Twin Wolf Technology Group

LMAO Jay!

I have to agree, it is not just about being dumped by Ning.   In fact myself and many others just voluntarily quit and closed our accounts back when JLM took over.  There was a dishonesty about keeping their identity hidden that just did not sit right with me.   The thing about Ning is that while Lee owned it, the entire community also took ownership.   Every post, comment, suggestion and even our disagreements were an effort to build and be apart of that community.   Each person took a little bit of ownership.    The total disregard for what everyone had contributed over the eight year period is what was so insulting.   The slash and burn mentality to the membership that followed tore that community apart.  They dumped long standing members, friends of Lee and even community leaders.  By dumping them, they also dumped each of their contributions over the years.

At a time when the community needed it the most - the resource was torn apart.   Many felt assaulted and are still being disparaged by comments from the new management and a some anti-CL members.   It is notable that the original stated purpose of the new management was to make Nng more friendly.   The result has been to not only cause more disharmony but also to destroy the community we built together over those 8 years.   At this point Ning appears to have little direction.   Posts vary from disgusting graphic videos to arguing about how many members they have as they try to justify themselves as being relevant.   Currently, many post are not related to Boquete, Chiriqui or even Panama.  It makes a person wonder why they called the site Boquete Panama.

As I have posted before, Ning is now like a car wreck.   You can't help but look, shake your head and mutter "stupid bastards - what were they thinking?"    I actually think that over the next year we are going to end up with even better resources as Ning fades and the community rebuilds what it lost.  

Lee planted the seed and let it grow.   From the roots of that tree are growing many more despite the loss of the original.

Just my opinion but the only reason to have a membership on Ning is if you want to post.  

While this is not related to life in Chiriqui, I felt it was newsworthy enough to share.   This was reported in a few news sources today.   The following is a link to a Youtube video that shows men with jetpacks on flying alongside of a jumbo passenger jet all carefully planned by Emirates Airline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFCQJ5sYGtI 

From what I read, the two men were dropped from a helicopter that was keeping pace with the aircraft so they could be up to speed with it.   Amazing technology.

As a side note, if you are hanging the Panama Flag vertically, remember that the blue star always goes to upper left corner as seen from the front.  

The Ning machine revealed - finally we can see who is behind it.

So, the problem is only with the Safari browser and probably only with a specific version.   There is nothing you can do to fix the problem.   It is possible the problem will disappear the next time Apple releases and update to Safari.  Browser incompatibles have plagued computer users ever since the Internet came into being.   As I look at older programming code and even some newer code, there are many times when a program will try to detect a certain type of browser so it knows how to handle well known issues like these.  Part of the problem is not every company adheres to agreed upon standards.   Consequently some browsers display certain websites better than others.   There is no one perfect browser.

Bing is a search engine by Microsoft and not a browser.   The popular browsers for the iPad are:   Chrome, Safari and Opera.   Chrome is a google product and lets face it, when it comes to the Internet they do it bigger and better than Apple or Microsoft.   So, being in your position, I would tell your iPad users to get Google Chrome from the App Store and use it for a better experience with your website.

As a person dealing in this stuff daily, I keep multiple browsers on each of my devices.   It seems that one always seems to work when one of the others does not.  Keep both Chrome and Safari on your iPad.

While it appears you have it narrowed down to the iPad, I would take it a step further and see it if only occurs on one particular browser or another.   In other words, try using Safari and then try using Chrome or some other browser.   I am betting it is a specific browser problem rather than just an iPad problem.

Two thumbs up.  I am hungry already !   Somebody flag him down and lets get details.

I think you were misunderstanding my intent.   It was not that CL would input content for the users.   It is a simply a way for a brief summary of the content at the link location to be added automatically without either you or the user doing anything additional.   The HTML script code does it automatically.   I certainly would not expect you or the members to post the HTML code necessary to accomplish this.   I was trying to suggest that perhaps it could be incorporated into your current software as a nice feature to make links on your site richer and also alleviate the issue raised in this case.

Not trying to add to your workload nor violate your Terms and Rules.

Bud, you may want to look at this site:   http://www.embed.ly.    If your software allows it, it will automatically put a photo and short description around a link similar to the way Facebook does when you post a link.   I tired to post the code directly but it looks like the editor does not accept it from the users, so it would have to be integrated into the software.   Some software already has the hooks in place to be able to do this automatically without any interaction from the user.    Just a thought.

Testing to see if this works as a summary with the link...

<a class="embedly-card" href="http://www.chiriquichatter.net/blog/2015/11/01/it-was-a-scary-night-in-the-neighborhood/">It Was A Scary Night In The Neighborhood</a>
<script async src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>

That is a disappointment and a loss for CL.   Your faithful readers will still visit your blog but those new to the area may miss out.  Personally, I believe you provide much information that is not posted elsewhere.

I am going to be the odd man out here on this discussion because I actually like the fact that you cannot go back in and delete your posts after a reasonable time period.   If you have ever tried to read some old Ning posts, where comments were removed, the entire thread becomes a jumbled mess.   Not only does this happen when the you delete your own posts but your posts also disappear when an account is closed (by you or the admin).   I am unable to find any of Greg Meyers posts, so trying reading a thread where he had posted any information.  (good or bad).   Ning lost a great deal of good information because of this policy when many of the members, including myself, closed our accounts.

If the object is to build and keep a record of information - you need the entire thread as originally posted.   Chiriqui LIfe appears to be trying to do this with all of the various categories to make research easier at a later time.

Now, in fairness, do I want to go back and removed or edit something I posted in the heat of the moment - OF COURSE, but that is the price you pay.   You learn not to make that mistake and to wait for a cooler head before posting.   You also realize people are human.   We make typos and we say stupid stuff we regret later.  You learn to apologize and have a change of heart.

To my way of thinking, once you post on a public discussion board, you no longer own the content.   If you post on your own blog, then you have that ability because you still own the content.   

As I said, I am probably in the minority but I like the record to be as it was without any alterations so I can see the entire thought process and how it progressed throughout the discussion - errors and all.

It really depends on where you are as to which services are available to you.   The list of service providers is:

Cable Onda - via cable, not in all areas (fastest and cheapest)
Cable & Wireless - via DSL, not in all areas
Planet Telecom - wireless (excellent customer service)
MobileNet - wireless
Activio - wireless

Internet via cell signal
Claro
Mas Movil
Movistar
Digicell

Bonnie, I had an experience where the electric bill was outrageously high compared to what it should have been (this was in the US not Panama).   It was a rental home and we had just moved in.   The landlord was unconcerned so I called a very good friend who came out to help diagnose it.   It turned out that the electric line that ran from the house to a small outbuilding was grounding out.   The wire was buried but not encased in any kind of protecting tubing.   Not enough to cause a circuit breaker to blow but essentially the power was literately just running  into the ground from bad wiring between the main house and the outbuilding.    We cut the line and the next month the bill dropped almost $150.

Perhaps you have a similar issue where the wires coming into the house or to an outbuilding are grounding out.

As another idea for diagnosing where the power is going, you can buy meters on Amazon that will show the power usage of each device plugged into them.   I have one and it is very revealing how much energy is used by my refrigerator and other large appliances per month.   Good luck in tracking it down but hopefully those are some ideas and things to look at you might not have considered.

I lived in Panama City for two years.   Electric bill was always $250+ per month due to the air conditioner running 24/7.    Now I am very happy with an electric bill that runs $40-$50 and no air conditioner!

Yes!  I have friends in Greeley.   The elevation of Greeley is about the same as Boquete - somewhere in the 4,000 foot range.   Maybe a little above or below depending on where you are in both places.   I lived up near Blackhawk and Central City among other places.   Beautiful country.

At one time I lived just above the 9,000 foot elevation line in Colorado.   It was always a concern when friends and family came to visit.

I am not sure I would qualify Boquete as high altitude living.   It is lower than Denver, Colorado.   The body adjusts to high altitude by producing more red blood cells to carry the limited amount of oxygen found at much higher altitudes.  This naturally occurs over a few weeks time.   Given that Boquete is not utra high in elevation, I would suspect the man is in little danger.

Here is a good article that explains it:

http://www.thetrailgirl.com/2012/03/11/sea-level-to-high-altitude/

I see no point in having accounts on both sites.   Either site can be read without an account.    The only reason for having an account is to be able to post.   Given the huge differences between the sites, it is probably best to examine which fits you better and support that one site.  Given the choice, I obviously prefer the freedom of this site.  I find that there are no so many fake and duplicate accounts.   People actually own their words.   Unlike many people, I prefer that once posted, it cannot be removed or edited.   It is much easier to follow the train of thought and if people are embarrassed by something they posted in the heat of the moment, a simply statement to that fact can be made expressing the regret.  It is honest.    

There are things I would change, such as having the activity stream as the main home page and removing the section of forums based on districts but this site is very young and still growing.   I expect it will evolve an some of those wishes will become a reality through the natural course of events.

For me the heartbreak of the dog would be an unbearable pain.   Like you have I have an adopted dog - a Panamanian mix mutt, best ever!   She stays in the house when I am not home or at night because I fear the very same thing, a poisoning.    Also, as you say it is sometimes difficult to share.   Even after being violated, it is not something you proudly talk about.  So much of it goes unreported or only comes out in conversations like this one where many people are sharing their experiences. 

My house is fenced and there are bars around with windows as well as enclosing some of the outdoor space.    However, I know that is only a slight deterrent.   If the maleantes want in, they are coming in - those things just slow them down.   Guard your life and the life of your pets - everything else is just stuff. 

JoJo,  Your experiences are right in line with what I have seen and heard.   Typical not calling the police when the amount was small ($400) and I suspect your first experience did not get the attention of the news even tho it was certainly more than petty crime.    I too have found my Panamanian neighbors to be amazing and helpful but that only works when you become a good neighbor.   It is too easy in our culture to stay in our own home or only visit with other gringos. 

Like you, despite these things I love it here.    As I tell my friends, it is not paradise but it fits me just right.   Thanks for sharing the details of your experiences.   It helps all of us.

I believe that for many crimes, the Panamanians do not report them and that is probably even more prevalent in the indigenous community.   I went to help a Panamanian report one break-in (at my urging) and found the process to be hours of waiting and typing a report that was obviously going to just go into some file without any action.   Also, it is my understanding that if the amount taken was less than $500 in value they will not even take a report - even though the home was broken into and bars were pulled off the windows.

What I learned is that neighbors talk to neighbors and they watch out for each other as a community - though not officially organized.   It takes a horrific crime to bridge the gap and get reported.

It is sad but in some ways understandable.   My opinion is that the gringo community immediately looks to authorities, such as the police, for help while the non-gringo communities immediately look to their family and neighbors.   For that reason, many crimes are not reported.   If you want to be more aware, get to know your Panamanian and indigenous neighbors and work on understanding why things are different.

I agree this stuff happens all around us.   The reason we know next to nothing about it is the divide between the gringo and latino communities.   I hear about these things when I am with my Panamanian friends.   I know of a personal Panamanian friend that had her house broken into 3 times and her families house broken into twice.   This doesn't make the news and unless you are deeper into the Latino culture and community of your neighbors you will never hear about it.

This is just another reason to bridge the gap between communities.