Life Kills: October 2007 Archives
So there's a lot of strange and unusual video out there. Indy films, documentaries, political propaganda, that sort of thing. That fat guy, what's his name... Michael Moore - stuff like that. Completely biased, utterly manipulated 'documentaries' that offer a skewed and completely warped perspective on some point or another. Well, in case you missed it, here's a particularly controversial one.
Zeitgeist.
It's like Nostradamus' predictions, only crazier. It totally addresses a whole slew of religious issues, and people consider it anti-american. I'm thinking that it's more anti-government than anything else, but the slant is definitely in the direction of Americans, if only because the majority of the footage is Americans. Anyway, I don't want to give any more of it away. Be aware: the movie is 2 hours long, but it goes fast. Also, I'm not sure how accurate all the information is, so do me a favor and take it all with a grain of salt. It's like watching Ghosthunters or whatever - it's for entertainment purposes. You don't have to believe it, I promise.
Zeitgeist.
It's like Nostradamus' predictions, only crazier. It totally addresses a whole slew of religious issues, and people consider it anti-american. I'm thinking that it's more anti-government than anything else, but the slant is definitely in the direction of Americans, if only because the majority of the footage is Americans. Anyway, I don't want to give any more of it away. Be aware: the movie is 2 hours long, but it goes fast. Also, I'm not sure how accurate all the information is, so do me a favor and take it all with a grain of salt. It's like watching Ghosthunters or whatever - it's for entertainment purposes. You don't have to believe it, I promise.
Just when you thought it was safe to assume that Dali was a crazy-man with one heck of a strange mustache, you find out that he was a writer, a sportsman, and that he draws cartoons. Witness that which is crazy.
I may not be a fan of Notre Dame, but apparently I'm a big fan of Rudy Giuliani. But no, seriously, I'm totally not.
Find out who your candidate of choice is. That quiz will tell you which candidate is most suited to you, based on their arbitrary choice of issues. It also lets you rate how important those issues are to you, and somehow archives that information away (probably to sell to the candidates...)
I know I should vote for a candidate based on the issues of his/her/its platform, but seriously... I wasn't all that impressed with a lot of the issues. I think I only hit the "Very Important" button like, once.
So, when it comes to unimportant or uninteresting issues, apparently Rudy's my man. Aside from the fact that we agree that defining marriage in the constitution is one of the single most retarded things I've ever heard of, what qualifications does Rudy really have? He was the mayor of NYC? That means very little to me. I'm sure he's done some really amazing things - I heard somewhere that he reduced traffic in Manhattan by some huge percentage. He probably paid people to steal more cars, who knows?
In fact, before Sept 11th, 2001, I'd never even heard of the guy. Go figure, someone is still profiting from the horrible tragedy of so many years ago.
Find out who your candidate of choice is. That quiz will tell you which candidate is most suited to you, based on their arbitrary choice of issues. It also lets you rate how important those issues are to you, and somehow archives that information away (probably to sell to the candidates...)
I know I should vote for a candidate based on the issues of his/her/its platform, but seriously... I wasn't all that impressed with a lot of the issues. I think I only hit the "Very Important" button like, once.
So, when it comes to unimportant or uninteresting issues, apparently Rudy's my man. Aside from the fact that we agree that defining marriage in the constitution is one of the single most retarded things I've ever heard of, what qualifications does Rudy really have? He was the mayor of NYC? That means very little to me. I'm sure he's done some really amazing things - I heard somewhere that he reduced traffic in Manhattan by some huge percentage. He probably paid people to steal more cars, who knows?
In fact, before Sept 11th, 2001, I'd never even heard of the guy. Go figure, someone is still profiting from the horrible tragedy of so many years ago.
Surf's up. Living in Florida for a good part of my life, I've picked up a variety of typically Floridian sports, including some waveriding both in the water and on the sidewalk. Few things, then, are more gratifying than being able to combine such interests with my current ecological awareness.
Surfboards made of biofoam are apparently the next big thing in 'green' board manufacturing - and this is a significant step forward from the harmful materials used in the past! Pretty amazing stuff. Mind you, it's still pretty new so there's no shortage of caveats, but it ought to be very interesting to watch the technology develop, and I have no doubt that it'll catch on.
Bamboo has long been a favorite material of mine for a lot of reasons, and while it's true that there's some bit of controversy behind the processing techniques used to make bamboo usable for certain applications, there's are many uses of the material that don't require harmful and polluting processes. Loaded Boards makes bamboo decks that are unbelievably tough and responsive performers and hold up to nearly any other deck out there. Seriously, they're amazing decks. They're a little more expensive (isn't everything 'green' more expensive, just be default? Of course it is), but they seem to be worth it. Now, if Loaded could somehow figure out a way to make the trucks, wheels, and assorted hardware green as well, then we'd really have something.
Recycling has taken on a whole new bent with this surfboard and skateboard recycling site. So it's not really a recycling site, per se - it's more like a classifieds website like craigslist.com - it has a specific theme and I can definitely appreciate the intention of creating a location people can go to and purchase previously loved gear, rather than feed the market machine and grab new stuff.
So there you go. I've provided you not only with alternative means of transportation (put the Hummer away!), but also several companies that offer environmentally responsible versions of their products. Okay, so you might not surf to work, but you can't tell me it wouldn't be awesome to do so!
Surfboards made of biofoam are apparently the next big thing in 'green' board manufacturing - and this is a significant step forward from the harmful materials used in the past! Pretty amazing stuff. Mind you, it's still pretty new so there's no shortage of caveats, but it ought to be very interesting to watch the technology develop, and I have no doubt that it'll catch on.
Bamboo has long been a favorite material of mine for a lot of reasons, and while it's true that there's some bit of controversy behind the processing techniques used to make bamboo usable for certain applications, there's are many uses of the material that don't require harmful and polluting processes. Loaded Boards makes bamboo decks that are unbelievably tough and responsive performers and hold up to nearly any other deck out there. Seriously, they're amazing decks. They're a little more expensive (isn't everything 'green' more expensive, just be default? Of course it is), but they seem to be worth it. Now, if Loaded could somehow figure out a way to make the trucks, wheels, and assorted hardware green as well, then we'd really have something.
Recycling has taken on a whole new bent with this surfboard and skateboard recycling site. So it's not really a recycling site, per se - it's more like a classifieds website like craigslist.com - it has a specific theme and I can definitely appreciate the intention of creating a location people can go to and purchase previously loved gear, rather than feed the market machine and grab new stuff.
So there you go. I've provided you not only with alternative means of transportation (put the Hummer away!), but also several companies that offer environmentally responsible versions of their products. Okay, so you might not surf to work, but you can't tell me it wouldn't be awesome to do so!
Check out the new series of Sanyo Rechargeable Products. Apparently they received a pretty sweet design and innovation award for them, and frankly, I think Sanyo's done a very good job with them. Rechargeable done right, solar-power style. Check 'em out.
I don't know why this is so darned funny to me. But it is. Funny. Color me tickled.
It's been about a week since my last post, and there really hasn't been a ton of stuff going on. However, since it has been a while, that just means that this entry will be unusually crammed with random haphazard stuff.
Apparently two jackasses decided to murder a boat captain, his wife, and his crew. Then they got so high (and they're so inept) that they ran out of gas on their way to Cuba. Still unbelievably high, they packed all their luggage into a life raft and drifted along the Gulf Stream. This brought them (of course, since the Gulf Stream flows North on this side) right back to where they started. Silly? Oh yeah. But the story they told the Coast Guard is even sillier.
H2O, the yearly Volkswagen event, was attended (again) by the South Florida Dubs. There was plenty of representation, and plenty of good times, marred only by a few unfortunate events. First, some deutschbag (love the play on words there) gets stopped for speeding, which brings the whole caravan to a screeching halt. Then, later on, that same guy gets completely blitzed out of his skull, races around a horse track, careens into the highway while being chased by Troopers, and demolishes his... get this... Audi S3. An S3 isn't a particularly rare car... in Europe. In the US, there's only a handful. One less, now. Anyway, hopefully the antics of this King of Tools won't affect future shows.
G-$ speared a mackerel the other day, 19 inches. That mackerel came swimming around me earlier, but I couldn't positively identify it, and when I thought I knew what I was looking at I wasn't sure if I could shoot at it. Gibran has more experience identifying fish, so he nabbed it when the opportunity arose, and it was in the bag. We cruised the boulders off Hollywood beach, and there wasn't much to be seen. Visibility was a little rough, the ocean was 2-4 feet and growing rapidly, and the majority of the fish were tiny at best. I did see 4 nurse sharks, however - my first sightings of a shark in a 'natural' environment. Well, that's not totally accurate. I've seen plenty of sharks while fishing. Okay, how 'bout this: my first experience with a shark where I was in the water with them. It's a little creepy, not gonna lie. They move like snakes, kind of. Very slinky. And sneaky.
I biked to work for the first time today. According to Google Earth, it's 10.1 miles from the Broward Blvd station to the Motorola campus. That is, of course, "as the crow flies" (i.e. in a straight line.) It's not quite a straight shot, but it's pretty close, so I'd estimate it at about 11 or 12 miles. It's not really too terrible a ride - maybe 45 minutes - and it's 90% flat land. It threatened to rain the whole time, which would've sucked, and I managed (somehow) to throw my chain. Fortunately it wasn't anything serious and I made it to work okay, if a bit worn out. Amazing how my body just isn't as capable as it was a mere 5 years ago. No... thinking about it I'm probably in better shape now than in my late 20's. That's a scary thought.
Shaunna's back from England and bonny old Scotland (whatever 'bonny' means). She brought back some seriously neat stuff and plenty of stories - I still have to dig out all the photos from her memory cards. Can't wait. I'll post them up in the gallery once I'm done. Speaking of which, I have about 5000 (literally - that's no exaggeration) photos to put back into that gallery. And I have to skin it too. Oh my, the work is never done.
The South Florida Stangs are evolving nicely. After some internal drama that was handled quite cleverly and with great agility by J-Stang, it seems like what had initially looked like a cancerous situation that needed immediate surgery might be turning into a positive evolution of his club. I mean, the cancerous situation still needs to be excised, but at least the collateral damage doesn't seem to be too horrendous (not as bad as it potentially could've been.) We'll see though - there's still plenty of action to be witnessed yet.
I think that wraps up the catch-up. See? Nothing serious - just a few little events here and there to keep life interesting. I'm going to start posting up some tutorials and other, more interesting reading to keep people happy. For a change. Hah.
Apparently two jackasses decided to murder a boat captain, his wife, and his crew. Then they got so high (and they're so inept) that they ran out of gas on their way to Cuba. Still unbelievably high, they packed all their luggage into a life raft and drifted along the Gulf Stream. This brought them (of course, since the Gulf Stream flows North on this side) right back to where they started. Silly? Oh yeah. But the story they told the Coast Guard is even sillier.
H2O, the yearly Volkswagen event, was attended (again) by the South Florida Dubs. There was plenty of representation, and plenty of good times, marred only by a few unfortunate events. First, some deutschbag (love the play on words there) gets stopped for speeding, which brings the whole caravan to a screeching halt. Then, later on, that same guy gets completely blitzed out of his skull, races around a horse track, careens into the highway while being chased by Troopers, and demolishes his... get this... Audi S3. An S3 isn't a particularly rare car... in Europe. In the US, there's only a handful. One less, now. Anyway, hopefully the antics of this King of Tools won't affect future shows.
G-$ speared a mackerel the other day, 19 inches. That mackerel came swimming around me earlier, but I couldn't positively identify it, and when I thought I knew what I was looking at I wasn't sure if I could shoot at it. Gibran has more experience identifying fish, so he nabbed it when the opportunity arose, and it was in the bag. We cruised the boulders off Hollywood beach, and there wasn't much to be seen. Visibility was a little rough, the ocean was 2-4 feet and growing rapidly, and the majority of the fish were tiny at best. I did see 4 nurse sharks, however - my first sightings of a shark in a 'natural' environment. Well, that's not totally accurate. I've seen plenty of sharks while fishing. Okay, how 'bout this: my first experience with a shark where I was in the water with them. It's a little creepy, not gonna lie. They move like snakes, kind of. Very slinky. And sneaky.
I biked to work for the first time today. According to Google Earth, it's 10.1 miles from the Broward Blvd station to the Motorola campus. That is, of course, "as the crow flies" (i.e. in a straight line.) It's not quite a straight shot, but it's pretty close, so I'd estimate it at about 11 or 12 miles. It's not really too terrible a ride - maybe 45 minutes - and it's 90% flat land. It threatened to rain the whole time, which would've sucked, and I managed (somehow) to throw my chain. Fortunately it wasn't anything serious and I made it to work okay, if a bit worn out. Amazing how my body just isn't as capable as it was a mere 5 years ago. No... thinking about it I'm probably in better shape now than in my late 20's. That's a scary thought.
Shaunna's back from England and bonny old Scotland (whatever 'bonny' means). She brought back some seriously neat stuff and plenty of stories - I still have to dig out all the photos from her memory cards. Can't wait. I'll post them up in the gallery once I'm done. Speaking of which, I have about 5000 (literally - that's no exaggeration) photos to put back into that gallery. And I have to skin it too. Oh my, the work is never done.
The South Florida Stangs are evolving nicely. After some internal drama that was handled quite cleverly and with great agility by J-Stang, it seems like what had initially looked like a cancerous situation that needed immediate surgery might be turning into a positive evolution of his club. I mean, the cancerous situation still needs to be excised, but at least the collateral damage doesn't seem to be too horrendous (not as bad as it potentially could've been.) We'll see though - there's still plenty of action to be witnessed yet.
I think that wraps up the catch-up. See? Nothing serious - just a few little events here and there to keep life interesting. I'm going to start posting up some tutorials and other, more interesting reading to keep people happy. For a change. Hah.
