Third World Infrastructure

just called the company again because of the internet speed, should be solved by Monday or Tuesday.

How is the meat ?
Jim September 18 at 10:42am
Not bad, beats anything at the local supers. I’ve just had the sausage (chicken?) and half the tenderloin, tasty but tougher than I would have expected for a tenderloin.
Saskia September 21 at 12:23pm
Jim, could you please check the water-level in the black outside water-tank ?
That seemed to be the problem, my pump doesn’t turn on anymore.
If the water level goes too low, please let me know or open the valve so it can fill up the tank again and after we close it again.
Thanks.

I’m off to Bri Bri now and you should have 2 MB internet by tomorrow or latest the day after.
Jim September 21 at 1:19pm
I’m good for a day or two.
Saskia September 21 at 3:49pm
ok, just open the valve before the pump runs dry and then close the valve again when its full.
Oh, and BTW… tomorrow supposedly no electricity from 8 to 12:30.
Internet should be good by tomorrow, took me ages there but tonight my ICE-friend will also come and check on it.
Jim September 21 at 3:37pm
Fuck me in the ass with a stick. BTW? Well, I guess I’ll just have to walk the beach and work after dark.

Fat Man in the Bathtub

Power was out all morning. I got two hours of work in before it went out and then ran on batteries for 2 hours.
I left to get some lunch. Came back and I now have 2mb/sec internet connection.

What am I doing with this awesome speed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkZsSydzQjM

Spotcheck Billy got down on his hands and knees
He said “Hey mama, Hey let me check your oil all right?”
She said “No, no honey, not tonight
Comeback Monday, comeback Tuesday, then I might.”
I said Juanita, my sweet Jaunita, what are you up to?
My Juanita
I said Jaunita, my sweet taquita, what are you up to?
My Juanita

Don’t want nobody who won’t dive for dimes
Don’t want no speedballs ’cause I might die tryin’
Throw me a line, throw me a line
‘Cause there’s a fat man in the bathtub with the blues
I hear you moan, I hear you moan, I hear you moan

Billy got so sad, dejected, put on his hat and start to run
Runnin’ down the street yellin’ at the top of his lungs
All I want in this life of mine is some good clean fun
All I want in this life and time is some hit and run

I said Juanita, my sweet Jaunita, what are you up to?
My Jaunita
I said Jaunita, my sweet taquita, what are you up to?
My Juanita

Put my money in your meter baby so it won’t run down
But you caught me in a squeeze play on the cheesy side of town
Throw me a dime, throw me a line
‘Cause there’s a fat man in the bathtub with the blues
I hear you moan, I hear you moan, I hear you moan

Lucy Pat

[11:15:04] Lucy_Pat: It is with a heart full of hope and trust in you that
I write you this letter to seek your help in the
context below. My name is Lucy Pat
from Republic of Sierra Leone.
Since my late father death during the war in my country i have to ran to Accra Ghana to save my dear life in the Bujumbura camp .

I am contacting you to kindly assist me locate a
lucrative business in your country into which you can
assist me invest the sum of( 3.2 United States
Dollars) left in the bank by my late father.
I was in my second year in the university in my country studying medicine before i stop because of the war.
i have decided to contact you for this assistance
after going through your profile, and i am
believing/trusting that you must surely assist
me,hence it will be of benefit to you once you
accepted to assist me.with your assistance i will offer you 15%

I will tell you more about me and also the amount i
will offer you for your kind assistance once I heard through my email address lucypat@rocketmail.com

Thanks and remain blessed as i await your positive
response.
Yours sincerely,
Lucy Pat
[11:16:15] me: 3.2 dollars won’t buy a hamburger
[11:17:02] Lucy_Pat: ok
[11:17:17] me: try 3.2 million dollars
[11:18:23] Lucy_Pat: 3.2millons dollars
[11:18:57] me: Oh well then. Is this US Dollars?
[11:19:07] Lucy_Pat: yes
[11:19:18] me: And how was this money earned?
[11:19:54] … Are you looking for dividends or appreciation?
[11:20:15] Lucy_Pat: it was earned by my late father
[11:20:42] … my late father was gold and diamond dealer
[11:21:06] me: And is currently in money market funds or certificates of deposit?
[11:21:27] Lucy_Pat: yes i have it with me
[11:21:37] … the deposit certificate
[11:23:13] me: good, I’d love to help you, please send me a check for $3,200 dollars in US Funds .1% of the amount indicated I and I can assist you in transfering the money.
[11:23:45] Lucy_Pat: how?
[11:23:57] me: how to send the check?
[11:24:00] Lucy_Pat: where do i get the money to send for u
[11:24:17] me: You have 3.2 million dollars right?
[11:24:31] Lucy_Pat: you are out of your mind
[11:24:43] … the money is in the bank
[11:24:53] … and you are telling me to send u money
[11:25:09] me: what do you want me to do?
[11:26:35] Lucy_Pat: is to help me contact the bank first
[11:27:04] me: The bank in which you have three dollars and 20 cents?
[11:27:23] Lucy_Pat: yes
[11:28:17] me: i suggest that you go to your account officer and say “Hey, I’m the rich bastard with $3.20 in your account. Take care of me right the fuck now.”
[11:28:45] Lucy_Pat: i can see u are not serioues
[11:28:57] me: You are a fucking idiot.
[11:29:54] Lucy_Pat: ok
[11:29:57] … thanks
[11:29:59] … bye

Copy and Paste

Copy and Paste

You want fresh content? You think I have nothing better to do than blog?

Here’s a facebook thread.

Saskia wants to go to the beach….. aaaahhh… damn rain !
11 hours ago · Comment · Like / Unlike
me Not a sky in the clouds
11 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
Jim, remember the veggie and meat order today ? I’ll call you in let’s say 2 hours
11 hours ago
me
Somebody is jealous about you / us. I didn’t know if I should have come and join you guys at the club last night.
Good god woman you almost knocked me off my bike with the salutation. I left home without my machete.
11 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
jealous about ME ?? Nope… But of course you should have joined us. Thought you were too late for a date the speed you went by.
11 hours ago
Saskia
So, who’s jealous about you or me or you and me ??
10 hours ago
me
I’ll avoid the question and email you my produce and meat order. We’ll all have dinner when she comes down. In the mean time, don’t tell anybody about about the fact the I am running a home for wayward girls here.
10 hours ago · Delete
me
I need two ping pong paddles, some fur liners for handcuffs, 4′ of latex tubing, 40′ of silk ribbon,
two pulleys and a squeegee. Should I go to Bribri or Limon?
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
oh, so it’s somebody from YOUR part… that makes sense, haha. When she comes down… down… so, you are up on the hill an she comes down ? That makes her live where ?
And of course I won’t tell anybody anything…
10 hours ago
me
We’ll keep everything private and post it on Facebook. Discretion is important.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
Ping-Pong ?? Fur-liners ? I know a good sex-shop in San Jose.. ha ha ha. San Pedro Mall… But you have to ask for permission to enter the back room. Don’t know why they brought ME there… Mrs. Innocent.
10 hours ago
Saskia
Exactly… Facebook is THE place for it… total discretion guaranteed.
10 hours ago
me
I think the black girl at the Pizzeria thinks that I am the father of your child.
She’s cute and her husband seems ok, he doesn’t speak a word of english.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
Which Pizzeria ? Wow, now I have already 4 Dad’s for my child, great…
The 17 year old, the internet-technician, you and the real Dad… what about Tacho, you think he’s a candidate as well ?
10 hours ago
me
Oh god, I’ve been here less than two weeks and Tacho is cheating on me. What hell is wrong with people here?
10 hours ago · Delete
me
Which Pizzeria? First one north of here. I don’t know the name.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
well, they are “life-enjoyers”… Tacho likes to share. What the heck you think happenes when I leave him alone with Yerri ? And the party is on when his wife comes down.
10 hours ago
me
You probably heard me laugh from here.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
The one across the beach ? Or the one right behind the bridge before the supermarket ?
10 hours ago
Saskia
oh, that was you ? ;o)
10 hours ago
me
cheese order cheese I was hoping for camembert, roquefurt, brie and stilton
10 hours ago · Delete
me
I’ll be there in a minute.
10 hours ago · Delete
Saskia
and there comes Tacho….
9 hours agoFrom

Costa Rican Infrastructure - Electricity

The electricity went out three times today.
8:30 – 8:32
8:35 – 9:30
19:00 – 19:01

Yesterday it went out 8:00 – 8:02

Tuesday it was out from 8:00 until 12:00

I work on my laptop, with all my code and my unit test databases on the laptop so I don’t need the internet to get work done. I have battery power for a couple of hours. The phone works when the electricity is out, so with a small UPS I could keep connected, by powering up the ADSL modem.

It was interesting watching the guys reconnect the sections, there is a bar that connects the bottom of some pineapple shaped units on two sides of a pole. Connecting the bar in the slot completes the circuit, just like those old time frankenstein electrical switches (like the main for my house). Some tico with a 40′ fiberglass pole tries to get the end of the pole into a little whole in the bar and then push it up to complete the switch. It reminds me of those tools the nuns used on the upper louvered windows. It’s actually a whole lot safer than riding up there on a bucket of a service crane, and trust me, there are not a lot of those down here.
Wiring

Don’t expect to find grounded outlets. If you find one, it probably isn’t grounded anyway.

Shower heads with 220 volt 60 amp service, with the wire connected by electrical tape are common. That kind of power could support my entire frigging house with 12 tons of cooling, 2 refrigerators, a freezer, a washer and a dryer all running at the same time. It’s highly efficient, hot water on demand. Most of the energy used in hot water heaters is wasted keeping the tank warm.

The apartment I rented in La Fortuna had a non waterproof wall fixture, the kind you would buy at a Loews for $29 mounted on the wall of the shower with the top half half and inch from the wall at the height of the shower head.

Water is Good

Water

Water is good. After analyzing the pipes and which faucets had good pressure and which ones had bad pressure I was left with the simple conclusion that the filters were clogged.. The idiot former tenants jammed plastic bags in the filters, broke them taped them up, I have no idea what they thought they were doing.

There are three filters in series, two with wound cord filters and one with chipped granite. Washing out the filters fixed everything, but I certainly understand Saskia’s statement that I shouldn’t drink the water. I might have to get it tested and put in a reverse osmosis and an activated charcoal filter for drinking water. Shlepping 20 liter bottles in from town and up the hill is not a pleasant long term prospect.

I worked my 8 – 9 straight through and quit at 3:00 went for a swim, came back, rode by ride into town, pretty mundane stuff. Now I use the outside shower when I come back from the beach so that I don’t track sand into the house. I got back ten minutes ago and now it is pouring down rain. Rain on a tin roof is awesome. I have the doors open and the wind is blowing stuff off the tables. I just love it here

Buy Bike

I hitch hiked up to Play Negra (Black Beach) and bought a bike at the Ferreteria (No Jan, that is not a Luby’s that sells smelly little weasels). Nobody that worked there spoke english, making the transaction interesting. I believe the brand name translates to “Cheap Chinese Piece of Shit”. The tires were underinflated and the rear wheel was not positioned properly, nor was the rear mud flap. I rode to Sonya’s and got the CD (Karl I will upload today). Then I rode it home and inflated the tires. Saskia dug up some wrenches and we aligned things as well as could be accomplished.

I rode it last night to the super and bought some laundry detergent. This morning I used the washing machine, the discharge hose was not attached on the bottom so it emptied all the water onto my bathroom floor, so I guess I will mop today. Then it wouldn’t fill up again with water because the water pressure is god awful, but it is intermittent. If the load ever finishes I will put it out on the clothesline and see if it is possible to air dry clothes in this humidity.

Usually as dawn approaches I am awakened by a gradual increase in bird sounds. Today I thought a howler monkey had jumped through my open window and was howling at me from the foot of the bed. The best birding is from 5:00 to 7:00 the activity in my back yard is amazing. I have discovered that I can use Saskia’s postal box and actually get something delivered. There are no addresses or street names. I describe myself as “the second drive past the chameleon on the hill.” Nobody has a doubt where that is.

The full moon is on Friday, so perhaps I will bop up to Tortuguero, on the northern Caribbean this weekend. It’s a long boat ride down a canal to a big park. The sea turtles should be hatching in force.

Cheers, that concludes this morning’s post from the jungle.