I had a lovely weekend in NYC with my friend Mary. It was hot and sticky and we spent part of each afternoon napping, but all in all it was a nice break from the normal hectic routine.
Friday we walked down Fifth Avenue to 28th street to go to Habu Textiles, which was an amazing place with really unusual Japanese yarns and handwoven silks and linens in textures and quality one does not normally find. It was almost too overwhelming and we did not stay long. I am already planning a return trip, but not right away. Renovation expenses force me to keep my distance in the short run.
Mary needed a nap in the afternoon as she is recovering from a cold; I was hot and sticky so returned to the hotel as well. I had a wonderful roasted vegetable salad for a late lunch and a pot of coffee and then went for a short walk up Park Avenue to Walter Steiger (we are staying at the W New York on Lexington and 49th Street). The fall selection was slim yet but looks promising with some attractive evening shoes and some very nice suede pumps with round toes that look comfortable and ladylike, unlike the rather childish or Betty Boop inspired styles that seem to have been so popular of late.
Later, Mary and I met at the bar for a drink. I really like the way the public spaces in this hotel are arranged and designed. They are modern and hip yet friendly and relaxing too. The staff have been very helpful and accommodating.
Dinner at Aix on the upper west side was excellent. The fish was superb, well chosen and well-repaired and the combinations of flavors were very well matched and balanced, just unusual enough to draw your attention, but so well done that they really stuck in one’s taste memory, as if they were meant to be and you had always known you would like that particular taste sensation even though you might not have encountered it yet.
I tend to get up early in the mornings so I used this time to catch up on my reading backlog of old magazines. I suppose I should have been knitting, but somehow I was more in reading mood. There is no real accounting for what will be the plan or activity of the moment.
I read a Forbes Magazine from last week. It is filled with many interesting short articles, such as the one about China stealing technology through the use of Trojan Horses which invade computers and steal important information, eventually routing it back to the home computer. Such things are notoriously difficulty to eradicate once acquired and they are also very difficult to trace. It seems evident that China and India are going to be huge power forces in the future world economy and China certainly has an excess of human brainpower and willingness to work hard and achieve and compete on a global scale. Still, I hope that this enormous use of mental ability is not used to shortcut the process. China is already well on its way to success in the global economy and should not need to resort to short-cuts such as stealing ideas, rather than spending money and time on education to prepare a population to developed the next generation of ideas and their resulting products. I believe that there are many in China who want to replace the Untied States as the center for new ideas and technology and they seem to be well on the way. I would think that creating the atmosphere needed for innovation will put China at the top of the technology and manufacturing heap, not stealing old information, no matter how tempting that may seem in the short run. Of course the powers that be in China may be counting on the possibility that by the time world figures out what happened, China will already be dominant and there will be no stopping them or turning back the tide. If so, I think they are misinformed. Already, according to something I read somewhere, Bill Gates, has said the best new ideas in R&D are coming out of Microsoft’s China facility as opposed to Seattle or Europe.
I thin the US has been neglecting China for long enough and it is time to begin to pay sharp attention, attention moderated by intelligence.
Also interesting were articles on the EU and the vote in France as well has how Great Britain is becoming a model for economic reform which many in Europe are looking toward to help with solving many problems in the European economy. France and Germany are crippled by high taxes and expensive protectionist policies and these could eventually cripple the entire European community if a way is not found to integrate the future with the needs of the past and a way to integrate new EU members with old established economies.
Other articles that got me thinking, although my thoughts are by no means coalesced yet, were the article on the agriculture and land boom in Brazil, and the wild-west atmosphere and enormous profits to be found in farming in the central regions of that country. Those of us in old established agricultural economies tend to assume that farm subsidies and protectionism are the only way for agriculture to survive. Instead it is expensive and stifling. This really gives one pause.
Last but not least was an essay on world health issues and the cost of solving these issues. This particular article dealt with treating HIV infected persons with expensive drugs, which may not be the most cost effective method. Oh the drugs may well be effective in helping those who already infected but they do nothing to stem the tide. For that, treatment of other sexually transmitted diseases that lead to open sores, and education may be the best treatment. Treating existing cases does not help if more cases keep appearing daily.
The whole issue of aide to Africa, and much of the third world, is such an interesting topic for research and thought. Yes great sums of money are needed but getting materials and supplies to needy areas is just the bare minimum edge of what is needed to solve the problems. You need to get the materials to people, pay the workers, educate the population so that they see the work of the aid that you are offering. It is easier to raise money to buy things that it is to educate populations and pay workers.
It seems that if we want to really have a world with equal opportunity and rights we really need to rethink what those terms entail and what is actually needed. So much of our attempts at solving the ills of the world are half-assed.