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Don’t believe the hype

Ria — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:22:59 +0000

iPad slips from hype topspot

Now that the brouhaha is beginning to fade, maybe we can take stock of the absurdity of the latest product launch by Apple. For those unable to attend the event in person, there were live blogs galore and even a blow-by-blow retelling of what was happening inside by vloggers refused

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Blue and yellow

Ria — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:49:56 +0000

Back to work on Monday after an exhausting IKEA weekend: long trip to the mainland on Saturday, then six hours shuffling round the blue and yellow megabox, sustained only by Swedish meatballs and a family-size bag of Daims; Sunday busy with the allen keys, baffled by pictogram instructions simplified for our 23-language community.

What

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Bummerrrrrr!

Ria — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:37:28 +0000

I happened to pop over to Mininova to get something for the weekend. All my searches came back empty. Then I noticed the banner at the top of the page and clicked on the latest blog post.

It’s a familiar story, and one I’ve followed, all the way back to Napster in ’99. Ahh, happy

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Ria Bacon, Photographer

Ria — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:16:11 +0000

Another string to my fiddle, to add to those of editor, translator and trainer — marked by the first time I have been paid for one of my photos!

Here it is, a double half-page spread in the New York Magazine.

Regular readers of this blog may have already seen the picture gracing the

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Stranded on Tin Can Island

Ria — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:35:49 +0000

Our household goods and car are enjoying their last night on Tin Can Island, a tropical paradise for 40-foot containers off the coast of Lagos.

Our goods should have arrived in Rotterdam last week, but as a result of congestion at the port, they had a bonus ten days of cocktails and afrobeat

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Cable & Wireless Jamaica

Ria — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 04:04:19 +0000

The hiatus since my last post was not (only) due to my lack of time or inspiration, but because Cable & Wireless, owners of the DSL line that I use, cut me off for five days. I had forgotten to pay my phone bill, and ten days later, the line was suspended. I immediately paid

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Gone crazy gone mad

Ria — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 17:06:25 +0000

Following the previous post about poor service, I felt I should balance it with a post about how difficult it is to run a small business in Jamaica, particularly when it comes to getting a loan. Shortly after we arrived in Jamaica last year, we considered taking out a loan to buy a car. Our

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Anti-service

Ria — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 04:09:45 +0000

Some time ago, I decided to print out a couple of photos at a print shop in uptown Kingston. What occurred there was a prime example of the anti-service culture that is sadly so common in Jamaica.

When I entered the print shop, it was unclear who were customers and who were staff. I asked

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Make my day

Ria — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 20:36:51 +0000

I spent a chilly morning at the over-air conditioned offices of the National Water Commission offices in an attempt to get my latest bill reviewed.

It was for 22,000 dollars.

It was partly my own fault. Three months in, I noticed our consumption rate had never moved from zero. I had paid each monthly bill,

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Vote rustling

Ria — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:10:14 +0000

Nominated for Best Expat Weblog and Most Underappreciated Weblog

It was the blip in the stats that tipped me off. A sudden jump in the late afternoon, Caribbean time. Among the usual google image referrals for girl-on-girl housework and tits ‘n’ bums, kids ‘n’ mums, I spotted the fresh spoor from Ljubljana, Slovenia, referred by

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