Planning a Dinner

I'm cooking dinner for the members of my Lodge and have had some frustrations in locating all the fixings I need. Last week I couldn't find Karo syrup or pecans for the pecan pies. Price Smart, which has had pecans on the shelves for the last five years sudenly didn't have any. I finally found some, at $12.50 for 1.5 pounds at Riba Smithin Bella Vista. By Monday Karo was all over town. Aluminum foil containers were a real challenge, and after driving all over the city, I found what I was looking for in the 99 store closest to my house. Go figure! The lesson, which I should have learned years ago, is don't wait too long to gather what you need for a party or dinner and if you see something out of th ordinary that won't spoil and which you might need, buy it and put it away.

Good Guys

Last week, the A/C in Big 'Mo went on the blink. Naturally, this happened while we had clients aboard. Three months ago, I had the A/C serviced and it had been working fine for months. On Friday, I took it back to the shop where I had it seviced. I had checked and the cxompressor was running very sporadically, so I assumed the system had developed a leak. Once hooked up to the test system it proved to still have a full charge, so they started troubleshooting the compressor clutch circuits. and found a bad sensor on the back of the compressor. As is often the case in Panama, the sensor is not available, but the system works just fine with the connector jumpered and we left it that way until I can get a new sensor from the US. These fine folks spent almost two hours making sure that that was the only problem and charged me only $25.00. I've been using them for years and they do quality work. I recommend them highly. Electro Aire Gonzalez, S.A. located on the exit to the underpass on Tumba Muerto at San Miguelito. Not the cheapest shop in town, but one of the best. Bring your own translator.

Movistar Redux

Nora's Movistar cell phone has been having problems for months, and Movistar announced that they are switching to GSM only, so she attempted to switch her number to Cable and Wireless and they told her 'the technology won't permit it', which is, of course, pure BS. Anyway, she ended up buying a new cell phone on Monday from Movistar so she could keep the number. They told her the new phone would be active in 30 minutes. It is now Wednesday morning and the phone is still not active. What a bunch of liars!

Computer Stuff

I've finally made the decision to do a bit of computer consulting work and will have a Ubuntu Linux powered demonstration computer set up at our new office next week. If you'd like to see just how useful and easy to use Linux is, contact me and arrange a session. I will also be offering such hard to find items as English keyboards and English language Win XP computers. I have no plans to offer service or support for Windows Vista, but will do virus cleanings, etc on XP or earlier versions.

Service and Assistance for People Who Want to Live in Panama