Rob – Page 5 – The Paunch Stevenson Show

May 28, 2008

Stan Lee

Stan Lee (photo by Alan Light)
(photo by Alan Light)

Stan Lee, former president of Marvel Comics, co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, and several other comic book characters.

In 1998, he started Stan Lee Media, a new internet-based production and marketing studio, which grew to 165 people and went public. He produced the animated web series The 7th Portal and voiced the characters Izayus, The Drifter, and The Accuser.

Near the end of 2000, investigators discovered illegal stock manipulation and in February 2001, Stan Lee Media filed for bankruptcy. Stan Lee’s lawyer Peter Paul fled to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Excelsior!

In 2003, Lee created the animated series Stripperella for Spike TV, which was cancelled after thirteen episodes. In 2004, he announced plans to collaborate with Hugh Hefner on a superhero cartoon featuring Playboy Playmates and announced another superhero show that would feature Ringo Starr as the lead character. ‘Natch!

On July 27, 2006, Who Wants to Be a Superhero? starring Stan Lee debuted on the Sci Fi Channel. At the July 2007 Comic-Con International, Hasbro introduced a Stan Lee action figure. ‘Nuff said!

May 18, 2008

Unboxing My New HP Computer

After months of research and waiting, I finally bought a new computer: an HP Pavilion Elite m9250f. Circuit City had it for a good price and Intel isn’t releasing any major new processors for a while, so it seemed like the right time.

I’m still setting up the new computer, but hope to have episode 102 online soon. I copied all of my files from my Dell Dimension 4500 to my external USB hard drive and am now copying them from the USB drive to the HP.

My old Dell from 2002 is still a good computer, but I do a lot of audio editing, image editing, and video editing and this new HP will save me a ton of time. I just performed a test to see exactly how much time I’ll save and the results are even better than I anticipated. On my old Dell, applying noise reduction to a 30-minute audio file takes roughly 14 minutes. I thought that was pretty good. On my new HP, it takes roughly three minutes. Wow.

For those of you who are into computers, I posted unboxing photos and photos comparing my Dell tower to my new HP tower:

Flickr – Unboxing my new HP, NYC 5/17/08

For those of you who are really into computers, here are the specs for my old Dell and new HP:

Dell Dimension 4500 and HP Pavilion Elite m9250f specs – text file

As amazingly fast as this new computer is, there are a few things I like better about my old Dell. The Dell tower was designed so it could be lifted and carried easily. The HP tower wasn’t. The Dell came with a standard keyboard, which I like. The HP came with a multimedia keyboard, which has a slightly different layout. I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts while working, so I notice the fact that certain keys are different sizes and in different places.

This is my first time using Windows Vista. One thing I don’t like about it is that Microsoft changed the audio mixer. The one in Windows 98 and XP was convenient and simple. It was almost perfect. The one in Vista is useless. I’ll probably end up searching for a third-party audio mixer online, but I wouldn’t have to if Microsoft hadn’t ruined it in the first place.

May 13, 2008

Congratulations Frank Edward Nora

Congratulations to our friend, fellow podcaster, and Paunch Stevenson Show guest Frank Edward Nora for posting The Overnightscape episode 700! He’s been doing his show since 2003 and is still going strong.

May 10, 2008

Newspapers Are Obsolete

With TV, radio, and internet access at home, at work, and on mobile phones, what is the point of newspapers? If people want the latest headlines, sports scores, stock prices, and sales, they can turn on the TV, turn on the radio, or visit Yahoo!, CNN, ESPN, or Amazon for free. Yet, millions of people across the U.S. still spend 50 cents every morning to carry around 100-page newspapers, read day-old information, and get ink all over their hands. It doesn’t make sense. The majority of newspaper content is useless advertisements anyway.

Do most individuals use newspapers to sell things anymore? No, they use eBay, Amazon, and Craig’s List. Do they use newspapers to look for jobs anymore? No, they use HotJobs, Monster, and Craig’s List. Even the New York Times crossword puzzle can be downloaded and printed on demand.

Fifty years ago, newspapers were great. They were 1958’s equivalent to the internet. They allowed everyone to have fast access to information, but fifty years later, with our modern alternatives and environmental awareness, do we really need to keep wasting tons of paper, ink, and energy printing newspapers 365 days a year?

May 4, 2008May 23, 2020

Ed Begley and Ted Danson Global Green Expo 2008 Keynote Speeches

As I promised at the end of episode 101, we have photos, video, and audio from Ed Begley, Jr. and Ted Danson’s Global Green Expo 2008 keynote speeches.

Ted Danson photos:
Flickr – Global Green Expo, Jersey City, NJ 4/26/08

Ed Begley, Jr. photos:
Flickr – Global Green Expo, Jersey City, NJ 4/27/08

Ted Danson video: