Author: Joey deVilla

If that’s not enough Slayer for you, I’ve got more:

• Saved by the Bell, Slayer-style
• S is for Slayer
• SAYLER!
• What the new office needs
• A scene from the new office

Miguel Carrasco was one of my go-to guys when I was organizing conferences at Microsoft Canada. Whenever I was looking for someone to present a topic or even act as the host speaker for a session track, his would be one of the names on my short list. He’s a great speaker, he really sinks his teeth into a topic and he’s always willing to help out whenever he can, often going above and beyond what’s required. I’m not surprised that when he got the fitness bug, he immersed himself into it whole-heartedly. His progress has been amazing, from a guy who couldn’t even run past five houses in April, to a guy who does 5K runs regularly.

As I wrote earlier, he started a blog called Smart Ass Fitness, and now he has a podcast. He posted his first Smart Ass Fitness podcast a couple of days ago, and it’s a worthwhile listen for both the message as well as his smooth presentation style. Follow it, then go eat well and get some exercise!

Click here to listen to the podcast.

A friend of the family (who also happens to be my doctor) found out that I love port and sent me these for my birthday. I’ll be sharing this at my party on Saturday. If you’re in town, didn’t see the Facebook invitation and would like to come, drop me a line and I’ll send you details.

Take your People’s Court, Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, Judge Alex, Judge Joe Brown and all those other TV-based small-claims court judges, and drop them. There’s only one judge whose cases you should follow: Judge John Hodgman and his fair, well-considered rulings on minor pressing issues that people bring to him.

Yes, this is the same John Hodgman as in the author of such books as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require and That is All, correspondent on The Daily Show and the “I’m a PC” guy from the old Apple ads. This is his podcast, in which people can bring their disputes to him via Skype, and hilarity ensues.

There are hearings aplenty for courtroom drama aficionados to enjoy. As of this writing, there are 81 podcasts, each one featuring a case that’s a little unusual, but not as “Honey Boo Boo” trashy as the sort you’ll see on similar courts on TV. Judge Hodgman invites the occasional special guest bailiff; Food Network’s Alton “Good Eats” Brown helped out with a mother-daughter dispute about canning preserves, and author Elizabeth “Eat Pray Love” Gilbert is the current guest bailiff, she’s quite witty on the mic.

The most recent case is titled Live Freon or Die, in which a daughter wants her dad to get the air conditioning in his car brought back to working order. They live in Arizona, and she’s worried that the heat poses a danger to him. Her father is part stubborn dad, part MacGyver, and he’d rather use his improvised cooling solutions. How will Judge Hodgman rule? You’ll have to listen to find out.

This guy nails the character of “Seth” from the film Superbad, right down to the open-mouthed nonplussed expression.

For reference:

This article also appears in Global Nerdy.

Oops.

On the bright side, not all their packaging has this oversight: