The New Lara Croft Trailer

This trailer made me laugh at 0:37!

The Police Report On My Auto Accident Came Out

The police report on my auto accident came out. Here are two pages from the report.

I've made additions to the reconstruction diagram in order to show my idea as well as the California Highway Patrol's idea.

On the plus side, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) cop blamed unsafe speed for the accident. On the minus side, the cop's reconstruction of the accident doesn't match what I told him. By itself, that's probably a minor point. The cop was trying to reconstruct the spin of my car, and either his or my reconstruction works for that.

Nevertheless, there are some puzzles regarding the cop's reconstruction. That outer lane indicated in the drawing (E-5) is a new lane: The onbound lane onto the freeway from Harbor Blvd. and the exit lane for Jefferson Blvd. Mr. Jimenez stated I had been dogging the woman's truck, with unnecessary braking, for half a mile, then suddenly braked for no good reason, causing him to run into me. But, I doubt there is half a mile of E-5 lane between Harbor Blvd. and the accident site. If I was driving erratically, why didn't he try to go around me? And why was I in lane E-5 anyway? There was no reason for me to be there. As I told the cop at the scene, there was no offset. I was directly behind the woman's truck. And how did Mr. Jimenez obliterate the back of my car unless he had been traveling very fast? (I'm thinking 90 mph at a minimum, but it could have been 100 mph, 110 mph, or even faster.)

Part of the reason the cop may have been confused is that I told him I was in the right lane. I didn't mean the new right lane, E5, but the old right lane, E4. In the confusion, I didn't realize E5 was there. Even simple accidents can be chaotic.

I think Mr. Jimenez tried to move into the E-5 lane and go around me, but he was traveling so fast he couldn't manage it. Noteworthy too was the cop describes conditions as wet. I didn't think it was wet. Rain was just starting. Interpretations can vary on this point. There is no indication alcohol was involved in the accident.

A close reading makes it clear that Mr. Jimenez lied to the cop about my actions, his own speed, and his own actions, likely to avoid a citation and the blame. His insurance company, State Farm, has accepted liability, however. But no citation was issued. Maybe the cop figured Mr. Jimenez had had a bad enough day already, and maybe learned a lesson. But I'm still angry. Mr. Jimenez nearly-killed two people, cause thousands of dollars of damage, and lied about what he did.

The conclusion is inescapable: Raymond Emil Jimenez is a liar.

I was startled by the sudden appearance of the headlights closing so rapidly behind me. I don't think the vehicle had been there. I think the eastbound vehicle moved from the center lane (E3) into the right lane (E4). I was struck right of center, so vehicle may have been moving into the freeway's new right lane (E5; Harbor onbound; Jefferson exit), and would have succeeded if it had been going 80 mph, but couldn't execute at 90-100+ mph. My car's final freeway resting place was here (38.574937°, -121.539045°).

Maybe Buying a Pickup Truck

E.: Why do you want to buy that truck? It's so old!
M.: Even though it's a different year, it's the same make and model as the truck that hit me. It's very primal to own your enemy's possessions. It's like when the Indians of the Plains would "count coup" on their enemies. Or drinking your fallen enemy's blood to gain strength. I want to own everything he owns.
E.: That's a stupid reason to buy a truck.
M.: The logic is irresistible. I feel stronger already.
E.: He blopped us at $1,900, and we blopped him at $1,500.
M.: He blopped us?
E.: Yes!
M.: What's blopped?
E.: It comes from gambling.
M.: ????
E.: Bluffed.
M.: Oh! Yes, he blopped us at $1,900, and we blopped him at $1,500, and we'll meet somewhere in the middle.

"Let It Be" - Aretha Franklin

David Brooks Is Slowly Turning Against The GOP

It's an awful process, like watching the Titanic change direction just before colliding with the iceberg. David Brooks is still full of horseshit, but even he can see the writing on the wall:

"It would be a temporary vote for a Supreme Court Justice, for a tax cut but for a generation you are repulsive," said Brooks. "You are repulsive to younger people, twenty-eight percent of millennials think the Republican Party thinks about them. That's just a generational problem. You are repulsive to people of color forever. And so you end up, not only making yourself unpopular but to corrupting a piece of yourself. To me, the interesting people in this whole deal are the honorable Republicans in Congress. T,he Portman(s), the McCain(s), the Barrasso(s), Tim Scott. A couple of them have been very principled. But a lot of them have said, 'I am going to tolerate Trump's dishonesty. I am going to tolerate some racial politics.' But now they have to tolerate rape. Now they have to tolerate pedophilia. There is no end to what they are going to be asked to tolerate. And that is internally so corrosive."

Celebrating 30 Years at Step I Dance and Fitness

Awesome day! I'm usually on the Fitness side of things at Step One, but there is that whole other side of Step One Dance and Fitness that I rarely see, except on days like this. Thirty years! Happy Anniversary!

Alfredo Barreto, Mary Wright, Andres Barreto, and Pepper Von.

Jabbawockeez Class. Jabbawockeez are known for their precision hip hop. Jabbawockeez started here in this studio, at Step One, and they now have a Las Vegas act. I stayed for just the first half, because the precision was making my brain hurt.

Here are a series of videos highlighting the day. The last video, "For Bre" - Part 2 is absolutely-awesome. Look at that video first!


Toast and commemorative remarks by Mary Wright and Pepper Von




“Future Suits”




“Thieves”




"Monarchs"




Collaboration of three hip hop crews




“For Bre,” Part 1, Introduction by Kenna Wright and start of dance




“For Bre,” Part 2, Most of the dance. Emotional heart of the day.

"It's A Wonderful Life" - Woodland Opera House

Great show by Erik Catalan, Jori Gonzales, and the rest of the crew at Woodland Opera House!

I got emotional when George Bailey stood on the bridge at New Bedford Falls and pleaded "Please! I want to live again!" Because a week ago, out on Highway 50, I was thinking a similar thought!

Renowned Architect Antoine Predock Donates Property, Archives to UNM

Building by building, remaking the Southwest and the world:

“I want students to walk in there and just be bowled over by the sense of the place,” she said. “I want them to leave that studio not just inspired, but much better at their craft than when they walked in that studio. I want their imagination to be opened up to possibilities that they would not have been privy to prior to walking in there.”

It was a drawing class taught by UNM architecture professor Don Schlegel that helped open Predock’s own mind to new possibilities, laying the foundation for his shift away from engineering studies and toward architecture. He ultimately finished his degree at Columbia University and launched his own practice, operating from offices in Albuquerque and Los Angeles.

He developed an international reputation for buildings that fellow architect Thomas S. Howorth – in nominating Predock for the American Institute of Architects’ 2006 gold medal – said “grow out of their unique landscapes, creating, at the same time, symbols that are fearlessly expressive and sincere, simultaneously complex and guileless.”

Amy Winehouse - "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"

You're Just Not That Into Politics

If You Are Neutral in Situations of Injustice, You Have Chosen the Side of the Oppressor

I love the thought - apropos for these days of Trump - but I also like the absurdity of the pigeon.

I remember seeing the New Zealand Pigeon, second-largest pigeon in the world, oppressed by its second-growth forest canopy in Westland, on the South Island of New Zealand. The New Zealand Pigeon was made for open forest canopies, but it's miserable today in its crowded new world, remade by loggers decades ago.

Do not be neutral. Free the New Zealand Pigeon. Stop logging. Or trim away some of that undergrowth, or something.

What I Would Really Like Is To See Laura Fraser Cover This Song

I hate this song, but it's growing on me, so by years' end I'll probably love it.

Breaking Bad's Lydia would have a different interpretation, of course, but just as badass.

California Desolation

The rain forecasts for California remain desolate until well after Christmas. Every day, the situation worsens.

Where The Phone Belongs On The Dinner Table

The correct place for the phone is below and slightly to the left of the bread plate.

A Second Chance for Perverts

Try, try again:

For many pedophiles, it’s impossible to make ends meet. These sex criminals are often shunned both socially and professionally, making it extremely difficult for them to find any sort of gainful employment. But now a group called the GOP is trying to change all that: This amazing organization helps disgraced pedophiles rebuild their lives by getting them elected to political office.

If that doesn’t lift your spirits, we don’t know what will.

While most Americans are openly disgusted by pedophiles, the bighearted people over at the GOP seek to help them find decent, well-paying jobs where they can shape national policy. You only need to look at the amazing work the GOP is doing with pedophile Roy Moore in the special U.S. Senate election in Alabama to know that this organization is looking out for the people society tries to put in the margins.

As Long As I’m Not in a Hurry, I Love DMV

Amazing Swedish Sky Display

Caption:

Ludvig Lundin sends this report of a spectacular Sun halo display, with a 22° halo, parhelic circle, sundogs and a tangent arc as well as 44° parhelia (sundogs) and 46° halo, in Vemdalen, Sweden today, Dec 1 - thank you. Video by @vemdalen

Oklahomans Freak Out Over "Experiment"

What they should do is have lots of Blackhawk helicopters in the air for no reason, hazmat suits, and inexplicable military convoys. Plus occasional rocket launches and multi-colored contrails:

"It's not like we're going to show up sometime in the spring and start spraying everywhere," he said.

Kitty Cardwell, a professor at Oklahoma State University and expert in agricultural biosecurity who has been involved in other Homeland Security projects, suggested that some residents may be worried because of the government's involvement in the testing.

"When you hear 'Homeland Security,' it sounds scary ... like quasi-military people running around in hazmat suits — that seems scary; it seems like a bad science fiction movie," said Cardwell, who added that DiPel is "only bad news if you're a caterpillar."

Those assurances aren't good enough for 59-year-old Alan Newport.

"The thing that really set me off is when they say it's an inert chemical," said Newport, who works for an agriculture trade publication. "It doesn't mean it's safe."

Exciting Marble Race

Dissing Mormons, For No Good Reason

Amazing. Steve Bannon is bossing around people in Utah about who their Senator should be at the same time he heaps contempt on Mitt Romney and the idea of Mormon missionary work. That'll fly over real well in Utah:

Steve Bannon, however, obviously feels differently. At a rally for U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore in Fairhope, Alabama last night, Bannon attacked Mitt Romney:

“Judge Roy Moore has more honor and integrity in that pinkie finger than your entire family has in its whole DNA,” Bannon said in his 30-minute speech at Oak Hollow Farm. “You hid behind your religion. You went to France to be a missionary while guys were dying in rice paddies in Vietnam. Do not talk to me about honor and integrity,” he said, referencing Romney’s Mormon faith.

There’s a lot of heat in those remarks. He accuses Romney not only of being a coward who lacks honor and integrity, but of being an insincere missionary who was proselytizing out of his own convenience instead of any conviction. Bannon’s condemnation is sweeping enough to call into question the LDS’s entire practice of missionary work if it happens to take place in wartime.

Bitcoin Mining - An Environmental Disaster

Libertarian horseshit on steroids:

No one may be using Bitcoin, but we’re all paying for them. Bitcoin analyst Alex de Vries, otherwise known as the Digiconomist, reports that the coin’s surge caused its estimated annual energy consumption to increase from 25 terawatt hours in early November to 30 TWh last week—a figure, wrote Vox’s Umair Irfan, “on par with the energy use of the entire country of Morocco, more than 19 European countries, and roughly 0.7 percent of total energy demand in the United States, equal to 2.8 million U.S. households.” (As of Monday, the figure had reached nearly 32 TWh.) Just one transaction can use as much energy as an entire household does in a week, and there are about 300,000 transactions every day. That energy demand is more often than not met through fossil fuel energy sources, which, along with polluting air and water, emit greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

In other words, Bitcoins are contributing to the warming of the atmosphere without providing a significant public benefit in return.

Resist