Available episodes
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Nov 7, 2020
Max GAS
Today, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is available for preorder. Like many new shiny Apple things, I'm intrigued by this device. I'm not gonna rush on the preorder; it seems more practical to try the new phone out first. I asked Apple when that'd be possible and they said the Pro Max wouldn't be in stores until a week from now (November 13th).
Being interested in the new iPhone is just the beginning of my latest round of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I'm also very interested in getting a new iPad Pro. My current iPad Pro works fine but it is five years old. Thanks to general clumsiness/inability to function as a human, there are a couple large cracks across the iPad's screen. Those cracks aren't impacting the iPad's usability (yet).As always, the biggest problem with any case of GAS is coming up with the money to take care of it. First world problems, I guess.
Recorded with iPhone XS Max built-in microphone. Edited/mastered with Reaper.
Nov 6, 2020
Fumed
Before we moved into our home in 2006, we had decorative concrete flooring installed. We had to move in a bit faster than we'd initially expected, so we definitely cut some corners on the pre-move details. While the concrete floors looked great (and still do), we didn't have the floors sealed, which has made their rough concrete surface difficult to clean.
We've tried many different methods for cleaning these floors over the years. Most of them weren't very effective. None of them were very efficient.I got an Oreck commercial-grade floor cleaner towards the end of 2018. In order to clean our floors with the Oreck, we need to use a cleaning solution made by Simple Green. It's a good cleaner but its lingering chemical aroma leaves me a bit dazed and fumed.
Recorded with iPhone XS Max built-in microphone. Edited/mastered with Reaper.
Nov 5, 2020
Channel One
I've heard NaPodPoMo is a good time for podcast experiments. I'm taking that idea to heart. Earlier this week, I fired up my RØDECaster Pro for the first time in ages to upgrade its firmware. I also wiped all of its settings to the factory defaults. That means starting over from scratch.
For years, I've used microphones on boom arms but decided last year to try something simpler. I bought a ModMic 5 and attached it to my trusty AKG headphones, hoping the ModMic could be my regular-use microphone. I figured I'd give it another go with the upgraded RØDECaster Pro firmware, assuming I could access the new granular audio controls I thought were supposed to be there?Warning: The audio contained in this episode is definitely raw in some places. Listen at your own peril!
Recorded with Antlion ModMic 5 thru RØDECaster Pro. Edited/mastered in Reaper.
Nov 3, 2020
Saving The Snark
Halfway thru Election Day 2020. I've been monitoring the social medias as much as I can stand to. While I have as many hot takes as everyone else, I'm holding back.
People are stressed out enough as it is. Adding to that just doesn't seem like a very productive thing to do. Sure, I have my thoughts and opinions, and I will likely share them in time. Today, however, I'm saving the snark.This is the seventh presidential election I've voted in. It seems like the current has been ratcheted up with each successive election. Not sure if elections have always been this way, or if social media has flipped the switch into the red. Peoples' reactions to politics feels a lot more like sports these days, and that's not necessarily good.
Recorded with built-in iMac mic. Edited/mastered in Reaper. Transcription to follow.
Nov 3, 2020
Anxiety Day
Jen joins me for NaPodPoMo day two. Jen is very empathic, Force sensitive (still honing her Force-wielding skills), allegedly not a Betazoid (yes, I said "Betazed" in the recording; I will never live it down), and is feeling the country's anxiety the night before Election Day 2020.
I asked Jen a series of mostly random questions (she said they reminded her of last-minute homework). For some reason, we talked about different social networks/apps like Instagram, Twitter (RIP, Vine), and TikTok (spoiler alert: neither of us uses TikTok, we are old). I also explained how I had a different first idea for today's episode, but I ran out of energy for it, so this happened instead.
Recorded on 2015 12.9" iPad Pro. Edited/mastered with Reaper. (Still hoping for transcripts, some day.)
Nov 2, 2020
Updating
After not producing much of anything for… months, it seemed like a good idea to give NaPodPoMo a try. In an attempt to squash the overthinking part of my brain, I decided to record this one as simply as possible. Yes, the sound quality probably isn't great. But, is it ever? The quality of the episode itself will be at least as good (?) as anything else I've published. So, one thing is consistent.
Being dormant means things with microprocessors will require attention. My RØDECaster Pro was in need of a major firmware update since I last used it. I took to the search engine of the future to find out how to apply the update. I recorded that process for your listening enjoyment/torment.
Audio recorded using iMac built-in microphone. Edited/mastered in Reaper. Transcription coming someday (maybe, I hope).
Apr 23, 2020
CoronaCast 3: COVID/COVIS
Originally recorded on April 3rd, when this whole pandemic thing was still somewhat new (but definitely no less surreal).Anxiety is not new to me but I can usually pin its cause on something. It's certainly easy enough to blame any sense of uneasiness on the current state of the world, but I've still been dealing with a generalized "free floating" anxiety at times.
I've gone outside of the house as little as possible since shelter-at-home orders were given. While my introverted (and increasingly lazy) nature is fine to have an excuse to stay in, going out is sometimes unavoidable.As a non-driving human, I often rely on public transit to get around. The local bus system is adapting to COVID-19 in some interesting ways, including the use of "don't-sit-here" signs placed on certain seats, and allowing everyone to ride without having to pay a fare.
I gathered up some audio clips from these recent corona-centric news items:
Train vs. hospital shipToilet paper burst into flamesCardboard wedding party
We've been fortunate that the ongoing economic meltdown hasn't hit us (yet). Leading in to the rise of the 'rona, I'd been feeling particularly good about our finances in ways I hadn't in a long time, and wondering what event would come along to change all that. I wasn't expecting the universe to answer my question in such a bombastic way.
Hear about the above topics and more by activating the play button below. Recorded with ModMic 5 thru RØDECaster Pro. Edited/mastered in Reaper. Transcription coming soon.
Mar 29, 2020
CoronaCast 2: Furloughed!
Mike joined me for a discussion about his experience being furloughed as a result of novel coronavirus COVID-19. This audio was recorded two days ago.
Mike lives in the CornRona Belt, better known as Indiana. He's been working for a number of years at a food court-corporate concept-travel plaza. As the new COVID-19 reality came into play, Mike's employer had to cut back on services and furloughed most employees as a result.We talked about Mike's decision to file for unemployment benefits, what he'll be doing with his time at home, e-learning school for kids, television apps, and more!
Click the play button below to listen to this podcast episode. Recorded using ModMic 5 (Shawn) and FaceTime Audio (Mike) thru RØDECaster Pro. Edited/mastered in Reaper. Transcription coming soon.
Mar 22, 2020
CoronaCast 1: Sheltering-at-Home
Jen joined me to have a conversation about novel coronavirus COVID-19. The audio was recorded two days ago, during our first full day of shelter-at-home, as ordered by the state of California.We shared what we know about where COVID-19 might've come from. (Virus reservoirs!)
We covered the current shelter-at-home order and why that's important. (Don't go out, get infected, and infect people you live with!)I gave some observations on what I experienced at some local stores and a local restaurant just as the shelter-at-home orders were going into effect. (No paper products! No, you can't dine in!)And more! (Bonus audio at the end for nerds.) Recorded with ModMic 5 (Shawn) and ElectroVoice RE20 (Jen) thru RØDECaster Pro. Edited/mastered in Reaper.
Click play below to hear the full conversation. Transcription coming soon.
Feb 1, 2020
15 Years of Podcasting
This month marks my 15th anniversary in podcasting. It's not a terribly exciting story but one that I think is worth recounting.Summer 2004 I'd created my first "real" website with a domain name. I had this idea to record "radio shows" and post them on that site. Maybe people would find them?
I had a cup of coffee in commercial radio in the 90's, and I had a background in home recording thru years of making my own music. In late 2004, I learned about podcasting thru a Yahoo! Group devoted to Chicago radio personality Nick Digilio. I knew I had the ingredients already to produce my own podcast. Well, most of the ingredients, anyway.Recorded with the built-in mic of an iPhone XS Max. Edited/mastered in Reaper.Click play below to hear the full story. Transcription available here (PDF).