This is a great little utility that makes it easy to create accented vowels and other textual characters needed when typing Spanish on a US keyboard.
E.g. ¿ ¡ á é í ó ú ñ
http://www.onehourprogramming.com/spanish-accents/
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
REAL food, finally
I have decided it's time to put the gastrointestinal system to the test....or at least quit treating it like a delicate baby. I got a lunch recommendation from a wise gringo at the OLL yesterday. I had a batter-fried chili rellano stuffed with a spicy, shredded chicken mixture, beans, a salad, tortillas, rice, ice cream and Coke for $45 pesos (~$4 US). I think it was the best meal I've had in Oaxaca so far. I think the place's name is Isabella's but I'll do a proper write-up after my second visit.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Futbol Practice
Five PM at B's soccer (i.e. futbol) practice. Yesterday and today have been mostly cloudy with only occasional rain....though last night it rained from about nine until midnight. This was the time I was walking back from Chedraui in Colonia Reforma. This is a new store in OAX....though there is an older one down south towards Plaza de Valle near Cinco Senors (i.e. "5 Senors").
This new store is very unlike the other retail stores here. It has wide aisles, bright lights, a large selection of goods from groceries & liquor to household wares and electronics. In other words, it looks like a new Super Target in the USA.
Now the items available aren't totally inclusive of everything a U.S. Super Target would carry. This is (Southern) Mexico, after all. But the prices are cheaper than any place else we've found, and they have "American" items we usually take for granted but which we mostly do without here. E.g. kettle potato chips, mayonnaise withOUT lime, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Though at eighty-eight pesos per pint we're keeping our craving under control for the time being. $7 US is too rich for our blood....for now.
All the Wal-mart Haters in the liberal gringo crowd (as well as some natives) must dread this "big box" entry into OAX. As if Sam's Club wasn't bad enough, now comes a homegrown (i.e. Mexican) "Mom-and-Pop-Shop Killer." I myself felt homesick on the walk home. :-(
This new store is very unlike the other retail stores here. It has wide aisles, bright lights, a large selection of goods from groceries & liquor to household wares and electronics. In other words, it looks like a new Super Target in the USA.
Now the items available aren't totally inclusive of everything a U.S. Super Target would carry. This is (Southern) Mexico, after all. But the prices are cheaper than any place else we've found, and they have "American" items we usually take for granted but which we mostly do without here. E.g. kettle potato chips, mayonnaise withOUT lime, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Though at eighty-eight pesos per pint we're keeping our craving under control for the time being. $7 US is too rich for our blood....for now.
All the Wal-mart Haters in the liberal gringo crowd (as well as some natives) must dread this "big box" entry into OAX. As if Sam's Club wasn't bad enough, now comes a homegrown (i.e. Mexican) "Mom-and-Pop-Shop Killer." I myself felt homesick on the walk home. :-(
Futbol Practice (still)
The main soccer field that B's team normally practices on has been claimed by a semi-formal adult game today. Average player age is probably in the upper twenties, but this could lead one to miss the fact that there are guys in their forties and maybe fifties out there. The love of futbol is strong here and these guys play hard.
For today B's team is pushed off to the side, stuck in one end of the track oval behind the south goal of the adult game's field. This lack of space means running drills for the boys with hardly any ball work and NONE of the shots-on-goal they like second only to actual game play.
The refreshment vendors (i.e. jugos y raspados) work the area heavily. I knew I was a clean freak and touchy about my food but OAX has a way of constantly reminding an American about food hygiene unless you are TOTALLY ignorant of germ "theory." So much food out and about everywhere you go. Vendor carts, taco stands, old ladies selling tamales door to door, and restaurants with furnishings ranging from no chairs/tables to fancy glass and modern, steel dining sets serving fancy multicourse dinners. The options (and respective Mexican naming system) is beyond my grasp. Are our food prep and dining practices cleaner? OH YEAH! But how much of my sense of discomfort & risk is due to the fActual hazards and how much to the American inclination for illusory "cleanliness?" I.e. out of sight, out of mind.
Having been here two months now and having had many meals at decent non-gringo restaurants, none of our family has had any GI issues. So it seems we are being way too cautious. And, almost every time I walk by one of the sidewalk taco shacks surrounded by locals munching down these "lunch & late evening only" treats I admonish myself for listening more to my fears than to my stomach and my nose who are in solid agreement that the aromas from the taco stands are some of the best smells of OAX.
For today B's team is pushed off to the side, stuck in one end of the track oval behind the south goal of the adult game's field. This lack of space means running drills for the boys with hardly any ball work and NONE of the shots-on-goal they like second only to actual game play.
The refreshment vendors (i.e. jugos y raspados) work the area heavily. I knew I was a clean freak and touchy about my food but OAX has a way of constantly reminding an American about food hygiene unless you are TOTALLY ignorant of germ "theory." So much food out and about everywhere you go. Vendor carts, taco stands, old ladies selling tamales door to door, and restaurants with furnishings ranging from no chairs/tables to fancy glass and modern, steel dining sets serving fancy multicourse dinners. The options (and respective Mexican naming system) is beyond my grasp. Are our food prep and dining practices cleaner? OH YEAH! But how much of my sense of discomfort & risk is due to the fActual hazards and how much to the American inclination for illusory "cleanliness?" I.e. out of sight, out of mind.
Having been here two months now and having had many meals at decent non-gringo restaurants, none of our family has had any GI issues. So it seems we are being way too cautious. And, almost every time I walk by one of the sidewalk taco shacks surrounded by locals munching down these "lunch & late evening only" treats I admonish myself for listening more to my fears than to my stomach and my nose who are in solid agreement that the aromas from the taco stands are some of the best smells of OAX.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Beggers Breakfast in the Shadow of the Church
I'm sitting by Santo Domingo church killing time until my "art class" with my art instructor, Humberto (http://humbertobatista.com/) starts. I just bought a coffee for twenty-five pesos (~$2). My class starts at ten AM and I got donwn here to the centro around nine AM since I walked to school with M & B and then caught the bus from there.
About eight people sit near me in a group. Three (or more children), two men, and three women - all indigenous (i.e. non-hispanic, "indians") sit on a blanket sharing a meal. It looks to be cheese, fruit, and bread (queso, fruto, y pan). My guess is they are here to sell goods to the tourists on the streets. This breakfast is probably the start of the work day - and if they're lucky one of at least two meals they'll get today....if work goes well for the gang. Typically the women sell small, hand-carved wooden objects such as toothpicks, combs, tortilla spatulas, and spoons. The children will sell gum, candy & cigarettes. The men? Perhaps, paintings done on small pieces of found cardboard or maybe woven goods such as hammocks. Note that despite my title for this blog, it's very unlikely that any of them will beg. The vast majority of the poverty-stricken here do their best to work for their income. The job itself may be only a tiny notch above outright pleas for money - e.g. standing at intersection "washing" motorists windshields, selling chicklets of gum for a peso each, selling extremely-cheap, plastic toys they purchased in bulk - but outright begging seems reserved to those with handicaps (e.g. legless men without wheelchairs, women with retarded children). I prefer to interpret it as a poor nation with a strong sense of pride and work-duty. My time-killing cappuccino probably cost more than the meager meal they share amongst eight.
NOTE: I approached the group after writing the entry above and asked one of the men (as best I could in my crappy Spanish) if I could take their picture. As best I could understand he wanted 100 pesos (~$10 US). I declined - a bit shocked by the price and ashamed I couldn't speak enough Spanish to make sure that I understood correctly). Minutes later I regretted my greediness.
About eight people sit near me in a group. Three (or more children), two men, and three women - all indigenous (i.e. non-hispanic, "indians") sit on a blanket sharing a meal. It looks to be cheese, fruit, and bread (queso, fruto, y pan). My guess is they are here to sell goods to the tourists on the streets. This breakfast is probably the start of the work day - and if they're lucky one of at least two meals they'll get today....if work goes well for the gang. Typically the women sell small, hand-carved wooden objects such as toothpicks, combs, tortilla spatulas, and spoons. The children will sell gum, candy & cigarettes. The men? Perhaps, paintings done on small pieces of found cardboard or maybe woven goods such as hammocks. Note that despite my title for this blog, it's very unlikely that any of them will beg. The vast majority of the poverty-stricken here do their best to work for their income. The job itself may be only a tiny notch above outright pleas for money - e.g. standing at intersection "washing" motorists windshields, selling chicklets of gum for a peso each, selling extremely-cheap, plastic toys they purchased in bulk - but outright begging seems reserved to those with handicaps (e.g. legless men without wheelchairs, women with retarded children). I prefer to interpret it as a poor nation with a strong sense of pride and work-duty. My time-killing cappuccino probably cost more than the meager meal they share amongst eight.
NOTE: I approached the group after writing the entry above and asked one of the men (as best I could in my crappy Spanish) if I could take their picture. As best I could understand he wanted 100 pesos (~$10 US). I declined - a bit shocked by the price and ashamed I couldn't speak enough Spanish to make sure that I understood correctly). Minutes later I regretted my greediness.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
No No sex and very minor Rock n Roll...which leaves us....DRUGS
Ongoing allergies or a head cold has me investigating the Mexican farmacia:
1) Dexbromfeniramina = Dexbrompheniramine = antihistamine. Was once available as Drixoral in the USA (i.e. 6mg plus 120mg of Pseudoephedrin)
2) Fenilefrin = Phenylephrine = alleged decongestant, but there are claims that oral phenylephrine may be no more effective as a decongestant than a placebo.
3) Ambroxol = mucolytic. Used in the treatment of wet cough
4) Oxeladina = Oxeladine. Highly effective cough suppressant. Non-narcotic. Thins mucas.
5) Clorfenamina = Chlorphenamine = antihistamine with lower than usual sedation (compared to other first generation antihistamines, that is). US brands: Contact 12 Hour, Tylenol Cold.
6) Benzonatato = Benzonatate= Cough suppressant. Non-narcotic.
7) Loratadina = Loratadine = Claritin 10mg in the USA, a second-generation H1 histamine antagonist (aka anti-histamine) $u19/sixty 10mg at http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-itin-24-hour-allergy-tablets/ID=prod5484053-product (note that Claritin-D, Wal-itin D also contains Pseudoephedrine HCI )
8) Pseudoefedrina = Pseudoephedrine HCL = Sudafed and assorted (mostly old formula) brands. E.g. http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-finate-d-4-hour-allergy-decongestant-tablets/ID=prod6007959-product
9) Diclorhidrato de Cetirizina = Cetirizine Dichlorohydrate = Zyrtec (note that Zyrtec-D also contains Pseudoephedrine HCI ) ($p108/ten 10mg or $23/60 10mg at http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-zyr-all-day-allergy-tablets/ID=prod3869284-product)
10) hidrocloruro de difenhidramina = Diphenhydramine HCI = Dimedrol in Mexico, Benedryl in the USA. About $u0.10/tablet 25mg at http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-dryl-allergy-relief-coated-mini-tabs/ID=prod2502003-product
11) Paracetamol = Acetaminophen
12) Tradol, Veldrol = Tramadol, Ultram, Tramal = powerful analgesic, controlled in US.
1) Dexbromfeniramina = Dexbrompheniramine = antihistamine. Was once available as Drixoral in the USA (i.e. 6mg plus 120mg of Pseudoephedrin)
2) Fenilefrin = Phenylephrine = alleged decongestant, but there are claims that oral phenylephrine may be no more effective as a decongestant than a placebo.
3) Ambroxol = mucolytic. Used in the treatment of wet cough
4) Oxeladina = Oxeladine. Highly effective cough suppressant. Non-narcotic. Thins mucas.
5) Clorfenamina = Chlorphenamine = antihistamine with lower than usual sedation (compared to other first generation antihistamines, that is). US brands: Contact 12 Hour, Tylenol Cold.
6) Benzonatato = Benzonatate= Cough suppressant. Non-narcotic.
7) Loratadina = Loratadine = Claritin 10mg in the USA, a second-generation H1 histamine antagonist (aka anti-histamine) $u19/sixty 10mg at http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-itin-24-hour-allergy-tablets/ID=prod5484053-product (note that Claritin-D, Wal-itin D also contains Pseudoephedrine HCI )
8) Pseudoefedrina = Pseudoephedrine HCL = Sudafed and assorted (mostly old formula) brands. E.g. http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-finate-d-4-hour-allergy-decongestant-tablets/ID=prod6007959-product
9) Diclorhidrato de Cetirizina = Cetirizine Dichlorohydrate = Zyrtec (note that Zyrtec-D also contains Pseudoephedrine HCI ) ($p108/ten 10mg or $23/60 10mg at http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-zyr-all-day-allergy-tablets/ID=prod3869284-product)
10) hidrocloruro de difenhidramina = Diphenhydramine HCI = Dimedrol in Mexico, Benedryl in the USA. About $u0.10/tablet 25mg at http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-wal-dryl-allergy-relief-coated-mini-tabs/ID=prod2502003-product
11) Paracetamol = Acetaminophen
12) Tradol, Veldrol = Tramadol, Ultram, Tramal = powerful analgesic, controlled in US.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Long paths, short memory
I keep forgetting the way to get Windows to take long filepaths. I.e. use a \\? prefix.
E.g. "\\?\C:\SomeLongFilePathThatGoesOn\Forever\And\Ever\And\Ever\And\Ever\...."
For details see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365247%28v=vs.85%29.aspx#maxpath
E.g. "\\?\C:\SomeLongFilePathThatGoesOn\Forever\And\Ever\And\Ever\And\Ever\...."
For details see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365247%28v=vs.85%29.aspx#maxpath
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