresa had words, although Teresa did most of the talking. Laura left with a carryon and said she was going to go visit abuela. Teresa then started explaining to me and here’s what I think I understand. 1) Laura (and Vicky) are just using our home as their hotel - a jumping off place where they can sleep and get ready to go out partying, 2) Laura hasn’t spent any significant time with Teresa or abuela, 3) Vicky isn’t going to be using our place as a hotel in August, 4) Laura isn’t welcome to join us in Chicago, it’s our vacation.

I have no problem with those decisions.

 

EL ARROYO

Friday, February 28, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, slept through the night, finally waking/getting up at 5am.

Neither Laura nor Vicky are here this morning so they obviously stayed overnight at someone else’s house.

I left the apt at 8am and completed my workout in Smartfit. I’m beginning to think this hour is best as it’s less crowded so we’ll see if that continues. I was on the treadmill and was feeling it was easier than usual so I thought about how to increase the workout. I definitely don’t want to have more than 12 minutes so I was thinking of trying to set up a program where I would be forced to run for a few seconds every few minutes. Before I got off, I checked the settings and found I was only walking at 5km/minute instead of the usual 6km/minute. 😊

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor and watched a long but interesting video called The Rise and Fall of the Mail Order Giants – a Chicago Stories Documentary. Very interesting, mainly focusing on Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck & Co.

This sure looks like an Elgin watch.

I received a text message from Angie at Inter-Col that my cedula is read for pickup. I’ll probably stop there this afternoon.

Due to that measles outbreak in Texas, I’m rethinking our Houston stopover.

I left at 10am and returned to the apt.

Vicky’s gone, on her way back to Boston; I didn’t even get the opportunity to say goodbye. Teresa explained she’s coming back in August for two days with her 4-5-year-old son, before her Venezuelan boyfriend, also from Boston, joins up with her and they move to a hotel. Oh-kay.

Conclave isn’t playing in Viva Envigado any longer, at least in English, but it’s playing in Oviedo at 3:40pm. So, my plan might be to go to VE at 3:20 to see Se7en and if I can’t get a ticket go to Oviedo. Hmm, don’t know if that timing will work out. I might have to get there early or buy a ticket the day before. We’ll see.

I left the apt at 1:40 in a Didi and the skies were looking pretty dark to the north. It started raining and it was soon pouring. I still had some 30 yards to cover from the street to the Immigration entrance with my small umbrella. As soon as I stepped inside, I was stopped by a security guard with his wand. (At least let me take another step so I’m not out in the rain.) I explained I was there to pick up my cedula and he wanded (is that a word?) me then pointed where to sit. Luckily there were only three others ahead of me. I gave the girl my old cedula, signed her book and she gave me my new cedula and returned the old one. Outside I went around the corner to where I’ve waited for rides before and ordered a Didi for 30mil. After it started “expanding the search radius” I cancelled, switched to InDrive, offered 50mil cash and 2 minutes later a taxi arrived to take me to Eduardo Madrid Panaderia. Traffic was very slow and my driver was very impatient and drove very aggressively (kind of like most taxi drivers). We came to a complete stop at the gas station by Calle la Buena Mesa. It was just after 3pm and I told the driver the high school was 2 blocks away. Ten minutes later he dropped me off at the bakery. The macaws were noisy today and I took this photo.

I had a latte (skipped the usual glass of ice water) and bought a slice of carrot cake for Teresa. I stopped in Ara and picked up a bag of milk, and bags of red and green apples. A woman tried to cut the line to the cashier but I stepped in front of her. I found a hole in my plastic bag so I put everything in my Skechers backpack and returned to the apt.

I lost a game to Troyclough lowering my rating to 1550.

It’s disgraceful what happened in the Oval Office today. I’m embarrassed for America. Get that Trump/Vance clown show out of the White House before they completely destroy America. Do I sound mad? I’m not, I’m incensed!

 

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

BOB BURFORD - PART XIV

The Coward & The Hero: A Day of National Disgrace

My stomach churns. The bile rises. Never in my lifetime have I seen a more shameful, more disgraceful occupant of the White House. A man who has so thoroughly soiled the seat of power that even history recoils. A traitor. A thug. A liar. A cheat. And today, a pathetic, desperate, pantomime dictator, trying to stare down the leader of Ukraine—Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a man who has stood before death, before the smoking ruins of his homeland, and still refuses to bow.

Trump? Trump isn’t fit to lace Zelenskyy’s boots. The bloated relic of a reality show presidency, slathered in an extra layer of high-polished orange shoe polish, face glowing like a jack-o’-lantern stuffed with state secrets. He sat there playing the part of a South American strongman from the ‘50s, puffed up and empty, all bark and bluster, but no spine, no soul. He thought he could roll over a man who has lived in the trenches of war. But Zelenskyy has seen real men die. He has heard the whistle of missiles meant to tear him apart. Trump has never heard anything louder than the sound of his own mouth.

So what did the orange tyrant do? He rattled on about Hunter Biden’s laptop. In the presence of a war hero, he ranted like an unhinged lunatic about a hard drive. Idiot speak. Straightjacket talk. A man devoid of vision, reduced to the same old grievances, same old conspiracy-laced dementia, as if the fate of nations could be debated on the level of a Fox News fever dream.

And then, the jester arrived—J.D. Vance, a third-rate clown who came not to stand for anything, but to clean Trump’s boots with his lips. He sat there, all smug obedience, waiting for his cue, eager to please his master in moments of fitful rage. No dignity. No independence. Just another political parasite feeding off the rot. This was one of the most sickening displays of cowardice in American history.

And across the border, Canada’s Trudeau—so often a punching bag for American conservatives—stood tall, shoulder to shoulder with Zelenskyy, a leader among leaders. He didn’t grovel. He didn’t cower. He didn’t babble like a lunatic about emails or laptops. He stood on the right side of history.

That’s the difference. That’s the stark, gut-wrenching reality.

On one side, men of honour.

On the other, grub worms in suits.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 12:15am, finally waking/getting up at 5:45.

Google Flights, MDE ß> ORD is down to a base price of $1335. Still following.

They still haven’t locked me out of the ChessMood courses. 😊

Ooh, Se7en (8.6) is playing at 3:20 in Cine Colombia’s iMax. I want to see that and also Conclave (7.4).

At 9am I changed my clothes and ordered a Didi. I was surprised my Didi was a taxi, I don’t remember the last time that happened.

I arrived at Dr. Rios (Carrera 43 #29-35, Clinica Opthamology, office 703) 10 minutes before my 9:45am ear appointment.

Another man was ahead of me so I paid the 170mil fee ahead of time. (The receptionist had to go get change for my 200mil, leaving her desk drawer unlocked that later I noticed contained some cash.)

I told the doctor my hearing history and he had me lie down on the table and inserted an instrument into my right ear. I kept expecting him to touch something sensitive but it never happened. He pulled out a piece of wax about the size of a square millimeter. I don’t think he found anything in my left ear. He told me my ears were pretty clean, amazing as I don’t recall ever getting them cleaned professionally before. I don’t think I’ll need them cleaned again for another 79 years.

I ordered a Didi to take me to El Tesoro mall.

I went to Santa Leña

and ordered a latte and a crookie I saw in their display case. When they brought the crookie

I realized what I thought was 2 crookies on top of each other turned out to be one big crookie but I managed to finish it with my latte with no problem. I took out my Kindle and continued reading my book.

I finished reading Lee Child’s Nothing to Lose (Jack Reacher #12) on my Kindle.

Teresa called me at 3pm and told me they were close. Close to Laura finishing? Close to leaving the dentist? Close to arriving at the mall? She asked me to meet them at J&C Delicias. I asked the upstairs or downstairs area but we had a bad connection and got disconnected.

I paid my bill, made a trip to the restroom and checked out the downstairs location. They weren’t there so I headed upstairs and found Teresa with Laura seated in a booth. They had already ordered so I just ordered my usual Penne Carmela. After about half an hour of waiting the waiter came over and I understood they had some kind of a system problem so the orders only now reached the kitchen. We finally left at 4:30 which means we’ll be hitting rush hour traffic.

We were heading toward the taxi area when Teresa chastised me for yelling her name in public. She usually walks 6-10 feet in front of me and often heads off in the wrong direction so I’m just calling her name loud enough for her to hear.

It was only a short wait for a taxi but the driver didn’t seem to know the right way even though he had GPS. It probably didn’t help that Teresa only said, “Envigado” and “La Frontera” and I didn’t feel like correcting her. It seemed we got to 7mil on the meter awful fast but it’s my fault for not checking the meter was set to 4,900 when we got in. When the driver reached La Frontera and started heading down the hill from Ave Poblado and I saw his GPS leading him the wrong way I spoke up and asked him to enter “Urbanizion Palo de Rosa” into his GPS. He turned around and went back up to Ave Poblado and then it was a direct route back to our complex. It cost 25,400 pesos when usually it’s 17-18mil.

Laura and Vicky got massages from Kelly.

I downloaded and tried reading The Orphan Master’s Son but couldn’t get into it.

Laura then Vicky dressed up and headed out around 9pm.

 

EL ARROYO

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 5am, finally getting up for good at 5:30.

Teresa and Vicky were up getting ready to go to a gym class in Mayorca. They ended up changing to a 10am class in Mayorca’s Smartfit.

One of my challenged opponents on Chess.com, Dancatpro from the United Kingdom, has accepted and he has a rating of 1578. Oh, another challenger accepted, Akash040976 from India with a rating of 1476.

I left the apt at 7:45 for Smartfit. I completed my workout without incident. I had a latte in Ganso y Castor until 10am. What did we have before we had leaf blowers?

Answer: Peace and quiet.

When I left, I noticed this new café across the street from Chiclayo.

Incredibly the ChessMood courses are still available. I wonder how long it will be before they realize this and change the programming to prevent it.

I left the apt at 2pm and first printed the first 11 pages of the IRS 1040 instructions then went down to Peccato for a latte. I read the 1040 instructions and if my memory is correct, it looks like I won’t have to file this year. 😊

I left at 3:45 and bought a medium package of eggs in Mercado Madrid before returning to the apt.

I checked the 1010 instructions and it’s close but I won’t have to file this year. Yay!

Other new challengers include Abdybek_narynbaev from Kyrgyzstan rated 1521 and Mrpattata03 rated 1503 from Mexico.

I watched more episodes of Your Honor on Netflix.

 

EL ARROYO

BOB BURFORD - PART XIII

BREAKING: Donald Trump's week ends with a car crash of bad news as polling reveals that 62% of Americans believe that he has not "gone far enough" to reduce prices — as groceries skyrocket and eggs become near impossible to find.

The political "honeymoon" is officially over...

According to CNN polling conducted by SRSS at the end of Trump’s fourth week in office, only a measly 27% of respondents believe that Trump has "been about right" in his approach. 

Given the fact that roughly a third of this country will approve of just about anything that their MAGA cult leader does no matter what, these holdouts are not surprising.

Bizarrely, 11% of respondents said that Trump has gone "too far" in his efforts to bring down prices despite the fact that he has done next to nothing. We would challenge them to name even a single thing he has done.

In fact, Trump's ignorant fixation on tariffs and threatening trade wars with our closest allies has thrown the entire economy into chaos, moving us decidedly in the wrong direction.

Perhaps most surprisingly, 47% of Republicans agree with the 73% of Democrats who say that Trump has not gone far enough to wrestle prices down. 65% of Independents say the same.

Americans are waking up. Voters were conned into supporting the worst president in history for a second term because he promised to bring down prices. Instead, costs are higher than ever and our government is falling apart.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 4:30 (which is the worst time to try to get back to sleep as the birds are out singing), finally getting up at 5:30.

(Obviously Laura forgot to bring the pink allergy pills I asked for that help me stay asleep during the night.)

The countdown for free ChessMood courses is at 7 hours so I only have something like an hour left before I leave for Unicentro.

At 6am Vicky & Teresa headed out to Smartfit for an exercise class while Laura stayed in bed.

At 7:15 I started the process of ordering a Didi. Traffic was heavy but I still arrived in Unicentro just as the doors were opening. I headed upstairs to Parmessano and Jose joined me 10 minutes later.

He had scrambled eggs with sausages and a double Americano and I the French toast with a latte. I asked Jose if he had a recommendation for an ATM that would give me a mix of bills. He told me he just withdrew 4 million in mixed bills from Davivienda but he wanted all 100s. I told him I would try that ATM when we leave the restaurant. I told him about filing my US federal taxes but not owing anything and just having to pay the tax accountant. He didn’t seem to think I should have to file so I’m going to print the 1040 instructions and we’ll see what they say.

My breakfast bill came to about 40mil ($10).

While Jose made a trip to the restroom I went downstairs and both Davivienda ATMs said, “retira su tarjeta” but my card wasn’t inside. I stopped at a Servibanca ATM and it said, “afuera servicio” so I got nothing.

Back upstairs in the food court I had the Black pieces and Jose got the early advantage and I lost on time on the 33^rd move (I was definitely losing anyway). It was only 11:30 as we started the 2^nd game. I got an early advantage (up a pawn and he couldn’t castle) but I couldn’t put him away and lost in the endgame on the 71^st move.

I made a trip to the restroom and sitting in the stall I heard a ringtone in the next stall and it was Colombia’s National Anthem. (I thought maybe it was 6pm. 😊)

It was 2:15 as I withdrew 2,000,000 pesos (all 100s). I went upstairs to find Jose but he wasn’t outside Frisby as expected. I went outside and got in my Didi and he took me to Viva Envigado.

I had a late lunch in Sarku’s, chicken teriyaki and a Pepsi for 33,400 pesos ($8).

I went downstairs and had a latte in Urbania. Someone on Facebook posted that Immigration has hundreds of new cedulas so I texted Angie asking if mine was available.  I left at 4:30, bought a few things in Exito and returned to the apt by taxi. I ran into the ladies in the garage as they were returning from El Tesoro.

At 7:45 a downpour started as the girls were getting ready to go to Mamba Negra.

Chess.com keeps sending me Recommended Matches so I’ve started accepting all of them but nary an opponent has accepted and started one.

The ladies left at 8pm in a downpour.

 

EL ARROYO

Monday, February 24, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5:30, finally waking/getting up at 7:45.

The girls are gone, Teresa said they went to a doctor’s appointment, probably in El Tesoro since last night they were talking about going to a Smartfit class afterward.

At 9am I left for Smartfit and found it quite busy today, maybe because I’m a little later than usual? I added an additional 5# to the Butterfly, Leg Extension, Leg Curl, and Abdominal Crunch and I lowered the weight on the Back Extension from 80# to 70#.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for an hour before returning to the apt.

I’m concentrating on ChessMood tactics today since this is the last 48 hours of their free 7^th anniversary special and this is their “special” offer after this:

Lol.

We had a downpour in the afternoon. I went out on the balcony to check it out and a large pigeon landed at the end of the railing; I thought it probably wanted to get out of the rain. I stood there and he checked me out and warily walked so close he was just over a foot away. I don’t know if he was looking at his reflection in the sliding glass door or what. When I called Teresa over it flew away.

The ladies left at 7:45 to meet MT in Viva Envigado so I just had a bowl of cereal and continued with my Chessmood tactics.

They returned at 9pm.

 

EL ARROYO

BOB BURFORD - PART XII

Elon Musk attacked democracy defender and superstar court lawyer Marc Elias as “undermining civilization,” taunting him by asking if he suffered “generational trauma.”

Elias’s response was brilliant and worth amplifying:

Mr. Musk,

You recently criticized me and another prominent lawyer fighting for the rule of law and democracy in the United States. I am used to being attacked for my work, particularly on the platform you own and dominate.

I used to be a regular on Twitter, where I amassed over 900,000 followers — all organic except for the right-wing bots who seemed to grow in number. Like many others, I stopped regularly posting on the site because, under your stewardship, it became a hellscape of hate and misinformation.

I also used to buy your cars — first a Model X and then a Model S — back when you spoke optimistically about solving the climate crisis. My family no longer owns any of your cars and never will.

But this is not the reason I am writing. You don’t know me. You have no idea whether I have suffered trauma and if I have, how it has manifested. And it’s none of your business.

However, I will address your last point about generational trauma. I am Jewish, though many on your site simply call me “a jew.” Honestly, it’s often worse than that, but I’m sure you get the point. There was a time when Twitter would remove antisemitic posts, but under your leadership, tolerating the world’s oldest hatred now seems to be a permissible part of your “free speech” agenda.

Like many Jewish families, mine came to America because of trauma. They were fleeing persecution in the Pale of Settlement — the only area in the Russian Empire where Jews were legally allowed to reside. Even there, life was difficult — often traumatic. My family, like others, lived in a shtetl and was poor. Worse, pogroms were common — violent riots in which Jews were beaten, killed and expelled from their villages.

By the time my family fled, life in the Pale had become all but impossible for Jews. Tsar Nicholas II’s government spread anti-Jewish propaganda that encouraged Russians to attack and steal from Jews in their communities. My great-grandfather was fortunate to leave when he did. Those who stayed faced even worse circumstances when Hitler’s army later invaded.

That is the generational trauma I carry. The trauma of being treated as “other” by countrymen you once thought were your friends. The trauma of being scapegoated by authoritarian leaders. The trauma of fleeing while millions of others were systematically murdered. The trauma of watching powerful men treat it all as a joke — or worse.

As an immigrant yourself, you can no doubt sympathize with what it means to leave behind your country, extended family, friends and neighbors to come to the United States. Of course, you probably had more than 86 rubles in your pocket. You probably didn’t ride for nine days in the bottom of a ship or have your surname changed by immigration officials. Here is the ship manifest showing that my family did. Aron, age three, was my grandfather.

[see image in comments]

As new immigrants, life wasn’t easy. My family lived in cramped housing without hot water. They worked menial jobs — the kind immigrants still perform today. 

Some may look down on those immigrants — the ones without fancy degrees — but my family was proud to work and grateful that the United States took them in. They found support within their Jewish community and a political home in the Democratic Party.

I became a lawyer to give back to the country that gave my family a chance. I specialize in representing Democratic campaigns because I believe in the party. I litigate voting rights cases because the right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy. I speak out about free and fair elections because they are under threat.

Now let me address the real crux of your post.

You are very rich and very powerful. You have thrown in with Donald Trump. Whether it is because you think you can control him or because you share his authoritarian vision, I do not know. I do not care.

Together, you and he are dismantling our government, undermining the rule of law and harming the most vulnerable in our society. I am just a lawyer. I do not have your wealth or your platform. I do not control the vast power of the federal government, nor do I have millions of adherents at my disposal to harass and intimidate my opponents. I may even carry generational trauma.

But you need to know this about me. I am the great-grandson of a man who led his family out of the shtetl to a strange land in search of a better life. I am the grandson of the three-year-old boy on that journey. As you know, my English name is Marc, but my Hebrew name is Elhanan (אֶלְחָנָן) — after the great warrior in David’s army who slew a powerful giant.

I will use every tool at my disposal to protect this country from Trump. I will litigate to defend voting rights until there are no cases left to bring. I will speak out against authoritarianism until my last breath.

I will not back down. I will not bow or scrape. I will never obey.

Defiantly,

Marc Elias