• Skeptoid by Brian Dunning
• Skepticality (one of the first podcasts I ever listened to)
• The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
• Scientific American
• The Naked Scientists
• NPR Science Friday
• Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know (very amusing)

As many have pointed out, this is primarily due to the rise of Internet use for news, articles, etc. The big question, of course, is what happens to the newspapers? Do they simply move online and exist without the print infrastructure, or do they get torn apart completely by the niche content providers (i.e. blogs, etc.). If this were to happen, how do we replace the tried-and-true processes of a professionally run news organization with a loose federation of blogs and websites? Obviously I’m a huge fan of tech, the web, blogs, etc. but it’s painfully obvious that the vast majority of blogs simply don’t have the editorial capabilities of a newspaper.

It will be interesting to watch from the sidelines, but I suspect more bad news is in store for the papers before we turn the corner

PC World has a blog post up about the new phone but it sounds like there aren’t any real details just yet. You can sign up for an email to get news from Verizon as the launch gets closer. Let’s hope that this second wave of Android phones brings some new awesomeness to the smartphone market. I, for one, would love to get one if the execution lives up to the hype.

During an inflationary period, prices, wages, etc. all tend to go up. This has the effect of “cheapening” the dollar; what used to cost $1.00 now costs $1.50, therefore a dollar in the future is worth less than a dollar in the past. A side effect of this (or in our example, the primary motivation) is that debt incurred in past dollars can be paid with future dollars at a reduced cost. Let’s look at a simplified example:

Assume it’s 2007 and John works for a company that pays him $50,000 a year. By 2012 (post crisis) inflation has been underway for a while and prices have risen. John’s salary will rise as well, and while it may not rise as quickly as prices (a bad side effect of inflation), his nominal income is now $60,000 a year. Let’s also assume that John borrowed $1000 back in 2007 and now, five years later in 2012, he is ready to pay it back. Because of inflation the value of $1000 in 2012 will be less than it was in 2007 when John borrowed the money. So the net effect for John is that he can pay off old 2007 debt using cheap 2012 dollars; it’s a advantage to John and a disadvantage for the lender.

So lets get back to the US government and the massive amounts of debt they are accruing right now in 2009. Given the fact that the government can directly affect inflation through fiscal and monetary policy, why would they not pursue a strategy of controlled inflation? It’s an advantage to borrowers, both the US government as well as all of the individual borrowers who spent too much and saved to little. Unfortunately it’s a disadvantage for all of the people who saved their money, as well as all of the lenders (like China) who loaned the US a lot of money in pre-crisis times.

Any thoughts?

https://umdrive.memphis.edu/kmmrkman/www/podcasting.html

Sony 7506

My new pair of Sony 7506 professional closed-back headphones just arrived on the FedEx truck today (BSW is a great source for pro audio gear btw). I’ve spent a couple of hours listening to them and they’re definitely a major step up from the Audio Technica ‘phones I’ve been using. They should be great for recording and podcasting (which is nominally why I bought them) but I’m really looking forward to checking out more of my iTunes catalogue with them. I’d like to get a pair of open headphones like the Sennheiser HD595’s, but from what I’ve read they’ll probably annoy everyone else in the house that’s trying to sleep. The good news about the Sony’s (and most closed-back headphones in general) is that they do a great job of of isolating sound – what you’re listening to is almost completely inaudible to everyone else, and external noises are minimized. If you’re into music and/or want to check out some hard-core audiophile info try the Head-Fi forums. Of course if you do, beware the amount of money you’ll be tempted to spend on exotic audiophile gear!

Queen Mary

I just posted a new set of photos on Flickr. They were taken yesterday during a boat tour of the Port of Long Beach. The sky added a great dramatic element, as it was dark and overcast during the tour.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/nacuff/

Tom Merrit and Veronica Belmont (first session I attended) did a great job discussing how to engage your audience.

The hosts of the Midwest Teen Sex Show (2nd session for me today) did a wonderful job talking about how they produce their show and the amazing success they’ve had in just 12 months.

My final session of the day was hosted by Rox from Beachwalks with Rox. She and her partner did a live demo of how they assemble their shows, of which over 650 have been produced!

Leo Laporte was streaming all afternoon from the Stickam booth, and at various times I saw Amber Macarthur, Alex Lindsay, iJustine, Veronica B, and other leading lights from the new media world near the booth.

Products that got recommended today, in no particular order:

Ping.fm to keep all your social networks updated

Friendfeed to aggregate incoming social network content

Visual Hub for video conversion

Wirecast for software video camera switching a-la the Tricaster

Libsyn, Viddler, Ustream, Metacafe, and Revver for hosting/distributing/streaming your video content

TubeMogul to multi-post your video to the various hosts/streaming video sites listed above

Canon HV20 for a good, inexpensive camera to start doing video with

I arrived safely in Las Vegas just moments ago, having followed the storied route of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson on the drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Fortunately no bats just outside of Barstow. I’m checked in to the Hilton and about to see what sort of meetups are on for tonight before the NME tomorrow.