HAVE YOU BOUGHT A WATCH LATELY?

From Worldometer,  COVID-19 new deaths:

           DAY USA   WORLD   Brazil      India   South Africa

June      9     1093    4732        1185      246         82

July       1       676    4857        1057      438         92

             5       251    3572          535       421       173

             7       993    5504        1312       479       192

           12       380    4118          659       500       108

           14       935    5414        1341       586       174

           15     1001    5760        1261       614       107

           19       412    4606          715       675         85

           21     1119    5669        1346       671        195

           22     1205    7128        1293     1120        572

           26       450    4307         556       715        114
           28    1266     5589         955       776        190
Aug      1    1462     6429       1191       765        193
            2     1123     5601       1048       852        148
            3       467     4430         514       514        213

            5     1362     6292       1394       849        345

          10       534     4813         593     1013        198
          11       569     4575         721       887        213
          12     1504     6556       1242       835        130
          13     1386     6816       1164       950        129
          14     1284     6653       1301     1006        260
          15     1071     5410         726       950        121
          16       522     4525         582       961        162
          17       589     4289         775       880        143
          18     1358     6312        1365    1089        282
          19     1263     6671        1170      980        159
          20     1090     6188        1234      981        195

Summary:  Better, but not good.

Joe Biden showed some gravitas and emotion last night to end the Democratic National Convention.  Got 24 minutes or so?  Watch his speech.  May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight.

Next week, the Republican National Convention.  But these gatherings are like preaching to the choir.  You won't influence too many to change minds.  Good for the donkeys that nothing terrible happened these past few days.  Really screwing up, though, can hurt.  Yet, I can't imagine watching those elephants.  However, if you can affect a couple of percent on the fringe, like getting a Republican to vote for a Democrat, that will make the margin of difference in a tight battleground state race.  But that might not be necessary this year.

Current election odds from Action:

  Joe Biden          -149  54.1%
  Donald Trump  +130  39.3%

From RealClear Politics:

  Joe Biden                    56.7%
  Donald Trump             42.5%

I've bought really cheap watches off blankets on the streets of Taipei and Bangkok, and a $20 Christian Dior from 20 years ago is now only on its third battery, and happens to be my favorite watch today.  

But, can this possibly be true?  A watch that costs $18.99 capable of doing all the following:

• 【Stylish Smart Watch】- With a sleek, modern design, brilliant 1.54" OLED display. Stainless steel surface, precision laminating process. Nano TPU85 material strap, anti-sweat matte surface treatment, ergonomic convex design and soft strap, which make wearing more comfortable. Life water resistant, the smart watch surface can resist rainwater impact when you are in outdoor
• 【Two Working Model】- ☛Bluetooth model: Just connect the smart watch with your phone via Bluetooth, then download and install the APP (BTNotification or FunRun or Fundo), so you can read Whatsapp,Twitter,Facebook and other application push messages, make or receive calls, view and reply text messages etc.. ☛SIM card model: If you install a GSM 2G/2.5G Network SIM Card into the smart watch, you can make phone call directly from the smart watch, including answering and dial-up, send/reply messages
• 【Multifunctional Smart Watch】 - Activity Tracker: Pedometer, sleep monitoring, sedentary remind. Other functions: Image viewer, Sound recorder (need put and SD card ), Remote capture, Alarm clock, Calendar,Camera (0.3M),Two way Anti-lost.
• 【WIDE COMPATIBILITY】 - This smart watch can support most android (Full compatible)and ios phones(Function limited). Please note functions is limited for IOS system.For IOS, it just support answer & call, phone book, music play, camera, clock, pedometer, phone anti-lost alert. Still not support SMS, Radio, remote camera control, etc.
• 【High Capacity Battery】 -Super high capacity 380mAh Lithium-lon battery.Gives up to 180 hours standby time and 5 hours talking time.This new upgraded smartwatch is easy to use.It is perfect gift to any age.

Sold by Padgene, this watch is bluetooth smart and takes photos.

Or, from Walmart, $23.89 for a blood pressure heart rate monitor smart watch with fitness tracker.  You can even add a three-year protection plan for $4.  Also from Walmart, $7.10 - $14.11, for an activity tracker watch (photo here):

• fitness tracker
• Heart rate monitor
• step counter
• pedometer
• calorie counter

Here is a whole page of them from Walmart.

Amazon sells this Series 5 Apple Watch for $429:

• GPS
• always-on retina display
• swim proof
• ECG app
• electrical and optical heart sensors
• build-in compass
• elevation
• emergency SOS
• fall detection

AppleCare for 2 years costs $79.  Does it make any sense to pay all this money when you can get a watch that looks somewhat similar for less than 1/20th the cost?  I have enough trouble dealing with my Apple desktop, Mac Air, iPad and iPhone.  The last thing I need is a watch that can do all the above.  At that price, you got to wonder how Apple got to a value of $2 trillion.  Or, maybe $3 trillion.  Then again, I do own an Apple desktop, Mac Air, iPad and iPhone.


Exactly a month from today I will begin a daily series of my favorite songs that will take you from #100 to #1 on December 31.  While that top ten will see some adjustment, you will note that #10 is Vivaldi's Four Season.

There are two reasons why.  One, I like Baroque music.  Second, I sat in on a Venice concert in the auditorium where he composed part of this masterpiece on what might have been my most memorable day on a trip ever.

Lunch, for example, was at a restaurant that highlighted truffles in each course, with a different wine selected to optimize the experience.  I also met my Blue-Bar Pigeon that follows me around the world.

To get you in the mood for my favorite 100, here is a link to a chamber music site, even though there might be only one other piece of this genre in that ultimate list.  While a little more than an hour long, you can skip through the early introduction.  Here is the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where you can stream their concerts...for FREE.

Finally, I'll keep showing potential highlights of my next around the world trip, which won't start for, oh, another 15 months.  Perhaps you'll be inspirited to join me.  Another clip about wondrous Dubai, one of the stops for the World Expo:

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