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Hosted by Jared Correia, Legal Late Night is a weekly, pop culture-infused romp through the latest & greatest business management ideas and technology tips for lawyers, featuring engaging guests, and constructed in the format of an old school television variety show.
Jared Correia (00:00):
Hello everybody. We've got a show that promises to be at least mildly interesting for your listening, watching enjoyment. I'm your host, Jared Correia. I'm the CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting. For my monologue. I'm talking about the new AI enabled browsers in the interview. It's Ruby Powers, the Powers Law Group and Powers Strategy Group. That's a lot of powers in the counter program. We're back trying to figure out the prices of some of the craziest shit you can buy online. Now, let's talk about those new AI enabled web browsers. It's what the AI is telling me I should do.
(00:45):
It seems as if there's always something new coming out in the world of artificial intelligence, and that's because it's true. There always is. Generative AI chat bots have been used as a basis for building custom gpt, and now AI has made its way into web browsers. It was only a matter of time, I suppose. Both open ai, the creator of chat, GPT, and the granddaddy of modern AI and perplexity on AI based search engine have recently released new AI enabled browsers. Atlas's Chat GT's tool initially available for the Mac and perplexity is launched, come available for Mac, windows, and Android. Of course, this is only the first wave in the new War of AI versus everything else. It's only a matter of time until Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox and all the rest too become AI enabled browsers. The prospect is just too delicious.
(01:48):
Browsers can become a great nesting doll for artificial intelligence tools since your browser is where you retain all of your web-based work, which is kind of all of your work, and thus, AI can be deployed onto every product you use and open up in your browser, which is again, kind of all of your products at this point. That means that you can create agents within and across different programs as long as those are open to your browser, the possibilities are literally endless. The use cases, staggeringly large, that all sounds great, but with every AI-based advance, as with pretty much every web-based technology advance before it, there remains the great push and pull of convenience slash efficiency versus data security slash client confidentiality. That's no different in this context, but the issue is exacerbated here. Think about how you generally use your browser. You've got all your tabs open, exposing client or confidential data across a vast number of platforms, including your email slash productivity software, your case management slash law practice management software, as well as other relational databases, your customer relationship management slash intake software, your project management slash task management software, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
(03:14):
There's a lot more that's all exposed if you open an AI enabled browser and log in to each or any of those platforms. So one immediate question is do you use a browser like this at all? A follow-up question is if you do, do you log into all your softwares? Maybe you don't open your email or your case files or your intake files or any combination thereof pending vetting of those systems as well as your analysis of the data captured in each of those tools. You may not want to operate full bore in an AI enabled environment on the web. However, there are use cases where you might take marketing, for example. You like to don't have sensitive data in your LinkedIn account, at least I hope you know if so, what the fuck are we doing here? So could you use an AI enabled browser to help you to generate posts and track their effectiveness?
(04:16):
Sure. I mean, you could do that on regular LinkedIn, but you could do it as an agent using an AI enabled browser, or could you have an AI enabled browser assist you with an outreach campaign? Yeah, probably. What about administrative tasks? Could you have an AI enabled browser assist you in developing robust stage workflows for non substantive processes? Of course, heck, you may be able to do the same thing for substantive processes, assuming specific client data doesn't creep in. Of course, the real magic of AI enabled browsers happens when you can use all of your tools in conjunction with each other and lawyers should continue to explore reasonably secure use cases for doing just that. Expanding the universe of tools implicated within AI enabled browsers based on continual vetting and experimenting. Next up, speaking of vetting and experimenting, I vetted a guest for you and now we're going to experiment with a conversation. It's Ruby Powers a Powers law group and Powers Strategy Group. Law and Strategy you say sounds like a winning combination and I don't think I can keep you waiting a moment longer, so let's get to it.
(05:35):
Well, I've effectively run out of things to say, which is awkward because this is a podcast and it's only really just starting. So I'm going to practice this Buster Keaton silent movie routine I've been working on and you can watch now. I'm just fucking with you. That does sound amazing, but it's probably better to avoid serious injury to myself. So let's keep my ACL intact and we'll get to our interview instead. I have a real treat for you all today. It's the one and only Ruby Powers who's the owner of both the Powers Law Group and Powers Strategy Group and probably a million other things. Ruby, welcome to the show. How you doing?
Ruby Powers (06:16):
I'm pretty good. How are you doing church?
Jared Correia (06:18):
I mean, how do you do all this stuff? You got like 50 businesses, it's impressive.
Ruby Powers (06:21):
No, it is a lot less than that, but I don't know. I get asked this all the time and I'm like, I might need to write a book about this. I'm not sure. But it involves a lot of time management, a lot of coffee, a lot of delegation, a lot of not doing stupid stuff that just fills your day unnecessarily, having a little commute or if I do try to multitask and don't cook a lot, stuff like that,
Jared Correia (06:50):
Not cooking. There you go. That's the key. I'm right there with you. I'm like, you know what? Dinner tonight will be, I dunno, a sleeve of Oreos. That sounds great. Now, do you work in an office still or do you work from
Ruby Powers (07:04):
Home? Yeah, I'm actually in an office right now.
Jared Correia (07:06):
Good for you.
Ruby Powers (07:09):
The other business besides those two you mentioned is I have a LLC that bought the building that I rent my law firm, the building to my law firm. So I'm in a building that I own. So it's fun. I love it. It's a cute little house and I have plants and I called it and I asked Chad, GBT, how many trees do you need to have to call it an orchard of fruit trees? And so it told me that I can have about six or seven and call it an orchard. So I'm like, okay, I have a law firm orchard.
Jared Correia (07:40):
Well, if chat GBT says it's right, it must be right. If
Ruby Powers (07:43):
They say it's so then it must be right. Exactly. We can rely on the veracity.
Jared Correia (07:48):
That's really cool. You got your own little estate.
Ruby Powers (07:51):
Yeah, 5,000 square feet.
Jared Correia (07:53):
So I feel like I've known about you for years and then we never met in 15, 20 years and then all of a sudden I see you everywhere. We're at every conference together. You might've been in my backyard last night, I don't know.
Ruby Powers (08:13):
Oh, you saw me?
Jared Correia (08:14):
Yeah. I just find it funny that all of a sudden we talked four or five different times.
Ruby Powers (08:20):
Yeah,
Jared Correia (08:21):
So one thing
Ruby Powers (08:22):
I want to I know, and then
Jared Correia (08:23):
Go ahead.
Ruby Powers (08:24):
I was hanging out with a friend last week in Nashville and she's like, yeah, this guy named Jaron. I hung out with him in Boston. I was like, yeah, I was on a panel with him a month ago.
Jared Correia (08:34):
I'm everywhere
Ruby Powers (08:35):
In Boston.
Jared Correia (08:36):
I was in your orchard picking citrus. Let me ask you this, I find this to be interesting. So I've run into you and every time I've run into you, you've had a new piece of swag to offer Cups, stickers, glasses, belts, t-shirts, hats. It's impressive. How do you keep so well stocked? This is like, I don't do this very well. I've tried the swag thing before, but then I will have a box of swag and leave it at home. How do you keep your swag game on point to the level that you do?
Ruby Powers (09:12):
Well, you're exaggerating what of my capabilities, but I appreciate it. I pretty much only have pens and hand sanitizers. I got the little cute sanitizers and I put a little sticker on them and then I have some mugs and a few books, but at the conference I saw you, I was trying to figure out how many books can I put in a carryon because my book is like 713 pages. It's almost four pounds or something insane. That's insane. Insane. And I know I regret it now, but anyway. And so I think about four is how many I can cram in my carryon and still have enough clothing to wrap my body around for a couple of days at a conference. But the hand sanitizers got me in trouble the other day because I had too many, and so they made me check in my bag and I was like, are you kidding me? Anyway,
Jared Correia (10:06):
I had no idea you had written Finn Against Wake basically. It's very impressive. All right, let me ask you this.
Ruby Powers (10:13):
I also put some font size at a decent size so people over 40 can read it, so that was a little bit
Jared Correia (10:20):
Oh,
Ruby Powers (10:20):
I appreciate that for myself. Yeah, I know. I appreciate it myself too.
Jared Correia (10:23):
Well, that's my new thing. I tell people whenever I go to a restaurant I can't read, I need the large font checks now I have no idea what to tip anymore. I'm like, did I just tip like a hundred bucks? What am I doing?
Ruby Powers (10:38):
True.
Jared Correia (10:39):
Alright, so let me ask you about the conference thing. So there's a lot of conferences out there way more than there has ever been. I think you're right. You could probably go to a conference every week if you wanted to
Ruby Powers (10:52):
Really wanted to.
Jared Correia (10:54):
From a strategy perspective, how do you choose which ones to go to for what businesses? What does that look like for you?
Ruby Powers (11:03):
Oh, good question. Well, and I think you're right because 8:00 AM had their first conference Kaleidoscope, and I didn't go at the last minute. That's when I would've seen you in person
Jared Correia (11:15):
For the first time,
Ruby Powers (11:15):
September for the first time, but missed opportunity there. And then Case Status had their client experience CX in Charleston. I did go to that and speak at that, and that was their first time. Let's see, so I go to legal tech conferences and law practice management type things and I'm often getting invited to immigration conferences to talk about law practice management
(11:44):
Topics. I think my strategy is if it checks off multiple boxes, if there's an opportunity to speak, if there's opportunity to either do a podcast interview, an opportunity to connect with other thought leaders or prospective consultees, I really think about that. Even like TLTF is coming up in Austin in November, and that's a little bit different in experience than some of these other conferences that we were talking about. But yeah, I really have to check a few boxes off because otherwise I'm missing work at the office and really the more I can do consultations, that's sort of my best use of time, my highest and best use of time for the law firm. But it is challenging being pulled in two directions right now between the two major businesses.
Jared Correia (12:39):
Hey, you got a lot going on. I feel like it's kind of a blessing to have the name Powers. I've always fantasized, what if my name was Max Power? I would be able to do some amazing branding shit.
Ruby Powers (12:51):
So I went to college in Austin and I loved Austin, but I was like, crap UT or someplace else and I was like, well, crap, I can't name my kid. Austin Powers can't do that. You could. I can him from that even though probably not everyone would get it. But anyway, but my sister named her son Austin, but she has a different last name. So anyway, and then when we named our son Rex and then I Googled it, there's a puppet cartoony thingy named Rex Powers. And so anyway, and then, okay, fun fact, there's a drag queen named Ruby Powers. So I mean as long as I it in really, I did
Jared Correia (13:38):
Not know that
Ruby Powers (13:39):
There's any confusion, but we can coexist on this planet together.
Jared Correia (13:45):
Brett's Powers is great though. That's like a bond villain. I love that.
Ruby Powers (13:48):
Know it's a fun name. Actually at the airport recently, the TSA guy was like, is that your real name? He was like, it's like a short for something. I'm like, Nope, that's it.
Jared Correia (13:59):
I'm so jealous. Now as you've got an immigration law firm that you're actively running actively
Ruby Powers (14:05):
Currently,
Jared Correia (14:06):
Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Ruby Powers (14:07):
Well, I graduated in 2008 in the heat of the Great Recession I got laid off. Oh yeah,
Jared Correia (14:15):
Good times.
Ruby Powers (14:17):
Got laid off twice in 2009. Started my law firm November, 2009, so it's 16 years old and basically kept expanding. The good thing is I knew I wanted to do immigration, so I did every internship and law clerkship and even worked for the committee on Homeland Security before I even went to law school and the international student office at UT during nine 11 actually. So I had always had a passion for immigration between languages, cultures and perspective and traveling and living abroad. So I hit the ground running and keep expanding and just diversifying, but it's full service, which means we do everything from family based, employment based humanitarian asylum, victims of crime, immigration court, and we actually added federal litigation a few years ago for cases that were taking too long and now we're about to include habeas for cases for clients that are being detained.
Jared Correia (15:16):
Awesome. And I just did a quick little math and if you were at UT in,
Ruby Powers (15:21):
Oh, you did math nine 11,
Jared Correia (15:23):
You took some time off before you took some time off before
Ruby Powers (15:26):
Lost, yeah, yeah. So actually
Jared Correia (15:29):
What'd you do in between
Ruby Powers (15:30):
I in the gap year between high school and college, but then I still graduated faster than a lot of my classmates because I had so many courses as IPT out of and tested out of. I was a exchange student to Belgium between high school and college and then after ut I worked in DC for a little while. We were there during that whole sniper shooting crazy thing.
Jared Correia (15:54):
Oh yeah, it was crazy.
Ruby Powers (15:56):
And the creation of DHS and all of that, but I also did a year in Barcelona as a rotary ambassador scholar, so I did a little gap between high school and college and a little bit between college and law school.
Jared Correia (16:14):
A lot of crazy shit going on right now.
Ruby Powers (16:17):
Understatement.
Jared Correia (16:18):
Is this the wildest time ever to be practicing immigration law or is it like it's a Tuesday?
Ruby Powers (16:28):
I will say I think it's one of the craziest times. I was at a conference recently and they had, raise your hand if you've been practicing this long, this long, this long. And I was like, oh my gosh, I'm towards the second ladder more practicing the knot in the room. There were some crazy times, I think with something around 2001 and during that time or amnesty in the eighties, but I think for the majority of people practicing, this is the craziest time we've ever seen. So it's constant change in the last several months. I don't know, four or 500 actual policy changes. It's not like there's actual laws being passed. There might only have been one. I think the Lake and Riley maybe that was the only one. But then there's a lot of stuff that goes to the Supreme Court, a lot of federal litigation and then there Oh yeah, the whole birthright citizenship. I mean, I was about to have to learn which state acknowledged which definition of birthright. I don't know. I don't want to have to do that, but anyway. Yeah, crazy times.
Jared Correia (17:32):
So you mentioned the habeas stuff. That sounds like it's a direct response to what's happening
Ruby Powers (17:37):
Right now. It's
Jared Correia (17:38):
That you would be working
Ruby Powers (17:38):
On that. Yeah, we're evolving. We added mandamus filings three years ago because of all the cases that were taking so long. For example, an affirmative asylum, you're fleeing horrible bad things and your asylum, they were pending since 2016, 2015. They were like eight or nine years. So we started filing mandamus for those and getting those interviews scheduled and results. And then just recent. So because of that, I'm admitted to every district court in Texas and we've done hoc viche with lots of states in the country with a lot of practitioners in other states, but now we're going to start filing habeas for unlawful detention. And a case recently in the last what month and a half said that many people are not eligible for a bond if they're detained in immigration. And so we're challenging that. Yeah, so we have to evolve and adapt our practice areas. We're also depending on what's happening at the time of this comes out, but there's government shutdown down and that affects the practice of law as well.
Jared Correia (18:51):
Yeah, I'm glad immigration attorneys and other attorneys are out there kind fighting the good fight here.
Ruby Powers (18:57):
Yeah, we're living off of caffeine and hope and positive vibes. Yeah,
Jared Correia (19:05):
Good, good. Keep it up. All right. On your business management stuff, you got a law firm. Your son is a bond villain. You got a lot going on.
Ruby Powers (19:18):
Can't he be a
Jared Correia (19:19):
Hero,
Ruby Powers (19:19):
A bond hero
Jared Correia (19:22):
Now? He's definitely a bond villain. So why would you be, let me open up a management consulting firm also,
Ruby Powers (19:30):
Let me give you a little background on that. I wrote a book about law practice management for the American Immigration Lawyers Association 2019. Basically, I was writing all these articles for different things and I was like, why don't I put it in a book? And also it was really inspired by the Jay Berg's book about law practice management. So anyway, I put that together. Then I was like, you know what? People don't always read no offense to people, but why don't we learn different?
Jared Correia (20:01):
That's one of the reasons we're in this current predicament. People don't read.
Ruby Powers (20:05):
So I was like,
Jared Correia (20:05):
Read something
Ruby Powers (20:06):
People, how about I produced this information in different avenues? And so then I started doing, during the pandemic happened, I did these little zoom retreats for two days and it was like, how are we going to get through this? And then I just did what monthly webinars and then I was like, I should do a podcast because that's another way to digest information. And then I wrote another book about law practice management. Where are answering your question is I realized I needed,
Jared Correia (20:37):
You got two books under your belt for law practice management at this
Ruby Powers (20:40):
Point time. And the second one was really about all their practice types. And I added more chapters and post pandemic world as well. But the reason why I started that second business was because I realized it was sort of like a hobby that needed to turn into a business. I was doing all these things, but I needed to get it organized. And so it's providing different services in that space to help people through their journey of having a law firm.
Jared Correia (21:08):
So what kind of services are you
Ruby Powers (21:10):
Offering there?
Jared Correia (21:12):
If I was an attorney who was listening and I wanted help with that,
Ruby Powers (21:15):
So there's consulting, there's the school community, S-K-O-O-L has a power hub. We have also the podcast Power Up Your Practice. We have the power up practice, the book, and then we're coming out with some masterminds and retreats in person retreats in 2026. So that's what we're working on right now. But we want to delay the groundwork with the book and the podcast and some of those remote classes. So it's a little bit of everything, meeting people where they are and having had my practice for 16 years, and I say jokingly, I've had this job for a really long time, but part of it is that I'm asking lots of questions. I talk to a lot of other people with their practices and even with the podcast, I interview so many people and I learned so much. Oh, I forgot to mention, I also teach a law class about law practice management. And so when I do that, yeah,
Jared Correia (22:11):
Sure, why the fuck not?
Ruby Powers (22:14):
So when I do that, whatever, I mean it's giving me a lot of excitement because I'm trying to give them the late breaking information. I get guests to come speak to my class, and so I'm in this fun ecosystem between the conferences, the consults, the class, the podcast, and the speeches I do on a regular basis.
Jared Correia (22:36):
So what made you do the retreats? I fucking hate retreats. Why do you hate them? Just between me and you, why hate them? And now anyone who's listening, I just can't stand them. They're awful. People ask me to run retreats all the time. I'm like, no, thanks. Hard pass.
Ruby Powers (22:49):
I've seen so much value when you get out of the day to day and you can just sort of connect and with a higher purpose of what you're trying to accomplish and sort of get rid of all the sound and the noise. That's the reason why, and I think sometimes you just need the auto correct. You just sort of need a readjustment of where are you going? And so I think firm retreats or even just going to one with other law firm owners or business owners, I love that. And I mean it really resonated during the pandemic when I did those two day virtual ones. It's just that logistically trying to, I'm building up to that space, but I wanted to lay the groundwork with the podcast and the book in a way, it's like these conferences are sort of like retreats, depends on how you define it. You're getting away from your normal job. You're meeting with a lot of other people, you're sharing ideas. Even just bumping in the elevator or at the party or whatever. You're making connections. I always come back so enthusiastic about, wait, we should try this or Did you know about this? My team's usually a little overwhelmed by me when I come back, but
Jared Correia (23:56):
I just want to watch horrifying camping videos on Netflix's what I want to do. Yeah, it's a thing. I don't think I could ever go camping podcast. That podcast. No. This is precisely why I don't go camping. In terms of the podcast, it sounds like that was an outgrowth of the business management stuff, but what does that look like? Are you interviewing people? Are you monologuing? Is it a little bit of both?
Ruby Powers (24:23):
I don't do talk
Jared Correia (24:23):
To people about that in case they're
Ruby Powers (24:25):
Interested. You do the monologuing at the beginning, but I like your format. I might start doing that. Me too. I mostly interview, so in about anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes the conversation of who are they a little bit on, what do they do? We try to have a theme that we talk about, I don't know, digital marketing or how AI is transforming their business, which we have a lot of legal tech, so I have to niche that down a lot because I talked to a lot of legal tech people, but, and then we started to close it up and then I asked some fun questions and how can they can stay in touch with them. And so hopefully there's a good value to the listeners in that space. But I enjoy it selfishly. I ask a lot of questions. I'm interested in myself, and I always get a lot of value from it.
Jared Correia (25:16):
What do you finding with the students in law school now? Are they like, I'm just here. I didn't know what else to do. Are they really invested in practicing? What do they think about ai? What are your thoughts on
Ruby Powers (25:33):
That? I don't see them less invested than prior years. I've been teaching for six semesters now, but what I will say is the evolution of AI in those six semesters, so let's say three years. We didn't talk about AI that much the first semester. Then the second one, it was like, oh my God, I want to tell you about this. And they were like, what is that? And then the third and the fourth, they're like, Ooh, they're using it more. And they're like, now they're teaching me a little bit, but for the most part, not that much. Usually what it is is they're still a little afraid and depending on the professors, they're being told to not use it or what have you. There's some that's fucking
Jared Correia (26:14):
Nuts. There's some
Ruby Powers (26:15):
Guard rails That's
Jared Correia (26:16):
Crazy.
Ruby Powers (26:16):
And I forgot what I saw. Oh my gosh. I didn't go to CLE Con, but I saw a lot of the LinkedIn and the Post and the interviews and the articles and stuff. But it was something like, I think Ed Walter said something to somebody after listening to the Richard Suskin keynote and just how important it is for us to be teaching the students how to use it and what their new role is going to be. And so after I listened to all of that, my speech to my students after CLE Con, even though I wasn't there, I was like, you guys realize this is happening, right? Richard Suskin like a GI could happen the next five years. We need to prepare for it. Even if it doesn't happen, we need to be prepared. And then they're like, so what are you saying? We should be worried we shouldn't finish our degree. I was like, that's not what I'm saying. Don't get me in trouble with administration or anything of the school
Jared Correia (27:07):
To walk out class.
Ruby Powers (27:09):
But I'm saying, you need to not put your head in the stand. You need to be paying attention to this. I'm bringing these amazing guests to the class, and I mean, they're getting excited about it, but it's a muscle and the more I go out there, even to attorneys, a lot of them are haven't experimented or they're afraid. I saw this one friend recently at a conference. He was sitting in a room and there the conference is going on and he was like, I have to crank out this motion because of blah, blah, blah. I was like, well, did you use any AI tools? She's like, well, I don't really use those. I was like, dude, use something so that you don't have to sit all this time in this room and you can go out and enjoy the conference anyway. I think
Jared Correia (27:53):
Lawyers love nothing more than to be passed by. They love it.
Ruby Powers (27:58):
I think that we have to come together as a legal profession in the education space, and I know there's some really amazing professors that are at law schools that are given the ability to talk about these things, or there's a whole department or program in Oklahoma and Vanderbilt with Cat Moon and a lot of other places that they have these programs. But it really made me think we need to be teaching this more wholeheartedly. My class is law practice management. I feel like I have 28 hours, literally 28 hours, 14 weeks of two hours to teach the most practical lessons possible that they probably are getting minus a clinic they might be in, and I feel like it's such a tall order for me to have to cover so much, and AI is only literally one or two hours of all of that.
Jared Correia (28:50):
Right? Right. I'm finding the same thing that attorneys aren't using it as aggressively as they could be. I hope it
Ruby Powers (28:57):
Changes. I hope it changes too.
Jared Correia (29:00):
This was fun. Do you want to hang around and do one more segment? Sure. Okay. We're going to jump into that next. Hang in everybody. All right, everybody. Welcome back. That's right. It's time for the Counter program. It's a podcast within a podcast. This is a conversational space where I can address usually unrelated topics. I want to explore at a greater depth with my guests. Expect no rhyme and very little reason. Ruby, I just want to confirm you have no idea what's happening right now, right?
Ruby Powers (29:36):
I think that's true. I tried to research in advance, but I don't.
Jared Correia (29:41):
It is funny. Sometimes people are like, do you script any of this stuff? And I'm like, no, I don't. We just blow
Ruby Powers (29:47):
Out. I know out know you like surprises, but I don't know what the surprise is. I love
Jared Correia (29:50):
Surprises. Well, we're going to be doing a recurring segment that I like. This will be the third time we're running it. Have you ever visited the website? This is why I'm broke.com.
Ruby Powers (30:01):
No, you're
Jared Correia (30:02):
Doing it now. This is great content. Let's watch Ruby go to the site. So it's a great website,
(30:11):
So it's basically list of all kinds of crazy shit that you can buy. They label themselves the internet mall, so it's a tremendous way to run down your bank account. They also have great product descriptions. What I like best about the site is all the crazy product descriptions, so we're bringing back this recurring segment with you that I call just How broke am I? I'm going to tell you a name of a product on the site, read the description. I may or may not have purchased it, and all you have to do is tell me how much you think it costs. I'll even give you options,
Ruby Powers (30:45):
So it's like the price is right or something like that in a way, or forgot
Jared Correia (30:49):
Which one. Yeah, if we want to get sued, it's not at all. The price is right
Ruby Powers (30:55):
Jk.
Jared Correia (30:55):
It's like something else entirely said that I just invented. Alright. I am going to share with you my screen and I'll try not to fuck this up, but Evan can edit it on the backside. I think I did it right. Okay, here we go. Can you see my screen?
Ruby Powers (31:13):
Yeah. Whoa.
Jared Correia (31:15):
This is the toothpick.
Ruby Powers (31:19):
Oh, it's a toothpick.
Jared Correia (31:20):
Let me read the description. It is a toothpick. Crossbow declare war on your fellow cubicle mates by launching little projectiles at them using the toothpick crossbow. It measures just under five inches long so you can conceal it, making it ideal. In terms of size for firing small projectiles like toothpicks and Q-tips, I'm definitely firing toothpicks, not Q-tips because I am cruel.
Ruby Powers (31:53):
They could be lethal probably if you hit the right angle,
Jared Correia (31:56):
If you hit somebody in the eye or something. Yeah, definitely. Do you want to take a guess at how much the toothpick crossbow? I can also give you options to choose from.
Ruby Powers (32:09):
Okay. Why don't you give me options?
Jared Correia (32:12):
You saw his sturdy construction.
Ruby Powers (32:14):
It did look sturdy.
Jared Correia (32:15):
Metallic? Yes. Does not, toothpicks not included. Is it a dollar 59?
Ruby Powers (32:22):
No.
Jared Correia (32:22):
1599 or 25? 99.
Ruby Powers (32:27):
25 99. Final answer.
Jared Correia (32:29):
Oh, good guess. Good guess, but it is 15. Ah,
Ruby Powers (32:34):
Really?
Jared Correia (32:34):
99. 1599. Yes.
Ruby Powers (32:36):
Okay.
Jared Correia (32:37):
Solid metallic construction. If you want to fire on your coworkers or friends, you're going to have to pay for that privilege.
Ruby Powers (32:45):
Is that pre or post tariffs and inflation? I mean, I think we're in some difficult
Jared Correia (32:52):
Times. What even are the tariffs at this point? Who the fuck knows? I don't know. Okay. Tariffs to Canada are like 180%. Oh my. If I'm trying to buy a toothpick crossbow from Canada, it's going to cost me like 500 bucks. I don't know. It's fucking nuts right
Ruby Powers (33:07):
Now. I can't believe I got that one wrong, but okay. All right. Do I get to try again?
Jared Correia (33:09):
That's all right. That's all right.
Ruby Powers (33:10):
Okay.
Jared Correia (33:11):
Oh, yeah, yeah, we got more. Oh, okay. As you can see, 1599, the two person mozzarella costume looking pretty swank, right? That could be you and another person.
Ruby Powers (33:24):
Yeah,
Jared Correia (33:26):
So, oh, whoops. I revealed the prices. I revealed the prices. Hopefully you didn't see that. Okay. Become the ultimate snack duo with the two person fried mozzarella cheese pull costume together. You're irresistibly cheesy, perfect for Halloween parties, date nights, or proving your love is truly stringy and deep fried. Question is, what would you pay for something like that?
Ruby Powers (33:50):
Could I say zero? I don't think I want it.
Jared Correia (33:56):
You can say that. What do you think the actual price is? Do you think it's $50 $75 or $125?
Ruby Powers (34:06):
Fifty, seventy, a hundred twenty five fifty.
Jared Correia (34:09):
Ruby Powers (34:10):
Or five. Let's go 50. It was 75. 75.
Jared Correia (34:14):
Yeah, 75.
Ruby Powers (34:15):
I guess we found something
Jared Correia (34:16):
I'm not good at, which I think it's because it's two
Ruby Powers (34:17):
Costumes. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it also depends on the quality.
Jared Correia (34:21):
This is the one thing you're not good at. I'm just kidding. Yeah. Picking out prices on a random internet site. It's probably best that you're good at the other stuff. All right. Let's do our next one. I'm at least enjoying myself. I hope you're having a little bit of fun.
Ruby Powers (34:38):
Yeah, I am.
Jared Correia (34:40):
I feel like the correct answer is going to start flowing.
Ruby Powers (34:43):
Okay,
Jared Correia (34:44):
Because wouldn't you want a diesel powered data robot? I do make your wildest dreams a reality, because now you can own your very own 13 foot tall diesel powered battle robot known as the Carus. This metallic mammoth of a robot even comes with a cockpit, so you can get inside and ride around like they do in Avatar. I think we should also note that this is a diesel powered battle robot, so you can't get regular gas into this bad boy,
Ruby Powers (35:18):
And I also saw it if you wanted to
Jared Correia (35:20):
Buy a
Ruby Powers (35:20):
4.4 tons,
Jared Correia (35:22):
4.4 tons,
Ruby Powers (35:24):
That's a lot.
Jared Correia (35:24):
13 feet tall,
Ruby Powers (35:25):
Right?
Jared Correia (35:26):
4.4 tons.
Ruby Powers (35:27):
Okay. I wonder what
Jared Correia (35:28):
Does the diesel powered
Ruby Powers (35:30):
Options are?
Jared Correia (35:31):
Battle robot cost $750,000 a million or $1.35 million. Seven 51 million or 1.35 million.
Ruby Powers (35:46):
Let's go with, wait, what was it constructed out of?
Jared Correia (35:53):
Looks like metal. Like real metal.
Ruby Powers (35:55):
Real metal.
Jared Correia (35:55):
Metallic mammoth. Yep. Not paper and ache.
Ruby Powers (36:01):
I don't know.
Jared Correia (36:02):
Plywood.
Ruby Powers (36:03):
This is really hard. I think maybe it's the million, but then at the same time, it could be some crappy stuff that maybe it could do it, but the 4.4 tons, that sounds like a lot. I don't know. I'm thinking let's go with the million. The middle one. Let's go with the middle. Did I get it wrong?
Jared Correia (36:21):
You are bad at this. Yes. 1.35 million, which seems like a deal, frankly. I dunno about you, but I kind of want to ride around in this thing in my backyard. Just freak out my neighbors. I dunno if it's worth 1.35 million, but
Ruby Powers (36:37):
Well, I wonder how much it costs to just rent it. That would be sort of fun to be in the crew.
Jared Correia (36:41):
Oh, there you go. That could be the, I know you're looking for additional business models.
Ruby Powers (36:48):
I really am. That could be
Jared Correia (36:48):
Something that you could do. It could rent the diesel power robot suit. It'd be pretty amazing. I'll be your first customer.
Ruby Powers (36:55):
Okay, sounds good. You have a plan.
Jared Correia (36:59):
Here we go again. Got another one. This kind of hits home for me, the poop knife, and as you can see, it says on the corner, it's a real thing. Dropping dookies will never be the same once the poop knife enters your life. This metal reinforced in silicone wrap heaven scent tool will efficiently chop the pesky snower snake sewer snakes that need a little extra help on their way down. Now, let me monologue for a moment, because I had an uncle back in the day back in the fifties, who shall remain nameless, but I only have so many uncles, so if you're inclined to research, you could probably find him who had a little popsicle stick that he would use for this purpose, but now we have a tool that is perfectly fitted for this situation. The poop knife, a real thing. Is it a real thing that costs $14 95 cents, $19 95 cents, or 24 95? This invaluable tool, 14 95, 19 95, or 24 95. What do you think?
Ruby Powers (38:04):
I think the cheaper option.
Jared Correia (38:07):
Yes. Yay. You did it. Yes.
Ruby Powers (38:11):
I finally got something. Right?
Jared Correia (38:12):
We had to get to the poop knife, but you got it right. All right. I got three more. You want to hang around for three more, but each equally delightful?
Ruby Powers (38:20):
Sure, but I mean, I wouldn't mind finishing off when I actually get one, right, but that's fine. Let's, let's go.
Jared Correia (38:26):
Oh, ending on a high note. George Costanza style. Yeah, we don't do that here. Okay. This is one that I would find useful. The cookbook called, what the Fuck Should I Make for Dinner? I could use one of these, so, oh,
Ruby Powers (38:43):
Wow. I can't look at the prices.
Jared Correia (38:44):
I gave you a little peek. I gave you a
Ruby Powers (38:45):
Little peek. I try not to look.
Jared Correia (38:47):
I try not to look. This could be, yeah, but this could be, that's not cheating. That's on me, so I got to get better at scrolling. Don't know what to make for dinner. No worries. The what the fuck should I make for dinner? Cookbook gets everyone off their asses and into the kitchen you'll be able to whip up any fucking dish you wish, like a goddamn pro by following the profanity laden recipes. This could have been your next book, but somebody has already put it together. What the fuck should I make for dinner? The eternal question. 10 99, 14 99 or 29 99. You said? 10 99. 14 9 9 or 2099.
Ruby Powers (39:28):
Probably 2099, because they're probably going to try to charge more for that, but
Jared Correia (39:34):
Actually it is a raging value at 10 99. All right. Two more for you. We've next got something that every household needs, which is the ramen noodle candle ramen noodle scented candle. There it is right there. The ramen noodle scented candle fills your space with cozy umami notes of sage, garlic, and cumin hand poured from 100% vegan soy wax. It's a comforting, a romantic tribute to your favorite late night bowl, minus the sodium and regret truer words for never spoken. The ramen noodle candle necessity for every home. Are we talking 15 99, 27, 99, or 34 99. 15 99, 27, 99 or 34 99
Ruby Powers (40:35):
For the
Jared Correia (40:36):
Ramen noodle candle.
Ruby Powers (40:37):
Maybe the middle price. The 20,
Jared Correia (40:41):
Correct. Ding, ding, ding.
Ruby Powers (40:43):
Yay,
Jared Correia (40:43):
Ding, ding, ding. Not bad. You get two. I'm personally impressed. This is a difficult game, plus you've never seen the site before?
Ruby Powers (40:54):
No, I haven't. I didn't. No. I guess this is where you can go for all the people who you have a hard time buying for. This is where,
Jared Correia (41:02):
Yeah, although the pricing is wildly divergent, as you can see. Alright, I have one more left for you.
Ruby Powers (41:11):
Okay.
Jared Correia (41:12):
I think I saved the best for last.
Ruby Powers (41:14):
Oh boy.
Jared Correia (41:15):
I really liked this one. So it is The gold is the vault of gold coins. Fulfill your lifelong dream of swimming in an overflowing pool of money like Scrooge McDuck with this actual bank filled with gold coins, and when you grow tired of swimming in it, grab a handful and have a money snowball fight with your something. Something children. Oh gosh. With your, I can't even read it. Can you read it? Can you finish it off for
Ruby Powers (41:51):
Me? With the resentful children? Yeah, I can see it.
Jared Correia (41:53):
Resentful children. Yes. The sharing mechanism is covering the text. Thank you for saving
Ruby Powers (41:59):
Me
Jared Correia (41:59):
There. Gold.
Ruby Powers (42:03):
I'm, is that really made out of gold? Is it real gold?
Jared Correia (42:06):
It is real gold. Real gold coins. It's unfortunate that Rex Powers is not on the podcast right now because totally Bond villain coded to have one of these, so real gold coins vaults filled with them. Actual picture, $13 million, 22 million or $41 million. Remember,
Ruby Powers (42:36):
It's
Jared Correia (42:37):
An actual vault with actual gold coins.
Ruby Powers (42:40):
Okay. Was 20 or 40,
Jared Correia (42:45):
13 million. 27 million. 41 million.
Ruby Powers (42:53):
I guess
Jared Correia (42:54):
This is why I love having lawyers on the show, because they try and reason this out when this is absolutely completely unreasonable.
Ruby Powers (43:02):
I'll go with the 40.
Jared Correia (43:04):
Oh, good.
Ruby Powers (43:05):
Guess the highest one?
Jared Correia (43:08):
I'm going to give that one to you because this vault is 13 million,
Ruby Powers (43:12):
But
Jared Correia (43:12):
You could easily fill it with 41 million worth of gold coins.
Ruby Powers (43:15):
Wow.
Jared Correia (43:17):
If you wanted to.
Ruby Powers (43:19):
Okay. Well,
Jared Correia (43:22):
The Scrooge McDuck effect,
Ruby Powers (43:25):
I know we watched that as kids. They'd always go play in the vault. I mean, I'm sure that's not fun necessarily because of it's so heavy. It's like even playing in those little balls that are made out of plastic. Those can be hard to go in that little pool of those, whatever those little balls are trying to try to play around with gold coins, I think that could hurt you.
Jared Correia (43:51):
I always felt like there's a little suspension of belief in Ducktails. I don't feel like you can actually swim around in gold coins, so it would be amazing, and if I was going to do it, I would definitely be wearing a top hat, a soup jacket, and no pants like screws, McDuck. Anyway, I think we should probably be done now. Ruby, thanks for coming in. It was a delight.
Ruby Powers (44:16):
This was great. I went all over the place,
Jared Correia (44:19):
Was it? Yeah.
Ruby Powers (44:22):
No, I know a really great website to spend some of the time that I don't have.
Jared Correia (44:28):
Oh, same. Same. Well, thank you for on. We'll have to do it again sometime.
Ruby Powers (44:32):
All right, sounds good. Thanks.
Jared Correia (44:35):
Alright, take care.
Ruby Powers (44:36):
Alright, you too.
Jared Correia (44:38):
Thanks to our guest, Ruby Powers, a Power's Law Group and Power's Strategy Group. To learn more about Ruby and Powers law group, visit ruby powers law.com. That's Ruby Powers law dot coms. Smash 'em together, all one word. To learn more about Ruby and Power's strategy group, visit powers strategy group.com. That's powers strategy group.com. Now, because I'll always be a nineties kid who has a five CD changer in the trunk of a Chevy Chavat jealous, but whose true passion is burning CDs for anyone who would listen. I'm now just doing the modern version of that, which is creating Spotify playlist for every podcast episode as I record where the songs are tangentially related to an episode topic. This week's playlist is like a Thanksgiving feast and features the same menu. Yeah, we're talking Turkey because it's songs about birds. What the fuck? Why not? It's sponsored by Purdue. Just kidding. It's not sponsored by anyone yet though we're still shot through with antibiotics. Join us next time as I continue to bathe in my own juices. Nah, that's nasty. I.