rants and observations

“You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.” ― Paul McCartney

There’s a very good place in Mission, B.C. called SAINTS, a beautiful place for senior and special needs animals that takes care of the animals no one seems to want. Those in their advanced years, crippled, abused or suffering from mental issues. These are the animals nobody wants but SAINTS ensure they enjoy a full and healthy life, revelling in the things our pets take for granted such as shelter, food and most of all, love.

From their website:

SAINTS was started in December 2004 after volunteers at other animal shelters saw many senior animals spending their last days in a shelter or pound. From the time we opened our doors, the number of animals in need has been astounding and ever-growing. When SAINTS moved into it’s first location it started with 16 cats, 12 dogs and 2 rabbits. SAINTS has since found it’s permanent home on 3 beautiful acres in Mission, BC with a warm and cozy home, a sturdy and well constructed barn, several outbuildings just waiting to be renovated for future use plus fields to play in and a pond to swim in… we have found a little bit of heaven on earth for our very special friends.

Watch the video below and discover how how so few can bring happiness and sanctuary to so many deserving animals. And drop by saintsrescue.ca for more information or do what I did and send them a few dollars at 1000saints.ca to help with the great work they’re doing. If you can watch the video below and still not consider sending them a donation, you’ve probably never had a pet.

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My time was my own. I had the freedom to spend leisurely hours after work and on the weekends doing what I wanted to do, some gardening, some home maintenance, dinner with friends. Life was good. Too good. I decided to change that by starting a podcast network.

I’ve always been interested in podcasting and experimented with a lame attempt right here on AprilRoad.com a few years ago. They sucked. I was more enthralled with the technology than the content and the listener metrics told the sad story. The story was that my audio offerings were, in food parlance, small bits of 3-day-old overly-salted gristly meat, appealing to absolutely no one on this planet or any other planet in this universe or beyond. So I quit.

But a few years have passed and many things have changed to allow the average nerd to host a web-based radio show but with significantly more flexibility for the end user than terrestrial radio. Download the show to your smartphone, iPad or any other aggregator and enjoy it on your time. Or even listen on the website by clicking the little ‘play’ button and enjoy the show while you browse the web or work on your tax return. All good stuff and a much better alternative than that shitty radio or TV.

I decided to take another whack at this podcast thing a few months ago and, in so doing, came up with OutLoudShows.com and its two category sites sports.outloudshows.com and adult.outloudshows.com offering a variety of wild and wacky shows for the discerning listener. Well, that’s the plan anyway.

I host my own show called, oddly enough, The Out Loud Show and produce the others with an eye towards audio quality, interesting content and knowledgable hosts. A rare combination but I’ve come across five dedicated podcasters thus far:

• Tom and Tom of TomTom Sports, an amusing and informative sports podcast broadcasting from Nottingham in the United Kingdom. These two guys are dedicated to their show, have great chemistry and enjoy the process of producing and recording their show for a (hopefully) mass audience. Good guys from what I’ve seen and highly entertaining.
• Jerry, an outspoken transsexual advocate and sole host of Transister, the most eye-opening podcast about the transition process from male to female. Jerry also goes by the name Velvet Steele and has a large collection of Twitter and Facebook followers who seem to be gravitating towards her podcast in droves. Nothing like a built-in audience.
• Chris Leitch and Patrick Beaulieu, NFL, CFL, MLB and MMA gurus and hosts of The Big Ticket sports podcast. Another couple of hard working and dedicated guys who amaze me with their sports knowledge.

Take a moment from your busy day, visit the links above and listen to the show directly on the website by clicking the spiffy little play button. Or better yet, subscribe using your favourite podcatcher and become a dedicated listener of the shows. These folks work very hard on their shows and we’re all devoting major portions of our lives to produce the content and make it available to you, the listener.

I’ve been extremely lucky to find the people I have thus far and am hoping I can live up to their expectations and ensure their shows are something they’re proud of. If you like what you hear, do me a solid and leave a comment on the website or by using the voicemail tab. The hosts would be more than appreciative and it would let us all know that someone’s listening. And it would make me feel better about my missing weekends.

(Interested in seeing your podcast on OutLoudShows.com? Use the contact form available on the either of the three sites and let’s talk!)

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