Woody

52 minutes ago, PenRip said:

CableOnda has told us that they will be introducing 10 mb wireless starting in January for around $100 (price not firm).  This will be more than 3 times faster than Planet Telecom for half the price.

That's great news, but my gut tells me that the low pricing would only last until they put PT out of business.  After that, they would be sole source for Chiriqui wireless and .........

Hey, this wouldn't be a real discussion without a counterpoint or two, so I will offer up some.  Ahh, I can almost feel the negative reputation votes getting ready to smother my good name ;-)

This topic peaked my curiosity so I checked Ning to catch up on the happenings there.  For sure, that woman can talk and talk and talk and talk.  I got a serious headache reading through all of it.  But, then I realized that she's generating lots of discussion and I'm sure the hits on the site are going up again.  And, even better, I could hardly find any juvenile comments from Ambreen or the the shills they were using in September and October to make happy happy happy time.  So, I guess what I'm saying is that I think Olga is what the site needed to survive.  She's got boundless energy and is stimulating a lot of discussion.  It may be useless discussion, but nonetheless it's active.

OK, I can't wait to see if my cumulative reputation will still be green when I wake up in the morning.

I'm very pleased with the citrus and avocado trees I bought from Gray River Farms (they sell at the monthly Flea Market).  They are pricey but worth it IMO.

We did some fairly extensive landscaping and bought most everything from Lulu's and the Dolega nursery that is near the school.  There are certainly some plants that are properly suited to either high or low elevations, but I think that 90% of what you find in the vivero's will grow well throughout Chiriqui.  Any of the nurseries can advise you.

44 minutes ago, JoJo said:

Yes it is a volunteer unpaid position. Don Ray has been working overtime fulfilling his obligations to the community and visiting Marion every day lest people forget this. I think we should all cut him a little slack. 

Two obviously alpha males had a set-to. So what, happens all the time. No reason to take sides. Let's move on.

I don't have a dog in the fight, but I'll chime in anyway.  Yes, we all agree that Don Ray is a community asset and he goes the extra mile as the David Warden.  But, I personally doubt that the Embassy would agree with the statement: "None the less, you will see no more Embassy information from me."  I would hazard a guess that the Embassy would have a little chat with Don if they saw that statement.  The Embassy's objective is to get a widespread dissemination of their notices. The Wardens is are one means to do that, but certainly not the only way.

45 minutes ago, Jaime Daniel said:

http://www.italaw.com/sites/default/files/case-documents/ita0031.pdf

 

Last page.

Looks to me like they used established legal processes for resolution of disputes.  

I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill.

I'm not anti-Ning, but their oppressive tactics violate my most valued principles.  I'm already on record as supporting PT's actions.  In the absence of any statements from the other sponsors, I consider them to be providing tacit support to Ning's actions and I am no longer giving any business to them.  It's painful because one of them is a personal favorite that I have used regularly.  I know they're caught between a rock and a hard spot and I do have sympathy for their situation.  Hopefully, I can start using them again in the new year.

The "other" site seems to be focused to bulletin board activities, and I think CL can be the place for real forum discussions.  This subject deserves a good discussion, but the timing may be premature.  AAC hasn't yet provided their hotline plans for after-Rodny and they haven't identified plans for services that go beyond the hotline.

I do not see this as AAC versus RodnyDirect.  I already signed up for RodnyDirect and unless there are service issues, I don't expect to revisit that decision.  What I expect from Rodny is hotline and crime reports.  Nothing more because of his for-profit status.  At the same time, I am hoping that AAC, as a non-profit, will be a community voice that engages with city management, police, and national government officials on crime and security issues in our area -- a mini-PAC.  I will certainly provide a financial contribution to AAC for those activities and I hope that other RodnyDirect subscribers will as well.

4 hours ago, Twin Wolf Technology Group said:

I like organization but perhaps organization could be done after the discussion draws to a close.  

I agree with TW.  I also agree with one of Gordon's comments in a different thread.  Conversations flow and do go off of the original topic.  It's normal, and prematurely controlling it could attenuate a valuable discussion.  It's all about balance and timing.

4 hours ago, Twin Wolf Technology Group said:

Just my opinion but I do not see the need to go out and recruit new members.   Several things need to happen.   First, lots of information and responses.  That means members need to speak up when questions are asked.  Give your opinion you won't get banned or your contribution deleted.  This is already happening to a certain degree.   Members here asking advice about hotels in Panama City and discussion about Ruta Sur.  It will take awhile to build that vast information we used to have but that is what will bring more people.  If they want to go 

In the list of 1,001 things to do, I am sure Bud has SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on his list.   That is a fancy way of saying that this site will pop up on Google and other search engines when people are searching for Chiriqui, Boquete, David, Volcan etc

The one thing this site has over the old site is there are more chatter-boxes here.   Comparing the two sites, I think Chiriqui Life ended up with more members that give their opinions which leads to interesting discussions that and go in all different directions.  That is certainly a plus.  I struggle a bit when conversations get split off and moved because now I am jumping around and losing the thread.   I like organization but perhaps organization could be done after the discussion draws to a close.   Staying on topic is always difficult both online and in real life.  Then again going off topic can often get more interesting than Q&A of facts.

I don't mind watching and commenting on the old site but I think it is a mistake to make that the focus.   Setting this discussion board apart from the old site is as simple as having lots of discussions on various topics related to life in Chiriqui.   Right now the only discussion on the old site related to life here is where to get good pizza, which by the way was a slight personal frustration of my own tonight.   I drove from Potrerillos up to Boquete just to try out Retrogustos but they were closed.

Speaking of which it is time to go raid the fridge...   good night all.

 

This Mayor is something very, very special to all Boquetenos, regardless of origin.  He's amazing!

8 minutes ago, TwoSailors said:

Well I finally found where you can buy distilled water by the gallon in David:

Productos Quimicos Ibis/ 775-6491   https://xn--pginasamarillas-njb.cybo.com/PA-biz/productos-qu%C3%ADmicos-ibis-s-a

URB Calle E Norte

Very close to Hospital Chiriqui

$7.50 a gallon

Casa de Baterias next to KFC sells it also.  5 gallons - $20.

I would recommend that you ask Roberto at DogSpot 6603 5347.  Roberto is actively involved in Panama dog shows and probably knows many of the breeders in the country.

43 minutes ago, Al Planet Telecom said:

Why Planet Telecom is NOT renewing its advertising with Boquete.ning.

We were solicited last night by the owners of Boquete.ning to participate in an advertising program. As current advertisers, we were expecting this, as our ad is set to expire at the end of the year.

My response to them was unequivocal, and with the backing of Planet Telecom's shareholders, we responded, both via email, and on ning itself. Needless to say, our response on ning was quickly removed, and I was... eventually banned from the site. This speaks volumes about JLM's intolerance for dissent, and their absolute desire to control the message at all costs.

Here's what we responded:

We have been following very closely the development of Boquete.ning under the new ownership and management. Thus far, we have seen a vibrant, interesting and useful resource turn into a platitudinous and vacuous forum where all content remotely critical of the changes is treated with immediate censorship and "disappearance" under the guise of moderation. It has become, in our minds, a virtual North Korea. The misguided and expedient efforts to mold the content of ning speak of a general disregard for ning's most precious asset - its contributing members.

Good friends and clients have been banned, others silenced. These are people who have lived here many years, and have contributed richly to both local and expat life in Chiriqui. Moreover, the overall member attitudes towards ning has shifted from "the place to be" to the dustbin of cyber irrelevance, in the inglorious company of Panama-Guide.com, bananamarepublic and others .

It is Voltaire who famously said, "Monsieur l’abbé, je déteste ce que vous écrivez, mais je donnerai ma vie pour que vous puissiez continuer à écrire."
Sadly, JLM Foundation has failed to heed those eternal words - words which encompass our philosophy and values. Whenever our company was criticized on ning or elsewhere, we respond - not with a surreptitious call to Lee to have the critical posts deleted (the vulgarity of such a gesture would be unimaginable), but with our candid explanation and response. This has garnered the respect of the community - and of our clients.

We sincerely believe the new administration bears the responsibility for this deterioration. The advertising asset known as ning, has in our estimation been significantly impaired to a point of no longer being a viable platform for Planet Telecom.

Please remove our ad at the end of the term.

Al,

There are more than a few issues here, but I'm not going to write a long essay.  Over the last month, I have wondered how the advertisers on Boquete.ning could be a party to blatant acts of censorship and a pettiness that is beyond belief.  Your response tells me about your company's values and principles.  If you hadn't spoken out, it would be easy to assume that Planet Telecom was in agreement with the practices of Boquete.ning's ownership.  I also intend to let at least one other advertiser on Ning know my feelings on this.

Ning is a privately owned site, but it is a public forum with a history of providing service to the community and to people who are considering being a part of it.  Many of us have strong opinions about democratic principles and the importance of free speech.  Some of us had hoped that Ning's management would see the light and return Ning to being a place to get honesty and diversity.  That isn't going to happen.  

I am a Planet Telecom subscriber and I want you to know that your decision meets my expectations for your company.

Woody

Wow!!  Planet Telecom just lowered the boom on Ning.  Check out Alain's Blog post before it gets taken down.

Huge improvement!  This site is off to the races now.  Two thumbs up!

My WAG, but I think it was more likely because you include the Noticias on CL but not on Brand X.  I really appreciate Noticias!  Thanks for the community service!

I saw a few boxes of Arborio in the Boquete Romero last week and Deli Baru in Boquete normally has some.

As I read all of this, I am reminded of why I have always used Apple products in lieu of those that use Windows or Android.

I don't want to know how it works.  I don't want to have to dink with it to get it to work.  I just want it to work intuitively and easily.  Please.

Expanding on what Roger said, a large number of houses in our neighborhood have installed solar systems.  We use ours primarily for back-up in the case of power outages because batteries are a significant investment and their life is determined by how often they cycle.  We could almost live off the grid if we wanted to replace batteries every few years.

This is a very expensive solution, but it is also very elegant compared to using a generator in that the switching between grid and solar inverter happens so fast that we normally don't even know that there has been a power outage.  The first clue is that some of our neighbors houses are black.

We have had several instances where the power outage lasted for several days and we were able to live normally with the exception of curtailing use of 220 V appliances.  I consider it to be the best investment we have made in Panama and I recommend that anyone who is considering building a new home include it in the electrical design.  As Roger said, there is no noise, no fumes, and no run to the gas station to buy more diesel or gas.

How does one stay civil after a comment like the one Chica just made?  It seems to me that the only solution is not to read the drivel because an appropriate reply couldn't be published.  

p..s. Chica needs a new handle.  The one she is using doesn't match her photo.

I hadn't heard that Farrar was gone.  When did he leave?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry, but watching it implode is great free entertainment.