The Seventh Ramble

This is the 7th Episode this season. A true ramble. I talk about my experience figuring making Podcast episodes. And various other topics that pop into my head! 
Enjoy the randomness. 

#theenemyfromwithin #Glenshanger #Aviation101 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hi there, Dave here, podcaster normal guy. Hope everybody's doing okay tonight. Um I have been on an adventure the last uh little bit. I uh I've been trying to get more stuff uh for my podcaster um equipment that is. Um I bought, I think my last episode I said I got my uh recorder here. Um it's awesome. I love it. I'm not gonna name names because I'm not being sponsored by anyone and I don't want to get into trouble by saying brands and all that. Um and I got two lights and uh a background light back there, you can see it there. I have um researched and tried to learn as best I can about lighting and how to do it, and I have to tell you, it is giving me fits. I don't know whether I'm ever gonna get this right. Um I think it looks a lot better now than uh than before with the the lights I have set up. Um and uh it just I guess it just takes practice. And um, you know, I learned about uh I mean I don't know if anybody cares about this if you're doing a podcast but or wanting to, but I I did uh research, like I said, about lighting, and uh and it was mostly um like the three-point lighting thing. If anyone's gone to film school or anything like that, then you'd know all about it. So I have my one light here, the main light shining on me, and I have my fill light over here, right? And then I do have a background light, but my area to record in is so small that I I can't figure out uh just yet how to put a backlight on. I'm gonna figure it out though. I figured out everything else. Like my set is very plain. I have a curtain, right? And then behind my curtain for my other podcast, I have uh another sort of set there. I have uh all my football stuff, my tire cat stuff there. So um when I draw or undraw or whatever, open the curtain, then uh you can see all the um tire cat stuff. So that'll be soon, actually, right? I mean, we're already in March, and you wouldn't know it from the weather because it just seems to be perpetual winter out there. But um, anyways, um, but this whole adventure, um, it's fun. Um, not too expensive for anyone out there who's thinking, oh my god, you must have spent a lot of money. I haven't. I I mean I've bought a couple of things that I've had to send back because it wasn't quite what I thought. Because the one thing I've learned along the way um is that uh a lot of the equipment you need isn't really available in stores. Like you go to look at Best Buyer or whatever, and you're like, oh, we don't have it, you know, it's all available online only, or you know, that sort of stuff. So you really it's like it's like buying clothes online. You never know whether it's gonna figure or not uh when it shows up. Um and that's kind of how it is. Like the first set of lights I got, they were so bright and I could light up uh Chicago themes with them. I just it was too much. So and I there was no way to turn them down. So um yeah, so anyways. The nice thing too is over the years I've I've amassed a uh a little bit of extra material. So the stand that my camera's on is actually just an old like I originally I bought a stand where I could hang a backdrop from, and I have this brick wall, that one, but I have another one too. Um but I never got that right because it wouldn't sit still and you know it flapped in the breeze and whatever else. And I just I don't really, you know, to be honest, I mean I'm just a normal person, right? Like I did not this isn't my full-time job doing podcast stuff, even though I really enjoy doing it. Um so you know, I just didn't have the you know the time or really the motivation, proper motivation back then to just to figure it all out. So I have some stuff laying around that uh you know, I have a couple of mic stands that I don't really need. I might end up selling, or you know, that kind of stuff. You just you find that you end up amassing a bunch of stuff that you don't know whether you're ever gonna use again, which my life wife loves, by the way. She she loves clutter and she really doesn't mind stuff laying around. And uh so um it's great for her. Yeah, so but I am doing my best to try to uh reduce the amount of stuff I have. I mean, this store, you know, I want to be able to sell some of the stuff I don't need anymore. Like I have a ring light that I don't really use anymore. I sort of jerry rigged it up on some old stands that I had, and you know, I you know I might sell that with a microphone so someone can get started, you know. Whatever. Not that I'm not that I'm trying to uh infer that I'm a professional podcaster here. I might have half a dozen of dedicated listeners, but I don't care. Uh this is fun for me, and uh I'm not gonna stop doing it. So there you go. Um anyways, not really much to talk about today. I just uh more more the I'm finding more that it's uh you know it takes me longer to set things up than it does for me to actually, you know, think of things to talk about. My podcast has always been pretty informal. I don't do a lot of uh stuff in advance. I am trying to avoid uh politics stuff, but you know, as much as I said I want to avoid it, I mean there's a couple of things that you just can't uh you know you you can't ignore right now, you know, the nonsense that's going on with uh with America and and uh well I want to say America, it's more just Trump uh and the stuff with Iran, you know. I mean there's so much. I mean you you can you could you could name so many things. Um but uh I think that really um I saw a great hot take. This is just gonna sum up sort of my opinion about some of this stuff. Um there was a uh I don't know, I think it was on Instagram or Twitter or X or whatever, and uh this person was um talking about uh you know basically agreeing with Trump that it's a big deal that uh NATO allies aren't helping, and you know, of course Trump's saying, like, oh NATO allies, you better watch out because uh, you know, I need your support and you're not uh you're not coming out. And uh, of course he keeps saying he doesn't need any help, but then he does, so whatever. Um, you know, and there could be serious ramifications for for NATO. And you know, you think NATO's uh supposed to be a defensive organization, started that way during the Cold War. And uh one of the NATO members has to be attacked. So this this hot take was great. So this person was ranting about it. It's like, oh, you know, NATO countries should uh should help out and and whatever. And then the person had responded saying, uh, well, Iran's not a member of NATO, so we can't help them. You know, as in like, you know, the states is the aggressor and started this war for who knows. I mean, there's all kinds, you know, people will have opinions about it. We don't, you know, I don't really have to go into it all. Again, it's a war of distraction, and uh, you know, it's also an extension of uh Israel's will to go to war with Iran and finally found a president stupid enough to help him out. Netanyahu, that is, uh, found a president stupid enough to help him out. So here we are in a war that's driving up gas prices for no reason whatsoever. Um you know, the the lies are being spewed about nuclear weapons still, and it's just you know, it's it's too much. So bring on the midterms, which again is the other reason I I think this war is being fought is to uh uh you know delay the the midterm elections because Trump knows he's gonna get obliterated. Anyways, that's all I'm gonna talk about with that. Um I had some good news recently. Uh so uh I got my propeller out back in the background there. Um that propeller, if anyone cares to know, uh belonged to my grandfather. And I don't remember what the story was. Um I know he worked in a factory down in Hamilton uh that used to make propellers for um um for specific kinds of I think they were civilian aircraft at the time because the war hadn't started yet, second world war. But anyways, I don't know whether he stole that, how we came to have that, um, but uh he had it for a long time and and when he passed away then I managed to to get it into my house. And um he was a pilot, he got his private pilot's license uh later in life. I think he was in his 40s, and then I did the same thing. I was in my 40s, and uh I got uh my license a couple years ago. And uh the news I had was nice. Uh I I I have um without going into it, I don't want to go into my medical stuff, and you don't probably don't want to know about it, but I have uh uh you know a condition, a couple of conditions that I have to jump through some extra hoops to get to keep my medical to fly. Um so and that's fine. I I'm happy to do it. Um but I did all that and uh I went up to see the doctor. Like I have to go see a bunch of doctors first and to get all my ducks in a row, and then I go see the person who does the specific aviation medical, right? So um did that and uh he wouldn't sign my papers because I forgot to do something. There was some blood work I didn't do, so he wouldn't sign off. Um and really what you want is I'm not gonna get my license up, but they they stamp your your book. You have a booklet, an aviation booklet, and they stamp your booklet saying, Yep, you're good to go. Here's your your rubber stamp, you're ready to fly again for another year. And my my medicals are only good for a year because of my conditions. And then again, I'm fine with all that. It's a matter of safety, and I don't feel like putting anybody in jeopardy, especially myself. Uh so, anyways, uh all long story longer here. Um I had to get this blood work done, and then uh I found out today he emailed me and said, Yep, you're good to go. He uh there's another method you can use to get your stamp. So he just it's basically almost like an e-signature. So he sent that to me, and so I'm good to go again. So I'm happy about that. Of course, now I'm good to go, and uh March has been abysmal for weather. I was just talking to my sister about this, and I remember last March I looked at my logbook and I flew a lot because it was so nice in March. Like winter actually ended. I mean it was wasn't super warm, but I got to fly a lot. And this year, man, it's been so horrible and snowy and windy and cold. I mean, the wind is the biggest thing. You you know, you think about flying and you don't you know you see a nice sunny day and you're like great, let's go flying, and then you see that the wind is uh, you know, let's do it in kilometers. You I look at it in knots, but in kilometers, you'll have like 70 kilometer wind gusts. Well, you can't you can't fly a small airplane in that kind of weather, no matter how sunny it is. Um, although it'll be fun to try. Uh no, uh, but uh I wouldn't certainly be comfortable. I'm not like a commercial pilot, and and I think that most commercial pilots would be a little uneasy too. That's pretty strong ones. So, anyways, um even if I had my I, you know, I didn't get usually I get upset with stuff like the like oh I have to wait longer, and you know, I don't like waiting and whatever. But I didn't get upset because I wouldn't be able to fly anyway. You know, the weather's been so horrible that uh I wouldn't be able to fly anyhow. So, anyways, um yeah, what else is going on? Like, what else can I bore you with? I hope that these podcasts are you know, you listen to them on the way to work or or something, you know, past the time. Uh that's really what I do this for, is because I have a few extra minutes and I get on and talk about stuff. I I've been watching other uh podcasts and and uh YouTube stuff. There's a lot going on in the world with people uh voicing their opinions, and obviously it's always been like that, but we're living in some pretty uh crazy times. And uh there's this one truck driver in the States, I think what's his podcast called Enemy Within from with or Enemy Within or whatever. Anyways, he he's a truck driver, he talks a lot about the trucking industry and things that uh Trump has done to uh destroy it. Um and uh I don't know, I just like his podcast. He's uh I he comes off as like this uh sort of uneducated, redneck kind of guy, but when you really listen to him talk, like he's you know, he's not as dumb as he tries to make himself, you know what I mean, his persona out to be. It actually sounds like he's got uh, you know, well, he at least knows the difference between right and wrong, put it that way. And he's been right about a lot of things that he was been not predicting, but just saying that what happened to the trucking industry. And it's good to see that kind of stuff. Of course, I watch all kind of flying um podcasts and and YouTube channels, but it's just it's hard to watch that kind of stuff because you watch these people that that buy airplanes and stuff, and I and I have to be honest, I mean, of course, I mean when you when you get your driver's license, what's the first thing you want to do? You you want to buy a car, right? So ever since I got my license, I've been pilot's license, I've been aspiring to see if I could uh ever scrape enough money to get to buy an airplane, and it's uh it's it's bleak. I gotta tell you, it's pretty bleak. I have no idea the kind of loans people get. Um, a lot of the content I watch too is from the states, so it's not really applicable for Canada. There's a supreme lack actually of uh uh Canadian content. There's a couple of good channels. Like I watched one guy, he's got a beautiful um I won't, I can't remember the name of it right now. Um beautiful A model uh 172, silver and red. My cats are going crazy out there. Sorry if you heard that. Um and I love this guy's airplane, he travels all over the place, really uh smart pilot. You know, he's uh yeah, it's really he's got an awesome airplane, and the avionics in it are just probably worth more than the airframe, right? And that's sort of the way it is now. But uh yeah, no, it's uh you know, you look at these people and you know, and there's the one guy in the States that he's I've watched his channel for forever. Um and uh he's uh Josh is the guy's name. And he uh you might know who I'm talking about. Again, I'm not naming all these podcasts by name. Some of them I can't remember. I remember this one, I'm just not saying it. Um he he's been flying his uh 172 that his parent his dad sorry had, and he got his license in it and wherever else, and then him and his partner uh went and got an airplane built like a experimental, like a sling. And that's like I mean, he's a hard worker, he's a filmmaker, I guess he went to school for all that kind of stuff. And uh, I don't know where the hell did he get the money from? Like where where you know, and again, I'm not asking, I don't want him to be like, oh, I'll tell you how. And it's just to me, it's like I mean, I know he's got a lot of sponsors, his YouTube channel's awesome. Um, it's been that way forever. He's like I said, he's been on for sin for like over 10 years, ever since he was like young, and now he's like, you know, well, not young, but not old, but not young. And I don't know, great channel. I just I learned I've learned a lot from it. And uh, but it's like how the hell? I mean, he already had the airplane, his dad had the airplane, so back when his dad bought his Destiny 172, it wouldn't have been still would have been expensive, but not like now. Um but uh you know how where the hell where the hell where do you where do you get the money? You know, those sling the a new sling and he helped build it, like him and his partner helped do the build. And I think his partner's a uh mechanic, so that helps. Um and she's got a nice uh one, I don't know if it's a 152 or a 150, I can't remember. But uh, you know, but where the you know where the heck do you get the money? I mean sponsorships and stuff are one thing, but these planes are like you know, half a million dollars. Maybe not, they're not maybe not slings, aren't that much? They got nice Rotex engine engines in them. I think it's got a Rotex engine in it. I don't know. It's you know what it is, it's depressing because I want to I want an airplane, and then I'm here I am. Like I my mission is I want to be able to take my kids. My my wife has a hard time flying on small airplanes, she gets air sick, but I at least want to be able to take my kids, and you know, and it's like part of me is like you can only really afford a two-seater, but it's like the useful load is so bad, and you know, if you take two adults, you might be able to fly to like you know 50 miles away and that's it, because you won't be able to take any fuel, and it's like uh my mission is really like day trip kind of stuff, like more than just a hundred dollar hamburgers and wanting to go for a weekend somewhere or or whatever, you know. And uh I need a four-seater, but I you know, I also need to win the lottery. So, anyways, it gets a little depressing, but maybe one day, right? Um, yeah, so um other things like I mean I keep saying I'm gonna do music stuff, and and I will, my cousin's bugging me. Like I bought all this stuff, and uh the nice thing about the equipment that I have is it's all very portable, so I can go down to his place, and all he needs is a microphone. So uh, cousin, go out there, get yourself a microphone with an XLR cable, and uh you can plug into this little unit that I have and we can do some of our music podcasts. He started a nice uh Facebook group a long time ago, and he's trying to get it up going again and get people interested in it. So doing interviews like this, he's got a record player, we can do spins and stuff and talk about it. So really looking forward to doing some stuff like that. Um so hopefully some of that's coming up, right? Um, but for now, just try not to despair too much about the news. Go about your daily business. We are coming into summer soon. I have summer sports. I'm coaching. I love coaching uh flag football and I coach soccer. Um, of course, my son plays. Um my daughter played too, but she doesn't play anymore. Um I didn't get to coach her though. It's one thing that kind of I don't bother me, bother me, but it's just I wasn't coaching yet. Like I was still like I don't work as m as much as I used to. Um I have my own little company and I work part-time somewhere else, so it's it's I have some I do have that work-life balance where I can do stuff like uh coaching and that, so it's it's nice. But uh I wish I could have done that when my daughter was playing. Um, but uh just didn't life didn't work out that way, right? But uh at least she gets to go watch her brother play and and all that, and and she does help out, which is super nice. Like she's you know, she'll uh she'll help with the kid. Like, you know, all the time you get kids that you know you're trying to coach and trying to you know give direction and stuff, and you got a kid coming up, oh you know, do up my shoelaces. Thankfully, with the age group I'm in, most of them know how to do their laces up by now, but when they were younger, it's like every five seconds like coach, do up my laces. That's really funny. And you double knot them, but somehow, magically, they still come undone. Who knows, right? But uh, anyways, I'm gonna leave it there. It's getting late. It's St. Patrick's Day, actually. So for all my Irish friends, hope you're having a good St. Patrick's Day. I don't really do much usually uh anymore on St. Patrick's Day. I just enjoy uh a drink, um, usually with my wife, and she's working. Um, and uh it's usually pretty quiet. Didn't used to be, but it is now. But everybody be safe out there, get home in one piece, and uh we'll talk to you again soon. This is Dave here, podcast of a normal guy. Follow me on Facebook, give me a like, and uh some comments. Give me some comments. Let me know what you want me to talk about or or not talk about or or whatever. So like, subscribe, have a great night.