Michael | Croncast - From Cool to Cul De Sac

Twitter background guidelines

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:21:12 -0600

Ever wanted to make an interesting Twitter background? Here's how I did it.

Side note: This post comes to you straight from an email reply to fellow long-time podcaster Michael Geoghegan in regards to my Twitter background.

Also of note, this layout works best on higher res monitor settings. I imagine that most active Twitter users that are going to be viewing the site as opposed to sms or mobile versions are on high res settings. That said, let's roll.

Creating your background
-----------------------------

File Dimensions: 2048 px by 1707 px (no clue why i used these dimensions but I am sure I knew what I was doing at the time)
Branding Dimensions: 80 px by 587 px
Coordinates: X=20, Y=14
Horizontal position: 20 px from the left (give yourself some padding)
Vertical position: 14 px from the top (will line up your graphic with the top of the twitter logo. our eyes like symmetry) File size and type according to Twitter: "Images must be smaller than 800k. GIF, JPG, PNG."

Aesthetics
------------

Color palette: Pick colors that match that with default Twitter stylesheet colors. If they contrast too much follow the Change Background directions above and change the colors for Text, Name, Link, Sidebar fill and Sidebar border as needed.
Recommendation: Choose colors that work with the default and save yourself the headache of matching the CSS to your image. Follow Twitter's lead.

Uploading your background
------------------------------

Change Default Background: Login and click 'Settings' >> click 'Design' >> Select 'Use my custom style below' radio button >> Upload your image

It took me quite a bit of time to get a background image that I was happy with. There was a lot of editing and uploading again, and again until I got it right. I would suspect if you're like me your experience will be much the same. So have patience when getting it just right. And remember that you are working within someone else's website and can't control all the features.

Here's my background at work - http://twitter.com/croncast. And here's a link to the background all by itself if you want to use it as a guide.

Tags: template size twitter background Michael Geoghegan twitter

Betsy and her husband Kris Oct 08, 2007

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:10:38 -0500

Croncast - 2007-10-08.mp3
Show: #419
Length: 36:44
Size: 25.2mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris Oct 08, 2007

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Thanks to Dan for the generous support late last week . . .
This show is for you
I have found my next career
Home Bottling factory for breast milk
That is creepy
I should totally do this is
You can pump and dump
My house is near hear
Your 15 minute break is no problem
My sister won't stop calling
She called me in church today
They have a conversion van club
I don't have a conversion van anymore Vicky
Do you have a hand pump anymore?
You got 30 minutes at work you can do a double pump and dump
If you have to pump in a prison bathroom would you even touch the electrical outlet
Their mirrors aren't even made of glass
Shiny metal like a McMansion refrigerator
When I take out the pump is make this noise
And I start leaking right away
The reason for the pee pee
I got moobs I don't feel her pain
The noise queues her and immediate let down
Walk into a shopping mall with a boom box playing that sound
Watch the mommies
Helps me milk the goat
Flafoo now exists
Tell your story Mr. B
Flafoo.com
Say it three times fast
Flafoo flafoo flafoo
The whole idea is to make finding shit on eBay easy and quick
Making looking up stuff on eBay fun again
Kris's idea of funny with links
Following that path of keywords
I could say turkey fryer - http://flafoo.com/turkey fryer
And it works on your iPhone quickly
If you are buying anything from eBay start your shopping at flafoo.com
I need a job to support my garage saling habit
Goodwill is eBay 1942
Waiting for stuff to come through the doors
The Christians go buy pancakes and then come to Goodwill for skirts
I was about to pounce on a comforter set
I heard her reading the title letter for letter
I knew what she was doing
She was having someone look up her shit on eBay
So I start to chat it up with her
Screw the voice mails . . . send her a text
My Blackberry doesn't send text messages
Right
I didn't nerd out on her
She's the woman who got he Blackberry and said, "O it's for recipes"
Did you take her under your wing?
I tried Mr B
My niche is the toys . . . you can't take that part of Goodwill
The breast feeding plates
Have we ever talked about plates
Friendship was kind of born
Well, that is good
All the regulars are kind of gone
How is that creepy?
Have you noticed that they are not here?
Who?
I should have known then
Putting my car in the garage
Yes I had to move your junk
No more big stuff Mr. B I promise
Well, you threw a passive aggressive smack down
Garage is for cars, Betsy
It's for toys, rakes and storage
I think it is a puffy cuff thing
How is that a puffy cuff thing?
My car has 75 miles in the last three months
You drove them Betsy
Wheelchair stroller
My mom's prize Wheaties box with Michael Jordan on it
You got to keep this one straight baby
Getting stuff together for one of you mom's students
I feel like I been hit in the forehead with Night Train
Dewey, Wednesday's show is for you

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Tags: flafoo Wheaties box Blackberry Dan Goodwill

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 22, 2007

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:22:02 -0500

Croncast - 2007-08-22.mp3
Show: #400
Length: 35:37
Size: 24.4mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 22, 2007

The banner says #400 and it is correct
Betsy wants cards now
I am 50 percent of this show sucka!
You treat me like your cousin with a pick-up truck
"Don't ask me to help you move"
Put a sticker on my Volvo
"Don't ask me to help you podcast"
Suburban drama for you Kris
I have been hiding it all day
Bait and switch, You're like a dog Mr. B
Looked into the mailbox
And apparently some of our garbage blew into a neighbors yard
A ton of wet garbage was in it
There was orange stuff like I made it
If it had been out there a week why didn't you pick it up?
I haven't walked by it for a week
Since these people like grass so much
I am going to stuff their mail boxes with grass clippings
The 70 year old moms with college age kids here
One mommy walking on the other side of the street
I should segue back to when we first started the show
Bear you got to try
What has happened over time?
You started out positive . . . now look at you
I started out negative with no expectation for happiness in the burbs . . . now look at me
Yeah, I never leave the house
You keep driving my car
I have driven it 60 miles in the last 6 weeks
The last 800 have come from you
I feel tacky riding around with no hood ornament
What goes around comes around
Before we left for Seattle I was supposed to tell the traffic ticket story
Well, the court story from Denver
I didn't lie to you . . . I just didn't tell you
I knew better than to tell you
I was in a little Scion
Sure I was driving too fast
Has road food so swelled your man cleavage that you can't see the speedometer?
Speed limit should have been 65
Would Mr. Michael Scott please stand up?
This woman stands up
Judge asks 3 times if the person standing is Mr. Michael Scott
I'm thinking Steve Carell from the Office
People at my meeting told me it was speed trap
Made jokes that Colorado is out to get me
I knew on my way to the meeting that I wasn't going to tell
30 minutes of you yelling at me on the show
You would have told me that I was going to end up in jail
Mr. Michael Scott turns out to be a trucker
Betsy says, being pulled over while being tranny

We made it to #400! Thanks for letting us be a part of your life and allowing us to make you laugh. Yes, life is show prep and full of Croncast moments.

Thanks to Bernadette for this review and write up!

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Tags: Steve Carell 400 podcasts Croncast grass clippings Denver moving violations

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 15, 2007

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:33:00 -0500

Croncast - 2007-08-15.mp3
Show: #397
Length: 29:34
Size: 20.3mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 15, 2007

photo on left by dave winer and photo on right by josh hallet thanks to both!

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The nerd things that drive me crazy
Betsy is going to find me a online geek mistress
That would be sweet
You go ahead and marry that girl Mr. B
After days of this haven't you had enough?
Apologies for no show on Monday
I blew it on Sunday and had to take the red eye
No one wants to hear your drama
If it were done on graph paper it would have all been good
I didn't hear any of this "life would be better on paper" at Gnomedex
Here's what made it so cool
I had my nerds on one hand and my baby on the other
It was our 11th wedding anniversary
Yeah, and you take me to a nerd convention
Your nerd buddies are cooler and much more high functioning than I thought
Apologies to me for the ewok comment
A dude was dressed as a pirate
It was just one guy
The 12 sided dice and hoods were missing
The 11th wedding anniversary is as special as turning 36
Up to 10 you are swimming upstream . . . after that . . . floating in a tube
Seattle is a great place
You didn't plan our dinner Mr. B
Yes I did . . . reservations are a plan!
That is a large step
The restaurant turned out to be really nice
There was an attentive gay waiter
Can you hire one of those for me here at home
The beautiful view
Then a 3 story tall lighted Cadillac Escalade barge floated by
Nice view
The other awesome part was that you got to meet some listeners
Mark is an awesome guy
I know I told you that
Yeah, but you are usually wrong
At the party I saw the nerds trying to sink into their ringer tees
You have blossomed like a $10 orchid
Having social skills, Mr. B you have grown
Betsy got to see me in my element
I still don't get your people
Let's take Kosso for instance?
You can't pick Kosso he is normal
What about the guy dressed as a pirate Mr B?
The dudes that split a suit
The pic on right above is from the Thursday night out
Strange woman talking to us, looks at floor and walks away
The nerd wife put one shiny shoe right in front of him
My Nerd!
This nerd off limits
She busts out, "Well, I dress him!"
Not in a ha ha way
I don't understand your "Party Only" badge
She scared me
Those chicks look alright . . . "The Women of WarCraft"
God Damn
I'm not in to that type of stuff
These chicks were hot on a nerd level scale
We're going to score some mad nerd ass tonight
My people were talking to you because you were a personable lady
You've got nerd engagement skills
You've got to pretend your eyes are lasers
Yep, right here buddy
Asking a nerd what they do is not the right thing to ask
It is always difficult to explain
You asked me what the hell do you do?
Then tell them my title . . . right, what does that mean
The guy on the way home asked me, what do you do?
What was your reply Betsy?
I do nothing. I buy and sell shit.
So your husband is a nerd? Are you a nerd?
No
Do you podcast?
Yes
How many times a week?
3
You're not a nerd?
Do you sell your stuff online?
Yes
You're not a nerd?
Do you watch Heroes?
Yes
Watch John From Cincinnati?
Yes
You're not a nerd?
When buying swag for nerd events don't buy them white shirts
The other great part for me was first alcoholic beverage in 10 years
I had to announce it because you called me the teetotaling nerd husband
Not he hardcore found Jesus type of not drinking
That's not it Betsy
My first drink was Jagermeister with Aaron Brazell
I broke the seal and enjoyed the libations
Had an awesome time on Saturday night with Mark, Greg, Aaron, Kosso, Steve, Josh, Dave C., Mike, Chris, Michael and Dave D.
Not having to be on, Betsy's specialty
Betsy does her first improv class
Pretend you are a tree
Were you there?
My theater background is you know . . .
Yeah, lying under a theater major once doesn't count
My neighbor is in this class
Leave us some comments
Great American Yard Sale is this weekend
Thanks to Bernadette for this review and write up!

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Tags: Gnomedex 2007 Seattle Great American Yard Sale improv class The Women of WarCraft Jagermeister

Betsy and her husband Kris Jul 06, 2007

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:33:30 -0500

Croncast - 2007-07-06.mp3
Show: #383
Length: 32:06
Size: 22.0mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris Jul 06, 2007

Tickets are on sale now for the live show . . . get your's or find out more

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The live show is in two days!
Markx got it right, "baste"
Mr B, I smell a whole line of products for you
Water sun block with a baster?
After four days at water park the chlorine was getting to me
It was Michael Jackson' favorite place . . . lots of kids and you get bleached
Showing off my chicken skin legs
Remember when I told you about the kids . . . the hair metal kids?
Yes, I remember
I was driving by Goodwill and there they were
I won't tell anyone where to go for the boxes
Is that lady out there in the Volvo?
They cut their boxes up now
I noted to myself it was strange to see the kids
Are the kids real or are you making them up from your subconscious?
So the drummer from Ratt is standing there playing lookout
Which I realized after working in the group home and seeing kids act this way
His other Ratt band mates were in the dumpster
I didn't get it
Why not, baby, it was behind a movie theater
They were after posters and stuff
Turns of that they are your kind of people
I was looking at them as little baby thugs
Oh, baby
Kris' cell phone doesn't work in the basement
I need you to look this up on eBay
I can't hear you
What is it?
It's used retard! Gently carried, slightly touched
Then you tell me to put it back
That's four times my investment
I did find, however, a new threat to my Goodwill goodies
What does Kris have for show prep?
I got out int he world and went to see accountant
We had some tax debt and it turns out we have even more tax debt
I hope the accountant did that
What! What Mr. B
Booba, you gotta listen to me
The feds, uncle sam, is a greedy bitch and wants his money now
Accountant says, you're not in trouble
Yes, I am . . . with my wife
I need to explain to you why I am thinking of cashing out my retirement to pay taxes
You don't understand, my life could be in danger
Betsy is going to Valhalla and learning to use heavy weaponry
Betsy tries to play it off
Somehow she must not have been here during the windfall
I lucked into a windfall
That's ok Mr. B if you want to apologize again
I know you've already blown your top
How did your mom know?
I didn't tell her
Nobody can make me feel any worse
I was watering the lawn experiment and realized I could have paid for the kids to go to college
I spent all that money, I didn't have a plan, I thought the money would keep coming
It's slowing down, it's slowing down . . . can we maintain
You're mom said, "Why do you feel guilty?"
Let him feel guilty
I am getting exhausted by life lessons
Breaking the dumpster diving rules
The unitarian karma is in effect with you and those kids
I am having an "eh" week
Elliot's behavior has been tough
Sorry to be a downer but, damn
We gotta be there to back one another up
Big deal, appliance deliveries today
Live show Sunday night . . . ready for you on Monday!

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Tags: Valhalla Michael Jackson Goodwill movie posters tax accountant

peter frampton black hole sun - via twitter

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:30:45 -0500

pbs soundstage in hd has got peter frampton rockin pretty hard on a soundgarden cover

i find it no more odd than chris cornell doing a michael jackson cover . . . say billie jean.

Update, here it is:

Tags: peter frampton chirs cornell billie jean michael jackson black hole sun

Today's show will be up later today

Mon, 28 May 2007 07:26:16 -0500

Been a while since I posted one of these, but today's show, like the title says, is going to be late. The pic above is but a small portion of the Croncast goodness to come.

We're going to be late not because of the holiday but more so that Betsy and I found time for a much needed conversation last night about our current state of affairs. Like most things in life it happened at the same time we were supposed to be doing something else . . . like the show.

Most of the discussion focused on how it sucks and feels almost like we are not coming clean because for some topics that are really big in our lives we have to be cryptic about for the show. And, like the show, I am being so here, sorry.

To figure out what I am talking about pull out your cryptic topic code breaker and spin the dial a bit to left and then back to the right for television show references. The decoder says, "Fred and Barney drove to this every day." Hmmm . . . Flinstones reference no good . . . must twist dial again. The decoder says, "Ricky Gervais import starring characters Dwight Schrute and Michael Scott." The cryptic topic code breaker says that is the best it can do.

Tags: The Flinstones memorial day 2007 Ricky Gervais Dwight Shrute late show

Podcast Academy 5 Presentations

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:33:56 -0500

Thanks to Steve Fisher tipping me to the release of the Podcast Academy 5 presentations, mine included. Get them here(mine's toward the bottom): Podcast Academy 5 Schedule
iTunes

The Duke folks have links to our presentations in audio and video. Woot! You can see me in all my glory and gesticulations.BTW, in the very beginning of my presentation . . . you might think I am crazy but the voice that I am talking to is nearly inaudible.

I'll hip you non-nerds to something that might save you some time. I get way nerdy about authenticated and personalized RSS feeds for 38 minutes. So you might want to pass.

Thanks to the Duke team and to GigaVox Media for making this event happen and letting me be a part of it.

Check out the sessions from these other guys too.

Tim Bourquin, Greg Cangialosi, Noah Bonnett and Michael Geoghegan at Podcast Academy 5

Tags: Tim Bourquin Greg Cangialosi Noah Bonnett Michael Geoghegan Kris Smith

Podcast Academy 5 posse photos

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 14:37:23 -0600

Yes, I'm back from the warm south and meeting a lot of nice folks interested in podcasting. Podcast Academy 5 was a fun event not just for sharing the nerdly dealings of RSS but for the meals and other good times that our host Gigavox Media put on.

Thanks to Michael, Doug and the entire Duke team for putting together this event and inviting me to particiapte!

Michael got some shots of us at dinner. Here's one with most of the crew at the brewpub. Can you find the bald guy with the big goatee?

Tags: GigaVox Media Kris Smith Tim Bourquin Greg Cangialosi Noah Bonnett Michael Geoghegan Ryan Irelan

Podcast Academy 5 - February 14th and 15th

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 09:34:22 -0600

I'll be speaking with a cast of great characters including Tim Bourquin, Greg Cangialosi, Noah Bonnett and Michael Geoghegan at Podcast Academy 5 Feb 14-15, 2007 sponsored by GigaVox Media.

This time it is being held at Duke University . . . so any east coasters interested in academic podcasting, podcasting production or the technical side of podcasting should come out to the event. So don't think that if you haven't defended a thesis you're not welcome. Like I said, I'll be there.

Feel free to read the schedule for more information.

My presentation will be on authenticated and personalized RSS feeds. 'Authenticated' meaning password protected feeds and what they are good for and 'personalized' meaning that the content delivered through the feeds is specific to the individual receiver. I'll also dabble a bit in the importance of being able to track individual RSS usage.

And since this is being held at an academic institution a portion of my presentation will come from my work with JCAHO delivering professional development (sort of academic) with RSS as piece of a low-threshold Learning Managment System (LMS).

Tags: Podcast Academy 5 podcastacademy5 GigaVox GigaVox Media Duke University

Betsy and her husband Kris Nov 15, 2006

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 06:59:09 -0600

Croncast - 2006-11-15.mp3

Show: #302
Length: 35:56
Size: 24.6 mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris November 15, 2006

Betsy drinks a 3 day old Clausthaler
Her shirt tastes like Golden Retriever
Another fake beer night on the show
The contorted face that yacking built
Betsy's mom comes to the basement for the first time ever
Kris has things to do and they're shopping QVC online
"I live with Michael", yes we know honey
Floor length fo-fur mink
Racks full of them at Goodwill
Betsy blushes through the entire story
It is such a thoughtful design
There is nothing that is fashionable with work 'reverse' in it
What a year? I'll buy it on eBay
Her mom already bought it from the TV version of QVC
Betsy's eBay skills
Crazed lunatics . . . oh the madness of the bargain gene
"I . . . I . . . IIIIIII . . . I have a shopping disease Mr. Puffy Cuffs," Betsy
Betsy is going to make my own Puffy Cuff shirts now
We finish each other's sentence
Kris is hanging in the car eating Arby's while Betsy shops Goodwill
Now it is time for Kris's madness
Walking out with a gigantic store credit
Microphone fiasco
Shut up, I'm having my little moment of I told you so!
Betsy unloads
Was a bit late since Kris already has reached his rock bottom
I'll be in San Francisco this Saturday for PodCamp West
Maggie has pre-school next year
Looking in the mirror and husbandry responses
Let me tell the people what I got at Goodwill today
Baby you just need me to be honest . . . an honest Mr. B
Kris, you gave me a wrinkle . . . look at this side of my lip
$100 bucks from Anonymous for the kids

Tags: Clausthaler QVC Coats for plus size Puffy Cuffs shopping rock bottom Goodwill toys