Thursday Flakes: Robots Writing Poetry, Glamping and Dorothy Lynch

Welcome to Thursday Flakes coming to you this week from Columbus, Ohio where Dylan Raiola might be living in a couple years. I’m hear spending time with my brother for a week then I am off to my next destination.

Last Thursday, I took the longest Uber ride I will probably ever take in my life. It was a 2.5-hour drive from Charlotte to Asheville, NC. I was taking the Greyhound that day from Atlanta. I found out the bus was delayed before it even departed because there was an issue with finding a driver for our bus. Therefore, I arrived into Charlotte around three hours late. I was told in Atlanta that once I arrived in Charlotte, Greyhound would pay for my Uber to Asheville (my final destination). That came as a bit of a surprise to me but once I arrived in Asheville, everything was able to be sorted out and I was on my day. This was also the third ride from Charlotte to Asheville that my Uber driver has given since he started working for the ride-sharing app.

Let’s kickstart the discussion with some questions. What is the longest Uber ride that you have ever taken? When was the last time you took a Greyhound bus? Have you ever been glamping? What the most underrated tourist attraction in your state? Do you like Dorothy Lynch dressing?

Anyways…onto Flakes.

Bryce McGowens to Participate in 2022 NBA Combine | Basketball | Corn Nation

McGowens is the first Husker to participate in the draft combine since Isaiah Roby in 2019. McGowens is looking to become the third Husker draft pick in the last four years and the first one-and-done prospect in Nebraska history. He is generally projected to be a first round draft pick in most mock drafts.

Jordan Burroughs Wins 5th Pan Am Championship | Wrestling | Corn Nation

Burroughs traveled with a stacked Team USA squad to Acapulco, Mexico and came away with a perfect 4-0 record and his fifth Pan American Championships gold medal. In addition to those medals, Burroughs also has three Pan American Games gold medals.

Mailbag: Over/Under 7.5 Wins and Which Big Three Men’s Teams Will Have the Most Success Next Year | Sports | Hail Varsity

This week we take stabs at an over/under win total for the Husker football team, as well as tackle thoughts about which of the big three men’s teams at Nebraska will have the most success next year. That, and much more.

Nebraska Recruiting: Huskers See Offensive Potential in 2023 Athlete Jalon Kilgore | Travel | Travel Pulse

The Nebraska coaching staff is out around the country making visits to high schools during the evaluation period. The staff has made a point to swing by schools in the southeast over the last week. One of the schools that tight ends coach Sean Beckton stopped by was Eatonton Putnam County in Georgia. That’s the home of 3-star defensive back Jalon Kilgore.

Eight Huskers Honored By the Big Ten | Softball | Huskers.com

Freshman catcher Ava Bredwell was named the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year on Wednesday, when the conference announced its postseason awards. Bredwell was one of seven Huskers to earn recognition on an All-Big Ten team, tying Northwestern for the most selections in the league.

Robinson, Wong-Orantes Named to Volleyball Nations League Roster | Volleyball | Huskers.com

The U.S. Women are the three-time defending VNL champions as well as the 2020 Olympic gold medalists and the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Fourteen players from the long list will be chosen for each week’s travel roster. The U.S. Women’s first preliminary VNL round will be May 31-June 5 at Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City, Louisiana.

A Phone Conversation and Scholarship Offer Make For a Memorable Day for Ainsworth’s Carter Nelson | Sports | Lincoln Journal Star

Last fall, Nelson caught 28 passes for 511 yards and eight touchdowns and made 34 tackles playing eight-man football. On the hardwood, Nelson averaged 12.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 blocks per contest. He’s also a standout on the track. Nelson won a Class C high jump state title last year, and his leap of 7-0 earlier this season is tops in the state.

The Most Underrated Tourist Attraction in Each State | Travel | Travel Pulse

Ranging from random rock formations and lesser known national park to unique museums and everything in between, the following list is full of underrated attractions and hidden gems all over the USA, and you’re sure to find one to tack on to your summer 2022 trip.

Best Native American Culture Destinations to Visit in North America | Travel | Travel Pulse

More travelers are taking the opportunity to learn more about the life and culture of these resilient Native Americans and visit many of their historic sites and museums. Immersion into the history and customs of these varied tribal families not only opens our eyes, it opens a door to their fascinating and unique way of life.

A Mother-Daughter Trip on the Inca Trail | Travel | Lonely Planet

Having recently become obsessed with wilderness backpacking in my home state of California, I agreed to come along – with one condition: that we hire a guide and hike to Machu Picchu along the four-day Inca Trail, rather than pack onto a bus for a short day trip. My mother wasn’t so sure.

This Travel Trend Has Seen the Most Growth in the Last 2 Years | Travel | Travel + Leisure

According to its summer 2022 travel trends report, recently shared with Travel + Leisure, glamping is a top search when it comes to vacation, specially as inquiries for the phrase “glamping near me” starting in 2020 kept up its momentum into 2022.

Rick Steves on Why Northern Washington is as Alluring as Europe | Travel | Conde Nast Traveler

“Whatcom County, just up the road from my hometown, is a wonderful example of how, so often, there are great treasures hiding in your own backyard,” Steves tells Traveler. For the television personality and author, Whatcom County is all about nature, beer, and smiles. “Sure, it ain’t Europe, but Europe ain’t Whatcom County, either.”

Where Humans Don’t Fear Leopards | Travel | BBC

While leopards have been targeted for poaching or revenge killings in much of India, the people of Bera continue to live in peaceful cohabitation with the graceful felines.

Robots Are Writing Poetry and Many People Can’t Tell the Difference | Arts & Culture | The Walrus

The extent to which journalists, academics, and computer developers are genuinely troubled by GPT-3’s believability suggests that AI’s holy-grail goal of passing the Turing test—that is, building a machine that can persuade us it is thinking—might be getting too close for comfort.

Reimagining Rehabilitation | Crime | Atmos

In a system that invests in incarceration rather than redemption and punishment rather than people, abolition is the only answer. So what does a world free of prisons look like?

Plastic Neutrality: Greenwashing or Genuine Environmental Solution? | Environment | Nuvo

While the historical plastic recycling rate hovers around 10 per cent, eco-conscious brands and individuals are striving to cut out plastic entirely—a Herculean task in the modern world. A new framework promises a provisional solution: plastic neutrality.

Letters from the Loneliest Post Office in the World | World | Atlas Obscura

In pre-pandemic times, approximately 18,000 tourists visited the remote location annually. But for some, a short tour of the world’s most isolated mail drop isn’t enough. Each year hundreds compete for four jobs at the post office, for a chance to live on an island the size of a football field for five months at a time, without internet, cell service, or even running water.

A Man Died of a Heart Attack While Burying a Woman He Killed | Crime | NPR

While investigators believed McKinnon may have died of natural causes, they immediately suspected foul play in Dent’s death. That scenario was confirmed this week by the coroner, whose autopsy report found that McKinnon had suffered a cardiac arrest and Dent had been strangled.

I posted this tweet in the Corn Nation Slack chat and a little argument happened so let’s settle this here.