Category: Podcasting

How to Podcast

At the request of the president of the Pensacola Linux Users Group (P’cola LUG) I wrote an article yesterday on the basics of podcasting. It is nothing too deep or complicated, but since I put the work into it, I wanted to get more mileage out of it. Therefore I am linking to it from here.

It is kinda long, so you might want to bring a cup of coffee along for the ride.

I used to write a lot of longer articles for the group. We are finishing up our 6th year as a LUG. When we first started there were so few with any Linux knowledge that I would do a writeup on every new thing I learned. Now the group has quite a large number of intelligent members that I feel like the newbie in the room. So I have not been writing as many articles for the group like I used to.

Here is an excerpt:

While I titled this How to Podcast from Linux, it really is not Linux specific. The only real software that you need that will be running on your local system is Audacity which is available for Linux, Mac and Windows. Everything else can be done through the web browser.

What makes a Podcast?
File types
The files can be just about any file type/format you want. For audio podcasts these are usually .mp3 or .ogg. For video podcasting there are several formats to chose from. I am not sure which is the most common since I don’t do a video podcast.

You can read the rest at the P’cola LUG forum.

Don’t forget to check out my podcast at: www.missionarytalks.com

Endurance Planet For Sale

Endurance Planet is a podcast that I have listened to for about 6 months. I just listened to another podcast done by the same host where he said he is looking for a buyer for Endurance Planet.

Endurance planet is a podcast for endurance athletes. Particularly Tim interviews tri-athletes for his show. These interviews last about 15 minutes.

I am excited on one hand to see that this podcast could get a fresh burst of energy. Frankly, it has been obvious that Tim has lost some drive on this show. On the other hand, this show has been pretty much the show that I have copied for my podcast. Tim has also personally given me some tips and pointers for my show, so I hate to see him go.

But, Tim is not leaving podcasting by no means. He has a few other shows that he does. Also, other podcasters will know Tim’s organization if they don’t know Tim by name. He and his brother are the ones behind the Podcast Expo, or, as it is now called, The Podcast and New Media Expo. Quite the event in the podcasting community. So Tim will be around, he is just looking for a buyer for the Endurance Planet show.

This is the first I have heard of a show being sold. I am sure advertisers could make this a profitable show. I don’t know what the listernship is, but the show has been around a while (I think he said over 3 years). Before it was a podcast it was streamed audio. Because of it’s endurance athlete focus, there is great potential for targeted marketing by advertisers.

I am curious as to how this will turn out.

Making a smart playlist in iTunes

My brother just got a new iPod nano for Christmas. This is somewhat written for him and all the others who need to know how to do a smart playlist in a smart way. This is just one example of what can be done. It will give you an idea of what is possible.

This is a playlist that will be for your podcasts. You really are not interested in most podcasts beyond one listen. If you are, you certainly can keep them around. But this will give you a playlist containing only podcasts that have not been completely listened to.

First off you will need to open iTunes. Then File | New Smart Playlist. “Match the following rule” is checked. Then you want to set it to: Genre is Podcast. Now click the “+” sign at the right and set the next line to: Play count is less than 1. Everything else can be left at its default values.

Another one you can do is to have a playlist that is: Genre is Christmas. And: Playcount is less than 1. That will give you only Christmas songs that you have not yet listened to. When you listen to them all, increase the number to 2.

A variation on that is: Genre is not Christmas. And: Playcount is less than 1. That will give you all songs that are not Christmas that you have not yet heard. This may need to be tweaked. If you have a certain genra that you don’t want to include like Speech, then set that like the Christmas genre.

You can build from there. Have fun. And Merry Christmas!

Missionary Talks 09: John Carney

Almost to double digits!

This is the first in a series of conversations with Missionary Kids (MKs). This episode ended up being a bit short, which is fine. Going long is what I am attempting to avoid. I was able to add some chit chat at the end of the show. I think I will work to do that at least every 4th show.

I have known John for the 2 years I have lived here and it was fun talking with him in this way. We have played tennis and basketball together. I even talked him into running his first, and (so far), only road race.

I think you will enjoy hearing what John has to say.

Mom, I got my camel back.

The camel finally came home to roost. I ordered a Camelbak running pack a few months ago from Bike Nashbar. I got a great deal on it in August, but have had to wait to have it delivered. When you live outside the US, all the great deals on the Internet get negated when you have to pay so much extra in shipping, if they offer it at all. Then you have to just hope that the product arrives. We prefer to wait until we know someone is coming down to visit and have them bring the loot in.

I got the Camelbak Flash Flo 45 oz. pack. It took a while to figure out how best to wear the thing and how to cinch it all down. Being a man, I did not even look at the picture instructions. Today, in my spare 10 minutes, I looked at them and saw they were almost totally unhelpful, but there was a drawing that gave me an idea about how to secure the straps a bit better.CamelBak Flash Flo

The pack is marketed to the running community. Or at least a very active community. But this thing has straps long enough to fit around my (very large) sister. I am not petite, but the straps are still very long for me. Just looping them through the tie down bungee still allowed them to flap. Apparently you are supposed to be smart enough to know to double them back on themselves and then use the elastic straps to secure them. There was one picture in the instructions that insinuated this.

I had to wear the pack much tighter than I first thought to keep it from bouncing. I think I will get used to that.

My iPod (20GB hard drive based) did well in the pack. It never skipped. But, my experience today caused me to dislike music in podcasts even more. I start my run through some very busy streets with lots of bus traffic. I have to turn the volume up a bit to hear the talking. But then, when the music started it really hurt. Normally that is not a problem because I run with the iPod in hand and I can adjust the volume while fast forwarding the song. Since I am not a contortionist, I was not able to fast forward the song, nor drop the volume. I had to run with the headphones in my hand. No worries though, the music was so loud that I could easily hear when the song stopped. PODCASTERS, I HATE YOUR MUSIC!! And I especially hate it when the level of the music is so much louder than the speaking part. When I got past all the bus traffic I stopped and dropped the volume in general.

I took it on a short run to give it a good try. I only ran 10K (6.2 miles) today with it. It will be a welcome accessory to longer training runs. Though, I think I will be glad to have it on any run longer than 5 or 6 miles. I only filled it about half full of liquid today and it was not too heavy.