UPDATE 2005:
Video from San Bartolo
I've been with Bill Saturno's team in San Bartolo for the last two weeks, as they started a new season of excavation, survey, and conservation of the astonishing murals that Bill found in 2001. This past week, the tunnels were dug to extend the access to the murals, which were buried by the Maya inside a larger pyramid around 100 BC. The age and sophistication of these paintings, showing creation myths from the Popol Vuh, are changing our conception of the "preClassic" age of Maya civilization.
I have the unusual privilege of documenting the entire project on video, using a small, 3-chip DV camera. Most documentary productions visit these sites for a week or less, and they usually arrive long after discoveries are made. Already this past week we have had glimpses of astounding new artwork on the latest wall to be revealed. The first conservator arrives tomorrow to begin protecting and stabilizing the mural as Bill uncovers it.
I will be posting brief updates, using the satellite uplink which was installed just two days ago. The dish installers looked a bit shaken up when they arrived in this jungle compound after dark. They slept overnight here in a spare tent, and got the dish working quickly the next morning. Right now I am connecting wirelessly to the Airport in the palm-thatched lab, which is connected to the DirecWay dish.
The generator is going off soon, so I will pick this up again later. From San Bartolo, Buena Noche!
I missed this, getting ready to leave. From the New York Times:
Are All These Dams Really Necessary?
Next post from Guatemala. Nos Vemos!
Mexico and Honduras have signed a pact to exchange technical information, as a step toward the goals of Plan Puebla Panama - a unified electrical grid between Mexico and Central America.
OEM en Línea - CFE y Honduras firman convenio
Some years ago the authorities in Chiapas were deporting foreigners who came to Mexico on tourist visas and got involved in pro-Zapatista rallies. At least one government official is pushing to reinstate a similar policy.
El Economista - Buscaran expulsar a extranjeros de Chiapas
A note for Ron Canter - we need this for the Usumacinta. Topography, cultural info, hydrology. 3 layers on one map.
The Salt Lake Tribune -- Guatemala police get first break
Guatemalan police said Wednesday they made the first arrest in the case of an Ogden architect who was killed earlier this month on a Book of Mormon tour through Central America.
There's minimal information on the site, but this year's Mesa Redonda (Palenque Roundtable) will be held June 2-5.
My 17 year-old son Will is suddenly an expert in the singularity, transhuman possibilities, nanotechnology. Here's a link for him. And anyone else interested.
From Boing Boing, a link to a do it yourself alcohol stove for backpacking. I just got through buying gear for my trip, and I passed on the stoves and cooking pots. I think someone else is hassling that wherever I'll be. But I may be wrong.
PCTHiker.com: Pepsi-G Stove Assembly Instructions
Thanks to Xeni who posted it.
Bear with me. I'm posting more tips about GarageBand so I can find them later, when I'm in my tent in Guatemala listening to the howlers. Thanks to Alison Scott, who collected these tips in her weblog, Macadamia.
Macadamia: Caution: Garageband may be Gateway Drug
While looking for inflatable, light rafts that I can lug around with me before the Usumacinta river trip this spring, I found these folks. A family owned business in Alaska, a 4 pound backpackable raft, well-constructed of tough materials - sounds good to me!
Alpacka Raft Denali Llama style packraft
Okay, I spent half of one night this week playing with GarageBand. Fun, easy, good sounds for one quarter of the cost of Apple's $50 iLife package it comes in. In the mid-nineties I reached the peak of my misspent musical career, scoring four television shows for A&E. Back then there were thousands of guys with a keyboard and a computer. Now there will be millions.
Here's the first of many add-on packages to come:
MacJams.com - In Depth: Apple GarageBand Jam Pack
Recent findings about the pre-classic roots of Palenque.
Artes e Historia México - Encuentran evidencia del preclásico maya en Palenque, Chiapas
Some background on what we are up against, and who our allies might be. Fox's environmental reorganization in September 2003.
Politicos Replace Technocrats in Mexico Shakeup
For Science, Nanotech Poses Big Unknowns (TechNews.com)
A summary of the situation in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, including its biodiversity and the many illegal settlements that are becoming a source of conflict.
CUENTA CHIAPAS CON GRAN RIQUEZA BIOLOGICA EN 1.3 MILLONES DE HAS