idioPod Staggers

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You might be wondering where the next episode of idioPod is.  And I will most likely give you an answer that isn't what you want to hear.

I've been hard at work trying to get the new layout of Idiologic.com going and so far, so good.  There are a few issues but I am hoping to get them all fixed and get that thing done in two weeks.  Of course, when I work on new layouts for websites, I tend to forget to show my podcast any love.  

So because I have strayed too far away from the release plan, that means I most likely won't post up to #115 before I leave for Australia.  But what I will aim for is to get it recorded before I head off and then have it posted during my break in early April.

So this is what I need from you:  I need to reintroduce myself.  So if you never met me before, what are the things you would definitely want to know before you listen to anything I have to say?  Please, please let me know so I can get 'er done.  

Right now I am planning to set a staggered release schedule for new podcasts which will give me a little more thinking time.  This week I will post on Tuesday (#107) and next Friday I will post the next podcast (#108) and it will cycle with that.  Of course #109 will come a few days after.  I have updated the calendar with the new dates but at this second the dates haven't updated.

So within the next few days, look for a sneak peek of what I'm working on.  Sorry for all the website- and podcast-central posts in my weblog lately.  I'll get more personal things going soon... especially after I get back to Australia.

idioPod 107 is later than never

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Unfortunately I did not get the new episode up. I will definitely edit and post it tomorrow (on a Sunday which is not something I willingly do).

This one will require editing. I just hope Garageband can handle it. If not, I'll go with Soundtrack.

I'll definitely need some feedback regarding the new layout. I've heard "it's too green" already. I have a preview available but not out in the public yet.

Oh, and when I die, everybody be a fan of mine on Facebook, will you? ;) Not that it's going to happen soon but if I'm a computer literate ghost, I want to feel the love.

Why am I craving peach cobbler? Now...?

Why is Idiologic.com so Green?

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If you've viewed idiologic.com lately, you might have noticed a big change.

Color theme switching is not available right now and I don't expect it to come back for a week or two. Why? Because I am changing layouts. Fortunately, I will be reusing a lot of the same code so it shouldn't take too terribly wrong.

Why a complete layout change right now? When I started the current layout, a lot of the code I put in there was meant to be temporary and I ended up leaving them there. There is a lot of code sitting there that does absolutely nothing. I need to change all of that so that idiologic and idioPod are quicker to load (because they're on slow servers to begin with).

When I am ready to post the new layout, you'll notice that both of my sites will go to my weblog (which will not be part of the layout change). You might want to delete the 'mysheet' cookie from Idiologic if you're seeing anything else but the new green color.

So that is what I'm working on and I'm giving you all a head's up. And of course, here's a little teaser what I'm working with.

New Look

Being Quiet for AUDIO

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Lately, I've been playing around with a few website-related things so I've been relatively quiet. And the last podcast mess really made me mad, so, yeah, but now I'm here and well I thought I'd let you know what I'm working on.

I've really wanted to implement audio on my site (mainly for idioPod) and wanted to use the <AUDIO> tag to do it.

But unfortunately, with most upcoming technologies, things aren't all the way put together.

To make it work with the newest Mozilla-based browsers (Firefox), I'd have to encode every MP3 file as an OGG file which I have noticed is very time consuming AND tedious. MP3 is a much more universal format, so I am sticking with it. I'm all for open sourced solutions, but this one doesn't suit me. So right now, the newest Mozilla-based browsers will show an X and the audio will not play. Additionally, I do not have anything to fall back on if I didn't also show the Flash player.

Because Internet Explorer (Trident-based browsers) and Opera (Presto-based browsers) do not support the AUDIO tag, a player is shown that will use Quicktime, Windows Media Player or even the VLC browser plug-in. It works, and it works quite well as far as I know.

For anybody who uses a Webkit-based browser (such as Safari, Chrome and such), it will work perfectly... the way I envisioned it would work.

With all this said, you're more than welcome to try out the new player. It will only play the latest episode of idioPod. You can keep it open and listen or you can just see if it works.

Try it Out

Note: You will see two players. The first is the Flash player (currently found on the weblog entries for podcast episodes). The second will either be the Quicktime/WMP/VLC plug-in or the AUDIO tag stuff. In Firefox 3.5+, the second player WILL NOT WORK.

Oh and if this weblog was a little too nerdy for you, I apologize. :)


Podcast.png

Fly the not-so-friendly skies

I had recorded a lively, upbeat version of this podcast and Garageband froze so I lost all of it. I had to start again and sound absolutely pissed off. Sorry. But I can tell you that I talk about these kinds of things:

  • Irritations while travelling
  • My on-flight essentials
  • Favorite airlines
  • Taking a break beginning 4 April 2010 and until then, posting new episodes on Fridays only
  • The idioPod 2010 Survey is up until 28 Feb 2010.

Remember: I'm always welcoming questions, comments and junk.

Stay updated with upcoming podcasts by checking out the idioPod Event Calendar! (It has been recently changed - now showing local time in the USA.)


Download: Right-click or listen on your iPhone/iPod Touch
Subscribe: Subscribe here
Length: 22 minutes 16 seconds
File Size: 10.2 MB

idioPod 105: Lowes Blows

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Podcast.png

This is what happens when you plan too many podcast episodes in 1 week...

I posted this podcast episode a lot later than expected so I labelled it as an extra. It's actually a full podcast episode that I wasn't going to post. It makes a few references on days that have already passed (especially near the end). This one's a bit shorter than the recent ones too.

  • My original plan for this podcast
  • Missing working in Australia
  • Complaining about Lowes (a hardware store here in the USA)
  • More stuff that I can't remember, but yeah, you get it)

Remember: I'm always welcoming questions, comments and junk... even on this episode.

Stay updated with upcoming podcasts by checking out the idioPod Event Calendar! (It has been recently changed - now showing local time in the USA.)


Download: Right-click or listen on your iPhone/iPod Touch
Subscribe: Subscribe here
Length: 14 minutes 47 seconds
File Size: 6.8 MB

Update: To release one episode per week until April 2010, I have decided to make this podcast episode number 105. You'll still hear "Extra" in the introduction, but this is #105.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hyundai. All opinions are 100% mine.

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The Santa Fe R diesel

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To follow the track from start to finish, feel free to see just how impressive the Santa Fe R diesel performed.

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Visit my sponsor: Hyundai Santa Fe - AU 2

Alright ladies and gents (and everything in between).  I've got an update for you.  I am posting an incomplete podcast episode on Tuesday.  I've named it idioPod Extra 105.  I know that I am not very consistent with my posting schedule and I apologize for that.

iP Extra 105 was supposed to be posted last Friday (and it was already recorded, not glued together) and I fell asleep.  I totally forgot about it.  So it makes some references to the live event and stuff.  That's what I get for cramming things into my so-called schedule.

People are reading my weblog lately and it's kind of crazy.  I'm getting a lot of posts about the LG Chocolate Touch.  Just to let you know, I don't own the phone.  It looks neat, but I said the same thing about the Samsung Rant and brought that thing right back to the Sprint store.  

I am an iPhone owner.  I'm not going to say that I'm a happy iPhone owner because the monthly charges are incredibly high.  I barely use 100 MB of bandwidth, yet I pay $30 for it.  Cell phone companies here in the USA need to offer more flexibility or actually MAKE the damn plans worth it.  But it's not like I'm going to keep my phone with AT&T.  

Also, I must reiterate that the things I post in my blogs are thoughts.  I don't do a lot of research before I post these things... in my personal life or the things I post about.  I know that a lot of the things I think may be hard to read emotionally but I honestly just want to get things out in the open.

So alright, that's what I wanted to say.  I hope that you all are doing well and the live event was not up to my expectations so I doubt that I will do another one for at least a month.  
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idioPod Live, in case you missed it

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Video icon

As promised, I did a live recording of idioPod today at 1:30 pm but unfortunately, I didn't see anybody looking so I decided to end it prematurely. That's okay. I wasn't really expecting much for my first live episode.

I did, however, realize that it was recorded and stored at UStream.tv so I present to you the two videos I made today. (I made 1 recording but for some reason it was cut into 2 videos).

In this video podcast, I give you a tour of my mom's yard and just talk about life here in Texas.


Transmit icon  First part of the live podcast episode on 23 Jan 2010

Transmit icon  Second part of the live podcast episode on 23 Jan 2010*

These were recorded with my iPhone so the quality isn't going to be spectacular. Plus AT&T's coverage is HORRIBLE at my place. I will try to do one of these a month if the feedback is decent enough.

If you only want to watch one, watch the one with the *.

Tickets Booked, Now What?

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Well hello once again.  I am sorry for that sloppy last post but I hope that you at least took a look at it.  Anyway, I am kinda just sitting here vegetating in one of my "moments".  Today is the date that I booked a ticket back to Australia but it's also a day that I feel like I want to cancel that ticket.

One of the biggest problems with me is that I really like living in two different places.  I'd love to go back to Australia but at the same time, I have family here who apparently needs me.  It's a very hard thing for me to choose.  And you might think that I thought 2 hours after I got here that I wasn't interested in anything the USA or Texas had to offer, but then again, I have my family here.  So it's just hard emotionally.

I haven't cancelled my ticket but I thought I would go ahead and do that while I decided what to do.  Funny thing is that I have had a long time to think about it.  One of my biggest worries happens to deal with immigration.  Collectively, I have spend several thousands of dollars on migration to Australia.  That doesn't even include my schooling costs.  I'd hate to see all the money wasted.

Then there's a little extra hope in the relationship department.  That makes it that much harder.

I'm just a mess.  And I'm a mess while I am taking my medications.  Uh huh.  This can't be good.
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