Flashbacks of Cartagena and Miami

For three years I worked as a Comptroller for a sugar mill in Panama called CALESA (Compañía Azucarera La Estrella, S.A.).  The company had been so badly managed by the Chiari family, that the then Bank of America decided to look for a new administration staff.
They head-hunted for a President, an Agriculture Administrator and a [...]

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A Quote to Remember

“Some day, in years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life.  But the real struggle is here, now, in these quiet weeks.
Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously [...]

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A Message of Hope for a New Year

As the year 2008 expires, and a new year is born in a few hours, I wish each and every one of you a message of hope for a new beginning.  What was done or not done during this past year is irrelevant because there is nothing we can do.  We can’t bring time back.
What [...]

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Definition of Yahoo!

The best definition of Yahoo! I’ve read is:
“What you yell after selling your stock to some poor sucker for $120.00 a share.”
Just as a reference, Yahoo! stocks are currently quoted at the NYSE at $11.88 a share.  My golly, what a difference!  Good Day.

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American Cars Versus Japanese Cars

During the sixties, when I first moved to Panama City, about 95 percent of the cars on the street were American cars.  The rest were European and Japanese cars.  The German VW beetle was very popular then, but that’s another story.
Some of the brands I stilll remember are:  Ford, Studebaker, Lincoln, Pontiac, Cadillac, De Soto, [...]

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AT&T is Selling Refurbished iPhones at $99 Each

Apple is determined to have an iPhone in everybody’s hands in the future.  It will be as popular as Google.  I’m sorry for Nokia, who did a fine job, but lost the direction of the wind.
It has come to my attention that AT&T is selling refurbished Apple 3G iPhones at $99 each, which is very [...]

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A Children’s Dreamland at El Bosque

Yesterday, I penned a post about a curious man who has dedicated more than ten years of his life, building one of the best miniature nativity scenes in Panama.  His name is Francisco Bustamante and he lives at Residencial El Bosque in Panama City, Panama.  Not to be confused with Panama City, Florida.  
This year [...]

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Joke: A Rough Day

A little guy is sitting at the bar just staring at his drink for half an hour when this big trouble-making truck driver steps next to him, grabs his drink and gulps it down in one swig.
The poor little guy starts crying.
—”Come on man, I was just giving you a hard time,” says the truck [...]

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Hints of a Job-Less Apple in 2009

For several months there have been rumors about the fragile health of Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs.  During his last product presentations he looked gaunt, as if he were going through a strict diet or some kind of health problem.  We all remember, he survived a rare pancreatic cancer that was kept in secret, even to [...]

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A Traditional Panama Miniature Nativity Scene

When I was a kid, I remember helping my mother prepare the nacimiento or miniature nativity scene.  In Spain and Colombia they are called pesebres.  It is a very traditional Roman Catholic custom in Panama.  We collected carton boxes to represent the hills and used sand and mirrors to make miniature roads and ponds.  Every [...]

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