Travel Blog

We have traveled a lot over the years. Travel Tips for Busy Parents will help you prepare for your next trip. We have found that there are a number of steps you can take to make your travel more enjoyable and a lot less stressful. This post is an attempt to help other people who love to travel. They want to be organized and enjoy their trips at the same time without feeling the need to take a huge amount of clothing, or have problems with lost luggage etc. This is our list of Travel Tips for Busy Parents and what works for us. If you feel that some additional items should be added, feel free to leave us a comment. We will be happy to add your item to the list if it makes sense for travelers. Here we go:

Travel Tips for Busy Parents

Keep the wardrobe simple – pick one or two colors and stick with that for your tops and bottoms. Mix and match so there is something different every day and only take enough business clothes for five days. Most hotels have a cleaning service if you need that. Take two days of casual clothes as well and then rotate your clothes to keep looking your best. If you feel you need something more, a quick trip to a shopping store can usually do the trick.

Call home – and send text messages to your kids and spouse. Try to have quick catch up calls with your family in the morning and evening. Don’t forget they are usually on a schedule as well with school and work as well as activities.

Adapt to Local Time – stick with the local time and adjust your sleep pattern to the whatever time zone you are in. the first night may be difficult, but then you will be better for it as the week goes on.

Make use of WiFi

Uuse your smart phone and WiFi to keep up with emails and home office / customer requirements as well as emails from the family.  It is amazing how many emails you can go through while standing inline for the elevator or waiting for your colleagues to arrive. Make use of your time and be efficient with emails. Same thing in airports or other places where you may find yourself waiting for someone or some thing such as an airline or train.

Fly early or very late – Red eyes are great, especially if you can sleep on the plane. You get home early to see your family and you can still spend a full day at work. Fly early to allow for meetings in the late morning or early afternoon at your destination.

Use Carry On – even if you have to check a bag, always take carry on and always make sure you have everything you need in your carry on for at least one days worth. If they lose your bag or it is late, you can still complete your schedule without having to wear the same things for twos days in a row and you have your toiletries with you.

Do not use energy Drinks – they can keep you up at night and make adapting to a new time zone more difficult .

Plan your trip – avoid leaving everything to the last minute. Make sure your schedule is well planned and all reservations that are needed are finalized. There is nothing that wastes time more than scrambling to get ready for a trip.

Emergencies – will occur and our motto is as long as we have our passports, money  and tickets, we can usually adapt and / or replace whatever we need.

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Tonight we are staying at the Drury Inn Springfield Missouri,. If you’re not familiar with the Drury Inns, they are a very nice hotel chain. They are mainly in the southwest and northeast of the United States. They offer normally fantastic prices for a hotel room In addition they also offer a hot breakfast. The best feature is the kickback hour or happy hour in the evening.

This includes three drinks beer, wine, and liquor plus a hot bar food that includes chicken fingers, pasta, potatoes, chips, popcorn, soup, and salad.

Drury Inn Springfield Missouri – Price

All of this for a price that is less than the normal price that you would pay at a Hampton Inn, or the Holiday Inn express. We strongly recommend that you look at the Drury Inn this as an alternative for your travel reservations. You can save the price of a dinner meal just in the hotel room reservation. Enjoy their kickback hour and enjoying a few drinks.

If you really do not want to eat at the Drury Inn, they seem to always have a local bar next door. It is usually one of the chain bars / restaurants. You can get a decent meal in a relaxed atmosphere.

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Can you imagine sending a robot to your work place to represent you at work! This is called, Virtual Presence Through Robots. The robot could even have the same facial image as you! He or she or iI guess it would look like you and be your eyes and ears at the office. Employees would be connected to their virtual robot and be able to see and hear everything while at home or on the other side of the world. This is really futuristic and it would take a lot of adaptation by everyone involved.

This is something out of the future. Robots have already replaced people on assembly lines, but could they replace people at work in an office? Could one human manage several robots doing routine tasks interacting with other humans and only intervening when needed? The answeer is yes and it will happen within the next few years.

Virtual Presence Through Robots – Other Scenarios

This and many other scenarios are being considered and thought about now. There are trials taking place and we may see over the next 20 years many more developments such as this one. Some futurists are suggesting that as many as 40% of current jobs. This will be a major disruption to our civilization as we currently know it. Many people will be out of work, unable to get jobs because the robots have replaced them. There will be new jobs as well, however these will be highly skilled jobs requiring extensive education.

This is the stuff of science fiction but more and more ideas will be forthcoming in the near future. We talked about robots providing health care and companionship in a previous post. What if these robots were managed by some central agency with one human managing several robots remotely?

The Drury Inn in Terra Haute Indiana is part of the Drury hotel chain. This chain is unique among hotels of this class. $99 for two people gets you a room, kickback and a hot breakfast! A pretty good deal if you looking to minimize your budget for dining as well as a hotel room.

The kickback special is unique to most hotel chains. The Drury Inn kick back includes 3 alcoholic drinks per person and a buffet which includes salads, soup, baked potato, pasta and hot dogs!  Depending on the evening and the hotel they will also include chicken fingers or some other kind of finger food.  You can enjoy your dinner, although it may not be the most nutritious unless you just stick to the salad and soup combo, but it is certainly filling and something for everyone. What a deal? All of this included in the price of the hotel room which is also very competitive..

Asking as you do not need or want to go out to eat, this us a great alternative to eating out at a restaurant. And you usually meet people from all over as well. This Drury Inn fully met our expectations, was very clean and included laundry machines which you can use if needed  as well!

Drury Inn – Tips to remember

If you stay at any of the Drury Inns, always ask for a room on the upper floor on the opposite side to the highway. Although we have never had a noise problem when staying at one of these hotels we tend to make sure we stay on the opposite side of the highway to minimize the possibility of too much noise from outside.

We also found that the beds are not quite as good as other hotels. They are comfortable, but tend to move when your partner shifts their position in the middle of the night. It was enough to wake the other up during the night. We all want to get a good nights sleep.

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We spent two months in Puerto Vallarta on a Puerta Vallarta Vacation. This was one of the best vacations we ever had. From riding the wild buses to drinking beer on a beautiful beach or eating fresh caught fish that was caught in the morning and cooked right on the beach, we enjoyed it all! Puerto Vallarta is a different kind of place and if you do not visit and experience all that it has to offer then you are missing out.

Puerta Vallarta Vacation

Zip Lining in the Jungle

We also went zip lining in the  jungle, road burrows bare back in the mountains and drank seven different kinds of tequila at a tequila factory! The owner of the tequila factory really enjoyed his job and drank right along with us. He either drank water or has an incredible ability to absorb all that tequila and not show the effects.

Whale Watching

Whale watching on Banderas bay  is another great past time and many people will go out on boats to catch a closer view of the whales as they prepare for their trip north along the coast to California and beyond. We went  swimming in the ocean, the water is warm and there are lots of waves to surf and enjoy. Swimmers do need to be careful at some locations due to the undertow.

Puerta Vallarta Vacation- Night Life

There are lots of bars and great restaurants and most serve tequila with your meal! We ate in many places were they bring a beer and a shot of tequila with every beer we ordered. You have to be careful with how much you drink since it is quite easy to get drunk. There is nothing better than sitting on the beach under a pallapa (a straw covered or thatch covered umbrella) with a pale of beers on ice. We tried to enjoy it all and found the people were really friendly and helpful as well. They depend on the tourist trade and want to make sure the gringos are enjoying themselves.

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We saw this particular joke being circulated by email and decided to include it on our web site to add a little diet humor to the entire dieting subject. If any one is offended just let us know and we will remove it.  It pokes fun at ourselves and the governments who are trying to deal with health care and the epidemic of over weight people in the country! We all need to enjoy a little diet humor once and awhile even if it means poking fun at ourselves.  We also tend to be a little like this short poem from time to time as well. Hope you enjoy.

Diet Humor

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and
red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Creme Donuts. And Satan said, “You want chocolate with that?” And Man said, “Yes!” and Woman said, “and as long as you’re at it, add some sprinkles.” And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the
wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14

So God said, “Try my fresh green salad.” And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery crotons and garlic toast on the side.
And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

Healthy Vegetables

God then said, “I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them.” And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and
chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof. God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it “Angel Food Cake,” and said, “It is good.” Satan then created chocolate cake and named it “Devil’s Food Cake.”

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the
starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald’s and its
99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, “You want fries with that?” And Man replied, “Yes! And super size them!” And Satan said, “It is good.” And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan created Cuts to the Health Care System.

Amen

While this is a little short story or poem depending on how you look at it there is a lot of truth to this story in terms of the foods that we eat. We can chose to eat the high calorie rich foods or the good foods that we know that we should eat to keep us healthy and also avoiding gaining more weight. It is really up to us regarding what we decide to eat and how we look. We have to learn to avoid the temptations that we all deal with. For more diet information, click here.

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White water rafting camping trips require much different preparation than camping trips where you are backpacking for example or where you are driving around in car stopping at various campsites. White water rafting camping trips allow you to bring more things with you than a backpacker would be able to carry and yet you are more limited than you would be if you were travelling by car. In addition if your white water rafting camping trip is being supplied by a company who offers these kinds of services, they may provide some form of transportation in addition to the raft you are in.

You will have all of the usual requirements such as food, water, sleeping bags, clothing and tents. However rafters will also need to have waterproof gear. Gear that will keep all of their items dry while they are navigating rapids. As well as any rain that might fall during the day or evening. You will also need to have flashlights, or lanterns that will last for the length of your trip for even reading or just navigating to the outdoor loo. You may decide to rely on camp fires or you may also decide to bring along a camp stove for cooking. There are some really good small units that work very well.

Clothing

In terms of clothing, chances are you are going to get wet several times during the day and depending on the temperature and the general weather you may need to change often into dry clothes. At night you can dry your wet clothes near the camp fire. Take care not to burn them and place them up wind to avoid sparks burning holes in them and taking on that smoky smell that camp fires provide.

If you are rafting there is always lots of water around, however it may not be drinkable. You will either have to bring sufficient drinking and cooking water with you or you will have to boil all of your water to sterilize it before you use it for drinking water or even for cooking. This is just the nature of camping and in particular white water rafting camping trips.

White Water Rafting Camping Trips – Essentials

We have included a list of essentials that may be of interest :

• Aluminum foil
• Cooking oil
• Corkscrew
• Cutting board
• Flatware
• Herbs and spices
• Knives
• Measuring cups
• Napkins
• Paper plates
• Paper towels
• Plastic cups plastic trash bags
• Pot holders
• Salt and pepper
• Tongs and a spatula
• Waterproof matches
• Ziplock bags

For a more complete list refer to one of our other posts about camping essentials.

Palm Springs restaurants are among the best in the country! There is literally all kinds of food types to choose from and there are many places with happy hour as well. Most have out door patios and excellent service to go with excellent food. We have been coming to Palm Springs for years and have our favorite restaurants. We also like to try new restaurants every year as well. The following is a short review of our favorite places in Palm Springs to dine !

Palm Springs Restaurants

The Falls – located in down town Palm Springs beside the Match box on the second floor above Ruby’s. the Falls is known for three things – smoking Martini’s, really great food and dining on balconies that overlook Palm Canyon street. This is one of our fav’s!

Kaiser Grill – also located on Palm Canyon street in down town Palm Springs. Really great food, dine outside overlooking the street and of course happy hour.

Tyler’s – this is the best burger place in Palm Springs and it is only open for lunch. Customers begin lining up at 11:00 am and the restaurant closes at 2:30 pm. Sliders, full burgers, coleslaw, fries and much more. This is a must. They are located in downtown Palm Springs in the plaza on Indian Canyon.

Bill’s Pizza – served really great pizza with at least 20 different pizzas to choose from. They have great pizza and 75 cent beer all day on Mondays! What more can you ask for, pizza and beer? They are located across the street from Tyler’s.

More Restaurants

The Matchbox – they are downtown in Palm Springs on the second floor. They have a really great patio area that over looks the street and the outdoor area of Ruby’s. we like happy hour and their food, but not their main restaurant.

Ruby’s – we have only been here for breakfast, but they serve a really great breakfast with lots of coffee. Two great patios to dine in with heaters and umbrellas to cover all kinds of weather!

The Village Pub – the last pub on the south end of the street, with two floors and outdoor heaters on the patio. Their claim to fame is the $2 beers. We did not like the food so much.

Lulu’s – this is an extremely popular restaurant in down town Palm Springs. Very modern, great food, the place to hang out in the city. It is always packed every night and they have happy hour all day at the bar.

Trio – in up town, this is another classy bar. We have only been to this restaurant for a glass of wine but based on the atmosphere and the happy hour prices, we will be back!

Three Sixty – also in uptown, this is a new restaurant for us. Great happy hour and entertainment on the weekends. The night we were there they had a jazz group playing.

Chipotle – a fast food chain, but clearly the best fast food Mexican style restaurant in the area.

There are many more places to visit in Palm Springs. We will add more reviews as we visit them.

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Two died, a mini van and two trucks , all lanes closed for four hours, east bound closed for more than 11 hours. We were Driving on I40 near Albuquerque and 8 miles from our destination for the night! We could not go anywhere and spent a lot of time sitting on the road without a whole lot of gas in the gas tank either. The following is a summary of a short chat we had with our kids about what happened to us.

Driving on I40 near Albuquerque

Missed it by ten minutes because mom had to go to the bathroom! Too bad we had to stop, if we had not maybe we would have passed the location before the accident happened.

On the side of the road >> Nothing to eat >> Yes >> >> Just woke up, I am so hungry , >> Will call later. We were stuck and went to the bathroom on the side of the road.

OH MY GOD! Where did you go to the bathroom? Did you have anything to eat? You must be so upset! >>> —— Pretty annoyed.

Just got into our hotel room, stranded on the highway for 10 hours, big accident blocked both lanes. >>> >>> Going to sleep now. We only slept for 4 hours and then woke up. Had breakfast and continued on our trip.

I’m a bit stranded in Amsterdam because of the fog.. Worst places to be I suppose! >>>> >>>> Flight Yesterday was cancelled and today is over booked. Still waiting to see if I can get on… >>>> >>>> Hope the drive is going well. Once we got a good nights sleep we were ok, but it waas a long 48 hours. We had a thanksgiving dinner to get too in Washington. Still a long way to go. They have delayed the dinner by one day so we could still participate.

For more posts about New Mexico, click here.

We have all heard of robots in the factory building cars and other electronic parts, but now they are beginning to make the way into our private lives. We like many people are wondering what form they will take and how will they change our lives. Will they help us or will they take some of our freedoms away from us? How intelligent will they be and how will we treat them? We read an article recently that discussed some of these concepts. This is what peaked our interest in this subject. Helper robots are part of our future. We decided to write a post about this subject giving our own opinion. We are ondering what other people think of these ideas. Let us know if you have thoughts and comments either way.

Helper Robots are Part of Our Future

There are robots that are under development that is designed as a helper around the home. His name is Herb. He is being designed to fetch things around the home such as cups and even clean up the kitchen. Another robot, Hector, is designed to remind patients to take their medicine. In addition to help them keep track of things like eyeglasses. Even assist in the event the person they are looking after falls.  Finally there is a robot named Cody, who can help you bathe and is gentle enough to help elderly patients.

While the technology is pretty close for production, do we really want these robots looking after us? Some people will be talking to their robots and treating them as if they are a human being. Will they in turn carry on a conversation with us? Will we begin to think that they care about us. Also will they provide emotional comfort in the same manner that a pet will be a friend to many elderly patients?

We Need More Experience with Robots

These are all questions that are being asked and will only be answered once robots are introduced into homes around the country. Many people will adopt them to make their lives easier and many will steadfastly refuse to use them. Only time will tell how well they work, how well they are adopted and how many uses we can use them for in our homes.

The more human we can make them look, in terms of form factor and even dressing them with clothes will probably enhance their use and make us more comfortable with having them around. We are looking forward to hearing more about the use of robots in our homes.

We watched a show last night about Person of Interest. Not the show or series that is actually  called by that name, but another one called 20:20 last night. It is a news show that does video narratives about a variety of topics. Last night they covered an interesting topic that looked at the subject of combining video surveillance with computing technology. This technology  automatically identify people for various reasons.

If you are not already aware, you are probably on camera many times a day. Particularly if you go into down town areas or you enter a store etc. All government offices and entertainment locations have surveillance with video. It is all recorded for future reference in case it is needed. We have known this for several years now. It is increasing as more and more people add video surveillance capabilities. Some people even have this technology in their cars and can match the police with video capabilities.

Person of Interest – Facial Recognition

Now the government and corporations are using this technology combined with facial recognition software to recognize and track people. Governments are working in computing capabilities that will recognize a person from a video taken of them from some location,. Identify them and then alert who ever needs to be informed. This is useful in finding people who are avoiding police. Or who have escaped or who have committed a crime.

Companies are developing their own software to do something a little more capitalistic in nature. You may you walk up to a store and are on video. The store wants to be able to confirm your sex, your age and even your preference in clothes for example. They will use this information to display advertising on monitors near were you are passing with the hopes that they will catch your attention.

Who knows where all of this will go. It certainly is interesting and we will be watching just were this new technology takes us.

Would you go on a Colorado rafting trip and not follow the instructions of the rafting guide? Probably not but according to one Colorado rafting guide we talked to, some people will do just that. Occasionally they end up dead because they failed to follow the instructions their guide gave them. Some guides are not forceful enough. Although they will tell their customers not to go swimming in the fast cold water of the Colorado, they will not enforce this rule.

As a result some people will have a little too much to drink. Or just ignore what they have been told. They go swimming in the water which is ice cold. It is melt water from the mountain snows. Next thing you know they are experiencing hypothermia. They may fall into the water and get swept away by the fast flowing water.

Colorado Rafting – Use a Guide

Colorado rafting can be a lot of fun especially if you follow the guidelines laid out by an experienced guide. Avoid drinking a lot, follow the rules for camp that your guide provides. Avoid going into the water unless it is specifically approved by the guide and you have someone with you who can swim and rescue you quickly.

A guide we talked to said that if his guests would not follow his directions, he would call in a helicopter and have them taken out at their expense. He would rather have a mad customer than a dead one. Which is exactly what would happen if they went into the water in places where it was really unsafe.

Some guides are young and although experienced on the river are not experienced in handling people. In situations like this when older adults who should know better start talking down to the guide and use their older adult influence, the guide may give in. This is the worst thing that can happen for everyone concerned. If you end up in the water you are going to get hypothermia very quickly and you may not even realize what is happening to you until it is too late.

Falling down in the water only makes it worse and if your body is dashed against rocks in the fast flowing water you will have little chance of getting out alive. Follow your guides instructions, they know what they are doing and what is safe for them and their guests. This is so important and it could be your life that you save simply by following your guides instructions.

The writer of this post has been using a CPAP machine for the past seven months and has really gained a lot of benefits from using the machine. Not only have I slept much better, I breathe fresh filtered air all of the time. The air is humidified, so there is no dry throat problems any more. We are vacationing in southern California which is very dry. Previously I used to get a bloody nose quite often because the membranes of my nose got very dry.

Since I have a humidifier on my CPAP machine, my nose and throat, lungs etc are kept humidified and do not dry out at all. This is a great benefit which many people may not be aware of. It is this issue though that prompted me to write this post.

Supplies for CPAP machines are hard to find, particularly distilled water.  I have been to several pharmacies and grocery stores to no avail. They all claim to carry distilled water, however when you read the fine print on the bottle, many of them have messages indicating that minerals have been added to improve the taste or they have added electrolytes to the water to improve the taste for drinking. None of these are any good for CPAP machines for a couple of reasons.

Supplies CPAP Machines – Distilled Water

First of all you really do not want anything going into your lungs except pure water vapor. Since we have no idea what actually has been added to the water, I am very concerned about breathing this stuff into my lungs in a vaporized state. It is probably ok but then why take the chance when you can buy pure distilled water with nothing added back in.

The second reason that I want to stick with pure distilled water aside from the fact that the instruction book tells you to, is that the minerals and salts that are added to the water will build up in the evaporator over time and leave a scaly deposit. This then has to be cleaned with vinegar and adds more impurities to your system. It is far simpler to just add pure distilled water to the CPAP machine and not have deal with any of these other issues. That’s my take on it anyway.

Finding Distilled Water

The only place that we found pure distilled water with nothing added back in was actually at Walmart. They had by far the largest supply of various bottled water suppliers and in this case one supplier of pure distilled water supplies for my CPAP machine. Supplies for CPAP machines are hard enough to find without adding or using water with additives in it. Who knows what that would do to the machine, the hose or the other components, let alone your lungs?

There are not a lot of places that actually sell CPAP supplies, such as replacement hoses and masks. This is probably why there are so many web sites advertising CPAP supplies on line. If this is the first time you will be using a CPAP machine, we suggest that you go to a physical store. Make sure you are  properly fitted for one.

The masks come in different sizes. You really need to have one that fits your face properly. In addition the machine needs to be set up. The air pressure must deliver air to you so that it does the job that it is supposed to. Mine is set at 8 while a friend has his machine set at 15. It delivers a much higher pressure. If they are not set to deliver strong enough pressure, you will not receive the benefit you need. You probably will continue to snore and have sleep apnea.  Buying replacement CPAP supplies should be fine as long as you purchase the same hoses and masks.

For more information about CPAP machines and CPAP supplies, click here.

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Have you ever used the valet parking services at hotels or other venues that offer such services? Many people have and most are more than satisfied with the service. You have the convenience of not having to find a place to park your car. Or deal with the weather if it is out door parking. Also the cold if it happens to be winter time. We have used these services quite a few times and usually were satisfied with the service. We would tip $5 for the service and felt that our car would be parked in a safe place. It would be returned to us in the same condition that we found it in.

In every case but one it came back in exactly the same condition. In the one instance that it did not, we feel that it was no fault of the parking attendant. However we really cannot be sure. We will discuss each of these instances which has led us to never allow valet parking attendants to park our car ever again.

Valet Parking – Experience

The first instance actually did not involve our car at all. We were waiting for our car to be brought up to us so that we could leave the place we had spent an nice evening at. As we watched other cars being delivered to other people we noticed that the attendants would bring the cars up from underground, turn left and then have to drive about a 1000 feet to where everyone was standing. We watched them rev the engine and roar up to the pickup point. Much too fast in our opinion to be actually unsafe and they were revving an engine that was still cold. Not the way I want my car to be treated.

Another situation that we encountered involved our car being dropped off at a major hotel. We assumed that it would be stored in covered garage which was protected and inspected from a security perspective. They drove it to an open parking lot and left it unprotected in any way. Now the car would not start the next morning due to mechanical problems, which we subsequently resolved, however I wonder how a perfectly good car could suddenly develop mechanical problems!

New Orleans Valet Service

The last example was in New Orleans and I really did not have a choice as to using valet. There was no self parking nearby. The car came back to us in one piece, no damage and everything that was in the car was still there. The service was definitely worth it in this case. What I am objecting to was that the attendant was well over 300 pounds and I was worried whether my seats in my car would sag due to the weight.

In all cases, these three above and those that we have not discussed, we had to wait a long time to get our car. It was busy, but then I really do not want to wait 30 minutes in one case to get a car that I could have just parked myself and got to it in five minutes. So I really do not want to tip valet parking attendants for poor service.

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This picture of one of the bays near Puerto Vallarta is just absolutely beautiful. This is a great place to consider for Vacations to Puerto Vallarta. This picture really represents the idyllic life that makes up a vacation in this area of Mexico.  We spent two months in this area of Mexico and thoroughly enjoyed the entire time. It is a different culture. Their processes and ways of doing things are different from what you might be used to. But you have to remember that you are in a different country. We enjoy getting to know different cultures and traveling so this time was well spent.

Explore Puerto Vallarta – Vacations to Puerto Vallarta

We got out every day and traveled to a different part of the area around an in the city of Puerto Vallarta. We explored old town Puerto Vallarta, we walked along the malecon every day, we stopped at many of the bars on the beach and enjoyed the sun and a cold beer. The malecon is a walkway that goes along the beach almost all the way along in old town Puerto Vallarta. It is a very nice way to spend your day or just a few hours.

There are small bays all along the coast with small towns and places for tourists to spend their time. We found many were very quaint with lots of little restaurant and bars to spend your time at. We love to explore and that is one of the reasons we went to many of these beaches.

Modern City

They also have many of the modern conveniences that many North Americans have come to expect. Good grocery stores, lots of places to purchase clothing and jewelry and there is even a Costco to shop at. We were able to find great food deals and cheap booze at the Costco.  One of the foods that we really liked where barbecued chickens with jalapeño’s and small potatoes. The flavor was fantastic and these chickens were always well done and still moist.

If you have a chance to go to Puerto Vallarta, make sure that you take the time to ride the buses and go exploring. You will experience much more than just staying around your hotel’s pool!

For more information about this beautiful vacation destination, click here.

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On Friday, May 17, 2013, a protest was staged on Cornwall Island. Indians’ Blockade of the Canadian Border caused the bridge from Canada to the US to close at the Cornwall crossing of the Canadian Border. We support the notion that free people can conduct peaceful protests to draw attention to whatever cause they have. There are a couple of things we did not like about this situation. There is the obvious inconvenience it caused us personally when we could not complete our trip.

First, they are disrupting a major border crossing, which means a lot of commerce and other activities are being delayed. This also increases the cost to everyone, including the average consumer. Second, they are really trying to blackmail both governments into letting them do whatever they want to do. Many of them smuggle guns and cigarettes across the border. This is a rumor that everyone in Cornwall seems to know about.

Canadian Border

But what really got us upset was the poor organization of the Cornwall police.  The street and all access points were closed well before the bridge, even though there is just one lane along the approach route that you need to block access to.

Why not block this entrance instead of forcing much of the traffic to go through the local mall and exit at the back? Why not put up signs well ahead of the blockade so drivers can make appropriate decisions before getting stuck in traffic?

It seems that no one thinks about the convenience of the drivers in Cornwall. They really do not care about the tractor-trailers, the tourists pulling campers, and the RVs. This entire thing caused a major traffic headache that could have been managed much better. But of course, that would require someone to think before they blocked a road!

For more posts about Canada, click here.

This is the view I have sitting at the Starbucks Cathedral City location in the mornings! Mountains , palm trees, warm comfortable temperatures and a good cup of coffee. What more could you want? The sky is a deep blue color with no humidity and no dust in the air. The birds are singing and I just spent an hour riding my mountain bike to get to this location to sit down and enjoy my coffee and also a bagel! For your information, this particular Starbucks is located along highway 111 that runs the length of the Coachella valley through all of the valley cities including Palm Springs.

Starbucks Cathedral City – AGM Tour

This is the same route that the recent AGM Tour of California took on its way to Palm Springs and the Tram road. Fortunately for me the temperatures are in the low 60’s at the moment which is ideal for riding your bike. For the tour, they had to deal with 108F and riding up the Tram road for the last 2 miles is a killer with the heat and the elevation rise of over 2000 feet. However I am digressing.

This particular Starbucks faces east at the front of the store and west at the back of the store, so you always have a choice between sitting in the sun or shade depending on the time of day. At the back of the store which faces 111, they have a few tables, umbrellas and a comfortable area to enjoy your coffee. Same with the front area of the store, however it is slightly smaller and faces the parking lot.

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If you have been to Dublin Ireland, then you already know how nice a place it is and how friendly the people are. I have been to Ireland three times, twice on business and once for a sports tournament.  I had the opportunity to visit many of the pubs in downtown Dublin as well as go out into the country side and visit a castle that dates back at least 500 years. We took a city tour and explored the castle as well. My week on vacation there was really great and I would recommend Dublin as a vacation any time for people who are interested in the history of the Irish.

Dublin Ireland – Visit Castles

One of the times that I went to Dublin Ireland, I was bused out to a castle just outside the city of Dublin. Nortel Networks took us to this castle for a dinner evening of entertainment and camaraderie with other customers. We walked into the Castle Main ball room. We were served beer and wine and liquor. There were cocktail foods served as well. This room was as large as a two story home just on its own. The castle was really quite huge. In this particular room on one wall a set of antlers from a deer was mounted.

This set of antlers was at least 14 feet across. It had been dug up from one of the peat moss bogs on the property. The room was so large that these antlers really did not look out of place which gives you some idea of the size of the antlers and the room itself. They were huge and added a rustic look to the room which was amazing and enjoyable at the same time.

The room we dined in was large enough to fit 50 people comfortably seated at 6 or 7 tables with room for a harpist to play during our dinner. One of the guests had brought his wife with him and they got up to waltz to one of the tunes. It was all quite entertaining and very nice. The meal was excellent although my thoughts were so engrossed on the surroundings, I really do not recall what we ate.

Explore the Castle

We were allowed to wander around a bit so myself and another guest went upstairs in the castle. The stair well was well lit. But very narrow and the steps which were built of stone were well worn from all the years of traffic up and down these stairs.  This was an even well worth attending and I am so glad that I was able to attend.

This was the first time I had ever been to a castle. I have no idea if it was typical or not, but it sure was an impressive building. Castles were built as a place for the king or for local lords to live. They were also places were the local people could live and work.

They provided all kinds of goods to the castle owners as taxes. In return received protection from marauding bandits and other lords who might attack them. It was a tough life back in those days. Yet commerce and protection for one’s material items along with your life was in practice much as it is today.

We were bused back to Dublin later that evening after thoroughly enjoying this diversion from our day long meetings. Again if you ever have a chance to go to Dublin, it is highly recommended as a place to go.

More posts about Dublin and Belfast, click here.

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One brother has been charged with rape, forcible confinement, captivity and numerous other charges. There is no doubt that this man is the Cleveland monster. He should be put away for life, or even put to death if he’s given the death penalty. This is based on terminating at least five children with one of the women.

This is a terrible thing that is happened and should be dealt with appropriately. However this post is not about this particular crime for this particular brother. Instead we wanted to talk about the other two brothers who were initially arrested. They were let go and now not being charged with anything. Apparently they were not involved in any of the rapes or confinement activities.

Cleveland Monster

This man’s two brothers have apparently not been involved in any of these crimes. They deny all knowledge of anything to do with the crimes. They  had no idea that if he was going on. These brothers claim that they have been at the house. They had to follow specific rules when they were at the house. They had no idea that were three women plus a little girl at this home.

The writers on this blog happened to think that these two men, these two brothers, who have been at the house, may have been involved in someway. More information is going to come out over the next few days and certainly the women involved would be able to identify them if they were involved. At the very least they had to have had some idea that something strange was going on and should have challenged their brother quite strongly to confirm what was going on and then deal with it accordingly. They will carry guilt for the rest of their life regardless of whether they were involved or not or had suspicions or not. More information will become available over time as we listen to this ongoing sad story

A factory collapse in Bangladesh killing 400 or more people and it hits the news for a few days and then they move on to other news that has become available. But what about those people who died. Also why were they working in the factory? This is where our clothes are made!

It turns out that they were working in a clothing factory turning out cheap clothing. They are sold to Europe and North America along with other countries around the world. Living in North America we really like to have a lot of new clothes. As a result we routinely throughout clothes before they are hardly worn. We can buy new shirts etc for low prices. Deals are great and we love low prices. The only way that clothes at these prices can be sold is that they are manufactured in places like Bangladesh. People work for pennies an hour. This is where our clothes are made.

Where Our Clothes are made – Low Prices

As long as we are not willing to pay higher prices, these factories will continue to proliferate. They will continue to be sweat shops for many of these people in other countries. It turns out that 98% of our clothes are made overseas in places like Bangladesh. This situation is not going to change anytime soon. As Americans are we willing to pay higher prices for clothing so that we can move some of these jobs back to our shores. We think that this is highly unlikely!

What ever happened to the days when the jury announced you were guilty? The sheriff put handcuffs on you and led you away to be transported to jail! Not with Jodi Arias apparently! She was told she was guilty and them she gives a Jodi Arias Guilty interview against her lawyers guidance!

Arizona is one of the toughest states and yet she gets away with conducting an on-screen interview. Again she trashes Travis Alexander which she has done throughout the trial. This writer really did not think it was possible to be allowed to give interviews after being convicted of 1st degree manslaughter!

Jodi Arias Guilty

The twist of course is that she asked the jury to give her the death penalty. Which automatically put her on a suicide watch! There is a lot more to come yet . We have not seen the last of Jodi Arias! With all of the extreme news and actually much more important news, why do we spend so much time on this case.

The reason is that is a pretty young white woman who apparently has completed a very bad crime by killing her boyfriend in the shower no less. She also took pictures which she forgot to erase and then took the cops on a several wild goose chases before finally admitting she might have had something to do with it.

It is really a shame that the court system must deal with such a ridiculous case, spend millions on it. There is a much better use for out tax dollars. She is guilty and let’s get on with it.

Tesla Roadster seen in Palm Springs , owned by a Canadian who plans to drive it back to Vancouver. It requires a charge every 245 miles and does 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds! This is one of the hottest most talked about cars available and Tesla stock is also skyrocketing. I was able to see this car and talk to the owner. Who needless to say was very proud of his car. It is a very hot looking car. This car has all of the luxuries and form fit that you would expect of a car costing $245,000!

Tesla Roadster – Charging

The owner admitted that it is a great car for commuting every day and has more than enough battery power to handle almost all commuting needs. He has some concern about driving it to Vancouver from California and is planning his trip around recharging stations and locations where he can plug-in and top up his batteries.

More and more charging stations are being added every month so this problem will gradually be eliminated. In addition instead of sitting around for a couple of hours while the battery is charged, there is another solution. Tesla batteries can be swapped out in a matter of minutes. You can be on your way in much the same time as it would take to fill up a normal car with gas.

We sincerely hope that this is the way of the future and that these cars eventually come in a cheaper version that the average consumer can afford.

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We were out hiking not too long ago and had the fortunate experience to meet a man who used to be a white water river rafting guide on the Colorado river. He is now retired. However he used to take tourists rafting in Colorado on the Colorado river. This was in the Grand Canyon area of Arizona and Nevada.

They would go on one week as well as two week excursions. Camping every night and navigating the river during the day. They would stop along various scenic places for picture taking. He would explain the many natural formations that you see along the river. This guy was still really fit. He could hike the trails with no problem at all and he was approaching 70 years old!

There were some pretty strong rapids to navigate as well providing thrills for the guide and his guests. He thoroughly enjoyed most of the time that he spent on the river and guiding  people while rafting on the Colorado river. Apparently there were some not so good times as well.

Rafting in Colorado – Accidents

Once of the things we asked him was whether he ever had any accidents. Or if anyone ever dies while on some of these trips. His surprising answer was yes, several times which really surprised us. We asked him to explain how some of these accidents happened. What he would have to do when this happened.

One of the problems is that some people would ignore the guides rules and common sense. They might have too much to drink. They would take chances that they might not have taken if they had not been drinking around camp at night. The river runs very cold due to the fact that the water comes from snow melt far up in the Colorado mountains. Anyone in the water for more than three or four minutes can end up with hypothermia. It also runs very fast. If you lose your footing, you are quickly swept away down river to either be dashed on rocks or suffer from hypothermia. Not a fun way to die.

Even though these people were told what would happen, they would go swimming at night. They would experience hypothermia. Before they knew what was happening would be swept away by the very strong current to their death. Their bodies would be found some time later further along the river. Pay attention to what your guide is telling you when you go rafting on the Colorado river or any other river for that matter.

You probably have heard the term couch potato, but not sitting disease. It strikes most people who have desk jobs or spend a lot of time in front of the computer, sometimes many hours. If you kept track of the number of hours you spend sitting vs. being active, even if it is just a walk around the block, you would find that a higher percentage of your time is spent in front of the computer or just sitting down watching TV. Then there is the time spent in the car while you commute to work. prior to computers you would have to run errands and actually leave the house instead of paying bills online etc.

If this describes you and your current activity level, then you have the new disease called sitting disease.

Researchers all over the world including Australia and England have completed studies which suggests that if this describes you, not only do you have sitting disease, you also have a far greater likely hood of developing other diseases related to inactivity and weight gain. In fact you have an 18% higher chance of dying from cardio vascular disease as a result.

Doctors are recommending that you get up and move around, stretch every 30 minutes and actually walk around the office , your home whatever, but get moving on a regular basis.

From Couch Potato – Get Moving

Here are some simple ideas for getting moving during the day which can help you avoid the effects of sitting disease.

• Stretching, turning, and bending.
• Exercise in addition to  your workout.
• Mix standing and sitting while working.
• Take regular breaks from the desk.
• Pretend it’s 1985, walk instead of sending an email.
• Learn new habits.
• Stand up at the office.
• Take Advantage of new technology.
• Walk at the end of your work day
• Walk instead of  commuting by car
• Stand up while watching television.

More Detail

Stretching, turning, and bending – whenever you have the opportunity and a few minutes of time, try  this simple workout even if it is only for five minutes to stretch the muscles and increase your heart rate.

Exercise in addition to  your workout – don’t just exercise during your workout. Use opportunities to walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator, walk further to the car and go for walks on a daily basis to add to your main exercise workout routine.

Mix standing and sitting while working – if you sit a lot on the job, stand up whenever you can. For example if you are on the phone stand up while you are listening or talking to stretch your legs and move about.

Take regular breaks from the desk – walk down the hallway and back, walk to a colleagues desk instead of calling, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and just get up and stretch at least once every hour.

Walk more Often

Pretend it’s 1985, walk instead of sending an email – walk to a colleagues desk instead of sending an email or calling. Meet somewhere for a coffee and walk to the location, avoid the elevator.

Learn new habits – look for different ways to exercise and build it into your regular routine. Stand up at the office, stand up while watching TV, walk to the corner store, walk at night, walk to work, walk from the back of the parking lot and so on.

Stand up at the office – whenever you can to stretch your legs and move about. Have your computer terminal elevated so that you can stand instead of sitting, stand up when talking on the phone, or use hands free and walk around the office while on the phone.

Take Advantage of new technology – use hands free technology to allow you to walk while talking, monitor your steps every day and use counters to keep a consistent distance every day.

Walk at the end of your work day – walk an extra bus stop, walk home, take the stairs, etc to increase the distance you walk every day to increase circulation.

Walk instead of  commuting by car – if you can walk to work, other wise take the bus or rapid transit and walk an extra bus stop

Stand up while watching television – stand while watching TV, iron your clothes, do your exercise while watching, arrange for your computer to be elevated while working at home etc.

These are all excellent methods of increasing your activity level without placing unreasonable demands on your time or your system. You will be amazed at how many calories you will burn off every day by doing these extra activities and avoid sitting disease. For more information about exercise, click here.

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Vacation Rentals Puerto Vallarta are a huge business in this tropical Mexican city. There are many condos, hotels and homes built as vacation spots for the snow birds who want to get away from the snow and ice of the north or just people who want to spend some time by the sea. Having spent 2 month in a vacation rental in Puerto Vallarta, the writer can tell readers that this is a wonderful Mexican city to visit. It is relatively inexpensive to visit and spend time there and it is also quite safe contrary to the many news reports about Mexico.

Vacation Rentals Puerto Vallarta Along the Coast

There are vacation rentals in the city itself as well as along the coast in both directions. There are several smaller cities as well that are being developed and expanded with small apartment style condo’s as well private homes. Two such places are the Marina in Puerto Vallarta and also Nuevo Vallarta.  Both places have shopping centers, golf courses, private homes and condos as well as luxury hotels for tourists.

Staying in one of these vacation rentals in Puerto Vallarta, tourists can usually find all of the utensils and bedding that they need. Some are excellent and very clean, while others may need some work when you arrive. Most will need the basics such as spices etc and of course food that you plan to prepare and cook for yourself.

Marina in Puerto Vallarta

If you are near the marina, there are several restaurants which are quite reasonable to eat at. In addition you can enjoy the scenery on the marina or look out over the ocean. Check out the bars as well when you are staying in your vacation rental in Puerto Vallarta. Many will serve a tequila chaser with your beer or wine. One restaurant we went to placed a bottle partially filled with tequila on the table. Which was included with the meal and whatever other drinks that we purchased.

Another restaurant owner would share a shot of tequila with each of the tables  through the night. I really think that it had to be watered down tequila. There were about ten tables. How could you really drink that much tequila and still be walking around or do that night after night?

As with any city, visitors should be alert and careful. But no more so than any other city across North American. The main danger areas are in northern Mexico close to the US border which is a long ways from this seaside tropical city.

Tipping Valet Parking attendants has always been problematic for me. How much to charge and whether I should even use them. We have had some less than satisfactory service over the years. Now unless I have no choice I refuse to give my car up to the valet attendant.  We will discuss some of these issues in a moment. But back to the main topic, tipping valet parking attendants and how much you should give them. I have been typically tipping $5 each time I use valet parking. Some people may offer more and the attendants will certainly take it. But why should you tip these guys at all and will you get good service.

Some people feel that you should tip up front to make sure that you get good service and they take care of your car when they park your car. Others feel that since they pool the tips you are better off to tip when the car comes back in one piece and they open the doors and help you with your suitcases. Still other groups feel that since they are on a minimum wage and make all of their income from tips that you should feel sorry for them and tip them more than you might otherwise.

Tipping Valet Parking – Poor Service

I have had valet parking attendants roar up to the drop off point gunning the engine and while helping with the bags having their hands out for the tip. It is almost as if they don’t want to give you your keys back until they get their tip. Now I have never had any obvious damage done to my car and it is usually delivered in a reasonable amount of time. But I am totally turned off when they drive my car too fast in an almost out of control situation. Take care of my car and treat it with respect!

Based on this sort of activity I am very reluctant to ever give up my car to an attendant. I have an average car, but it is my car and I bought and paid for it. I do not want anyone to damage it. Can you imagine what they would do if it was a hot expensive car. Some of these guys would take it for a joy ride for sure.

The other thing that bugs me is taking a really long time to deliver my car. Sure it depends on how busy they are, but I could have probably gone and got it myself in less time that what some of these guys can get it for. I also want the parking lot to be covered and my car protected from the elements. It should be secure and regular security patrols should be in place. One time my car was parked in an open parking lot along with everyone else’s cars. What am I paying for? I can do that myself for free and I will get some exercise walking into the hotel.

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Joshua Tree National Park offers stupendous views of the Coachella valley as seen in this picture overlooking Palm Springs and the other valley cities. The Joshua trees, the rocks, the mountains and the desert provide scenes that you find amazing. The height of these mountains on the eastern side of the valley are between 6000 and 8000 feet. They  provide stupendous views of the valley.

Joshua Tree National Park – Scenery

Tourists can drive through the park and in particular up to a lookout point that is within a few hundred feet of the look out point.

Try to go up to the lookout point on a sunny day and when it is not too windy.  Even on days when there is little wind in the valley there is always wind at this elevation. the mountains to the North and to the West are above 11,000 feet. In fact you can take the Tram up to the western mountains which takes you to 8500 feet . There are many hiking trails in this area, up to 54 miles at last count of hiking trails.

Of course there are many hiking trails as well as camping trails in the Joshua park as well, with numerous places to hike as well as camp or park an RV. Campers should note that everything they take in with them must also come out with them. Please keep the park pristine and enjoyable for other campers.

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Willie Boys Saloon Morongo Valley is a really neat bar located on highway 62 in the Morongo valley. With a history dating back to the 1900’s this saloon is worth a stop on your way back to palm springs
It appears that Willie was gangster , or rather instead what he did was he killed his wife’s father’s and took off with the girl. There was a posse after him but after chasing him into the mountains above Palm Springs, he killed himself. The saloon is named after him.

Willie Boys Saloon Morongo Valley

We included a couple of pictures of the outside and the interior of Willie Boy’s Saloon Morongo Valley. We were there in the middle of the afternoon, so it was pretty deserted. At night apparently it is very busy and appears to be one of the best saloons in the area. It is a bi of a drive from Palm Springs and you need to give some thought about drinking and driving especially with the hair pin turns coming up from the valley. Still it is worth stopping for a cool one on a hot summers day.

You can see from the pictures the inside is decorated much more than any saloon normally would be. There are lots of antiques and nick nacks all over the place. There is lots to look at. They have music in the evenings and weekends. We had a snack while there along with a couple of beers. The food was really good and the beer was cold. It is definitely a place we will go back to, closer to lunch or dinner when there are more people around and we can enjoy the atmosphere better with a little music.

Be carful getting on and off the highway. It is a four lane road and drivers are going very fast in this area.

Governments are changing retirement plans all around the world or cash strapped and are looking for ways to reduce the cost of all of their expenses. This includes the cost of labor which has a payroll component as well as a benefits component. Benefits includes the amount of money they need to set aside to pay pensions in the future.

The private industry has already gone in this direction and governments will follow over the next 10 years. If you are already retired or planning to retire in the next 5 years, you are probably ok. However anyone with a longer retirement horizon, should take control of their future. Plan for a retirement with a reduced government pension.

They are reducing government pensions they are reducing benefits in terms of vision health and prescription coverage and people around the world should be ready for this when it comes time for the retirement. We all know people with great pensions and benefits packages after retirement. Over the next 20 years this is going to change drastically. Once the baby boomers are gone, rich pensions will no longer be the norm.

Changing Retirement Plans – Take Control of Your Future

Government employees who may be retiring 10, 15 or 20 years they find themselves without a retirement pension. We should be setting aside money now just in case so that they have the kind of retirement quality of life looking for.

This is something that all governments are looking at and to be better prepared everyone should be taking things into their own hands to avoid not having the quality of life that they would like to have When they retire.

We will have more on this subject in future posts.

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There are is great Hiking in San Jacinto Mountains. There are 54 miles of hiking trails at the top of the tram in Palm Springs. Which is located in the San Jacinto mountains. The highest mountain is over 10,000 feet in elevation in this area. Hikers can observe stunning views of the mountains and valleys just minutes away from the desert valley.

There can be a twenty degree drop in temperature from the valley floor during a trip up the tram in the summer time. It can provide a welcome relief to the searing temperatures in the valley. In addition it provides a healthy alternative as well. All of the trails are well groomed and marked for most trails.

Hiking in San Jacinto Mountains

Hikers should remember to always tell someone where they are going. Always bring extra clothes and especially lots of water with you. Especially in dry conditions hikers can become dehydrated very easily. It actually can get quite cool at night if you happened to be stranded over night int he forest.

This area is truly a hikers paradise. Thousands of people go up the tram every week to take advantage of the scenery, the solitude and the healthy mountain air. There are over 54 miles of trails that take you into the back country and wilderness areas. Several people are rescued every year because they got lost. In addition they also were not well equipped with water, food and warm clothing to deal with night time temperatures.

If you plan to hike in these areas take the time to be well prepared. Make sure you have the above mentioned item as well as a compass and a light warm blanket. It can be quite surprising to find out that you are suddenly lost with no idea of how to get back to the trail head. If no one knows that you have gone hiking they will not be looking for you. In addition always tell someone where you are going and when you will be expected to return.

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