Ericast 340 - How was March?

What's a few weeks among friends, right? But this is a very special time of year around the Ericast, so I've got reason to put out an episode. Wondering what it is? Here's your show.

Website viewers: Click here to listen to this week's episode!

Podcast listeners: Click here for a link to the show notes page!
Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment!

This is not the promised "Follow-up on Hope" episode that I have sitting in fragments on my hard drive. Instead, here are some life updates.  If you don't want those, skip this episode, but if you do

then you'll miss the hamster-themed song after the outro.

It's our birthday! The Ericast was created in March of 2005 as I had switched jobs and was wrapping up my Master of Arts in Human Resource Development. Nineteen isn't all that special a number, unless you're Paul Hardcastle, and if you get that reference then you are my people!

But, I did indeed follow up on what I may or may not have mentioned in a previous episode or two - what's just a click away for you is months ago for me - and right now I'm taking two classes in the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence program.  Yup, why not pick up a second Master's degree, right?  This semester it's "Python" (which I got into early) plus "Data Analytics and Visualization" which I didn't get into until after the first class had passed so that's been a bit of a trip. If you're interested in that stuff, I'm happy to talk about it. If not, I won't bore you.

It wouldn't be the Ericast without talking about the weather. In late February it was 65 degrees, which is very, very unusual for Minnesota. You can do your own research on how warm it's been here but, trust me, it was warm. Then people started saying "Winter is over!" and of course we got a March snowstorm because that's how Murphy's Law works, but it wasn't that bad - less than a foot of snow here in the Twin Cities, and it's basically melted clear.

I might have mentioned that Dad picked up RSV in December which isn't great when you can see "90" on the horizon, but after a couple months in a care center for rehab he's back in his home.

In February we observed a year since Mom passed away.  That "is what it is'' as they say.  Still lots of stuff to go through and decisions to be made. It's not quite so morbid as "dust in the wind" but I was telling Dad tonight that there are things like boxes of letters she sent home from college.  That's interesting. I have some of those myself kicking around somewhere.  But who cares?  We tell ourselves that "the next generation" will but they're busy making their own memories, not reading through someone else’s.

Almost a year to the day, Chloe had a second ear surgery - a "tympanoplasty" to repair her ear drum. Last year things went great with the left ear so, hey, why not do the right one?

Candela is the opposite end of the spectrum for family surgeries and when she got her wisdom teeth out last week it was her first IV, first anesthesia, first prescription medications even.

A couple weeks ago I was able to go to a talk by a name I'm sure long-time Ericast listeners must recognize because he's someone I did quite a bit of work with years ago. That was a weird feeling to flash back to events and conversations from 20 years ago...

So, that's where things are at.  And the website Suno.ai is bringing me joy.  So, we'll wrap up with something from that.

Ericast 339 - What is 'Hope'?

Have you ever encountered a circumstance where you think, "That's a great point, but I'm not sure that's what that word means." Or, "I'm not sure that's what that says." Wondering how to untangle that? Here's your show.

Website viewers: Click here to listen to this week's episode!
Podcast listeners: Click here for a link to the show notes page!
Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment!

Why write my own summary when I can have AI do it for me. What does ChatGPT think I talked about?

Why write my own summary when I can have AI do it for me. What does ChatGPT think I talked about? In this podcast episode, I discuss listener feedback about the show's intro song and delve into the theme of hope. Reflecting on advice received at a recent conference, I explore the concept of avoiding negativity in one's brand and how "hope" can be a solution. I share a definition of hope I found on a card that reads, "Hope believes boldly, decides daringly, speaks firmly, and perseveres passionately. See Romans 15:13." Curious about the origin, I discover that it's a quote from Joyce Meyer Ministries and explore the biblical context in Romans 15:13. I discuss the layers of engagement and the tension between focusing on positive aspects while acknowledging and addressing problematic issues. The episode concludes with a teaser for more thoughts on hope from an unlikely source.

Ericast 338 - A New Intro?

As we close out 2023, one caller has me wondering just what the Ericast is all about. Wondering what I'm wondering? Here's your show.

Website viewers: Click here to listen to this week's episode!
Podcast listeners: Click here for a link to the show notes page!
Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment!

This entire episode and a miniature existential crisis is courtesy of Listener Abby. I'm not including Abby's call itself because she was on a walk at the time she called 701-645-3742 so she seems a lot more enthused or invigorated by the topic than most people should, but let me summarize: "Your intro and outro music does not reflect the whimsy that is you."

Abby is a coworker of mine and has known me for six months... and, she's absolutely right.  So, today is the world-premiere of the new Ericast intro music. Ready?

"From Ericast.com! Ready for your Weekly Whimsy? It's Eric Larson's Wacky Wonderings! Welcome... to the Ericast!"  (Featuring "If I Had A Chicken" by Kevin MacLeod)

No? Really? That doesn't work for you?

(It would've been even more exciting had I used something from the old Dimension music library!)

19 years ago when I was trying to get my mind around this "podcasting" concept of subscription audio... I was wrapping up my master's degree, I had a one-year-old at home, and I had just made a career pivot that ended up being a great opportunity but one that I wasn't always in the driver's seat for.

So, "whimsy" wasn't something I would embrace as an identity.

It's not that it's new. It's not that I've changed. I think I'm just comfortable enough with that side of myself to let it show, or maybe even lead with it rather than hide it... but all the other aspects of my personality -- the geek-tech driving industrial side -- are still in here.

Plus, I love history and having audio branding that's now 20 years out of date is kinda cool.

I could be convinced... but I don't think the Ericast is going to change its sound. At least not anytime soon.

Let me know what you think!

Ericast 337 - The Prodigal Song

You knew I wouldn't be able to just leave a "missing song" sitting somewhere in my brain, right?. Wondering if I found it? Here's your show.

Website viewers: Click here to listen to this week's episode!
Podcast listeners: Click here for a link to the show notes page!
Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment!

As you might imagine, I'm not recording this on Christmas Eve, but I'm approaching the concept of teasing the notion of going back to an old Ericast plan of "batching" episodes -- something I never really did, particularly because I like these to be "timely," but in this case I want to capture my enthusiasm because... wait for it... I found the song!

I still love AI more than any healthy human should and I'm still playing with it. You might have noticed that last week's show notes included a summary of what the show was about. That was AI generated and edited in tiny ways by me. This week, I got to wondering what the ElevenLabs default voices are like.

I put in the show notes and it said, "This is a lot - you might want to do it as a 'Project' instead!" ...and when I clicked on that, of course it costs money. So I figured, "how confused can it get?"  You have to realize that, when it went viral that the default TikTok voice "Jessie" (based on Kat Callaghan, a Canadian radio host) decided to pronounce "Beyoncé" as "Bee-YONK," it brought me a deep hysterical joy... so this rendition of last week's show notes is just perfect. I love every second of it, including my "enthushiazm" for "aqueering" books that remain "untowch-ed". 

I have to admit I absolutely love that voice. There's a hint of "Boston Brahmin" combined with "bored valleygirl" - "Recently, Eric attended a conference in Las Vegas..." I love it. That reminds me that I need to get around to watching the movie "Her," I guess?

Anyway, that was last week, and I only spent a day or two spinning on that and trying to figure out the song before I hit on the magic phrase of searching the Ericast.com website for the phrase "closed with a song" because I knew I had mentioned it and I knew that was one of the things that was noteworthy.

The podcast was "The Electrified Mind" from Philip Isaac. It disappeared in the middle of 2020, in peak pandemic, and I have no idea where he went. I think the podcaster I knew in Florida was a different one... so, maybe a goal for 2024 is to track him down?

But we're not here for a former podcaster. We're here for his song, which was "Help You Out" by Leonell Cassio and sung by Jonothon Robins. Since the lyrics might be a bit hard for you to make out, and since you know I love a chance to use an AI voice, I include a reading of them courtesy of "Adam" from ElevenLabs.

I can help you out

I can help you out

Here we go, here we go again

Trying hard but you wanna be my friend

In a place to hide and no one to run to

Here we go, here we go again

Call my bluff imma be until the end

Im the one you ride, im the one you ride to

If you don't wanna change

In a place to hide and no one to run to

If you don't wanna change

I can help you out [repeats]

Here we go, here we go again

Time is up and im calling up my friends

And no one to ride and no one to ride to

Here we go, here we go again

Call me up and you wanna be my friend

Im the one you ride, im the one you ride to

If you don't wanna change

In a place to hide and no one to run to

If you don't wanna change

I can help you out [repeat]

Song Credits:

Help You Out (ft. Jonathon Robins) by Leonell Cassio / leonellcassio
Creative Commons-Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported - CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download/Stream: http://bit.ly/2JiBzMv

Ericast 336 - Shelf Help Advice

I wonder how long I can go before we officially consider that I've "podfaded" but this is something I love to do and I'd like to get better at that. Wondering what I might be able to do to pursue that goal? Here's your show.

Website viewers: Click here to listen to this week's episode!
Podcast listeners: Click here for a link to the show notes page!
Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment!

I've got a bit of an excuse for not doing an episode last week, because I was in Las Vegas for a conference. Its new name was "AI Con," focusing on Artificial Intelligense, which is a topic I'm absolutely fascinateg by.

But the actual name of the conference was the "Ultimate Wealth Camp" which has been around for a few years and is... well, it's a thing.

And the same thing that gets me wound up in those is what keeps me from getting these podcasts out. It's not that I don't have enough ideas: It's that I have too many ideas, and I follow them to the point I get derailed.

So, you get a 10-minute episode, and eventually you'll get Darcy's followup story of the muskrat that joins the Navy... sometime later.

Speaking of, what does AI think I said in this episode? Here's its summary of the transcript:

I love podcasting, and I've been wondering how long it'll be before I officially "pod-fade." I want to improve and pursue this passion further. In episode 336, titled "Shelf Help Advice," I discuss my inclination towards self-help interests, ranging from business ventures to personal development. Despite my enthusiasm for acquiring books and PDFs on these topics, they often end up untouched on my shelf or hard drive. I admit to having a cluttered physical space, exacerbated by dealing with my mom's belongings. The organizational challenges extend to my thoughts, and I speculate that I might have ADHD based on familiar symptoms. This mental tendency prevents me from structuring and organizing my podcast content, even though generating ideas isn't an issue. Recently, I attended a conference in Las Vegas, initially named AICon but known as the "Ultimate Wealth Camp." Despite its marketing allure, my experience there was more interesting in unexpected ways. While leaving the hospital tonight where my dad is recovering from RSV (not COVID or flu but a severe cold) I tried to download a PDF offering life advice for 2024, emphasizing organization, yet that didn't work. As I navigate through life's complexities, I express my struggle to find the right framework or mental model to declutter my mind. My penchant for diving deep into topics, illustrated by today's search for a previous royalty-free song, sometimes hinders my podcasting productivity. I share my inner struggle with finding the right balance between perfectionism and completion, acknowledging that "done is better than 'maybe slightly better'." Despite my recent lapses in podcasting, I express a commitment to improving not just for my audience but also for personal growth and discipline...