Author: John Bollwitt

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CBC Radio Podcast Expansion

I know I’m coming in late to the party, but the CBC expanded their podcast content last week. A large number of popular programs from CBC Radio One can now be subscribed to via their website at cbc.ca/podcasting, or through iTunes.

Programming will include the “best of” editions from The Current, Dispatches, Definitely Not the Opera, Ideas, Outfront, and As It Happens, plus highlight packages of regionally-based radio programs. [podcastingnews.com]

As It Happens has the best opening theme. Makes me totally want to rock out.

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Seeing David Suzuki At the CBC

Rebecca scored us a super cool opportunity to check out David Suzuki[wiki] at the CBC studios here in Vancouver. CBC’s Studio One Book Club will feature Dr. Suzuki with his new book, David Suzuki: The Autobiography[froogle].

The Book Club takes place in CBC Radio’s Studio One in the CBC Broadcast Centre, 700 Hamilton Street in Vancouver (corner of Georgia Street), across from the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library.

The show is being taped for broadcast on North by Northwest in two parts over one weekend: Part One on Saturday May 27, between 8 and 9am, and Part Two on Sunday May 28, 8 to 9 am, both on CBC Radio (690 on the am dial in Vancouver).

I recall catching his programs(The Nature of Things) on PBS growing up, especially during those days when we only had four channels on our TV. When I got sick and had to stay home from school, I spent hours watching PBS because daytime TV was torture. And I’m not saying I loved all the programming Iowa Public Television had to offer. It was the alternative that made those days go by.

All it took was a creative essay on Rebecca’s part and someone over at the CBC making the selection. It’ll be exciting as it’ll be my first time venturing inside of the studios here in Vancouver as well as the chance to hear Suzuki speak. A very BC experience, if I must say so myself.

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RadioZoom Episode #91

Episode #91 was published today.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! I took my minidisc with me while I ventured around the city in the pursuit of my immigration paperwork. The adventure ended up taking more time than I expected, so you come along with me while I walk into the heart of downtown Vancouver to meet up with Rebecca after work. I also got some music into this mobile, a rare occurance in such previous episodes.

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Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Today[wiki] is a major celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. Oddly enough, being in Canada, this puts me even further away from the country that this holiday stems from. That doesn’t mean Rebecca and I won’t do something in observance. Oh yes, we have plans. And having some Mexican blood myself, you better believe we do!

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Canucks Outsider, Uncle Weed Having Tech Issues

Dave Olsen, main man for the Canucks Outsider and Choogle On w/ Uncle Weed podcasts, appears to have some problems with the technical end of his podcasting capabilities. He posted this on the new home for the Canucks Outsider podcast, hockeynw.com.

Just a noe to say that my intrepid little laptop (leon) has lost grasp on reality and slipped into oblivion with two almost-finished podcasts abord plus myriad future content in progress. Yikes! I am at Appletex in North Van for rescue operation so wish me luck. [post]

I was beginning to wonder if all was well in DaveO-world. Wish him a quick recovery and just passing along the info. Hope he gets things back up and running soon!

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They Are 50%, Absolutely Correct

Doghouse sign in downtown Vancouver, BCThe Vancouver Canucks have asked Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for permission to speak to Mr. Quinn about coming back to the west coast. We’ll just have to wait and see. Some people around the city seem to think, or know, otherwise.

I snapped this shot just today while taking care of some details regarding my status here. Will post more on my flickr later. Right now I’m pretty beat. Lots of sun, warmth, walking, and ice caps from TimHo’s. Must… drink… water…

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Camino 1.0.1 Released

A news item from Macworld.com announced that Camino 1.0.1 has been released.

Camino 1.0.1 is a “security and stability update” for Camino 1.0. Several critical security issues have been corrected, and Camino uses version 1.8.0.3 of the Mozilla Gecko rendering engine. The Java Embedding plug-in has bee updated to version 0.9.5+d. Ad-blocking has been improved, especially for German ads. Locally stored SVG files can now be opened. And Camino on Intel-based Macs can now read Keychain entries stored by Camino on PowerPC-based Macs. [article]

I’m running it now and it does seem to be a little more snappy than the previous version. I would say that it might deal slightly better with WordPress, but still no built-in spellcheck. Bummer.

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Rescue Me: Season 3

Rescue Me castI like Rescue Me. It’s gritty, sad, funny, has some cool camera work, and boasts a kick ass opening sequence that does justice to the Von Bondies song “C’mon, C’mon.” I was curious about the series when I saw the previews prior to its premiere, but it was hearing that song linked up with the images that made me stick around. I’ve been pleased with the program so far.

I knew that FX Networks picked up the series for a third season, but it’s been a painfully long time to hear any news about it. So when Rebecca asked me about it, I came up with this.

I watch my server logs: I know that a lot of Googlers get here wondering about FX’s Rescue Me, a show that I really, really happen to love. Lately, folks seem to wonder: “When is the new season of Rescue Me going to start?” Best as I can tell, we can expect that sometime in the second quarter of 2006—I’d bet on May. [ijsm.org]

The Wikipedia entry about Rescue Me[wiki] also points to a May 30th debut for the first episode of season three on FX, catch it on Showcase here in Canada. At least I hope Showcase picks it up as well.

Oddly enough, Rebecca made a post about Showcase today. Perhaps our conversations spur blog posts, eh?

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Breaking Tsunami News

I can’t even begin to explain it, but tracking the news of natural disasters has been a lifelong obsession. When the (reported) 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck this morning near Tonga, I held my breath as I listened to the ongoing reports coming in about the possible tsunami that might have resulted.

Thankfully, nothing happening. Fiji was in line for a possible wave, so this is doublely good news as Laura has extended family there. I even mentioned this to Rebecca that it’s times like these that I kinda wish we had Fox News on our cable package, simply for the fact that they treat situations like these as if the world was ending. Compare their website to CNN and you kinda get what I’m saying.

CNN screenshot during the Tonga tsunami warning FoxNews.com screenshot during the Tonga tsunami warning

The same comparison could be made of other news websites, but I picked the two of the more popular competitors in the U.S.

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RadioZoom Episode #90

Episode #90 was recorded and published today.

A major Vancouver episode. All artists are from B.C., we’ll cover news pertaining to B.C., go over some of the details to the creation of the new Canada Line, and explore the development of the olympic village for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

radiozoom.net