Sunday, September 25, 2011

Puerto Rico Board Game Goes To Ipad

The Puerto Rico board game, one of the most popular board games on Board Game Geek for the past ten years, now offers a digital version for your iPad.  Puerto Rico HD is a 2-5 person game that sends you back in time to colonial Puerto Rico as a prospector with hopes of becoming the most powerful governor of the newly discovered land.  Players put their entrepreneurial skills to the test, as they take on roles of Captain, Settler,  Builder, Mayor, and Craftsmen.  The object of the game is to build up your empire by digging for gold, planting crops, and building up your economy.  You win the game by accumulating the most victory points.


You can play against the computer, pass your iPad around to different players or connect via the local network.  The app brings a new energy to the Puerto Rico game, and allows Puerto Rico fans to share their experiences all over the world.  Puerto Rico HD 1.0 is $7.99 and is available worldwide through the App Store.  Puerto Rico HD is compatible with iPad; requires iOS 3.2 or later; 16.0 MB.


Have fun playing Puerto Rico HD!


                                                                        

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Puerto Rico May Be A Launch Site For Future Spacecraft


Puerto Rico is being eyed as a potential new launch site location for the next generation of spacecraft. California-based SpaceX tells MSNBC, that it is considering Puerto Rico for a space base as it expands its operations.  SpaceX’s main launch facility is at Cape Canaveral in Florida and the company is in the process of developing a second launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.  The third facility could be in Puerto Rico, but Puerto Rico has some competition because Hawaii, Texas and Florida are also in the running. This third facility for SpaceX will be a commercial launch site.  Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg are Air Force bases.


With the space shuttle fleet retired, NASA is depending on private companies like SpaceX to handle space station supply runs and transportation for the astronauts.  SpaceX has reached an agreement with NASA to launch its next Dragon space capsule atop its Falcon 9 rocket.  SpaceX will launch cargo-carrying rockets to resupply the International Space Station.  For now, NASA is SpaceX's prime customer.  SpaceX anticipates flying four resupply missions to the space station during 2012.

Puerto Rico would be a great location.  It would be a great addition to the Arecibo Observatory, a radio telescope, the largest single-aperture telescope ever constructed.  The Arecibo Observatory is used for research in the areas of radio astronomy, aeronomy, and radar astronomy.

                                                                             



  

 

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Flights Start From Puerto Rico To Cuba

Fight service has resumed between Puerto Rico and Cuba.  It has been almost 50 years since flight service was stopped, between Puerto Rico and Cuba, due to the political situation in Cuba.


The inaugural flight, an American Eagle charter flight from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Antonio Maceo Airport (SCU) in Santiago, Cuba, had two dozen passengers including travel agency owners.  The passengers on the fully-booked flight, were reported to be, Puerto Rico residents of Cuban origin visiting relatives back home.  The flight, arranged by Cuba Travel Services, believes the demand is there, with the large Cuban population in Puerto Rico.


Cuban Travel Services acquired permission from the Cuban government to operate charter flights from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL) and Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to authorized airports in Cuba.  Cuba Travel Services expects to launch a set schedule of weekly flights to Santiago, Cuba, in November, and then add the Havana route. Ticket prices have not been set, but are likely to be in the $500-$600 range.  Another company,  C&T Charters, will begin offering San Juan-Havana flights as early as this month.  C&T Charters, a charter service based in Coral Gables, Florida, is one of two companies that told the Puerto Rico Ports Authority it wanted to start charters to Cuba.


Earlier this year, U.S. Customs & Border Protection officials announced, that Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport had been given federal permission to schedule charter flights to and from Cuba.  Previously, Miami, New York and Los Angeles had been the only U.S. cities providing service to Cuba . The U.S. embargo has prohibited most American citizens from traveling to Cuba since the 1960s.  Cuban-Americans can now make unlimited family visits.  Last January, the Obama administration approved loosening the embargo, allowing for cultural, religious and academic groups to travel to Cuba.


The United States still prohibits regular commercial flights to Cuba and does not allow American tourists to vacation on the Communist Caribbean island.