I’ve seen the pilot for Alcatraz already (shh, don’t tell anyone) and I can say that the show looks like it is going to be really great.

Subscribed.

Dan Benjamin, who like me has always been a very big fan of talk radio, has launched a new network for audio podcasts called 5 by 5 Studios. I’ve listened to the first few episodes of each of his shows and so far so good. If you’re a fan of talk radio give Dan’s new network a listen.

• EE Podcast – ExpressionEngine news and discussion.
• Tack Sharp – About photography with co-host James Duncan Davidson.
• The Conversation – A livestreamed show about all types of stuff.
• The Dev Show – Software development discussion (mostly Web related it seems).
• The Pipeline – Interviews of software developers, designers, entrepreneurs, etc.
• The Ruby Show – aka Rails Envy – discussion about Ruby.
• Utility Belt – Five minute long review of five mobile applications. Interesting.

Something for everyone.

Terry Gross, the host of Fresh Air, is an unassuming, casual interviewer that consistently conducts interviews that hold your attention for the entire length of the program. She’s intelligent, in touch with what the audience wants to know, and obviously tirelessly prepares for each episode.

Being a radio program – it is well produced with high-marks for living by its own rules even though it is consumable as a podcast. If you like talk radio and enjoy interviews of incredibly interesting people – Fresh Air is for you.

Source: NPR’s Fresh Air from WHYY with Terry Gross.

Be sure to check out other suggestions I’ve made.

A very big difference indeed!

Saturn. Early March, 2008.

Extraterrestrial storms are not uncommon.  And it isn’t uncommon for these storms to last a long time.  According to the post, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, featured as the picture of the day on July 18, 1999 (which was a picture from Voyager 1 taken circa 1979), has been studied for at least 150 years and has been observed from Earth for over 300!

Another point of interest, about the electrical storm on Saturn, is that the “… storm has roughly the width of planet Earth.”.  I’m interested to see how long this storm lasts.  Aren’t you?

“That’s no moon.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: A New Hope.   But wait, yes it is.  If you look closely at the image of Saturn’s electrical storm, which has been color shifted to better allow us humans to see some of the spectrum that we couldn’t otherwise, you will see Saturn’s rings.  Just below the rings you will see a faint “dot”, which to the untrained (read: mine) eye, appears to bit a fleck of dust on the lens.  This is Saturn’s small moon Janus.

Side note: We had an excellent view of Saturn when we attended Public Night at the Astronomical Observatory. But it wasn’t anywhere near as good as this shot and we certainly didn’t see the electrical storm.

Source: NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day: A Persistent Electrical Storm on Saturn.

But wait, there’s a lot more…

After writing this morning, I’ve since read another article on NASA.gov about Cassini tracking the “raging storm” on Saturn.  There are quite a few tidbits of interest.

1. “The new storm is located in Saturn’s southern hemisphere–in a region nicknamed “Storm Alley” by mission scientists–where the previous lightning storms were observed by Cassini.”
2. “Amateur astronomers have kept track of the storm over its five-month lifetime. “Since Cassini’s camera cannot track the storm every day, the amateur data are invaluable,” said Fischer. “I am in continuous contact with astronomers from around the world.”"
3. “Cassini’s radio plasma wave instrument detects the storm every time it rotates into view, which happens every 10 hours and 40 minutes, the approximate length of a Saturn day. Every few seconds the storm gives off a radio pulse lasting for about a tenth of a second, which is typical of lightning bolts and other electrical discharges. These radio waves are detected even when the storm is over the horizon as viewed from Cassini, a result of the bending of radio waves by the planet’s atmosphere. ”

The radio waves they are referring to are actually recorded by Cassini.  You can listen to, and look at the statistical data for, that audio here.  The audio is only 28 seconds long but represents two hours of audio on Saturn.

I just downloaded it, dragged it into iTunes, synced it onto my iPhone, and tested the ringtone.  It is great.  It is loud.  It progressively gets louder (perhaps to not scare the crap out of you).  And I am now using it as my default ringtone.

I now have two custom ringtones on my iPhone; this one, and a remix of the Imperial March that begins with a clone trooper (aka Storm Trooper) saying; “Look sir, droids.”.  Both are perfect.

Source: The Missing iPhone Ringtone.

Weighing in at over 120Mb, this podcast is over two hours long so you might not find the time to listen to it for a while. When and if you do, please come back and let me know what you thought of the show.

Our topics included: Viddler (of course), the Viddler API, being a geek, the iPhone macro lens (video demo), my background in computers, a special announcement gets thrown in, and much more. All in all I think the interview portion weighs in at nearly 50 minutes.

The interview begins at around 40:00 into the show.

Thanks to Alan Chaess, and his team at the OtakuGeneration.net podcast, for inviting me to be on the show and I hope to someday be part of another show!

I can’t even begin to tell you how privileged I feel to have been considered a “leader”. Of course they must use the term rather loosely to include me in the group of interviewees they’ve had over recent months including a mayor, a mayoral candidate, and the CEO of a Hospital.

Doing the interview was really fun and was recorded via Skype. The students setup this process very well and dare I say even better than other podcasts I’ve had the privilege of being on. I received the invite to be on this podcast at least a month in advance and got the questions that would be asked at least a few days in advance (in fact I think they sent them twice just to make sure I got them). They stream the interview live too, and have a live chat that people can participate in.

The topics of the interview ranged from what type of training students and teachers should strive for to help ensure successful entry into the business/career market, but also on how people enjoy learning and what works and doesn’t. We talked about the importance of being able to learn on your own, while still being able to work as a team. And We discuess the trend of working remotely, how it works at Viddler, and what the future might hold when these students begin their careers.

It was a lot of fun and I’m still incredibly humbled to have been part of the podcast. If you have some time be sure to listen to all of the interviews this team has put together. Thanks to the entire Lunchtime Leaders Podcast team: Liz, Alexis, Jill, Taylor, Sarah, Isabelle, and Mr. Bogush.

Our topics of discussion on the show ranged from a general overview of Viddler itself, a description of what can be done with Viddler’s API, and of course we talk about SXSW Videos since this was just prior to the festivals this year.

If you have time, be sure to give it a listen. Sorry I haven’t mentioned it until now, but I had fun being on the program, and I hope Philly TIP returns stronger than ever!

We were able to cover some pretty interesting topics including some of Viddler’s most recent projects, the future of flash video on the Web, and how advertising is going in the world of online video. We also got to speak about a brand-new site that the Viddler team has recently put together, but you’ll have to listen to the show to get the scoop.

So be sure to take a few minutes out of your day, or maybe just throw this episode (MP3, 27Mb) on your iPod to listen to it on your way to work, and then come back and let me know what you thought of the show.

Thanks to Leo and Amber for having me on the show!