MissingIntellect.Net

I should have posted something here by now. It’s not like I haven’t had anything to write about; I have, but whenever I felt like writing procrastination won out. Well not this time, let’s fix this. Better late than never, right?

I was recently able to attend the 3rd Annual Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California. I’d wanted to go the previous year but something came up that made me unable to go, so I’d been looking forward to this for a long time. Lucky for me it was within driving distance of my home, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have been able to go at all. Saying I had a great time that weekend would be an understatement. I felt like a kid at at summer camp that didn’t want the week to end. One of the greatest things about the podcasting community is that there is such a sense of friendship and comradery. I’ve developed some strong friendships and it’s great to finally meet these people face to face. It really underlined the discussion on Geek Cred Live about online friends: I’d never met any of these people face to face before, but it was like we were all old friends. I went and said hi to many people, but it was kind of weird being on the receiving end of that a few times. People actually listen to my show?

One really interesting phenomenon at the Expo was the use of Twitter. Many podcasters have adopted Twitter, and with so many together, it took on a new level of usefulness. It became an incredibly useful tool to have impromptu get togethers along with letting people know what you’re doing so people can hook up and hang out. While I was eating lunch, I checked Twitter on my phone, and I saw a tweet from Douglas E. Welch only a few minutes previous saying that he was eating, and sure enough, I turn around and he’s right behind me. The sheer number of people there using Twitter on their smartphone or laptop was amazing. And there were a lot of smartphone users there, specifically iPhone owners and a fair number of Treos as well.

While it was cool to wander the show floor and see what companies were showing off and who you might run into, after hours is where things really happened. The convention center kicked everyone out of the Exhibit Hall at 4PM. Podcasters sure know how to party! Just ask the LibSyn/Wizzard Media guys. The joke now is that it’s not a LibSyn party until it gets shut down by the cops. It was great just to hang out and socialize with people you consider friends and other like minded people who share your passions. I spent some quality time with Chuck Tomasi and Kreg Steppe, Douglas E. Welch, and the rest of the Friends in Tech guys, among with others. (If I didn’t mention you, please don’t be offended, there’s just so many of you I had such a great time with, there’s too many to list!)

The whole thing was an amazingly fun experience that I will never forget. Somehow, some way, I’m going to make it to the Expo next year, in Vegas. Even if that means eating nothing but Ramen noodles between now and next August.

No, that last blog post wasn’t a one time thing where I would post and return once again to obscurity, I am still active and posting.

So here I am, home alone. Got up at the miserable time of 5AM on Sunday to take the parents off to the airport, and now I have the house to myself. They’re off on an Alaskan cruise for a week for their 25th anniversary. It’s not like I haven’t been home alone before, but it’s been a while, and it’s weird having it this quiet. Last time they went out of town for only a couple days was before Maggie died, so I was never completely alone, she was still around to keep me company. Not that I’m lonely, it’s just weird. I don’t have to worry about bothering my folks or waking them up doing something because they go to bed so freaking early. I can play my music loud or chat on Skype without someone getting on my case. It’s nice. I could get used to this.

So there’s been another school shooting, this time at Virginia Tech. Not to detract from what a horrible event this is, but invariably, someone will try to blame this on video games. Because video games make people violent, right? Even if the gunman just played a game of Quake 5 years ago, people in the media will use that to claim that video games caused the terrible shooting. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. I wonder how long it will take Jack Thompson, to come out of the wood work.
Don’t get me wrong–do I think a 10-year-old should be playing Grand Theft Auto? Of course not. But this knee-jerk reaction against video games is ludicrous, considering that violent crime has been down among teenagers for years. But God forbid somebody use some common sense and actually look at the facts! After all, it takes a video gamer to know how to point a gun at someone, right? It’s not like people haven’t been shooting each bother with guns before video games. Video games don’t kill people. Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m a geek. I am passionate about computers & technology, science, science fiction, and video games. Something else I love is podcasts. I barely watch any traditional television, and never listen to the radio. Instead of force fed garbage, I get quality content and can listen to it on my schedule. When you really “get” podcasting, it changes the way you consume media, and I have been subscribing to podcasts for some time now. One of the things that I happened in my time away from blogging, is going from just a podcast listener to a podcaster. I host my own show called Geek Cred, which covers the whole gamut of geek topics that I love with interviews, trivia, and commentary. I just released episode #4 tonight and I have had a blast doing the show. I have gotten the opportunity to interview some really cool people and to get to know other podcasters who are just as passionate as I am.

So far I have interviewed J. Marcus Xavier from the science fiction podcast audio drama Silent Universe, J.C. Hutchins, author of the podcast novel trilogy 7th Son, Cali Lewis, host of the technology video podcast GeekBrief.TV, and Tee Morris, author of Morevi: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana and Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword.