Drastic Measures

You might remember this post I made at the end of 2006.

Now that it's 2008, it's time to ask the following questions:

Did I follow through on my 2007 resolution? Not really. Taking charge and pursuing your goals is easy. It's the outside factors that make things difficult. I applied to so many media jobs and sent out so many proposals. All I received was "thanks, but no thanks" or no response at all. What really bugs is me finding out that friends of mine who still go to University are getting co-op placements, internships, or lining themselves up for "post-grad employment." I wonder how they can easily get into their field of work, while I've been struggling for the last two years sending out thousands of applications. Am I bitter? Absolutely. Am I jealous? You bet.

Is it time to take drastic measures? Not sure on that one. There's a fine line between taking a chance and doing something stupid. It's all a matter of weighing your options.

Has life gotten better or worse? A little better, but I am nowhere near where I want to be. In May, I started a new "non-radio" job and it was the best thing that happened to me this past year. It's steady work, steady pay, my co-workers are phenomenal, and I get a lot satisfaction out of it. I'm very lucky to have this job.

I still have to deal with the pressure I put on myself as well as outside pressures. I still have to deal with people who tell me that radio is "a garbage job in a garbage industry." If I wanted to throw away my goals, I would have done it by now. But I refuse to quit. I'd rather die trying then capitulate.

What will happen to me 2008? I don't know. I really don't know and I refuse to make predictions. We'll just have to wait and see.

Fasten your seat belts.

The Hek

*Tune in: Episode 65 of the Audio Circus*

The Skype Experiment

I downloaded Skype, last night. So far, it's getting mixed results.

The Good: I can call anyone on the Skype network for free. I also liked how the website lays out and explains everything. It's very easy to use. Very clear sound.

The Bad: Uses a lot of bandwidth when a call is in progress. I recorded a test conversation; my voice came in perfectly, while the voice on the other line, was soft and very quiet. Unfortunately, there's no internal microphone. Therefore, the voice on the other line came through my speakers and was picked up by the microphone.

This isn't in too much of a problem because I can always fix it with my sound-editing program. However, it would easier if the conversation could be clear on both ends. What would be perfect is if I had two splitters; one for the mic input, and one for the speakers' output. I connect the two splitters with my audio cable and that way, I can listen to something coming out of my speakers while that sound, is also being recorded. A soundboard can also provide the same function.

*Disclaimer: The Hek is by no means, a "tech wizard." If you try what he's suggested on your own computer and it blows up, it's totally not his fault.

Meanwhile, I'm going to take my time and decide if Skype is useful for me, or not.

The Hek

New Year's Resolutions Redux, Part Two......Or, would this make it three?

I'm adding to the list, again.

I want to investigate and possibly download Skype. If it's what I think it is and will work without eating too much bandwidth, then I'm getting it. I'm hoping that I could do interviews for my podcast with the program, as long as the person I'm speaking to, also has Skype.

So to review:

1. Find a paying radio job before the end of the year, or start taking drastic actions.
2. Learn about electronic music.
3. Look into Skype.

The Hek

-Be sure to catch Episode 25 of The Audio Circus podcast-