Yahman! (part 2)

It was time to say goodbye to Rusea high school and set our course towards Treasure Beach. On the way in our trusty Toyota van however, we hear some noise, and this is the sight that meets us outside the car:

On our way, we decided to stop for 5 Jamaican minutes (20 minutes or so in Norwegian/US terms). There was a shack by the road that sold us cold Heineken, and the view from the wall was quite beautiful:

After yet another night of heavy drinking, we met for breakfast at Chris', a local shack down the road. Notice there are a few 'Champion Breakfasts' on the table:

The first excursion of the day consisted of a boat ride up the Black River, which inhabits crocodiles. We were to move far up the river, take a short breather and swim at a nice location, and then roll back down to meet up with our drivers at approximately noon. Some pictures from the boat:

The thing in the water to the right is actually a spear fisher. Swimming in crocodile infested water.

It wasn't until we were about to pull in to the pier again that we actually saw crocs, three of them in total. Here's the first one we spotted:

There was one hiding just under the surface right next to that one, but this is the real treat right here:

After saying 'in a while', we left for YS Falls. This is a series of waterfalls located on the property of a ranch/farm maybe an hour from Black River. For a small fee, water-craving tourists as myself can go swimming in the delicious waters of this astonishing site. This picture is taken from the middle of the falls looking towards the top:

This is shot from the bottom of the falls, looking towards the top:

In the transport on our way back to the parking lot, we had another wheel mishap:


Having been moving around all day, we were scheduled to eat at a local cook shop called Howie's Truck Stop. Without leaving blame or telling you not to visit, this might have been the place of my food poisoning/not fun night. Jeffrey-man in a known posture:

Liz, Veronica et al. waiting to leave for the hotel:


That night also ended in copious amounts of alcohol, but the following morning was not as fun. This concludes part 2 of Jamaica, the rest should be out tomorrow!

Pissed off

How many college kids does it take to flush a fucking urinal? All of them, apparently.

Yahman! (part 1)

I got back into CT yesterday, and it is fucking freezing here. Well, no. It's hovering around the freezing point, which usually is not a problem. But approximately since St. Patrick's Day we have had 65+ every day! Thursday and Friday in CT were warm, Boston on Saturday was a good 70, and then Jamaica has averaged somewhere in the 300,000 range I think.

Nuvel.

I have decided to try and recap the trip with a few words and a few pictures. Bear with me please, this might be a long one (note: pictures have been shot at an infrequent rate at no particular point in time every day. Whatever was found interesting or not interesting is documented. What you are about to see is merely a fraction of the 400+ photos taken. Enjoy).

After landing in Montego Bay Sunday afternoon, we shuttled to Toby's Resort, not 5 minutes from the airport. After some beach time where Iggy was the designated shooter, we ventured back for some dinner. Before chow however, we did some rinsing off in the pool and some shots at the pool bar. Already a good trip.

Two of the energy kids that came with us, Alicia and Jeff:


Our teachers did not want us to post any pictures of us drinking alcohol, but I doubt any of them are reading. And if they are, I don't care!

After two rounds of pool in which Jeff beat me pretty badly, we wandered off into the night to check out what kind of nightlife Montego Bay had to offer. Instead, people kept running back and forth, some buying "shoes" and others buying alcohol for the next day. This led to Iggy being very unhappy:

After a short stint out and about followed by a rum-drinking session on Jeff and Justin's balcony, we went to bed around 2.30.

Next morning, early breakfast and it's time to learn! We were scheduled to visit the Western Society for the Upliftment of Children. This is a non-profit organization that works with street kids or kids that are in danger of becoming one. They school them, let them access computers, engage in theatre and put them in a safe environment during the day. We were visiting both of their campuses, the second one is still under construction:

After finishing with the WSUC, we hopped on another bus and drove to Global Villa, which is a small guest house outside of Lucea. In keeping with the theme, we hit the beach promptly, Red Stripe and rum in hand. After a shower, some food and more red stripe, things escalated, and the second night of shenanigans was a fact.

Tuesday was one of the days I had most looked forward to; we were putting up a wind turbine at a nearby high school. Arriving at the school at 8.30am, everyone was happy and lively:

After a lot of delays, some inaccurate measurements and, finally, logical reasoning by a few of us, we got to digging the holes for the cable anchors. After Clive Brown (the school janitor) dug up alpha almost all by himself, I decided to do a little work on both Bravo and Delta (I was in a good mood, so I decided to name the dig sites A, B, D, E, with the location of the turbine in the middle would be Z). After a short while, Councilman Edwards showed up, and he was eager to give me a breather from swinging the pick axe:

After lunch, me, Alicia and Veronica decided we should start assembling the turbine itself, becasue most of us were just standing around anyways:

Base of the assembly:

Top of the assembly, without the turbine. Note the cable hook-up point:


Instead of posting 60 pictures of yet another night of partying, here's a closeup of the upright and completed turbine from the morning after:


The turbine generates about 400w max, and it is hooked up to 4 6v batteries that are placed at the base of the assembly. The idea is that the wind energy will be used to power one of the schools buildings.

This was part one of the trip, rest will come shortly!

Spring Break!

Can I get a 'Hell Yeah!' from the crowd?

Anyways, I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow with a few of the usual suspects and the plan is to spend the day enjoying the fine New England weather we have experienced the last few days. Then Sunday morning it's off to Jamaica where everytin be irie man! I'm not bringing my laptop, and internet is not in place everywhere we are going, but if I find some fiber, I'll try to give a few signs of life. US phone will be off, Norwegian one will be ready should you need to contact me.

Adios!

Belated St. Patrick's

I feel alot better today!

War Pigs

Having several friends who have done military duty, and quite a few of them having combat deployments on their resume, I get to hear stories of both the good and the bad, the insane and the humane, the atrocities and the (sometimes lack of) policies that occupy a war zone. In talking with several active and veteran US military personnel, and especially the Marines, it becomes clear that these people are something out of the ordinary.

The Marine Corps is said to be older than the United states itself, "it's mother and M-16 and it's father the devil." Living in a country where military background is such and integral part of your place in society, the warrior culture, the amount of guns in circulation, it has led me to have an entirely different view on the American way of life, the Second Ammendment, war itself, and most importantly the men and women who actually do battle (and die) for their flag.

Alot of people around the globe were frustrated and angry when the Americans attacked Iraq in 2003. Some of this anger got channeled against the troops on the ground. Some of these troops were left behind by their government, either through lack of respect when dead, unfair treatment after being wounded, and sometimes even on the battlefield. These men and women signed up to protect the country from enemies, foreign and domestic. As the hierarchical structure goes, they have to obey orders. As the case was in 2003, those orders were to go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein. Now, I am not the defending the way it happened, the reasoning, or the aftermath. But the troops have done their job, and thousands of enlisted have died in the process. Even if it was for an unjust cause in the first place, these men and women did what their country told them to do.

There are many things wrong with this country. I should know. I've lived here for a good fourteen months now, over the past year and a half. But one group of people that will have my respect (I might not like all of them, but that's a different issue) is the active soldiers and the veterans of the United States armed forces.

I am not turning patriotic on behalf of the US. I am not defending the Iraq war. I'm simply paying tribute to my friends that have been (and some of them will be, again) deployed and served their country, be it American or Norwegian.

Morten, Aleks, Brian, Edward, Ryan, Brian, Rob.

Expletive

You all know how much I hate the Yankees. Turns out my gas company, Yankeegas is causing me more problems these days. I pay my full balance in February, 120 something dollars. Then they bill me AGAIN, for 360 USD. I mean, what the fuck? This is just ridiculous! And to top it off? When I call customer service, I get an answering machine that sounds like Paris Hilton mixed with Mark Wahlberg. ANNOYING!

Keanu

And what about Keanu Reeves? I can't even believe what he's saying when presenting The Hurt Locker for Best film nominations. Has he done ANYTHING worth mentioning since The Matrix? You know what, I'm actually curious. Let me Imdb.com that.

(intermission)

Answer: A Scanner Darkly, and The Replacements.

Btw, I'm happy for Christoph Waltz, getting his Oscar for the role SS Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. He deserved it.

Aughaughaugh

I did not know Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick were still considered celebrities. Did I not get the memo?

Uncle!

Tonight the something annual Academy Awards are being held at the Kodak Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Dresses, tuxes, limos and horrible champagne (yes, I mean 'Cristal') will occupy the screen. Everyone will be debating wether 'Avatar' or 'Up!' should win the award for best film, two of the nominees for best supporting actress come from the same movie and Alec Baldwin is co-hosting with Steve Martin, which I think will be worth the price of admissions itself.

As I have not seen all of the movies on the list, here are some totally awesome and unfounded predictions:

The Hurt Locker for Best film
George Clooney for Best Actor
James cameron for Best Director

Also, first day of the year barbequeing.

Leo! LEEEEOOOOOO!

Saw 'Shutter Island' this evening, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as federal Marshall Teddy Daniels in a pretty exciting thriller. The trailer for the movie is not at all descriptive of the actual plot, but the movie itself is very good. Lot of plot twists. Surprising ending.

Sorry for the short post.

Big Seven-Five

I do believe the Patriots showed Vince Wilfork the money this evening, as he signed a 5-year, $40 million extension with twenty-five of those millions guaranteed, ESPNBoston.com reports. This makes Wilfork the highest paid 3-4 nose tackle in history, and it also keeps a vital piece of that 30 front intact. Scouts and coaches alike always rave on about the importance of a good nose in the 3-4, and Wilfork is among the top 5 in the NFL.

Let's see if the Pats can keep this up.

Show me the money!

Free agency is underway, and for geeks like myself, this is just as exciting as training camp or the pre-season. Looking at free agent, possible landing spots and hoping to some higher power that the Patriots do something right this year. Giddy with everything!

Peppers to Bears, Cromartie to Jets, TBC re-signed by the Pats. So far.

Relic from the Cold War

I think I passed Andy Warhol on campus today.

Hi, I'm Tom Tucker

As promised, I have news:

I am as of last Wednesday the vice president for the Eastern Connecticut State University Tackle Football Club, or as we hope to call it; Warrior Football. There are still some budgetary issues, so donations would be welcome! But finally there's football at Eastern!

British Columbia

Favorite parts of the closing ceremony, except for the Norwegian national anthem: Michael J. Fox receiving a standing ovation and looking better than ever having a short monologue, the Russian choir singing their national anthem in anticipation for the 2014 games and Neil Young performing underneath the Olympic fire. All in all a solid closing ceremony where they even managed to make fun of themselves for not having everything working on the opening night.

Now, I have to go to bed, as there is work in the morning and afternoon. Good night!