Ericast.com Podcast - Dweeb Thoughts

One of the things about getting old is you only realize it when you look in the metaphorical rear-view mirror. That happens to people, and to podcasts. How many years has it been? 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! No apologies for how long it's been. Welcome to the weekly podcast that comes out about once a month every quarter, I'm your host Eric Larson, 701-645-3742 may or may not still work as the Listener Feedback Line, and you deserve some updates. To my right, on the floor of Studio A (my den) is the original Ericast computer, which still runs -- boots into Windows XP, or if I switch it in the bios, it boots into the new "Windows 7" operating system on a separate 160GB hard drive that I bought on a Black Friday sale at Best Buy and then needed an escort out of the store because I used the trick of getting rung up in a department r

Last week's episode was something of a train-wreck of artificial voicing, but there was still a point to be made. Wondering what it was? 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'm bringing back a couple traditions here in the Ericast - talking about the weather, because that's what we do here in Minnesota, and ending the month with listener feedback.  We've been having unusual highs in the mid 80s, the wind has picked up as a front moves through and it's going to be in the upper 60s tomorrow which is much more seasonal for October 1st, then back up into the 80s.  Listener Matt has some feedback on the last episode, including what the weather is like in California...Paleofuturism is related to the term "retrofuturism" although the two seem to be slightly different, with retrofuturism focused on previous artistic expressions of the futu

The "weekly podcast that comes out about once a month" is back with a semi-annual episode! Wondering what I've been up to in the past six months? 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 one is a mess. Makes you miss the real me, doesn't it?(It's worth sticking with it so you can hear Google's "Notebook LM" and its summary. That part is cool.)

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 dothen 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

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 1

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?

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

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, an

I've looked over the Ericast archives and wondered, "Why didn't I do any shows that one summer?" This summer explains it. Wondering what I've been up to? 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 commentIt's been awhile but I've been enjoying summertime in Minnesota. I've got notes on episodes I'd like to do - one on proximity-based ethics, maybe leading into one on a theology of empathy, and a different but related episode on the book "Leadership and Self Deception" from the Arbinger Institute... but first I need to do a simple reset and explain that I'm here and alive and well and just haven't gotten around to doing an episode.The big "Stephen Covey Rock" that I was working around this summer was a quick trip to Denver for the first Canvas conference since the pandemic.After such a long delay I don't want to leave you feeling unsatisfied, so let's close

I've been dabbling with new technology during the past couple weeks to the point where I got downright giddy... and a bit disturbed. Wondering what I've been working on? 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 commentIn the last episode, a listener from California gave me a great tip to improve the stability of my voice recording tool from Eleven Labs. By turning down the "stability" slider, I was able to sound more like myself. This episode includes some fun throwbacks to when I used to include sweepers between segments.I also share a personal story about an accident I had while woodworking. I learned a hard lesson about the importance of safety equipment and basic practices. Luckily, my friend was there to help me and I'm grateful for his support. From that day forward, I always use push sticks and other safety equipment when working with my tools. If

I was a little surprised at how depressed I sounded in my first experimentation with AI-constructed voices. Think we can brighten its day? 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 commentThis episode speaks for itself... kinda. In a way.

Wondering if our new robot overlords are going to provide a better future for us? Let's give it a spin. 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 commentAs you probably figured out by now, this episode is artificially generated based off short voice sample from the last episode. I made sure to not include any of the parodies of the Marines content or else my presentation would sound a lot more dramatic than it usually does.However, what I'm finding is instead I sound incredibly depressed. I'm really not. My friend Eeyore says I sound fine to him. But, maybe I shouldn't be listening to a donkey. This also gives me the opportunity to try out some Steven Wright jokes: I spilled spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.  I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet. So I said, "Got any shoes you're not using?" It's a small world, but

I don't really want this to become a show about misheard lyrics, but I was really confident about this one. Want to find out how wrong I was? 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 commentWe're learning that my confidence regarding what a particular lyric says has very little correlation to what the lyric actual is, like my understanding of "Gone" by Lasgo.Here's the video, where you can listen to the whole song (it's good!) and hear its lyrics in context:

This year has not started out the way I expected. Want some family updates and a couple calls? 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 commentI'm down to the last few minutes of January and would like to wrap up my day, so here's how things have gone. And if you've got things to share, 701-645-3742 still works (as this episode will prove!) We had "great expectations" kicking off on the very first day of January. Then my birthday came, when we got a bunch of snow and Dad went into the hospital with what turned out to be pneumonia. He bounced back pretty well but was left with some muscle weakness so he's in a rehab care center for that. But the person you don't want getting pneumonia is my mom, because she's had lung issues for years so that's the thing that's going to get her. Well, spoiler alert, she went into the hospital last week with "severe pneumo

I don't want to turn into a crotchety old man sitting on my porch yelling "Get off my lawn!" Instead, I'll be yelling "Stay on the street!" Wonder why? 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 commentThis was inspired by my visit to a local megachurch which sang the song "He Won't". If you're not familiar with what a church service is like in these kinds of churches, it's basically a concert in a TV studio. They've got a dolly track so they can truck a camera in front of the booth. Now they have a scissor jib. That's an environment I'm very comfortable in because I did TV production work in college, but I admit it's weird for me to pair that with a church.These concerts are expected to be participatory - you're not there to watch the performers (though it is a performance) but to sing along. But if you don't know the song well, you're going to be singing

Let's kick off the new year with rundown of what's in my podcatcher and a couple tips for organizing the next 365 days. 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 commentWho's out there? I don't want to be the weekly podcast that comes out once a month (or once a quarter) - let's see if we can make it weekly! Listener Matt has already engaged and inspired me - anyone else left? Digital Dan? Jonzer? Chad? Rob?This is a "personal podcast" which is a phrase I use not as a patent-troll dodge but because this is a bit of communication with me, as a person. I wish all my friends did something like this. If you do, let me know and I'll listen!A bit of housekeeping: I found our missing episodes from 2005. I'll be updating the blog and they might pop back into the feed depending on how Feedburner handles that. Yes, Feedburner is still working!  Also, at some p

I'm not sure how long I can take an unannounced hiatus from the podcast before you think I've pod-faded, but I haven't. However, 2022 is a year I don't mind saying goodbye to. Ready to send it off? 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 commentI really don't like the idea of this podcast becoming nothing but a self-referential commentary on the existence of this podcast, but sometimes that happens.2022 was "fine" but in Minnesota "fine" isn't usually "good".  In my use it might mean "terrific!" which is something that we used to teach our debate students years ago - until you're on the bus ride home and you know that there aren't any opposing debaters or coaches or judges within earshot, every round went "fine". Not "awesome and I totally crushed that loser!" and not "terrible and I probably got negative points in it!" but "fine".Fall semester fle

No, I didn't pod-fade... but after a busy summer of life-events, I'm just checking in to let you know I'm alive and well. Well, there's one piece of bicycle-related news. 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 commentQuestions? Comments? Life updates? Call 701-645-3742 (a.k.a. 701-645-ERIC) or reach out to me through any variety of social media channels including the old-fashioned email of me (eric) at ericast.com.

I don't want to sound sappy but the Ericast is now 17 years old. What's that mean for us? I'm not sure. Want to help figure it out?... For the full show notes and links, find this episode (and everything else!) at www.Ericast.com

After last week's fairly dark episode, we need something to lighten up the podcast, so I'm talking about a question that bothered me for... For the full show notes and links, find this episode (and everything else!) at www.Ericast.com