Jamie Wakefield

"If I had one wish it would be to eliminate greed." I say this in the wake of learning that Gaddafi has sequestered billions of dollars of oil revenue for himself and his family. This is just one in a long line of people where too much is never enough. It reminds me of the Koch brothers and Fox news trying to break up unions in Wisconsin. Or Walmart paying its workers minimum wage, never granting health insurance while the Walton family (owners of Walmart) is one of the richest families alive. I'm not against human desire to succeed or even become wealthy. I find those goals lofty, as shoudl everyone. But once you have billions do you really need to make others suffer so you can have even more? But no. Stealing a hundred million from your country isn't enough. You have to have twenty times that. You can follow me on Twitter as Jaedence.

Wake up and smell the coffee. You need to know this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqW4F-EQ9LM&NR=1

I try not to be too political on this blog but I feel this needs to be said. My sister has returned from the hospital after a week long battle with pyelonephritis which is a fancy word for a kidney infection. From her Facebook posts it seems she had similar experiences in the emergency room that Marilyn and I have had. They did their level best to ignore her until her fever spiked to 106. I can only say that Wendy and I have never had such experiences in Spain and when comparing notes with our friends in France, they haven’t had them there either. Anyone who tells you national health care will automatically make things worse is flat out lying to you. It COULD make things worse, I’m not denying that, as some countries do have long waiting lines or shortages or other problems. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are countries that have national health care and it works a lot better than the system we have in the US. Wendy and I have never waited in the emergency room in Spain for l...

Wendy called our health care provider today to get something checked out. They asked her if 9:00 a.m. TOMORROW was too early for her, or would she like something later in the day? The Horror! The Horror! She has to wait a whole fifteen hours for an appointment! You know what's horrible? The misinformation spread by "news" organizations about health care in the rest of the civilized world. Just so you know, this isn't a lone incident - it is always like this when we need help here. Which has been about 5 times now. I don't mean to offend any of my readers, but this is the reality of what health care is like in Europe. It is nothing like what is being portrayed in some media. It is excellent.

Let’s start with a video recommended to me by one of my bestest ever friends, Miss Lorelei. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHGcvj3JiGA “No Time to Think” is a video about information overload. (Don’t worry, the guy with the hard to follow accent is not the main speaker, he just introduces him.) It is a fascinating piece on information overload, advertising, the internet, the great manufacturing machine and testing. One of the parts that really struck home was about a woman who won a prize in medicine. She said the way she figured out the solution was to stop and think. Rather than see some test results, make a quick conclusion, then move on to the next test to see what you can find out, she just stopped and thought for days on each test. She didn’t just proceed to the next test which is what most people in her field did. She just thought - and solved the problem. And then they started talking about the environment, I got bored and turned it off. But as Lorelei had told me, let it sink ...

I can't even imagine having kids. I feel like I am always going, as I struggle to get this up before Wendy and I head to the gym in thirty minutes. If the Santorini thing isn't with it, it will be up tomorrow. Okay... that is the fifth time I have tried to paste in my rambles and nothing is happening... Okay, restarting didn't work... Ah, pasting in "Edit HTML" mode worked. Bizarre. I am predicting that we will never run out of oil. If we do, it will be long after I am gone. A recent article in “Time” magazine is talking about electric hybrid cars in development that will get 100, 250, 300 and even 367 miles to the gallon. And they aren’t coming soon, they are here. Cost is prohibitive at over forty-grand apiece, but the next wave is being built as I type this. Every day a new wind farm is built or a permit for a new Nuclear power plant or a field of tide power pistons is being proposed. Solar power continues to get more advanced, thinner, more resilient, easier t...

In a nicely balanced article by the NYTimes on Global Warming, I am glad that they keep the scare tactics to a minimum and tell the whole story. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/science/earth/18juneau.html?em Glaciers are receding. They do that. Sometimes they advance. They do that too. The article is interesting and an easy read. Make sure to note these two quotes. "Greenland and a few other places have experienced similar effects from widespread glacial melting that began more than 200 years ago, geologists say." I don't need to explain why the "200 years ago" remark is important, right? "The rise is further fueled by the movement of the tectonic plates that form the earth’s crust. As the Pacific plate pushes under the North American plate, Juneau and its hilly Tongass National Forest environs rise still more. “When you combine tectonics and glacial readjustment, you get rates that are incomprehensible,” Dr. Molnia said. "In Gustavus, where Mr. DeBo...

Warning : This post eventually devolves into a religious discussion. If exploring the nature of God in a way contrary to the way the Bible depicts him upsets you, you might want to just move along. Thought for the day: It only takes putting your passport through the wash once to realize you should always check your pockets before doing laundry. I am really enjoying my friend John Loggin’s blog. John’s dream is pretty simple. Sail the oceans with his family. See new places. The reality is a lot more complex. Quit a good job, buy a boat. Live on said boat, learn how to sail, learn how to scuba so you can fix said boat in the middle of the ocean, spend your retirement money, give up your security… and dream. There are of course two sides to every coin. Ten years ago I would have thought he was crazy and all I wanted to do was stay in my house, play video games and watch my retirement fund grow. I firmly stand behind everyone in that camp. I am now in the camp of experiences are more impor...

I finished the last of the Twilight books and was pleased that I had read them. While not stunning works of fiction, I do have to say they held my attention and I read them every free chance I had. I think one of the reasons I liked them so much was because it was more than a Buffy clone but more like reading Vampires/Werewolves/ and Superheroes. Especially the last book of the series. The final showdown was like Legion of Super-Heroes VS Legion of Super-Villains. With horse sized wolves thrown in for good measure. That sounds cool just typing it. Now I have the intern (Diana) addicted as well. Unlike Wendy and I, she actually loved the first book. I consider the first book something you have to suffer through (like braces) in order to get the set-up for the next three books which I thought well worth it. She’s on book three already. As for my writing, I continue to send out query letters to agents. Last week I got my first hit with an agent asking to see a partial. If she likes the pa...

Just so people are clear, I am fully onboard with everything having to do with saving wildlife, keeping the environment clean and moving to renewable energy. I find wind, tidal, solar and nuclear power all fascinating and the sooner we get off burning oil and coal the better. I also love "Time" Magazine. I read most of the articles in it when it comes every week and I think if anyone wants to appear smart, all they need to do is read "Time" cover to cover every week. You'll have a full grasp of social issues, trends, politics, wars, starvation, emerging nations - you name it. All you need to know about the world is in there. I love it. Just to make that perfectly clear. What I hate is fear mongering. The latest issue of "Time" magazine has a cover that states "Vanishing Act: How Climate Change is causing a new age of extinction." The main focus of the piece is on Madagascar and its unique ecology, that like Australia and the Galapagos Islands...

I don't know why, but man-made Global Warming is like a religion to people and I imagine that if I post this I will recieve Jihad like death threats. People just get so pissed when you try to present them with alternative data. I don't understand it. This is a letter I sent to Time magazine they declined to print. As a news magazine, do you ever feel the need to examine the other side of Global Warming? There are some very reputable scientists that disagree with the political organization known as the IPCC. How about questioning why the IPCC blatantly uses unqualified environment activists instead of experts like Paul Reiter in the field they want studied? How about examining Al Gore’s scary chart that actually shows a completely different conclusion than the one he presents the audience? How about examining the actual percentage of greenhouse gases humans cause to go into the air and contrast them to the percentages of wildfires, volcanoes and cows? You do a disservice to you...

UFC : Just watched Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring again. Brock Lesnar is ENORMOUS. Heath Herring is 230 lbs and looked like a child next to him. Imagine Rich Franklin fighting Diego Sanchez. Sanchez is probably the better fighter by a small margin, but there’s just no way in hell he is going to beat a guy who outweighs him by that much. The days of heavyweights weighing 230 lbs (Cro Cop, Randy Couture) and being competitive are over. There is no way in hell a guy 230 lbs and a little flabby can beat a guy who weighs 285 lbs and is solid muscle. Sure, he can if their skill set is vastly different, (Fedor) but if they are even close in skill level, the bigger guy wins every time. Cain Valasquez is 245 lbs and an up and coming prospect. Undefeated in six fights. TKO in the first round in five of them. He has some flab around the middle. I suggest he cut down to 205. The future belongs to Lesnar, Carwin and guys like them. The guys who have wrestling pedigrees, hands the size of small plan...

Thank you for a well thought out and intelligent post. "That said, poor governance by the republicans in the past does not excuse the same poor governance being continued by the democrats in the present. Do you think that the stimulus bill is a good one, Jamie?" In response I have to say I think the democrats in congress are doing a fucking awful job, which is why they have a 10% approval rating. I do think the revised stimulus bill is a good one. From what I have read, the initial bill had too much pork in it. I am of many minds concerning this. In the past, I thought it was dumb to just put money back into the tax-payers’ pockets. How is putting three hundred dollars into someone's hand going to stimulate the economy? That's not going to do anything! But I believe we are in a unique situation. For one thing, we're not talking three hundred dollars, we're talking three thousand. For another, it's not just that the economy is bad, it's that banking, le...

Not as right as I would like to be, but still right. Wendy and I have had this discussion before, and I was sure I had posted it here, but not in the way that I had hoped. Here's what I said on the blog. http://kingfatty.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-endorse-hilary-clinton.html "Likeability – A lot of people think that the Republicans will hate Hilary and do anything they can to obstruct her progress once she gets in office. A nice wake up call by a columnist at the NYTimes pointed out it doesn’t matter which dem gets into the White House. The Republicans will hate them and do anything they can to obstruct any progress and bad mouth the President at every opportunity. Bill Clinton ran on a platform of bipartisanship, invited Republicans to dinner and meetings and got kicked in the face for his trouble. What? You think Rush Limbaugh and Hannity are going to treat Obama fairly if he gets the nomination? You think they will treat him with any more respect than they do anyone? Don’t kid ...

Damn right it's a new year. A new start. A new hope. Happy Obama Day! Yesterday started out with me celebrating with lots of blood as new aparatus was put into the bottom of my mouth at the dentist's. He had a packed schedule and needed to fit me in so he didn't have time to be gentle. As I arrived he shook my hand and said "Great day for America, huh?" "Yeah. We're very excited." "Great day for the whole world actually." Exactly. (While I am filled with hope, I still wish Hillary had won. Obama continues to try and reach across the aisle while the number one question on most American's mind is "Are you going to pursue criminal charges against Bush and his cronies for his many misdeeds?") HBO wins the "dick of the year" award for buying the rights to "We are One" the Obama inauguration concert and then not letting anyone post it online or allowing countries other than the US to view it. You can't view i...

My friend Doug came down with Cancer a few months back. Luckily, he had a good job with full health insurance. He’s been on leave while he battles Cancer and the treatment is going well. What follows is why I feel we need National Public Health Care. Colin the business manager, called me on Monday and we set up an appointment for Wednesday morning so "we could talk business." I suspected it was about the upcoming end of my short-term disability (STD--not to be confused with STD=Sexually Transmitted Disease!). Long story short: Colin basically said, "Your STD runs out on July 23rd (ironically, this is the date of my last treatment) and you must then go onto long-term disability. At this point, your employment is terminated and, should you wish to return to work here, you must reapply and your job IS NOT guaranteed." Needless to say, I was pissed. First of all, Frank told me my job was secure and I had nothing to worry about. I was led to believe that Frank was t...

I hate the fact that Lobbyists pretty much own America these days. There is a great deal of change that needs to happen in America that never will because of the power of the nation's richest industries. Today, I hate the corn lobby. For one thing, we don't use sugar in America anymore, we use " High Fructose Corn Syrup " and tax the shit out of cane sugar. Do you know how bad for you High Fructose Corn Syrup is? And its in EVERYTHING. It is in the soda you drink, your O reos , your pop tarts and your cereal. It is in anything that should contain "Sugar." Its bad for you and the only reason Americans have to eat it is because of the powerful corn lobby. "Because of a system of price supports and sugar quotas imposed since May 1982, importing sugar into the United States is prohibitively expensive. High-fructose corn syrup, derived from corn, is more economical since the American price of sugar is artificially far higher than the global price of sugar a...

Ignorance is bliss. It really is true. Wendy has a subscription to “Time” magazine and every Tuesday a new one comes in filled with enlightenment. I eagerly look forward to a new issue. I love the quotes, the statistics, the little vacation destination spot reviews, the politics and learning more about the world. Seriously, I think if you want to sound smart to anyone you meet, just read one “Time” magazine a week and you’ll be impressive. This week's interesting story is how scientists/doctors are now using a small electrical current to calm Parkinson’s disease tremors, ease depression and awaken coma victims. “We pinpoint the part that needs stimulus, and provide it.” Seems simple enough to me. The brain runs on electric current, it stands to reason that maybe some of it isn’t getting enough. So, doctors open up the skull and stick a wire into places they think might need help and crank up the mild juice until they see results. Such as Scott Stipp who had the procedure done. On t...