Ericast.com Podcasts - DWEEB THOUGHTS

Ericast 126 - Dying to Live

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:31:54 PST

Going a different direction for this week's Ericast... we have a clip from Tim Vanderveld, Worship Ministries pastor at Berean Baptist Church in Burnsville, Minnesota.

So what?

Well, barring a miracle (which is certainly possible, in theory... but not likely, because miracles aren't "normative")... Tim will be dead in a few weeks.

But for now he's fine, and he spoke to a gathering of "adult Sunday schools" this past Sunday. It's a very strange situation, and one that I think has not only given Tim a lot of wisdom but has allowed him the strength to voice that wisdom to others. I thought there would be a lot of value in sharing his words with a wider audience.

(For those of you not tied to Berean, Tim's initial remarks have a few family notes that might not seem very interesting -- do you really care about his daughter's college schedule? -- but I left them in because it gives context to how Tim is living out his final days.)

For more information:

Ericast 125 - Filing February Feedback

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:54:03 PST

Loads and loads of feedback for the month of February... all from two people, but loads nonetheless! Thanks to Jonzer and Matt!

A couple links, just for fun (and because they're a bit relevant to the podcast):

Map of Mt. Diablo
"All Your Base" description and video
Debate formats - "Policy" vs. "Lincoln-Douglas"
Still pondering Luke 18:9-14

You, too, can add your comments to the world of the Ericast by calling 206-339-3742 or e-mailing me (eric) at ericast.com (the official website and home of all-things-Ericast)

Ericast 124 - Principles, or Particulars?

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:04:38 PST

This week we shift gears to a theological topic: Is something that Jesus said (recorded in Luke 18) a timeless principle that Christians today need to obey, or is it something that was particular to the religious leaders 2000 years ago that we can safely ignore (or outright contradict) today?

I probably manage to offend a few folks in this one... but it's good to stir things up and get everyone thinking, right? Remember to direct the hate-mail or angry commentary to 206-339-3742 (206-339-ERIC) or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com.

Ericast 123 - The Stockdale Paradox

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:19:38 PST

The title says it all: this week we talk about living out what Jim Collins in Good to Great called "The Stockdale Paradox"

(A day late because we were having some server hiccups yesterday; I didn't want to publish the podcast only to have it unavailable to everyone...)

Call me at 206-339-3742 or write me (eric) at ericast.com.

Ericast 122 - It's Pronounced feb-U-ary

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:39:55 PST

Tackling a looming Constitutional crisis in America today, this week's Ericast addresses the question of how to pronounce "February".

Share your thoughts! 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com, or leave a comment on the Ericast.com blog.

Ericast 121 - Picking up Piano

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:53:12 PST

A quick-ish episode this week with thanks to my listeners, a bit of feedback, and comments on the new CoCo collaborative working space (links here and here) and my new-used Yamaha PSR-270.

Comments to 206-339-ERIC (a.k.a. 206-339-3742) or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com.

Ericast 120 - Coping Without Cutaways

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:44:54 PST

A discussion this week on the lack of an easy way to do "cutaways" in video editing, which is a super-basic concept that used to be really easy. All this was spawned by a video comment from Digital Dan Hook, which has great content but could have been even better if the video examples of Blackberry apps didn't need to break up the original track.

Yes, I know it's technically possible to hack apart your video in Windows Movie Maker and emulate a cutaway, but if it was a piece of cake on a linear system in 1995 it should be even easier 15 years later!

Rather than me trying to flesh out what I talk about in the podcast itself, here's Dan's video (so you have an easy way of knowing what I was talking about). And, speaking of talking, do leave a message at 206-339-3742, e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com, or make a YouTube video like Dan's:

Ericast 119 - "Formative Teen Years"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:09:51 PST

You know, I just spotted that last week's episode had its ID3 tags completely messed up because I was off one row -- so the "year" was http://www.ericast.com/, the "track number" was 2010, the "genre" was 118, the "lyrics" were podcast, etc.

Anyway, this week's episode is about where I spent my teenage years. In hindsight I guess I don't talk much about my actual life and adventures there... but at least you get the basic geography of the place.

Let me know what you want to know: call 206-339-ERIC (206-337-3942) right now, or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com.

Links/locations/things mentioned:

Matt Beckwith and PizzaGoHere
K7.net
Cornucopia, Wisconsin
Hayward, Minong, and Solon Springs
Cedar Lake (with its nearby speedway) and Boner Lake
Poet David Kubach and our old 40 acres
A 1979 Ford Fiesta
Blueberry Lane in Cornucopia
A blue Huffy bike (with blue tires!) like what my friend Jeff owned
Knotty pine paneling similar to what we removed
A really well-done write-up of Cornucopia (scroll past half-way down for it)

Ericast 118 - "Inside Eric's Brain"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:01:19 PST

I just realized what an interesting date it is today -- 20100110. That's undoubtedly binary for something-or-other (except for the "2")... but I'm not going to bother to figure it out.

That alone might tell you something about me, as this week's podcast explores my personality. As always, messages at 206-339-ERIC (a.ka. 206-339-3742) or e-mails to eric at ericast.com are eagerly anticipated and appreciated upon arrival.

So, what do I do? I support learning, explore solutions, battle entropy, and explain reality. The podcast goes through all that in a bit more detail. What energizes me is using technology to preserve history so it's accessible to others... but, in reality, I end up pondering "solutions in search of a problem." But I like producing a "product" too, which is almost the exact opposite. In some ways, my brain is a mess.

Links related for this week's topics...

HRD again
Apostle Paul's writings in Romans 7
WebTrends, Google Search and MovableType
New Shelter magazine from the 1980s (example article)
A "Crossette" fireworks shell

Yes, that list is as random as it looks; that fits this week's topic just fine.

Ericast 117 - "Who Am I?"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:10:23 PST

Welcome to 2010!!! This week's Ericast is a brief overview (which turned out not-so-brief; I think it's going to be a two-parter?) about my background -- the stuff that made me "me."

As always, 206-339-3742 is the way to get in touch (a.k.a. "206-339-ERIC"), or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com.

A few relevant links:

Ericast 116 - "Goodbye to 2009"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:54:55 PST

Goodbye 2009; Hello 2010! A quick audio-only podcast to wrap up the year, take a call from Jonzer, and let you in on a few things that have been rattling around in my head.

Please do take me up on the request for information on what you, the Ericast listener, want from the podcast in the coming year. I'm happy to make this your own personal niche podcast (though, if lots of people have conflicting desires, the podcast will become as random as I am... but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it).

Calls, as always, should be placed to 206-339-3742 RIGHT NOW - DO IT NOW! (Three kinds of communication: "subliminal, liminal, and superliminal...") Or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com.

Ericast 115.3: Ericast Update

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:41:22 PST

Yes, another "update" -- when, oh when, am I going to put out a "real" episode? I don't know... but, in the meantime, I'm still playing with the YouTube browser upload options. As you'll hear from this brief episode... it still ain't ready for prime-time.

But, regardless... Merry Christmas! 206-339-ERIC (a.k.a. 206-339-3742) or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com with any and all comments. Thanks!

Ericast 115.2 - Ericast Update

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:53:12 PST

I'll admit, this update isn't the "pure, unadulterated" Ericast Update that I had in mind as I recorded it... so head's up that what you're hearing isn't really what a "BT530 to Blackberry 8320" sounds like. But after some work in Adobe Audition with compression and noise reduction, and after pasting the two parts together (you'll find out why when you listen)... here you go.

The two sites I tout (and they're really tout-worthy!) are Vlingo.com and iSpeech.org (which sponsors DriveSafe.ly). Check 'em out!

And let me know what you think -- 206-339-3742 or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com. Enjoy!

Ericast 115.1: Ericast Update

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:18:10 PST

Just a super-quick update to let you know I'm alive and well. I used YouTube's direct-to-site upload to see how it would work out as a "quick and dirty podcast process"... and it seems to have some hope.

Let me know what you think -- e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com, or call 206-339-3742 and leave a comment. Enjoy!

Ericast 115 - "Succinct Summer Summary"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:21:36 PDT

I'm back! And, boy, it wasn't easy!

This Ericast actually has video which, under ordinary circumstances, you'd see over in the YouTube channel (available through www.youtube.com/DweebThoughts.)

But you're not going to see it there.

UPDATE: You will see it there! Thanks to a bit of late-night editing, here's the official "Lost Episode"...

But you very nearly didn't see it on YouTube.

Why?

Because Visual Communicator completely hosed the audio. The intro was clipped at the end, the audio echoed throughout it, the levels were way off in what I recorded, and the video itself wouldn't even render the whole way through and stalled at 98% complete.

Hmmm. Something's not right.

The problem is that Visual Communicator (formerly from a great company named Serious Magic, which was bought out by Adobe) is a "live to hard drive" application with no options for post-production editing. The argument is, "Why do it in post when you can do it in real-time? After all, if you need to edit something, you can always open the output in a different video editing application and tweak it there"... which is true, but I'm not talking about a "tweak". Despite sounding fine in tests and despite there having been no problems indicated during the recording, the output is a total mess.

My only option to "fix the audio" in Visual Communicator is to re-record from the start, and I'm simply not willing to do that; an audio-only podcast this time will have to do.

(UPDATE: I decided that, as a matter of principle, I had to bring the video to you. That's how much I care about you, the dedicated Ericast listener/viewer/subscriber! What I ended up doing was force the Visual Communicator output to pubish as a DV .AVI, then brought that into Windows Movie Maker, then re-edited around the intro and outro, then manually balanced the audio levels across the whole thing, then rendered it out as a .WMV for uploading to YouTube. Surprisingly straightforward... but a smidge time-consuming.)

The reason I sound abnormally and atypically frustrated is because this is coming on the heels of a really good two-day EDUCAUSE web conference on the use of technology in higher education (for online collaboration, in this particular case). If I, an instructional technologist, can't leave a computer alone for three months without coming back to an application with a bunch of settings that somehow got hosed even though nobody has touched them... how can we expect faculty to embrace this stuff?!?

Ick! Let me know what you think. 206-339-ERIC is the ever-popular listener feedback line, and you can always e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com. Thanks for listening!

Ericast Update From-The-Keyboard

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:30:35 PDT

Voice synthesis is better than nothing

Just checking in with the dedicated Ericast listeners to let you know I'm alive and well. I'm hoping to get another YouTube video up, though I haven't yet decided on a topic. Feel free to call with a suggestion!

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Ericast 114 - "Interactive Audience Feedback"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:39:57 PDT

An experiment this week on the YouTube side of things: The video has a few DVD-style menus built in. The video will pause, and you get to make your choice as to what you hear (and see) next.

This means that the audio-only podcast will make slightly less sense than usual... but it didn't have very far to fall, so I think you'll be okay.

As always, comments are welcome -- an e-mail to me (eric) at ericast dot com or, better yet, a phone call to 206-339-ERIC (a.k.a. 206-339-3742).

Let me know what you think of this one; it was somewhat tedious to put together, but I think the concept has potential...

Episode 113 - "Dealing With Liars"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:44:11 PDT

No, not "lyres" -- this really is as inflammatory a title as you think it is. You'll want to comment on this one, and here's the method: call 206-339-3742 (206-339-ERIC if it's easier to remember the spelling than the number), or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com.

It's also on the old-time Ericast episode schedule -- a smidge over 20 minutes. What's the topic? This week's discussion is about Proverbs 15:4, as read from the Daily Audio Bible podcast. Want to know more? Stop reading this summary and listen to the Ericast episode!

I also mention in passing my little side-project where you can donate to the podcast: tip-joy.com (note the dash). More info on the story -- there's always a story with me! -- is available at the sister-site of the tip-joy.info blog. But whether you want to read the back-story or not, you can still click the donate button at tip-joy.com and give a few cents directly to me (as little as a dime!) as a "thank you" for the years of dedicated podcast entertainment that I've provided to you and the rest of humanity.

Hey, if you don't do "the ask," there's no chance that anyone will give, right? Let's see if it works...

Ericast 112 - "Selling My Dream"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:01:55 PDT

The only thing saving this show from the scrap heap of the Recycle Bin is my dedication to you, the Ericast listener. Or viewer. Neither experience is optimal this week; too stilted for a smooth audio recording, too awkward for pretty video. But the topic conveyed is an important one to me, commemorating the death of a dream:

1996-(2001)-2009

Speaking of communication and contact and discussion... do get in touch with me here at the Ericast, even if it's just to say "Hi! I'm listening!" You can call 206-339-3742 and leave a message (quick and painless), or drop an e-mail to me (eric) at ericast.com. And to clarify that e-mail address, in case it's its cryptic anti-SPAM phrasing here that's keeping you from successfully sending something... you type in the letters e, r, i and c, followed by an "at" sign, and then the domain of ericast.com. "Very simple, very easy" as Chef Tell used to say.

Does anyone remember the late Chef Tell from PM Magazine? Does anyone remember PM Magazine, even? Write or call and let me know!

Ericast 111 - "Enjoying the Night"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:49:36 PDT

A simple Ericast this week, from the beauty of my front porch on a warm Minnesota evening.

Comments? Complaints about inadequate content? Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com.

Ericast 110 - "GoDaddy and Micropayments"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:48:21 PDT

Back on the weekly schedule (shhhh! don't jinx it!) with a discussion of my latest little venture... which has led to other ventures... which gets to be a long story.

Here's the deal: For details, go to http://tip-joy.info and read up on why I bought http://tip-joy.com.

This week's podcast deals with the hosting at GoDaddy that makes all sorts of things (except the ericast.com site; maybe I should change that?) possible -- my good customer service with them when I had to call (because there wasn't an easy way to get their default checkboxes on the site to do what I wanted to do), as well as my good (yes, I said "good") experience with PayPal.

All on the topic of micropayments... which will have to wait for another day (because we ran out of time to deal with it here in more detail).

Remember, tell me what you think! This show is your show! 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or send an e-mail to me ("eric") at (you know that part) ericast.com.

Ericast 109 - "Garage Sale Aftermath!"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:28:12 PDT

Yes, it's been a month! But I'm back! Usually, if the Ericast were delayed until a Saturday, I'd just push it into the next week and be early on Sunday... but enough people have asked about this one that I figured I'd better get it out slightly earlier.

Like a day matters, right?

Anyway, discussion this week is about Ruth's garage sale in mid-April. If I can dig up some of the photos we took, I'll put them out on one of my web sites.

Speaking of... next week, I think there's going to be some website-related discussion! Wheee!

As always, send an e-mail to me (eric) at ericast.com or call our listener feedback line at 206-339-3742 (which spells out 206-339-ERIC). Enjoy!

Ericast 108 - "Remembering College Video"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:06:06 PDT

Not entirely useless for those of you in the audio-only world... but I'll admit that this week's episode does sorta drive you to the official Ericast YouTube channel (where the video side of things has been dubbed the "Dweeb Thoughts podcast," thus putting to use the long orphaned subtitle of the Ericast).

This week we talk about the good-old-days of video editing -- something I did quite a bit of in college. Sitting out there now is my imfamous "tree piece" -- done because 1) I thought it was interesting and 2) I wanted the challenge of making an interesting, media-rich story about... trees.

(The opening shot is the impressive one.)

As always, keep the comments coming -- not just about this particular show and my video-related life, but about any Ericast topics past or present. Call 206-339-3742 (which spells out 206-339-ERIC for the alphabetically inclined) or send an e-mail to me (eric) at ericast.com.

And a special embedded treat -- the "tree story" mentioned in the podcast, from November of 1995:

Ericast 107 - "Credit Card Issues"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:53:45 PDT

Continuing with video-related podcasts, though (to be overly honest) this one is better in audio-only form. Why? For one reason, I was able to boost and compress the calls from Matt Beckwith and Jonzer, which I didn't do in the YouTube video. So, if you want something that sounds good, this is the thing to listen to.

That is... as Ericasts go. Right?

Comments to 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or e-mailed to me (eric) at ericast.com. You can even do what Digital Dan did and sent along a video to that e-mail address.

Or, something else entirely -- surprise me!

The discussion this week, by the way -- yes, there's a topic! -- is the "Verified by Visa" surprise that I got when trying to order my electric bike (which is not a moped!). It almost led to a lack-of-coffee tragedy; listen to hear all the exciting details!

Ericast 106 - "An Electric Bike?!?"

noreply@blogger.com (Eric M. Larson) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:23:52 PDT

The video theme returns (thanks to the positive comments from last week's Dweeb Thoughts premiere!) with this week's discussion of my new "E-Zip 2008 Mountain Trailz Hybrid Electric Bike" (the official bike of the Ericast).

The video version has a few still shots but no action-video of the bike itself. That'll come... eventually. In the meantime, you can bask in the glory of the infinitely improved production values on the video this week (as I learn the features of the software I'm using). Remember, it's all about learning through experimentation, right?

Questions, problems, worries, concerns or comments should be phoned in to 206-339-ERIC, which is easy to punch in to your Blackberry thanks to Digital Dan's tip that you get to hear this week! Dial 206-339-3742 if you didn't pay attention. Or, keep things simple and e-mail me (eric) at ericast.com and we'll handle the conversation in the old-fashioned printed way.