Rum Doings Episode 15
by John Walker on Feb.03, 2010, under Rum Doings, The Rest
It’s the fifteenth episode. They said it would never last this long. This “they” being the people who knew we were going to try to drink Tesco Value W-hite Rum.
This week not under discussion is the matter: has the iPad lived up to the media hype? So instead we talk about John’s loss of nomenclature, and then almost kill ourselves with a frighteningly awful liquid.
This week’s episode is mostly dictated by the commands of one “Royston”, who left a comment on episode 13 in which he listed subjects he would like to hear discussed. Somehow missing his opening entry, “Wales”, we otherwise followed his instructions. Which were:
St Wilgefortis
Battlestar Galactica Action Figures
Sufjan Stevens
Favoured Condiments
Which pretty much sees us through. It leads us toward discussions of decaffeinated horrors and fishfingers, and that’s us done.
We’d love it if you passed this link on, told friends, recommended us in forum threads, pre-loaded it on mp3 players and then handed them out to all your family, and so on. Also, if you would, write us a review on horrible, horrible iTunes. That would be splendid.
To get this episode directly, right click and save here. To subscribe to Rum Doings click here, or you can find it in iTunes here.
February 3rd, 2010 on 16:16
Another excellent episode.
I must second your recommendation of Sufjan Stevens. Come on Feel the Illinois is a wonder that I ignored for far too long. ‘Surely something as uniformly lauded as this cannot contain anything of worth’, I thought. I was wrong about the Godfather, Apocalypse Now, the Velvet Underground and I was wrong about this!
February 4th, 2010 on 07:13
I’m a little behind on Rum Doings (I have yet to finish RD13) but I have to comment on John’s tweet:
“I am proud to say that at the age of 32 I am still excited about sitting at the front on the upper deck of a double-decker bus.”
First of all, I thought you were 34 or thereabouts. Tch. My knowledge of John Walker lore is shamefully inadequate. More importantly however – I was convinced that was something every Englishman outgrows by the time he goes to college. It is truly heartwarming to know that this beautiful, thrilling thing is not confined only to us tourists and an occasional scampering British urchin.
February 5th, 2010 on 12:52
@Gassalasca, I bet it’s a British thing.. I never get over it either ;)
February 5th, 2010 on 16:57
This podcast helped engineer a situation where asked me what I was laughing at, and I was able to say “John Walker wandering the universe in search of a lost roast potato.”
February 6th, 2010 on 08:30
Boring question: What is your podcasting setup, given Rum Doings and Jim & John RPS podcasts are consistently lovely sounding?
February 6th, 2010 on 18:06
I think they’re lovely sounding on the account of John emanating a consistent aura of splendidness.
February 6th, 2010 on 22:25
Starbucks uses a slightly longer extraction time so you get the more bitter compounds associated with it. Their beans are good and they roast well but meh. I buy Peet’s roasts (Major Dickason’s Blend is my staple) or I buy green and roast it myself. NOTHING BEATS the frothy, bubbly, CO2-infused deliciousness of a cup of coffee brewed 6-8 hours after roasting (most of the gases escape the beans’ pores in a day or two).
I, too, am curious about your audio setup; I think you’ve mentioned Audacity at one point, but what mics are you using? Are you just using multiple line-ins on a PC or do you have a preamp/mixer, etc? Perhaps you might indulge us with a photo or two? Or a multi-page schematic?
February 6th, 2010 on 22:32
I myself favour scrawled diagrams in crayon. With little stick figures of John and Nick.
February 6th, 2010 on 23:49
Jambe, it is my belief that people only pretend to like coffee in order to appear cool.
Tea is better, if only because it doesn’t make your breath smell.
February 7th, 2010 on 02:45
That abominable tesco’s white rum is apparently £8 or so. No, I didn’t buy any (listening to you tasting it made me guffaw out loud at a bus-stop, though). This show is always pleasing.
February 7th, 2010 on 23:44
I like tea, too, but I was raised on coffee and can’t shake the stuff (nor would I want to). I roasted in a popcorn popper for a long time before getting a commercial unit. The coffee most people drink is terribly bitter, over-extracted swill. I’ve converted a few haters with a taste of fresh-roasted Yirga Cheffe from my Yama vacuum pot.
The only way instant coffee is ever good is in frappe form (Greek-style). Decaf is never good.
February 9th, 2010 on 09:38
The audio set up is the same for both RD and the RPScast. My netbook with a $30 Logitech mic plugged into it. Recorded on Audacity.
I’d love to get a two mic thing going, but wouldn’t have a clue how.