Friday 23 August 2013

A momentous month

Gay Pride

This not a subject everyone wants to hear about but the month June has seen changes that affect so many and in very positive ways.
The repeal of DOMA, Don't ask don't tell, equal rights to same sex couples at the federal level.
Weather you agree with gay rights or not we all should agree that human rights are worth fighting for I have strived to strike a balance in my life and preserve the rights of the people around me , I served my country and it has taken many years for my country to recognise that I did not have the same rights.
This movement for same sex marriage  started in 1998 in Holland the first country to offer rights to same sex couples.
This year in the month of June in the USA the right of same sex couples to be married was ratified, that means the 1163 rights taken for granted by a man and woman couple are now available to same sex couples.

Here is an example, a partner of a same sex couple is hospitalised the healthy partner did not have the right to visit or make medical decisions. 



I am glad to say that during my life I have been very fortunate to have great and good friends, my lifestyle is not a choice and my  friends have supported me. 
With these decisions made by the people for the people this will allow the curtain to be raised for many people to raise their heads and say I am now empowered to reach the same goals as everybody else.
The link to the video in this blog shows some of the struggles that have been overcome.

Thursday 22 August 2013

Big Ralph"s Sunday Brunch


Big Ralph"s Sunday Brunch

Sunday 25th August 2013



# CLASSIC EGGS BENEDICT WITH HOLLANDAISE SAUCE $ 5.25

SMOKED SALMON & SCRAMBLED EGGS ON TOASTED WHEAT BREAD $ 6.75

CLUB STEAK SANDWICH WITH ONION RINGS & CHIPS $ 9.90

# BLUE CHEESE & MUSHROOMS QUICHE $ 6.80


GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD $ 7.70

SAUSAGES WITH HERB MASH POTATO AND ONION GRAVY $6.80


EGG OMELET WITH MUSHROOMS, CHEESE & HAM $ 4.75

APPLE BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE WITH ENGLISH CUSTARD $ 4.75


Alcohol cannot be consumed or purchased on Sundays


THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING

 NOTE:  PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATION AT LEAST 24H IN ADVANCE.
TO INSURE AVAILABILITY R.S.V.P. FOR ITEMS WITH #

Monday 19 August 2013

Ecuador to explore for oil in Amazon

Ecuador to explore for oil in Amazon

Government says decision forced by international fund's failure to pay government to not drill in the region.


Ecuador to open up rainforest s for oil explorations the link below shows some of the diverse life that resides in the area.


http://aje.me/1cN7W0i


There have been protests in Ecuador after the government gave the go-ahead for oil exploration in a region of the Amazon rainforest. President Rafael Correa says he was forced to make the move after an international fund, which would have paid Ecuador to not drill in the region, failed to raise enough money.



Season of Red / Blue Crab
August 15 to September 15 
The regulations prohibited the capture, transport and marketing of red and blue crab, reported the Undersecretary of fisheries resources (SRP) through a press release. The reason, to allow for the growth of crustaceans, which is intended to protect the species and, at the same time, the consumer, since during this period the crab enters a stage of molt or change of carapace. This process produces high concentrations of oxalate for calcium element detrimental to human health. 75 fishing inspectors will monitor and control, at the national level, compliance with this measure, said the director Control of fish resources, Molke Mendoza. Those who violate the rule will be punished, according to determine the law of fisheries and fisheries development, he argued Mendoza, part of the Undersecretary of fisheries resources.
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Thursday 15 August 2013

major discovery


Olinguito: 'Overlooked' mammal carnivore is major discovery


Scientists in the US have discovered a new animal living in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.
It has been named olinguito and is the first new species of carnivore to be identified in the Western hemisphere in 35 years.
It has taken more than a decade to identify the mammal, a discovery that scientists say is incredibly rare in the 21st Century.
The credit goes to a team from the Smithsonian Institution.
The trail began when zoologist Kristofer Helgen uncovered some bones and animal skins in storage at a museum in Chicago.
"It stopped me in my tracks," he told BBC News. "The skins were a rich red colour and when I looked at the skulls I didn't recognise the anatomy. It was different to any similar animal I'd seen, and right away I thought it could be a species new to science."


The link below contains a video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23701151



Dr Helgen is curator of mammals at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, which houses the largest mammal collection in the world.
More than 600,000 specimens are flat-packed in trays to save space, their bones picked clean by specially bred beetles and stored in boxes alongside their skins.

The olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina)

  • Smallest member of the animal family that includes racoons
  • Measures 14 inches in length (35cm), has a tail of 13-17 inches and weighs 2lb (900g)
  • Males and females of the Bassaricyon neblina species are similar in size
  • Eats fruit mainly, but also consumes insects and nectar
  • Solitary and nocturnal animals that spend their time in trees
  • Female olinguitos raise a single baby at a time
  • Found only in cloud forests of northern Andes in Ecuador and Colombia, at high elevations
Source: Smithsonian Institution
Many were collected more than a century ago and were often mislabelled or not properly identified. But recent advances in technology have enabled scientists to extract DNA from even the oldest remains.
The 35cm-long (14in) olinguito is the latest addition to the animal family that includes racoons. By comparing DNA samples with the other five known species, Dr Helgen was able to confirm his discovery.
"It's hard for me to explain how excited I am," he says.
"The olinguito is a carnivore - that group of mammals that includes cats, dogs and bears and their relatives. Many of us believed that list was complete, but this is a new carnivore - the first to be found on the American continent for more than three decades."
Dr Helgen has used such mammal collections to identify many other new species, including the world's biggest bat and the world's smallest bandicoot. But he says the olinguito is his most significant discovery. Its scientific name is Bassaricyon neblina. The last carnivore to be identified in the Americas was the Colombian Weasel.
But even after identifying the olinguito, a crucial question remained: could they be living in the wild?
"We used clues from the specimens about where they might have come from and to predict what kind of forest we might find them in - and we found it!"
MAP
The olinguito is now known to inhabit a number of protected areas from Central Colombia to western Ecuador. Although it is a carnivore, it eats mainly fruit, comes out at night and lives by itself, producing just one baby at a time.
And scientists now believe an olinguito was exhibited in several zoos in the US between 1967 and 1976. Its keepers mistook it for an olinga - a close relative - and could not understand why it would not breed. It was sent to a number of different zoos but died without being properly identified.
OlinguitoWashington's National Zoo had an olinguito in the 1960s but never identified it as a separate species
"The vast majority of the discoveries of new species are made in museum collections," says Chris Norris, of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in Connecticut and president of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections.
"Often people working 70 years ago or more had different ideas of what constituted a new species - maybe they didn't recognise things that we would as being distinct, or they might not have had access to technologies, such as being able to extract and sequence DNA."
But there is no central museum database and scientists have little idea of what each collection contains. Many organisations are now putting their inventories online, and Dr Norris says that will make research faster and more accessible.
Another challenge is keeping specimens in good condition. Many are hundreds of years old and are prone to moth and insect infestations.
The oldest surviving collection was assembled in the 17th Century by John Tradescant. Its most famous specimen is a dodo that is now on display at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the UK.

Three other new species in 2013

Tailorbird
"But not all of it," says Dr Norris. "There's just the head and a foot left because everything else got eaten.
"It's a cautionary tale for anyone working on museum collections today. You get to do exciting science but you have to take care of them or they won't be there for people to use in the future.
"Our economy is in the middle of a rough period and spending on museums sometimes seems difficult to justify when you look for example at some of the more shiny or spectacular scientific tools that are out there. But it's important to think of these things, not as rather bizarre collections of dried skins and pickled bats in jars and drawers full of snails, but as a research tool in the same way that you might think of a new telescope or a Large Hadron Collider."
Scientists have catalogued only a fraction of the planet's lifeforms. New species of insects, parasitic worms, bacteria and viruses are discovered on a regular basis, but new mammals are rare.
"This reminds us that the world is not yet explored and the age of discovery is far from over," says Dr Helgen. "The olinguito makes us think - what else is out there?"

Monday 12 August 2013

Benefit Dinner

Benefit Dinner



This ia a local effort by local people who are trying to improve the life of this family.

Wednesday 7 August 2013

Got my Moto and my License

Got my Moto and my License 


When I lived in California, I had a car, a truck, a Honda Shadow and Goldwing motorcycles.
The one regret I have about moving to Ecuador was that I had to give up my motorcycles, since it is not possible to import them in to Ecuador.
As far as I am concerned, the Honda Goldwing is the pinnacle of motorcycling, in terms of comfort, safety, reliability, visibility, and enjoyment.
Since moving here, I have taken my motorcycle driving test and passed. Per chance, a motorcycle came into my life and I bought it and have now been riding up and down the coast.
This type and size of motorcycle that I now ride was what I first started riding on back in the 60s. It is hard to think how far motorcycles have come, and yet these motorcycles are generations from where they could be.
The ride is rough and unsophisticated: drum brakes on the rear, five gears that could do with a syncro gear, suspension that could do with upgrading to modern times.
In its favor, it is a 200 cc engine which is very easy to service, and it is a motorcycle that I can jump on and go if I want to. 
 The weather here is not such an issue as is the driving of others on the road. I have been driving motorcycles for over 40 years, and I have driven in many different countries. I thought the Chinese were bad. India was bad, but at least you could not go fast enough to get killed. Ecuador drivers are the worst in my experience.
That is why you have to be a defensive driver. Once you get out of the cities, the roads are good, but you cannot let your guard down. On the positive side, I am able to enjoy a beautiful coast road.




Sunday 11th August 





Brunch


# CLASSIC EGGS BENEDICT WITH HOLLANDAISE SAUCE $ 5.25

SMOKED SALMON & SCRAMBLED EGGS ON TOASTED WHEAT B. BREAD $ 6.75

CLUB STEAK SANDWICH WITH ONION RINGS & CHIPS $ 9.90

# CHEESE & BACON QUICHE WITH GREEN BEAN & TOMATO DRESSING $ 5.80

GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD $ 7.70

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH FISH PIE WITH VEGETABLES $ 5.80

EGG OMELET WITH MUSHROOMS, CHEESE & HAM $ 4.75

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE $ 4.75
Alcohol cannot be consumed or purchased on Sundays
THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING
 NOTE:  PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATION AT LEAST 24H IN ADVANCE.
TO INSURE AVAILABILITY R.S.V.P. FOR ITEMS WITH #


Manta Ecuador: World Bank to loan 115 Million Dollars


The World Bank has approved a project information document to improve water, sanitation and public transportation services in Ecuador's Manta city, in Manabí Province

Manta Ecuador: World Bank to loan 115 million dollars in water, sanitation infrastructure

Despite substantial improvements in urban water and sanitation services coverage, especially in the
large cities, Ecuador still faces a significant challenge in providing better services in medium and
small size cities and rural areas, particularly regarding wastewater treatment. In 2008, urban
coverage levels for water and sanitation services were 76.1 and 57.6 percent, respectively, whereas
rural coverage levels were 25.3 and 14.6, respectively. National coverage of domestic wastewater
treatment was found to be 24.0 percent in urban areas in 2007. Other water and sanitation issues
requiring attention are the lack of service quality (number of water hours per day) and efficiency
(substantial water losses), limited cost recovery and heavy reliance on subsidies from national,
provincial and municipal government entities and sustainability (better integration with water
resources, achieving financial closure and resilience to natural disasters and climate change).
Municipal governments are also responsible for planning, regulating and controlling traffic and
public transportation within its canton territory, on top of planning, building and maintaining the
urban road network. The National Transit Agency retains authority for aspects such as driver
licensing and national road safety and related policies including setting of standards and the
Ministry of Transport and Public Works retains responsibility of national roads, overall transport
sector policy, standards and norms such as for design and construction.
Rapid urbanization in Ecuador is accompanied by similar increases in motorization rates (from 65
vehicles per 1000 inhabitants in the early 2000's to approximately 90 by 2011) and a concomitant
increase in the related negative externalities, particularly air pollution and road accidents. To arrest
the deterioration of mobility in urban areas and particularly in medium-sized cities, actions are
urgently needed to ensure the more efficient functioning of urban areas. Historically, the levels of
investment in transport networks have not kept pace with development needs, but recently the GoE
has started to address those trends through enhancement of the planning and management of
transport systems and increases in the level of investments in infrastructure. In particular, the GoE
has committed to the implementation of mass transit systems in the largest cities (such as with the
Quito Metro, Guayaquil Bus Rapid Transit and Cuenca Tranvia projects) and interventions in the
urban road network in medium-sized cities to improve their conditions for transit operations,
pedestrian use, and overall safety. Recently, non-motorized transport has become a national priority,
as exemplified with the creation of an Office of Alternative Transport in the Ministry which is
advancing a national cycling agenda. 

The City of Manta, located in the Province of Manabí, is a medium-sized fast growing port city with
fisheries and tourism as its main economic activities. Manta's road network has a total length of 350 km (217 miles) consisting of 52 km (32 miles) of arterials and collectors, and 298 km (185 miles) of local streets, and is considered to be in regular-good condition, with low levels of congestion. Proactive planning and incentives for both the demand and supply sides may enable planned growth, ensuring that more sustainable transport modes remain available, even as motorization rates and motorcycle ownership increase.
Regarding local roads there is still a significant unpaved area, and old areas requiring rehabilitation.
Water supply and sanitation services are provided by the municipal water company Empresa Pública
Aguas de Manta (EPAM), and current coverage levels are 79 and 64 percent for water supply and
sewerage respectively, as the first phase of its Water and Sanitation Master Plan has been finalized.
While Manta potable water production will meet demand for the next few years, the distribution
system faces challenges including unserved population, significant areas with aged and ill performing pipes that need rehabilitation, and significant water losses.

Reported by Latin America Current Events/News