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<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Thanks for the info.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Yes, I remember a while ago you were showing your "Panama" hat at a CABAL and said that a second one was to be delivered soon.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">A website promoted them as being perfect for a beach resort. You said, "Can be rolled up, but don't" I was thinking how I would get them to the resort if I wasn't driving to Cancun. For travel, I will stay with the less stylish, cloth hats from Columbia.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><a href="https://sundayafternoons.com/collections/mens" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://sundayafternoons.com/collections/mens</a> has a series of "adventure" hats that provide superior shade for the back of the head and neck.<br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Paul</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div>
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On Friday, April 15, 2022, 05:27:20 PM PDT, Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> wrote:
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<div>Quoting Paul Zander (<a shape="rect" href="mailto:paulz@ieee.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">paulz@ieee.org</a>):<br clear="none"><br clear="none">> It was suggested that I get a "Panama" hat. It certainly would please<br clear="none">> my dermatologist. I recall that Rick bought one a while back. How do<br clear="none">> you like it? Any suggested sellers?Will definitely not order one from<br clear="none">> Asia.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">So... my information about particular vendors is old and did not play<br clear="none">out all that great, when I tried to use all my research at the time.<br clear="none">That's the short version.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">It was probably around 2012. I suddenly thought I'd look raffish<br clear="none">looking like fictional French archaeologist René Emile Belloq.<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/indianajones/images/2/27/Belloq.jpg/revision/latest" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/indianajones/images/2/27/Belloq.jpg/revision/latest</a><br clear="none"><br clear="none"> "So once again, Jones, what was briefly yours is now mine. <br clear="none"> What a fitting end to your life's pursuits. You're about <br clear="none"> to become a permanent addition to this archaeological find. <br clear="none"> Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something."<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Also, that was about the time I belatedly got a clue that all those<br clear="none">headaches following hours out in the sun could be averted by wearing a<br clear="none">broad-brimmed (or low, floppy) hat, and a "Panama hat" would suffice<br clear="none">_and_ meet my notion of style.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">So, I consulted the wisdom of the Internet, and a lot of enthusiasts<br clear="none">seemed to recommend a vendor named Panama Bob.<br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none">But, before I get to that, what's a Panama hat? (You obviously know,<br clear="none">but this is for everyone else.)<br clear="none"><br clear="none">First of all, they're not from Panama. A true, classic Panana hat is --<br clear="none">as you say -- from Ecuador, made slowly by hand in a number of small<br clear="none">towns that specialise in that, woven from the fibres of the toquilla<br clear="none">palm aka the Carludovica Palmata. The most superb 'superfino' examples<br clear="none">feature very close weaving, up to 3000 weaves per square inch, which are<br clear="none">light, flexible (can be rolled up -- but don't do that, it can damage<br clear="none">them), and actually almost totally waterproof. Famous towns<br clear="none">(effectively, "brands') include Montecristi and Cuenca.<br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none">I sent away to Panama Bob a bunch of money to have a custom superfino<br clear="none">hat woven for my order, to my specific head measurements, with a black<br clear="none">hat band a la Belloq, plus I believe a spare band. And then I waited<br clear="none">for months, and more months, and nothing was happening. I contacted<br clear="none">Panama Bob, and he apologised, and said it was happening, and would be<br clear="none">ready soon. I waited more months, and then it was "Hey, Bob? What's<br clear="none">up?"<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Panama Bob wrote back saying he was embarrassed about a production<br clear="none">problem, and as a courtesy to me he'd be able to ship me immediately a<br clear="none">prefabricated, quite-fine (maybe not superfino) hat by way of apology<br clear="none">for the delay and in appreciation for my patience. It would at least be<br clear="none">in my size. I said, that'd be nice. I got a pretty darned good<br clear="none">hand-woven, Ecuadorian-made genuine Panama hat with black band, which I<br clear="none">still have, and that I cherish. But I stil awaited what I _paid_ for.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">And I waited. And then, after waiting and waiting, I retroactively<br clear="none">figured out that Panama Bob was treating that consolation hat as _not_<br clear="none">just something to tide me over until I could get what I paid for, but as<br clear="none">a compromise summary fulfillment of my contract, in which I was doing<br clear="none">100% of the compromising, and the product was also about a year late.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">I got slightly hustled. But I do like the hat.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">And I got a lesson in how pseudonymous international vendors known only<br clear="none">over the Internet can become a problem, no matter how good their<br clear="none">(as far as you know) established reputations.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">I did not (other than this posting) bad-mouth Panama Bob for this turn<br clear="none">of events, but OTOH was entirely unimpressed with the conduct of what<br clear="none">had been claimed to be the most expert, most professional exporter of<br clear="none">fine Panama custom-made hats from Ecuador, in the world. Accordingly, I<br clear="none">cannot recommend that vendor.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">What seller would I recommend, then? I have absolutely no clue. I have<br clear="none">my darned hat, so I'm not in the market. (It's a little battered, but<br clear="none">that's because it's been all over the world -- rather like Belloq,<br clear="none">except with less face-melting.)<br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none">It goes without saying that most hats sold as "Panama hats" would be<br clear="none">more accurately described as Panama-style hats, with a variety of dodges<br clear="none">to cut costs (and quality) a lot. You can read about that problem, in<br clear="none">this very long thread:<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/panama-hat-thread.38152/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/panama-hat-thread.38152/</a><br clear="none">particularly, starting here, 80 pages in:<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/panama-hat-thread.38152/page-80" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/panama-hat-thread.38152/page-80</a><br clear="none">You'll notice numerous people in that thread praising the merits of<br clear="none">Panama Bob. Well, I'm glad _they_ were satisfied.<div class="ydp38bbdba4yqt0414739541" id="ydp38bbdba4yqtfd48137"><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><br clear="none">_______________________________________________<br clear="none">conspire mailing list<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="mailto:conspire@linuxmafia.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">conspire@linuxmafia.com</a><br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/conspire" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/conspire</a><br clear="none"></div></div>
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