16 Dec ZIMBROS – 13 DECEMBER 2017 – JUST ANOTHER DAY

Today we should have left for Florianopolis but we didn’t. We chose to relax by taking everything and looking again hoping that we might find our passports. It wasn’t much of a relaxation and I’ll tell you why.

As I have an entrepreneur creative mind and ADHD since birth, I have at least 5 ideas a minute. I like to play with them by putting them into practice. I won’t necessarily admit it, but it is not unusual to fail from time to time. Financially I didn’t have much of a success lately, but what the heck!

Changing the age range happened when we were in Paraguay, in Ciudad del Este. A commercial town with a double frontier, with Brazil and Argentine. There also is the Bridge of Friendship over Parana river. Paraguay has an open frontier with Brazil, like Romanians have with Moldova, the difference being that their friendship spreads wider. So together with the Brazilians anyone can cross the border in that 30km range.

This tactical decision of the Paraguayan government was meant to develop the commerce in the area and it seems that it was a very good idea. The bridge is overcrowded every day, cars go back and forth. Ciudad del Este is some kind of Istanbul, but worse.

I haven’t been to Istanbul for 20 years, I would like to see it again sometimes. Anyway, because the commerce is blooming the prices are very good too so I bought myself a birthday present inspired by the area and our friend “El Argentino”  Max whom I have been helping to build his website on the corridors of shopping malls that provide an excellent internet signal.

The employees at Apple were so nice to give us the store wi-fi password so we can do our work. Well, that was, indeed, after Max bought a MacBook. 🙂

A drone, a Mavic Pro Fly Combo, that was my gift for 40 years. We were camping on a riverside then only 200m away from Monday waterfalls. I was so happy and impulsive that the minute I opened the box I put its batteries and off we went to film the waterfall and go live on Facebook. We did the filming and the live, but I almost lost the drone.

Coming back to what I was saying in the first place, I thought of making a banner that my drone would carry along the beach line like the planes that carry commercials. It seemed like a good idea so I gave up the relaxing and started working. I took the kitchen towel, I mount it on some sticks so it stays straight, I take out the drone and start the tests.

We calculate the correct distance so that the banner gets out of the air pumped by the propeller.

Happy with our victory I sat that we should test higher and lower, all good until the altitude test when a blow of wind takes the drone with the banner attached.

I was stunned. First thought that came through my mind is “what an idiot”. I calm down like beck in the days when I was in the television and there was a black signal on screen in the Main Control Room so I start running after the drone.

I manage to land it safely two yards farther. Everybody was out in the yard looking baffled and after I bust in their back yard and I catch the drone with a towel. It was too complicated to explain so I said an “Obrigado” and I left.

We didn’t find the passports either so Florianopolis, here we come! 🙂

***

Astazi ar fi trebuit sa plecam in Florianopolis dar nu am facut-o! Am preferat sa ne relaxam trecand totul prin mana din nou, poate gasim pasapoartele. Relaxul n-a prea fost relax, o sa va povestesc de ce.

Cum am o minte creativ anteprenoriala din pasiune si cu un ADHD innascut, debitez cel putin 5 idei pe minut. Imi place sa ma si joc cu ele punandu-le in practica. Nu ca recunosc, dar mi se pare  normal sa o mai dai in bara, din cand in cand! Din punct de vedere financiar, in ultimul timp parca joc la bara, dar in fine!

Schimbarea prefixului ne-a prins in Paraguay, in Ciudad del Este. Un oras comercial cu dubla frontiera dupa parerea mea, pentru ca are frontiera cu Brazilia si cu Argentina. E dubla, nu, de ce sa fie tripla si cu un pod numit Podul Prieteniei peste raul Parana. Paraguai-ul are granita deshisa cu Brazilia, cam cum avem noi cu moldovenii, numai ca prietenia lor se extinde catre toata lumea. Asa ca alaturi de brazilieni poate trece liber cam oricine dar doar pe acolo si pe o raza de 30 km, o miscare tactica a guvernului Paraguaian de a stimula comertul in zona. A mers frate de-a rupt! Podul este blocat zilnic, este un du-te-vino fantastic, de genul Istanbul-ului as putea zice dar mai haos! N-am mai fost in Istanbul de vreo 20 de ani, ce dor imi este sa-l revad!

In fine, cum este comert, sunt si preturi asa ca m-am sarbatorit cu un cadou inspirat de zona si de prietenul nostru “El Argentino” Maxi, pe care-l ajutam sa-si construiasca site-ul pe coridoarele mall-urilor, ce-ti ofereau un internet fantastic.

Cei de la magazinul Apple, au fost draguti si ne-au dat parola companiei sa ne facem treaba. Bine, asta dupa ce Maxi a cumparat un MacBook. 🙂

O drona, un Mavic Pro Fly Combo, mi-am luat. Eram campati atunci pe malul unui rau, la numai 200 de metri de cascada Monday. Bucuros atunci, impulsiv cum sunt am deschis pachetul, i-am pus bateria si hai sa filmam cascada si sa facem si un LIVE. L-am facut de facut dar era sa pierd drona!

Ca sa revin la ideea mea, m-am gandit sa fac un banner pe care sa-l agat intr-un fel de drona si sa-l zbor pe plaja in genul avioanelor alea care trag cate o reclama in larg. Ma gandeam ca ar fi buna ideea si hai la treaba ca doar ma relaxam, nu?

Iau prosopul de bucatarie de 45x65cm, il agat doua bete de bambus in carlige sa stea vertical, scot drona si hai la teste.

Testam noi distanta corecta ca bannerul sa iasa din fluxul de aer impins de elicele dronei, totul ok.

Fericiti de reusita, zicem hai sa testam, mai in sus, mai in jos, toate bune pana la testul de altitudine, unde bate o rafala de vant si drona zboara cu tot cu banner!

M-am blocat! Primul gand care mi-a trecut a fost:

Bai cat de idiot sunt!

Ma calmez pe loc ca pe timpurile cand ne intra negru pe post in MCR-ul televiziunii unde activam pe timpuri si incep sa fug dupa drona urmarind-o cu privirea.

Am reusit sa o aterizez cu bine, doua strazi mai incolo in curtea unui vecin. Iesisera cu toti in curte si se uitau la mine suuuper sparti, dupa ce am dat buzna in curtea lor din spate sa prind o drona cu un prosop!

Stiti ceva, n-am avut ce sa le explic, am zis Obrigado si am plecat!

N-am gasit nici pasapoartele asa ca maine, Florianopolis, venim! 🙂