Delta Airlines Has One Twisted Sense Of Humor
This past Wednesday afternoon (8/5) we were scheduled to take off to Dublin, Ireland with our son for his first trip to Europe. The trip, of course, was cancelled due to COVID-19 but in true 2020 fashion there was a glitch with the Fly Delta app and it sent me the above notification. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound. Come on Delta, you're killin' me!
This Week In Crypto
This past week showed modest growth in some alt coins. Two of my favorites, Nano and Tezos (XTZ) are both up 9%. Chainlink (LINK) killed it, it's up over 22%. Bitcoin is trading slightly higher today (appx 2% at the time of writing this) in the past seven day cycle. I’m no financial advisor or even a competent trader but having gone through the 2017/18 market cycle I get a sense that we’re in the early phase of the next bull market. If this one plays out like the last one did it’s going to be a wild autumn for us all.
Speaking of Bitcoin...Have you heard that XBT is a new abbreviation for Bitcoin that is starting to come into use? The abbreviation "XBT" derives from the International Standards Organization (ISO) that maintains a list of globally recognized currencies. The standard dictates that if a currency is not associated with a particular country, it should begin with an “X”, hence "XBT". The abbreviation for gold, "XAU". This is a pretty good indicator that BTC, I mean XBT is becoming more accepted worldwide.
Streaming Suggestions
During this pandemic we’ve tried to find at least one streaming series to watch in the evenings. After wrapping up the new season of Dead To Me a few weeks ago we were left without anything that caught our interest until a couple of days ago.
My wife recently found a series on Netflix called Sense8, from the creators of The Matrix. It didn’t draw me in immediately like Peaky Blinders or Mad Men but we’re on the fourth episode now and are really beginning to like it. The premise is original and fascinating. My only criticism up to this point is it starts off very slowly and, at times, feels a little “soap opera-ish”.
After looking at the wiki page for Sense8 I learned the creators, the former Wachowski brothers, are now the Wachowski sisters. Both came out as transgender years ago. I must've been residing on another planet because this news somehow had escaped me. This is one of the by-products of not watching mainstream news I suppose.
Have you found a streaming series lately that has blown you away? If so, I’m always looking for suggestions.
Mindful Moments: Perfecting The Pause - Book Update
I’m happy to report that this week was super productive and more than made up for the previous week’s struggle! All ten chapters have been now combed through, edited, and revised. Next week will be devoted to drafting the eleventh and final chapter. I should also be able to get around to posting the revised chapters here on Hive for the beta reader feedback this coming week.
I’m really liking how this book is turning out. It’s going to dovetail pretty effectively with the first book, The Perfect Pause.
I reached out to Gary Vee (Vaynerchuk) asking if he’d be willing to write a cover quote for the book but have gotten no response so my search continues for a celebrity (or celebrities) who would be willing to offer an endorsement. Preferably it would be someone who is in the mindfulness, self-help, motivational speaking realm.
It’ll be so nice to have Mindful Moments done and available prior to our next trip. I always pack my suitcase with about ten copies of my books and give them away randomly when I travel. Sometimes I give them to strangers, sometimes I just leave them on the bookshelves of the Airbnbs we’re staying at.
VanLife Update - Ford vs. Mercedes
First of all, I can’t believe how many people I’ve heard from who are considering buying campervans right now. Two of my friends, one in the Netherlands and the other in the UK, have told me they’re thinking of making a purchase of one of these and living at least part-time in them. It's not just us, supposedly, RV sales are up 170% so far in 2020 over last year.
Over the past few weeks we’ve watched a TON of youtube video reviews of different sizes and classes of campervans and this Ford and this Mercedes are the best we’ve seen. There’s no way we would want to spend this much money on a brand new model but we would likely want to find a used one that’s 2-4 years old with similar features.
There are so many different kinds of campers that it’s almost overwhelming. After considering all of the pros and cons, the Class B camper vans seem to be the ones that will be the best fit for us. They’re small enough to drive in the city if you need to, and large enough to offer all of the amenities of home. We’re considering bringing a few electric bikes with us as alternate transportation once we get to our destinations.
Next will be a cost-analysis of how expensive life on the road will be. From what I understand, it’s more expensive than you might think. Although fuel prices are higher in Europe there are many free places to camp there. This isn’t the case in America, unless you want to stay in a Walmart parking lot.
Ever since going down the #vanlife rabbit hole Google's analytics have decided they would serve as our devil's advocate. For the past few weeks Google's been filling my newsfeed with horror stories from other couples who took the plunge and experienced nightmarish results (thanks Google!). If we decide to actually do this maybe those depressing stories will turn into some valuable lessons. Hopefully we won't make the same mistakes as these unfortunate people did.
I'll end this post with one of my favorite classic comics, Calvin and Hobbes.
That’s all for now. I hope you all enjoy your weekends!
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
(Gifs sourced from Giphy.com, Calvin and Hobbes comic sourced from Gocomics.com
I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
Alarm Clock Dawn, one of the first full length novels published on the blockchain, and the book that started it all for me can be found HERE. Or Click Here to read it for free on the Steemit blockchain
My book on meditation, The Perfect Pause, is priced at $12.99 (paperback) and $4.99 (eBook). Buy the paperback and receive the eBook for free!
Hello. Nice to meet you. First, I want to thank you for deciding to follow my journey on Hive.
As far as RV purchases skyrocketing, I knew that from our RV association newsletter. Reason given is that many don't trust hotels while traveling since they've had to furlough or lay off workers. Owning an RV myself, I hope I won't have to utilize the services of a hotel in the future. On occasion when RV not practical on certain trips, I'll have to reconsider this.
Nice to meet you and congratulations on being one of the winners of Sult's contest! The virus does have a lot of people rethinking hotels and Airbnbs. I feel for those people who came to rely on Airbnb for a partial income. My wife and I used them pretty much exclusively for our travels these past few years and had such a better experience because of it. We're looking forward to learning more about traveling by RV. Can you suggest any good websites or YouTube channels?
Hi Eric, how are u doing? It looks like you are still confined in your house due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are still limiting your activities. I think as a writer ... it will be more fun for you to work at home. Let's pray that this pandemic will end soon. Have a nice day, Eric.
All is good, Eliana. I hope the same for you and yours! No, we're not in quarantine anymore but we just can't travel out of the country. I've been working at home now for a few years and do like it, for the most part. I'm getting much more done at home. Yes, hopefully this virus will plateau at some point and things will get back to normal. I hope you enjoy your weekend!
Eric I have to tell you that the airlines are the least appreciative businesses when it comes to customers in the world in my opinion, so that might not have been a glitch.
The designation of XBT seems huge to me. With gold closing at $2,037.48 an ounce on Friday and XBT at $11,500 or more right now. It's pretty clear that it needed to be classified. Five times more valuable than the precious metal that has been known for centuries to represent wealth around the world speaks loudly.
Did you catch that the Japanese government said they are looking at releasing their own digital currency later this year.... in conjunction with the USA and a few other countries?
XBT has these central banks and governments really frightened in my opinion, and rightfully so. Not all crypto has to be at the same value as XBT to have worth, just like all metals don't have to be as sought after as gold.... silver, copper and even scrap iron have value too.
One thing that no government can do is the "transparency" with their digital currencies. That is where the decentralized currency has them over a barrel.
On a different note, aren't these types of blog posts the must enjoyable to write? I love when I can just do my Saturday "housekeeping" Dashes and HIVE giveaway.
Have a great weekend my friend,
Sult
Hey Sult! I agree about the airlines. They've definitely taken on an attitude of entitlement. Delta has been, by far, our favorite one but, man, this was a true slap in the face. I also noticed another error in the app. They "charged" me $52.09 for an inflight purchase from July. The only problem is I haven't flown since January. I checked my card and, thankfully, there were no charges. Another glitch on their part.
I was very excited when I saw this story about Bitcoin. That new name is a pretty good sign that the establishment is (reluctantly) accepting XBT as a store of value and plans on it being around for the long haul. I think all of the money flowing into precious metals and XBT right now is a huge indicator that we have a crash of the financial markets coming very soon.
I missed that story about Japan! I was surprised to learn that Japan was largely a cash-based society. When we were researching for a trip over there they advise tourists to take out cash because so few places even accept credit cards. It would make sense that the government would want to roll out a centralized digital currency so they can tightly control it. I've been hearing rumors for a long time that the US Gov is considering Ripple, or a hardfork of it for the US digital dollar. Considering the US' diminishing reputation and dominance in the world it might be a logical move for them to partner with other allies to create a shared currency like the Euro. It might be our only chance against the digital Yuan from China. I'm worried about what the US will do with decentralized cryptos, especially alts, once a digital dollar is in place. They can't stop them but they can close off the exit ramps for US citizens.
I'm really liking doing this end of the week mash up! It's so nice to jot down something quickly and not have to mull it over as much. Best of luck with your contest and I'm sorry I won't be able to enter this one. I am looking forward to reading some of the submissions though. Take care, my friend, and enjoy this weekend!
Varied, complete and interesting your review today, Eric! I also didn't know that the famous Wachowski brothers were now women. What planet was I on? Although I remember reading some years ago a news item about one of the brothers and his wife, who had met him dressed as a woman. Some film directors have a life as interesting as their films. I hadn't heard about XBT either, but it's good to know that Bitcoin is continuing its process of acceptance and consolidation. Also, it's excellent about your book. Knowing that it will soon see the light of day should create a lot of excitement and expectation. Here are your readers to support you. Nice Friday for you and the family. A big hug and a million thanks.
Thanks Nancy. Hearing this news about the Wachowskis seemed like the Mandela Effect to me. I'm a huge fan of their work, this made it all the more strange that the news had escaped me.
The attempt to rename the abbreviation of Bitcoin to XBT struck me as real proof that the financial world is finally beginning to take it more seriously. It seems like a permanent part of our culture now, as it should. : )
Thanks, I'm so excited about this one! Book launches are usually exciting, in general. It's about as close to sending a child out into the world as I can imagine. It's been three years since my last book was published and it feels like I'm getting back on track now. The next book will probably be fiction, possibly the sequel to Alarm Clock Dawn or a collection of short stories.
I hope you and your family have a fabulous weekend!
I believe chain link worth that rise because of the much hype around it
I believe Link is one to hold onto for a while. I don't have much but it's been fun to watch it grow lately.
Promoting Hive on Twitter.
love it
Thanks.