“My Unorthodox Life”

“My Unorthodox Life” on Netflix based on reality. Netflix’s ‘Unorthodox’ went to remarkable lengths to get Hasidic Jewish customs right. Wow! This is really interesting as I am Jewish. The difference between this lady and me is that we were reform Jews who rarely lit Friday night candles and only went went to a synagogue on high holidays. Even my grand parents from Europe weren’t all that religious.

The story about the woman depicted in this Netflix movie is explained in an article in the Los Angeles Times.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-07-14/netflix-my-unorthodox-life-julia-haarthttps://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-07-14/netflix-my-unorthodox-life-julia-haart
A woman in a scarlet blazer and white platform heels steps out of a luxury car

L is for Liter

There are only three countries in the world that use the English system of weights and measures. It was called the British Imperial System.  

Most common are the weight in the pound divided into 16 ounces (oz) and the ounce into 16 drams.

The basic unit of length is the yard (yd); fractions of the yard are the inch (1/36 yd) and the foot (1/3 yd), and commonly used multiples are the rod (5 1⁄2 yd), the furlong (220 yd), and the mile (1,760 yd). The acre, equal to 4,840 square yards or 160 square rods, is used for measuring land area. For liquid measure, or liquid capacity, the basic unit is the gallon, which is divided into 4 quarts, 8 pints, or 32 gills.

The three countries still on the English system – the U.S., Liberia and Myanmar – still (mostly or officially) stick to the imperial system.

The rest of the world has adopted the metric system and there is a reason.  It functions like the decimal system much like the United States dollar.  Ten pennies equal a dime.  Ten dimes equals a dollar.

We just bought a new trash can that came in a box marked “10 L.”  Further examination I determined it has a 10 liter capacity.  We also buy 2 liter bottles of soda (pop).

The biggest reasons the U.S. hasn’t adopted the metric system are simply time and money.  That is the excuse that is provided by Encyclopedia Britannica and repeated on other internet sites.  

None of these countries did not offers excuses.  They simply made the switch including Great Britain (United Kingdom) at the end of 1994 under a directive of the European Union. 

There is a US Metric Association but it was founded in 1916. As the United States has become ever more reliant on goods from other countries.  That new trash can says the USA will join the world on weights and measures.

(In the US) Why is soda sold in liters while milk and other drinks sold in gallons? By coincidence, the large plastic soda bottle was invented right around the time that the US was seriously flirting with a conversion to metric. So it was introduced in a 2 liter size instead of a half gallon size. My 16.9 FL. OZ. bottle of water is 500 ml.

Metric is coming to America. It’s not a plot and it’s not part of an invasion.

Do you have funds for the unexpected?

Owners would have to pay assessments ranging from $80,190 for one-bedroom units to $336,135 for the owner of the building’s four-bedroom penthouse, a document sent to the building’s residents said. The deadline to pay upfront or choose paying a monthly fee lasting 15 years was July 1. The association had just $800,000 in reserves.

The building was in a desirable location. Owners pocketed impressive returns when sold. All, except one apartment, sold for more than double the purchase price. Unit 508, a 1,683-square-foot condo sold for $800,000 in February, more than doubling its 2012 sale price of $370,000.

An HOA commonly maintains a type of savings account called the cash reserves or a reserve account for significant, infrequent, or unexpected common area costs.

When a development’s homeowner’s’ association (HOA) encounters large or unexpected expenses, the HOA needs money to repair or replace the damage. For example, what if a clubhouse roof starts leaking, the pool needs resealing, or a piece of equipment in the fitness room breaks down? At times like these, it is wise for HOAs to have a reserve account.

House in my neighborhood, asking price $800,000. Similar to the price of a condo.

Reserves for single family homes isn’t a bad idea either.  When the bathroom tub backed up in my home the plumber said he needed to install a drain cleaning opening under the house. After he crawled under the house he reported that the main sewer line was leaking in many places.  Cost for replacing the sewer system under the house was $5,000.  There was no reserve fund.  There was the retirement investments and that paid the bill.  A similar situation resulted in installing new copper plumbing for another $5,500.  Termites are lurking and the roof is 30 years old.

Owning a house is expensive but it provides us a place for both privacy and fun.

Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) plan to restore Trump presidency

CPAC attendees handed a “7-pt. plan to restore Donald J. Trump in days, not years,” which involves installing Trump as speaker and ousting Biden & Harris. It is more entertainment provided by the host of The Apprentice.

Many attendees are taking this as a serious happening.

My questions: 

  1. Who is the Good Witch of the North?
  2. Will Donald Trump play the part of the wizard?
  3. Is this a remake of The Wizard Of OZ?
  4. Will the movie be on Netflix?

Honoring Civil War Leaders Has Not Changed

A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stands in Market Street Park in Charlottesville Virginia. The city plans to remove it and a nearby statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson on July 10.

It never made sense to me.  The leaders of the Confederate States of America were traitors to the United States.  It was an unrecognized breakaway state (country) that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865, and that fought against the United States of America during the American Civil War.  Despite that, members of the leadership of the Confederacy were honored with statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol.

On June 29th, the House of Representatives voted to remove Confederate statues from the Capitol building.

Are we sustaining Southerners hatred for Yankees by removing the statues?

Trump Sues Again but it is a Fundraiser

If nothing else Donald Trump provides us with entertainment.

Donald Trump has sued Facebook, Twitter and Google, seeking to restore his social-media accounts after he was suspended following the Jan. 6 riot.

Trump accused the companies of violating First Amendment free speech rights through “censorship” against him and others, “blacklisting” and “canceling” people for political reasons. “If they can do it to me, they can do it to anyone,” he said. 

The First Amendment, which says, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech,” applies to government entities, not private domains.

Less prominent people have sued Facebook and Twitter, but the lawsuits went nowhere. As the former president announced his lawsuit, pro-Trump organizations sent out fundraising solicitations to support it.

Trump “just wants a PR and fundraising moment, not a real lawsuit,” said Bradley Moss, a Washington-based attorney. Also, “he’ll almost certainly lose,” Moss said.

Something to Celebrate

850,000 new jobs added. 5.9% unemployment rate.

Average pay just topped $15 an hour at U.S. restaurants, one of many sectors forced to raise wages to lure back millions of workers. Now hiring signs are everywhere. My nearby IHOP has signs saying now hiring cooks and servers. But no one wants those jobs because the pay is low and there is limited chances for promotion.

Employees in the hospitality industry are quick to point out that pay is still paltry compared with that in other fields. The work is grueling, including standing all day and dealing with customers who can be unfriendly or outright irate. But workers are noticing — and responding to — the higher pay. More than 40 percent of the better-than-expected hiring in June was in the hospitality sector.

What is clear from the June jobs report is that firms that are raising pay are largely seeing the benefits. Businesses advertising $15 or more an hour are luring more applicants, and the pay hikes in the hospitality sector appear to be forcing other industries to increase wages as well, to stay above retail and restaurants. After companies like Chipotle said they would go to $15 an hour and Bank of America said it would go to $25 an hour by 2025, searches for jobs at those firms jumped, according to Indeed.com.

For a limited time workers taking jobs that are a drudgery are now being called heroes. So let’s celebrate!

Los Angeles County Orders Inspection Of Marina City Club Towers In Marina Del Rey

Condo boards nationwide have put off repairs because of cost concerns. Or to put another way high cost of repairs causes delays in needed repairs in homes, condos and townhouses.

I don’t live in a condo so I personally am not concerned with condominium maintenance.  My mother lived in senior community that maintained the outside of the buildings and the grounds.  The management company provided hotel vouchers when all residents were required to leave when the exterior of buildings needed painting.

I’ve known a few people who have had water leaks in their units.  Both were resolved but it did require involvement of building management.

Now that we have viewed the events in Surfside Florida everyone is concerned about their condo and townhouse homes.   Just one day after an investigation by CBS2’s David Goldstein exposed potential problems at a Marina Del Rey condo, building inspectors were on the scene Thursday to survey the property. This property consists of two 65 story buildings. That brought out county public works department to conducts an inspection.

It might be frightening but everyone living in shared facilities throughout the country are likely to demand repairs.

Amazon Is Not a Monopoly

Monopoly is defined as the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.

I heard the discussion about Amazon being a monopoly on my local NPR station  The question was whether the company should be broken up because it is so large and controlling the economy.  The facts way that if any company should be broken apart it should be Walmart.

My family buys lots of things through Amazon. 

Walmart emerged as the top global retailer of the year, according to a new global ranking from the National Retail Federation.
…
The Top Global Retailers of 2021 retail sales reported to date

  • Walmart ($120B)
  • Amazon ($75B)
  • Schwarz Group ($85B)
  • Aldi ($85B)
  • Alibaba ($23B)
  • Costco ($44B)
  • Ahold Delhaize ($61B)
  • Carrefour ($43B)

Schwarz Group, Ahold Delhaize and Carrefour are European retailers. Alibaba sales are in Asia.

Sears Valley Plaza, North Hollywood, California

Historically Sears department stores were everywhere in the United States. From shoes to tools they sold everything.  My family loved Sears stores and their super catalog.  I recall my mother buying a stereo combo (radio and record player) through the catalog.  No one ever thought Sears was a monopoly.