When Ponzi first mentioned that she wanted to go to BlogHer, I wondered if she knew what she was getting herself into. Forever and a day, she's been trying to wrap her mind around this whole 'sphere “thing” - and I've never been able to explain it fully. It isn't really something you CAN explain with a few simple sentences. I figured that if I went to this particular conference, I'd just be getting in the way of her learning more about who else is out there. She has one of her own, but until this weekend, I don't think she realized what it's been doing, and will continue to do, for her. Clarity is more easily found without a doppleganger at times, and I believe that her journey southward was just the first step. Today, it appears that I'm dating a superstar! If only she hadn't run out of CompactFlash space last night… if only I had given her the media reader… if only she could capture more conversations. She looks more at home with the microphone than *I* do! Goodonya, babe - I'm proud.

I was just asked to be the keynote… and so I'll see you at the Podcast Hotel:

The Podcast Hotel - Sept 6-8, 2005 in Portland, OR - is part conference, part think tank, part happening, and part product showcase. The three-day, two-night event, to be held at Portland's hippest new hotel - The Jupiter, is designed to attract the individuals and companies racing to embrace podcasting in particular and the mass amateurization of content creation in general.
The Podcast Hotel will feature an innovative, fun, and varied array of programs designed to educate attendees, expose them to new tools and technologies, and allow them to interact with each other to encourage collaboration and experimentation.
Who will be there: podcasting's leading practitioners and observers as well as avid hobbyists, curious technophiles, budding content entrepreneurs, and those from established media looking to get a grasp of the technology and culture at the heart of podcasting.

It's just a few weeks away, so Early-bird registration is still available.

10. Cats. Write about cats. A lot.
9. Always mispell your company's name, just in case someone else is savvy enough to use (a) a search engine or (b) a keyboard.
8. When you talk about your co-workers, pretend you're writing about a magical far away land of gnomes. Give them names such as “Whitey the Clumsy” or “Snitchbug.”
7. If you must post at work, find a blog template that looks a lot like a word processing document.
6. Should someone use the word “blog” in the office, tilt your head to the side and tell them that you don't speak German.
5. Require your readers to use the Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Badge to interpret your posts.
4. Learn to love garlic, as it will repel pesky co-workers (as well as the ocassional vampire).
3. At the water cooler, start talking about your Internet-savvy twin who has a similar job in a similar company in a similar city in a similar state in a similar country.
2. Through memes, avoid inadvertently constructing a comprehensive social profile from your string of likenesses. For instance, if you register as the “Rose” character from NBC's The Golden Girls, change your answers slightly so that you're more like “Sophie.” Anybody who knows you, knows you're more like “Rose.”
1. Don't host anything at ihatemyjobandmyboss.com.

It's not every day that you get to meet one of your musical heroes. Tonight, I shook hands with Steven Page of BNL (Barenaked Ladies). I found it incredibly challenging to keep myself from turning into a sycophantic drooling monkey boy while interviewing him. He's the real McCoy - a rock star who hasn't let fame get ahead of his art:

Barenaked Ladies singer / songwriter Steven Page is currently touring the country in promotion of his solo effort, The Vanity Project. The project is a collaboration with Page's own music hero, Stephen Duffy. Steven made a brief stop at Easy Street Records in Seattle tonight and we were lucky enough to grab a few minutes of his time. Topics range from making music, to music business, to politics, to the song that made Chris a fan of BNL. Be sure to check out the new album, The Vanity Project, available through most online music stores. More info about the album is available from Flagship Recordings.

I hope this is just the first of real-world celebrity interviews I'm able to do…

Barenaked Ladies singer / songwriter Steven Page is currently touring the country in promotion of his solo effort, The Vanity Project. The project is a collaboration with Page’s own music hero, Stephen Duffy. Steven made a brief stop at Easy Street Records in Seattle tonight and we were lucky enough to grab a few minutes of his time. Topics range from making music, to music business, to politics, to the song that made Chris a fan of BNL. Be sure to check out the new album, The Vanity Project, available through most online music stores. More info about the album is available from Flagship Recordings.

Watch Steven Page in WMV Format

1. Call 1.206.428.6082.
2. State your name, Web site, etc. SPEAK CLEARLY, this is all free promotion for you.
3. Give us your thoughts on Windows Vista: the name, installing it, its features, the release date, its timing, OS X comparitively, will it help Microsoft, etc. Even if you don't have access to the beta, what it means for you personally / professionally, etc. Tell us if you've had any thoughts on the matter.
4. If it doesn't come out like a mindless ramble, We'll wrap your voicemail into a mini-roundtable segment for The Chris Pirillo Show Web site and live stream. These voicemails will not be edited!
5. Feel free to pass this information on to others. We'll have another subject upon which to pontificate next week. :)

1. Call 1.206.428.6082.

2. State your name, Web site, etc. SPEAK CLEARLY, this is all free promotion for you.

3. Give us your thoughts on Windows Vista: the name, installing it, its features, the release date, its timing, OS X comparitively, will it help Microsoft, etc. Even if you don’t have access to the beta, what it means for you personally / professionally, etc. Tell us if you’ve had any thoughts on the matter.

4. If it doesn’t come out like a mindless ramble, We’ll wrap your voicemail into a mini-roundtable segment for The Chris Pirillo Show Web site and live stream tonight. These voicemails will not be edited!

5. Feel free to pass this information on to others. We’ll have another subject upon which to pontificate next week. :)

Ponzi lured Chris back to the microphone this week for another intimate conversation. With house hunting in full effect, it becomes clear who will put a roof over their head and who would be happy living in a home theater. Where does this happy couple find a happy home? Tune in for the latest edition of My Pet Geek (or something like that).

You should see what's on HDTV - not a lot, from the looks of it. Certainly, we have a smattering of shows that look good in high definition - but not enough to make HDTV as essential as it should be. Prices are dropping for HDTV equipment (although it's not economically sound for everybody to rush out and upgrade today). Soon, you won't be able to buy a 4:3 anything - computer monitor included. We've started the shift to a cleaner, clearer video format - although the quality ranges depending on how much dough you wish to drop. Once attained, it's difficult to view anything that's not HD. High Def is definitely here stay, whether it be 720p, 1080i, or higher. To my knowledge, the HDTV cable services are doing a horrible job at promoting daily programming - which is where the free HDTV Magazine email service comes in handy:

HDTV Magazine is your online guide to the digital television revolution. We cover HDTV programming, news, and technology along with the culture that arises from them. HDTV Magazine began as “The HDTV Newsletter” in 1986 and on November 16, 1998 (the official launch date for HDTV) was transformed into the first consumer publication focused entirely upon the HDTV revolution.

Sign up for the newsletter and select the HDTV channels that are being broadcast through your HDTV provider. Every morning, you'll see a list of the upcoming high definition shows for that day.

At least, according to this entry from July 19th:

I don't think a woohoo is in order, considering that I haven't updated the site in oh, I don't know, perhaps a year? Pretty pathetic, if I do say so myself. On the bright side I have quite a few programs stockpiled to release - of course, I did a year ago as well, and I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist (or programmer, for that matter) to see how well that went.

He's apparently been working on a BitTorrent client over the past few months, and has released it in public beta. Mark's always been ahead of the curb when it comes to freeware; it's designed well, runs efficiently, and generally stands the test of time. I'm still likely to stick with Azureus for BitTorrent - it's complex, but relatively straightforward (and visual) for all kinds of users. There are dozens of BitTorrent clients out there, but only a few are easy to use. I wonder why Mark didn't enable his BitTorrent client to be downloaded via BitTorrent?

Yeah, I know Steve Rubel's post on Dumping Microsoft is a few days old… but I couldn't let this one slip by without plunking down my two cents. I, too, have wrestled with the iSwitch. Despite how much I might complain about the state of consumer Windows software, I find myself reluctant to leave the platform's speed behind for something a lot more expensive - even if it's a lot more elegant. Why can't I have the best of both worlds, I ask you? Some say it's really coming with OS X on Intel, but I'll let my eyes be the ultimate judge. Although I own a pretty li'l (big) iMac G5, I don't use it as my primary machine at home. I'm still jealous of all the OS X programs and developers, who truly understand that aesthetics come FIRST!!! This is a sharp contrast against my disapointed observations of more recent builds of Windows Vista (Longhorn). I want 100% of coders to write software once and have it run anywhere. Perhaps I'm just being too damn idealistic again.
It's when I don't say anything that you should start to worry. If I didn't care, I wouldn't bother to tell someone what's wrong (or what's right). I have several reasons to dislike newer versions of Microsoft Outlook - including the “lock up whenever I damn well please” feature. Ultimately, I made it to the person who needed to hear my list of complaints - and that person listened to what I had to say. With any luck, those observations will be directly impacting the next version of the PIM. If you sit there and say it's “good enough” or “better than anything else,” you're not helping the product - you're hurting it. I'm platform and brand agnostic, mind you. I also believe that Microsoft is headed down a decent path with Vista (including the way they're rolling out Avalon, WinFS, Indigo, et al). The next version of Office has promise, too. Let's see some “Power User” / Extreme editions, eh?