"Wife Swap" Reality Show Seeks Robotics-passionate Family
Ken Gracey
Posts: 7,403
Hello,
Parallax received an e-mail today from the producer of ABC's 'Wife Swap' program. The message:
Sincerely,
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 3/11/2009 9:22:31 PM GMT
Parallax received an e-mail today from the producer of ABC's 'Wife Swap' program. The message:
My name is Matt McLaughlin and I am a Casting Associate Producer for ABC families hit reality show 'Wife Swap.' We are currently casting for our fifth season and we are looking for great families that are passionate about either building robots or using robots in their everyday life.· We pride ourselves on casting a wide array of families…families from all different walks of life who would like the opportunity to educate the viewing audience about their particular parenting philosophy, their beliefs and their way of life.
The premise of Wife Swap is simple: for seven days, two wives from two different families with very different values exchange husbands, children and lives (but not bedrooms) to discover what it's like to live a different family's life. It's an interesting social experiment and a great way to see your family in a whole new light. It is shot as a documentary series, so NO scripts and no set. It's just one camera that is documenting your life.
Here at 'Wife Swap' we look for a two-parent home with at least one child between the ages of 6 and 17 living at home full time.
If you are interested, please email me your contact information and tell me a little about your family. Or if you would like to refer a family, please email me their contact information and I will be in touch.
Thank you!
Matthew McLaughlin
RDF Media USA / Wife Swap
100 6th Avenue, 3rd Floor
Suite 3-29
New York, NY 10013
646.747.7958
casting.matthew@gmail.com
matthew.mclaughlin@castingrdf.com
The premise of Wife Swap is simple: for seven days, two wives from two different families with very different values exchange husbands, children and lives (but not bedrooms) to discover what it's like to live a different family's life. It's an interesting social experiment and a great way to see your family in a whole new light. It is shot as a documentary series, so NO scripts and no set. It's just one camera that is documenting your life.
Here at 'Wife Swap' we look for a two-parent home with at least one child between the ages of 6 and 17 living at home full time.
If you are interested, please email me your contact information and tell me a little about your family. Or if you would like to refer a family, please email me their contact information and I will be in touch.
Thank you!
Matthew McLaughlin
RDF Media USA / Wife Swap
100 6th Avenue, 3rd Floor
Suite 3-29
New York, NY 10013
646.747.7958
casting.matthew@gmail.com
matthew.mclaughlin@castingrdf.com
Sincerely,
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 3/11/2009 9:22:31 PM GMT
Comments
I would agree to participate. Ditto bambino! Ditto! [noparse]:)[/noparse] [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
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New to the Propeller?
Check out: Protoboard Introduction , Propeller Cookbook 1.4 & Software Index
Updates to the Cookbook are now posted to: Propeller.warrantyvoid.us
Got an SD card connected? - PropDOS
A different wife? Think I could get one that would actually cook and clean house for a week? And with the real wife away, think the replacement would let me run my tests in the basement so I don't have to drive to the lab for a week? "Oh, uh, that smell? Oh, that's just ozone. You get that sometimes when high voltage is involved."
I read your response to my wife, and she·took on this evil little laugh and left the room....· Hmmm, I better make sure that I finish some things on my "honey do" list this weekend·or else it's the dog house for me.·
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Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
Now when I come home and everyone is at the table dicussing their woe's of the day, When asked how was my day, I reply
"Blah-Blah-blah" And they are happy with that and talk resumes as normal!
I try not to let it get to me, Hay, I can at least convince myself of some normality by use of this forum!
But not to long ago(maybe still in some parts), Blah-Blah-Blah as an answer to a legitamate question would get you a dose of thorizine and a pretty little room with no windows!
Beside's, TV for entertainment, should be left to professional actors.
@Beau
Maybe we could start our own show........Called Dog swap..............
That Califonia climate would be good for his asthma!
when I'm babbling on about whatever my latest project is. Not interested in trading. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
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New to the Propeller?
Check out: Protoboard Introduction , Propeller Cookbook 1.4 & Software Index
Updates to the Cookbook are now posted to: Propeller.warrantyvoid.us
Got an SD card connected? - PropDOS
Dating tips for engineers. Check it out it is funny.
"When it comes to conversation, think about something that you really want to talk about. And then talk about something else."
I've seen this peace of trash programming... watched it the first time, waiting for the 400 lb. momma to hook up with her new dude and of course the show acts like being married has nothing to do with anything but yelling, yoga, cleaning house, planning meals, and taking care of the kids... come to think of it...
These guys sound pretty desperate and fairly tapped out for new ideas. Maybe you should write them back...
and suggest that for this episode they leave the wives alone and just swap controllers[noparse]:)[/noparse]
Rich
Not sure if I'd swap my controller for week.
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- Stephen
- No dishwasher, tumble drier, waste disposal, juicer or mixer.
- 34 year old refrigerator, 18 year old washing machine, old fashioned sink.
- Vegetables picked from the vegetable garden, except potatoes which don’t grow locally
- No heating (because we don’t need it) and no aircon (which we do need).
- No bath, just a shower. No electric tooth brush.
- Water pumped from the local well. It’s clean and soft. No bottled water.
- Electric power failures most weeks, usually for a couple of hours
- Silence, glorious silence. The noise from the 02:00 am train wakes me as it pulls into the local station a mile away. I’ve heard and responded to a vehicle accident two miles away.
- Four TV channels. Sometimes only one in English (hence the glorious silence). The radio is good though, particularly the Zulu Jazz station
- A house full of books and electronic stuff.
- Hoards of neighbour’s children charging through the house over weekends.
- There are always frogs and lizards in the house, also an occasional snake
Perhaps the greatest shock for her would be my humorous housekeeper/maid called Sarah. She reminds you that housework, washing and ironing are her work. The only work Mlungu (white madam) would be allowed to do is cook. Sara will also cook if asked to but she enjoys using lots of chilli, MSG and corn meal. She also prefers the tougher cuts of 3rd grade beef because they have more flavour. My digestive system can’t handle this sort of food.
Mind you, things are getting better. A mall was opened just 35 miles away two years ago and it has most things you need. There are also three good restaurants as well as a KFC and a Pizza place in the mall.
And its another fine day in Darkest Africa.
John Bond
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You must be living in a wealthy part of Southern Africa.
I just returned from rural East Africa... no electricity, no water systems, no malls, and no medical care. But they do have malaria and taxes... AND thanks to the help of outside contractors, they now have 4 lane dirt roads[noparse]:)[/noparse]
You need to remind Sarah that if her cooking doesn't improve, in a few years, she will be replaced by a microwave oven.
Have you migrated to the Prop yet?
Rich
thanks for the reply. There was a time when there were many Americans in Africa. Everywhere you went you met Peace Corps or ExPat engineers. Now the only ones you see are tourists who never leave their air-conditioned busses and dare not talk to us locals.
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If you have an "African spirit", you would have loved East Africa. The wide open spaces, the clean dry air, the silence. I've ridden a motorbike round a fair chunk of Africa and I really enjoyed Kenya and Tanzania. (In Africa, Hummers and Jeeps just don’t cut it, they can’t handle the roads, let alone the off road travelling)
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My housekeeper Sarah's "best thing" is the microwave. She has her own and she's a wizz at using both hers and mine. She also persuaded me to upgrade my HiFi so she could play her MP3 CDs while she works. Blacks are amazingly techno-friendly. Our 50 million residents own 40 million cell phones. What makes this even more astounding is that 15 million of the 50 million are under 16 years old (and they all own a phone, ever the 6 year olds). Remember that most of there people earn less than US$5 per day.
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By African Standards we in South Africa are well off. In the 80s South Africa made a couple of atomic bombs and a helicopter so dangerous that US congress refused to lift military sanctions until we agreed to scrap the project. South Africa has lots more infrastructure than East Africa, we're probably 3X the per capita GDP of Kenya and close to 4X that of Tanzania. But East Africa is vastly better than the southern part of west Africa. The Congo and Angola are failed states. In Angola during 1976, I used to drive a 300 miles round trip (no Roads, just a track through the bush) once a week to collect beer, bread and supplies.
I've been thinking about the prop. Most of my stuff is quite simple so the SX and the 2p are what I've used till now. I like the idea of using keyboard, mouse and LCD screen.
Kind regards from Kwa Dukuza
John Bond
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I absolutely loved East Africa. Except that I do not enjoy human suffering. The average life expectancy in some of the areas that I visited is about 40, due to endemic disease. On the open market, 10 days worth of anti-malarial medicines cost the equivalent of a teacher's salary for one month. So, the teachers are dying as fast as everyone else.
Everyone was working. So the myth that Africans are lazy is just that... a myth.
I was in the back of a truck one day... the temperature was about 95F and the humidity was so high that the air was more of a plasma than a gas. The guys tossing the 100lb bags of corn didn't break a sweat... and all I could do was sweat and I was just sitting.
After leaving the airport, I did not see a European in Nairobi until the 5th day. On the other hand, the people could not have been more welcoming and friendly. I had the distinct impression that any office would have been open to me. Many of the skilled people seem to be working for international contractors.
As far as I could find out, there is not a single cell phone manufactured in East Africa. Everyone has a cell phone... and two Sim cards. So, it is not as though there is no market[noparse]:)[/noparse]
The wheat crop didn't make it to market this year. The farmers in the North are saying that next year they aren't going to plant wheat. What happens then is anyone's business.
I have some Props laying around... if you PM your details, I'll send you one[noparse]:)[/noparse]
Rich
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You are right to say that life is cheap here. For example, our average life expectancy is 49 Years, mainly due to AIDS. That is back where it was in the 1920s. But don’t compare the African’s life with yours. They are better off generally than they were in 1960 and the pace of progress is accelerating. Technology is having a big impact.
·
This post gives me the opportunity to gently tease you
“And now there is one more American who has shed the belief that the world is flat, starting at New England and finishing at the tip of Alaska. He is now aware that there may be some intelligent life north of the Hudson and south of the Mexican border.”
·
There are no cell phone manufacturers in Africa. South Africa is a leader in Cell Phone infrastructure and cell phone service provider software, but only for third world countries, Africa and ex USSR countries mainly. You would have noticed that even where there was no electricity, there was cell phone coverage. We have three different manufacturers making those units.
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We also make some good beer. I don’t know why we sell you that Millers stuff and keep the good Castle Larger for ourselves
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I wish there was a way to catalogue the HUGE impact America has on the rest of the world. A stupid example is on Saturday, I needed a cap and the only one in our local small town that fitted me was a Chicago White Sox (made in China!!!). We know nothing about baseball but the blacks like the name.
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Thanks for the offer of a Prop. It’s difficult to send stuff because of theft. I would never see it.
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You know what is really funny about your statement. Mine does the same thing, she listens, but only gets blah, blah, blah.
You know what is even funnier than that. She is the PCB paster (Pasty Girl) for the business. She pastes every board assembled by us, and she is really good at it (we use stencils though).
My wife is interested in my projects (and the business), she just doesn't have the background for it. She is mostly lost when I start talking. She does try though. I'm starting her on a Basic Stamp soon. The Propeller was too much.
We have watched the show, and I find it ridiculous. I think if they can't make better programming, they should look for another job. I don't watch TV much, but when I do, I don't watch things like that. I encounter enough idiots in the world every day, why would I want to watch them on TV too (Present company excluded).
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
You misread my text. I was referring to the fact that there are no cell phones manufactured in East Africa. There is a great communications infrastructure, but they are largely buying that infrastructure, not building it. There is cell phone service everywhere... and they use cell phones like we use computers: email, bank transactions, money transfers, paying bills, etc.
The service is owned and operated by East Africans.
Aids is endemic... and as far as I can tell, despite all efforts, it is largely untreated in rural areas.
As Sarah Palin said: "Africa is a big country."
Rich
I have the funny feeling that my other half will take part in the business as well when it get's off the ground.
My TV, Believe it or not, fried on 9-11 when I got home and tried to find out what all the fuss was about! There have since been some replacement set's for the kids and such, but beyond the occasional rented DVD, I have not watched much TV. I think the last series I had any interest in was Knight Rider, Airwolf, and Simon&Simon! Since then the only thing that's come close to catching my attention has been That 70's show and Mash rerun's!
For the record, She got ill about me saying she would not come back! In a world full of technology it's actually kind of nice that our conversations are about something else! Without her I would forget that the world doesn't end when the power goes off!
You are also right on cell phone infrastructure in East Africa, that comes from South Africa
This is due in part because The SA government has descrimatory laws against employing white South Africans so we have to leave the country and find work elsewhere. For example, my family arrived in Africa 361 years ago!!! but there is a law that states I an not African. If there is anyone of colour who has the potential to get my qualifications and experience within the next 5 years, he must be employed in preference to me. 50% of skilled employees must be black. The white Africans are leaving in their millions. Almost 1 million in the States or equal to a quarter of our current white population still in South Africa.
I take it Richie that you read Time Magazine and vote Democrat. (mind you, that was obvious. You seem to be involved in aid somehow)
James, I think not watching TV is one of the traits of members of this forum
Regards this dark and storm night
John Bond
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You know, I hate to show my ignorance, but I didn't know you were going into business.
I only watch Battlestar Galactica (yea I know) and other scifi type stuff.
As for the padded room, I think there will be no bunks, so I get the southeast corner.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
Just a thought, Why didn't they say Hubby swap? or motherInLaw swap?
Hey any chance you may need some PCB assembly??
Can knock a guy for trying to drum up some work.
Phil, I'd rather watch a show that I may learn something, or a program that is so far fiction it doesn't really deal with usual everyday topics (maybe in a gross manner). I spend most of my time working on projects or building my mechanical organ (when not helping customers understand the production side of PCB's).
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
I almost swapped mine for a SX-Key, But She got lucky and I got A SX-Key on the flipflop with a Parallax spring cleaning.!!!
Luck of the Irish!
But I have to say, I'm glad I kept Her., Not only did She make Me a Mean Batch of CORN BEEF&CABBAGE for St Patty's day , But now I really want one of of those OLED displays!
____________________$WMc%____Happy Saint Patrick's day___________
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The Truth is out there············································ BoogerWoods, FL. USA
Post Edited ($WMc%) : 3/18/2009 10:21:19 PM GMT