Author: RedmanProd

Parking

Posted on by RedmanProd

If you own a car one thing you have to contend with is parking. Sometimes there may seem like there is too much, other times like there is far to little. To learn some of the basic facts around parking spaces and why it should be so much easier to find one than it is listen to this short episode.

To read the transcript, review sources, or check the calculations you can down load the transcript here: ⁠https://storage.googleapis.com/boring_facts/BF-0005-Parking.pdf⁠

To learn more about the podcast or suggest a topic visit the podcast webpage here: ⁠https://redmanproductions.com/boring-facts⁠

Paid Time Off

Posted on by RedmanProd

This episode will explore paid time off for employees in the United States. We will look at FMLA (not paid), sick time and vacation time. Find out how much we receive, how much we use, and how it compares to the rest of the world.

For links to the sources used in this episode please see the transcript: ⁠https://storage.googleapis.com/boring_facts/BF-0004-PaidTimeOff.pdf⁠

For more information about this show or to suggest a topic visit: ⁠https://redmanproductions.com/boring-facts

The Minimum Wage

Posted on by RedmanProd

In this episode we will explore the Federal Minimum wage. This is a complex issue and has many nuances but we are going to focus on one primary aspect in this episode and that is how the Federal Minimum Wage has increased over the years and what that looks like when compared to the Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, used by the Social Security Administration to compensate recipients of Social Security for the cost of inflation.
We will answer the questions of what would have happened if the Federal Minimum Wage was tied to COLA.


Show notes and transcript: ⁠https://storage.googleapis.com/boring_facts/BF-0003_MinimumWage.pdf⁠
For more information or to suggest a topic visit: https://redmanproductions.com/boring-facts⁠https://redmanproductions.com/boring-facts

The Electoral College

Posted on by RedmanProd

Every four years in the United States of America we are brought face to face with the unique way that we elect the next President and Vice-President. We use something called the Electoral College.

In this episode I will not be looking at why we have an Electoral College, but instead about how each person in the United States is represented by the electoral college.

Download the transcript and supplementary materials here: https://storage.googleapis.com/boring_facts/BF-0002_The_Electoral_College.pdf 

See a list of all our shows on your favorite podcasting app or here: Boring Facts Episodes

The 50 Year Mortgage

Posted on by RedmanProd

Welcome to the first episode of boring facts. This podcast is dedicated to taking what you hear or read in the news and making it boring.

We take out the drama, the partisanship and the arguments and just present the facts. That’s it. No punditry, no arguments, just plain old boring facts.

In this episode we cover the fifty-year mortgage how it compares to the standard thirty-year mortgage and the less common fifteen-year mortgage.

To suggest a topic for us to make boring contact us here: ⁠https://redmanproductions.com/boring-facts⁠

A transcript and supplemental materials are available here: https://storage.googleapis.com/boring_facts/BF-0001_50YearMortgageShowNotes.pdf

Tell Us A Story Podcast is Live

Posted on by RedmanProd

Our latest project is a Podcast called Tell Us A Story. This podcast is dedicated to the stories that connect us through our shared life experiences as well as the stories that reveal the sometimes stark differences. Only by truly listening to one another can we bridge the gaps that divide us thereby fostering empathy, respect, and kindness with one another.

We believe everyone has a story to tell. Not necessarily and big dramatic story, but maybe a story that, over time, has come to have more and more meaning to those who lived it. Listen now on Spotify or your favorite podcast app.  You can also visit the website.

Meditation Retreat Kit Available for Purchase

Posted on by RedmanProd

We are happy to announce the immediate release of our first meditation retreat kit, Bodhi House Retreat.

This kit is designed to provide you the components you need to hold a meditation retreat in any setting without needing to have an  experienced or designated leader during the retreat.  All it requires is some basic technology such as an smartphone, computer or tablet and a little bit of time planning and formatting your retreat.

The kit is made up of distinct sound files that you can assemble in any order to create the retreat experience that best meets your needs.  There are tracks that announce activities like silent or moving meditation, tracks that announce the length of the upcoming session and even tracks to announce breaks and meal periods.

Some instances where these kits may be helpful include:

  • You are going on vacation and would like to dedicate anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days to silent contemplation.
  • You want to spend a day at home in meditation, but find it hard to stay focused without some guidance.
  • You have a small group that would like to hold a retreat but no one is comfortable leading the retreat.
  • You really need a retreat NOW, but there is nothing close by, affordable, or that meets your schedule.

There are three main components to this kit:

  1. The Basic Retreat Kit. This kit has fewer options and is simpler to organize.  This is perfect for a personal retreat.  Since there are fewer options to choose from it will allow you to create a retreat quickly with minimal effort. This kit contains 18 audio tracks.
  2. The Advanced Retreat Kit.  This kit has more options but requires you to plan out and arrange, in detail, every aspect of the retreat.  This kit offers you maximum flexibility to build a retreat that meets your exact needs and preferences.  It is very important for the person creating the playlist to double and triple check the order of events to ensure they make sense and will flow smoothly for the participants.  This kit contains 64 audio tracks.
  3. Singing Bowl Meditation Timers. These can be used for personal meditation and in conjunction with the retreat kits.  Each of these timers begins with fifteen seconds of silence, then three chimes of a singing bowl, followed by silence and ending with three more singing bowl chimes. These are perfect for your daily meditation practice.  There are tracks for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45 and 60 minute meditations.  These meditation timers may be downloaded separately for free here.

If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us but please allow for up to 48 hours for a response.

Photo by Erik Brolin on Unsplash

French Bread 101: See the video now

Posted on by RedmanProd

Redman Productions is pleased to share with you a sample of our recent project, French Bread 101. In this video we move proofed loaves into the oven and bake them. Then after allowing them to rest we cut into a loaf and give it the all-important taste test. You can almost smell the bread as Marc cuts into it the first time. Marc’s skill as a baker and a teacher shines through as he explains and demonstrates each step of the process clearly and carefully.

This is the last of eight videos in the French Bread 101 course produced for Bakewell Farm. The series was produced as a supplement to Bakewell Farm’s in-person French Bread 101 course. If you want to learn more about how to get the dough oven ready you will need to sign up for their class. Trust us, it is well worth it.

This video was filmed using an overhead camera to help ensure you see the process of bread making just as if you were doing it yourself. You see exactly what Marc is doing through each step of the process. This unique perspective compliments the hands-on aspects of the live class by allowing the student to review the process in detail, pausing and rewinding as needed.  Weeks later when you are trying to remember that special way that Marc kneads the dough, instead of wishing you could remember it, you can instead replay the video of that part of the class.

The filming was done in one day non-sequentially to allow us to keep rolling tape, so to speak, even when we were waiting for dough to rest or rise.  This saved time and allowed us to maintain a consistent energy level and performance throughout the production.

We hope you enjoy this sample of our work and if you have any questions or comments please drop us a note using the contact form.

And yes, we did enjoy the bread that was made that day, but true to the mission of Bakewell Farm, loaves where also shared with others.

Free Meditation Timers

Posted on by RedmanProd

We are proud to offer you these free downloadable meditation timers. Using these timers allows you to have a period of quiet reflection or meditation without having to look at the clock or wonder about time. If you have five minutes but not ten to sit in meditation this will allow you to do just that and still get to work on time, get the kids off to school or be on time for that important meeting at work (yes, you can meditate at work).

These meditations timers are simple MP3 files. You can use them on any computer or device capable of paying back MP3 files such as smart phone, tablet or other MP3 player.

Each track begins with 15 seconds of silence and then a singing bowl is struck three times to start the meditation. What follows is a period of silence the same length as the name of the track. Finally at the end of the silent period the singing bowl is struck three more times.

This is what the singing bowls sound like.


 

Download Now

Sīvali Documentary in Production

Posted on by RedmanProd

Production is underway on the Sīvali documentary.

John Mulligan , ordained as Sīvali, is a Buddhist Upāsaka or “lay disciple” and currently resides in Adams County Pennsylvania.  He has been active in Buddhist Prison Ministry as well as the Director of Bodhi House, a post release housing facility for men reentering society after incarceration. He also actively supports the Buddhist and mindfulness meditation communities of South Central Pennsylvania as the founder and senior teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Gettysburg.

This is just a small glimpse of the story of Sīvali.  There is much more…

We will soon be collecting your stories for possible inclusion in this documentary.

Sīvali sitting in the meditation room at Bodhi House during an interview.