podborski has written 27 posts
warning: boring post: what I had for breakfast
ok, I'm procrastinatig...but also feel like bragging about the great food we're serving at the hotel. Here's what I got when I asked for a 'little bit' of granola and yogurt, while I read PBH:
we will serve larger portions in a big glass bowl normally
then I asked for a poached egg on toast:
hey, where's slguy gone?
I hope you're just sailing?
I'm going to get fat
today we started testing the pastries and desserts we'll be serving...the chef is really an artist, sorry the pics don't do his work justice
pan campesino...crusty on the outside, soft and heavy on the inside ...
the world's smallest bodybuilder...just freaky
this is just so weird... http://www.propeller.com/viewstory/2008/02/13/romeo-dev-the-worlds-smallest-bodybuilder/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fmain.jhtml%3Fxml%3D%2Fnews%2F2008%2F02%2F12%2Fwromeo112.xml%26CMP%3DILC-mostviewedbox&frame=true ...
article about Bogota in Toronto newspaper
it's not a great article, but it's interesting to see the travel press looking at colombia without being too alarmist. http://www.nationalpost.com/life/travel/story.html?id=280410
microsoft offers to buy yahoo
offers $31/share , 61% above last closing price. Meanwhile google is down $45 a share. See, it pays to be a contrarian. I'm betting the deal goes through. Who else can possibly buy yahoo? And they are weak right now. look out google, mr softy is after you. ...
world stock markets crashing
stock markets in France, Germany, Hong Kong all down 5 % so far today, London down 4%, US futures (market is closed today) down 3 to 4%. And did I hear right that the colombian market was down 20% last week alone?! this is looking ugly...but should make some great opportunities eventually ...
Chavez's anti inflation drive (again!)
I'm bored. Can we talk about Chavez's silly anti inflation policies again? http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPD0NkaWR35E&refer=home what interests me is anyone with a brain can see that that price controls (setting a price limit below something's true market price) will always lead to shortages and black markets, yet the socialists cling to these old ideas like drowning men to straws. Why don't they at least come up with some new and untried stupid ideas? ...
US dollar decline starting to hurt...
I don't think it will be too much longer before the low dollar really starts to bite...US exporters like Boeing are going to decimate the competition... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akqjhL.NJv0s&refer=home I'll stick by my prediction (ok, wild guess) that the dollar is within 5% of the bottom, and will be much, much higher 3 years from now. 5 years to be safe. Anyone have any good tips on which US exporters to buy? I think you can get a rare double whammy if you ...
Chavez wants to ban mini skirts
http://ar.news.yahoo.com/s/15112007/43/n-world-ins-xf3-lita-constituci-xf3-n-ch-xe1-pretende.html jajaja! what's next? any guesses? Starting to sound a lot like the Taliban huh? He sure has a hatred for all things "extranjero", hey, maybe Chavez is colombia mike too? ...
What music are you listening to?
this is Manu Chao, french I was told, but sings in spanish, english and french. I don't like the whole album (La Radiolina), but a few cuts are really good, this is my favourite: "me llaman calle" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqilNi-QuYs
Building-Architecture-Renovation-House Projects
Anything to do with construction/renovation, anywhere. Also known as the spot for me to rant about architects, you know those art school dropouts with tilty desks and big rulers
Planes, trains and automobiles
anything to do with cars, bikes, boats, and other boy toys
new Colombian restaurant in BsAs
I managed to have ajiaco twice this week. First one of my usual lunchtime hangouts had it one day, then tonight I walked 2 blocks from my home and saw a new place called Gabo (Honduras y Bonpland, next to Acabar). The menu had ajiaco, bandeja paisa, sobrebarriga, patacon, etc. Very nice looking restaurant, also had a smallish bar and back patio. Big b+w photos of Colombia all over the walls. Videos on a flat screen tv of some slicked back hair middle age paunchy guys singing while the camera ...
article about Colombia on Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a.SOzcdDp6rg&refer=home
a sunday stroll through Buenos Aires off the beaten path
here are a few photos I took today walking around some interesting neighbourhoods near palermo. I think I was in colegiales where there is a great antique market (mercado de las pulgas dorrego) and then villa crespo, the 'next' Palermo.
First pic:
...
monster steak-Arthur, beat this
[IMG]http://i11.tinypic.com/54dl1l1.jpg[/IMG] This is the monster steak they serve at la cabrera restaurant, $13 USD gets this plus about 8 side dishes. In a sad attempt to make this somehow related to colombia, Arthur, beat that! ...
"Return of the Idïot" (Chavez) by Alvaro Varga LLosa
interesting article on Hugo and other 'problematic' leaders in latin america in the National Post: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/issuesideas/story.html?id=d6b139cb-03e9-4e48-8711-5e9b9c289b6d ...
1 in 3 venezolanos want to leave, thanks to Hugo
http://www.eltiempo.com/internacional/latinoamerica/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3639799.html It's a shame nothing anyone can (or should) do about it, but it will be interesting watching venezuela fall apart. It'll be just one more example of socialism leading to economic disaster and lost poiltical freedom, but this time they can't blame it on a trade embargo by Uncle Sam. Wonder what the excuse will be? ...
now this I have never seen before...
There are two women dressed in maids' outfits outside of Andino mall carefully scrubbing and washing every orange plastic traffic cone on the street. What's that about? I know colombians are clean freaks but... My ex used to make me wash my hands after every time I either touched money or got out of a taxi. I think she's probably right about that. But washing traffic cones? ...
"se lo robaron"
So I asked the cashier at the JV cafe why they didn't have a 'tips' jar any more. I was thinking the owners must have made a policy against it or something. Unfortunately, the answer was "se lo robaron". But even though that must be very annoying, she said it with a smile. I seem to say to myself all the time here, 'these people just can't get a break'. ...
Boca VS Cucuta?
I think there is a big futbol game on now isn't there? (I don't have tv).
Anybody watching? I just heard a huge 'GOOOOOLLLLLL' roll through my neighbourhood, so I expect Boca is up 1 -zip?
Guess I should head for a bar to watch it... ...
another step closer to dictatorship
so what do the apologists have to say?
I predict: "free speech is over-rated" or "George Bush is a liar" or "venezuela is unrelated to Colombia, why are you so obsessed" or "Uribe has ties to paras"
but nothing about Chavez the dictator.. ...
thief picks wrong victim
Just walked by a little street scene here where some quite big guy (a pickpocket I think) was lying flat on his back while some guy half his size stood over him with his foot on the guys neck, holding one of the guys arms with one hand. The little guy was completely calm and I think he even had a cigarette in his other hand.
A little crowd gathered of course, and the little guy calmy pulled a wallet out of the thief's pocket and put it in his own, then pulled out a cellphone and h ...
I don't think you hate doing it at all CA
because you make quite the habit of it, attempting to smear people by obfuscating the truth and by defending your shaky grasp of logic by calling it dialectical materialism.
The example you cut and pasted was not only purely hypothetical, and not mine (it was miguel clavo's), it was also not one that I think is even remotely close to existing in reality.
But the final icing on the cake is you once again conveniently cut out the part about the (hypothetical girl's) a ...
TACA -very cheap flights right now
I just received an email from TACA about a fare sale. BsAs to Lima RETURN for $171! BsAs to Bogota $345, taxes $28.
Best prices I have ever seen, by far.
Not sure if NA or Europe to Bogota flights are on sale, but worth checking out. ...
another 'colombian trait'
(This is just one example of behaviour I have seen quite often in colombians with whom I am travelling):
'M' is visiting me here in BsAs. First day we walk by the local park (in the heart of the city) and she sees dozens of women in skimpy bikinis suntanning.
She seems fascinated by this. She asks if this is normal behaviour? Sure I tell her, because it is. The parks are full of skimpily dressed women, and sometimes men, suntanning.
I can see the wh ...
Chavez's latest stroke of brilliance
I read today he announced that to fight inflation they are going to knock 3 zeros off the bolivar! (in feb 2008)
Jaja! I have to say, Hugo is good for my daily laugh.
One stroke of the pen and the bolivar is somehow worth so very much more! Woo hoo!
I have another idea for him, that will make every Venezuelan rich, millionaires instantly: Just print enough money to give everyone a million bucks worth of bolivars. Simple! Ingenious! Undoubtedly popular ...
oil to fall to $40, maybe even $30
so predicts Sanford Bernstein:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070212.w40oil0212/BNStory/Business/
I like the fact they predicted the crash of Nortel in 2000, most other wall street firms were blindly following the crowd, as usual.
So I guess Chavez will be able to blame oil prices for the collapse of the venezuelan economy, jaja! ...
Chavez's guns to go to FARC?
Chavez won't invade Colombia due to fear of the USA, but I am willing to bet those new weapons find themselves in the hands of FARC and many other marxist terrorists in LA.
Time will tell... ...
More photos of candelaria
I'll try posting a bunch of photos at once. The quality of some is not that good, but the subject is interesting I think...
...
Candelaria photos
the very cool and bohemiam cafe Hibrido in candelaria, just down the road from the platypus hostel.
searching for a bogota apt
I will be in Bogota from Jan 4th to jan 15th, I am looking for an apt to rent, preferably in the north, but I will consider other locations if they are not too far away.
Thanks,
pod ...
Are colombians really
this special?
I was last here in bogotá about a year ago. I have learned not to give the street kids money, as everyone told me it just encourages their parents to keep them working on the street instead of maybe going to school.
But some of these kids (not all) really look like they need help, especially the young mothers who usually have 2 small children that they are carrying aroiund.
So I occasionally buy them some food, and when I leave I give ...
Suramericanos: pobres pero felices
that is the headline of an article in El Tiempo today. (Maybe they are reading PBH?)
venezuela: 55 muy feliz 29 feliz
colombia: 34 and 44
Ecuador: 32 and 41
Bolivia:22 and 46
Chile: 27 and 39
Perú: 20 and 41 ...
one more
the girls this time. Easy to see where beautiful colombian women come from!
my favourite photo-cucunubá kids
I was in cucunubá and there were schoolkids everywhere. I asked if I could take some pictures and of course they were all for it. So I started taking some pictures and showing them the results on the tiny screen of my camera. More and more kids gathered and asked me to take their photos, eventually there were maybe 35 kids gathered around.
I took a few group shots and then showed them h ...
Brother killed for his shoes
Some of you might recall the photo I posted of a beautiful colombian friend of mine wearing a red dress.
Just received an email from her. Her brother was killed this week by someone who wanted his running shoes and cell phone.
Yes, it could happen anywhere in the world.
But I have friends all over the world, and the only ones I know who experience tragedies like this are unfortunately all in colombia.
I love the place and its people, b ...
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