Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (January 2003, week 4)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Tue, 28 Jan 2003 17:31:14 -0700
Reply-To:     thewestyman@MINDSPRING.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Karl Mullendore <thewestyman@MINDSPRING.COM>
Comments: cc: syncro@yahoogroups.com, fullmoon@hville.net,
          wetwesties@yahoogroups.com, VWVANFULLTIMERS@yahoogroups.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=646

A Short Science Fiction Story ~or~ A Larry Chase Report

Imagine: It is 2075. You type the phrase “Larry Chase” into Google (now a comprehensive planetwide research source) and this is what comes out.

Early 21st Century Automata: Research Paper, Angolls and Nishigawa, Kyoto University, 8/2050 Extract: The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw the emergence of so-called “bots” on the Internet – chatty programmed personalities that would therapize you, pretend to be an eligible single, or, increasingly, try to sell you something – either by being available on a company website to chat with customers and answer simple questions, or, as in a method first popularized by the famous “Larry Chase” bot, posing as a unique personality on a newsgroup. The “Larry Chase” bot, paid for by a consortium of VW Vanagon companies, posted literally thousands of reports on modifications to its “van” in online newsgroups in hopes of driving demand for similar modifications in others. It was far more successful than its followers, in part because the consortium went to unusual lengths to ensure…

The “Larry Chase Trip Reports”: Early Postmodern Travel Writing Research Paper, Flanders and Swann, University of Angola, 4/2068 The “Chasebot” is already fairly famous for its role in sparking a huge wave of so-called “stealth advertising bots” on the Internet in the early 21st century. It is less well-known as a travel writer, but travel writer it was. In order to flesh out its believability, the consortium that funded the Chasebot at one point decided it would have to leave its virtual driveway and actually drive somewhere other than a Vanagon parts store. Its creators chose a fairly unusual method for developing these reports. Rather than just hiring some cheap hack to write up some travel reports and post them on the Web at regular intervals, the Chasebot creators developed some additional code that scanned the Web for other trip reports, compiled them, and developed a “trip” of its own from this accumulated data (a “metatrip”). It would extract bits from one report and bits from another, smooth them into a consistent style, and post the results at erratic intervals. Although other travelers had written postmodern literary travelogues, this was one of the first reports that used technical postmodern methodology (essentially, re-using the works of others, on the grounds that there are no original experiences anymore)…

Trip Report: First Encounter With The Actor Known as Larry Chase, Mullendore and Gilman (1/25/03) We have just left Mesa, Arizona, current residence of Larry Chase (or possibly an actor playing him, we aren’t sure). His van is absolutely as insane as you would think from all his posts and then some. It requires three times the normal number of fused circuits to support all his added electronics, which include as you know stereo this-that-and-then-some, video flatscreen and assorted feeds (satellite and then the sides of the van for when there really isn’t anything on TV), and enough lights to stage a rock show. It has outside speaker hookups so this may be exactly what he’s planning (Larry and the Bears? Larry, that’s so ‘60s…). All this takes up its share of the cabinetry: we estimate that he will have room for about one change of clothes and his toothbrush in his cabinets after all the electronica is wired into place. We did our part to take up a bit more, installing a furnace under the rear bench and an EMPI ball on the antenna. At this point Larry, or the actor hired to play him, hereafter referred to as “Larry”, estimates that he is three weeks from leaving, but his van already has more features and functions than most RVs come with off the lot. Including “Roadhaus” stickers. The Gilman was very tempted to cut them up and reassemble them as “Warthog” stickers. “Larry” was pretty well versed on the intricacies of his van, and was surprisingly mechanically ept – he removed his water pump successfully although he required my help to get it back on. Unfortunately, he wasn’t given a fully accurate cue sheet, and insists that he met both of us in San Francisco/Van ‘o’ Rama. He appears to have a fairly normal social life, with various other characters coming and going over the two days we were there, but we suspect that his “roommates” are the actual residents of his house. If we didn’t care more about being three hundred miles away from a megalopolis as soon as possible, we would be tempted to slip back and check up. At any rate he is a character and a gentleman. He was quite considerate and did not mind minor van resections on his driveway. We hope he is renewed for another season. Please mention this if you call GoWesty or his other major sponsors.

Greetings fro Arizona, on the road! Karl Mullendore Westy Ventures '87 Westy Syncro 1.9TD


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.