Bad picture? Smack the monitor. Computer hung up? Smack the thing. CB or tape deck started acting up, get a big baseball bat and whack the thing.

Disk Error Reading Drive C: <A>bort, <R>etry, <I>nfluence with large hammer

People did this because back when things were all vacuum tubes and copper wire, intermittent contact due to heat swelling was the most common cause of failure. If your TV went out and you gave it a good hard whack, it might make the connections shift and restore the picture. But in the 1990s, everything was electronic and solid state, even the CRTs. In fact, the only things with parts that could be effected by the whack was your hard drive and your VCR, and those depended on such a delicate mechanical balance that whacking them could screw them up permanently.

Obviously, the practice of hitting electronics is useless and stupid, not to mention potentially expensive. Electronics have no moving parts. They have nothing that could be affected by shaking, whacking, or moving them around.

So, now it’s 2011. I have a smart phone. With an accelerometer. And some functions require…well…hitting the phone. Or waving it around. Or tapping it gently. And it’s giving me flashbacks to those old TV sets.

The Wheel turns.

And now, Episode 13, in which Gerd makes a discovery, Katy makes a point, and Amos reveals a dark secret.
Bumper by Brian D. Clay, author of The Kingdom Crisis.

Episode 14 coming sometime in the next 5 days

And now, Episode 12, in which Amos has a nightmare, Jeremiah has fridge issues, and Sarah sings a song.
Story So Far by Helen E. H. Madden of Heat Flash Erotica.

No aftershow this week — but lots of news next time. Episode 13 coming next weekend.

And now, Episode 11, in which Sarah puts her foot down, Amos has a secret, and the shadows have an agenda.
Bumper by Chooch and Viv of Into The Blender. Story So Far by Rhonda Carpenter of Podioracket and Mark of a Druid.

Episode 12 coming next weekend.

What kind of insanity have I wrought? What does it take to do something like this?

What’s next on my plate? What does Tee Morris’s pubic hair have to do with podcasting?

Give it a listen and find out as Tee Morris roasts and interviews me on this special one-hour retrospective on Predestination and look forward to Free Will and Down From Ten.

Thank you all for listening all these long months.

Here we are, everyone. The final episode. The guy that got me into this whole thing, Scott Sigler brings us the final Story So Far. Be sure to stay tuned for the end matter — there is new music and a surprise at the end!

Thank you all for listening — it’s been an honor and a pleasure to torture entertain you.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):
Steven H. Wilson as Voleish and Percy Scott
Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal
George Chlentzos as Douglas Reeves
Brian Levy as Jim Hartman
Erin Balabanian as Alyssa Hartman

The Climactic episode of Predestination clocking in at 37mins. This is easily the most acoustically complex episode of the series, with more kick-ss original music by Danny Schade. P.G. Holyfield joins the cast, too!

But that’s not what you’re interested in. You want to know what happens, and I can’t even ask you provocative questions because it might give something away. So, without further ado, the climax of Predestination.

Story So Far this week by Miss Kalendar of Brass Needles.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):
Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal
George Chlentzos as Douglas Reeves
Erin Balabanian as Alyssa Hartman
Brian Levy as Jim Hartman
Kitty NicIaian as Fugitive and The Spaceport Announcer
P.G. Holyfield as Docking Controller

The first book in the series, Predestination, deals with rigged poker games. Do you play? What did you learn from personal experiences that played a key role in creating scenarios in your book?

I’m actually pretty rusty, but at the time I wrote the first draft I played a lot, and had been playing for years. I got started when I was about ten, when an uncle of mine who was a low-level diplomat explained the nature of his job to me by saying “If you know how to play poker, and you know how to play chess, then you have the basic skills it takes to do diplomacy.” I was the kind of kid that viewed that sort of statement as a challenge, so within about two months I had a regular poker game going in my garage with my siblings and other neighborhood kids – we played for M&Ms or other types of kid-gold because we weren’t allowed to play for money. I kept on playing right through college on a daily-to-monthly basis, but since college it’s been hard to find people willing to play for stakes I can afford.

Read the rest here!

This week, we follow Jim to the commune of the Children of Light, while Ali makes a decision about the future of the business.

It’s a long one this week – 40 minutes – I hope it makes up for my protracted absence due to post-convention illness. Watch my blog in the coming weeks for posts about my time at Steamcon a.k.a. Steam Powered, and other fun things coming up here very soon. I’m back in the swing of things, and intend to keep swinging. Thank you all so much for your supportive emails – they’ve been much appreciated.

Feedback show this week – a thanksgiving present for you.

Michael Spence, author and anthology editor, brings us the Story So Far this week.

This week’s in-show promo is for Erotica A La Carte, Phillipa Ballantine’s current foray into the racy and disturbing. Excellent stuff she’s producing over there – definitely worth a listen.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Brian Levy as Jim Hartman

Steven H. Wilson as William Ellison

Renee Wilson as Marjorie

Erin Ballibanian as Alyssa Hartman

This week, we delve deeper into the mystery of Senator Shelley’s relationship with the resistance movement and then skip across the solar system to Mars, where we find the Hartmans…or what’s left of them.

I’m going to be at Steamcon, sitting on two panels and waxing eloquent about Victorian Sci&Tech and Multimedia Production.

Nobilis from Nobilis Erotica, one of the giants of fiction podcasting, brings us the Story So Far this week.

This week’s in-show promo is for Geek Pantheon, a podcast for comic book, science fiction, and fantasy junkies with a twisted sense of humor.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal

Nathan Lowell as Senator Bill Shelley

Brian Levy as Jim Hartman

Erin Ballibanian as Alyssa Hartman

Kitty Nic’Iaian as The Newscaster and The Computer

I’m going to be at Steamcon, sitting on two panels and waxing eloquent about Victorian Sci&Tech and Multimedia Production.

Kimi from TaleChasing, author and podcaster, brings us the Story So Far this week.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal

Phillipa Ballantine as Brittany Hydra

George Chlentzos as Douglas Reeves

Lorien Wheeler as Jade Orin

Nathan Lowell as Senator Bill Shelley

Michael Lemonjello as The Barkeep

This week, we meet the Lunar dancer Brittany Hydra, and we finally get to see what’s underneath Cassy Orinthal’s skin.

I’m going to be at Steamcon, sitting on two panels and waxing eloquent about Victorian Sci&Tech and Multimedia Production.

Phillipa Ballantine, author of the sumptuous Chasing The Bard brings us the Story So Far this week, as well as joining the cast as the indomitable dancer Brittany Hydra.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal

Phillipa Ballantine as Brittany Hydra

Promo: The Arbiter Chronicles: Contents Under Pressure

This week, Jim discovers an unexpected welcome on Mars, while Joss comes into a piece of information he’s been searching for that could change everything — if, that is, he can trust the courier.

Don’t forget about the meet&greet on October 4th! If you’re in the SF Bay Area, come to Jupiter’s in Berkeley, on Shattuck near University, for a meet and greet with myself, Chris Lester, and Seth Harwood. It’s going to be a fun evening, and I’ll have some freebies for those who attend. Find all the details at the Eventful posting, here.

J.C. Hutchins, author of the adrenaline-packed 7th Son trilogy, brings us the Story So Far this week.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Steven H. Wilson as Percy Scott

Brian Levy as Jim Hartman

Renee Wilson as Marjorie

Michael Lemonjello as The Barkeep

The last of the late episodes for a while, I trust. Here we find the aftermath of the mugging in the restroom, and we finally catch up with Ali and Jim.

Robin Hathaway again steals the show, but Nathan Lowell gives her a good run for her money. The host of Astral Audio, Alan Sale, also joins us in *two* very colorful parts.

Don’t forget about the meet&greet on October 4th! If you’re in the SF Bay Area, come to Jupiter’s in Berkeley, on Shattuck near University, for a meet and greet with myself, Chris Lester, and Seth Harwood. It’s going to be a fun evening, and I’ll have some freebies for those who attend. Find all the details at the Eventful posting, here.

This week, Rhonda Carpenter, a buddy of mine from the podiobooks Ning community and the author of The Mark of the Druid, a historical fantasy that premiered yesterday on Podiobooks, brings us the Story So Far.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Steven H. Wilson as Percy Scott

Allan Sale as Scott Walters and One Eyed Jack

Robin Hathaway as Marian Shelley

Erin Ballibanian as Ali Hartman

Shannon Holden as Elizabeth Shelley

Nathan Lowell as Senator Bill Shelley

Late again. The extra recording time to get ahead is taking its toll, but I’m getting some more help behind the mic here, so all is not lost.

This week’s episode is very violent and upsetting – no kidding. If you’re a Sigler fan, you’ll feel right at home. Whatever you do, don’t listen to this one with the kids in the room.

Kudos once again to Robin Hathaway and Steven H. Wilson for their breathtaking performances this week.

Don’t forget about the meet&greet on October 4th! If you’re in the SF Bay Area, come to Jupiter’s in Berkeley, on Shattuck near University, for a meet and greet with myself, Chris Lester, and Seth Harwood. It’s going to be a fun evening, and I’ll have some freebies for those who attend.

This week, we find out what Percy’s assignment was, and how he manages to carry it out without Marian being any the wiser, and then we follow the beginnings of the ripples from his assignment as they touch Washington and Luna City.

This week, our composer Danny Schade – also of the Reason-Driven Podcast and Apologia brings us the Story So Far.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Robin Hathaway as Marian Shelley

Steven H. Wilson as Percy Scott

Nathan Lowell as Senator Bill Shelley

Kitty Nic’Iaian as The Computer Voice

Are you doing anything on October 4th? If not, and you’re in the SF Bay Area, come to Jupiter’s in Berkeley, on Shattuck near University, for a meet and greet with myself, Chris Lester, and Seth Harwood. It’s going to be a fun evening, and I’ll have some freebies for those who attend.

As for this terribly late episode? Better Nate than Lever, I always say. Stay tuned for the show banter at the end of the show for other news about the series.

This week, we join back up with Percy and Marian, and with Joss, and we find out more about who Cassy is, and what her life is like when she’s not capturing and seducing defectors. Not to be missed!

This week, the estimable Nathan Lowell, author of the excellent Golden Age of the Solar Clipper science fiction series available on Podiobooks.com joins the cast as the inscrutable Senator Bill Shelley.

Chris Lester, the author of the Metamor City series, brings us the Story So Far this week. I haven’t – and won’t – ask someone to do the Story So Far if I don’t like their work, but Chris is one of those whose work isn’t just good, it’s fantastic. A really potent blend of dark fantasy, noir detective, science fiction, and deep character drama, he’s a thorough thinker with a keen eye for human nature, and his stories hold a very effective mirror up to the audience. I’ve yet to hear one of his stories that doesn’t seduce from minute one, and transform by story’s end. His stuff isn’t for the timid, but it is very striking.
Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Robin Hathaway as Marian Shelley

Steven H. Wilson as Percy Scott

Nathan Lowell as Senator Bill Shelley

Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal

Lorien Wheeler as Jade Orin

Kitty Nic’Iaian as The Spaceport Announcer

Okay, I know, it’s late again. I’m really trying to get ahead on these and they keep kicking my ass, as real life bears down on top of me. Hopefully, next week will actually be on time.

This week, we find out what happens to Joss after he escapes the Hartmans, learn about oranges in the sky, and meet a couple new characters as the camera pulls back and we get to see more and more of the universe our characters inhabit. Turn down the lights, lean back, and enjoy!

This week, the incomparable Seth Harwood, author of the excellent Jack Palms crime novel series, the spinoff Young Junius, the short story series A Long Way From Disney, and the host of CrimeWav, brings us The Story So Far as only he can.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):
Robin Hathaway as Marian Shelley

Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal

Michael Lemonjello as Hakim and The Second Drunk

Kitty Nic’Iaian as The woman in the bar

George Chlentzos as Doug Reeves

Tonight, after a bit of a delay, we wrap up Part 1 of Predestination. What happens at the poker game between Joss and Ali? Will Jim and Ali take him down, or will he manage to escape with his skin? More importantly, who really is the better poker player? And what role, if any, will Cassy Orinthal play? Strap in – this is an action packed episode that’ll leave you itching for more.

This week, the erudite Zachary Moore, scientist and host of Evolution 101 and Apolgia brings us The Story So Far.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Brian Levy as Jim

Erin Ballibanian as Ali

Kitty Nic’Iaian as Spaceport Announcer and Computer Voice

Okay, I know, it’s late again. I’m really trying to get ahead on these and they keep kicking my ass, as real life bears down on top of me. Hopefully, next week will actually be on time.

This week, we find out what happens to Joss after he escapes the Hartmans, learn about oranges in the sky, and meet a couple new characters as the camera pulls back and we get to see more and more of the universe our characters inhabit. Turn down the lights, lean back, and enjoy!

This week, the incomparable Seth Harwood, author of the excellent Jack Palms crime novel series, the spinoff Young Junius, the short story series A Long Way From Disney, and the host of CrimeWav, brings us The Story So Far as only he can.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Robin Hathaway as Marian Shelley

Stephanie Sawyer as Cassy Orinthal

Michael Lemonjello as Hakim and The Second Drunk

Kitty Nic’Iaian as The woman in the bar

George Chlentzos as Doug Reeves