It's the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong - the 2nd most important festival after Chinese New Year in the ethnic Chinese world - Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, etc... even Chinatown in New York City... and this is one of the beautiful lantern displays in the Wanchai district.

It's official: I received my Hong Kong Permanent Residency (like a U.S. Green Card)... This also means I can go into Mainland China visa-free (for business, travel, or investments) for 90 days per trip. (It took 7 yrs living continuously in HK to obtain it)

Landed in Dubai (early)... Man, great service on board business class flight and upon landing: As soon as I got off the plane, an electric cart and driver took me to Passport Control (pretty far away); since I flew into Dubai previously I just stood in front of a camera- it had my photo and name in the system- and I was through immigration, a BMW limo was waiting for me, it took me to the Le Meridien Hotel (which was a 5 minute drive away)... A bellhop opened the car door and took my carry-on bag and computer bag to a lounge area, asked me to "sit and relax," gave me some water, took my passport and hotel voucher, and checked me in... He walked me to a nice single occupancy room with a king size bed; I'm going to shower and have a choice of 6 restaurants -free of charge- to eat at (7 choices if I just wanted room service instead)... I'm not even bothered that my flight to Hong Kong has been delayed 2 hours—arrival now at 5:25 p.m. HK time (I think there's bad weather in Hong Kong)... Emirates Airlines is just a class above every other airline in the world; especially when you arrive into their home base of Dubai! #AirTravel – at Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Hong Kong finally gave me my 3-year "Top Talent" visa extension; it's been taking a while with numerous info requests... But now, having lived in HK for 7yrs, I'm going to file for Permanent Residency (like a US Green Card) July 22nd... With it, no visa needed for Mainland China!

Another beautiful morning in my Florida gated community... I'm glad to be back for two months of annual home leave. ❤️ – at Heathrow, FL

Pretty cool... on my Emirates flight from Hong Kong to Dubai (flying onward to Orlando), we have @elonmusk's Skylink satellite internet service... I've been flying internationally (from Asia to the U.S.) for over 20yrs, and this is the fastest internet service I've ever had (and yes, I'm watching Sean Connery as James Bond in "GoldFinger"). Btw: I'm guessing lots of people are afraid to fly to Dubai; the HK-Dubai flight is the emptiest of ever been on; Business Class is not even 30% full... #airtravel

I will soon be heading back to my Florida home for annual home leave, but I'm also planning for a move to a new Hong Kong apartment in August. Reason for moving? My Australian landlord has to sell the apartment to financially take care of his elderly father... I'm moving from Sai Ying Pun back to Wanchai (where I first lived when first coming to HK in 2019). My new apartment building is in a more "lively area" off of Hennessy Road; I even have a "Five Guys" around the corner. Taxis and the MTR (subway) are close by... The apartment is on the first floor in a nicer, more modern luxury building with a bigger bedroom, bathroom, and refrigerator (!)... AND I even have an outdoor courtyard. Yes, Hong Kong Island apartments are small, it's a big city on a smallish island - Hong Kong has among the highest real estate costs in the world (although food is cheap because of the proximity of Mainland China)... But US$3,000/ month for my new apartment; I'm paying US$3,500 for my current apartment, so I'm saving money! (Photos of the apartment - currently, an American couple who are going back to the States after 10 yrs living in the apartment. They're going back to Ohio so the husband can complete his PhD. They love the apartment) I'm happy to have found it; and can leave for the U.S. on Wednesday with one less thing to be concerned about! #HongKong – at Wan Chai District, Hong Kong

Propaganda from @codepink: The U.S. consulate was attacked by a group of radical Muslims. Obviously, the Pakistani government has given the U.S. full authority to use deadly force against this type of attack. Granted, the consulate is sovereignly U.S. territory, but they have pretty good relations with the Pakistani government and probably held security discussions after the Iranian attacks began... As someone who has worked in Pakistan for over 20 years (my charitable NGO has a national office in Lahore), Karachi has always had a little reputation for being the "Wild Wild West": Islamic extremists - groups and political parties - have a big presence there. I remember back in June 2002, the U.S. consulate was attacked with a car bomb: Westerners left the city and country, but I flew into Karachi from Singapore (where I lived) for a planned business trip. I had Pakistan Rangers (a paramilitary federal law enforcement force, that gave me an armed escort convoy around the city) and Christian militia men - body guards- protecting me: I was crazy to go on the trip; I'm older and wiser now. Although, I was smart enough not to stay at the (American) Marriott Hotel. I stayed at the Pakistani-owned, 5-star hotel, The Avari Tower.