I now have my own Wiki to organize and archive the majority of my research which includes charting a cacao map. A few days ago I thought, I ‘d like to create a map of the 20/20 zone. What is the 20/20 you might wonder? Well, the 20/20 is the zone 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the Equator where the Cacao tree can grow. What I know at this moment is, there are nine species of Cacao tree. My novel is about a group of people who love chocolate, so I begin with Theobroma Cacao which is the species that produces bean varietals used to make chocolate:

Forestero (most disease resistant, Cacao Nacional is of this variety), Criollo, (frequently devastated by disease), Royal Criollo (preferred by the Olmecs and Mayans, grown in Chiapas),  and Trinatario (crossbreed of Forestero and Criollo).

The map markers are categorized by cacao tree species and bean variety. Each marker contains information of interest or perhaps just a note that I’m researching, a check back later hint. Organizing my research using maps and wiki is another creative outlet and holds more interest than sitting at a desk strewn with papers and notebooks. On the blog, there’s a wiki banner on the sidebar. Remember: this is a work in progress, so be kind, leave a message and check back often. Thanks.

Related Links:

The Cacao World Wiki

Royal Criollo Cacao of Xoconusco

- Mayan small-scale growers Fair Trade cooperative, organic certified

The characters in my novel live and breathe the chocolate business. They possess various levels of expertise which I must develop. Costa Rica is one of the cacao growing nations in the 20/20 zone and I am taking full-advantage of my time here to increase my knowledge. As part of the research I have decided to record plantation tours as well as any conversations with plantation owners and workers.

The first tour was at the Tsiru’Ue cacao plantation. That was fun, but now comes the boring part: transcribing, which is tedious work compounded by not having a transcription machine with foot pedal.

Entrance to Talamanca Cacao Plantation, near Puerto Viejo Costa Rica.

I recorded with my lovely red iPod Nano and Belkin Tune Talk Stereo attached. Wonderful. However, transcribing is stop and start work and this will take forever without a way to slow down the play back speed. As I pondered this problem, I began to wonder, is it possible to turn my laptop into a transcription machine? I had to find out, so I googled turn mac pro into a transcription machine and the number one result was Turn Your Mac into an Audio Transcriber. Horray!

Red Jade, my 5th Gen. Nano with Belken Tune Talk Stereo attached. Cover Image: Piero Pelu's Presente. (Italian rock star - purrrrrr!) Photo location: Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

David Battino has written a script to convert his Mac into a virtual audio transcriber: pedal emulation, copy and past audio into transcription. Great.

After I read the article I though that I should learn Apple Script to understand what I’m doing instead of just copying and pasting instructions. I found free lessons. After I’ve finished them I’ll get to Battino’s transcription script. I hope it works.

Related links:

David Battino’s Script

Apple Script Tutorial

Source: Wikicommons. anthropomorphic_valentine_crica_1950 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0

The news is that chocolate retailers in the United States and the United Kingdom are expecting banner sales during these tough economic times. We will know soon if the predictions are correct and all the chocolate lovers got their fix. Someone is at the door …

Knock. Knock.

I’m not dressed, so I can’t open the door. Instead, I cheerfully shout in imperfect Spanish, Hola. Buenas. Limpias manana, por favor.

Translation: Hello. Good morning. (Ticos say buenas more than buenas dias). Clean tomorrow please, (I say this because the maids usually knock at this time).

No. It’s Gloria. How are you?

Gloria is the owner of the cabinas where I am staying. She is from Italy, near Bologna and when she speaks, that longing to visit Italy again returns.

Hi Gloria. I’m fine. Can you wait a minute please? I have to get dressed.

It’s the day of Saint Valentine you know? I have something for you.

Something for me? Wow … that’s nice. Thanks.  I have to dress. Can you wait?

Don’ worry. I leave for you on the table. Here, on the porch.

Ok. Thank you very much. See you later.

Gloria left a package of Ferrero Rocher chocolates on the table which I am opening now. Good thing I bought milk yesterday because I LOVE chocolate with a glass of milk. If I were at home I’d dunk this chocolate in milk heated on the stove or in the microwave for one minute. If on the stove and depending upon the chocolate, I would add a touch of Madagascar vanilla and whip to create a bit of foam. I’m sure you’ve figured out that dunking chocolate in warm milk creates chocolate milk. Just a quick stir and … heaven. Sigh. Poor me, this time, I’ll just have to make do with cold milk.

Related:

Chicago chocolate retailers brace for Valentine’s Day surge.

Wiltshire is loved up for Valentine’s Day despite the credit crunch

A history of chocolate from the Aztecs, Spain and France to modern day cultivation and production methods.

Learn how molds are made and how chocolate is processed and poured into molds. Holiday packaging shown at the end. Shot in a large production chocolate factory

clipped from clipmarks.com pkronfield says: Not the blacks – who are work averse and just want those free Obama checks.

Back in September egoldstein posted a clip about changes coming to Clipmarks: the team was distressed over the political clips and comments. When I read this clip posted by bartendingbear, I wondered if egoldstein (and by extension the Clipmarks team), considered racist clips and comments as hostile as the political ones they fretted over. Will they consider racist clips and comments as they are working on making some fundamental changes to the way the Clipmarks site works. I’m just wondering if racist and sexist comments have ever produced anything close to the following sentiment regarding political clips: we no longer feel that the processes of our site are producing a unique, high quality blend of content.
Egoldstein’s clipmark’s post.

SOUNDTRACK: Too many songs and lots of silence.

I had to stop posting to this blog and updating word count before midnight each day. Those simple acts became an obsession and a worry. Obsession creates stress and NaNoWriMo ceased to be fun. I didn’t want to write: on days 13 – 16, I wrote not one word – and this after the exhilaration of Day 12! I had to force myself to turn on the laptop and get going. Character voices faltered. As with the majority of self-induced ailments, obsession is curable but only if the patient is willing. The cure, no posting or updating, led to 64,845 words and the right to claim a NaNoWriMo winner’s certificate and badges to display on this blog.

What do about this blog? Nothing I think, except keep it for next year. Perhaps there will be a few entires as I edit the first draft. There’s Script Frenzy in April and I’m going to make a donation to the Office of Letters and Light, the organization that orchestrates the madness that is NaNoWriMo.

2008 NaNoWriMo Winner. Sweets by Zizzy 64,845 words