Like Midas, I recently ventured to my local multiplex to check out Al Gore’s lesson in effective presentation skills: An Inconvenient Truth.

Now, being the skeptical sort of guy that I am, I naturally started looking for movies that show the other side of the story. Fortunately, I found two!

“Is carbon dioxide a harmful air pollutant, or is it an amazingly effective aerial fertilizer?”

Great question! The answers are provided in the following documentaries, available at the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change:

I mean, they’re not called Greenhouse Gasses because they make everything brown, are they? No!

“Evidence is presented to show how current CO2 levels, which are 35 percent higher than in the pre-industrial era, have greatly enhanced the growth of trees and other plants. Results from controlled studies show how a doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere, which is expected to occur over the next century, will boost crop yields, increase the water-use efficiency of much of earth’s vegetation, and enhance the productivity of forests. The impact and implications of such change are far-reaching.”

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The Ninth Circuit Appeals court ruled that border officials have the right to search your laptop without a warrant. As Ars Technica points out, this is not an especially radical ruling, although it sure feels crappy. They can already rummage through your luggage without a warrant. Yet there is definitely a difference between searching through your personal information and your personal property. There could be sensitive information stored on your laptop, especially if you work for, or contract with the government.

I’m sure some of you have thoughts on this?

I’d like to direct everyone to the soon-to-be newest member of our family’s blog. Our family rocks so hard.

Also, family, are we the “William’s Family?” I always get confused.

Or “blue cheese” as you commoners may know it. I love it and its deliciously bacterial veins of sweet seafoamy green goodness. The idea behind blue cheese is pretty astounding when you really sit and think about it. First you take any old goat or cow cheese and add mold and bacteria — specifically the yogurt bacteria and penicillium mold. This is fascinating to me.

There are many varieties of “blue cheese” — which is a generic name for the group of cheese recognized by their characteristic blue veining. Most of the cheeses have a Protected Designation of Origin. This means, like wine in Europe and bourbon in the USofA, specific cheeses can only come from specific regions. So Gorgonzola comes from the area around Gorgonzola Italy, while Roquefort is made in the region surrounding Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in France (and bourbon must come from Bourbon County, Kentucky).

Roquefort is kind of insane. In order for a cheese to be called Roquefort it must contain the mold found only in the soil of caves in the Roquefort-sur-Soulzon region. Then the cheese must be aged in these specific caves. In the olden days cheese makers set bread out in these caves until they were covered in mold. The mold was then powdered and added to the cheese.

Cheese is so interesting.

In a bold step to create news, garner page views, and cash in on that elusive ad money haduken brings you the first of (hopefully) many interviews. Today’s subject: Pete Humes. Pete currently works for the RTD in charge of their new alternative weekly and used to work on Punchline. I asked him if he would bring back Punchline but he said no. Cry. On with the show.

Where would you send someone new to Richmond who was looking for
something to do? (Excluding Maymont, Belle Isle, and Monument Ave.)

If they wanted to be outside, I’d send them on the Flood Wall walk that starts by the SunTrust building on the Southside. It weaves past the wall climbers, goes under the highway and strolls along the foamy James. Very pleasant. If they wanted to stay inside? Richmond has some excellent cable television channels.

You once said “I understand that [Broad and Allen] is not the most desirable part of town. That is unless you’re in the market for a feisty young man in a lycra mini who carries around more hand lotion and ribbed condoms than Walgreens.” While that is still very very true, what’s changed in Richmond since you worked on Punchline? Both positive and negative.

All of the abandoned buildings I once dreamed of owning have been snatched up, snazzed up and put up for sale. It’s sad in a way, but also very encouraging. Development is happening faster than ever. The city is in the midst of a bona fide growth spurt. Richmond never did become the next Seattle (or Austin… or even Charlotte for that matter), but that’s okay. This way we still have time to become something great, something unique. Because if Richmond exploded back in the grunge era, that would be like peaking in high school. I’d rather we had our best years ahead of us.

Richmond seems to be full of people doing things that have lots of potential. What are some of your favorite new things happening in Richmond?

Anything consistent. I respect and admire the hard work that went into making WRIR 97.3 FM a reality. Tony Harris didn’t quit after realizing how much work it was to publish RVA magazine. John Pollard at ADA Gallery, Patchwork Collective, Wrenn Magnum… there’s something to be said for dogged persistence.

Have you ever eaten at Croaker’s Spot? Man that place is good.
Oh yeah. I’ve only been once but I can still taste it.

If Chicago, NY, and Richmond got into a fight who would win?

Sadly, Richmond would be spitting teeth. Chicago and New York would take turns kicking us while we were down. We’d get whupped within an inch of our lives until Baltimore and Norfolk swooped in to save us.

I hate when people leave Richmond for NYC. What will it take to grow Richmond into a cultural center and, as the Patchwork Collective says, an exporter of culture?

A different attitude. Nobody runs this town except for the people who choose to do so. If you want change you have to work for it. If the artists, musicians and creative-types want to wait for Richmond to magically transform into a bohemian utopia, they’ll be waiting a very long time. If they want more music venues, cooler ways to spend the weekend or a downtown movie theater… then do it.

What’s your favorite city, besides RVA of course?

My wife and I had fun in Philadelphia. New York City is nice too, in a quaint and charming kind of way. Lovely bagels.

What role do you think Punchline filled in Richmond, and is anything filling that role today?

I think above all else it brought a sense of ridiculousness to a much-too-serious town. It provided a forum for swearing that has yet to be matched and when it came to household spills it was surprisingly absorbent.

You seem cool. How do you do that with kids?

“Seem” is the key word there. It helps to have an amazing wife who is ACTUALLY cool. I just stick close to her and seem hipper by association.

Lots of kids these days are getting their news through those new-fangled blogs. How do you feel about blogs and blogging, yourself being part of the Main Stream Media(TM)?

Blogs are great. Do I read lots of them all the time? Not really. But I like having them around and I think they’re important. And I’m glad there are people who can consistently maintain them because I sure can’t.

When can we expect the new Alt-weekly to hit the shelves? And will it be free?

Soon. Not soon like tomorrow, but soon like soon. It will be free. I can safely say that it will be cool and different and exciting. Also, if used properly, it can protect your skin from harmful UV rays. What more could anyone want from a paper?

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So there we go. If you have any suggestions on who you’d like to see interviewed drop a comment. Thx ^_^ .

Technorati Tags: puppy, Richmond, Virginia

Not really. Full story here. These will be the standard passport starting in August. I knew they were on the horizon, I just didn’t realize they were so close.

I think wrapping your new passport in aluminum foil would be an ok precaution against identity theft? Midas would probably know better than me.

Anyway, get ready.

We all remember the recent Governor’s race in Virginia. We remember how Kilgore warned us about how Kaine would love to have saved Hitler from defeat in World War II. How if, given the chance, he would gladly have pardoned perhaps the most evil man in history from the death penalty.

Well, now all of our worst nightmares have come true. Tim Kaine has pardoned the only witch ever caught and executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Of course, witches are notorious as the brides of Satan, which at the least is just as bad as Hitler, if not worse. They are certainly more dangerous, with their skills in magick.

Witches are very difficult to catch, and they are very wily when brought to trial, using every trick in the book to escape punishment so they can return to their tasty gingerbread houses. That is why in over 400 years, Virginia has only managed to successfully prosecute (at the cost of hundreds of taxpayer dollars) this one, single witch.

And now, Kaine has thrown all of this hard work away, all because of his love of Hitler. He couldn’t pardon Hitler, since (as far as we know) Hitler never came to Virginia, so he picked the next best thing - a proven witch.

Shameful.

Ok. For the past month I’ve been getting calls about twice a week from a number not in my phone book, and every time I send it straight to voicemail. I don’t answer my phone if I don’t recognize the number; I figure if it is important they’ll leave a message. Well this guy never leaves a voicemail. The other day I am in the office alone celebrating my first answered phone call. I have this irrational fear of phone conversations with people I don’t know, it is weird I know. Then here comes good old no message guy. I figure I’ll answer it because I was on a phone answering roll.

The conversation was as follows:

Me: Ross Catrow
Guy: Hi this is Guy from Random Financial Planning Group
Me: Oh that’s cool, I already have a financial planner. (lie)
Guy: Hey, everyone needs a plan B.
Me: Well I’m just not interested. (not a lie)
Guy: Lets meet for lunch sometime this week just to get introduced.
Me: Uhh…I’m busy this week. (lie)
Guy: Ok well I’ll pencil you in for next Tuesday how’s that?
Me: Well my schedule changes rapidly, so why don’t you just call me. (lie)
Guy: Ok I’ll call you Tuesday.

And then today I got another call from a different financial planner from THE SAME GROUP. What is with these people? Pestering me to death and calling me everysecondofmylife is not a good way to get my business. These people are the meatspace equivalent of spam. I can’t even imagine how that is a successful marketing strategy, I know we would lose clients left and right if we acted like that in my business.

Ultimately these people all got my name and number from friends (wtf friends? seriously). So perhaps they assume they aren’t cold calling and are in fact using some permission marketing up in here. Well getting my number from a friend isn’t the same as me opting-in to your little spiel.

Note to people with my number, please please please don’t give it out to random norms. Thanks.

Technorati Tags: wtf