I ordered a mic, a stand, some cables, and a mixer. It should all be here by sometime next week. I'mma do this podcasting stuff yo! I've got inklings of ideas for show formats/topics, but I'll have to get some practice recording sessions in before I make any decisions.
Hopefully I am more successful at podcasting regularly than I was at posting daily photos (though, doing something once or twice a week during the summer shouldn't be that difficult... Right?).
From what I've heard, shows seem to have a better flow when there's some kind of co-hosting going on: one person talking is a little difficult to pull off. Plus, having a co-host would be motivating; I don't want to slack off on this. I'm not sure I know anyone who would be up for doing a podcast, but we'll see.
If you've got any ideas or suggestions, leave a comment. I'd like to hear what you think.
p.s. If you are thinking to yourself, "no understand, what are podcast?" you should read up. A podcast is basically a downloadable radio show that, despite its name, you can listen to on pretty much any computer (not just an iPod).
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Audio Equipment (aka. Gift Cards are Awesome)
I have recently been considering purchasing some audio recording equipment with which to produce a podcast. We'll see about that. For now I'm just researching basic sound engineering/recording techniques and brainstorming ideas for what the show might be like.
In other happenings, I ordered V for Vendetta and the first two volumes of Akira from Barnes and Noble. Now, I have been saving up B&N gift cards for quite some time, and it's nice to have them around whenever I feel like getting some printed material. Unfortunately, the order is shipping from Nevada, so it won't be hare for another week. Oh well.
In other happenings, I ordered V for Vendetta and the first two volumes of Akira from Barnes and Noble. Now, I have been saving up B&N gift cards for quite some time, and it's nice to have them around whenever I feel like getting some printed material. Unfortunately, the order is shipping from Nevada, so it won't be hare for another week. Oh well.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Bitcoin: Potentially Useful
I recently discovered Bitcoin, a promising digital decentralized cryptocurrency. What exactly does that mean? Let's break it down.
Digital
All Bitcoin transactions are carried out by computers. There are no physical coins. It is somewhat like PayPal in this regard, but differs in several important ways, the most important being that bitcoins (BTC) are not dollars (although they can be exchanged); it is a separate currency entirely.
Decentralized
Bitcoin is not regulated by any central authority. Instead, the service relies on peer-to-peer connections between its users. Each and every transaction is announced and propagated throughout the network of Bitcoin users, who's clients store the information. Every ten minutes or so, this transaction information is formed into blocks by miners (we'll discuss that later) and is added to the block chain. This block chain serves as the master transaction record, and a copy of it is held by every user.
Cryptocurrency
You may be wondering: "But, if everyone has a copy of every transaction ever, how can I retain my privacy?" The answer is this: Bitcoin does not use account numbers, it uses keys. Instead of sending BTC to an account, you send them to a randomly generated unique address. Each person can have as many addresses as they want, and any BTC sent to any of them goes into that person's wallet. To anyone looking at the transaction records, there is no connection between any of a person's addresses. This operates on the principle of public key cryptography; read here and here for more details.
Now, as promised, miners. Miners are Bitcoin users who create blocks for the block chain in exchange for BTC. For every block a miner creates, they receive some BTC; this is how bitcoins are "minted." There is a set limit to the total number of bitcoins that will ever exist; there will never be more than about 21 million. A user creates a block by dedicating their computer's CPU and GPU to finding a solution to a cryptographic problem. The first to find a solution gets the reward. The difficulty of the problem is adjusted regularly to make sure that only one block is made every 10 minutes.
Mining will most likely not be profitable for you, seeing as it could take several years for you to find a single block, and by then your electricity bill would have already exceeded your profits. It is a practice best left to those who know what they are doing.
Bitcoin is a fascinating currency system, and I hope that it continues to grow and thrive. Perhaps it will eventually be adopted by various vendors such as Amazon. If you want to learn more about Bitcoin (or if you are confused by my explanation), you can check out this site. If you feel like donating any BTC in my general direction, you can send them to:
Digital
All Bitcoin transactions are carried out by computers. There are no physical coins. It is somewhat like PayPal in this regard, but differs in several important ways, the most important being that bitcoins (BTC) are not dollars (although they can be exchanged); it is a separate currency entirely.
Decentralized
Bitcoin is not regulated by any central authority. Instead, the service relies on peer-to-peer connections between its users. Each and every transaction is announced and propagated throughout the network of Bitcoin users, who's clients store the information. Every ten minutes or so, this transaction information is formed into blocks by miners (we'll discuss that later) and is added to the block chain. This block chain serves as the master transaction record, and a copy of it is held by every user.
Cryptocurrency
You may be wondering: "But, if everyone has a copy of every transaction ever, how can I retain my privacy?" The answer is this: Bitcoin does not use account numbers, it uses keys. Instead of sending BTC to an account, you send them to a randomly generated unique address. Each person can have as many addresses as they want, and any BTC sent to any of them goes into that person's wallet. To anyone looking at the transaction records, there is no connection between any of a person's addresses. This operates on the principle of public key cryptography; read here and here for more details.
Now, as promised, miners. Miners are Bitcoin users who create blocks for the block chain in exchange for BTC. For every block a miner creates, they receive some BTC; this is how bitcoins are "minted." There is a set limit to the total number of bitcoins that will ever exist; there will never be more than about 21 million. A user creates a block by dedicating their computer's CPU and GPU to finding a solution to a cryptographic problem. The first to find a solution gets the reward. The difficulty of the problem is adjusted regularly to make sure that only one block is made every 10 minutes.
Mining will most likely not be profitable for you, seeing as it could take several years for you to find a single block, and by then your electricity bill would have already exceeded your profits. It is a practice best left to those who know what they are doing.
Bitcoin is a fascinating currency system, and I hope that it continues to grow and thrive. Perhaps it will eventually be adopted by various vendors such as Amazon. If you want to learn more about Bitcoin (or if you are confused by my explanation), you can check out this site. If you feel like donating any BTC in my general direction, you can send them to:
145dDGvtB6o4shk3rx8pxcf5YEpoczRJKH
Wow, that was a long post.
P.S. Uhh Yeah Dude is pretty funny.
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