Sitting

When I go to class this morning, I will have sat for more than 24 hours straight working on some stupid paper I don't care about. And that's before I go to class to sit some more.


How I feel:





To be fair, I wasn't always working on the paper. Like when I found this gem:





And by the way, if you don't think the mentos thing is funny, you probably suck at life. Let me rephrase that: If you are reading this blog, you definitely suck at life.

Mentos

Another reason to hate college

Reason #146 to hate college: The Sociological definition of the term "Modalities:"

Modalities are fundamental to understanding the concept behind Structuration. According to Anthony Giddens, modalities explain the properties of the Structure. The structure is said to have both structural and individual qualities. Giddens refers to these structural modalities as 'rules' and 'resources' respectively. In application, Giddens is separating himself from other structralists by acknowledging the enabling functions that the structure provides.

A case of a 'rule' is the act of obeying a law. That is, there are limits that the structure places on agency causing the agent to act in a certain way. In this respect the structure is imposing restrictions upon the agent in order to accomplish societal norms. Norms, however, have changed in the past and are under constant manipulation by the society through the use of structural 'resources'. Civil laws can and have been overturned or rewritten in the past. Laws that have limited human liberties, can be overturned as there exists 'resources', e.g. lawyers who can present a case for social reform. It could also be the process of judicial review itself.

Giddens suggests that it is these modalities that illustrate his reliance on the duality of structure because it presents a case where knowledgeable individuals can use the resources available to them to change policies, standards or norms that the structure imposes upon them.




While I was minding my own business trying to do my homework in the library, I had to listen to two young, budding sociologists debate "modalities." Endlessly. I thought it would be impossible to hate those guys more, but then I looked up what "modalities" actually means. Holy Crappolla. Being the guy who comes up with crap like that makes me want to do this with your life:





By the way, if you are either one of those guys, remember that you are on the kill list. Here's a good idea:

You mad bro?

Urban dictionary cited in an actual news report? Check.

Clear proof that the Urban dictionary definition works as intended? Double check.





"You mad bro?" is a very similar phrase to a Team Robot favorite, "Cool story bro." which is great for interupting people in the middle of a really boring story that you don't care about.


Here's an easy to understand example:



Bob Stenson: Hey man, glad I got a hold of you. I crashed yesterday and totally wrecked my face and I'm in the Hospi...

Me: COOL STORY BRO
(go back to watching old Macguyver reruns)

Exaggerated Turning Technique

I love photos of bad MTB unturndowns/Cali-tables/the Post Office, but here's another one of my favorite fads:

Exaggerated Turning Technique (ETT for short, because everything in the MTB industry needs a three letter acronym).

Get those elbows out, move your body all around, pull a rear brake and throw some roost, maybe even make a small pile of pre-fab roost. Whatever you do, just make sure that it looks like you're doing way more turning than you actually are.



The first photo of many demonstrating ETT, representing a new informative series from Team Robot.

Collegiate Nationals in Angel Fire

Just got back from Collegiate Nationals, and this photo sums up the trip nicely. It... was... an adventure.

3200 mile round trip with Team Robot member Aaron Nachtrab and student photographer/excellent navigator/way-too-small-hotel-"queen-size"-bed snuggle buddy Chris Untiedt to go ice skating and mud bogging on my bike.

Congratulations to Joey Schusler and Alec McAndrews on their respective wins. All I can say for sure after this trip is that I prefer the old Mexico over the New Mexico.

Thanks to Lewis and Clark College and Shimano for making my dreams come true. Unfortunately, between westher, adventures in officiating, and basically riding like a pussy, I did not come back with the results I wanted.

Full race report later.

Team Robot Mission Statement #2

Adam Ransavage, honorary robot.

Team Robot mission statement

Old Dirt TV

Worth it just for the first 30 seconds with Fairclough. Incredible riding.

The awkward, 2 minute long Sam Hill interview at the end? Not so much.