Wednesday, October 29, 2008

House Forlorn Reads 5: Transcript

House Forlorn Reads 5

HFR Transcript

Yorkshire, Mexico and Ritual: James Herriot's self-named "James Herriot's Yorkshire, Ignacio Bernal's "The Mexican National Museum of Anthropology", and Elizabeth S. Helfman's "Celebrating Nature: Rites and Ceremonies Around the World".

House Forlorn Reads" is an episodic podcast brought to you by a house whose owners have moved out but haven't yet sold it to new owners. The house is sad and eager to have new humans living in it. This podcast, along with the House Forlorn blog and selected House Forlorn Chogger comics, can be found at HouseForlorn.com.
Date of Production: 20081028
post-production completed: 20081101
Length: 00:00:00

---------------------------------

House Forlorn Reads episode 5

You've stumbled upon House Forlorn Reads, Episode 5. If you intended on finding a podcast about constructing musical instruments out of natural materials, I'm afraid you'll have to go down to that large bamboo grove just down the hill, where you see those people working with freshly cut culms.

"House Forlorn Reads" is recorded for you by a house whose owners have moved out but haven't yet sold it to new owners. The house is sad and eager to have new humans living in it. This podcast, along with the House Forlorn blog and selected House Forlorn Chogger comics, can be found at HouseForlorn.com.

The music you hear is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV565, produced by James Clarke, of the UK. This and other podcast-friendly music can be found on the "podsafe music network" at music.podshow.com.

I have a thirst for books, which stems from a lack of human (or canine/feline) companionship -- nobody flicking on lights, stomping up and down my stairs, cooking bacon, showering for hours on end or barking/meowing at strange noises outside.

Where does your thirst for books come from? Send a message to Houseforlorn@gmail.com, and I'll convey your thirst to others via this podcast. Let me know if you're a human or a house, where you're from, and what kind of house, home, apartment or tiny little abode you inhabit or are. Also, tell me what books drive your thirst. I'll leave names out of it, unless your name happens to be something like "colonial", "saltbox", "felt tent", "geodesic dome" or "limestone cavern".

Do you have any stories about your books? For example, I like the things you can sometimes find in used books. In Betz's Basic Mathematics, published in 1942, I found several "Prevent TB" stickers, and a public transportation transfer slip, marked "N Wyoming" and "City of Detroit Dept of Street Railways". Who read this book prior to this sad house reading it?

In today's show, we'll read three cultural excerpts for you - touching on Yorkshire, Mexican Anthropology and Religious practices around the world.

James Herriot's self-named "James Herriot's Yorkshire", with photographs by Derry Brabbs, 1979, is "A guided tour with the beloved veterinarian through the land of "All Creatures Great and Small", gloriously photographed and memorably described". This is a delightful picture book depicting many of the towns, scenery and features that spring from the pages of Herrior's book "All Creatures Great and Small", as well as the television series of the same name.

Ignacio Bernal's "The Mexican National Museum of Anthropology", 1968 & 70, Thames and Hudson, London, translated from Spanish by Carolyn B. Czitrom, takes the reader through the anthropological past of Mexico as seen through the collections of the National Museum. Mexico has a rich history of civilization with evidence of that past stretching back to 1500 BCE to 1500 CE, for a 3000 year time-span.

Elizabeth S. Helfman's "Celebrating Nature: Rites and Ceremonies Around the World", 1969 by the Seabury Press, takes us on a very nice tour of the religious cultic practices of indigenous peoples around our globe. Although the early part of the book focuses on the cultures of the Americas, Europe and Western Asia, the latter part moves us toward African and Asian cultures.


First, from Herriot's "James Herriot's Yorkshire", The Snowbound Roads, pages 106 to 110:

Next, I read pages 28 and 29 from Bernals "The Mexican National Museum of Anthropology":

Finally, in Helfman's Celebrating Nature", I read the prelude to the second half of the book, on pages 78-79:

Thanks for listening to House Forlorn Reads. Check out the HF blog, photo-blog and comic-strip postings via www.houseforlorn.com. You can also follow houseforlorn on Twitter at twitter.com/houseforlorn.

Thanks for listening to House Forlorn Reads. Check out the HF blog, photo-blog and comic-strip postings via www.houseforlorn.com. You can also follow houseforlorn on Twitter at twitter.com/houseforlorn.

Fellow Twitterer Everywheretrip recently read "Ancient Angkor" by Freeman and Jacques -- what have you read?

My owner recently attended and present at Podcamp Pittsburgh 3 (PCPGH3). See what podcamps may be in your neighborhood at Podcamp.pbwiki.com; use keyword PCPGH3 in your google searches for related articles, blogs, videos and podcasts.

Have a Slushy Day!

..HF.

Monday, October 27, 2008

House Forlorn Reads 4

House Forlorn Reads 4
Arithmancy, Vino and the Red Planet: William Betz' "Basic Mathematics", Turner and Berry's "The Winemaker's Companion", and Henry Cooper's "The Search for Life on Mars".

House Forlorn Reads" is an episodic podcast brought to you by a house whose owners have moved out but haven't yet sold it to new owners. The house is sad and eager to have new humans living in it. This podcast, along with the House Forlorn blog and selected House Forlorn Chogger comics, can be found at HouseForlorn.com.
Date of Production: 20081027
Length: 00:15:04









MP3 Version

New Home Sales!!??

My owner saw a news blurb this morning about new home sales that "recorded an unexpected increase in September as median home prices dropped to the lowest level in four years, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Sales of new single-family homes rose by 2.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 homes, Commerce said. Economists had expected sales would drop from the August level.

The median price of a new home sold in September declined by 9.1 percent from a year ago to $218,400, the lowest price level since September 2004, a period when home prices were rising rapidly as the country experienced a five-year housing boom."
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer

New home sales???

What about existing home sales??

Ahh, later the author notes:

"The inventory of unsold existing homes is also remaining near historic highs as that market is being increased by a record wave of home foreclosures."

..HF.

House Forlorn Reads 4: Transcript

House Forlorn Reads episode 4

HFR Transcript

You've stumbled upon House Forlorn Reads, Episode 3. If you intended on finding a podcast about your preferred school for young witches and wizards, that's in the next dungeon down the hall, just past the balrog-baiting trophy case.

"House Forlorn Reads" is recorded for you by a house whose owners have moved out but haven't yet sold it to new owners. The house is sad and eager to have new humans living in it. This podcast, along with the House Forlorn blog and selected House Forlorn Chogger comics, can be found at HouseForlorn.com.

The music you hear is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV565, produced by James Clarke, of the UK. This and other podcast-friendly music can be found on the "podsafe music network" at music.podshow.com.

I have a thirst for books, which stems from a lack of human (or canine/feline) companionship -- nobody flicking on lights, stomping up and down my stairs, cooking bacon, showering for hours on end or barking/meowing at strange noises outside.

Where does your thirst for books come from? Send a message to Houseforlorn@gmail.com, and I'll convey your thirst to others via this podcast. Let me know if you're a human or a house, where you're from, and what kind of house, home, apartment or tiny little abode you inhabit or are. Also, tell me what books drive your thirst. I'll leave names out of it, unless your name happens to be something like "colonial", "saltbox", "felt tent", "geodesic dome" or "limestone cavern".

In today's show, we'll read three enervating excerpts for you - touching on mathematics, winemaking and flights of fancy.

"Basic Mathematics", by William Betz, published in 1941, 42 by The Athenaeum Press, reviews in-depth everything in math from addition, subtraction, multiplication & division, up through algebra and trigonometry, with very helpful illustrations and examples peppered throughout.

"The Winemaker's Companion", by BCA Turner and CJJ Berry, 1960, 63, 65 & 67, published by Mills & Boon Limited, is a complete introduction and study of winemaking, with such chapter headings as "Preparing the Must," "Ailments of Wine", and "Cider and Perry".

"The Search for Life on Mars: Evolution of an Idea" by Henry S.F. Cooper, Jr., 1976, 79 & 80, is a biographical sketch of this scientific inquiry led by two camps: Carl Sagan, in one, and Klein, Horowitz, Levin and Oyama in the other. We'll look at an excerpt from the former which includes references to the latter.

First, from Basic Mathematics, "Testing your accuracy in Measurement" on page 130.

Next, I read the beginning of The Winemakers Companion on page 41, The Main Ingredients: I. Yeast.

Finally, on pages 103-4 of the Mars book, we learn a little about testing instrumentation.

Thanks for listening to House Forlorn Reads. Check out the HF blog, photo-blog and comic-strip postings via www.houseforlorn.com. Have a snowy day.

..HF.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Owner Says "We're Using Blip.tv"

I don't understand this computer stuff.

I'm just a simple house, in a simple neighborhood, in a simple town, in a simple, county...well you get the idea. Computer stuff is way beyond me.

I like simple things, like wood framing, pvc plumbing, photovoltaics, hemlock trees, phyllostachys bamboo, freshly-mown grass (ahem!), forced-air heating, beautiful sunrises, etc.

When my owner says we're moving the House Forlorn Reads podcast to Blip.tv...that just doesn't mean anything to me. I didn't know what Apple's iWeb was before, and I don't know what Blip.tv is now. Suffice it to say, he's always trying something new, pushing the envelope. As long as he's not pushing me, I'm fine.

But the grass... Now that's something I'd like him to push something over. Like a lawnmower for the rolling expanses of meadow, a weed trimmer around the curbs, and a couple of muddy knees in the frost-killed flower beds. That's all I ask. Is it too much?

..HF.

House Forlorn Reads 3:



House Forlorn Reads 2:



House Forlorn Reads 1:



Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Impatiently Heinz #2

..HF.

Impatiently Heinz #1

..HF.

Biology, Drawing and Horses (HFR #3)

House Forlorn Reads episode #3 is now available.

"House Forlorn Reads" is an episodic podcast brought to you by a house whose owners have moved out but haven't yet sold it to new owners. The house is sad and eager to have new humans living in it.

Featured books:

Biology: An Introduction, by Johnson, Rayle, Wedberg, 1984
The Joy of Drawing: Learn how to observe, then create spontaneously, by Gerhard Gollwitzer, translated from German in 1961
Know About Horses: A Ready Reference Guide to Horses, Horse People and Horse Sports, by Harry Disston, illustrated by Jean Bowman, (1961).

http://web.mac.com/alex.landefeld/iWeb/Site%203/House%20Forlorn%20Reads/532E3919-AC41-4C26-BBD3-E3F316B8320B.html

House Forlorn Reads #2 MP3:



iTunes RSS:

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

PCPGH3 Thanks Sponsors

When my owner was here the other day, I eavesdropped a bit (those of us with eaves can do that!) on his phone call, in which he was describing the awesome behind-the-scenes help of the Podcamp Pittsburgh 3 sponsors:

* Meakem Becker Venture Capital ( mbvc.com/ ) -- Thanks to Alan Veeck and Aaron Tainter, who were on-hand to help entrepreneurs of all sizes better understand how they can build successful brands and businesses

* Viddler ( viddler.com ) -- In addition to providing a high-quality, interactive video platform (and helping spread the word about PCPGH3), Viddler's Brandice Schnabel also led a session on understanding the ins & outs of web ettiquette

* Blubrry ( www.blubrry.com ) -- Angelo Mondato packed a table with swag to help podcasters of all sizes understand the distribution benefits that Blubrry has to offer

* Wizzard Media ( wizzard.tv ) -- Heather Mallak and the inimitable Dave Mansueto shook things up with a session on ideal video compression, and hot buzz about their "next generation" video distribution platform

* VisitPittsburgh ( visitpittsburgh.com ) -- Special thanks to the many folks at VisitPittsburgh who helped organize and host a "new media tour" of Pittsburgh for 6 of our out-of-town speakers, including Jonny Goldstein ( jonnygoldstein.com ), Chris Brogan ( chrisbrogan.com ), Franklin McMahon ( www.franklinmcmahon.com ), Grace Piper ( www.fearlesscooking.tv ), Nathan King ( blip.tv ), and Jim Russell ( burghdiaspora.blogspot.com )

* ShowClix ( showclix.com ) -- ShowClix's Lynsie Camuso was instrumental in creating our registration system, as she does for event-based clients around the country who need fast mobile check-in solutions

* Pair Networks ( pair.com) -- Pair sent a pair of Ryans -- Silbaugh and Smaretsky -- to help our curious web creators explore ways to improve their webhosting process

* Pittsburgh Gateways ( www.pghgateways.org ) -- We couldn't have done PCPGH3 without Gateways, whose financial assistance helped us keep our books straight and our minds on the details that matter (rather than, you know, taxes...)

* The Art Institute of Pittsburgh ( www.artinstitutes.edu/pittsburgh ) -- Without AIP, we'd have been PodCamping outdoors. Thanks to everyone at the facility for being such generous and gracious hosts for 2 straight years

* Wear Pittsburgh ( www.wearpittsburgh.com ) -- If you didn't get a PCPGH3 t-shirt, celebrate your love for the 'burgh by nabbing one of WearPittsburgh's distinctive "neighborhood" styles (including the much-loved "pierogi" and "parking chair" shirts)

* Jason Cable ( www.jasoncable.com ) -- Jason's GLBT podcast and his passion for activism were front and center at this year's event -- and so were his nifty complementary notepads and PCPGH pens!

* AlphaLab ( alphalab.org ) -- Meredith Benedict and Mike Woycheck know how to throw an icebreaker -- AND they know what it takes to incubate half a dozen local tech startups. Will YOU be their next project?

* ElasticLab ( www.elasticlab.com ) -- ElasticLab's founder, Julie Morey, flew in from Colorado to share her expertise as a web startup whose business plan heavily involves social media -- and she's always searching for new talent to bring into the ElasticLab fold...

* Pittsburgh Technology Council ( www.pghtech.org ) -- Tim Hindes from the PTC was on-hand to represent the practical application of technology in Pittsburgh -- and to help bridge the gap between tech enthusiasts and those who want to take their passion to the next (professional) level

* And, last but certainly not least, Alex and Jennifer Landefeld ( houseforlorn.blogspot.com and www.yeoldebasketcase.com ) are two PCPGH3 organizers who added their own funds to the sponsorship pool as a way to ensure we wouldn't run out of food. (And, unless you count those lulls between pizza deliveries, we didn't!)

..HF.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Murmurs, Recipes and Courts (HFR #2)

House Forlorn Reads episode #2 is now available.

"House Forlorn Reads" is an episodic podcast brought to you by a house whose owners have moved out but haven't yet sold it to new owners. The house is sad and eager to have new humans living in it.

Featured books:

Murmurs of Earth, by Carl Sagan, et al., 1978
Recipes: Everyday People Cookbook, compiled by Beatrice Corley, 1973
Hampton Court Palace, Olwen Hedley, Pitkin Pictorial, 1971

House Forlorn Reads #2 MP3:



iTunes RSS:

Sunday, October 19, 2008

John Carman pushes us towards 2009 & PCPGH4

..HF.

Blogging Software - low cost & pay

Blogger
Wordpress
Squarespace
Typepad
B2
blog.com
onsugar

Micro?
twitter
Tumblr

Photoblogging
Tumblr
Flickr
Picasa
Mac/me.com

Samples
houseforlorn.blogspot.com
groundglassdarkly.blogspot.com
randomsarah.com
whatsitallaboutweb.com
thebusmansholiday.blogspot.com

tips & tricks:
embedding a sound clip (use any site where you can store the file):

A Beautiful Sunny Fall Day

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day on my hillside.

The grass needs to be cut...

...but I think he's at some human event...

...something called Podcamp Pittsburgh 3...

The following moving pictures might help to describe.

..HF.



logos.blip.tv

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Whew! He's his designated driver ...

... So he's just photo-blogging thru me. 649 #2

Hope he's not partaking ...

649 #1 ... They're doing those drinking things at the Red Star...in
honor of Mr. Vallier.

Blogging 201 with Cynthia &Mike

PGHbloggers at PCPGH3

Friday, October 17, 2008

Before You Post That Blog Entry...

...make sure you've set up a Google Analytics account.

Why? Well, suppose you have tons of lurking audience members, who aren't sending you e-mails or leaving comments...how do you know they've even been to your site?

When I decided to start House Forlorn, the blog, I consulted with other houses who have websites (there aren't too many of us), and they each have their methods... but they did agree that having some sort of analytic service is a must if you're interested in seeing what sort of community impact you're creating. Remember, a lot of houses out there just don't want other denizens of the net to know that they're just a house, or an apartment, a flat, a bungalow, a penthouse, or some other form of human habitation or accommodation.

The following picture shows a recent shot of my Google Analytics stats.... can you tell when Podcamp Pittsburgh 3 folks starting finding and looking at houseforlorn.blogspot.com? :-)



..HF.

House Forlorn Reads (HFR #1)

Well, I got it together last night and put together House Forlorn Reads, Episode 1. Can you imagine a house picking through various books and just reading excerpts? Well, here it is. :-)

House Forlorn Reads #1 MP3:



..HF.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Should I Go to a Podcamp?

Suppose you've heard of a Podcamp in your locale, but just aren't sure if it's right for you.

Is a newspaper right for you?

Is a glass of water right for you?

Is talking to your neighbor right for you?

Then, may I submit, Podcamp is right for you.

How do my three questions relate? Look, I'm a house, so it's unlikely that I'll attend Podcamp Pittsburgh, but my owner (now there's a strange bird) will be in attendance. In fact, he helped out, in a few small ways, with the organizing of Podcamp Pittsburgh...and he'll be presenting on something called podcasting.

If you like what you see in a newspaper, and how it makes you think; if you like what you get out of a glass of water (refreshment, lubrication, renewed outlook on life); if you like talking to folks and learning from them...then learning a bit more about today's mass-communications methods via the internet might be the sort of thing you'd like.

Give it a shot. It'll be in Pittsburgh's Art Institute from 9 am to 4 pm this coming Saturday and Sunday. Its an unconference. What could be more appealing?



..HF.

Fort Pitt Museum 6

Inconsiderable village...

Fort Pitt Museum 5

Remnants

Fort Pitt Museum 4

Selling the fort

Fort Pitt Museum 3

Fort wall and Pgh skyline

Fort Pitt Museum 2

Block house

Fort Pitt Museum 1

Don't tread on me!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

House Forlorn Podcast Upcoming???

I don't believe it. He was up late last night finding music on the Podsafe Music Network, then playing with it in his music program, and scheming what to do the podcast about.

Me, probably.

But how do you podcast about a forlorn old house, sitting on a hill, waiting for someone to see the faded "For Sale by Owner" sign, actually call the number, and...well, you get the idea. What's to podcast about? Is it just because of the comic I starred in for him last night?



Well, lets see what he does...here's a pic of his music software:



..HF.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Did You Know That HGTV...

...had a "Great Fall Fix-up Sweepstakes"? The deadline is past...but I found it while trolling through that human-built hyper-house-network. As I'm just a house...well, okay, I entered a couple of billion times, so hopefully I have a shot at the $100K. :-)

That thought, however remote, makes me happy enough to think of the mid-summer flowers that were blooming all around me this past season. Aren't they lovely?



..HF.

Monday, October 6, 2008

How Lowly is Your Home?

Where you leave most of your footprints...is that your home, your house?

..HF.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Power You, Power Me

I liked those pink fountain pic's he took yesterday, in advance of Pittsburgh's 250th birthday celebration. At least he's doing something useful.

Here are two websites with different perspectives on the "250":
Imagine Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh 2050

Did you notice the chill in the air this past week? The chill is not just the reduced chances that someones going to notice the For Sale by Owner sign in front of me, now that mortgage companies are becoming more careful about who they lend to (though my sub-$100K value would make most home buyers swoon with the potential savings over the next 15-30 years), but from the approach of winter to the Northern Hemisphere.

Yes, the leaves are turning, the nights are getting cooler, and soon Cleveland and other North Coast cities will get their first lake-effect snowfalls, making those of us in Pittsburgh (1) wish we had a lake nearby, or (2) thanking our lucky stars that Pittsburgh is several degrees of latitude south of the North Coast.

Of course, with the approach of winter comes thoughts of heating houses, heating cars, heating humans, heating buses, heating schools, heating...well, you get the idea. Will the tanking economy make heating more expensive? Will the lack of apparent demand make heating less expensive?

Did you know that when the utilities talk about gas prices, they mean the residential price, that you and I pay, and not the "wellhead" price? I hadn't thought of it before, either.

Would it surprise you to know that natural gas prices actually go down in the winter, historically? Check out the historical ranges for residential gas...it's very interesting.

Did you know that coal, used generally for electricity generation, is classified in two categories? Yup: thermal coal and metallurgical coal. I didn't know that until he began talking abit about energy suppliers. He'd been aware of Alpha Natural Resources for awhile, as his mother had mentioned them, but he became even more aware when an old-line Cleveland company, Cleveland-Cliffs, announced a bid to buy ANR.

Here's an interesting PDF from the Department of Energy. According to the document, the price of coal generally came down about 66% from 1983 to 2003...according to the Wikipedia article, that price has quadrupled from 2003 to 2008, due in part to the rising global demand for both energy production and steel production. Although the recession that appears to have finally caught up to us (is anyone yet admitting to it?) may/will decrease energy demand worldwide...coal will remain very important in the world energy and steel production realms.

The other day, I noted one other hint to the impending winter: the smell of hardwoods being burned in fireplaces or heating stoves locally. Do you use hardwoods where you live? Does anyone still use coal in their homes? One of my fellow neighborhood houses does...he likes to think he's still in the 19th century, with that thick black smoke wafting heavily from his chimney....

Enjoy your Fall!

..HF.

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Pink, Another View

Happy 250, Pittsburgh!

..HF.

Fountains of Pink

He's wandering at lunchtime, of course, but taking pics of worthwhile
things. This is a fountain screaming "notice me!" ... "photograph
me!" "find something bigger and pinker!" (I find fountains don't
always use proper English).

Why is this fountain (and many others around town) pink. For Breast
Cancer Month, which is October. Go to www.nbcam.org for more info.

..HF.