*** Wednesday, 02 July 2003 ***
Hot as Hell and no breeze. They say the air conditioning will be working today. But they have been saying that for months. Yesterday I had lunch with Paul Baran and he mentioned that in the Summer Bucharestians call Bucharest "the oven" and do their level best to get out of it, to the mountains or the sea shore -- anywhere but Bucharest. I understood what he was saying.
The waiter told us that the temp today will be 37 deg Celsius (= 99 F).

*** Friday, 04 July 2003 ***
The weather turned out to be 47C (106F) yesterday and today. The difference was that yesterday I sweated it out at the office and today at the Bleu Ciel pool.

*** Sunday, 06 July 2003 ***
At last the temperature is in the high 70s and it is dry! The are lots of puffy clouds in the sky and I felt like a walk.

I set out to go to the pool but the clouds and cool air dissuaded me. Finally I took some diarrhea medicine and walked through Cismigiu and then over to La Mama for some mici and french fries. I couldn't finish my usual portion because whatever I have has depressed my appetite. I shall have to be careful to see that I eat enough in the next few days.

*** Friday, 11 July 2003 ***

Nora, overlooking the city of Oradea in the western part of Romania.

I participated in a symposium in Oradea on "What is to be done to attract private investment to Romania?"

I felt that there would be a lot of people taking a lot of time to say not much so I decided to be brief:

"There are a variety of things that need to be in place to make Romania desirable as a place to invest in. One of these is consistent public leadership. A place where decisions are made that are adhered to, a place where promises become reality, is a desirable place for foreign investment. Since debt is repaid over a number of years, knowledge that it will be repaid regardless of the administration in which it was incurred is an important factor in investment.

"Another factor that works to encourage investment is a realistic evaluation of infrastructure. A community wishing to encourage investment needs a transparent process that accurately describes the capabilities of existing infrastructure to meet the needs of investors. This can be a "high tech" system like GIS but there are "low tech" solutions as well.

"Municipalities can have the advantages of easy access to markets, an energetic workforce, a well-educated population and available land but may possibly have inadequate financial resources to invest in infrastructure. Both side, public and private, need to understand that only a partnership will succeed. Infrastructure is usually seen as the responsibility of the LGU but sometimes it is wise for the private sector to finance its own infrastructure needs.

"Truly effective partnerships are based on mutual contributions in which both public and private sides bring something to the table. A clear understanding of this and determination to succeed can indeed attract private investment to Romanian cities."

The atrium of the building containing offices in Oradea.

*** Saturday, 12 July 2003 ***
Went to Uniri in the morning and bought myself an over the shoulder backpack. It should meet my needs. Then I went to Bleu Ciel and relaxed by the pool. In the evening I went to Cafeneaua Actorilor to read.

*** Sunday, 13 July 2003 ***
It is 9:30 PM and in the sky I can see the near-Maxfield-Parrish blue of last light. I remember this from my childhood when we had to go home when it was dark and we delayed to the last possible minute. We wanted the summer's light to last forever but it always faded and we went home -- to bed.