When was the last time you bought a hardcover novel from an actual book store?

If you had asked me that question a month ago, I would not have been able to answer. It’s been a long, long time. But that has changed, and I’m now the proud owner of a brand new hardcover work of fiction: “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King.

I have not read anything by Stephen King in decades as my taste for the horror genre went away in my early 20s.  But with this release, Stephen wanders back into fantasy, and my experiences some of his prior fantasy work led me to make the impromptu purchase.

In this episode, I share some of my cautious optimism as a revisit a favorite author from long, long ago.

Happy New Year!

 

In an unprecedented event last weekend, I rearranged my Sunday morning schedule to stay home and watch the World Cup Final between Argentina and France. I recap my thoughts about the game and share some personal introspection about my recent and unexpected experiences watching and thoroughly enjoying soccer.

A special thanks to my big brother Bob for the inspiration to record this episode.

Merry Christmas!

I guess this is the closest thing to environmental activism I have ever done.  That is, recording my thoughts about what I consider to be one of the most wasteful uses of fresh water.  But it is something that I find unnerving.

Oh, and I include a driving PSA, as well.

Enjoy!

I realized a while back that I often get inspired to record podcast episodes after starting a new book. I was reminded of this after listening to episode 67 of Jon Acuff’s “All It Takes Is A Goal” podcast: “How to read 100 books in a year”.

And so, after more than three months of inactivity, I’m here to share my thoughts about how reading inspires me.

I specifically talk about:

• Episode 67 of Jon Acuff’s podcast
• My new read, “Hero on a Mission” by Donald Miller
• “The Earned Life” by Marshall Goldsmith

Also briefly mentioned was my love of math books.  If that caught your ear, here are a couple of recommendations:

• “Here’s Looking at Euclid: From Counting Ants to Games of Chance – An Awe-Inspiring Journey Through the World of Numbers” by Alex Bellos
• “Fermat’s Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World’s Greatest Mathematical Problem” by Simon Singh
• “The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets”, also by Simon Singh

Does reading inspire you?  What books have you read recently that motivated you to action?

Thanks for listening, and I hope your spring/summer is kicking off well!

I only had a short window to capture this brief episode, so I thought I’d use it to share a quick update on my DJing hobby exploration. As you may have already gleaned from the title, I decided to hang-up my jog wheels for now. It was a fun diversion, but I don’t think it’s really a fit for me.

I have a lot of thoughts and stories I want to share in 2022, so let’s get this thing going again!

Happy New Year!

My inner serial hobby jumper has been somewhat dormant recently, but I think I have found the next thing I want to investigate: learning how to DJ.

The world of professional DJing is flush with all kinds of new learning opportunities related to gear, software, technique, music curation, entertainment, event management, and many others! For me specifically, the fusion of technology, music, and entertainment creates a potential feast of fun and learning that’s just too tempting to pass up.

In this episode, I share what led to me deciding to check out the whole DJ thing and where I think I’m headed with it, longer-term.

Also, with this release, I am introducing the “Long Form Content (LFC)” label to alert listeners that the episode is longer than my typical content.  We’ll see how that goes. 

Enjoy!

Mentioned in the podcast:

• Numark Mixtrack Pro FX
• Numark Party Mix II
• Serato DJ Lite
• Mixxx

In this episode, I share my recently-found enthusiasm for a YouTube channel and podcast produced by the owner of Lofty Pursuits and Public Displays of Confection, a candy store and much more in Florida.

Greg, the owner and host, creates fun and interesting videos on their YouTube channel, and I love the style and content of the Lofty Pursuits Podcast, as well.

So, on *this* drive home, I’ll share a few more details about how I discovered this stuff and why I enjoy it so much. 

I’m hoping you will check it out, too!  Links below.

Lofty Pursuits website:  http://www.loftypursuits.com/
Public Displays of Confection: https://www.pd.net/
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/LoftyPursuits
Podcast:  https://loftypursuits.libsyn.com/website

I  was publicly and enthusiastically complimented on my shoes by two  different young gents this week. In both cases, the accolades came as  somewhat of a surprise given the source and situational conditions.
 
However, it was enough to inspire this episode where I share just a bit about my…well, shoe problem.  Or maybe it’s a gift?
 
I’ll let you decide.

 Why did I decide to turn my Spotify dial to Milli Vanilli? 

Great question.  But I did.

And I remembered all of the lyrics!  That took me by surprise.

This experience and a few other thoughts during this very short On My Drive Home episode.

Happy October!

I unexpectedly rediscovered reading magazines this summer thanks to the subscription that accompanied my new Experimental Aircraft Association membership.

I really enjoy it!

As a result, I’ve (mostly) leaned into magazines and a book as the go-to sources for my morning reading over breakfast, and I find that it makes for a much more relaxing start to my day.

In this episode, I share my thoughts for why I think this new habit is more relaxing than engaging with my iPhone as I sip my morning coffee.

Mentioned:

• “Adorning the Dark” by Andrew Peterson
• EAA Sport Aviation Magazine

There have been a handful of memorable times in my music listening history when I heard a song for the very first time and *IMMEDIATELY* liked it. When I say “immediately”, I mean within the first few bars of the song.

It is a rare experience, and I have to ask: Why?

What is it that catches me off-guard, stops my brain, and engages me in such a unique way? I have wondered this about music over the years, and I’m curious if there’s any hidden pattern to these specific occurrences.

In this episode I share a short list of tunes that had this impact on me.

Are there any songs that you instantly really liked the first time you heard it? Does it happen often? Or, like me, are there only a small number that left that kind of impression?

My father rarely swore. But when he did, it was passed through the language cleansing translator in his brain and delivered as a common, benign word that still communicated the intensity of his emotions.

In short, he used Alternative Cuss Words.

In this episode, I introduce the concept of Alternative Cuss Words and share some of the more common examples my dad often used when I was growing up.

I also share some of the other unique Dad Sayings from both my dad and my father-in-law.

Did your family have their own vernacular for replacing foul language? Most families did. And it’s something I never really thought too much about until I witnessed another family using their own unique vocabulary of Alternative Cuss Words.

Mentioned in the episode:

• A Way with Words Podcast

• Eats, Shoots & Leaves

I’m a huge fan of small, local hardware stores. And for most of the last 20 years, I have had the great fortune of living within a few minutes of a small neighborhood hardware shop.

In this episode, I share why I think they are so great and tell a short story (that I spontaneously recalled) about how sweeping compound nearly closed the personal space gap between me and another shop patron I had never met.

Mentioned during this episode:

• Jacobson’s Ace Hardware of EC South
• Jacobson’s Market
• An Example of Sweeping Compound

I took a solo trip to Duluth, MN on Sunday, June 27, to check out the Duluth Air and Aviation Expo. It was a great show, and I wanted to share my thoughts and enthusiasm with you.

Oh, and I also share a short rant about people leaving early.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Duluth Air and Aviation Expo

I’m currently on my second pass through the book “Soundtracks” by Jon Acuff. I remixed one of his soundtracks, “Writers Write”, to “Podcasters Podcast” and that became the catalyst to fire up my recorder and capture a new episode.  Jon’s books are fantastic, and I highly recommend grabbing a copy of “Soundtracks” for yourself!

In addition to my thoughts on my new soundtrack, I also talk a bit about my cycling vs. lawn care dilemma, and I share an Apple Watch update.  Spoiler Alert: I bought one.  And it’s great.

Mentioned in the episode:

• “Soundtracks” by Jon Acuff
• Heartbeatz by North Pole Engineering

I heard a Billy Joel song last month called “Laura” on Sirius XM that I had not heard in decades. It was never a hit, and few people would likely have ever even heard of it. But I knew it because it was the B-Side of the 45 single “Pressure” released by Billy Joel from his “Nylon Curtain” album.

It got me to thinking about the songs I discovered and learned to like just because they were on the other side of the record from the song I initially cared about.

In this episode, I muse a bit about my memories of this musical discovery mechanism and share a few other vinyl-inspired thoughts and stories.

Years ago, I learned a great technique for managing my anger when dealing with very frustrating situations – especially when dealing with them requires interacting with other people.

I learned this valuable lesson somewhat by accident as I listened to how my good friend Rich handled a thorny travel situation as he held his phone off to the side with me on the other end.

I don’t think that I ever told Rich about the lesson he didn’t know he was teaching. But it has stuck with me and been a handy tool when I want to be sure I manage myself well in difficult interactions.

I hope you find it as valuable as I do.