Category Archives: Brainwagon Radio

All the episodes of Brainwagon Radio, the podcast of brainwagon.org.

Brainwagon Radio: Podcasting via CompactFlash, and Google Talk

Today’s podcast gives some information about my experiments with getting podcasts transferred to a CompactFlash card so I can listen to them using my Dell Axim x50v PDA, which I also use to record podcasts.

  • This post on Social Customer Manifesto detailed how one guy used a cheapy mp3 player in a pretty creative way. The player simply looked like a harddrive, so he installed Doppler on it, configured it to save podcasts to the same drive, and then created an AUTORUN.INF file so that when it is inserted. There is one big problem though: Windows XP doesn’t automatically run AUTORUN stuff from removeable drives. You can hack the registry to get around it, but instead I just configured my podcasting client to save to the CompactFlash “drive”, and dropped a shortcut on my desktop. Now, to update my CompactFlash I jam it in my reader slot, double click on the icon to run Doppler, and then wait for it to fill it up. Not too bad.
  • The pity is that I really prefer iTunes, especially their new podcasting support, which I find really decent. I suppose I could try configuring it in the same way, but instead I tried using SyncToy, a new gadget from Microsoft that copies one directory over to another. It worked, but didn’t really streamline my workflow over the other method.

    • Brainwagon Radio: Watching my waist, and reality TV

    Me, in my Grumpy shirt

    Okay, for the second day in a row, I’ve got a new podcast. This one details my recent recommitment to losing weight and my views of the recent rash of shows featuring reality television “stars”. Probably boring, but hey, I’m trying to get back into the swing of things.

    Links:

    • Kill Reality is a strangely fascinating look at the worst of all that reality television has to offer. Oh, and what it has to offer doesn’t include “a compelling feature film” at the end.
    • You want a really good television show with a reality bent? Try Kathy Griffin’s Life on the D-List. Didn’t mention it on the podcast, but she is talented, smart and funny. The reality stars from Kill Reality have all but three of those qualities.

    Brainwagon Radio: Trying to get back into the swing of podcasting…

    Yow. It’s been over a month since I recorded a podcast. If anyone out there is still listening, then here’s a fresh installment, detailing some of my experiences at SIGGRAPH and a miscelleny of other topics.

    • Here is the paper detailing the RPU: an FPGA based raytracer. Very interesting work.
    • Blender is a combination modelling, animation and rendering package that I’ve toyed around with.
    • I bought a 512M CompactFlash card for my PDA, which I am going to rig up to be my podcasting client to replace my unreliable iPod.

    Enjoy.

    Brainwagon Radio: Terror in London, WiFi arrest, and Two Movies

    I almost didn’t upload this podcast. I did twenty minutes in my car this morning, and then (as I usually do) played it back to see how it sounded. Today’s topics began with some thoughts on the role that the Internet, camera phones and the Wikipedia can play in helping us learn and understand about tragic events like yesterday’s bombings in London. I do think the point is interesting, but I also think that I may have given the impression that I am using the tragedy of the event as a flimsy pretext to muse about the cool technologies like the blogging and Flickr and the role they have in helping us learn about events. I also strayed into politics more than I think was truly tasteful given that there are people planning funerals and waiting in hospital waiting rooms. I apologize if anyone turns out to be offended, and give my best wishes and/or condolences to all who are dealing with the real human aftermath of these tragic events.

    Does anyone have any links to podcasts regarding events that happened yesterday? I did some sweeps, but didn’t turn up any.

    Les Tremayne as General Mann

    To lighten the mood, I rambled a bit about the case of a Florida man arrested for unauthorized access to a computer network, and gave my impressions of the Australian movie Undead and Spielberg’s remake of War of the Worlds. I thought the effects were great, but the overall arc of the story was kind of disappointing. I prefer Haskin’s 1953 version better as a story. Great stuff from the post WWII. (I incorrectly cited the year of this as 1958 in my podcast, apologies). I particularly like actor Les Tremayne in his supporting role as Major General Mann. Sitting in a bunker covered in radioactive dust from the A-bomb just dropped by the Flying Wing, he delivers the classic line:

    Guns, tanks, bombs — they are like toys against them!

    Great, great stuff.

    To all Londoners, our hearts go out to you. To those responsible, stay where you are. I’m sure someone will be with you shortly.

    Brainwagon Radio: Opera for Smartphone, Orb and Deep Impact

    Where your host tries to shake off his morning jolt with some gadget news and a brief bit about some weekend fireworks in space.

    Links from the show:

    • Opera for Windows Smartphones has been released. I have a Motorola MPX220, so I downloaded it and gave it a shot. Pretty neat, check it out.
    • Orb Networks makes a free download that you can run on your Mediacenter PC (everybody has one of those right) WinXP box to control and stream content from that PC to any web enabled device anywhere on the Internet. I was streaming a bit of the Giants game to my cell phone last night. I’ll have a longer review of this later, but in the mean time check it out.
    • NASA’s Deep Impact probe is due to mash into Comet Tempel 1 this weekend. The flash may actually be visible to amateurs or even possibly naked eye. If you are bored with the standard fireworks, consider trying to watch this. If any amateurs are going to get pictures of this and want a link, drop me an email and I’ll share some link love.

    Brainwagon Radio: Happy Birthday, Grokster and Gnomedex

    Carmen's Cube

    Where your host sings Happy Birthday to his wife and then goes on to discuss the recent Supreme Court decision regarding Grokster, and his feelings on the cult of personality that seems to be forming around blogging, as is exemplified by Gnomedex.

    Links from the show:

    • The best blog on the doings of the Supreme Court would seem to be the SCOTUSblog.

    Brainwagon Radio: Mystery Podcast

    Yesterday I recorded a podcast on the way to work, but due to a computer glitch at work, I was unable to upload it immediately. As a result, I simply can’t remember what the heck it was about. I suspect that at least part of it was a rant against automobile repair places, but beyond that, I’m drawing a blank. I guess I’ll have to download it just like you and see what it’s about. 🙂

    Addendum: I’m listening to the podcast, and mentioned the OBD II diagnostic connector that all new cars (post 1996) have. Here’s a gadget from thinkgeek that hooks up to such a connector and displays it on an LCD panel. Cool stuff.

    Addendum2: Oh yes, Joe’s Crab Shack in San Francisco, absolutely terrible. Worst seafood meal I’ve had, maybe ever. Dante’s Bar on Fisherman’s Wharf: Jake’s Wild Brew killed the pain in my feet.

    Addendum3: Oh yes, we went purse shopping too. Yeah, I know, listen anyway for the link to intellectual property issues.

    Brainwagon Radio: World Wind, and Pick My Next Car

    Where your host records a brief blurb about World Wind, and then asks his thoughtful, knowledgeable audience which car he should purchase to replace his aging, gas-guzzling SUV. I’m interested in hybrids, notably the Toyota Prius, the Civic, and more conventional cars like the Toyota Matrix, VW Jetta or Passat, Mazda 3, and maybe even the Scion xA to replace my son’s car which seems to be spending too much time in the shop these days.

    Links:

    Brainwagon Radio: Happy Birthday!

    Happy Birthday To Me!Where your host wishes himself a happy birthday, queries about the percieved quality of his commute-time podcasts, and reviews a number of cool papers in computer graphics.

    Paper links:

    My birthday present was a new heart rate monitor from Polar USA. Expect a review soon.

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