Getting scrappy

Finally, Dominica has begun to do something with old computer parts (besides dumping them in the landfill). I dropped off several years worth of old PCs at the 'Scrap Metal Only' yard in Canefield. Along with old aluminium cans they are shipped off to Canada where they are recycled.

Next - let's find a good way to dispose of used engine oil.

The scrap metal initiative is by Ivan Smith (767 276 6434) in conjunction with Lifeline Ministries (767 449 8593).

rebuilding the bike

the bike
Originally uploaded by Steve_Mc

I'm in the process of rebuilding part of the bike, and found BicycleTutor.com, which is fast becoming invaluable. Mind you, I wish I hadn't found out WD40 was the worse possible lubricant to use on one's chain...

Otter with big eyes

The LIAT Twin Otter flight from Canefield, Dominica, is how flying should be - fun, lots to see (especially with the large windows), a little 'edge of the seat' at times, and short. En route to Antigua, the stop over is about 15 minutes at Guadeloupe, when one usually sits in the plane and awaits any passengers going on to Antigua.

Until now. Because of a 'new law', as the <racial stereotype> sulky but stylish French female</racial stereotype> ground staff told us, we had to get off the plane, follow her around into the airport, up several flights of stairs, through a security check again, and back down and out to the plane.

Still, one gets to see another airport, and one could even buy a copy of Le Monde before it goes bankrupt (it lost US$31m last year). Except that Le Monde journalists are on strike... Which got me thinking, when French air traffic controllers take their annual strike action, does that mess LIAT flights up? I'd rather not know...

Getting the bird

A recent newspaper article voiced concerns by farmers in Dominica that wildlife - especially parrots - had made such a comeback that their numbers were impacting on farmers' crops. Apparently they're very partial to grapefruits.

Rather than shoot them (as had been done), the farmers ought to see this as a golden opportunity. People will pay good money to see these magnificent birds, which are only found here. Remember, there were only sixty or so Sisserous (Amazona imperialis) after Hurricane David. Now there are about 300. I did wonder how Hurricane Dean last year impacted on birdlife, and events such as that serve to show that we still need to protect our own endangered species.

(Photo by Izzy)

PS The newspaper also said one farmer was considering court action. The defendant may only be referred to as Jack O...

April sunset

sunset 12 Apr
Originally uploaded by Steve_Mc

The days are getting longer, and as you can see from the photo, the sun's setting further north.

A Place of Safety

The UK’s largest children’s charity is raising funds to open and operate a Dominica 'Place of Safety'. The Place of Safety will be the first ever 24 hour residential home for abused and abandoned children in Dominica.

The home will be able to look after approximately 100 children per year, giving them a secure and loving place of refuge. The Place of Safety will also function as a child development centre, providing respite care and other services to the wider child population, including Carib ‘Kalinago’ children. They are seeking to raise £300,000 to complete and equip the project by October 2008.

NCH staff in Dominica are currently in contact with abandoned and abused children who are in need of dedicated care and protection, while efforts are made to find loving homes. For example, one child is currently living in a hospital because she has nowhere else to go.

NCH needs help right now to meet this commitment and protect children from abuse, neglect, and homelessness. Read more at http://www.placeofsafety.blogspot.com/

Low blow

Dominica boxer Lennon Bannis was denied a chance to qualify for the Bejing Olympics at the recent qualifications in Trinidad when his opponent delivered a low blow that was missed by the referee, who then stopped the fight and awarded the bout to the opponent.

What was also sad was that the chance for an appeal was missed for lack of funds... why it costs to lodge an appeal I don't know!

Barbados 1 Dominica 0

"Now I know what it's like to be a travelling England fan".

For a long time we had hope - the first half ended 0-0 and though chances were few, we knew a goal was possible.

But then it all went pear-shaped in the 59th minute: a straight red card for our captain (at least one of their players was sent off for a second yellow at the same time). Without him - arguably our next best player after the awesome goalie - we were prone to the increasingly confident Bajan attacks... Then in the 75th minute their number 14, Standford, who came on a as sub in the 62nd minute, got the goal that put us out, and set Barbados up with a June meeting with Team USA.

But well done our boys! And the highlight of the game - the announcement over the PA asking for a Richard X, whose girlfriend had just gone into labour at the main gate... What's the betting the baby will be called Stanford?

'A place called Massacre'

More footballing news, and another astute 'signing' of a UK-based player into the Dominica team ahead of The Big Game: Ross Jeremy, from Massacre, who said "It was 30 degrees every day and the ball bounced twice as high as I'm used to," he said. "I expect it will be pretty warm in Barbados as well."

Full article...

Countdown to the big game

10 days till the big game - the second leg of the 2010 World Cup football qualifying game v. Barbados on the 26th. I had a chance to speak with the manager, Erickson Christopher, recently, who was upbeat about our chances. He and the team fly out on the 22nd, and are joined by the English players a couple of days later.

Remember in UK-based Richard Pacquette we have a guy who's scored against mighty European Champions Liverpool, and given his impressive goal against Barbados in the first leg, must be the biggest threat. Heartening new is that in recent friendly games Barbados have struggled to score.

The prize of course is the USA in the next game. What a way to showcase out new stadium!

Grinding greenery

A recent article talked about Dominica's 'grinding poverty'. Like another from someone else who'd done cursory research on the web (but never been anywhere near here), it emphasied how poor we are.

Before I go on, let's quickly look at the UN's Human Poverty Index. Dominica ranks 71st, the top of the Medium Human Development group of nations, above many of our Caribbean nations (inc. St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent). And even above our new partners, China and Venezuela! And above another 84 countries in the same group. Below that are the Low Human Development group of another 20-odd nations.

But along with the other indices that rate us highly in quality of life (4th happiest in the world, no less!), they are ignored in favour of a sweeping generalisation. Certainly, if the author of the article were to visit, for every ramshackle home they'd pass, they'd also be passed by a SUV. Yes there's poverty, but it's not 'grinding'. The author is probably closer to it than we are.

What we do have is a grinding greenery. A lushness that hits you in the face hard every day. An almost depressing natural beauty that berates you constantly ('look at me, climb, explore, take photos, dive, stop working!'). And as the rain continues to fall outside, a grinding rainforest. I know where'd I rather be.



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Listening to: Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
via FoxyTunes

Word of the week: Dreadhawk

Dreadhawk [dred-hawk] [] noun -

1. a hairstyle consisting of dreadlocks shaped into a mohawk.

Taken from http://www.fauxlogism.com/,
Fauxlogism is "an ongoing project to document false words. It appears to be heading mostly in the direction of portmanteaus, but all fraudulent or phony words are acceptable.

Why is any given new word a fauxlogism and not a neologism, you might ask? There’s no good answer to that question so let’s just shuffle our feet a little, tug at our collars, and move on...."

Let there be light

As I sat in the dark, lit only by a flickering candle, listening to our PMs 'state of the nation' speech, two things came to mind. One that I was so badly wrong that the power cut would be over in time for the start of the speech. No way, I thought, that the power company would deprive us of seeing our PM on TV! Wrong.

More importantly though I heard the PM talk briefly of how the oil refinery was on hold (not cancelled, note). But he continued on the theme of 'energy security' by talking extensively of the forthcoming and exciting plans for geo-thermal electricity - exploring the potential for cheap power that could also be exported to the neighbouring islands. And contrasting the two options, it really is a no-brainer.

The plans by the way are for a soon-to-start French-funded exploration into the potential, centred in nearby Wotton Waven. Given previous studies have shown there is potential, let's get going!

Ideal pies

After Spider Pies, my fave type of pie is the website traffic 'referring sites' pie(chart), and over on the Delphis blog I provide some fascinating (!) insights into this non-edible pie...

Kayaking in Dominica

Here's a good blog about some kayakers who decide Dominica's a good place for their sport!

20.5

Outside, it's 20.5C. That's 68.9F. Now that might sound toasty to some, but it's not for late-February in Dominica. We're tropical, not temperate.

And it's not even raining. Someone turn the heat up please.

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Listening to: Jeff Wayne - War Of The Worlds - Part 01
via FoxyTunes

Back it up!

In which the Delphis Ltd blog suggests a good way to make sure your data is safe when the next natural disaster hits! Read more...

Oil refinery on hold

Good news: the Prime Minister today announced the proposed oil refinery was on hold. This is a major change to the 'oil refinery goes ahead after the EIA' stance. He said a wider view of overall economic benefits should be taken, along with full consultation with all stakeholders, before any decision is made.

The Dominica Hotel & Tourism Association recently released a press release on the refinery issue, and it's worth repeating here:

"The Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association is alarmed at the prospect of the building of an oil refinery in Dominica and the negative impact this will have on the thousands of jobs created through tourism. The tourism sector presently employs thousands of people and according to the latest IMF report, tourism contributed an estimated $186 million to the economy, creating huge foreign exchange. This growth can be multiplied substantially every year if Government demonstrates its commitment to the tourism sector and helps it move forward for the benefit of the entire country, from farmers and fishermen, vendors and tour operators, tour guides and artistes, the construction industry and to all other sectors which benefit directly and indirectly from the tourism industry.

Dominica's entire tourism industry has been developed and marketed on its rich and pristine natural rain forest and marine environment. Locals and foreigners alike have invested millions in developing a product which is unique and which has been recognized internationally as one of the most sustainable tourism destinations in the world. Establishing an oil refinery on the nature island, regardless of its location, would destroy that image and severely curtail any serious tourism investment on the island.

Dominica has an abundance of potential alternative renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass which can be explored to provide us with options that pose less threat to our environment and could create investment and jobs in cutting edge technology.

While we recognise and appreciate the assistance from friendly governments that has improved the lives of our people, we believe that an oil refinery will severely curtail one of the most promising sectors in the economy. While tourism has consistently shown incremental growth over the years, the constraints on the industry have held it back from delivering on its promise. With improved air access and commitment to marketing, it has been stated over and over again that the tourism industry would become the “driver of the economy” that the policy makers have hoped for.

The DHTA therefore wishes to reiterate its firm opposition to any oil refinery in Dominica. As the voice of the tourism sector and partners in development with the Discover Dominica Authority, we owe it to all stakeholders in the industry, and to all Dominicans, to safeguard our natural resources and the opportunities and jobs that lie within a healthy tourism industry.

We look forward to a more open consultative process that will bring all voices together to consider the effects on all segments of society. Development of the country must be planned for the long term benefit of all."

Curse of the black plastic bag

We bag everything here. Stores must spend a small fortune on black plastic shopping bags (Dominica imported US$1.3 million of plastic products last year). Even the smallest item goes into one, sometimes two. Recent reports of a huge garbage vortex in the middle of the Pacific is probably matched by one in the middle of the Caribbean. I hate them, and take a small pleasure from the looks of horror I get in stores when I refuse them. Ban them I say.

Fortunately, there's now the re-usable Green Dominica grocery bag. All is not lost.

Web Pages That Suck

In which over on the Delphis Ltd blog we have a chuckle at a site that extols good design but fails in one key area... Read more.