SFGate Article on Podcasting
Here's an SFGate article on podcasting.
TrippOdd / Dan's Diatribe
Thoughts, musings, rants, and comments of the One True Dan Tripp.
These are the droids you're looking for.
These are the droids you're looking for.
Monday, February 28th
Sunday, February 27th
Saturday, February 26th
Skype is Cool; Podcast w/Ryan King; New Recorder
Ryan King and I have been chatting for the last hour or so on Skype. I think we've got a lot of good ideas and we've worked out a number of the details. =) We're shooting to do our first colaborative podcast by next weekend... and it should be really, really fun (at least for us). 
I bought a new recorder and have been experimenting with it... perhaps I'll have a new podcast up sooner than I expected.
I'm going to try to do two TOTDT podcasts a week, and I'm going to move the podcasts to their own domain. I know I've been going on and on about this stuff for the past couple of weeks, but I'm really enjoying it and it's very fun/exciting. 
Thursday, February 24th
Hey Now, You're a Podstar...
More goodness! =) Dawn and Drew put their interview with me at their get-together on tonight's show! Two exclamation points thusfar, and here's the third!
Honesty, I feel like I've heard my song on the radio for the first time or something... it's a great, fun feeling. I'll be headed outside to do a happy dance in a moment.
Here's a link to the Dan Tripp vs. Marilyn Manson thing I mentioned in the interview. I am sooooo not that guy... he really is the Anti-Dan. He carries the Mark of the Beast (36) uponeth him.
Or y'know... maybe not.
I do have to confess, though... the fact that I'll be seeing my five girlfriends (Pam, Miranda, K8, Kristy, and Jenn) in Seattle next Friday eclipses it.
Wednesday, February 23rd
Podcast #5
I've made it to Podcast #5!
Today's podcast features an interview/discussion with Andrew Pejack, who talks about working at the Hotel DeAnza and riding in the elevator with Paul McCartney's Hofner bass. There are also brief comments about going to the Dawn and Drew get-together; talking with Kris from Say Yum and listening to their fun podcast; and some of my friend Autumn Thompson's 5-string banjo playing. Sadly, I forgot to put in the bumper music at the end... but c'est la vie. This one clocks in at over 17 minutes!
Get it here: TOTDT-005-2005-02-23.mp3 (16266k file)
Note/Question: I tried encoding today's podcast at 64k vs. 128k, but man that sounded BAD, so I kept it at 128k. Can anyone shed some light on how I might be screwing this up? Thanks!
Tuesday, February 22nd
Goodbye Gene Scott
Gene Scott has moved on. I remember watching him, fascinated that he was so open and blatant with his calls to get listeners on the phone to send him money to buy new horses. He's the only televangelist who regularly swore on his show, and his audicty was inspiring.
In stark contrast to a statement that I read recently about podcasting not being a prime source for news, I learned of the passing of Gene Scott through OpenPodcast.com, in this very well produced podcast.
Open Mic at Red Rock, Dawn and Drew Get-Together
I spent some time tonight talking with folks at the Open Mic at Red Rock Coffee Company in Mountain View. Hopefully some of the recorded audio sounds decent enough to put into a podcast... it was hard to tell if the fidelity was adequate... and I recorded it all in an elevator.
I've been working on a number of segment ideas, and hopefully will be able to beef up my podcasts with some interesting stuff. I'm really getting into podcasting. It has the potential to be even cooler and more fun... and I'm lovin' it.
One of the smartest decisions I've made recently was to go to the Dawn and Drew get-together in San Francisco, in the Tonga Room of the Fairmont Hotel. I might podcast about it, but the Reader's Digest condensed version is that I'm impressed with how cool and down-to-earth the podcasting folks are. Dawn and Drew are totally personable, and were fun to chat with, even if only briefly.
I think everyone was surprised at the turnout. I'd estimate that there were between 25-30+ people there, most of whom are podcasters, though there was a subsection of Dawn and Drew fans.
A highlight for me was meeting Ryan King, who I'm going to collaborate with, probably using Skype. I'm really excited about the podcasts we have planned, I think it'll be interesting and hopefully entertaining. (Sorry, no details until we've worked 'em out a bit further.) Ryan made it to the WordPress get-together that was held last week, which I'm bummed that I missed.
I ended up sitting next to Sam Levin, who I kinda felt compelled to hold my non-Mac-fan-tongue around. I'm not religious about Operating Systems, but Apple lost me as a fan quite a while back. Sam had the new iTalk which looks like a pretty darn sweet addition for the iPod.
I enjoyed chatting with Butler, whose Rock and Roll Geek Show podcast is quite entertaining; and Kris, who does Say Yum with her husband Devin (who are in a New York Times article that I have yet to read).
Totally nice people, all of whom are doing podcasts that are really interesting and fun. I couldn't help but to tell Adam Curry that I love his show, and think that he looks mega-better without the poofy big hair from the 80's. (I'm thankful that I saw him because up until yesterday, I had a mental image of him with Wolf Marshall/Billy Sheehan hair when I listened to his podcast.) I totally covet Michael Geoghegan's home theater. =)
I wish I'd had the chance to meet everbody, and I'm sorry if you were there and I didn't link to you, but I have a crappy memory, and I turn into a pumkin at midnight, so I had to leave a bit early.
If you're interested in listening to podcasts, all of these folks have great shows that are really interesting, very worth listening to, and have been around for a while. It was neat to be around the pioneers of podcasting. I had a great time!
After talking with folks at Open Mic tonight, I really realized how similar podcasting is to Open Mic. While they're not similar in terms of the format, they're very similar in essence. Both are avenues for creative expression, and both are unique in that what you're seeing/hearing is the real stuff, from real people, instead of some canned, sanitized, and monetized product delivered over commercial distribution channels. Can Open Mic and Podcasting save humanity?
Monday, February 21st
Sunday, February 20th
Podcast #4 - Comment
Probably the most obvious thing about today's podcast is that there are volume/level issues. There's also a bit of hiss, which is from me "normalizing" the audio. I'll be spending some time trying to work out how to get more signal. I would go back and fix this one, but I really think it'd be better to focus on moving forward and doing more content. The process will hopefully improve as I continue. Sorry if the "meta-ness" of this is annoying... I'm not trying to be "chic" or "meta," I'm just thinking-out-loud about how to make things better/easier.
Podcast #4
Served up pipin' hot and fresh... I haven't even listened to it yet! TOTDT-004-2005-02-20.mp3 (8048k file)
Here's the link to Corpus Callosum.
As always, comments are welcome and encouraged.
Thanks FeedBurner!
Until I wrap my head around what I'll need to do to add support for enclosures to the RSS feed tool I'm using, I'm going to use FeedBurner, which automatically detects a posted .mp3 and creates the appropriate bit of XML that a podcasting client like Doppler users. After switching to FeedBurner, Doppler picked up two of my podcasts without me having to modify anything. Apparently FeedBurner doesn't currently support multiple podcasts in one post, but the obvious solution is to not post 'em that way.
So, I guess that makes my podcast an "official" podcast... whatever that means.
If you've subscribed to my old RSS feed, you don't need to update your aggregator. It'll still be updated with new content, but it won't work with a podcasting client (in terms of discovering and downloading the shows).
I'm going to go get some coffee and hang out at Barefoot for a while, then come home and do a quick podcast and take a nap.
Saturday, February 19th
Podcast #3
Anybody who wants to be really anal about things like this would likely point out that I'm not "officially podcasting" until I set up an RSS feed for it... but I'm still experimenting with the whole thing. Tonight's episode (show?) is right here:
TOTDT-003-2005-02-19.mp3 (6993k file)
It's not necessarily earthshatteringly interesting, but at least I'm getting the proverbial ball rolling. If you give it a listen, please share your thoughts.
Friday, February 18th
Taking "Loser" to the Next Level
You can order a pizza while playing Everquest II without leaving the game, or picking up the phone.
Thursday, February 17th
Ugh... Technology Sucks Sometimes!
I bought an Olympus Digital Voice Recorder in hopes of using it to do a podcast. Alas, this is not going to work. To convert the wav files it produces into .mp3s, I first have to upsample the wave files in Sonar and then export them, because the .mp3 encoder I've been using won't take low-bitrate wav files.
Beyond the fact that the process sucks (I bought the recorder dealie in hopes of simplifying the process), the output sucks... BAD. I'll be returning the recorder, and possibly buying another one. Until then this whole podcasting scheme-o-mine is going to have to find another solution... which will likely be using my studio condenser mic with my music gear. That'll sound much, much better, but is far, far, far less portable. My goal was decent quality + portability. Time to try again.
If you're really interested in hearing the ass-quality of these recordings, well, TOTDT-001-01-2005-02-16-crappy.mp3 (2529k file) and TOTDT-002-01-2005-02-17-crappy.mp3 (1444k file).
Here's the guy I mentioned in the second clip.
Good News!
Woo hoo! Dave Allender's dad has been moved out of the ICU... and Dave's brother Ed got him to laugh. This is great stuff!
First Podcast
I'll upload my first podcast this evening, and will put the link here. I'm a bit hesitant, but my test audience (friend David from work) said this:
David P: where's the first installment of the show?
Dan: =)
Dan: C'mere.
(Dan hands David his recorder and a pair of headphones. David returns to his desk.)
David P: your riff on the taxi cab -- cute
Dan:
Dan: My math is bad.
Dan: 20 x 5 = 100, not 60.
David P: maybe you do need an outline jk
David P: you post it on your blog?
Dan: Not yet
Dan: I'm debating...
Dan: I think I'd like to redo it.
Dan: And start with something better... but.
Dan: The point of the thing is doing it... not doing it WELL.
David P: hey i was entertained for 5 minutes
I'll upload it tonight, and if you don't like it... well, a) blame David, and b) you don't ever have to download it again.
Wednesday, February 16th
Tuesday, February 15th
Podcasting
podcasting is creating an audio file (traditionally in MP3 format, though other formats can be used as well) and making it available online for other people to listen to. If that were all there was to it, you would probably say "So what? That capability has been around for years!" and you would be correct. What's different now is that there are simple ways to subscribe to specific shows and have the audio files automatically downloaded to your computer and placed into your MP3 software - likely iTunes on the Mac - and, thus, if you wish onto your MP3 player - probably an iPod - without any effort. Simplifying and automating that task has made all the difference.
Right off the bat, I want to clear up one common misconception about podcasting: it has essentially nothing to do with the iPod, and you do not need an iPod to listen to podcasts. If another MP3 player was the cool toy everyone had to have, podcasting would have been given a different name.
From TidBITS.
Monday, February 14th
New Doughty Album "Haughty Melodic" - Out May 3rd!
Mike Doughty is coming out with a new album, Haughty Melodic, to be released on May 3rd. Guess who's gonna preorder as soon as he can?
HAUGHTY MELODIC tracklist:
1. Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well
2. Unsingable Name
3. Madeline and Nine
4. Busting Up A Starbucks
5. White Lexus
6. American Car
7. Tremendous Brunettes
8. I Hear The Bells
9. Sunken-Eyed Girl
10. Grey Ghost
11. His Truth Is Marching On
12. Your Misfortune
Monday, Why?
I'm in Season Three of Alias, and frankly, I'm reminded of why I don't watch television regularly.
Nougat died over the weekend. Elsbeth is probably the world's most durable hamster, and has regained her alpha-pet status.
Why does it have to be Monday? I have too much stuff to do at home. Oh well.
Friday, February 11th
Thursday, February 10th
Dylan Thomas Joke in Cat and Girl
Amazing... a web comic with a Dylan Thomas joke. I think that's made my day. =)
Nougat's Neat Trick
I just saw my new hamster Nougat do a really crazy trick!
I bought her the same cage that Elsbeth has, a Habitrail Space Station.
If you look closely at the picture, you'll notice that the wheel is attached to the back of the cage. There's less than a half-inch between the back side of the wheel and the cage. Nougat went behind the wheel and crawled up the back, then hopped off of the top.
It may not sound that cool, but man, that's the kind of moment you have pets for. They're so entertaining sometimes!
Wednesday, February 9th
Cool Crap Day
Lots of cool crap today (in addition to the wicked witch getting the axe):
- Where's George? I got a dollar bill stamped with this URL. The site is tracking dollar bills, which is pretty interesting.
- Google Maps This will show the results of searching for me in San Francisco. It's borderline frightening... calling all privacy advocates... there is no privacy.
- iPodder.org This site is not about Apple's crappy mp3 players... it's about a new type of personal "broadcasting" which has a dumb name (like "blogs").
- The Dawn and Drew Show
- Dialy Source Code Adam Curry's podcast (yes, that Adam Curry).
Americans Don't Have a God-Given Right to Jobs, Ms. Fiorina
Ding dong, the witch is gone.
It's my hope that if she tries to find another job (instead of "retiring") that she's reminded that "Americans don't have a God-given right to jobs" at every company she's interested in working for.
Tuesday, February 8th
Intervention
I'm on the cusp of buying (and playing) World of Warcraft. If you'd ever like to see me again, intervene now.
The Pizza Delivery Girl
One of my friends and I are quick to admit that we'll likely never meet women because of our borderline reclusive lifestyles. Neither of us really go out and do things. We don't really go to bars or clubs, we aren't particularly social, and we spend most of our time either at work or at home. Homebodies don't tend to meet people.
Recently, I've started joking about how the only women we'd meet would be pizza delivery girls. I can picture it... I'm lounging at home in my Dan Tripp Urban HomeWear(tm) (t-shirt and sweats, basically), watching TV, and there's a knock at the door. I answer it, and a uber-genius-hottie is standing there with a pizza...
Sunday, February 6th
Alias: Season Two
Season One of Alias was good enough that I'm now half-way through Season Two. I might wait to post any sort of actual "review"-type dealie, though. So far, I've found the show to be less-than-perfect but rather entertaining nonetheless. I've already shouted at the TV once while watching it ("No Sydney, you're thinking with your crotch!").
Wednesday, February 2nd
Robert Earl Keen on the Food Network
Since I don't watch TV or have cable, I totally missed Robert Earl Keen on the Food Network. If anybody happens to have taped it, or runs across where one can get a copy of it online, please let me know.
Tuesday, February 1st
Netscape 8
AOL is going to release Netscape 8, according to this article.
