The word “Jamaipanese” is a portmanteau; a combination of Jamaica and Japan. Kirk is a Jamaica ( He’s Jamaican) and Japan ( more so Japan) enthusiast, he’s been an enthusiast of the latter for a while, but didn’t get to visit the country until recently–that’s the interesting part.

Kirk had everything he needed to go to Japan, but money. But that wasn’t going to deter him from going. Most people wouldn’t have bothered, but Kirk did and I admire him for that. His story is interesting and I think it should be highlighted.

Picture courtesy of Taylor’s Photography

On January 18, 2010 Kirk wrote a detailed blog post explaining how he’d acquire the funds to go to Japan, where he’d stay and what his expenses would be. You can read the blog post here. It’s titled “Operation Visit Japan”. What I find particularly interesting is how he managed to raise about 40% of the funds through his blog via donations (I’m pretty sure many told him not to bother because people would not donate, but he did anyway). I donated and encouraged him as I’m sure many others did. As a result he received  over $1,000 USD in donations from people all over the world. This is an example of how useful the internet can be to anyone, wherever you are, it just takes effort and dedication.

Kirk  even managed to snag sponsorship from a Japanese company for wireless internet connectivity while he was there and even stayed with a Japanese reggae singer who he met through his blog. There is still much more to be told, but I definitely can’t tell it like he can. He has  organized all his posts re: his trip to Japan he in a category that you can read here

Kirk is a good writer, consistent blogger and a great friend. I’m very happy for  him and I’m glad he finally got the opportunity to visit a place he’s so crazy about.

Ode to Jamaipanese.com, my blog of the year!

Meanwhile, a similar story was unfolding oceans away. During World War II, under constant threat of bombings, the British had a great need to distinguish incoming aircraft quickly and accurately. Which aircraft were British planes coming home and which were German planes coming to bomb? Several airplane enthusiasts had proved to be excellent “spotters,” so the military eagerly employed their services. These spotters were so valuable that the government quickly tried to enlist more spotters—but they turned out to be rare and difficult to find. The government therefore tasked the spotters with training others.

It was a grim attempt. The spotters tried to explain their strategies but failed. No one got it, not even the spotters themselves. Like the chicken sexers, the spotters had little idea how they did what they did—they simply saw the right answer.

With a little ingenuity, the British finally figured out how to successfully train new spotters: by trial-and-error feedback. A novice would hazard a guess and an expert would say yes or no. Eventually the novices became, like their mentors, vessels of the mysterious, ineffable expertise.

You can do it, but you can’t explain it. Something I’m familiar with. Awesome article that answers a lot of questions I’ve asked but couldn’t get answered over the years.

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My tenure at University will inevitably be faced with struggles, but I will keep clear sight of my goal and never forget what I want. I always tell people not to ask me if I’m having a good day, because I’m always having a good day, regardless of the circumstances; it’s not a matter of me having a good day, it’s how good my day is, sometimes extremely well, other times not so much but it’s NEVER a bad day.

I was once the physical embodiment of Cynicism, but I got older and realized why waste my time being negative, because all I attracted were negative people… life was depressing. But I soon had my epiphany, and boy did things start changing for me, I started attracting different people into my life and things started to change for me in a positive way, the adage “You are what your think” is definitely true.

Everyone faces struggles, but it’s no reason to become frustrated and call it quits, look forward, plan your next course of action be decisive and do your best!

If you think you dare not, you don’t
If you like to win, but you think you can’t
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a person’s will-
It’s all in the state of mind

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man
But soon or late the one who wins
Is the one WHO THINKS HE CAN! – Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

JULIET Landell knew the moment she was approached by her high school sweetheart Andrew Holness that she would end up being a politician’s wife. For that was made clear by the young, tall, dashing and confident Holness in a proposal of sorts to her while they were both students at the University of the West Indies (UWI).
“I recall he told me one day on campus ‘you are going to be my wife and I intend to serve in political life, you must choose now if you are able to take on this life because serving my country is important to me’,” the wife of Jamaica’s ninth and youngest prime minister told the Sunday Observer. “He was very clear on his professional goals from early.

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My favorite Question:

Q: A number of women go after men in power, how do you deal with women who may try to get involved with your husband?
A: I don’t mind that women will find my husband attractive. He is a wonderful man and I am actually honoured when others find him attractive — he is very loving, very affectionate, very jovial, very good looking — and I know that some women would really love to have a partner like mine. But when all is said and done, even though persons would want to gravitate towards him, I know he understands that his commitment with me is what comes first and foremost, and I believe in a relationship with one man, one woman. And he knows that. Having one partner is important to me and it is equally important to him. And because we both believe that God has made us equal then we do share similar views where that is concerned.

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I’m sad Steve Jobs is gone. I’m sadder still to see the vultures of shallow thinking circling his name. There is a fallacy around great men, a notion we can learn best from their behavior for how we ourselves can achieve. But that’s only true if we study them with an honest eye. When writers are clouded by mythology and hero worship, they do more harm than good, as sloppy thinking is often the mortar used to put men on pedestals.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

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The title of the post was “Risk Aversion”

I’ve found that for the most part, the older you get the more risk averse you become. It’s probably caused by awareness, realities of the world, obligations or even maturity[?].

Back when Advance-Gamers.com (Article) was in its prime I contacted many well known video game publishers because I wanted to review their games…well I primarily just wanted to play them. But hey, I didn’t think about it much, I just sent out emails. Imagine, a 15 year old with bad English emailing PR at some of the largest gaming publishers in America.

Well, it worked, I got a ton load of games sent to me for review ( I also got to keep them) and made some good contacts in the industry. I didn’t think much about what I was doing then…heck, I didn’t think, I just did. But, now I’m older and more self-conscious. At 20 I would think long hard about sending out those emails. What if they don’t respond? What if they say no, what if they say my website is too small or not popular enough?

Release your inhibitions.

If you can…do it while you’re young. Whatever “it” is.

You can watch Dr.Randall Pinket’s talk here.The other talks are here

If Jawbone has its way, you’ll soon be wrapping this bendable, waterproof gadget around your wrist, tracking your health with it — and hardly ever taking it off.

The Up, Jawbone’s first foray into devices that aren’t Bluetooth headsets or speakers, goes on sale Nov. 6 for $99 at all Apple, AT&T, Target and Best Buy stores. It syncs with Jawbone’s Up app for iPhone (an Android version is in the works) via an audio jack hidden under that silver cap at the end. (That’s my first problem with the device — it has a small removable part. I hope Jawbone has prepared plenty of spares.) It also charges via the audio jack, which you’ll need to plug into a USB connector every ten days or so.

What is the wristband tracking, exactly? In short: sleep and exercise. Much like the Lark, which we reviewed back in June, it looks for micro-movements at bedtime and can tell when you’ve fallen asleep. Like the Lark, it will wake you with gentle vibrations in the morning instead of music or noise, so your partner can go on sleeping. Unlike the Lark, it can track whether you’re in light or deep sleep, and will wake you within a certain window of time, when your sleep is at its lightest.

I’m definitely getting this in Q1 of 2012.

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Embattled dancehall entertainer, Vybz Kartel, and two members of his entourage, who have been jointly charged for the murder of Clive Williams, were again remanded when they appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.

One of the men, recording artiste Shawn Storm – whose given name is Shawn Campbell – has been ordered to give his fingerprint to the police.

The three are scheduled to return to court December 2, when defence attorneys are expected to apply for bail.

A fourth man charged in the case, Kiro Jones, was not brought before the court this morning…

Go down dutty Babylon, dutty Babylon. Big up every prisoner big up every warder.

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A lot of work for three minutes. (Via John Gruber.)

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An official Diplomat of Jamaica subsequently responded to this tweet disagreeing with me. You would think that an official representative of our country would know this, but alas.  I will not include the name or  twitter handle of this diplomat, if only for his sake.

If you’re not familiar with the structure of the Jamaican Government please go here, here or here.

Feel free to follow me on twitter: @gordonswaby

N.B His name is replaced with “Guy” in the discussion: