Gushlak.com

I just found a great boating site called www.cargolaw.com.

It is operated by a law firm called Countryman & McDaniel that specializes in Customs law and Air and Ocean logistics. Once you scroll down past their ad you get to the meat of the site -- an encyclopedia of ocean disasters complete with photos of attempted rescues and even the looting that occurs on the shore as people try to steal everything from giant bales of thread to motorcycles that get pitched off of container ships during heavy storms. I will definitely be spending countless hours looking through the dozens of maritime disasters they have captured. Who knows, maybe I will even blog a few.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another great

dare to dream

Of course looking at them and dreaming of owning them costs no money and is completely worry free unlike the actual experience of owning an expensive boat. If you ever do decide to take the leap, be sure to buy from a reputable broker. Yachtworld is a good one-stop shop that can help you with brokers, insurance, inspection and even transport.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Whenever I have free time I like to go out on the boat to cruise around Cayman. Unfortunately, I spend more time in airports and in front of the computer than on the water. To escape, I look at websites about boating.

One of the best can be found at www.panbo.com. Panbo is Gizmodo for boats minus the bitter Generation X angst. The reviews of new products are always interesting and I enjoy the user comments about actual experiences with the products. These types of user reviews are infinitely more valuable than a product brochure or a simple in-office review. Panbo has saved me a lot of money over the years. So there you have it friends -- a shameless plug for a web site I love.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are some sites that I regularly peruse about scuba diving (these are not Cayman specific):

Diving

www.scubadiving.com (Magazine)
www.scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/nsf/ ((Diving under Antarctic Ice -- sound cool but those guys are crazy)
www.scubahistory.com
www.nedu.navsea.navy.mil/ (info on the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Program)
www.divefilm.com
www.divernet.com
www.divingintheworld.com
www.scubasource.com
www.gue.com
www.recreational-divers.com
www.sportdivermag.com (Magazine)
www.undercurrent.org (Magazine)
www.immersed.com (Magazine)
www.sfdj.com (South FL Dive Journal; Magazine)
www.diversdown.net
www.tidivers.com
www.findarticles.com (For diving in Cayman, Articles/ tips)
www.seapix.com

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love gadgets. Cell phones, computers, gps, whatever. If it has batteries in it than I am interested in learning about it and fantasizing about owning it. One of the best sites I have found for learning about what is coming out next is called www.gizmodo.com. It's a blog that tracks development of new gadgets and the evolution of existing products. Gizmodo also highlights some of the worst gadgets that come down the pike and provides useful hands-on reviews by snarky writers who can make fun of anything. I check out Gizmodo almost everyday.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are a few more sites I found to help you plan your trip:

www.travelon.com
www.travelscape.com
www.travelocity.com
www.vacationspot.com
www.byebyenow.com
www.lastminutetravel.com
www.gorp.com
www.divecayman.ky
www.cayman.org/scuba
www.findarticles.com (For diving in Cayman, Articles/ tips)
www.discovercaymans.com

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love the internet. I can spend hours reading blogs or newspapers in other countries but sometimes I just need a little retail fix. I don't need to actually buy anything but I like to see what people are up to.

One of my favorite sites for this sort of surfing is called www.cribcandy.com. Whoever runs this site scours the web for you to find really interesting things for your home BUT THEY DON'T ACTUALLY SELL ANYTHING. I'm not sure how they make money, but If you see something you like -- like maybe a gigantic rubiks cube coffee table -- you can click a picture of it and add it to your

wist

The site is updated every day and all the old finds are archived by item type so if you are looking for something for your kitchen you can tap into everything that has ever been listed. Warning, this site is seriously addictive.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apparently I've done a good job of selling Cayman as a scuba diving destination because I have received three emails asking me for help planning dive trips. People, I am many things, but a travel agent is not one of them!

So, to help you out, here are a list of sites that may be of some use to you (in no particular order):

Plan Your Trip
www.866thebrac.com
www.jharp.net
www.saveonvacationpackages.com
www.discounttravelpackages.com
www.lonelyplanet.com
www.away.com

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The walls of Little Cayman are another one of the world's scuba diving wonders of the world. The most famous dive spot,

Bloody Bay Wall

Most divers never see them, but Little Cayman also has pristine shallow reefs with an incredibly abundant and diverse collection of marine life, both large and small. Since the fish and animals know the human presence as being benign, even Barracuda can be photographed. I've gone on a couple of night dives off Little Cayman which were good too. I once saw a big octopus roaming the reefs looking for dinner. I felt like Jacques Cousteau.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cayman Brac is about 10 miles from Little Cayman. The name

Brac

Bluff

Cayman Brac is surrounded by miles of shallow reefs that are inhabited by a lot of extremely mellow marine life. Seriously, it's like the fish there are on xanax or something. I've touched eels and a friend of mine once got some great close up photos of intimate fish acts (I'm keeping this blog clean so don't ask!). One of my fondest memories of diving at the Brac was when I stumbled upon an odd site -- a fish cleaning station. Fish of various types were queued up waiting to get cleaned by a very hard working cleaner fish.

A good plan for a full day and possibly evening of diving at Cayman Brac is to do two dives on the Tibbetts before heading to the Island for some lunch. That way you have enough time between dives and you get a little time off the boat. If you're feeling strong, and don't drink anything at lunch, you could also do a night dive at Radar Beach.

There is a nice site with great information on Nature Tourism in the Cayman Islands at www.naturecayman.com

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The attraction of the trust concept is straightforward: the trust is the most flexible financial instrument for making estate planning arrangements, short term or long term, free from the restrictions of the legislative rules of the domicile. Whatever your wishes may be for the future ownership, management, and enjoyment of your property, they can almost certainly be achieved by using a trust. Trusts can also be used for commercial purposes -- mutual funds and structured debt for instance.

Forming a trust is a good idea wherever you live. But if you are unsure of where to start one you should definitely look at Cayman and maybe the Isle of Mann. Cayman is a very attractive jurisdiction to start a trust because they have gone out of their way to enact legislation to extend the protection and realm of trusts -- most notably,

The Special Trusts Act of 1997

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I looked into the story of the Tibbetts a bit more. Apparently the ship was originally named

Russian Warship #356

There sat #356 until the Cayman government bought it to create an artificial reef. Here is an interesting factoid: The destroyer originally cost $30 million USD and the Caymanian government was able to pick it up for only approximate $300,000 USD. Ouch. Depreciation is a killer!

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cayman Brac has a very special diving opportunity -- a 330 foot Russian warship, complete with four deck guns, that was intentionally sunk off the island's west end to create the equivalent of an

E-ticket

I don't know what the ship's original name was, but here in Cayman she (that's right, a ship is a she even if it's named

Eisenhower

Tibbetts

Anyway, the Tibbetts is the only divable Russian warship in the Western Hemisphere and more importantly, is a very exciting scuba adventure. The Brac is a great place to dive. Besides the Tibbetts, there are two other wrecks, and several miles of shallow reefs with beautiful Elkhorn corals and colorful sponges that support a wide variety of aquatic life. You really have to see it to believe it.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The supporting infrastructure in the Cayman Islands is modern and sophisticated. I've got real-time online access to the world's major financial markets as if I were in New York or London.

There isn't a 5 and a half foot tall dictator with a wife with a shoe jones minding the store. The Cayman's banking system relies on the rules established by The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision -- this is an institution created by the central bank Governors of the Group of Ten nations. The Basel Committee formulates broad supervisory standards and guidelines and recommends statements of best practice in banking supervision. Same rules as Switzerland here my friends. Only without the cold.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My favorite photographer of marine life is a guy named Marty Wolff. I've never met him but I have seen quite a bit of his work in Hawaii. Marty swims right up to turtles and sting ray (careful Marty) and seems to capture the personality and dignity that these undersea creatures have while going about their daily business.

Check out Marty's web site at:

http://www.martywolff.com/mw/marine-life.htm

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was trying to think of the best way to express the thrill of scuba diving. Think of it like being inside a gigantic salt water fish tank filled with beautiful fish -- only instead of seeing one or two beautiful brightly colored fish -- imagine seeing a school of hundreds of them. Instead of seeing this thru the glass, imagine swimming with the school of fish or having the fish swim up to look you right in the eye. It's good stuff.

There is an added thrill to diving on walls in Cayman. It's like rock climbing without the work! Instead of struggling to conquer barren cliffs, you can glide effortlessly along breathtaking walls. And, unlike more terrestrial topography, undersea mountain exploration is not limited in terms of the variety of colors and flora and fauna that you see. In Cayman, mountain exploration happens in technicolor as you swim through canyons and lush shallow reefs filled with thousands of different specimens of aquatic life. Note, there is also no risk of avalanche but you do need to watch out for stingrays! Here is a good site for more information:

http://www.divecayman.ky/sites/art_cayman_peaks.asp

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love scuba diving. If you haven't tried it yet you're really missing out on one of the great thrills of your life. The freedom to swim and interact with a diverse collection of fish has given me some of the fondest memories of my life.

Cayman has some of the best dive spots in the world. What most peole don't know is that the Cayman Islands are actually mountain peaks -- and not just any mountain peaks. We're talking giant mountains that would dwarf any mountain range in North America in a side-by-side comparison.

The geology lesson goes like this: Grand Cayman and the sister islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are part of an undersea mountain range that runs from Cuba to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Just south of the islands is the Caribbean's Grand Canyon called The Cayman Trench, which drops to depths of approximately 25,000 feet. Directly north is the Yucatan Channel, which also plunges several thousand feet.

This topography allows scuba divers to experience mountain climbing with scuba gear on! No training for months, no sherpas, no freezing your bits and pieces off while eating dehydrated food in sub-arctic temperatures. No friends, in the Cayman you can float right over peaks and swim through vast undersea canyons.

Sounds good right?

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is my marinade recipe for fish which my wife calls

Myron’s Own

1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of minced lemon or lime
1.5 teaspoons of rice vinegar
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1/2 of a green onion (a.k.a. scallions) finely chopped
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of sugar

Mix together everything and taste. You may want to reserve some extra lemon or lime juice on the side to get the marinade balanced.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 3:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I saw the movie Eragon a few weeks ago with one of my sons. Critics hated it but I have to say that I liked it. Generally speaking, I enjoy fantasy movies and am able to suspend disbelief for a few hours and enjoy watching a dragon fly around with some kids who want to save the world.

Movies like this are terrific for kids and should not be subjected to the same type of criticism as typical movie fare. Is the story a bit like Star Wars? Yes. Have there been other movies with dragons? Yes. Is this a totally revolutionary movie that takes our concept of dragons to some whole new level? No. Does my kid care? No. How many movies come out that aren't derivative of something? As Bono sang on the Rattle & Hum album,

Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, I found the definitive answer to the Tolkien question. Michael Martinez points out that Tolkien wrote lots of letters in which he expressed disapproval of his fellow Englishmen -- and apparently wrote many letters about how there are Orcs serving in the British Army (I've got to find these letters, they sound very interesting) but never wrote a disparaging word about Jews.

Also, there was an instance after Hitler came to power, but prior to World War II, when the German government sent him a letter officially requesting that he establish his racial purity so they could authorize a translation of The Hobbit (the prequel of The Lord of the Rings).

Tolkien, who was a college professor at the time struggling financially to support his family could have just instructed his publisher to say

Yes, Tolkien is a German name

Thank you for your letter.... I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend. I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy or any related dialects. But if I am to understand that you are inquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people....

So there you have it folks. Tolkien is not an anti-Semite.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The weather has been great lately so I decided to grill up some tuna. I was looking for inspiration for a marinade and found a website I liked at:

http://bbq.about.com/

I did not find a marinade better than

Myron’s Own

Once you pull it off the grill it's a good idea to sprinkle a little more of the oil or dressing on it but you don’t have to.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 3:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is this great seasoning that is on a lot of food in the Cayman. It's called

Lime Pepper.

Here is the recipe I used:

1. Cut the zest from one lime and one lemon
2. Place it on a cookie sheet at 150 degrees for at least 24 hours
3. Break it into small pieces and then crush it in a spice grinder
4. Place 2 teaspoons of the dried lime zest and 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest in a mortar
5. Add 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
6. Add 1 teaspoon of sea salt
7. Use the pestle to mash everything together until you have a well-mixed powder

This seasoning is really terrific. I made a big batch of it to use on chicken, fish and salads.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 3:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My first batch of cornbread was just okay. The recipe in the Bittman book is pretty straightforward:

1.25 cups of buttermilk
2 tablespoons of butter
1.5 cups of medium grain cornmeal
.5 cup flour
1.5 teaspoonms of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 egg

Basically you mix everything together in a bowl -- except the butter which you melt in the pan -- and then bake it at 375 degrees for half an hour. My second batch was much better. I doubled the amount of sugar and added in half a can of sweet corn and approximately half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. If I ever make cornbread again, I will add even more cheese.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 3:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the authorities on Tolkien referred to in both the Bird and OHair articles is a guy named Michael Martinez who has quite a few interesting posts about Tolkien. They can be found at www.Suite101.com.

Martinez argues that Tolkien was

a man of his time

is the product of his background and era, like most of our inescapable prejudices.

at the level of conscious intention he was not a racist or anti-Semite.

Both writers basically say the same thing: that Tolkien would have been conscious of the discussion of the shallowness of anti-Semitism and all forms of racism that occurred in intellectual circles following World War II.

I think I am going to have to agree with Bird and Martinez. The Legolas/Gimli relationship is a major theme in the books and it is entirely focused on teaching us to move past pre-conceived ideas about people based on race.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 2:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found another great article on Tolkien provided by The Jewish Journal:

http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=7846

The article written by Craig Bird looks at the BBC interview I wrote about before and attempts to examine what the statement made in the interview means in the context of the books themselves. Bird points out that Tolkien went out of his way to strip out any reference to any organized religion from any of his books and relied totally on his imagination and Pagan (mostly Norse) myths to come up with his plots and characters.

So we’ve established that the books are not didactic in nature (as opposed to The Chronicles of Narnia) which suggests an open-mindedness about different religions. Bird also points out that if you were to come up with a stereotype about Dwarves (or Jews) from the trilogy it would be that the pursuit of acquiring and protecting gold came at their detriment.

That being said, the relationship between Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf which moves from severe dislike and mistrust to one of respect and authentic friendship is clearly used to teach the reader that racial distrust and bigotry is ridiculous. We also can't forget that Tolkien said

it is the race of men who are most given to evil.

So, the jury is still out on Tolkien - but at least I can tell my friend that she is wrong about Gollum being Jewish!

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Years. Time for resolutions. Time for change. I'm not all that crazy about change but this year I've got some good ideas for improving my quality of life. I've decided to watch less television at home and on the road and I'm going to try cooking.

The first resolution is obvious enough. Television is addictive and once I turn it on it's near impossible to turn it off. So this year I am just going to avoid turning it on altogether. Cooking is something I already enjoy but my repertoire is currently limited to grilling fish and meat.

I picked up a great cookbook called

How to Cook Everything

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, I dug into the question of whether or not Tolkien was an anti-Semite and it appears to be a more complicated question to answer than I thought. There is an interesting article about Tolkien in Salon by Andrew OHair which only confuses the matter.

http://dir.salon.com/topics/jrr_tolkien/index.html

On the one hand, the article points out that in an interview with BBC in 1971 BBC radio (two years before he died), Tolkien was asked if the different races in The Lord of the Rings represent specific characteristics, the elves wisdom, the dwarves craftsman-ship, men husbandry and battle, and so forth?

Tolkien's response was,

I didn't intend it, but when you've got these people on your hands you've got to make them different, haven't you? The dwarves of course are quite obviously — wouldn’t you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? Their words are Semitic, obviously, constructed to be Semitic. The Hobbits are just rustic English people.

If Tolkien were alive today and he made a comment like that he would be in very hot water -- seriously, he was stone cold sober on the radio at the time not sitting on the side of the Pacific Coast Highway getting picked up on a DUI.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had a very frustrating conversation with a friend last night who said that the character of Golum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy was an anti-Semitic representation by Tolkien. I have a hard time believing this because the books clearly promote understanding among races (i.e., elves and dwarves). Also, I have to think that the Anti-Defamation League would have come out against the film if Tolkien were an anti-Semite.

Her argument was that Golum's posture and demeanor and focus on the gold ring were a reflection of how Jewish people were portrayed during Tolkien's time. I'm going to have to go on a mission to prove her wrong because I love those movies and books almost as much as my jewish friends!

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Essentially there are five basic types of companies which may be registered in Cayman: resident companies, non-resident companies, exempted companies, limited duration companies, foreign companies and segregated portfolio companies. Regardless of which type of company you incorporate, you may do so with liability limited by shares or by guarantee, as unlimited companies, or even as non-profit organizations (if applicable).

You could do all the work yourself from here but everything can be handled/papered at a reasonable price by one of the firms licensed for this purpose. So WWMD? Hire a firm to handle it. This leaves more time for drinking mojitos on the beach. Remember, there is a lot of competition in Cayman for your business so I urge you to negotiate a good price for yourself.

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Starting a Company in the Caymans is a snap. Over 8,000 companies get registered every year. There is something here called

The Company Registry

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I also received a request for a restaurant that is a locals favorite that was not Caribbean influenced. To that end, I recommend an Italian restaurant called Casanova. It is a quiet romantic and reasonably priced spot right along the harbor. Be sure to request a table by a window so you can enjoy the sunset while partaking in a nice bottle of red and an order of the Piccatina di Vitello al Limon or the penne in a tomato grappa sauce.

I could not find a web site for Casanova but here is the information from the phone book:

Casanova Restaurant
South Church Street, Fort Building
Georgetown
Tel. 949-7633

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is no pleasing some people. I know, I know, you're thinking that I am talking about my accountant or my lawyer. I'm not. Though, those were good guesses. In this case, I am referring to some heat I took for recommending Blue as the must-do restaurant in Grand Cayman.

Yes it is expensive. But people, you know how I feel about food. The great Alan Cohen once wrote,

To love your self right now is to give yourself heaven ... If you wait, you die now.

So go and eat at Blue. When in doubt about having a fine meal, just ask yourself this question:

What Would Myron Do?

Posted by Myron Gushlak at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)