Stuff I Learned Yesterday

I don’t know how it happened but I now have a middle schooler in my house. My daughter will be making the transition to 6th grade next year and it just doesn’t seem possible. If you have kids, you know exactly how I feel. Our daughter was a really good baby and we were perfectly content with just one child. However, nearly 2 years later, Colby entered our lives. I can not imagine life without him. Now he’s going into 5th grade. In case you’re wondering if my math is off or I have something mixed up, I don’t Colby skipped a grade so he’s just one year behind Addison even though he’s 2 years younger. My kids are pretty much like most kids. They wake up early on the weekends and sleep late on school days. They love playing Minecraft and having sleepovers with their friends. They hate cleaning their rooms. Bathing is an option. Part of me wishes that my kids could stay this way forever. They’re fun to be around, they still think I’m pretty cool, and I don’t have to worry about them driving or dating anyone. However, part of me can’t wait for them to grow up. I can’t wait to see what they choose as a career, the person they’ll turn in to, the spouse they’ll choose, or the grandkids they’ll provide. Naturally, I can’t have both of those things. They can’t both stay young and journey out on their own. Truthfully, they can’t stay young. The aging process begins the moment we are conceived. We all have moments where we want to step out on our own, cross a threshold, and prove ourselves. We do this as toddlers as we learn new tasks, and countless times after that. As parents, we have to make the decision on whether or not our children are ready for those moments. One of those moments I had as a kid was when I finally talked my grandpa into letting me mow the grass. I wanted to prove myself as a man and prove I could operate a dangerous machine with as much skill as my older brother. I saw it as a rite of passage. Read More...

You may remember that I first came up with the idea for Stuff I Learned yesterday 6 months ago at New Media Expo in Las Vegas. I mentioned that moment in episode 1 of Stuff I Learned Yesterday. It took me 3 more months before I finally launched the podcast on March 17, 2014. I had no idea what to expect. My vision for Stuff I Learned Yesterday was simple. I wanted it to be a short form daily podcast that you could listen to and find motivation, inspiration, and positivity. I really wasn’t sure if it would work. As I’ve mentioned several times, I began podcasting in 2008 about the TV show Fringe. I followed that up with a technology and entertainment podcast called Cutting the Cable Podcast. My podcast partner and I then formed Golden Spiral Media and we started another technology podcast and a film podcast. Additionally, we started a podcast for geeky dads. Unfortunately, life changed right after we started those last three podcasts and two of the three shows never even made it to episode five. Later that year we started The Revolution Podcast. I knew for a while that I wanted to do a podcast like Stuff I Learned Yesterday, even before it had a specific name and focused format. At one point while I was still at New Media Expo, I surveyed the Golden Spiral Media Facebook followers. I asked them what kind of shows they wanted to see from us in the future. The results of the survey surprised me. Every single person that responded listed the name of a TV show or just said they wanted more TV podcasts. No film. No technology. No dad stuff. I responded and said I was surprised by the results. By the time the commenting was done I think there were one or two film requests, but the rest were all TV. Read More...

Well, I warned you. I told you there would be more episodes coming about my flower bed project. In case you don’t remember, both my wife and I are terrible at trying to keep plants alive. This year we recruited our green thumb neighbor, Mandy, to help us. I’ve been really working to stay on top of the flower beds and keep my plants thriving. I know absolutely nothing about gardening or flower bedding or whatever it’s called. I’ve looked it up a dozen times, but I’m still not sure if annuals or perennials are the ones that come back each year. I’m a total novice at this stuff. Fortunately, Mandy really digs it. (pun intended) I go out every single day to check on my plants. I usually go out 2 or 3 times each day and look at them. I love to go out there first thing in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee and enjoy the cool of the morning with their splashes of color greeting me. The morning light and temperature has a very different effect on the plants than the midday sun and heat does. They look different in the way the colors look and the blooms are open wider during the sunnier times. During the evening the blooms are still wide open and beautiful. Much to my disappointment, a few weeks ago many of my plants began to wither. The blooms shriveled up, the leaves sagged, and they just kind of sputtered. I went to the store and purchased some Miracle Grow. I read the instructions very carefully, but the plants did not respond the way I envisioned. I thought that the plants would roar back to life and bulk up like an angry Bruce Banner. The morning after I first sprayed them I grabbed my morning coffee, and headed out the front door to see what changes awaited me. It looked the same as the day before. Day after day I went outside, and day after day they looked the same. I double checked the Miracle Grow label to make sure I was doing things properly, and confirmed that I was following the instructions correctly. Read More...

Today is the Friday Forum!! In today's episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a very courageous and inspirational story shared by Rita. You can participate in a future Friday Forum episode by calling and leaving a message at 304-837-2278, emailing an audio file to feedback@goldenspiralmedia.com, or clicking on the Send Voicemail tab on the right side of this page. Read More...

In 2001 I took over as the store manager of a bookstore in Wichita Falls, Texas. Even though I was only 25 years old, I was confident in my abilities to manage over $1 million in inventory and a staff of 30 people. Of course, I had no idea just how much I didn’t know and the best way to learn is by doing. So I dove in head first. The store had a really good staff. Unfortunately, the previous two managers had made some very poor decisions and the store was in rough shape. The store was dirty, poorly stocked, and morale among the staff was low. To be honest and completely truthful, just the simple act of changing the manager was enough to bolster morale. It could have been Mr. Peanut that stepped to the helm, but it was me. Even though they would have reacted positively to Mr. Peanut, their enthusiasm would not have lasted long with him or me if they didn’t see positive things happening soon. I had every intention of taking the support and confidence they had offered me and making it count. I felt like it was important to make the staff realize how important they were. I began holding regular staff meetings and I would try to motivate them to improve their quality of service both to the customers and to themselves. I tried to break down the invisible walls seen only by the employees. The walls that divided one department from the next. Read More...

Ready for another Chicago story? I have a lot of Chicago stories because I’ve traveled there more than any other city. I love Chicago, but it hasn’t always been that way. The first time I traveled to Chicago I went there for a work related conference. I was there for 4 days. The conference was about internet technology and lasted all day each day I was there. I was the only person from my company to attend the first year it was in Chicago but there were 4 or 5 people that were attending the conference that worked for a sister company of the one I worked for. I had met one or two of them before, but didn’t really know them that well. The first night there was a travel night so we all just grabbed some food and crashed at the hotel. On the second night we all had a dinner schedule with one of our mutual vendors. The dinner lasted quite a while so once it was over, we went back to the hotel and called it a day. The next night I asked a couple of the people that I knew if they were doing anything outside of the hotel but they were not. I decided to stay in as well. The final night I once again asked the people I knew were doing anything, and they were not. I again stayed in as well. I found out later that one of the guys I didn’t know also wanted to go out and check out the city a little bit. He asked his co-workers if they wanted to go with him but they declined. So instead of staying at the hotel with them, he ventured out on his own. Since he didn’t know me, he didn’t ask me. I got home from my trip from Chicago and felt a bit robbed. I mean, had I really just been to Chicago? All I really saw was the airport, a couple of taxis, the McCormick center, a couple of restaurants, and my hotel room. Every city has those things. Read More...

Now that the calendar has passed Memorial Day, it seems that summertime is upon us. My kids are out of school until August so forget that summer solstice stuff, summer is here. Believe it or not, when my daughter arrived home from school last Friday and my wife asked her if she was excited to have the next 3 months off from school, my daughter complained that she only had 3 months off! I took that opportunity to let her know that as an adult she can expect to work through the summer months and maybe get a few weeks off from work each year. For some reason those words did not bring her great joy and anticipation of being an adult. I know that when I was her age, I didn’t look forward to the days when I’d be an adult and have to work year round. I doubt there is a kid in the world that feels that way. Summers for me were always fun. Sure, there were always chores to do. Cleaning up the kitchen, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning my room, and so forth. We had to mow the lawn, help my dad lay carpet on the weekends, and occasionally help my step brother’s dad haul hay. But for the most part, summer was non-stop fun. My best friend from 4th grade until graduation was a guy named James. We spent as much time together as our parents would allow. He’d often stay over at my house and I’d often stay over at his house. When were were younger we would ride our bikes as fast as we could down a hill near his house. When we felt like we’d reached maximum velocity we’d jam on the brakes and try to make the longest skid mark possible. I have no idea who was better at making skid marks, but I’ll always remember the pure joy and laughter we shared trying to one-up each other. Read More...

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States.  It’s a day we set aside each May and remember those who have served our country as a member of the armed forces, and we especially take time to remember those who gave their lives or have passed on.  We want to remember them and the service that they provided. To be honest, Memorial Day didn’t really mean a whole lot to me growing up.  To me it was just a day to eat some burgers and hang out with my family.  Sometimes it might also include going to a car show and I’d see people displaying their flags, but that was about it. You might think that I was not brought up in a family that served in the military, but that’s not the case.  My grandpa, Roy Wolf, served our country as a member of the United States Army and fought in the Korean War.  My dad, Larry Darnell, and uncle, Johnny Darnell, both served in the U.S. Navy and were aboard the USS Enterprise during the Vietnam War. Maybe it was because each of these men had come home safely that I really didn’t think too much of Memorial Day.  I hate to admit it, but I took their service, and the service of others like them, for granted.  I knew that men and women died serving our country, but I didn’t know any of those people so it didn’t connect with me in a tangible way. Read More...

Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday.  My name is Darrell Darnell, my favorite subject in school was English, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living.  In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I’m happy to share another installment of the Friday Forum Teacher's Edition. Golden Spiral Media now has a Patreon page!  Patreon provides a way for you to financially support Golden Spiral Media for as little as $1 a month.  In return, we’ll be able to do some cool things and improve some of the things that we do.  Additionally, you’ll get some cool stuff in return for your support.  Head over to www.goldenspiralmedia.com/patreon for more info. Friday Forum Today is the Friday Forum!! Friday Forum is your opportunity to Share what YOU’VE learned, so that other listeners and I can learn from YOU.  It can be a message as short as 30 seconds or several minutes long.  It really doesn’t matter just as long as it’s something that will benefit others.  You can participate in Friday Forum by calling and leaving a message at 304-837-2278, emailing an audio file to feedback@goldenspiralmedia.com, or clicking on the Send Voicemail tab on my website, GoldenSpiralMedia.com. What I Learned Yesterday: In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share contributions from Jeff, Bonita, and Mike. Read More...

Remember back in episode 38 when I talked about Kevin Durant’s MVP acceptance speech?  While there are countless examples I could point to for today’s episode, I’d like to use that one again.  Since it’s still so fresh in our minds and we know about it, it will serve as a great example to bring us all on the same page here today. As a refresher, Kevin thanked EVERYONE in his speech.  He thanked his teammates one by one, his coaches, trainers, and the team owner.  He thanked his brothers, father, and his mother.  He did the whole thing unscripted and without notes.  He spoke from his heart and it was awesome.  It was also awesome to hear him acknowledge that he didn’t get to that spot on his own. Today I want to consider just how important to remember that we don’t go anywhere or accomplish anything on our own.  Even “self made” people got to where they are with the assistance of someone.  Take a moment and think about where you are today.  Maybe you’re a high school student, a recent college graduate or a young married person.  Maybe you’re an empty nester, or a retired person.  It doesn’t matter where you are on the road of life or how far you climbed up the proverbial ladder, you’re not where you’re at because of your efforts alone. Maybe you had a teacher that showed you something that you connected with or set you on a path of your passion.  Perhaps your parents taught you the value of working hard, conducting yourself with integrity, or the benefit of giving a firm handshake.  I had some of those influences in my life and I’m extremely grateful for them. Today I want to take a few minutes and thank some of the people who have had a positive influence in my life since I’ve been an adult. Read More...

I grew up in a very middle class home. We didn’t lack for anything we needed, but we didn’t have many extras. I think having 3 teenage boys was tough on my parents. I don’t even want to know what our grocery bill was each month. I don’t know if it was because we couldn’t afford it, or if my dad wanted to teach me a lesson, but I didn’t get a car for my 16th birthday or high school graduation. If I wanted a car, it was entirely up to me to save up the necessary money and then buy it myself. I know that my parents definitely couldn’t afford to buy me one, so I never felt cheated in any way. But my dad is the kind of guy who appreciates hard work, and even if we could have afforded it, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did make the same decision in order for me to better appreciate the car and responsibility that comes with owning one. Since we lived in a very small town, there weren’t a lot of job opportunities. Most kids worked on their family farm or other family business. There were a couple of jobs to be found at the local grocery store and a few jobs to be found at the McDonalds out on the turnpike. There were bigger towns nearby that offered more job opportunities, but without a car, those were not feasible options for me. I applied at the grocery store and at McDonalds. After several months of consistently filling out applications, I finally got hired on as a burger flipper at McDonalds making $4.25/hour. I was 17 years old, it was the most money I’d ever seen, and my dream of owning a car would be a reality soon. Read More...

Tomorrow will be the end of an era. On Wednesday, May 21, 2014, the final episode of Revolution will air on NBC. Once it ends and we record our podcasts on Thursday night, it will mark the first time since we started podcasting in 2008 that Golden Spiral Media will not have a podcast about a currently airing TV show. Yes, we’ll still have our LOST podcast, and Triplecast is coming back in the next couple of weeks, but it’s a distinction that’s worth noting. It’s worth noting because we have tried very hard to avoid this situation. When we weren’t sure if Fringe would get a fifth season, we made the decision early to find a show that we could get excited about and start covering it. We didn’t want there to be a lapse in our shows and take the risk of losing the audience we’d spent four years (at that point) building. It turned out that Fringe did get a fifth season, albeit a shortened one, so for several months, we had two shows that we were covering. When the show runner for Fringe announced he had a new show called Almost Human, we immediately got on board with that too. That meant that this TV season we covered Revolution and Almost Human. While we get to choose the shows that we will podcast about, we certainly have no influence on deciding when or if those shows will be canceled. Despite doubling down our efforts and doing all we could to make sure we always had a show to look forward to, FOX cancelled Almost Human and NBC cancelled Revolution, and both of our podcasts got cancelled right along with them. A year ago I would have been in a quiet panic. I’m the type of person who has to have everything planned out with as much advance as possible. I’m also a bit of a control freak, although I’d like to think I’ve come a long way in that area. Read More...

Some of you that are in your 40’s or older may remember a show named 8 is Enough and a character named Tommy Bradford.  If you’re a bit younger than that then you may remember a show called Charles in Charge and a character named Buddy Lembeck, the goofy best friend of Scott Baio’s character, Charles.  Both of these characters were played by a guy named Willie Aames. I never really watched 8 is Enough.  I saw a few reruns when I was a kid, but it never really interested me that much.  However, I did watch Charles in Charge.  That was a funny show to me.  When I started working at the bookstore in the mid 90’s, we started carrying a new video series named Bibleman.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that Bibleman was portrayed by none other than Buddy Lembeck himself, Willie Aames.  Go ahead and think about that for a minute. Okay, now I don’t know if you’ve ever seen an episode of Bibleman or what you just imagined in your mind, but it wasn’t as bad as you may think.  It was a live action super hero style show where Bibleman would try to help kids learn how to handle various life issues and solve character defining moments by looking to see what the Bible taught.   The early episodes were pretty cheesy, but as Bibleman grew in popularity and they got a bigger budget, the show got much better.  The costumes were better, the special effects were better, the lighting was better, and the whole production was pretty decent.  It was still a cheesy kids show, but it wasn’t any worse than anything else you’d see on PBS. By the time I was living in Lubbock and training to be a store manager, Bibleman was at the peak of its popularity.  Church kids were crazy about him. Read More...

Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode I share a very special story of adoption from John McGrail. You can participate in a future Friday Forum episode by calling and leaving a message at 304-837-2278, emailing an audio file to feedback@goldenspiralmedia.com, or clicking on the Send Voicemail tab on my website, GoldenSpiralMedia.com. Read More...

15 years. It really doesn’t seem like it’s been 15 years since I married Kari Maechelle Brunson, but today is our 15 year anniversary. We met while working at a bookstore. I was the assistant manager. She and her family had just moved to Oklahoma City from Texas and she was hired to work in the teacher supplies department and work customer service. It was not love at first sight. I was coming off of a break up with a girl that I was pretty serious with, so I wasn’t really looking to date anyone at that point. Kari had a funny Texas accent and I would make fun of the way she said certain words, but that was about the extent of our relationship. One day one of our regular customers named Cindy told me that she thought Kari and would be good together and she encouraged me to ask her out. I still wasn’t really looking to date anyone, but it was a comment that stuck with me. I began to notice Kari more after that day. Often times after work, a group of us would go get coffee or grab some food a together. When we did this, I’d often find myself sitting near Kari and we’d talk. Then we started hanging out in the parking lot after work, just sitting on the tailgate of my truck and talking. Soon after that we started going on dates with just the two of us. I was really trying to be cautious and not get carried away. After a couple of months of dating, I realized that I there was something really cool going on between us and I didn’t want to see anyone else but her. I was pretty sure she felt the same way, but I wanted to make it clear that I was ready to take our relationship more seriously. I began planning the best date ever. Read More...