 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|
![Previous (earlier) Story](/images/sty-down.gif ""Volunteers Needed" Clearing House Now Live on ARRL Web Site!"){kind=small} Previous: "Volunteers Needed" Clearing House Now Live on ARRL Web Site! |  Next: Hurricane Watch Net Revises Activation Plans for Fickle Ophelia |
This week, we look in the e-mail bag to see what e-mailman has delivered.
Last week, I wrote about helping the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricane. Surfin' goes online at 8 PM on Friday nights. Sometimes I get immediate responses to my column like "great story," "good job," "you're a real bozo," or "don't push your social and political agenda in your column." To sleep soundly, I usually avoid checking my e-mail on Friday nights and as usual, I did not check it last Friday night.
When I did check my e-mail Saturday morning, I discovered that at about 9 PM Friday, I received a response to Surfin' unlike any response I ever received before. A Virginian woman wrote that she was worried about her daughter in New Orleans. Her daughter was stuck on the second floor of her home (the first floor was flooded). She passed along her daughter's street address and asked me if I could contact someone to rescue her daughter.
I replied that I would contact some people.
Back in the 1970s, I worked in the Public Service branch of the ARRL's old Communications Department and I was Section Manager (SM) of Connecticut, too. In the midst of the "Blizzard of '78," I helped start a 2-meter National Traffic System local net to respond to that storm and that net, Western Connecticut Net, is still active today. However, I have been out of the loop for a long time. As a result, I did not know whom to contact, so I contacted the current SM of Connecticut (Betsey Doane, K1EIC), which turned out to be the right choice.
Betsey e-mailed the rescue request to the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) of Connecticut (Rod Lane, N1NFE), who e-mailed it to the SEC of South Texas (Jerry Reimer, KK5CA). Meanwhile, Betsey also passed the request on the air via the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN).
I e-mailed the woman in Virginia to let her know what was going on and that if I had any news, I would pass it on to her. I asked her to do the same. Saturday afternoon, I received an e-mail from her with the good news that her daughter had been rescued around noon.
I was happy and genuinely surprised. I could not imagine that her rescue would occur so fast. I honestly felt that our request for assistance would be a drop in a bucket, i.e., there were so many similar requests that it would be many hours, if not days before anything would be done. It's a good thing that I was wrong.
Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting thoroughly covers the topic of podcasting. |
Last month, I wrote about podcasting here on the 5th and one week later, on the 12th. I received a lot of e-mail in response to the podcasting columns, but I also received a book on the subject.
Titled Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting, the book covers podcasting from soup to nuts, i.e., thoroughly as opposed to some of the people who podcast. Written by Michael Geoghegan and Dan Klass, the book contains 11 chapters as well as a Forward written by podcasting pioneer Adam Curry. Only one chapter is devoted to getting and listening to podcasts, but in reality, only one chapter is needed to cover that subject adequately (I practically covered that topic in my two podcasting columns).
Ten chapters are devoted to creating and distributing your own podcasts. Topics in these chapters include what hardware and software you need, techniques to produce the best podcasts possible, the legal aspects of podcasting, tips and secrets on how to popularize your podcasts, and even how you can make money podcasting. The book includes a CD-ROM that contains a variety of podcasting applications for Windows and Mac OS X.
I recommend Podcast Solutions to anyone who wants to get started in podcasting. For more information about Podcast Solutions, go to the book's Web site.
Until next week, keep on surfin'.
Editor's note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, doesn't need hardware or software to podcast. He just talks to himself. To contact Stan, send e-mail or visit his Web site where you can leave him a note.
| Previous: "Volunteers Needed" Clearing House Now Live on ARRL Web Site! | Next: Hurricane Watch Net Revises Activation Plans for Fickle Ophelia |
