Something extraordinary happened while we were in Louisiana. Something which could have been disastrous but ended up with a happy ending. I can only say we were incredibly lucky. Or that Louisiana's citizens are very honest. Or that voodoo works. Any of these possibilities is valid, I'd say. You decide. I have not made up my mind yet!

We took a swamp tour with Cajun Pride Swamp Tours on our way between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. It was a very pleasant sunny morning and the swamps were beautiful. We saw and fed some alligators (a tourist's obligation!) and spent two nice hours with a small group of tourists in a little boat. Until here, nothing extraordinary. But then we returned ashore and to our car. And to our dismay, as we approached the car we saw something terrible had happened. The car's boot was fully open. All our baggage, three suitcases, had been left there. As the car boasted electric locks, it may have been quite easy for the ringkey to be pressed in SD's pocket while we were walking to the boat, so opening the boot. And it was left there for 2 hours, with our suitcases on display! As we ran to the car, our thoughts were the same: everything has been stolen. Nothing left! Clothes, some money, presents, two credit cards (luckily our passports were in SD's rucksack)...so...imagine our amazement when we stood in front of the open boot and saw...nothing missing! all our suitcases were there! What's more, when we opened them to check...all our belongings were there!

Considering we were in a touristic spot, parked in front of a road..what are the possibilities of leaving a car's boot opened for TWO hours and not being stolen anything at all?? As I said, this was extraordinary. Rare.Amazing. I thought we were very lucky. The stars were shining on us. Or maybe it was the two real voodoo dolls I had bought the day before at the Nottoway Plantation , which I had left inside one of our suitcases. They are hand made by a Voodoo lady in Shrevreport, and not Made in China as most voodoo dolls sold in New Orleans. Or the honesty of the Louisiana citizens. As I said before, any of these could be the truth. But, in any case, I've placed our two Voodoo dolls in our living room. Just in case...


Nos sucedio algo extraordinario mientras estabamos en Louisiana. Algo que podia haber tenido consecuencias desastrosas pero que acabo con un final feliz. Solo se me ocurre que tuvimos mucha suerte. O que los ciudadanos de Louisana son honestos. O que el Vudu funciona. Cualquiera de estas posibilidades es valida para mi. Asi que lo dejo a vuestra consideracion. Porque lo que es yo, aun no he decidido!

Fuimos a dar un paseo en barco por los pantanos entre Baton Rouge y New Orleans con la compania Cajun Pride Swamp Tours. Los pantanos estaban preciosos en aquella soleada y calida maniana. Vimos y dimos de comer a algunos alligators (la obligacion de todo turista!) y pasamos dos horas con un pequenio grupo de turistas en un barquito. Hasta aqui, nada de extraordinario. Hasta que volvimos al embarcadero y a recoger nuestro coche. Y para nuestro horror, cuando nos acercabamos al coche, vimos que algo terrible habia sucedido. El maletero estaba completamente abierto. El coche tenia apertura electrica, asi que nada mas facil que el boton de abrir el maletero se hubiera apretado en el bolsillo de SD cuando nos alejabamos del coche. Y durante dos horas, el coche se pavoneo con el maletero abierto, mostrando a todo el mundo nuestras maletas. Mientras corriamos hacia el coche, ya nos imaginabamos lo que veriamos : nos habian robado todo. El maletero estaria vacio! Ropas, algo de dinero, regalos, dos tarjetas de credito (afortunadamente, nuestros pasaportes estaban en la mochila de SD y no en el coche. Asi que...imaginaos nuestra sorpresa cuando, parados delante del maletero...vimos...que no faltaba nada! Y aun mas, cuando abrimos las maletas para comprobar si faltaba algo..nada! Todo estaba igual a como lo habiamos dejado!!!

Si tenemos en cuenta que estabamos aparcados en un lugar frecuentado por turistas, cerca de una carretera....que posibilidad hay de dejar un coche con el maletero abierto durante DOS horas y que no te roben nada?? Como ya he dicho, esto es extraordinario. Increible. Rarisimo!! En aquel momento, pense que teniamos mucha suerte. Que las estrellas nos sonreian. O quiza eran las dos autenticas muniecas de vudu que habia comprado el dia anterior en la Plantacion Nottoway , y que habia colocado en el interior de una de las maletas. Cada una es unica, hecha a mano por una seniora que practica el vudu en Shrevreport, y no como las que venden en New Orleans, que son "Made in China".O eso, o la honestidad de los ciudadanos de Louisiana. Como ya he dicho, cualquiera podria ser verdad. Por si acaso, he colocado las dos muniecas vudu en el salon. Por si las moscas...


The weather today:
Fog
13C
UV Index: 0 Minimal
Wind: From the West Southwest at 10 mph
Dew Point: 12C
Humidity: 91%
Visibility: 1 miles
Barometer: 1,019.6 mb

Wow! Ten days away on holidays and they have changed all Blogger!! I'll have a good look tomorrow. I have not had time to post today. There were a pile of assignments waiting for me, plus thousands of work-related emails. So this is just a short post to say we are back from the US, we have had a great time! Our list of states visited has increased in six : Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississipi, Louisiana and Florida. The weather was great : sunny and not very humid, with temperatures between 70 and 81 F, although we got two rainy days, one in Memphis and the other one while driving down the Mississipi delta. I'll give more detail in the next posts


Anda! Me voy diez dias de vacaciones y me cambian todo el Blogger!!! Maniana le echare una buena ojeada, porque lo que es hoy, no me ha dado tiempo de hacer nada. Habia un monton de trabajos entregados durante mi ausencia, ademas de los miles de emails (de trabajo, claro). Asi que este es solo un cortisimo post para decir que hemos vuelto de los USA y que nuestra lista de estados visitados ha aumentado a 6 mas : Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississipi, Louisana y Florida. Lo hemos pasado genial. El tiempo muy bueno, con temperaturas entre los 25 y los 30C, aunque tuvimos dos dias de lluvia, uno en Memphis y otro bajando por el delta del Mississipi.
Mas explicaciones en un futuro post.

The weather today:
Haze
21C
UV Index: 1 Minimal
Wind: From the North Northeast at 8 mph
Dew Point: 13C
Humidity: 58%
Visibility: 4 miles
Barometer: 1,011.9 mb

Closed for holidays from Thursday 29 April to Sunday 9 May (both inclusive). We'll be travelling in the States : Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis and New Orleans!

Cerrado por vacaciones del 29 de abril al 9 de mayo (ambos inclusive). Estaremos viajando en los USA : Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis y New Orleans!

The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
13C
UV Index: 2 Minimal
Wind: From the East Southeast at 1 mph
Dew Point: 12C
Humidity: 92%
Visibility: 2 miles
Barometer: 1,005.1 mb

This weekend we had a barbeque at our roof terrace. The weather was fantastic. There was no wind at all. So we not only cooked our food on the barbie but we also could sit outside and enjoy our meal al fresco. SD prepared a roasted salmon a la Jamie Oliver . It is incredibly easy to cook and the results are delicious!

Ingredients
1x1.5kg/3½lb whole salmon, scaled and gutted - 4/5 people (we get half of it cos we are only 2!)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large handfuls of mixed fresh herbs (parsley, fennel tops, basil)
a copy of a newspaper (the biggest, the better!)
string
2 lemons, thinly sliced
6 spring onions, thinly sliced

Method
Get yourself a nice fresh salmon, season inside and out, rub with olive oil and stuff with half the herbs. Open your paper out to the middle page and place your salmon in the centre. Scatter over your lemons, spring onions, fennel seeds and remaining herbs. Tuck some of these underneath and over the salmon. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil, tuck in the sides of the paper and fold to wrap up tightly, securing it well with lots of string. Wet the paper really well (really well!! You do not want it to burn!!)under the tap and either place directly on a shelf at the top of your oven, preheated to 220C/425F/Gas 7, for 35 minutes, or preferably cook on your barbie or on a rack over a camp fire for about 25 minutes on each side depending on the intensity of the heat. Once you've finished, remove string and newspaper and discard the herbs. Serve as you like, although I especially like it on top of a huge amount of salad.


Este fin de semana hicimos una barbacoa en nuestra terraza. El tiempo era estupendo. No hacia nada de viento. Esta vez, no solo cocinamos la comida en la barbacoa, sino que ademas pudimos sentarnos a la mesa y disfrutar de la comida al aire libre. SD preparo salmon al estilo Jamie Oliver . Es facilisimo de preparar y los resultados son...mmm..para chuparse los dedos!


Ingredientes
1x1.5kg salmon entero, limpio sin espina ni cabeza (pide que lo hagan en la pescaderia) esta es una racion para 4/5 personas. Nosotros cogemos medio lado del salmon porque solo somos dos, y lo doblamos por la mitad.
sal y pimienta negra
4 manojos grandes de hierbas mezcladas frescas (perejil, albahaca, hinojo )
un periodico entero (cuanto mas grande, mejor)
cordel
2 limones a rodajas
6 cebollitas (de las largas y delgadas)

Metodo
Compra un salmon entero fresco. Pide en la pescaderia que lo abran, limpien, quiten la cabeza y espina. Pero que lo dejen entero! Una vez en casa, sazona con sal y pimienta por dentro y por fuera, frotalo con aceite de oliva y pon 2 manojos de hierbas en el interior. Abre el periodico por la mitad y coloca el salmon en el centro. Pon encima y debajo del salmon las rodajas de limon y los dos restantes manojos de hierbas. Aniade un poco de aceite de oliva y envuelve el salmon en el periodico. Usa el cordel para atar el paquete, cuanto mejor hecho este el paquete, menos problemas habra en que se queme o se esparza el contenido en la barbacoa. Moja el paquete bajo el grifo. Bien mojado, sin miedo. Lo que no queremos es que se nos queme mas tarde! Para cocinarlo, lo mejor es colocarlo en la barbacoa (no directamente en las brasas eh? sino en la bandeja) durante unos 25 minutos, lado y lado, aunque tambien se puede cocinar en el horno (precalentado a 220C/425F/Gas7 durante 35 minutos). El tiempo de coccion sera mayor o menor dependiendo del tamanio del salmon. Una vez listo, se desenvuelve del papel de periodico, se tiran las hierbas y se sirve el salmon a tu gusto. A mi, personalmente, me gusta a pedacitos con un monton de ensalada.


The weather today:
Haze
14C
UV Index: 1 Minimal
Wind: From the North Northeast at 18 mph
Dew Point: 10C
Humidity: 77%
Visibility: 2 miles
Barometer: 1,012.2 mb

Happy Sant Jordi (St George)!!. Today it's the best day ever to be in Barcelona, Catalonia (and I'm not there!).The streets are all full of stalls selling books and roses to celebrate Catalonia's saint patron.
According to tradition, for Saint George's Day we are meant to give a rose and a book, but Saint George had little to do with this ritual historically. It is known that he was a Roman soldier, made a martyr by the Romans themselves in the fourth century for not rejecting his Christian faith. The most popular legend in Catalonia concerning Saint George recounts that there was a terrible dragon at Montblanc (Conca de Barberà). To appease the dragon, lots were drawn to choose a person who would be given in sacrifice to the monster. One day, fate chose the king's daughter, who would have died at the hands of the beast had a knight not appeared who fought with the dragon and killed it. In principle, Saint George was a figure connected to knights and chivalry, a fact that would explain the custom of giving a rose on the saint's feast day. Some people claim this practice dates back to the Fira dels Enamorats (Lovers' Fair), held in Barcelona since the fifteen century.

The celebration of the day of the book is somewhat more recent. In 1930, the date was agreed to be the 23rd of April, the day Cervantes died, as well as being the date for two other universal writers, William Shakespeare and Garcilaso de la Vega. Other renowned writers either died or were born on this date, such as Josep Pla, Maurice Druon, K. Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. Later on, this festival of literature was declared World Book and Copyright Day by UNESCO. The decision was taken on the 15th of November 1995 at a general conference held in Paris.


Feliz Sant Jordi (San Jorge)!!!. Hoy es el mejor dia del anio para pasarlo en Barcelona, Catalunya (y yo no estoy alli!) ya que las calles estaran llenas de puestos vendiendo libros y rosas rojas para celebrar el dia del patron de Catalunya, Sant Jordi. Segun la tradicion, en el dia de Sant Jordi hay que regalar una rosa y un libro. Aunque Sant Jordi tiene muy poco que ver, historicamente, con esta costumbre. Se sabe que era un soldado romano que no renuncio a su fe cristiana y por ello fue torturado por los mismos romanos. La leyenda mas popular en Catalunya dice que un horrible dragon vivia en Montblanc (Conca de Barbera). Los aterrados ciudadanos intentaban apaciguar al dragon entregandole un sacrificio humano, escogiendo a la victima mediante un sorteo. Un dia la persona escogida fue la hija del rey, que hubiera muerto en las garras del dragon si no hubiera sido porque un caballero lucho contra el dragon y lo mato. Al principio Sant Jordi era una figura relacionada con caballeros y caballeria, hecho que vendria a explicar la costumbre de regalar una rosa en la festividad del santo. Algunos afirman que esta costumbre data del siglo XV, cuando una Fira del Enamorats (Feria de los Enamorados) tenia lugar en Barcelona en el mes de abril.

La celebracion del dia del libro es mucho mas reciente. En 1930 se acordo fijarla en el 23 de abril, siendo este el dia en que fallecio Cervantes, asi como William Shakespeare y Garcilaso de la Vega. Otros autores de fama reconocida que tambien fallecieron o nacieron en esta fecha incluyen Josep Pla, Maurice Druon, K Laxnes, Vladimir Nabokow y Manuel Mejia Vallejo. El 15 de noviembre de 1995, en una conferencia general de la UNESCO celebrada en Paris se oficializo la fecha, declarandola Dia Mundial del Libro y Dia Mundial del Copyright.


The weather today:
Partly Cloudy
12C
UV Index: 2 Minimal
Wind: From the West Northwest at 6 mph
Dew Point: 7C
Humidity: 73%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,024.7 mb

Today I have created my email account with GMail (Google Mail). I just saw that it was offered in exclusive to Blogger users. Which is not bad. I think I will use it as a back up account but will still use my Yahoo!/Hotmail accounts for my very close friends and job-related issues. GMail has a little problem : as part of the free service users agree to have their emails scanned for special words. This will be used later on to send users specifically targeted advertisements. I don't feel like receving more publicity, frankly. So I've created my GMail account and will sparingly use it for this and that. A 1.000 megabyte account should be useful in the future. Another thing I find a bit annoying is all this "all new!!!" system of having labels instead of folders. Really! But you have to create labels just as you create the folders. And you have to label each email just as you move each email to folders. So what's the difference? Wel...now my Inbox will look always FULL of emails. Which is not good to me. I don't like full inboxes. Whereas with the folders, once an email is moved there, you don't see it anymore in the Inbox. Yep. I am this fastidious. I want an empty Inbox as soon as I have dealt with all the new emails. But oh well...it's for free so I cannot complain that much!


I am also using Proxify today,a web-based anonymous proxy service which allows anyone to surf the Web privately and securely. Unlike other proxies, there is no software to install or complicated instructions to follow. Just enter a URL (website address) in the form. Through Proxify, you can use websites but they cannot uniquely identify or track you. Proxify hides your IP address and our encrypted connection prevents monitoring of your network traffic. Which is all very good but it kind of modifies the website you are watching. It doesn't let you enter the website counters (if you can see them, that is!) and, in some cases, doesn't let you see the Comments in blogs. I think that depends on the Comments software. Nothing is perfect. But then...no complaining! It's for free!


Hoy he creado my cuenta de email con GMail (Google Mail). Vi que la ofrecian en exclusiva para los usuarios de Blogger, lo cual esta muy bien. Creo que la usare com una cuenta de back up. Para el resto de mis amigos intimos y trabajo usare mis cuentas en Yahoo y Hotmail. Es que GMail tiene un pequenio inconveniente : como parte del servicio gratuito, el usuario acepta que sus emails sean escaneados por software especializado en la busqueda de determinadas palabras. Esto permitira a GMail enviar anuncios especificos y personalizados a cada usuario. Ya. Pero yo no necesito mas publicidad, gracias. Asi que he creado mi cuenta GMail y la usare a veces. Una cuenta de 1.000 megabytes puede ser util en el futuro. Otro aspecto que no me gusta en especial es la sustitucion de carpetas por etiquetas. Y lo anuncian como un paso adelante, gran innovacion! Vale. Pero al final, tienes que crear etiquetas al igual que creabas carpetas. Y los emails recibidos en la Inbox se quedan en la Inbox, porque no hay carpetas donde meterlos. Y mira, yo es que soy asi, cosas mias, pero a mi me gusta tener una Inbox vacia vacia vacia cuando ya he leido los emails. Pero bueno...para que quejarse? Si es gratis!


Hoy tambien estoy probando la Proxify un servicio de anonimidad para el proxy, que te permite surfear por internet con privacidad. La diferencia con otras proxies es que no hay que descargar ningun software ni seguir instrucciones complicadas. Vas a la pagina web de Proxify.com, entras las URL en la ventanilla, y ya esta. TE lleva directamente a la pagina web sin mostrar tu identidad. Proxify esconde tu IP y no deja que ninguna pagina web pueda averiguar en que paginas web has estado o vas a estar en el futuro. Me parece genial, aunque tiene sus problemillas. La pagina web se ve diferente, no te deja entrar en los contadores de visitas (eso si los ves!) y, en algunos casos, no te deja hacer comentarios en los blogs. Me parece que eso depende del sistema de comentarios. Ya veis. Nada es perfecto. Especialmente si es gratis. Tampoco vale la pena quejarse, cuando no pagas nada en absoluto!


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
12C
UV Index: 2 Minimal
Wind: From the West Southwest at 5 mph
Dew Point: 8C
Humidity: 77%
Visibility: 6 miles
Barometer: 1,016.9 mb

UK Tv Premiere in Science Fiction channel : All New Twilight Zone. From Monday 26th April, every Monday, Friday and Sunday at 9.00pm.
Each one-hour episode gives you two self-contained stories, each with compelling but disturbing commentary from award-winning actor Forest Whitaker. In his role as host and guide, Whitaker reveals what life would be like if your dreams come true, and why you should be careful what you wish for. Forest Withaker replaces Rod Serling, Twilight Zone's traditional and well loved host, who not only presented and closed each chapter, but also wrote 92 episodes out of the total 156 of the original series.


My favourite episode ever is Time Enough at Last, in series 1, where nearsighted, meek bank clerk Henry Bernis is the sole survivor of an H-bomb attack. At last he has the time to engulf himself in his passion for books. Or so he thinks. I have watched that episode only once, but it really really made a mark on me. Just as when, as a child, I watched Fahrenheit 451 (based in R Bradbury's novel), that futuristic society where books were burnt became my room 101*. It still is.


*Room 101 comes from the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes 1984) by George Orwell ..... Room 101 is a torture chamber in which a prisoner is subjected to his worst nightmare.
Such is the omniscience of the state in the totalitarian society of 1984 that even a citizen's nightmares are known to the authorities. The nightmare - and therefore the threatened punishment - of the protagonist Winston Smith is to have his face gnawed by rats. Room 101, like Floor 13, give a sinister meaning to what would otherwise be an unremarkable room. For example, Thomas Anderson (aka Neo) lives in Room 101 at the beginning of the 1999. film The Matrix

Estreno de nueva serie en el canal Science Fiction en el Reino Unido : All New Twilight Zone. Desde el lunes 26 de abril, se emitira cada lunes, viernes y domingo a las 9 de la noche.
Cada episodio (de 1 hora de duracion) mostrara 2 historias individuales, cada una con presentacion del actor Forest Whitaker. En su rol de presentador y guia, Whitaker revelara lo que seria de nuestra vida si los suenios se hicieran realidad, y la razon de porque hay que tener cuidado con lo que se desea. Forest Whitaker reemplaza a Rod Serling, el muy apreciado presentador de la serie original Twilight Zone, quien no solo presentaba, sino que ademas escribio 92 episodios del total de 156 de que constaba la serie original.


Mi episodio favorito es Time Enough at Last, de la primera serie, donde el miope y cascarrabias Herny Bernis, empleado de banca, es el unico superviviente del ataque de la bomba H. Finalmente, tiene todo el tiempo del mundo para dedicarse a su pasion: los libros. O eso es lo que el piensa. He visto este episodio una sola vez, pero lo recuerdo perfectamente, de lo que me impresiono. Igual que, cuando en mi niniez, vi Fahrenheit 451, la pelicula (basada en la novela de R Bradbury) sobre una sociedad futura donde se prohiben y queman los libros. Fahrenheit 451 se convirtio en mi habitacion 101*. Aun lo es.


*La habitacion 101 hace referencia a la novela Mil novecientos ochenta y cuatro (1984) de George Orwell. La habitacion 101 es una celda de tortura en donde los prisioneros son expuestos a su peor pesadilla, aquello que les causa mas terror. El gobierno totalitario de 1984 es omnisciente y muy capaz de conocer incluso las pesadillas y temores de sus ciudadanos. El horror al que el protagonista, Winston Smith, es expuesto consiste en la amenaza de tener la cara devorada en vivo por ratas. La habitacion 101, al igual que el piso numero 13, da un significado siniestro a lo que, en otro caso, seria una habitacion totalmente irremarcable. Por ejemplo, Thomas Anderson (aka Neo) vive en la habitacion 101 al principio del film The Matrix (1999).

The weather today:
Cloudy and Windy
12C
UV Index: 1 Minimal
Wind: From the South Southeast at 25 mph
Dew Point: 10C
Humidity: 88%
Visibility: 5 miles
Barometer: 1,004.7 mb

A link to the 10 worst album covers : Worstalbumcovers

Un link a las 10 peores portadas de album: Worstalbumcovers

The most complete and updated guide to the UK radio stations on the internet: Radiofeeds. Listed by software : Real Player, Media Player, mp3 and Other players. Although I normally use my customised Launchcast radio station, -you need to create a free account in Yahoo!-when I reach the limits of the free service (and that is happening more and more frequently) I do sometimes tune in Juice Brighton, Liquid London or Virgin The Groove. If you are really really interested in what's going on in any corner of the UK, this is the best website. It even lists the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man radio stations!


La lista mas completa y actualizada de emisoras de radio del Reino Unido disponibles online : Radiofeeds. Aparecen listadas por tipo de software : Real Player, Media Player, Mp3 y Otros softwares. Aunque normalmente uso my cadena personalizada en Launchcast -es preciso abrir una cuenta gratuita en Yahoo!-, cuando llego al limite de la emision gratuita (y cada vez pasa mas rapida y frecuentemente), me pongo a escuchar algunas emisoras de la lista, como Juice Brighton, Liquid London y Virgin The Groove. Si estais realmente interesados/as en saber lo que pasa en cualquier rincon del Reino Unido, esta es vuestra lista. Si hasta aparecen las emisoras de radio de la islas de Wight y Man!


The weather today:
Mostly Cloudy
12C
UV Index: 3 Low
Wind: From the South Southwest at 6 mph
Dew Point: 5C
Humidity: 65%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 991.2 mb <

There seems to be some problem and my previous post is not getting published...

Parece que hay algun problema y mi post anterior no se publica....