Bud

Anything but counting ants. Mark, I too apologize for what Marcelyn told me could be interpreted as my snippy response to your above posting about the 500 million years. Being snippy was not my intention. Please forgive me.

Just sharing here. My initial reaction to the protest was less than nice. Then I did some moderately deep research because of a comment made to me in private by one CL member. Yes, there is fringe loonie component to some of the opposition literature, but I found what appears to me to be legitimate scientific documentation about the risks to humans (living humans, that is) based on the incineration of toxic elements found in the human body. One for instance is that as little as one gram of mercury (such as that contained in dental fillings, for instance) can be toxic when raised to the temperatures used in the cremation process. And it is not uncommon for some people to have as much as four grams of mercury in their body. These issues/risks, meaning toxic fumes, can be controlled or mitigated by proper design, filtering, and operating procedures. That would, of course, raise the costs involved, both in the building of the infrastructure as well as in the operation of a crematorium. It then could (should?) be a business decision as to economic viability. The above comments ignore the emotional elements and the cosmetic elements of this topic.

Wow, to Mark and Keith. Just goes to show me how little I know about the world in which I live.

Who and why would anyone study ants to the point of determining their collective weight as compared to humans. Not doubting you, but thinking that there are better things on which to spend one's time.

In a recent visit with Marianella Carrizo Madrigal, Dr. Carrizo's daughter, we now understand that the mortal remains have been cremated, and that memorial services will be limited to immediate family members only.

Roger, You bring up a very important point. The jubilado discount is for persons who qualify for the discount. Part of that qualification is to be a legal resident in Panama as well as jubilado status. In particular, note the words on the bottom left of the second page as shown above, which identifies the identity documents necessary to establish one's status.

While at ACODECO in David today taking care of some business, I picked up a brochure about the application of Ley 6, which is the law about jubilado discounts. I am posting it here as pictures and also as a downloadable PDF. ACODECO Ley 6 Jubilados Pensionados y Tercera Edad - 20160427.pdf

Last year I wrote a personal note here on CL about meeting a very special person. He was Dr. Herminio Carrizo, a retired doctor who lived in Alto Boquete. Here is the link to that posting: http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/653-a-special-encounter-with-a-panamanian-senior-citizen/#comment-2519. He was an OB/GYN who was trained in the US. He practiced here in Chiriqui Provinice. We understand that he delivered thousands of babies during his almost 50 years of medical practice. It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Dr. Carrizo last night, April 25th, while sleeping. He was 93 years old, and spry, especially so for that age, even as short as a couple of weeks ago when we last visited him at his home. The family knew he was in failing health, but his passing this quickly was not expected. He is now at peace and home with the Lord. When we learn of the services, we will post that information here. With sadness in our hearts, Marcelyn and Bud

I continue to be amazed at and appreciative of our special Boquete community. When Marcelyn told me she was going to start the topic about Restaurant Survivability (http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/2076-question-of-the-day-restaurant-survivability), I had no idea of the depth and breadth of the responses that would come forth. And it has happened with other topics here on CL as well. You guys (we all) are amazing! Sure, the Boquete area has some significant problems, such as lack of potable water in certain areas, not very reliable power grid, petty crime and some not so petty crime, potholes big enough to swallow an elephant (okay, I exaggerate a bit), etc., but with the people (no distinction in this context between Panamanian and expatriate), it strikes me that there is little that we can't solve, or at least substantially improve. It seems to me that the integration of our multicultural community is perhaps our biggest shortfall. This causes me to think of more things to work on. This kind of genuine sharing of information and thoughts has been both a learning experience for me, as well as humbling. I am so glad that we started this website. Thank you for being a part of CL.

The both of us had drinks (1 alcohol and 2 sodas) and dinner (a single order that was shared, including appetizer). Given the great service and food we did NOT ask for a jubilado discount (but previously we asked for and had no push-back about the discount)..Total bill, including tip was $31.00. I did not study the menu, but I estimate an average price for a main course at about $12.00. They are BIG servings.

Marcelyn and I recently celebrated an anniversary by having dinner at Parmigiano Restaurante. For those who don't know, it is on the main road in Boquete, about 50 meters south of the Fish House, and across from the former Texaco station. We are early risers, so we frequently have dinner at 5:00pm or 6:00pm. Our special anniversary dinner actually was to begin at about 4:30pm. Turns out that the restaurant does not open until 5:00pm, so as we were turning away at the locked street-side gate, we heard a voice. It was Sergio, and he came out to rescue the potentially lost patrons. He told us he was cleaning the floors getting ready for the evening dinner service. He asked if we wouldn't mind waiting a bit, but inside and he would get us drinks while waiting. Sure, we said. We weren't in a hurry. We ordered drinks, and chatted over our drinks while Sergio finished his tasks. He then took our order. We did a pasta carbonara dish with homemade pasta, along with garlic toast. We both really like garlic. Pretty soon our main entrée arrived. Tasty, nice presentation, a large serving, and good service. Overall this was a pleasant dining experience. Nice background music at an appropriately low volume, with music to our liking. The inside of Parmigiano Restaurante has been rearranged a bit from our prior visit there a few months ago. The service was excellent, a lot of attention to details, but not intrusive. The only downside is the lack of parking. We parked on the side street near Sugar and Spice, and walked over. We will go back.

So happy to read of your latest experience at Casa Vieja. We plan to check out their hamburgers in the near future.

Geovana is everything said above, and more. After working on a communication and coordination issue for us involving two large corporations, there was still a lingering problem that we were not aware of, but which Geovana knew was simply "going to happen," given the way things work here. Rather than discuss via email or phone, she came to our home and laid out a detailed plan, in writing. We then had a wonderful and lengthy personal conversation. She is absolutely trustworthy. And thorough. And a good friend. We are soooooo happy for her that she found a great mate. We could see the happiness and joy in her eyes and heart. Thanks, Geovana. You rock.

We recently tried out Colibrí for the first time. The food was good, the service was as to be expected, but the attitude about the jubilado discount was thrown in our faces. We actually did order one of the main entrees, but apparently because it was the time of day that it was, then the discount did not apply. There was a good deal of arrogance about their "relationship" with ACODECO. Unlikely that we will return. We have better options without the attitude.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/world/europe/panama-papers-spain.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-15/spanish-industry-minister-soria-resigns-over-panama-leaks http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/15/spanish-minister-soria-resigns-alleged-offshore-links-panama-papers

Keith, I have visited a few (granted only a few) agricultural activities. My suggestion is to be careful NOT to assume that anything grown here locally is organic. Candid discussions with management and/or label scrutiny would be advised.

If you decide to pursue the hobby, I'll do what I can to help. Note that there is a monthly meeting of the ham radio operators on the first Saturday of the month. Lately they have been at Mike's Global Grill. If I can't get my antennas installed, then perhaps you could get a complete ham shack at bargain basement prices.

Marcelyn does not like bugs. Any kind of bugs. We had just gotten up this morning and she had gone to the kitchen. I heard a shriek. "Come get this thing outta here, now!" I had no idea what it was until I got to the area at the end of the bar between the kitchen and the great room. It was a cockroach. Soon to be a former cockroach. This was the first cockroach in a long time. For JudyS: can we borrow your blow torch? After completing that rescue, I turned around and saw another critter on the screen of one of our great room sliding glass doors.Quite a large grasshopper. I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures and measuring the monster. It was slightly longer than five inches from head to end of tail, not including the extended legs or the antennae. Bugs grow quite large here.

Allison, It was such a pleasure to meet you yesterday. Marcelyn and I had commented several times since starting CL last October that we would like to meet you in person. Your writings here on CL are indicative to us of someone whom we would like to know better. And your photos are great, too. We were not aware that you volunteer to help Rodny, and so when we started chatting yesterday at Señor Gyros and then learned that it was you, that was a win-win for us. Isn't Rodny an amazing person. Intelligent is a gross understatement. It is obvious to us that he really enjoys what he is doing, and that makes him all the more effective. We had never been to Señor Gryos. That meant that when we arrived to chat with Rodny and visit with Mark and Martine (good friends) that we would scope out the situation before ordering food. What a pleasant surprise. I ordered food for us (one chicken gyro wrap and a bottle of water) after looking into the kitchen area. All of our sanitation concerns were quickly set aside. The staff was friendly and knew their menu well. I spoke in my horrible Spanish and they were nice, smiling a bit as I slaughtered their language, and responded back to me in English. Food was served quickly. Everything was as ordered. It was quite tasty. Marcelyn and I do not eat much, and so our order was for one gyro wrap, "pero para compartir." They split our order in half and served it on two plates. No questions about what we were doing, Early on while we were at Señor Gyros, we chatted with a lady who came by to pay her Rodny Direct membership fee. We did not get introduced, but she told the story of how they had recently moved to Boquete, and then subscribed to Rodny Direct by phone but had not yet paid the membership fee. And then they had an emergency in their home involving her husband, apparently a very serious accident requiring surgeries and now convalescent care. Rodny took care of them without question. She was so appreciative. Another unsolicited testimonial about Rodny Direct. And then we saw Mark Perren-Jones (not sure if his last name is hyphenated or not?). Because of our travels, we haven't seen him in a long time. And then we had another pleasant surprise -- he is the owner of Señor Gyros. Lunch yesterday at this Rodny event was full of good memories. Meeting you (Allison), chatting with Rodny, seeing Mark and Martine, reconnecting with Mark PJ, and discovering a great place to have lunch. We definitely will go back to Señor Gyros, probably frequently. Besides good food and service and clean facilities, where else can two people have lunch for $6.00, plus a tip? And then Mark and Martine stopped by our place late yesterday for a visit. Apparently it was another very successful enrollment day for Rodny Direct. Some 14 more memberships for his service. There are several "and then's" in this posting. Yesterday was just full of good "and then's". We like those kinds of days.

Jim and Judi, Got positive feedback from our friends re utility costs for their pool. Please check your private mail (PM) here on CL for more details and contact information.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/12/americas/panama-papers-raid/index.html Seems that this story is like an Everready battery -- it just keeps going and going, and keeps growing and growing. I'm still trying to figure out what was illegal. I continue to feel that Panama the country is getting a bad rap here. When I wrote "Mind-boggling implications" in the post that started this thread, I think I grossly understated those implications. Perhaps I should have added the word 'massively' (borrowing from the lead sentence of the quoted CNN article) before 'mind'.

JohnF13, Thanks for this information. While I don't like this news, at least here is an underlying reason for the additional expense. Still seems terribly high to me.

I, too, had our house built with a design that would accommodate a pool. Swimming has been my exercise of choice since I was a youngster. My research told me many years ago (I've been here 15 years) NOT to use electric water heaters for a swimming pool, but rather to use propane. That decision obviously is yours. And FYI, we have opted NOT to go forward with the pool at our residence. We do know a couple that have a pool at their home. It is an indoor, and rather large pool. Several years ago they converted to solar heating for their pool because of the cost of the utilities. Unfortunately, just last week they sold that home and so viewing of it is no longer a possibility. But I will ask the now former owner of that residence if he would be willing to talk with you about your question. He is not a member of CL, and I do not give out email addresses without permission. Please also understand that they are in the process of vacating that residence, and so the probability of their having some spare time to talk is rather low.

I've been struggling with this topic for several weeks now. Couldn't decide if I was just being a curmudgeon or if this really is an issue. The subject is the cost of shipping goods to and from the US and Canada. I am not talking about household goods that would go in a container, for instance, but rather when (for example) some complicated special purpose electronic component needs to be repaired at a US or Canadian facility because the resources do not exist in Panama. This topic is NOT about which mail service to use, such as comparing MBE Boquete versus eShop and the other service providers. This is about the costs charged by the couriers. This happened again to me recently. I ended up shipping some expensive electronics to a company in Canada for service reasons. We use MBE Boquete as our incoming mail and outgoing package service. And I do want to be clear that I am NOT speaking ill of Velkys or Arturo or MBE in general. Arturo packaged up the electronic component and it made its journey to Canada without incident. Fantastic work on the packaging and documentation, etc. But it cost about $350.00 to ship the box via DHL. The surprising thing to me is that the company has completed the repairs, and shipped back the unit. The shipping cost from Canada back to Miami (for forwarding to us here in Boquete) is only $42.00 exactly. I am hanging on by both hands waiting to see how much it will cost to get that shipment back to Boquete from Miami.. My gripe is about the extremely high cost of getting items shipped to and from Panama to other parts of the world. My feeling is that we are getting taken to the cleaners on courier shipments into and out of Panama. Should I just let this go? Am I being unreasonable? Again, this is NOT about MBE Boquete, but rather the costs charged by the carriers themselves.

This has been an interesting and emotional thread for me. As Marcelyn mentioned above, I have wanted to be a ham radio operator since I was 15 years old. Here I am now in my 70s and finally having gotten my US and Panama licenses. Those were happy days. However, I still have not transmitted one single minute on the ham radio bands. As hard as the tests were, they are nothing compared to the stress and difficulty in trying to get my ham radio antennas installed here in Boquete. There are some people who are adamant that they do not want me to install any antennas, even though I have all of the permits and licenses, etc. They apparently do not want me to be able to enjoy my hobby for reasons known only to them. This makes me reflect on what the real meaning of a neighbor is versus should be. Not pleasant thoughts. Almost three years and still having to deal with this mess. Got any suggestions?