Jamie Wakefield

All in one 24 hour period. Geeking out. My private boards have been quiet lately. They used to be used mainly for talking about whatever game it was we were playing. Organizing dungeon crawls, explaining the reasons why you want to start with a hundred wisdom when making a new character in Asheron’s Call, debating what we were going to do about Blood, why Thanes are the best class ever and everyone should make one, no no, why Paladins are the best class and if everyone made one we could do epic content solo, god damn it I’m sick of gaming and can’t wait for WOW to come out so we can all game together again. Ah, good times, good times. Geek times. The boards have been quiet lately as many of us have moved on to other things, like Spain or sailing around the world or having a child or going back to college or doing a triple tour of duty in Iraq. Sure, some people still play WoW and those discussions are cool, but not like the old days of a dozen posts a day discussing ad infinitum the d...

I forgot to put up my predictions for this last week's UFC . Well, not so much forgot as had my head buried in Spanish lessons. So, in a rather unorthodox entry, I’ll be telling you what I thought, and what really happened and why. There were only three fights that I was interested in on this card. Jon Fitch vs. Diego Sanchez Prediction – Sanchez is one of the most exciting, determined and aggressive fighters in the UFC today. Coming off the first loss (17-1) of his MMA career he’ll be looking to solidify his position as a man destined to hold the title. His first loss came while he was sick with a staph infection and shortly after the fight they removed a mass the size of a coffee cup from his thigh. In the Jon Fitch fights I’ ve seen (all one of them) he hasn ’t impressed me. I didn ’t see anything in his fight with Jeff Joslin that would indicate that he could hang with someone of Diego’s caliber. I’m predicting Sanchez runs through Fitch like an 18 wheeler through an outhou...

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...

Wait, er, that's rude and mean. What I meant to say is : "Thank you WOTC, THIS is exactly what I want to see for Green. EXACTLY. THANK YOU!"

A little work this morning and then Wendy feels the need for protein so we head down to a restaurant 10 yards from our apartment that we haven't been to since my first day here last October. I'm not too hungry so I plan on just having, essentially, scrambled eggs with shrimp and mushrooms. Wendy's looking over the menu and announces they have ostrich in a mushroom sauce. "I'll have that." "You're kidding?" "Nah. New horizons and all that." I've gotta tell ya, it tastes a whole hell of a lot more like beef than chicken. It even looks like beef with a rare pink center. It does have a little bit of a gamey , almost venison after taste to it that was also appealing and unique. I'd order it again and as a piece of advice, if you're ever in a strange place with strange food and don't know what to order, I can assure you, the ostrich tastes a lot like a steak. Go for that. From there we walked up to Fnac to buy some more blan...

Because YOU demanded it! Who are these mysterious people named "The Intern", "Lena & Stephan" and "Collette" and where are these mythical places like "The Lake" and "Brignoles?" The Beautiful Wendy and our intern "Albina" from Albania (not kidding) pose on the terrace. We miss you Albina and think of you often. Good times, good times. Lena and Stephan beat the heat this summer at Wendy's childhood home on the lake. (The cervezas helped a bit too.) This is the horror of Brignoles. The pool. The view. The deck chairs. The sunset. It was Hell I tell you. Hell! Don't ask me to speak of it again. The Beautiful Wendy with this evenings appetizer course. We had a feast before the feast every night while we watched the sun go down and discussed fascinating topics like "What do Americans really think of the French?" Ummm... Well... "And what's up with Freedom Fries? Do you know how funny we French thought...

The happy couple - Candy and Alfonso. This weekend we went to a wedding two hours outside of Madrid. Get this. It was Candy Lee Laballe getting married in Candeleda. She got lots of candy gifts for her bridal shower. I don't know. I find it funny. Candy is living the dream. American ex-pat marrying a Spanish man in his village. The wedding was a typical Spanish celebration, in that it started at 7:00 pm and lasted until 5:30 in the morning. I made it until just before two a.m. I would guess. Wendy made it until after the churros at 5:30 and I'm told she was one of the most energetic ones left. That was Sunday morning. Sunday night was the end of another festival in Madrid (which I am too lazy to look up the name of, sorry) so that meant very loud music until 1 am and then fireworks until 2 am. I stood on our terrace naked and sipped a beer and watched them while Wendy failed to sleep and read her book in bed, exhausted. Monday was no better. Wendy was sick starting at about 1 a...