I look forward to moving out of New Jersey

I mean all disrespect.

TV Shit

I will admit that I am not always on top of my game. I enjoy drinking from time to time; exercise is not on the top of my list of things to accomplish. My attention span is so short that it interferes with my dialectical thinking. I have failed more than one undergraduate course in Mathematics. As a reader, I give you the opportunity to ignore the words of such a untrustworthy speaker (because, I am becoming aware, some of you might not believe you have such a right).

I just finished this book, Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. It's overarching assertion is that American culture, as seen through his lens in 1985, is experiencing the exact changes as described in A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The basic idea is that our culture will shrivel with the advent of technologies which consistently make us more and more comfortable and complacent. The technological centerpiece, says Postman, is the television. Ever-present, always alluring, buzzing with both triviality and affirmations of triviality's goodness, the TV creates its own universe of discourse and relevance so that we may be completely distracted from reality. (Unrelated but analogous)

That's all well and good, though. We sit around and play board games, ride around in cars and drink beers and fall down. These sorts of things have happened for a long time in human history and we still manage to sober up and get serious when we need to. What is bad about this is that some TV can tend to replace the central reality of peoples lives- become their occupation. I think it's different for different people, some people like the soaps innocently while others feed off them-- TV series do a good job of encroaching on real life-- memorable characters and familiar music.

For me, CNN could be my life if I let it. The seriousness, the semi-attractive women and informed and discerning men in suits. It's like looking out your window while laying in bed-- carefully drawing conclusions about situations you'll never have to actually confront. You feel like you're actually learning something when you watch CNN. I sit in my boxers and knowingly agree with David Gergen with Raisin Bran and Almond Breeze dripping off my chin. Eternal third-party. That's when I gotta turn off the TV...

thanks
Ben

The Walls of Jericho

I went on a hike today near the Tenn. / Alabama state line . . . may have even crossed it but you cant really tell out there can you . . .

The end of the trail was a place called "The Walls of Jericho" as named by some holy rollin' mother fucker. I think they should have named it something about indians! It was a sort of secret canyon carved out in between what some would call hills and others would call mountains. Apparently Davy Crockett spent some time there back in the day. I think the walls were much older than Jericho. They had a campground right next to a cematary out on the trail. I might go back and camp if I can convince some people.

My point in posting this is - Go outside.

LINK

Anyone good at programming?

Firms Make a Killing on I-Phone Apps

Seriously, this is like the 5th article on this stuff that I've read.

Waste = Food

I think everyone should watch this.  It's a cool documentary, only 50 minutes long.  It makes me hopeful but it also reminds me that we can be doing a hell of a lot more to chagne the way we go about things.  

http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-3058533428492266222

adsense

We are all going to get rich...

NOT

OMD "Electricty"

Come on...

Tell me it isn't stuck in your head...


OMD "Electricity"


Enjoy

The reason why I'm so stoked to have a car

So I think most of the people that would actually read this have heard this story, but if you haven't enjoy.  Also, this is the first complaint letter I've ever written, so I don't know if this is how you should do it, but I think I got my point across.

To whom it may concern,

My name is [Tabs McGee] and I've been a Trailways rider for well over a year now.  I frequently travel between Port Authority bus terminal in New York City and the New Paltz bus station. At this point I would consider myself a seasoned Trailways passenger for the amount of trips I've taken.  While there have been some problems with my trips before, none were so bad that I felt the need to voice a complaint.  Typically the service is convenient and the drivers are at the very least competent and at the best very friendly.

Today, November 15th 2008, however I cannot keep from voicing a very serious incident that arose in my attempts to use your company's services.  I was planning on taking the trip from New Paltz to NYC on the 10:55 AM bus.  I had to run to the bus station in the rain to catch it and purchase my ticket, which I was able to do in time.  Two buses arrived at the station around 11:05 AM and as usual the people waiting lined up outside the first bus that parked.  The driver of the first bus exited the bus and walked to the station house leaving the group of people in line.  The staff seemed to be dealing with some issue that had arisen, and after almost 10 minutes of waiting, the whole line of people looked anxious to board the bus.  At this point I took it upon myself to speak to the driver and at least find out what we were waiting for.  All of my belongings were wet from the rain, I was tired and just wanted to sit down on the bus while the drivers resolved whatever issues they were having.

I approached the bus driver and asked him why we were waiting, to which he simply looked at me and walked inside the station, looking almost insulted.  I followed the driver into the station and asked again, "I'm sorry but it's a simple question, why is everyone waiting to get on the bus?"  I understand that the driver must have been stressed at the time, but his reply was a simply "Alright smartass."  Immediately I lost all sympathy for this man, because as a paying customer, not only did he not provide me with any information, but he had just insulted me.  I said "Excuse me but I paid for my ticket and all I would like is an answer."  At this point the driver started raising his voice at me, and while I admit it was not the best response, I replied by yelling at the driver, as loudly as I could, because as a paying customer I should not have to deal with being yelled at.  At some point during the yelling the driver had grabbed my wrist, so I continued to yell at the driver and one of the workers at the station told me to leave.  Rather than argue the point further, I left.  Later I returned and apologized to the worker at the station, but the bus driver was long gone.  I missed the 10:55 bus, but I was able to take the 12:55 bus home.  I would have much rather left at 10:55 however.

I have never complained to a company once in my life before, but this is absolutely outrageous.  While I do not believe that the customer is always right, I do believe that the customer should never be ignored, insulted, or yelled at.  If the driver had responded with a simple "I'll be with you in a minute" or if we had been seated while he sorted out his problems, I would have even accepted that. However, this driver, a representative of your company, did nothing but antagonize me, a paying customer, with what I used to consider over a year of customer loyalty.  In the span of less than a minute your company has lost that entire years worth of loyalty.  I will be happy to not use your service ever again, and I will urge all my friends and family to avoid using Trailways as I hope that they are never treated the way I was treated this morning.  I am absolutely appalled at the behavior of one of your drivers, who are otherwise good employees. I sincerely hope you take a look at how your drivers react under stress and treat passengers, who are paying your company and just trying to get home.

Thanks for your time,

Tabs McGee

So if there's anything to take away from this, just don't ride Adirondack Trailways unless you absolutely have to.  

Kraftwerk Album Parodies

Why reinvent the wheel?

My Favorite

Also less importantly, here is a link to an Edit of Tour de France that I cut up a few days ago enjoy......
http://www.zshare.net/audio/51837052c8e69d42/

David Puddy

Friend or Foe?

yo register for our feed!

http://feedproxy.google.com/225AndBeyond

007 Physics

With the new Bond movie out last weekend I've spent some time considering (ok...wishing I lived...) the life of a spy. The gadgets, the gizmos, the sweet ass -- its all part of the day to day for 007.

2 ongoing physics projects gave me a taste for spy tech this week....

1)Audio signals modulated through lasers. A friend and I put an audio mixer together that uses two orthogonal linearly polarized laser beams AM modulated with an i-pod to make a sort of mixer. A polarizer film gets put in the beam between the laser and photo-detector and as it is rotated the signals are mixed accordingly. You would love it DJ friend...

"Laser Mixer"

Why do I mention this? As the friend working on the mixer put it - its not a long shot to instead shoot the laser at a window and then listen in on someones conversation as the laser gets modulated by the shaking window pane. Apparently he has done so...and so has the CIA....and the KGB...and the Royal Whatever.... Very "007"

2)My other project involves a directional antenna. Today in the lab I successfully had it pick up cell calls. I then proceeded to point it out the window at people on the corner of 6th and River. Yes, I could see the prescense of their calls on the spectral analyzer. I hope nobody saw me point it at them - it looks like a potato/ ray gun... Although I couldn't listen in on their calls ( that would require a demod...and tricky code shit), I was still rather.... "Shaken, not stirred" with excitement...

P.S. The Big Guy is playing Golden Eye right now....how fitting....

Steve, Ryan, Alex and Pete are the shit.

Not Today

It was a grim cold morning on a gray and grumpy Monday at the Beardsley home. Mr. Beardsley rose with a huff and a puff and a frown on his adult face.

“Oh, huff and a puff, how little I care for the awake and working game of my chosen profession,” he bemoaned. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at Mrs. Beardsley, still asleep. Mr. Beardsley had trained himself to get up without an alarm clock, even in the grumpiest, grayest, grimmest cold mornings.

“I could much rather stay sleeping in my sleeping-cloud bed and not go play the awake and working game of my chosen profession. My wife and sleeping-cloud bed and dream-dreaming friend looks so peaceful and pleasant like I must have looked before I started playing this awake and working game,” Mr. Beardsley mused extensively. He yawned and stretched and carried on without leaving his bed. It was exceptionally cold that day and he knew all too well that the wood floor their bed stood on was going to be icy cold against his bare feet.

“You know what?” He asked you.

“Not today.” He resolved. Not today would he play his awake and working game. Today he would let the sleeping-cloud bed wrap around his dream-dreaming head. And his wife, too. She was not as ably awakened by honoring her occupational hour; she needed an alarm clock; she was a Communist, too. Mr. Beardsley secretly disarmed the clock's alarm and elected his wife to incur an excursion into the world of dreams- with him.

Sleeping rules.

The Moon and the Glory Days

While 'youtubing' the other day with friends we came across a video of the Apollo 8 mission set to Lindstrom's "I Feel Space".

The Video

While it is relatively common practice to sample audio from moon launches, war of the worlds radio broadcasts, etc. in the space disco genre, the video bonus put everyone over the edge - a resounding "This is fucking sick," was all anyone could say.

I could go on
Talk about von Braun
Or the Golden age
Of NASA's real days.
But alas
Nostalgia is death
And the glory of this country
is in the past.

Codex Seraphinianus E-book

An encyclopedia of another Universe written in one of the universe's unknown language. Written and illustrated by the Italian architect and industrial designer Luigi Serafini over thirty months of voluntary isolation, from 1976 to 1978.

Codex Seraphinianus Wiki

Codex Seraphinianus E-Book found here......http://www.zshare.net/download/512067678b33b05c/]Luigi.Serafini.-.Codex.Seraphinianus.pdf.rar - 51.66MB

Digable Planets - Reachin' (a new refutation of time and space) 1993

It wasn't going to be any sort of revolution.  It's kind of corny; it's awkward but pleasant and always positive.  Socially aware, nostalgic of the possibility of intelligent discourse (not that Rap hasn't got some very intelligent and innovative musicians in its scores- bravado and offense is a cheap commodity, available in North Jersey by the ton, whereas aural acumen is always at premium) Digable Planets' Reachin' (a new refutation of time and space) has it.  Herbie Hancock, Karl Marx, Sam Kenison, Abortion, Abduction, Sesame Street and Marijuana.  10,000 Stars

Das Boot

Das Booooot! Yes, this is the same beautiful piece of artisan glassware that our German ancestors would drink their bier out of. Granted it looks retarded; who wants to drink beer out of a boot shaped glass? But the real question is, can you? Well last night I ventured to see if it is possible to finish the very menacing das boot without either booting (pun intended) or giving up. Well three Blue Moons and a very full stomach later I discovered that it is possible to finish das boot without the bubble popping beer in your face or giving up midway. Probably one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life, das boot thoroughly tested my resolve and will as I ventured from the frothy foam at the top to the yummy beer waiting for me at the toe. My friends, if you have never experienced this type of challenge, I suggest you do for it is something that all self respecting men should at least attempt. At the very least, it is so ridiculous that you just have to see it and you will feel compelled. Long live das boot!

BORIS Comes to Hoboken

For many months now the name Boris has meant a friend of a friend in Brooklyn (Bed-Sty) who threw good house parties (complete with enchanted garden in the backyard). His parties drew an eclectic group of Russian ex-pats, aging hipsters, local gangsters, and a few random Stevens kids (us). His fountains of Brooklyn lager both washed down the tasty treats of his kitchen and stoked the lively spirits of his company.

This week I am pleased to announce a new Boris in my life . . . one that is in fact coming to me, in Hoboken, to rock. This Boris comes from Tokyo to throw down their violent tones. They are a samurai sword reflecting the energy of Shinjuku Station. Enjoy...


Boris - "Furi"

Mathematics, Physics and A Hard Day's Night

So if any article is a good example of what we're all about, this has got to be it:

http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2008/11/beatles-hard-days-night-mystery-chord-solved/

For the full paper:

http://www.mscs.dal.ca/~brown/n-oct04-harddayjib.pdf

Birds Flock

Sarah Palin is one of those bizarre anomalies that pops out of our culture and just makes you go, "Wait one second here."  Here is a movie I made on the subject.

This woman was almost the Vice President of the United States of America

So I've been reading the internet as I've been known to do (Current tab count: 12) and I came upon this ABC news article basically talking about what an idiot Sarah Palin is. I don't think we really need any further elaboration, but there are a few points that are just too funny/frightening to ignore.

• Fox News reports that Palin didn't know Africa was a continent and did not know the member nations of the North American Free Trade Agreement -- the United States, Mexico and Canada -- when she was picked for vice president.

Could she seriously not even take the time to learn this stuff? It's three countries, and I'm pretty sure I knew this information in high school.

• The New York Times reports that McCain aides were outraged when Palin staffers scheduled her to speak with French President Nicholas Sarkozy, a conversation that turned out to be a radio station prank.

That's just awesome. Those French DJs are my heroes. I hope they asked her if her cooch smells like brie.

• Several publications say she irked the McCain campaign by asking to make her own concession speech on election night.

Okay so taking the previous points and everything else we know about what a complete idiot this woman is, could you imagine what she would have said? John McCain gave a pretty classy concession speech and she probably would have squatted over and taken a piss on it with whatever speech she had planned. Hopefully the Republican party gets the hint by McCain and Palin not being elected and let her go live out her life in Alaska as far away from me as she possibly can be.




If you want to read the article in full, go to
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Politics/story?id=6196407&page=1