JohnF13

Priorities, Keith, Priorities. A cynical mind would think that a wall and fence are tangible, seeable things while text books are not, especially this close to an election

$17,500 2013 Kubota diesel loader backhoe, BX 25D. 4 wheel drive, 143 hours currently. Bought this when I came to Panama, but not using it now, so time to move it on. Regular oil changes, greased every 10-20 hours. Excellent original condition, all equipment is OEM except for front tires - Kubota cheaped out on them so I replaced them. Always stored under cover. I don’t need to sell this, so no ridiculous low ball offers. Johnferguson1301@gmail.com

i just checked flight costs to Canada. COPA in some cases is nearly double the cost of Air Canada. I would prefer to fly COPA but not at such a premium. I would guess that it is the same coming to Panama.

My apologies for not being clearer. Yes, they are out of bandwidth, perhaps things have changed in the last couple of months but I don't think wireless is a priority for them.

The problem in Potrerillos appears to be a full spectrum on the El Banco repeater. Friends of mine tried to get service but was told it is not available. When I was with them, my minimal 4meg would slow considerably at times of heavy use. I tried to move up to a blazing 6meg, they took my money but never provided the increased speed. Again, the excuse was no extra bandwidth at El Banco.

And us country folk are stuck with 4-6 mega for $90. Ah well, I like the Country.

Yes, it does. Especially if the lake has a larger surface area now. I'm just not sure about climate change being blamed for everything. It is an easy and convenient excuse for a lot of folks and organisations.

I stand corrected.

And yet, how about the simple explanation - the new locks use a remendous amount of water but lake Gatun was not increased in size to provide it....

Not that I get to Boquete often, but I have not seen an appreciable drop in tourist numbers. I can understand how businesses are suffering, but IMHO a lot of that may have to do with the physical number of eateries in the town. Realistically, the local population cannot support that many and the tendency of some places to charge Paris prices for average food doesn’t help. Having said that, it is also obvious that the road works took longer than reasonably expected, but this is Panama and that is the norm. It is the way things are here, work around it.

I think self serve is maybe 1/2 cent/litre cheaper. I usually compare the price at the Terpel in Dolega and the one on the Interamerican going towards Pricesmart. Sometimes a cent or a bit more cheaper in David. The Delta station in Dolega is always a bit more than the Terpel, but they pump your fuel there.

IIRC, Mr. Ruiz was the CD candidate in the last election and lost after a revote by about 200 votes.

Interesting to see that our Diputada (Athenas) has been abandonded by the PRD in favour of Manolo(sp?) Ruiz. She is now running for the Allianza party, according to the Panama News.

It is Keith, but a lot of people ignore things like ice cubes and the water used to was veggies. Hard to get away from.

That's the kind of stuff no-one understands. As I mentioned, the government of Ontario signed 20 year contracts with folks who would put in small solar arrays, up to 10kw. I sat at home for 4 days doing the math, I was convinced I'd missed something, got my wife to go over it but no, it was "govt. legit". I put one up on my farm, top of the line dual tracker with every panel (40 of them) having it's own inverter. Cost me over $100,000 but the payback at 80.2 cents was around 8 years. After that, money in the bank. I felt bad about it for a while then realized to government were going to get money out of me anyway with the surcharge on electricity, so I started feeling good....

Don't get me wrong, the idea behind such projects is admirable but, we are just not at a reasonable break even scenario yet. Every wind and solar install is heavily subsidized by government in one way or another. A personal example - around 2010 the government of Ontario, Canada wanted to "invest" in wind and solar. They came up with a scheme to pay small producers (10 kw/hr or less) 80.2 cents per kwh. This was when electricity was being sold to the consumer at around 11 cents/kw hr. The difference was made up by applying a surcharge to everyone's electric bill. The result, after a few years, was skyrocketing electric bills and inputs to the grid from wind and solar of about 1% of capacity. Now, Ontario's electrical rates are double those of neighbouring Provinces, manufacturing is moving away due to high costs and surplus electricity is being sold to the New England States at a sometimes negative cost - Ontario is paying them to take excess power. It is a perfect example of government intrusion into commercial enterprise with the expected results.

So, simple questions. 1. What is the cost, in both dollars and expendituress of CO2 that went into manufacturing the equipment, prepping the site (including compensation to landowners) and payments to builders? If the money to build was borrowed , what is the interest rate per annum and how long is the loan for? 2) what is the R.O.I? 3) what is the actual cost of each KW of power produced as a percentage of the input costs? 4) what is the budgeted annual maintenance cost? If it is exceeded, who pays? 5) what Is the projected life cycle of the installation? 6) at the end of life stage, who is responsible for equipment removal and what are the projected disposal costs? 7) Where will taxpayers be able to see the ACTUAL production figures versus the projected ones on an annual basis? 😎 what is the guarantee period, who is responsible for repairs on breakdown, how long will spares be available? Folks always claim to know the "savings" but are always secretive about the actual costs.

So, to get back on topic, is this vet available and if so, where is she working out of?

Bonnie, I think because they don't see the need to. While I would love to see great customer service here, it is just not in the Panamanian psyche. Maybe in a few years, but not now.

I don’t think lack of customer service is an issue. From my understanding it has always been bad but the influx of expats exacerbated the perception because most of us come from places with much better customer service. I think Panama is trying to catch up, but it is not easy to retrain. As for rising costs, that is a many pronged issue. Do expats drive up costs? I think they do, especially in the areas of housing and vehicles. Food and clothing? Again, quite likely - we demand a North American diet then complain when the costs go up. Look around in Super 99, Rey’s or Baru - do you see the indigenous shopping there? If not, where do they shop? That’s where you will find the cheaper foodstuffs. I am still of the opinion one can live cheaply here, but the average expat is too wedded to first world luxeries to even try.

Anything to protect a politician.....

They told me that the fee for a US $ cheque written on my American account from Canada would be $300. That was 8 months ago. Colour me unimpressed

We are in Potrerillos and pay ours at IDAAN in David. They have moved and are now on the Super99 road in David. We go there every year or so and pre-pay $20, keeps us going. I think you can also pay at the prepagos places. Don’t know the vagaries of the Boquete juntas though, so might not be of much help in your case.

Looks like fun to me...

Yup. Now ban disposable diapers.