August 2007 Issue 56
 

INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANT AUGUST FACTS

August was named after Augustus Caesar in 8 B.C..

 Leo - July 23 -August 21
Virgo - August 24 - September 23

August Birthstone:  Peridot

In 1912 the American National Association of Jewelers named the Peridot (pronounced pair i dot or pair i doe) as the August birthstone.  It is also given as the 16th anniversary gem.

A beautiful green to yellow-green in color, the peridot is often mistake for an emerald.  In fact, legend has it that Queen Cleopatra preferred Peridot over other gems and that some of her "Emeralds" may have been Peridot.  Emeralds, though, don't have the yellow tint and tend to be a darker green. 

August Flower:  Gladiolus

The gladiolus flower is the birth flower for August.  The name "Gladiolus" is derived from the Latin word "gladius", meaning "sword", for the shape of its leaves.  An ancient name for the gladiolus was "xiphium," from the Greek word "xiphos", also meaning sword. 
 

DID YOU KNOW?

After Julius Ceasar's grandnephew Augustus defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra, and became emperor of Rome, the Roman Senate decided that he too should have a month named after him.  The month Sextillus (sex = six) was chosen for Augustus, and the senate justified its actions in the following resolution:

Whereas the Emperor Augustus Caesar, in the month of Sextillis . . . thrice entered the city in triumph . . . and in the same month Egypt was brought under the authority of the Roman people, and in the same month an end was put to the civil wars; and whereas for these reasons the said month is, and has been, most fortunate to this empire, it is hereby decreed by the senate that the said month shall be called Augustus.

Not only did the Senate name a month after Augustus, but it decided that since Julius's month, July, had 31 days, Augustus's month should equal it: under the Julian calendar, the months alternated evenly between 30 and 31 days (with the exception of February), which made August 30 days long.  So, instead of August having a mere 30 days, it was lengthened to 31, preventing anyone from claiming that Emperor Augustus was saddled with an inferior month.

To accommodate this change two other calendrical adjustments were necessary:

The extra day needed to inflate the importance of August was taken from February, which originally had 29 days (30 in a leap year), and was now reduced to 28 days (29 in a leap year).

Since the months evenly alternated between 30 and 31 days, adding the extra day to August meant that July, August, and September would all have 31 days.  So, to avoid three long months in a row, the lengths of the last four months were switched around, giving us 30 days in September, April, June, and November.

Among Roman rulers, only Julius and Augustus permanently had months named after them-though this wasn't for lack of trying on the part of later emperors.  For a time, May was changed to Claudius and the infamous Nero instituted Neronius for April.  But these changes were ephemeral, and only Julius and Augustus have had two-millenia-worth of staying power.
 

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

Birthdays and Anniversaries

2          Peter Titze
7          Lucy Gallagher
8          Steve Wandler
8          Fermina
12        Dave & Michelle Bliss Anniversary
14        Alice Blatner
15        Mari Sanchez
16        Sibylle Gonzalez
19        Dave & Nancy Poor Anniversary
23        Jana Franta 

There must be more than this.  Let's hear about YOUR birthday before it happens.

 Missed July Birthdays

9          John Chiosso
13        Ellie Humphreys came from Qatar to celebrate #14 at Lol Ha restaurant.
20        Hurley Hackler
28        Gustavo Guerra
 

CONSEJO DE DESARROLLO DE AKUMAL SA

The summer General Assembly meeting for the Akumal Council will be held on Friday, September 7th at 11:00 AM at Lol Ha.

The Akumal Council will send the agenda and proxies in August.

 Hope to see you there.
 

PREVENTING IDENTITY THEFT

In the June issue of The Akumalian, there was a report of a robbery at Wal-Mart in Playa del Carmen.  From that experience has come some suggestions about preventing identity theft, and these are reported here for your security.

Do not sign the back of your credit cards.  Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."

Do not put the complete account number on the "For" line when you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts.  Instead, just put the last four numbers.  The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home Phone.  If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address.  If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address.  Never have your SS# printed on your checks.

Photocopy the contents of your wallet.  Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc., so you will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.  Keep the photocopy in a safe place.  Also carry a Photocopy of my passport when raveling. 

An attorney reports, "My wallet was stolen last month.  Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more." 

Here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know.

Cancel the credit cards immediately, but the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy, so you know whom to call.  Keep those where you can find them.

File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen.  This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

Here's what is perhaps most important of all.  Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name, and also call the Social Security fraud line number.  The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

Here are the companies and numbers you need to contact when your wallet and/or credit cards have been lost or stolen.  The first three sell credit monitoring and reporting services, so it is questionable on just how much they would help if you are not a client.

Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc. 800-525-6285 at http://www.equifax.com  .

Experian (formerly TRW): 888-397-3742 at http://www.experiangroup.com/corporate/ 

Trans Union 800-6807289 at http://www.transunion.com/  does provide a lot of information about preventing, identifying, reporting, and restoring identity theft.

Social Security Administration (fraud line):800-269-0271
 

HOW PICKPOCKETS WORK

There's a good article on How Pickpockets Work on the How Things Work web site at http://travel.howstuffworks.com/pickpocket.htm   Pick up some bar money.
 

ROBIN'S BEST SHIRT AWARD, AUGUST 3rd

Come one, come all, to the Beach Bar, where we'll have a ball.

It’s time for another "Best Shirt Award", which is held on the first Friday of each month during Happy Hour at the Lol Ha Beach Bar. 

This award is based on Robin's penchant for good, classy Beach Bar shirts, and his sister, Mary, is ready to once again be the judge and jury as she selects the "Best Shirt" worn by a male for August.  And, as we go to print the criteria are still somewhat nebulous, and they seem to be changing as we move into the summer months.

The July competition was moved to Wednesday, July 4^th, because Mary was leaving for Spain and Russia on Friday, and interestingly enough, a number of people arrived at the Beach Bar on Friday looking for "The Best Shirt Award"; they missed the change of date announcement in The Akumalian.

Even though the popular vote winner was SteveC, the July award for "Best Shirt Award" went to Paul Sanchez-Navarro, who was loaning Mary a camera for her trip.  See Best Shirt for more photos.
 

WHAT'S NEW AROUND TOWN?

 PLAYA DEL CARMEN

            There is another set of traffic lights on MX307 in Playa del Carmen at Centro Maya mall (Soriana and MMCinema).  The lights facilitate an easier access to the mall when coming from Akumal, but they are another impediment to the drive into Playa del Carmen and/or Cancun. 

CANCUN

Terminal 3 has been open at the Cancun International Airport for well over a month now, and early experiences are very favorable.  Terminal 3 is located to the left (North) of Terminal 2, and the entrance roads are clearly marked.  A good size parking lot is also there, and this parking lot has FREE luggage carts out there.  And, upon arrival at Terminal 3, you can take the luggage cart all the way out to your car in the parking lot.

            Terminal 3 is the home to the American carriers, like Alaska, American Airlines, ATA, Continental, Delta, Frontier, NWA, Spirit, US3000, USAir, and United, among others.  Many of the signs and announcements (very clear) are in English.
              

ISS RETURNS TO AKUMAL

            The International Space Station (ISS) returns to the skies over Akumal this week, and on three days the ISS should be quite visible, depending on the weather.  The dates, times and directions are:

Tuesday, July 31 at 8:45 to 8:46 pm, going in a SW to NE direction, just East of Akumal

Thursday, August 2 at 7:55 to 7:57 pm, going in a SW to NE direction, same as July 31

Friday, August 3 at 5:35 to 5:37 am, going in a NW to SE direction, just West of Akumal
 

PERSEID METOR SHOWER, AUGUST 11 & 12

The legendary Perseid meteor shower will peak over the weekend of August 11 - 13.  It's expected to display the greatest number of meteors Sunday morning, late Sunday night and Monday morning before dawn.  But you'll see some Perseids Saturday before dawn, too.

The moon is new on Sunday, or between the Earth and Sun.  This new moon will leave the night sky dark all this weekend for the Perseid meteors.  These meteors are named for the constellation Perseus the Hero.  If you trace the paths of the meteors backwards, they seem to stream from this constellation.

You don't need to identify Perseus to enjoy the meteor shower.  The Perseids are a especially rich and dependable meteor shower.  They shoot all across the sky - often leaving persistent trains - and occasionally lighting things up with bright fireballs.  To watch the show, find a dark, open sky.  Get away from city lights, up on the roof, and give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adapt to the dark.  The Perseid shower favors northern hemisphere skywatchers.  Again, the best time to watch: Sunday morning, late Sunday night and Monday morning before dawn.  At its peak, the Perseids typically produce 60 or more meteors per hour.

This chart shows the sky configuration around midnight, with meteors "raining" into Earth's direction from the constellation Perseus.  Meteors can streak across any portion of the sky, though, so you don't need to look toward Perseus to see them.
 

METEOR SHOWERS VERSUS SHOOTING STARS

What are meteor showers?
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time of year is called a meteor shower.

Comets shed the debris that becomes most meteor showers. As comets orbit the Sun, they shed an icy, dusty debris stream along the comet's orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Depending on where Earth and the stream meet, meteors appear to fall from a particular place in the sky, maybe within the neighborhood of a constellation.

Meteor showers are named by the constellation from which meteors appear to fall, a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant. For instance, the radiant for the Leonid meteor shower is located in the constellation Leo. The Perseid meteor shower is so named because meteors appear to fall from a point in the constellation Perseus. 

What are shooting stars?
"Shooting stars" and "falling stars" are both names that people have used for many hundreds of years to describe meteors -- intense streaks of light across the night sky caused by small bits of interplanetary rock and debris called meteoroids crashing and burning high in Earth's upper atmosphere. Traveling at thousands of miles an hour, meteoroids quickly ignite in searing friction of the atmosphere, 30 to 80 miles above the ground. Almost all are destroyed in this process; the rare few that survive and hit the ground are known as meteorites.

When a meteor appears, it seems to "shoot" quickly across the sky, and its small size and intense brightness might make you think it is a star. If you're lucky enough to spot a meteorite (a meteor that makes it all the way to the ground), and see where it hits, it's easy to think you just saw a star "fall."
 

FULL MOON, AUGUST 28th

The Full Sturgeon Moon is on August 28^th at 6:35 am.  

The fishing Maya tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the great cenotes and other major bodies of water in the Yucatan, were most readily caught during this month.  A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze.  It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.
 

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE, AUGUST 28th

On August 28, skywatchers across much of North America can watch as the Moon crosses into the Earth's shadow and will undergo its second total eclipse in 2007.  West Coast viewers will get the best show.  

Lunar eclipses occur when Earth gets between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow.  The view is different from each location on the planet.  Along the West Coast of Canada and the United States and in Alaska, the entire eclipse will be visible from start to finish before moonset in the early morning hours of that Tuesday.  Hawaiians will see totality - when the moon is completely in Earth's shadow - high in their sky around midnight.  In eastern Asia and Australia, the event will occur on the same date, but in the evening, since for this part of the world it will coincide with moonrise.  

The next total lunar eclipse is scheduled for February 20-21, 2008 and will widely visible from North and South America, as well as Europe, Africa and eastern Asia.
 

COMINGS AND GOINGS

            Many visitors were here early in July for the July 4^th vacation week, and the pace continues as we head into August.

 Comings:

• David & Margaret Richards were back for a good portion of July
• Michele Connor was back with her friend, Tory Thomas.
• Didiere Jackson is back, and with the heat wave, he is wondering, "Why?"
• Bruce & Ellen Eanet were in town for the July "Best Shirt Award".
• David, Laura, and Ryan Wolfe were back for July 4^th week.
• Michael & Lunda Schwartz came back for the week of July 4^th.
• Michele Meyer Corea was in Los Primos with family and friends.
• Wickie Rimell was back at Casa Aurora on the Lagoon for a short respite.
• There was a confirmed Bob Mulgrew sighting at the Beach Bar on Friday, July 13.
• Cheryl & Bill McClendon were back at Luna Azul with John & CeCi (Bill's sister) Chiosso.
• Dave & Nancy Poor are back at Casa Romero overseeing construction.
• Lisa Haynes was in town celebrating her 50th birthday at the Beach Bar on July 20^th.  Lisa managed to have Larry Joe Taylor playing and singing at the Beach Bar, with the proceeds benefiting the Hekab Be Biblioteca (Akumal Library).
• Lisa & Terry Turner, along with Larry & Cherie Jackson, were back for a bit.
• Susan & Macon Gravlee returned to South Akumal on July 22 just so Macon can take another run at "Best Shirt Award" on August 3^rd.
• Oveta Vardell also returned to South Akumal.
• Thierry Vander Elst is back after a month's vacation in Europe.
• Amy Blatner was in town between July 23rd and the 27^th.
• Greta Blatner arrives in Akumal on August 30^th for a weeks stay at Casa Zama.
• Kathy Farrell Sonheim is in town with her daughter, Katherine, and grandson, Daniel, while Jim is in Austin dog-sitting Foxy and two other dogs.
• Eileen Walsh is back at Quinta del Mar on the Lagoon.
• Also on the Lagoon, Frank & Lennie were back at Casa del Sol after completing some extensive international travel.
• Ron & Shari Stern are back at their unit in La Bahia.

Goings:

HAVING A HARD TIME LEARNING SPANISH? - Part III

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.

 There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?  At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?  Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election, and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

            We call UP our friends.  And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; warm UP the leftovers, and clean UP the kitchen.  We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.  At other times the little word has real special meaning.  People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.  To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

            And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP, because it is stopped UP.  We open UP a store in the morning, and we close it UP at night.

            We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!  To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary.  In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.  If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.  When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.  When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

            When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.

When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

            We could go on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so...

 Thanks to Renne Gower
  

EVENTS

The major Akumal "Event" in July was the Best Shirt Award.
  

FOR SALE     

1998 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition in excellent condition with no body rust.  This vehicle has always been parked overnight in a garage.

 The Explorer Eddie Bauer is 4WD and has leather seats, air conditioning, cassette and CD player, roof rack, tilt steering wheel, power sun roof, power steering, power front seat adjustments, keyless entry system, and split fold-down rear seats.  Standard on the Eddie Bauer is the 4.0 liter SOHC 205 horsepower engine.

New features for 1998 models included a new liftgate with a larger liftgate glass and revised handle, new tri-colored tail lamps, a new rear bumper, revised paint colors and a new wheel line-up.  Also new are the soft release parking brake, standard full size spare tire, and the available SecuriLock passive theft deterrent system.  

             Inquiries accepted at clouther@prodigy.net.mx

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