I purchased a bike on Friday.

it was ill. I looked through the local Trading Post and i just did not feel like paying $40 for a used one. My wife suggested i go to this spot on Brambleton. So after work on friday i went. I walked up and saw a couple of old bikes that were rusty. This old brother with most of his teeth gone walked up to me.

"How can i help you?" He asked
"I am looking for some mountain bikes, " I replied
"There they are," he answered, "take your pic."
It was grim. I figured i would walk out of there empty handed. BUt i decided to give it a try anyway. i found something, right in the middle of all the bikes. It was big and blue. you can ready the words HUFFY on it.

"Excuse me sir," i called, "how much are these bikes?"
"All of these are $25," he said.

I looked in my pocket. i had $23. I ran back to the van. I went into my bag and scrounged up $2 worth in change. I ran back and said, "i want that one."
He quickly unlocked the chain that held all the bikes. He gave me the bike and i gave him the money.

"Yo that's a classic bike!" This dude out of nowhere said. "It's a huffy." i was like 'yeah right, i am out kid.'

I rode off towards my van and loaded up the bike. I was real excited. I miss riding bikes. When i lived in Virginia Beach, i rode my bike to work. at one time i thought it was just a 10 mile ride. but after some calculations of the recent trips i just made (thanks to yahoo maps) , it was 9.7 miles. i used to do that sunday mornings. and i was not even tired.

BUt i did go riding on sunday morning and today as well. i headed downtown to the waterfront. I hung out with some homeless cats. but it was wonderful. I felt so free and unrestricted. Bikes are dope. i want to race cats. i am real ill when it comes to mad traffic. i scare drivers.

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i want to share something i wrote in a forum....in capoeira.com

this cat started the thread:

ichigo
Posted: Wed Aug 05, 00:50

I chose this title cuz i thought it applied best to the subject...for those who dont know the history of the quote, it's biblical.(when satan was talking to Eve) A lot of people can recall back to their early childhood and remember doing something the were told not to. It's the question, "Why not?" that can drive a person mad. Everybody has desires, curiosity and has been tempted to do something at least once in your life. If u deny that then u deny the fact that u are human. But, do these three impulses get stronger the older u grow? How far can u really go without being tempted, curious, or having a desire? Or rather, how far can one go with being tempted, having curiosity and to desire before they realize their own self destruction? Just interested in hearing others opinions on this subject.......

i responded with this:

travado
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 00:02

that jive about "the devil made me do it" is for the birds

there are temptations but it is ultimately up to the individual to make that choice. like my man said before me, we control our destinies. i find this to be true.

Ye are gods, but like princes ye shall fall is the actual quote from Psalms (which HAY SOOS repeated in the new testament)

i will admit there are factors involved with those decisions, but it is still that, a decision.


then this cat dropped something:

haslo
Posted: Sat Aug 29, 14:03

Some time ago, in a philosophy class at university, I asked a professor "you don't believe in chaos theory, do you?" - and he answered "no, I'm a determinist". I don't think those two things contradict though. Why do I say this in this context here?

Altough the consequence of our actions may already have been worked out, as a chain of cause and effect, there are tiny things we wouldn't even notice normally that can also have an influence - and right that very tiny little influence can be the one that throws it all around.
So if we make a choice, of whatever kind, we do shape the future. But as I as a person am not the only one making choices, and my choices in turn have an effect on the world, and then again the world has already influenced my choice in the first place.

The vague questions in this thread actually come down to the question - do we really have a free will or are we just determined by our surroundings? Are we just machines? Incredibly complex machines maybe, machines we'll never understand?

I know this sounds like I've seen the Matrix too many times. But those questions are fundamental, the Matrix movies were just an expression of a time in which those questions arise again, because computers act like they're intelligent. Virtual Stupidity and stuff, I'm computer scientist and have also already programmed such things. Believe me, nothing today is intelligent except what nature has created.

But still (and with that I come back to the subject) the question remains whether our brain is only a more complex kind of computer, with links beyond any understanding of today's science (we know how it works, but not why it works) or whether it really has something mankind will never be able to reproduce...

I'm not really a religious person, though I don't tend to say that we are pure machines. But you have to admit that most of our choices are logical choices. They may seem irrational, but given all facts that the person has, be they right or wrong, the choice between all possible options is in most cases mainly determined by what the person knows about its surroundings and the world - including maybe some decisions the person once made, like "I want to act according to this or that moral code"...

and i respond with this:


travado
Posted: Sat Aug 29, 22:40


Haslo makes a good point.

Here is an example (and this is something that made me look at everything around me and question). If you were born in the US of A. chances (MOST) are you will be born into the Christian faith. you may not be as focused into the religion as others but when you sign up for the military for instance, you will put CHristian just because.

But do we question why? Are we Christian because our parents were ? or we were just baptized cause our parents felt obligated? If our parents were not Christian, would we have turned out that way?

Another example: do we go to college because that is what everyone else wants us to do? Its the social norm here for us to go to school, get a nice degree (now a masters and/or doctorates) and get a nice cushy job, have 401K , get a mortgage, etc.

This is an example of "programming" so to speak. So our enviroment (culture, family, etc.) has a tremendous influence on us. and like i said before we do ultimately have a choice. but my point is, do we really have choices. since elementary school we are taught "get good grades or you will be a bum" so in a sense we have two options. IN church we are taught, "believe in Jesus or you will go to hell". we are only given TWO options in those scenarios.
I am sure you all can think of good examples of this as well

Like when we go to the supermarket and they ask if we want plastic or paper. What if i want to put it in my bag? they tell me no (i have done this)

In the Matrix, the merovingian tells Neo that he is not necessarily as free as he thinks because he does the bidding of the Oracle. Crazy huh? just something to think about ...

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just something to think about



here is a classic picture of Afrika Bambaata with WEBSTER, be...