Podcasts

While Gavin was away in Boston for TechEd, I donned the Master of Ceremony cloak he usually wears for Confab. (I know,...It makes my ass look big.) John Costello of The Ethicurean, Kevin and Leslie Wagner of Double Llama, and John Hayes (sans blog) joined founding Confab members Keith Vaitkus, Jeff Smith and me for more than an hour of banter. Without Gavin's watchful eye, we were like children in a candy store.

Show appetizers (consuming almost twenty minutes of the show) included Keith's recent graduation as an MBA from the University of Washington, Leslie's child rearing techniques (involving box containment), and a smidgen of politics relating to the continued erosion of our civil liberties under the guise of national security. The main course, however, was all about food -- especially Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (April 2006). The most profound segment (33:30) of the show was when Leslie, unwittingly, provided the name I later adopt for my new dog.

As always, Confab was an excellent way to spend a Thursday evening with friends. Special thanks go out to Kevin and Leslie for bringing a small collection of their astoundingly good home-brewed beers, some of which I was lucky enough to have them forget in my refrigerator. (Hey you two: don't forget to pick up your cooler next time you're over!)

The thirteenth episode of Confab was a very casual affair, with new guest Char Popp and returning guests Elaine Chu and Kevin Wagner. Confab co-producers Gavin Shearer and me barely let our returning guests get a word in edgewise as we grilled Char about her recent interview experience and new job with Microsoft, book consumption traits, community arts, volunteerism and charity. Be the proverbial fly-on-the-wall at Seattle’s erudite podcast, Confab.

Confab moved to Wednesday nights because of various scheduling conflicts. This did not, however, slow us down. We had another packed house, with Mollie Bradley-Martin and Sarah Lingafelter joining us for the first time. Mollie, you may know, is a regular contributor on Podcasting Liberally. Sarah is a lawyer at Preston|Gates|Ellis, LLP who just happens to have worked with both Gavin Shearer and me during the dotcom era.

Purportedly, the main thread of this week's show was globalization. We wandered, as usual. Seven participants really pushes the limits of what a podcast can safely manage. At one point Keith Vaitkus has to exclaim that, "This is lively! I've been raising my hand and I can't get a turn!" So many simultaneous voices must make the podcast difficult to follow. We've since agreed to keep future shows down to five participants (maybe six in rare cases).

The best quote award for the April 12, 2006 show goes to Will Kelley-Kamp for the quote, "Hold on a second! That cannot be true: Medicare part D. Why would the Republican Party put seven bullets in a six chamber gun, and pull the trigger twenty-five times!" You'll have to listen to the show to understand the context of that quote and why Brian Gaither will be blogging at www.brokenthumb.co.uk in the near future.

The next Confab show will be recorded on April 26, 2006.

Confab will not be recorded on April 6, 2006 because Gavin is in England, and I am in Italy. Sorry. We will pick up the regular schedule when we return.

Are we all just getting too old? The March 23, 2006 Confab was so full of "Adult Themes" (i.e., having children, the future for our children, etc.) that I had to take pause before writing my review. I can understand that the experience for parents is profound, but let's not loose sight of the fact that it's no miracle. Human re-productivity occurs exponentially. We are STRONGLY driven towards it, biologically. In fact, it is pretty much guaranteed to happen unless we take special measures to limit it. (What other "miracle" requires so many different forms of prevention?) I, for one, am a proponent of the Zero Population Growth strategies. Despite the seriousness during the March 23rd show, Confab remains one of the best ways you could ever spend a Thursday night in Seattle.

Thank you, Danika Dreslin, Brian Gaither, Allie Gerlach, Jeff Smith and Keith Vaitkus. Also, Gavin Shearer is deserving of special thanks for helping me produce this podcast.

As of the last show (March 14, 2005), the local chapter of Drinking Liberally has its very own Web site for its weekly podcast (Podcasting Liberally). You can now subscribe to the weekly podcast, with iTunes, by pasting the RSS link for the "Podcasts" category into the "Subscribe to Podcast..." option in iTunes' "Advanced" menu. (A screen shot example is available on the site.) The podcast should be in the iTunes Podcast Directory in the near future.