February « 2006 « andyskinn.com

I use iTunes for my podcasting needs, but I found that I didn’t like it as much for video podcasts. It just seemed a little slower to me and I wanted a bit more control over the content. That’s when I found a great application called FireAnt. The application is still in development, but even with a few minor bugs, I’m using FireAnt as my everyday video podcasting client. The developers are also very responsive to email about problems and suggestions and I’m looking forward to upcoming changes. If you’re looking for a new way to manage all of your video subscriptions, give FireAnt a try!

Technorati Tags: fireant, podcasts, video podcasts, videoblog

Andy 11:49 am on 2/27/2006 | 0 Permalink | Reply

For those of you that were having problems with the video from our day on the slopes last weekend, it should now be working. It may take a bit to load, but once it does, you should be able to view it. Let me know if you have any more problems. Scroll down to take a look!

Andy 8:49 am on 2/20/2006 | 0 Permalink | Reply

I thought it was time for a new header graphic after seeing this cool use of images on flickr.com. If you haven’t heard of flickr, it’s a way to easily share photos online. What the people at Spell with flickr have done is allow you to type in a word or phrase, and then using letters that are found within pictures on flickr, it creates an image of your word (as seen in my header graphic). You can also click on each letter that it gives you if you want it to choose another one from flickr until your image looks just the way you want it to. While there may not be many super practical uses for this site, I still think it’s fun!

Technorati Tags: flickr

Andy 9:20 am on 2/18/2006 | 0 Permalink | Reply

I’ve made a new category on the site called My Picks that I will use to give “my picks” on things around the internet. Think of it as recommendations of new things to check out. Hopefully you’ll like them and this won’t become a list of things to avoid.

For this first installment, I thought I would mention a podcast that has just recently started called The Onion Radio News. If you’ve ever read The Onion then you probably know what to expect from this podcast. Aside from being extremely smart and witty humor, it’s great that it’s less than one minute long each day. Everyone has time for one minute don’t they?

You can check it out here and get your quick laugh of the day! You can either listen directly from their site, or subscribe – all the links are on the site.

Technorati Tags: podcast, the onion

Andy 4:40 pm on 2/17/2006 | 0 Permalink | Reply

I know I shouldn’t complain because we’ve had a pretty mild winter so far, but today, it’s cold! It’s supposed to go down to about -30 tonight so it’s a good night to just stay put and have some hot chocolate. I must say though, the nice thing about Calgary is that when it’s this cold, it’s sunny outside – so at least it looks like a nice day when you look out your window. And don’t forget about the chinooks – they are calling for +12 next Monday which is Family Day in Alberta. Unfortunately, I’ll be spending the long weekend studying, but at least I’ll be warm.

Andy 5:52 pm on 2/16/2006 | 0 Permalink | Reply

We had an awesome day skiing at Sunshine Village yesterday. I’ve put up a photo album and as you can see, there was not a cloud in the sky all day.

We also got some movie clips from our camera and I’m in the process of putting together a short video clip with pictures and video highlighting our day. I’ll post the details about it here when I get it up on the site.

It’s supposed to be another nice day in Calgary today, but the forecast is looking to get cold by the end of the week. There’s always hope that the weather people will be wrong, but the winter has been so mild to this point that I think we can handle a couple days of colder temperatures.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

UPDATE: The video is now posted below!

Andy 10:43 am on 2/12/2006 | 0 Permalink | Reply

As I mentioned in the last post, I was working on a video with highlights from our day of skiing. You can watch by clicking below. Enjoy!

Andy 10:31 am on 2/12/2006 | 0 Permalink | Reply

Finally, a company with some outstanding customer service!

Without going into too much detail, we’ve been having a terrible time with customer service lately. The streak seems to have come to an end with Columbia Sportswear. 2 weeks ago, I was getting ready to wash my old ski jacket, but after removing the zip-out liner, I noticed that the waterproof lining of the shell was disintegrating and looked like it was completely falling apart. The jacket is a few years old, but I knew that Columbia has a great warranty. So, after calling Customer Service, they gave me a return authorization and I sent it back for them to have a look.

Yesterday, when I got home, there was a brand new jacket waiting for me at the door. The turn around was only 2 weeks and I now have new ski gear! Can I really expect anymore?!

Thanks Columbia! It’s always nice to get such exceptional service! I’ll be testing out the new jacket tomorrow on the slopes!

Andy 3:12 pm on 2/10/2006 | 0 Permalink | Reply

No matter how big of a sports and/or football fan you are, there’s nothing like the Super Bowl. Whether you watch it for the game, to hang out with friends, or even just to see the new commercials, it’s sure to be a good time. I’m preparing myself for a blowout this year so that if it is, I won’t be disappointed. However, this game looks like it could be a great one!

Speaking of the commercials, there’s a video podcast feed that is supposed to be posting all the commercials from the Super Bowl. You can get the feed here and use a program such as iTunes or my new personal favourite for video podcasts – FireAnt. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Well, it wasn’t a blowout, but not the best Super Bowl either. Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers! You can hear more about what Matt and I thought on The Skinny on Sports.

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