- I popped my podcasting cherry
- I went to Barcamp Chicago last weekend
- An explanation of what an Unconference is
- I wanted to organize a (*)camp last Fall
- My feeling summarized in one word: meh (I blame myself, though)
- My “peeps” weren’t represented
- “I don’t do heat well”
- Getting on my soapbox
- Boom 2.0 is not like the DotCom Boom
- “How are people expecting to cash out from Boom 2.0?” – ugh!
- The people that are doing things are doing them for themselves
- Yeah man, I use the term “Suits” – ugh! :)
- We’re hitting double digits next podcast! :)
- Lots of exciting things going on in my little web world

Download marusin.com stuffing #09 (17.16mb) or suck it in from my RSS Feed or subscribe to it in iTunes.

Anyways, just a couple of things I wanted to point out that have caught my interest/are on my mind while time keeps flying by…

- Go switch your settings to use OpenDNS. This is to all of my nerd/non-nerd readers out there. If you have a high speed connection at home (DSL, cable, etc), you should be interested in this. It has without a doubt sped up my browsing at home. It’s a really simple tweak that you can do either on your computer or your router at home. PC or Mac. Wired or wireless. It doesn’t matter. It’s not spyware and doesn’t do anything evil and is absolutely free. Lots of people have been using OpenDNS lately and have had dramatic results in the speed of their internet connections.

- I’ve been hooked on the aspecialthing podcast. Interviews with comedians that matter. A great way to blow an hour(+) at a time. Maybe that’s where my time has been going?

- I’ve switched from my archaic webmail client for marusin.com to using Gmail. My email address hasn’t changed, just where the messages are being delivered to. So far, so good.

- I have given up on FeedLounge for the time being. I switched to them after there was a marusin.com record for the most comments ever to a post all in praise of FeedLounge. I have to say, I agree with most of them (when the service is working correctly). The interface is great. The response to support problems is great. Unfortunately, though, it is buggy as hell and it seems there’s a new issue I encounter on a daily basis. Between not being able to subscribe to certain weblogs to bugs with tagging to feeds not being updated enough to me being unable to access my feeds for a couple of days has made me go back to Bloglines. Without a doubt, I want to like FeedLounge but I feel burned and have a bad taste in my mouth right now. I have a year subscription and may revisit in a couple months when I feel better about things. Until then I’m back to my old standby.

- I’m hoping to record a podcast tonight to do a brain dump on my BarCamp Chicago experience. I have gotten a lot of personal emails regarding my post about my BarCamp Chicago experience. Just wanted to clear the air and it would probably much easier to talk through than type out. Hopefully, me writing this here reminds motivates me to record tonight. :)

There definitely was a share of very smart people there, but it seemed to be missing the energy of the other events I’ve attended in recent weeks. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by those events… Who’s to say? Part of my “un-sureness” also stems from the fact that it was hotter than hell where they had the event (it was well into the 90′s today in Chicago) and the “space” didn’t have much for air conditioning. Weather like that usually puts a damper on my attitude and I’m willing to admit that it may have skewed my attitude.

Also, I was there towards the beginning, so things were still getting organized and everyone was trying to get into their groove. I do know that while I was there, more people were worried about getting the keg tapped and getting more ice then the (I just accidently typed, “teh”) nerd side of things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for booze. :)

I’m just grumpy today… sorry. I’m interested to hear more from other people that were there. I’ll be keeping my eye on Technorati. In the mean time, I’m happy hanging with my nerd buddies out by me.

- The local crew has a couple of tricks up their sleeves which will be announced soon
- TechCocktail happened last week and was a huge success
- I’ve been working on a new site personally that hopefully will launch soon
- The first official BarCamp in Chicago is this coming weekend

I was on the fence regarding BarCamp due to some personal obligations, etc. but I think I have clearance from the tower to be there on Saturday, 07.15.2006. Are you planning on being there? If so, let me know…