CUANDO LOS DIRECTORIOS NOS HACEN MÁS FÁCIL LA VIDA

Cuando cogemos un libro o una revista a veces hay personas que buscan página por página hasta encontrar lo que quieren, ya sea porque es una costumbre o porque, en su defecto el libro o revista no tiene índice. En una sección anterior hablamos de las categorías de los directorios y del beneficio que estas traen a la búsqueda. En el presente artículo quiero volver a alabar otro beneficio de los directorios que frecuento, en este caso: los índices. Los llamo índice porque no recuerdo exactamente el nombre cibernético de estos, pero son prácticamente como las tablas de contenido de los libros.

Visitar link por link dentro de un directorio – como pasar página por página en una revista -  es sumamente molesto, no solo porque retrasamos la búsqueda sino también porque nos salen páginas que a veces nada tienen que ver con el tema que requerimos.

Las categoría, antes descritas nos ramifican la información de Categorías mayores a menores hasta llegar al contenido de estas y por ende a los link, en caso de los índices estos nos envían directamente a un listado de categorías  dentro de los cuales encontramos almacenadas las páginas con su mini resumen de contenido y el respectivo link.

Hagamos el experimento con un directorio de Costa Rica. Ingresamos a http://www.costaricay.com/ y nos vamos a dar clic en lo que sería su equivalente al índice: el mapa del sitio  (http://www.costaricay.com/mapa.php)  y de inmediato nos saldrá un listado de contenidos del directorio: el índice. Supongamos que queremos buscar el listado de páginas Web de los bancos de Costa Rica, entonces damos clic en “bancos” que nos remitirá a otro espacio “http://www.costaricay.com/costarica-costarica/bancos/) donde encontramos la lista de bancos y links del caso.

Has la prueba y simplifica tu búsqueda en lo directorios de tu país.

Es un artículo de http://buscadoresenespanol.wordpress.com/

A young fisherman on Playa del Coco

Life is full of surprises.

Being a teensy bit restless, I had not intended to spend the day at Coco Beach, but I did.

It was great. I had forgotten how absolutely captivated I get once I have some subjects and the time to focus on some pictures.

I’m rusty, but I watched the fishermen bring their catch in from the boats, and got a couple of shots of them. This young guy was my favorite character. He was happy to let me take his photo after I asked, perhaps enjoying it just a little;)

Jessa was kind enough to watch my bag while I wandered around, and it also provided her a handy backrest while she napped in the shade…

Got some recent shots taken at a Fashion shot down in San Jose called Angeles Y Demonios. Go check them out:

Angels Y Demonios

lecker suppe bei www.ilona.de

http://www.hidcr.org

Si quieren saber porque visiten este grupo de Facebook: Marcha contra la mentalidad fundamentalista.

También visite: HETEROSEXUALES POR LA IGUALDAD DE DERECHOS para imprimir volantes para repartir este sábado en la contra-marcha.

Si quiere la imagen para colocarla en algún lado (blogs, firmas, etc) dejeme un comentario con su correo electrónico.

Atte

Una Detestable Que Siembra Amor

town sepia, originally uploaded by sizzled.

costa rica.

a peaceful look at their town square.

Yesterday, i felt something gushing up inside, something that wanted to come out and explode, the nattering in my head coming to fruit, something hidden beneath the exterior that gushed with life. I wondered how much of it was the place – this land where the earth often trembles beneath, shaking at the core and shaking that which lies above – knocking down what has been built up, cracking both foundations and walls. And it is also a land of volcanos that stand tall in the sky, the peaks far above the villages and cities below. While many lay dormant, others are awake, some calm with small emissions of smoke and gas, and one with lava flowing down. But they are not dead, and can explode at any time - explode in order to release the pressure that lay within, the pressure that has built up over time, and that which stirs inside. The pressure that is invisible to those that look on from the outside.

And i wonder, if that is what i sense in this place – something deeper, hidden beneath the surface of outward smiles that turn upside down when eyes are not upon them. A sadness or discontent that lay beneath the beautiful facade of luscious green mountains, flowing streams, and flowers. Is that what i feel?

I awake in the morning, and the pressure that has been building inside, begins to flow outwards and release itself – The monthly flow that will relieve the edgyness inside. And is it that edgyness that i project outwards and draw into myself, and create a world around that looks like that? I read my daily horoscope and it warns of this feeling, not for only me, but for those born under my sign, so i know i am not alone. And i hear the grumblings from others too.

I see it in the girls who left their homestays and came to the hostel. The depression that lurked under the smiles of the mothers and the families chased them away. I see it in the teacher who checks the time all too often and would rather be somewhere else. It is in the woman who works at the hostel and never smiles and gives off the feeling that you are in her way and it is in the hostel kitchen - in the cracked plates and bowls.  i understood when the dutch girls complained about the uncomfortable beds and the musty smell in the room, for i had been feeling that but did not want to admit it, and the grumbling of many continues and continues. And all grumble about the rain and lack of sun, and then the heat when it comes searing down, and the way it disappears at night and it becomes too cold.

 Do i pick up on those rumblings and grumblings and further them? I believe i do. I get caught in the matrix and get sucked in. I am not strong enough to change its direction for i see the reasons why others grumble. It is contagious and it spreads, and when i see it i amplify it for i am stronger than i know. And that is not good.

But one cannot deny what is there. On cannot pretend that the plates are not cracked or that the mattress is thin. One cannot see a smile when one is not there. But can i ignore it all – pretend that it is just not there? Or maybe the key is to acknowledge what lay below, the underside of it all, but still to look to the mountains and the streams. To live with the fact that there is something more, and that all may come crashing down and that all is not as stable or beautiful as it appears on the surface. Still one must continue to build…to build as the towns and cities of this country and of this thin strip of active land that is but narrow protrusion between that waters have been rebuilt many times. And will be rebuilt again. And it is also to remember that it is because of the grey skies that hang above, and the rain that pours or trickles down, that there is so much green and that the land is so lush. This beauty would not exist without the rain, and it is the rain that makes us grow, the volcanic ash that provides a fertile soil, and the shaking of the land that reminds us that the time is now, and that we can rebuild. Still, i feel that something may give way.

The racetrack in La Guácima, Alajuela will change from a place for drag races to a venue for urban music during the sixth edition of the Skatedra Festival 2009 on Saturday, December 12.

National and international groups will play on the stage located on the inner area of the racetrack.

NOFX will come from the United States, Mojiganga from Colombia and Capitan Ponche from Panama.  They will be accompanied by national bands such as MILIXIA, Calle Dolores, Sulalakaska, Askatasuna, Adaptados and DoGandul.

“Skatedra was born as a window so that thousands of young people of different ages and backgrounds, both from Costa Rica and the rest of Central America, can share a day filled with live music, sports, art and urban culture,” said Luis Arias from Flevent productions, organizer of the event.

The presale has already begun on the website www.mundoticket.com and at Hallmark stores.

They are priced at ¢16,500 for preferential seating and ¢28,000 for Ska  Pit (closer to stage).  The event will start at 4 p.m. and the doors will open one hour earlier.

Therefore all ska music fans are invited to this live event in Costa Rica and we hope you can let us know what you thought of it afterward.

The third generation (3G) cellular phone lines that the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) will start selling in mid-December in Costa Rica will only have basic services.

If you want to enjoy the sophisticated and innovative options promised by the Institute for two years, you are going to have to wait indefinitely.

This situation was recognized by ICE just three weeks before it is to begin marketing the 950,000 3G connections that it procured from the Chinese company Huawei Technologies.  The total amount of contract is $235 million.

The agency reported that delivery of services offered through the new technology will be divided into three stages.  In December, when it starts selling the connections, users will receive a basic package.  “It provides basic services such as messaging, voice, data, better coverage and a wider bandwidth that enables Internet navigation at greater speeds than usual,” said institute spokesman, Elbert Duran.

He did not specify how much Internet speed for cell phones in Costa Rica will increase.  Currently, ICE’s Internet service for cell phones has a very limited speed, around 64 kbps.  For example, it can take about eight minutes to download a song to a cell phone at that speed.

Meanwhile, one of the great benefits of 3G wireless technology is that it allows customers to have a broadband Internet connection.

The Institute had reported that each 3G mobile line would be able to transmit data at speeds from 128 kbps to two mbps.  However, it was not specified when the speeds would be available.

When questioned about its decision to split the delivery of services, the Institute argued that it was due to the complexity of the project and that it was being done faster (in less than a year) than what we are used to in Costa Rica.

The contract with Huawei was signed in January and it was approved by the Comptroller General of the Republic in late March.  Huawei declined to give any statements on the issue.

During the second phase, planned for March 2010, services that were already tested will be consolidated and others will be tested as pilot projects.  The institute did not give any details as to what these pilot services would be. 

During the last phase, whose date is unknown, “all of the services available through this technology will be offered,” said the ICE spokesperson.

Some of the services promised by ICE are video calling (you can see the person who you talk to on the cell phone’s screen), sending photos and music from one phone to another, prepaid services and number portability.

ICE did not say whether the latter will be available when it starts selling 3G connections in Costa Rica.

The introduction of this technology is crucial to the Institute to expand its cellular market before the entry of new competition.  There are currently 1.8 million mobile connections in the country.

What might be really disappointing to some is that access to all of the services will be done in a phased manner.  People argue that they would be paying for services that they are not receiving.  ICE did not specify whether it is contemplating a lower fee for services offered due to the fact that it will not be offering complete 3g services in Costa Rica.

Este Sabado 28 de Noviembre, la propuesta original de Contenido Neto llena el Eco de la Montaña. La banda tendra como grupo invitado a One of the

Few, interpretando covers de los clasicos del rock, como Led Zepellin o Pink Floyd.

El show dara inicio a las 21:00 y el acceso tendra un costo de C3,000.

Para reservaciones de mesas o cabañas, contactenos al (506)2482-2155 o al email jaularescr@gmail.com. Los esperamos!

La Liga Deportiva Alajuelense derrotó 0-2 al Deportivo Saprissa en el reducto morado. Los alajuelenses con un juego ordenado en defensa y de velocidad en ataque fueron una verdadera pesadilla para sus rivales. El estadio Ricardo Saprissa no llenó ni en un 65% su aforo, esto debido a los malos resultados del Saprissa y la reciente eliminación de la selección nacional de la Copa del Mundo.

El primer gol del juego llegó al minuto 28, después de que la defensa saprissista cortara a medias una jugada de Marco Ureña, el balón quedó suelto y el contención Ariel Rodríguez remató potente y colocado desde fuera del área imposible para el guardameta Keylor Navas. Saprissa con remates de larga distancia de David Guzmán y centros al área intentaron batir el guardameta Alfonso Quesada, pero el portero manudo siempre estuvo concentrado.

En la segunda parte el juego siguió igual, Saprissa tratando de llevar peligro al marco alajuelense y la Liga contragolpeando. En un descuido del defensor Víctor Cordero, Argenis Fernández robó la pelota y se enfiló al arco rival pero el portero Navas achicó bien y evitó el gol.

Keylor Navas tuvo que ser sustituido por Fausto González, después de chocar con Robhinson y tener una fuerte caída, cuando intentó despejar la pelota en un ataque rojinegro.

A mediados del segundo tiempo un tiro libre lejano llegó a la cabeza de Olman Vargas, quien le ganó en el salto al arquero liguista, el balón le quedó al lateral Andrés Núñez y este remató y anotó. Al parecer el gol fue limpio sin embargo parece que Vargas estaba ligeramente adelantado.

Al minuto 77 Alexander Robhinson desplazó en el área a Marco Ureña y el arbitro Ricardo Cerdas señaló penal. El juvenil Diego Estrada se plantó frente al balón y con toque preciso batió a Fausto.

Al final el resultado fue justo y deja a Saprissa en el cuarto de su grupo con 20 puntos y fuera de los puestos de clasificación, mientras que Alajuelense queda a las puertas de la clasificación en el segundo puesto con 23 puntos a falta de solo dos fechas.

Saprissa recibirá a Liberia (tercero) y visitará al Pérez Zeledón (líder general). Alajuelense recibirá a Pérez Zeledón y visitará a Cartaginés (sexto).

Wow. You know, for temporarily living in a country where Thanksgiving is not celebrated, I’ve been surprisingly conscious of its coming arrival. I’ve been thinking about it even more than I would living in the States!

That, you see, is because I and the other MVNU students are preparing a large, grande, or even grandísimo meal tomorrow for our Tica families. In other words, we prepared food tonight to feed 70 people.

This included a lot of turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, ]potatoes (which will actually be made into mashed potatoes tomorrow), green beans (for the green bean casserole, also to be made tomorrow), and of course pies (4 each of pecan, apple, and pumpkin). Then, tomorrow we’re cooking half of that, plus making the bread rolls and such. A montón of things to do!

Furthermore, we just celebrated my birthday this week. My birthday always falls pretty close to Thanksgiving, but having both in the same week has been crazy (a good kind of crazy). I was out till about eleven the day we celebrated my birthday, and had to be up the next morning before seven in order to work four hours with 16 children under the age of 2 and a half. Tiring, right? But worth it.

Then, early this Friday morning we will be going to the beach again–Manuel Antonio, where we’ve been before, but this time we’ll get to visit the national park there and spend the whole day. I’m quite excited.

And on top of all that–a friend of mine, who was here in Costa Rica last fall for his Spanish major, has come for a visit this week and is staying till Monday. Suffice to say, I’ve had a lot of fun stuff to do.

Pictures of Thanksgiving preparations (and all the other stuff) will be forthcoming. A lot of crazy stuff happened tonight, especially, and I haven’t the time to tell you all about it because I need sleep before the big day tomorrow.

Desde hace unos meses los siempre honorables jerarcas de la Universidad Latina decidieron atentar contra la comunidad fumadora de tabaco que siempre ha coexistido en paz con las demás personas. Primero tuvieron el descaro de no dejarnos fumar en el “pretil” (frente a BK), arruinando así buenos momentos de mucha gente, separándonos aún más. Después decidieron abusar aún más moviéndonos prácticamente a la vía del tren, apenas para saludar cordialmente a los pasajeros de éste con una buena nube de humo, ah y a la par de tanques de gas, porque obviamente eso es lo más lógico, alejemos un poco a los fumadores para evitar fumado de segunda mano (que siempre sucede de todas maneras) y pongámolos a la par de los tanques de gas para que explote toda la u!

Fumadores y no fumadores siempre han coexistido en paz en el pretil, el humo de segunda mano que tanto se quejan siempre se va para arriba ya que es un lugar ABIERTO, y si no lo notaron los fumadores siempre eran la mayoría en ese lugar, y todos nos vimos afectados por las quejas de unos llorones que huelen un poco el tabaco mientras pasan por ahí, y de todas maneras siempre lo inhalan ya que pasan por ese espacio a la par del tren donde todo el mundo fuma como criminales.  Si tanto les molesta que entren por la entrada principal, que por cierto también están jodiendo con esa entrada. Ahora nos movieron más lejos, pero es entendible ya que hay ventanas a la par, se lo acepto.

¿Por qué no hacen una zona de fumadores dentro de las instalaciones como hacen los aeropuertos y muchos otros lugares? Esto facilitaría la vida a un monton de estudiantes y profesores que tienen que ir desde un tercer piso hasta abajo para salir a ejercer su derecho de fumar, si están en medio de un trabajo se ven interrumpidos cada vez que pasa esto. Hay una esquina en el tercer piso donde antes se dejaba fumar, es prácticamente abierta a la par de una entrada de aire por el techo, fácilmente se puede sellar con algún tipo de puerta para que el humo no salga e instalar extractores, así la gente que desea fumar entra y fuma tranquila, imagínense que bueno sería! Deporsi nadie se sienta ahí, esquina desperdiciada.

Pero el punto aquí es que nos están moviendo como les da la gana, no somos criminales somos consumidores de un producto completamente legal. Si nos seguimos dejando así quién sabe hasta donde nos van a mover, posiblemente nos saquen por completo del perímetro de la universidad. Gente no podemos dejarnos así! Estamos siendo intimidados por un par de guardas ahí inofensivos, no se dejen, cada vez fumen más cerca al pretil, no importa si los guardas les dicen algo, ignórenlos, si todos hacemos esta movida como grupo poco a poco iremos recuperando el pretil y nuestros derechos. Hagamos la U un lugar tuanis como antes!

So, I have a big announcement to make!!!

This summer, I will be traveling to Costa Rica with my best friend. This is no ordinary vacation, however. We will be participating in over 80 hours of community service and conservation work. I am doing this through an organization called International Student Volunteers. Here are some examples of some of the activities I’ll be doing:

• Animals, Buffer Zones and Natural Reserves
• Community Support Projects
• Art in Communities
• Animal Conservation, Research and Scientific Monitoring

Volunteers in Costa Rica

I can’t wait to go to Costa Rica and make a difference. To think I could aid in saving an endangered species or helping a community really excites me. There is a downside though. In order to go on this trip I have to find a way to raise $3,295 PLUS my airfare. I have a lot of fundraising ideas. One of them was the creation of this website: www.firstgiving.com/emilyhoward

This is my own personal donation website. If you would like to donate (ALL amounts are appreciated!!!) please visit my site. I would greatly greatly appreciate it. Thank you!!!

Jessa and I walked back up the hill to the house... through monkeys and butterflies.

Well, this might not be my best photo of the day, but I honestly don’t want to bore you anymore with sunset silhouette shots.

I don’t seem to take the camera out much during the heat of the day. We are staying in a quiet area, with no local action and I’m not really going out photo-hunting, just due to the fact I am enjoying myself a whole lot hanging out with the great people here.

Today “the boys” (Mike, Les, Pat, and Ian) drove down to pick up KTMs from a rental place near San Jose. While I was dying of jealousy (but unable to join in, because apparently, they DO care about having a proper licence in this strange Latin American country), I also enjoyed a very relaxed day with the ladies (Jessa, Audrey, and Alexis).

After a night of minimal sleep, due to the evening consumption of coffee ice cream, I truly appreciated a relaxed morning by the pool.
We followed this up with a leisurely, but bug-infested, walk down to Playa Hermosa, where some of us had drinks by the pool.

Jessa and I walked back up the fairly steep hill as well, earning our dinner and are now enjoying hearing about the exciting day “the boys” had while we relaxed.

I have also come one step closer to falling in love with a local dog, as the neighbourhood caretaker, Jose, has four lovely dogs, one of which seems to be hanging at the house soaking up some attention…

Thaaaanksgiving!

It’s the one holiday when you wake up late, sit around on the couch in your sweatpants, watch the parade, drink beer and wine all day, prepare amazing food, and sit with your family and friends for the best meal of the entire year.

There is no gift-giving or any real commericial value to Thanksgiving- it’s just all about family. Basically, the only thing you have to worry about doing on Thanksgiving is being thankful for what you have and to take the day nice and slow. I never truly appreciated the subtle importance of such a low key, laid back, delicious holiday until I went to college.

Last year was the most depressing Thanksgiving that I can recall… I was alone in a foreign country that didn’t have turkey.

After spending that morning on the beach, I went to the local internet boutique to Skype my family who were nice enough to put the webcam right on the table with a perfect shot of all the delicious food my mother had prepared…To the left of the screen was a mound of turkey that almost blocked out my sister’s face, next to it was the bowl of cranberry sauce, lumpy mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, and two different types of stuffing… needless to say I was bumming.

After scouring the town, I found the only restaurant that was importing turkey for all the expats… It was either this, or go to another location which was offering a Thanksgiving banquet of sausages infused with turkey broth… nah. So, I ordered my 2 for 1 mai-tai(s) that I sat sipping by myself while I was surrounded by families of Americans who were all laughing and hollering, telling stories of “that one Thanksgiving that we got snowed in in Michigan!” I realized very quickly just how important Thanksgiving was to me and just how important my family was to me.

I am about to miss my second consecutive Thanksgiving with my family.

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new global version of Amazon’s Kindle for Christmas, be aware that there are still quite a few places that the global version will NOT work.  I was disappointed to find that the new version still will not work in my country.

Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.   I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in (below).

It’s also interesting to note the PATTERN of groups of countries where the Kindle doesn’t work–some countries probably lack satellite coverage or delivery systems, while others probably don’t WANT readers to be able to download whatever they want by satellite.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka,  Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S.,  Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009) the following countries:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan,  Yemen.

More than 14000 Costa Ricans who were away from TV sets today at 3pm were able to view online the judgment of ex President Rafael Ángel Calderón when at least 3 different websites decided to present the ruling via online streaming services, a record for the Costa Rican online community. Not only was streaming used, media also uploaded images through twitpic to be used on twitter. All these are recent developments as media starts to adapt to social networking tools for journalism.

Through microblogging tool Twitter, using the tag #sentencia, #cajafischel or #Calderon, viewers followed and commented the ruling, where the ex President was convicted and will have to serve to a 5 year prison sentence for corruption charges.

Presidential candidate Ottón Solis has already uploaded a video commentary on YouTube regarding the sentence.

Journalist Amelia Rueda also tweeted the happenings inside the tribunals. She posted a short audio clip where the accused ex president spoke about his hopes regarding the veredict, which you can hear by clicking on the player at the bottom of the post.

Journalist Cristian Cambronero posted an entry on his blog where he refers to the ex president’s now crushed intentions of running once again for president, confident he would be declared innocent. Lucía comments in that post:

El jalón de orejas no es solo para para Calderón y compañía (pobrecito nada¡¡¡¡ si no quiere ir a la cárcel no sea corrupto, así de simple), es para la clase política en general, que aquí como en otros países creen que uno está para serviles y no ellos para servir …
Más valioso que el dinero que tienen devolver (no se cuanto es) es el haber recuperado cierta confianza en el sistema político, y como dice un conocido anuncio de tarjetas de crédito, eso no tiene precio…

This slap on the hand is not only for Calderon and company (poor guy nothing!! If he doesn’t want to go to jail, then don’t be corrupt, it’s that simple), is for the political class in general, who believe here as in other countries that everyone should serve them and not that they have to serve…

More valuable than the money that they now have to return (I don’t know how much it is) is that we have recovered a certain confidence in the political system, and as a known credit card company advertisement says, it is priceless…

You can also view the sentence videos on UStream, uploaded by the newspaper AlDía, which shows how traditional media in Costa Rica is evolving to take advantage of online media and social networks: the first part includes the moments prior to the sentence, which starts at about the 45 minute mark.The second video continues with the judges reading of all the charges and reasoning behind the sentences for all those who had been accused, of which ex president Calderon was the main figure.

And twitter user Mauricio sums up the experience of watching the veredict through online tools like this:

la sentencia de #calderon ha hecho que twitter + la tv se muevan juntos, como en los mejores tiempos de #qqsm

the sentencing of #calderon has made twitter and TV to move in synch, like during the best times of #Whowantstobeamillionaire

And well, it wasn’t even minutes before someone, in this case marenoztro, took the viral joke featuring Kanye West and did their own mashup with the president. The “Chema” referred to in the image is ex president Jose Maria Figueres Olsen who when accused of receiving 900,000 USD and not declaring the income or paying taxes. When it was discovere, the taxes were hurriedly paid up and he presented documents legalizing the income as consulting fees.

image mashup by @marenoztro

This article was published on Global Voices Online on October 5th 2009.

If you have a “luxury property”, then surely you are aware that the Costa Rica tax laws have changed (passed in October 2009.)  All properties with constructions that exceed $175 000 US dollars shall be subject to an extra tax that has to be paid by January 2010.  Our local lawyer Lic. Andrés González A. has worked out a discounted group rate with a premier property appraiser from San Jose.  He is coming down on Monday, November 30, to do appraisals.

The cost of the appraisal (plus legal services and the accountant services) is $650 for houses, and $750 for condominiums.  In order to arrange this discounted rate, property owners need to send Andrés the following information to start the applications:

• Number of farm
• Number of cadastral map
• Home Addres

Also know that someone has to be at the house on the day of the appraisal—for more information about the new luxury property tax or how to get a discounted appraisal as early as next week, please contact:

Lic. Andrés González A.
Lawyer & Public Notary
International Business & Legal Consultants
Los Yoses, De la Subaru, 100 s, 300 Oeste, 25 sur y 50 este
Nosara:   (506) 2682-11-06
San José: (506) 2222-35-65
Fax: (506) 2221-83-50
www.iblconsultores.com

I have been in Orosi for a few days now, and the place seems different. It is not only that the temperature has periodically soared, that a few patches of blue sky have appeared, or that the rain has stopped (sometimes), but that my relation to the place has changed. Some of it has become familiar.

I know the main street. I have a favorite store where i buy my fruits for my breakfast and veggies for dinner on a daily basis. The woman is starting to know me. They are helpful. she shows me the proper was to rip a banana and a plantain from their stems, and advises me on which are which of the many varieties that hung from the ceiling and told me which plantains are best for frying. She helped my take down the pineapple last night and let me know which of the greenish oranges are sweet for juice and which are sour for salads. And i know they charge a fair price for these and the papayas, potatoes, carrots, beets and the other veggies whose names i do not know.

I think i have a favorite soda – the mom and pop restaurants where food is cheap. I like the one beside the grocery store, a simple place, mainly a mans place but i see some women there, a lunch counter and two picnic tables – more outside than in. The Costa Rican version of a simple diner. I get a casado - meat or chicken or fish, rice, beans, a cabbage salad and another side – often spaghetti, and a drink – a aqua de fruta – for lunch if i eat out. I return again and again to the same bakery for the excellent pastries (my weakness) but i keep telling myself i should walk down the street to another to see if the bread – a white baguette – is any better.

I was going to this morning, but some people from the school were on the other side of the street waiting for the bus. I join them, and ride up the mountain to a park – el mirador - that provides a wonderful view of the valley below – of Orosi, of the lake, of the other town of Cachi. It has picnic tables on a grassy lawn with trees. They had lunch, and i tried a new fruit, one with a gummy centre that you slurp seeds and all. I will go back there. I have ventured out of the town centre a few times – a walk down the road in the other direction by myself the other day, near to the river, and by a high school, and then yesterday, with Sonya,  up the hills for another view.  A hot morning, we walk up and up and up, an unpaved road with houses by a ¨lake – a pond really¨, cross a low stream on a precarious footbridge – cars drive through the shallow water, and up to a farm or a holiday center, where you can fish for trout. My world expands beyond the village. Rain holds off until afternoon.

And my world expands beyond myself, have met others, interact, am social a bit. Find time to write but not enough, and time to study. I make patterns within in order to venture without – and the more i venture without, the more the patterns within become transformed, as the unfamiliar becomes familiar.

Two concerts is what separates Costa Rican representative Eduardo Aguirre from the Latin American Idol grand finale.

The young man from Esparza, advanced to the group of five semi-finalists and he will sing two songs in order to fight to keep his place among public’s favorites.

“I’m Proud of the support from my country and what I have shown.  I am going to sing a ballad by Juan Luis Guerra.  If I move on to the seventh concert, I will sing two pop songs, but none by Cristian Castro,” he said.

Aguirre noted that the hardest part is coming and he does not care if the judges sometimes tell others that they are among their favorites.

“The pressure is with myself.  We all have our minute and a half on stage.  All I need is a little push to reach the final.  I only ask people to continue believing in me and the will hopefully be satisfied with the effort,” he said.

The Chilean, Ruben Alvarez and the Dominican, Martha Heredia, two of his strongest rivals on the show, also made their predictions.

“I am very happy with what I’ve been doing.  People have seemed receptive, but now we five are starting from scratch.  I’ve shown a lot of dancing and now I will offer a more romantic mood,” said the Chilean.

The Caribbean said she is preparing vocally and emotionally.  She denies being overconfident, as the jury told her not long ago.

“Sometimes I seem arrogant, but I am really very simple.  What happens is that the I transform myself when I sing.  I am really preparing myself,” said the brunette, who calls Ruben her strongest rival.

The reprimand that the Costa Rican representative received during “Cantando por un sueño” (Singing for a Dream) where he was told by music producer Fabian Zolo that he must go from being  a puppy to being a man was not in vain.

The producer sees him as being more mature, but there are things he must still improve.  “Without fear of being wrong, I can say that he can get to the finals…but only if he changes his strategy. He has to take more risks, take over the stage.  He is in a comfort zone and he must come out of it.”

Zolo said that the young man has already demonstrated that he can sing, but he must now show himself, show more nuance and be the artist who wants to be the show.  Maria Jose Castillo, a finalist last year, said that she sees the young man from Esparza in the finals against Martha or Ruben.

“He is among the best, no doubt.  He should continue with ballads and vary a little with pop.  We need to see him in that genre to show different facets.  He’s doing a good job and he is paying attention to what the judges say, but I think Mediavilla (Oscar) is a little obnoxious when he makes his comments.”

But even when things seem to be all right, we must support our representative from Costa Rica.  We are asking for your votes so that he can reach the final.

Costa Rica will have the first 200,000 doses AH1N1 flu vaccine during the first week of December.

The announcement of the arrival of the first batch of vaccines to fight the influenza pandemic was made by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to the Ministry of Health and it was confirmed by the deputy minister of health, Ana Morice.

She added that PAHO has also announced that Costa Rica will receive another batch with 250,000 doses of flu vaccine in January.

Costa Rica made the purchase of immunizations through the PAHO Revolving Fund.

Initially, the price for each vaccine was $7 (approximately ¢4000) but PAHO increased the price and now the country must pay $7.50 (about ¢ 4,275) per dose.  The total cost of the 450,000 vaccines is about ¢1.725 billion.  Vice Minister Morice said that she did not know the reason why the price for the vaccines increased.

The increase in vaccine unit price means that the country will have to pay about ¢115 million more to the Fund.  This amount does not include payment for shipping and customs clearance.

Morice said that the vaccines come in vials of ten doses each, which makes the lots cheaper than if they contained a single dose.

The vaccines that Costa Rica will receive are from Novartis pharmaceuticals, which some weeks ago conducted a clinical study on almost 800 Costa Ricans to try the effectiveness of the AH1N1 flu vaccine.

Although drug companies will make a donation of several thousand vaccines to poor countries through PAHO, Costa Rica did not qualify.

According to vice minister Morice, this exclusion is beneficial because each country receiving a donation must sign a document which will immunize the pharmaceuticals from any litigation in case there are any severe reactions in the population due to the vaccine  .

“Given those conditions, it is better if they do not give Costa Rica anything,” said Morice.

The 450,000 vaccines that the country will receive account for a quarter of the total doses (1.8 million) that the Ministry of Health wants.

According to  the vice minister, a maximum period of 48 hours will elapse from the moment the vaccines arrive to the beginning of the anti-flu campaign.

“The doses will have to be dispatched immediately once they are in customs so as not to break the cold chain (vaccines should be kept under refrigeration),” said the official.

However, the doses must pass a short quality test conducted by the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) on all drugs.

“However, since the vaccine is pretested, not much time will go by before it is distributed,” she said.

To move the process forward, the Ministry of Health and the CCSS in Costa Rica will request medical centers to identify patients with certain risk factors and they will be the ones who will first to receive the vaccine.

“Each local health center (EBAIS, clinics and hospitals) must identify how many people they have with risk factors such as asthma and diabetes and, based on these data, we will say:  ’First vaccinate these people, then others’,” commented Morice on how the campaign will be conducted.

Hopefully, this first vaccination will have positive results because, after having paid such a high cost and after having clashed with the pharmaceutical company, the best thing for all Costa Ricans would be for things to turn out well.