MattRock's 2¢

StreaMeta.org

mattrock — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:42:27 +0000

One of my longest standing goals in my position as the technical director at WSUM Student Radio at the University of Wisconsin has been to devise a system of playlist entry for the hosts. The current system, while great at establishing good habits for the hosts has proven to not be as dynamic as I had hoped. Thus I have started a project called "StreaMeta.org" in order to try to build a new content managment system geared towards small broadcasters and streamers who may be playing their sets live. The goal of the project will be to get the current play info from the host and deliver it to the multiple places and devices that can use that information.

Please check the project out at http://streameta.org and sign up for the newsletter.

Muppet Studios

mattrock — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:04:29 +0000

What’s up with the Amtrak station talk?

mattrock — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:35:33 +0000

I have had the good fortune to have a piece I wrote about Amtrak's Hiawatha train service's return to Madison, WI published on the fantastic Wisconsin site Dane101.com. Please check it out here: http://dane101.com/current/2010/04/08/what_s_up_with_the_amtrak_station_talk

Spaghetti Cake

mattrock — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:43:56 +0000

Ingrid's sister Emily is a baker. She's as good at baking as Ingrid is at cooking. What do you think of the spaghetti cake she made me for my birthday? It was a white cake with strawberry filling from strawberries she grew herself.
I married into the right family...

#bestofcampus submissions for University of Wisconsin

mattrock — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:11:04 +0000

As the chief operator for WSUM Student Radio, I have had the opportunity to get some pretty cool pictures from the new uSquare building on campus. Here are my submissions for @UWMadisonNews' request for submissions.

Storm Clouds from 7/27/09

mattrock — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:03:34 +0000

Here are some shots of the storm clouds over Madison, WI on July 27th, 2009 @ sunset. See more at Dane101.

2008 Storms

mattrock — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:58:28 +0000

Remember all of the rain we got in 2008 in WI? I just found a screen capture of the NOAA composite radar from that storm. I was watching it for quite a while, and the storm system was not moving at all. The system kept on building into itself from SW towards the NE. The date and timestamp on this snap is 6/13/08 @ 9:48PM CST.

First Night in the Booth

mattrock — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:36:56 +0000

Clark's final ride

mattrock — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:07:24 +0000

In response to the lead toy scare, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 was passed by congress and on August 14, 2008, signed by then President George W. Bush. This has resulted in something I consider to be most unfortunate. Kids ATV's and and motorcycles are now illegal to sell. Cyclenews.com says:

Certain parts of the vehicles contain more lead than is deemed allowable on children's products - for instance, on the battery terminals and tire valves - and the CPSC has interpreted this to mean that OHVs present a lead-poisoning threat to children.

My son Clark rides. He's six, and he started riding over a year ago. Now, according to this law, I cannot buy him a new motorcycle until he is big enough for a full sized bike. All because this metal machine could contain lead. So basically I can teach him to ride, but I cannot be trusted to teach him to not lick the battery. What's wrong with this picture?

"His fingerprints will remain..."

mattrock — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 08:55:35 +0000

Dusty Weis is first generation. That is to say he was at WSUM when I started there almost 4 years ago. Now he is a reporter for WTDY 1670AM, and he rocks! Upon the opening of our new studio in Feburay, 2009, Dusty sent me an e-mail which he also published on his website.

Matt Rockwell, who has worked on this project with all the tenacity of a mother eagle defending her nest. Without his guidance, his technical know-how, his creativity, his drive and his dedication to the project, WSUM's new studio would be a shadow of what it stands to be today: the best student broadcasting facility in the nation. His fingerprints will remain on everything in the station for generations to come. If it's not too dramatic to say so, I think it's his opus.