barrbower

Many homes in the Lake Chapala area are not connected to any sewer system and this includes many "high end" neighborhoods. So people put in a septic tank but most do not have the space to install a leach field pipe so the tanks sometimes just overflow if not pumped out. To reduce the volume of waste water entering their septic tanks, they many times just run their gray water from sinks, washing machines, etc. out a drainpipe that lets this water flow downhill onto the street. The problems with waste water treatment facilities are the expense to build, dependable operation and maintenance, and "nimby" (not in my backyard.) In addition, large areas lakeside which already have septic tanks would have to pay for the pipe to carry the sewage as well as the connections to their individual homes which sometimes have drains to the back where any new pipe would probably be in the front street. And that is if there was even a treatment plant downhill from their homes. If not, then pumps would have to be added into the cost. So like many things in Mexico (not just lakeside) it becomes an issue to kick down the path to the next administration to deal with...or not. I don't think any complaint is going to change much. Alan

I also don't think that the the recent weather is the actual start of the seasonal rains. But still quite nice. The lake level changes very dramatically as the year progresses and from year to year. I have personally seen the water level as high in Ajijic as the intersections of 16 de septiembre and the old pier was completely covered. I have also seen it so low that there was at least a kilometer of dry ground before you could catch a boat to Scorpion Island. They put up barbed wire fences, soccer fields, and planted crops which fairly soon went back under water. The name of the "lake" in English is actually "Lagoon of Chapala" and when the level drops a meter or two it actually could represent a loss of half of the total volume of water. The deepest place is something like six meters and the average depth is only about half that. It continues to add silt from the runoff of volcanic soil in the surrounding mountains. The murkiness that is always present is because of that silt which never settles out to form mud but it does end up displacing water. Because of that, the laguna eventually will become wetlands and then a seasonally verdant plain....but not in our lifetimes. Most of the water lost every year is due to evaporation which contributes to our lovely micro-climate. Alan

I'd take it to Mama's Bar in San Antonio. I think they can replace the tip for you and they have several nice pool tables, good food, and nice bar. Alan

Just guessing but probably not before 10am of after 6pm. I think the 72 hour rule is still in effect...but who knows by the time he's leaving. We have two friends who traveled recently and the only person to look at the test was at the boarding gate. You'd think they would do it at check-in in case there was a problem...Maybe each airline has its own rules. Alan

Dan, I think the cheapest and easiest place to get the required test is Soriana. You pay inside and take the receipt out to the kiosk in the parking lot. They do the test right then and as soon as you get home there will be an email with results. Print that and take it with you to check in. Alan

https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news Allsides News is a good source for different viewpoints on the same topic. Click on the story for more details and then compare to another version of the "truth." Quite interesting to see different headlines from left, right, and center about the same story. This site fully admits there is bias in all news but they seek out different sources so you can see all sides. Alan

Bisbee Gal, Sounds like common sense to me. I do the same. I'm currently waiting for my second Pfizer. We truly do live in a wonderful area where pretty much all restaurants are either outdoors or at least open air. Keep in mind that even after vax you can still get Covid and could still spread it to somebody who might be in a high risk category. Best to follow common sense protocols and keep yourself and others as safe as you can. Alan

I like seeing somebody who is approaching me wearing a mask. Here is why. Covid virus is spread primarily through wet particles expelled during speech but more in a cough, sneeze, or loud shouting where a large volume of air is expelled. Wear a double layer mask and from two feet away try to blow out a candle...difficult. Then try it without a mask...easy. Slow motion videos with back lighting show the amount of particulate expelled with vs without mask. I've seen several. It's just physics. Now, there is no excusing folks who wear them under the nose or even the chin or insist on wearing a non washable mask until it's a dirty mess. There are $%&/()s everywhere. Just like the many people who won't get the vaccine but since the start have been promoting herd immunity. Now with herd immunity within reach they won't do their part to make it work. They'll die defending their right to not be told what to do on this issue but when sick with heart conditions, for instance, they will take a doctor's instruction on how to avoid future health problems. They will certainly do what their spouse tells them to do...And I'd bet all of them got vaccinated when they were kids not only because their parents were smarter than they are, but because it was required by school boards everywhere to prevent the unnecessary spread of disease. I really can't explain it... but if you go online you can find "peer reviewed" papers on flat earth, faked moon landing, and the superiority of the male brain. I know that last one isn't true...just ask my wife. Alan

Rather than checking your usage by turning off or unplugging things to check for theft, turn off all of your breakers. There should be absolutely nothing moving on your meter. If you just turn off everything or unplug things and you still show usage at the meter you could have a short or ground fault in the wiring which is buried in your walls. It could also be somebody is tapping your power but that is very hard to do without being detected. Tapping into an outlet on your side of the wall means going through two layers of brick, block, and concrete without you noticing. Few homes have exposed overhead wires running anyplace except from the pole to the meter but I suppose it could happen. Should be very easy to spot any visible tap on your wires. It might just be some problem with CFE that they don't know how to fix. Either in reading, billing, or wiring. We all know CFE stands for Can't Fix Electricity. Find a guy in a truck and pay him cash to look at your problem with an eye on correcting it while he's there. Alan

The old free road 54 is your worst option of the three. 54 D is the toll road and it was explained to me that the road portions with the new bridges will be all one way...I think heading down to the coast...and the current 54 D will be one way coming back. That will mean that the current two lane portions will both be going the same direction heading back north. Should speed things up quite a bit. Probably will be some pretty amazing scenery from some of those bridges. Also will probably increase the cost of tolls for all of 54D. Alan

By the way, I'm also pretty sure that the little package of lube that sometimes comes with o rings is also silicone grease...even for drinking water applications. Alan

Some petroleum products will degrade some rubber products so be careful. The dielectric silicone is not water soluble and the surfaces where it is applied on the threads are not exposed to water. The o ring is quite compressed and very little surface is exposed to the water. After a year of use the o ring still has the same light feel of silicone grease as when I applied it. You probably have move degraded polyvinyl chloride getting into your water than grease. I think in the USA PVC is no longer legal for use in drinking water supplies for that reason. Only used for drain, vent, waste, and irrigation. They now use CPVC, PEX, or copper but PVC still used widely in Mexico. Alan

I use dielectric silicone grease which is available at Autozone. I use it for the o rings and threads on my water filters as well as a variety of automotive applications. Alan

No, I read it. Just not fact/science based, in my opinion. As to my comparison to the other "choice" hot button issue it was only an attempt to show that some folks are able to pick and choose which life is worth saving and which choice should be protected by one's own beliefs. On both sides of both issues, by the way. We humans are a fickle bunch. Alan

I must admit that I am a little puzzled by those staunch (or semi) anti maskers, who in spite of medical evidence saying masks can help prevent infection that might kill somebody, claim it is their constitutional right to have a choice about their own health. Many of those same folks are also "pro life." So seems to me some lives are worth worrying about and some aren't. Remember, masks are mostly to protect others not just yourself. Same with hand washing and distancing. Just be nice out there. Alan

Yeah, next time you are in for a surgical procedure, just explain to the doctors that you don't need them to wear masks since you understand it is no longer medically recommended and it might be uncomfortable for them anyway...Forget the gowns, gloves, and all that hand washing beforehand. It probably dries out their skin anyway and those gloves just get all messy and they make the hands sweaty. And those gowns on top of perfectly good clothes? Please, read an article on the internet if you want the real (Q) truth! Alan (being sarcastic)

Just over a week ago Saturday we went to the Akron Stadium in Zapopan, after several friends went the previous Friday, to get the AstraZeneca vaccine. There was nobody there and the guard said the Friday turnout was so low they didn't think it was worth doing it on Saturday. 52,000 doses left unused. I don't think those lakesiders who went on Friday "stole" any vaccines from any Zapopan locals. The object of all of this effort is to get as many vaccinated as possible as soon as possible no matter how you do it. The same is happening in the US...doesn't matter where you are from just get it done. Hopefully Mexico will feel the same at every location the vaccines are being given. Alan

I don't have a smart phone but do have a cheap cell phone in the car for emergencies. Personal rights and societal needs, including fighting crime, have always been fluid situations. Think about gun laws. Think about banking policies. International travel. Health mandates. Eminent domain. Seat belts. There are countless examples. In any "democracy" or representative republic like these North American countries, people are elected to try to represent the wishes of the majority using socialist ideals. That is the way it has worked since the start. I never use the fire department but I pay taxes to support it. I never had kids but pay taxes to cover the cost of public education. Again, countless examples. As individuals we can vote to put in place folks we think will better support our views on how money gets spent. Nobody likes waste or fraud or corruption but those things also have existed since the start. Humans aren't perfect. There are satellites overhead watching pretty much everything we all do and the NSA has been caught listening in on private cell phone calls. There is a chip in your passport that tracks where and how that passport gets used. All of that put in place by governments trying to do the best they can for the majority as represented by elected officials. As permanent residents in Mexico we have all decided to give our personal data including photos, fingerprints, etc. to a government that we hope uses that data correctly according to how we, individually, understand what "correctly" means. We have less input on how any official policy, like the cell phone issue, is handled since we can't vote. We can try to voice opinions to those who can vote in an attempt to influence policy but we live in environments where things might not always go as we'd like. Countless examples. Better to just worry about the weather...something we can better control! Alan

In Ixtlahuacan they are giving the Cansino (one shot) not the Sinovac they gave out here. As to mixing vaccines for the second shot, there seems to be some research just starting on the topic. I'd probably stick to the same brand if it's a two shot type. Efficacy after one shot of the Pfizer is higher than the one shot Cansino (or J&J) but for some folks the extra hassle of getting a second shot outweighs the possibility of less protection. After two shots of Pfizer or Moderna they claim 95%. After one shot of either they now say 80%. All will probably suggest a booster after six months. I'm guessing the vaccines will be a part of the annual flu shots from now on. The 1918 Spanish flu variant is still part of the annual flu shot formula. Yep, it's still with us over 100 years later...Alan

All they wanted to see was the vaccine registration which has your CURP number on it. We took all the other stuff with us just in case but it wasn't needed. I'd take it just in case. Google "best route Chapala to Universidad Politecnica Tlajamulco." Take road to airport and turn off to go to Cajititlan. You have to use a returno. As you approach Cajititlan there will be a sign directing you to the right towards Tlajamulco. The 4 lane road goes to town but if you look at the map you turn off before getting into the busy town center The UdeG is on the east/northeast side of town out in the farm land. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Chapala,+Jalisco/Universidad+Politécnica+de+la+Zona+Metropolitana+de+Guadalajara,+Carretera+Tlajomulco+-+Santa+Fé+Km.+3.5+No.595+Lomas+de+Tejeda,+45641+Tlajomulco+de+Zúñiga,+Jal./@20.45583,-103.4281593,11z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x842f40b1771f4cb7:0x73c1721b67d87f53!2m2!1d-103.1846016!2d20.3051576!1m5!1m1!1s0x842f515676ce60d1:0xf6f1b0add14f8875!2m2!1d-103.4135878!2d20.4645456!3e0 There are students on the road directing you where to turn into the campus and they will walk you through all the rest. This is the link to the map. Hope this helps. Alan

We were there today as well. No sign-up required. Just drove in and showed our registration form. VERY well organized with lots of high energy and helpful students who are all volunteers. Tomorrow will be the last day for first shots and second round will be in 4 to 6 weeks. All shots are Pfizer from coolers on site. Didn't hear anybody talking about running out of vaccine. Folks giving the shots show you the vaccine in the syringe and then after use, they show you the empty and then break the syringe where you can see it. All folks are directed to tent garage to wait 20 to 30 minutes where folks will come by to check on you. Not all spoke English but many did. All done without leaving the car. All of Mexico should be doing the vaccines the way these amazing young folks do it. No questions about where you live; only a variety of health issue related questions. Takes an hour to get there on good roads. The UdeG is outside of town and from the Chapala side of lakeside it can be reached without really going into Tlajamulco. Kudos to U de G and others should learn from them. Alan

If they are tapping into the "power lines" I don't think it would show extra usage on the bill. They are robbing the power before it gets to the meter. I think the bills reflect only what travels through the measuring device (meter) and not what is traveling through the overhead lines. I have seen many carnival operators, welders, and construction crews drape a bare wire end over a hot power line that is nowhere near a meter or in some cases to work on a house that doesn't even have electricity yet. Not sure how it is being billed to anybody else. Alan

I have no idea why, but our last few CFE bills have been lower than ever. Most recent one was 222 pesos (5.50 USD per month) so not worth getting solar. We have lots of light bulbs, 5 ceiling fans, TV's, and computers/chargers, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. Some folks in our coto have similar homes and use about the same things we use and their bills are much higher. Our meter is fairly new and was installed by CFE when we did a remodel. There is no "diablito" device installed and we are not really all that careful about usage. Sometimes I think we are just lucky. But I'm not going to question CFE about it...sleeping dogs, etc. Alan

There is the smell of smoke in our neighborhood on a regular basis. The need to burn is partly for ag reasons as the local farmers clear brush this time of year in order to plant for the rainy season. It is the way it's done here and I don't begrudge them for continuing to do it. But most of the stinky smoke comes from trash and brush from construction sites and gardeners tasked with getting rid of yard debris. This I can partly blame on the local government for not providing places and ways to eliminate trash without burning it. Most of the construction guys don't have the ability to haul to the sanitary landfill out past Santa Cruz and there is no green waste dump site for creating compost and the regular trash truck won't pick up garbage at the building sites. So that leaves them having to burn trash and green waste. If the city wants to enforce the rules (which they should but probably never will) then they should have alternatives in place for the offenders. Alan

The Chachalaca birds I've heard but at lower elevations nearer the coast. First time I heard one I thought somebody was using some kind of power tool at the crack of dawn but not the woo woo bird. Alan