The Sweet Dick Blog!

Ok, you gazers! Many of you have said that Gwardo and myself have been far too in touch with our feminine sides lately, so here’s where we fix that.

For episode 88, we’re talking dude things. SO; tell us about all your favorite dude things! Ladies, you can take part too, of course! Just do your best to use the lizard part of your brain.

We’re going to go a little ungentlemanly on this one! We want: Your favorite dude movies, chicks you’d like to “bone”, favorite things about the ladies, manliest/most savage things you’ve done… You name it, we want to hear about it!

Email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com, call us at 339-225-3784! (“3 EZ CAKES, UG”), skype us at username teezeCrost, hit us on facebook.com/hotcakespodcast, tweet at us at /gwardo or /teezecrost.

Hey, all you star gazers! On Hotcakes #85 we’re talking about things that don’t work. Get in touch with, and complain to us about all those things that just don’t perform the functions they’re in existence for. Especially if you paid hard earned cash-money for them!

And just to live up to our name and mission, did you find any functioning alternatives?

Email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com, call us at 339-225-3784! (“3 EZ CAKES, UG”), skype us at username teezeCrost, hit us on facebook.com/hotcakespodcast, tweet at us at /gwardo or /teezecrost.

Hey, star gazers!!
For the next episode of Hotcakes(the best podcast in mainland Canada): Dudes! Any girly drinks, songs, actives you partake in quietly or proudly? Girls, any dude-like things? It’s time to share. Don’t be shy!

Email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com, call us at 339-225-3784! (“3 EZ CAKES, UG”), skype us at username teezeCrost, hit us on facebook.com/hotcakespodcast, tweet at us at /gwardo or /teezecrost.

I’m really feeling movement and progress lately in terms of everything under the Rocket Science Designs umbrella! RocketScienceDesigns.com underwent a quick but slick looking refinement, Sweet-Dick.com is now accessible to the public, and the Hotcakes chalet now contains a dedicated studio!

The first set of big things that have happened in the last few weeks deal with a lot of generosity on the part of some internet friends. After receiving the t-shirt gifts we mailed them, some major podcasts VERY generously, plugged sweet-dick.com and hotcakespodcast.com on recent episodes. You can see our mention on the Totally Rad Show in the last 15 minutes of this episode. Our mention on Jimmy Pardo’s Never Not Funny is 20-30 minutes in, then again near the end of episode 702. If you get the video of the show, he actually wears the shirt the entire episode! And no, we’re not offended over what he said about our domain name (more on that in a seperate post); it was the perfect pardo commentary, and we enjoyed it a lot! We also sent some stuff to Scott Johnson and Tom Merritt, both of the Fourcast Podcast among other huge shows. These guys both have huge things happening in the world of online broadcasting right now, and to my knowledge they haven’t mentioned our site on any of their shows yet, but they have been VERY cool, friendly and responsive via email, and at the time of this writing, Tom had yet to receive his stuff. On that note, it’s very important that I emphasize that no free exposure was ever EXPECTED of any of these people, and as mind-blowing as it is to be mentioned by them, the largest privilege comes just in being in touch with them, and being given the opportunity to introduce myself and the projects I’m involved in.

The next big events have been online orders. Yes, people came to sweet-dick.com, placed orders, and those orders have shipped and are shipping. The website I built with my own hands works, it’s confirmed. It’s a great feeling, and also marks the destruction of a barrier I’ve been struggling with for years. Making those 1st online dollars. Now that I see it’s possible and that it works, I can’t see the momentum stopping.

The one negative aspect of all of this happening is that I’m watching these orders come in, and accumulating to-do items on my list, and there’s not a thing I can do about any of it for most hours of the day! As great as it is to have a dependable source of income, it’s also SO frustrating to be stuck behind the steel gate of full-time employment! This is a minor complaint though; things are looking up!

Next up: THIS WEEK, the delivery of Sweet Dick’s new printing equipment is scheduled. And once assembled and familiarized with, production of more shirts can start. It’s no secret that the shirts currently residing in the store aren’t well catered to the general public, but right away we’ll have the gear we need to make higher-quality, more detailed prints, and yes, finally Hotcakes shirts will be made available! It’s very uphill managing almost ever aspect of a business, and only having part-time hours in which to do it. These things are happening though, and goals will continue to be set and achieved.

Anyway, most of this was discussed on the most recent Hotcakes (#83) (as dry listening as it may have made), but I felt the need to write. The trend of blog post scarcity has been broken!

Hello, all. Just wanted to post a few recent points of progress.

1st, Hotcakes: A combination of a slow connection where I was publishing from over the weekend, and a faulty script I was running caused a few feed problems on the last episode. Apologies for that, and I hope everyone’s feed is now functional again.

Also, although I like the new direction the show is going in for the most part, Gwardo and I are going to shift the angle of it slightly. Rather than us picking 1 thing we like per show, and sharing it with all y’all whether you like it or not, we think a better idea is for us to each pick a few of the top “up” aspects of our weeks, and share them as topics with our listeners in hopes of spreading the enjoyment around. I’m sure star gazer Kristy would agree that there’s no reason for us to scratch the surface of topics we haven’t invested a lot of time in ;D   Anyway, We’re still “putting together breakfast and taking apart your world”; just in a lighter, more listenable way. Our full description has been re-written and can be checked out here.

2nd, Shirts: In regards to Hotcakes shirts, the design is detailed enough that I don’t want to leave it up to shabby equipment to produce. However, I’m still a few weeks away from placing my order for new printing equipment. This will allow me time to gather a bit more cash, and to make sure I don’t leave anything out of my order, which needs to travel across the border.

In the meantime, I’ve designed another simpler shirt for eventual sale on sweet-dick.com, the design for which I’ll be able to share in a few days. I’ve been trying to whip my artistic skills back into shape lately, and this video really got the ball rolling for me on the latest creation:

3rd, Blog pages simplification: If you look at the top links area of the blog, you’ll notice there’s now one catch-all description of who we are and what we do. This includes brief details about Sweet Dick, Hotcakes, and Rocket Science, without a bunch of extraneous blabber gunking it up.

Hey, star gazers! Well, Gwardo and I recorded a few episodes of Hotcakes last night, and things went well. We talked about Pizza and Wilburys who travel.

I think we’ve made a lot of nice changes to the show, but I don’t think one should stop pushing to improve, especially when they’re far from old pros. What’s everyone think of the show as it is currently. We really would value whatever input anyone has for us.

The thoughts we came away from last night’s recording with were:

1. Less fact reading. Stick to interesting discoveries and pertinent info. Then casually yack it up!
2. Be comfier. I think we’ll benefit from some pillows and  the ability to really settle in for a convo.
3. Bring the funny. We’re thinking of digging up some improv/comedy literature and trying out some comedy experiments before or during the show.

I’m sure there are many other things we could do; so again, please tell us what you like and could use less of. Thanks, folks!

Next, here’s the skinny on hotcakes shirts. I attempted to print once. Things did not cooperate. I’ve decided to ditch my ‘start out’ press in favor of something nice that will in all probability make my setups a million times less time consuming and aggravating . So the bad news is that the shirts are delayed. The good news is we’re serious and devoted enough to them get them done right for all y’all. So please stand by and listen to the show for further updates! Below are shots of the current setup and the future setup.

Peace in the middle east!

Heeyyyyy star gazers! Gwardo and I had a good time recording Hotcakes # 74 last night. Hope you all like it, and please do give us your opinions! We intended on recording TWO episodes last night, but things went kinda late, and it couldn’t be done. We’ll be doing another Thursday recording next week, but at an earlier time to get two episodes out, which will help us get our scheduling back on track.

That said, I have 2 sets of finished show notes ready to go, and I’m sure Gwardo has some entertaining ideas in store as well! Just to give everyone time to call/comment/email, my upcoming topics are:

-By star gazer request, the Travelling Wilburys.
-One that I hope 1 or 2 people can relate to; pizza!

Got a song you like? A favorite recipe or delivery place? Let us know and we’ll get your input into the show! As always, to get in touch with us you can comment on the blog, or on hotcakespodcast.com, or… Email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com, call us at 339-225-3784! (“3 EZ CAKES, UG”), skype us at username teezeCrost, hit us on facebook.com/hotcakespodcast, tweet at us at /gwardo or /teezecrost.

In other Hotcakes/Sweet Dick news, I finally finished the art, films, and screens to produce some wicked Hotcakes t-shirts! There are a few elements of the design that have me nervous about printing them, but one way or another these suckers are gonna happen. I don’t want to give away the full design just yet, but here’s a shot of the screen for printing the gold-ish part of the shirt…

Hey, star gazers. Our recording of Hotcakes #74 has been delayed, but you can probably expect it to “drop” this coming friday. This episode will mark the 1st Hotcakes episode (since the format upgrade) recorded in the Hotcakes chalet (teezeCrost’s place) rather than the foundry(Gwardo’s).

Gwardo’s topic for #74 is “Yoga”. Is it a hotcake or a cold flapjack? A good use of time, or new age crap? Let us know your thoughts!

teezeCrost’s topic for #75 will be (at the recommendation of star gazer Kristy) the Traveling Wilburys. Not what I’d normally listen to, but there’s no doubt there’s some major talent involved, so I’m excited to look into this super-group. Like them, hate them, or just have some info for me? Let’s hear it!

As always, to get in touch with us you can comment on the blog, or on hotcakespodcast.com, or…
Email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com, call us at 339-225-3784! (“3 EZ CAKES, UG”), skype us at username teezeCrost, hit us on facebook.com/hotcakespodcast, tweet at us at /gwardo or /teezecrost.

Hey, e’rbody. Well, it’s time to make some Hotcakes shirts-and possibly hoodies-happen. But I’m being indecisive, so we’re now taking suggestions for a quote to go under the logo.

“We put together breakfast, then take apart your world”
“We’re the friends your Mom likes”
“Something smells… Great.”
“We’ll nourish your mind, not your waste line”
“Try it. You’ll like it!”
“Down with cold flapjacks”
OTHER _______

It’d help out a bunch if you let us know what you’d want to wear. Thanks!

I don’t know if this will be a regular thing, but I thought it was worth posting my show notes for the latest Hotcakes episode. These have not been edited at all. They are the notes I wrote for myself and Gwardo in preparation for the show. You can hear the show here: http://hotcakespodcast.com/allepisodes2010.php

The New Rich (NR) are those who abandon the deferred-life plan and create luxury lifestyles in the present using the currency of the New Rich: time and mobility. This is an art and a science we will refer to as Lifestyle Design (LD).

Ability to provide audience with a sense of productivity while reading/listening casually
Ability to inspire. People love to feel inspired
Potentially contains actual useful information.

Sources of Lifestyle design info:

Books (an incomplete list)

* Think and grow Rich – Napoleon Hill (http://www.amazon.ca/Think-Grow-Rich-Original-Restored/dp/1593302002/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267905393&sr=1-6)

*How to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie 1937

Sites

Random Show: http://kevinrose.com/search/random+show | http://www.fourhourworkweek.com

http://www.43folders.com

http://zenhabits.net

http://artofgreatthings.com

http://internetbusinessmastery.com/category/podcast

Was thinking of including sites like http://treehugger.com and http://greenlivingideas.com, and some fitness blogs, but these are more individual interest items. Learning about things you’re interested in and passionate about is an important part of lifestyle design, but is not specific to lifestyle design, and dependent on the individual.

Ok, star gazers, this weekend isn’t going to work for recording for Gwardo and myself, but we ARE planning our next topics!
For episode 73, I’ll be talking about the concept of Lifestyle Design. Got any life hacking tricks, or websites you visit to better your life? Any sub-topics you want covered? let us know!
For episode 74, the topic has yet to be decided on. Your suggestions are welcome!

As always, to get in touch with us you can comment on the blog, or on hotcakespodcast.com, or…
Email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com, call us at 339-225-3784! (“3 EZ CAKES, UG”), skype us at username teezeCrost, hit us on facebook.com/hotcakespodcast, tweet at us at /gwardo or /teezecrost.

Hi, e’rbody. teezeCrost here. Just a few li’l tidbits of news.

First off, Gwardo and myself attended a meetup for Winnipeg Bloggers this past Sunday at the King’s Head pub. This ended up being a very good time and we got to meet some like-minded internet junkies. Not only did we talk about our blogs etc, we also yacked about all the greatest things on TV. Foremost, 30 Rock. Wonderful stuff!
Here’s a rundown of the blogs of people we met:

KylaRoma.com
I’m on my way – Destination: Hell
Last Night’s Leftovers
Slurpies and Murder
Northern Belle
Emily-Jane.net

Next up, although a website is never truly “finished”, I’m officially at a point where there’s nothing left for me to do but add products and clean all the test data from the database. This is a great milestone to be at! Shouldn’t be long before we open the site to the public with a few simple product choices in there in a quiet soft-launch(just ’til we know the kinks are all worked out). Will keep y’all posted!

Lastly, apologies to any facebook/twitter/buzz followers who’ve been receiving excessive, repeated updates. Buzz and a few other things found themselves in a repeat loop of somekind, but I’m pretty sure I’ve resolved it. Also, anyone who’s been experiencing broken links on Hotcakes feed items, you should have no problems now. If you want the boring details, CuteFTP’s otherwise awesome podcast uploader provides no way of providing URLs on a per-item(episode) basis. It DOES however provide its own unique <guid> value. This unfortunate combination of states causes Feedburner to MAKE UP episode links based on the random GUID value. So I wrote a PHP script to run every time we release an episode that auto-rewrites the links in the feed, and pings feedburner to notify it of the changes.

Aight, everyone, here are the next two topics coming up on the hotcakes podcast. Got some input? Don’t-even for a second-consider not sending it our way!

Televised North American Football: Does it excite you? Pumped for the Super Bowl? Why/Why not?

Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle’s Inferno: I must say, this book sounds very interesting! Can’t wait to hear what YOU ALL and Gwardo have to say about it!

YAO -teezeCrost here. Sorry if this is reaching you a 2nd time. Feeds are wild things to try to control. Just wanted to let you all know that the Hotcakes Podcast website facelift is pretty much complete. The colors aren’t going to look 100% how I want them to on every monitor, but that’s out of my hands. Have a look and let us know what you think!

In addition to the cosmetic changes, there are now easier links for listening and getting in touch, DISQUS comment areas on the home page and on every episode in the ‘All Episodes’ section(which is also new), and a news page To keep up on what’s coming up on the show etc.

The new news section may even be where you’re reading this very post; hotcakes related news items from the sweet-dick blog are what populate it. This was done using the AMAZING Simple Pie PHP class for RSS feeds, if you’re into that kinda thing. Don’t be shocked if you see a few old episodes posted in there as well for the next little while. It’s the old podcast feed that we’re now using for news. No need to worry about resubscribing or anything though – this all happened behind the scenes.

Anyway, with this done, we’re ready to record fresh episodes again! Gwardo and I will be doing so this Saturday, then give us a few days to wrestle with a few new audio production concepts and issues, and episode 70-the first for 2010-will be out early next week.

OH! and don’t forget to call in to our new number-even just to say word up-so we can play you on the next episode! 1-339-225-3784! That’s 1-”3 EZ CAKES, UG”

Much love. Keep it right!

Goddamn, it’s hard to build a business when you also have a full time job, friends, a dog, and want to stay fit!

Here it is though, 2010, and things feel like they’re happening again finally! To keep things short and sweet, let me go department by department, and let all those interested know what’s happening with all these connected websites!

First, Sweet-Dick.com. This seems like it’s been in the hopper forever. I’ve decided to stop waiting for a convenient time to work on this though, and just keep blasting through it on evenings and weekends. Some socializing time would be nice, but enough’s enough with this “soon I’ll…” BS.

I’m a guy who has a lot of underlying enthusiasm and ambition, but it often takes something to summon all that to the surface. I’ve been listening to the “Think and Grow Rich” audio book lately, and I think it’s doing the trick. It’s on par with “The 4 Hour Work Week”, but contains info that’s a little more timeless

Shopping is now functional (on an internal basis) and all that’s left to do is the cart page and payment process. Once the Hotcakes revamp is done, it shouldn’t take me more than 3 or 4 weeks of  ”spare time” work to tie this puppy up! I’ll keep giving progress updates on Hotcakes, so stay tuned at hotcakespodcast.com!

Speaking of Hotcakes, let me start by saying we plan to record a new episode on Jan. 30th/2010. We’ve got some great changes coming your way. The logo has been revamped, the site is being spruced up, we’ve got a new publishing method, a blazing new theme song, and new format. Of course, this all takes time to complete.

At the moment, I’m waiting on my new spyder3 monitor calibrator before I continue work on the hotcakes website. Just when I thought it was safe to start coding things, I had a look at my excellent new design on a few other monitors. Garbage! So I’ll tweak, then continue with my changes.

Our theme song; Gwardo and I love it, and so do most people who’ve heard it. We had our man Abstract Artform put some work in on it, and we think it’s going to be a hit.

For publishing, we wanted to move away from this blog to sort of separate brands a bit and avoid confusion. So I started searching around for other podcast RSS generators and couldn’t find anything decent that worked exactly how I wanted it to. Then a search result came up that shocked me. The software I required was software I’ve been running for a long damn time. CUTEFTP has a podcast manager, and it works just like you’d want it to. Well done, GlobalScape! A big round of applause to you’s!

As for the new format, it’s shorter, sweeter, and well, let me just paste it in to avoid typing the show description out yet again! “We put together breakfast then take apart your world! Hotcakes is a weekly audio-cast that’s designed to be humorous, informative, and lots of fun! teezeCrost & Gwardo look up the ingredients to successes and failures of ALL kinds and encourage you to take part!”

RocketScienceDesigns.com is my recently completed website for advertising my capabilities with graphics, printing, web development, etc. I really don’t know when the hell I’d find time to do extra design work at the moment, but if you know someone in need, tell ‘em RocketScienceDesigns.com knows what time it is!

That’s about it, folks. Stay tuned for big things! I’ma have a snack now and rest up so I can continue working my ass off tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll still have friends left after all this! PEACE!

In this, the last Hotcakes episode for 2009, Gwardo cracks open the secrets of one of his favorite albums ever, and what makes it so stellar. We also check out Super Dave’s Conan appearance, and have a fake awesome convo with star gazer Mike Boudet.

Vote/ Digg/ Comment/ Subscribe/ Everything at HotcakesPodcast.com!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MP3: Hotcakes Episode 69 MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, check sweet-dick.com/blog in the Hotcakes Show Notes category or email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com

In this trial run of a concept for the NEW SOUND of Hotcakes, teezeCrost’s topic pick is the Hollywood flop “Battlefield Earth”! Have a peek at the recipe for disaster!

Vote/ Digg/ Comment/ Subscribe/ Everything at HotcakesPodcast.com!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MP3: Hotcakes Episode 68 MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, check sweet-dick.com/blog in the Hotcakes Show Notes category or email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com