Bud

I saw the play when originally performed and didn't see anything wrong with it. I really enjoyed it. I seem to recall that Willy Edwards (a local Panamanian resident) had his debut performance in this play.

Even if FKAE were politically incorrect, the arts (display, performing, auditory, etc.) are supposed to, among other things, jar people's sensitivities on occasion.

I know Squirt (TwoDice2) and she hasn't got an offensive bone in her body. A soft, creative, caring, and talented set of bones, yes, but nothing untoward or offending in the slightest.

Not hearing both sides of this story, I still am willing to say that I would be majorly disappointed in BCP if its apparent policy of political correctness caused a play like this to be pulled down.

For the BCP board: let us hear your side of this story.

The last time we were in to see Dr. Chen or Gomez, neither were available. There was another doctor (from Brazil) who took care of me and he spoke incredibly good English. I have no problem with going to Dr. Chen's office, and just accept whoever will see me. Our last visit was about 5 weeks ago. I cannot recall the new doctor's name.

The following link is about a new law passed this week in the Asemblea that requires automobile dealers and importers to stock repair parts for the vehicles they sell for up to ten years.

http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_Obligations_for_Importers_of_New_Vehicles

And now I see a Prensa article about Panama Metro that indicates plans for up to eight lines by the year 2040. The article does suggest that progress toward this vision of the public transit network will depend on future administrations. Here is the Prensa article link: http://www.prensa.com/economia/Actualizan-red-maestra-Metro_0_4405059549.html.

An English language summary of the Prensa article is available at http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_Metro_Announces_8_Lines_for_2040.

Below is a web link about the future Metro Line 3. Included is a video that is rather interesting. The video is about 3 minutes duration, and in Spanush (as it should be).

Because we frequently drive when going to PC, we get to see the enormous residential and commercial expansion that is going on just west of PC. I can't help but think the Metro 3 line would be both an economic success, but also an environmental plus. I say that because we see literally thousands of new homes going up. We call them "cookie cutter" design because they are all identical, street after street after street.

Here is the link referred to: http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Metro_Line_3_The_Future_of_Panama_West

Not an expert on the internal procedures of Union Fenosa, but my knee jerk reaction is that this is a one time "adjustment" (read charge) for guaranteeing timely future payments on your part. The phrase "deposito de garantia" roughly translates as "escrow", but I don't think they use the phrase to mean an actual escrow.

On a related matter, I am continuing to be alarmed at how high our electric bill is compared to others. A typical bill is a bit more than $200.00 per month. We have no electric water heaters, and only one small dehumidifier that runs only about 15% of the time. Lots of computer stuff and security stuff. The computers are turned off unless in use. And our "think" is that the security systems don't use that much electricity.

I hear of only about three other expats who have electric bills as high as we do. We are now considering having a chat with ACODECO, given that Union Fenosa declines to do anything, such as verifying an accurate meter, etc.

Bonnie,

We have been there recently (last November). Nice place. People are friendly, well dressed, customer service exists, prices reasonable, etc., etc. Lots of nice things to say about Medellin. Landscape is more hilly than San Francisco, so be sure to take (and use) comfortable walking shoes. A sweater or two, or perhaps a jacket might be appropriate. Medellin is approximately the same elevation as Boquete. It is a city of about 5 million, which is ~50% bigger than all of Panama. Also, we felt safe there, but were aware that the hotel staff was always keeping track of our movements, including taxi plate numbers and when and where we were going out of the hotel, and then acknowledging our return to the hotel.

The poblado area is where our hotel was located. We used Hotel Park 10, which was very nice, and outstanding Internet access. Reasonable rates, great food in their restaurant, etc. Recommend that you at least once ride thei subway/tram system. And there is a national park that is accessed via a gondola ride of about 15 minutes. Fascinating stuff to see and experience.

We had no problems at all. The taxi from the airport to our hotel was about a 45 minute ride, reasonable cost, but they only take Colombian money. We had none on our inbound leg, and so we convinced our driver to take US dollars. Credit cards will be accepted at most of the nicer hotels and eateries, etc.

"Mighty ambitious" is a gross understatement. Don't forget the planetarium and the observatory, etc. And no where did I see any parking. Wow.

I almost agree with Brundageba's comment "We'll probably both be dead and gone before it's completed." My version would be "We'll probably both be dead and gone before it's even started, assuming it gets started."

Who is going to pay for this?

I have to say that the ~12 minute animated video was impressive.

No one can fault the Panamanian's ability to dream big dreams.

I had heard about the problems with the new canal, but -- Gadzooks!!! What a horrible image. Hopefully that concrete wall has been repaired, better still replaced.

There is a shoe repair place next to Lasso, the barber referred to by TwoSailors. (Lasso is my barber and has been for years.) I believe the shoe place is literally next door to Lasso's place, but it might be two doors.

I have never used that shoe repair man, but our housekeeper has and said she was very pleased with the repair job.

http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Contractors_Prequalify_for_Work_on_Fourth_Bridge_Over_Canal?u=eed8a50357aba3bff2044bf3e2ad788d&s=n&e=3&mid=[MESSAGEID]

As someone who is totally dependent on reliable computer resources, I have several machines (both Windows and Macs). The workhorses are the Windows machines. My newest machine, roughly one month old now, never really functioned properly for some of the basic applications that I need. I knew it would be beyond the scope of the resources at the store in David where the computer was purchased. And so I contacted the software vendor of one of the more important applications, but they wanted many hundreds of dollars, and were not willing to guarantee that they would fix the problem. They claimed it was not their software but rather a corrupted .NET and operating system matter (which sounded really serious to me). And then I remembered Dottie Atwater's posting about Twin Wolf (aka Dan Porter) who, like Dottie, is one of the members here on CL.

Cutting to the bottom line: impressive is a gross understatement. Everything he did (remotely, of course, which was advantageous to both of us) was way beyond my knowledge. He clearly knows his stuff, and is very easy to work with. The problem was corrected. It turned out not to be a .NET problem as the vendor was claiming, but rather a security conflict/configuration thing between applications and the operating system.

If you have computer problems, especially Windows applications or operating system related, then Dan is the guy to go to. You can contact him via a private message on this website, using the display name "Twin Wolf Technology Group".

I give a strong recommendation to contact Twin Wolf when you have computer problems, without reservation.

Maybe this link on Tom Brymer's blog is part of the puzzle.

http://panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com/blog/news-from-panama/dubai-targets-mexico-panama-for-uae-investment-trade/

There is a report that the direct flights between Panama and Dubai are being delayed until March 31st so that data can be integrated into the appropriate information systems. Here is the article: http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Start_of_Panama__Dubai_Flights_Postponed.

This will be the longest direct flight in the world.

I still have difficulty believing that there is sufficient traffic demand to justify a daily connection between the two countries to fill the 266 seats. I am obviously missing something here.

The office for Los Naranjos is in the building across the street from the gym. Toledano eggs is on the north end of the building, and the Corregidora on the other (southern) corner.

The Hotel Park 10 is where we stayed last November. It is 0.4 KM from Parque Lleras.

Very nice hotel, great staff, highly rated, and fast Internet access. Has in-house restaurant. In the Poblado District. If we were to go back to Medellin we would stay there again. Best rates are booked online rather than calling the hotel direct.

This is of interest, but not even a hint of when it might be scheduled.

Hmmmmmmm...

Okay. I've ordered the DVD from Amazon. Do you provide the popcorn?

Not wanting to go off-topic, but I have to add this sidebar: The write up about the DVD says it is about the slums of Rio. I've been there and seen it firsthand. Not a place I would live in (or even near). While reading the description of the DVD, I had a flashback to my first trip to the Rio area. It was a loooooooooong time ago. The newspaper headlines the morning after seeing the slums was of a girl of about 14 years age that had died the night before. She lived in a cardboard box, and had been eaten alive by rats. I am sure many people would discount a comparison of the slums of Rio to the situation here in our area.

Keith, with regard to your last sentence: as the Brits would say "spot on, chap". There are some interesting "lessons to be learned" here on the part of the organizations that work on security matters.

There is the immediate "news" type reporting that would have few details, and be as close to real time as possible. Some people would dismiss this kind of reporting, but I submit that there is value in the "news" kind of report for two basic reasons:

1. to alert people in the area to be on guard for their own security, and/or
2. if alerted early on and someone hearing the report was in the area, then perhaps they might see something of interest that could be valuable (the direction of a certain car leaving at high speed, for example).

After the "news" type immediate reports, then there are investigations, and all the other kind of reports that people talk about.

One thing that Rodny has been very good about is his alerts. They may not be perfect, but they are better than nothing. AaC and RD, among others, get to decide how they operate and what their policies are, and should do so given concerns about privacy and statutory requirements, etc. But I remain firm in my opinion that "news" reports (aka alerts) of criminal activity are of value and I wish to see them.

And then I really am dreaming here by wanting every crime to be reported in the public domain. My opinion is that such information would result in a huge public support for better resources for the police, and better laws for them to work with as tools to keep us as safe as can be reasonably expected.

The bottom line, however, remains that each of us is responsible for our own security. No police person can ever be at a crime scene "in time", even if they had a vehicle that traveled at the speed of light. The one exception to the speed of light rule would be if the police person is the victim or just happened to be at the scene when it started.

Faster alerts with as much information as possible are in the public interest.

I just can't resist, but with apologies.

Where there's a will, there's a whey.

We just now saw a white Kia SUV stopped (not parked, but stopped) in front of our home. While watching it, the two occupants (both male) eventually saw us and started driving away. We continued to watch. They stopped at the next house, and then started backing up, until they saw us still watching. Then they left the area.

Was not able to get the license number, but they are on several of our security cameras. If something happens in the near future we can download the recordings. In total, this was about 3.5 minutes.

Not a good feeling right now.

Without well documented and enforced city planning, such changes/growth will continue.

I normally do not search out or even read these kinds of articles, but for some reason these came across my desk today and I gave them my attention. The articles say that Panama is not promoting tourism. Every time we go to Panama City, I look around and am not sure how they could stuff any more people or vehicles (cars, buses, taxis, etc.) into the city, but they seem to do so, and with gusto. I do agree that hotel rates have been down recently, which is good for us.

Do these articles have a hidden agenda, or is Panama really not promoting tourism? I'm confused.

http://www.prensa.com/economia/estanca-licitacion-promocion-externa_0_4375812549.html

http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_Still_Not_Promoting_Tourism?u=eed8a50357aba3bff2044bf3e2ad788d&s=n&e=3&mid=[MESSAGEID]

Marcelyn and I send our condolences to Betty and the family. We never had the opportunity to meet Betty's mother, but if she was anything like Betty then she was a very warm and compassionate person.

Keith,

Thanks for the quick follow-up. You are not mincing words here. The price is "set" by a government agency based on the various regions in the country is what I hear you saying. What is a customer supposed to do when the price at a pump is not in accordance with the published rate schedule?

I, for one, would not complain if the price is lower at the pump, but can I require the station operator to reprice the total bill for my diesel fuel if their rate is higher? Or should I report a station if their price is above the scheduled rate to a government agency? If so, I presume ACODECO would be the appropriate agency. If correct, that is not good news, given my prior experiences with ACODECO. There has been some prior discussion on CL regarding that agency. I just know what my experiences have been. I really do not want to deal with them again.

Looking for advice here. Grin and bear it, is certainly one option.

Bud