August 14, 2002

Digression 5.1: A new Orchid Species


 


Well, things are more complicated than they appeared from the NYT article according to this article from the Miami Herald, people are ready to make a quick profit. Unfortunately it appears the plant does not propagate very well, somebody is already doing it!!! There is also controversy about scientific claims….how juicy. Friends tell me that what is more impressive about the discovery is how purple the flowers are and the fact that they are twice as big as other species. Neat!!


August 14, 2002

Digression 5.1: A new Orchid Species


 


Well, things are more complicated than they appeared from the NYT article according to this article from the Miami Herald, people are ready to make a quick profit. Unfortunately it appears the plant does not propagate very well, somebody is already doing it!!! There is also controversy about scientific claims….how juicy. Friends tell me that what is more impressive about the discovery is how purple the flowers are and the fact that they are twice as big as other species. Neat!!


August 14, 2002

Digression 5.1: A new Orchid Species


 


Well, things are more complicated than they appeared from the NYT article according to this article from the Miami Herald, people are ready to make a quick profit. Unfortunately it appears the plant does not propagate very well, somebody is already doing it!!! There is also controversy about scientific claims….how juicy. Friends tell me that what is more impressive about the discovery is how purple the flowers are and the fact that they are twice as big as other species. Neat!!


August 14, 2002

Digression 5.1: A new Orchid Species


 


Well, things are more complicated than they appeared from the NYT article according to this article from the Miami Herald, people are ready to make a quick profit. Unfortunately it appears the plant does not propagate very well, somebody is already doing it!!! There is also controversy about scientific claims….how juicy. Friends tell me that what is more impressive about the discovery is how purple the flowers are and the fact that they are twice as big as other species. Neat!!


August 13, 2002

Digression 5: A new Orchid Species: Our Amazing Planet!!


 


For an orchid enthusiast (In Spanish the word for an orchid collector is orchididiot, and it truly fits, what I started as a small collection now numbers 2,000 plants) the news of this discovery of Phragmipedium kovachii is truly incredible. That our overextended planet can still give such surprises is simply amazing. The find, one of the most important ones since the 80’s when another Phragmipedium, Phragmipedium Besseae was also discovered in Peru, shows that we may still see many other new plants in the future. What is most exciting to me is that I know that with current techniques of orchid cloning, I will likely be able to get a clone of this new species for $20 or so in five to eigth years, much like the case of Phragmipedium Besseae. Furthermore, crossing it with other similar species will yield wonderful new hybrids.


August 13, 2002

Digression 5: A new Orchid Species: Our Amazing Planet!!


 


For an orchid enthusiast (In Spanish the word for an orchid collector is orchididiot, and it truly fits, what I started as a small collection now numbers 2,000 plants) the news of this discovery of Phragmipedium kovachii is truly incredible. That our overextended planet can still give such surprises is simply amazing. The find, one of the most important ones since the 80’s when another Phragmipedium, Phragmipedium Besseae was also discovered in Peru, shows that we may still see many other new plants in the future. What is most exciting to me is that I know that with current techniques of orchid cloning, I will likely be able to get a clone of this new species for $20 or so in five to eigth years, much like the case of Phragmipedium Besseae. Furthermore, crossing it with other similar species will yield wonderful new hybrids.


August 13, 2002

Digression 5: A new Orchid Species: Our Amazing Planet!!


 


For an orchid enthusiast (In Spanish the word for an orchid collector is orchididiot, and it truly fits, what I started as a small collection now numbers 2,000 plants) the news of this discovery of Phragmipedium kovachii is truly incredible. That our overextended planet can still give such surprises is simply amazing. The find, one of the most important ones since the 80’s when another Phragmipedium, Phragmipedium Besseae was also discovered in Peru, shows that we may still see many other new plants in the future. What is most exciting to me is that I know that with current techniques of orchid cloning, I will likely be able to get a clone of this new species for $20 or so in five to eigth years, much like the case of Phragmipedium Besseae. Furthermore, crossing it with other similar species will yield wonderful new hybrids.


August 13, 2002

Digression 5: A new Orchid Species: Our Amazing Planet!!


 


For an orchid enthusiast (In Spanish the word for an orchid collector is orchididiot, and it truly fits, what I started as a small collection now numbers 2,000 plants) the news of this discovery of Phragmipedium kovachii is truly incredible. That our overextended planet can still give such surprises is simply amazing. The find, one of the most important ones since the 80’s when another Phragmipedium, Phragmipedium Besseae was also discovered in Peru, shows that we may still see many other new plants in the future. What is most exciting to me is that I know that with current techniques of orchid cloning, I will likely be able to get a clone of this new species for $20 or so in five to eigth years, much like the case of Phragmipedium Besseae. Furthermore, crossing it with other similar species will yield wonderful new hybrids.


August 12, 2002

Banana Republics 101 part IV. Act III: Let’s have elections, and elections and uups, one more election.


 


As the year begins Victor decides that a new Constitution means new elections even for himself. Four weeks later, his former allies and co-conspirators including the Head of Intelligence, break with Victor claiming the revolution is straying from its path and corruption is rampant. Three days before the election, the Government appointed Electoral commission has to postpone the elections simply, because they are not ready. Elections are divided in two parts, one in July (President, Assembly, Governors and Mayors), and the next one in October (City Councils). Victor wins again with 60.3% of the vote, Pancho is a distant second with 37.5%, Victor is static, says he will rule for decades. His party controls 113 seats out of 165 in the Assembly. To celebrate his victory Victor decides to take a trip and visit his friends around the world. He drives around with buddy Saddam Hussein, becoming the first Head of State to visit Iraq since the Gulf War; kisses ally Gadaffi in Libya and hugs Prince Abdullah in Saudi Arabia. The second part of the elections are postponed once again when he returns. Buddy Fidel Castro visits Victor who signs an agreement to finance, at bargain rates, the sale of 53,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba. In a surprising gesture of emotion Victor kisses Fidel (No comment). Victor’s party wins the December elections. He asks, once again, for extraordinary powers to legislate by decree.  The Supreme Court says Victor’s term will be reset to the new election giving him an extra year and half in power. It would be his best year, downhill from then on….


August 12, 2002

Banana Republics 101 part IV. Act III: Let’s have elections, and elections and uups, one more election.


 


As the year begins Victor decides that a new Constitution means new elections even for himself. Four weeks later, his former allies and co-conspirators including the Head of Intelligence, break with Victor claiming the revolution is straying from its path and corruption is rampant. Three days before the election, the Government appointed Electoral commission has to postpone the elections simply, because they are not ready. Elections are divided in two parts, one in July (President, Assembly, Governors and Mayors), and the next one in October (City Councils). Victor wins again with 60.3% of the vote, Pancho is a distant second with 37.5%, Victor is static, says he will rule for decades. His party controls 113 seats out of 165 in the Assembly. To celebrate his victory Victor decides to take a trip and visit his friends around the world. He drives around with buddy Saddam Hussein, becoming the first Head of State to visit Iraq since the Gulf War; kisses ally Gadaffi in Libya and hugs Prince Abdullah in Saudi Arabia. The second part of the elections are postponed once again when he returns. Buddy Fidel Castro visits Victor who signs an agreement to finance, at bargain rates, the sale of 53,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba. In a surprising gesture of emotion Victor kisses Fidel (No comment). Victor’s party wins the December elections. He asks, once again, for extraordinary powers to legislate by decree.  The Supreme Court says Victor’s term will be reset to the new election giving him an extra year and half in power. It would be his best year, downhill from then on….