Mr. Zagnutty's Blog

One-Legged Golfer

2011-12-21T12:09:00.000-05:00

and the 2011 ping pong champion is....

2011-11-27T12:30:00.002-05:00

Halloween 2011 Make Me Roar!

2011-11-01T18:55:00.004-05:00

BZ Riding High!

2011-10-05T08:17:00.001-05:00

PJ20

2011-09-05T19:43:00.001-05:00

Pearl Jam Twenty from Pearl Jam on Vimeo.

Beaner

2011-09-05T11:31:00.001-05:00

More Montana Pics

2011-07-18T19:29:00.018-05:00

mountain goats in Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Somers, MT

Avalanche Lake - Glacier National Park

Oliver and Beaners

Somers, MT

Montana Pics

2011-07-18T06:23:00.006-05:00

There will be more to come.

Roll Simulator

2011-06-17T05:49:00.001-05:00

Pretty Crazy

2011-06-15T20:18:00.003-05:00

The state of Ohio invites guns in bars, except, of course, those that are drinking. Also, while you're going for a stroll in a state park, don't mind the drilling for natural gas.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/06/ohio_house_passes_guns_in_bars.html

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/06/ohio_senate_approves_bill_to_a.html

Monty Hall Problem

2011-06-04T19:49:00.000-05:00

Beaner 1st B-day!

2011-05-21T19:33:00.011-05:00

Terry Tate

2011-05-14T15:11:00.001-05:00

Double Pendulum - Chaos

2011-05-03T15:07:00.001-05:00

Beaner Pics

2011-03-16T20:23:00.008-05:00

we're a bit late

go BOBCATS!

I crawled in here myself

Military Industrial Complex

2011-01-17T07:39:00.001-05:00

pics

2011-01-12T20:23:00.003-05:00

Meet Great Grandma

2011-01-07T19:55:00.007-05:00

Vizualizing Mortality History

2010-12-12T11:58:00.001-05:00

Health Care on a Personal Level

2010-12-05T12:54:00.006-05:00

Back in June I had a medical procedure performed. I was having some gastrointestinal issues and my doctor recommended having an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy) - essentially they put a scope down my stomach to determine what the underlying issues were. To make a long story short they found some lesions in my stomach (pre-cursors to ulcers). They put me on some medication and my symptoms have subsided for the most part. I was generally happy with this part of my experience

My experience with my health insurance is a completely different story. First and foremost, I was told by my doctor they could only perform the procedure at a facility located an hour from where I live (about 40 miles). The facility where my doctor visits take place and where they perform these procedures was out of network. The doctor, of course, was in network but the facility was not. Thus, to have the procedure covered by my insurance we had to go to the other facility.

About a month after the procedure I started to receive statements from my insurance company indicating which bills they paid, and what they did and did not cover. Everything was covered (except for co-pays and such): the doctor, the pathologist, the facility, but not the anesthesiologist. According to the insurance company he was out of network. What? How could that be? I thought that I had traveled out of my way an hour to go to a facility that was in network? That's where my thinking was wrong; the facility was in network but the anesthesiologist was out of network. How could I have made such a poor assumption? When I inquired my doctor's office about what seemed to be their error, their nonchalant response was: "that's unfortunate your insurance isn't covering the anesthesiologist, but it's your responsibility to cover any cost that your insurance doesn't." Evidently, just prior to sedation, I'm supposed to ask the anesthesiologist whether he's in network or not.

Once I received the bill ($490) from the anesthesiologist I submitted a claim to the insurance hoping that their denial was a mistake. It was not. Again I received a letter stating that they could not cover the bill per the out of network status. Next I took my complaint to my human resource representative hoping that they may have some pull. They said that they would see what they could do. At the same time I sent a letter to the anesthesiologist asking for a discount on the services provided. To their credit they gave me a discount of $245. Unfortunately the HR rep could not get the claim pushed through and after a third attempt the claim was again denied.

So here I am stuck with a $245 bill that I've fought 5 months and don't want to pay. We live in the country with the "best health care in the world", so I must have done something wrong. But no I didn't. I paid my health insurance premiums, and went to a provider who was in network. But in a health care system that is so convoluted and confusing that doctors can't even figure out I am screwed because one facet of the procedure was out of network. I must pay the bill or risk having it go against my credit. Eventually I'll pay the bill but not without complaint.

Why Gold?

2010-11-22T20:15:00.001-05:00

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/11/18/131430755/a-chemist-explains-why-gold-beat-out-lithium-osmium-einsteinium

Future Buckeyes?

2010-11-20T20:12:00.004-05:00

Transparency International

2010-10-26T16:57:00.001-05:00

http://transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/interactive

Meet RPCV Brittney

2010-10-21T21:00:00.001-05:00

Food?

2010-10-21T20:57:00.001-05:00

1st halloween

2010-10-21T20:40:00.003-05:00

meet your cousins

2010-09-20T07:42:00.007-05:00

Go Bucks!

2010-08-29T09:04:00.003-05:00

Bumbo, I need my Bumbo

2010-08-17T07:08:00.001-05:00

meet your cousins

2010-07-28T17:20:00.003-05:00

The Beaner

2010-07-27T20:19:00.001-05:00

Money Hungry ESPN

2010-07-17T14:34:00.003-05:00

For the first time in 150 years of the British Open, the coverage will be broadcast entirely on cable TV. This comes at a time when people are trying to cut back on expenditures. Traditionally, the first two rounds of the tournament are broadcast on cable TV, then for the final two rounds coverage gets put on the regular networks, usually CBS, NBC or ABC. For the British Open, coverage during the week is usually on ESPN and then switch to ABC for the weekend. ESPN has decided not to continue with tradition and lock people like myself out of the coverage. Because I am a graduate student and my family, with a stay at home mom, survives entirely on my salary, we just have basic cable, which does not include ESPN. Presumably they make more money restricting coverage solely to their cable network. Ok, of course they make more money. But don't they miss out on getting greater ratings, with more viewers, by showing it on ABC as well? This is especially true considering the tournament this year is being played at the home of golf, St. Andrews golf club. This gives the impression that the cable networks are all about money. And how they can make more of it. Over the years coverage on regular TV networks has become more and more limited. We see this with the NBA playoffs - all games are broadcast on TNT or some other network until the finals. Most people have cable with dozens of channels, but a portion of the fan base miss out. But it's not about the fans it's about money. Should we expect anything else from a corporation? Perhaps not, but then again our court systems have continued to rule that corporations have the same rights as individuals.

Meet Uncle BZ!

2010-07-15T06:40:00.004-05:00

Jamaican Runners

2010-06-23T18:57:00.001-05:00

My First Dad's Day

2010-06-21T18:23:00.002-05:00

Stroller Time

2010-06-08T19:48:00.002-05:00

Meet Grandpa!

2010-06-06T12:13:00.002-05:00

Blanket Time

2010-06-01T17:05:00.010-05:00

It's a girl!

2010-05-20T18:20:00.006-05:00

S.I.Z.
7 lbs. 11 oz.

Top 25 Corporations Tax Rate

2010-04-15T06:42:00.002-05:00

Many corporations paid little income tax last year to Uncle Sam. In fact, some such as Exxon Mobil paid $14.7 billion in taxes, but none of it to the Federal Government. Because of losses, some, such as GE and Bank of America, get a tax credit. The low tax rates are because of operations overseas. Exxon, for example, creates subsidiaries in Bermuda or the Cayman Islands to hide a lot of their revenue.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/01/ge-exxon-walmart-business-washington-corporate-taxes_slide.html

Feed Me Bubbe

2010-03-31T19:43:00.000-05:00

http://www.feedmebubbe.com/

No. 14 seed OU upsets G-town by 14

2010-03-19T12:27:00.002-05:00

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/03/19/students-celebrate-ous-big-ncaa-win.html?sid=101

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=300770046

PJ on SNL

2010-03-15T06:59:00.000-05:00

2010-03-13T12:45:00.000-05:00

Ball

2009-12-27T21:00:00.001-05:00

Where's the outrage?

2009-12-25T16:25:00.003-05:00

We give the banks over $700 billion ($700,000,000,000) with little or no strings attached with a zero percent (0%) interest rate. They don't lend it out. If they do they charge a 9.5% interest rate on a used car and then they jack up interest rates on credit cards before the new laws come into effect in February.

Sphere or Ellipsoid?

2009-12-23T17:07:00.003-05:00

Turkey Day 2009

2009-12-16T07:03:00.006-05:00

best friends

Wuuhh Wuuhh

2009-11-19T19:25:00.003-05:00

That's what I heard today. That's right, my baby's heartbeat. Between 130 and 140 BPM. Mama is 15 weeks and 3 days.

Just Breathe

2009-11-17T07:23:00.000-05:00

Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago

2009-11-08T20:42:00.000-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/09/world/europe/20091109-berlin-wall-reader-photos.html

Birthday Girl

2009-09-11T14:57:00.000-05:00

Elephant Pump

2009-09-10T15:10:00.001-05:00

biking

2009-09-09T20:46:00.003-05:00

Jamaica Everywhere

2009-09-09T14:58:00.002-05:00

Riding around Toronto today I rode through lil' Jamaica. I saw ital restaurants, Haile Selassie stores, I ate curried chicken last night and I even saw the Jamaica National Building Society Toronto office run by the Gleaner Company. Another restaurant I walked into yesterday had patties, curried goat and ox tail on the menu.

While in Europe we saw posters of Third World, a Jamaican reggae band and ran into some rastas. In London we, by chance, stayed at Deptford just south of Greenwich which has a big Jamaican/West Indian population. I ate a jerk chicken wrap and saw yam, dasheen and all kinds of fruits and vegetables in the market.

It's following me everywhere I go.

Beer

2009-08-25T19:59:00.010-05:00

In Germany, Czech Republic and even Poland, the beer comes in it's own special glass.

As Requested

2009-08-25T19:17:00.005-05:00

tatra mountains

pierogis are good

2009-08-24T18:54:00.014-05:00

Royal Observatory in Greenwich

thumbs up!

Berlin Wall

good Polish beer

English countryside

bikes in Amsterdam, where there are 2-3 bikes for every person

nead Amsterdam

Prague at night

Auschwitz

Leaving Poland

Tatra Mountains in Southern Poland

Barney Frank Town Hall Meeting

2009-08-23T15:57:00.000-05:00

Intercity Rail in Ohio?

2009-08-22T18:23:00.002-05:00

Well there may be rail service between C-bus, C-t0wn and the Queen City, but it probably won't happen for a long time and it won't be fast enough...certainly not nearly as fast as the trains I traveled on in Germany.

http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/01/29/intercity-rail-in-texas-ohio-changes-to-honolulus-rail-plan/

Return from Europe

2009-08-22T17:19:00.004-05:00

We just returned from being in Europe for three weeks. Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands and England were the countries visited. It was quite an overwhelming and tiring experience. Many cities and sites were covered including Prague, Krakow (pronounced Crakov in Polish), Auschwitz, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam and London. The concentration camps were very depressing and overwhelming. The Birkenau camp was an astounding 450 acres - from the tower at the front entrance, it extends as far as the eye can see in all three directions.

The way the architecture has been preserved is amazing. The history of all Europe is quite extensive, especially in cities like Berlin - not only is it the capital of Germany, but it was the headquarters of the Nazis in WWII and the focal point of the cold war for over 40 years.

We stayed in hostels for most of the trip and managed, easily, to travel for 3 weeks without having a cell phone - we did have to make phone calls occasionally, but this was no problem. Free internet service was available at most of the hostels. It was very interesting to meet people from all over Europe and the world, for that matter, travelling with backpacks just like us around the continent (the name of the main part of Europe). Yes, we travelled by backpack and we carried with us only a weeks worth of clothes. Finding laundry facilities were not difficult to find.

Europe takes transportation to a different level; and it really demonstrates how far behind our country is. We covered over 1,000 miles of land using six different forms of transit - bus, train (high speed), underground (subway), overground (elevated trains), trams and ferry. High speed trains were awesome. In Germany we travelled from one side of the country to the other, some 350 miles in less than 4 hours aboard a train which travelled up to 250 km/hr (~150 mph). From Krakow to Berlin we got to experience our first overnight train travel, where we slept in bunks through the night. Another overnight journey was aboard a ferry from the Netherlands to England across the North Sea.

There's so much else to talk about, but I am tired. Pictures will soon come.

p.s. I forgot, we saw an awesome Pearl Jam concert in London!!!

PJ Single

2009-07-26T20:29:00.001-05:00

Mom would be happy today

2009-07-23T14:50:00.007-05:00

Today we came back from Jamaica. My wife and I have been living in the land of wood and water for 2 years serving as Peace Corps volunteers. It certainly was an experience. The taxi rides, the volunteers we've met, the food that's been consumed and the scenic views were the better parts of the experience. The slow pace of work and projects were not.

Would we do it again? Or do you have any regrets? I hate these questions. There loaded and unfair, so please don't ask it. We wanted to live and work abroad before we had children. Jamaica was an answer to this desire.

We left America as the real estate bubble was popping, there was a booming economy and a white man, from the establishment was still president. We're coming back having the bubble burst, the economy hobbling along and the president is a black-white mulatto. Times certainly have changed.

We ate healthier in Jamaica, had time to cook, read and relax. Now it's back to the high pace of America, where we most certainly will gain weight, have less time to relax, and eat more fast food. It's still good to be back, closer to family and be able to watch episodes of the Dog Whisperer. Now let's hope to find jobs.

Baldi Clot

2009-07-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

Hair

2009-07-13T16:08:00.005-05:00

Before

After

Mom

2009-06-10T12:41:00.002-05:00

http://obits.cleveland.com/obituaries/cleveland/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=128258048

GM Should Become a Transportation Company

2009-06-01T13:21:00.003-05:00

Now that GM has filed for bankruptcy and the US gov't (or us taxpayers) now own 60% of the company can we start asking some serious questions? In the past 30 years, three (3) major car companies have filed for bankruptcy - GM once and Chrysler twice. Should we perhaps start rethinking the car and how we travel in our country? Unless you live in a major city, you must use a car to get around. Passenger rail has become less and less and the highway has become more ubiquitous. Instead of investing all this money into GM so they can continue to make a shitty product, maybe they should become a transportation company. Yes, they are at over capacity with too many plants, but couldn't we kill two birds with one stone if we dedicate some of the plants to building more efficient safer cars and the remaining to manufacturing trains and equipment for high speed rail? They remain in business, perhaps even becoming profitable and hire back some of the people they've laid off. By being more diverse, when gas prices go back up, which they will, then they will have a business that they can profit from. Having a multi-faceted business model such as this helps reduce our reliance on foreign oil and begins to address our ever-growing transportation problem of the future.

Slippery Road in Jamaica

2009-05-18T09:38:00.002-05:00

Bio-diesel Update

2009-05-15T14:07:00.002-05:00

Although we are way behind schedule, ~9 months, the bio-diesel processor is ready for production. The one hiccup, however, is acquiring good waste vegetable oil (WVO). Can you believe it we have spent over J$1million on a 60-gallon bio-diesel processor and we can't get good quality oil. I guess you can say that this was a bit of an oversight. Because we were under the assumption that we could get vast quantities of waste cooking oil, we designed a processor entirely way too big. The problem with the oil from the fast food restaurants (Juici Patti, KFC, Tastee, Mother's) is that they reuse the oil extensively to save cost. To accommodate this, they add a powder to the oil that collects the solids to the bottom of the fryers. Since the powder is small, we cannot filter it out when we go use it in the processor. After exhausting most of the fast food restaurants, we are going to try and link with the hotels and small cook shops. The lesson learned? Establish a source of good quality oil before embarking on a big bio-diesel processor.

Do I really want to go home?

2009-04-15T14:32:00.002-05:00

I had the opportunity to watch the news this weekend where CNN was all in tizzy over the Obama girls' new dog, Bo. Yes that ugly FIRST dog. It really looks like a football with fur on legs - something all too easy to kick. Of course, the other question that all of us were waiting to be answered, with baited breath, was which church would the Obama's elect to attend. This is more important than foreign policy, the economy that's in the dumps, our poor health care system, bloated farm subsidies or any other policy. After these superficial stories I really had to ask my self the question, "do I really want to go home to America?" Perhaps I'd rather read the Star (Jamaica's local tabloid) where one of the recent stories was of a mongoose terrorizing a community.

Busy

2009-04-03T13:01:00.002-05:00

As some of you may have noticed, we have been busy. In the past 5 weeks we have had three visitors (includes a surprise visit from my bro), had a fundraiser, meetings in Kingston and helped other volunteers with their projects. A couple of weeks ago I helped do some trail work in Cockpit Country (see picture above) where a volunteer has put a project together to bring eco-tourism to one of the most remote areas of Jamaica. That day ended with a volunteer having an unfortunate accident with a machette - don't worry he is alright.

Last week I went on an expedition with the Jamaican Caves Organization (JCO), where we explored the fifth deepest cave in Jamaica. It was exciting as well as nerve-racking. The cave was a pretty tight fit and in certain areas you had to crawl through chest deep water. I was even able to go down a couple of descents where you had to use a rope to go up and down the section. And no, it's not a rope that you climb on. You wear a harness and you ascend / descend using special mechanisms calleds, duh, ascenders and descenders. I had been on a rope before, but this was first time in real-world situation.

The next few weeks I am helping organize an island-wide water and sanitation proposal. We are putting together about 8-10 projects and submitting them as one proposal to a funding agency.

Recent Pics

2009-03-23T10:56:00.008-05:00

Blue Mountain coffee fresh off the trees

Pictures from the Hike

Whitfield Hall - On way to Blue Mtn. Hike

Typical sized speakers in Jam Rock

One Day You Wake Up and You're 30

2009-03-20T10:55:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a couple of weeks I've had. We first had a fundraiser at the local community center. Unfortunately the turnout was very poor and we didn't even raise enough money to pay for the sound - still don't know how we're going to manage that. The next day, I had to get to the airport to pick up a friend, Millz. Along the way the bus ran out of gas. They wouldn't let us off the bus, so we jumped out the windows so we could catch another one. While Millz was here we went to Treasure Beach and the Blue Mountains. We stayed at Whitfield Hall, a hostile. Although there is no electricity, it was a good stay as it is very close to the hike to the peak and we were served some fresh home roasted coffee and hot Jamaican food. You can purchase coffee, roasted or green bean, from them and even watch them roast it if you ask them to. After Millz left, my brother BZ surprised me for my 30th birthday. I was quite in shock as I never thought he would come to Jam Rock. We had a bit of a bashment at our house as we had some drink and grilled some jerk burgers and hot dogs. The rest of his stay was good as he treated me to 9 holes of golf, with a caddie, at one of the oldest golf courses in the western hemisphere (Manchester Club) and to Little Ochie for an awesome dinner. He has since left and now I am off to Cockpit Country to help with some trail work.

Dash Weh Trash

2009-03-18T09:44:00.000-05:00

Mr. Vegas - Dash Weh Yu Trash from Matthew Colvin on Vimeo.

A video that was made by a Peace Corps Volunteer and Mr. Vegas.

Coffee the Old Fashion Way

2009-02-24T09:12:00.015-05:00

This weekend was a good productive Jamaican weekend. We got some wash done, made some homemade carrot juice and my landlord showed me how to make coffee, the old fashion way.

You first start with the green beans and throw them into a dutchy pot, where you parch them. This is equivalent to roasting.

You then put the roasted beans in a mortar, which is a big hollowed out log, and you beat it with a mortar stick - this is equivalent to our grinding.

You beat the beans until they are small enough where you can sift them out.

Next step is to boil the beans with hot water. You let it steep for a few minutes, then you add cold water to make the grounds settle (sekkl) to the bottom. Now it's time to enjoy you cup of joe. It was quite rich, good and very different. The process is laborious, but is well worth it, as there is nothing like fresh coffee. Simply roasting the bean yourself brings a fresh taste. I've been enjoying the fresh coffee the past couple of days.

Our landlord said growing up her family couldn't afford a sieve, so they would use the husk from a coconut tree to sift out the coffee ground.

Bio-diesel Update

2009-02-11T13:29:00.004-05:00

For our bio-diesel project we are using solar panels. But not in a traditional sense. We have a battery based system where the panels charge the batteries. We then take that DC current and invert it to AC current and use it to run circulation pumps and instrumentation (thermocouple and flow meter). We also have a switchover where we can run the power from the batteries (panels) or from the main (Jamaica Public Service Co. or JPS).

We are getting close to making bio-diesel and are just waiting to install the heat exchanger and a few minor items. The latest setback was in our quest for free Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO). We took an empty drum to one of the pattie restaurants in May Pen. We have formed a cooperation with them where they will give us some of their waste cooking oil (WVO). Over the weekend, however, somebody had climbed the fence emptied all the oil in the drum and stole it. Don't ask me what they will use the water for. Perhaps water, but they will find it quite difficult to get all the cooking oil out so they can drink out of it. (These drums are expensive at over J$1500 a piece.) Maybe the drum will turn rancid on them.

Dominoes

2009-02-05T12:49:00.001-05:00

A Jamaican past time

Jam for Jam

2009-01-22T13:08:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure yesterday of meeting and hosting a group of musicians from Wisconsin. They raise funds through cd sales and other donations to come to Jamaica and help with providing roofs, toilets, cisterns and other basic needs to the poor. This is their third year and dedicate their efforts to the inner area of the island.

http://www.fatmawrooney.com/Jammin/index.php

Weh di flag dem deh?

2009-01-20T09:20:00.006-05:00

The epic long Rebel Salute was this weekend. A reggae concert that lasts a long tiring 14 hours. Or that's atleast as long as we lasted. We arrived around 7 pm Saturday night and did not leave until 9 am Sunday morning. The show is a good cultural event which takes place in the south coast town of Port Kaiser. A good 20-30 artists sang including, Tony Rebel (the show's namesake), Kapleton, Queen Ifrica, Tarrus Riley and Beenie Man. An "official" dry event was ventured by ganja vendors all over the grounds. Several of us volunteers enjoyed the show and hang out on our tarps, blankets and cardboard boxes. Nobody troubled us as we all took turns taking power naps. The crowd got quite subdued in the late hours of the morning when around 6 am, the sun started showing and Kapleton (or "Fire") came on and got everyone going asking everbody "weh di flag dem deh?" (To translate, he was asking the crowd to wave their flags.) It was pretty interesting as some people started lighting fires in the middle of the show and setting ablaze to bug spray aerosol for torches. After Fire departed, the crowd started leaving, but most stayed on until Tarrus Riley (who came on at 8 am) and Beenie Man (came on after 8:45) made their appearances. Another interesting twist to this year's show is that throughout the event, an Obama montage was played on the big screens. Every artist gave their praise "soon a black man will occupy the white house." Indeed he soon will.

Taxi Man

2009-01-06T15:17:00.003-05:00

They just don't drive a car. They are couriers. They deliver letters, packages, chicken feed, food, drinks and money. They're school bus drivers and are responsible for getting the pikney dem (children) to school. Everybody knows everybody, and a lot of trust is given to the taxi man to ensure the young ones get to class in the morning. They even help the pikney cross the road. They are the ones responsible for getting you from point A to point B. Although getting to B may and often times does go through H, Q and Z (Zed). Yes, the taxi man, some times you hate them some times you like them, but always you need them.

The Market

2008-12-25T12:56:00.006-05:00

Yes, this is the market. Looks kinda scary, but it does look fairly similar to the one I visited in Jerusalem. In fact, a public health inspector inspects the meat every day. According to the inspector I spoke with, there are not many food borne illnesses in Jamaica. His theory is because most food is served hot. Indeed, you see jerk chicken and soup being cooked for hours before it is consumed.

Oh, and the lady in the picture is my landlord and her nephew. Both live next door to us.

How do you know you've been in Jamaica to long?

2008-12-24T21:27:00.005-05:00

I was in the bank the other day depositing a check and I waited in line two hours. And it didn't bother me too much. I certainly didn't enjoy it, but it didn't really phase me. That's when I knew I have been here quite a long time. Oh no, I have slowed down too much. I have become used to making slow progress. But then again what is progress? Until you live here and experience the lack of productivity you won't realize how inefficient the day can be. I get happy when I can print something without a hiccup. Or receiving/sending a fax without having to follow-up to make sure it went through or that other person had sent the fax. Wait a minute, have I had an instance where I haven't had to follow up a fax? No, don't think so.

I do believe I have become more assimilated with the Jamaican people. More and more people have commented on me "understanding the Jamaican language" or "looking Jamaican". I even was called a "brown man" the other day. (A brown man being a lighter skinned Jamaican.) Some after a while will call you a Jamerican. I haven't gotten this one yet, but I have learned (I think?) how to say "Waa Gwaan" or "Yaa Maan" or "mi de ya" or "mi alright" the correct Jamaican way, and it goes a long way.

Solar Panels Have Been Delivered

2008-12-12T10:15:00.003-05:00

The solar panels and solar hot water heater have been installed for our bio-diesel project. The panels will run the circulation pumps and the instrumentation for the processor. The water from the solar heater will be used in a heat exchanger in the mixing tank. It is very exciting as we are making progress and will be up and producing bio-diesel shortly.

Obama Respect

2008-12-10T10:08:00.005-05:00

As one would guess almost every Jamaican is ecstatic about Obama being elected president. As such, you see many effigies of him all over. Even before the election you saw many signs, posters and shirts of him. There were even songs written about him. Below are some pictures I took in Negril this weekend. Of course I am unclear on what some of the signage means. Like, what does "Obama to the World" mean? It must be in a positive context, but what? And one picture looks more like Tiger Woods, than Obama. When I was taking one I was asked to give the person who owned the shop money. But he's my president. Do I need to be giving somebody from a different country money who drew a picture of MY president?

Reggae Marathon

2008-12-09T15:41:00.008-05:00

This weekend I participated in the Reggae Marathon. No, I did not complete the entire marathon, only 10k or about 6.2 miles. It was a well run event as they fed us a huge pasta dinner the night before, gave us a shirt, bag and other snacks and sweeties. Because it was in hot Negril, the start of the race was at 5:15 a.m. Quite an early start, in fact I finished before sunrise. The start was exciting with Bob Marley's "Jammin'" playing and torches lining the first 20 meters. My time was 57:30 which gave me about a 9:20 mile average. Good enough for middle of the pack. Mrs. Zed as well as a lot of other PCVs volunteered at the stands handing out water and gatorade.

Water

2008-12-03T15:11:00.003-05:00

Jamaica, the land of wood and water. There is plenty of water on island. But with illegal building near water sources, pollution from farms and industry and the water being in the wrong place (i.e., people living in the hills, but springs and reservoirs being in the valleys) there is a water shortage. Many people do have piped water from the government, but it is sporadic. This is further exasperated with the current (power) that run the pumps, turning off far too often. And no, there aren't any big water towers. Many people do harvest rainwater with water catchment systems. A lot of people also have both - water catchment and piped water. We have a small water catchment, where we catch rain from the gutter and store it in a drum. We use that water to wash clothes and water our garden. During the Tropical Storm when we lost piped water we used the water to wash our dishes and to bathe. With increased populations all across the world, water will become an increasingly scarce resource. Rainwater havesting should be implemented to water our gardens, flush our toilets and bathe. It's a necessary resource and we must protect and conserve it.

Gobble Gobble Jamonly Style

2008-12-03T14:25:00.007-05:00

This weekend we went up to visit our friend Mike near Irish Town which is in rural St. Andrew about a 45 minute drive from Kingston. About 20 of us volunteers got together to celebrate the turkey day holiday and enjoy some chicken with all the trimmings. Yes that's right chicken. Turkeys are expensive on island primarily because none are reared here. We had a lot of fun enjoying the beautiful scenery and having a Jamonly Mon contest, which consisted of a scavenger hunt and race on the river and croquet match. Mrs. Zed won for the females and I came in second place.

We did some sightseeing walking around and taking in the views. It is my favorite place to visit as the Blue Mountains are beautiful, there is cool weather and very little harassment from people. Even at night the river is running in the bush and the stars are truly amazing as there is no light pollution.

Pipe Wrench

2008-11-19T14:07:00.003-05:00

I got news for you people - don't try and carry a pipe wrench through airport security. They will and did confiscate my wrench I was trying to carry back for my project. Here's my complaint to TSA:

At about 12:30 yesterday afternoon I was going through airport security when I was stopped to have my bag searched because I had a suspect item. I was carrying a pipe wrench back for one of my projects I am working on as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica. I was told that I could not carry it on the plane because it was too long, greater than 7-inches in length. I understand the concern - it could be used as a weapon. My complaint is not that they took the wrench from me, but in the way the matter was handled. They told me that I could either turn it over to them, or check my bag. Since I was not going to go back to the ticket counter, pay $30 and check a bag for an item that was donated to my project, I decided to give it to them. They then took the wrench and appeared to have thrown it in a trash can. Because of my displeasure of the situation and what seemed to be them "tossing" it in the trash I attempted to ask them further questions. Before I could even ask my question two women cut me off and said, "sir, you have already surrendered the item, there is nothing you can do about it." They were quite rude to me and wouldn't even let me ask my question. This was uncalled for. I was not trying to cause a problem. Because of their shortness and attitude, I'd like to ask the question now. What does TSA do with all the items that are confiscated? I am sure items including tooth paste, lipstick, contact solution, etc. are taken on a daily basis. I certainly hope they are not simply thrown in the garbage. There are many needy people and shelters that could use these items. I look forward to hearing your response.

And TSA's response:

Thank you for your e-mail to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regarding the retrieval of items abandoned at the security checkpoint.

These items are referred to as voluntarily abandoned property. Under U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) regulations, an item is deemed voluntarily abandoned if it is "abandoned to a Federal agency in such a manner as to vest title thereto in the United States." TSA does not seize or confiscate personal property from passengers. Unfortunately, there are no provisions for returning voluntarily abandoned property.

Federal agencies follow specific procedures when disposing of excess personal property, including voluntarily abandoned property. Excess personal property means any personal property under the control of any Federal agency that is no longer required for that agency's needs, as determined by the agency head or designee. In general, when a Federal agency determines that it has excess personal property it reports the excess to GSA, which then determines whether there are any Federal requirements for this property. If not, the property becomes surplus property and is available for donation to State and non-Federal activities. TSA does not sell voluntarily abandoned property. The law requires that surplus personal property be distributed to eligible recipients by an agency established by each State for this purpose, the State Agency for Surplus Property (SASP).

If the property has no commercial value or the estimated cost of its continued care and handling would exceed the estimated proceeds from its sale, it may be destroyed or donated to public bodies. A public body is "any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or local government." GSA, like other Federal entities, qualifies as a public body and, consequently, is eligible to receive voluntarily abandoned property via donation.

Public body recipients of donated property often sell the items through a variety of means. GSA generally sells this property at public auction. SASPs also sell property at public auction or through other activities, including eBay. Private individuals often purchase the voluntarily abandoned property at public auction and then resell it through eBay or other means.

For more information on contacting your local SASP representative, visit GSA's website at www.gsa.gov/sasp.

Furthermore, because your complaint is regarding screening at FLL, we have forwarded a copy of your email to the Customer Service Manager at that airport. The Customer Service Manager is responsible for ensuring that the screener workforce adheres to TSA principles for professional processing.

We monitor the number and nature of complaints we receive to track trends and spot areas of concern that may require special attention. This ongoing process will enable us to ensure prompt, corrective action whenever we determine that security-screening policies need modification or specific employees or screener teams are the subjects of repeated complaints.

Again, the TSA offers sincere apologies for the discomfort you experienced while traveling and encourage you to check the latest information at www.tsa.gov.

TSA Contact Center

Rustic Inn

2008-11-16T21:00:00.007-05:00

For an early Turkey day celebration my brother, sister and I all managed to make it to Florida spend it with my mother. We had a nice dinner on Friday evening with homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes and turkey. Saturday night we made it to Rustic Inn, an old time favorite. Mom enjoyed her garlic crabs. She's eaten well the past couple of days and hopefully has gained some weight. We also were able to see my beautiful niece L. She is grown so much since I saw her 5 months ago. I wish I could see her more often.

Land of the Free and the .........

2008-11-05T14:57:00.003-05:00

I've never been prouder of my country as I was yesterday when we elected the first minority to the highest office. I'm sure the feeling in the states is quite different than living in a foreign country where the vast majority of people are of African decent; and also where almost everyone you talk to is an Obama fan. (They also believe that he will be assassinated, but that's for another discussion.) We don't have a TV in our house so we listened to the results on the BBC and later walked down to the jerk centre for updates from Wolf Blitzer and the gang at CNN's "command central". There were about 10 of us huddled around watching as more and more states fell in Obama's column. After they projected him the winner we watched the celebration in Chicago and Kenya as things "came off the frame". When we returned home we listened to McCain's concession speech, probably his best of the campaign, on the BBC. Of course the BBC had to screw things up for Obama's victory speech as it cut in and out for their radio call letters and news updates. This morning as we were riding in to work, the radio played the Star Spangled Banner in honor of America. In true Jamaican fashion just before the last verse of the national anthem - and the home of the brave - was played, the current (electricity) cut out and the cut short the rest of the song.

Grey Water Project

2008-11-04T10:00:00.004-05:00

Another project at the 4H I am helping implement is a grey water filtration system. It is a system that takes waster water, termed "grey water", from kitchen basins, showers and other basins and passes it through a filtration made of different sized stones. Once it leaves the filter it passes through a chamber where it is chlorinated, to disinfect the remaining bacteria/pathogens, and pumped and stored in tanks. From there it can be used to water crops or piped back to flush toilets, used in showers or wash dishes. In our case we will will use it for irrigating the land and watering some crops.

The Tanks Have Been Delivered!

2008-11-04T09:42:00.005-05:00

In what is my greatest accomplishment THUS FAR, as a Peace Corps volunteer, the tanks and tank stand for my bio-diesel processor have been delivered. The tanks and tank stand were custom made by local vendors. We are still awaiting delivery of the pumps, solar panel and solar hot water heater. Once we get these materials, we will start the preliminary experiments on producing bio-diesel on a big scale. We will be using waste vegetable oil (WVO) to mix with methanol and caustic soda to produce bio-diesel in 40-50 gallon batches. Currently, we are making the fuel in 1-liter batches using a kitchen blender. A container was bought and retrofitted to house the processor.

Morant Point

2008-10-23T11:04:00.001-05:00

This past weekend was a 3-day weekend as Monday was National Heroe's Day. We went to St. Thomas and hiked out to Morant Point Lighthouse.

Challa If You Hear ME

2008-10-19T14:44:00.004-05:00

For the Jewish holidays, I made my first attempt at making challa - Jewish Egg Bread. We made it in our dutch oven and the first two loaves turned out alright. We had enough dough that we saved it for the following day. I wouldn't recommend it as the yeast was beginning to turn on us. So, the last two loaves were tough and not that good.

Travel Woes

2008-10-13T11:21:00.002-05:00

Public transportation. Yes, that's how we get around the island. As we were told and have come to learn, it is not convenient and can be quite tense at times. Yes, I did say tense. Just the other day I was waiting in the bus park for the mini-bus to fill up (most of the mini-buses look like the van from the A-Team). The girl sitting right next to me was holding her baby and arguing with a man standing outside the window, who happened to be the baby father. The man wanted the mother's phone and she refused to give it to him. The argument escalated to the point where he reached through the window and started choking the mother and she dropped the baby in her lap and the baby started crying. I was shocked and didn't know how to react. She managed to get him off and closed the window. The man walked away circled the bus and reached in the window behind us and began choking her again. This time the driver of our bus and the one behind us came up to the man surrounded him on both side, but didn't do anything. She got him off of her and the man walked away. I thought he would go get a knife or grab a rock and come back, but luckily enough he didn't and the bus filled up and we pulled out of the park. Not more than 200 yards out of the park the police, who should be patrolling the bus parks, had one of their periodic inspections and stopped our bus to check to see if the driver had all the proper documentation.

You may be asking why didn't anyone intervene. Well, that's one of the problems here. People are so afraid of reprisals (i.e., fear of their own safety) from going to one's aid, that they don't help. And this is why most crimes and murders in Jamaica go unsolved. I suppose I fall into this category - I was afraid and shocked to intervene.

You Want That Too?

2008-10-02T11:45:00.002-05:00

As we purchase material for our bio-diesel project, I have come to learn how business is conducted in Jamaica. To perform the titration on the waste vegetable oil, I bought a burette. For those of you that don't know, a burette is a long skinny glass container, used in a laboratory, that has markings on it to indicate an appropriate volume (see picture below). In most cases the burette is long, about two (2) feet and is fragile. Because of this, I assumed, when I went to purchase the burette, it would come with all the necessary pieces of equipment (i.e., the stand and clamp). This would prove not to be the case. When I went to assemble the burette, I discovered there was no stand. I called the supplier and they stated, "we sell the stand separately, would you like to purchase one?" My reply was, "well, of course I need the stand." I thought to myself how else will I use the burette without the stand? Yesterday, after a month or two of waiting for the purchase to go through I finally started assembling the stand and to my astonishment, there was no clamp. Again, I called the supplier and again they stated, "we sell the clamp separately." Why didn't they tell me this? "Ohh, do you want the clamp too?", they replied. "Yes, I need the clamp to use the burette", I said. Again, thinking to myself, how else am I going to attach the burette to the stand? Duck tape?

While talking with the supplier, the secretary (a Jamaican) at my work overheard me and told me afterwards, "this is Jamaica where they will cut up a piece of equipment and sell it to you bit by bit." I call that nickle and diming.

Ironic

2008-09-24T15:03:00.003-05:00

$700 billion, wow!!! And that's in addition to the money we've already given to bailing Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And let's not forget that the executives of these companies are getting FAT compensations. (Please note this is FAT, not PHAT with a capital P.) The most interesting part of this system (i.e., you become a huge juggernaut, invest and spend your money unwisely it comes back and bites you in the ass and the taxpayer - not the government, note, their just the ones directing our money unwisely - comes and bails your a$$ out) is that this bail is coming to those that espouse the Free Market or Capitalism the most. We've learned, though however, that only when the free market is without regulation do they believe in it and working in their favor; but when it fails "we need the government to bail us out"; and thus, the taxpayer foots the bill.

What I find most ironic, is that back in 2005 Congress passed more stringent laws making it more difficult for the average man to file bankruptcy. In other words, if you are falling on hard times because of bills due to a lost job or from an illness you will find it more difficult to file bankruptcy and negate your debts. And who lobbied Congress to pass these laws? The banking industry and credit card companies. The same people we are being lobbied to bail out now.

What do we learn from this? If you're a big corporation with a lot of money, just not enough to pay your own debts, go lobby Uncle Sam and they'll save your ass. If you're a small ordinary citizen, you're screwed. Either way you're stuck with the bill.

nuff said

What We Are Doing

2008-09-22T09:58:00.003-05:00

Ok, I'm getting the hint. We have been here for almost 15 months and nobody knows what we are doing here in Jamaica. Even the people we talk to on a regular basis are not clear on our day-day lives or even our living arrangements. Much to the displeasure of my mother-in-law we are not building toilets for people. Although people do need them - a sanitation survey I conducted in one community showed that over 15% of people do not have a properly functioning toilet, i.e., a basic pit latrine or hole in the ground - we have been unable to secure funding to build them.

A typical Peace Corps volunteer has a primary job/project and a couple secondary projects. In some cases volunteers have multiple secondary jobs, a primary job that takes up all of their time or a combination of the two. For me, my primary job is with the Ministry of Health where I am working with the maintenance department in the Southern Region of the island. I am helping get a bio-medical equipment preventative maintenance (PM) project off the ground for two hospitals, monitoring utilities (energy usage) at three hospitals and building a maintenance database as well. My secondary project is with the 4-H clubs on the island. As I have written about previously, we have a bio-diesel project that is taking up most of my time. We are awaiting for materials and the processor will be constructed, I hope, by the end of October. Pictures will soon come. As for Mrs. Zed, she is working with the health department in the parish with the parish nutritionist, where she is primarily helping with breastfeeding. This week, in fact, is National Breastfeeding Week. Her other project is with the community center in the town we live in, where she is attempting to get a literacy class off the ground, as well as other classes.

As to our living arrangements. We live in a two-family house, where our landlord lives next store. We have all basic amenities - electricity (fairly unreliable) and piped water. There are grills on all windows and doors. We use cell phones for communication and because it's cost prohibitive, we don't have internet in our home. We do have internet at our work sites and could use it at the local library for free if we choose to do so. And no, we don't have air conditioning! That's right, most houses don't have it. How do we get by? Well, this summer was a bit of a struggle, but we do have fans and fortunately it cools off at night.

Dry Clothes, Dry

2008-09-11T12:11:00.003-05:00

Over the past few weeks or so Jamaica has experience the effects of multiple Tropical Storms/Depressions and Hurricanes. Most severely being Tropical Storm Gustav - the eastern part of the island took the brunt of this with extensive flooding and landslides from excessive rain. The rest of us in other parts of the island also received significant amounts of rain, but not as much. The main implications of this are more potholes in the road, more mosquitoes and our laundry not being able to dry. We have makeshift screens on our windows and yet the mosquitoes manage to get in. We've resulted to sleeping with our mosquito net down at night as we have bites all over us. The most frustrating part is cooking dinner or reading a book on the couch and having them buzz your legs relentlessly. It most certainly will get worse as we have a lot of stagnant water in the backyard with nowhere to go except sit there and wait to be evaporated. These are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes and as a health inspector told me the other day, the vector (mosquitoes) can have a point of origin from as far away as 1/2 mile and still affect you. And this is the beginning of rainy season. Last year we had a mild September, but brutal October with it raining every day straight for four (4) weeks.

As to the laundry, we can only hope it dries before it rains again. We are back to putting two lines up on our veranda.

Oh one other thing we forgot was the mold. As many of you do not know, because a typical house in Jamaica does not have heating or air conditioning is not insulated very well. This results in moisture being in the air. The result is mold growing on the walls, our clothes and shoes. It's quite amazing.

We Survived Tropical Storm Gustav

2008-09-01T10:29:00.002-05:00

As Hurricane Gustav slams the Gulf Coast, we, here in Jamaica are still recovering. The eastern parishes of St. Thomas, St. Mary, Portland and St. Andrew took the brunt of the storm. There were reports of people losing their roofs, and some houses being completely washed away (most of these are those bordering gullies). As of yesterday afternoon, seven people are reported dead and four missing (and presumed dead) after their car was washed away while attempting to ford a river.

Even though it was a tropical storm it still wreaked havoc as rain fell for close to 36 hours. For us, in the middle part of the island, we had rain starting Thursday night at about 11:00 pm and were still seeing rain till Saturday morning at 8:00 am. We were fortunate as we only lost power for a few hours and water (from the pipe) for just over a day.