In Dallas again

It was a fun trip but I'm tired. It was nice seeing Robert and Steph in Santa Barbara. Last night after Vegas I had some time to kill in LA so I went to the world famous Randy's Donuts.

http://www.randysdonuts.com/

It was pretty cool. A good donut. I'll post some pictures on my website.

Santa Barbara Links

Here are some links to the best things we did in the Santa Barbara area:

Food
Opal was the best dinner we had

Wine
Close Pepe was the best wine experience we had
Rusack was also good
Fess Parker was good too but a bit too crowded and unorganized

The funniest wine experience was probably when we had some time to kill so we went to Firestone Vineyards - yes - the tire people and that Bachelor loser Andrew. We tried their wines and they were pretty good but they had great wine boxes. We bought two 6-bottle carriers and only one bottle of their wine. The lady ringing us up thought we were crazy but she then figured it out and seemed a little set back. Anyway - may add a few more links later.

GT Baseball - in Tourney Final

GT eliminated Florida State through utilization of the 10 run mercy rule and now plays #7 seeded Virgina for the ACC Tournament championship. Virginia and Tech are both undefeated so it seems it is no longer "double" elimination. One game for all the cookies.

The ACC Sports website is a good place to monitor things.

Santa Barbara - 5/29

The Starbucking event went well all in all. The night came off as follows: As expected - Winter showed up about 30 minutes light for the dinner meeting with Bill and the administrators. The restaurant was good - Steph and I had staked out seats at the bar so we could observe things. As it turned out the seat was great because a Salsa/Opera sounding band got going and they were really good. Food was good at the place too.

After dinner we saw Winter run out of the restaurant to try and go to a few new Starbucks stores that had opened nearby before the speech. We rode with Bill to the speech location on UCSB and I put on the "starbuckingmovie.com" shirt Bill had given me. Bill should sell those things on his website...$15 including shipping. They generate a fair amount of interest and questions when you wear them.

Speech was good - Winter was a bit nervous and akward at first and they needed some technical help but it worked out. There were about ~15-20 kids there I think which is pretty good for a Friday night @ 9pm event.

Santa Barbara -5/27

Just met Sally - on old lady from San Diego. Our hotel has free wireless but our room is at the end and it doesn't come in well so I'm sitting in the hall doing a bit of blogging. Steph and I just walked up State St. in Santa Barbara which is the main street. Very cool. We ate lunch at a Greek/Italian deli. Bill is driving up now though will probably be late for his dinner appointment with Winter and the UCSB ambassador. I'm about 90% sure that Winter won't make it at all as the guy was done in San Diego going to new Starbucks just a few hours ago and traffic on the 101 won't be pretty. We'll see. Maybe he'll make his speech appointment at 9. Guess that's it from here. I'm going to get Steph and head to the dinner place were all are meeting.

in dallas

pretty cool because they have tmobile wireless and i have that free month of it...i ought to try that hotcoffee thing as well...
but .mac gave a free month. casey has been using my free account but i can take advantage of it this weeken.
called dad but no response.
possible flight delay.
see you in cali bub.

Gearing up

I'm gearing up for the trip getting the video ready. Winter has plans to go all over. Should be fun. I went to walmart tonight. yipee.

Useful Bible Verse Sunday

Leviticus 11:13-22 - God tells the people they may not eat bats or owls, but to go ahead and chow down on locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers.

Bubb Road

Went on a good mountain bike ride yesterday with a couple of friends. Pretty intense for the stuff I'm used to. I was biking while Steph took her Finance final. We then took the hounds on a long walk.

Speaking of salads, I used the McDonalds free coupon for the Apple and Walnut salad. It contained grapes and came with a little dish of yogurt too. Must admit I was impressed. I always like using the free coupons that come in the annual reports because the stupid employees never believe that they are free and have to call the managers in. The manager folks are usually confused as well but authorize the goods.

Steph and I then went to a sushi place for dinner and I took her to the torch club and we listened to some blues music.

Star Wars Mystery

Also, in Star Wars as opposed to The Godfather, there are no lousy flashbacks.

Working on Starbucking sneak peek

I'm working on a sneak preview of the documentary for the UCSB presentation. It's going pretty well.
I took Yuki for a good walk today. I bought the new fruit cup at Wendy's for lunch. It was pretty good, but seemed over-priced.
I've been listening to the new REM cd that Robert copied for me. It's pretty good. I bought a new Star Wars figure. General Grievous, the supreme commander of the droid armies featuring exploding body.

Star Wars Mystery Revealed

When the first Star Wars (#4 - A New Hope) was released it was far from a sure thing. Lucas thought it the juiciest part of the entire story so he wanted to tell it.

I thought #3 - Revenge of the Sith was excellent. They did a good job of tying it into the following movie. Correlean cruister shot, story of Obi Wan in Tatooine, becoming more powerful in death, etc...

Star Wars Mystery

If you are going to make a movie which is six
movies long, why would you do it in the order 4-5-6-1-2-3
instead of 1-2-3-4-5-6? If you saw the Godfather Saga on TNT
(or wherever?) you might have enjoyed it a lot more than seeing
all the movies with all their crummy flashbacks. I know I did.

Posted by Tangeman 5/20/05 2:13 P.M.

Star Wars Revenge of the Sith

I went to a midnight showing of the new Star Wars movie. It was pretty cool. Some good light saber fights. One omission that I expected to see at least a little bit....Han Solo. He was never mentioned or seen...though Chewbacca shows up.
Definately worth checking out. Learn why Aniken Skywalker becomes Darth Vader. Learn how he gets the black evil suit.

A Haggis Recipe

How to make haggis

This recipe is not quite classic, but pretty close. The 'stock' is the
water in which the heart, lungs, and liver have been boiled. Don't use
quick or 3-minute oats.



Haggis

1 cleaned sheep stomach bag
2 lb. dry oatmeal
1 lb chopped mutton suet
1 lb lamb's liver, boiled and minced
1 pint (2 cups) stock
The heart and lungs of the sheep, boiled and minced
1 large chopped onion
1/2 tsp. each: cayenne pepper, Jamaica pepper, salt and pepper

Toast the oatmeal slowly until it is crisp, then mix all the ingredients (except the stomach bag) together, and add the stock. Fill the bag just over half full, press out the air and sew up securely. Have ready a large pot of boiling water, prick the haggis all over with a large needle so it does not burst and boil slowly for 4 to 5 hours. Serves 12.

Rings which are...

http://www.math.unl.edu/Dept/Conferences/Centential/phdlist

Tangeman, Richard Louis
Rings which are radical extensions of subrings
(William Leavitt)

The story of Johnson Gube and Bill

I got an email from Mr. Johnson Gube. It's one of those scams where they tell you they need a bank account to transfer 28 million dollars to and for your trouble you get to keep 30%. If you play along, they eventually want you to transfer some kind of transaction fee to them (or whatever they call it) and then disappear. I've been playing along with Gube. Emails follow in chronological order:


FROM:MR.JOHNSON GUBE
GRAND FINANCE AND TRUST BANK.
RUE CLUB DE L' AMITIE,
0251 B.P. 1625 COTONOU,
BENIN REPUBLIC.
TELEX: 5394
SWIFT: GRAFITR CTNOU

ATTEN:

RE:TRANSFER OF $28.5 million(USD)

In order to transfer out $28.5 million(USD) from GRAND FINANCE
AND
TRUST BANK.

I have the courage to ask for your assistance to handle this important
and
confidential business believing that you will never let me down either
now or
in future.Because it is highly confidential and secret.

I am MR.JOHNSON GUBE,the MANAGER of GRAND FINANCE AND TRUST BANK.

There is an account opened in this bank in 1990 and since year 2000
nobody has
operated
on this account again.
After going through some old files in the records, I discovered that if
I do
not remit this money out urgently it will be forfeited for nothing or
reverted
into the selfish
government purse.

The owner of this account was Mr.Hassan Balhas Ghadar, a foreigner, and
a miner
at D&D INVESTMENT
CO., a geologist by profession and he died since year 2000.

No other person knows about this account or any thing concerning it,
the account
has no other
beneficiary and my investigation proved to me as well that his company
does
not know anything about this account and the amount involved is $28.5
million(USD).
I want to transfer the $28.5 million(USD) into a safe foreigner's
account abroad
, but I don't know any foreigner.
I am only contacting you as a foreigner because this money can not be
approved
to a local bank here, but can only be approved to any foreigner with
valid
international
passport or drivers license and foreign account.
Because the money is in US dollars and the former owner of the account
Mr.Hassan
Balhas
Ghadar,was a foreigner too.

I know that this message will come to you as a surprise as we don’t
know
ourselves before,
but be sure that it is real and a genuine business as I have put in
place the
neccesary
logistics that will ensure a hitch free transfer into your account upon
acceptance.I only got
your contact address from my secretary who operates computer with
believe in God
that you will
never let me down in this business.

You are the only person that I have contacted in this business,
so please reply urgently so that I will inform you the next step to
take urgently. Send also your private telephone and fax number for
urgent
communication.
I would have liked us to meet face to face but as a bank top civil
servant,I am
not allowed by
law of the land to travel outside the country for now.Kindly assist me
so that
you can receive
this money into a foreign account or any account of your choice where
the fund
will be safe.

I will fly to your country for withdrawal and sharing and other
investments once
you confirm the
money in your account. I am contacting you because of the need to
involve a
foreigner with
foreign account and foreign beneficiary.
I need your full co-operation to make this work fine because the
management is
ready to approve
this payment to any foreigner who has correct information of this
account,which
I will give to
you immediately,if you are able and capable to handle such amount in
strict
confidence and
trust according to my instructions and advice for our mutual benefit
because
this opportunity
will never come again in my life.

I need truthful person in this business because I don't want to make
mistake and
your strong
assurance and trust are equally needed.
With my position now in the office I can transfer this money to any
foreigner's
reliable account, which you can provide with assurance that this money
will be
intact pending my physical arrival in your country for sharing and I
want to
remind you that your share has been calculated at 30% of the total sum.

I want to tell you that this transaction is 100% risk free and legal
because all
the documents that will back up this transaction will be available, so
that no body will question the fund when it is finaly tranfered to your
account.

I am waiting for your urgent reply so that I will give you more
information
about
this transaction through my private mobile email navigator:
banktransferproject@latinmail.com or my phone contact.

Regards and God bless.

MR.JOHNSON GUBE.

Kindly call me for more information.
PHONE NUMBER +229 - 40 35 48.

-----------------------------------

Dear Mr. Gube,
Thank you for this opportunity to assist you. This sounds like a good deal for both of us! It would be my pleasure to help you out of your difficult situation.
I'm looking forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Bill
-------------------------------------
Dear Mr Bill Tangeman
Thanks for accepting to work with me on this transaction I would like you to know that what I need from you in this transaction is trust and confidence because that is the utmost important thing in business like this I am trusting you believing that when this money get to your account you will not run away with the money,

Before I can give you more information regarding to this transaction I would like you to send to me your full name and address telephone and fax.and your bank information where you want the money to be transfered into.

I wait your response.

Regards.
Mr Johnson Gube.
Tel 0022906728600
--------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Gube,
It will be my pleasure to forward to you the requested information in short order. May I ask, however, that you forward to me a small sum as a show of trust and good faith? A tiny amount of $10,000 or so should be easy to forward via paypal. To use paypal you already have all the information you need (my name and email address). It is an easy task to accomplish at www.paypal.com
Thank you for this offer of faith and trust. If you should still require my bank information I shall be happy to forward it to you.

Sincerely,
Bill




---------------------------------------
Dear Bill Tangeman?

I recieved your mail but you dont understand what am saying you this money can not be approve with out some lay claim to it, its when your account is submited that the bank transfer money to your account,

From your answer is like you dont trust this transaction, please if you dont trust this transaction kindly let me so I can look for some one else who can asist me to transfer this money because the most important thing in transaction trust and confidence in ourselfs.

Kindly let me know if you to go on with the transaction.

Regards
Mr Gube Johnson.
Tel 0022906728600
--------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Gube Johnson?
I did not Sir mean to offend you or betray your confidence. It seems there is a difference in our cultural backgrounds that can surely be overcome! As a United States citizen, I am sworn by the consititution of our great fore-fathers to uphold a kindness to individuals and friends from foreign lands in difficult situations like your own. To this extent and for the sake of all that is good in mankind, it is my privledge to instruct unto you the methods of typical business transactions as observed by American citizens on a daily basis.

Thusly, I shall upon your approval provide you with a post office box for the purpose of your gesture of good faith and trust. Should you choose to uphold this sacred trust, I must request that you send to this P.O. box no less than 100 golden dubloons. Upon receipt, I shall immediatly facilitate your request to rescue your impressive sum of money. I shall toil for your benifit!

Thank you Sir for this privledged opportunity to assist.

-Bill
-------------------------------------

Potato Farmer

A potato farmer was getting old. His son always helped him dig up the potato patch at planting season. The farmer was too old to do it himself. This year, the son was in jail. The farmer wrote a letter to his son asking if there was any way the son could get of jail to help the farmer with digging the potato patch. The son franticlly wrote back telling the farmer not to dig the potato patch this year because that's where he had hidden the bodies! The next day, the FBI showed with shovels and dug up the potato patch in search of the bodies. They found nothing. The son wrote the farmer saying that's the only way he could think of to help him in a pinch.

Challenge to Dad

Speculation from Robert is that Dad has forgotten how to post messages here. It's up to you to prove him wrong.

I got a new DVD...the criterion collection version of "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" It's from one of my favorite directors Wes Anderson.

The Duck Joke

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she lay her
pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so sorry, your pet has passed
away."

The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. The duck is dead," he replied.

"How can you be so sure", she protested. "I mean, you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few moments later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.
The vet patted the dog and took it out and returned a few moments later with a beautiful cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed the bird from its beak to its tail and back again. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly, jumped down and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys, and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.



The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried. "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead?!!"

The vet shrugged. "I'm sorry. If you'd taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20. But what with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it all adds up."