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el blanco barba

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    Delaware, U.S.
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    Just about everything. Food, architecture, art, music, environmental issues, and considerate living.

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  1. Familiar with Dengue. Was just hoping that the country hadn't gotten sucked into the Zika scam perpetrated by the pesticide manufacturers. As with most modern atrocities of public health, they use a public misinformation campaign to allow them to sell all sorts of inappropriate "economic poisons", especially outside of the U.S. and E.U. The recent news about vacationers to the Dominican Republic dying mysterious deaths is beginning to, not surprisingly, unfold, and it's looking more and more like the victims succumbed to pesticide poisoning. Things like organophosphates are horribly poisonous, and outlawed in many countries, but that doesn't stop Monsanto/Bayer, DuPont, et al, from aggressively marketing them everywhere else. The creation of false panics like the encephalitis being attributed to mosquitoes is one such obfuscation in the name of quarterly profits, and it's worth billions to them, so you know where we count in that math. Turns out the most likely cause of the health problems blamed on Zika is actually the chemicals, not the bugs. Of course that is not the case with Dengue, so thanks. So holding ponds will likely not be an issue as long as the water is say, kept circulating and populated with insect eating fish. Sounds perfect.
  2. Sorta good to hear. Unfortunately, if they've adopted anything resembling the irresponsible BS exercised in much of the U.S., waivers and inadequate facility capacity reviews often lead to systems being approved that are woefully inadequate and ultimately fail, sometimes right from the start. While it certainly is possible to build in a way that creates no additional waste or storm water loads for existing infrastructure, even if they did, that still leaves the issue of how to move those additional people in and about town, as well as supplying their new construct. Ultimately, is there actually a "need" for such a development? I mean are hotel rooms in the area that hard to come by? The hospitality industry on the whole has struggled, and a lot of their past profits were derived through real estate ownership and acquisitions, but generally an organization like Wyndham isn't in the habit of building new facilities in places where they will likely stay vacant. I'm a Luddite at heart, one who generally eschews change, particularly regarding development of sensitive areas, but if not them then who. Also, somebody sold them the land to start all of this, so it doesn't seem that they somehow used gov't influence the way they do it in the States, to simply steal private property through eminent domain. Guess I need to do some more reading...
  3. It would seem that my days of political activism would best be left at the border. Not suggesting it would necessarily make a dent, but perhaps appealing to the clients' shareholders? Beyond which, both Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) and Wyndham Worldwide Corp (NYSE:WYN) are headquartered in the U.S., and while that doesn't necessarily mean that that is their home country (Apple for instance maintains itself as an Irish corporation, while many others rely on tax & banking havens rooted in the old British empire), there are laws that supposedly have effect over U.S. businesses acting abroad. Many of them dal specifically with respecting local environmental & planning regulations while also making fraud and bribery illegal on some level. Not up on all of the legalese, but there might be some additional leverage to be had there. That or perhaps some sort of outreach campaign through social media to try and shame the company for being so nonchalant about literally crapping all over a body of water that is recognized as being internationally significant? Just a thought... All of course in conjunction with the already engaged/planned legal challenges. Lastly, if the politicos are that crooked and unresponsive, what are the chances of running someone in opposition who is more reasonable and perhaps willing to do the right thing? Mr. Smith goes to Chapala?
  4. Not being rhetorical, but how can anyone simply build a development near any body of water without having a means of dealing with the waste, generated by a facility that will likely end up housing over 200 residents plus support staff, to say nothing of the electricity and domestic water needs? This boggles the mind. It seems that they must have SOME sort of accommodations for these issues included somewhere in their development plan. So once plans for this sort of project are approved and given permits, does the local jurisdiction maintain any sort of record version on file for public review?
  5. I always enjoy alternative solutions, but having been involved in post quake clean-up, I'm phobic enough about those barrel vault ceilings resting on adobe brick walls. The idea of tens of thousands of gallons water with it would never let me sleep. lol
  6. Sounds great. I wasn't really interested in sinking a well, but good to know. Regarding the pool vs. pond scenario, are you aware of why they're seen or treated differently? Seems the lake itself would provide all of the habitat necessary to keep a healthy population of skeeters thriving. Certainly covered tanks or cisterns don't pose any issues (assuming that they're properly constructed), but how serious is the mosquito borne illness reality there?
  7. Sounds like a business opportunity for someone with a grout pump. Once had a realtor try to sell me a waterfront property that was half on shore and half over the water. The water had a bacteria with an affinity for wood pilings, and they had caused the far end of the three story building to settle over a foot relative to the front door on shore. Speaking of bowling, if you had let go of a bowling ball at the front door it would have easily crashed through the patio doors facing the water and kept on flying. None of the windows could close, but the realtor still had the nerve to blather on about what a great bargain was to be had and fast it was going to sell. We passed. lol Like politicians and preachers, some people can say almost anything with a straight face.
  8. Jreboll, a bit O.T., but I have several good friends here in the States who are originally from the Guadalajara area, and I am constantly shamed by the crap that they silently endure. Getting back to the O.P., interesting dynamic being described here. We had a vacation place at the beach here, where we had zero input on issues that effected our property rights, use and enjoyment, even though our taxes supported the local gov't and infrastructure. I'm wondering how being a permanent resident of Mexico, who is still a citizen of another country, would be much different?
  9. Was once involved in demolishing one of the oldest steel reinforced buildings on the eastern seaboard, and it was impressive. Even after over a hundred years down on the waterfront, it was still a bugger to take down. Implosion had been considered, but quickly dismissed because by the time there would be enough material removed to weaken the structure for a proper implosion, it would just fall down on its own. On a much smaller scale, where seismic base isolation may not be economically feasible, the continuous load path provided by a steel reinforced structure where the walls and roof are all integrated with a structural slab has proven extremely quake resistant, so that and the temperature buffering characteristics of the resultant thermal mass seem that they'd be well suited to the area. I don't require a big box, so mine can affordably be built to basically shake, rattle and roll as one contiguous element.
  10. Eh... it's only money, right? Besides, ya can't take it with you! (still a favorite play)
  11. Thanks. These guys appear to have a couple of plants in the area, so good to know.
  12. Yeah, brilliant me took 7 years of French. Later worked in Port Cartier, Quebec for a bit, but other than that, it has mostly proven a useless. Still, it's fun learning new things as I get older. If the concrete and steel aren't too severe I'd prefer to avoid the brick altogether. Haven't really evaluated the seismic challenges there, but I much prefer the higher ductility of steel reinforced concrete for my application.
  13. So the average area precipitation is a bit over 94% of three feet, which equals 2,820 cubic feet per year on a given 1,000 sq. ft. area. A cubic foot of water equals 7.48 U.S. fluid gallons, so a little over 21,000 gallons each year, which if you could capture every drop, would provide over 55 gallons of water per day. If you eliminate the most wasteful uses, 55 gallons of water can keep a family of four quite comfortable, with enough left over for a couple of chickens ta boot. There's 144 square inches in a square foot, and 1,728 cu. inches in a cubic foot, so an inch across 1,000 sq. ft. would equal 144,000 sq. inches. At a depth of one inch that would be 144,000 cubic inches, or 83-1/3 cu. ft. of water per inch of rainfall on that area. At 7.48 gallons per cu. ft. you get just under 625 gallons, so pretty close.
  14. Ha ha, spoken like a true optimist, a label which I do not embrace. So I guess the next step is to do whatever you want to do in a stealthy manner...
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