Shopkeepers and offices have obviously been inspired by the trend, the commercial centre being adorned with Christmas lights and   ‘pasqueros’ in every corner. At the Plaza Madrid there is a huge white cone decorated with stars, reminding me of the hats the star boys wear in the Saint Lucia processions in Scandinavia.

The old magnolia trees at plaza de Los Magnolios, which had to be cut due to old age and disease, have now been replaced by new ones and the whole square has been given a ‘face lift.’ Similar renovations are going on in many places in the town centre.

The taxi driver who drove me, and my husband, home from a ‘mulled wine’ party some days ago said that all this is due to ‘the feminine touch.’ Of course we have to thank many men and women for their efforts to beautify our town, but especially our new mayor Trinidad Herrera, who has also set out to restore places in need of repair.

Our thanks also go to the councillor for Fiestas and Relaciones Institutionales, Maria del Mar Medina, who got the idea to borrow some left over decorations from Malaga in order to create a fantastic Christmas atmosphere in spite of shortage of money in the communal till.

When swallowing our grapes on New Year’s Eve we have many wishes to make, on a personal as well as a general level. On the general level, the wishes I will make is that the European Union will come to some concrete and final solution regarding the future of the EU, and that the governments in Europe will finally stop overspending and that they will find a way out of the catastrophic unemployment situation.

The New Year will be a challenging one in many ways. The European Union is going through its worst crisis, and the measures taken so far seem to be more or less ‘band aid’ solutions.

The overall unemployment figures are higher than ever, nearing 30% in some regions. While general unemployment figures in Europe vary, the north European countries present the best statistics; youth unemployment seems to be a global problem. Almost wherever you look, the figures for youth unemployment are appallingly high. Here in Andalucia about 40 % amongst15-24 year olds are unemployed. Many people, old as well as young depend on charity to make ends meet.

In Almuñécar, Caritas are doing a fantastic job to help people getting through everyday life. A good promise for 2012 is to help Caritas by giving food, clothes or money for the benefit of those in need. The churches of Encarnación and El Salvador are open for contributions daily. Details regarding times etc. are posted at the church entrances.

With best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
P.S. One personal wish for 2012 is that the Andalusians would learn how to drive in the roundabouts they are so good at decorating.

Towards the end of 2010 a new technology ‘buzz’ term started to appear in the media… something called ‘Cloud computing.’ Most people thought it would only affect large businesses, specifically IT companies.  Slowly but surely this technology is starting to enter all our lives whether we realize it or not. What is it anyway – in common, non-technical language?

Imagine your computer – a ponderous box tower atop your desk or a slick, lightweight tablet – being synchronized at all times with your mobile (smart) phone. Imagine being able to organize, retrieve data, share your documents, photos, email, contact information… from any online source, at any time, from anywhere in the world you physically may be.

Imagine being at the top of Mt. Everest or having a picnic in the French countryside, and with your mobile phone be able to access your photos saved on your home PC to show your friends, take more photos and manipulate them with your ‘Photoshop’ program installed on your home PC.

The aim of personal ‘Cloud computing’ is to have every piece of data you need for every aspect of your life at your fingertips and ready for use.  The thinking behind this is that data must be mobile, transferable and instantly accessible, and the key to achieving this is the ability to synch up all your data among all your devices and whatever you want on the internet.

Ultimately your personal cloud would include everything from your address book, music collection, reports, recipes, banks, social networks, documents and more – and would connect to the public cloud as well as other personal clouds, e.g. via Facebook. Everything connects.  That means every place on the internet and every person you interact with can be connected… The far-reaching effects of this concept are interminable.

Like it or not, we’re already there: using ‘Google Docs’ and placing an order at ‘Amazon’ are just 2 examples of what the everyday person now does. It is obvious that privacy and personal security will be huge issues as personal clouds amass.

Meanwhile on the corporate front, businesses of all sizes are slowly finding the advantages of the cloud. Executives can lounge leisurely on their sunny Andalucian terrace and via the company’s cloud, actively and simultaneously participate and input information on any company member’s PC, as though they were sitting right beside them. One could go wild with the possibilities! So long conference calls!

Eventually, our devices will learn about us and intuit what we are doing, where we are going, and what we intend to do when we get there.  Sounds a bit like science fiction, right?  But this is our tech future even though we are not quite there yet – we’ve only started to create our personal clouds and some will get there faster than others. It’s a fascinating prospect – once you get past all the jargon.

Oh, by the way, the term ‘cloud’ is a metaphor for the internet, based on cloud drawings used in the past to depict telephone networks and later the internet computer network.

Arboreum

What about Arboreum? Well, this classy interior design shop in Almuñécar has moved… but not very far. In fact, just a few doors down from where they used to be, and I can even give you really good directions!
If you were standing outside the Caja Rural Bank, the one opposite the Municipal Market, you would notice an alleyway running down the side of it. Well, if you walk up that alley, it is directly in front of you.
Well worth a visit this one, even browsing is a delight, where quality items abound, and you can’t help but imagine each and every piece in your home.
Arboreum, c/.Trinidad 16, Almuñécar.
Tel. 958 883 313.
Magazine MapSpot 6.