Bob Richards

In order to boost up enthusiasm a South Korean baseball team known as the Hanwha Eagles, who have lost over 400 games, have made use of robots to fill up the stands. They can shout, raise their hands and lift up light panels which put out encouraging messages to the team down below. No more do the players have to hear to the boos of it's home town crowd, and neither do the few fans that do attend have any concerns about finding a parking spot. The robots are a permanent feature in the seats. Perhaps it's a win-win situation? Could other sport franchises use the same approach? If the robots are considered too costly for other teams to employ they might consider the option of using dummies....or manikins. True they maybe couldn't do as much as the robots. but keep in mind a losing team wouldn't expect to hear much cheering anyway. I'd think this might be good for one of the professional NHL hockey teams close to me in the city of Toronto..."The M...

One can cite so many examples of how so many are only about "Me, Me, Me, Me, I And Mine". My wife and I recently took a trip to one of our country's beautiful northern Ontario towns. We enjoyed our stay immensely although there can always be some small something that works away to steal your contentment. Our hotel had created a nice scenic park in the back with picnic tables, a couple of barbeques plus  four very nice comfortable Muskoka chairs all for the guests to use. We arrived early for check in and saw the four chairs in the hotel park. Some time later I look out the window and see only two where there once was four. I walk outside and discover a guest  had taken two of them of out of the park entirely and put them beside their sliding glass doors adjacent to their room. I thought, how wonderful and how very considerate. How they could possibly consider it fair to any degree that they'd  view it their right to use  th...

Have you ever marvelled at just how self-centred a great many individuals  can be? It's been said the most used word in speech is the word, "I". I'm sure you've encountered people to whom you've considered must feel all revolves around them. Concerning such ones, it's all about me, me, me, me, I and mine. You wonder why can't they see beyond just the whatever effecting their own existence.   It may be about whole nations who can't see anything beyond their own ambitions or it may just be one singular individual themselves. Take for example the old line I'm sure many have heard throughout their lives, the statement like, "It's been so long since I've ever seen you! Don't be absent next time for remember I'm just a phone call away!" Did they ever stop to consider when  they called  last? And yet they seem to consider it appropriate to place the onus on you as the one who somehow has been the chief one re...

Well I see there's a new Planet of the Apes film out. If I see it I'm always hoping they'll include one of the human characters shouting out the old  Heston line from the sixties, "It's a mad house!" in my opinion one of the most classic movie lines of all time! Apparently the events of this latest film "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" begins 10 years after the story of the last film. The whole army of apes and chimps who adequately won their last contest  with humanity  have since made their abode in the forests outside of San Francisco. It actually makes me wonder why they didn't just lay claim to one of the technologically advanced human cities? Should we believe they wouldn't find appealing some of the great modern conveniences such as cars, roads and air conditioning? Why be sweltering in the forests in all that heat?   Andy Serkis who plays the lead chimp Caesar, at Oscar time probably will deserve the actor of th...

    Have you ever noticed how through the many years what a great over play there's been on what's defined as the profane term, "Son-Of-A- B " ??? See there? To state what the " B " word is I've chosen to spare you the offense...Regardless...You know what it means.  I got to thinking however just how very unfair it is, that is to the Son-Of-A-No-Good-Lady  or the son of a woman of the evening. A lady of the evening? Let me put it this way....it's another way of saying prostitute. "B" can also mean a female dog. Two things not fair. Why should the female be the one portrayed as the not so good? What about the individuals that sought her out? How come it's not, "You-Son-Of-A-Sleazy-Patroniser!" Women's Lib? Where are you when needed? Let's start a movement!         And then the son of the said individual....why should he or she be made to feel less of their existence as compared to the son or dau...

        What am I stirred up about? Coffee! I mean Canadian coffee or rather buying coffee from what's known as the most successful coffee chain in the country...Tim Hortons. If you've followed the latest news, and most likely you've been aware of it a long time....Tim Horton's plus not to mention many other same type businesses have had the practise of employing temporary foreign workers. [TFW'S]What that essentially means it's  taking jobs away from Canadians and in my opinion exploiting TFW'S and paying them a non liveable wage. Apparently this has come front and centre as a news item simply for the reason the Canadian government is wanting to cut the allowable numbers down from about 30% to 10%. Apparently the CEO from Tim Horton's has expressed his concern. It's top executive says Canada’s recent crackdown on hiring temporary foreign workers must be flexible if the nation’s biggest coffee merchant is to remain fully staffed. ...