About those audio files?

Posted in: General by Swoopy on September 9, 2010 | No Comments

I mentioned yesterday that I would be uploading and linking to recorded audio from the Podcasting at Dragon*Con 2010 panels.  Unfortunately, unexpected stuff kept me from doing that effectively yesterday – uploading files approaching a Gig over a wireless connection is not efficient.  Unfortunately my lifeline, my juicebox, my super fast, mega-awesome DSL is buried in a room without a ceiling – so close, and yet so impossible to get to right now. However, I am hopeful I’ll be able to get back to Wonderland later today.

We returned from the bliss that was Dragon*Con to no Central Air in our house and ninety degree temperatures.  Of course since it had been Labor Day weekend when it all broke down, there was nothing we could do until Tuesday.  Thus began the New Furnace and Air Conditioning debacle of 2010, which is sung to the tune of the low five figures. Good thing I have all that podcasting money.

I love you all and would shove the HVAC guys out of the way to get back into my office, but – after several days of trying to sleep in the heat and curled up in a fetal position near the window air conditioner in the living room in a pile with dogs etc, I’ve determined the needs of the HVAC technician promising me a frigid air fix – come first.

Files will be coming down the series of tubes, as soon as I am able to take the blue pill.  While I’m waiting – I’ll watch some more Dragon*Con TV. Did I mention my HVAC guys look just like the sci-fi janitors?

Audio from Podcasting at Dragon*Con 2010

Posted in: General by Swoopy on September 8, 2010 | No Comments

As part of our full-service operations at the Dragon*Con podcasting track, we record all of the panels for the use of the panelists and for those who aren’t able to make it to Dragon*Con.

Many of you were diligent in bringing your portable drives and got the files you needed directly from the source already at the Con. For those who are waiting on files, they will start being made available later today. Let me know if you would like GarageBand raw multi-track files, those are usually several Gigs large and you’ll need to get them from a different source.  Send me email to the (period) swoopy (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll see what I can do.

For the rest of y’all – hold tight, and we’ll be with you shortly. Your audio is important to us, but all of our engineers are busy with other projects right now.  Please be aware your email will be read in the order in which it was received.

While you’re waiting, why not watch some Dragon*Con TV?

Whew. That was Awesome.

Posted in: General by Swoopy on | No Comments

Dragon*Con 2010 is officially in the can. A big thank you to everyone; panelists, Guests, attendees, and staff.  You were all awesome. I cannot say enough about the podcasting track staffers, they went above and beyond this year, which means they are likely right now beyond tired. Rest well my friends, you have nearly a year to recover.

Things seemed to go very smoothly, but the trends I saw in attendance did give me some clues that I think our direction for next year, will likely be somewhat different.  If you enjoyed yourself at Dragon*Con or have concerns, critiques or suggestions please go to the Dragon*Con website and submit information via their web form.  You can also send me email to podcasting (at) dragoncon (dot) org.

I realize the forums are mildly kaput at the moment. Okay – they’re not working at all. I’ll endeavor to fix them shortly. In the meantime feel free to leave comments on these posts.

Don’t forget that we’re also on Twitter.

Podcasting Staffers

Posted in: General by Swoopy on September 2, 2010 | No Comments

You should know – not only because they are awesome, but because you might need them, who the Podcasting: Now and Beyond staffers are.  To be a track staffer means you become a Dragon*Con volunteer.  Volunteers receive a badge for their time, but they must work at least 25 hours during the Convention.  Our staffers actually average closer to 35 hours each during the Convention.  That’s almost a full work week over three and a half days.  If you see a tired staffer, maybe you should give them a hug – and maybe a coffee.

This year’s Podcasting track staff are:

Robynn McCarthy (aka Swoopy), Track Director. Responsible for shenanigans AND good stuff too.  Host of Skepticality: The Official Podcast of Skeptic Magazine.

Thomas Gideon (aka CMDLN), Second in Command. If this track was about Star Trek, he’d be Number 1.  Which we all agree is better than Number 2. Tireless tech advisor, fixer of problems. Works the morning shift.  Claim to fame is the Command Line Podcast.

Jonathan Strickland, who you may have seen in the recent PBS documentary Four Days at Dragon*Con is a Senior Writer at How Stuff Works.Com blogging about Tech Stuff.  Thus, when Stuff breaks during Dragon*Con, he’ll be charged with fixing it. Because it’s literally his job to know Stuff.

Sam Chupp is a veteran podcaster and the author of the podcast novel Heart of the Hunter, and is also an avid gamer with several podcasts like The Bear’s Grove, Square One and the Bear’s Cast because he’s obviously nuts and has too much free time.

Laura Ross is a veteran podcaster whose shows include The Flyswatter Show, and the Coffee and Tea Show and local skeptical activist with the Atlanta Skeptics.  She has been volunteering at Dragon*Con since before most of us had ever heard of it.

Kreg Steppe is hilarious. He provides not only technical expertise but comic relief when needed.  You can verify this hilarity by listening to the Technorama podcast. You may want to put on an absorbent undergarment first, just in case.

Andrew Wilson looks good in a Fez.  He’s a skeptic. That’s all you’re allowed to know – for now.

These folks may well be wearing a T-shirt that says STAFF – just like that in huge letters on the back.  They probably won’t be wearing a Fez. But it was discussed. Because Fezzes are cool. But then the new Doctor figured that out – and we didn’t want people getting us confused with Time Travelers.  We don’t have a Tardis. Yet.

There are usually at least two of them around during any given panel.  If you need something, if you have presentation materials, if you have a problem – and you can find them, you absolutely should ask the Podcasting Track staffers.

T-Minus 24 Hours

Posted in: General by Swoopy on | No Comments

Howdy Dragon*Con Podcasting track peeps.  We are pretty much down to the wire on time here, so let me just give you a few reminders that might help make your Con experience nifty.  I cannot guarantee that you won’t get Con crud – but it’ll make getting it a lot more fun.

Podcasting: Now and Beyond is in it’s 5th year at Dragon*Con.  We’ve gotten the particulars of running the track down to a science – which is convenient since our room is sandwiched between the Science track room and the Skeptrack room (of which I am also co-Director).

If you have to pick up your badge or buy a badge, get in line as soon as you possibly can. This means starting around 2pm on Thursday you can get your badge, and you should.  Lines last year for badge pick-up were long, and I know registration actually closed before everyone could get their badge on Thursday night.  The lines are shorter if you already purchased your membership.  Do note the differences between the lines for badge purchase and badge pick up, if you’re at all unsure – ask.  Don’t end up standing in the wrong line for an hour.

I will be available in the Podcasting track room after 2pm today (Thursday, September 2nd 2010).  Feel free to to come say hi. Shoot me an email if you need something or hit me on Twitter.  Panels officially begin at 1pm Friday.  I will have an unofficial event in the track room at 9am Friday, so there isn’t any reason to show up there (if you’re not staff) before 11am.

We record all the panels that are part of the Podcasting track.  The recordings are done as Multi Track (one for each mic) in Garage Band.  After your panel is over you can get a copy of the recording from us, either as the Garage Band raw file or as an AIF exported Garage Band file.  The file size for the raw file will depend on the number of tracks but can be around 2 Gigs large.  The exported file is usual a couple hundred Megs.  Make sure you have a portable device that will handle the file size.  If you don’t need your file ASAP, I can put the file for you on a site like MediaFire where you can then pull it down later on.

You are also welcome to attach a recording device with an aux in or line in, that will be run from the Main aux out on the mixing board. You won’t get multiple tracks, but you’ll have the file already with you.  We do have a projector that you can attach your laptop to (we have adapters for most macs/pcs video out) and we can also run your presentation or video for you.

What I cannot guarantee you’ll find in our track room is an internet connection.  The Hilton does offer wireless internet to Guests in their rooms for a fee of around $14 for 24 hours.  I usually can log you in to my wireless account with the hotel on your computer for your panel if needed, however the signal strength in conference rooms for Guest wi-fi (which is different from conference wi-fi which we don’t have access to) can vary widely.  Your results may vary.  If you need something from an online source for your panel – you should pull it down ahead of time, buffer video etc. just to be safe.

For now, I’ll also remind you – pace yourselves.  Each panel is an hour, there is half hour passing time between panels.  This means if you have a panel in our room at the Hilton at 10am, and you have a panel in the Hyatt at 11:30 – you’ll need to hustle a little.  The time it takes to get from point A to point B takes longer than you think because of crowd navigation.  For example, the Parsec Awards are held in the Hyatt Regency V ballroom, which is the same place it is every year, but instead of being at 7pm, they will be at 4pm.  Panels resume in the Podcasting track room in Hilton 204 at 7pm, following the awards.

The Dragon*Con main hotels (Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton) are now a series of hamster tubes.  You can go from A to B to C without going outside – but it will take longer.  If you’re in a hurry – go out the lobby level and find your next destination by going around buildings, not through them.

Eat when you can.  There is a cafe in the lobby of the Hilton, and there is a Starbucks in the Marriott near where the tube from the Hilton lets out.  The lines for Frappucino will be long. There are maps in the Dragon*Con 2010 pocket program which can be downloaded at the Dragon*Con website.  See you all soon!