Even longer delays in updating

Hi Rick & Jelly;
At your request, please find the latest updates below to help you enjoy Cayman.

Cayman
Things have been pretty busy lately. Besides work, there were public and work holidays, meetings on Astronomy, the Ham Radio Club as well as chicken and gardening updates. Some bike work and a bit of experimentation in photography.
I took a few days off work when a unique situation came up. Monday May 18 was a public holiday and Wed May 20 was election day (another full public holiday). The election process is a bit unique down here. Approximately 22,000 people are true Caymanians with 15,000 (local and status holders) being registered voters. These registered voters determine the future of approx 60,000 people.
I live in West Bay where there are 4 positions available as representatives of the people in the Legislative Assembly. Hence (for unknown reasons) every registered West Bay voter gets to vote for 4 people out of the list of wanna be candidates. That's right - 4 votes. Everyone in George Town also has 4 votes, Bodden Town has 3 with East End and North Side each having only 1 vote. Finally, the sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman each get 2 votes. A total of 17 elected members. I believe that there were a total of 44 candidates. The winning party was the UDP who got 9 out of 15 seats in Grand Cayman and 1 out of 2 in the Sister Islands.
What does this mean for these islands? Only time will tell!

Astronomy
The Cayman Astronomical Society had a meeting a couple Tuesdays ago. Here, we elected the new committee members as well as made some plans to start a more dedicated user section dealing with astro photography. We will start of the easy objects like the moon and progress to the planets. There ware currently 3 of us interested and keep an eye out for some of our results. This is a learn as you go project.

Cycling
I have just returned from a 5 day break in the US of A. I managed to obtain a few needed items like good tires, handlebars, specialized brake levers and assorted items need to complete the new-to-me randonneuring bike. I will post some photos as items are installed and tested.

Chickens
There has been a couple setbacks and minor improvements in this topic. The setback occurred when a certain person who shall not be called by name (the wife) went to feed the chickens one morning. I was getting ready to ride to work when she called my name. I went to see what the problem was and found that the rooster, 2 hens and a young chick had pushed their way out of the entry door when her back was turned. Needless to say, they took off running. Various attempts to catch them have failed so far and they are probably lost for good. The neighbors have also takes up the hobby of chickens and one has about 30 while the other has about 10.
The good news is that we managed to catch two young ones (one that escaped weeks ago and well as the young one who stepped out) as well as a young rooster and are now back to 7.

Fruits
On the election day holiday, Sarah came and told me that a bunch of bananas were turning yellow and she wanted to cut the down ? I said go ahead and she did. When I arrived yesterday, it was nice to eat ripe bananas from the yard. There are a two more bunches that are very close to getting ready so we will be enjoying more very soon. Nothing like a tree ripened banana!
The mangoes also look like they are getting ripe too. Janie said that while I was away, a guy came into the yard late one evening and was looking over the mango and breadfruit trees. The dogs were in their pen and they were barking loudly which got her attention. Needless to say, she picked the couple mangoes and a breadfruit that were close to being ready. I had a mango last night and this morning when looking the tree over, managed to find one that was ready and added it to the pile. You will notice in the photo that a ripe mango has the same colour as a yellow leaf making it even harder to find visually!
I believe that I have the only grafted mango tree in the whole neighborhood. This could explain all the attention the tree is producing. Just means that I will have to be more vigilant in checking on it.
While in the US, I got some books on chickens and gardening. I really did not know how much effect the economic downturn had had! Many people were at the book store or the gardeninfg centers buying plants, seeds, fertilizer and other items looking at gardening as a way to eat better. There were many more books and magazines than I had ever seen! This can only mean good things for local economies.

Photography
I managed to pick up three camera lenses that I had ordered. I currently use a Canon DSLR and find that all too frequently, I have problems in trying to use the electronic focus on a particular item when it is in a different focal plane than the background. A real pain when you are trying to get that one off, there for a second shot! This really bothers me as you buy auto-focus lenses to solve this problem. The lenses were all manual focus, Japan made (means all metal construction). Two were Canon FD mount (35-105 F3.4-4.5 & 35-105 F3.5) as well as a M42 mount Soligor (35-70 F2.5-3.5) for use with a webcam. Why did I get them? First of all, they were cheap. The Canons were about $50 each and the Soligor was about $20. Secondly, they are from a time when things were made to last. I have a EF telephoto that I bought about 3 years ago. It has stopped working and the quoted cost to fix it is more that I paid for the lens. It is mainly plastic construction. And finally, I get to play with them. The first project is to convert the lenses from FD to EF mount.
I currently have 9 FD mount lenses of various focal lengths. I converted a 400mm F5.6 lens to EF mount about a year ago and all can say it that it works perfectly. Just have to repeat the same thing for the others. The result is quality lenses for a small fraction of the going price. For example, the most I have paid for a lens is $125 for a 85mm 1.8 FD lens. The EF version goes for about $450 and is mainly plastic. The parts for the conversion run around $20. Needless to say, the 85mm will be the last one I convert!
I can use an FD to EF adapter, but it becomes a hassle to swap it back and forth between lenses.
FD lenses can be had from around $10 to $2500with the L series all occupying the higher end. Without the L lenses, it tops out around 550 for an 85mm F1.2. In the EF arena, the range is $150 to $10,000 . Without the L lenses, it tops out at $2500 with the EF 85mm F.12 coming in at around $1,800. And many of the new lenses are zooms which are not as optimized for the whole range as a fixed focal length lens is.
But enough chitter chatter, see you next time.

What's been happening?

It's been a while since I have added anything so here goes.
Last weekend, Janie and I went for a drive around the eastern end of Grand Cayman to get some pictures for a request made by Richard. Hope these images help you Richard! The second view is from the cabana! What a rough life we live!
The chicken population has increased. Dorothy managed to catch and rooster and hen early last week. Then I managed to catch another hen and then 3 pullets over the weekend, bringing
our population up to 9. It's more than I planned but we can always let the ones we don't want go. There were actually 4 pullets caught but one managed to sneak out from the tractor when we were rolling it to a new location. On the other hand, the escaped pullet and another hen are now following the tractor around, gleaning the food remainders when we shift location. And the answer to the big question - YES! We did manage to have 4 eggs last week. And the taste is by far superior to the store bought eggs. None this week but we are not concerned. The chickens are still getting settled in their new location.
Home Grown eggs on the left, store bought on the right.
We have been experimenting with different foods to give them - ranging from kitchen scraps to bird feed and cracked corn. They seem to enjoy it all so we are happy.
My niece has seen the tractor and has requested that I make her one too. She lives besides a large wooded areas and has many chickens in her yard. She too likes the idea of free-range eggs.
A neighbor two doors down has begun to build what looks like a portable chicken coop. I'm keeping an eye on his construction to see what happens. I also noticed that he has made a chicken trap too! Could be catching on!
Janie was talking to one of her co-workers about our new venture and the co-worker said that she had built a chicken coop and began trapping chickens. She now has over 80 in her possession! I'm impressed! Makes my little project seem like child's play!
Well, with that little item completed and successful, time to start something else.
We already have a few fruit trees in the yard. Here are mangoes and guavas - both are green but will ripen. There is nothing like picking a ripe fruit from the tree and eating it. You can smell both the ripe mangoes and guavas before even seeing them. Many times I can be found searching the tree for a ripe mango. Smelling, yet not seeing.














I have been looking at constructing a raised garden bed. While we have a year round growing climate, we are unfortunate to be a coral island with very little topsoil. There are good area with 2-3' of soil depth and other areas (like where I live) with the topsoil depth being 2"-3" or less. There are pockets of soil but they are few and far between.
The reasons are that it gives me something to pass the time on, allows me to tinker with something else and provides a food resource on an island where probably 95% of the food we eat comes from or through the USA. Countries like Australia are recommending their inhabitants to stockpile some basic food for when there are shortages. In Cayman's case, a shortage in the US will mean that there will be less to sell and if it is there, a higher price! It is already recommended that locals stock extra supplies in the event of a hurricane and most people do. I'm just taking it a bit further!
We had a bit of a joke last week. Dorothy and Janie said that it was time to cut down two bunches of bananas that had matured and were ready for cooking (yes - there are cooking and eating bananas). The plants were about 10' high so I did as requested.
In one bunch, there was a frog hiding between the hands. Dorothy saw it first and the next thing we knew was she had placed herself far away from the critter on the top of the wall !

Easter long weekend plus

Well, we just finished a 4 day Easter Weekend and I also took Tues and Wed off. Gave me time to catch up on some chores around the house and further some projects.
The wife was gone to visit our son, daughter and her family in Canada so I was enjoying some freedom as a part-time bachelor (with one kid).
The first thing was to finish the chicken tractor off. This was completed by Sunday along with a chicken trap.
Sarah partially painted the tractor and will be finishing it this week as she is off school.
The first view is with the top open. You can see the steps going to the "loft" and roost. There is another loft hidden towards the viewer. It will be a few months until the top is opened like this.
The lofts are for laying eggs and roosting. Straw and shredded paper will be used for bedding. It has the capacity to comfortably hold 8 chickens but I will probably stop at 5 or 6.
We have small doors on the top and bottom to allow access to the eggs and to feed them without opening the top. Sarah had caught a wild chicken a little while ago and put it in there as a test. When she opened the top to feed it, it flew away. Lesson learned.
The little stairway is to allow the smaller birds to get up to the roost - especially if they are young ones. On Tuesday afternoon, we set the trap with some food, not trying to catch anything but to get the chickens used to it.
Today, as I was taking the pictures of the tractor, I saw some activity at the trap. Sure enough, there was a mother and 7 young chicks eating. I pulled the trip cord and the support came down. This was great as the young ones would get used to the tractor very easily and make life a lot nicer for us. Dorothy, Sarah and I went there and viewed our catch. The mother was trying to fly away but was confined by the mesh. The chicks were running around trying to find a way out. The only way to get them out was to lift one side and catch them individually. No problem with the mother and the first two chicks. In trying to catch the third, two of them slipped out at once. I got one but the other ran away. Down to six chicks. When transporting a chick from the trap to the tractor, Sarah dropped one and it flew away. Down to 5. When the rest were safe in the new home, two managed to slip out under the edge of the tractor. The ground is rough and while the fit is generally close, the small guys can squeeze through any hole while the mother cannot. Final count is 3 chicks and 1 hen. But the trap is baited and ready for the other small ones. They will come around when the mother calls and we will try to reunite the family.
Here is the trap and a small meter long iguana who was snooping around it.


















The next item on my list was preparation for hurricanes. While we are still a couple months from the official start in June, it was time to check communications. My wife and I as well as my parents are all licensed to use 2m radio equipment (144 - 148 MHz). During Hurricane Ivan, we were able to talk to each other when both land lines and cell phones were down. I got the equipment out and began operational and well as physical checks.

All was well with the exception of the coax between the radio and antenna. this was replaced as water had gotten in and shorted it out. This coming weekend, I will do scheduled maintenance on the battery pack that powers the whole thing. It is showing some signs of corrosion on the terminals. With the radio, I can reach across the whole island directly on high power or via the repeater on both high and low power. A repeater is an amplified re transmitter that receives the signal on one frequency and transmits on another at higher output - allowing greater coverage. The ham club repeater is based in Northward and transmits high up on the 250' Government tower.



Finally, the request for pictures of people camping over the Easter holiday. I hope you like this one Richard! No snow down here!

Back to work

I was told to get some pictures in here. Soon come!

Well, it's Monday and after a day's work, it's back to the garage. It's a 4-day work week due to both Good Friday and Easter Monday being public holidays. The only other time this happens is at Christmas and Boxing day!

For Caymanians, Easter is the time to return to the beach. Staking out of "your spot on the beach" begins the weekend before and the choice areas are quickly roped off and labeled. Most people camp out on the beach over the holiday and have BBQ or other parties and invite friends to come and have a drink or a meal. Some of the camp sites will have fans, TVs, stereos and other comforts from home. Generators run the whole thing.
For those who either don't go or were not quick enough to get a spot, you are always welcome to visit someone's site.
Another favorite pastime over the weekend is shopping or touring another country. Many head off to Miami or Tampa. Others do 5 day tours of Costa Rica, Columbia, Panama or Honduras. Still others go to Jamaica to see their families.

I had a problem with the bike yesterday. When trying to remove the right pedal arm, the tool stripped and just would not do the job. I tried other pullers but no luck. Today at lunch, I quick trip to the store and I have a new remover. The job was completed in 30 seconds.
Tried to make a decision on tires today. I am swaying between 700x28 and 700x35. What is the difference? The 700x28 are a harsher riding because they require more pressure to support a give weight when compared to the 700x35s. This means that a lot of vibration from riding over the rough road is transmitted through the tires, frame and eventually to the rider. This can result in various problems for the rider over a long ride (24hrs or more on the bike)
The 35s will take less pressure and ride softer. The problem is that the 35's available here are junk - cost about $20. I get between 300-600 miles out of them before the casing begins to split and separate due to riding over gravel in the road. I thought the first time it was a fluke but the same problem has happened to me for 4 times now. Enough testing.
Last year, I bought a pair of 700x28 Schwable Marathon Plus to test their resistance to flats and I have had none to date after 1700 miles on them. The ride is rougher than the 35s as expected. Guess I will have to order some good ones and test them. Another item on the shopping list for the US of A!

Living on Grand Cayman

What is it like in Grand Cayman?
First of all, we are small - 6 miles (10km N/S) and 20 miles (32km E/W) with a population of about 60K. Last time I heard, there was around 135 nationalities represented here. We have a nice climates (low of 70F in "winter" and highs around 90F in summer) with daytime variations of around 10F. Of course, when you are in the sun, it feels lots hotter. We are 500 miles south of Miami, 300 miles west of Jamaica and around 100 miles south of Cuba.
The place is fairly friendly with people still greeting you with good morning/afternoon when they pass. If they have seen you a couple times, they will stop and have a chat. A single woman in a car with a flat will have guys stopping to help her change the tire. Break down and someone will offer you a ride home. Need to borrow phone because yours died, no problem. The basic goodness of people is visible everywhere.
This is not to say that we don't have our share of crimes. Murders are usually drug or other illicit activity related or from relationship problems (caught the guy with my wife/girlfriend sort of thing). There are fights at bars and some car racing but overall, you are safe in the daylight and most nights. You will see single women walking along Seven Mile Beach in their bikinis at night and no one bothers them. Of course, I am not too sure what happens there around midnight or later!
The largest part of the population lives on the western part of Grand Cayman - Bodden Town, Savannah, New Lands, Prospect, George Town and West Bay. The eastern (Frank Sound and East End) and northern districts (Old Man Bay and North Side) have small populations and still retain the quiet tropical island feel.
Most people work in George Town and commute both ways each day. This produces predictable traffic problems that can be dealt with by leaving work a bit early or later in the day. In the mornings, you come in earlier (before 7:30) or after 8:30am.
Socializing take place at bars, restaurants or at home with family. Sundays are big church days with many choices available according to your beliefs.
The pace of life here is a lot slower than more "civilized" places. Things just don't get done in a hurry and you learn to live with it.
Depending on your lifestyle, you can easily end up with a lot of free time on your hands to explore your various interests. Many take up fishing or spending time on the beach. Some do gardening, participate in sports (soccer/football, racquetball, rugby, baseball, golf, tennis to name a few). Others exercise (going to the gym, running, cycling, walking), take up photography, astronomy, bird watching or volunteering at a non-profit organization. You decide what you want to do!
Most people are fairly well off - in a middle to middle upper class kind of way. These will usually take shopping visits to Miami, Tampa or other places in the US and take a break from the island at the same time. Life is good down here for most residents.
The Sister Islands of Cayman Brac (pop. 1200) and Little Cayman (pop. 100) are both around 10 miles long and 1 mile wide. Life is even more relaxed on them and when they visit Cayman, they want to get back to their peace and solitude as fast as possible.
Around 95% of items in Cayman are exported from the US. This ranges from food to cars, clothes and entertainment. You can receive satellite TV and US newspapers on a daily basis. The health system is good and facilities are the same as the US. If in trouble that cannot be handled by the local hospitals, Miami is 1 hour's flight away.

Weekend endeavours

The thought came to me that while I might post a lot at the start, things should be winding down as I get caught up with things.
Today's items are a chicken tractor and a Univega Gran Turismo bike that I am building up.
First the tractor. There are a lot of feral chickens in Cayman. Around the house, on the streets and even at the cruise ship landings. They are searching for food and scratching anywhere they can. every now and then, you will see a mother with 6,8 or even 10 baby chicks following her - newborns. But over a week or two, that number will drop to just a couple. Whether the young'uns are killed by cats and dogs or die from starvation, I do not know.
In doing some research on the web, I can across something called a chicken tractor. It is a movable "chicken coop" that houses chickens and allows then a place to eat, sleep and lay their eggs. Of course, you can now get the eggs as you know where they are! The benefits are free range eggs and even a chicken or two for meat if wanted. It gives you someplace to dispose of you kitchen scraps and you get to play chicken farmer. Almost a win / win situation. The downside is you have to take care of them (they are no longer wandering about) and the tractor should be moved every day - a 30 second job as it is on wheels. Many different plans are available on the net and the building cost was about $100 Cayman for the materials. The hard part is catching the chickens as they run away when you get withing 20 or 30' of them. I'll need to build a trap.

The second item is the bike - it is a buildup I will be modifying over time. The bike is of 1985 vintage and not the oldest one in my collection. It will be built for comfortable and hopefully effortless riding. You see, I have this dream to ride in the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200km randonneur in 2011 in less than the maximum allotted time of 90 hours (occurs every 4 years). So I need a nice bike to get riding mileage in. I have read that the finishers usually ride about 10K miles the year before they undertake the challenge. The requirements are to successfully complete 200km in under 13hrs, 300km in 27hrs, 400km in 27hrs, 600km in 40hrs and an optional 1,000 in 75 hrs. The shorter ones are sanctioned rides put on by various clubs around the world. Successful completion of the shorter distances qualifies on try the longer ones and finally to undertake PBP. There are other 1200km rides held in various places in the USA like Colorado and Washington and overseas in Bulgaria and Australia to name a few. So, I will build the bike and then plan on some form of training schedule.

Philosophical Side

This will be a dynamic entry, full of thoughts and questions that come to me. Most I have not answered but who knows what can happen as you spread ideas. I will not get into religion.

The biggest question I have is why do you fall in love with someone you meet. Over your lifetime, you will meet hundreds if not thousands of people - depending on how gregarious one is. Yet, some stay as passing ships, fewer become acquaintances, even less friends and the very few (maybe only one or two), close friends. You might not share the same ideas or goals but the attraction is there. What is it that sets that "got to be together" thing off?
I have spoken to friends, psychologists, doctors, younger and older people but no one has yet given me a reasonable answer.

Second view is that you can have a good friend, but at the same time have to keep away from that friend in order to protect them. Friendship seems to be a give and take thing. Sometimes one has to do things completely contrary to a normal friendship to keep it. Someone will know what I mean!

Humans are capable of absolutely horrendous atrocities on people they know and yet be the willing to sacrifice their life for a stranger.

Love is the most powerful thing in the world. It can make you protect someone with your life but later on, take that life because you care. Think about protecting someone who is in danger of losing their life and later the same person who is suffering from a devastating illness.

One can be surrounded by people, but still lonely!

You can be in love with more than one person at the same time.

Something I hear a lot - I have invested too much time in this to leave/change. Yet, they will waste even more time in it! Hmmm....

A man can never have enough tools - those that know me will say otherwise! :-)

A good friend is worth more than anything!

Do the things you want to while you can. Opportunities are lost that never present themselves again. Of course, be careful and know the consequences of your actions.