A Sunday Stroll Nineteenth Century-Style

Thought for the Day

If it weren't for electricity, we'd all be watching television by candlelight.

Darth Vader at Ivy League University

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, (Try and say that fast!)who's country is apparently - financially and through the provision of weapons - supporting Al-Queda in Iraq and elsewhere, and who's government is pursuing a nuclear program, visited the United Nations HQ in NY City yesterday. Afterwards he was invited to speak at Columbia University! Uh?

This caused quite a stir, since he is viewed as one of the US's foremost enemies in the fight against terrorism. Earlier he said that one day Islam will rule the world (Yes Pinky!) and that the holocaust is a myth. Nice guy...

The US Immigration Issue

Apart from the US military presence in Iraq, US Immigration Issues are the hotly debated topic that blazes throughout the country.
It is a simple issue that, over the past decade, have been alowed to escalate to monstrous proportions, an issue with many sides, and no clear right or wrong anymore. It seems that American citizens are on the losing end in the long run.

Which is why an article on France's new Immigration Laws, featured on the liberal-leaning CNN website caught my attention:
The new French law passed by Parliament tilts the system in favor of qualified workers and increases the restrictions for others. The new residency permit - called a "skills and talent-permit" - is only for foreigners possessing skills viewed by the French government as beneficial to their labor market and economy.
This is where it gets interesting - foreigners will only be allowed access if they can earn an income. (Medical Insurance and car insurance are the 2nd highest in the country here in Miami, wher ethe top half is carrying the bottom half.)

Furthermore, the law scraps the old rule where illegal immigrants can obtain permits if they have lived in France for 10 years or more. It will now be dealt with on a case-by-case basis by authorities. The government is threatening to deport school-going children to their countries of origin, because their parents are illegal immigrants.
(My immigration process has been ongoing for more than 2 years - legally. However, immigrants coming in illegally, are granted legal residency status. If an illegal is stopped by the police without a driver's license and required car insurance, they are not allowed to ticket, or arrest them.)

Approved immigrants will be forced to sign an "Integration Contract" committing them to respect the French way of life! Wow!!
Imagine that in Miami, where many who has lived here for decades, still cannot speak English, refuse to call themselves Americans, and have not integrated into the American culture, but often mocks it.

Everyone has Rights, says the Constitution. 'Tis true, but the focus is so much on these rights that the wellbeing of American citizens are left on the wayside. In Oregon, there is a new proposal before their Education Board that will allow children of immigrants to study the curriculum of their countries of origin - in the American public schools system!
"No, you don't have to study our American history, or English, just live here, and enjoy the free education and healthcare." Being fiercely patriotic, this wouldn't sit well with me. Lamsakke!

The new law has prompted hostile reaction from the liberal parties and the Catholic church in France. At least it can be said that the French government took a decisive stand and are not blinking in the inevitable face of criticism and at the chance of offending anyone.

Uit die Ou Dae!

Wie onthou hierdie poets deur Leon Schuster?

Boxing

The other night I'm watching boxing and the one guy receives quite a beating before being knocked out. What doesn't make sense to me is why they'd interview the poor guy after the fight? Really, what is he going to say? While trying to focus with his one open eye on the camera and trying not to drool from his swollen lip.

In the seventh round you were knocked down. What happened?
Uh, it's all a little hazy, but from what I can tell, the other gentleman was punching me in the face...

Holderstebolder

Ek teken apologie aan vir enigeen wat die moeite doen om ons Blog te besoek en niks nuut hier gevind het die afgelope week nie.

Dis mirrel-van-die-kwartaal-sindroom, vermoed ek. Ons is douvoordag op, word 'n tweede keer op kantoor wakker na die eerste koppie Kubaanse koffie (- en wonder hoe ek de vy ek daar gekom het!), is besig, middagete om 'n kontak te "kultiveer", neig moeg saans huistoe, spitsverkeer-gefrustreerd, honger, oefen, groet, kuier, kook, swot, en raak voor die TV aan die slaap op mekaar se skote, net om met 'n ruk wakker te word en te besef my rooibos is yskoud en Jay Lenno vertel grappe = 11:30-00:00!

Real life that happens in between the weekend and travel pics, I guess.
Sarah vors Meestersgrade na in die Noorde. Sy is Junie klaar met haar sewende skooljaar en ons vertrou dis dalk haar laaste as werknemer van die skoolsisteem.
Ek woon hierdie week 'n Nasionale Grants Writing werkswinkel by deur die Universiteit van Miami, vroeg tot laat, maar die materiaal hou my konsentrasie gevange. My huidige studie-blok is BestuursEtiek. 'n Tameletjie - nie die holistiese prinsiepe nie, wel die realistiese studiegevalle.

Nag ou grote.

The New England Rugby Jersey's

Sweet!

Zimbabwe beating World Champs Auz in the Twenty/Twenty World Cup = Priceless!
Zim played out of their skins, the Aussies looked rusty and history was made as the Africans wobbled to a tense, memorable five-wicket victory last night over the men from Down Under - the winning runs being hit off the penultimate ball of the innings.

Setanta's False Advertising

I previously Blogged that Setanta Sports, the sole broadband broadcaster of the Rugby World Cup in North-America, offers PPV (Pay per View), monthly and annual subscriptions to the WC games.
The annual subscription is outrageously expensive and the quality only so-so. But if you're like me, you enjoy rugby and after all, the RWC is only once every four years. So I signed up for the monthly subscription.
After you pay and log on, a new message appears, informing you that in fact, you - as a mere, lowly monthly subscriber - are only eligible to watch re-runs of last years Scottish Rugby League and some Irish Footbal re-runs. This is the same company who's front page is splashed with RWC feautures - "If you sign up now..."

Turns out you actually need to sign up for the annual subscription to see any rugby.

Of course I immediately cancelled my subscription. It seems that I'm not the first frustrated customer who's been fooled by their clever tactics. This is the automated message that appears when you write to the Helpdesk (There is, of course, no number to call):
"The world cup games are available live either as part of the Annual subscription or individually in the PPV event list. They are not however included as part of the monthly subscription.
We are more than happy to cancel and refund your monthly subscription under the circumstances – please let us know if you’d like this done."

Not a company I'd support.

A Trip to Kennedy Space Center

The Long Wait is Over

The 2007 Rugby World Cup kicks off tomorrow with the opening game between hosts France and Argentina in the Stade de France. Arguably the highlight of my week, as a foreigner in a strange land where live rugby matches is as scarce as a politician without a private agenda in Washington D.C.

"Kinderlik opgewonde", or just plain excited am I on this day.
This causes a certain dilemma, for even though my host country has send a team to France, most Americans don't know what rugby is. (The thousands of Argentinians in Miami does, but they don't speak English and I only do a leetle Spanish, entiendo?) This is ironic in a sense, seeing as the last time that rugby was offered as an Olympic sport in the early part of the last century, the US took gold. Yes, they're the reigning Olympic Rugby Champions.

Baseball and Football are kings of the Sports channels. The US Open tennis tournament is currently underway at Flushing Meadow, NY. Last night the last two Americans left in the draw played in two seperate quarter-finals. Yet, these matches were not shown on regular TV, ultimate fighting, was. And baseball, in the two sports bars I went looking for coverage.

Fortunately Sentanta Sports (http://www.setanta.com/) announced today that they will stream live coverage of all 48 games of the World Cup to the seven rugby enthusiasts across North-America, as the exclusive online broadcaster. The company operates the only European sport channel in North-America.
The fee-based ticket pass is not too shabby either, costing only $14.99 for the full month of international rugby, live and on demand.

In ensuing posts, I'll write a short explanation of the game of rugby - to the benefit of my North-American friends - explaining things like why the wings tend to be the most handsome players on the field, how to cook your wings in a nice spicy Masala sauce, why prop forwards suffer from NNS, or no-neck-syndrome and much more.

About Labor Day and Florida's Space Coast

Since Monday was Labor Day, we packed our car and headed to Central Florida's forests to go exploring. We visited a few small towns and some magnificent springs. On the way back we stopped for a day at the Kennedy Space Center. Ahohaaa! Had a great time. Will be posting some pics soon.

Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina

Miss Teen South Carolina, Caitlin Upton, was asked a Geography question as one of the five finalists in the national competition over the past weekend. She butchered the question and by Tuesday, have become an overnight sensation on Youtube, where the video clip has recorded nearly 3.5 million viewers. That's apart from the Miss Teen jokes and imitators that is now appearing!
At least South Africa features in her answer.

Kayaking the Intercoastal

Sunday saw us kayaking across the Intercoastal around the North-Miami area in the Oleta State Park.
Friends Curtis and Robin joined us as we ventured across speedboat infested waters to a clutter of small uninhabited islands. Here we saw all sorts of marine life, including a huge stingray, which was simply fantastic.

Footnote: two-seater kayaks are certain marriage and character builders!

Friday Night Live

After a particularly long and hard class session, some of my compa- neros /class- mates and me usually head off for a bite and a beer.
I had a particularly difficult presentation on Friday night (Financial Management), which turned out well for me.

In the pic is some of my MBA-classmates.

Die Hantam, Suid-Afrika, 2007

Salome Zeeman het vir my die volgende pragfotos gestuur van die Hantam-area.

These pictures were taken recently during the flower season in the Hantam-area in the Northern/Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Dis darem maar vrekmooi.

Goofing off in Homosassa!

West Coast Weekend Excursion

Thankfully there's much more to Florida than just Miami.

The past weekend we headed to Central Florida's West Coast with good friends Art and Adele. Our goal - to explore the area and to catch a glimpse of Florida's strangest creature, the elusive manatee (or sea cow) - we found this animal to be slightly ridiculous and I cannot imagine how it managed NOT to become extinct during the past 100 years (Pic below)!

But it wasn't all about the manatees -

we found it within ourselves to visit some of Florida's 600 springs, photograph ancient Indian burial mounds, eat local cuisine, and explore the Central West Coast.

We found some breathtaking scenery, drove through ancient forests with giant old oaks, slept in a town called Homosassa - which is right next to the blooming town of Weeki Wachi (population = 900), experienced the serene sunsets of the West Coast - and we saw our manatee(s)!

Unbeknown to us, along the dreamy riversides scallop season has dawned on this part of Florida and every hotel, motel, RV, camping spot and boat was booked. "A whole beanload of good that did us!", as one local lady told me.

Scallop season is preceded by tarpin season - Homosassa is after all known as the Tarpin Capital of the world. Completing the rest of the year - preceding tarpin season - is manatee season! Although you cannot hunt these gentle creatures - there is only 3000 left alive.

The gentle manatee is the slowest, dumbest animal I've seen. Sarah was convinced that God had some leftover clay and this was what He made after all the other animals were already made. They are closely related to elephants, and each female only has one cub once every three years.

Which sucks for them, because it is estimated that by 2020 there will only be 200 left, the rest being killed by boat propellers, poachers, decease and getting lost at sea!

The whole area is beautiful and rich in ancient Indian history, the remnants of their villages still visible today. (Pic above: Climbing an Indian burial mount at Crystal Spring State Park.)

We swam and snorkeled in some fantastic springs with opaque, see-through water.

We had a grand old time.

South African Gold

Onlangs het ek 'n besending bederfbaarhede vanuit Afrika ontvang. Die oomblik was so groot dat ek myself daagliks in 'n dilemma bevind of ek die items moet eet of moet fotograveer.

Sekerlik 'n kwessie van: "You know you've been out of South Africa too long when..."
In elk geval, Huis Bouwer ervaar tans 'n mini-krisis, met 'n kommerwekkende verlaging in die Pronutro-reserwes. Slegs 'n halwe Piesang-houer is oor en drastiese stappe sal binnekort geneem moet word. Ons enigste invoer-winkeltjie, 50 myl weg, het nie hierdie mnd die nodige nie.
NS - Weg is koning!

In Memoriam

Hanno, ons gaan jou baie mis, nefie.

8 Augustus, 2007

Eendrag Burning

'n Hartseer gesig - Eendrag in ligte-laaie.

This is the Eendrag (meaning Unity) fraternity - our former dormitory building at the University of Stellenbosch, in the old University town of Stellenbosch - going up in flames.

Indeed a very sad sight. There's lots of memories in that building, life-long friendships has been made there, many traditions.

Sorry Draggies, ek voel vir julle.
Aan die blink kant, miskien sal die Eagle's Pub nou uiteindelik in al sy glorie uitgebou word!
En ek wonder of 'n Eendrag-Restaurasie Fonds al in wording is.

Waiting for Sarah

Sarah will be arriving back in Miami tomorrow evening and I can hardly wait. It's been a week now and I guess I'm not used to living alone anymore!

Was feeling slightly melancholic and took these pics of the lake behind our apartment. I jog around this lake - the smaller of two - or am supposed to. Have been slack lately.

Sometimes one gets lazy and then I wish that I could get the exercise portion of my life behind me. "Alright, that was your 500th push-up. No for the incessant eating section of your life!" Hehehe...

Sunsets are so beautiful here and I always futily try to capture these images in my memory.

Bottom pic: Facing straight West, where all fresh water in Southern-Florida starts in the Everglades, about 5 miles away.

Making Faces on Facebook

All right, call me old-fashioned, call me slightly behind the times - I am 33, after all.
But I've only recently joined the hottest not-so-new-anymore Internet website - Facebook.com, an online social networking tool allowing personal picture download and importations from Blogger-sites like Xanga and Blogspot.
It's been growing like wildfire over the past three years and no sign of stopping - Facebook's next goal is to become a general portal like Yahoo.

It has over 30 million registered users worldwide, the 7th most visited site in the US, with the average user spending about 19 minutes/day on the site. It has been a shamefully addictive experience for me - I've found old school buddies and mates from the past, people I've not seen for 7-10 years. It's fantastic.
Within the first week, I've found more than 30 old friends.

Some interesting facts on Facebook:
- It started as a Harvard initiative, gradually being expanded to all Ivy League schools and then to the US University community.
- Within their first 10 months in existence, more than a million users joined.
- More than 8.5 million photos are downloaded daily, making it the number one ranked Photo-site, ahead of Flickr.
- 14 months old and founder, Mark Zuckerburg raised $12.7 million in venture capital.
- Both Yahoo and Google have made offers of more than $2 billion for the site's acquisition.
- There are legal actions pending against Facebook and data mining has been expresses as a concern. Police are monitoring the site for information regarding planned criminal acts posted by users.

Bonds Hits 755th Homer

Barry Bonds, the San Francisco slugger, yesterday hit his 755th homerun to tie Hank Aaron for the all-time record of homeruns in a career.

The 43-year old's achievement was wildly cheered by some spectators and jeered by others in the Giants' stadium in San Diego. Bonds have had several steroid allegations made by against him the last few years, but you've got to give the man credit for the magnitude of the achievement.

Here in Miami, no one dare acuse him of making use of enhancements. This is plastic surgery capital!

Home Alone

Vroulief kuier hierdie week by die skoonouers in die Noorde, wyl ek die fort hou.
Ons hou nog uit hier. Saterdag was ons met sonsondergang strand toe, net om die sand bestrooi met rommel te sien. Miami se 80% immigrasie-populasie - as jy iets verniet kry, gaan jy nie omgee om mooi daarna te kyk nie. Dis derde-werelds. Ek verstaan heeltemal as Sarah as Amerikaner soms effe bitter voel.
My kampus word ook derde-werelds bestuur en die modus operandi hou nie meer tred met die al sterker-wordende kompetisie nie. Ons gly en ek ervaar groot teenstand teen enige van my nuwe besigheids-idees of projekte. My frustrasievlakke is hoog en min word bereik. Ek wil my dokumente in orde kry om nuwe werk te soek.

CAMMP Conference 2007

I was privileged to be able to attend the annual national CAMMP (Council of Alumni Marketing and Membership Professionals) Conference in Champaign-Urbana, at the University of Illinois.

It was a fantastic experience meeting with nearly 150 other Alumni Development Officers from Universities across the US, networking and being exposed to new trends, helpful technology and different ways to do the same old. It was information overload, since I'm a one-man-show in terms of Alumni-related projects in our office. Some of the big State Universities have an Alumni office of 50 personnel. I came home with many new revenue-generating projects in mind.

We had a blast though, and I experienced hospitality like I'm not used to in Miami. It was grrreat!

I included some pics - unfortunately the only pictures are of the evening events, which makes it look like we partied all the time! There were some long hard hours put into the conference during the day.

Pic 1: UI's Alumni Center - I was so jealous.

Pic 2 : The first night we were taken to watch a showing of the old movie classic - Animal House. It was a costume party - funny to see Directors dressing up!

Pic 3: In this beautiful, historic Theatre House on campus. It was an experience!

Pic 4: If you work hard, you party hard - UI hosted us during our last night with a professional band. They were great.

Pic 5: I couldn't let the opportunity pass to show my American friends how they dance back in South Africa - Ahuuuuhaaaa!

Chicago Pics

Below are some pics I took during my trip to Chicago I thought you might enjoy.

First Weekend in Chicago

Last weekend I spend in Chicago's Lake Forest-Grey Lake area with Schalk and Marlene and little Evert Reynolds. It was fantastic spending time with old friends.

Dit gaan heel goed met hulle en ons het die naweek dan ook op die regte manier begin - met 'n stewige braai! Ek het myself gate uit by hulle geniet en het hul eg Suid-Afrikaanse gasvryheid baie waardeer.

I used my last day with them to take the train to Union Station, Downtown Chicago, to visit this beautiful city on the shores of Lake Michigan. I loved every minute of it! It's such a clean, beautiful, historically rich city and I had to carefully choose which sites I'd could divide my little time among. Among other's I went up the Sears Towers to enjoy a splendid view.
It's hard to tell yourself looking at the big Lake that it's actually a freshwater mass. One's eyes tells you that lots of water is ocean.
Here's a link to some pictures:
Tuesday it's off to Champaign-Urbana and the University of Illinois' main campus.
Looking forward to the upcoming conference.

Marlins' Game

Marco arrived home from Illinois this weekend and it was so good to see him! Although we're used to traveling apart, it was nice to have him home again.

We went to a Marlins game with our friend Chay this weekend. Sadly, they stomped Cincinnatti wickedly (10-2) much to Marco and Chay's delight. In a desperate attempt to gain fan support, the Marlins are running a special that if they make 6 runs in a game, then you get 2 free donuts and a cup of ice tea at the local Dunkin' Doughnuts. You can imagine the fans uproar when the 6th run of the game was made... there was a wave in the crowd and by 8th inning the stadium had all but emptied as people were on their way to the local DD with hopes of getting there before all the glazed doughnuts were gone!

Naweek-Dinge

My strot sit agter in my keel en die sweet tap my af soos ek my inspan om 'n week se werk in die laaste dag van hierdie week in te prop.
Na my studente middagete more vort moet ek my haas om my vlug te haal vanaf Miami na die O'Hare Internasionale Lughawe in Chicago. Ek's opgewonde - ek kuier die naweek saam met Schalk en Marlene Reynolds - Laaste 2x wat ek hulle gesien het was in Kathu op hul troue en toe in Llandudno op my en Sarah s'n. Gat biki kuier, dalk rugby kyk en miskien effe van die stad sien - als in Afrikaans.
Ek woon deur die week 'n nasionale konferensie by te Illinois Universiteit. Is DV Vrydag terug in die Suide.

Elderly Driving

I realized (frustrated!) this morning that elderly people actually don't drive that badly. They're just the only ones with time to obey the speed limit.

Weekend Sports!

The annual World Wife-Carrying Championship was held in the small village of Sonkajarvi, Finland, this past weekend!

44 couples from 12 countries competed in this international event, the men defying rain and exhaustion, with women clinging to their backs upside down. The competitors race along a 250-meter track, through a swimming pool and various other obstacles. An Estonian, Madis Uustorg, finished first in 61,7 seconds. Aghuuhaaaa!

I wonder how he told (actually "bribe" is the correct term) his wife, he wanted to compete - and thus practice daily - in this dynamic, prestigious event...

The Moore's in Town!

Bruce and Julie Moore were in South-Florida for the Summer holiday and for Morrison Alumni affairs, so we took the trip to go and see them. They are ex-colleagues of Sarah from her years at Morrison Academy and we trekked to the Hong Kong Sevens one year - a glorious experience.

It was fantastic to see them again and to catch up on all the news from Taichung. We realized on the way home how much we really miss Taiwan, the friends we've made there, and the lifestyle.

Independance Day

Sarah promised to add a video clip of the "Proud to be an American"-fireworks-clip soon.

We had a grand old time and the fireworks shows were out of this world.

The Micossukee Freedom Festival

The Micossukee Tribe of Indians, the original Everglades dwellers of centuries ago, held a festival at their gaming and casino hotel on Tuesday. Their land stretches to within a few miles of where we live.

As with many of the other native tribes, the casino industry has opened opportunities for native Americans to generate ridiculous amounts of revenue. As a result the Micossukee has become a very rich little tribe. Their chief, Billy Cyris, brought two seats at our Gala earlier the year for $5000, and then forgot to attend.

Kayaking in North Miami

This past Sunday we decided to check out a new park that we read about. It supposedly has some wonderful off road bike trails and kayak rentals. Both Marco and I love to kayak so this seemed like the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Oleta State Park is completely hidden by the urban jungle of North Miami. Just a few miles from the beach, it's surrounded by university campuses, shopping malls, and highrises that dominate this area. We were thrilled to find a small piece of the outdoors left for exploration.

After donning our lifevests we began our "adventure". We kayaked through the mangroves and then suddenly it opened up into the waterways connecting the nearby islands to the ocean. This was awesome! Gone was the genteel water and now we had to contend with currents, boats, waverunners, and the ever-so-imposing waves that were constantly coming our way. Woohoo!!

As we battled the constant current that was determined to keep us from our destination, out of the corner of my eye I could see some of the houses that are home to some of the most famous stars. Breathtaking! In the distance we say a small island that looked as if it would provide the opportunity for picnicing. Apparently others thought so too as they b-b-qued with their grills on their starboard. Not to be outdone, Marco and I rowed our small "vessel" in-between these 40 ft yatchs and speedboats, pulled out our little baggies filled with pb &j, and commenced to have our "feast"- living it up like we were high society . In the distance we could hear the rumble of thunder and we watched lightening streak across the sky.

For most, this wouldn't pose a problem, but for us, whose sole motor speed was that of our arm power, provided a small dilemma. Do we wait out the storm or head on? Seeing as they forecasted heavy thunderstorms over the next week, waiting it out didn't seem like the best option... after all we only had a bag of chips, a yogurt, a bottle of water, and a beer bottle we couldn't open (we left the bottle opener behind) left... definately not enough to sustain 2 people... so, off we rowed. Suddenly, a clasp of thunder shook the sky and lightening lit up like it was a red-light special at K-Mart....then it poured, and poured, and poured....

Marco's brilliant idea was to row across the waterway and then hug the shore... not bad if you enjoy the never-ending workout of your arms being pulled from their socket as you struggle against a current that is violently opposed to you achieving your goal. As wave after wave broke over me, I listened to him carry on about being a fearless leader, yelling out commands, and if it wasn't for him, we'd never make it back. After rowing for what seemed like eons, and no closer to our goal, I finally shouted, "Why can't we be like most sane people and row with the current?! It makes way more sense and we'd actually be achieving our goal?!" Suffice it to say, we made it back to the bay in less than 20 minutes after that....

Upon arriving in the bay, Marco proceeded to congratulate himself on the grand arrival he had executed. Unfortunately, the bay wasn't the rental dock and as we rowed around in circles, I seriously began to ponder what was so difficult about reading a map. Those in the nearby boats looked on in amusement as we looked like drowned muskrats. I looked behind me and there was Marco, piecing together the wet, shredded pieces of the map... "Never fear, when the Marco is near!"

Well, the story could go on, but in the end when we finally made it to the dock, the rain had become a light pitter patter. Despite all that had occured, it was quite an enjoyable day. Thanks Marco!

Disruptive Technology

Apple's eagerly-awaited new IPhone arrived on the shelves on Friday and it's initial reviews are very positive. It's mega-functionality includes a full-fledged web browser, e-mail, visual voicemail, and an IPod with widescreen movies - The next beeg thing on the market. It's simple to use, elegant, super-cool to have and fun! (The negatives are also many, including it's superslow internet and weak network coverage. And you have to sign up for a two-year cellphone contract.)

Interestingly enough, we were recently discussing the marketing strategies of the big technology companies such as Sony, Apple, Microsoft, Nikon and others, in class. They all focus on very specific, defined markets. These markets are brittle, and ever-changing. Today the Blackberry is the big thing, but who knows if the IPhone will replace it within weeks as the new market leader. Additionally, technologically innovative products like this are fads, their life cycle very short. Today the IPhone is already a maturing Star, how long (or short) before it's a Dog?!

They have to constantly evolve, constantly focus on redeveloping better, smarter products or they'll lose their market share to the next guy. That's why Microsoft is introducing a new Microsoft Office version every few years. They have to!

So who knows: The IPhone is cool NOW, but why spend $500 on it, when I can wait 6 months and pay half the price for the new improved IPhone 6.2. Or something.

At least the multi-functional IPhone is giving drivers more reason to keep their concentration ON their phones and OFF the road. This will surely increase my roadrage...

A New Leader for Britain

Prime Minister Tony Blair handed down the leadership of Britain and the Labor Party on Wednesday after ten years at 10 Downing Street.
Blair was serving his third term since being elected to office by a landslide victory in 1997. His former economic minister, Gordon Brown - a Scotsman at that! - assumed office in a election-less transition. This being a non-election year, Brown secured support from the Labor Party currently in control of Parliament, to install him as Brittain's new Prime Minister.

He inherits the issue of Blair's unpopular support of the US decision to invade Iraq, as well as domestic problems. The next election is in 2010 and the new resident of 10 Downing Street will probably start a long campaign to keep control away from the Conservative Party.

The downfall of all men...

Everyone we spoke to, told us that if we were to go on a cruise, we'd come back at least 5 pounds heavier. Both Marco and I laughed at this but it seems the last laugh was on us. Everywhere I turned, it seemed that there was food, it didn't matter what time of the day it was, whatever you desired, it was there at your fingertips. Who could resist sampling so many of the delightful culinary arts that were before our eyes?

Hanging Out at Night

A Fun Day at Sea

Antigua

Antigua, in my opinion, was on par with St. Thomas. It was absolutely gorgeous and I will forever kick myself that I didn't head Marco's urging to go explore the port area when we arrived. By the 6th day, all the ports were beginning to look similar so I opted to lay out by the pool and relax until the afternoon's snorkeling adventure. What a mistake that was!

Once again, the water of the Caribbean didn't fail and it was the most clear, blue water I've ever seen. Visibility was amazing, the temperature perfect.... The ride to the reef, the largest in the Caribbean, was spectacular. Antigua has more than 360 beaches so this was the perfect island for me! The resorts and houses that lined the coast were amazing and this is one island that I would definately want to return to for a longer period of time.

St Lucia

The morning we arrived to St. Lucia we decided that we'd tour the island with our new found friends. Both Morne and Wendy were superb bargainers and we were able to find a tour guide to give us a tour of the island for $20/ person - talk about a bargain!

The thing that I will remember most about St. Lucia are the roads. For those of us who love the nauseous feeling of your stomach dropping out from you, it was like being on a non-stop roller coaster at Busch Gardens. St. Lucia was gorgeous... once again, this island had more of a tropical rain forest feel to it than a beach vibe. We were able to visit the world's only drive-in volcano. The smells emitting from the vents were enough to put hair on anyone's chest. According to the guide, the large crater in front was caused by a guide who, during one tour when asked about the grounds stability, decided to jump up and down to prove the earth was solid. As he landed, the ground opened up and swallowed him to his chest. I guess that answered the question, no, the ground is not stable. Miraclously, the guide survived, albeit with severe burns, and now resides in a local fishing village.

Barbados

After the communication break-down in Dominica, we decided that in Barbados we should do a "tour", which offered all of the care-free relaxation a no-stress holiday is supposed to have. After careful consideration, we decided that we would do the kayak/ snorkeling with sea turles excursion. Well, true to form, if a company plans the trip for you, it's bound to be hassle-free and smoothly executed.

The water in Barbados was so clear. It's was amazing, as we kayaked through the ocean, we could see all the way to the bottom of the sea floor. It was so beautiful and completely different from what we have here in the Atlantic. My favorite part was just kayaking. I love ocean kayaking, it's so exhilerating! The sea turtles were cool too, but I must admit I felt a bit bad for them. All over the bay there were catamerans and other boats filled with eager tourists wanting to catch a glimps and snorkel with these magnificent creatures. Although the guide did specifically state, don't follow the sea turtles, it was like a congo line stretching as far as the eye could see. Everyone wanted a piece of the turtles!

Once we returned to shore, we decided that we'd tour the islandon our own for the afternoon. Sadly, the scooter shop was closed which meant we were forced to take a cabbie. Our toothless guide was filled with random facts about the island... the country side was beautiful. We visited several sights up in the mountains and the fresh air, cool breeze, and peaceful sway of the trees made for a restful afternoon. Overall, Barbados was probably my 3rd favorite island.

Dominica

Dominica was my least favorite island. Having spent the previous day at such a beautiful island as St. Thomas, Dominica was like eating boxed macaroni after having prime rib the night before. The moment we stepped off the boat the venders swooped down on us, like vultures diving down to their unlucky prey. Everywhere we went, people tugged, pulled, and baggered.

Dominica is not known for its beaches, it's more of a rainforest island. However, we had heard that Champagne Beach had some of the best snorkeling. Not only that, but this beach was highly unusual as it had underwater vents that bubbled up hot water. So, off the beaten track we went, looking for a taxi that would take us to this natural wonder.

Now communication is important in any relationship. When communication lacks or there is an interference with the transmission, communication break-up occurs thus leaving one if not both parties frustrated. As fate would seem fit, this is what happened in Dominica.

Having not vacationed a lot together, I knew at one point, this would come into play, I just didn't expect it so soon. Marco is an incredibly nice guy. He'll never say an ourtright "no", rather he'll use the expression "Oh okay, thanks, we'll get back to you just now"... literally translation I've learned, I'll get back to you within the next decade.

The first and only time I've seen Marco deal with hawking vendors was in Bali when he began to speak Afrikaans and flail his arms like a chicken at them. At that point I didn't know if I should laugh or be horrified... As Marco put it, that is not part of a stress-free vacation and he absolutely detests vendors like that. Looking back, that should have been a clue. After wandering around the streets of Dominica to get a feel, and promising every vendor we met, "we get back to you just now", I was beginning to get a little irate- Just Say No! I mean, that's one of the biggest campaigns we have here in the US...

How were we ever going to make it to the beach? Every driver we spoke with wanted us to do a rainforest tour and were not interested in taking us to Champagne Beach - it's not the local tourist route. At this point, completely frustrated I turned to Marco and said, "Would you stop telling everyone thanks, we'll get back to you just now! I'm feeling like Paris Hilton.... we've got the paparazzi on every corner waiting for us to make a decision because you've promised every cab driver in the area we'll get back to him! Just choose one cabbie and bargain with him."

Well, let's just say that if one person doesn't like hawking vendors, bargaining, and is just trying to be generally polite he or she would not be the person to send to bargain for a taxi ride. As soon as Marco left my side, I realized that was probably not the wisest move. I quickly bargained with a guy for $15 a piece roundtrip for Marco and I to the beach, but alas I was too late. Within a few moments Marco had returned, his face flushed and eyes flashing like I had given him the job from hell.... "Here's your taxi driver, $15 a person we're going with him." Now although I might fail in the communication department from time to time, there are certain looks I understand without words.

Upon arrival to the beach, it turned out our cabbie was charging $15/ person per direction.... $60 poorer, I realized that for that price, we could have done the rainforest tour and stopped off at the beach....

St. Thomas, USVI- June 11,2007

St. Thomas was incredible! I had spoken to Mel before we left and she suggested that we rent a scooter and explore on our own. That sounded perfectly ideal to me so Monday morning Marco and I set off to find a scooter shop. The port was gorgeous and if the view from the deck was any indication, the beaches here were going to be spectacular!

A scooter shop was found, a map given, and off we were to locate Secret Harbor. Well, after an hour we began to realize why Secret Harbor was named so, it truly was "secret". There are approximately 3 main roads with zillions of small roads so getting lost could happen if you're not a good navigator. Therefore, it was quickly decided that I would now navigate and Marco would drive.

I had forgotten how much I detest riding behind Marco on a scooter. When we were dating, I used to think he drove like that, so fearing for my life, I would wrap myself around him. We've been married 2 yrs now, and he still drives like that!

Upon finally finding Secret Harbor, we were ready to spend the day snorkeling and laying out. Wow, the beach was breathtaking! The white sand, crystal water, and shady palms were like something from a magazine. I would have to say it was one of the best beaches I've ever been too. It was probably on par with some of the Thai beaches...

After spending the entire afternoon there, we decided that before we headed back to the ship, we'd scooter around the island a bit and take a "short-cut" through the mountains for some photo ops at the lookout points. So off we zoomed, careening around corners with the wind whipping our hair. The first look-out point was a bit of a dud, the remnants of an old cable car track that used to take tourists up and down the mountain, now hosting a small bar only known to the locals.

The second point was amazing. You could see just about the entire island. After commenting on the view, asking the infamous, "Would you mind taking a picture for us?" and talking with a view other tourists, we checked our watch- 15 minutes till we had to be back to ship. Not a problem, the ship was right below us and it didn't look far to drive. We jumped on our scooter, hit the throttle, and ... nothing. "Try it again," I said. Nothing. Again? Nothing. "Now what?" I asked Marco.

Well, never fear when Marco's near because he always has a plan. After attempting to talk to it, stroke it, kick start it, lay hands and pray over it, Marco turned to me and said, "It's dead." Well, what an amazing revelation- now what? "We ride down the mountain and hope we make it back on time." Somehow these words of comfort, did not quite do the trick. Suddenly images flashed through my mind of a scooter trip taken with my roommate where the same thing had happened to her, or the time Marco and I had taken a day trip into the mountains and his scooter died thus having to push his scooter to the nearest village shop. 3 times a charm...

So off we set. Thankfully the ride home was mostly down hill. I will admit, we looked rather humorous as the red light turned green and we're running with the scooter, "Jump on!" Marco shouted as we began our second descent down into the town. As luck would have it, we coasted into a mechanics shop to jump start the dead weight. That though would be too simple, and scooters cannot be jump started. So, off to a running start again, gain some momentum, and jump on... it was like something from a Bond film really...

2 blocks from the rental shop the road flattened out leaving us no option but to push the bike the rest of the way. As I took our snorkel gear from the bike, I had to laugh, who said this was going to be a stress free vacation?!

San Juan, PR

Okay, so I admit, I was a bit skeptical when Marco first approached me about the idea of a cruise. My mind conjured up a variety of images, none to appealing. The vacation that the love of my life was suggesting was one that I was unaccustomed to. A low stress, no maintenance, married vacation?! One in which I was going to have to trade in my trusted backpack that I've carried now since I was 16, for a suitcase with wheels!?! No hedging through crowded streets, no bargaining for a place to sleep, hot water that was going to be free of charge....

Marco and I have not taken many vacations together, largely due to opposite work schedules and the idea of what constitutes as "fun". However, since this was his idea and an attempt at us going away together, who was I to decline?

The flight to San Juan was uneventful. As we rode through new San Juan, it has an uncanny resemblance to 8th Street, Calle Ocho, here in Miami. It was crowded with the same type of constrution, litter, and vibe. Listening to the Spanish station playing in the background, I didn't think we had actually left Miami. Old San Juan provided greater hope. It's quaint, historic streets, lined with some beautiful homes, began to stir the ever so present eagerness to explore the unknown. I couldn't wait to drop our bags off on the ship and begin to wander the streets.

Unfortunately, check-in took longer than anticipated so by the time we were able to get back off the boat, it was close to dusk, meaning most things would be closing within the hour. Quickly I sprinted past Columbus Square with Marco in tow moaning about the fact that this was vacation and that we were suppose to be meandering, holding hands, enjoying the view... FYI, meandering is for old people, and if I wanted to do so, I would have stayed home and meandered with the rest of the retirees around the lake. San Juan was itching to be explored and I only had until the sun set so please pick up your pace!

Fort San Christobal was neat. I love anything historic and my imagination was able to run wild imagining what it was like to have been a soldier posted there. From the hidden tunnels to the amazing roof views, it was cool to see how the city looked now and to imagine what it was like when the first explorers set foot there. Even Marco enjoyed it!

Afterwards, we meandered throughout the town, exploring all the little side streets, nooks, crannies, and shops. The iron work in the architect was beautiful, the homes so gaily painted, street musicians of all sorts playing on various corners throughout the city... we stumbled upon an outdoor concert and it was so cute to watch all the elderly couples dancing together and enjoying being together... San Juan was definately more than I anticipated and we were off to a great start!