Kevin Muldoon

This video is hilarious!

I was saddened to hear about the death of one of my favourite comedians yesterday. I only really got into George Carlin in the last few years. I had seen him in movies before (Like Bill & Ted and some Kevin Smith films) but I hadn’t seen any of his comedy. His views on politics and the world in general were a breath of fresh air. He had the same magic as the late great Bill Hicks.

Like Carlin, I was brought up Roman Catholic however I am now an Athiest (and have been for many years). I’ve read a lot of books on the contradictions of Religion and how Religion has evolved from past beliefs (paganism etc) which is why I made an immediate connection to him and his views.

He truly is a legend and I’m disappointed I never got the change to make it to one of his gigs (I was planning on squeezing one in my next trip to the states). Think I’ll say a prayer to Joe Pesci for him:)

Here a few of my favourite clips from the man himself

I’m not a big fan of Fast Food however yesterday myself and my friend Barry were in Glasgow shopping for some clothes for our holiday and we went to KFC for quickness.

Heres what happened :

Me : Hi there, can I get a a Wicked Zinger meal with a sprite.
KFC : Of course sir, what drink would you like with that?
Me : A sprite please.
KFC : OK so that will be £3.59
Me : The menu says its £4.29
KFC : Oh you want a ‘Wicked Zinger Meal’?
Me : Yes
KFC : So that’s a Wicked Zinger Meal with a coke.
Me : No I want a sprite

At this point the guy walks away to get the order. Another guy at the counter came over and asked if I wanted any ketchup. When he was asking me this the first guy arrived and popped down a coke. I then had to tell the 2nd guy that the first guy messed up and I wanted a sprite.

I know fast food jobs are low paying, I know that Fast Food joints have a big staff turnaround too but damn, is it really that hard to employ people who have an IQ higher than a 4 year old?

I was surprised to see Floyd Mayweather Jr announce his retirement from boxing the other day. I have only seen about 4 or 5 of his fights but in every one he oozed class. Lots of undefeated boxers talk about retiring but most end up going on until they lose their undefeated status. Of course, theres a good chance he will be tempted out of retirement in a few years. Once the boxing bigwigs get together and put together a multi million package for a return it will be hard for him to turn it down.

However, he did say in his retirement announcement :

I am sorry I have to leave the sport at this time, knowing I still have my God-given abilities to succeed and future multi-million dollar paydays ahead, including the one right around the corner (the proposed De la Hoya fight).

“But there comes a time when money doesn’t matter. I just can’t do it anymore. I have found a peace with my decision that I have not felt in a long time.

Read the announcement at BBC

My friend was lucky enough to pick up some tickets to see Chris Rock tonight in Edinburgh. He’s one of the best comedians in years in my opinion so I was really excited when I got a ticket.

I’m curious as to how different the show will be compared to his performances in the USA. He talks a lot about racial problems and politics etc in the USA so it will be good to see how he changes it for a UK audience. Of course, racial problems exist in the UK too and theres plenty of material for him in UK politics but I reckon he’ll mix things up a little.

Regardless, I’m sure it’s gonna be a great show

I came across a good site yesterday called Photoshop Disasters. The blog shows all the mistakes that leading magazines, newspapers and ad companies make when promoting a product.

50 years ago I imagine that it was only goverment agencies like the CIA who did photo editing but if you pick up any magazine nowadays it’s difficult to find a picture which hasn’t been cropped, changed or manipulated in some way. Which is why I enjoy this blog so much. It’s suprising some of the pictures which have slipped through the net and made it onto the front page.

Link : Photoshop Disasters

Lisa Bettany posted a great link today on Twitter. The video shows Bill O’Reilly going nuts at his staff years ago when the teleprompter wouldn’t work. Hilarious.

I could give you many reasons why I detest this man but I think Snoop Dogg explained it for me in this video :

The article in the New York times 2 days ago about people blogging til they dropped has stirred up a lot of discussion on the web. John Chow and David Peralty have both written posts today about how being fat and blogging on a regular basis has little or no connection and I agree 100%. Kelby Carr also touched upon the subject today on BloggingTips.

Blogging is the same as any other desk job, infact any other job, in that if you spend too much time working and don’t make time for exercise you are likely to put on weight.

“If you consume more calories than you burned off on a given day then you will put on weight”

That’s it. The average daily calories recommended for men is 2500 and for a women it’s 2000. 3500 calories is equal to 1lb of weight so if you eat 500 calories over what your body needs every day you will put a pound on every week. Once you understand that you quickly understand that by sitting at your pc all day you are not burning many calories and so if you snack a lot at your desk you’re going to put on weight.

On a serious note

I train about 5 or 6 times a week (taekwondo, jujitsu + gym) and I’m very interested in health related topics and I think it’s good that this kind of thing is being highlighted and discussed more. After smoking, being overweight is the most likely reason for years being cut from your life (ie. via weight related problems). The main problem that the USA and the UK has with weight issues is education – we are simply not educated enough on the subject. When I was at school the cafeteria’s main meal was hamburgers, chips with an equal portion of salt (I assume it still does!).

Personally I’m currently trying to trim up and lose a stone in the next 1-2 months. According to the BMI scale, I’m not overweight and I eat pretty healthy too but I’d like to be more toned. I don’t eat junk food or drink soda (soft drinks) that much, my main problem is eating too much bread and other carbohydrates and of course my weekend drinking sessions don’t help!

Have you found yourself putting more weight on the more you work on the net? What do you do to ensure you don’t let your work affect your health?

* The original article in the NY times talks more about blogger’s not getting enough sleep and putting themselves under too much stress so this post was more in reply to the posts which have arisen since then

This is probably the longest, most enjoyable game you will ever have the pleasure to play.

If you are unsure about how to beat the end guy please leave a message and i’ll do my best to help (though it’s worth checking the manual first!)

Burn the Rope

When I was in New York the other week I bought the Western Digital 250GB Passport, a portable USB powered 2.5″ hard drive which is suitable for travel. I purchased the hard drive from the electrical shop at the bottom of Macys on 34st for $124.99.

I got an email today from Amazon about their low prices on hard drives and usb drives. Amazon are selling the 250gb WD Passport for £87.98 (and in my experience Amazon are usually pretty cheap and a good bench mark for prices). With a $10 charge for tax in New York and even considering the low exchange rate my credit card gave me of 1.92 dollars to the pound the hard drive was just over £70, nearly £20 cheaper than the UK.

Infact, this is probably the worst example I could give you all as clothes have a bigger price difference and higher priced electrcial goods have even bigger savings. I know the dollar is weak just now and I know that I’m not taking standards of living into account but it still highlights how expensive goods are in the UK.

I can only imagine that the poor dollar and low cost of living makes travelling outside the USA expensive in comparison to other options but I’d still prefer to be in their position!

Two thumbs down to Rip Off Britain!