10 posts tagged “gsg”
Do you listen to podcasts? Are there any you'd recommend?
Inspired by Alex.
Bwah ha! A topic right up my alley! Of course I listen to Podcasts. I also make my own.
First, stuff I'd recommend...
Michael and Evo's Dragon Page Cover 2 Cover and C2C With Class, as well as Slice of Sci Fi... news of genre books, movies, tv, and more. The C2C With Class is actually hosted by Mike and Evo's wives, who are teachers, and addresses books for younger authors.
Jason Rennie's The SciPhiShow... philosophy as explored through science.
GeeksOn... I don't always agree with what they say, but they're usually interesting.
And I always catch Hugh Hewitt's radio show via podcast. You can set that up at townhall.com.
I'll probably come back and add to this, throwing a nod at podiobooks... as well as plug my own stuff later.
Dinner comes first!
Just thought I'd throw this up here. In this quick 'cast, the geek is reminded that he should follow his own advice re: long grass and velociraptors.
Today, Geek Survival Guide topped 100 subscribers. Yay!
So I treated myself to a Rudy's breakfast taco. Like I need a reason to do that. In other news, I'm planning on running a GURPS game for Claire. I think it will help with her reading, and her math, and her reasoning skills, etc., etc., etc. But I've never run an RPG before. So I'm hoping that she's willing to stick with it. I think it'll be fun, and I think she'll give it a shot because it's Dad time. And I'll let her pick the setting. RIght now she's into Mermaids, so we might be running "Aquagirl" or something like that. So, any ideas?
Of course, I'm also going to use it as an indoctrination technique. What happens when the other Merfolk are using drugs? What happens if she sees someone being a bully (Claire is particularly worried about bullies). And I think that putting her character into those situations and letting things play out will help her when that kind of thing happens in real life, also.
Got up early today, after staying up too late last night. Laid some sod. Basically so I wouldn't have to do it later in the day, in the blazing sun, with others. So instead, I went myself during the cool of the day today, and did it myself. Many reasons for this. Mostly, I just wanted it done.
But on to musing. I upgraded my installation of Opera today, hoping it would play better with Vox (it doesn't, so I'm still using Firefox). In the process I saw an old e-mail that said I had a comment on my blog (my other blog). It basically said, "I'd listen to your podcast if I had an iPod".
As a podcaster, and as someone who is very interested in next-gen media and content, and even as a future lawyer, this thought disturbs me. Maybe it's because Mr. Laporte was talking about it in the latest TWiT. But I was listening to podcasts way before I got an iPod. Heck, I've been listening to Slice of SciFi since episode 1.
The fact of the matter is, you don't have to have an iPod to listen to podcasts. Podcasts, for the most part, are simply mp3 files. And if you've got an mp3 player, you can listen to podcasts. I was using a 256 meg iRiver ifp390T. Heck, if you really wanted to, you could listen to podcasts on your computer. You could burn them to cd. And that's fine, because a lot if not most podcasts are released under a Creative Commons license that specifically makes copying legal. What makes podcasts great is the automatic downloading that happens with RSS. Apple didn't create podcasting, podcasting isn't just done via iTunes. They streamlined the process, I'll grant you, but they didn't make it happen.
Why am I on a tear about this? I don't know. I just think that people shouldn't think that they are tied in to one specific product. The Microsoft Zune sounds cool, with updates via WiFi, and the ability to send things to your friends. Granted, it would be a pain to burn all my iTunes music to CD and re-rip to mp3 or wma, but it's do-able. Not that I'm in the market for a Zune. I want to see what happens in the market over the next few months.
I guess what I'm saying is, if anyone has questions about podcasting, or about how to get podcasts, feel free to ask. Speaking of which, I have to record at least two shows this week, and it's already Wednesday. I'd better get crackin'.
So, sometime in the next 24 hours or so, I'll have a special mini-cast for GSG out, explaining the relationship between supervillains and overnight shipping services. Then, later this week, a regular episode of GSG explaining how to survive an attack from Giant Rubbery Japanese Monsters (or Kaijuu).
I have a new episode of LOR - Captain Blood recorded, and will be editing that and releasing it, also within the next 24 hours, with a follow up of LOR - Princess of Mars to follow quickly behind.
And then I'll be getting into a regular schedule. GSG has been pretty good so far, one episode every two weeks, short episodes, etc. LOR has faded, but will be brought back this week, and I'll start kicking that one along more regularly.
Meanwhile, the job search begins again, and I owe a certain raccoon a lot of bells. If you play Mario Kart DS, look for GSGuide out there on the tracks. I am HORRIBLE at this game, so if you want to rack up some fairly easy wins, contact me for a friend code and I'll see what I can do to accomodate you. Likewise if you might be interested in some AC:WW peaches.
Geek Survival Guide's listenership has jumped by about 80% over the last week. Of course, that's a jump from somewhere in the 30s to now just over 60, so it's still not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but it's getting bigger pretty quickly. It's encouraging. And a little bit humbling. And a little bit scary. My grandma and I were talking the other night about it (she sometimes listens in as I record an episode), and she was asking why I do it. Mostly just for fun. Partly because it's a creative outlet, and it seems to be somewhat upbeat, and people seem to enjoy it. She suggested that if some companies have their own podcasts, maybe it would be a good idea to contact some of the local businesses and start one of our own. My wife was saying it might be a good idea to contact someone like the SciFi channel, and see if it's something they might be interested in. I told them both that if I can hit 200 subscribers with GSG, I'd consider it. Heck, if I get that many subscribers, I'll get my own domain name for it. Over 1000, and I'll consider starting an actual business entity, probably along the lines of an LLC, and file for a copyright. Not that I'm making any money off this. And not that I'm anticipating making any money off this. I just don't want to lose my shirt if someone sues me for something. Not that I'm planning on getting sued.
Meanwhile, the short-term contract job I am at should be over and done with in about 48 hours. After that, I'm going to probably start the process of moving Lights Out Radio to new digs - at least the files thereof. With the free file hosting of Ourmedia, I won't have to worry about running out of space (the way I do with TypePad, more's the pity).
And in the meantime, I had a birthday, and splurged just a little. Got an older-style one for Claire too.
Slice of SciFi played one of my promos. Personally, I think this is a big deal. No, wait, actually this is a HUGE deal. Mike, Evo, and Summer have been doing podcasting for a long time, and SoSF has a big audience. In fact, they air over XM satellite radio. (Not that I think my promo played there, I'm sure they put in their own commercials). And to hear them play my promo near the front of the show was flattering/humbling/awesome. (Brief interlude here for happy dance)
They are also the people behind podiobooks, where you can get downloadable novels one chapter at a time - you set the rate - one a week, one a day, etc. And it's free. If you like what you hear, you can make a donation to the site, 1/2 of which goes to the author. They've got some great titles over there - not just science fiction, and it's just a great idea.
Anyway, I wonder if this will do anything to my feedburner subscription numbers? I'm gonna have to dig deep for the next episode (vampires).
Episode 3 of Geek Survival Guide is up. In this episode, we talk about how to survive the rampaging of a Homicidal Maniac, possibly masked, possibly knife-wielding, possibly immortal.
The file is here, and the 'cast is hosted at gsguide.blogspot.com. In two weeks, how to survive Vampires. I'm looking for ideas for topics and survival tips, so if you have any, send 'em my way!
Here's the second promo I've done for my podcast - Geek Survival Guide. So far, I've had a lot of good feedback from the people who have listened to it. (If you're curious, take a look at it at gsguide.blogspot.com.)
And if you like it, pass the word on to your friends.
And add me as a favorite at Podcast Pickle.
And all that good stuff.
