by Minter Dial | Jul 30, 2007 | Travel
As my passport saga draws to a close (I picked up today the new 10-year passport, replete with 48 extra pages to last me through 2017), I thought I would comment one more time on the US Embassy experience. This time, notwithstanding high expectations in terms of...
by Minter Dial | Jul 30, 2007 | Politics
Last night, at the MSG (not-in-my-salad) Arena, there was a curious heavyweight boxing match between two Chinamen. One, in the gold shorts, was the China of Optimism (CO). In the other corner, wearing satin red shorts, was the China of Porcelain Doubt (aka PCDo). The...
by Minter Dial | Jun 19, 2007 | Travel
Surprising statistic from NPD Group saying that in 2006 a typical American ate 81 meals inside a restaurant but ordered a take-out 127 times. That is a total of 208 meals. This means, excluding breakfast, that 208/730 or 28% of meals are outsourced. In the US, there...
by Minter Dial | Jun 10, 2007 | Politics
I managed to make it to a couple of lectures during my 20th Reunion Weekend at Yale. The standout lecture was from Professor Ian Shapiro, Sterling Professor of Political Science and Henry R. Luce Director of the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and...
by Minter Dial | Apr 24, 2007 | Travel
When driving in France — whether in cities or on highways — there is an invisible bikers’ lane. You drive as far over on the left side of the lane you are in to let motorcyclists pass. In France , the bikers have now come to expect this from all...