Fuck you US Postal Service.

And fuck you too, Delaware.

(p.s. and fuck you too, Bank of America)

I'm sick of it.

There used to be a time when I thought, "Aw, it IS sad that no one sends letters anymore. Poor Postal Service doesn't have any work to do." Well, bullshit, I don't give a fuck. Fuck you.

You know why no one sends letters anymore? BECAUSE THEY DON'T FUCKING GET TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO. You want to send someone something and you want to know not only exactly when you sent it, whether or not they received it and you want to get a copy immediately and re-send it if needed? And do it for FREE?

SEND A FUCKING E-MAIL.

In October we went through two tolls in Delaware. No cash. Use card? No. (Seriously, who the fuck doesn't accept cards 3 months away from the year 2010? Grow the fuck up.) How can I pay? You will be billed. Okay.

Fast forward a few weeks and I get a letter in the mail from that state that no one cares for or knows anything about. Two tickets for $34 each! What the fuck for? A $4 toll and a $30 administrative fee! Holy shit! $68 fucking dollars for two $4 tolls.

I wrote a letter telling them that legally/technically, I did not break their Delaware Toll code (too descriptive for now) and I do not owe them anything beyond $8. Case closed. No argument. I did nothing wrong legally.

I went to the bank and got two money orders for $4 each. Thanks to Bank of America, I had to pay an $8 charge for each money order. Fuck you, fucking $16 in charges. Fuck you. You print on fucking paper. Not even full 8.5"x11" sheets either, it's like, a fucking 1/4 of a sheet. Fuck you. Ink doesn't cost THAT much.

Mail it.

Wait.

I figure, hey, they must've agreed and dismissed my violation because I haven't heard anything (DC's ticket violation system does this, hence my assumption).

Today I get two letters, each corresponding to one of my toll violations, each informing me that they did not hear from me by the due date and now EACH TOLL IS $50 FUCKING DOLLARS. $100 TOTAL. BECAUSE OF EIGHT FUCKING DOLLARS.

FFFJFD:DFS:KLD:KL JFE :IO[0UR{IOJFE{IOJF[iohjg[a'a'adg'adgskadfskfdkjldfs GFUF FUCK YOU!

WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T THE LETTERS GET TO THEM. YOU PUT A FUCKING STAMP ON AN ENVELOPE, STICK YOUR SHIT IN IT, LICK IT, WRITE A FUCKING ADDRESS ON IT AND PUT IT IN THE FUCKING BOX. SOME DIPSHIT PICKS IT UP, A FUCKING COMPUTER SORTS IT AND ANOTHER ASSHOLE PUTS IT INTO ANOTHER BOX WHERE A FUCKING STATE EMPLOYEE SHITHEAD READS IT AND PRESSES "ERASE" ON THEIR FUCKING KEYBOARD.

If I ever read about someone murdering 20 people at a toll lane with an assault rifle, fuckin' let 'em go. They've had enough and so have I. I'll be at the front of the support rally for the next postal employee that fuckin' mows down a roomful of co-workers because I've fuckin' had it.

All this is on the tail end of me buying something online, it not working, and I mail it back as a return. Did they ever get the fucking package? NO. SHIT NO. Did I ever get the package back? NO. FUCK NO. Will I ever get my package or my money back?

FUCK YOU POSTAL SERVICE.

FUCK YOU DELAWARE.


FUCK YOUR STUIPD, SMALL STATE THAT EVERYONE MAKES FUN OF.


Goodnight, and merry Christmas everyone.

THIS IS IT!

It's happening people, this is what we've all been waiting for! Man controls robot arm with mind AND senses touch!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/video_and_audio/8392111.stm

Extras:

Bionic vision:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7923775.stm

More bionic limbs:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7774426.stm (Note, I would suggest not watch while eating. Or, perhaps it's just me with the weak stomach.)

Robots evolving to lie to one another!

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-08/evolving-robots-learn-lie-hide-resources-each-other

Very interesting article. Short, but still informative.

In a nutshell, 60% of 1,000 small robots eventually adapted and evolved to protect their needs and even learned to lie to other robots to protect this end. Amazing. To those who argue that robots could never learn of their own volition, this is a great example.

Big Bad Wolf

Last night after band practice Jesse and I went to try Big Bad Wolf out for size. Located on Harford Road only about 15 minutes from my house, they were offering a special during the Halloween week: their signature "Big Bad Wolf" sandwich for $5. Advertised as "An enormous sandwich with slow smoked beef brisket, Carolina pulled pork, hickory smoked bacon all topped with your favorite BBQ sauce."

No foolin'.

As we were already aware, this place is tiny. Only 5 seats for the counter service with two picnic tables out front. Our sandwiches were served up quick in to-go containers and we dug right in. It was exactly as advertised. Huge. Meaty. Delicious.

Regretfully, I had mine served with the Kansas City Spicy BBQ sauce. I was going to go with the Carolina vinegar but noticed the word "HOT" was involved so I opted for spicy instead. Still a mistake because apparently "spicy" is interchangeable with "HOT". In hind sight I should have done either the Kansas City Sweet (Jesse's choice) or the Texas style (sweet as well).

Otherwise, the sandwich was fantastic. The bun was perfectly toasted, that is, not too much, not too little. It didn't scrape your mouth when you bit in, but you were aware of the light toasting. The first thing that hit your mouth (besides the hot sauce) was the brisket. It was thick and juicy and definitely stood out the most in the sandwich.

Second was the pulled pork which was loose enough to be light and delicious but held itself together so that it didn't fall out all over the place. If you ate carefully, you could probably keep the whole thing perfectly intact, but that would leave you with no extra treats left over once you're done.

Also, that's no fun.

Lastly was the bacon. I actually hardly noticed the bacon while eating, but even so, I'm a huge fan of thickly sliced bacon. I also have to comment on the skill that was involved, as despite the thick bacon, it was also very tender. Usually when eating thick bacon you pull out a whole strip with a bite. This stuff just let you bite right on through without even noticing. The key is that it was crispy but not so crispy that it was brittle and dry.

I finished everything off with some of their sweet tea (free refills, which I used to my advantage with that hot sauce) which was pretty good. Very sweet. Bordering TOO sweet, but still good. I must also note that the last two times I was at Andy Nelson's BBQ their sweet tea had a bad burnt taste to it. Tsk tsk. I also noticed that Big Bad Wolf's full rack of ribs are a few bucks cheaper than Andy Nelson's. Not competition yet, just a thought.

Overall, I was very satisfied with Big Bad Wolf. I really look forward to eating there again and trying their ribs. I hear good things.

Gene therapy allows the blind to see.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/uops-oso102209.php

In short, a single injection of light-sensitive pigments into the eyes of ten people born legally blind (and two with retinal degeneration) has allowed them to see, six of which are now declassified as legally blind.

Simply amazing. This discovery is an amazing advocate for stem cell research, especially for those who are scared of technology. No implants needed!

This is pretty incredible.

This doesn't necessarily have to do with cyborgs, but this is pretty insane regardless.

It's a regular ol' piano that is digitally controlled so when played, it mimics the human voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muCPjK4nGY4

The Tender Rib BBQ

A new BBQ place opened up a few blocks from work and I had lunch there today. I thought I’d share the results in a quick note. It’s called The Tender Rib, so naturally I tried their namesake: 4 ribs, two sides, sweet tea.

I’ll work my way backwards. The sweet tea was very good, not too sweet but not lacking either. My sides were baked beans and potato salad, both of which were excellent. The beans were cooked well in a sweet sauce that was just the right amount of spicy. The potato salad featured potato chunks of just the right size and, thankfully, avoided large pieces of onion or celery.

Seeing that the restaurant was called ‘The Tender Rib’, I had opposing feelings with what to expect. It could work both ways. Either the cook is so confident in his smoking abilities that he names his restaurant to exemplify that, or, they’re trying their best but luring people in with a false promise. Sadly, it’s the latter. It was obvious the pork wasn’t cooked long enough and it was kind of a hassle to get the meat from the bone. To note on the positive, you could tell the pork itself was of good quality and there was ample meat on all three sides of the bone. It was served with a dry rub and the sauce on the side (big plus for following the rules) was a nice balance between sweet and vinegar.

The biggest disappointment of all would have to be the high prices. To compare, a full rack of amazing ribs with two sides, cornbread and a drink at Andy Nelson’s is $21; while a HALF rack of ribs with two sides and a drink (no cornbread) at The Tender Rib will run you $19. Ribs are the exception though, as sandwich combo options are more equal to those I’m used to.

One could assume that this was simply an off day for ribs. This is no excuse as you must cook to impress every day, regardless. I probably won't order the ribs again for quite some time, if ever. For the price, it's not really worth the gamble. But, I will definitely eat here again, instead ordering something a little less demanding, probably the brisket.

Overall, the restaurant staff was friendly and the dining area was just fine. Most importantly, they seem to have a pretty good handle on their food but I would definitely suggest refining their ribs.

p.s. I have no idea why the text is so dark. Oh well.

More cyborgs!!!!

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/News/154640,augmented-contact-lenses-hit-significant-milestone.aspx

This is incredible. Not technically cyborg-worthy as it does no permanent augmenting to the body, but incredible none-the-less.

The article explains these prototype contact lenses that have integrated circuits and LEDs that are powered wirelessly in order to display digital information RIGHT INTO YOUR FUCKING EYE.

To use the articles example, instead of having to look down at your phone to follow directions, the correct path for you to take can be digitally shown right into your eye, practically like it was right in front of you.

Amazing.

To: My Winter Nerve

A few weeks ago I went to the Ottobar to see a band and while browsing the merch table I heard someone yelling. I noticed he was hollering at me in order to get my attention and when I approached him he spent the next 15 minutes telling me how much he enjoyed my band, how awesome we were and recalling minute details of shows that I couldn’t even remember. For clarification, this isn’t a band that I had recently; these details were from 5 years ago. Just yesterday an old acquaintance e-mailed me asking for a copy of this band’s CD because he lost his and really wanted to listen to it. We get e-mails of people overseas who somehow got our actual homemade CD and inquire about the band. I get these types of e-mails fairly often. To further press this point, writing this prompted me to check our MySpace page and I answered an e-mail from some dude in Spain asking to get a copy. Not bad for my first band that we started 8 years ago.

This got me to thinking about that single moment in life where everything changes. I would assume for most people these events come into your life in such ways as going to college, getting married, having kids, getting shot at in Iraq or being involved in a deadly car accident. Not necessarily all these things or in that order. When these moments occur, the person recognizes the weight of the situation and understands that their life won’t be the same from here on. Thus far I’ve assumed meeting Laura was this singular moment and things like getting married, starting a career and buying a house were all by-products. All this time I’ve been mistaken. All of the aforementioned moments are simply the result of something else. My own moment slipped in like a thief in the night and I never took a close enough look at exactly how important it was.

In 2002 (I believe that was the year) the four of us started playing music together. None of us had ever been in a band before and I hadn’t been playing guitar for very long. Yet we still managed to write music that made Hagerstown’s knees buckle. I often think about what it was like to show up to Clint’s parent’s house, load up our stuff, drive to the show, unload, meet people, sit at our merch table, goof off, setup, destroy ear drums, tear down, talk to fans, pack up and head home. It’s the best feeling in the world. Standing there playing, looking over a sea of kids, eyes closed, arms crossed, heads bobbing, and feeling totally connected to everyone in the room. To paraphrase, Iggy Pop said it best that when you’re in the grips of it (music) you don’t feel pleasure, you don’t feel pain, physically or emotionally. It’s very true. When I recall my mental state while playing, especially during a large, pivotal part of the song, is that of such ecstasy that my mind felt numb. I wasn’t thinking about anything at all, my mind was a blank slate, yet my body was racing with energy. The best way for me to express that ecstasy and energy was to just throw my guitar (and sometimes myself) around. Every moment mattered. Every song we listened to on the way to the show mattered. Every person we met who loved our band mattered. It used to bother me that we never went anywhere past the tri-state area. I knew then (and I still do) that we had the ability to do really well with our band and be successful, but when I look back on it now, I prefer it the way it was. I like that our band was something special just for our area. It was ours and we were theirs.

To continue though, it was through this band that I’ve achieved everything else in life. I can still remember the moment I met Laura. It was evening outside of Hagerstown Community College’s cafeteria building. I was there playing a show and she was there to see our band. She knew to come see our band because she was in school with Clint and Nevin, two of my band mates. My character, personality, interests, likes and dislikes were all shaped by spending so much of my time around these friends I was in a band with. The person I was then is more or less the same person I am now because being a part of that experience taught me to stick to who you are. Most people I knew looked and behaved a certain way because it was the current trend, and when that climate changed, they changed. They spent their teenage and young adult years morphing from one person to another. I’m proud that I’ve stayed true to myself and to my friends. Where would I be now without that band? Who would I be? Who knows what type of music I would enjoy, what type of people I would spend my time with and what I would do for fun. Who knows where I would be living, who I would be living with and what I would be doing with my life. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too awful but I can guarantee it wouldn’t be as awesome as life is now.

It was only yesterday that I truly realized that I owe everything I enjoy and love to being in a band with those dudes and for that, Clint, Jared and Nevin, I am eternally grateful.

Incredible robotic appendages and hands.

http://technology.todaysbigthing.com/2009/08/25

This is nothing less than amazing. Robot fingers doing shit that we could never dream of with amazing speed and accuracy.

Tell you what, I'll be the first in line to get my pair of robot arms.

Awesome Baltimore Food 101

(Note: Originally posted at teameat.org)

I really, really enjoy eating. Food is awesome.

If there is a sub-awesome section to that statement, it’s that Baltimore is home to a few restaurants that are the absolute best in making a specific meal and I take pride in that.

Take for example, Dizzy Izzies in the hood of Remington (now named The Dizz, in honor of Ace of Cakes, but I hate that name, so fuck ‘em). They make the best hamburger, ever. Period. I have never had a better burger and I don’t expect to. This includes Five Guys, Fuddruckers and every other local corner shop you think is good (I was joking about Fuddruckers). What makes an amazing burger is two things and two things ONLY. The beef and the bun. You can’t have an awesome hamburger by focusing on only one of these things, or in some cases, trying to mask your shitty meal by piling on non-essential items like tomato and mayonnaise. The beef at Dizzy’s is wonderfully seasoned (I love the Old Bay burger) and is always, always, always incredibly juicy. If you don’t have blood and grease dripping down your fingers THEN YOU ARE WASTING YOUR FUCKING MONEY. You’d be better off blowing your cash on $1 lottery tickets.

Sadly, the bun is commonly overlooked and relegated down to a glorified oven mitt; an item you use to hold onto something hot. If your bun is dry and devoid of at least SOME butter, throw it all away. If your bun is thicker than the patty it holds, throw it in the cooks face. If it’s toasted, burn the restaurant down. The cone that goes with ice cream is important. The icing that goes on a cake is more important. The bun that goes on a burger is most important above all. Seriously, this burger is so good you could eat it with only a bun and meat and it would still be amazing. Adding cheese, bacon and other condiments just makes it that much more awesome. Plus, they are one of the two restaurants in town with THE most absolutely incredible selection of fuckingly decadent desserts. That’ll make for another post entirely.

As an extra note, my father, being a former cook and self-proclaimed “food master” rarely, if ever, praises another cooks food. Not even mine. After he finished his burger at Dizzy’s, he got up and walked out of the room. Once he returned I asked him where he went and he said that he walked into the kitchen to tell the cook what a great burger it was. Brilliant.

Second up is Rocket to Venus, a fairly recent addition to Hampden. The dish they are known for, and I’m not making this up, is Brussels sprouts. Seriously? Could you think of a more lame food? “Oh, you’ve really gotta try this new place, their broccoli is to DIE for.” I ignore this for the most part because I think it has to be some stupid joke they’ve been pulling off for way too long. No other explanation. I also ignore it because they make up for the Brussels sprouts by designing an amazing, unbeatable: Cheese steak sub.

Again, the exact same specifications for a hamburger apply to a cheese steak: Perfect juicy beef and a perfect bun. This sandwich is incredible. It’s a nice large portion that leaves you feeling quite satisfied and complete with life. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure they add small cuts of tomato in with the beef (among other items, I’m sure) that adds a sort of light taste to such a heavy meal. They serve it in a deep plate so that the juices just lay on the bottom, lightly soaking the soft bun. Yet again, the interaction of the meat and bun is critical. What I don’t want is to bite into the sandwich and have the bun break apart because it’s been toasted and large chunks of meat and crumbs fall onto the plate and not into my mouth. You also don’t want a teary bun that you have to yank on with your teeth in order to get a bite. It should be as soft as a potato roll but not too soft that it soaks up all the juice and gets mushy. I haven’t been to Philly in quite a while, but I’m very confident that even an authentic Philly cheese steak won’t top this. Blasphemy? Perhaps. But then again, I don’t give a shit.

YES, THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Last on my list is a special treat: Andy Nelson’s Barbeque. Located a bit outside the city in Timonium, it’s close enough to get there easily, but not so close that I eat there every meal, every day of my entire life.

At this point we leave the world of casual food eating. No matter where you go, ordering a hamburger or cheese steak is quick, easy and a safe bet.

By eating at Andy Nelsons you enter a realm where cooking food is an art form. Meat is pampered, meticulously nursed and tended to. Under a watchful eye the food is diligently sculpted from raw meat into a masterpiece of seasoned pork and beef, a delicious slow-cooked beacon of smoked hope for all the world to enjoy.

No lie.

A full rack of St. Louis cut Memphis style spare ribs, a side of potato wedges, BBQ beans, cornbread and sweet tea. For those Christians, Jews and Muslims out there, yall’s concept of Heaven is WAY off. The taste and texture of their ribs is unbelievable and quite seriously a lifetime of learning goes into cooking this. Each rib is served to you almost falling clean off the bone. There is no fat to be chewed, no gristle to spit out, no small tendons to get caught between your teeth. It’s nothing but a rectangle of pure dry rubbed meat. Never before have I experienced this, not of my own cooking nor by anyone else. Not anywhere that I’ve stopped while in the deep south and definitely nowhere in the Baltimore area. I can’t speak highly enough about this place. Perhaps I’ve said enough already.

Again, another place I brought my dad where he commented that his brisket meal was the best yet. “And I’ve had a lot of good brisket.”

When I am lying on my death bed, saying goodbye to friends and family I want each of these meals, from these restaurants, brought to me. I will eat them by myself, in peace, then pass away quietly into the evening, a smile on my face and my stomach brimming with delicious cuts of meat.

I didn’t post pictures of these meals for two reasons:

#1.) I didn’t have any.

#2.) Pictures will not do any justice. You will look at the photo, comment to yourself how it looks like every other burger/cheese steak/rib and move on with your life, unchanged, same as before.

Unless you have that new computer that allows you to taste photographs, what’s the point.

Enjoy.

I was listening to Focus on the Family for a bit this morning on my way to work and some old fella (don't know who he was, don't care) was going on about how Obama recently hosted some Homosexual Coalition conference and while there stated that he would work towards repealing the Defense of Marriage Act.

According to this guy on the radio, Obama is "weakening the institution of marriage" and got all bent out of shape. I love it. I really enjoy how this man behaves as if the "Institution of Marriage" is a real building with loads of workers and if gays are allowed to marry they'll have massive lay-offs and lose their pensions.

"Oh shit, I've been working here for 35 years and was about to retire, but now that fags are allowed to marry they've taken away my social security!"

I mean, really? You realize that it's not a REAL institution, it's just something you've made up in your head. If Rob and Tim are allowed to marry, they're not going to take away YOUR marriage license to give to them. It doesn't effect you at ALL. Nothing in your old life will change. Well, you may die from a massive coronary attack because two dudes/ladies are given a piece of paper, allowed to visit whilst the other is on their death bed, and able to legally raise the other's children. Oh, how awful.

Hell in a handbasket, man.

It bothers me even more that when confronted, this fella will deny his ultimate fantasy of forcing his religion upon the entire country. "No no, that's not what we're about, we don't want to force our religion upon people, we're not Muslims." Yet they have no problem saying that they want federal laws enacted to deny rights because of someones sexual orientation, justified entirely upon their religious beliefs. Because that's completely different.

That's enough.

MORE CYBORGS!

This "man" is named Jesse Sullivan.

HE CAN MOVE HIS PROSTHETIC ARMS WITH HIS BRAIN.

Not only do the arms move via thought but he can also sense pressure while picking up objects.
He is officially the FIRST cyborg.

THIS IS BADASS.

Dudes and their bikes.

This is my bike. I love it more than pizza but less than pulled pork sandwiches.

If you look closely, you can see the strings.

Summer.


(Pictures courtesy of the dudes.)

CYBORGS!!!

Each of the links below will direct you to a seriously kick-ass news story proving that cyborgs are no longer retained in the world of science-fiction, but are very quickly becoming a reality.

And that is awesome.

Example #1:

Man controls computer mouse with brain.

Example #2:

Awesome scientist/doctor dude grows exact bone replicas using a printer.

Example #3:

Blind woman gets camera attached to nerves and can partially "see".

These are just three sweet examples that I'm aware of but I'm sure there's more out there.

Keep on believin'!

TEAMEAT

This month's TEAMEAT was a great meal at M&J's Soul Food down the street from my place. Our plates ranged from chicken rings to short ribs to catfish.

I treated the group with a Cheese Steak "sushi" appetizer, featured below.

My two favorite things about Savannah:

The food:



And the people:



We had a really great time down there. One of the best places to ride bikes around, shop, eat, relax, it has it all.