Ericast.com Podcast - DWEEB THOUGHTS

Yes, I'm back! Please tell me you're still listening! Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) right now with a "welcome back!" or a "where have you been?" message. Topics of this episode? How about autumnal "excitement" that's separate from home life, Facebook etiquette, God as a vending machine, jubilee years, the Year 2000, Amethystium, amethyst, MP3.com, The Outernet, "space music" vs. "new age" music, philosophy, Orion, astronomy, ISS sightings, Fitbit, scanning, birthdays, hamsters, heating vs. air conditioning, domain names, about.me, local candid photography, and "two-thousand twelve" vs. "twenty twelve" decision points. And I didn't even mention my renewed vigor in FTA satellite television. That's quite a summary of my life overall, isn't it? Let me know what you think -- 206-339-3742 with any and all thoughts or responses.

This hasn't just been a case of "a bad cold" where you blitz yourself on cold medicine and go on with your life; this thing has been going on for weeks and weeks. Thus, my excuse for not giving you an episode in the past month or so. Discussion this week of the Burnsville Center (thanks to input from Jonzer), the Minnesota Twins and Cricuts. How's that all tie together? Listen and find out! Questions? Comments? Call 206-339-3472 (a.k.a.) 206-339-ERIC or drop an e-mail to me (eric) at ericast.com.

Just a quick update during VBS week... that has nothing to do with Vacation Bible School. Instead, the question: What happened to Burnsville Center?!? No, really! What happened? Ideas? Comments? Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) and leave a message on the Listener Feedback Line! Download the file from http://imtransfer.im4mobile.com/vr/uploads/460813116430441613/2011-07-25_08-11-06.MP3 The file will expire in 7 days, if you need to keep the voice message longer, please save the file.

We're back with what seems like a discussion of the Airship Ventures zeppelin visit to the Twin Cities but what actually ends up being a discussion of IT support and the idea, hope, goal or dream of "making every potential contributor the center of an unbounded personal network of social and technical resources." (That comes from an EDUCAUSE Podcast with Sally Jackson and her reference to the vision statement of IT@Illinois.) It's quite a mix, if I do say so myself. Give a call to the listener feedback line at 1-206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 1-206-339-ERIC) or send an email to me (eric) at ericast.com and check in with your thoughts and comments.

With the vague hope that Michael Buffer will call in to the listener feedback line at 206-339-3742 and leave a greeting for the Ericast community (rather than sending an attorney after us with charges of violating his wrestling catch-phrase trademark with our vacuum-related parody in the title), here's an episode that focuses entirely on a $10 yard-sale find. Amazing what this podcast can do for your life, isn't it? Roombas are cool. They are. I wouldn't pay retail for one... but here's the story of how I didn't. Questions? Comments? Anything else that Patrick Rhone wouldn't ask for on his extremely cool Enough podcast? Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or email me (eric) at ericast.com.

No, it's not really "quarterly feedback," but it feels like it; it's been way too long since I've actually included your calls (rather than just saying, "I should include some calls!" week after week after week without actually doing it). From iPads to coffee foam to bicycles to dead terrorists to tourist stop-offs, this podcast has it all! Well, maybe not "all," but it has big chunks of stuff. In the spirit of cool recursive stuff, feel free to comment on the comments by calling 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or emailing me (eric) at ericast.com... or leaving a random off-topic disparaging remark on some form of social media. (Preferably not the latter but, as you'll learn from this episode, even that is useful and appreciated.)

Back in the metaphorical saddle after a mid-week trip to Duluth, Minnesota. Discussion of touring the William A. Irvin ore boat (which is a diesel-punk's dream... though it's more "diesel" than "diesel-punk") and the Duluth Depot. Questions? Comments? A burning desire to hear the coupon story teasingly mentioned in this episode? Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) and leave a message on the listener feedback line!

Don't worry -- I'm not going to freak out and break off all my friendships and dump my Twitter and Facebook accounts and podcast from a library or a mountaintop somewhere... but it's an interesting thought, isn't it? This week's podcast ponders the question of "TMI" in the social-media world -- is it possible to have too much information flooding at you? Is this any different from the wad of dead-tree information that was once dropped on the doorsteps of homes across the country? (Short answer: Yes, it's different, because it comes directly from people you know, hence there's a relationship, hence there's a need -- or at least the feeling of a need -- to engage in that information more closely.) How do you handle/maintain your relationships (in various communities or "networks")? That's a question regarding a) any practical tools/advice/methods you know of, and b) the mental/emotional "bandwidth" required to keep track of everyone and everything they're up to. Comments and opinions, as always, are more than welcome at 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or via e-mail to me (eric) at ericast.com

A quick(-ish) podcast on the pretty typical "customer service" theme, this time asking whether complying with a customer's request is always the "best" customer service... or is there a time and a place for "education" that doesn't necessarily jump to do what the customer asked? Intrigued? Listen to the podcast. Then call with questions or comments of any kind: 206-339-ERIC (a.k.a. 206-339-3742) or email me (eric) at ericast.com

When getting a free cup of coffee isn't just a free cup of coffee, but an opportunity to ponder marketing and customer service and the full use of human resources who can do everything from pouring basic coffee from a glorified percolator to sculpting espresso foam into kitty-cats... ...Yes, welcome to the kind of Ericast episode you've always dreamed of... and one you'd like to comment on, by calling 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or emailing me (eric) at ericast.com. Bonus resource: "50 Fancy and Pretty Arts of Coffee Foam"

I had a great episode on deck on the topic of customer service... but when news breaks, you'll find it discussed several days later on the Ericast. So, let's talk about Osama Bin Laden. Remember to call 206-339-3742 with any comments. Show notes: Universal Life Ethic = let's not kill people. a.k.a. "consistent life ethic" (a term that implies that others aren't consistent, which I don't think is fair) a.k.a the "seamless garment ethic" (which is a bit too cutesy and unclear for me). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consistent_life_ethic On Facebook I've got friends quoting Martin Luther King Jr. about not celebrating death: "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. There's a fairly complex or "cold" framework I'm coming from: This is a mathematical equation at this point. We can explore the facts as they've been presented over the past decade and don't have to ask, Did Bin Laden ever exist? Did he did years ago only to be replaced by a double? Did he do what we said he did? Is he dead now? How was he killed? etc. So we have to take our facts at face value. "The variable 'UBL' was responsible for X and was killed in Y manner." On that (known unrepentant behavior of targeting innocents, etc.)... if anyone deserved to die, wouldn't you say he did? And from a personal integrity standpoint, if we object or have concerns with Osama Bin Ladin's killing... how much objecting are we doing to executions in Texas? Or other cases of intentional killing that are much, much less clear-cut than this one? For more on "killing" vs. other kinds of deaths deaths: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_double_effect (Technical podcast note: I dropped the intro/outro music by -6db so that it didn't obnoxiously blast out your ears since my voice is a bit more subdued in this melancholy episode. Does it sound better than previous episodes?)

An episode this week on the topic of the simple physical weight of lugging around gadgets to cover various possible opportunities that one might bumble into. How do you handle that? Let me know with a message left at 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or an email to me (eric) at ericast.com.

Wrapping up the month -- wait; didn't it just begin?!? -- with some listener feedback and a "roll call" of sorts. Check in and let me know how you are doing. If nothing else, share something that's on your mind -- news, technology, idea, fear, hope, etc. -- and I'll turn it into a show topic! 206-339-3742 a.k.a. 296-339-ERIC or a nice and easy e-mail to me (eric) at ericast.com.

An update on a "retreat" that I took this past weekend -- not an update on the retreat itself (well, maybe a bit of an update on that) but an update on the concept of a "retreat" and what makes it relaxing. I open (and close) with some angst that I've driven all my listeners away through a variety of means over the past couple of months, so do give a quick call to 206-339-ERIC (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or send an e-mail to me (eric) at ericast.com and let me know that you're out there and listening so that I know I should keep doing this!

In one of those, "Yikes! The month is over!" moments, I figured I'd do a throw-back to the old "Ericast On-The-Road" segments and record this during the commute. It's super-heavily-processed to get rid of the obnoxious road-noise. (That processing then converts the background noise from "noisy rumbling car" to "Eric is recording while wrapped in bubble-wrap and submerged in the ocean"... which may or may not be any better?) I fully realize that any time you begin a statement (or a podcast) with "I'm not trying to make trouble..." that's probably a sign that you're going to make trouble. But this week's Ericast reaches into the dangerous topic of politics. What I'm looking for, though, is some actual genuine help in trying to figure out the political landscape of the United States today. By picking on the recent chatter about defunding Planned Parenthood, I'm trying to tease out why the major parties believe what they do. ...Because, to this philosophy major, there seem to be some contradictions. And I'm not comfortable around things (or parties) that are internally contradictory. What do you think? Oh, come on -- you know you have an opinion on this one! Help me out and share it: 206-339-ERIC (a.k.a. 206-339-3742) or email me (eric) at ericast.com