Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Soufriere Hills Volcano on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean

Thar she blows! Soufriere Hills Volcano on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean blows hot rivers of lava which cascade down from the dome.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Mermaid or Whale?

Recently, in a large city in Australia , a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said, "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster,
responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.) They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia . Whales are wonderful singers
and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators
other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don't exist.
If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts
due to identity crisis.. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Just look at them ... where is IT? Therefore, they don't have kids either. Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me:
I want to be a whale.

P..S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my friends. With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy.

Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good grief, look how smart I am!¨

Sunday, January 24, 2010

News from the BVI & Montserrat , January 2010

updated July 2019

Sailing in Virgin Territory | uk.yachtworld.com
By Ian Atkins
Try a sailing holiday in the British Virgin Islands – where a lifelong sailor can make the whole family happy, including himself.
uk.yachtworld.com - http://uk.yachtworld.com/boat-content/

The Moorings Sponsors the 2010 BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing ...
By admin
CLEARWATER, FL–(Marketwire - January 21, 2010) - The Moorings announces its renewed sponsorship of the 39th annual BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival , March 29 - April 4, 2010, at Nanny Cay Marina Resort in Tortola, British Virgin ...
House Nanny - http://housenanny.com/

Tortola & Virgin Gorda (BVI) - Local Reports (Caribbean Hurricane ...
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is nothing less than Paradise on Earth, ... Christmas Cove on Great St.James has always been a great snorkle stop and the ...

Sail Away: What Part of "I DON'T WANT TO WORK ON A MOUNTAIN" Did ...
By Sandy Montgomery
My Other Blog: Musings, My Work in Film, Driving Crazy Tortola Roads, and a Perfect Tortola Wedding. Living the Dream. All photographs are mine and not to be copied without express permission from me. ...
Sail Away - http://sailornot.blogspot.com/

Sailing in Virgin Territory | www.yachtworld.com
By Ian Atkins
Glenn met us at Beef Island airport, on Tortola, following our short hop from the madness of Antigua airport on a busy Friday afternoon. A short stroll from the airport terminal down to the dinghy hauled up the beach at Trellis Bay, ...

Quadriplegic sails into Tortola after crossing Atlantic - Topix
Twenty-five years ago, a tall, blonde 18-year-old yachtsman dived into shallow waters in Tortola's Cane Garden Bay, broke his neck and became paralyzed from ...

customs question -- going to JVD/tortola
Hi all! I have a question....does anyone know the hours for customs? I'm guessing that the ferry schedules run based on those hours of operation.

Elected official admonishes media for negative reporting on youth
BVI News Online
BY BVI CORRESPONDENT Representative of the Fifth District, Elvis Harrigan, has expressed his concern about what he believes is a significant amount of ...

Open Letter - Teachers Too, Can Train Up A Child!
Platinum News Online
It is a known fact that the BVI is a God-fearing community and if we are living by the laws of God, one such law states that we should train up a child in ...

Youth social day in Virgin Gorda
BVI News Online
For the parents and players based on Tortola, Speedy's Ferry will depart Road Town ferry dock at 9am. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you ...

BVIslanders share their views on Haiti situation (photo gallery included)
BVI News Online
BY BVI CORRESPONDENT The Haiti crisis has affected many, and overwhelming support has been pouring in worldwide. In light of this BVI News took to the ...

Farmers' Week 2010 to be the topic of the next Live Public Eye
BVI News Online
BY Admin-BVI Farmers' Week 2010 Agricultural Exhibition will be the topic of the next Public Eye programme, airing Tuesday, January 26, at 7pm live on CBN ...

37th International Rolex Regatta Set for March 25 to 28 2010
All At Sea
The International Rolex Regatta is the first leg of the Virgin Islands Race Week; the second half of the series continues as the BVI Spring Regatta ...

Travelers In Paradise:The BVI- What you need to know about the ...
Information on the history of the BVI as well as what to see, do, eat, where to stay, and other resources while vactioning in the British Virgin Islands.

Tortola & Virgin Gorda (BVI) - Local Reports (Caribbean Hurricane ...
Readers have sent in a variety of questions and Dear Miss Mermaid answers them here .... Bet you are wondering HOW Dear Miss Mermaid knows all the stuff. ...

Last Train Home's Eric Brace talks about recent collaborations
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Just back from an island tour — St. Thomas, Tortola on New Year's Eve, St. John and St. Croix — Brace answered some questions via e-mail. ...

CARIBBEAN: Waiting for the big bang | Caribbean Daily News
By admin
Earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis are all facts of life, so much so that earthquakes with a magnitude 7.0 or greater have occurred in the Caribbean near Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the island of Hispaniola over the past 500 ... He said the Caribbean plate goes from west to east and it is a subduction zone that runs from Grenada in the south to Montserrat in the north. The fault that was responsible for the January 12 quake extends west through Jamaica. ...

Montserrat Volcano... Scroll down for a video of the recent eruption

Sailing Vessel Gra'inne: Soufriere Hills Volcano
By Bob and Lesley
On our crossing we noticed a very strange cloud - perhaps a cloud of ash over the Montserrat Volcano. As we continued North we began to see very unusual boiling clouds - perhaps pyroclastic flows of ash and rock down the Northeastern ...

The respiratory toxicity of airborne volcanic ash from the ...
Biochemical and cellular assays used to assess the toxicity of Montserrat volcanic ash and its major mineral components, with time, after instillation. ...

Montserrat Tourist Board
The Club also announced at the press conference that Saturday November 27th, 2010 will be the date for the 2nd Montserrat Volcano Half-Marathon. ...

Head to Montserrat for The Volcano Show | TrulyCaribbean.Net
DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO? HEAD TO MONTSERRAT FOR THE VOLCANO SHOW Montserrat welcomes visitors during the active period of the Soufriere Hills Volcano. ...

Thursday, January 21, 2010

News from Virgin Islands January 21-22, 2010

Teen accused of attempted burglary at RT Police Station headed for High Court
BVI News Online
BY BVI CORRESPONDENT A burglary case against eighteen-year-old Vernon Bernard will be heard during the February criminal assizes of the High Court of ...

Impressive line-up expected for 2010 Music Fest
BVI News Online
BY BVI CORRESPONDENT The Music Fest Committee is close to sealing deals with major artistes to perform at the tenth anniversary of the Territory's Music ...

BVICF Announces Season Opener
Platinum News Online
The BVI Cycling Federation cordially invites the public to its seasoning opening event slated for Sunday February 7. Following a brief opening ceremony at ...

Caribbean Hurricane Network

Thursday
Caribbean Hurricane Network
By dearmissmermaid at aol.com Today was a pretty day here in Tortola. We had a few showers over night but nothing more than a small one at best. ...

The Moorings Sponsors the 2010 BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival ...
Earthtimes (press release)
... of the 39th annual BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival, March 29 - April 4, 2010, at Nanny Cay Marina & Resort in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. ...

Government bestows honorary belongership on Geoff Holt
BVI News Online
While in the Territory, Mr. Holt visited a number of schools on Virgin Gorda and Tortola and during his visit to the Eselyn Henley Richez Learning Centre on ...

Residents pledge $180000 to assist Haiti
BVI News Online
BY BVI CORRESPONDENT Approximately $180000 was pledged on Monday evening during a three-hour telethon organized by the Rotary Family of BVI. ...

LIME Donates Over US$7000 for Haiti Relief
Platinum News Online
"Given that we are One Caribbean, I think this was an excellent gesture on the part of BVI LIME employees to reach out to our neighbours. ...

Premier addresses concerns about Labour Code
BVI News Online
BY BVI CORRESPONDENT Concerns about the new Labour Code as it relates to newly married, expatriate and belonger couples were brought to the attention of ...

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Live Reports from Haiti

I met a guy on the bus who was holding a sandwich. He had left his house to go buy a sandwich when the earthquake hit. He returned to his home to find it flattened, then went to the school that he teaches at to find it flattened. With nothing left but a sandwich in his hand, and $7 in his sock, he set out for Cap Haitien to be with the rest of his family.

Quote from a live correspondent in Haiti, reporting on StormCarib.com

Port-au-Prince Cathedral, Before the Earthquake

Port-au-Prince Cathedral, After the Earthquake

Pray for Haiti

Donate to the Red Cross

http://www.redcross.org/en/

Three things in human life are important

Three things in human life are important:

the first is to be kind;

the second is to be kind;

and the third is to be kind.

~Henry James (1843-1916)

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Winston Churchill

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou

Thursday, January 14, 2010

News from the British Virgin Islands January 14, 2010

VI Pushing to Get More Mega Yachts
Platinum News Online
As the BVI Government through its Tourist Board (TB) continues to find ways to attract more tourists to the Territory, attempts are being made to lure more ...

HLSCC to bury time capsule tomorrow
BVI News Online
BY BVI CORRESPONDENT A time capsule will be buried on Thursday morning at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College as part of ongoing celebrations to mark its ...

Cancellation of tender for construction of Culinary Arts Centre at HLSCC
BVI News Online
BY Admin-BVI The Procurement Unit of the Ministry of Finance wishes to inform the public on the cancellation of the construction of the Culinary Arts Centre ...

Haiti Earthquake Videos; Warning; Very Graphic

http://www.RedCross.org/

This is video sent on the day of the earthquake. The Global Orphan Project supports over 2200 kids in Haiti. This video was sent by Louis St. Germain through the Cambry Technical Center to Shane Hackett and Frantz St. Germain.

The CBS News Investigative Unit has acquired video of buildings collapsing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during the country's worst earthquake since 1770. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 and dozens of aftershocks.

Donate to RED CROSS to help HAITI.

The Horrific Aftermath Of Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti... This Is A PSA To All Who See , Help Support

A photoessay with images from Jan. 12 - Jan. 13 of the disaster in Haiti. You can donate to our International Relief Fund by visiting www.redcross.org

Haiti Earthquake-(Before & After photos)

COPY and SHARE this link

Haiti Video Links after the Earthquake

so others will be encouraged to donate to

http://www.redcross.org/

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Dear Miss Mermaid wants to connect on LinkedIn

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- Dear Miss Mermaid
Confirm that you know Dear Miss Mermaid
Every day, millions of professionals like Dear Miss Mermaid use LinkedIn to connect with colleagues, find experts, and explore opportunities.

See Dear Miss Mermaid's profile here.

Monday, January 11, 2010

St John Life in the Virgin Islands

Gerald Singer of St John has written many interesting books about St John, St Thomas ad Vieques. He also maintains a great website about St John, aptly named St John Life.

I spent several fun filled year in and out and around St John and Gerald was a good friend of mine. But hurricanes and hangovers... and I ended up sailing onwards. Some of the stories in my book "Hurricanes and Hangovers" are about St John.

Here are some of Gerald's books you might be interested in reading.

St. John Off The Beaten Track August 2006	St. John Beach Guide	St. John Off The Beaten Track September 2000
Tales of St. John and the Caribbean	St. Thomas United States Virgin Islands	Vieques

Beach at Buck Island, British Virgin Islands

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Fructose: A Deadly Poision?

This was sent to me and I find it easy to believe! Of course I believe that our foods are purposely tainted with chemicals we don't need that have NO nutritional value, and this is so that we will get VERY sick and spend way too much money with the medical community and the big bad drug companies.

Subject: ADV: The Most Deadly Food on the Planet- Found in Everything.

Recently, scientists have proven that Fructose, a sweetener
derived from corn, causes dangerous growths of fat cells around
vital organs and can trigger early stages of diabetes and heart disease.

This cheap form of sugar is used in thousands of food products and
soft drinks and is destroying the human metabolism and fuelling the
obesity crisis. This cheap but deadly sweeter is found in virtually
every processed food like candies, yoghurts, cakes, cookies, protein
bars, health food bars, salad dressing and cereals. Even health foods
and health fruit drinks that sound healthy contain fructose.

This week, a new report claims that about one in ten children in
England will be obese by 2015. Over 10 weeks, 16 volunteers on a
controlled diet including high levels of fructose produced new fat
cells around their heart, liver and other digestive organs.
They also showed signs of food-processing abnormalities linked to
diabetes and heart disease. Another group of volunteers on the same diet,
but with glucose sugar replacing fructose, did not have these problems.

High Fructose Corn Syrup could be the deadliest food in your grocery store.
The concern is that it is hidden in many foods and so you really have to
look closely before you eat or drink. My recommendation is to start
reading the labels before you buy any food.

The Slabs in California (Updated Often)

For some perverse reason, I've become fascinated with a place called THE SLABS near Niland California at the Salton Sea in the desert. As I find interesting links, I will put them here.

And Life Goes On: The Good, the Bad and the Bizarre!!
By firstep
For almost 10 years we heard about The Slabs or Slab City (as it is called) and for almost ten years we avoided staying there. But when Diane and Andy (valued Escapee buddies) said how much they enjoyed their time there and we really ...
And Life Goes On - http://firstep-andlifegoeson.blogspot.com/

The Slabs By Russ | January 1, 2010

Scavenging the Slabs | Hitek Homeless
By johnny
Once again, we arrived at Slab City in the dark and were unable to find the primo campsite. So, we just settled for the same site we had last year, pulled in (checking for nails) and staked our claim. Unlike last year, we had two bikes ...
Hitek Homeless - http://hitekhomeless.net/

Bourbon, Bastards and Birds: Pissing On The Fire
By Seagull Steve
Slab City ("The Last Free Place On Earth") and Salvation Mountain were both very popular with some of us on the Burrowing Owl crews when I lived down there, and I was happy to get back to see Leonard Knight and his mountain. ...
Bourbon, Bastards and Birds - http://seagullsteve.blogspot.com/

The Slabs - iRV2 Forums
By CorsairIIAT
The Salton Sea is long dead and now just a big stinky puddle. If you are looking for a good place to drop out of society, this is a great place to do it. Slab City makes Quartzsite look like a luxury resort. ...
iRV2 Forums - http://www.irv2.com/forums/members/kittynesh9-42743.html

Welcome to Slab City on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Slab City is an informal city of snowbirds and year-round residents squatting on an abandoned World War II navy base east of Niland, California.

Happy New Year! | The Path Less Pedaled
By Laura
Slab City, California… where we learned that, sometimes, it's best just to check your expectations at the door. Favorite Aspect of the Journey… Meeting all of the people that we've had the opportunity to connect with along the way, ...
The Path Less Pedaled - http://pathlesspedaled.com/

Videos tagged 'slabcity' on Vimeo
2 months ago. 2009 Boicott BMX Camping Jam - Slab City. 2 months ago ... Exploring The Salton Sea & Salvation Mountain at Slab City. 8 months ago ...

The Slabs | The Path Less Pedaled
By Russ
When you enter Slab City, you are greeted by a concrete military sentry box painted over with flying doves and what looks like a Christmas tree. Immediately two things are clear - nothing here is what it seems and this place is full of ...
The Path Less Pedaled - http://pathlesspedaled.com/

YouTube - Club Oasis-Slab City
A cool club in Slab City, Ca. up from the Salton Sea. They had a small libray and movie viewing area. They serve home made food on Wed. nights. Wish we ...

Slab City California by Daisymaye
These are all Slab City shots. Slab City is an area in the desert where some people go and spend the winter in their rv\'s. I think some people even live ...

YouTube - Accordian/tremeloa Song
RV Marvels - Salvation Mountain at Slab City. 4606 views. RoadabodeProductions ... Salvation Mountain near Slab City | Cam3ram3n. 1235 views ...

Why Shopping in the BVI can be so Frustrating!

I received this email from s resident in St Thomas, i response to BVI shop keepers whining about their lack of sales in recent news articles, and claiming too many people go to St Thomas to shop:

I am pretty darn sure the migration of shoppers to St. Thomas head for KMart, Cost-U-Less and Home Depot...petition your business men to open some sort of discount store...I am sure that will help.

Here is my short essay on BVI Shopping...

They need to eliminate the import duty. Ever been to St Martin? No import duty and the stores are overflowing with inventory at competitive prices.

Last time I was there, I bought a gorgeous linen dress with a matching short sleeve jacket, it was on sale for $10! I found some hand painted sarongs, also discounted on sale, for $5. Drug stores were overloaded, you could find most any American or European personal care product that your heart desired. Shopping there was fun! There was just so much to choose from and so many stores plus loads of outdoor markets where the crafters and artists set up shop.

BVI could take some serious lessons. One huge problem in the BVI is recently the landlords have become super greedy, so rents are out of sight, duty is payable not only on the merchandise but on the freight costs TOO! All this has to be paid up front before the merchant can even see their products.

Small wonder when they end up with inventory boo-boos they can't afford to discount them and just keep the stuff moving. Many merchants in the BVI don't understand the value of keeping the inventory moving, most are content to wait how ever long it takes, to sale a certain item at a certain price, even if it gets old, dusty, and rusted.

I once tried to buy some mirrors from a hardware store. They had been there so long that the edges were cracking and the mirror backing falling off. The flimsy frames had come loose from the mirrors and many frames were warped. I just wanted the mirrors and planned to install them at my home and do some seashell artsy frames to hide the damages. Do you think the owner would come down on his over priced damaged ancient mirrors? Hell no!

He even had electric appliances from the 50's and 60's, hunks of rust he refused to discount.

The lack of produce managers disgust me the most. They will let the produce rot rather than discount it and give you a break on food costs.

I have on more than one occasion hauled home out of date stuff I found in a certain garbage bin. It was out of date by ONE day and tossed in the garbage. I think I nabbed about $400 worth of stuff that day, and lived to eat it *giggle*. Now that was RARE, but why they refuse to give the resident a break is beyond comprehension!

News from the British Virgin Islands January 10, 2010

Two Vehicular Fires In 3 Days
Platinum News Online
A source at the Fire Department told BVI Platinum News that the driver, like the one in the other incident earlier in the week, was clueless on what caused ...

A Traveler's Notebook: Peter Island, B.V.I.
By Tim
Peter Island, B.V.I.. We're back from Peter Island, and it certainly lived up to its billing as a unique Caribbean hideaway. After landing in Tortola, and taking a short ride to the docks, we took the resort's ferry to the island under ...

RumShopRyan

History Of The Virgin Islands

www.stthomasblog.com

I really enjoyed this article in the latest “This Week“. It was a nice article about how it all came together here in the Virgin Islands.

MORE than 25 years ago, Geoff Holt's life was changed for ever.
Portsmouth News
Diving into shallow waters off the Caribbean island of Tortola, the then 18-year-old broke his neck, leaving him paralysed from the chest down. er becoming ...

Shopping in Tortola or St. Thomas?
BVI News Online
For example, in discussing the shop Tortola or St. Thomas issue with a close family member who resides in St. Thomas, my family member confirmed that paper ...

Windstar Presents Its Ultimate Cold Remedy
PR Newswire (press release)
Port of calls include St. Kitts, Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and St. Barts. Wind Surf's 7-day roundtrip sailings from Bridgetown, Barbados call on ...

Tortola and Virgin Gorda (BVI) Update [Wed, Jan 6 11:04 EST ...
By admin
Tortola and many islands, live in a different time, at a unique pace. White is the preferred color for decorating with outdoor lights at Christmas, in the islands. This is because the lights are rarely taken down, until they burn out, … ...

Cannabis College Redefines 'Higher Education'

$750,000 Supercharged 41 Luxury Cat Goes 125 MPH

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Progressive Collapsible Kitchen Stuff; Who'd A Thunk It?