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Douglas' Events, Appearances and Seminar Calendar


Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Merry Christmas from WelchWrite.com

We present our 3rd Annual LIVE Reading of Dicken's A Christmas Carol from Sunday, December 21, 2008 as our holiday present to you.

You can listen to the audio or watch the video from uStream.tv.

Presented by WelchWrite.com

Music courtesy of Incompetech.com

Listen: A Live Reading of Charle's Dickens A Christmas Carol

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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Podcasting for Writers at UCLA Extension

Today the UCLA Extension calendar for Summer 2007 was released to the public. Among the offerings is our new class, Podcasting for Writers -- a 10-week online course.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join us for this class, here is the complete information.

Rosanne and I are really looking forward to the class.



NEW COURSE
Podcasting for Writers (Online)
X 430.27 Film & Television 3 units $525

Podcasting has given writers direct access to a worldwide audience and freed them from absolute dependency on television networks, radio stations, and publishers to buy and market their work. To the audience, podcasting is "what you want, where you want it, when you want it," while to the podcast creator and producer, it is the ultimate creative freedom. This course covers the current state of this new medium; the basics of writing for it; and strategies for publicizing your podcast and expanding your readers, viewers, and listeners. Guest speakers available via audio and video podcast interviews, live interactive podcasts, and video conferences introduce you to the variety of ways you can use the medium. The course goal is to develop your own podcast based on individual professional or personal needs, interests, and goals. For technical requirements click here. Enrollment limited to 18 students. Additional technical requirements: Students need a recording device with microphone that is compatible with their computer; built-in microphones on laptops are acceptable. Students must have Apple iTunes software and access to audio recording software, such as Audacity or Apple GarageBand, to perform course exercises. High-speed Internet connection is required.

Course Open Reg# T3254U

No Textbook Required

Online Course
July 5 - September 6
$55 nonrefundable.

Rosanne Welch, writer/producer; WGA member whose credits include five seasons as staff writer, executive story editor, and producer on the CBS series Touched by an Angel. Ms. Welch also has written for Fox Broadcasting's Beverly Hills, 90210; Picket Fences for CBS and David E. Kelly Productions; and is the author of The Encyclopedia of Women in Aviation and Space.

Douglas E. Welch, writer and computer consultant, whose work has been published in Wired, MacWorld, and Los Angeles Times. Mr. Welch is a member of Friends in Tech, and produced his first show, Career Opportunities, in 2004. He has written and produced over 300 individual episodes and conducts podcasting seminars for schools and businesses.

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Saturday, May 12, 2007

Traffic change on Moorpark Street near the Sherman Oaks Library

Moorpark Street Lane ChangeIf you frequent the Sherman Oaks Branch of the LA Public Library, like I do, you will want to be aware of some traffic changes on Moorpark Street at Tyrone, especially as you approach the library eastbound on Moorpark.

Up until a few days ago, there was a turn lane the middle of Moorpark Street, which allowed you make a left turn into the library parking lot. Today, I was very surprised to note that what had been a bi-directional turn lane is now an extended left turn lane for westbound traffic onto Tyrone.


Google Map showing change

Google MyMap of Lane Changes

This now makes it unsafe to attempt a left turn into the library parking lot. I noticed a lot of folks doing what I did, which was to go up one block to Katherine and either make a U-Turn at the intersection or find a place to turn around on Katherine.

I think this change has made entering the library much more dangerous, even if it has eased westboound traffic on Moorpark. I can imagine that the neighbors are going to be upset with all the new turnaround traffic, as well. The only entrance to the main library parking lot is from Moorpark and I am going to going to guess that at some point there will be a major accident as someone attempts to make their usual left turn from the single easybound lane or, even worse, goes the wrong way up the new left turn lane without thinking about it.

The picture above is pretty low-quality as it is from my cell phone, but if you can see the long white line in the middle the street, that used to be a yellow line denoting the north side of the bi-directional turn lane. Click the photo for a larger version.

I was pretty surprised by this change when I hit it today, so be aware and stay safe.

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Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Live from the Library - Thursday, May 10, 6 PM PDT

Join us LIVE Thursday, May 10, 2007 for our next Internet Seminar at the Sherman Oaks Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.



Join us LIVE!

Need more information on joining out LIVE shows?




You can listen to past sessions and other TechnologyIQ audio by clicking below

Podtrac Player


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Wednesday, May 02, 2007

LAPL: Wi-Fi now in all branches

Los Angeles Public LibraryYep, its true, at least according to this press release (PDF) from the LA Public Library web site. Great news and a big step toward getting wireless access to all who can take advantage of it.

Of course, remember, the LAPL also offers computers for Internet browsing and other tasks at all its branches, too!

LAPL: Wi-Fi now in all branches The L.A. Public Library just put out a release saying that free wireless is now available to laptop users in all 71 branches as well as the Central Library downtown....

(Via L.A. Observed.)


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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Douglas E. Welch Events, Speaking and Appearances Calendar

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Next Library Internet Seminar - April 26, 2007

Join us Thursday, April 26, 2007 for our next Internet Seminar at the Sherman Oaks Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

This session will focus on services that let you build your own blog whether you actually have a web site or not. The services I will show include Blogger.com, Vox.com, MySpace.com, WordPress.com and more.

You can listen to past sessions and other TechnologyIQ audio by clicking below

Podtrac Player


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Sunday, April 08, 2007

Library Internet Seminar - April 12, 2007

Join us Thursday, April 12, 2007 for our next Internet Seminar at the Sherman Oaks Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

We are focusing on online web services like Google Docs and more. I will have a few sites to show, followed by an open question and answer session.

You can listen to past sessions and other TechnologyIQ audio by clicking below


Podtrac Player


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Monday, March 26, 2007

Douglas speaks at SongsAlive Los Angeles Workshop - April 1

Douglas E. Welch photo"Podcasting: Your Own Private/Public Radio Station"
SongsAlive Los Angeles Workshop

Sun. April 1 2007 1pm - 4pm at The Coffee Junction
Invented out of the already existing pieces of the Internet, MP3 audio files, web sites, weblogs and RSS feeds, Podcasting opens up a new way of communicating your music to the world. Easy, fast and cheap, you can be podcasting your words, music and commentary to your friends, your fans or the entire world in a few hours. Imagine your own radio station where you pick the playlist, you choose the message and you get to talk directly to those who are most interested in your work. Podcasting allows listeners to have what they want, when they want, where they want it, and you can use that freedom to your advantage.
Join Douglas E. Welch, computer consultant, author and podcaster (and a so-so guitar player), as he introduces you to the terms and tools of podcasting, gives an update on the current state of podcasting and shows you just how easy it can be to get started.

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Monday, March 19, 2007

Live at the Library This Week - VideoJug Cooking Videos

Update: I will be demoing this site as part of this week's Internet Seminar at the Sherman Oaks Branch of the LA Public Library. I'll also show online classes available from MIT.

Meetings are held the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at 6:30 PM.


I was playing around with the StumbleUpon Firefox extension, which randomly selects web sites in categories you prefer. This is one of several that caught my eye.

The videos are well done and the recipes are quite good and varied. If you are looking for a little something different in your web browsing and video viewing, VideoJug is a great place to start.
Cooking Recipes with video demonstrations

(Via StumbleUpon.)

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Saturday, February 03, 2007

Off to the eWaste Drop-off We Go!



Randall Street S.A.F.E Collection Center
11025 Randall St. Sun Valley, CA 91352
Map and Info in PDF Format

Other S.A.F.E Centers



I finally got my act together this morning, gathered up all my eWaste, packed them into my Element and headed off to the industrial heartland of the San Fernando Valley -- Sun Valley. It is here that the City of Los Angeles has a permanent drop-off site for eWaste and Hazardous Waste.

The picture above shows the entrance to the location. They were unwilling to let me take photos within the drop-off itself.

The Collection Center was well-organized and not very busy at 1030 AM on a Saturday. Their hours of operation are Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Rain cancels the drop-off.

My load contained 3 old PCs, my venerable Apple LaserWriter Pro 600 that finally died after 15+ years of service, a bag of batteries, a fax machine and a computer monitor I no longer needed. I hate to throw anything away, but these PCs wouldn't even run one of the small Linux distributions anymore, so there wasn't much I could do. I have recycled one old PC myself as a office server and it works very well.

The flyer from the web site declares a 6-piece limit for the drop-off, but the staff didn't seem concerned with my, probably, 8-9 item total, when you included the small individual pieces. The staff was friendly and efficient. You don't even have to unload. Due to the hazardous waste that might be dropped off, you are requested to remain in your car during the process.

If you have old electronics lying around, remember, California State Law now declares that they must be disposed of properly and not simply thrown in the trash. Visit on of the permanent drop-off centers, or check the eWaste calendar for a scheduled drop-off in your area.

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