Last Free man

Vacation

What did I learn this vacation, much indeed. I learned that I can really not hang with hardcore fiesta merry makers, yes I have become an old stick in the mud. I being faced with 4 days of non stop carnaval to the tune of 04:30, have failed miserably. I couldn't make it much past 01:00 most nights, and found mystlf actually annoyed at all those damn kids and their loud music...

What has happened is 30 I fear, yes the metabolism drops and my bullshit tolerance has also gone with it, my tomfoolery days are over I fear. I remember the good ole' days of all nighters followed by early dive boats, there was always a certain magic that sprang up when you hit that cold saltwater at 08:00 half hungover, and the smells of the night were released. Cheap perfume, sweat, and stale cigarettey beer. Yes those were the days...

It's over review...

Ash Wednesday finally...  4 days of no sleep and 980 pictures later, Carnaval 2009 is over!  Picture review soon!

carnaval 2009 night one winners and losers

Just as soon as I deplaned I found myself in a wildly different cozumel than was used to. The streets were lined with vendors, the airport was a mess, and there was a nervous flurry of activity everywhere. This was Carnaval 2009 and it was getting underway much faster than I had realized.  The Cozumelenos host the largest carnaval festival in Mexico and the preparations be they dancers, music, or food are a year round affair.  The girls take the dancing roles very seriously, with an almost pageant mother brooding them along their entire lives.  The floats are the best with corporate flair full of sexy girls and advertising, mixed with local families and neighborhoods representing with their own small floats.  I shot the majority of the parade at 3500 iso in speed mode, hand held, half drunk, however the images turned out great, Nikon again proves itself!  What follows are a few favorites good and bad from last nights carnaval 2009 opener! The Good:

The Bad:

I try to make the post but the Internet it no like me here, to follow along with the merry Mexican mayhem may I recommend:

Earthscape

Driving and blogging

Flickr

Viva La Prima!

  

The Internet rumors are over, the news from the horses mouth, Albert Dannerman: To everyone and all, so that the stories do not get out of control.  FOR RELEASE TO ALL TV, RADIO, NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET BLOGS, ETC. 2-15-2009

 

I WILL NEVER CLOSE “PRIMA TRATTORIA”, PERIOD!

BUT,I AM MOVING IT !!!!!!

ON MAY 15^TH, PRIMA WILL TAKE OVER THE LOCATION ON TOP OF EL CANTIL WHERE WYNSTON/PRIMA TOO, IS NOW LOCATED, . THE WYNSTON AND PRIMA WILL BE MERGED INTO ON OPERATION, “PRIMA TRATTORIA”.

 

ON MAY 15TH, PRIMA WILL TAKE OVER THE LOCATION ON TOP OF EL CANTIL WHERE WYNSTON/PRIMA TOO, IS NOW LOCATED, . THE WYNSTON AND PRIMA WILL BE MERGED INTO ON OPERATION, “PRIMA TRATTORIA”. 

AND LIFE GOES ON, DOWNTOWN IS DEAD AS A DOORNAIL, PLACES ARE CLOSING EVERY WEEK AND THERE MUST BE 30 OR 40 PLACES FOR RENT RIGHT AROUND THE OLD PARK AND SQUARE. NO PARKING, THE ECONOMY, THE MAMMOTH PUERTO MAYA, TAKING OUT THE NEAT FLEA MARKET AND PUTTING IN 40 EMPTY DENTIST OFFICES IN A SQUARE BUILDING ALL HAVE ADDED TO THIS .

THE NEW CITY CENTER IS MOVING RIGHT BELOW EL CANTIL AND THERE IS PLENTY OF FREE PARKING ALL AROUND THE CONDOS AND SQUARE.

THE NEW CITY PARK, OFFERS SEATING WITH AN AMPHITHEATER, PUBLIC CLEAN BATHROOMS!!!! GRASS, (SOME) LOTS OF ROOM TO WALK AROUND, THINGS FOR  THE KIDS TO ENJOY, SOME SMALL ANIMAL SLIDES, SOME PROTECTION FROM THE RAIN, LOTS OF HUGE PALMS, FOUNTAINS AND WATER SPOUTS. 

I DO NOT OWN THE PROPERTY WHERE MY DOWNTOWN LOCATION IS SITUATED AND THE BUILDING AND MY RESTAURANT NEED A COMPLETE REMODELING, 

NOW, WHAT WILL BE……. WE WILL BE MOVING ALL THE EMPLOYEES TO THE NEW LOCATION, THE MENU FROM PRIMA AND PRICES ARE ALREADY (THE MOST POPULAR ITEMS FROM BOTH RESTAURANTS) UPSTAIRS. We will be closing on about May 5th for one week, to move in the glass to make an L shaped open air dining area upstairs, with a hurricane proof electric sliding wall to go in and out of the terrace. So we will have seating outside(smoking allowed by new laws) and the climate controlled inside area, best of both worlds. The outside area will keep its cover, but glass will be replaced with railings for protection. The outside area where the bar is will be seating and there will still be a TV built in to the wall to watch sporting events while you eat if you wish.

We will be open from 7 am until 12 pm, 7 days a week, with room service available to the units or pool side from 10 am until 10 pm. A waitperson will be poolside from 11-6 to serve Drinks, food or whatever you want to the pool during high season, at least and may all year. SO, this is the plan. 

So, please tell everyone, no worries. I know it is a different ambiance, but with the same or better food, prices, service and  the outside seating and the most amazing views of Cozumel, it will grow on everyone. They come for the food and my staff, and that will only improve…

Thanks, for your continued support of Prima Trattoria over the years.

You can send this out to whomever is concerned and post it .

I appreciate it.

Albert

Parallel Sky

What a wonderful spring day we had yesterday.  A warm front was pushing through some low moisture, as the clouds struggled to maintain patterns.  The morning broke with low altitude clouds full of colors.  As the morning progressed the sun burned off any remaining cloud cover and a beautiful blue day went forth.  Being a weather nerd/contrail enthusiasts, perhaps one might argue even a paranoid chem-trail enthusiast, I look up a lot!  Late in the afternoon as we were reaching our high of the day, a band of clouds moved in and were immediately whipped into parallel lines.  This cloud event was probably one of the most striking displays of Altocumulus development I have ever witnessed.  I only had a phone to grab the shots with, but I think the shots turned out rather well, a small gallery follows:

          

            

Altocumulus is a cloud belonging to a class characterized by globular masses or rolls in layers or patches, the individual elements being larger and darker than those of cirrocumulus and smaller than those of stratocumulus. Like other cumulus clouds, altocumulus signifies convection. It is usually white or gray, and often occurs in sheets or patches with wavy, rounded masses or rolls. Altocumulus often are seen preceding a cold front, and their presence on a warm, humid, summer morning frequently signals the development of thunderstorms later in the day. Alto means high and these clouds may cause rain if they are higher up.

Unconventional RPG

It is quite possible my recent retroactive play on Final Fantasy XI the painfully difficult and old MMO has ignited something in me.  Lately my tastes have gone right off the retro deep end, with my gaming hunger being sated with some classic versions of modern role play.  The games I have been spending my game-time budget on recently would typically be a laughable throwback situation that I might rarely engage in for a few minutes.  Not so lately, I will review a few of my new favorites and some old classics that i have been energetically leveling through.  Some will shock and scare you, others will make you sigh and wonder why, all will carry a common thread: simplistic graphics. high patience requirement, and odd.  Enjoy this little foray into the alternate side of RPG, where an interface is sometimes not even an interface but a wall of text...

To start things off I will give a shout out to a real classic, the old wall of text IRC based RPG.  This one is great, you can role play with weird Dutch and Germans, plus you always get lots of port scans and DNS attack attempts.  This keeps things lively, as you just know some weird black metal fiends smoking hella strong hydro weed, are ripping up the text with crazy quest and in the background probing your firewall like a cheap gynecology student.  The current flavor of the month for me is the idle rpg, yes idle as in sit on your ass and do nothing rpg.  The goal is simple, who can out idle who, with added random encounters, buffs, and battles changing the time penalty.  If you chat penalty, check bots penalty, breathe penalty, this is idle hardcore at its best.  This is great fun as you watch the wall of text fly by and your eyeballs start to bleed, 18 hours later you are level 2!  Awesome!  In 2 years perhaps I will find a broadsword.  Come on over to #idlerpg on EFnet and join the ranks of the few, the proud, the idle...

Next on the menu is another wall of text from the golden age of computer gaming.  Yes the interactive fiction based rpg.  Famous titles like Zork, Hitchhikers, and some new favorites are all available as an app on the iPhone.  Frotz is the app that allows you to partake in this rich world of text, that forces you to make the pictures in your head, like a big boy (my mom's words.)  These are great challenges, often requiring you to map out dungeons on paper or forever be cast in the darkness.  The darkness of course reads like this: W, you see a rock covered wall, E, you see a rock covered wall, N, you see a rock covered wall, AHHHH!!  This is pure text adrenaline!  Those around you may even mistake your furious texting to be that of romancing an actual girl, but you'll know the secret, the fact is your a habitually masturbating nerdburger with no life.  Gratz you found the thief now type 82 sentences and kill him!

Classic interface evolution is the subject of my next disclosure with a fantastic first offering of Parallel Kingdom.  This classic turn based RPG features a GPS map feature that plots your current location into a randomized world map.  This is a really early version, but the idea is sound, and lots of fun.  Different monsters and landscapes are available as you change actual real world locations.  It is also  possible to PK (Player Kill) a type of pvp where you rape and pillage others for personal gain, you know the cycle of abuse that ruined Everquest.  The game itself uses the cellular data network or wifi to create a sort of mini mmo feel, mobile mmo fatalities are sure to go up.  I have already battled one player who was a trucker and when I asked when it was his turn to take the wheel, he laughed and replied "what do you mean?"  This is an interesting development on my nerd-dar because the game forces you outside, into the certain peril of the sun, seeking new areas to battle in.  One might find voice cracking nerds running into poles all over town in search of rare monsters and dragons to slay.  I myself took care of a particularly ornery pack of wolves on Spring street in Atlanta, you're welcome citizenry!  When monster hunting in urban areas perhaps caution should be the rule...

A handful of other classic styled RPGs are also available on the iPhone and through emulation that I have been time sinking as well.  Dragon Bane II takes the Doom formula and mixes it with turn based combat for a wild, slow ride of pixelated glory.  There are lots of Final Fantasy clones as well like Arvale, Dungeon Hero, Inotia, and Vay all available as mobile versions.  These tend to be too graphical for my current bender I am on, but deserve props for pushing the iPhone hardware and RPG lifestyle further.  No I am all about the wall of text at the moment and graphics don't thrill, perhaps some weird desire to read is alive and well in me, or I'm just jaded by all the colors of World of Warcraft?

What is next you might ask?  Don't worry I won't be larping anytime soon or anything.  Larping?  Those are the nerd bags running to and fro in state parks and wooded areas around town hitting each other with pvc swords.  With magic based attacks obviously based on hackeysacs, this is a flavor of fail even I cannot descend into.  This larping cannot be considered a contact sport either, unless you enjoy the sounds of glasses clinking and pvc clanks.  No I will probably reach rock bottom about the time Final Fantasy XIII comes out, and have an entire epiphany on my gaming scenario as the genesis of a new heavy graphics game binge occurs.  I'll be fine, no really... 

A distant shore

Just when I thought the handheld gaming world had met all standard convention of play, a little gem named "Distant Shore" came along and changed everything.  The iPhone app from the famed Blimp Pilots team makers of the instantly Zen koi pond app has knocked another one out of the park with this latest offering.  Within hours of release the app store had been taken by storm and this app shot into the top 25, a current seat at number 3, with a projected total takeover of 1 by tonight.

Not since the masterful Animal Crossing from Nintendo has doing absolutely nothing felt like doing so much!  This game's simplicity is in the beautiful interface which is an endless beach to wander.  While wandering the game mechanics are simple, you find shells which translate into a game currency of sort.  While you are walking the shore the ambiancee of wind, surf and beach greet you with a relaxing experience. 

If you are lucky you may come upon a bottle, and pick it up.  Once in your inventory the message that is hidden inside becomes evident.  This bottle you have found could have washed up from a distant island anywhere in the world.  This is where the obsession begins, fast little communiques from around the world where you can reply with small twitter-like blurbs.  You can then entertain long conversations with strangers across the world with a simple anonymity that only a deserted island can provide...

Once you have acquired enough shell currency, you will have your own bottle to cast.  This is great fun because now you can customize your own dialog.  I have released quizzes, questions, poems, jokes, silly threats...  The fun really begins when your bottle replies start coming home, and you see the fun others are having with your queries.  This fine app is a great example of simplicity mixed with great thinking, as the updates continue I can imagine a new distant shore filled with rare bottles and perhaps picture messaging.  This seems like a simple premise but it is really hard to fully grasp this amazing app until you have spent a few hours on the distant shore, wandering about doing little more than putting out little positive bottles to the shores of others.  

   

Humpdog Millionaire

The Frosty has been a great rebound puppy, emulating much of the great things I missed about having a dog around.  For a dog weighing in at 7 pounds he has fit the standard dog roll pretty well.  We eat gross stuff, drink beers and hike miles.  There are minor adjustments of course, when we hike he sometimes has to be crammed in a bag, or when we are hanging our heads out the window, the white fluffy poof doesn't have the same impact as a 100 pound monster but, meh...  One major difference I have noted is the extreme sex drive of Frosty, he is a high energy, aggressive sex fiend.  Even after being fixed (or broken depending on your point of view.)  This pocket monster will grab his favorite beaver (irony alert) and if the moon is just right will transform into a werewolf sex monster.  Last night was one of those nights and I just so happened to have the HD cam ready, watch the horror below:

Humpdog Millionaire HD