Journey Inside My Mind ™

The results of the informal, unscientific poll are in, and it looks like most folks want to meet at the Golden Corral in Middletown. It’s actually in Franklin, according to the website (map). For more details about the meetup this coming Saturday, head over to NewMediaCincinnati.com

I plan to get there around 4 PM.

Update: We have set up a Twitter presence to help communicate with friends on Twitter – http://twitter.com/newmediacincy

Related tags: new+media+cincinnati daniel+johnson+jr

In my conversations with several of you on Twitter and elsewhere, there appears to be some good interest in having a podcasting, new media, social media-type of meetup in the Greater Cincinnati area. A number of you are in Dayton, Ohio and even beyond.

With this in mind, I propose that we meet in Middletown, Ohio – halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton (hence the name? lol). I stopped there for gas this morning and looked around. Some things have changed since we lived there some years ago, but some stuff hasn’t.

I’ve set up a poll in the sidebar of this blog for you to pick the locations you prefer. If you would like to suggest a different location I haven’t included that you know is in Middletown, please leave it in the comments below.

I’m thinking of Saturday, October 20, 2007 around 4 PM as the time for us to meetup and get to know one another better.

The meetup is open to anyone, whether you’re into podcasting or new media, or are simply interested, or just want to come hang out and listen to the rest of us talk.

To reiterate, I strongly feel that the purpose of this meetup needs to be a really informal way for us to get to meet each other in person. Not much more. Well, that, and to talk about the next time we all could get together, too.

The poll closes on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 11:59 PM EDT. If there’s a tie, I’ll choose one of them myself.

I really am looking forward to seeing everyone get together! Vote now.

Related tags: journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm daniel+johnson+jr podcast+meetup cincinnati dayton middletown new+media social+media twitter tweetup

I just spent 3-1/2 hours driving 60 miles from north of Dayton, Ohio to my home in Cincinnati. That averages to just over 17 miles per hour. On the highway. In a snowstorm. Right now we have about 6 inches on the ground.

Fortunately, I had some great podcasts to listen to along the way! Such as

• Canadian Podcast Buffet
• FeedBurner Podcast
• That Tickles!
• CatFish Show
• School of Podcasting’s Morning Announcements

I also opted to call the following podcaster’s comment lines and leave messages:

• Dancing with Elephants (three separate times, maybe? lol)
• Accident Hash
• The Zedcast
• The Daddycast
• Daily Source Code
• Ed’s Mixed Bag
• That Tickles
• Kids Wife Work Life
• High Orbit
• Coverville
• PodShow Music Rewind
• Find Your Ideal Career Podcast

Driving distance: 60 miles
Driving time: 3-1/2 hours
Having you podcasters to keep me company during a snowstorm: Priceless

Thank you all for keeping me company. I didn’t need a radio.

Related tags: ohio snow+storm podcasting daniel+johnson+jr

Mood: sleepy
Listening to: rain outside, radio in the bedroom
Weather right now: 72 degrees F, Thunderstorm

The driver’s side window in our car won’t go up or down, and it’s stuck down at about 3 to 4 inches. When we park the car, we usually put some plastic over the gap to help keep rain from coming inside.

I don’t know what I’m going to do this morning as I make the 1-hour plus drive to Dayton. Also, not sure about the defroster, since we have this gaping hole where the dashboard vent system used to be.

It’s going to be an interesting morning. I’d better spend some time with God.

Follow-up to earlier post…

Jennie and Keisha drove the car to her Mom’s house this afternoon. They got directions to her uncle’s repair shop, but apparently they got lost, and on the way back to her Mom’s, the car conked out.

Fortunately, it had enough momentum to coast down the hill so that Jennie could park it in front of her Mom’s house. Unfortunately, the power windows and power moonroof couldn’t close. Fortunately, her Mom had some plastic to wrap around the car in case it rained, and fortunately, it didn’t.

Jennie called to tell me everything that had happened, and then she and Keisha caught the bus back home. After hanging up, I praised God that I fortunately hadn’t decided to take the hour-long one way trip up to Dayton. I might have gotten stranded on the highway, just as I did back in January.

This morning Jennie and I will walk Keisha to her school, which fortunately is only about 15 minutes away (Jennie knows a shortcut). We have a meeting with her teacher and the principal about her interpreting services – a topic long enough for a post of its own, so I won’t go into detail here.

Jennie will call her uncle later this morning, and hopefully he’ll be able to look at our car, correctly diagnose the problem, and be able to fix it without a large expense. We are so fortunate to have a mechanic in the family.

Fortunately, Jennie had last night off; she’s got tonight off, too. Fortunately, I’ve been able to work from home this week.

As I look back over this post, I see more Fortune than Misfortune. Amen. Thank you, God!

I woke up this morning, and my right ear was clogged again, and my sore throat was scratchy. Didn’t I type this last week? I thought I was feeling better, but maybe not.

I got up and got dressed to go up to the office in Dayton. After eating breakfast, I took Keisha to school. I noticed, on the way there, that the coolant temperature was getting high again.

After dropping Keisha off, I drove to the gas station to refuel, and I checked the coolant cap, and it was hot. As I drove away to start the journey to the freeway, I noticed the battery light start blinking on and off, flickering. I opted to go back home instead, remembering what had happened back in January with our other car: I got stranded on the highway, and it wound up being pretty expensive to get back on the road, with the rental fees and different car purchased, etc.

So I’m back at home, which is okay.

Mood: medicated
Listening to: Jennie getting ready for work, Keisha getting ready for bed
Eating: turkey, dressing, broccoli, carrots
Watching: Treasure Planet

A similar post at Across the Pond! gave me the idea to do this post:

30 years ago. My mom and dad got divorced. I was 6 and my sister was 4. We moved in with Mom, and I abruptly switched school. I was in the 1st grade.

20 years ago. The Challenger space shuttle blew up. I was a sophomore in high school. My favorite class was English with Ms. Phillips. She made us write 1-page position papers. After the space shuttle blew up, I wrote a poem called “Confusion” and left it under my chair. Ms. Phillips found it and gave it back to me, showing her appreciation.

15 years ago. I had turned 21 years old. For my birthday my housemates took me out to an early dinner, and I got a martini or something to drink. I was working in the Detroit, Michigan area as part of the co-op program for engineering at the University of Cincinnati. I felt alone and needed God.

10 years ago. Jennie and I were about to celebrate our 1-year anniversary in Dayton, Ohio. We went on vacation back to Detroit, Michigan, came home and bought our first set of furniture. Later that year, we found out Jennie was pregnant.

5 years ago. I was working as a IT consultant in the Cincinnat and Dayton areas. We had moved back to Dayton after buying a house. I was working in Cincinnati on September 11th, and I wound up leaving work early to be with Jennie and Keisha.

3 years ago. I’d been blogging for over a year. I was battling another sinus infection. Dayton, Ohio was celebrating the 100th anniversary of flight. Jennie and I saw The Matrix: Reloaded.

Last year. We had just gotten a cat and were trying to get used to her. Sith happened. Things were a little subdued at work. The weather was unseasonably cold, and I was congested.

This year. I’ve been podcasting for almost 9 months. Our car died. I became an uncle-again. I’ve had some serious back pain and got a lumbar injection. Millions of people around the world celebrated my birthday by eating colored hard-boiled eggs, candy, and going to worship at the church of their choice.

Yesterday. It was unseasonably cold. I got an upper respiratory infection, and spent most of the day in bed.

Today. I went to the doctor and found out I have an upper respiratory infection and an earache. I spent most of the day in bed.

Tomorrow. Probably more of the same. Our apartment complex is having a yard sale.

Mood: alert, but with tired eyes
Listening to: cars driving on wet pavement outside the window
Reading: see below
Eating: spaghetti with sauce, mushrooms, and chicken steak, and steamed broccoli, with some Miller Lite to wash it down

I went to the library on my way home from work. Going to a different branch than I normally go to from time to time is nice. Different surroundings and different selections.

I’d called the branch when I was still in the Dayton area to see if they had a DVD of Mr. Holland’s Opus, one of our family’s all-time favorite movies.

I dropped off

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3),
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2-Disc Full Screen Edition) (Harry Potter 3), and
some other children’s book Keisha had checked out

I then browsed the non-fiction section for a book on personal finance for dummies, idiot’s guide to personal finance, or K.I.S.S. guide to personal finance, but didn’t find anything like that.

Instead I wound up checking out

Mr. Holland’s Opus,
Cats for Dummies,
Time Management for Dummies, Second Edition,
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Magic Tricks, and
KISS: Behind the Mask – Official Authorized Biography

The movie, as I mentioned earlier, was one I had the librarian pull for me. The books I found while browsing the shelves. Here’s why I picked each book:

Cats for Dummies – we know our cat Zoe talks to us and communicates to us with meows and purrs and other actions, but we’re not exactly sure if we understand what she’s saying

Time Management for Dummies – in the past I’ve gotten really into this kind of thing, but I got it this time more for browsing, not sure if I’d make the time to really read it. Who knows?

Idiot’s Guide to Magic Tricks – one of my recurring hobbies, maybe I’ll find something simple to do to thrill Keisha or one of her friends

KISS: Behind the Mask – when I was 7-9 years old, I was a KISS fanatic. I remember tracing the album cover of “Rock And Roll Over” on some notebook paper. My friends and I would pretend we were members of the band whenever we’d play together and listen to the music together. I remember Jamie was Gene Simmons, Rob was Ace, Gary was Paul, and I was Peter Criss. We were so good. I think David, who actually DID play the drums, doubled for me as Peter Criss sometimes.

At one time I owned a lot of their albums, including a blood-red Dressed to Kill LP. I wound up destroying them all once I had become convinced by other adults that KISS stood for Knights In Satan’s Service. I regret having done that now, but I’m over it. I’m thinking of buying some tracks from iTunes. But for now, I have the book.

Mood: alert
Listening to: Buckeye Drive Time #61
Reading: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (chapter 15) – it’s getting really good
Eating: Snicker’s bar and Monster energy drink

We had a great weekend. On Saturday, after Jennie came home from work, we all drove north to Dayton for a baby shower for a friend. I drove because I knew Jennie would be tired from working the night before.

While the women were baby showering, Keisha and I went with my friend Chris and his boys to the local pond at Lincoln Park to do some fishing. It was the first time I’d been fishing in several years, but I fortunately remembered how to tie the hook onto the fishing line. We had a couple of bites but didn’t catch anything.

We returned to Cincinnati and bought a copy of the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, with some money Mom had sent Keisha for Easter. Then we went home, and Jennie went to bed. We later watched “Blast from the Past” on ABCFamily, and, later on we watched the DVD we’d bought earlier.

On Sunday we went to church and realized that it was our second to last week of our rotation. We made plans for next week, which will be really fun.

After church, we went to the local Fricker’s for some hot wings, and then we returned home so that Jennie could go to bed. Keisha and I took Jake for a walk; actually, she rode her scooter while I walked Jake.

When we came home, we turned on ABCFamily and saw that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was on. I’ve been reading the Harry Potter books to Keisha, and I used the movie to help me with voice characterization as I read.

One scene of the movie involves Harry and Ron escaping giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest via a magical car. They are able to get it flying up, over the trees, and that’s when Keisha cried out, “Now THAT’S what I’M talkin’ about!”

One of the other things Keisha thought was great was just when Ron and Harry are entering the forest. Ron, who is afraid of spiders, exclaims, “Why spiders? Why couldn’t Hagrid have said to follow the butterflies?” Keisha cracked up laughing at that remark.

Mood: hot, teary
Listening to: audio from a Deaf/Hard of Hearing conference we attended last weekend
Eating: Hot wings from Buffalo Wild Wings

Jennie brought home some Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. OMG! The flavors she brought home were

• mango habanera
• asian zing
• spicy garlic
• blazin’

When Jennie called to ask how hot I wanted the wings, I told her I was willing to go as hot as we could go, even to burning another hole. What I meant by that was that, if it’s hot going in, chances are it’s going to be hot coming back out.

I’m reminded of when we lived in Dayton. We lived really close to this restaurant called B.C. Rooster’s. One of the flavors they had was called “donkey”. It was really spicy – in fact, it was about the hottest we could handle.

It wasn’t until we sat down to eat the blazin’ ones that I understood what was potentially meant by the term “donkey” (think of synonyms).

So, we opted for a bit of – dare I say – “fun” self-punishment.

Update: It’s been several hours, and I’ve been “punished” again, if you know what I mean.

Mood: good
Listening to: traffic, weather and more on WMOJ Mojo 94.9 FM Cincinnati
Reading: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (“The Writing on the Wall”)
Eating: Krispy Kreme Donuts, black Folgers coffee
Watching: snow coming down outside our apartment building

The calendar says it’s spring, but outside we’ve had a blast of cold weather, including snow and ice.

The radio reports that my route to work in Dayton, at least in the Cincinnati area, has an accident. Don’t know about the Dayton area. I’m thinking of making the trek anyway.

Keisha’s school is on a 2-hour delay, so I’m not that eager to leave just yet. But I need to. Soon. I might take a picture and post it here later.

Mood: tired
Listening to: peace and quiet
Reading: this post I’m typing
Eating: nothing since lunch
Watching: the screen and the window outside

… but I’m safe at home – finally. Here’s kinda what happened:

I left work around 5:50 PM EST. As I continued south on Interstate 75, I noticed that the dashboard lights were not lit anymore. I thought that had something to do with the battery thing from before.

Once I got past Interstate 75 and Interstate 675, however, I realized that there was something more going on. For some time, the “low coolant” light has been on. I’ve kept a good eye on the temperature gauge to know that it wasn’t really a problem. Then the battery light came on this morning. I also noticed the alternator light on for some time, too.

The the alternator light went off. So the battery light was on and so was the low coolant light. Driving a little bit further, I saw the “air bag” light flicker on and off. Shortly after that the “brake” light, that signals that the emergency brake is engaged, flickered on.

Soon all 6 lights were on, and, by that time, I noticed it appeared to be dark in front of me. At least not as light as it was. So my headlights were going out, and all these dashboard lights were on.

I had just passed exit 36 and came to a short hill. That’s when the car conked out. I felt very, very fortunate that there was enough space and time to get over to the right hand side of the highway and let the car come to rest.

At about 6:20 EST, I called Jennie on the cell phone and told her what had happened. Eventually, after several successive conversations, we’d arranged for a rental car at the Dayton International Airport – since all the satellite locations had closed at 6. I’d also arranged for some close friends who live in Centerville – about 20 minutes north of me – to come pick me up and take me to the airport.

Huge props go out to Michelle, therefore, for getting her kids out of bed, driving south to pick me up, driving me up to the airport, waiting 15 to 20 minutes while I got the rental, and for driving me to the spot where it was.

Big – major props go up to God for all the ways he’s provided. It could have been raining really hard or snowing very badly. It could have been freezing cold. None of my phone calls could have gotten through. No rentals could have been available. There could have been a snag in getting us approved to get the rental. I could have been in an accident when the car broke down. It could have caught on fire. I could go on.

None of these things happened. Thank you, God!

I drove our rental – a brand new minivan with so many good amenities and accessories – it probably costs as much as my annual salary – maybe more – home.

Jennie and Keisha were waiting so that I could take Jennie to work. I had to drive, since her name isn’t on the agreement yet. Apparently all we need to do tomorrow is go to a satellite office and have Jennie show her license, and she’ll get added.

So, needless to say, I’m pretty tired.

We’re praying hard for God to provide us with our next mode of transportation.

Hey there! Cayenne Chris played the promo for the Journey Inside My Mind podcast in which I introduced the Dayton, Ohio band Murmur.

Head over to the podcast page and take a listen!

Just saw the AccuWeather.com – Dayton, OH Current Weather Conditions:

Now: Sunny, 4 degrees F
Monday’s Forecast: Partly sunny and frigid, 19 degrees F
Monday Night’s Forecast: Mostly clear and frigid, 11 degrees F

Mood: elated
Listening to: Miami Valley Musicast 13 – featuring the band Murmur

No, I mean one other than my own! (LOL) Specifically:

Rich Palmer recently interviewed the band Murmur on the Miami Valley Musicast. At about 28 minutes into the show they talk about how they got on the Podsafe Music Network via my contact with them.

Check out Rich’s podcast – he lives and works in the Dayton area, and he also is one of the artists in the chorus of Podsafe for Peace – “If Every Day Were Christmas”.

Mood:
Listening to: Ed’s Mixed Bag Show #8

Ed Ovett played the promo for the Journey Inside My Mind podcast on his latest show. One good turn deserves another, so head over to his show and look forward to hearing his promo on an upcoming JIMM show.

Hey everyone! I just posted a new promo for the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast: mp3

In it I share about finding a band from Dayton whose music I got permission to play on the podcast after sending them an e-mail.

They weren’t listed on the Podsafe Music Network, so I suggested that they upload some of their music so that other podcasters could play it, which they did.
11/5/2005 Update: The promo has generated some discussion at DaytonBands.com. I got an e-mail from Rich Palmer, who does the Miami Valley Musicast, where he features bands from the Cincinnati and Dayton area. He’s going to play my promo on his podcast soon, and he sent me the link to his promo, so that I can play it on mine, too.

Mood: chillin’
Listening to: No Idle Frets jazz guitar podcast, episode 22
Reading: this great e-mail I’m about to share with you
Eating: Long John Silver’s family treasure chest meal

ATTENTION DAYTON, OHIO AREA RESIDENTS!

I got this e-mail from a co-worker this afternoon:

Good Afternoon Everyone:

I have some exciting news for you. This Friday from 10-5 Bella’s Day Spa will be having a cut-a-thon for breast cancer. All haircuts are free with a donation to Breast cancer research. Please tell all your family and friends about this and please help with a donation fight this disease.

Friday, October 28, 2005 from 10am-5pm @

Bella’s Day Spa

6226 Chambersburg Road

Huber Heights, Ohio 45424

(937) 233-5156

Tasha White
Community Relations Coordinator

Update: I just found out that participation in the cut-a-thon in on a walk-in basis only; first come, first serve.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:50 — 23.9MB)

JIMM 18 – Cloudy Overcast Hodgepodge mp3 (34:50, 23.9 MB)was recorded Monday, October 10, 2005, during lunchtime at the Tim Horton’s on Miller Lane in the Dayton, Ohio area.

Some highlights:

1. A new station ID from Keisha!
2. Theme – by the way, can anyone name all the movies the clips come from?
3. The Reverse Engineers – “The Same Path”
4. Audio feedback from the Official Mom and my lovely wife Jennie
5. What’s this “Official” business?
6. Promo for JIMM 16 – The Cheryl Dawson Memorial Walkathon, as played on the Tanfastic podcast
7. The post for JIMM 16 will be at the top of the front page for the rest of October, Domestic Violence Awareness month.
8. Todd Martin – “She Knows” (2nd time on this podcast; 1st time was during “JIMM 4 – Romantic Movements“)
9. Listener Hotline Sweeper (206) 666-JIMM
10. Audio feedback – I call the Listener Hotline while at a recent high school football game with Keisha – her first football game ever!
11. Not being used to the cooler weather
12. What people are reading at the blog
13. “Rejoice in the Lord Always” – Dan Johnson
14. Countries where some people are visiting from
15. Call for e-mails/feedback – let me know where you’re listening/visiting from!
16. bill – “Sound Scientist”

Hey you! Yes, you! In Dayton, Ohio! You will want to read this e-mail I received (okay you can read it if you’re not in Dayton, Ohio):

Jokers Comedy Cafe is proud to join 30 clubs across the country in presenting a comedy benefit show to raise funds for the Red Cross for the victims of Katrina and Rita.

Pat Kilbane from Mad TV, Vince Morris from Comedy Central, Tom Mabe (his Terrorizing Telemarketers was written up in People Magazine), Susanna Lee, Charles Eggerton, Michael Halasz and Geoff Pipoly will be all donating their performance on Wed, Sept 28th at 8pm.

Tickets are ust $10 and all proceeds will be donated. Please join us if you can and pass this email on to others who might be willing to help!

Thanks!

Lisa Grigsby
Jokers Comedy Cafe

937-433-5233 x 16 fax 937-433-7318