2024 Turkey: Weapons And Armor II

 More weapons from the Topkapi Armory.

Probably my favorites.  Swords from Hungary, 14th Century.  I tried to pace them off without looking awkward; 4-5' blade length.

Turkey 2024: Weapons And Armor I

Perhaps not surprisingly, being that it was the hub of an empire, the Topkapi Palace has a fine collection of weapons (There is a military museum in Istanbul which has many more but which, sadly, was not easily accessible to us during our trip). They are stored in what functioned in both the Former Imperial Treasury and the Imperial Armory.

It is me.  Of course you get pictures of weapons.

The Topkapi Dagger.  Manufactured in 1747 for the Shah of Iran, who was assassinated while the dagger was en-route and returned to Istanbul.  The stones are emeralds, likely from the Spanish colonies (Colombia).

Of Packing And Isolation

This was my first trip back to The Ranch following the burial of my mother, and in a real sense the last time I had been back alone since March of this year.  In a real sense, it represents the denouement of this phase of my involvement with The Ranch as we move into new territory.

The place itself has changed little enough:  it is the hot and dry season of Summer and so everything is either the golden brown of husks or the green and brown of the survivors.  This weekend was a relief from the heat of the weeks before, in some ways actually cooler than at New Home 2.0.

In the sitting down and writing of out of a list of tasks and reviewing them, I realized that I am much closer to the completion of the sorting of the house than I had thought. As of my departure yesterday, the interior is 99% sorted, outstanding a few things I want to revisit next month - along with the garage, which is the next item on the list to be completed (and should go much faster, as they are simply bigger chunks to sort).  Perchance by September, we will be in a position of having someone come through and hopefully buy out what is to be gone, leaving the retained items - mostly furniture for living when someone visits, along with the various and sundries that the family has identified as needing to be kept.

The biggest difference, though, was that nature of the Ranch this weekend.  For the first time in the over 20 years since my parents moved there, there was no connection to the outside world.

There was no satellite or or InterWeb, no cell phone coverage, no land line.  No updates from the Outer World were possible (except, oddly enough, my text messages, which for the first time seemed to work).  None of this is a surprise of course:  the landline and Dish were stopped years ago and the InterWeb more recently, when I no longer was working from the house (our cell phone coverage, while continuing to slowly come up the hill from my hometown, is still not here).  As a result of this it is just like it used to be when I came up here before all of that:  a trued island of isolation in a world of noise, information overload, and bustle.

The though does not confront you until you go to check the computer or the phone and realized that it is simply impossible to contact anyone or know anything because there is no way to do so - yes, I suppose, one could fire up radio and listen or even go down to Uisdean Ruadh's and use his network, that was simply more effort than I cared to make.

How oddly relieving it was to realize that one cannot know about the world because one cannot contact the world nor can the world contact one. One is left with the practices of old times:  reading, writing, listening, thinking, conversing with others.

As I sat with my cup of coffee in my hand in the cool breeze of the morning that belied the heat of later in the day, the world of 30 years ago hit me full force, where connectivity was expensive and we paid by the minute.  Were we less in touch, or did we spend more time in other things because the cost of "being connected" outweighed its perceived benefits.

It is a bit of a wistful thought of course;  if and when I start coming here even for remote work (which I hopeful to start asking for next year), I will need to get InterWeb and so the connection will be there.  But being conscious of it means that I should manage it better and more:  like many things, just because I can do something does not mean I should do something.

And so I find myself poised in a transitional space, clearing out the old so I can move on - but conscious that moving on in some ways may mean looking backwards rather than forwards.

If You Want To Help The Church

 

The Next Cycle Of The Ranch

 Friends, as you read this I am likely already on my way to the airport for a short (~ 36 hour) visit to The Ranch.  On the bright side, the flight now is much less than it used to be due to my relocation to New Home 2.0, a mere 1.5 hour direct flight instead of the not less than 4 hours that it had been before (with the almost inevitable "transfer").  On the less bright side, due to the change in my job situation, I can currently only spend weekends there for the current time (which involves balancing time gone, making sure the rabbits are provided for, and that rides can be found that can be found on a much shorter timeframe).  

It also means we are entering a new stage of The Ranch in my existence.

My goals traveling back now must be, by default, much more focused:  with what will only be a little over 30 hours onsite by the time travel to and from the airport is factored in, I need to organize a set of tasks that I will need to do, both on a monthly tempo as well as single items that will allow me to get the house cleared out (and ready for Winter). 

The other side of it, of course, is settlement of the estate.

There is not a specific timeline on this, other than likely we will need to have everything completed by the end of this tax year.  I have no idea what "everything completed" will look like, other than 1) The estate will need to be settled; and 2) Assuming we do get the house and property (no reason that will not happen at this point), there is a potential change in property tax assessment that will have to be addressed.  As it does not seem like we will be able to live there right away, we will need to investigate options.

This is a different phase that what has been happening for the last four years and indeed that change happened this year (although in yet another example of "God's Timing", I could not return home with guilt due to my mother's passing, which was a relief).  And likely it is a passing period as well until the next phase occurs - that phase, I am assuming, being "taking possession".

Still, even after a such a short period of not being there, it will be nice to be Home.

(Author's Note:  As part of the change after my mother passed and my regular travel ceased, we ended the Interweb Service to the house.  Phone coverage is spotty at best; responses will likely be delayed until a rather long wait on Sunday at the airport.)

LUV And The End Of Seat Choice

 It is not often that I comment on current events (as the articles tend to date pretty quickly), but something happened yesterday which is pretty significant, at least to me in the past few years:  Southwest Airlines (Ticker Code LUV) has announced the end to its open seating policy.

The announcement came yesterday as part of its 2nd Quarter 2024 financial results.  Instead of continuing the practice of open seating (whereby customers choose their seats as they board), they will move to what is the traditional airline model, assigned seating and the differentiation of seating (e.g., "premium seats" with slightly extra legroom and undoubtedly higher prices).  The change comes after 50 years of this policy, and is likely a response to a combination of a tough market and an activist investor group.  That I saw, no timing of the change has been announced.

For domestic travel, Southwest has been our airline of choice for years, mostly because of their pricing.  Their seating policy was one of the "quirks" of flying the airline - but the results were cheaper tickets (not unnoticeable with up to five people traveling at one time).  To be fair, their reputation as the "cattle car" of airlines was not wholly undeserved:  self sorting at the gate, snacks consisting of their now-famous bag of snack mix and a drink, the inevitable last minute thoughts as everyone waited for the last boarders (the "C" group) to break down and realize that middle seats where the only option and they really would have to gate check their luggage.  But their flights were relatively cheap, especially if you booked early, and their Rewards program was rather good (reaching "A" status, where you are automatically checked in and your seating is almost always in the "A" group, and mostly within the first 30 seats really makes a difference).  And their "Two bags fly free" policy puts most of the rest of the industry to shame in a world where everyone else charges for every bag, at least on a domestic flight.

I am surprisingly grateful to an entity like Southwest.  Their pricing and pricing model has allowed us to make many trips in the past between New Home and Old Home that we could not otherwise have made.  They allowed me to travel back monthly in the last stage of my parents lives in a way I do not think I could have afforded on any other airline for that long of a period of time (just under four years).

I have no idea what the post-assigned seating world for them will look like; if past experience with any other change is an indication it will be more expensive, offer less service overall, and eventually become homogenous with every other airline out there.  Their quirky ways, or what is left of them, will be subsumed in standard practices and it will simply become one more option almost completely the same with every other airline that flies.

I still have a great many points that I have accumulated over the last four years that I will need to spend down, so likely I will be around long enough to see the changes before they run out.  On the one hand that is great for me (as it a very small fee out of pocket), on the other hand it will undoubtedly make me sad as it continues.  

Thanks, Southwest, for giving me a lot of happy memories of trying to hit the check-in time and being disappointed.  Thanks for the minor victories when I managed to get higher seated on those check-ins.  Thanks for making sure I could see my parents when they needed me most.

We will always have Snack Mix and Diet Cokes at 35,000 feet.

The Collapse CLV: Responsibility

 09 August 20XX+1

My Dear Lucilius

I received a rebuke today from my wife. It was rather remarkable in that 1) I am not used to rebukes in general; and 2) I am certainly not used them from my wife (well, at least for a long time anyway).

The genesis of the issue is the rather large amount of time and anxiety I have been spending over the last month about this issue with the wheat. It has consumed my conversation and my thoughts, constantly walking through potential scenarios and logistics and calculations about quantity of wheat per bushel and per person. On the one hand, I have a lot more information on wheat from my old references than I ever remember reading there before (although I am sure it was there); on the other hand it is all that I have thought about lately.

Pompeia Paulina gently asked once or twice why I was spending so much time and energy on this. “Because” was my well reasoned response.

Oh, in my mind there were several “becauses”. Because I had the knowledge. Because I cared. Because someone had to do the work. Because if I did not, someone else would not.

Because.

Finally today, my wife got cross with me as I was sitting there redoing calculations and mileage. She sat down at the table, put her hands on the pen and paper I was using, and said “Stop”.

I looked at her, almost in disbelief. “Stop?” I responded.

“Stop” she replied. “Stop worrying about this. This is not your responsibility.”

“But” I started to interject, ready with my reasons and becauses.

“This is not your responsibility” she said. “You are not the sole planning agency for this town, let alone an entire valley of people. No-one asked you for this. No-one expected this of you. You are doing this on your own. And the lack of focus on the here and now – our here, our now – is an issue.”

“But…” I tried again, slightly weaker this time.

“You sir” – with a pointed finger, no less – “have appropriated responsibility that is not yours. Tell me, if you had not thought of this wheat, what would have happened?”

I thought for a second. “Well, other than not having this wheat, I suppose everything would have been the same. People would be working to find and figure out food for the Winter.”

“So, this would have been invisible to everyone? And life would have gone on the way it was?”

“Well, yes – but in finding that we had it, who knows how much food-”

She cut me off. “No-one knows. No-one can guess. And likely, no-one else does guess. Your concern is admirable. I love that you care so much about others. But allowing that to dominate your thinking – to sit there and figure and guess weather and how far away and how it will get back – all things that are outside of your control – does no good. All it does is take you away from here. And now. And me.”

With that, she left the room.

Sitting alone at a table amid the rubble of a theoretical project is made much more poignant by the silence that fills such a discussion afterwards.

It stuck, of course. After apologizing to her – profusely, and as note apologizing to a crying wife is much harder than I ever remember it being – I walked over to Young Xerxes’ and let him know that I would watch my grain, but that would be all. It was for someone else to work out.

“That's okay" he responded.  "Other people are working on that.  No-one expected you to."

Ah, rebuke times two.

There are things we can control, Lucilius, and things we cannot, things that we can directly impact and things that we cannot impact but we take responsibility for.

I need to be better about determining the difference between the two.

Your Obedient Servant, Seneca

2024 Turkey: Topkapi Palace II

We are still in the Second Court, the Court of Salutation.  This is the view of the Divan (Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn, or Imperial Council in Turkish) where the highest bureaucrats of the Empire - The Grand Vizier and the chief ministers - met to discuss affairs of state.  The location dates from Mehmet the Conqueror; the current building was built by his great grandson Sulyeman the Magnificent (and improved since then).

The grill in the wall was used by the Sultan to listen to the deliberations of the council.  This practice ended in the reign of Suleyman the Great, when the Sultans ceased to attend the council at all.

Passing through the Second Court, one comes through the Gate of Felicity (Avlu), into the Third Court, known as the Inner Court (Enderûn Avlusu) in contrast with the Second, or Outer Court (Enderûn).  This court housed the living quarters of the Sultan and his family.  Entrance here was only by the authorization of the Sultan; even the Grand Vizier could not enter without authorization.

Below is the entrance to the Audience Chamber, or Chamber of Petitions (Ars Ordasi).  Sadly, no pictures were allowed.  Here the Sultan would formally receive visitors and gifts

The Inner Court.  Surrounding the parklike square were the quarters of the Agas (page boys).  The building in the middle with the domes is the Imperial Treasury

The building in the corner is the Imperial Treasury:

This building is the Enderûn Kütüphanesi, or Inner Library. More formally known as the Library of Ahmet III, is was built in the early 18th Century. Sadly, again no interior pictures allowed (link here to Getty Images).  At one time this housed 3,500 works, including a copy of the Koran from the time of the third Caliphh, Uthman ibn Affan (A.D. 573-656).  This was by far my favorite building (no surprises, I suppose).

Rear view of the Chamber of Petitions:

The Fourth Court was known as the Imperial Sofa (Sofa-ı Hümâyûn) and was the living quarters of the Sultan and his family.  We only went as far as the Third Court.

Back in the Second Court:

Views off a veranda in the Imperial Treasury, overlooking the Bosporus: