5 posts tagged “podcasting”

got a bunch of irons in the fire at the moment.  in the past weeek or so i transfered my old domain, webcramp.com,  to a new host & currently have it linked to a temporary webpage that i have set-up to distribute my new podcast, The Webcramp Project.  im currently working on the 1st episode & i hope to have it out soon, hopefully within the next few weeks.  i’ve got some things in mind for content that im sure you’ll enjoy.

in the same vain of “websites”, im sort of at a crossroads when it comes to my blog.  i first started officially blogging almost 2 years ago with a free account at Blogger.  and while i had a good time posting there, i felt it was time for me to move away from Blogger, and i created a blog over at Wordpress.  unfortunately about 2 months ago i deleted virtually every post i had ever made at Blogger.  something i sort of wish i hadn’t done - but oh well, whats done - is done.  it took me a bit to get use to, but i’ve really come to like the way Wordpress works.  there is a bit more available to you in terms of customization - which is nice, and navigating within your account is pretty easy too.

here is where im having a bit of a problem.  recently a friend of mine sent me a link to a site where he is starting a new blog.  the idea behind this site is cool as hell as you are able to post photos, audio, and video & it allows you to import all your old posts from various blogging sites.  unfortunately, it doesn’t work with Wordpress.  now while i really like the idea of the Vox blogging site, i’ve only been blogging at Wordpress for about 6 months.  so i dont really want to just up & move again.  i need to think about it a bit longer.

this weekend im gonna be getting another tattoo.  its gonna be an add-on to a leg piece i started over 8 years ago.  we have kind of described  the piece as a “toxic ocean”.  i will post pictures below cause its gonna be easier to look at and understand rather that trying to describe it.  its been almost 6-7 years since i had last been tattooed, much longer than i thought.  im really looking forward to getting this mermaid piece as i have wanted it for almost the same amout of time.  i was suppose to get it a number of years ago, but we were having some sizing issues so i decided to have the water in the piece re-colored and would come back to have the mermaid tattooed later.  well, later is this weekend.  if your interested in tattoos & want to check out the artist that will be doing my piece, Spider at Spider Tattoos (the only artist i currently go to), i have a link on my sidebar.  or you can just click on the link above.

its getting late, & i need to get some rest.  later all.

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hey all … how are things ?

im doin’ ok for the most part.  seems that i was able to catch the “sick bug” i thought i had, before it really got a hold of me.  i’ve gotten past the cold shakes i had , and im feelin’ ok.  i hate gettin’ sick … especially cause when i do, its usually over the weekend witch i think anyone can agree really sucks ass.  luckily - it wasn’t to bad this time.

as mentioned on my last post, this past weekend i stopped over at my local guitarmart to check out some recording equipment.  once i got there it was a good 15 minutes before anyone was able to help me with what i was looking for.  it didnt seem all that busy though.  i had a young kid named dickie go over some options i would want to look at to be able to start a basic podcast.  i was expecting to be shown a number of mixers, and an equal amount of microphones (of which i would at some point need 2) … .  to my suprise though, that isnt how it went at all.  i mentioned to dickie that i have very limited recording knowledge & that i was looking for something i would be able to use in a mobile situation.  the first thing he showed me was a USB mic by a company called Blue Microphones.  the name of the mic is the Snowball.  for all intensive purposes, thats what this device looks like.  it a round, white, USB powered, multifunctional condenser mic.  with it came a mini tripod stand, but you should be able to screw this little thing to any mic stand if needed.  there are 3 settings on the back of the ball (also where the usb cable connects) that you can choose from depending on what kind of a sound, or studio setup you would like to create.  ive played wikth it a little bit, but still need time to really optimize the sound id like.  i dont really want to give a review about it now, i figure ‘ll wait till i can really get my hands wet in this thing.  its a cool little machine from what ive seen so far.

i still plan on getting a mixer & at least 2 mics in the future , its just a little to expensive to do that now.

take care all.

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thursday the 1st i had the wonderful opportunity to go to my dentist (can you sense the sarcasam). looks like im gonna be seeing him in a month as well - good times - heh.

looks like something has lit a fire under my ass in regards to the frequency of the posts ive been puttin’ out. i like to post. it’s somewhat theraputic. i really have no idea on who is actually reading them. maybe someone somewhere has run across a post & it’s helped them in some way. i doubt it, but you never know.

ive been playing around with garageband a bit lately. i’ve realized to be able to get any kind of good sound quality im going to need to get a much better microphone. the one i curretly have is a headset/mic combo. its one of the low end labeltec models. if had it for a number of years but never really used it. i thought this would be a great opportunity to put it to use. unfortunately, the sound quality is far lower than i would like, so mic shopping i will go. anyone have any suggestions on a good but reasonably priced microphone ??? im still learning alot about how to record using the garageband software. there are alot of options they included in this version. some of the time i find myself in areas that dont even pertain to what i though i was working on. i dont have a book to learn the in’s & out’s - plus i currently do not have a computer to print out the instruction manual. its not like its hard to figure out. if i wanted, i could just pull up the PDF instructions and have them in front of me on the screen, but then comes the task of having to continually switch back and forth between garageband & its instruction manual. trying to read them while im working in a diferent window - just kind of a pain in the ass if ya ask me. i just want the sound to be as good as it can be.

i’ve found a few more podcasts this week. the first was the S.I.N. Cast - this is for motley crue fans, so if your not down with the crue it’s probably best you keep on lookin’. the other was Dee Speaks. yes this is the frontman for the infamous Twisted Sister, Dee Snider. its interesting enough. i’ve only heard a few shows, but unless it starts getting really weird i’ll continue to check it out. also lately i’ve really been reintroducing myself to the tattoo world. ive found a few podcasts (which there are only a few of) within the itunes store. the first, TLC’s Miami Ink Tattoo Talk only has 3 episodes - 1 of which will not allow me to download, was started in the early part of ‘06. the 2 shows i have are approximately a total of 19 minutes long. i really dig hearing the stories of how the artists got to where they are, and all the little things in-between. the next one is The Illustrated Kat. this is a vid-cast showing off the tattoos of the Miami Ink artist Kat Von D, with her describing why she got them & sometimes even has a little story to follow. these also are pretty short. i think the maximum length on one is only 3:15, but very interesting. there is also one more, but as of this post i have yet to listen to it. its called Motion Ink: Tattoo Artists & Artwork. this one showcases artists and artwork in the tattoo industry. this one also only has 6 episodes, ranging from 6 to 16 minutes. im hoping they havent podfaded yet, as the last post in itunes is from august of 2006. i look forward to checking it out soon. sorry i dont have the links at the moment. i’m hoping to have them up in the next few days on my sidebar.

well, its really f’n late and my eyes are trying to close as im typing, so i think its time to get to bed. talk to ya’ll later

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it’s saturday morning, thankfully.

i’ve been looking forward to today for about the past month or so.  this evening i will be joining an old friend of mine who will be getting tattooed by another friend of mine, Spider.  this friend of mine i have known for about 15-16 years.  we have worked together at 2 different “ink” companies.  i started a few months before him, and was asked to show him around.  in that time we realized we had alot in common, (music, tattoos, etc …) had become good friends, and continue to be so.  the last i saw this friend was in september of last year.  he was working at the place i had been let go from.  well, i received a call early last month from him telling me to keep february 10th open cause he set up an appointment with Spider, and wanted to see if i was available to go out there with him.  i immediately said yes, as it has been even longer since i have been able to get together with Spider.  so tonight should be a good time just hangin’ out with friends.

this week has been going on forever it seems.  yesterday being the pinical of suckdom.  yes i said suckdom.  on top of everything else that happened on friday (not worth mentioning) , i did something that not only freaked me out, but pissed me off that i allowed it to happen.  after loading some boxes into the vehicle of a customer of ours, i went back to the forklift (which was turned off), turned it on, and thought i shifted it into the reverse position.  unfortunately, i had shifted it into the forward position & proceeded to drive into (not through) the dock door that was directly in front of me.  there are some slight cracks in the door itself , but nothing that air would be leaking out/in from.  what was funny though was that even after hearing the loud crack of the forklift skid trying to push itself through the door, no one had realized what had happened.  me being the person i am - i went to the supervisor, let him know what happened, & by the end of the day we were able to get it fixed to work as well as it had before.  it still freaks me out a bit, but i dont even know if anyone else knew what happened.  the good thing is that i’m even more cautious than i was prior, as to not allow it to happen again.

last night i started playing around with GarageBand.  i haven’t every really done any “professional” recording, so all of  this is fairly new to me.  there are alot of bells a whistles in the program, some of which i should be able to use once i start my own podcast.  ever since i was 11-12 i always wanted to be in radio. more like the character Hard Harry from the movie Pump Up the Volume than any traditional fm radio personality.  just someone who could talk about the stuff they wanted to instead of having to stick to the rules governed by the FCC.  to me, (and i’m assuming many others) the idea of Pump Up The Volume is where podcasting derived from.  it’s like legal pirate radio.  you can say what you want - do what you want - and not have to worry about being fined, or having someone over your shoulder telling you what you can or cannot do.  over the past year i’ve subscribed to many really cool podcasts (Gabber JaW, Nate and Di, The Twisted Pickle, Six String Bliss, Keith & the Girl, Distorted View, among many, many others), so many in fact i have no reason to ever listen to the radio again - which is fine with me cause the radio stations here in the Chicagoland area suck major donkey balls.  im hoping in the next few months to have my own podcast out there, but as we all know - life happens - so i guess we’ll wait and see.

things are goin’ on … gotta bail - talk to ya all soon.

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