Twin Wolf Technology Group

Most likely it needs some malware/virus cleanup and updating.   I would be happy to look at it for you - either remotely or with an in home visit.

As I read your explanation, I do not think it is sour grapes.    Realizing of course, that there are two sides to every story, I will make several comments.

1.   The 30 day notice is both a money grab on an outgoing client as well as a minor protection to the service itself.   Internet Service Providers buy their bandwidth from an upstream provider.   In other words they get the route to the Internet from someone else and need to pay for it.   The 30 day notice gives them a chance to adjust the amount of bandwidth they are buying otherwise they get stuck paying for more than they have sold.   It is a balancing act and they likely buy bandwidth by the month as well.   Bandwidth is something that cost the same whether it is used or not used.   When a client says they didn't use it, it is not like the provider can then sell it to someone else.  The provider still has the same expense and still pays for it even when you do not use it.   On the other hand, they are getting a month and half of payment and notice, not just 30 days.   That is not fair nor the spirit of the contract.

2.   It is perfectly reasonable to think that you are a long time customer that purchased a large amount of bandwidth thereby giving them a very nice profit.   The day you give notice, you are no longer a great customer and many companies treat you as if you are less than a loyal client.   That is just the sad state of doing business with many companies.   They fail to realize the bad press they get by doing so and that appreciation they had ends the moment you give notice.   Your either a great customer or a SOB that went to the competition.

3.  I have publicly written about Planet Telecom, both in glowing terms of their service as well as the disappointment of their very high cost ... their service is the most expensive in this area.  Both are wireless services, not cable.   Cable Onda Wireless Internet is currently around $11 per meg ($45/4 megs) and Planet Telecom is around $83 per meg ($125/1.5 megs).   It varies a little depending on how much bandwidth you purchase but the difference is shocking given you are comparing like services.

I had hoped by this time we would have seen a price drop from Planet Telecom.  I do not understand how they plan to stay competitive when they are charging more than 7 times as much for the exact same service.   Word is quickly spreading about the Cable Onda wireless service and how it is so much more reasonably priced.

In one part of my business in the US, I sold dedicated bandwidth to clients.  The longer the client had service, the more of a discount they got.    In other words, they got rewarded for not switching.   It stopped people jumping back and forth as competitors dropped their price and made my clients loyal.

Where can I buy Lavender Essential Oils in David?

LOL - no strip poker tournaments but I have "lost my shirt" a time or two.  

We have a Texas Hold'em poker game here in Boquete twice a week (Tuesday & Friday) with both men and women.   One night we play a spread limit game and the other night we play a no limit game.    Anyone interested in joining our group should send me a message and I can give you all the latest details as well as the upcoming game location.

Yes both quantity and packaging are important.   If the item(s) look like you could be selling them (or reselling them), you could  run into an issue.   I had an issue bring in 24 decks of playing cards because of both quantity and the fact they were all still in the wrapper.   Anything that gets x-rayed as a solid mass is sure to get extra attention as well.   Personal electronics are common and should not be a worry as long as it looks like something you use and it not still in the cellophane wrapper or box.

Sounds like a good deal.   My friend and I visited Baru the other day for a quick snack.   We had a plate of french fries and  6 chicken wings - no drinks - the bill was $20 !!!   That is double what would be reasonable.  

When asked for the bill the waiter told us the amount but held the paper bill back.   I asked to see the actual printed bill - and as I suspected a tip was already included on the bill.    I won't be back and I now remember why it had been so long since my last visit.

Bud - With prices being all over the board around here, what can I expect to pay at Parmigiano?   I am not eligible for any discounts. 

I always like to have choice but I am skeptical that Panama will accept Uber in the long run.    I understand why Uber is such a great success in the US but Panama is very different.    In a place where taxis do not use meters and where getting a taxi is not difficult, I wonder how Uber could have enough appeal to make an impact.   Taxi rates are very low, generally most places around the city for $5 or less.   Maybe they will have an appeal for transportation to and from the airport but again I for one am skeptical.

Penny, I have the first two items.   You will not find a VGA to USB cable.   I would be happy to loan them to you.   I can bring them to you on Monday if you like.

Reading the Ogla's post and the responses, it is clear she does not understand "profiling" vs "observation".    The housekeeper should be commended for being observant as well as relating both her knowledge and concern.   I hope someone will relay the community's appreciation back to the housekeeper.

It is nice to have a choice - thanks to Bud & Marcelyn

They have one guy by the name of Alex that speaks some English.   He is VERY slow but if you are patient, you can at least speak some English.

Bonnie is correct as that has been my experience too.  I guess that helps make her a good fit for JLM.

Wireless Internet - not cable

As most old MobileNet customers know, back in December Cable Onda purchased MobileNet.   Service continued at the same rate.    I was paying $102 for 1.5 megs.    I have come to learn that Cable Onda is offering the wireless service much cheaper but they did not adjust the rates for the old MobileNet customers.  

You need to go down to David to the Cable Onda office and request a change of service.   Cable Onda is offering 4 megs wireless for $46 and even faster speeds available for slightly more.   This is a HUGE drop in price and a HUGE increase in speed - but you need to go in and have them write a new contract.   They will change out the old MobileNet equipment.   In addition they offer satellite TV with a basic price of $23/month and 180 channels.

It will be interesting to see if Planet Telecom adjusts their prices to become competitive.   The Planet Telecom price for 4 megs is a whopping $250/month.   That is more than $200 more a month for the same service as Cable Onda Wireless.

If you have a complete inventory list of Title, Author and other basic information in an Excel spreadsheet or some database format, I have a client that would probably make an offer on the books only.   Not interested in the furniture, business opportunity or goodwill - just the books.

Marilyn, I see you have run across some of my loyal and devoted clients.   I am sure there was no ill intent to hijack your advertisement, however an open discussion forum is just that - open for opinions and comments, especially when it comes to similar services being offered.   That is the price for "free" advertising on an open forum.  I would not be surprised to see some of your clients posting comments if I were to advertise on an open forum as well.

To my clients, thank you for your praise and loyalty.  To Marilyn, please do not take offense because I am sure none was intended.

Let's let this thread return to Marilyn's services.   We all need to find the solution that fits us best and I know she has much to offer.

All my best - Dan Porter

Actually, if you look back, much of the banning on Ning was also guilt by association.   They have managed to whittle down the number of posting members to Ogla a few Ning cheerleaders.   Unfortunately, a member is not allowed to disagree or correct misinformation without being labelled as "one of those people".   Doing so makes you guilty by association and all future posts are treated with disrespect.  

For me, it makes the site no different than a personal blog - one person's viewpoint with a couple of comments. 

As for the old Ning site, a 100% complete archive copy of Lee's original Ning site has been saved and does exist.   If there is a desire to go through it and pull out the old valuable information that has been lost, please contact me.       

Thank you Dottie.   For others who are wondering, I recommend Eset NOD32 Antivirus - just their Antivirus program not their Security Suite.    Eset is not a free program but it is also not bloated with all sorts of bells and whistles like the larger paid antivirus programs.  This means it does not slow your computer down like the large paid programs. Currently Eset NOD32 is being sold online for $25-$30/year.  When I am hired to remove virus or malware, I offer this antivirus free to the client.   It helps me maintain the client's computer and insures the infections do not reoccur.

Again, thank you Dottie.   I have no plans to leave Chiriqui.   After 7 years it has become home.

Dottie, I have an X-trail and have been told the same thing about the part is not even available in Panama.   However, a trip to one of the parts store in David showed the part was available.   If you have not done so, you might check a few parts stores because I was told that story from one shop but it simply was not true.

They have been there for a couple of days now.   Most are pickup trucks.   If they were going to be towed, I would expect it would have been done already.

Was there today - here is the map if you are still unsure where their office is located now:

https://waze.to/lr/hd1mrupkk4

Thank you Bud.   Those are very kind words and much appreciated.

I think to some degree we do this to ourselves.   Do to some personal circumstances, I recently had to travel on 4 separate connecting flights around the US before getting back to Panama.   What I noticed was that since I had a several hour layover for each connecting flight, I had much less stress.   After all when you have a couple of hours to kill, who cares if you are first off the plane or last?   So, I always book slightly longer layover times between connecting flights - it eases the stress.   Maybe it is that Panama laid back attitude kicking in.

Another thought - why don't airlines put people with connecting flights toward the front of the plane?  Airlines know if you are connecting to another flight and time might be short.  It would seem a simple matter of seating those people towards the front to help everyone.   Seems like there are always a few people toward the back that are short on time to catch a connecting flight.

You can check the certificate information by clicking on the little padlock in the address bar.  After you click on the padlock a little window will popup with information about the certificate.   The padlock will appear colored in red, yellow or the HTTPS:// will be crossed out if the certificate is expired or has other issues.  Regardless of the status, you should see a padlock and be able to click on it for more information.  If you are unfamiliar with where the little padlock is located, one of my clients has a good set of examples for each web browser on their website here:  https://www.suttercreektheater.com/home/secure-website/

Often times there is additional information in the dialog box that pops up and you can click on it as well for more details.

The site for Union Fenosa shows the following:

Their certificate is not yet expired but will expire later this month.  The problem with their certificate is that it is registered to the domain name gasnaturalfenosa.es but the website domain name is gasnaturalfenosa.com.pa

So the domain names do not match exactly and the web browser says the site is not safe since the certificate has not been checked against the owner of both the .com.pa domain and the owner of the .es domain name.   You can see that it is possible in this case that someone could put up a look-alike website at a similar website address and then get unsuspecting clients to enter their user name and password information.

In this case, it is likely the IT staff registered both domain names to go to the same website but the certificate was only registered for one of the names.  Just sloppy IT work.