FROM THE SOURCE

FROM THE SOURCE

Corey Kubber  //  Entrepreneur. Innovator. Visionary. Philanthropist.
Interests include Social Media, Technology & Science, Health, Food, Photography, Entertainment, Travel, Business

Jun 20 / 3:06pm

Ryan Dunn dies in crash at age 34

What sad news. Ryan Dunn of 'Jackass' was in a fatal car crash this morning. He will be missed by many. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends. RIP

This is the car after it was removed from the woods. The photo was taken by Flickr user subewl.Obviously, no one could have survived a crash like that. The car was reported to have exploded/caught fire. Hopefully he didn't suffer...

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Someone who is obviously very messed up in the head and/or has no soul made this fake FoxNews article claiming it was a hoax. I wish I didn't have to say it...but they are wrong. Ryan Dunn is dead.

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This was the last photo Ryan posted to his Tumblr just hours before his death. I hate to assume anything, but it does clearly depict him drinking. Whether or not he was driving drunk, it is always a bad idea to drink and drive. I have had many friends who have killed themselves or been killed due to drunk driving. Please don't be one of them.

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In light of his death, I believe Ryan would want us to celebrate his life rather than focus on his death. Please feel free to share your favorite Ryan Dunn moments below. I was at a funeral just 2 days ago, and the priest had us all tell some funny stories. I found it very helpful in grieving. So let's laugh a little. After all, that's what Ryan was good at.  And please post any updated information on the accident. RIP Ryan Dunn.

Filed under  //  Fox News   Jackass   Ryan Dunn   Tumblr   crash   drunk driving   hoax   insensitive   memories   prayers   reminisce  
Jul 25 / 12:22pm

Stranger in the park

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Stranger in the park
Originally uploaded by ckubber
I FINALLY bought an SLR camera- the Nikon D40. On ebay I was able to get it very cheap, with many perks such as free prints, a warranty, and a year subscription to a photo magazine. The seller was cametacameras, and I highly recommend them to anyone who is interested in buying an SLR camera, lens, or accessories.

After ordering the camera, I found myself constantly checking out flickr for tips and examples of great photos. I found the group called 100 Strangers, and I decided to try it out after having my camera. The photo here is of my first stranger who I approached in the nearby Doho Park. If you like it, then please check out my other photos on www.flickr.com/ckubber which will soon hopefully have many more.

Jul 9 / 7:53am

A quick end to an exciting beginning...

So I really need to start writing these on a daily basis. Too many things happen, and then I can't decide what to write about. Ahh!

The title to this this blog entry is actually not in reference to how soon my dream of writing blogs everyday ended. In fact, it is about my adventure from this past weekend. My boss agreed to give me a day or two off, and he was still allowing me to use his bike.

SO I set off on Saturday morning from Tsukuba, Ibaraki, intending to travel more than 200 miles in 3 days. WOW! I can't believe I was actually going to go through with that! "WAS" is the key word there. I was finally done psyching myself up for the pretty mountains, lakes and waterfalls in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. I woke up bright and early, and set out with water bottle and map in hand. It was Saturday morning, and I was already pedaling away, more than ready to take on the many rice fields and hills on the way to Nikko. Nothing could stop me!

*SCA-CHING-SCA-CHING* Mile 5: I hear a strange noise. *SCA-CHING-SCA-CHING*
"Please don't be what I think it is..."

I looked back- "DAMN!" It's a flat tire. And only on mile 5! What luck! I wasn't meant to go on this trip- at least not this weekend. But wait!!! I still have a patches and even a spare! I'm saved!

Now I have never changed a wheel before, not that I thought it was necessary to have prior experience, but it's not very comforting knowing you have a bag full of tools, when you don't know what to use them for. But I was determined, and after at least a good hour and a half of fidgeting around, and two failed attempts at patching the hole, and another failed attempt at using the wrong size tire (given to me by the guy in the bike shop), I finally had finished adding the extra tire that my boss gave me. Good thing I had two spares. The problem was that it was soooo old, that I couldn't get the cap off of the air valve! It was corroded shut! But with the help of a flathead screwdriver and my teeth, I finally got it off :) Thank god for the pump I picked up the day before.

So I was off again, with a brand new, err, old-new tire! NOW, nothing could stop me!

Mile 12: What is wrong with my stomach? I feel like I had plenty of carbs for energy; nothing to upset my stomach. BUT then why do I feel like I'm going to puke!

I went to Micky D's to rest, and then it hit me. After leaving my home, I stopped by a different McDonald's to grab an egg breakfast burrito. In America, I don't anything from that place, but I figured all food is healthier in Japan...I guess I was wrong. So after an hour with my head down on a table, the queasiness finally went away, and I was back on the road again! I should have taken a hint though- too much bad luck already at the beginning of my trip could only mean there would be more to come...

In the area I was traveling, I was surrounded by large hills and vast fields of rice. I guess in some areas at the bottoms of the hills, there was a buildup of mud. Or so I soon found out. Even though it's very difficult to climb tall hills, going down is so much fun that I don't even care. Also note that I was traveling on a sidewalk that ran parallel to a pretty empty highway, so it could easily be mistaken for just a main road.

Mile 26: Accelerating down one of the larger hills, I probably reached about 30mph, and decided to slow down. I was just beginning to slowly brake when I noticed the mud at the bottom. It looked dry, but still appeared as if it could be posing a bit of an obstacle, so I tried to brake a little faster without overheating the breaks- too late. With little time to react, I reached the mud, and immediately realized 3 things: the mud was in fact very wet, the mud was deep, and I was definitely going to crash. I instantly lost control of the bike, and drifted sideways. At the end of the mud I curved off to to the left, towards the road. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), there were some bushes bordering the road and sidewalk, which were surrounded by a concrete curb, about 8 inches high. I hit the curb dead on. The front tire exploded, the front wheel frame bent back into the main frame and pedals, the back brakes locked up, the outer gear disc (?) bent in half, and I flew over the top of the bike, hitting the bushes first and then the road.

I guess the bicycle wasn't completely totaled, but it sure was rendered useless. As for me, I am very lucky to be safe and uninjured. Well, mostly. If not for the bushes breaking my impact, I would have flown much further and probably into oncoming traffic. Most likely, I would have also landed with my head slamming on the ground. Instead, I only suffered some cuts and scrapes on my arms and legs, and even though I still fell into the road, I was able to get out of the road just before the cars came (a good thing since the road curves, and they wouldn't have seen me).

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The path to my doom...it's pretty difficult to tell how steep it is by looking at the picture, so just trust me that it was steep enough..
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The (un)grand finale.

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If you look at the frame that holds the front wheel, you can see that its bent like 45 degrees back from where it should be, pushing the wheel into the rest of the frame and the pedals.

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My living air bag

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Well, 26 miles into my journey, I am now hurting, badly sunburned, covered in mud (and a little blood), and most importantly, without any mode of transportation. So, what to do? I first called Nagao Sensei, to reluctantly inform him of the fate of his bike and also my journey. :( His wife was using the car, so he was unable to come pick me up- a good thing I suppose, since I would have felt even more terrible. He suggested I walk back to the 7-11 about a half-mile back, and ask them to call a taxi for me. It would cost more than 10,000 Yen- "So that's...ahhh! More than $100?!?!" That's right. Even though I didn't even make it to my destination, I was going to have to spend more money than I was planning on spending for the whole weekend! I was not a happy camper.

So in the 95 degree humidity, I started walking back up the hill with the bike over my shoulders. It would have been a bit easier, if not for the bag I had tied to the bike. A disgruntled mess, I finally made it back to the 7-11. BUT I didn't go inside. Why? I couldn't get over that I was going to have to spend so much money on a taxi, when I didn't even accomplish anything. I was brainstorming to myself, trying to decide if it was worth it to walk and then call a taxi, to save some money, but I figured at any pace, it would hardly help.

During my brainstorming- or more accurately, braindeadness- I saw a man pull up to the 7-11 and go inside. I thought- why not? When he came back outside, I attempted (in my broken Japanese) to ask him where he was going, to explain my bicycle accident and situation, and ask for a ride (while showing him my wallet and money lol). I'm not sure how much he understood, but he agreed, and told me to throw my muddy bicycle in the back of his SUV.

He appeared to be about 26 years old. I managed to work up the courage to test my Japanese during the long ride. I found out he was coming from his job, which was in the area, although I don't think he was going home (I didn't understand- something about getting off of work early and doing something?). I also learned (not surprisingly in Japan) that he is a Red Sox fan woot! We also talked about Japanese and American TV shows. Ironically, I knew more about Japanese shows, and he knew more about American series! :P

Soon after we started driving, I called Nagao Sensei, and asked him to explain the situation to make sure there was no confusion, and I realized that this man was actually not going to the same place as me. In fact, he now was going a bit far off of his path, but there was nothing I could really say at this point. He agreed to take me to the bike shop, where I would meet my boss. After finally arriving, I told him I was ok now, and that he could go. I tried to convey as much as possible how thankful I was (ie bowing repeatedly with "Doomo arigatoo gozaimasu!" Among other things.) And I also tried to give him 2,000 Yen, about the equivalent of $20. He kept saying, "No, no, it's ok. It's ok," but I eventually, he took just one of the 1,000 Yen bills from me. I guess it put my conscience at ease at least a little. I asked him for his phone number before leaving. I don't know what I intend to do with it, but at least if I ever want to thank him again, I can. I said goodbye, he got back into his SUV, and I walked over to the entrance of the bike shop. However, there was still one more thing I was forgetting...

Just before he pulled away, I managed to run back over to where he was parked, and pulled out my camera. Of course I had to take a picture to remember him! Besides, now I get to show you guys the person who helped me! :)

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The awesome guy who helped me. And yes, he actually got out of the car for the picture. ^_^

After all this, the day was still far from over. Nagao Sensei brought me back to his home to shower and relax. He and his wife both were very hospitable, and I felt very at home. His son is very kawaii! I think he is 8 years old. Their daughter was coincidentally away from home for the first time ever, spending the night at a school sleep over with her kindergarten class. Mrs. Nagao prepared me several oisii Japanese snacks, mugi cha (roasted barley tea), and some ice cream. We spent many hours talking about America, Japan, food, Japanese dramas (again lol), and life. And for the second time in my life, I experienced another earthquake- while I was at their home. Thankfully, the earthquake wasn't severe, but it definitely shook the house up a bit. But a while afterwards, they invited me out for dinner. We went to a Chinese restaurant. Somehow I was able to recall some of the little Chinese I know, and I taught them a little while we were waiting for dinner. We discussed all of the similarities between Chinese and Japanese, and it was pretty interesting.

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The food just kept on coming...
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And seemed to never stop...

Finally, after a ton of food, a few beers and some rice wine, we decided it was time to go. I was soooo stuffed! The food was all delicious! Oisikatta desu nee! ^_^ Apparently my boss felt bad that I hadn't been eating enough food since I'm a poor student (lol), so he wanted to make sure I was extra full! He is too nice!

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My boss and his family (minus his daughter who was at a kindergarten event)

All in all, it was one hell of a day, and I'm still trying to figure out if it all really happened during the same day. Another adventure in Japan. Another happy memory. And still more to come...
Filed under  //  Japan   Japanese   accident   adventure   biking   food Chinese   hitchhiking   ibaraki   travel   tsukuba   vacation  
Jun 25 / 7:28am

Rural Japan

This past Saturday, I rode my bike for about 7 hours. According to www.mapmyrun.com, I only went 30 miles. Well, that's without including the many times I got lost and went in circles/looked around...so I wasn't going that slow. And hey, it says I even climbed 1000 ft- not bad for a first time. Who am I kidding though. I was about to pass out on those steep slopes, and I couldn't make it without walking up the bike a few times on those mountain roads. 

My boss is super nice and is letting me borrow his bike for the next few weeks. I already rented a bike from my apartment building, but anyone in my position to borrow his bike would have also taken him up on his offer (even though I was nervous about being responsible for it). You see, the bike I rented on my own is what the locals call a mamacheri aka a mommy's bike with a basket in front. And it has an impressive 3 gears. I feel like I burn more energy riding that thing than it saves me- not to mention the bumpy ride it gives me. Now when my boss first mentioned I should borrow his bike, I didn't really want to. I might break it, or what if he needs it and I have it and then I would feel bad- or worse- if it gets stolen he will fire me ahh!" was all I could think. But I overcame those feelings, and the second I sat down on it, I was in love. It basically feels like effortlessly flowing across the ground, and when I'm riding it I can no longer feel the bump of every crack in the pavement. I'm afraid to ask how much it costs given it's sleek look, and 10+ gears. Oh and get this, the light on this one actually works.

 

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Mamacheri bike
*I'll add a pic of the other bike here later

So I set off on my first biking adventure not just in a long time, but EVER. I had a map and a mountain in the distance to guide me- Tsukuba Mountain. It's the tallest mountain in the area measuring up at 877 m (2877 ft). Ok so it's not that tall, but it's tall enough to be a mountain- I don't take pride in climbing big hills. Now I'm used to looking at a map with road names, maybe adresses, but Japan is not so simple. In Japan, only the largest main roads have names! Wait- what!? So how do people find their way? Landmarks, exact directions, etc. A lot of good my little map did for me- especially when I was surrounded by nothing besides fields of rice- literally. I didn't realize it at first glance, but all the little roads I was trying to navigate on the map were hardly roads at all. Most of them looked more like walking paths. And many were only connecting town to town or separating fields. I don't think a single one had a name. My strategy was to look around and visualize what the scene would look like from GoogleEarth, and then look back down at the map to try and figure out where I was. Forget about looking for exact paths, I only tried to figure out a general direction. This would have been much easier if I only wanted to visit the mountain, but Nagao Sensei (my boss) told me about a small town I should check out to see what life out of the city is like. Additionally, I couldn't go straight toward the mountain because I had to be on the lookout for a bridge over the nearby river.

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It was a bit difficult navigating through roads that all looked the same...
but at least I could enjoy nice scenery when I was lost!

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I don't know how often they burn the fields, but they happened to be doing it in a few places.

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Wheat in the foreground, fire in the background.

Eventually, I made out ok and found some cool places along the way. But I didn't get to climb to the top of the mountain! In fact, I was racing the setting sun even having skipped the mountain climbing part of my journey. I did manage to get about a quarter of the way up befor I realized I was out of time. Now I've climbed mountains before on foot, and never had any problems. But on a bike- it wasn't easy. Let's just say it was a good workout. On the way down, it was so steep the brakes began to overheat and I had to stop. The only way to go down at a speed less than lethal was by constantly holding down the breaks. It was still fun though and maybe a little scary since I was going at least 25 mph on a narrow, bumpy road with turns.

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The "lunch" I had during my break- sitting on a bus stop bench on the mountain.

Inside the white and orange box:
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I picked up this chocolate cake and sweet rice dessert in one of the little towns I passed.
The thing wrapped in the paper is dry ice to keep it cool! Cool! :P
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The view.

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Another great view, if the power lines had not been in the way.

 

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My descent...

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This is what most of the houses look like.

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My view shortly after descending. If you look on the mountain, you can see the path I took. (look where you can see the buldings/houses)


I rode back on the same path which is called Rin Rin Road- a road entirely for bikes. Very convenient. It travels exactly where its useful, between south of Tsukuba, all the way north to Tsukuba Mountain. Rin Rin has two meanings, but I only remember one of them. It's supposed to represent the sound of the many bicycle bells passing by. "Rin rin, rin rin!"

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In the red lettering: "Tsukuba Rin Rin Road"
As you can see, it's very long, and connects the two JR railways.

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A cool passage


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Rin Rin Road and Tsukuba Mountain

On the way home, I couldn't escape nightfall, but thankfully I got back to familiar places just after it became dark. And then the ride home from there was only another 10 or 15 minutes. The sights along the way:

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I was amazed to see a Big Boy restaurant...

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I was not so amazed to see a Wendy's...
but I did go inside to get a Frosty ^_^
A great way to end the day.
Filed under  //  Japan   Rin Rin   Wendy's   biking   countryside   cycling   farming   fields   maps   mountain   rice   roads   summer   tsukuba