Green Bicycle Project

I went to help Micah & co. paint at the Green Bicycle Project (GBP) today. If you haven't heard about the GBP, then you should check them out if you're considering picking up a good used bike. Micah restores bikes that are missing parts and have been abandoned as well as finding nice bikes that are no longer wanted by their owners. His bikes are really cheap compared to anything you could find at a bike store. If you want to stop by the shop, check out the Contact Us tab on the website.

Pick #144

Vampire Weekend - "Oxford Comma" from their self titled release

WORLD'S FIRST EVER TEXT-BASED BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Dan just generated the world's first ever book recommendations based on a computer measuring text. It's not like Amazon recommendations that say "this person bought this book AND this other one." Go to Booklamp.org to read up on what they're doing. The system won't be available to the public for a little bit, but I'm privileged since this piece of HISTORY was made in MY house. This is only the second time I've ever felt like I was witnessing history in the making. The first time was September 11, 2001.

The way this works is that I give Dan a book. He plugs it into a magic machine and spits out other books that are similar in writing style. The first book is the one that I asked him to plug in. The totaldiff measures how dissimilar any book is to the one that I ask him to plug in. Naturally, the first book should have 0 difference from itself. The lower the totaldiff numbers for the other books, the more like the original book they are.

If you like Tom Robbins's Jitterbug Perfume, then try reading some other books on this list!

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author genre title totaldiff

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1. Tom Robbins Literary Fiction Jitterbug Perfume 0

2. John Updike Literary Fiction Terrorist .8802958

3. Tom Robbins Literary Fiction Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates 1.097272

4. Gary Shteyngart Fiction Absurdistan: A Novel 1.117625

5. Ian McEwan Fiction Saturday 1.135522

6. Salman Rushdie Literary Fiction The Moor's Last Sigh 1.228756

7. Tom Robbins Literary Fiction Another Roadside Attraction 1.264306

8. Jonathan Raban Fiction Waxwings 1.266642

9. Barbara Chase-Riboud Historical Fiction Hottentot Venus: A Novel 1.310913

10. Herman Melville Fiction Classics Billy Budd, Sailor & Other Stories 1.376428

11. Peter Mayle Literary Fiction A Good Year 1.381948

12. Dean Koontz Suspense The Taking 1.391685

13. Miriam Decosta-Willis Erotica Erotique Noire/Black Erotica 1.409069

14. Dean Koontz Fiction By the Light of the Moon 1.414718

15. Kurt Andersen Fiction Heyday: A Novel 1.429005

16. Diana Gabaldon Fiction The Outlandish Companion 1.436414

17. Peter Mayle Fiction Chasing Cezanne: A Novel 1.452523

18. George MacDonald Fraser Historical Fiction Flashman on the March 1.520791

19. Nancy Reisman Fiction The First Desire 1.540411

20. Frederick Zugibe M.D. True Crime Dissecting Death: Secrets of a Medical Examiner 1.541348

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p.s. sorry the columns don't line up quite right.

p.p.s. I just bought Terrorist by John Updike on Half.com and it will be the next book I read.

Sonicare Power

I got a new brush head for my sonicare toothbrush. This thing rattles my skull when the battery has a full charge. They must have done something radically different with the placement of the magnets or something else in the design of the head because the base I'm using has never been able to rock my head like this does. I can tell if the battery's wearing out because it feels normal. That extra power makes my teeth feel cleaner too.

Left Hand Release

Would you believe that they had a left hand release seatbelt on the plane on the flight home? A Delta operated Boeing plane. How unsafe!

Pick #133

N.O.H.A. - "Tu café"

Using Only Song Titles, Etc.

So, TBW posted a Facebook note with these Qs. I think you have to use only one artist's song titles to answer the Qs. He used Stereophonics and it was pretty good. Here's mine. Feel free to comment on the blog and change the answers to make them your own.

Pick Your Artist: Something Corporate
Are you male or female: Not what it seems
Describe yourself: Looks Like Chaplin
How do you feel about yourself: Ruthless
Describe where you currently live: I woke up in a car
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Cavanaugh Park
Your best friends are: Babies of the 80s
Your favorite color is: She paints me blue
You Know: Miss America
What's the weather like: Hurricane
If your life were a TV show, what would it be called? Globes & Maps
What is the best advice you have to give: Fall.
If you could change your name, what would it be: Straw Dog