Could have
been more bad timing than ever, In fact never occurred to me that my Hp pc
would ever crash again - all because I was stupid enough to update my computer
here, Now as a result I'm back again from scratch and worst part is all my data
on my travels went to waste along with the computer games I registered with it,
I'm not sure if my recovery program can recover all the data . For now I'm
changing tactics on the backup systems and will let my PC / Tablet acer to be
the "main" computer I use. I was able to recover some of the video's
but not the whole entire data I made along with the articles I had to publish
on my blog. For now I'm starting again on scratch.
Given with
these problems and the frequent reformatting of my HP gaming laptop, I'm now
switching my base of operations (on the internet) and offline data to my other
Acer computer / tablet , so basically the data will now be stored there instead
of here on my HP . The only reason why im still able to access the data here on
my HP is because I had setup a local area network on my cabin. So simply say it
my HP laptop will be my work station while my acer tablet computer will act as
a "server" , so if in case something happens to my HP laptop I could
easily recover data.
On the
latest news on what's going on aboard this ship
There has
been tensions lately over the internet rental on the other group, apparently it
looks like that the contact person they had on using the internet changed and
double crossed them, and charged them 600 USD for internet rental. Apparently
according to their contact their charged via bandwidth and not on the time
usage. Originally their deal was its supposedly to be 25 U.S. Dollars PER DAY but for some
reason their contact changed heart after the fifth day and said that he will be
charging via bandwidth and its already 600 U.S. dollars. Naturally 7 people who
originally joined in on the internet connection were furious over what
happened, they felt that 75 U.S. dollars per connection was overpriced and that
this was a rip off . They even said this is definitely a "Mafiaso"
As a result
, the leader of the group Chief Engineer Hernandez Navarro (Venezuelan
national) pulled out immediately the modem internet connection as a damage
control to stop further charging. Now their main problem is on how the hell are
they going to pay the money ?
Well the
other "internet rental" group I belong with, still has internet
connection and fortunately our Ecuadorian contact for us charges very fair and
doesn’t have any funny ideas of ripping us off - for now it's safe to say that
our contact just charges us 3 U.S. dollars and fifty cents per person per day
on the internet rental. Either way the subject of "internet" here has
been a hot topic and almost all of the crew had grievances on something about
internet.
Speaking of
the subject I got myself also in trouble because of it. Although its petty I
got in a petty misunderstanding with BOSUN diosana on the second day of
internet connection on our group because I changed the Wi-Fi modem password and
apparently enough my co-workers here are selfishly self-serving enough not to
inform BOSUN Diosana of the password changed. Obviously they came up with all
sorts of excuses and pretended not to hear anything from me that I told them to
"inform everyone on the password change" , in the end the whole blame
fell on me and what's worst I got the whole wrath of BOSUN Diosana and
ultimately withdrawing his membership on the group.
Anyway
what's done is done , I cannot change or go back on what happened and I had to
change the password of the Wi-Fi modem in order for it to be secure because I
found out on that day that our group were not the only one's using the
connection, and the other Ecuadorian mooring crew are tapping on the frequency
as well . Later on the days past I tried to persuade BOSUN Diosana back to join
but apparently he says he's not interested anymore and turned down the
invitation.
Anyway if
that was his case then I'd let him be , after all being a sailor is that were
not oblige to please anyone and its his choice. Besides it's not part of the
job requirement to be nice. I know this may sound ruthless but , as a sailor we
have no obligation to other people , we just have to look out for ourselves
In other
matters …
Laundry yet
again is a problem only this time the problem is on the washing machine itself
which apparently broke down and was disassembled for repair. The thing here is
that they disassemble the machine and found out later that there were no
on-board spare parts for the machine , leaving us crew without any washing
machine to use at all for the coveralls. Well technically we still have two
other washing machines but our lovely soviet officials here wouldn't allow us
to wash our coveralls on it. So bringing me to washing my coveralls via deck
brush inside my bathroom.
On other
news ….
Mostly I
only use the internet to update stuff on the net , specifically on the current
news about tech and lately the article I read recently says that windows 10
will be released in the U.S. at July 29 this year and from what I heard ,
UPGRADE WILL BE FOR FREE for windows 7 and windows 8.1 computer owners , which
of course I own three computers and all of them incidentally have windows 7 and
windows 8.1 operating system. On the news in gaming , Its seems that the
computer game titled "FALLOUT 4"
will be released on November 2015 and I had been a fan of this post
apocalypse video game franchise since its first game was released way back in
1997 on windows 98 O.S. . Hopefully the graphics are good and sharp as what the
preview I saw in youtube
FLOURA AND FAUNA IN ECUADOR
(Mafioso ,
in seaman terms is related to something criminal like activity in nature like
from the term Mafia which meant organized crime. The term is also used
continent wide in south America and they absolutely known its meaning)
I had done
a little research if the price was true and found out that indeed the my
co-workers are being ripped off , even if the costliest price is put up on
Ecuador subscription , I wouldn't go far around the 200 U.S.D per month and
this cannot be mistaken for currency exchange as I found out that Ecuador
doesn’t use its former currency called "Sucre's" anymore (THEY NOW USE U.S. DOLLAR AS
THEIR LOCAL CURRENCY SINCE 2001, information is based on Google travel and
Wikipedia).
I done a
little research on the net and this article I had found out about the internet
connection
********************************************************************
Internet in Ecuador
In
2000, the Internet in Ecuador had yet to really take off. Here in Tena we only
had one Internet cafe, which had 2 computers. I worked there for a short while
and thinking back makes me laugh.
The
cafe had its own email address. Almost everyone who came in would write emails
from this account - hardly anyone had their own address. And then you'd come in
from time to time to check if you had received a reply - which would be sent to
that one email account. Talk about no privacy!
It was
at this cafe that I set up my first email account. The owner had to help me and
I remember running password ideas by him.
Back
then the Internet in Ecuador was s-l-o-w. I can't remember the by-the-hour
charge, but you needed a good hour if you planned to do anything substantial
online.
How things have changed
Since
then Internet in Ecuador has really changed. Now just about every block has one
or more Internet cafes. The Internet has become a huge part of life in Ecuador.
School kids are sent almost daily to look up something online as part of their
homework, which doubles as an excuse to check their Facebook pages.
The
increased popularity of the Internet has meant an increase in Internet options…
For the Traveler in Ecuador
Coming
through Ecuador as a tourist? You have options for keeping in touch.
Internet cafes: As I said before there is
an overabundance of Internet cafes in just about every decent size town or
city. The average price is 60 cents per hour (if anyone tries to charge you a
dollar or more per hour you are most likely being ripped off).
Speed
is decent. I wouldn't call it hi-speed, but we've definitely moved past the age
of dial-up.
WI-FI: Hotels and restaurants in just
about any tourist town now offer WI-FI. So if you are traveling with your
laptop, IPad, etc you will be able to use it. When checking in to your hotel
ask the receptionist for the password. Some hotels still charge for WI-FI
service, but I think this is a quickly dying trend as most hotels offer it as a
free perk.
Living in Ecuador
More
and more of us who have moved to Ecuador are working online. So having a decent
connection is very important. Back in the day, you had to have a land line to
get Internet in Ecuador...which in places like Tena meant you didn't even have
the option to have Internet at home. Thankfully, times have changed.
CNT (Formerly Andinatel and Pacifictel): The largest public
telecommunications company in Ecuador often offers the best Internet. The cost to speed ratio is the best
I've found. The downside, you need to have a land line phone and there must be
an Internet line available in your neighborhood.
CNT is
working on WI-FI, but it is not available in all areas. For example, here in
Tena you can access wireless, but only if you live downtown.
Claro and Movistar: These popular cell phone providers
also have good options for Internet in Ecuador. They offer
pay-as-you-go plans, which are great if you are using them as a back up
provider. There are
also monthly plans which often include data and speed limits.
Movistar
also offers an unlimited plan. I personally use it. It's ok. Nothing special. I
can get done what I need to. Loading videos can be problematic and sudden loss
in speed can be annoying. But at $32 per month, you can't beat the price.
Both
Claro and Movistar use modem sticks, which plug into a USB port in your
computer. This can be handy, since you can take the modem with you when
traveling.
Both
providers also offer Internet plans for your cell phone.
