climbing the jacob's ladder

By Captain Ricardo Caballero Panama Canal Pilot Were "the good old days" really good? (seafarers version) I remember going to sea for the first time as a deck officer. It was not easy to adjust myself to working on a ship with a group of people from different nationalities and cultures. The Captain was Greek, and the Officers, except me, were also Greek. The rest of the crew was a mix of filipinos, sailors from 4 latin American countries, a couple of Canadian cadets, two Egyptians, and a few others from I can't remember which countries.  I do remember the Greeks complained about the present, saying that things were better in the past, saying that I had missed " the good old days". They did not specify what was good about those days. But I figured it would be the food aboard, the amount of crew, and the pay, which to me, was very decent. I recall that there was no time limit in my contract. I could stay for as long as I wanted. And I did stay for...

De Cerro Viento a El Dorado Salí de casa de mi madre en Cerro Viento. Se me ocurrió traerme la patineta que de niño usaba. Estaba llena de polvo y algo maltratada, pero no tenía nada que indicara que no se podía usar. "Para dónde vas con eso", preguntó mamá. Le contesté con una sonrisa, tal vés la misma de niño travieso que solía darle cuando me escapaba a patinar por las angostas aceras y calles del vecindario. Bajé por la calle por donde estaba la casa de mamá. Tuve que abandonar la acera porque o bien las veraneras u otras plantas que sobresalían por encima de las cercas de los vecinos me podían lastimar el rostro, o porque la misma se  angostaba debido a que los vecinos, para aprovechar hasta el último pedacito de terreno, habían construidos sus cercas o muros mucho más allá de los límites de su propiedad. Más allá de "la municipal", como alguna vez escuché decir al maestro de obra que erigió la cerca de la casa de mamá.  Y así lo habían hecho la mayorí...

Piloting, Autonomous Vessels, AI, and the coffee making machine.  By Captain Ricardo Caballero,   I am not a computer savvy. My  knowledge in programming and robotics and those sort of things is nil. I get lost in the sea of social media and easily entangle myself in the web.  All I have done for the last 25 years or so is to pilot ships through the Panama Canal. However, during the last couple of years I have done my best to catch up with technology, since it has enhanced our possibilities and improved safety in our field. But still, I have to admit that I am way behind the new guys when it comes to the newest technology. Artificial Intelligence, AI, is challenging humanity in every possible way.  It is changing the way most tasks are carried out these days. It is making life easier for some and, at the same time, harsh for others.    The truth is that since the wheel was invented workers began to be slowly replaced by some kind...