Mango Watch Update

The mangoes are getting much larger, but still are not ripe. I picked one today and cut it open -- they are still hard, green and bitter.



The tree is full of fruit and they are banging against the roof whenever the wind blows. Here's a full shot of the tree:



Now one of the banana trees has entered the competition -- it has some fruit working its way to being ripe and ready to eat.



So, it's St. Patrick's day and we have a bunch of un-ripe fruit -- that must be why we wear green.

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Miami

I spent a couple days in Miami this week for a Strategic Communications workshop. I don't know if it was just where I was staying by the airport, but Miami doesn't seem like a very pedestrian-friendly area. After catching the shuttle to the hotel, I decided to walk around and see what I could find for dinner. The hotel is on a main thoroughfare, so there was quite a bit of traffic. When I got to the first intersection, I noticed something strange -- no crosswalks or walk/don't walk lights. I eventually got across the street and found a small Mexican restaurant. There were a bunch of Miami/Dade cops there, so I could only assume they were just robbed or the food was really good. Since they were all parked neatly in parking spaces, and didn't have the lights on, I figured they had good food.

Here's a tip for the next time you are in Miami: Miami/Dade cops seem like nice guys, but they don't know jack about Mexican Food.

The next night I went out for Cuban food -- it was delicious. So the lesson for today is Miami=Good Cuban food; San Antonio=Good Mexican food. Do not confuse the two.

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Give a Kid a Backpack

We had a group from Florida, Give a Kid a Backpack, come out and we helped them distribute backpacks with school supplies to children in local schools who wouldn't normally be able to afford those items. They get the backpacks and school supplies from donations from children around the United States. I went with them one day to a school in La Paz and a couple in Humuya and shot a few photos. Here's one of a girl with her backpack:

It was great going out there and meeting the kids. I think we had as much fun as they did.

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Barbecue and Mango Watch

Yesterday we went into town and did some shopping at the grocery store. Afterwards, we barbecued ribs and chicken at the AFN (radio) station. It's always nice hanging out, barbecuing meat and drinking beer. Later, I kicked back on the hammock tied to one end of the antenna tower and took this photo:



Here is the most recent Mango Watch 2008 update -- They are getting bigger, but I have been told they will not be full size and ripe until May.

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Missed travel

I didn't make it to the brewery last weekend because I picked up some food poisoning and spent the weekend ill. This weekend I am on call, so I'll be staying in the local area, but should be going into town tomorrow.

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Mango Watch 2008

The mangoes outside my office are about an inch and a half long now. I don't know how long it takes for them to reach full size, but it looks like we are going to have a ton of them.





We're going to take a trip to D&D Brewery near Lake Yojoa this weekend, so I should have a ton of photos to post when I get back.

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Toaster tech

Why hasn't toaster technology kept up with most other everyday items? The standard toaster you can buy at a store has the same knob to control how dark your toast is that it did when I was a child. I can rarely get a good piece of toast the first time with that knob, and if I change the kind of bread, or the humidity in the air changes, I'm back to square one. I know there are expensive toasters out there that do a better job, but they are not the common toaster.

Let's look at automobiles. When I first started driving, you weren't really sure if your car was going to start on a cold day. I remember many times begging my car to start in the morning. Fast forward twenty-some years and that is not an issue--I never wonder if my car is going to start in the morning now. It is commonplace with cars now that you don't have "start roulette" in the morning. Why can't we do that with a toaster?

It can't be all that difficult to inexpensively make a toaster that is automatic -- it just has to check the moisture content of the bread. I'm not asking for my toaster to butter the bread (although, I won't complain if it does), I just want it to remove the guesswork.

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