Finalizing Darkfalz Radio - Episode 1

26. January 2009 - Curt C
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I ran into a few issues with all the side aspects of Podcasting. In particular the RSS feed pieces. I think I have all the bugs worked out with one exception but that should be done this week. I am also finalizing the outline for recording too so I should have that recorded in the next couple days. With all fingers crossed Episode 1 will be up before the end of the week. Keep your eye on http://darkfalz.com/Radio/ for updates.

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Darkfalz Radio - Looking for topics

21. January 2009 - Curt C
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I've finally got most of the pieces together for putting the podcast up. I'll be doing a pure audio one to start with but I do have an HD video recorder on the way (hehehe). But... to the point... I've got a rough idea of what I'll be covering in the first broadcast but I am looking for additional topic suggestions. I'm not going to list out my format yet (so I don't bias the suggestions) but if you haven't followed my blog (or past blogs) here is a quick rundown of "me" and what I am most interested in.

First and formost I am a techno-dweeb. I love technology and all that it entails. I love to talk about what is and what could be. Speculating is 90% of the fun of it sometimes. Secondly, I'm a programmer (mostly web, specifically .Net) but I'm also a gamer (mostly PC but do have and love my 360). I've been in computers since the 80's and my TI99-4a and Atari 800XL.

Anyways, please feel free to post your suggestions (or send them to me directly at darkfalz@darkfalz.com) and I'll see what I can do to accomodate. Also, if you got techno-dweeb questions, comments or even random thoughts, feel free to send them. If you send them to me as MP3s I may even play them on the air and answer you directly.

As soon as the podcast is put together I'll put up the links to it. It will definitely be available directly via RSS and I'll see about getting it up on iTunes and Zune Marketplace (did I mention I LOVE my Zune?) as soon as possible afterwards.

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Podcasting 101 - What equipment to use?

19. January 2009 - Curt C
Comments (3) 771 Views

Ok, I've been working on setting up the podcast for about a week now. I've figured out the RSS and that piece of it (well, somewhat). Thanks to all those who sent me the information on it. The links were great. Now though I need a little more help. I'm using Audacity to record my files but I'm noticing that my microphone is crap. Heck, the one builtin to my laptop is better than my external mic. This leads me to ask... what's a good mic to get? I'm assuming I need one that's gonna be able to be plugged into my machine and actually be heard. Does that mean it needs to be powered? Also,...I need one pretty cheap. This is a first run at this stuff and I don't want to stick any major money into it until I know its all going to work. Thanks all.

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Graffiti Widget - Simple Image

15. January 2009 - Curt C
Comments (0) 1193 Views

I needed to add a image onto a Graffiti page and didn't want to actually go into an HTML block to do it so I wrote another widget for Graffiti (http://graffiticms.com). The widget allows you to select an image (local or remote) for display on your page. It also lets you turn on/off the widget title. For local images it calls out to the Graffiti interface for uploading as well.

The Widget can be downloaded on CodePlex: http://www.codeplex.com/SimpleImage/

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darkfalz.com, now more Firefox friendly.

14. January 2009 - Curt C
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Ok, I had some layout issues (Thank Terri for reminding me). Anyways, I think I got the major ones. I see there are still a few little things with some of the widgets I did but the major things are up and running. Since I use IE as my main browser I tend to forget about the Firefox users now and then (sorry). I'll try harder though, really, no really...I will.

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Google Analytics - 100+ Countries/Territories

14. January 2009 - Curt C
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I happened to check the Google Analytics for my site today and realized that since I started using them (same time I went live with this new layout) I've had visits from over 100 Countries/Territories. Many are as you would expect (US, Canada, India) but there were some real shockers on the list. Anyway.... here's the list, just for the fun of it.

United States India United Kingdom Canada
Turkey Australia Germany France
Netherlands Singapore Belgium Italy
Vietnam Philippines Pakistan Thailand
Ireland Malaysia Poland Spain
Mexico Greece Romania Portugal
Ukraine Iran Brazil Egypt
Bulgaria Sweden Israel Slovenia
Switzerland Bangladesh Japan Hong Kong
United Arab Emirates South Korea Indonesia Russia
Czech Republic Saudi Arabia Sri Lanka China
Hungary Morocco South Africa Taiwan
Serbia Argentina Finland Jordan
Cyprus Denmark Colombia Nigeria
Slovakia Austria New Zealand Croatia
Norway Bosnia and Herzegovina Lebanon Guatemala
Panama Nepal Qatar Costa Rica
Estonia Dominican Republic Maldives Bahrain
Venezuela Latvia Lithuania Palestinian Territory
Moldova Sudan Luxembourg Albania
Kuwait Lesotho Syria Liechtenstein
Macau SAR China Macedonia Mongolia Nicaragua
Bolivia Libya Puerto Rico Iceland
Cambodia Tunisia Trinidad and Tobago Ecuador
Bahamas Oman Mozambique Cuba
Peru      

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My 2008 Games of the Year

14. January 2009 - Curt C
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Ok, let's just start by saying that I'm definitely a gamer but I'm not "super ultra hard-core" by any means. I play games when I got the time. Some weeks I have more time than others. I play primarily on the PC but I am a 360 owner (when I can get it away from the fiance). Anyway, here's what I would list out as my favorite games for 2008, in reverse order for more suspence :}

#4 - Left 4 Dead (XBox 360):
The game is incredibly innovative. The zombie idea is not new but the way they went about it is just too much fun. The multiplayer is tight and the solo campaign (if you can call it that) has got great replayability. The A.I. that auto-adjusts is the thing though that puts this game over the top.

#3 - Left 4 Dead (PC):
Everything I said above but without the dual-stick setup. I'm a keyboard/mouse guy and in this case it adds enough to the gameplay that I had to list it as a seperate item.

#2 - Fallout 3 (PC):
The environment is incredible, interactive and huge. The way the game lays out the quests and lets you dictate the way the world works was a pretty strong concept. Having every decision impact not only your character but the entire world is wild. The replayability is wild as well. There are so many things you find yourself saying "I gotta try that next time" that you just can't help but coming back again and again to see what's all out there.

#1 - Lord of the Rings Online, Mines of Moria (PC):
It may seem funny to list an expansion pack as my #1 Game of the Year but when the expansion contains this much content it's really a game in itself. All new areas, all new classes, all new gear, craftings, guilds, etc, etc.... It all works awesome together. If they would have included some entry-level areas it would have been a complete standalone game.

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Podcasting 101 - Who's got the skinny?

10. January 2009 - Curt C
Comments (2) 719 Views

I've recently (in the last few months) really got in to the audio podcasting world. I've really found that I spend most of my day with headphones on, listening to the great stuff that's out there. With the 1up devistation and other great podcasts "going away" I've started thinking about doing my own. I'd probably cover some stuff on gaming, programming and general geek-ness but what I really need now is a good tutorial on how to get started. Does anyone have a good link or instructions on all the pieces needed? Is it really as simple as putting an MP3 into an RSS feed?

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Extended RSS Feed Widget for Graffiti - Published

8. January 2009 - Curt C
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I have finished putting together the code and have published the GraffitiCMS Widget to Codeplex.

Feel free to download the source or just the DLL and use it as you would like.

http://www.codeplex.com/ExtendedRSS

 

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Interview

8. January 2009 - Curt C
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Jef Claes posted part 1 of an interview I did with him over the last weeks. I thought it came out pretty well. Check it out at http://jclaes.blogspot.com/2009/01/interview-with-curt-christianson-part-i.html and let him/me know what you think.

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