Well, actually the quote does not refer to moi.. but instead to a guy named Nate Berkus who is doing a home design show on the new Oprah Radio Network. I took that quote out of context… kind of like Chris Wallace did on Sunday in that absurd Fox “News” interview with former President Clinton where those crackpot Republicans still try to blame Clinton for 9-11.
Just in case you haven’t heard about it… and with all the media blitz how could you miss it?.… Oprah started a new radio network on XM Radio this week… featuring shows hosted by frequent guests on her show such as financial writer Jean Chatzky and this doctor who did a bizarrely fascinating show last year about “being regular”.. with just a bit more detail than one would want to see at 4 in the afternoon…
Two things to note about this new venture: First, Oprah’s bestest bestest pal Gayle King does a weekly show with Oprah about… gasp… their personal phone calls. That’s right folks, the best buds sit and chat for hours on end on the phone at night, and “highlights” of these chats will be edited down for this show. There have been rumors that the two are more than friends and that Steadman.. Oprah’s longtime boyfriend/fiance is just a decoy. Yet why do we assume that 2 women who are bestest buds are automatic lesbians? Is that because we’re a bunch of horny yentas who like to imagine 2 women getting it on? I have always said that men like lesbians because they imagine how far a hot woman will go to seduce an avowed equally hot heterosexual woman. It’s the fantasy of the seduction that gets these dudes all horned up.. Oh bummer here we go with the lustful thoughts before Yom Kippur!
However even though its not nice to out straight people.. Or gay people who want to remain in the closet.… how does Oprah have all this time to spend yakking with Gayle? After all she runs a multi-bazillion dollar empire.. She’s gotta work a good 12 hours a day… don’t you think when she comes home at night that she would want to spend some “quality time” with Steadman? And how do hourlong chats with Gayle fit into that oh so busy schedule? And who fills in when they go on vacation? Janine Piro and Bernard Kerik?
My other point - for now, all the Oprah Radio Network shows are not live - they are prerecorded.. Yet people pay money for this? Now that dial-up is a thing of the past like beta players, The WB and Pedro Martinez‘s pitching skills… pod casts continue to explode in popularity. Why pay to hear a show when they can be put on a website and listened to on-line or on an ipod or mp3 player? I really think pod casts are going to make a big dent into radio’s audience, and yes folks I am now doing one too. By the way getting back to Pedro.. I wouldn‘t get too upset about losing a pitcher who won only 4 games since May 1st considering how dominant his team has been for the last 5 months... We’ll do ok with a rotation of Glavine, El Duque, Steve Trachsel and John Maine. And if the starters are bad.. They can always get a quick hook and bring in the talented relievers.
If you look to the left you will see a link to a new pod cast I started doing in August. I also do occasional pod casts here on this blog.. The new pod cast consists of 2-3 minute commentaries about finance and I update it every couple of weeks. I started thinking about embedding files on line about a year and a half ago when I decided to snazzy up my eBay sales by embedding commercials on my ads. By doing this I learned the HTML codes to embed media players and that leads to today‘s topic… .. The easiest seminar you will ever see about how to build a pod cast. It’s kind of Nate’s World of Words Build a Bear Workshop. By the way, my word processor program breaks the word podcast into 2 words for some bizarre reason.
1. Repeat after me - This is not easy. Ok. Lotsa people make it seem simple - it’s not. And once your done, brag to your friends how you got your pod cast going. Feel free to credit me if you would like.
2. Pick a topic - You’re on your own for that one.
3. Record it - It’s easy. Almost every comp has a program called Windows Movie Maker.. And you can use it to record audio tracks. The program is pretty self explanatory to record audio and them save the file to your computer. To record your voice, you can buy a computer microphone really cheap.. I got a gooseneck for about 10 bucks on ebay that folds in my laptop bag so I can take it on the road with me.
4. Upload it - Originally I subscribed to a site called Streamload which is now called Media Max. It gives me a place to “host” my audio and video files. The site has a prompt to upload files.. which gives you the option to check off the audio file on your computer that you would like to store on-line for listeners to download.
I then type in a code on Blogspot which includes a link to the hosted audio or video clip. The reader doesn’t see the HTML code - just the embedded player or the link to play the clip. Incidentally, I purposely don’t embed clips on the new pod cast; I want listeners to play it on their Windows Media Player since I programmed the file to display marketing information for potential future clients. Isn’t that clever?
When I started doing pod casts here on blogspot, I found out that a website called click caster had picked it up. (That is part of Step 5 - Syndicating it so people can get it automatically). Clickcaster has a way of searching the web for sites that have audio and video files and then they start to carry those pod casts on their website. Therefore the NWOW pod casts automatically show up there. When I decided to do my new pod cast I housed it at Clickcaster. They make the whole process very easy. I just upload it to them.. And it’s there. No html code to type in. However I have that pod cast’s audio files based on 2 websites.. Clickcaster and Blogspot, so I also upload the clips to Streamload too.
5. Syndication - This is the magic step that enables people to get your pod cast. Since a lot of pod casts are garbage.. Let’s use garbage as an analogy… How does garbage get from your house to the dump? Simple - you put it outside and the garbage men pick it up and it ends up at its final resting place. Likewise, if you put your pod cast “on the curb” by syndicating it, pod catchers will be like garbage men and deliver them to your computer - the proverbial garbage dump.
I get my podcasts on I Tunes, My msn and My Yahoo. In order it to be “seen” by those websites, (they are programmed to seek out pod casts) you need to “burn a feed”.. which means “putting it to the curb” in computer-ese. I went to a site called “feed burner.com” and they create a new url for your podcast which is your address for what is called rss syndication. When listeners see the rss prompt, they just type in the feed burner created address and kaploo-ey.. Your homies can now automatically receive your pod cast! My RSS address for this blog is http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/msNl and the url for the feed for the new pod cast is http://clickcaster.com/clickcast/rss/1906.
6. Make it user friendly - There is one last step - make sure its in mp3 format so all ipods and mp3 players can play it. Some of ‘em don’t play wma files, so you need to convert them. There is a free website I use called switch which copies your files to the desired mp3 format.
This might be the easiest tutorial you will ever find for pod casting.. Now maybe Oprah will get everybody to love me too! Or maybe Gayle King? Or Steadman?
Now time for the weekly football picks. Last week we went 6-6-2.. and the season to date record is a very embarrassing un-Nate-like 19-25-2. But now that the rotis season is wrapping up, I will have more time to devote to the Pigskin. x-is home team...
Colts 9 faves over x-Jets - Nice game last wk for the Manginis - now it's time to come back to Earth.
Vikings 1 doggies over x-Buffalo - Minny fans will be switching channels during the game to watch Joe Mauer win the batting title over Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano.
x-Titans 9 1/2 doggies over Dallas - The Cowboys had a pretty quiet week, don't you think? My reaction to TO's female publicist at his wacky press conference - Va Va Voom. Cowboys win but don't cover.
49ers 7 doggies over x-KC - Another spread that won't cover.
Saints 7 doggies over x-Carolina - How long will the feel good story Saints continue? It probably ends this wk.. but yet again, another big spread that won't cover. (I will probably eat my words on Monday - after Yom Kippur ends!)
Chargers 2 1/2 faves over x-Baltimore - Somebody leaves unbeaten. Won't be the Ravens.
Arizona 7 doggies over x-Atlanta - Cards are better than in the past; Atlanta got smoked in Orleans last Monday.. I like the Cards to cover.
Dolphins 3 1/2 point faves x-Houston - The Texans are due for a win..but not just yet.
x-Rams 5 1/2 faves over Detroit - The only Ram that concerns me is the one whose horn will be blown to signify the end of Yom Kippur.
Patriots 6 doggies over x-Bengals - Huh? No way.. Boy have the Bengals come a long way.. This week it's back to Earth.. (although that is what I mistakenly said about their last game against the Steelers!)
Jaguars 3 faves over x- Washington - 4:15 game? Fans attending this game should watch out for the traffic leaving the Nationals-Mets regular season finale, assuming they don't have a 4 and a half hour rain delay like they did on Thursday night.
x-Raiders 3 point doggies over Cleveland - The Raiders can't be that bad, can they? Look for a rebound win.
Seahawks 3 doggies over x-The Bears - The Kol Nidre Special. Sorry folks, I won't be catching this game. I saw enough of Seattle during last weeks Giants game! (See Pumpstradamus's pick below!)
x-Eagles 11 faves over Green Bay - I'm not a big fan of double digit spreads, especially on Monday Night, but how can you pick against the Eagles?
PUMPSTRADAMUS PICK OF THE WEEK: Since this column is about Oprah lets pick The Chicago Bears over Seattle. Hey isn't Rex Grossman Jewish? And he is playing on Yom Kippur? Oy.
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