Librarytour Jamaica

The LBI Shanachie Tour episode from Jamaica is now up. The first library is the same one Mary and I visited while out there.

Impressions of ACURIL2008

I'll write a post about my whole Jamaican experience later this week. In the mean time, here's a video for your enjoyment.

ACURIL2008 Update

As to the hotel problem, we checked back last night and they said that the dinners had been cleared from our account. We'll double-check when we get the bill Saturday morning but it sounds like this problem has been cleared up. I don't remember if I said this before but as a result of all this we figured out that eating via room service is actually cheaper than the hotel restaurant (the one of the three that are actually open) or the buffet. Go figure.

Yesterday afternoon we went down to the local craft market in Montego Bay and had an interesting experience. It was fun and we were able to pick up some interesting souvenirs but almost every booth (hundreds of tiny ones) mostly all had the same stuff. (I kept expecting to see "made in China" on some of the crafts but was unable to find a single one.) Every seller wanted to make sure you stepped into their booth and bartering was expected. Once we learned to say "no thank you" directly, they would politely back off. Before we left I had a Brown Stew Fish lunch. (I need to find the recipe for Jamaican Brown Sauce). It wasn't exactly what I expected (photo below) but it was delicious.

Last night's "cultural event" was a lot of fun. The room and the busses that transported us were very hot but it was worth it for the entertainment. I'm uploading the next batch of 200+ photos now but here's just a few shots I got from last night's event.

My presentation on Creative Commons this morning went well. Since I had a lot more time than I did @ CIL, I was able to present the material in a less rushed manner and even had time to show the videos. (Everyone loves the Muppets.) Here's the presentation slides (sans video) if you're interested.

| View | Upload your own

Hello from Jamaica

It's the end of our third full day here in Montego Bay, Jamaica and overall things have been going well. Friday was a long day in getting here so we relaxed most of Saturday and experienced the resort water park. Yesterday was a trip out to hike up Dunn's River Falls and the opening ceremonies for the conference. (Hey Jane, we need to talk about how to open a conference ;-) Today, the first full day of the conference went well. Stephen Abram's keynote was as interesting as always. And yes, there is such a thing as "Jamaican time". Be sure to check out all the photos and videos in my ACURIL2008 flickr set.

As for the resort itself, well, the WiFi is great if a bit pricey at $11.95/24 hours. Check out these download and upload speeds:

Keeping that in mind, we ran into a bit of a problem with food arrangements this evening. When we checked in, we were told we were on the "Modified American Plan" which included breakfast and dinner, while we were responsible for paying for our own lunches. We were given ID cards that we were to use to "pay" for those respective meals. This worked until tonight. When we got to dinner tonight, the hostess saw our conference badges she asked if we were with the conference. When we answered yes we were informed that our plan covered breakfast and lunch. We showed her our cards to no avail. We paid for the buffet dinner and planned to speak with the registration desk.

When we got to the desk we ended up speaking with the woman who checked us in on Friday night and she did remember us. Well, we were in for a double-whammy. It was true that the plan for the conference attendees covers breakfast and lunch, but since we got a cheaper room outside of the official conference rate (cheaper) we weren't supposed to have any meals included at all. "It was our fault" the woman said. I looked back at her blankly and then she said "So, you're wondering what we're going to do about it?" Of course, that was exactly what I was wondering. There was a bit of back and forth and here's what I offered as a reasonable solution: You give us what we were told we'd have (free breakfast and dinner) for the past three days. (This works out to three breakfasts, and two dinners as we had one dinner at the opening night conference reception.) We'd understandably pay for the one room service and one lunch that we had on site. Then, starting tomorrow, we'd gladly pay for all of our meals as it should have been. Reasonable I think since it was admittedly their fault.

We ended up being told that she'd speak to her manager and we should check back with her tomorrow morning and we're now officially on the "European Plan". Oh, and during all this, she asked us if we'd put a $6 tip on our dinner bill as that had been already posted to our account. No, we didn't. We left a $2 tip in cash on the table. Yeah, I'm really liking how this place is run right now.

Up up and away

I'm teaching a CSS workshop at the Commission today then flying to Denver. Tomorrow Mary and I are off to Montego Bay, Jamaica for the ACURIL Conference. I'll have a laptop with me but I don't know how much I'll be blogging. I do plan on calling in (via VOIP) to next week's Uncontrolled Vocabulary for a full report.