Ericast.com Podcast - DWEEB THOUGHTS

Click here to listen to this week's episode! I spend a lot of time in this episode apologizing for it sounding depressing.  It's really not.  At least, I don't think so.  That said, we'll see if my rant about the fact that the "Rodney King Trial" wasn't a trial of Rodney King (but, instead, was a trial of the police officers who beat him) gets me in any trouble. I include a brief quote from Randy Cantrell's Leaning Toward Wisdom episode 4043 and I'd recommend adding him to your podcatching software if you like the pontifications of the Ericast.  His is similar, with more/better experience and a bit of a Texas twang. I also extensively quote Henry Cloud on Hopelessness: The time when you get to hopelessness can be one of the best moments for your future. To give up hope that something is going to change when it is not going to gets you unstuck immediately and brings energy. It brings life to the sickness of hope deferred. But how do you know if entering into that process of change with someone is even worth it? How do you know that it is going to help? Haven't you wondered that sometimes? "Are they ever going to change? Are they ever going to get better? Should I really keep working with them, thinking they are going to improve? Are my efforts to get them to change going to help anything at all?" Or on the personal side of life, how do you know when to invest the effort with someone to work on making things better and when you should tell them that you are done talking about it? With whom do you try, and with whom do you say, "I'm done talking"? That is a question that, if properly answered, can save much time and heartache. And it is the question: how to diagnose a person to know whether working on the issue is likely to help or not. Questions?  Comments?  Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) and leave a message right now...

Click here to listen to this week's episode! Every so often I come across a podcast where I think, "My 'tribe' needs to hear that!"  And then I realize that I've begun to use social media buzzwords like 'tribe' and then I go repent and then I come back and do what I had originally planned to do.  So, courtesy of Billy Murphy and the Forever Jobless podcast, this week's episode features an introduction to Hal Elrod. I'm doing much better with his "Can't Change It" philosophy than I am with the "Miracle Morning," which is in a similar vein to Jeff Sanders' "5 a.m. Miracle" -- and both are hard for me to do more than verbally assent to.  But, assent is probably the first step...? (No, the Ericast isn't going to become something worse than a clip-show where we just take clips from other people's podcasts... but Billy's interview with Hal is worth your time.  If you want to hear the rest of the interview, head to his Forever Jobless site and fill in the gaps for yourself.) Questions?  Comments?  Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) and let me know what you think!

Click here to listen to this week's episode! This week we take a look at the loss of the historic Peace Lutheran Church building in Baldwin, Wisconsin.  But we look at it in the context of iconoclasm, which is the kind of atypical take that you've come to expect from the Ericast! There's also a highlight from the Dweeb Thoughts feed ("meeting people where they're at" vs. "build it and they will come"); remember that you can subscribe to those off-the-cuff technological thoughts at http://feeds.ericast.com/dweebthoughts Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) with any questions or comments!

Click here to listen to this week's episode! There's quite a meandering path to this week's final topic, from the now-gone Island Station in St. Paul to Mill Ruins of Southeast Minnesota (that link will take you to the exact trip that I took the girls on last week) to yesterday's visit to Dells Mill in Augusta, Wisconsin (which is famous in the "photos of mills" world). There's also a random reference to John and Sam Eldredge's new book and the fact that Sam doesn't like the mosquitoes in Minnesota. And I even throw in the Arcola High Bridge north of Stillwater.  Yeah, this episode is a bit random.  You like it that way, right? Share your own thoughts and opinions with a quick and easy call to the listener feedback line at 206-339-3742 (easy to remember at 206-339-ERIC) or with an email to me (eric) at ericast.com By the way, did you know about the Dweeb Thoughts feed?  For my random technology-themed thoughts (which, when important enough and remembered, get rolled into the regular Ericast episode... but that didn't happen this week) add this URL to your podcatching software:  feeds.ericast.com/DweebThoughts

Click here to listen to this week's episode Oh, my goodness, does time fly!  Two tasks for you this week:  Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a 206-339-ERIC) and let me know that you're still out there listening, and check out the YouTube videos of the PGI 2014 convention (like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFAA7wf5BNs) to get an idea of what was going on during my road-trips to Iowa. (Favorite "I've never seen fireworks like that before" moment?  Red parachute flares.  There's an older example at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0aXpUVuUZY  Enjoy!)

Click here to listen to this week's episode! Last week I gave a presentation at the 2014 MiNiT symposium, entitled "Developing Faculty Enthusiasm for Technology".  What did I say?  What did I sound like?  What audio would accompany the slide deck?  Here it is! Faculty Enthusiasm for Technology from Eric Larson Technical notes:  This was recorded on an old Olympus WS-320M, no lavalier (built-in mic with the recorder sitting on the podium) with some post-production noise-reduction in Adobe Audition 1.0 to reduce the hiss, which ended up enhancing the echo side-effect of having a recorder running in an open room. In hindsight I could've dabbled with less noise reduction (e.g. 50% rather than the 80% I used) but it's an issue of picking your poison at this point.  The whole episode was run through the Conversations Network "Levelator" appliction, which I've been using on the past several episodes; I'd hoped it would boost the few audience comments that I left in, but most are still pretty hard to make out. Point being, you can't get a "simpler recording method" than this one... and, while it's not perfect, I'd put it in the "solidly adequate" camp.  But I'd love to know your opinion of it, since you're listening to it with untainted ears. Favorite random moment to listen for:  The comments from the leader of a camp-group on campus last week, as he was standing near the restrooms by the open back-door in our presentation space.  A helpful audience member then closed the door.  Good times.  Summer in Minnesota means your rooms get warm, but open doors mean that you overhear what you don't expect. Let me know what you think -- 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or drop an email to me (eric) at ericast.com And one more thing.  What's in my den...?  Here's a peek, from the Vine post of my fiber-optic lamp:

Click here to listen to this week's episode! This week, I'm reflecting on our recent vacation to Breezy Point, Minnesota.  I talk about ferns.  It then drifts a bit into the "meaning of life" realm, so share your own thoughts and comments by calling 206-339-3742 a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC or email me (eric) at ericast.com

Click here to listen to this week's episode! It's listener feedback week!  And that comes on the heels of my going to the Social Media Breakfast last week (for the first time in a really long time) to hear "Minnesota Headhunter" Paul DeBettignies talk about Personal Branding. So, so many fun topics in this week's episode.  You'll just have to listen for yourself and find out what fellow listeners like you called in to discuss. I love doing this, and you guys -- you listeners in general, and Matt and Jonzer this week in particular -- are what keep me going.  Thank you! Want to join in the voicemail extravaganza?  It's easy!  Just pick up the phone and dial 206-339-3742, which conveniently spells out 206-339-ERIC.  Or, if you want to do some sort of text-based response, I'll accept that when you email me (eric) at ericast.com.

Click here to listen to this week's episode! What's a half-mile deep and made of solid rock?  Sounds like the start of a poorly-conceived joke, but it's actually "The Soudan Underground Mine State Park in Northern Minnesota's Iron Range".  Which is where we went when we took our annual Spring vacation to Duluth this year.  Other interesting (albeit obscure) sights on that trip were the Laurentian Divide, plus some hidden gems in the Duluth city limits:  Waterfalls at Chester Creek, Tischer Creek and Lester River / Amnity Creek. By the way, the post mentioned in this episode where Steve Borsch reminisces about the "old days" of podcasting can be found at his Connecting the Dots blog.  Other mentions include the height of the Radisson hotel in Duluth (which, it turns out, isn't as tall as the Alworth Building... but Duluth is so hilly it's really hard to tell what's taller than what when you look at downtown), Grandma's Marathon, the IDS center in Minneapolis,  and some other stuff that you can document for yourself in the comments area of this episode's blog post and help future listeners who follow in your auditory footsteps. Thoughts?  Comments?  Suggestions?  Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or email me (eric) at ericast.com.  Of all my email addresses that had hiccups during the hosting transition, that one has been safe.  Email at will!

http://feeds.ericast.com/~r/DweebThoughts/~3/g_LJ6IpCML4/dweebthought__35_bluehost_shift.mp3 FYI I'm alive and well but a bit busy with some technology updates in my world. I threw an update into the DweebThoughts feed and with any luck it'll show up here, too...? Another Ericast episode coming soon, but "soon" might be a couple weeks out... 206-339-3742!

Click here to listen to this week's episode! This week it was my privilege to have "interviewed" musician Michael Monroe... but "interviewed" is set off on quotation marks here because the method of interviewing wasn't exactly traditional.  And I think there are some fun opportunities that come from this idea. The question at hand? “Do you consider yourself a musician who sees technology as a means to the end of creating your art, or a technologist who embraces technology as a ‘medium’ that’s integral to (or perhaps even more fundamental than) your music?” To learn more about Michael and his music, visit www.MichaelMonroeMusic.com  and check out his YouTube channel (MichaelMonroeMinn).  In particular, I'd recommend his MIDI looping demo from a Mayo Clinic concert several years ago. Questions?  Ideas?  Comments?  (Concerns, even?)  We'd love to hear from you!  Call and leave a message at 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) or send an email to me (eric) at ericast.com.

Click here to listen to this week's episode! ... Breathe in. ... Call. 206-339-3742 (206-339-ERIC) ... Breathe out. ... Share your thoughts.

Click here to listen to this week's episode! So, so much going on the past couple months.  What do you want to hear about?  Call 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) like Matt, Dan and Steve have done in response to the last episode, and give me a topic.  Maybe Chloe's ear surgery, painting and lighting the kitchen, planting seeds, my new nike battery, iPad revamping and photo retreival, the new monitor excitement, my Quality Matters class, or coordinating the TurningPoint vendor luncheon.  Or my one-man road-trip to Mason City, Iowa to see Frank Warren's one-man-show about PostSecret.  They're all fair game! Or, suggest something else!  Incoming Tweets, Facebook messages and emails are accepted as well... but we love voicemail most of all.

Click here to listen to this week's podcast! Here in Minnesota, it's been cold.  Really, really cold.  So, nobody has been doing anything, and that means I haven't been podcasting.  Here's a podcast that says that in audio form.

Click here to listen to this week's episode! Over the years you've heard me refer GusDay, the local higher-ed IT technology conference (originally created/sponsored by Gustavus Adolphus College).  This year, the organizers invited former presenters to return and give a repeat/revised version of a previous talk. So I polled my colleagues about my past offerings and the one mentioned most often was my "Love Languages in the Workplace" presentation from 2008.  So, that's what I gave yesterday, and here's the audio! The slide deck is at emlarson.com/gusday so you can follow along. GUSDAY REPRISE TRACK How do They See/Hear/Feel That You Care? Eric M. Larson Have you ever gone the extra mile to help people who just don't "get it"? Do you really care about your customers, coworkers or loved ones… yet they don't seem to "feel" that you do? Maybe you're speaking different languages! In this eye-opening presentation for those in customer service and for anyone who is (or has) a supervisor, you'll learn how a simple framework of "love languages" will help you to connect with those around you. Based on Dr. Gary Chapman's best-selling book "The Five Love Languages," this presentation examines the different ways that we feel supported, appreciated, understood or "loved". If you're frustrated when the boss gives you a pat on the back but keeps canceling your weekly meetings, or wonder why users expect you to sit down and watch them follow your instructions, this presentation is for you. You'll see how everyday work – from answering calls about broken printers, to recognizing (or reprimanding) employees – can be more positive and effective when you learn about the different languages hidden around you! I joke in the podcast that my "presentation persona" will drive some people crazy. And my "podcast persona" will as well, given that this isn't my "best-organized, most-coherent" podcast episode ever.  But, here's the thing (said to myself as well as to anyone who wants to listen to my counsel): This presentation and podcast is infinitely better than a podcast that isn't made about a presentation that isn't given. Put another way, I'm a huge proponent of what Clay Shirky describes as Cognitive Surplus.  And while I can do better, I'd rather do something "okay" than not do anything at all.  So here it is I'd encourage you to adopt the same attitude.  Do something.  And here's a self-serving first step:  Call the Ericast Listener Feedback line at 206-339-3742 (a.k.a. 206-339-ERIC) and leave a comment -- good, bad, whatever.  Share your thoughts, and let's build the conversation.