For people who like to geek out, I got a gooseneck mic holder for my desk, a notebook pc that I got for christmas will be my new editing and recording machine, and we got two radio shack boom mic holders for the cast mics.  Fun fun fun. 

Then robin figured out that we could cover the walls in cotton batting and fabric, which really does suck up the ambient noise, but is a pain in the ass to staple into the wall.  Looks very very cool though.  More to follow.

This friday I got to hang out with Corby from "The Twisted Pickle" Mikey from "Public Nuissance Radio". both "Chit Chat Moms", the folks from "Borderline" and "The MoCast" at a local yuppie mating ground called "The Upstream." at the Nebraska podcaster meetup.  No links right now, I'm a lazy blogger.

There was much booze and a lot of Corby's patented "something terrible and terribly funny" happened to me stories.  Then our party room got raided by an old man and his large girlfriend with a larger adams apple.  At first, we got to see him maul her backside with his tiny withered hands.   Then this fellow decided to pick on Corby, which is a good idea except when his best friend happens to be a dan in Akido who is drinking, and on that day, his best friend happened to still be Mikey, meeting all those criteria. 

All in all it was a fun night.

Here is the link to the journal

I've posted early drafts of portions of the two Podiobooks that will come out after I finish Barfly. 

Other then that, no news.  Getting stomped in Pickle Tales, but by two really good entries, so no shame there.  :)  Working on my Second Life Tips Podcast on Mignon Fogerty's QDNOW network and really enjoying it.  I'm trying to give it a Good Eats feel (Alton Brown FTW!)  And we are holding strong at 7th place on the Podcast Pickle which we are super thrilled about. 

I'm going to do more of what the kids call "Blogging" because my new job gives me lots and lots of downtime, so feel free to keep checking back in from time to time.

But take your shoes off first you bloody savages.

-Will Ross

Hack Writer

Can't tell you which ones, or even hint at it, because of the rules, but after reading and voting I have to say that it's worth the browsing.  There is some really good stuff in there!

Wish me luck!

The Traveling Avatar's Quick and Dirty Tips for a Better Second Life

A short tips and tricks podcast for the game Second Life hosted by Will Ross. 

So apparently I screwed up the bitrate on my newest show and now it's playing chipmunk style in flash players. 

If you are using a flash player to play this episode it's going to sound wrong.  However I've been informed that downloaded versions of this episode sound fine, so iTunes and others who download this show will hear it fine. 

However, if you like the show, but always thought it should be a little higher pitched and 15 minutes long, THIS IS THE SHOW FOR YOU!

-Will 

P.S.  If you can only listen to the show through the flash player, the file will be fixed on Sunday :(  I'm really sorry about this.  I'm a flashing 12 some times...

Give us a call on our brand new comment line at 1-206-666-6100!

On Today's Show:

Today's show does contain some sexual references and some bad language. 

We have a really witty song from Jonathan Coulton called "Chiron Beta Prime"

Then we have a true story called "The Towel Story" from my friend Shaun Housh, about a sticky situation solved in a hotel room.

After that we have another great Jonathan Coulton song called "Code Monkey"

Next we have a true story from Nathan Perilo called "Red Light Ettiquette" that's a cautionary tale about a boy named "Robby" Amsterdam's famous red light district.

Following that we have another story from Shaun Housh called "The Slap Heard Round the World," where Shaun explains why you don't slap his friends... ever.

After that we have my rendition of one of Laurence Simon's 100 word stories called "Heavy Hangs the Ape Crown."

We end the show with your e-mails and comments, and a promo for the Schwagcast!

Music on this Show:

Gabardine Swing:
"Jumpin With Symphony Sid" - Our Intro Music
"Beyond the Sea" - Our Outro Music

After Touch:
"Sinphony" - Used in "Heavy Hangs the Ape Crown"
Aftertouch comes to us from the Podsafe Music Network

Johnathan Coulton:
"Chiron Beta Prime"
"Code Monkey"
Visit Jonathan Coulton's Website at www.jonathancoulton.com to buy his songs!

1. Audio Consistancy - It's really annoying to keep changing the volume of a podcast, so don't make people do it.  After I listen to the show on my speakers I burn the show to disk and then listen to it in my car.  For some reason I can hear annoying changes in audio in the car better than I can in headphones.  So field test the audio somewhere other than on your computer.
2. If your Starting a New Show - WORK AHEAD!  I cannot stress this enough.  With the exception of shows with very up to the minute comedy or news shows, most programs can be at least 90% finished in advance. Wait until you have several shows ready before you start publishing them.  I waited to get three finished because I did a weekly show, so less for a monthly and more for a daily.  Remember that because this is new it's exciting, but like any other hobby you might not want to do it every single day.  If you are a few weeks ahead on your shows, you can take the time off you need. 
   
3. Take Critisism Well - Everyone can improve.  Your friends and family can save you from putting something really terrible out in front of the whole world.  But you have to listen, and REALLY listen to what they have to say.  Be honest with yourself and decide if the critique is valid.  If it is, change it.  Remember, your goal is to be embarassed by your first couple shows down the line.  Otherwise your not improving at all!
4. Don't Be Afraid to Throw Things Away - I know, that piece took you 8 hours.  It's the only chance you'll get interview so and so.  You have a deadline.  Doesn't matter.  You know if you love a piece or not.  Your trying to make the show you've always wanted on the air.  So if your honest, you can tell if something you've done sucks.  Better to be late than bad.  Here is something that I killed because it was bad.
   

Introducing the debut episode of "Smart Bomb Radio," a talk and storytelling program produced by Will Ross.

On this Show:

Christian Haunton, an instructor at UNO, talks with Will about his experiences in Israel shortly after 9/11.  Part 1 of a 4 part series.

Then a short radio play titled "Smooth Under Pressure" written and performed by Will Ross about air travel gone wrong.

This episode features the following songs performed by Gabardine Swing:

"Jumpin with Symphony Sid"
"Blue Skies"
"Beyond the Sea"

This episode runs 14 minutes.

If you'd like to be on the show, read the post "How to get on the show."

Smart Bomb Radio is designed to be an interactive experience more than just an audio blog of my stuff.  I'm more of the conductor than an actual musician in this little orchestra.  So here is the process and what I am looking for.

Comments ABOUT the show:

Myspace message (smartbombradio) or E-mail to smartbombradio@hotmail.com for text or skype our voicemail at "smartbombradio."  I will read them at the end of the show or play messages.  These may be cut down in length where appropriate (hey, it's not that long of a show, man!)

Comments, Stories, or Other Things that Might be Considered "Show Material."

If sent by text, I myself or someone more appropriate will read them on the air, plain or with other effects, music etc.  What I would really prefer, however, is to hear YOUR voice (I mean, it YOUR story.)  The easiest way to accomplish this is to Skype it to me, but you can also use the sound recorder or other software and email it (10 meg limit on hotmail, so you might have to send multiple files.) 

I would ask that if you want to do some editing, sound effects etc that you send a "Clean Copy" of just your voice just in case I need to edit it for time, or some other such reason.  Please, no music that is not public domain or your own.  If it has music odds are I can't use it due to that pesky RIAA. 

Also, if the piece is essentially an ad for something, it better be really entertaining :) but if you want to add your podcast, blog, website, pizza place, pet psychic, name and information there at the end I will give it out in the attribution after the piece (where I say who you are again IE "That was Sasquatch talking about bigfeet rasicm, his blog is www.sasquatchispersontoo.com.")

Music

While we arn't a music show exactly, we do always need bumper, intro and outtro music, and if you send me something really good I'll probably play it clean on the show at some point.  Obviously, it's got to be yours.  I'll check out any kind of music because eventually I'll use everything.  All music used will be marked on the blog posting, typically mentioned in the intro, and the band names will be coded in the ID3 tags of the MP3 file.  If you have a webiste or a showdate, I can post that too.

Rights

The only rights you give up are the rights to let me use your material on the my podcast and derrivitive works (like a cd of my podcasts, etc.)  You retain ownership.

I hope this answers any questions you might have.