A Cyberbohemian's Blog

Dear friends,

as a psytrance DJ, I love to stream music from my PC for virtual parties. We run our own Shoutcast streamserver, and streaming works very nice from my PC using Winamp and the Shoucast DSP plugin.
However, under Windows 7 (and I think under Vista also), there is one thing missing: The push-to-talk (PTT) button. Sometimes you like to talk with the audience while streaming music, and you need a button, which reduces the music output and mixes your microphone's input into the music. This worked with the Shoutcast DSP plugin under Windows XP, but not for Windows 7. MS changed the Windows mixer architecture, making the Shoutcast PTT button useless.

So I searched for a solution, and finally found one: The BogProg Plugin for Winamp.
In combination with Winamp and the Shoutcast plugin, BogProg can mix sounds from various sources (including your microphone) into your musicstream when pressing the PTT button.

I would love to show you how to can do livestreaming on your PC, with the ability of "Push to Talk".

What you need:

Winamp media player
SHOUTcast DSP Plug-In for Winamp
Bogprog 1.7 Plugin for Winamp

There are many sources in the internet how to put up Winamp and Shoutcast for streaming, so I will not explain how to do this. You should make this combination work before you add BogProg.

After installing BogProg, start Winamp and activate BogProg plugin.
(Visualization/Select Plugin/Plugins/DSP Effects/BogProg LiveWire)

With the next start of Winamp, the BogProg Plugin should appear.
You now need to make some settings:

In the "Device" tab, select your microphone, and the value in seconds for fading in/out your talking. One second is good for me.


In the "DSP" Tab, select two plugins: "LiveWire MixIn" and "Nullsoft SHOUTcast Source"


In the "PTT" tab, choose the input gain of your microphone. You need to test this value, it depends on your microphone, the distance between you and your mic, etc.
With the slide control, you choose how much the music is overlayed by your voice. Test it.
You also need to activate the "P" button.

After that, you are ready to go. Play a song in Winamp, and if you want to talk, press the "Push to talk" button in the "PTT" tab.


You will notice a delay of a few seconds, until you hear your voice. This is the buffer of BogProg (Winamp?), and I found no way to reduce the time. Anyway, the plugin does a very good job, many thanks to the programmer of this great plugin.

Love, Galen

Dear friends,

Australian artist Larysa Fabok exhibits her nice artwork on Cyberbohemia. This machinima was made during the vernissage party in our partylocation "The Underworld". Actually, this was the first event of our "Art meets psytrance" series, which will be continued in the future.

Love, Galen

Dear friends,

thanks to Kamal Jain from Vivox, we now offer voicechat on our regions of Cyberbohemia. I'm really curious how the inworld experience will improve when using voicechat.
Vivox voice is now free to region owners, you just have to apply to get voice. The voice quality is very good, and configuration of voice is really simple. It worked for me on the first try.

I hope to have many voice chats on Cyberbohemia, feel free to come, enjoy the experience and test everything.

As a visitor of Cyberbohemia, you just have to enable voicechat in your viewer settings. Do this under "Edit/Preferences/Voicechat" and set the checkbox "Enable voicechat". Under "Device settings" please set up your microphone and speakers. Ready

Love, Galen

Dear friends,

in addition to the new H.J. Kaeppeler exhibition, we also redesign our welcome area. It will be a larger, more user friendly, and much more comfortable area.

Love, Galen

Dear friends,

currently we prepare a new exciting exhibition on Cyberbohemia.
The exhibition is called "Photography and Metaphysics - a journey through the art of H.J. Kaeppeler". We will exhibit the curriculum vitae of Mr. Kaeppeler.
The vernissage of the exhibition will probably take place early mach 2012; we will inform you in advance.

Love, Galen

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

21. Never loose your “Beginner’sSpirit”.
(Shoshin o wasurubekarazarukoto.)

This admonition is much deeper than it at first seems. On the surface it means to maintain the freshness and excitement that you bring to any new endeavour as a beginner. Don’t loose your eagerness to improve and learn and experience. And don’t lose a beginner’s humility and openness to instruction. But it also means to never lose touch with the basics in any area of life. It is so easy to find ourselves caught up in the complexities of modern living that we lose track of the basics –those elements that bring true meaningand joy to our life- love and friendship, an appreciation of nature, and the simple things of life itself. In times of stress, difficulties, and setbacks, keeping your “Beginner’s spirit” means to go back to the fundamentals to find the solutions to your problems.

The answers are seldom found in the complexities. Our hardships and failures are usually the result of losing touch with the basic principles of life, not the intricacies and minor details. When adversities arise, you can actually use these twenty-one precepts as a diagnostic tool to find the area of life in which you may have gotten off track. Just start at the top and start asking yourself the questions: Do I truly know myself? Have I followed through all my commitments? Have I been disrespectful to someone? As you work your way down the list, if you are honest with yourself, you will probably find the cause of your difficulties.

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

20. Have a plan for your life
(Jinsei no mokuhyo o sadameru koto)


If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? To have a plan for your life is such an obvious admonition that it almost seems ludicrous to mention it here. Yet sadly, less than 10% of us have a clear, written plan for our lives. And of those, who do have some kind of plan, less than 10% have planned for anything other than just the financial aspects. The average person spends more time planning a holiday weekend than planning their whole life.
...
However, a good life plan does not have to be highly detailed. An outline is usually sufficient. At a minimum, it should include specific goals and timetables for achieving them, in the following areas:

1. Family goals
2. Social involvement
3. Personal accomplishments
4. Financial objectives
5. Intellectual development
6. Emotional maturity
7. Spiritual growth

...

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

19. Make a desperate effort.
(Issho kenmei monogoto o suru koto.)

Here is another lesson direct from iaijutsu training. In important matters, a “strong” effort usually results in only mediocre results. Whenever we are attempting anything truly worthwhile, our effort must be as if our life is at stake, just as if we are under a physical attack! It is that extraordinary effort –an effort that drives us beyond what we thought we were capable of- that ensures victory in battle and success in life’s endeavors.

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

18. Be first to seize the opportunity.
(Hito yori sossenshi kodosuru koto.)

We must not act impetuously. But once we have reached a well-considered decision we must act quickly and preciptously. As the old saying goes,“Opportunity knocks but once.” We usually get only one chance, and that chance lasts only for a limited time. This is a lesson we often practice in iaijutsu. Our opponent will give us a few opportunities to win the encounter, and those opportunities will last only moments at best. So we must seize an opportunity the instant it arises. The same holds true in business and other areas of life. True opportunities will be rare and short-lived, so we must be prepared for them and act swiftly when they are presented.

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

17. Never forget to be appreciative.
(Kansha no kimochi owasurenai koto.)


A sincere word of thanks is often better than a payment for a favor done.
Most of us enjoy helping others and gain a sense of satisfaction in knowing that we have done something unselfish, but we also quickly grow tired of doing things for people who do not show any appreciation for our efforts. If we show genuine appreciation for the assistance of others, there will always be friends willing to help us through difficult times.
But if we fail to show our appreciation, we will quickly become know as a “taker”, and our acquaintances will lose all respect for us. This is also a prime example of taking care of the little things. Just the simple courtesy of a “thank you” to a friend or a loved one, if left unsaid, can build up into great anger and discontent with time and and repetition. But that same simple courtesy, if never forgotten, will keep our friends and family steadfast by our side even through the darkest of times.

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

16. Even little things must be attended to.
(Chiisa na koto demo taisetsu ni suru koto.)

There is a common saying, “Take care of little things and the big things will take care of themselves.” There is a great deal of truth in this dictum. If unattended, the little things in life soon compound into big things. Just as small physical tasks, such as personal and financial details, can add up into serious problems if not taken care of, a series of seemingly insignificant emotional hurts will quickly escalate into major conflicts.
It is not always necessary to personally perform the little tasks; it is only important to see that they get done. If your lifestyle requires you to concentrate on major issues, then you must delegate the small tasks and ensure that they are done.

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

15. Don’t be impetuous.
(Karuhazumi ni koto o okosanai koto.)

The samurai of old were bound by a strict code of honor and lived in a society in which the slightest insult could result in a duel to the death. In addition, iaijutsu was founded during a turmultuous period of civil wars in which loyalities were constantly changing with the tides of shifting power among warlords and their vassals. In such times, the implications of every action had to be carefully considered beforehand. The slightest mistake could cost your life and bring about the ruination of your family.
Even though the consequences are not as severe, it is not so different today. Rash decisions or words can cost a new job or a promotion; impulsive financial decisions can throw your family into bankruptcy. If you maintained heijoshin (peace of mind) and do not allow your emotions and impulses to dictate your decisions, you will enjoy greater abundance in all aspects of life.

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

14. Have compassion and understanding for everyone.
(Hito ni taishite omoiyari o motsu koto.)

True compüassion cannot be achieved without deep understanding of human nature and motivations, so this precept implies the need to really know people. This is especially crucial for leaders, and it can be seen in such examples as Takeda Shingen, Abraham Lincoln, and countless others. Those who take a genuine interest in people inspire great loyality, dedication, and desire to succeed. There is great truth in the axiom: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Compassion is the key to discovering what motivates people. If you sincerely care, you will be interested enough to learn their deepest desires, hopes, and fears and eventually grow to understand them.

Compassion is also the key to developing healthy and harmonious relashionships with family, friends, and your spouse, the key to appreciating and validating the points of view and feelings of others, even if they differ from yours.

Samurai no kokoroe
The precepts of the Samurai

13. Respect the opinion of others.
(Hito no iken o soncho suru koto.)

The opinions of others have been shaped by a lifetime of experience and thought, just as yours have. It is important not to preconceive different opinions or ideas as “wrong.” The other person’s opinion may be just as well substantiated as your own –perhaps even more so. If you can set aside your desire to be “right” and focus only on the opinion which has the most value, you will find your attitude encourages others to share their ideas freely, which will in turn provide you with greater insight and more options from which to choose. Don’t forget the lesson of Takeda Shingen, who encouraged and rewarded dissent among his subordinates. It was that very trait that made him one of the greatest leaders in history!