Robots in the Jungle

[Sam Wilson]

Dear LiCR,

Living in the boonies of an "upper-middle-income developing country" (according to both OECD  & World Bank classification) is not at all as horrible as Berni's sister might imagine... jajaja.  First off I must declare that I no longer intend to call Costa Rica a 3rd world country.  Yesterday I had no problem with that term, now I think there are more descriptive terms and indeed, officially as can be, I'd call Costa Rica a "developing country" in the "upper-middle-incoming" strata of the "developing country" classification.  The WTO and UN have a "least developed country (LDC)" designation that is pretty much a non-changing list of the world's 47-50 poorest, in worst economic shape, countries.  Sadly, most folks could probably guess almost half of them.

UN Committee for Development Policy

List of Least Developed Countries (as of March 2018)

Even sadder, the average year of inclusion on the list is from when I was still in high-school...  I guess all the King's horses and all the King's men really haven't managed to "fix" a lot of these LDC countries for a long time now...

The WTO list of "Developing Countries" is totally self-announced.  A country declares itself as "developed" or "developing" with preferential treatment given to those who are "developing".  More analytical is the OECD and World Bank classification, almost identical with minor differences in GNI (like GDP) ranges.  Using 2012 data, the World Bank's 4-tier system ranks countries by GNI per capita (USD using the Atlas method):

less than $1,035 GNI per capita are classified as low-income countries,

those with between $1,036 and $4,085 as lower middle income countries,

those with between $4,086 and $12,615 as upper middle income countries,

and those with incomes of more than $12,615 as high-income countries. 

Costa Rica's GNI per Capita in 2012 was determined to be $9210 USD, and in 2017 to be $11,040 USD.  I think in general, those in the less than high-income range are considered "developing countries".

Anyway, all that aside... jajaja... Robots.  In the jungle (or on the edge of such) no less.  Robotics in Costa Rica -- that's what I started to talk about.  With 3 or 4 weeks looming before the Science Fair at our kid's school, we decided to go for the gold and build a robot or two for the competition.  Now I've been here for awhile and I still have a hard time finding the right sized gasket or even staples for my stapler for that matter.  Living in Costa Rica outside of the GAM has its challenges, albeit I think they are vastly outweighed by the advantages.  So of course I totally threw caution into the wind when I declared that we were going to build a robot for the science fair this year rather than make some plebeian volcano which bubbles over like a shaken soda pop.  Ticos just put their 1st satellite in space a few months ago, surely I can find enough components to build a mobile computer (as in with wheels and can drive itself) with a few sensors.  After a few day's effort I started to better appreciate the wisdom of making a mini-volcano with a few Sal Andrews (local equivalent of Alka-seltzer) tossed in for eruption effect.  The best "electronics" sort of stores I could find consisted of either car stereo shops or appliance repair shops.  Then finally a break through.  I had put the word out to an ex-yerno of mine who is a high-level electrical engineer for ICE, asking where he would buy a certain type of chip like an L298 or L293 H-bride motor driver chip.  A robot's got to have motors, right?  He gave me one good lead, and from that I found a few others then I stumbled on a few good ones I thought would be worth sharing:

• Teltron (Costa Rica), S.A. is evidently where ICE buys components.  Prices aren't horrible -- you can pick up a 10-pack of 100k ohm resistors for ¢199.  An Arduino UNO microcontroller goes for ¢16 mil, and a pair of NiMH AA 1000mAh batteries go for ¢3649.
  
• Steren claims to be the largest distributor of electronics in Costa Rica.  A 1/2W 100kOhms resistor goes for ¢20.
• El Electrico has real solar panels and lightening arrestors -- nothing about prices.
• CRCibernética has a great looking online store with gear motors, microcontrollers, breadboards and more!  An Arduino UNO goes for $21.95 and a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ goes for $54.95.  They offer $3 shipping via EMS to the GAM and $4 shipping to the rest of Costa Rica.
• Micro JPM positions itself to be the supplier for academia with all the electronics stuff students might need.  There prices seem slightly higher than CRCibernética, but not by much.  An Arduino UNO goes for $24.50 and a 7.4v 1000mAh LiPo battery for $13.95.  They also offer a laser cut service which could be useful!

I also stumbled into a few fun looking groups/clubs:

• Arduino y Makers Costa Rica - Grupo costarricense de entusiastas y profesionales de Internet de las Cosas, Diseño, Electrónica, Robótica, Biónica, Domótica, Vestible.
• Costa Rica Makers - una comunidad en línea de inventores y hacedores de diversas disciplinas.
• laboratorio.cr - experiencias virtuales & hacker-space (with online store as well.)
  

I think we just might build our Rayo Pinky-Pie 7.0 in time for our science fair after all!  It turns out that outback Guanacaste does indeed have access to some of the latest in Robot builder technology.  After all, Costa Rica was host for the World Robot Olympiad 2017 -- I wish I would have known about it.  It would have been a great event to take the kids to.

Now only if I could find staples for my stapler!  jajaja.

--

Sam in Guanacaste

 

[john p. Miesen]

take a look at chile.....light years ahead of costa rica

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DON'T STOP WHEN YOU ARE TIRED, STOP WHEN YOU ARE DONE !

[Gene French]

You must really travel a lot john???

Gene

[john p. Miesen]

got off plane yesterday from chile trip.........i was looking for Enrique Villabos !!!

[Gene French]

What a life...

Felicidades...

We are all sooo blessed!!!

Gene

[Joe Harrison]

Hey, Gene and all:  you might find that John Miesen is too modest to mention all his exploits, or maybe he's a CIA agent, not sure which.  But yeah, he is a world traveler.  See, he's just recovering from a colonoscopy in the States, and the doc prescribed a lot of international travel as a way to make him heal faster.  Said the pressure from those comfy airline seats was part of a rapid cure.  Miesen was up for that, cuz it gave him a chance to squire his 19 year old grandmother, interestingly a Tica (even tho he's from Chicago -- go figure) around to some real tropical garden spots.  Ethiopia, China, Chile.  u name it.  God only knows where he'll show up next.  Maybe Reykyavik.  or not.  Stay tuned.

joe

[Gene French]

WAY TO GO JOHN!!!

always wanted to go see the pyramids...

When you get there john....please send photos!!!

Thanks for the update joe!!!

Gene

[john p. Miesen]

Joe is so modest. his new book " Costa Rica, "The Land Beyond Time " will be available  for sale in a few months.at all the Cruz Rojas locations.

The proceeds are going to a go fund me page for Oscar Arias. Oscar couldn't rewrite the election laws anymore, so he is going to China where they will give him the help he needs to become President for Life of Costa Rica.

[Gene French]

Where can i donate???

I cant read so no need to wait for the book!!!

Gene

Good morning to all in paradise...

Love this weather!!!

[Sam Wilson]

Gene,

I'll send you the account number.  I think I have it handy.  Can you supply

your SS# and Cédula numbers 1st so I can cross-reference it with our data?

Also I'll need that 3 digit number on the back of your credit card so we can

get your donor account set up.  Thank you so much for your contribution!

You should get a signed red ribbon in the mail to commemorate your act.

Now where's that account number...

--

Sam

On Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 6:27 AM Gene French <ge...@genefrench.com> wrote:

Where can i donate???

I cant read so no need to wait for the book!!!

Gene

Good morning to all in paradise...

Love this weather!!!

><https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.pdf&gt;

>>>>>>> List of Least Developed Countries (as of March 2018)

>>>>>>>

><https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.pdf&gt;

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> Even sadder, the average year of inclusion on the list is from

>when I

>>>>>>> was still in high-school...  I guess all the King's horses and

>all the

>>>>>>> King's men really haven't managed to "fix" a lot of these LDC

>countries for

>>>>>>> a long time now...

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> The WTO list of "Developing Countries"

>>>>>>> <https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/devel_e/d1who_e.htm&gt; is

>>>>>>> totally self-announced.  A country declares itself as

>"developed" or

>>>>>>> "developing" with preferential treatment given to those who are

>>>>>>> "developing".  More analytical is the OECD and World Bank

>classification,

>>>>>>> almost identical with minor differences in GNI (like GDP)

>ranges.  Using

>>>>>>> 2012 data, the World Bank's 4-tier system ranks countries by GNI

>per capita

>>>>>>> (USD using the Atlas method):

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> less than $1,035 GNI per capita are classified as low-income

>>>>>>> countries,

>>>>>>> those with between $1,036 and $4,085 as lower middle income

>>>>>>> countries,

>>>>>>> those with between $4,086 and $12,615 as upper middle income

>>>>>>> countries,

>>>>>>> and those with incomes of more than $12,615 as high-income

>>>>>>> countries.

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> Costa Rica's GNI per Capita

>>>>>>>

><https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD?locations=CR&gt;

>>>>>>> in 2012 was determined to be $9210 USD, and in 2017 to be

>$11,040 USD.  I

>>>>>>> think in general, those in the less than high-income range are

>considered "developing

>>>>>>> countries"

>>>>>>>

><https://www.isi-web.org/index.php/resources/developing-countries&gt;.

>>>>>>>    - Teltron (Costa Rica), S.A.

>>>>>>>    <http://www.teltroncr.com/articulos.html&gt; is evidently where

>ICE

>>>>>>>    buys components.  Prices aren't horrible -- you can pick up a

>10-pack of

>>>>>>>    100k ohm resistors for ¢199.  An Arduino UNO microcontroller

>goes for ¢16

>>>>>>>    mil, and a pair of NiMH AA 1000mAh batteries go for ¢3649.

>>>>>>>    - Steren <http://www.steren.cr/&gt; claims to be the largest

>>>>>>>    distributor of electronics in Costa Rica.  A 1/2W 100kOhms

>resistor goes

>>>>>>>    for ¢20.

>>>>>>>    - El Electrico

>>>>>>>  

><http://www.elelectrico.com/productos-division-de-proyectos-especiales/&gt;

>>>>>>>    has real solar panels and lightening arrestors -- nothing

>about prices.

>>>>>>>    - CRCibernética

>>>>>>>    <http://www.crcibernetica.com/welcome-to-crcibernetica/&gt; has

>a

>>>>>>>    great looking online store with gear motors,

>microcontrollers, breadboards

>>>>>>>    and more!  An Arduino UNO goes for $21.95 and a Raspberry Pi

>3 B+ goes for

>>>>>>>    $54.95.  They offer $3 shipping via EMS to the GAM and $4

>shipping to the

>>>>>>>    rest of Costa Rica.

>>>>>>>    - Micro JPM <https://www.microjpm.com/&gt; positions itself to

>be

>>>>>>>    the supplier for academia with all the electronics stuff

>students might

>>>>>>>    need.  There prices seem slightly higher than CRCibernética,

>but not by

>>>>>>>    much.  An Arduino UNO goes for $24.50 and a 7.4v 1000mAh LiPo

>battery for

>>>>>>>    $13.95.  They also offer a laser cut service which could be

>useful!

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> I also stumbled into a few fun looking groups/clubs:

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>    - Arduino y Makers Costa Rica

>>>>>>>    <https://www.facebook.com/groups/arduinocr/about/&gt; - Grupo

>>>>>>>    costarricense de entusiastas y profesionales de Internet de

>las Cosas,

>>>>>>>    Diseño, Electrónica, Robótica, Biónica, Domótica, Vestible.

>>>>>>>    - Costa Rica Makers <https://costaricamakers.com/?page_id=8&gt;

>>>>>>>    - una comunidad en línea de inventores y hacedores de

>diversas disciplinas.

>>>>>>>    - laboratorio.cr - experiencias virtuales & hacker-space

>(with

>>>>>>>    online store as well.)

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> I think we just might build our *Rayo Pinky-Pie 7.0* in time for

>our

>>>>>>> science fair after all!  It turns out that outback Guanacaste

>does indeed

>>>>>>> have access to some of the latest in Robot builder technology.

>After all,

>>>>>>> Costa Rica was host for the World Robot Olympiad 2017

>>>>>>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UagIN6yMMrQ&gt; -- I wish I would

>have

>>>>>>> known about it.  It would have been a great event to take the

>kids to.

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> Now only if I could find staples for my stapler!  jajaja.

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> --

>>>>>>> Sam in Guanacaste

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> --

>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the

>Google

>>>>>>> Groups "Living in Costa Rica" group.

>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from

>it,

>>>>>>> send an email to costa-rica-liv...@googlegroups.com.

>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to

>>>>>>> costa-ri...@googlegroups.com.

>>>>>>> Visit this group at

>https://groups.google.com/group/costa-rica-living.

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>

>>>>>>

>>>>>> --

>>>>>> GOOGLE VOICE: 314 643 7346

>>>>>>

>>>>>> MAGIC JACK:773 340 8570

>>>>>>

>>>>>> WORLD WIDE Whats App cell: 314 343 6387

>>>>>> *DON'T STOP WHEN YOU ARE TIRED, STOP WHEN YOU ARE DONE !*

>>>> *DON'T STOP WHEN YOU ARE TIRED, STOP WHEN YOU ARE DONE !*

>*DON'T STOP WHEN YOU ARE TIRED, STOP WHEN YOU ARE DONE !*

[Joe Harrison]

Sam/Gene/John et alii:  First, Sam I think you have it wrong!  You are not the intended recipient of Gene's generous donation; I am.  So, just get outta the way and let me have at it.  Second, Gene....aw, what the hell. you cain't reed anyways nohow, so why am i wasting my fingers?  If its enuf scratch you gonna part with, I'll come get it personal like.  Don't trust correos anyhow.  now, how much you talkin about?

And as for you John Miesen, you got some parts of the saga a bit wrong, too:  Oscar Arias does indeed want to be President for Life of Costa Rica.  But he engaged my consulting expertise to assist him not with China but with the Newnited States.  He figured I had access to Trump, and, given the new morality of "tell 'em what they want to hear" I did not disabuse Arias of his confidence in me.  And, lo and behold, given the complete state of disarray in the White House, I did in fact gain access to the Presydent hisself!  Someone left the door open (Kelly?) and I just walked in saying I represented President Arias of Costa Rica.  

He said he just loves the people of Costo Rico and hopes they appreciated the paper towels he threw at them after hurricane Mario.  And isn't Arias that great dude who was the true statesman who grabbed one by the whatever?  I asked if by chance he had reference to the voluptuous Maripepa, la vedette española que quiren ser primera dama de Costa Rica?  He didn't recognize those sounds but asked for a description.  I told him what I knew about don Oscar's 1980's escapade with the lady of curvas explosivas....and Trump said, "Yeah, that's gotta be the one.  I've studied how he got her into his oval office and put her on the desk for fotos.  Great job, he deserves the Nobel Prize."  I pointed out that Arias already had the Nobel Prize when that incident occurred.  "Really?  Maybe I can get one, too, for my work with Kim and Putin.  And then, can you put me in contact with Maripepa?  Give my best to all the folks on that island down there, great place, Costo Rico."

I'll let you know how this all turns out later.   joe