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i want us to become brothers again, like we used to be

darjeeling limited

somedays i think blogs are full of useless information

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robotic love

i read this article recently that describes how in the near future "robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them."

i pause there.

something seems really strange and twisted and perverse about falling in love with robots, having sex with them and marrying them. even just falling in love with robots is bad enough. my initial thought is: "yeah right! go ahead and try falling for a robot..i dare you." but, then i hesitate and realize that our twisted world is really that fallen; i bet people could fall for a robot. the article brings up two points of why one could fall for a robot:

"one thing that prompts people to fall in love are similarities in personality and knowledge, and all of this is programmable."

"Another reason people are more likely to fall in love is if they know the other person likes them, and that's programmable too."

is this really what falling in love is all about? is this all i need to do? find someone similar in personality? in knowledge? and know that they like me? But if i found someone that was just like me personality wise, and had the same knowledge i do. then they would be just like me!? so i guess i should just make a robot of myself. then ill fall in love with my robotic version of myself, have sex with it, and marry it.

then the world would be at peace.

or not. no matter how i work around this whole robotic love thing, it just does not work, and it just shows me more and more and more how terrible things are getting. and how terrible things could get. sometimes i hate technology.

in the meantime, i might put an add in the paper:

"Looking for someone w/ different personality, different knowledge. must love dogs. not expecting to like me. must be non-robotic."

do the burnin bush

this really got me laughin after a while:

why your prius is worse than a hummer

so i ran across this article today that touches on why a Toyota Prius is worse, environmentally, than a Hummer. Its very intriguing. I did a little research and found the "Dust to Dust Automotive Energy Report." Now this, is a good document. You can download the actual report here.

I highly recommend reading this 458 page report. After all energy efficiency is more than just fuel economy...

flat front tire?

this little trick works well in two scenarios:

1) your tire goes flat on your way home
2) you need to haul something and you just have your bike.

2 accidents involving bikes

i have experienced two accidents in the last week, both of which, involve bikes.

the first is more strange than anything. it occurred 1 week ago when i was running. for a little background information, i must say i ride my bike about 90% more than i run. i like to go for 20-30 mile rides a couple times a week. most of these rides are along the lincoln bike trails. when i ride, my two biggest fears are 1) getting hit by a car. (this can generally be avoided if im paying attention. and its not to worrisome) and 2) hitting a person on the bike trail. i have never hit a person while riding my bike, but i came very close last year. to avoid it i ended up crashing going about 20 mph and it was a bad deal. but thats a story for another day.

so i was running the other night on one of my rare running episodes. i was on about mile 2 and it was dusk. i was keeping to the right side of the paved trail and enjoying the brisk air. oh, and to give a little background, for those of you not up-to-date on the lincoln bike trail scene...there have been some nasty things happening on the trails. there have been kids putting lines across the trail so when one is riding, they hit these lines and go sailing. then....there was a stabbing. 5am. a male jogger stabbed in the back. not the most pleasant thing to think of when running at dusk. and thats what i was doing.

ok. back to the story. so im running and out of the darkness appears a bike rider. i see him about 100 yards away and i assumed he saw me about the same time i saw him. at the 100 yard mark, he was on the other side of the trail. as i watched him get closer, he slowly started to veer towards me. the whole thing, remind you happened in about 5 seconds. he was veering into my lane. and his veer, well, it was directly towards me. i dont know if anyone has ever experienced this feeling, but let me tell you, its very strange. at about 2 seconds before out paths crossed, the thought occurred to me that this guy was aiming for me. he wanted to attack. a suicide mission or something. him and his bike kept veering directly towards me. it was not a drunken veer. it was an intentional bee-line to hit me. i moved over. he kept coming. i moved over more, to the very edge of the trail. he kept coming over.

so at this point, the thought was already in my mind that this guy was trying to hit me. since im well-trained in...lets call it "kung-fu" for the sake of the story, i knew that i should not keep veering off to my right. a skilled bike rider, aiming to hit someone could simply veer with me and still hit me. so i kept my course, running at the very fringe of the paved trail. i running at him, he riding at me. i developed a plan in the 0.5 seconds i had at this point. my plan was to jump out of the way of him at the last minute to avoid his attack. and i thought that if perhaps if he was just bluffing, he would veer back away from me. the milliseconds counted down and he was not bluffing.

neither was i. so it happened that just as he was about to crash into me at great speeds, i jumped to the right and grabbed his chest and threw him to the ground. those of you that know me close, know that i have a temper and i was pissed. this guy was trying to attack me. the grab came kind of as an instinct. in the milliseconds that followed, that felt like eternity, i threw him to the ground, bike and all, and kept running, prepared for a foot chase. but just as he crashed, his surprise overtook him. "oh!" he yelled, tumbling in the grass. "im so sorry"

dang. i was wrong. I was sorry. this poor dude maybe really wasent trying to kill me. he kept apologizing and i felt terrible. i ran back to him and kept asking him if he was ok. "yeah, im fine" he kept saying and kept apologizing, but i was apologizing too. regret full force.

in the end i kept running. he, presumably rode off in the night.

so weird. has to be the weirdest thing thats ever happened to me involving a bike and a runner.



ok. incident two, and this one is a million times worse:

today, i was driving north on 27th st, past cornhusker and was in the right lane to turn into walmart. suddenly about 8 firetrucks and ambulances came screaming behind me. i pulled up on the grass and they went by and stopped at the intersection in front of me. they all took up the whole intersection and fireman and paramedics came running out of their vehicles. "holy crap" i thought. i was about a minute late of a bad accident. i drove my truck through the grass and parked in front of blockbuster and my roomate and i went up to see what happened. there were people all around.

then i saw one of the worse sights ive ever seen in my life. in the middle of the road were two little bmx bikes twisted like paper clips. my heart sank so low that i about broke into tears. one little boy was sitting on the curb with fireman all around him. he was about 9 and his body weighed probably 40 pounds. but behind him was a black ford explorer with 8 fireman all laying on their stomachs, heads and hands reaching for the other boy who was trapped under the suv.

i cannot begin to tell you the emotion and rage and sorrow and hope i had. seeing right there in front of me a small child stuck under a car. the boy and suv were about 20 feet from the bikes, and to think that he was drug...

i wanted to run over and help but there were already a ton of trained professionals already trying to free him. everyone around was speechless.

im about to cry just thinking about this. it took them about 5 minutes to get him out. when they did they carefully moved his body on to a stretcher and started bracing all sorts of things. i couldent really tell if he was moving or not, there were a lot of fireman all around him working like bees. i didnt know what else to do. i didnt have any words. so my roomate and i just walked away, full or sorrow. i have yet to read about it in the paper but my prayers are with that little man tonight.

life is so strange and fragile. meanwhile we all go 100mph. and little kids just ride their bikes.
i dont know what to think.

i dont really know what sport this is

but it looks really cool (from darkroastedblend)

its a dog eat dog world: there are no loyalties

so nbc had a little fight with apple. they said they wanted to charge $5.99 for a tv episode on itunes. apple said no, its either $1.99 per episode or get out.

they got out.

and now they are coming out with their own program called "NBC Direct". talk about lame. super lame. that has to be the lamest name Ever given to anything in the history of the world. in fact NBC is the lamest thing that ever happened in the history of the universe's history. Ever. and Eternity. forever terrible. i despise tv. Especially big fat nasty greasy stations that feed us big nasty greasy retarded shows hour after hour after hour interspersed with commercials that basically yell things at us like: "YOURE UGLY LIKE A HORSE, BUT BUY THIS BOTOXAL-GLUTIGHTER-LIFTUPFACIAL-IMPLANT-BOWFLEX-STEROIDAL-HEMAN-ZEONON WARRIOR SUBSTANCE AND BE BEAUTIFUL FOR LIFE...FOR ONLY $UMPTINE TRILLION. NOW NOW NOW"

yeah. great. just what we need. and yet, i think part of the reason i hate it all is that i am a victim of it. i grew up with a tv and have wasted many hours in front of it. ive fallen victim of wanting the newest toy for Christmas. ive fallen victim to watching soap operas over lunch and have gotten really depressed from it. thankfully ive become a bit smarter and now have the tv in the basement with it not even hooked up to bunny ears. but i still long for it. it still tempts me and once every year when the newest season of LOST or THE OFFICE comes out on DVD, i buy it and hole up in my basement and let my body degrade.

so im torn because this whole NBC Direct thing...they are going to offer The Office FREE to download. and that, my friends is amazing.

and in the end i stick it to the man, by watching their free episodes. even if there are commercials, ill just mute them. then its kind of like a comedy show. especially if i do voice-overs.

remediating phishing

i dont know if big fat rich companies really do anything about this stuff. but i forwarded that phishy email i got a few days ago to bank of america, of which im a member. they sent me this nice email with 6 "easy clues" to determine if in fact, its a phishing scam. lets review:

Stay safe from Phishing: Easy clues to help you keep your personal information secure.

The main goal of a phishing email is to get you to a site where you will provide your personal information. With these basic, but powerful, clues, you can easily recognize the threat and ensure the safety of your identity and finances.

1. Does the email ask you to go to a website and verify personal information? We won't ask you to verify your personal information in response to an email.

yes, check.

2. What is the tone of the mail? Most phish emails convey a sense of urgency by threatening discontinued service or information loss if you don't take immediate action.

urgent tone, check.

3. What is the quality of the email? Many phish emails have misspellings, bad grammar, or poor punctuation.

definitelycheck.

4. Are the links in the email valid? Deceptive links in phishing emails look like they are to a valid site, but deliver you to a fraudulent one. Many times you can see if the link is legitimate by just moving your mouse over the link.

[...]data-exchange.co.tz[...] ummm...check

5. Is the email personalized with your name and applicable account information? Many phish emails use generic salutations and generic information (e.g. "Dear Customer" or "Dear Account Holder") instead of your name.

"dear bank of america client" check. no account info. double check.

6. What is the sender's email address? Many phish emails come from an email address not from the company represented in the email.

noreply-mail@google.com. check. checks on every account. hopefully you learned something today.

the legend of homos in the wilderness

if youre an outdoor enthusiast in lincoln, more specifically an avid biker, and even more specifically a mountain biker, Then you will know of the Legend of Wilderness Park and (homo)sexual activity. you may not know where you heard the legend, but somewhere it was spoken to you, and there it remained: in you mind, while riding those brilliant trails day or night.

i have never been too worried about it.
a) im on a bike
b) i go fast
c) i wear a helmet
d) if molested i can release my seat post from bike frame and beat on the molester and
e) i am stong (like dwight from the office)

but today i read in the lincoln journal star that theyve been caught. legend turns to truth. and such a sad truth it is. i think i might start carrying a paintball gun with me on my bike rides. i would love to read in the paper the next day that a flasher admitted himself to the hospital after unexplained paintball wounds to certain areas.

and so the story goes:

Undercover police officers spent the day at Wilderness Park Wednesday.

What they found may seem surprising.

Police say they arrested 10 men during the day-long detail intended to keep sex in public parks in Lincoln from becoming a problem.

They ranged in age from 39 to 73. Seven were from Lincoln. The others were from Omaha, Seward and Kearney, Police Chief Tom Casady said.

“In these 10 cases, basically undercover police officers in the park were approached by men who either groped the officer or exposed their genitals or both,” he said.

In two cases, he said, men were masturbating in a place where they could be seen by other park-goers.

It’s no secret to police some people go to certain Lincoln parks looking for an anonymous sexual encounter, Casady said.

“Wilderness Park is not the only place in Lincoln that’s had this kind of a problem from time to time,” he said. “We try to do a little bit of enforcement on occasion to keep this from becoming a problem.”

He said it started happening at Wilderness Park in the late ‘80s, and even before that at Van Dorn Park and the Interstate 80 rest stop. Cities around the country deal with the same problem, Casady said.

In Lincoln, it’s illegal to have sex in a public park, he said. If both participants are willing or not, it’s still indecent exposure.

Casady said it’s not a victimless crime.

“What I get concerned about is that people do, from time to time, stumble across these things going on inadvertently... They’re there to ride their horse or go for their run or ride their bike or just use the restroom and they get confronted by this kind of a situation.”

It happened to him once, years ago with his son.

They’ve had complaints, including one during the detail, at nearby Standing Bear Park, Casady said.

The man was on his lunch break when a stranger took his pants down in front of him.

In the detail Wednesday, 10 men were arrested — six on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault and four on suspicion of public indecency.

Third-degree sexual assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year imprisonment. Public indecency is punishable by up to six months in jail.

if your gonna phish, at least make sense

got this email today. it pretty radical. copied in its entirety for your viewing pleasure:

Dear Bank of America client,

You have received this email because you or someone had used your account from different locations.For security purpose, we are required to open an investigation into this matter.

In order to safeguard your account, we require that you confirm your banking details.

The help speeed up to this process, please access the following link so we ca complete the verification of your Bank of America Online Banking Account registration information.

(then the link)

If we do no receive the appropriate account verification within 48 hours, then we will assume this Bank of America account is fraudulent and will be suspended.

The purpose of this verification is to ensure that your bank account has not been fraudulently used and to combat the fraud from our community. We appreciate your support and understanding and thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

project BAM! 6

there are about a million videos of drumline folk. this is a good one of the tenors. about as fun to watch as it is to listen.

theres some nutty folk around

paying $2426 on 4 tickets to the upcoming nebraska vs usc football game.

on ebay of course.

for that kind of money one could buy a pretty sweet 50" plasma television, get digital HD cable, buy a whole lot of food, beer, pop, chips and dip along with some pizzas, home made icecream, a live dj and maybe even a few balloon art clowns, then invite a billion friends over and have a grand time.

but hey. some people want to brag.

Museum of the Odd

i used to live across the street from the Museum of the Odd. Which, oddly enough was inside the home of Charles P. Johnson. Give him a ring and check it out yourself: 476-6735

project BAM! 5

one might ask: who could possibly jam with jimi hendrix and compliment his brilliant style. buddy miles could, i would say. buddy miles grew up just a short ways from here in omaha, nebraska. he joined hendrix and billy cox in a brilliant live 3-piece called band of gypsies. the album, band of gypsies has remained in my top 10 best-album-of-all-time list for probably the last 10 years. one song the band performed live was one that miles wrote himself. its called "changes" or "these changes". i remember first hearing this song and being totally blown away that he could sing so greatly and play drums at the same time. needless to say, he is a great musician. in my opinion, he's probably the best drummer that ever accompanied the worlds greatest rock guitarist.



also check out "machine gun" written by hendrix.

its all normal

dont worry, everything is normal. we will be back to regular programming shortly.

Felix made landfall with 160 mph winds — joining Hurricane Dean last month to mark the first time in recorded history that two top-scale storms have come ashore in the same season.

"The situation is chaotic. Puerto Cabezas is being totally destroyed," said Antonio Joya, a regional government official. "I'm sure it is going to be a total disaster."

The storm was following the same path as 1998's Hurricane Mitch, a sluggish storm that stalled for a week over Central America, killing nearly 11,000 people and leaving more than 8,000 missing, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Meanwhile, off Mexico's Pacific coast, Tropical Storm Henriette strengthened into a hurricane with 75 mph winds and the U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was churning toward the upscale resort of Cabo San Lucas, popular with Hollywood stars and sea fishing enthusiasts.

below is a radar map of hurricane Felix as of this morning. honestly i have a sick feeling in my stomach when i look at that swath of red reaching ocean to ocean while 18,000 people in the area are all evacuating their homes in search of a safer place.

sony's rolly

sony is comming out with something. nobody really know what it is yet. its called the rolly.

check out the site: http://www.rolly-show.com

and the add:

project BAM! 4

stevie wonder. brilliant man. played nearly every instrument on his best albums.