There's a preponderance of images riding the airwaves and so little of it is satisfying an itch. It's like getting a craving for something but you're not sure exactly what you want. You're only sure what you don't--and I'm getting plenty of that.  

This William & Kate thing is so ridiculously overkill that it borders on the obscene. Not every woman grows up with a princess fantasy and many who do were probably buried in pink and chiffon since birth and never moved on. (Makes it quite difficult for the man who falls in love with her to grant every desire, since there's no magic wand.)

W&K appear happy, it all sounds like grand fun but let's just wish them well and let it play out.

I'm a grownup. I don't need such trivial distractions from the brutal realities of life by living vicariously through people across the pond and monitoring their every breath. Instead of insisting I wake up at 4am to watch something I can easily DVR or watch in clips ad infinitum, constructively inform me about things that matter! It's five days before the wedding; I've already turned off all local and national morning news shows and watching reruns of Frasier instead!

Really, just who is making the decisions these days? The news business has cut back by firing talented veteran news professionals the past few years. People who became honored and credible journalists dedicated to bringing quality news to viewers and readers for decades. The money saved has been invested instead in making sure we know what underwear Kate's wearing on wedding night.

It's deplorable.

In America alone, we are intricately involved/engaged in several major wars; $5 gas prices have quickly become the norm; tornadoes have destroyed entire towns; we have yet to determine the complete economic, environmental and humanitarian impact of Japan's earthquake and nuclear disasters; we are continually told the economy is improving but can't figure out what we're doing wrong because all our cutbacks aren't helping our families stay afloat financially; and beautiful young women are vanishing without explanation. Emerging us in the royal wedding is … insulting.

Here's my initial television wish list:

- Don't bury me in tearjerker scenarios by exploiting the disadvantaged

- Stop trying to convince me that "Cougar Town," "30 Rock," "Mad Love," "Mr. Sunshine," and "Parks & Recreation" are quality television. Overly frantic or stoner-inspired scenarios written by fools who think the greatest movie ever was "Hangover" do not equal funny or entertaining.

- More first-run episodes of current programming. There are some shows on their third play of episodes that were new at season's start.

- Use your brain and don't cancel a show with as great potential and star power as "The Paul Reiser Show" after two episodes. Yeah, it needs a bit of tweaking but it's got much better bones than 75% of anything else making an appearance these days. (Such a bone head, knee jerk reaction to pull it.)

- Stop taking the lowest common denominator of female and focusing on their despicably vile behavior, then make sure they receive millions of dollars and unending attention for their drama.

- Tell me how to stay sane in the most frightening of economies; with the most apathetic of authorities; the least inattentive and uncooperative of vendors, salespeople and service people (nobody cares anymore, it's clear everywhere you go); and help us understand why the most vigorous of us are ready to collapse in a heap on the floor from all the stress.

Just in case you think my view is age-appropriate and I'm just not hip enough to know what's worth viewing, I watch more television across generations than most. It's people my age who are still watching television these days and should have some consideration in programming content. My voice can't be the only one shouting.

The damaged reactors at Fukushima are pouring out radioactive material over Japan and around the world, but the solution may be tiny microbes that actually eat uranium and plutonium. These microbes are called extremophiles and they have been known about since 1956. They can withstand radiation 15 times what would kill humans and they actually seek out and eat uranium and plutonium transforming them into far less dangerous substances. These microbes actually live and thrive in environments that would kill almost anything else. They can grow on nuclear rods, in nuclear waste, in toxic waste, and in boiling water. Despite numerous studies that have been conducted on them, scientists aren’t sure how these creatures are able to survive exposure to intense radiation,. There are different theories about their origin. Some believe that they may have been brought to the Earth by an asteroid while others speculate that they were the first life forms on the planet when the Earth was forming. Extremophiles are considered to be a new category of life form known as: archea.

A variety of species of extremophiles have been discovered such as Kineococcus, Geobacter sulfurreducens and Geobacter metallireducens. These microbes not only eat radioactive material, but they actively seek them out like a predator seeking out its prey. The U.S. Department of Energy and other government and private entities have conducted experiments using these microbes to help clean up the billions of tons of nuclear waste sites around America. The tests have proven very successful. For example the Rifle Mill in Western Colorado was used to mine uranium and was closed in 1972. The ground water in the area was contaminated with extremely high levels of uranium. This was the result:

“Researchers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy have used the microbe to reduce uranium in the water at Rifle Mill by over 70 percent and further research this past summer reduced uranium in water at the site by 90 percent.”

(Bacteria Genomes - GEOBACTER SULFURREDUCENS)
Another study found that extremophiles also can transform plutonium in such a way that it is easier to remove from solution.

“In this study we investigated the effect of two model metal-reducing bacteria, Geobacter sulfurreducens and Shewanella oneidensis, on the redox speciation of Pu. Our results show that in all cases, the presence of bacterial cells enhanced removal of Pu from solution.”

( Impact of the Fe(III)-reducing bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens and Shewanella oneidensis on the speciation of plutonium )

Many other studies have been done with positive results. The U.S. Department of Energy speculates that the cost to clean up the nuclear waste sites around America to be at $260 billion, but they also note that these microbes could do the job at a fraction of the cost. Researchers have found that the growth of extremophiles can be encouraged with the use of vinegar among other things. Fortunately, extremophiles are harmless to humans. Some genetically modified versions are more problematic because of the many unknowns about what they will do once released into the environment. One of these genetic modifications have been labeled “Super Conan”.

The situation in Japan keeps getting worse and the best case scenarios would have Fukushima continuing to shoot radioactive material into the atmosphere for months, whereas the worse case scenarios predict that this could go on for years! Already the water in Tokyo has been declared unsafe to drink. Water samples in the U.S. have detected radiation levels in the water well above the federal government’s safety limits. It is also showing up in the milk supply which threatens all dairy products. The longer this situation drags on, the more people in Japan and around the world will be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. These microbes could be a part of the solution in resolving this problem. Roughly 50 years of research have shown that these microbes are effective in helping to clean up radioactive material. Robots could be used to carry these microbes into position. Of course there are logistics involved such as how much of these microbes are readily available, how fast they can be grown, how much is needed, how much they can accomplish in a given period of time and so forth, all of which can be addressed. The sad fact is this option is not even being considered; at least it is not being discussed in the mainstream media by government and industry officials. The question is why? The data is out there, so why is this option not being considered as part of an overall plan to deal with this crisis. These tiny microbes might very well be the solution that helps save Japan and much of the world from a radioactive nightmare.

Extremophiles - weird animals - We Are The Aliens - BBC Space

Extremophile Hunter

The animal that can survive the deadliest conditions in the world - The waterbear

Super Microbes Eat Radioactive Waste

Metal vs. Life. Eating uranium, breathing rust

Impact of the Fe(III)-reducing bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens and Shewanella oneidensis on the speciation of plutonium

Extremphiles

Atomic Extremeophiles Thrive Where the Life-Giving Energy of the Sun Never Reaches

For uranium cleanup ... bacteria?

Bacteria Genomes - GEOBACTER SULFURREDUCENS

Super Microbe Cleans Up Uranium

Energy Department-Funded Scientists Decode DNA of Bacterium that Cleans Up Uranium Contamination and Generates Electricity

The regulatory committee reviewing extensions pointed to stress cracks in the backup diesel-powered generators at Reactor No. 1 at the Daiichi plant, according to a summary of its deliberations that was posted on the Web site of Japan's nuclear regulatory agency after each meeting. The cracks made the engines vulnerable to corrosion from seawater and rainwater. The generators are thought to have been knocked out by the tsunami, shutting down the reactor's vital cooling system.

The nuclear plant in Japan is still leaking radioactive material and now they admit that some of the food and water supply in Japan have been contaminated. The nuclear cloud has reached American shores and no one really knows what the long-term impact might be especially as the power plant continues to send nuclear material towards the U.S. Human lives and the environment are being placed at risk for what? A week ago they could have dropped sand and concrete on the reactors as was done in Chernobyl and sealed up the damaged reactors which would have ended the crisis. Corporate financial interests seem to be the only reason for reluctance to shutdown this facility. This draws into question who should have the ultimate authority to shutdown a leaking nuclear powerplant and what criteria should be used to determine when a damaged plant should be sealed up. Should this decision rest in the hands of the company that owns the reactor? Should individual governments make that decision? Should an international body have that authority? Corporations will do what is in their best interests and these same corporations which build nuclear power plants have tremendous influence on local governments. This is why an international body should be the entity to make such a decision. The current situation is simply inexcusable, horrific and must be changed.

Two nuclear power plants in California are near fault lines. What if an earthquake damages those plants and radioactive material starts to leak from those plants? Should the American people and the world risk exposure to radioactive material week after week, just because the owners of the plant are more concerned about financial loses than public safety? How much radiation has to leak before someone says enough is enough - shut it down?

Workers pulled at Japan nuke plant as smoke rises

In Japan, people are being evacuated up to twelve miles from the damaged nuclear power plant, but physicist Michio Kaku warns that the winds don't stop at twelve miles and advises that people be evacuated for at least 20 miles. So why isn't the Japanese Government taking his advise? Many people will be exposed to deadly radiation if they are not evacuated further back. Also the Japanese Government is advising people to stay in doors, but what good will that do against radioactive material floating in the air? Even if they sealed up their homes completely, how long can a person live in their home without fresh air? Also what is the risk to the water supply?

New worries at troubled nuclear reactor

Fears of Nuclear Meltdown in Japan

Events such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan have a tendency to fill the human heart with fear and dread. Few populated areas can be said to be safe from some sort of geological or atmospheric threat. Whenever they occur, no matter how remote from our location, we are reminded of the irresistible forces at play in our immovable world and imagine ourselves as victims.

Life is both a constant and elusive premise. Each being can feel their own heartbeat, knowing instinctively, in that moment, of their individual existence while the moment passes on to the next, and the next, until such moments cease. On the larger stage, players become interchangeable – life goes on, so to speak. The greater idea of existence involves the interaction of specie and the juggling act required to maintain a continual march to the next moment. In earlier times, humans and other animals migrated in order to relieve pressure on local resources. Other species, displaced by the movement, found new ground, engaged in new symbioses, or died out from a lack of purpose.

There are fewer places remaining to handle the overflow. When the white-tailed deer population on the east end of Long Island grows too large for the area to sustain, the herds are thinned through controlled hunting. Similar activities take place throughout the world. It is a question of balance from the viewpoint of scientific reasoning. Natural predators were driven to extinction, so humans must intervene to a greater degree in constricting the deer census. For the deer, it’s a period of fear and dread, a disaster as natural to them as a tornado or hurricane, resulting from similar planetary forces and aimed toward the ultimate goal of system balancing.

Wars among peoples fall under the category of natural disaster when root causes are uncovered. Whatever triggered the fight, the surrounding conditions usually involve some element of nature, from the distribution of resources such as water, food, precious metals or fuel to differences in racial appearance and predisposition. War is the ultimate herd thinner, its casualties appearing random at the micro scale, yet balanced in its overall net effect on the planet.

Historically, the scale of warfare inversely reflects other planetary conditions. In times of minor natural duress, when the planet is inflicting mere discomforts in certain regions, wars tend to involve large groups of combatants and heavy losses. Conversely, when the planet is angry and expressing itself through a large human toll, any fights, along with the overall body counts, grow smaller. The cause and effect may be argued, but the results are consistent in that the momentary pressure resulting from overpopulation finds some proportionate relief.

Forests burn in order to allow new growth. Mud slides, storms fly and mountains rise through a confluence of seemingly unrelated events, yet the planet continues to operate as a perpetuator of life. There is no precaution sufficient to override the requirement for planetary balance, no wall high enough to stem the tide, no root cellar deep enough to avoid the effect of a furious wind. There can be no moment when the plague on our house is totally absent.

During the outset of the disaster in Japan, CNBC interviewed countless economic experts regarding the possible effects on business. Each talking head, without exception, began (often clumsily) by stating sympathy and condolences for the human suffering involved before proceeding into the analytics of the situation. The exhibition proved a reminder of the emptiness possible from the formation of words and the deeper meaning of the fear that punctuates the sentence.

We are each dispensable as individuals, hosts only to our personal thoughts and fuel for the larger engine. This is not a pleasant idea, in which we are mostly helpless to prevent the consumption of ourselves and our loved ones to stoke the perpetual flame. When we offer sympathy for those injured, we do so in thanks for being spared. When we mourn the dead, we also mourn a demise that lay ahead.

On top of all of the devastation that has struck Japan, there was a massive explosion at a nuclear power plant that was in the earthquake zone. Poisonous radioactive material could escape into the atmosphere bringing cancer and other illnesses to people for miles. People are being evacuated up to a 12 mile radius, but the threat could spread well beyond that radius. A full meltdown would be far more devastating to human life and the environment. Overtime time the threat could spread to other countries.

What's this? Another Toyota recall this year? How many is that year, so far? One, two, four.....a lot. What's the problem this time? "Looks like it's the cooling pump, Jim!"

A Tokyo-based syndicate has found a new modus operandi – passing off the skeletal remains of Filipinos as those of Japanese soldiers who died in the country during World War II.

Tucker Case is having a bad day. First, the woman he picks up in a hotel bar turns out to be a hooker. Next, he's showing her the cockpit of the pretty pink Lear jet his boss, Mary Jean, uses for business. Finally, the plane crashes and Tucker is badly injured. Before the crash, he is asked by a shadowy figure if he wants to go out like this. He answers, "No!" Flash forward to the hospital.

Tucker is offered a position via a letter and check for a tidy sum flying for a missionary in Micronesia. The missionary is a doctor operating on a remote desert island in the Pacific. Who would hire a drunken, womanizing pilot to fly a Lear jet for them? Good question, and the answer is even quirkier.

This tale of a formerly cannibalistic tribe on a remote desert island, a drunken, womanizing pilot, a talking bat and his owner, Kimi are all part of a riotous tale told with the skill and humor that can only come from Christopher Moore. The tribe is known as the Shark People, and they worship a WWII pilot named Vincent and his plane, the Sky Priestess. The Sky Priestess is now embodied in the missionary's wife and she gives the Shark People the Word of Vincent during shows where a tribesman is "chosen" for Vincent, to be returned days later with a mark on his/her back. Chosen for what, you may well ask.

Christopher Moore spins a humorous and horrifying tale of the relationship between the missionaries and the Shark People as it pertains to Tucker Case in this book. It's a very worthwhile read and will be sure to leave certain phrases stuck in your head.

The country of cherry blossoms is battling the looming black clouds of economic slowdown which hit in September 2008 and is in no good state as the rest of the world.

We all wish we could do certain things to ease the quality of our life, to avenge a certain painful situation, or to make things better for someone else. But if you were given the power to be invisible, what would you do with that day? How would you spend it? Would you be a hero or just use it to fulfil some long lost wish?

The possibilities are endless here so tell all! :o)

"We cannot delay this discussion any longer," Obama said. "Health care reform is no longer just a moral imperative, it is a fiscal imperative. If we want to create jobs, rebuild our economy, and get our federal budget under control, then we must address the crushing cost of health care this year." - Barack Obama

WHO (World Health Organization) rates our health care system 37^th in the World in terms of quality and fairness. All the other rich countries seem to do it better than we do and for a much cheaper price.

This is part 2 of my series about health care around the World. I'm sorry it took so long to get the 2^nd one done. I originally wanted to post a new one ever 3-4 days but I got kind of busy and I apologize.

If you missed my first part of the series click here to catch up.

For the second part I will be talking about the following countries system:

Germany

Germany is a popular, largely market-based system. They are the 3^rd richest economy in the World. The Bismark model has been around since the late 1800's. Everyone in Germany is offered health care. The rich are allowed to opt out if they so choose, but 90 percent of Germans choose to stay in the system. It covers all the basics. It also includes mental health, dental, optical, even alternative therapies like going to a spa. Its largely a market affair similar to Japan (which I'll talk about in another article) where there are a lot of private doctors and hospitals. For services and waiting time to see a doctor, specialist, or whatever the waiting time is about even with ours here in the USA. Its faster then the UK, but not as quick as Japan. To finance health care the German's pay premiums based on there income to one of 240 private insurers or what the Germans call them as“sickness funds”. A worker earning 60,000 dollars would split a 750 dollar family premium with there employer. Its more expensive then the UK and Japan, but still a bargain by USA standards. About 2/3rds of ours. In a way its a system where the rich pay more than the poor. Its a highly accepted system by the German people. For example an average German pregnancy would cost the pregnant person hardly anything and most times nothing at all. There is a co-payment for patients. It costs 15 bucks once every 3 months. Isn't that sweet!? If you loose your job your insurance doesn't drop. If your poor assistance Is available. It continues without a hiccup. They realize that people who become unemployed are sometimes the people who end up needing health care the most and are at a more increased risk. I personally am in that boat and it sucks. German insurance plans actively compete against each other for customers even though they are not allowed to make a profit. Whats in it for them you may ask? Well sickness funds don't want to go away. They want to grow. Management is better paid if its growing, etc, etc. Its a much better way then a single payer system. Another key thing about the German system is its very efficient. Medical providers and sickness funds negotiate standard prices and this cuts administrative costs. They are at 6 percent which is about ¼ that of the USA's percentage. Drugs are also a bargain in Germany as well. All sickness funds nationwide negotiate with the drug makers as one voice and negotiate on a set price for the drugs. This saves everyone money. Every year sickness funds also negotiate standard prices with health care providers as well. Some doctors there feel undervalued and underpaid. Some feel the hospitals don't make enough money. Unlike in Germany if a USA hospital feels they were not making enough money or wanted to make more they would simply just raise the prices. A family doctor on average makes about 120,000 dollars a year in Germany. 2/3^rd of what the same USA doctor would get. On the flip side there overhead is also much less. Like there malpractice premiums is like on average 1,400 annually. About 1/10^th what it would cost in the USA. Also education was free to become a doctor for citizens, which means no student loans the size of a mortgage they have to pay back. For us Americans there system isn't exactly foreign feeling in comparison. One thing that is for sure. German coverage is amazing! They did it by taking the profit out of health insurance and they pay there doctors a little less than we do. I really think the USA could learn a lot from the German model has to offer and even copy many aspects of it. Everyone is covered. Unlike here in the USA with 40+ million uninsured. Something to think about. Stay tuned for my next country in the 5 part series. I hope you found this useful.

Teams in southern Japan are searching for an award-winning U.S. poet and college professor who failed to return from a hike to a volcano, his university said Thursday.