Wednesday's Pics of the Day

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This is the view east from Playa Tortugas, where I caught the ferry to Isla Mujeres.



Looking down the street from near where the ferry docked on Isla Mujeres. As I said, it is much more typically Mexican than Cancun.


Leaving the dock at Isla Mujeres.

Wednesday's Notes

I took the ferry to Isla Mujeres today. Talk about amazing--next time I come here, I want to stay there.

I've determined that Cancun is for the 20-30 crowd (very lively nights) and the "I want to be pampered" crowd (tremendous resorts). I'm in neither of those groups. I'm in the "where could I bring a pre-teen with assurance that he would have a good time" group, and Isla Mujeres is just the place. It's small--can't get lost, and nothing is too far away--and has great beaches. I never left the North Beach area, and I understand there are a couple of bigger hotels a little further away, but everything I need is right there at north beach.

Golf carts and scooters seem to be the prevalent mode of transportation there. And bicycles. It seems very family-friendly, and is much more like "real" Mexico than is the hotel zone of Cancun.

Maybe I'd stay there a few days, and then at the Riu Caribe for a few days next time.

So, have you wanted to stalk me? Here are the locations, thanks to Google Earth, of some of the places I've talked about.

My hotel: lat 21.128243, long -86.764065
North beach, Isla Mujeres: lat 21.256785, long -86.750230
El Rey Ruins: lat 21.060824, long -86.781457
Chichen Itza: lat 20.682803, long -88.568630

I Have A New Friend

I would like to introduce you to someone I've gotten to know since I got here. He's got an amazing dark brown tan, he's totally buff, has got a killer smile, and is exceedingly yummy. And best of all, he's a Republican!

Meet Melvin:
=)

Update: Below is a picture of Melvin's gringo friend, who is also a good Republican!

Tuesday's Pics of the Day

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Chac-Mool (foreground) and Kukulcan (the snake heads at the top of the stairs on the platform in the background).

Depictions of Kukulcan are everywhere.

This is what everyone thinks of when they hear Chichen Itza, the step pyramid dedicated to Kukulcan. On the left (west) side you can see that it has been somewhat restored; on the right (south) side it has not been. Even if every rock were in place the restoration would not be complete; the Maya painted their pyramids. This one was red.

If only I'd had more time....

Tuesday's Notes

Today I'm going to write about the good, the bad, and the ugly. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine which category describes each point below.

1. I have found no establishment--store, restaurant, or bar--that sells root beer.
2. All drinks on Mexicana Airlines, including alcohol, were complimentary.
3. We did not have enough time at Chichen Itza today. We were on a clock, and it was running fast. Three hours, the first 1:40 of which was the guided tour, which was exceptional. There was not enough time for me to see everything, much less photograph what I saw. Neither did they give us a brochure or map so we could see the "big picture". I had no idea where I was relative to everything else, and that, combined with the time constraint, caused me to miss a couple of things I would have liked to have seen. I did, however, on reader Eric W's, suggestion, go to the Sacred Cenote.
4. We did not have enough time at the cenote (freshwater sinkhole). Having to choose between taking a swim and taking pictures, I opted for a swim. There was barely enough time to change clothes, jump in once, and change back. I wish I had pictures, but I doubt they'd do justice. Freakin' phenomenal.
5. Where is all my money going? I've bought three tiny souvenirs and one cocktail. Where's all my freakin' money going? I haven't even bought t-shirts for my son and me yet.
6. There are some serious hotties here, and they're not all tourists.
7. It rained for about 5 minutes at Chichen Itza today; that probably moderated the temperatures a bit. It rained hard for a few minutes as we arrived at the cenote as well. I didn't understand why people were huddling under umbrellas--we were going swimming!
8. I wore my contacts today, so I didn't jump from the highest spot into the cenote. I had to keep my eyes closed under water so I didn't want to jump from too high. The water was cooler than I expected, but just above the uncomfortable level.
9. At Ruinas El Rey, the entry fee was 35 pesos and there was a 35 peso fee for any kind of photography. At Chichen Itza the entry fee was 48 pesos; still photography was acceptable, but videography merited an additional 35 peso fee. In neither place were tripods allowed. What the heck is that?
10. Why is it that the English guys I sat near on the bus can fly direct from Birmingham (where?) to Cancun, and there's not a single direct flight from anywhere in California to Cancun???
11. Here's a shout-out to Mr. Leebert, my 6th grade teacher, who first taught me about the Mesoamerican ruins. It is to him I owe a debt of thanks for instilling in me a desire to visit Chichen Itza almost 32 years ago.

Monday's Pics of the Day

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Wal*Mart es numero uno!

This picture from downtown Cancun just screams "Mexico" to me.

My hotel is on Pok-ta-pok, a small spit of land in the Laguna de Nichupte. This is a view east, across the Laguna Bojorquez, to the main part of the Zona Hotelera (Hotel Zone).

Here is a similar view across the lagoon at night.

Monday's Notes

I've encountered my first difficulty of the trip. I've included a trip to Chichen Itza in my package, but the local tour company has given me the run-around all day. Three times today I've called, three times they've said they've called back, three times they haven't.

I went into Cancun Centro, the mainland downtown, today, and went to Wal*Mart. Its food section was even larger than my local Wal*Mart at home! I had a good time looking around.

And then it was a small, authentic Yucatecan restaurant recommend by a local. Muy bien!

The descendants of the Maya are the locals here, although the tourism industry has brought people from all over Mexico. The Mayan language is still spoken, especially in some of the smaller villages. I asked one person if he was Mayan, and he said, "No, I'm too tall and my head isn't shaped like a watermelon." I was somewhat taken aback by his comment until I went to the local flea market downtown; I now understand that his explanation was exactly correct.

Well, time to call for the fourth time.

Update, 7pm local time: It took one call yesterday and 5 calls today, but I got tomorrow's tour squared away with the local tour company. They sent someone to my hotel to exchange my voucher for a ticket. This is good, as the time and place for meeting the tour bus has changed from what was on my voucher! The pick-up time is a half-hour later and much closer to my hotel than I expected, so this is all good. I was also told that a still camera is fine, but a video camera will merit an additional several dollar charge at Chichen Itza as it did at the El Rey Ruins. Anything to snag a little more of my cash, I guess!

Today's pictures will be posted after dark. I want a nighttime shot across the lagoon.

Sunday's Pics of the Day

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Your fearless blogger, hard at work for you at the El Rey Ruins.

I thought that this was perhaps not the best marketing strategy--at least, the part at the bottom.

Looking north towards Isla Mujeres. Sadly, my camera is not going to capture the depth of the beauty of the water here.

Sunday's Notes

I'm definitely in Mexico.

There are some things that just scream Mexico to me, little sights and smells, and they're here, even in the touristy area. I'm definitely in Mexico.

Every place in the world has its own little idiosyncracies, those things that make it unique, those things that stick out in your mind. I haven't left the touristy area yet, but I've noticed a few things. There are a lot of Chevys (Chevies?) here. Peugeot and VW seem to be popular as well.
And I think it's cute that Pizza Hut, Hong Kong Express, and Hooters do food deliveries on motorcycles. I love how the Route 2 buses tell you, right on the windows, that they will take you to Wal*Mart (in mainland/downtown/Centro) Cancun.

The touristy area of Cancun is on a long, narrow 7-shaped island which connects to the mainland by short bridges at the ends of the 7. There is only one street that runs down this island, the Kukulcan, and everything fronts it. There are some monstrously large hotels here; they're so big that they look close enough to walk to but 20 minutes later they don't seem any closer! In these regards Cancun reminds me of the Las Vegas Strip.

Many of the big hotels have the following flags flying out front: Mexico, USA, European Union, Canada, and Japan. I wonder why?!!! I'll bet over 95% of their money comes from those places.

Necessity is the mother of invention. I bought a little waterproof case to wear around my neck, just big enough to hold a hotel key, credit card, and some money. Very handy to have around, especially if you want to go swimming and don't want to leave your stuff unattended, but someone needs to make one with a strap so you can wear it like a wristwatch. I'd totally buy that.

I give that invention away free. I've also designed a fairly good device for single people to get suntan lotion on their backs. Invention marketers, contact me!

Today after breakfast I took the bus to the El Rey Ruins, populated today by hundreds of iguanas. I think "iguana" is Spanish for "ugly freakin' lizard". Anyway, the ruins are small and unassuming but still interesting; the Maya must be/have been very small because their doorways are so short! I took some video and a couple of pictures, at least one of which will be in today's Pics of the Day.

Then I started walking back. Just a couple kilometers away is Aquaworld (through whom I will probably at least go parasailing) and I didn't see the need to take the bus. I walked partly along the beach, partly along the Kukulcan.

And why get on the bus then, after already walking part way? So I kept on walking. And I did this for over 11 km, in water shoes. I won't make that mistake again. My feet feel like they've been beaten.

I walked through a couple of the fancy hotels during this time, kinda putting the Holiday Inn Express to shame, but that's OK. I don't spend that much time in any hotel. I also walked through the local artisans' market, where I was offered weed, extasy, and "Mexican viagra". I turned down all three. And kept on walking.

Tomorrow I'm going into downtown Cancun (on the mainland, not the touristy area).

Saturday's Pics of the Day

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After a redeye from Oakland, this was my first stop. From there it was on to Mexico City, the airport there being more like a huge mall than an airport (except for all those planes). It was entertaining hearing boarding calls for flights to Havana, something I don't think I'd ever head before!

After landing in Cancun I had to get a shot of this airliner =)

And after a long day's travel, this is the view from my hotel room balcony. And this is only the Holiday Inn Express; imagine if I'd stayed at one of those mega-resorts!

Cancun!

In a couple hours I'm off to Cancun for a week, where I'll fulfill a childhood dream and visit the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza.

Don't know how much blogging I'll be doing, and I don't know what my internet connection will be like, but I plan to publish at least a Picture Of The Day so you know how much I'm enjoying myself =)

Problem With Blogger

Blogger's automated system has determined that this blog might be a spamblog and has disabled it--just before my Cancun trip and my planned Picture of the Day!

If you're reading this, it means they've unblocked it after determining that this is not, in fact, a spamblog. I hope you're reading this shortly after I write this.

Update, 8/1/08: Apparently this was a large problem affecting many blogs. I'm glad the folks at Blogger restored everything so quickly.

Economics 101

From Megan McArdle, via Instapundit:

"Why aren't there hordes of economists studying meaningful alternatives to market capitalism? Because we've been experimenting with various other systems--both localism and extreme centralization--for over a century, and the experiment produces the same damn result every single time: human lives that are nasty, brutish, and short. . . . The idea that Chicago should scuttle the Milton Friedman Institute because it makes other professors unpopular with economic illiterates is shameful, and moreover, something that I presume few of these 'scholars' would tolerate if the ignorant were targeting their own fields. That this should be coming out of a university with Chicago's reputation for intellectual rigor is mortifying."

Socialism was tried at the Jamestown colony and it failed miserably. When the rules changed and the settlers worked for themselves, though, hunger ended almost immediately.

Charter Schools--Better Bang For The Buck?

The Center for Education Reform, although not entirely unbiased on the subject, sure seems to think so.

Anti-Military Activists Seek Access To Schools

My sense is that these activists often use disinformation campaigns that rival what they claim military recruiters use. They're certainly not "fair and balanced" in their information. Just as an example from their web site:

How to get out of JROTC classes
Maybe you heard from a friend that JROTC was really fun, that you get to go on trips and do special stuff. So you told your Counselor that you wanted to be enrolled into JROTC. But once you got in, you found out it wasn’t like that at all...If you are stuck in a JROTC class and cannot change classes you may want to ask the JROTC instructor about why you are studying war and killing.

They study war and killing and JROTC? Most interesting.

I love this so-called lesson plan by these kooks in which students are supposed to "research" JROTC and then write a letter to the school board asking them either to maintain or eliminate JROTC. Information about and against (not for and against) JROTC is given. This is the only information given in the "against" section:

JROTC does not encourage critical thinking, for it teaches students to march, obey, and blindly follow the leader. Why do we have classes in "marksmanship" when guns are not tolerated at school? The purpose of the program is not to instill leadership, but to recruit front-line soldiers of
color for serial warfare. JROTC sets low expectations in poor communities.

All the "about" information came from Mother Jones Magazine. Clearly they expect teachers to promote their propaganda in the classroom.

Propaganda techniques include:
patriotic flag-waving, glittering generalities, intentional vagueness, oversimplification of complex issues, rationalization, introducing unrelated red herring issues, using appealing, simple slogans, stereotyping, testimonials from authority figures or celebrities, unstated assumptions, and encouraging readers or viewers to "jump on the bandwagon" of a particular ideology.

Except for the "patriotic" part, I see a lot of their definition of propaganda on their own site--and on the left in general.

Expect more anti-American, anti-military activism in our schools during the next Congress, currently predicted to be even more liberal than the current one. The Obamessiah will not help in this matter, either.

Update, 8/11/08: I just learned today that CAMS, the organization discussed above, was created by the Los Angeles teachers union. Who says so? Their own web site.

And notice this professional, unbiased quote from that web site:

Teachers from other districts interested in protecting students from military predators should use their own unions for leverage. Contact your union, start a Human Rights Committee, and write a resolution like the one below.

Predators. Is this how you want your child's teachers to refer to soldiers? Is this the kind of person you want teaching your children? Does this sound like someone who presents unbiased, factual information?

But Darren, you say, you do the same thing. I do not. I make it clear when I state personal opinions. I'm very open and honest about my political proclivities. I don't hide behind a veneer of dispassionate balance while I indoctrinate my students to how I think they should think. And I certainly don't demonize those students who disagree with me. In fact, oddly enough, I stay in touch with at least as many of my leftie former students as I do with those who agreed with me. I practice diversity, I don't just talk about it.

I am not at all like these people who say they're against propaganda yet practice it. I am not at all like these people who say they "support the troops but not the war" but refer to troops as predators. I am not at all like these people who preach peace, harmony, and tolerance, but vilify those with whom they disagree.

"People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them."--Eric Hoffer

I do not support these liberal fascists, not at all.

The Purity of the Olympics

BEIJING (Reuters) - Some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday...

China had committed to providing media with the same freedom to report on the Games as they enjoyed at previous Olympics, but journalists have this week complained of finding access to sites deemed sensitive to its communist leadership blocked...

Beijing organizers said censorship would not stop journalists doing their jobs in reporting the Games.

What more can I add, except that this is a great example of a government knowing best what you need.

Gay Marriage Pins at the NEA Representative Assembly

I don't know if this is the exact pin given to attendees at the NEA Rep Assembly earlier this month (discussed here), but sometimes it helps to have a visual cue.

The message is "Gay marriage causes global warming only because we are so hot!"

What exactly are they saying here? Since no one except Greenlanders wants global warming, is this some kind of homophobic, anti-gay-marriage pin?

I don't get it. Seems stupid to me.

Dress Code Violation Penalty

In-school suspension? Wait in the office for your parents to bring appropriate clothes? How about a jumpsuit?

Update: It's hard to disagree with this observation:

What these adults didn't factor in, was the students are clever and love the idea of "organized chaos." I PROMISE you, on day one of school, nearly 2/3 of the student body will intentionally arrive out of dress code, forcing the administration to realize they don't have enough jump suits. Those who are "lucky" enough to wear one will think it's cool and it will almost become trendy.

The students may not know anything, but they're not stupid.

Carnival of Education

This week's is here and includes my post about Wikipedia.

NEA Continues To Push A Homosexual Agenda

I am exceedingly tolerant about homosexuality, but I do not think that everyone else in the country should have a radical homosexual agenda pushed on them by anyone.

I would prefer the NEA concerned itself with being a labor union, focusing on Darren's pay, benefits, and working conditions, and not serving as a not-even-subtle far-left-wing social organization. No, I don't want them even concerning themselves with education--I'm compelled to pay them money ostensibly because they "represent" me somehow in negotiations with my employer, I want them representing me. Education, and the students involved, are the purview of the parents, state legislators, and school boards.

But back to the topic at hand. I've identified before how NEA gives plenty of my extorted money to gay groups and organizations (see here). Their myriad resolutions contain many pro-gay points. Let's see how they're pushing the agenda this year:

The nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association, attracted 9,000 delegates to its annual convention in Washington, D.C. over the Fourth of July weekend. Delegates sported buttons with provocative slogans such as "Gay marriage causes Global Warming only because we are so hot!", "Hate is not a family value," "The 'Christian Right' is neither," and "Gay Rights are civil rights."

While I can actually agree with the last message, I don't quite see why my labor union needs to use my money to push this message. It's not--or it shouldn't be--their charter.

The influence of the gay lobby is pervasive in dozens of NEA resolutions adopted by 2008 convention delegates. Diversity is the code word used for pro-gay indoctrination in the classroom.

The NEA's diversity resolution makes clear that this means teaching about "sexual orientation" and "gender identification," words that are repeated in dozens of resolutions. The NEA demands that "diversity-based curricula" even be imposed on preschoolers.

Homosexuality is still a hot-button issue in our culture. I would prefer that parents pass on their own values to their children, not have left-wing values--even if I happen to agree with some of those values--forced upon children by their teachers in government education centers. When it comes to the values our schools should teach, I side with teaching tolerance as opposed to acceptance; let people think what they want. Schools shouldn't be taking a stance on moral issues that are still controversial. The schools should enforce appropriate codes of conduct, not thought.

The NEA is pushing plenty of other left-wing issues, too:

NEA resolutions cover the waterfront of all sorts of political issues that have nothing to do with improving education for schoolchildren, such as supporting statehood for the District of Columbia, a "single-payer health care plan" (i.e., government-run), gun control, ratification of the International Criminal Court Treaty, and taking steps "to change activities that contribute to global climate change"...

NEA resolutions include all the major feminist goals such as "the right to reproductive freedom" (i.e., abortion on demand); "comparable worth" (i.e., government control of wages according to feminist ideology rather than the free market); full funding for the feminist boondoggle called the Women's Educational Equity Act; and "the use of nonsexist language," i.e., censoring out all masculine words such as husband and father.

Keep in mind: I disagree with the author above in that I don't want a labor union worrying about the education of schoolchildren. If parents, legislators, and school boards are not looking out for children, and some other private organization is needed to do so, then let that organization live off of private donations and not via money extorted from my paycheck.

There are already plenty of pro-gay organizations out there. The NEA doesn't need to carry this (rainbow) banner. What do I think they should do? They could get their Democrat buddies in Congress to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision. Now that would be just, would restore fairness to our retirement system--and would directly benefit Darren. I wonder how much time and money the NEA spends on that compared to pushing a radical homosexual agenda.

Update, 7/31/08: Dr. Pezz attended the Rep Assembly and says that while the pins were for sale, the NEA was not pushing this particular message. The linked article implied that delegates were given these pins, and that might not be the case.