Category Archives: Random thoughts

Distracted By The Cracker: The Real Point Of Soylent Green

Posted on January 10, 2022 by ricbret

This article was originally written almost exactly two years ago. So much irony, so little time. UPDATE: Shortly after I wrote this, my friend and Fanboy Planet editor Derek McCaw asked if he could run it there as well. Well … Continue reading →

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The Digital Dissolve…

Posted on July 1, 2019 by ricbret

Put another one on the list, and this time it’s significant. I’m talking about e-books. Particularly your rights and ownership of “your copy.” That’s confusing, I know, but bear with me. The short of it is that Microsoft will be … Continue reading →

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Why I Judge Books by Their Cover

Posted on April 17, 2018 by ricbret

Book Judgement is someplace where I can review and express my love for the manufacture of books, the binding, typography… Continue reading →

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How Many PowerPoints in the World?

Posted on August 9, 2017 by ricbret

“How much PowerPoint is there in the world?” Does it matter? Should be bother trying to figure it out? And who does it help in the end? Continue reading →

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The Dark Tower – Defending the Rose

Posted on August 6, 2017 by ricbret

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
Probably the best opening line in literature. Yeah, better than Call me Ishmael.
(Seriously Ishmael, I was just asking you for a name to write on your coffee cup!) Continue reading →

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Some music just moves me…

Posted on July 9, 2016 by ricbret

If my life generated a musical soundtrack, I’d want this piece to play at least once a day… Continue reading →

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Finally, I’m Sold on Microsoft Office Subscriptions

Posted on November 13, 2015 by ricbret

I’ve been looking forward to writing this article for a couple of weeks now, ever since I got a sneak preview of things to come in the PowerPoint program. It’s not particularly hard for me to keep a secret, but it’s much more fun to share…
Continue reading →

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Is GMC In on the Joke?

Posted on June 2, 2015 by ricbret

Allow me to digress. Have to admit that I will listen to a song whose lyrics I don’t necessarily like if it’s got a good beat and I can dance to it. Well, maybe just a good beat, kicky riff, … Continue reading →

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They Called Me Spock

Posted on February 27, 2015 by ricbret

I admired Nimoy for this, and followed his career unflinchingly through everything from Mission Impossible to Fringe. And of course I enjoyed all his characters, as well as whatever speaking engagements I was able to attend, and his writing. But it they never spoke to me like Spock. Continue reading →

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Design vs. Fashion vs. User

Posted on October 24, 2014 by ricbret

I found myself rereading parts of Richard Saul Wurman’s Information Anxiety this afternoon. Last week at Presentation Summit I gave a talk on the Pecha Kucha format. Pecha Kucha is a form of presentation using exactly 20 slides, with each slide advancing automatically after 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Audience, Books, Business, Design, Entertainment, Geeking around, History, Media, Personal, Presentations, Presenting, Random thoughts, Technology, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Did I say there was confusion…?

Posted on September 22, 2014 by ricbret

New prank to get people to destroy their own brand new iPhones is apparently working, reinforcing my prior column about how marketing needs to better explain what wireless charging is really all about. Continue reading →

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Considering the Blue Pill…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by ricbret

Sure, and there’s stuff you can do with digital that you could never do with physical media. I travel with hundreds of books in my backpack. I can choose what movie I want to watch on the plane. Mix tape from 100’s of albums when and where I want? Sure, I’m future boy!

It’s all upside, right? What could be wrong? But about this time in any SyFy movie, you know the foreboding music is about to rise and everything you’ve been enjoying is about to turn on you. Continue reading →

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Wireless… Not Really.

Posted on September 6, 2014 by ricbret

Looking at the otherwise seductive Moto 360, I’m struck by the beauty of the watch and the confusion it represents. Its charger is labeled “wireless” which is mismanaged marketing of what is more correctly known as inductive charging.  Inductive charging means … Continue reading →

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Just checking in…

Posted on August 19, 2014 by ricbret

Why wear two watches? And why don’t they tell the same time? A bit of a puzzle of course.

Posted in Personal, Random thoughts, Thoughts, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing | Leave a comment

Swallow the red pill…

Posted on August 7, 2014 by ricbret

As you may already know from prior posts, as well as producing the weekly podcast, I often write for a website called Fanboy Planet. Fanboy Planet reports on all the silly and serious aspects of being a fan in this … Continue reading →

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Take the Red Pill…

Posted on July 26, 2014 by ricbret

As well as producing the weekly podcast, I often write for a web site called Fanboy Planet. Fanboy Planet reports on all the silly and serious aspects of being a fan in this modern day. Being involved in fannish media is … Continue reading →

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Open Letter to Michael Bay

Posted on January 7, 2014 by ricbret

Dear Michael Bay I watched you get messed up by Samsung’s presentation support staff at CES yesterday. You’re probably aware that it’s all over the net now, likely a skit on SNL this weekend and maybe you’ll make The Daily … Continue reading →

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Calming Down the Grandpa in Office 2013

Posted on January 19, 2013 by ricbret

I got a lot of good feedback on The First Thing to Do to Your New PowerPoint 2013, thanks and wow – happy to help. So OK, here’s the second thing you should do after you install Office 2013.  It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Design, Geeking around, Health and wellness, Personal, PowerPoint, Presentations, Random thoughts, Software, Thoughts | 6 Comments

The Facebook Face Flip

Posted on November 13, 2012 by ricbret

This is not a political post, although a quick reading without comprehension will surely give some that impression. Trust me, and read on. I was reading this evening about how you can actually see people “unliking” Mitt Romney’s Facebook page … Continue reading →

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GoPayment Vs. Square – One More Thing, One Less Thing…

Posted on March 6, 2012 by ricbret

I signed up for Intuit’s new GoPayment card system yesterday. Thought I’d share a few thoughts. GoPayment is a way for regular folks to take credit card payments from other regular folks using your cell phone or tablet.  It’s advertised … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Geeking around, Personal, Random thoughts, Software, Technology, Thoughts, Uncategorized | 17 Comments