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Formakin House
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Formakin House, which is also known as the Monkey House, lies between Langbank and Houston, and has been an object of curiosity to Renfrewshire residents for years. The monkey reference relates to the stone monkeys adorning the roofs of the gatehouse and other buildings, some of which appear to be frolicking along the ridge of the roof. Many have been lost or removed over the years, however those on the gatehouse have survived intact. Within the main house, door lintels and fireplaces are also decorated with relief carvings of more monkeys.
Formakin House was designed by the architect Sir Robert Stoddart Lorimer for John Augustus Holms (April 1,1866 - May 24, 1938) at the start of the 20th century. An accomplished horticulturist, Holms planned and laid out the formal gardens before the house was was built, including a fountain, oriental and walled gardens, all joined by paths set with heart shaped stones. Although he also maintained the garden at Bishopton station, and opened his gardens for charity, he did not suffer trespassers, or show any mercy to those who would pick his flowers, with tripwires set in the grounds, arranged to catch out unwary visitors and land them in a muddy puddle.
The building's style is that of the 17th century, and it has a carved date of 1694 on one of the walls, accompanied by the letters DL, standing for Damned Lie! The date really being some 200 years later. The building was rendered brick with reinforced concrete floors and had central heating radiators installed, both being unusual in a building of the period. Work came to a stop in 1912, when Holms' funds were exhausted, thanks to his extravagant demand for the highest of standards, even for the most utilitarian of items. For example, his specification for the electricity supply switch board called for "polished marble mounted in a polished teakwood frame having a teakwood door with lock and key". The house remained an empty shell, and was never actually lived in. No plumbing was ever installed in the house, nor was there a kitchen, but this did not stop Holms from holding dinner parties there. His collection of tapestries would be hung on the walls, which were never plastered, and the meal would be cooked in the gatehouse, and transported along the driveway to be served to his guests.
By 1940, the estate had been sold to AE Pickard (1874 - 1964), a Glasgow based millionaire, entrepreneur, cinema magnate, eccentric, and more. The only bidder, Pickard had acquired the estate for only �7,000 - Holms' spending on labour and materials alone was estimated at �60,000. Pickard had a well known penchant for American cars. However, when they broke down he simply abandoned them in his driveway, and bought another, a practice which did not go down well with his neighbours. Later attempts by Pickard to sell the estate for housing development met with little success, being thwarted by the proximity of the munitions factory at Bishopton, which was then still in operation. His sister is said to have lived at Formakin for several years, but there is no confirmation of this story.
In 1984, the estate was taken over by the Formakin Trust, assisted with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and opened to the public. Unfortunately, the trust ran at a deficit, unable to attract sufficient visitors, and closed after a few years. At the start of the 21st century, the estate was successfully developed as private housing, providing some 17 exclusive domiciles and finally occupied almost 100 years after it was started.
Site visit 2007
The estate was always a secret and secretive place. If intruders were observed, a Land Rover with four estate workers carrying shotguns would drive about the lanes of the estate. I saw them twice, but fortunately they never caught me.
Estate buildings adjacent to the road are visible to the public, but the main house is not, and the estate is surrounded by 'Private' signs, having been developed as upmarket housing. While Miller's building has been saved, the style has been altered considerably, having been converted to both studio and accommodation by its first new occupant, who was an artist. Many of the monkey carvings on the roofs have been removed or lost over the years. One area of the gardens to the north of the new driveway was planted with rows of hedging which have grown to become tree lines, about 20 feet apart.
Visitors to the area should be aware that another house, approximately half a mile to the north, which is a modern reproduction, stands on the site of a similar building which formerly occupied the ground. This may be Linden Lee, but the name is unconfirmed.
AE Pickard
Albert Ernest Pickard (1874 - 1964) was the last of Glasgow's great eccentrics, who liked to introduce himself as Albert Ernest Pickard Unlimited. Actually from Yorkshire, born in Bradford, he moved to Glasgow in 1904, and began his property empire by purchasing Fell's Waxwork in the city's Trongate. To this he added his own American Museum, featuring a number of freak shows and a small zoo. He then acquired the old Britannia Music Hall which occupied the the floors above his waxworks, and changed its name to The Panopticon, because there, one could see everything within its walls.
Many of those who performed at his theatre were amateurs, getting their first opportunity to be seen there, and he always claimed part responsibility for one of the most famous comic duos ever. An unknown comic, Stan Jefferson first performed at The Panopticon. Later, the rest of the world would come to know him as Stan Laurel.
Buying up property made Pickard a millionaire and he eventually owned more buildings than anyone except the council.
His eccentric ways are said to have made Glasgow a funnier place for 60 years, with stunts such as his habit of paying large bills with bags of pennies. At the age of 90, during Halloween in 1964, after an amazingly full life, he died in a fire in his own home in Belhaven Terrace in the city's West End. His ashes were scattered in the Garden of Remembrance of the Western Necropolis.
Taggart connection
The house, or rather estate entrance, featured in an episode of Taggart, "Flesh And Blood", first aired on Scottish Television in 1989. This episode included possible IRA involvement, a group of Role Playing Game (RPG) enthusiasts, some amateur thieves, and an embittered, scheming, retired safecracker.
The story begins just before Christmas, as Jim Taggart attends the wedding of social worker Janie Ross (one of the game players) and prisoner Charlie Forbes. Ross is later to be found murdered.
With the help of a friend, an Irishman living in Glasgow hijacks a delivery van en route for the Stranraer ferry. Instead of the expected haul of video recorders, they find the van contains fairy lights, and a cache of explosive, later found to to be the property of some very unforgiving owners.
Ross is seen playing an RPG with a group of friends in the vaults beneath Glasgow University. Following the death of her long established game character, she is upset and leaves, only to be crushed to death by a car in a nearby lane.
The hijackers, who thought the explosives cache to be a lucky find, find their luck takes a doubly dangerous turn for the worse. Firstly, the real owners of the explosives, who consider the theft to be deliberate rather than chance, despatch a ruthless and heavily armed hitman to send a message to any other thieves. Second, they are unaware that the safecracker they have recruited to use the explosives, in the belief that he has a �2 million job planned, has been waiting for such an opportunity to arise in order to carry out a plan he already had in readiness, involving the murder of his family in an explosion at a holiday cottage they rent each Christmas. This is intended to cover his own disappearance by substituting one of their unrecognisable bodies for his own in the ruins of the destroyed building. His ultimate plan was to plant evidence that he and his wife had kidnapped the baby son of an heiress some twenty years earlier, and their double death would trigger the release of a letter confessing to the crime and naming their son as the victim, and heir to her fortune. However, the plan was to fail as they were not smart enough to take account of the development of DNA fingerprinting, which would prove the son was not related to the kidnap family.
A series of apparently unrelated events begins a chain of murders which appear to be linked, with Taggart and Jardine called in to investigate.
Part of the story revolves around a treasure hunt created by Janie Ross, intended to be run on Boxing Day. Jardine decides to follow the clues described in the hunt, which includes a visit to Formakin House, with scenes showing the the entrance to the house and a monkey statue. Another clue leads to Port Glasgow, where we see the distinctive black and white chequerboard pattern painted on the Steamboat Quay Lighthouse, located near Newark Castle. Also featured as locations on the treasure hunt are the tower on Tower Hill, Gourock, and the Comet Replica at Port Glasgow. The hunt is intended to end at the holiday cottage, said to be Hawk's Hill (visible on the treasure map), possibly inspired by Hawkhill, northeast of Girvan.
The episode closes with a notable scene on Greenock Dock. Arrested in an underground tunnel running beneath the dry dock to a derelict building where he has just executed the safecracker, the hitman maintains his composure and lies to Taggart, implying that his (the safecracker's) partner can still be apprehended in the building. In reality, we know that there is no partner, and that the hitman and safecracker had previously arranged to meet in the building. The safecracker had arrived early, sneaking in via the tunnel with the intention of setting up a decoy and booby trap for the hitman, but was discovered by him before completing his work, and machine gunned. Taggart and Jardine set off down the tunnel, but Jardine is sent back. Seconds later, an explosion rocks the area and we see the building burst into flames, with a brief shot of the hitman's smiling face.
While his colleagues attempt to enter and search the burning building, believing he was inside when the explosion detonated, we see a dust covered Taggart emerge from a smoking tunnel doorway on the opposite side of the dock. He had spotted the incomplete booby trap wiring to the door latch when he had to break a pane of glass to gain access to the room where the decoy was seated.
A further gem in the same episode is the scene showing Taggart and Jardine descending in a Paternoster, believed to have been located in the Pontecorvo Building, University of Glasgow, Dumbarton Road, where the Genetics Department was located. Unfortunately, this building by Basil Spence & Partners is understood to have been demolished some time after 2011.
East wing offered for sale in 2018
News of an offer for sale of the east wing of Fomakin was noted at the end of 2018.
Formakin Estate may look ancient, but the A-listed building was constructed out of four farms in 1902, and modelled on a medieval home of grandeur and size.
The East Wing is the section up for sale, boasting five bedrooms and three bathrooms - and we think you�ll agree that it�s as stunning inside as out.
That includes a grand reception hallway, drawing room with stone fireplace and log burning stove, as well as a formal dining room or study.
Bedroom five, on the ground floor, also has a log burner, as well as access to the gorgeous garden outside - and then there�s the spiral staircase leading down from the kitchen to a lower level floor, currently used as a gym.
Upstairs, there�s a master bedroom with en suite, three double beds and both a family and guest bathroom - all the bathrooms on this level have electric underfloor heating too, to keep you toasty.
The gardens around The East Wing include a huge terrace, allowing stunning views over the surrounding grounds of Formakin - all 170 acres of parkland and woodland, as well as formal gardens for residents to enjoy.
There�s even a pond, complete with local wildlife - so if gazing out onto the lush greenery and gliding swans is your idea of heaven then we think we�ve found the place, and so close to Glasgow too.
Savills is marking The East Wing at Formakin Estate for offers over �595,000 - so for now, we can only dream.
- Stunning five-bed home in �Monkey House� Formakin Estate up for sale.[1]
Formakin gatehouse
Monkey left
Monkey right
Lodge, staff and goods entrance
Steamboat Quay lighthouse
1 ⇑ Stunning five-bed home in �Monkey House� Formakin Estate up for sale Retrieved December 20, 2018.
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Formakin House article, The Scotsman, June 10, 2004
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Thorn Floral ARE YOU A VENDOR?
Thorn Floral is a wedding design studio located in west-end Toronto, which offers bespoke flora recipes for weddings and special occasions. Thorn Floral provides hand-crafted and utilizes fresh, locally-sourced product inspired by the season. The business always aims to cater to different individual styles and serves Toronto, York Region and beyond.
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I had Thorn Floral do my bouquets and decor florals for my August 11, 2018, and wow, their work is sooooo dreamy. I pretty much cried when her team first walked into my parents house to show us our bouquets. She also did an amazing job at the church and at the reception venue as well! She re-purposed arrangements between venues when necessary to save me money as well.
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Nissan brings the Sentra back into the family tree
Automotive refreshes are pretty mild affairs and, if we're being blunt, not usually something that stirs your senses at an auto show. Fancier headlights, a few new seat fabrics…it's all very 'been there, done that.'
However, here at the L.A. Auto Show, Nissan has taken its freshened 2016 Sentra sedan towards a much stronger and more well-rounded new direction. As refreshes go, think more along the lines of an ice bucket challenge, and less a moist towelette.
The first thing you'll notice about the Sentra is that it shares the same familial face found on Nissan's larger sedans, such as the Altima and Maxima. A V-shaped nose and boomerang-style headlamps give the Sentra a more distinctive appearance – this is no longer a car that fades into the background. Okay, a GT-R and Nismo 370Z remain the Nissans that get our blood racing. But in the compact sedan segment, this new Sentra is a handsome fellow.
A 6-speed manual is available on the base S trim level, though most people will opt for the continuously variable transmission (CVT) found on the rest of the range. Nissan has added 'steps' in the behavior of this gearbox, to better mimic the feel of a traditional automatic. That's a good thing, since the first CVTs were notorious for holding revs way too high and droning like a blender.
No changes were made to the 130-horsepower 1.8-liter 4-cylinder, though Nissan did slightly firm up the car's suspension. Upgrades to the cabin include a new steering wheel, along with a 5.0-inch "Advanced Driver Assist Display" located directly in front of the driver, snug beneath the speedometer and tach.
["source-nydailynews"]
back into the family tree Nissan brings the Sentra	2015-12-09

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Edition 90 - February 2016
Published at Quepos, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Editor: Bob Normand, The Golden Gringo, aka "GG"
(©Copyright 2008-2016 - All Rights Reserved)
Feature and Department Links:
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Archived Editions
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Broken News (New Health Credit for Coffee, Bird-Friendly Wind Power, El Chapo Lookalike, Keeping Up With the Cubans, Snowzilla Hitchhiker, Quepos Quickies - Bus Station Renovations, Marchamo Made Easy, New Year's Fireworks)
Rumble Talk (Earthquake-Proof Bed?)
¿Que Es Eso? Department: "In Paris it's: Qu'est-ce que c'est?"
Feature: Toothsome Tico Dentistry (Let Me See That Smile Please)
Feature: Su Casa es Mi Casa (Professional House-sitting Made Easy)
Feature: Robot Mania ("Good Morning Sir; Coffee, Tea or Me?")
What's-in-a-Word (Answer to ¿Que Es Eso?, Vaccine Prevents Resurrection, You Know You're Becoming Tico If..)
ROMEO Corner (Don Wang)
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - Albert Einstein
(All the News That's Fit to Reprint)
New Health Credit for Coffee
GG has always been a devotee of the hot water extract of the roasted and ground berries of the coffea plant. Some call this extract coffee.
In the second half of the twentieth century there was almost endless talk of how bad coffee is for people. It still is for those who have a sensitivity to caffeine, such as those who have high blood pressure or those that may be pregnant (gratefully, neither of these do I suffer from).
In recent years, particularly in the last five, a significant number of studies have been reported stating that frequent consumption of the brew can be quite beneficial to people. Coffee is now purported to 1) reduce the likelihood of developing Type II diabetes, 2) significantly reduce the occurrence of stroke when taken in conjunction with green tea, 3) have a positive effect in helping long term memory and 4) even exhibits a beneficial effect in reducing some tumors in breast cancer.
Read more here: Coffee as Health Food.
Now, an American Heart Association long-term study essentially confirms the above. Some 170,000 women (nurses) and 40,000 men were followed over a 30 year period and their coffee consumption evaluated every four years.
The major conclusion:
"Regular consumption of coffee can be included as part of a healthy, balanced diet," said senior author Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard. "However, certain populations such as pregnant women and children should be cautious about high caffeine intake from coffee or other beverages."
While I'm up amigo, can I get you another cup?
¡Pura Vida!
Bird-Friendly Wind Power
Wind Farm in Southern Nicaragua
Many medicinal drugs offer benefits to people but many also have negative side effects. It's the same with alternative forms of energy production. Two negative side effects associated with the power produced from wind turbines are noise and the killing of birds. Personally, I think they're also ugly as hell - hundreds of acres covered with giant pinwheels are not what I think of as "naturaleza" (Spanish for nature).
GG recently passed through a wind-power farm in Nicaragua (shown at left) and I listened intently but could not pick up any unusual whirring sounds that they reportedly cause but, of course, I was in a taxi and I don't live under them or nearby them. I also wasn't able to inspect the areas at their base to see if there were indeed any bird cemeteries.
New Saphon Energy Wind Machine
Now comes news of a new approach that may eliminate the negative effects mentioned. A new blade-less technology has come out of Tunisia of all places. GG and his fledgling family spent a couple of weeks in Tunisia in the 1970's on vacation from the job in Brussels. Even got a chance to ride a camel on the Sahara desert (GG of Tunisia? It just doesn't have the same ring to it as Lawrence of Arabia, does it?)
Designed by Tunisian engineer Anis Aouni, this new technology tries to emulate or take advantage of Saphonian movement, an ancient Greek name given to the figure eight movement that birds and fish make through air and water. The company is called, not surprisingly, Saphon Energy. Aouni claims he has already produced 1.7 times the efficiency of a wind turbine while reducing the noise and, since there are no blades, eliminating the bird-kill. And just to crown his achievement, the engineer claims a Saphon machine will cost significantly less than its wind turbine brother.
Now that's the kind of engineering that impresses GG. But wait, it seems that they haven't solved the ugly problem yet have they, if the picture above is any indication.
El Chapo Lookalike
Newly Captured El Chapo & Pres Nieto
All over the news last month was the recapture of drug lord El Chapo, the Mexican chap that was able to have a tunnel constructed from outside his prison to a point right under his personal shower (don't ask how a prisoner rates a private shower). When he was recaptured, the picture to the left was published showing Señor Nieto (in Spanish "nieto" means grandson), the president of Mexico along side El Chapo (that's El Chapo on the left). "Chapo" in Spanish means short - El Chapo is 5'6" and Nieto is 5'8".
Am I the only dude that thinks these guys could at least be first cousins if not brothers? Clean up El Chapo, lose the mustache and about 20 pounds, add 2" lifts to his shoes and El Chapo might have a new career as a double for El Presidente.
Keeping Up With the Cubans
First Cubans Arriving at Daniel Oduber Airport for
Departure to El Salvador
The Chronicles crack, non-award winning reporter (guess who that is) has been following the plight of the nearly 8,000 Cubans who found themselves caught in Costa Rica because Nicaragua would not issue them transit visas (see Cubans Dilemma). After much consternation among central American countries, it was decided that the resolution to this drama would be to airlift them to El Salvador where they could then enter Guatemala over land to Mexico then to the U.S. border where they could then enter the U.S. over land.
So, on January 12 the first 180 cuban emigres were put aboard a flight from Daniel Oduber airport (Liberia) and flown to San Salvador. They would not reach the Mexican border for four more days, ending up in the Mexican town of Nuevo Laredo.
Border Crossing at Nuevo Laredo
Evidently they encountered no resistance whatever on either side of the border at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Laredo, Texas when they walked across the international bridge. The first Cuban to emerge on the U.S. side of the border was a 29 year old man named Randy Cuevas. Practice your Spanish with Randy here.
Most of the new emigres are reporting their intention is to settle in the Miami area. With the "test" run successful, the rest of the emigres are planned to resume and complete the airlift beginning February 4. The Cubans themselves are being asked to pay for their one-way flights to El Salvador: $555 for adults, $350 for youngsters between 2 and 12 and $150 for those under 2 (GG can do the San José/Miami round-trip for less than that).
Meanwhile, there have been some interesting sidebar reports about this situation:
Some 56 of the Cuban emigres were found to have entered Costa Rica illegally (without passports?). The Costa Rican government quickly announced its plan to deport them back to Cuba. The the Sala IV (constitutional ) court of Costa Rica stepped in and said you can't do that - they are equivalent to the other "transitory" Cubans with special visas. They must now be sent to a third country or released.
An interesting report recently stated that the count of Cubanos at the shelters has dropped by about 2,000. Authorities have postulated that the missing people were tired of waiting and opted to sign up with coyotes who showed them how to illegally cross the Nicaragua border and will lead them similarly though all the borders until they reach some place in the States.
Business Up in La Cruz
Business in the La Cruz area, where most of the Cubans were sheltered, are reporting a very substantial increase in sales of consumables, particularly fruits and cigarettes, both of which the Cubans are particularly fond of. Some merchants said they would resent the Cubans leaving.
Several of us were lollygagging (that's Spanish for goofing off) on Manuel Antonio beach the other day when a young man approached us offering the usual activities like snorkeling, parasailing, banana boating etc. I noticed he did it with a little hesitation and a lot of hope. He was obviously new at the job. I talked to him a little in my broken Spanish and his broken English (he taught himself English watching English movies with Spanish subtitles) and learned he was Cuban and was hoping to move north at some point.
I didn't press him to know his legal status but simply wished him ¡Exito! (Success!).
Snowzilla Hitchhiker
Hitchhiking is as old as the roads even before they were paved. It can be an art form (see a Hitchhiker's Essay).
So the other day GG was watching reports rolling in about "Snowmaggedon" and "Snowzilla". My attention was centered on fine tuning the air conditioner and adjusting my sunglasses to minimize the brilliance they encountered, when I came across the photo at the right in an daily electronic newspaper I receive.
I get the sentiment amigos. What are you waiting for?
(Hold the poison pen letters please)
Quepos Quickies
Bus Station Being Painted (See the Safety Harnesses on the Painters, the Separation of Public from the Work Area - Nyah, Who Needs that Safety Stuff)
Bus Station Renovations. Downtown improvements in Quepos are continuing. The latest is a renovation of the bus station which is bordered by the new Plaza Bolivar (maybe we should call that a walking street rather than a plaza?). The station is constructed with a roof of corrugated aluminum over a steel superstructure housing five bays for loading and unloading busses. The roof has been replaced and the structure and benches have been painted. Nice improvement.
I hope the city planners (I'm assuming we have at least one) realize that the station is rapidly reaching its capacity. It's not uncommon to see seven or eight busses backed up around the five bays, even to the extent of blocking the entry way and backing up traffic on Main Street (Avenida Central).
The photo right shows a green bus trying to back into the last available bay while two other buses jockey for position and while a third (behind the yellow bus in the photo) is stuck in the entry way blocking traffic on Main Street. The photo was taken at 2 PM on a Monday afternoon early in December; not the busiest time of the day or season.
But where to build a convenient central bus station? How about that space behind the current station on the other side of Plaza Bolivar that's currently being used as a dumping ground for extraneous municipal materials. It's big enough for a sizeable expanded station and just as central as the current one. Am I being too logical again?
Maybe in the new station they could even point the bus bays in the same direction of the traffic rather than in the opposite direction. Then maybe drivers wouldn't feel as obligated to back their busses in for easy egress and that would eliminate the exhaust from the busses being discharged into the waiting room crowd. Also, visitors unfamiliar with our busses wouldn't have to walk around to the front of the busses, dodging other moving busses, to see if they can find the bus they're looking for. God forbid we would ever get an electronic display in the waiting area that showed the destination of each bus in the various bays, like the big boys do it in San José - or at least Tracopa does.
Not long after writing this we got a new Manuel Antonio bus that has a moving marquis on the back that overcomes the walk around problem but the other six or seven still have that problem. Sorry amigos, once a facility planner, always a facility planner.
Marchamo Made Easy. In the December Chronicle just passed we described the Marchamo, the annual liability insurance and registration tax that must be paid each year before December 31 for the coming year on every operating vehicle. A friend who house-sits for a seasonal resident here told me a story recently about getting a Marchamo. (Don't forget to read the second article below called "Su Casa es Mi Casa" about being a house-sitter for vacation properties)
Could This Be The Car?
One part of the house-sitting agreement with his client includes watching over the resident's car which sits in the garage but which my friend never uses. Nevertheless mi amigo heard that the Marchamo requirement needing to be fulfilled before year's end which would also be before the client returned. He gave ample warning to his client (like three months) that the car would need to get a new Marchamo sticker before they returned in late January.
The client finally got around to authorizing an update in mid-December and when my friend brought the car in to pay the Marchamo, he was told it couldn't be done until the Riteve inspection sticker was first updated (the connection between the Marchamo and the Riteve inspection was mentioned in the article referenced above). The problem was that the car is a little beat up (perhaps not as much as the klunker in the photo but bad enough), has bald tires and a rusting exhaust system. Passing Riteve would be highly unlikely in that condition.
But my friend had an enterprising Tico neighbor with a solution. For a small fee the neighbor would rent my friend new tires to put on the car for the Riteve inspection, add a chrome extension piece over the exit pipe and paint over a few rusty spots. Problem solved; the changes were made, the Riteve and Marchamo stickers purchased and the rented parts, except the paint, were returned. (No, that's not the reconditioned car on the right either, just joking)
Now that's enterprising neighborliness. But, take note that no names or places have been mentioned in the Chronicles at the discretion of the editor and for the protection of all concerned. What happens in Quepos, stays in Quepos.
New Year's Eve as Seen from GG's Balcony
New Year's Fireworks. Costa Ricans love fireworks. I mean most people on earth like fireworks but Costa Ricans really love fireworks. Beginning a couple of weeks before Christmas the "Polvera" signs magically appear at the front of many of the local neighborhood grocery stores announcing the arrival of noisemakers, rockets and assorted fun explosives.
Beginning a few days before Christmas and running right up to New Year's eve our neighborhood is treated to nightly attacks of whizzing, whirling and fizzling roman (or at least latin) candles. Included in these exhibitions, and despite a supposed law that's in place forbidding fireworks that explode, there are some very large bangs, sometimes so loud they can startle you. My friend says these are M-80's but I remember M-80's from my own misspent yoot and the local things in Quepos seem more like quarter sticks of dynamite. The exhibitions rarely start before 9 in the evening and often go to one or two in the morning. Par-teee amigos.
New Year's eve at dark sees an almost continuous exhibition among the locals and at midnight the show culminates in a major display of regular (large) fireworks put on by the City of Quepos at the waterfront (Malecón). I've always been impressed by the size of this display from a city that has a very limited budget. It's an almost continuous display of multiple rockets that lasts over 45 minutes. As I said, Costa Ricans love fireworks.
For the next two to three weeks after New Year's we got intermittent reminders of the season as the local kids used up their leftover M-80's. Feliz año, amigos.
(Shaky Happenings On or About the Pacific Rim)
The Wenxi Earthquake-Proof Bed
China has had numerous strong earthquakes over the centuries with many casualties and so it is not surprising, considering their experience and also their technical expertise, that a Chinese inventor would come up with an earthquake-proof bed.
The Chinese inventor, a gentleman by the name of Wang Wenxi, who received a patent on his device, believes this bed could save your life in the worst of terremotos (terremoto is the Spanish for the Chinese that means earthquake). See the animation of how the Earthquake-Proof Bed operates during an earthquake. Basically, the sleeper is dropped into a reinforced steel box and the sides of the bed flip over to protect the sleeper from falling debris.
But GG, and a few friends, have questions:
At what Richter level, or other shaking metric, does the bed get triggered? What's the possibility that a heavy truck passing by on the street outside GG's apartment could trigger it?
One pundit called the device the coffin-bed and wondered what a claustrophobic person would prefer in case of an earthquake – to risk dying under a pile of concrete or to be locked inside a frightening, tomb-like bed shelter indefinitely?
What if you're not lying perfectly straight on the bed when the disaster hits? Would the top door just cut your arm right off? Or a leg you have sticking out? (we might call this the Ford Pinto effect)
Is there any ventilation system? Does it activate automatically (continued breathing should be part of the concept, eh what)?
Reportedly the base of the bed has space to provide a supply of water and food to be used until the rescue squad digs you out. How about a satellite phone hook-up? And what about a bathroom; dude, people my age always think about where the bathroom is.
I'm not sure what this thing costs but I think I'll wait for the answers to the questions above, and the improvements likely to be coming with version 2.0, before I look at the price.
Check Out Recent Earthquakes Around the World
Posted by the U.S. Geodetic Survey: Today's Quakes
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¿Que Es Eso? Department
In Paris we would say: "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"
That's not a model of the Eiffel Tower in the photo amigos, it's the real McCoy (excusez moi, La McCoy réelle).
But what's the unusual blue lighting all about? If you can read the blue printing displayed at the first platform level up from the ground level, you might get a hint as to why it relates to Costa Rica.
Answer in the What's-in-a-Word section below.
Toothsome Tico Dentistry
(Let Me See That Smile Please)
Some people are born with ultra-hard enamel on their teeth and walk through life requiring only a minimum of dental repair and an occasional cleaning and polishing as an inconvenience. GG on the other hand was born with soft teeth and has made the acquaintance of a significant number of dentists over the years.
I can remember when I was around the age of 11 or 12 (sixth grade) when I got my first filling. The dentist was a kindly old dude operating from a small, second floor office on Pleasant Street in Newburyport, Massachusetts. This gent benefited from our total family business, long before any of us had either private insurance or an employer plan. Both my father and mother had acquired dentures installed by him (hence, the explanation for some of my genes - I was just a chip off the old molar).
The process that the good doctor used involved drilling out the decay using what felt like a jackhammer (ouch!); today's "painless" drills had not yet been invented (the telephone had barely been proven as a useful device at that time, Lincoln was President... oh sorry, I get carried away). The hole was then filled with a lead-based amalgam, there being no concern about the possible side effects of a heavy metal in your mouth. A little more drilling to polish and smooth the surface and you were repaired. The fee was $20, a lot of money back then. As pointed out in last month's mini auto-biography called Morphology of a Golden Gringo, GG would, a few years later, make only $2.35 an hour working full time at the A&P.
Alberto at His Desk
Moving to Costa Rica, I had no idea what to expect of dental care. My plan was simple - I won't seek any dental care. My mouth was filled with so much plastic and several types of metal, including gold, that I believed tooth decay would have a hard time getting in. That strategy worked for a few years but then...
My first contact with Alberto Gonzales Chacón (he goes by Alberto or "Beto") was in 2012. I had managed to break a front tooth chewing the flesh off a mamone nut. It was either get it fixed or join the cast of Vampire Diaries on TV (what the hell are they all about anyway? We've come a long way from Gunsmoke, amigos).
Alberto offered me a choice of 1) a low-cost, less-than-forever guaranteed acrylic crown or 2) a higher-cost, porcelain solution that would virtually last forever. Knowing that the low cost solution would probably outlast the Golden Gringo, I chose it and have yet to be disappointed; if fact I've had two more teeth treated in a similar way to repair fillings that fell out.
Alberto is originally from San José, is 35 years of age and has been practicing dentistry for 14 years, since his graduation from University Latina in Heredia. Alberto offers cosmetic dentistry including partial dentures, full dentures, deep cleanings, crowns, porcelain bridges, whitening treatments, metal fillings replacement, white fillings and white bondings. He also does basic surgery such as soft tissue and wisdom teeth removal as well as dental repair and basic forms of prophylaxis. He opts not to do root canals and implants and for those purposes he refers to trusted colleagues in Quepos and San José.
It's easy for Alberto to find trusted colleagues. His uncle is a dentist who does orthodontic treatments and his female cousin does root canals; both of them work in the same building as Alberto (hmmm, specialization and division of labor, sounds efficient to this engineer). Alberto also told me: "I have two other cousins studying to be dentists too. It's a family thing". Incidentally, Alberto's English is excellent, much better than my Spanish.
This Really Won't Hurt - Bite Down Amigo
When I was a management consultant I always asked my client to give me a summary of their philosophy of doing business. So I asked Alberto the same question and he gave me this answer without hesitating: "I believe in being responsible, punctual and professional".
I can't argue with those guiding principles and I like someone who answers a simple question straightforwardly. GG can also confirm that he has fully lived up to those standards in his dealings with me. Add all this to the fact that he charges very fair prices for his work, prices that most gringos would find a bargain compared to typical charges in the U.S.
Alberto's office building is located about 20 meters north (west? - one is not always sure in Quepos) of Supermarket Jordix in the Boca Vieja barrio in Quepos. The operation is called Pacific Dental Clinic of Costa Rica. So if you find yourself in need of good dental work at a fair price, look no further than beautiful downtown Quepos and Alberto Gonzales Chacón. Here's his contact information:
Tel. (506) 2777-1069 / 2777-0634
Email: albertogch@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.pacificdentalcliniccr.com/
¡Buen trabajo, amigo Alberto! ¡Sonrisa (smile)!
¡Solo Bueno!
Su Casa es Mi Casa
(Professional House-sitting Made Easy)
One way to obtain (relatively) free housing in beautiful areas like Costa Rica is to offer yourself as a house-sitter. I know of two people currently having lived some months doing this here and I also have a friend who has been more or less (I think more) a professional house-sitter for some years. In the article below he offers information about the process, the pitfalls and how to avoid the biggest problems. He first explains the vagaries and hassles of the rental market and then shows how the professional house-sitter comes to the rescue.
Enjoy the article, I did.
Article by: Alexander Alberts (a pseudonym)
Edited by: GG (a nickname)
There are many individuals who own vacation homes around the world and those properties are often left vacant for extended periods of time. Often the homeowner will list the property as a vacation rental, which is where the horror story for the homeowner begins. Amidst this chaos and tumult; the dream of the 'house-sitter' or 'caretaker' blossoms.
Nightly? There's a Name for That
To the homeowner, the rental of the property appears to be the most pragmatic and practical strategy to take in helping to defer the expenses of maintaining the property. Even those with disposable income and vacation properties around the globe like to defer expenses from whence the disposable income is produced.
Homeowners spend much time finding an agent they are comfortable with to employ as property manager who then oversees the entire estate. Watching the watchers. Most homeowners also employ and develop long term relationships with trusted groundskeepers and loyal housekeepers, who they do not wish to lose or have to replace upon return. A professional house-sitter knows they themselves are also de-facto employees of the home owner on par with those others in the employ of the home owner.
Once a property is listed the homeowner then must conduct numerous interviews winnowing potential renters, many with questionable resumes. This is where the lid of Pandora's box begins to creak open. One of the most unfortunate experiences in this situation is that the sanctimonious renter makes the determination that the groundskeepers and housekeeper are their servants and treat them as they imagine servants should be treated, as they themselves have never employed domestic workers.
It goes without saying that many wish to rent a vacation home and make a sojourn to Costa Rica to let their hair down, enjoy a tropical vacation and PARTY. During the interview process, most potential renters are on their best behavior, coiffed, well groomed, sanitary and swear that they do not smoke tobacco. (I believe there is a market for the rental of 'smoke free' wardrobes to be worn during such important interviews) Most applicants are not yet reeking of alcohol and marijuana smoke or sporting the tell-tale white powder of cocaine encircling their nasal passages. Many are disinclined to reveal that they intend to invite another couple or three to split the rent. Lies of omission.
"Let's Go See My Brother at the Beach"
The renter has created a world within their minds in which; if they can keep it together long enough to negotiate and maneuver a successful interview leading to a signed lease, they have acquired the keys to Ground Zero for the future assemblage of the great unwashed. No, I do not mean; ''your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,'' nor the ''wretched refuse'', nor ''the homeless tempest tossed.'' I mean relatives. Lurking within the staging area of the renter's brain pan are all manner of children, pets, relatives, friends and family making preparations to come to Costa Rica and set up camp on the grounds. KOA Costa Rica. Wooo. Woooo. Earl and Darlene already left Ashtabula, Ohio in their Winnebago a week ago.
As the new renters stand in the doorway with keys in hand bidding adieu to the homeowner as they depart, the familial congregation begins to emerge from the hedges and race with their luggage to the vacant beds, the rest of the swarm begin spilling immediately onto the couches and chaises and any available floor space upon which to pass out after a day at the beach indulging in the conspicuous consumption of copious amounts of alcohol and drugs.
Rental Owners Returning Home
Many who rent 'vacation properties' return to find their beautiful homes trashed, filthy and often many things broken and in disrepair. Bathrooms and toilets are often left in a state which defies discussion among polite society. There have been reports of appliances broken, dishes and glassware broken, items missing and in one case the door ripped completely from the oven and a toilet shattered. Many of you will live your lifetime and never see an oven door torn from its hinges or a toilet shattered. In fact, one would find it difficult to manage to cause such damage intentionally.
A Little Kitchen Clean-Up Needed
Just add alcohol. There are those who have returned to find their home scattered with empty liquor bottles and beer cans strewn everywhere, cigarette burns branded upon valuable hand-made wooden tabletops and nightstands. Cigarette burns in antique chairs or couches are not uncommon, in many cases even burns in the mattresses. There have also been cases reported where the renters actually burned the house to the ground. Welcome home.
In this article, we will not even begin to discuss those homeowners who are naive enough to include the car in the deal. Then there are the incessant telephone calls from the renters…the a/c is broken, the gas grille is broken, the washing machine is broken…a relentless stream of complaints. In another instance the renter called demanding a new gas grille immediately and went as far as to ask the homeowner to inquire with the neighbor if they could borrow the neighbors grille until the new one arrived. Funny thing is...the a/c, grille, washing machine, et. al., worked perfectly prior on the owner's departure. Hmmm. the wifi isn't working, the electricity is out, the water is not running.
It is following such an experience that an alternative to renting is sought.
Some Places are Incredible...
This is where the professional house-sitter's dream world begins. The first requirement is that the house-sitter have a large portfolio of references and letters of recommendation including a criminal background check. Many homes contain valuable statuary and works of art, state of the art kitchens and cookware, top of the line appliances and valuable furnishings and tapestries and it is the caretakers responsibility to assure the safety and protection of all such valuables. Here are some characteristics that make a house-sitter a professional.
...and Some are Much Simpler
Most professional house -sitters and caretakers are conversant in the language of the host country. A professional house-sitter also understands the dynamic of the relationship. He/she knows that general repairs and maintenance are required and that one must deal with the regional utility, water and phone company. They understand that in developing nations, power outages and water failure are a common occurrence and are prepared to deal with it, usually already knowing the ins and outs of dealing with said utility companies.
There are many who pose as house-sitters seeking the same indulgence as the aforementioned renters, except they have been sly enough to discover a way to live on a luxurious estate rent free.
An experienced, professional house-sitter expects to pay a damage deposit. A professional should be prepared to pay for problems and damage and broken equipment immediately, then forwards receipts with photographic evidence to the home owner for reimbursement. As the transfer of funds is often required between homeowner and caretaker, a knowledgeable caretaker will already have a bank account for such purposes.
A professional also treats all of those employed in the service of the homeowner with dignity and respect, usually padding their salary with some display of appreciation and generosity. A professional also knows the laws of the host nation. For example, under Costa Rica law, receiving compensation for house-sitting services requires a work permit. The professional house-sitter makes an introduction and develops a relationship with the local police and fire departments and has knowledge of the oddities and quirks of the local bureaucracy.
House-sitting is ideal for a retired couple as a way to travel to the most exotic places in the world which would otherwise be unaffordable. A house-sitter or caretaker bears much more responsibility than a renter, as they must treat the property as though it were their own and maintain it so. If you are pre-disposed to think of house-sitting as a free vacation, you are wrong. Of course a house-sitter may avail themselves of the amenities and cultural events within the region, but the primary importance is the maintenance and security of the property.
Much of what are the duties and what is expected of the house-sitter as well as what is expected of the owner is usually covered in some type of written agreement. There are several associations and professional organizations that house-sitters can join that provide help in this regard as well as tips on how to do the job better. Among these groups, two of the best known are: trustedhousesitters.com and internationalhousesitters.com
The most common exchange for house-sitter services is that the house-sitter pays the utilities, water and housekeeper. In some cases the house-sitter is paid when the property requires extra duties such as housekeeping for temporary guests or the estate has more than one residence upon the grounds.
What the homeowner seeks more than anything is a visible presence and most professional house-sitters realize that they have already arrived at the tropical destination they seek and are quite content to be living in paradise under such extraordinary conditions in which common sense, courtesy and respect are the coin of the realm.
Thanks to Señor Alberts for an excellent summary of the house-sitting process and consideration of the things that are important. There good suggestions and the points of responsibility listed are for both the homeowner who is thinking of hiring a house-sitter and for the house-sitter who wants to be a professional.
("Good Morning Sir; Coffee, Tea or Me?")
Modern technology is producing fascinating creatures through robotics. The levels of sophistication considered science fiction in the movies only thirty or forty years ago are now becoming science fact for both industrial and personal use.
The Golem of Prague (16th Century)
"Frankenstein"
(Boris Karloff)
Mankind has always had a fascination with infusing human life into inanimate objects. Classical literature as early as 600 BC from the likes of greek masters such as Homer, Plato, Pindar, Tacitus, and Pliny is replete with legends of bronze and clay statues that talked or came to life.
Later on, the Golem, an animated man of clay (16th century), is mentioned in the Talmud. And who doesn't know the artificial (technically speaking, it was actually re-animated) human-like creature by Mary Shelley called Frankenstein (1818). The movie industry beginning in the late 1800's offered a new media to bring these robots and creatures to life in a more dramatic and personal way.
Boilerplate (Steam Man)
In the late nineteenth century, during the rise and broad use of steam engines, a robot idea was invented called Steam Man who became known as Boilerplate and which also became the subject of a book. In its wake came Electric Man and Automatica Man and a slew of other robot-like creatures. In the 20th century, with the advent of motion pictures, imaginations quickly added new robots with new powers.
"Klaatu Barada Nikto"
GG remembers his first fascination with robots from the classic black and white movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, 20th Century Fox, Starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe).
An alien named Klaatu from somewhere in space arrives in a flying saucer with a robot named Gort who is his protector. When the military tries to assault Klaatu and his ship, Gort simply incinerates them. Eventually, Gort receives a message ("Klaatu Barada Nikto") sent from Klaatu through Helen (Patricia Neal) that Klaatu is mortally wounded. No problem, Gort rescues Klaatu and repairs him using advanced Frankenstein medical techniques in time for Klaatu to deliver the message he came to Earth for; reform and put aside your warring ways earthlings or the planet will be incinerated. Woop, woop and away Klaatu and Gort fly in their classic wobbling flying saucer. GG was 8 at the time and I went around my school and neighborhood for two weeks repeating "Klaatu Barada Nikto" to everyone I met. (Strange kid that Bobby)
And who didn't fall in love with C3-PO and R2-D2 in Star Wars. It was the first time that distinct personalities were introduced to our personal robots. Carefully programmed to be totally not aggressive (except R2 could be violent in defense), they existed only to be of value to their masters, even if sometimes they were clumsy in doing so.
3-D Printed Auto-Parts
All through the 20th Century, robots were more and more employed in industry and with the advent of sophisticated computers, creative ideas came to fruition. For example, take 3-D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) which combines the power of computers with automated manufacturing that builds a solid product of almost any kind, layer by layer, from plastic, metal or other material and created at the direction of a computer file. The process is revolutionizing the manufacture of small parts (big ones coming later?) and prototypes, allowing extreme precision of very intricate parts.
Now imagine self-learning artificial intelligence with robotic mechanical capabilities.
Robotics and computers make some people nervous. When I was a wet-behind-the-ears process engineer (24-years old) working at my first job in a polymer production plant, I introduced a computer system that calculated process parameters for production runs that replaced the old, hand calculated ones (some guys were still using slide rules to do that at that time - if you're under 50 please don't ask what a slide rule was - just go to the Smithsonian). A production supervisor came up to me and said "the men are concerned that they're going to be replaced by computers". I assured them (correctly) that the only thing that would happen as a result of this change, employment-wise, would be the hiring of more dweebs in the computer department to monitor and improve the system I had constructed. Thereafter the guys in the plant called me Bobby Dweeb.
"Hi Bobby Dweeb, I'm Baxter"
Robots, of course, like computers have an equal effect at making workers insecure. Production robots that have been designed to do mechanical assembly historically have been extremely expensive (it's not unusual for them to cost $300,000-$500,000 each).
Now comes Baxter, a mechanical assembly robot from Rethink Robotics that not only is economical ($25,000-$50,000 a copy) but can learn how to do things from it's human workmates. It works side by side with humans and if it's not sure what you want , it displays a puzzled look on it's face screen; otherwise it shows you a happy face. Workers can move Baxter's arms independently and thereby "teach" baxter what to do. ("Thank you Bobby Dweeb, I enjoyed doing that!)"
But robots are not used just in production and manufacturing anymore. They are now being used as personal assistants. More sophisticated versions of robot humanoids are being invented every day. Take a look at Honda Corp.'s humanoid robot called Asimo below (no, amigos, there is no dwarf inside the suit, it's a true robot but I guess this one only speaks Japanese):
My last car was a Honda which I drove, mechanically problem-free, for 11 years before selling it to a teenager for 20% of its original cost. You don't have to convince me of Honda's technical prowess, I've been a fan for long time.
Nadia with Nadine on the Right
And at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, scientists led by Nadia Thalmann have come up with Nadine, an interactive robot that is used as a receptionist there. Here's how Nadine's creator (Nadia) describes her:
"She is friendly and will greet you back. Next time you meet her, she will remember your name and your previous conversation with her. She looks almost like a human being with soft skin and flowing brunette hair. She smiles when greeting you, looks at you in the eye when talking, and can also shake hands with you. Unlike conventional robots, Nadine has her own personality, mood and emotions. She can be happy or sad, depending on the conversation. She also has a good memory and can recognize the people she has met, and remembers what the person had said before."
OK, GG has only three questions for Nadine: 1) do you like old movies on the TCM channel, 2) can you cook and 3) what's your IP Address, I might be coming over?
Travel Quote of the Month
An actual drawing and note handed to a flight attendant
by an 8-year old girl on a Quantas flight
What's-in-a-Word
Answer to ¿Que Es Eso?
The message in blue lights on the first balcony at the Eiffel Tower that night in early December 2015 was "Pura Vida". It was done in honor of the chairwoman of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christina Figueres of Costa Rica (actually Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen) who organized the recent Paris summit on climate change.
Christina is the daughter of, José Figueres Ferrer, a gent who was President of Costa Rica three times (1948–1949, 1953–1958, and 1970–1974). That 1948-49 stint, of course, was at the end of the Costa Rican civil war and the founding of the Second Republic, the one which led to a stable, democratic government here for the last 67 years. Nice tribute to Costa Rica, Christina.
Bon hommage, bien fait Christina.
Vaccine Prevents Resurrection
This falls under the Dumb Headlines Department: This one reads:
"Safer Polio Vaccine Prevents Resurrection"
I presume they meant to say "Reinfection" because the first line of the article read:
"Researchers in Britain have come up with a safe polio vaccine strain that would prevent polio reinfection."
Otherwise it might be an inoculation available only at Easter time.
You Know You're Becoming Tico If...
You know the difference between a banana and a plantain
You can pronounce a "v" as both a "v" and a "b" at the same time
You can tell a manga from a mango
You use "Pura Vida" to answer virtually everything someone says to you
You know how to open mamones and grenadillas to get at the fruit
You actually like mamones and grenadillas
You own a purple tee-shirt with a big "S" on it (¡Viva Saprissa!)
You can't eat Gallo Pinto without Salsa Lizano
You can tell whether it's a macaw or a tucan from their call
You can explain a few of the Costa Rican acronyms (ICE, MOPT, CCSS, RITEVE, RECOPE etc.)
You can imitate the growl of a howler monkey
You're pretty sure most monkeys are actually smiling at you now
Readers can add to this list by emailing: gg@goldengringo.com
(Retired Old Men Eating Out)
Don Wang's, San José
Location: Calle 11, Between Ave 6 & 8, diagonal to the Theatre Lucho Barahona,
Hours: Mon-Thu: 11am-3:30pm & 5:30pm-10pm. Fri: 11am-3:30pm & 5:30pm-11pm. Sat: 11am-11pm. Sun: 11am-10pm
Parking: Good Luck, It's Downtown San José
Contact: Tel.: (+506) 2233 6484; Email: Via Website; Website: www.donwangrestaurant.com.
Reviewing ROMEOS: Bob N.
To Review Our Rating System and Procedure, go here: R.O.M.E.O. Rating System
These days GG finds himself in San José for one or two days almost every month for one reason or another (doctor's appointment, Writer's Group Meeting, book research etc.). It presents an opportunity to try out new restaurants and, of course, there are hundreds to choose from in a city as large as San José. I often stay at a hotel very close to the Teatro Nacional and Don Wang's an easy walk from the hotel as are many others. It's located on the same street in Chinatown as Tin Jo and an Argentine steakhouse called La Esquina de Buenos Aires.
Don Wang's is a Chinese restaurant with a main dining room that is quite pleasant with polished wood tables and chairs, linen table cloths, padded seats (GG thanks you) and subdued, indirect lighting which is adequate to read the menu. The furniture lines and art deco on the walls present a clean, modern chinese motif.
Four and a half sloths for ambiance.
The menu is extensive - they number their main dishes and I remember something like 139 possibilities. There are all sorts of variations on Chinese themes and a full range of fish, poultry, meats and combinations of all f these..
The night I visited Don Wang's I chose a simple fried chinese noodle dish with a mixture of meats and seafood (#100 - shown left). It arrived in a reasonable amount of time (there were few in the restaurant when I dined at 6 PM). It was fresh, tasty and the veggies were cooked "au point" like the French do, or just tender.
Value Index = 133
For dessert I had an excellent cheesecake with a passion fruit sauce - outstanding. For quality of food GG (realize that this is based on only one meal) has to give Don Wang's 4.5 sloths.
Service, from a lady of Chinese descent was attentive and very helpful. One of the things the waitress was helpful with was the bill. She asked me if I would be paying with cash or by credit card. When I asked if it made a difference she said cash brings a 20% discount - I immediately pulled the colon notes from my billfold. There was also a small sign on the table that said use of a ScotiaBank credit card on Tuesdays and Wednesdays would bring a 30% discount. Four sloths for service and an overall rating of four sloths for ambiance, food quality and service.
The bill for the noodle dish, cheesecake, one diet coke and one coffee was a little over 9,000 colones ($18) but after the cash discount mentioned above, it fell to just over 7,000 ($13+). That's a three $ rating by ROMEO standards and yields a value index of 4/3*100=133, That puts Don Wang at the top of our value system.
This restaurant is easily put on the ROMEO approved list.
Golden Gringo Chronicles Novel and E-Books Now Available!
The story of the Golden Gringo Chronicles is also available as a hard copy novel of 192 pages available through Amazon and all major online retailers. ($9.95)
Amazon link: GGC, the Book. (Kindle Edition available)
Follow GG through the first six years of his odyssey in making the decision to retire in Costa Rica, overcoming the trials and tribulations of moving and obtaining residency there and the fun and experience of actually living in Ticoland.
Ride along with the Golden Gringo as he learns about the rich, varied culture of Costa Rica, the incredible bio diversity, the charming nature of the Costa Rican people and the ease with which a sometimes clueless ex-pat can assimilate into a small southwestern town on the Pacific coast.
Whether you are already a Costa Rican resident, someone contemplating a move here or just a traveler who enjoys different cultures, you will find the Golden Gringo Chronicles interesting, entertaining and informative about Costa Rica.
A narrative version of the Golden Gringo Chronicles is now also available as a trilogy of E-books in formats compatible with virtually all electronic platforms.
Part 1: (FREE!)
Leaving the Homeland
Part 2: ($3.99)
Becoming Tico, Maybe
Click on Part Number above for E-book sample downloads or click the price above right for purchase. (The best price is on Part 1; it's FREE)
Opt-In Here to Receive Your Free Copy Monthly
The Golden Gringo Chronicles is a free newsletter that is non-political, non-commercial and, hopefully, entertaining. By signing up you will receive an email each month around the first of the month giving you the links to the latest edition as well as to each individual feature and departmental section.
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The Golden Gringo
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Wesley's Chapel & Leysian Mission
Services & Recitals
Wesley's Chapel Choir
Previous Services
Community & church life
Fellowship Groups
"Window on Wesley's"
All events for Taizé Evening Prayer Service
Taizé Evening Prayer Service
Jun 30 / 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Wesley's Chapel and Leysian Mission, 49 City Road
London,EC1Y 1AUUnited Kingdom + Google Map
An opportunity to worship, pray & meditate together for peace, harmony & healing.
Sep 29 / 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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Jan 26th, 2020 / 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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Wesley's Chapel and Leysian Mission
49 City Road, London EC1Y 1AU
For general enquiries, room hire and tour group bookings: administration@wesleyschapel.org.uk
Our lift is currently out of order which means there is no step free access to the Museum and access toilet. We apologise for the inconvenience and are working to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
Find out more about Wesley's Heritage
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text:
Q: does ArgumentTransformationAttribute return Objects out of the Transform Method? this is a class to transform a computername into a CimSession type:
using namespace System.Management.Automation ;
using namespace System.Net.NetworkInformation ;
using namespace Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure ;

enum Protocol {
    WsMan
    Dcom
}

class ComputernameTransformationAttribute : ArgumentTransformationAttribute {
    <# ValidateComputername #>

    hidden [CimSession] NewCimsession([string] $inputData){

        $Protocol = [Protocol]::WsMan -as [string] ;
        $CimSessionOption = New-CimSessionOption -Protocol $Protocol ;

        # [CimSession] $Cimsession = New-CimSession @Param
        [CimSession] $Cimsession = [CimSession]::Create($inputData, $CimSessionOption);

        return $CimSession;
    }

    # Transform() method is called whenever there is a variable or parameter assignment.
    [System.Object] Transform(
        [EngineIntrinsics]$engineIntrinsics,
        [System.Object]$inputData
    ){

        return $($this.NewCimsession($inputData));
    }
}

i tried to test hier but the Transform method is not returning any object, just a splatted info i can't use.
am i doing something wrong hier ?
hier ist my test funtion:

function Get-ADComputerDescription {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    #[OutputType([GKMAdinfo])]
    param (
        # ComputerName
        [Parameter(ValueFromPipeline)]
        # [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]
        [Alias("CN","Machine","Name")]
        [ComputernameTransformation()]
        [string]$ComputerName
    )
    $ComputerName
    Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem -CimSession $ComputerName
}

thanks for your help

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
using System;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Interactivity;
using System.Windows.Threading;
using Prism.Interactivity.InteractionRequest;

namespace StateBasedNavigation.Desktop.Infrastructure.Behaviors
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Trigger action that handles an interaction request by temporarily adding the context of the interaction request
    /// to a collection and setting this collection as the DataContext of a framework element.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>
    ///
    /// </remarks>
    public class ShowNotificationAction : TargetedTriggerAction<FrameworkElement>
    {
        public static readonly DependencyProperty NotificationTimeoutProperty =
            DependencyProperty.Register("NotificationTimeout", typeof(TimeSpan), typeof(ShowNotificationAction), new PropertyMetadata(new TimeSpan(0, 0, 5)));

        private ObservableCollection<object> notifications;

        public ShowNotificationAction()
        {
            this.notifications = new ObservableCollection<object>();
        }

        public TimeSpan NotificationTimeout
        {
            get { return (TimeSpan)GetValue(NotificationTimeoutProperty); }

            set { SetValue(NotificationTimeoutProperty, value); }
        }

        protected override void OnTargetChanged(FrameworkElement oldTarget, FrameworkElement newTarget)
        {
            base.OnTargetChanged(oldTarget, newTarget);

            if (oldTarget != null)
            {
                this.Target.ClearValue(FrameworkElement.DataContextProperty);
            }

            if (newTarget != null)
            {
                this.Target.DataContext = this.notifications;
            }
        }

        protected override void Invoke(object parameter)
        {
            var args = parameter as InteractionRequestedEventArgs;
            if (args == null)
            {
                return;
            }

            var notification = args.Context;

            this.notifications.Insert(0, notification);

            var timer = new DispatcherTimer { Interval = this.NotificationTimeout };
            EventHandler timerCallback = null;
            timerCallback =
                (o, e) =>
                {
                    timer.Stop();
                    timer.Tick -= timerCallback;
                    this.notifications.Remove(notification);
                };
            timer.Tick += timerCallback;
            timer.Start();

            args.Callback();
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Power Of ATHLETICS COMMUNITY
All studies have been primarily based on surveys conducted via schools, with participation in sport and other extracurricular activities reported primarily in binary categories.
While the qualitative study of Holt et al. did not compare sports participation with other actions, mother and father reported benefits for their youngsters in private and social development from sport participation.
Social benefits included positive relationships with coaches, making new pals, and creating teamwork and social skills.
We Exist To Unlock The Possibilities In Every Lady And Girl By Way Of The Ability Of Sport
As a world Sports Leader, Ron is doubtless considered one of the industry's most recognized sports facility designers.
His portfolio includes three retractable-roof ballparks, 12 NBA and NHL multipurpose arenas, the award-winning NFL Paul Brown Stadium, STAPLES Center, and Banc of California Stadium.
Ron additionally consults for skilled leagues on facility analysis, design tips, and broadcast and security requirements.
Sports developments are benefiting more than simply followers of the sport by becoming hubs for native financial development and group partnership.
The info contained on this Web website is provided on your general data solely.
It is not meant as a substitute for visiting together with your doctor, nurse, or social worker.
Snyder et al. whereas reporting college and membership participation, then mixed them into a single 'athletes' category and compared them to non-athletes on health-related quality of life measures.
The athletes reported higher scores on physical functioning, basic well being, social functioning and mental well being scales and a mental composite score, and lower on a bodily pain scale, than non-athletes .
Similarly, in a Swiss study, Ferron and colleagues classified adolescents as 'athletes' or 'non-athletic' on the premise of sports membership participation.
Stemming from Coleman's earlier work, Marsh discussed Snyder et al.
However, within the absence of randomised and controlled experimental studies, that are difficult to implement on this area, it's going to remain troublesome to unequivocally determine the nature and path of causality.
Notwithstanding this, phrases like 'outcome' and 'benefit' of sport participation have been used to describe the results of many of the studies reviewed, and we have used the identical terminology in reviewing these studies.
Sports and community growth are linked on a number of ranges that, when correctly harnessed, can improve the lives of residents and promote wholesome tradition.
Though seemingly unrelated to community improvement, sports opens avenues of communication between folks of all levels of society and background, and allows at-risk populations an avenue of safety.
Organized sports often stress the values of truthful play and sportsmanship, and thus could make an actual contribution to improved citizenship.
The well being, lifespan, and high quality of life for citizens may all be improved by sports and health packages.
Constructive Financial Impression
Covid-19 is an ongoing concern in our region, together with on campus.
Safety measures are in place, and campus group members and friends are moreover suggested to take private precautions.
See the faculty's Covid-19 website for information about campus policies.
For the newest research and recommendations from the CDC, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.
Recognizing that 안전놀이터 are leaders in the neighborhood, Ephs have targeted on making an influence.
Community service has become an integral part of Williams Athletics, with many of our student-athletes committing to give back to both the campus and surrounding community.
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The occasions are a positive experience for everyone concerned together with the youngsters, mother and father, academics, volunteers and sports activities officials.
They can positively challenge attitudes and beliefs about incapacity and enhance awareness about the sporting talents of children with disabilities.
A 2007 examine questioned neighborhood school presidents and chairpersons of boards of trustees in six states to determine the extent of their knowledge and understanding of athletics at their faculties.
The leaders who participated agreed that athletic competitors promotes delight within the establishment among college students, school, staff, and the community in general.
Moving massive crowds isn't simple and occasions normally don't get pleasure from sources to pay all of those that present their time.
For businesses, telling a narrative of how they have contributed to a community's economic impression may not be high of thoughts, but it ought to be.
Engage in conversations with regional tourism boards, sports activities commissions and Chambers of Commerce to discover out how your company has contributed to economic benefits.
Once details are finalized, sharing this content material by way of media outreach and company-owned channels could be useful in spreading the positive information.
Thankfully, there are numerous ways the sports business amplifies feel-good stories which are key to constructing healthy communities.
Public relations is a advertising automobile that's underutilized in highlighting cheerful reports about the tens of millions of lives sports and athletes impact daily.
The Ten Finest Free Movie Apps To Watch Movies Online
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SPORTS BETTING? It's Easy If You Do It Wise
Streets Talk: SPORTS BETS


text:
Vasiliy Lomachenko
Oleksandr Usyk - Chazz Witherspoon
Deontay Wilder - Luis Ortiz
Lomachenko: Usyk will give Wilder a boxing lesson
Vasyl Lomachenko has no doubt that Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) will win in a fight against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs).
Usyk in the fight against Chazz Witherspoon
"He will give Wilder a boxing lesson!" said one of the P4P ranking leaders in the response to question of Ellie Sekbah about a possible confrontation of his compatriot with The Bronze Bomber.
Usyk himself says that the hard-hitting American will be his easiest opponent among the top fighters in the heavyweight division. However, the path to such a collision is not easy - Wilder will have two difficult fight - against Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury, and the Ukrainians will have to first reach out to one of the champion belts.
Andrew Karlov | Oct. 22, 2019, 7:53 p.m.
ukrainian boxing
Best Boxing Shoes - Buyer's Guide
March 25, 2019, 3:01 p.m.
Best Boxing gloves - Buyer's Guide


At 2:49 p.m. on April 15, 2013, at the height of Boston's annual Marathon, two bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. What followed was an extraordinary manhunt, which included a shelter-in-place request from the governor that virtually shut down the city, along with the use of social media by law enforcement as a key communications tool to keep the media and frightened citizens accurately informed about what was going on.
Within 10 minutes of the bombing, Boston Police Department (BPD) Commissioner Edward Davis told his department to start using social media and to let people know what had occurred. The importance of social media as a policing tool, in particular Twitter and Facebook, soon became apparent. Misinformation, spread by professional media outlets and social media itself, was quickly corrected by the BPD. It didn't take long for the media to realize that the most accurate information about the bombing was coming from the official BPD Twitter account.
"The Boston Police Department was outstanding and it was so simple and effective," said Lt. Zachary Perron, public information officer for the Palo Alto, Calif., Police Department. "They became the news source during the crisis. It was a watershed moment for law enforcement and social media.
Perron should know. He is in charge of the department's social media program in a Silicon Valley city where just about everybody uses social media and news is covered by four daily newspapers. What began as part-time work is now a full-time position for Perron. His job, as well as for other police officers in charge of social media, is to direct public relations through the various channels — Twitter, Facebook, YouTube — but to do it in a real-time manner and with a much broader constituency. No longer do press releases just go out to the established media; they are available to anyone in the community who follows the Palo Alto police via social media.
Social media has three sets of characteristics with key implications for law enforcement, according to a Harvard Kennedy School research report, Social Media and Police Leadership.
The first is the scope of social media, which continues to grow. Perron said his department's social media outlets have thousands of followers compared to the handful of traditional media outlets that were interested in press releases issued by the Palo Alto PD.
The second characteristic is structure. Social media lets police have two-way conversations with the community. Palo Alto routinely receives messages from citizens via social media, including anonymous tips. Perron also conducts "virtual ride-alongs," live-tweeting during an entire shift from an officer's patrol car. "It gives the public a great view of what we do and a better understanding of what's going on." Ultimately social media provides law enforcement a level of transparency it couldn't attain otherwise. When done correctly, the benefits are immeasurable, said Perron.
The third characteristic is tone. When the police use social media, they are having a conversation with their community; it's informal and quite distinct from traditional press releases. "We try to use a voice and tone that is cultivated and professional, but also human and sometimes humorous," Perron said. Corporate marketing campaigns have struggled to adopt that kind of human and humorous tone. But beat cops have a lot of practice talking directly to the community in an informal manner. For that reason, they have probably been more successful than other government agencies at engaging the public via social media.
Besides using social media as a two-way communications tool with the public and media, police also use Twitter and Facebook in investigations. Four out of five law enforcement agencies say they use social media for investigations, according to a 2012 survey by LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
The most common uses include: evidence collection — people are more than willing to brag about their actions on social media sites; location of suspects — one investigator "friended" a suspect and was able to track his location; criminal network investigation — again, people are prone to talking about their actions on social media sites, giving the police a window into their activities. The New York City Police Department found that 72 percent of its social networking use was by its detective bureau, investigating crime patterns and suspects, according to a 2013 report by the Police Executive Research Forum and the U.S. Department of Justice's COPS program.
But using social media has its challenges too. There's the cultural shift from a one-way form of communication with the public and media to one that is clearly two way now. Social media also can amplify, even distort information as it gets passed along. In addition, police departments must set policies as to who controls the information. In Palo Alto, Boston and elsewhere, social media content is centralized. But other agencies let individual police officers communicate through their own Twitter accounts.
For someone like Perron, who knows how hard it can be to manage social media, the problem is one of who monitors social media accounts when an officer is off duty? "Twitter is going 24 by 7. What happens if there's an emergency and no one responds?" he asked.


text:
Iniziativa Femminista (in polacco: Inicjatywa Feministyczna - IF) è stato un partito politico polacco; registrato l'11 gennaio 2007 con la denominazione di Partito delle Donne (Partia Kobiet - PK), ha assunto l'attuale nome nel 2016.

Il partito mira a difendere i diritti delle donne.

In un sondaggio dell'aprile 2007, il PK si posizionò terzo con l'11% delle preferenze; il 60% delle donne intervistate indicò la sua preferenza per il PK.

Leader
2007 – Manuela Gretkowska
2007-2010 – Anna Kornacka
2010-2012 – Iwona Piątek
2012 – Małgorzata Bielawska
2012-2016 – Iwona Piątek
2016-2018 – Elżbieta Jachlewska (candidata in Coalizione Europea alle europee del 2019)

Collegamenti esterni

 Danuta Filipowicz, Partiti femministi: "Tutto per il futuro - e niente da nascondere", The Krakow Post, 5 ottobre 2007

Movimenti femministi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Nio ties with Razer to roll out tailored EVs for e-sports lovers
Written by Song Jingli Published on 2 Aug 2019
A cross-sector partnership.
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio has kicked off cooperations with Razer, one of the world's leaders in high-performance gaming hardware and systems, Nio announced in a press release.
As the first fruit of their partnership, a customized version of the Nio ES6, with distinct Razer elements, is already displayed at the China Joy 2019 (China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference), a fair for game lovers that opened today in Shanghai. A total of 88 such cars will be produced.
Nio is opening an online ordering channel for this customized model, priced at RMB 467,800 (USD 67,500). ES6's other ordinary models are priced between RMB 358,000 and RMB 448,000.
The move may help the Chinese EV maker to differentiate its products from various EV models in China, especially when the sector is getting increasingly competitive. US EV maker Tesla has gained growth momentum in the first half of the year in China by introducing its mass-market Model 3, while the company is building its Shanghai plant with the intention to put out cheaper cars, between 250,000 to 500,000 new vehicles a year.
Nio said it delivered 3,553 ES8 and ES6 vehicles in the second quarter of 2019, exceeding by 18.4% the midpoint of the company's prior quarterly guidance range of 2,800 to 3,200 cars.
The Chinese electric vehicle maker still made a net loss of USD 390.9 million in the first quarter of 2019, representing a decrease of 24.1% from the fourth quarter of 2018.
Chinese EV maker Xpeng and rivals bet on European market


Time to go to Italy or at the very least the nearest Frost Gelato. The new Nob Hill location is simply heavenly, what a refreshing well put together Gelateria speciality shop, that represents, from the beautiful & exquisite presentation of Gelato to the friendly inviting customer service and of course the many wonderful delightful indulgent selections.
An Albuquerque developer has already bought a local landmark, Kurt's Camera Corral in Nob Hill. For more than six decades … They plan to finalize a lease with Frost Gelato soon. Frost already has a location in Uptown.


St John's Old Cemetery Restoration Group present a triple helping of the medieval history of Nobber in three short talks given by a trio of Ireland's leading archaeologists as part of Heritage Week 2015. Heather A. King will discuss the importance of the previously unrecorded 'high crosses' found during restoration work at St John's Old Cemetery and how they identify Nobber as an important early medieval Ecclesiastical settlement in an illustrated talk entitled "St John's Early Treasures Revealed". Matt Seaver will detail his findings from his 'big dig' in Nobber village that uncovered seven different phases of activity spanning ten centuries in a talk entitled "The Medieval Archaeological Excavations at Bridge Park, Nobber". To finish the evening, world renowned archaeologist and Nobber native Prof. George Eogan will wrap up and give a short synopsis of various aspects of Nobber's rich archaeological and historical legacy.
This free event will be held in the recently restored St John's Old Church in Nobber on Wednesday 26th August, from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM. All are welcome from near and far. For more information contact Henry on 0879909854.


Cafferty: Obama: Race a factor?
Will race be the factor that keeps Obama from the White House?
Race is arguably the biggest issue in this election, and it's one that nobody's talking about.
The differences between Barack Obama and John McCain couldn't be more well-defined. Obama wants to change Washington. McCain is a part of Washington and a part of the Bush legacy. Yet the polls remain close. Doesn't make sense…unless it's race.
Time magazine's Michael Grunwald says race is the elephant in the room. He says Barack Obama needs to tread lightly as he fights back against the McCain-Palin campaign attacks.


text:
It's judo, not chess, that's Putin's game
Dealing with the Russians and We Need to Talk About Putin reviewed
Alan Judd
Dealing with the Russians Andrew Monaghan
Polity, pp.160, $18.93
We Need to Talk About Putin: How the West Gets Him Wrong Mark Galeotti
Ebury, pp.143, $12.09
These two refreshingly concise books address the same question from different angles: how should we deal with Russia? Mark Galeotti focuses on Vladimir Putin himself, his background, aims, tactics and strategy (if any). Andrew Monaghan takes a wider approach, analyzing Russia's strengths and weaknesses, its self-image, its perceptions and misperceptions of us, ditto ours of it. Both argue that relations between Russia and the West suffer because we are sometimes prisoners of our own preconceptions.
Monaghan describes what he calls the two-part security dilemma, a problem firstly of interpretation and secondly of response. The interpretive problem is partly the automatic assumption that Russia is an expansionist threat, as evidenced by its incursions into Georgia, Crimea and Ukraine, and partly our exaggerated idea of its power and capabilities.
He concedes that it does indeed pose a 'major challenge to the Euro-Atlantic community', but argues that this originates not from an aggressive strategy but from a series of 'policy disagreements… emphasized by different understandings of today's international environment'. We see threats and provocations in Russia's extra-territorial incursions, along with the 2007 cyber attack on Estonia, the build-up of its armed forces, its constant cyber interferences and the murders and attempted murders of expatriates in the UK.
Russia, on the other hand, sees itself as responding defensively to the allegedly broken promise not to enlarge Nato following the collapse of the Soviet Union; to Nato's 1999 Serbian campaign; to the subsequent US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty; to the western appetite for regime change (Iraq) and to alleged western support for Ukrainian anti-Russian groups and Chechen terrorists. Regardless of the justification for these beliefs, they are widely accepted and emotionally asserted.
As for Russian power and capabilities, Monaghan points to persistent economic problems, a leader whose writ runs only where and while he focuses his spotlight, and an annual defense budget — despite a ten-year boost — smaller than just the increase in US defense spending instigated by Donald Trump.
Monaghan is also skeptical about the oft-quoted threat of hybrid warfare and what he considers the myth of the 'Gerasimov Doctrine'— essentially blanket terms for nefarious Russian activities. The concept has no equivalence in Russian and he reckons it is really no more than shorthand for Moscow's deployment of 'measures short of war', sometimes also known as asymmetrical warfare. He quotes General Rupert Smith's pertinent characterization of the latter as a 'euphemism to avoid acknowledging that my opponent is not playing to my strengths and I am not winning'.
Monaghan argues that neither side appreciates how its actions appear to the other, resulting in poorly framed responses which are essentially reactive policy masquerading as strategy. This leads to the false dichotomy of either detente (dialogue) or deterrence, treating them as ends in themselves rather than as parts of a wider strategy. What is needed, he says, is a distinctly 21st-century strategy that takes account of the lessons of Iraq and the Chilcot inquiry and is not the result of the kind of lazy thinking that posits a return to the Cold War — another blanket term that Monaghan debunks.
In his account of the rise and rise of Vladimir Putin, Mark Galeotti reminds us that his subject's passion is not chess but judo. He is an opportunist rather than a strategist who has no grand design beyond his ambition for 'power and stability at home, recognition abroad'.
Putin grew up in St Petersburg (then Leningrad) in conditions we might call deprived. His KGB career was undistinguished, but he subsequently benefited hugely from the collapse of the old Soviet Union he sometimes seems to yearn for. However, his actions as president have not amounted to an attempt to revive communism or the Cold War. They are more 'an angry, despairing scream… a last attempt to deny history, to pretend the age of Russian superpower is not over'.
He is a Russian patriot, part of whose appeal is that millions of Russians can look at him through the media he largely controls and feel that he's fighting for them, that he's on their side. His enormous personal wealth and the corruption that infests so many Russian institutions do not seem to count against him. Neither does the imposition of Western sanctions against Russia — they don't touch him personally, they haven't yet seriously hurt those on whose support he depends and most Russians see them as an example of the kind of Western hostility he is there to protect them from. He is 'a nicer person than I am', said Trump. His new National Guard is more than twice the size of Britain's armed forces.
But he is 66. Can he afford to retire, to put himself, his family and wealth into the hands of unknown successors? His Soviet predecessors couldn't. 'The tragedy of modern Russia,' says Galeotti, 'is that the same is still true.'
As for what to do about Russia, neither author expects any early improvement in relations. Galeotti thinks it will take generations and Monaghan reckons any future UK strategy should assume 'a deep-set negative atmosphere in Moscow'. Both reject Cold War analogies as misleading and both call for a combination of dialogue and deterrence. In other words, don't give up, find common interests where you can, be watchful and be better informed. But don't bet the farm on it.
This article was originally published in The Spectator magazine.


text:
Brendan Boyle
Spain's wind of change
Spain at the halfway point of 2022, and the direction it's heading in 2023 with a general election on the horizon.
Photo by alevision.co on Unsplash
During his summer vacation, Michael McCleary returned to Spain on the eve of the first post-Franco general election, a campaign which saw most Spaniards vote for the very first time. "I remember some voting for (Adolfo) Suárez because he was the most handsome candidate!" he says.
More from Brendan Boyle
Irish - living in Galicia. Write about Spain, its cities and culture; real people and places; current affairs. Supporter of real journalism.


Full Speed Ahead, Behind, and Up!
The Everest provides you with not only fantastic snow conditions, but also the highest functionality in stylish Pininfarina design as well as innovative PRINOTH accessories. With the PRINOTH drum winch, the grooming of even steep slopes turns into a pleasure, thanks to Wincontrol.
High Grooming Performance – Even More Economical.
Unique workspace: Efficient functionality and the latest ergonomic insights in the elegant design of Pininfarina.
The maximum lengths of perfectly groomed slopes in the minimum time.
Low operating costs: The fully-electronic engine and hydraulic management along with tried and true PRINOTH components take care of both costs and the environment.
PRINOTH drum winch: Winch with automatic pulling force control – for the rapid grooming of steep slopes and the transport of large quantities of snow.
PRINOTH accessories: Such as the Power Tiller and the 12-way clearing blade.
Unique workspace. The clear layout of the controls, the driver's seat that was developed for special needs, the user interface, and the operational elements within the Pininfarina design all guarantee work that is both pleasant and safe.
The maximum lengths of perfectly groomed slopes in the minimum time. Tremendous thrust at the same time as good maneuverability, excellent climbing ability, and sensitive handling of the clearing blade, thanks to the new hydraulic servomechanism.
Low operating costs. The fully electronic control system for the engine and hydraulics management guarantees optimal performance values with low fuel consumption, helping to relieve the impact on the environment. Lower maintenance costs and a long operating life thanks to tried and true PRINOTH components.
PRINOTH Drum Winch. The PRINOTH drum winch on the Everest provides rapid, efficient assistance in the grooming of steep slopes and the transporting of large quantities of snow. With Wincontrol, the latest-generation technology for automatic control of the winch pulling force, the driver is free to concentrate on what is essential, while the winch controls itself.
PRINOTH accessories. Even at high grooming speeds, the high-performance PRINOTH Power Tiller guarantees an unsurpassed compact slope with good grip at all times. With the specially shaped 12-way clearing blade, you can take advantage of high thrust with lower power usage.