NB: This post is a little bit about software. If you don't give a shit - and I don't blame you if you don't - just skip to the end and enjoy being creeped out by the audio clip. Thank you.
I'm going to be teaching Berin the Bintern about Windows Live Writer today.
I don't usually have strong feelings about software one way or another, but I would totally take Windows Live Writer behind the barn and get it pregnant.
Unlike my actual blogging software of choice - Typepad - WLW never eats my blog posts - it lets me see exactly what my post will look like while I'm actually working on it - it lets me resize photos and video players without me having to poke the html anywhere - and it's FREE. I could go on...but I'll refrain in case children are reading and you don't feel like explaining what "scissoring" is.
In preparation for my tutorial this morning, I thought I should give myself a challenge and try something new with Windows Live Writer - embedding an audio file.
Every year, my brother Jaro calls me on my birthday (in March) and leaves me a message using this creepy pedophile voice. The first year he did it, I was SO creeped out that I actually thought about calling the police because I didn't know it was him. And every year, I threaten to record it and put it on my blog and every year, I end up erasing it - UNTIL THIS YEAR, when Katr made me a copy! And today, I wanted to share it with you. I just needed to figure out how. But I know that WLW would help me figure that out! Right? Right, WLW?
My first moment of malaise occurred when I learned that WLW doesn't have an "insert file" option. Malaise turned to frustration after I conducted an exhaustive search for the right media player plug-in, which needed to be supported by the right freeware, which I couldn't find for PC and which also would have required me to start a Google sites account and become friends with someone called Dr. Knockin' Boots on MySpace.
The above took about an hour. I KNOW. As a total last resort, I typed my conundrum into the Typepad Knowledge Base. Where I was rewarded with the answer to my question in less than a second.
I'm not going to lie to you. I felt betrayed by WLW. Like I'd caught it behind the barn with Tracy Jordan. I don't want to cut it out of my life completely - but I think WLW and I might need to take a break. And maybe this afternoon, I might let Typepad get to second base.
Anyway - here's the clip. Enjoy - especially if it's your birthday!
Photo credit: Just another barn on Flickr by Grant MacDonald
