Tag Archives: Tart & Tangy Triad

A Decade of Decadence or: The Most Desirables?

03 Monday Feb 2020

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Salutations™!!

Today is the 10th anniversary of The Less Desirables’ first-ever episode, both recording and airing. February 3, 2010, was a Wednesday and I went to the area between Reynolda Road, Silas Creek Parkway and Wake Forest Road and picked up Brian from work as his car was in the shop.

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10 Years Old Today (the podcast, not the logo)

I took him to my house only to realize that I didn’t have the right mic or mic cable in my house for more than one person to talk. So, we had to run over to where the bands that I had been in had practiced and grabbed the right mic and cable and headed back to my house.

We sat in the “media room” (what is now 3B’s room) and looked at each other. “What are we going to talk about?” I asked. “I don’t know,” he said. I replied, “I tell you what… I’ll hit the record button and we’ll just see what happens. If we don’t like it, we can try again.”

The point was to have a 20-minute podcast, this newfangled kind of “radio-on-demand” or recorded audio thingy because 20 minutes is about the length of an average commute here in the Triad. Some are longer, some are shorter, but it’s about average at 20. How we were going to come up with something to talk about for 20 minutes was wracking our brains.

I hit the button. 38 minutes later, the first one was recorded. An hour later it was on a web server and I had half-arsed written an RSS feed, the best I could figure, and was ready for people to listen to. I don’t know that anyone did. I still don’t know if they hear them now. I just know that there are plenty of downloads. That first one was a bit rough and I think neither Brian nor myself would argue that.

It wasn’t fascinating stuff. But, you know what? Few people were doing it. We essentially had our own radio program, a morning-type show, and we were proud of that. And, here we are 10 years later and I am still proud of what we did that first day and all 520 episodes since. I am pretty sure Brian would agree with that.

This Wednesday will be the 10th-anniversary recording, number 521. I know that Eugene, Caitlin, Beer Guru Jay Platt, Danielle and Bethany will be there. There is a slim chance that Brian and Bruce will come but I’m not really sure. I’d love to have all of us in a room at once. Heck, it would be great if Superfan Damien could be here, too. But, he’s all the way out in Super Bowl Champion World (that’s Kansas City). It would be great, though. That first show even predates The BCPF by a few months.

Without that first show, there probably wouldn’t be any Fan Interference, any Camel City Dispatch News Hour, Tart & Tangy Triad, The Beer Dads, The Man Who Ate the Town, Apartment 5B, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, or Beeswax Vinyl & More. No The Less Desirables Network. No, Rule 1 Podcast, Owner’s Manual, No Mask No Cape Podcast, Forsyth Mags Podcast, Open the Blue Door Podcast, Wine About Real Estate Podcast, Margaret’s SpeakEasy Podcast, Transformative Conversations Podcast, Lunch Link Podcast, Thrive with Dara and Garth, or any of the ones that I should be starting in the next few weeks.

I’m not saying that none of these last group of podcasts wouldn’t be there, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t be the one making them happen if it weren’t for the first-ever recording of The Less Desirables 10 years ago today. I wouldn’t be called “the Podfather.”

When I started this journey in 2010, no one knew what a podcast was. I had to explain around seven times a day what it was. Now, I only have to explain it once every seven days. Now, almost literally everyone has a podcast and when people around here want to start one, they at least come to me first. That makes me feel good. It makes me feel important. It makes me feel like I truly am the “father” of the podcast culture around this area.

All this because Brian and I sat in a room in my house and made stuff up for about 40 minutes. Since that first day, there is only one thing that has stayed constant since the very first show. Not me, I haven’t been on every show. Not Brian, he left in 2014. Most would think it is the theme song (which I wrote, by the way). Nope to all of that. The only thing constant since the first-ever show (which was recorded on that day) is the disclaimer at the very end. It still has Brian’s voice on it, here, five and a half years since his leaving. So, even though he’s not here, he’s here every week.

If you’d like to hear this (very rough) first episode, you can do so here. Listen to that one and then listen to the one this week and hear the difference.

Well, here’s to another 10 years (at least) of The Less Desirables and The Less Desirables Podcast Network. Thank you for listening and reading…

Until tomorrow, same pod channel at some pod time (your choice)…
Scorp out!

—
“The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the contributors and not necessarily those of our distributors or hosting company. This podcast is copyrighted and any use of this product cannot be reproduced without the expressed written consent of Such-N-Such Limited, Inc. So don’t do it…” – The Less Desirables

The TLD 500 or: Breaking at the Speed of…

12 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by in Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

There are milestones and there are milestones!!! Last night, I recorded the 500th episode of The Less Desirables. Of those 500, I have been on 497 of them. I’ll explain. In 2012, on April 18, a Wednesday, I had my heart surgery. That was the first show I missed. In 2013, I was in Europe for two weeks. Brian and Eugene handled the recording for those. Also, in 2013, I was in Costa Rica and Brian had to be at a school function (he was in the MBA program at Wake Forest) and Eugene had a problem with the studio equipment so he went home. That was the only week in 501 weeks that we missed a show. I don’t blame Eug for that. My setup isn’t the easiest to operate. TLD

Last night, Danielle had a family function to attend so she couldn’t be there. Our friend Tracy Bush was there to fill in. Of course, Bethany was with us, because that’s her spot! Eugene was there to celebrate with us. Our guest for the night was Chad Nance, who hosted a podcast on the network at one time. He was instrumental in the whole John Lawson story, or as the press wants to call it (and how Lawson would want it), “Pazuzu.” We really talked just a little about story and more about the production. It was a fun show. A bit long, sure, but still great.

501 weeks. That’s almost 10 years. That happens in February. I’m planning on a big deal for the 10th-anniversary show. So, keep an eye on that. It was good to have my pals on the show with me. I did talk a little bit about doing all I feel I’ve accomplished doing the podcast.

If it weren’t for TLD, we may not have ever done the Camel City Dispatch (now defunct) or Fan Interference, the first two podcasts that made The Less Desirables Network an actual “network.” There wouldn’t have been a Tart & Tangy Triad which eventually led to The Man Who Ate the Town. There wouldn’t have been The Beer Dads, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, Apartment 5B, or Beeswax Vinyl & More. Without doing those podcasts, I wouldn’t have gone on to produce the TVA vaping podcast, the Thrive podcast, Rule One podcast, Open the Blue Door podcast, The Owner’s Manual podcast, Wine About Real Estate podcast, Dr. Shawn Ricks’ podcast, a few new ones that I can’t talk about, yet and more. I would never have gotten the local nickname “the Podfather.”

With all these shows (and other things that either is in the works or never materialized), I estimate that I have produced around 1300-1400 podcast episodes. I really need to go back and do a full count because I’d really like to know. I have every episode of every podcast I’ve ever recorded, published or not, save one episode, or so I think. I may have found it on the server and downloaded it but if I did lose it, it was from 2011, I think. Jerry Chapman was our guest. But, other than that, I have every single one. Perhaps I’ll put that number together someday.

But, 500 episodes. To toot my own horn. That’s really something. And, it’s really impressive, for any show. Especially one that is weekly. Some podcasts do several a week and may have bigger numbers but I don’t know what those are. After all, The Less Desirables is the longest, continuously-running pop culture podcast in North Carolina. Some may have been there before me but didn’t keep it up or they showed up just after me, but I have been at it longer. Toot! Toot!

Here’s to the next 500 and I appreciate every listen you may have ever given us, Dear Reader. Thank you so very much. Thank you, Brian, for starting this with me. Thank you, Eugene, for bringing us into prominence. Thank you, Caitlin, for keeping us all in line and taking those shots at Eug and me. Thank you, Bruce, for teaching us how to be more professional in our “radio selves” and being there for us. Thank you, Danielle, for coming in and teaching us humility and how a badass woman can run a business with authority (and taking over as the “shot-taker” from Caitlin). Thank you, Bethany, for always having my back and being my other badass “work wife.” I love you all for what you have meant to this “little project.”

So, I’ve rambled enough. Until the next 500,
Scorp out!

—
“Better than tuna fish on cinnamon swirl raisin bread…” – TLD Announcer

Nine Years On or: The Less Desirable

03 Sunday Feb 2019

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Salutations™!!

(note: I know it’s Sunday and usually I’ll have “The Haul” but this is important, so look for the record post tomorrow)

I know I’ve told this story a million times and probably to you, Dear Reader, but here it is again. It started more than nine years ago when my pal, Brian Attridge and I sat at table 1 at Finnigan’s Wake and talked about starting this new thing called a “podcast.” 08c6c-tld

Brian was to do the newer music/sports and I would do the older music/movies and just do a pop culture thing. We decided to do it on a Wednesday because the idea was to cover things that had already happened and things that were going to happen. It was smack in the middle of the weekends. It was to be 20 minutes long because that is the length of the “average” commute in this area. There was a third person named Colin that didn’t work out before we ever started to do it.

Since we had decided on Wednesday and we wanted to go ahead and get started, we decided that the first episode would be recorded on February 3, 2010, which was the first Wednesday in February. It was also the day after Brian’s birthday. His car was in the shop and I picked him up from work (he still lived in GSO and worked in WSNC at the time) and drove him to my house.

I had prepared a lot of things for the recording, like the intro, a session, etc. But, I had forgotten to get the extra microphone. So, we ran over to my office and searched through a lot of cables and other junk to get what we needed, oh and that other microphone. Then, we went back to my house, into the extra bedroom which was the original “Studio 1A” and is now 3B’s bedroom. I hooked up the microphone to the input and turned around and asked him, “what now?” He didn’t know, he had done this even less than I had. I had plenty of time in the studio but it was rarely just me talking and never with other people. “How are we gonna fill 20 minutes?” He didn’t know that, either.

I said to him, “I tell you what… I’m going to just hit record and we will see what happens.” He agreed with that. I hit record. 36 ½ minutes later, episode number was finished.

We talked about the Grammys that had happened the weekend prior. The Oscar nominations for that year had just been announced. We talked about the Super Bowl which was the Colts vs. Saints. And, we talked about some newfangled gadget called an “iPad” that was coming out and Brian had never heard of the Kindle. We were just getting started and a lot of things have progressed in the nine years since that first episode.

We had our first “official” guest on March 17, which happened to be our Official Beer Guru, C. Jay Platt. We had had “The Least Desirable” who wrote in at/to us a good bit in the beginning in the studio but he wasn’t an “official” guest. CJ came on the first Wednesday of each quarter at first but we moved him to the first Wednesday of each month after that. He was a trooper because he lives in CLT but came up to do our show with us. We have had a lot of guests since then. A lot!

We moved from the extra bedroom downstairs to the upstairs landing in my bedroom. That was Studio 2A

In 2011, Eugene came on the show as a guest and then on board as our “official third wheel” the next week, even if we didn’t call him that at the beginning of his tenure.

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Camel City Dispatch News Hour

We moved our studio to downtown WSNC, a dream of mine, in

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Fan Interference

December 2012. We called it Studio 3A and then to another location in the same building and kept it as Studio 3A. In that studio, we launched The Less Desirables Network with the beginning of The Camel City Dispatch News Hour with Chad Nance and Fan Interference with Ty Collins (and a few co-hosts along the way) within a few months of each other in 2013. We started Tart-N-Tangy Triad in late 2013 with The BCPF and Nikki Miller-Ka.

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Tart & Tangy Triad

Brian went to WFU to get his MBA and before even graduating he was hired by the Bank of Virginia to go work in their student loan division. So, in 2013, he left and Eugene and I kept on for a bit before asking Caitlin Weaver to come in and be our “third wheel.” We stopped calling her that and she was then the third co-host. Eugene had a lot on his plate with his real job and he left in November 2015. Almost immediately, we had Bruce Cole come in and he took Eugene’s place, which isn’t really what happened. No one can replace Eugene. No one could replace Brian.

Bruce did a great job and brought along As Ardmore Turns from his radio days. He had to go back to Chi-Town to be with his wife’s family a bit and had to leave. Caitlin moved to the Co-Pilot chair and we brought in Danielle Bull to fill Caitlin’s seat. I continued to do As Ardmore Turns as Bruce left it in my hands. I did it until early-2018. I have all the old episodes, I think I’m going to release them over time.

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The Beer Dads

In 2015, CCD and Tart-N-Tangy ceased to operate. But, in

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The Man Who Ate the Town

February 2015, Jon Lowder, Paul Jones and I started The Beer Dads Podcast (now 160 eps in). In July 2016, I did the first episode of The Man Who Ate the Town podcast. We moved to Test Pattern Studios later that month. We started Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking with Jordan Kieper and myself in December 2016 which went until August 2017 where it went into semi-permanent hiatus mode. In March 2018, Apartment 5B Podcast started with Jeff Evans and Rory.

We had always known that Caitlin was going to have to leave us because she was “on

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Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking

loan” from the US Army whilst she worked on her Ph.D. In September, 2017, she left us. Danielle had brought Bethany Miller in to be a guest co-host and like Eugene before her, didn’t stop coming. She has been my right-hand gal ever since. Even when she sits on my left.

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Apartment 5B

We moved into The Less Desirables Studios in The Lab at Industry Hill in July 2018. It has been our home ever since. The TLD Network is strong. There is a chance of a resurrected Sipping NC podcast, too. But, all of this wouldn’t be possible without that first episode recorded nine years ago today. So, to Brian, Eugene, Caitlin, Bruce, Danielle, Bethany, Chad, Ty, Hailey Brooke, Jon, Paul, Nikki, The BCPF, Jordan, Jeff, Rory, Kelly Bone, Tim Johnson, Ray Morgan, our countless guests over the last 1100 episodes or so (combined), thank you all for the roles you have played in this roller coaster called The Less Desirables (and TLD Network) and happy anniversary to you! I love you all.

Thank you, our listeners for your support over the last nine years and for your future support. Thank you to our sponsors, past, present, and future for all you have done or will do for us. We love you, all.

And a very, very special thank you to The BCPF (Stephanie) for always being by my side when I come up with these crazy ideas. I love you infinitely.

I am going to leave a link to that first ever episode HERE. I’d appreciate a listen. It’s rough. It’s amateur. It’s funny. It’s clear that I was getting over an allergy or cold. It also contains the two things that have never changed since we recorded it: the theme song (although the intro has) and the disclaimer at the end. To this day when you listen to episode 469 (this week) that ending is still the same and is the legacy of Brian in every episode.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp (Tim) out!

—
“Until next time, same pod channel at SOME pod time… Your choice…” – The Less Desirables

Not Going to Plan or: Nice Try, Bucko

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

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Salutations™!!

So, we didn’t record The Man Who Ate the Town this week. But, I had the bright idea that I was going to resurrect the “Appetizer” aspect of the old Tart & Tangy Triad podcast. The “Appetizer” was the video aspect of the podcast. That stopped when we stopped doing that. I want to get back to it. TMWATTLogo

Well, after an hour of setting up the stuff and recording the video, I couldn’t get the files converted to do some editing until just about 10 minutes ago and it’s 11:20pm as I write this. So, I was unable to get it going tonight. Therefore, I was prepared to talk about something else. I apologize that this is shorter than it could be, or just didn’t have something more in-depth to talk about.

I hope to get this done soon. Thanks for reading anyway.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I’m a techno-moron. I need help just to plug in my video camera.” – Libba Bray

Piggybackin’ or: Celebration Time

06 Tuesday Feb 2018

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Salutations™!!

I’m going to piggyback The Man Who Ate the Town as I always do, but I’m also going to talk about what I said I was going to talk about, yesterday. Kelly and I talk about Camino’s new co-owners, Super Bowl and our food for the big game, Wise Man, Willows and a brand new Asian place called Dynasty. You can hear about that HERE.TLD

Now, on to the other thing. This past Saturday, February 3rd, was the EIGHTH anniversary of the very first recording of The Less Desirables podcast. I tell this story every year and I know you get tired of reading about it but here goes anyway…

Brian and I sat in what is now my son’s bedroom and labored over what we were going to talk about for twenty minutes. This after we spent an hour running around getting all the right cables and such together from where the bands I was in practiced. We pulled it off and the next week we did it again. And the next. And so on. Our first outside guest was Brian’s brother Sean who played the part of the Least Desirable. I feel I can tell that, now.

Then, our first “official” guest was our buddy Jay Platt who was our Beer Guru for the first three years. That date was March 17, in which we went to Finnigan’s afterward to get some holiday time in and started really promoting the show. Jay was a quarterly regular and then moved monthly until circumstances led to him having to stop. I miss old Jay.

We started having guests regularly after a while and one of those was my buddy Eugene, whom other than The BCPF, I probably write the most about on this blog after myself. He became a fixture and co-host as the Official Third Wheel and TV Guru.

Brian eventually bettered himself and moved to Virginia leaving Eugene and me to tend the garden. We then added Caitlin to our fold and she became the Third Wheel. Eugene left and we brought Bruce in to replace him. Bruce was fun, but life took him back to Chi-town. Caitlin took the co-pilot chair and eventually another guest became a permanent fixture, that being Danielle.

With Caitlin, we always knew we were on a limited-time basis with her, because she was going to be moving once her degree was finished. We did get to milk her time for about a year longer than we thought and that was great

When Caitlin had to move, yet another past guest came in to take the Third Wheel seat, or as we call it now, the “Abuse Tim” chair. That would be Bethany and that’s where we are now. Danielle, Bethany and me, with a bevy of guests.

Tomorrow, we will record show #417. That’s more than and longer than any other podcast in this area and as far as I can tell, this state. Without that first one eight years ago, I wouldn’t produce Fan Interference, The Camel City Dispatch/Electric Camel Pod, Tart and Tangy Triad, The Beer Dads, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking or The Man Who Ate the Town podcasts. With the exception of the CCD and T&TT podcasts, I still do the others as part of The Less Desirables Network.

There are more TLD podcasts and shows coming, whether as part of the TLD Network, a whole new podcast network or for individuals’ use. The future is bright, but I have to get busy, there’s a lot of podcasting to do, yet.

We would have never gotten where we are without our sponsors: City Beverage, Finnigan’s Wake, King’s Crab Shack, Washington Perk, Bull’s Tavern, Underdog Records, Test Pattern. Also, we thank a/perture cinema, The Garage, Bob’s Big Gas Subs and Pub, Cafe Rochè for their support early on and up until the last little bit. A few of those are no longer in existence but we do appreciate them being with us when they were.

This Saturday, we are celebrating our eight-year fun, along with the rest of the network, our guests, our listeners and our people. We are doing that where the whole thing was conceived: Finnigan’s Wake. That’s where I pitched the idea to Brian and we planned its course. I am now inviting all of you to Finnigan’s to celebrate with us. The party is from 7-10, February 10. I really hope to see a lot of you there!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Voted the best pop culture podcast within a four-block radius in downtown Winston-Salem, this is The Less Desirables.” – TLD Announcer

Listen to Me! or: International Podcast Day

30 Friday Sep 2016

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Salutations™!!

Do you know what today is, Dear Reader? Well, I’m sure you’ve already looked at the subject line, so I can’t hide it or make it a surprise (I’ll come out from behind the couch, now). Today is International Podcast Day! Today, that is September 30, 2016, International Podcast Day.

Now, if you’re wondering why this makes me excited, then I welcome you to my blog. You must be new here if you don’t know why this gets me going. There’s Secretary’s Day, tim-podcastingNational Librarian Day, Be Kind to Lawyers Day, National Bunion Removers’ Day (I made that one up), but none of those have anything to do with me, other than on those days, I hope the people it pertains to have a great one. But, International Podcast Day is a day that celebrates exactly what I do.

Six and a half years ago, I, along with my bud Brian started a little thing we call The Less Desirables. It was intended to be a mere 20 minutes long (the length of the local average commute) to give them a once-a-week dose of pop culture. We added Eugene a year or so into it and Caitlin after Brian moved away to take a major career step. When Eugene had to move on to other things, we added Bruce. Bruce went back to Chi-Town to be with family and we added Danielle. So, now Caitlin, Danielle, a plethora of guest hosts and I have welcomed, collectively, hundreds of guests (that sounds awesome to me) on what has grown to be a two hour show. 346 episodes of it, to be exact. Starting from a meager little bedroom on the ground floor of my house to the upstairs loft to two different studios on Fourth Street, downtown, to Test Pattern Studios on Seventh. We’ve come a long way.

But, it didn’t stop there. I wanted have a whole network of shows. Chad Nance of Camel City Dispatch wanted to do a weekly “news” program and we made that happen, once we moved downtown. That lasted almost 3 years. It wasn’t because the show wasn’t any good, it was the nature of the show and the direction Chad and Carissa (his better half) wanted to take the news organization in general. Chad and I remain good friends, now, and we still work together on various projects.

Ty Collins wanted to do a sports show. A national sports show that fell in the vein of Dan Patrick or other national sports talk shows. We made that happen. It is still going on and we record them on Mondays, generally right after all the sports happens. We call that Fan Interference.

The BCPF and I were eating at a restaurant (that is no longer there) and I posted about it on social media. Another local food blogger, Nikki, and I started a conversation about food and The BCPF said, “that’s your next podcast, right there.” We invited her to meet us a few doors down and we discussed and implemented what became Tart & Tangy Triad. That went on for almost three years. Nikki and I decided to take our food styles and wants and go in different directions, but I think we’re all proud of what we had with that.

I had become friends with Jon who truly introduced to Paul (we had met once and knew each other on FB), and grew tight and on the same page about wanting to be part of something big. The BCPF and their pilots along with us three started hanging out a good bit, together. That grew into a partnership that did two things. One, J&P are now part owners of Such-N-Such Limited, Inc., which owns Such-N-Such Media, which is the production company and owners of The Less Desirables Network and all of its shows. Two, our regular business meetings at Small Batch Beer company led to one of my favorite projects, The Beer Dads, a podcast about three guys who happen to be parents (Jon of 3, Paul of 1 and me of 1) and lovers of beer, so we sit and record our “dad” conversations whilst having a brew (or more). This part of my podcasting history, I consider the most important, other than starting The Less Desirables in the first place, which set all this roller coaster in motion.

This brings me to my (so far) last entry of my podcasting arsenal. At least what I’m directly involved with and responsible for. When Tart & Tangy Triad broke apart, I decided to focus on a food blog that I’d been working on for the last several years, The Man Who Ate the Town, and I’ll admit, sporadically. Once T&TT was done, I really turned it up. I wanted it to be the source for food news in town. Now, I know that it has a ways to go before that can even remotely be said about it and it may never get to that point, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to continue trying. Anywhat! I decided that I was going to put, in one shape or another, that concept into a brand new podcast and while it’s only me, for now, I am going to start incorporating some of the food personalities around town to be guests and have guest spots and segments. It’s growing and becoming somewhat popular, at least in the food industry around town. Check… And, coming soon, a video series (still can be used as a podcast) for The Man Who Walked the Town.

So, since 2010, I have produced 734 episodes of various podcasts and those are only the ones that I was the producer, host or owner or that has been on The Less Desirables Network. Before that, as far back as 2006/2007 I was doing podcasts for a comic book store that I was suckered into being a part of. So I’ve been podcasting for about 10 years. Longer than most, and certainly the most consistent of anyone around here that I can figure. Especially, at this volume. I’ve also produced around 15 episodes for several outside sources.

And that’s what I do, now. I produce. I produce for others.You like podcasts? You want to do a podcast but don’t know what goes into it? Well, fear not! I can help with that. I’m not going to get into the logistics of it because it’s 1000 words or more in and of itself. I’ve already run this one over 1000. But, let’s just say, I am not called the “podfather” around here for nothing. Let me help you. Contact me, we’ll talk.

So… Happy International Podcast Day to all of you. I absolutely LOVE what I do and I appreciate you all for listening to my work. I can’t thank you enough. But, I’ll try. Thank you thank you thank you thank you th… You get the gist. Listen to podcasts, it’s radio on demand! Listen to mine because I need to feed the fam. I’m not afraid to say that, either (wink).

Until tomorrow, same blog (and pod?) channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Start the conversation…” – International Podcast Day website

A Special Offer or: Get Your Website Going Right

01 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by in Blogging, Life as We Know It, Podcasting

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Salutations™!!

I don’t usually do sponsored posts. I’ve told you that I’m not above it and I’m not. This is something that could benefit you, though, if you’re not happy with your current website hosting company. I have been using SiteGround for The Less Desirables for six years. I also used them for Tart & Tangy Triad when that was going and it’s now the hosting company for The Beer Dads. They are always “up.” I believe in my six years, I’ve only had about 2 hours downtime that I’ve been aware of.

Worried about changing and migrating to a new host? Not a problem. Worried about the domain transfer? Not a problem. Just re-upped your current hosting contract and think you can’t get out of that? Not a problem. See why…

Why is This Deal Amazing?
Customers are reluctant to change hosts, even if they’re having a bad experience, for two reasons: the migration hassle and expected downtime; and the already incurred cost for prepaying the service. We have the perfect counter arguments to both: our expert team will do the migration absolutely for free, preventing any potential downtime, and we’ll compensate up to six months from their previous hosting contract. To top it off, we’ll also transfer their domain for free which will make things easier to manage, and includes a one year renewal of the domain. No migration hassle, no downtime, free compensation and free domain transfer!

See? SiteGround has you covered! You can get all the transfers and migration done hassle-free and they’ll even help you out of the contract. Plus, you save money on the cost. That’s just good business, I’d say. And you’d be helping me out. I am a sales affiliate for SiteGround and can offer you this deal, right now. But, you have to hurry, the deal is only good for this week. From Sept 1 – Sept 8. Click on the banner below or visit The Less Desirables website and click on the banner on that page. Either way, if this deal sounds good to you, then this is your “limited-time” opportunity.

Web HostingI’d appreciate the clicks and I think you’d appreciate the benefits of the offer.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Migration Season Is Here! It’s time to move your site to a better place” – SiteGround

End of an Era or: Finished on Fourth

29 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in Blogging, Life as We Know It, Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

Last Friday, I gave up the ghost on the nearly-cryptic news that we had made our move of The Less Desirables Studios to the new Test Pattern Studios. I, along with Jon and Paul, The Beer Dads, moved all the big stuff and then 3B and I moved the last essentials before setting up in the new digs. We left some stuff there for a bit whilst getting everything else figured out. Today, however, 3B and I went and cleared the last of stuff that I was taking away from the old space on Fourth Street and did a little cleaning before turning out the lights one last time.

It was a bittersweet moment, really. I owe a lot to that space. When we were doing The Less Desirables out of my bedroom, I had gained a little recognition for what I do, but I wasn’t in it, doing it. I was just figuratively tiptoeing around what I was doing. No one really knew what podcasting was (and there are plenty who still do not) and it was my job to get the word out there. I did so, also, with the help of sponsors that I gained along the way of being in that space: City Beverage, a/perture cinema, Finnigan’s Wake, King’s Crab Shack, The Garage and Washington Perk for TLD; Washington Perk for The Man Who Ate the Town; Omega Sports, Mary’s Gourmet Diner, Atelier on Trade and Hoots Roller Bar & Beer Company for The Man Who Walked the Town and Hoots for TBD.

Before…
…After

Making that move put me in the heart of the downtown of the city that I love and the city that I try to do my best to promote within about. I was there and in the middle of it. Listenership of the show grew. People started to know who I was for what it is that I do. That was in the first studio outside of the house. Same building but different spot, but still, I consider them both as one, just a different room

Moving to that spot also allowed me to do a few other things that I had wanted to happen: to record audiobooks, to do vlogging and perhaps the most important part – create a network of podcasts. That’s exactly what I did, all of it. All because I was able to be where I feel I was supposed to be. Some of the shows have come and gone but some are always right there. Camel City Dispatch News Hour (then Electric Camel Pod, now on permanent hiatus), Fan Interference, Tart & Tangy Triad (now defunct), The Beer Dads and now The Man Who Ate the Town and the soon-to-be blog/vlog/podcast, The Man Who Walked the Town.

However, time passed and we outgrew the space. That and the fact that I needed cell phone service, hated having 3 different keys  to go through about six doors to get to the studio, had to have a separate key and walk halfway around the building to get to and use the restroom and it was a mite scary place to be for people not used to it, especially women. All that, though, it still served me, and its purpose well. Now, it’s time to move on and so I have. Goodbye old friend, it’s been nice.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“It’s good to wander into the studio and walk out with something that’s better than you’d imagined it to be. If everything was as you imagined it to be, it just wouldn’t be as much fun.” – Dave Grohl

Holiday Giving or: Yule Love This Short Post

25 Friday Dec 2015

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Salutations™!!

awesome_merry-_christmas-_images

(©appsforpcplanet)

Today is Christmas. I’m not going to take up your time because today isn’t about me. Really, it’s never about me. I just take up a little piece or cyberspace and am so glad you come to read what I’m rambling about, Dear Reader. This is going to be even shorter than the average Silent Sunday, my gift to you. And to you, Dear Reader, to all my family, to my friends, to my The Less Desirables family, to my The Beer Dads family, to my Fan Interference family, to my Tart & Tangy Triad family, to CCD and ECP families, to my lovely wife, The BCPF… Merry Christmas and have a great day with your family or whomever it is that you’re spending the day with. Peace to you all.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Christmas time is here. Happiness and cheer. Fun for all that children call their favorite time of the year.” – “Christmas Time is Here” from A Charlie Brown Christmas (Gauraldi/Mendelson)

Time Lost or: Uneven Flow

04 Friday Dec 2015

Posted by in Blogging, Podcasting, Rant

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Salutations™!!

Every Friday I come into the Such-N-Such Media studios (where The Less Desirables Network shows are recorded) and turn on the lights, set up the vid cam and record this little thing we call the “Appetizer” for Tart & Tangy Triad. Every Friday, as long as there’s not a holiday or some other event that I must tend to.

This morning I set up the lights, stood in front of the green screen, recorded and moved over to the computer to turn it into the “Appetizer.” There was an update for Adobe Premiere Pro CC so I did the update. As soon as that was done, I opened it and started importing all the usual media that I use each and every week. Well, the music, intro and backgrounds were all available, as was the footage I shot. But the titles wouldn’t import. “Titles,” for those who don’t know are the overlays that have my name, websites, anything that goes over to describe something on the screen. I was flipping out.

I contacted Adobe and was on their chat, even allowing them to take over my system to find out what was wrong. They told me that the titles didn’t work with any new updates; they had to be used with the version that made them. I told them that part was BS because I’ve been using the same titles for almost two years and I know I’ve gone through about 6-8 updates since then, including the big switch from the 2014 to 2015 conversion. They wanted me to revert then update. I said that only put it off a week. Then I’d have the same problem again next week. I said it was easier to just make new ones, even though that took about an hour of my time to do. But, I did it.

Got through the video, exported it, got it all working. Then I saved each individual title for future use. For S’s & G’s I decided to reimport one. Well, they were grayed out. Didn’t work. Wouldn’t let me. So I contacted Adobe again and said that last thing was utter BS. So after another hour and twenty minutes, they figured out (I think they had to go ask about twenty people because there was long periods of inactivity and a lot of cursor circling, indicating confusion) a work around. I don’t know if I’m the only one with this problem, I’ll ask if any of my friends that use Premiere Pro CC have had this problem. The workaround it seems is that you have to put the titles into a separate folder and import that folder into PPCC and use them from the folder. It’s actually a cleaner process to do it that way, but I can’t figure out why, now, after all these years of the program, are they making that mandatory and why didn’t they include this information in any documentation that went with the update? Adobe, I still love ya but you kind of dropped the ball on that one.

Anywhat! I got it done, working and I’m ok but that is 2-3 hours I’ll not get back that I feel that I wasted. Here’s the finished product. Enjoy.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Served hot, just the way you like it…” – Tart & Tangy Triad Intro