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.

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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? Really? That doesn't work for you?

(It would've been even more exciting had I used something from the old Dimension music library!)

19 years ago when I was trying to get my mind around this "podcasting" concept of subscription audio... I was wrapping up my master's degree, I had a one-year-old at home, and I had just made a career pivot that ended up being a great opportunity but one that I wasn't always in the driver's seat for.

So, "whimsy" wasn't something I would embrace as an identity.

It's not that it's new. It's not that I've changed. I think I'm just comfortable enough with that side of myself to let it show, or maybe even lead with it rather than hide it... but all the other aspects of my personality -- the geek-tech driving industrial side -- are still in here.

Plus, I love history and having audio branding that's now 20 years out of date is kinda cool.

I could be convinced... but I don't think the Ericast is going to change its sound. At least not anytime soon.

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, "This is a lot - you might want to do it as a 'Project' instead!" ...and when I clicked on that, of course it costs money. So I figured, "how confused can it get?"  You have to realize that, when it went viral that the default TikTok voice "Jessie" (based on Kat Callaghan, a Canadian radio host) decided to pronounce "Beyoncé" as "Bee-YONK," it brought me a deep hysterical joy... so this rendition of last week's show notes is just perfect. I love every second of it, including my "enthushiazm" for "aqueering" books that remain "untowch-ed". 

I have to admit I absolutely love that voice. There's a hint of "Boston Brahmin" combined with "bored valleygirl" - "Recently, Eric attended a conference in Las Vegas..." I love it. That reminds me that I need to get around to watching the movie "Her," I guess?

Anyway, that was last week, and I only spent a day or two spinning on that and trying to figure out the song before I hit on the magic phrase of searching the Ericast.com website for the phrase "closed with a song" because I knew I had mentioned it and I knew that was one of the things that was noteworthy.

The podcast was "The Electrified Mind" from Philip Isaac. It disappeared in the middle of 2020, in peak pandemic, and I have no idea where he went. I think the podcaster I knew in Florida was a different one... so, maybe a goal for 2024 is to track him down?

But we're not here for a former podcaster. We're here for his song, which was "Help You Out" by Leonell Cassio and sung by Jonothon Robins. Since the lyrics might be a bit hard for you to make out, and since you know I love a chance to use an AI voice, I include a reading of them courtesy of "Adam" from ElevenLabs.

I can help you out

I can help you out

 

Here we go, here we go again

Trying hard but you wanna be my friend

In a place to hide and no one to run to

Here we go, here we go again

Call my bluff imma be until the end

Im the one you ride, im the one you ride to

 

If you don't wanna change

In a place to hide and no one to run to

If you don't wanna change

 

I can help you out [repeats]

 

Here we go, here we go again

Time is up and im calling up my friends

And no one to ride and no one to ride to

Here we go, here we go again

Call me up and you wanna be my friend

Im the one you ride, im the one you ride to

 

If you don't wanna change

In a place to hide and no one to run to

If you don't wanna change

 

I can help you out [repeat]

Song Credits:

Help You Out (ft. Jonathon Robins) by Leonell Cassio / leonellcassio
Creative Commons-Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported - CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download/Stream: http://bit.ly/2JiBzMv

I wonder how long I can go before we officially consider that I've "podfadedm" 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 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 comment

It'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 with a special treat: another Storytime with Darcy!

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 comment

In 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.

In this episode, 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 you're tired of hearing the same old stories, you're in luck! It's time for Storytime with Darcy! She shares a heartwarming tale about a curious squirrel named Nutmeg who witnessed Jesus performing miracles in the forest. Nutmeg was grateful for the experience and knew that the world was a better place because of Jesus.

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 comment

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.

As 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 wouldn't want to have to paint it.

I have no idea if those are really jokes from Steven Wright but a page on the Internet said they were.

I also realized that a simple typo - did you catch the one a minute ago? - makes me say things that I'd never actually say. But, you'll also notice that there isn't a single "um" or "ah" or misspoken thing, which I think is a first for the Ericast in its 18 years. Happy Birthday to us, by the way. As I joked with Candela when she turned 18, "this means that now you can be tried as an adult". Otherwise, age is just a number... which is, like, literally, yeah, that's what it is. Like, by design.  That's how it works.  Anyway, we've been doing this show non-stop (except for extended delays) for 18 year and I never thought that this kind of technology would be a click or two away. Maybe 18 years from now I'll finally have my flying car.

Oops. Another typo. Or maybe I meant to say "18 year". You'll never know. Except you do, because that makes no sense.

I think this is my chance to experience my lifelong dream of being on National Public Radio.  "You’re listening to... The Delicious Dish, on National Public Radio. It’s Christmas season again, our favorite time of the year. I got real freaky this year. I’m asking Kris Kringle for a wooden bowl, some oversized index cards, and a funnel. I like to leave Santa some tap water and rice. If Santa’s anything like me, Christmas foods really reek havoc on the ol’ digestive system."

As you've probably figured out, I'm running these paragraphs in chunks and playing them back as I go to make sure this hasn't gone totally off the rails. And I just realized that's a terrible cliche to use, considering some of the disasters the nation's rail system has experienced so far this year. Anyway, this is a tool from a company called "Eleven Labs" and I'm having fun with it but frankly it's really pretty disturbing how good it is. My cadence is off, sure, but if I threw a statement in here that I recorded myself, I don't think you'd spot the difference. Unless I was REALLY enthusiastic!!! That might do the trick.

But, apparently, if I capitalize something it just becomes dramatic and breathy instead of enthusiastic. I wonder if that would help with my N P R career. "Sitting in for Terry Gross I'm Eric Larson and this is FRESH AIR." Hmmmmm.

Anyway, longtime Ericast listeners will remember the "Ericast from the keyboard" episodes where I would bounce an email, probably one from my Blackberry - remember those? - through a couple blog and email services until it would do a text to MP3 service and then drop into the Ericast feed. This could basically do that, except it's my voice, except that it's not quite "normal". However, this is based on a single training file grabbed from last episode, so maybe I can make it better.

I'm going to put this experiment to an end for now because frankly it's getting a little disturbing to listen to myself say things that I never actually said. I'd love to hear what you think - 701-645-3742 is the listener feedback line as always. Or, go out to Eleven Labs and sign up and generate a fake speech file with some of your feedback and email it to me... but calling is probably simpler.

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.

This year has not started out the way I expected. Want some family updates and a couple calls? Here's your show.

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 comment

Who'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 point (maybe for our birthday in March?) I should switch things over to "https" because even though we're not really passing interesting hackable stuff around, today's web browsing environment likes that. In fact, Google complains with "Your site is not mobile friendly!" and I should consider a different Blogger template... but there's only so much I want to do to break the site (and, frankly, the "mobile" perspective on a podcast homepage is a weird world because podcasting is happening through directories and podcatchers...)

Tech tip of the day: If a website behaves in goofy fashion, take a look at "http" vs. "https" and see if that makes a difference.

Those organizational tips I promised. 1) I'm going to read "The 12 Week Year". 2) Cut up a calendar and tape it to your wall with blue-tape (which is a particular kind of masking tape that doesn't dry out or tear off paint) so you can see the year laid out visually. Mine is in the hallway outside Studio A because it's dead space (can't hang a picture or a whiteboard) but very visible.

What am I listening to right now as we start off 2023?

• Marketplace Tech - I've been listening to this for years and years, ever since it was on the radio as "Future Tense" with Jon Gordon as host. This is basically the "Ship of Theseus" of podcasts because not a single thing about it is the same as it was 20 years ago yet I still think of it as the same one. https://blogs.publicradio.org//futuretense/2010/04
• Techmeme Ride Home (Matt in California gets full credit for turning me on to this one and it's terrific)
• The Jordan Harbinger Show - I come and go with this one and it's back in the rotation
• The New Evangelicals Podcast - nobody will listen to this because the non-religious will think it's a church-thing and the religious people will think it's WAY too irreverent. That makes it exactly right. Plus or minus 10% if you hear something from that host I probably agree with it, quite possibly with a hearty passionate agreement
• Daily Boost Motivation and Coaching - heard about it on the Jordan Harbinger Show. Great if you want a smooth, 10-ish minute daily musing

My own church doesn't have a podcast (their sermon videos are online) but I do listen to podcasts from:

• Our former church
• The new church of the former pastor of our former church, which he started after he was caught in a scandal and resigned and promised he wouldn't start another church
• The "competing" church which opened a satellite campus just a couple miles away
• That church's "leadership podcast" because the hip thing to do if you're a megachurch is start a "leadership network"

I really don't mean to sound cynical here; there are good folks in these communities, but there's also some flawed stuff -- sometimes to the level of "toxic" -- and I think it's important to know what's going on with the people you're connected to, both good and bad.

• The Fairly Spiritual Show - Doug Bursch hasn't put out an episode since May of 2022 and I keep hoping that he'll come back, just like the Ericast has time and time again. You're never really done until you declare that you're done, like...
• The Reply All Podcast - I don't listen anymore, because in June they announced that they were done and that their episode 189 would be their last.
• Zestology: "Energy, Vitality and Motivation" - this is another one that comes and goes from my feed.
• Social Media Secrets with Rachel Pedersen - nationally known in social marketing circles but happens to be based here in the Twin Cities, and I listen to her more for the random "life advice" insights than the professional marketing tips since I'm not doing professional marketing.

What's missing from last year? Hal Elrod, Jeff Sanders, Mark Mason, Ray Edwards, Brian Hardin, Michael Hyatt.  Great content, good people, not always 100% correct about everything, nobody ever is. But there's only so much "intake" I can do before I need to focus on some "output".

But, all of those people have content that I can download and stream on demand. I just did with Ray Edwards, and got the update on him and his Parkinsons and the "deep brain stimulator" that he had implanted and is doing terrific things for him. So, just because there's not a "constant automatic subscription" doesn't mean I can't check in once in awhile.

And you can do the same. The key is, I really do want to hear from you.  Call 701-645-3742. "Oh, I don't want to bother him with a call!" Really, it's no bother at all! "Okay, but I don't want to try to verbalize a message!" That's okay - shoot me an email, or a text, or whatever. Just let me know how you're doing. If things are good, that's good. If they're not, I'll take the conversation wherever you like, including just leaving things sit at a place where life is rough. That's okay to.

I've got a growing list of podcast topics that I'm looking forward to working on... so, until next week, take care!