So that’s the last piece of the puzzle. We’re golden, now.

Sarah's HJC CS-R1

85ed6641a4f142a7a33d15bff49bb0ca

Happy Independence Day!

We moderate every comment. All you’re doing is making me delete more of your comments BEFORE they ever see the light of day. Search bots won’t find them. They won’t slip through the cracks and the only thing you’re really causing is actual legitimate comments to be delayed while we weed through your crap.

Dummies.

Originally I had grand plans to get a higher-tier mixer/interface and some top-shelf mics, but the more I learn and look into it, and the more I play with various equipment, and taken into consideration this is spoken-word stuff and not audiophile quality recording, I’ll be fine with retail store stuff.

I’m thinking the Radio Shack mic mixer (maybe 2) and one of the umpteen USB 2.0 audio interfaces, or stepping up to the Alesis Multimix/8 USB 2.0 mixer/interface. Best Buy has several different Dynamic mics ranging from $20 – $60.

In addition, I’d like to get a pair of mobile digital recorders like perhaps the Olympus WS-400S handheld units; one for James and one for me when we’re on-location where a sit-down session isn’t possible. I’d like to get these in time for the IMS show in NYC that we’re planning on attending and covering. We’ll see.

As for the home recording setup, I have a good microphone ( the Samson CO1U ) that I can plug in directly or I can go through the mixer/interface when I host guests; all I need is a quiet room to use it. Failing that, I use my Logitech headset.

James is already using his very nice-sounding Blue Snowball mic.

So, we’ve got plans… We can expand our toolbox without spending thousands of dollars and we can make everything more convenient, and in some cases – possible, on a decent budget and continue doing a free show with no worries over big budget issues.

Here’s hoping.

Those who may not know Tee directly, but who still enjoy podcasting in all its various forms, should take a moment to get to get to know Tee’s work. He happens to write the occasional kick ass piece of fiction. But, in addition to his novels that made their way to podcast media and to print, he’s also one of the founders of the idea of podcasting fiction for free, co-author of the book Podcasting for Dummies and other related works, co-founder of the podcast novel site PodioBooks and has done countless appearances as guest speaker, host, voice work and interviews on just about every other podcast author’s works and sites imaginable. Tee is truly a beacon in “new media”.

Tee, you’ve always been a great, bright and optimistic, future-looking voice in the podcasting world and you seem like a genuinely nice and lovable guy according to those around you, and by the things you have said and done.

Our hearts go out to you. Be strong, take your time, and hug your daughter just a little tighter today and every day.

Join in, post up ideas you would like to see discussed, talk about shows, find out about upcoming show topics and possible live shows down the road, and get involved.

Enjoy!

The album art / rss feed art. These were composed with the demo version of Pixelmator. I’m definitely buying this app. It does all the stuff that *I* need it to do and it’s far, far, FAR cheaper than Photoshop. It’s also lighter weight… loads much faster and operates faster on my MacBook.

300×300:

144×144:

I think we both need some better microphones; there are some audible artifacts from our “s” sounds and some minor popping. Good hardware will come later. For now, I’m happy we’ve got some topics queued up to discuss, we’re on the same page on nearly every topic and on nearly every idea of how we want things to proceed.

The things about which one of us doesn’t feel so strongly, the other does and has chosen to take the lead. I’ve been concentrating on site and RSS feed setup, graphics and verbiage, while James has taken on sound editing, setting up a Twitter account, general show-prep documents and has gotten us organized with a Google Docs library.

We’ve also started picking out “official” graphics. A modified version of the page header’s sign saying “The Pace” will appear as a key element in (likely) all of our graphics. The road in the header graphic is Tracy Road, near Lake Placid, NY. That road embodies many of the ideals of riding for fun that James and I share; a fun road, bereft of traffic and crowds, in a far-away place, thus making it all the sweeter when riding it.

The master copy of the sign:

theme.m4a

Prophecy? Wishful thinking? A case of the crazies…?

So there I was cruising the iTunes Podcast section looking for motorcycle related content one day last year. I had run out of bike-related podcast content some time ago, and after sampling just about everything I realized that unless I was interested in racing, most of the other podcasts simply weren’t “my thing”. Most of them were too geared towards the beginning riders, or were too focused on touring. They just didn’t have that “special something” that MotoCast had.

Then it dawned on me… MotoCast wasn’t about anything at all. It was the Seinfeld of motorcycle podcasts. Whatever topics came to mind, that’s what the group would discuss. It was largely unscripted and more about just hashing it all out among the panel and guests. And that’s what I liked about it… it was general interest. They discussed gear and riding and bikes and places and people and…

… and I knew – and now know – that’s what I wanted to hear. And what I want to say.

So I mentioned this, in passing, to a few friends, and the topic came up again when I interviewed Prubert on my ‘blog.

Then one day I got an email from my friend James that said, “so how serious were you about doing a podcast some day?”

The rest, as they say, is history.

James and I will be posting on the site, and will be getting together to record and produce shows in the coming weeks. Look for bios from us, and we’re going to be promoting on other podcasts, sites on which we hang out, etc. If all goes well, and sponsors come along, we hope to start covering more events and expanding our offerings.

We’ve got some big ideas, and we hope you’ll give us the opportunity and listen.

You can contact us at feedback@thepacepodcast.com. We hope you enjoy what’s ahead.