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ezpz

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Everything posted by ezpz

  1. I started a separate thread regarding this same issue as you may see. Yes it does belong here. I live here full time, all the time, I don't go back up to the USA anymore. So, my question is to the techies who can answer a couple basic questions, not the least of which is What is available HERE? Same thing with my posts about the noise or the garbage pickup/plastic bag issue - what can we do HERE??? I realize that so many of you don't live here, you don't think in those terms. Many of you seem to think this board is for theoretical/intellectual discussions. Only if they do pertain to life HERE. I googled Chromebox and all I saw were pictures of little boxes. Where is the screen or keyboard? I need a laptop with memory for 20,000+ fotos and videos. Benno's can order them in English, but I wonder if they will be swamped with requests with this new Windows 10 debacle. So, with all these posts, I still don't know anything new.
  2. https://weather.com/storms/severe/video/rivers-of-hail-paralyze-mexican-city
  3. After getting a huge slew of upgrades to my trusty old Windows 7 which I am perfectly happy with, I just got notice - maybe you have. too - that Windows 7 will not be serviced after Jan. 2020 and that everyone needs to buy Windows 10 PLUS a new computer to run it on. That program was installed on my computer without my permission a few years ago. I hated it and had it removed. I'm not interested in going through yet another learning curve to just keep doing what I am already doing. Plus, the sales pressure... now I understand why all the techies at my job (I retired 12 years ago) hated MS. Other thing is I live here full time and never go back up north, so I would have to buy a new laptop here. I'm aware that Benno's keeps a few in stock, but still... Techies out there, please comment.
  4. Storm caused rivers of ice in GDL, check it out! It was so nice here, a little blustery wind... https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/6/30/1868539/-Unusual-hailstorm-buries-Guadalahara-under-an-accumulation-of-up-to-four-feet-of-hail?fbclid=IwAR0y-q8lla2zcYQkbPNCeHzTi7k2fSDd_5gNmcLmvnWMj_3UOKYe5ITkuxU
  5. Gracias, I would like to stay right by the Union Plaza in Guanajuato, there is a great hotel there. Looking at a map of Guanajuato is pointless. The local maps are very inaccurate and have cutesy drawings for tourists. There is no "north" indicated. The streets wind in every which direction, and at least half of the "streets" are actually andadodores, or "walking streets" or alleys, not open to car traffic. The difference is not indicated on maps including online! So parking on the outskirts of town and taking a taxi would suite me better. I would like to leave the central driving to a local driver! I'm happy walking once I get there. Meanwhile, I'm searching "pensiones estacionarse" Certainly someone must have had some experience with them.
  6. I just bought a car after being here for 12 years without one. I have considered driving to a few of my favorite cities - Guanajuato and San Miguel, mainly to save time. I've been there on guided tours, but that really makes your own navigation abilities get rusty. But the drives seem safe and easy on the toll roads most of the way. But.. I would like to park the car in the outskirts of those towns because driving in the historic centers would be quite challenging, especially in Guajajuato, whose maps look like a plate of spaghetti! Not ready for the tunnels! I'm wondering if there are any covered and secure parking lots at the outskirts of those towns where it would also be easy to catch a taxi to the hotel. I'm also thinking of Zacatecas, but you can drive all the way into the center there, doesn't look too treacherous. Please remember, I haven't driven for 12 years! Gracias!
  7. I have chatted with more Mexicans around town, mostly women who take care of the house. Some had not yet thought of this issue but said it was a very good question. Adriana at El Granero showed me a plastic bag that was made from corn, not plastic, which is truly biodegradable. Great! But can the company making them suddenly produce enough to satisfy the sudden spike in demand from most of the shops or homes in the whole state of Jalisco? She said they were available online. Another woman told me when she was a girl, everyone wrapped up their toilet tissue in newspaper. But there aren't many newspapers left, and the ink itself is toxic, not to be recycled. Large paper bags don't exist here. Another vendor told me he thinks the whole thing is a scam. A few years ago someone was putting out "biodegradable" plastic bags, but it turned out they were just thinner plastic that still never decays. Not a solution! Another vendor told me the cardboard carry out containers cost 10x as much as styrofoam, so that cost will be passed on to consumers. I still don't see how they are going to box up an entire roast chicken with all the dripping sauce! Most bathrooms, especially in MX, don't have room for a bidet, and someone thinks the govt. is going to subsidize this?? LOL!! MX is a Low Government country, everyone is on their own. Does bidet use apply to poop, sorry, I had to ask. What do you use to dry off all that water from your bottom? More tissue?? A $40 USD kitchen composter would cost around $900MXPesos. That is a whole week of wages for a lot of people here, not a viable solution and I doubt those things are available here anyway. And what would you do with your kitchen compost if you don't have a yard or garden in the first place? Not a solution in MX. I eat a lot of yogurt which comes in containers that are very reusable but not recyclable. I have saved mine to carry to El Granero to buy bulk food and store it at home, or to store veggies from the tianguis. But I don't need more new containers so I put them out IFO my house on tianguis day with a sign from my maid saying in Spanish: "These plastics are to be reused many times, please don't throw in the trash. Think of the environment." My neighbor snaps them up every week and used them for lunches for her husband and son, and they must throw them away because she always wants more. I want to share them with everyone, they are very handy.
  8. Wow. Some good suggestions here but it seems many posters here are not aware of the Mexican household lifestyle. Bidets??? To keep from using toilet paper??? Are you people all aware that you CANNOT even flush paper down the toilet in MX? Few Mexicans or gringos in less expensive housing have the fancy water systems that allow for flushing toilet paper. Do you think Mexicans can afford to install bidets in their houses??? Huh??? I've traveled all around MX, stayed in nice hotels, ate in nice restaurants, and they ALL have wastebaskets by the toilet for the used toilet paper, which has to be disposed of somehow. My own house is like that. Almost every house I've been in here has bathroom wastebaskets lined with plastic bags from the tiendas. The only places where you know you can flush your toilet paper is when the DON'T have a wastebasket by the toilet, and that is very rare. You can't put that kind of loose waste into a big garbage can. The garbage workers handle all that stuff by hand without gloves! I don't even use a garbage can to put in the street here. I take out 4 small bags of trash per week. Singles and couples don't generate enough garbage, hopefully, to need a big trash can! The plastic bags are very convenient for small amounts of trash. Empty garbage pails get stolen. Please remember we are talking about MX here, not up north. Also, if people had the space for a compost heap, don't you think we/they would already be doing that? The recycling of kitchen waste is a great idea so we can contribute to a municipal compost heap. In the mild climate of MX, there is much greater risk of vermin getting into your food scraps. I've seen rats around town, you don't want to leave food scraps around! MX has almost no sturdy paper bags to be found anywhere. Remember the trees they come from? If shops can no longer use plastic bags for customers, wouldn't it follow that you won't be able to buy them either? That would be an extra expense for many financially struggling Mexicans. So I'm still not seeing a solution to the garbage disposal issue which in MX, revolves around plastic bags. I think this law was thought up by men who have never done a lick of housework or have never taken out the trash in MX. Yes, let's move in the direction of using less plastic, but the plastic issue has to be connected to the trash disposal issue as it is in MX, not up north.
  9. The new GR states that local businesses have until July to use up their stashes of disposable plastics because they soon will be banned from use. While I heartily support environmental measures including reducing use of disposable plastics, I have the following questions: How are we supposed to collect and dispose of used toilet tissue without these bags? This is necessary in most of MX and most people re-use plastic bags for this purpose. Same goes for organic waste saved for recycling. There would be quite a risk of household contamination without being able to seal the containers used for such purposed. Even if you used solid waste baskets, at some point you have to put this stuff in the street for pickup. What are we supposed to use for this purpose? Think of the garbage workers who have to handle this stuff! I tried leaving my glass/plastic/metal recycling in a plastic bucket outside my house but the container got stolen twice, so now I have to carry it to the local drop-off points. I frequently buy roast chicken and have wondered what kind of container to bring to put a very hot roast chicken in. The typical hard plastic containers wouldn't work. I've already asked the help to not use the styrofoam, only the plastic bags, but without those, what? These new rules will be a severe culture shock for the many small businesses which feature take out food and beverages. There is little alternative to take out containers other than to actually serve the food in place and use washable dishes. But that is not feasible for a tiny take out stand. I hope some genius will invent a truly biodegradable material to use for take out food. Until then, what??
  10. After 12 years of living here without a car, I have decided to buy a car! So I need a No Estacionarse sign for my garage door. I've been in a couple of shops that had only small ones made of plastic. I would like a larger durable metal sign. Where can I find one around here? gracias!
  11. I had an emergency hip replacement from Dr. Gonzales (Jorge) in 2008 after I fell and landed on my hip. Funny thing, I had already seen him and we had determined that I needed a hip replacement (partially genetic problem, partially from having had a dance career). So he was already familiar with me at the time. He and his very handsome assistant surgeon did a great job on me. Yes, I recovered without pain or extra physical therapy and was so much better than limping around like i was after doing so much hard work of moving. But I was unable to sleep on either side for an entire year. Fortunately, I had tempur-pedic foam pads on my bed making it possible to sleep on my back in comfort. You just have to slow down and have help for 3 months, then it all gradually comes back, after a year you don't even know you had it.
  12. There is fresh, thick smoke in the area described above. I can see it from my roof. Sort of behind where the little chapel on the hill is. Winds are WSW.
  13. I took these fotos from my roof (except for the one with the palm tree, in my driveway) within the last hour around sunset. It's coming our way slowly towards Ajijic. Winds forecasted from the west through tomorrow morning. Someone told me it was a controlled burn (out of control?) where they are planning to build a new subdivision. Any truth to that?
  14. The computer gremlin erased the previous post for me, jajaja! Our Maya-Atlantis Tour group went to Chichen Itza at dawn on March 21, Spring Equinox which is a big day in Mexico for many traditional pre-hispanic-spiritual people. It is not only the first day of Spring (which is almost a moot point in the lovely climate of most of Mexico) but both equinoxes are the halfway points between winter and summer solstices, meaning that the amount of daylight and dark are equal. On a higher plane, it is a point of balance of many universal energies, a good time to connect with the higher realms. Balance is the key to harmony. So this particular day attracts thousands of visitors to Chichen Itza to see a unique pattern of sunlight between 4-5pm which casts a shadow on the edges of the "steps" of the pyramid which creates an image of the Plumed Serpent (Kul Kul Kan in Mayan or Quezalcoatl) whose sculptured head is at the bottom of the "stairs". The huge crowd was divided into trendy, noisy young people, almost giving an ambience of a rock concert without the bands. Lots of yelling. The other types were mostly dressed in white, there for the spiritual significance of the day. Personally, I would suggest going there on the 22nd, you could see the same shadow without all the crowds. The shadow of the sun only moves about 1 inch per day, I don't think that would be noticeable on a huge pyramid. We had time early in the cool, fresh morning to look around the huge complex with many buildings, one of which had an observatory (!). It was a long but great day! All of these pyramid sites were once large thriving communities. On another day, we went to a lesser known site called Ek Balam where the traditional elders told of "visitors from the stars" at this special place of the Jaguar-Star Maya Ceremonial Center." The theme of connection to "star beings" is woven through all Maya traditions that have been handed down through the families from the elders. The academics who dig up ruins and try to interpret the meanings of the picto-graph stellae are mostly only guessing. Much of Mayan cosmology just doesn't translate into modern languages which don't already have these concepts and words. Later that day, we went swimming in a cenote, which is a large underground cavern with fresh, cool water flowing from streams above or underground, depending. They are found all over the Yucatan. Most are very deep, and some are so deep that modern radar equipment can't find the bottom. Some are connected to others by underground streams which can be navigated by swimming with scuba equipment. The water was blissfully cool after a day in the hot Yucatan. The place we went to was open to the public with wooden stairs leading down the steep sides to the water. All were required to wear sturdy life jackets because once you step into the water there is no touching the bottom. A couple of people on the tour had waterproof cameras with them but have not sent me their footage. I swam but had to take fotos from the sidelines. Our guide said that the cenotes contain minerals from outer space after a large meteor crashed in the area hundreds of thousands of years ago. I knew I felt very far out when I got out of that water! Check out my UTube channel for videos of local Ajijic fiestas as well as my travels in many places around Mexico, going back to 2016.
  15. It was with a Tour Group from https://casakin.org/ They organize tours of spiritually significant locations in Yucatan that combine travel with meditations, ceremonies, and teachings. Great hotels and food as well. It was a much younger group than the tours organized out of Ajijic. I was the Elder! The Maya were known for their brilliance at mathematics and astronomy. They had/have 17 calendars which measure different things. They knew that on Dec. 21, 2012 there were powerful astronomical alignments which portended the ends of a 5,125, a 10,000, and a 26,000 yr. cycle. You might ponder how they knew what was going on 26,000 years ago without all of our "modern science." That famous date was the end of these calendars. The Maya never said the world was going to end on that date. This tour focused on the connection between the lost continent of Atlantis and the Maya culture.
  16. What we all noticed very obviously was the weird echo reaction there. When someone would clap loudly near the big pyramid, the echo sounded like a completely different thing, like a bird call. That seems to indicate an energy vortex. I understand there is also one near Ocatlan, can't remember the name of that place... - Tono Focal? There is also one on a private property in Ajijic where I went to a Full Moon ceremony. You make a loud sound which echos, but the echo sounds nothing like the original sound, more like an electric sound effect. But, yes, if you are tuned in, you can feel the energy fields at the pyramids.
  17. Hola! I would like to share my travel videos of a tour I recently went on which included a Mayan spiritual guide to fill us in on the more esoteric aspects of the Mayan pyramids that are not easily accessed by conventional academic knowledge which mostly consists of academics digging up and trying to understand ancient ruins often quite out of context. The Maya did not die out, there are millions of living Maya descendants and there are lineages who have kept the cultural wisdom intact. That is also how the danzantes learn their art and how to make their costumes, and the significance of it all. I've talked to several of them directly about that. Mayan Cosmology is multi-dimensional, consistent with Quantum Physics which is barely known by the modern masses. There are living Maya descendants who know what all the "mysterious" picto-graphs really refer to. All in all, a fascinating trip on all levels! Mostly young people, too, what a change from the Lake Chapala gringo scene. All the pyramids were resonant to ultra-high frequencies and all the pyramids of the world resonate with eachother. Uxmal is a large site so I had to make 2 videos! In all the archaeological sites I have visited, they say that what we see today is but a tiny percentage of what is really there, still unexcavated. These sites were once thriving large, advanced cities with highly educated and conscious people. The Spanish Invasion destroyed a lot of all pre-hispanic culture in Mexico, but through the strength of the family bonds and lineages, some truths have been passed down. Here is my 2nd video slideshow of Uxmal:
  18. I give my old newspapers to various ceramic vendors around Ajijic. They can use the paper for packing their wares and are very glad to get it. Sometimes I give to neighbors for them to use for their bird cages. Lots of Mexicans never buy periodicals so they really can use this stuff.
  19. The thread regarding a medical emergency of the family of the owners of this shop was closed before I could post this question there. Where exactly is this shop? Muchisimas gracais!
  20. Funny, but I tried to post the link to my new video plus a link to an older one with some of the same danzantes in San Cristobal and even that is not going through after 2 hours. WTF is up??? My current upload speed is 489 KBPS, 71% faster than my average speed, 87% slower than my host average @ 3.6.
  21. I have always been drawn to the pre-hispanic cultures ever since I moved here almost 12 years ago. The Sangre Viva (Living Blood) Fiesta is my favorite cultural event here. It celebrates pre-hispanic danza and music with performers from around Mexico. I became friends with the lead danzante of this group because I filmed them 2 years ago in San Cristobal, where this group, Ce-Ollin, is from. Last next year I saw him at the Sangre Viva fiesta here because I recognized their unique costumes. We made friends, and when I returned to San Cristobal last year, he came up to me in the street but I didn't recognize him because I had never seen him without his face paint and costumes! He/they travel around Mexico a lot. I was a dancer and took a lot of classes in African and Brazilian dance so the Danzantes of Mexico resonate very deeply with me, i LOVE dancing to live drummers. And i LOVE the vivid colors of the splendid costumes of the danzantes, how cool can you get? Here is the video I took 2 years ago with Sergio, the lead dancer in the San Cristobal Plaza: I hope all this comes out OK...
  22. OK, so my telcel problem is kinda sorta OK... Next problem, jaja.. I was just trying to upload my newest video of Danzantes Ce-Ollin at the Sangre Viva Fiesta this past weekend in Ajijic, great show, well attended. Lots of action, about 7 minutes of action video plus a couple minutes of still fotos in this video which I will post on another thread. Yesterday I tried to upload the separate videos & fotos to FB ,was fine for a while and then stalled out completely after several hours. So I created my "movie"(on MOV) format to upload to Utube. It usually takes me about 1 hr. per minute to upload action videos (as opposed to foto slideshows which go much faster). It also got stuck for hours after 90% finished. Arrgghhhh!!! I tried the suggestions given my Utube and checked my upload speed which was very slow... 63% slower than MY average, around 90% slower than most of MX. I also recreated my video with less resolution. I have the Telmex Medium plan for about $600/mo. It uploaded much faster but the colors are a little washed out to my eyes. I prefer the vivid colors. Questions: Should I even bother to notify Telmex when my upload speed is way too slow? I notice this in the middle of the night sometime. How do you reach them now? Or should I just change the settings on my videos to allow for faster upload but less color? My videos are my favorite hobby now, and my local fiesta videos get hundreds of views, much more than my travel foto slideshows. Gracias!!
  23. I just tried that # after going to the print shop to print out my document and return home. that is a wrong # ! But, by cosmic synchronicity, I ran into a friend (while walking back from the print shop) that was familiar with that notary and recommended him and confirmed the general location. A Mexicana recommended a couple others in Chapala. So I will wing it with a taxi, I think I know where you are talking about, just above Century 21 Real estate, no? Gracias!
  24. I don't have a car so I was hoping for Ajijic. I re-confirmed that the Notary only needs to have the official stamp, nothing else needed. Gracias!
  25. Very sorry to say, both of those were the stores that I dealt with. Did you all buy phones there or do you just go in to buy time?
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