I'm going to live forever...just ask Ray Kurzweil.

I must be a prophet. Or minds think alike. Remember my post of our intelligence becoming "Godlike" a couple of weeks ago? Well, apparently CNN was also in a deep discussion and came up with similar results. Who's Ray Kurzweil? He's an auther and scientist who believes that immortality is a mere 20 years away. Now you can scoff at him all you want but keep in mind he is no qwack. He's a recipient of the Lemelson-MIT award. He's a 1999 National Medal of Technology award winner. He was inducted into the Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2002. He developed one of MIT's most successful inventions....it's a reading machine for the blind which can read any typeface. He predicted in 1990 that a computer would beat a human at chess for the Chess Championship of the World. In that same year, he also predicted a world wide computer system with everything connected. Keep in mind, in the computer word this was no far vision. A lot of others thought the same way. He also believes that there will be small "nanobots" which will correct the human body and sustain life. Exactly. He and I...two peas in a pod. Okay, keep in mind I never thought we would be Gods but that we'd just live forever. Now, in the end I don't agree with him. Why? It's not in our nature. We are animals and at the whim of nature like everything else. I like was Lee Silver said and I'll quote him here: "The instinct to preserve individuality, and to gain advantage for yourself and children, would survive any breakthrough into biological immortality. The gap between the haves and have-nots would widen and Kurzweil's vision of a united humanity would become ever more elusive." I would love to be immortal on one condition. As long as I was the only one. Imagine a world will only the rich lived forever and the poor didn't. Death was simply a sign of being poor.

A testament to pomposity

Reading some other blogs, I can't help but become both disgusted and amused at how some use it in what appears to be very pretentious ways. I guess some will use their power for evil. I read one where a guy basically wrote in that he was sick and staying home from work. That's it. Now, don't get me wrong. I know the beginnings of blogs was tailored to teenagers with angst writing to the world all their daily delimmas. What did Bobbi Sue mean when she wouldn't go to lunch? Jimmy didn't look at me once today? blah blah blah. But now grown adults are using them too. So, all these adults are writing their inner hopes, dreams, and fears to the world not for some sort of solace or peace but for mere pride. Look what I'm going through world!!! Look at me!!! I'm sick and not at work!!! My car just died and I don't have a way to Chicago!!! I just passed my Bar exam and I'm a lawyer!!! Big fuckin' deal.
You know those movies where people read other people's thoughts but the power consumes them? They can't turn it off. They go mad. Yeah, those movies. I hate em'.
There will come a day when TV will deliver its promised "500 channels" to everyone. The web is already there. It is filled with all this fodder and little content. Think about this....some would say you just wasted a couple of minutes of your life reading this crap. Go live you bastard!

New fans welcome

Why is it that when you have a winning team and they do win the Championship that some fans walk around feeling almost ashamed or even embarrassed? You shouldn't be. It appears the trendy thing to do is be a fan of a mediocre or even failing team. It shows that you have "heart" and are "true" to your team. God forbid your team develop into a winning organization such as the Patriots and you continue to wear your jersey. You'd be labeled a bandwagon fan by most except those that truly know you. You'd where your team's colors, shirt, or jersey and most would see you as a one-season fan. Suddenly, never watching a game, you show up in full dress to show your "faith" to your team.
Such is the case for me. For those who don't know, one of my best friends said that I should pick a team and follow them throughout eternity. Now, I love football but never really followed a particular team. Being from the upper midwest, I had a few local options but the most dominate one was Vikings. So, I can attest that my mother does have pictures of me in Viking jerseys when I was 5. Five. A long time ago and a forgotten one. I've repented from them but surely will visit Hell for my wrongdoing there. (had to get the religious moniker in there)
Anyway, so I had just come back from Boston on a tech conference and just fell in love with the place. If I could live anywhere it would be there. So, night after night, I watched the news cover the Patriots and I just got to know the players, coach, and well, the essence of the team. Underdogs at the time and well on their way to last place in their division, I chose New England as my Champions amid a lot of laughter and jeering. Bledsoe helmed the team and so far it was heading for a 2-6 season. Yep. That's my team. See, I was starting the trend almost 4 years ago. I was rooting for a team that was 5-11 the year before and going to match it this year. But...wait? I was now their solidifed fan. That would change everthing right?
Indeed.
Now, only a close circle really knew that was my following at the time. I didn't have one item of clothing. Nothing to signify I was a fan. I just had my mouth. Talk. Talk. Talk. That's all I could do.
So, I kept learning about the team. I began to learn their most evil rivals in and out of their division. And you know what? Football became more exciting. More personal. That friend...the one who encourage me to pick a team? He's a Steelers fan and by far a more experienced, knowledgable, and long time follower of his team than I am of mine. My God, you should see this shrine for his team. A lot of money down the drain. Oh well, not everyone can be saved. Anyway, I took extra joy in polishing his team off season after season. It still makes my eyes water knowing it was my team that destroyed the hopes of his team. (time out while I weep with joy).
Ok, I'm back. So, here I am. A true fan. I have several items of clothing and I wear them with pride knowing that I was a fan before they were a success. I get a Patriots calendar. I'm on their newsletter and get routine updates. I am definitely going to a game in Foxboro next year. I like to think it was me that propelled them on this winning journey. A journey not even close to ending.

New England Patriots---2001 XXXVI Superbowl Champs.
New England Patriots---2003XXXVIII Superbowl Champs.
New England Patriots---2004 XXXIX Superbowl Champs.
New England Patriots---2005 XXXX Superbowl Champs.