Richard's Blog

I hope this email finds you well...

2017-09-13T16:13:00.000-04:00

Every day I get vendors that send me emails trying to sell me their latest product or service (which I almost always ignore). Then a couple of days later I get the, "hey, did you see my email" follow-up email. It goes something like this...

Sometimes I get fed up and send back something like this...

Dealing with Snow in the South

2015-10-16T16:42:00.003-04:00

How do they do it?

2012-08-20T00:39:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've been commuting to work via a route that takes me onto GA 400, I-285, and I-75. On this route there are traffic signs, speed limits, painted lane markers, concrete median walls, and steel guard rails in place to try and prevent everyone from dying in a fiery automotive apocalypse. But in spite of all of these safety devices, I've seen at least one accident every day this week.

While searching for some tips on time lapse photography, I saw this video by Rob Whitworth. I was amazed at the way traffic moved, especially the traffic circles (54 seconds in). With almost no painted lines, traffic lights or traffic direction, people are moving where they want to go without running into the other people who are going in different directions. It almost appears as if the whole thing were choreographed.

Math is hard

2012-03-20T17:21:00.000-04:00

As the maitre d' in Ferris Bueller's Day Off said, "I weep for the future."

<a href='http://now.msn.com/now/About_msnNOW.aspx?videoid=45b18d92-1f38-4d01-8ffd-a3a1a37a9445&src=v5:embed::' target='_new' title='Woman can't explain miles-per-hour' >Video: Woman can't explain miles-per-hour</a>

Siri and I have a problem; we don't understand Scots

2012-02-03T11:06:00.000-05:00

I've never been able to understand what people are talking about if they're from across the pond. Looks like Siri has the same problem.

Music Video

2012-01-17T13:44:00.000-05:00

This is what I imagine a music video would look like if it were composed by the same people who make ransom notes.

Hello from ant1mat3rie on Vimeo.

500 point drop in the Dow plus the S&P downgrade ...

2011-08-07T19:32:00.000-04:00

After the Dow dropped 500 points and Standard & Poor's decided to downgrade America's credit rating, I think it's going to be an interesting, if not nerve racking week for investors. As an investor, I know that now is not the time to panic. Saving for retirement is a marathon and not a sprint; the long run is where our focus should be. Still, this video sums up how I feel sometimes.

Newest Guilty Pleasure = Tosh.0

2011-07-27T22:48:00.001-04:00

Perhaps somewhere in my DNA I have a schadenfreude gene. I know that I shouldn't, but I like watching these videos. Add in the funny/sarcastic/mean commentary from Daniel Tosh and you have the Comedy Central show Tosh.0. Think of it as Talk Soup, but for internet videos.

Here are some of the videos that have been featured on the show. Enjoy. (Warning for the squimish: you may not want to watch any of these)

Another Epic Rap Battle

2011-04-29T11:07:00.000-04:00

I heard about this on Marketplace while driving home yesterday. Who could resist an epic rap battle between John Maynard Keynes vs. Friedrich Hayek?

The train is OK

2011-04-22T11:34:00.001-04:00

I wonder what TV would be like if all field reports were like this guy?

Autistic Reporter: Train Thankfully Unharmed In Crash That Killed One Man

Who doesn't love a good rap battle?

2011-04-03T17:14:00.000-04:00

MC Hawking vs Albert E

Arrrr!

2011-03-08T17:03:00.000-05:00

I wonder if the race was held on September 19th?

San Francisco City Council takes away the happy

2011-01-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

Probably one of the best Daily Show clips ever. A great example of government sticking its nose in places it doesn't belong. What makes it so funny is that the councilman just doesn't get it.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

San Francisco's Happy Meal Ban

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog<

The Daily Show on Facebook

Putting an end to "Pants on the Ground"

2010-12-17T18:23:00.000-05:00

If ever a fashion trend needed to die a quick painful death, it would have to be the habit some young men have of wearing their pants so low that they hang off their ass, also known as "sagging."

I thought this trend would have shuffled off this mortal coil years ago. You would think that tripping over your own pants, falling down and literally showing your ass to the world would nip this trend in the bud. However, Andrew D. Lewis, the entrepreneurial force behind Hatch Ventures, has unleashed a new product guaranteed to ensure the survival of this fashion faux pas. He calls this product, "Subs" and for the ridiculous price of $29.99 you too can look this foolish.

Here's a video from CNN showing off Subs.

If you're on my naughty list this Christmas, then I might just buy these for your teenage son or your daughter's boyfriend. Oh and on a side note, if Andrew's invention has fired up the entrepreneurial spirit within you, just know that he's also a "Business Coach" and available for telephone consultations at the rate of $100 an hour.

Crappy gift idea from Germany

2010-12-15T15:47:00.001-05:00

Thanks to @someecards, I found this treat in my twitter feed today. Leave it to the Germans to incorporate most of the bodily functions into children's games. I'm not sure what they're saying in the commercial, but it looks like the object of "Kackel Dackel", is to get the dog to eat and poop.

Here's another game from the same company called "Snotty Snotter" where you try to pick as many boogers from the guy's nose before his brain explodes out of his head.

And yet another game called "Schweine Schwarte" where you try to stuff a pig chef with as many hamburgers without making his stomach explode.

If you're on my naughty list this year, you're probably going to be getting one of these as your gift this year.

The Amazing Race(ist cupcakes)

2010-12-10T14:07:00.000-05:00

Just saw this post on Eater.com. It seems that Duncan Hines has a new product that they're hawking using cupcakes singing in blackface. I think this was suppose to be on their youtube channel youtube.com/amazingglazes (SFW), but it looks like they pulled it. Eater.com has the video so you can judge for yourself. Click on the link below the image and check it out.

Video of singing cupcakes

I can't wait until Family Guy springs the "Trap"

2010-12-10T08:00:00.003-05:00

As a fan of both Star Wars and Family Guy, I can't wait to see Family Guy's take on Return of the Jedi.

If you get a kick out of these, then also check out Robot Chicken's take on Star Wars.

In honor of the last day of Hanukkah I share with you The Maccabeats

2010-12-09T14:45:00.000-05:00

Since today's the last day of Hanukkah, I thought I'd share this catchy little song that explains what it's all about.

Donate a book and get a Christmas Album

2010-12-08T17:11:00.000-05:00

Pomplamoose, a musical group that I posted about a while back, is giving away an album of Christmas mp3s if you donate a used book to the Richmond Book Drive. The idea is to get some gently used books into the hands of students in Richmond California.

A well deserved tip of the hat to Pomplamoose and file this under the category of win-win. Kids get books and you get a free Christmas album. If you're not familiar with Pomplamoose, check out their youtube channel here. You may have seen them on TV doing some car commercials for Hyundai. Anyway, I think the music is very cool and it's a worth cause. Check it out.

A Simple Brilliant Idea

2010-12-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

A Gizmodo post about the winning project in the Volkswagen's Fun Theory series. I think this is a simple yet brilliant idea. I'm not a big fan of photo cops, but the idea of being able to win money for obeying the law is appealing. This concept might even work in Atlanta, a city where everyone drives 80 miles an hour or faster. That is when they're not standing still, stuck in traffic. :)

Into the Fold

2010-12-01T09:28:00.001-05:00

On the way into work this morning I heard Neal Boortz talking about a couple of shoplifters in Oklahoma. I just had to find this story to get all the details. All I can say is it gives new meaning to the phrase, "Into the fold."

RIP Leslie Nielsen. Shirley we'll miss him.

2010-11-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

Today I heard that actor Leslie Nielsen passed away at age 84 due to complications from pneumonia. I think most of us remember him for his role as the deadpan doctor from the 1980 movie Airplane!. I grew up thinking that this movie was an original, but later found out it was a parody of a 1957 movie called Zero Hour!. After having watched both movies, I realize now that it was Leslie Nielsen's performance that was the glue that held the movie together. I can't watch the original movie without laughing and thinking of the parody because most of the dialogue is the same.

Check out this YouTube video comparing some of the scenes.

Whether playing characters like Dr. Rumack or Detective Frank Drebin, he always delivered the laughs with a straight face. His talent will surely be missed.

When did we learned to stop worrying and love the bomb

2010-11-26T16:01:00.000-05:00

Found this post on reddit while cleaning out items in google reader. The picture is of a door to the launch control room for an ICBM (which I found kind of funny).

Some of the comments in the thread are very interesting. It's interesting what you can find out about our nuclear launch protocols on a site like reddit. Who knows, maybe the 1983 movie Wargames was more true to life than I imagined. Check out this opening clip from the movie with Michael Madsen and John Spencer.

I also found some links to a 1979 PBS documentary called "First Strike" which are pretty interesting.

According to the wikipedia article for First Strike, some of the footage made it into the popular made for TV movie, The Day After (which coincidentally came out the same year as Wargames).

During the Cold War, the fear of a full-scale nuclear war was palpable. Movies and TV shows like the above examples were common. The entire world feared that the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (M.A.D.) would play itself out between the United States and the Soviet Union, sparked by a computer glitch, human error, or a deliberate first strike.

In the ten years since the end of the Cold War, the fear of nuclear war has receded to the back of our collective consciousness, which seems weird to me. When did we stop worrying about the bomb? With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of India, Pakistan, North Korea (and possibly Iran) as nuclear states, I'd think that the fear of nuclear war would be greater than ever. Looking back, perhaps we were safer adhering to the M.A.D. doctrine when we only had to worry about the USSR. Maybe now's the time to worry?

Thanksgiving Day Plans

2010-11-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

I don't have any real plans this year for Thanksgiving. I think I'll spend the day trying to get three stars on every level of Angry Birds. That is unless the birds and the pigs can work out their differences before turkey day.

Visit from "Farmville"

2010-11-23T17:41:00.000-05:00

Kinda random and offbeat, but I was checking my site stats and saw that I got a visit from Farmville yesterday. And I don't even play Farmville.