Lundon Calling

Major update/upgrade to the website here,  ..let me know what you think of it……

-Mike

On the January 27th Show, our guest was Dr. Peter Goldblum, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for LGBTQ Evidence-based Research + Director of the LGBTQ Program at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology.

The following day we received this note from Dr. Goldblum which we share with all of our listeners now.  He wrote: “Ace, I am listening to it (the Show) now.  I am really enjoying the whole program.  As I thought about it last night, I realized how rare your program really is – - funny, intelligent, and topical.  You guys are great and I can just imagine people listening who are not out; realizing that there are people like you exist.  Thanks for the honor of being in conversation with you all.”

Dr. Goldblum is also the Programming Clinical Supervisor for the University of California – San Francisco AIDS Health Project.

..mind.

This is my first Wednesday night off in well over a year.

Okay, I was saying that I was bored out of my f***ing mind, and that this was my first Wednesday off in over a year,  ..then, of course, what happens  ….Aceman calls with some work to do  …no rest for the wicked techie….

Okay,  ..small problem solved. (At least it’s a small problem for Ace, he has me to take care of it.)

Head clear. Another cup of coffee. Moving on.

I really thought I had a bunch more to say,  …but I’ll get back to it…

Yes, I said I would begin blogging and here I am.  In case you may be wondering if I am going to tell you what the topic or topics are going to be on the Show tomorrow … fogedabotit … it ain’t going to happen.  I already told you that what we talk about is quite spontaneous and that I prepare throughout the week looking into a number of topics … I usually have a list as long as my – - – and that’s a long list!

I will tell you that there will be 4 of us on the Show … my Co-Host from Atlanta, GA; my Co-Co-Host from Champaign, IL; and we will have another guest from CMU in Mt. Pleasant, MI.  The biggest problem faced will be to try and keep these three girly-boys (as Gov. S in CA might say) from all talking at the same time.  I don’t want us to sound like The View girls!  It must be revealed that a Talk Show Host on any radio or TV Show usually has the ability to physically see others on their Shows … with Lundon Calling, this is not possible and I can’t have eye contact to keep they from talking over one another.  I really need a long-distance strap so I can whop them with my purse!

One thing which has been heavy on my mind over the week is the problem which the human animal has with its great need to feel secure with their after-life … if there really is an after-life … and thus, the animal man has created dozens and dozens of “religions” over the Ages to meet this need.  They want the “sting of death” to be taken away from them and every religion created provides this.  Ah, the power of a creed, doctrine, dogma or tenet! And yes, Religions are creations, they just didn’t “poof” and happen!

Oh!  I also hope to be able to learn a little about what happened at last weekends’ March For Equality” in D.C.  since two of us on the Show were present.

And how about my Nevada neighbor Republican: Sen. John Ensign … OooooooH!

Just wanted to give everyone (Ace, Lance and Phillip included) a peek inside the Lundon Calling Studios…

-Mike

Sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning, the Lundon Calling website was the victim of a (brlliant) attack. We have taken care of this problem, which could have compromised our entire website.

It is our opinion that we have upset, person or persons unknown, with our content, and that future attacks are inevitable.

If at any time, you notice our website “behaving strangely”, please contact the webmaster immeadiately.

-Mike

webmaster@eclectic-resources.net

First off, let me thank you for many hours of fascinating, informative reading.

I have also taken a few hours to discuss our issues with several friends who run both Broadcasts and Podcasts (a couple of these friends do both at the same time, as we do on Lundon Calling). I must admit, I an far more educated now than I was just a couple days ago.

Our particular issues become clearer when you understand the logistics of our show. On an average show we have six individuals, spread about the country, involved in the production / conversation.

1) Myself, in the “studio”.                              4) A Featured Guest (Location Varies)

2) Ace, at his house.                                      5) First Guest Listener (Location Varies)

3) Lance, at his house.                                      6) Second Guest Listener (Location Varies)

As is suggested by all, we use Skype for our “conversation”, and the Skype Chat function for “silent communication” during the show. I also use Audacity for primary recording.

Understandably, having each individual record their own portion of the conversation for a post production “mix” would make for much cleaner Podcast. This is an elegantly simple task for a team of two or three tech savvy broadcasters, but to ask this of our Guests would be ridiculous.  (And, no offense, Ace is not the most tech savvy guy out there.)

Let us now turn to the fact that we are also Broadcasting our show live. A post production “mix” will have no effect on the Broadcast sound quality, thus this becomes a separate issue altogether. I will get back to this in a moment.

Currently we are running our entire production on a single computer: 5 in-bound and 6 out-bound conversations*,  the recording software and the broadcasting software. This is achieved by using Skype, Audacity, Jet Cast, one internal and one external sound card, and a virtual audio patch cable software. (This configuration has actually impressed a number of people who did not believe this could all be done on a single computer.)

A second computer is used to control the Broadcast Server, monitor the Broadcast signal and to make real-time updates to the Website.

The result is a fair-to-poor Broadcast and Podcast, and a very busy person in the “control room”.

The absolute consensus is that we need to move up to a two computer “studio”:

1) The first computer would handle only the Skype software, increasing the clarity  and stability of the conversations for both Broadcast and Podcast. (This computer could also be used for the real-time website updates, as they require little bandwidth.)

2) The second computer would handle the Recording and Broadcasting software.

This would distribute the workload over two systems and increase the effectiveness of the all of the hardware and software.

The connection of the two computers is done my means of audio mixer, allowing the signal from the “Skype” computer to be fed into the “Broadcast/Recording” computer while controlling and correcting the input signal. ** (See: – Behringer XENYX 1204 – 12 Input 2/2 Buss Audio Mixer: $129 http://www.cheapbandgear.com/XENYX_1204FX_p/1204.htm – from our “Wish List”)

The addition of the Spacial Audio – Simple Cast software (replacing JetCast)  would not only greatly improve our Broadcast quality, but it would also take on the task of monitoring the Broadcast Server and Signal, again reducing the overall workload.  (See: Spacial Audio – Simple Cast: $139 http://www.spacialaudio.com/?page=simplecast  – from our “Wish List”)

And while Audacity is a good program for the money, it is not a good program. It records in a proprietary format*** which then must be encoded into the standard mp3 format using an add-on program called L.A.M.E.. I also find it neccessicary to use additional programs to “clean up” the Audacity data for the Podcast. The addition of Sonar Home Studio to our arsenal would not only greatly improve the quality of our Podcast, but would save me hours of work weekly. (See: Sonar Home Studio 7: $139http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/HomeStudio/English/ – from our “Wish List”)

There you have it, for about $407 (plus tax and shipping), we could seriously update our entire process.

-Mike

P.S. I have already received a donation of a Studio Quality Headset and Microphone, they are both used, but far superior to what we currently have.

* – My voice does not reach the recording or broadcasting software, but the staff and guests can hear me. As the person who initiates the Skype call, all of the conversation data runs through my computer. (This allows me to quietly add back in any person whose call is dropped by Skype during the show.)

** – The mixer will also allow us, in the future, to add additional computers to the “mix”, whereas we could have Ace and Lance on a single Skype computer conversation and the Guests on another. This would involve sending the input and output signals back and forth between the two “Skype” computers (thus maintaining the conversation), and to the “Broadcast/Recording” computer. The result would be a greatly improved Broadcast and Podcast)

My current Router will handle up to four hardwired computer connections.

*** – This format is can only be read, played, or edited using Audacity.

Folks have been asking just what we need to make this show better from technical broadcast and recording standpoint. Here is our wish list:

Broadcast Software:

Very Good:  Spacial Audio – Simple Cast: $139

http://www.spacialaudio.com/?page=simplecast

Recording Software:

Good: Sonar Home Studio 7: $139

http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/HomeStudio/English/

Very Good: SONAR Studio 8: $299

http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/English/studio.asp

Hardware:

- Behringer XENYX 1204 – 12 Input 2/2 Buss Audio Mixer: $129

http://www.cheapbandgear.com/XENYX_1204FX_p/1204.htm

Eventually (sooner than later) will need to add another Windows Vista 32bit Computer with a minimum of 4 gigs of RAM to the studio.

…I wish it did not,  ..but that is the world we live in.

As many of you have noticed, we have been having a considerable amount of technical difficulties here at Lundon Calling.

Some problems, such as the internet going out in my neighborhood a Wednesday or so back, and the occaisional “down time” on our Broadcast Server (which we PAY for) are out of our hands.

Other problems, the majority of them, are purely technical.

I do not know how many of you are aware of this, but no one on this show gets paid, or compensated in any way.  Personally, I handle the Website Design and Maintenance, the hosting, all of the bandwidth, and a boatload of time,  ..gladly.  I have great hopes for the show and the good it can do. (Wait,  ..let’s not forget, recording, broadcasting and managing the podcasts.)

But, since the show was conceived, I have gone through four computers in attempts to upgrade our abilities. I have purchased hundreds of dollars of software, and hardware, also in attempts to improve our show.

In order to fix our technical difficulties, we will need to purchase better computer(s), more and better hardware and software. I am just not financially able to bear the burden of these expenses.  So, for the moment at least, we are what we are, and where we are.

I would like to ask all of you, Staff, Friends and Family, to bare with us as we work to continue to bring you our show with what we now have.

-Mike

It’s said there is many a slip between the cup and the lips and this is a truism.  Like with the Show tomorrow; we had something planned and have had to make last minute changes now because of the flopping of the proverbial mop.  Therefore, we are going to do our version of “The View” … since folks call me “the White man’s Whoopi Goldberg”  (cute, huh!) … and I have invited two of our previous guests to return so we can shoot the bull back and forth like they do on The View.

Our guests will be George Sanders sans Shawn & Sneaky Snake … and, blogger Phil Reese.  They are both so damn intelligent and it should be a great Show with no hold barred and no topic taboo.  Move over Joy Behar …