Podcasts: Not your father's radio show
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- Published on 06 March 2015
- Written by Paul Gordon
Sitting in your home listening to a broadcast of news or stories or what have you has been around since the radio was invented. It’s making a comeback, of sorts, only this isn’t the same as old granddad sitting next to the radio listening to “The Shadow” or to Orson Welles scare the heck out of the whole country.
One of the hottest things around today is the podcast, a program that is recorded digitally and can be downloaded off the Internet and heard at the leisure of the person who downloaded it, over a smart phone, computer, iPod, tablet or other electronic media device.
The programs can be music or talking or anything the podcaster wants it to be, and the number of people podcasting as well as listening is growing daily. And because podcasts now include videos, there appears to be no boundaries, say a couple Peorians who have their own podcasts and watch as the popularity of the podcasts grows.
“It is the new hotness, there’s no question about that,” said Tim Van Autreve. “Podcasting isn’t all that new, of course; it has been around a while. But it seems it is really growing in popularity. There are a lot of them out there and the subject matter is endless.”
Marc Bolton, Van Autreve’s partner on the podcast Comic Nerds Unite, called the podcast “a radio show on the Internet. The Internet has made it so easy no for anybody to do their own podcast and produce whenever they want.”
Van Autreve said most podcasters today are members of GenX, the generation that popularized the medium, such as him and his partner. “These were people who were raised with technology. They know how to do it and they have something to say.”
But do they have listeners? “That doesn’t really matter, at least to some,” he said. “I mean, we want listeners. But we’re having fun regardless.”
Comic Nerds Unite, which began in September 2013, is gaining listeners, according to Bolton, because there is a strong interest among adults for comic books. Podcasts make it so they can follow stories or hear reviews and such without hitting the comic book stands each week. “There are a lot of collectors out there who are older, but didn’t want it known they were into comic books because of the perception they are for kids. But when the Marvel movies started being made, comics became mainstream. Comic book nerds became cool and comics started gaining ground,” Van Autreve said.
The impetus behind Comic Nerds Unite was the enjoyment Van Autreve, Bolton and others of their friends got sitting around talking about the latest comics or the vintage comics there were reading. They threw the idea for the podcast around when they heard of others doing it but didn’t go for it until film maker Kevin Smith started his own and urged others to, as well. “It seemed like a natural extension,” Van Autreve said.
At first the podcast was named “Nightwing Loves Power Girl,” blending the names of some of their favorite comic book characters. It was changed, Bolton said, “when we realized we could probably get sued because we didn’t get permission to use those names in our title. Plus, we weren’t growing in the number of listeners so we thought that name might have been limiting us. It didn’t say that we were comic book enthusiasts.”
Van Autreve’s wife Jen, who sometimes guests on their podcast with other friends, came up with the name Comic Nerds Unite. “It fit us well and we’ve seen significantly higher (listener) numbers. Plus, we learned how to promote ourselves a little,” he said.
The podcast airs about once a week and is usually done through the magic of technology. Seldom are Bolton and Van Autreve in the same room or even the same building when they record. “Skype and software magic,” Bolton said.
Each of their podcasts has commentary about a specific comic book or a collection of books. They show started out doing news clips about the comic book industry “but we realized pretty quickly that doing that dated us and we wanted listeners to be able to pick us up any time. If the first thing they heard on the podcast was industry news that was two or three weeks old they’d stop listening right then.”
Van Autreve said there are many comic book podcasts on the Internet but he and Bolton believe they are somewhat unique because they mostly discuss older comic books and critique them for their listeners.
In fact, Bolton said, sales of actual comic books are way down the last 20 years because of the Internet. More are published that way than printed. “The fall of the comic book really happened in the mid-90s when Marvel went bankrupt. It changed the industry,” he said.
While super hero comics are more their style, Van Autreve said there are many genres available, including horror stories, quirky love stories, coming of age, real-world stories. “It has become another method of story telling and you can pick the genre you want,” he said.
Each of their shows lasts about an hour, but podcasts have no length limit. It largely depends on the listener. “One of the nice things about it is that you can listen at your own pace,” Bolton said.
Bolton, who tests and cleans printers for State Farm and thus works largely alone, enjoys a longer format. Van Autreve, more limited in his listening time and basically has the 35 minute commute to his job at Vonachen Supply, likes a shorter podcast.
Each week the partners learn more, they said, and they recently started a spinoff podcast called Star Wars Nerds Unite with Jen Van Autreve and their friend Josh Mason part of the crew. “We’ve only had four episodes so far and it’s already more popular than Comic Book Nerds,” Van Autreve said.
They have made friends through podcasting and have learned there are many local podcasts, so far.
One can find Comic Nerds Unite on iTunes or Stitcher (for droid users) and also find a plethora of other podcasts. Some may be episodes of real radio shows or television shows. “There is a nice mix available. You aren’t limited to what you want to listen to any more than you would be if you were picking out a book to read,” he said.
FrizziToon: Peoria's future skyline
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- Published on 06 March 2015
- Written by Donn Frizzi
Cat partners with analytics developer to assist customers
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- Published on 05 March 2015
- Written by Paul Gordon
Caterpillar Inc. has entered into an agreement with an analytics provider that will help Caterpillar customers worldwide to better understand the health of their equipment, the company announced Thursday.
Caterpillar said the technology and predictive analytics agreement with Uptake calls for the two to jointly develop “an end-to-end platform for predictive diagnostics to help Caterpillar customers monitor and optimize their fleets more effectively.” The new technology will be available for Caterpillar products and non-Caterpillar branded products, the company said in a news release.
“Customers use our current technology for fleet monitoring and to track fuel efficiency, idle times, location and more,” said Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar. “Our existing solutions are effective, but it’s time we take it to the next level. This relationship will combine Caterpillar’s world-class product engineering and design expertise with Uptake’s software, application and data analytics expertise. As a result, we’ll be able to transform the quintillion bytes of incoming data we see every day into useful information we feed back to our customers for on-the-spot decisions and planning purposes to further reduce owning and operating costs.”
Oberhelman said the agreement will allow Caterpillar and Uptake to “build a platform to bring the next generation of our technology services and products to market sooner, and will act as a springboard for years of development after that. We want to empower our customers with the insight necessary to shift from a reactive ‘repair after failure’ mode to a proactive ‘repair before failure’ stance. The end result will be more efficient operations and increased fleet availability for our customers. And the more our customers’ machines and engines stay running, the more money they make.”
Since 2014, Chicago-based Uptake has been developing locomotive-related predictive diagnostics and fleet optimization solutions for Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), a subsidiary of Caterpillar. The early successes of the locomotive project led Caterpillar to expand its relationship with Uptake into other industries Caterpillar serves.
Caterpillar said it has made a minority investment in Uptake and as its exclusive partner in various industries, Caterpillar can leverage its data and operational insights with Uptake’s technology and data science platform to provide unparalleled solutions for customers in each of those industries.
“We are at a unique time in history.Analytics are enabling insights that are changing the way entire industries work. Uptake is at the front of this evolution,” said Brad Keywell, co-founder and CEO of Uptake. “Our platform takes massive data provided by sensors, combines it with data science to understand signals and patterns, and deploys insights in real time that save money, optimize performance and prevent unplanned downtime. Our partnership with Caterpillar has resulted in a cross-industry platform that is informed by the best data and the best operational insights.”
Caterpillar selected Uptake as its partner based on the capabilities the company witnessed following the agreement with EMD, the company said in the news release. Uptake’s location in Chicago and its proximity to Peoria and central Illinois, where Caterpillar has its largest concentration of U.S. engineers and factories, was also a key factor, the company said.
“We’re excited about an optimal platform that will not only increase the value of the information our customers and dealers already receive, but also help them maintain a competitive advantage,” Oberhelman said. “What we’re really talking about is graduating to even smarter, more connected products. We’re working on getting ahead of the curve, because with our knowledge and expertise, there is no one better than Caterpillar to provide the platform and tools necessary to help our customers achieve new levels of equipment availability, productivity and profitability.”
In the coming months, Caterpillar will collaborate with Uptake and the Cat dealer network to roll out the latest predictive analytics and insights through web-based and mobile tools for customers, the company said.
Childhood poverty still growing; experts say budget cuts will worsen the problem
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- Published on 05 March 2015
- Written by Paul Gordon
Child poverty rates throughout Illinois, including the Peoria region, remain high despite the apparent economic recovery and proposed cuts in the state budget put those children at further risk of suffering the long-term consequences, according to local and state experts in child welfare.
Calling on Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly to find areas to cut in the budget with less impact on children in poverty, those experts said Thursday those consequences will range from health problems to education difficulties and homelessness and troubles with the law down the road. The issues were brought out during a news conference Thursday at Family House in Peoria at which Voices for Illinois Children revealed 2015 child poverty rates.
“We all recognize it is a complex problem. We need a comprehensive and sustained effort” to continue providing for children in poverty, said Trish Fox, executive director of The Center for Youth and Family Solutions.
According to the report Illinois Kids Count 2015: Confronting Poverty, Creating Opportunity,” childhood poverty in the state has grown so that more than one in five children live in households where the incomes are below the poverty level, which is $18,750 for a family of three. In 2013 the state childhood poverty rate was 21 percent, well above the rate of 14 percent recorded in 1999 and higher than pre-recession levels of 17 percent.
Locally, child poverty rates were 29 percent in Peoria County in 2012, the last year figures were available, well above the state rate of 21 percent. The Peoria County rate was 21 percent in 1999. Tazewell County’s childhood poverty rate rose from 8 percent in 1999 to 12.5 percent in 2012, while the Woodford County rate rose from 6 percent to 13 percent in the same time period.
Peoria County’s population of children in poverty rose by 34 percent from 1999 through 2012,, while the Tazewell County children in poverty population increased 62 percent and the Woodford population 127 percent.
Voices for Illinois Children reported that in 2011 the children in poverty in the Tri-County area were 47 percent white, 35 percent black and 8 percent Latino.
Fox said that while statistics show unemployment rates have improved in recent years, income has not kept up with inflation, forcing more families below the poverty line. She said there are proven strategies to help provide opportunities for families in poverty and they should not be allowed to be reduced or eliminated. Those include:
- Enhanced tax credits for low-income working family. In fact, she said, Voice for Illinois Children advocates increasing the earned income tax credit in Illinois from 10 percent to 20 percent of the federal credit to make it more effective.
- Food assistance programs should be strengthened and access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) improved.
- Progress made in expanding access to health care for low-income families must be sustained.
- Investments in early childhood education should be continued and not cut. Studies prove these programs work in preparing children for school and eventually for adulthood, she said.
“The best quote I found in the Kids County report is, ‘There’s no such thing as an undeserving 4-year-old.’ That is so true. As the report says, Illinois is at a crossroads,” Fox said.
Other experts on the panel explained the importance of state funding for the programs that help children and families living in poverty.
Laraine Bryson, president of the Tri-County Urban League, said the childcare center the league offers would have to close if its state funding is eliminated. That not only would put the children at further risk, it would put staff out of work and lead to other issues in a bad snowball effect.
Instead of cutting funding, subsidies should be enhanced to fund after-school programs that keep children engaged and out of trouble as well as nutrition programs to keep children healthy and jobs programs for families.
“If we want to turn things around, we need to increase resources, not eliminate them,” she said.
Tim Glancy of the Center for Youth and Family Solutions, said that agency teams with different foundations to fund programs for children, including a lunchbox program to make sure children in poverty receive proper nutrition. However, he said, there is only enough funding to help 115 children and many more are in need.
Jeff Turnbull, vice president of Family House, said the budget cuts, if approved would have a direct and daily impact on the people served at his agency. That includes the food bank, which has seen 86 percent growth in the number of people it helps in just the last two years.
“Because of the multiple challenges these children are facing, we need more services to affect positive change and provide a brighter future,” Turnbull said. “None of us should be accepting of a child going hungry every weekend because he can’t get food outside of school or a mother having to choose between buying medicine for a sick child or buying food for her entire family.”
Spring forward: Most of us will feel that loss of an hour
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- Published on 04 March 2015
- Written by PRNewswire
Sixty percent of Americans will feel the impact of the time change the Monday following Daylight Saving Time, and 40 percent will need a week or longer to recover from losing one hour of sleep, according to research conducted by the Better Sleep Council (BSC).
With Americans in the midst of what the Centers for Disease Control has coined a "national sleep epidemic," research shows that losing an hour during Daylight Saving Time may worsen the problem.
As the non-profit education arm of the International Sleep Products Association, the BSC conducted the research as part of its continuing mission to expose the relationship between sleep, good health and quality of life, as well as the critical role the sleep environment plays in pursuit of a good night's sleep. The research verifies that sleep loss has detrimental effects on health:
- 39% of Americans are in a worse mood following the time change
- 74% over the age of 30 report that sleepiness affects their work
- 79% have difficulty concentrating and higher stress after a bad night's sleep
- 79% would feel better and more prepared for the day with an extra hour of sleep
- 30% are willing to pay $100 or more for that extra hour of sleep at night
- Traffic and machine accidents will increase the Monday after the clocks roll forward
"Poor sleep negatively affects learning, memory, relationships, success and even the immune system," said Terry Cralle, R.N., certified clinical sleep educator and health and wellness spokesperson for the BSC. "With 'spring forward' just around the corner, the BSC encourages everyone to mitigate potential negative effects by reevaluating their current sleep environment and taking actions to improve overall sleep hygiene."
The BSC suggests the following activities to fight daylight saving time and the usual post-weekend blues:
- Climb into bed 15 minutes early
- Ditch caffeine after lunch
- Embrace the catnap
- Evaluate your current bedroom and create a sleep sanctuary
- Give your bed an ultimatum – if it isn't comfortable or supportive, replace it
- Get out of bed after 20 minutes if you can't fall asleep
- Treat sleep like an appointment you can't miss – schedule time for it
- Eat light at night
- Soak in a warm bath or meditate before bedtime
- Keep a worry journal to de-stress before bed
To help diminish the consequences of Daylight Saving Time, the BSC is launching #SpringToBed, a social media campaign that challenges several bloggers to pursue a personal sleep challenge. The program highlights personal accounts of the challenges and benefits associated with a better night's sleep during Daylight Saving Time.
For more information about #SpringToBed or about how to improve your sleep year-round, visit www.bettersleep.org.
