Going on NPR's All Things Considered today
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 2:21PM 
As Chief Analyst, Wikistrat, to talk about the recent deal/decision to put 2,500 US troops in Australia.
I have no landline, and NPR no fan of skype for whatever reason. We talk drive to WFYI downtown, but I don't have a car (son and wife own those rights on our two vehicles), so I couldn't manage studio effort (and frankly would have turned them down at this point).
Enter an iPhone app. NPR, discovering I have an iPhone, says download "Report IT Enterprise Edition." I need to be on wifi (got that at home office) and in airplane mode. You log onto these NPR servers and voila - the desired connection.
Bravo NPR!
Now if we can finish the taping before my son opens the garage door beneath me . . .
POSTSCRIPT: It happened, but culprit was wife with kids. Neat thing about taping with NPR, it's no problem. Just stop taping for a bit, and then I abandon office for my master bath (the sanctuary where I do most interviews).
The interview was okay-to-good with Guy Raz, who's always very nice. I always feel like I underperform while I'm doing it, but then later, when I hear it, I feel much better. You just never get past that initial instinct at self-criticism.
But then the truly interesting techno part: once done taping, I must disconnect via the app from NPR servers. Then I am asked to name the file my iPhone just made locally, recording only my half of the interview. The app does that so you avoid having yourself taped over the wire, so to speak, and instead you get this much higher quality capture that is then uploaded to their servers as a file for their editing.
Clever as hell, huh?
Score again for Steve Jobs and Apple. I get studio quality sound on NPR and I don't have to drive all the way into downtown Indy to do it.
As a result, I head out now to throw some football with son Jerry, who, after years of never understanding football, despite my taking him every year to Lambeau, is suddenly a total leatherhead thanks to Madden 2011. Now we watch games and he bitches about blown coverages, infrequent blitzs and why the Pack doesn't kick onsides more often!
We're going to the Bucs-Pack game on Sunday and then the Pack-Lions game in Detroit on Turkey Day.
Reader Comments (2)
I'm baffled that NPR has so much been just following media trivia on current news, instead of explaining the deeper economic, geopolitical, and educational concerns ... and our need to transform ourselves. I heard a recent broadcast in which the NPR guy seemed surprised and bewildered when a guest explained how older American manufacturing and service job types were 'naturally' being exported to cheaper labor countries, or replaced by more sophisticated computer methods.
So I wrote a letter, duplicating one I'd sent NPR over a decade ago explaining how DOD & NIST in 1990s defined, developed and tested technical methods of digital technology for parts manufacturing, and then had the methods made international standards. I also noted that the NIST director back then sent me a tape of an NPR interview. After the broadcast part of the interview the director answered a question as to why NIST was not seeking more media coverage of the initiative. After a verbal tap dance, the director said 'because neither political party wants more attention on the process.
That may be the reason we have so much trivia news instead of more attention to topics such as Tom covers. I'm hoping the media is just waiting until there is broad public insight on the need for transformations instead of short term issue balancing.
I did not get an answer from NPR this time either.
Bucs - Packers should be a sleeper. Detroit might give them a game. Sunday I have to watch my old team (Bears) murder my new team (Chargers).
The stationing of U.S. troops (Marines) in Australia is being virtually ignored by the main stream press. This is far more complicated than it seems. We showed up in WWII when they were facing a real threat of invasion by the Japanese Imperial army. Australia was part of the British Empire but the sun was already setting on the Empire as the Japanese swept through Asia kicking out the old colonial powers. The Aussies have never forgotten that when things looked the darkest...the Yanks showed up. They sent troops (small contingent yes) to fight along side our men in Vietnam. Good on ya mate for that.
This small group of U.S. Marines is the beginning of "something." There has been talk of B-52's and stealth bombers. President Obama says we will be able to "help" in humanitarian missions by having men in Australia. Yes Sir, those B-52's are really handy in humanitarian missions. I guess the stealth bombers will help countries without their knowing we are there.
So the Chinese are left to wonder what we (and the Brits) are up to. The Marines have to worry about their guys being exposed to the Aussies and their garbage can size beers.