Self-Portrait via Webcam

Self-Portrait via Webcam
Originally uploaded by danimal0416.

The Official Mom sent us a webcam as an early Christmas present.

Check this Out

Got something new at home today, which you can check out after the jump:

Related tags:

journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm jimmpodcast dan+johnson

Jennie's Birthday

Yesterday, was my wife Jennie's birthday. I've learned over our 13+ years of being together that it's important to her that it's special.

Our church has a section in the weekly announcements called the "Christian Advertiser":

Want to post an ad for your business? An upcoming event? A love letter to your Sweetie? Having a garage sale? Selling a car? Advertise here! Use this avenue of communication to reach the congregation.

I submitted the following, to honor my wife:

To my lovely and beautiful wife, Jennie Johnson. I am so glad you were born on this day, October 29th, because you have enriched the lives of so many others. Keisha and I are so blessed because of you. You complete me. You make me want to be a better man. In many ways, you are like my conscience. I praise and thank our God for you. You are the best mother for our daughter, and I'm amazed at the love and compassion you have. Truly, you are my wife of noble character. Happy Birthday, sweetheart!

Love, your husband,
Dan

This notice was sent in to those who subscribe via email to the announcements, and it was prominently displayed at both entrances to the building. In addition, it was announced at church that it was her birthday, much to Jennie's embarrassment (a good thing!).

Afterward we went to Golden Corral, a buffet style restaurant, and a group of the servers came over and did a Happy Birthday cheer for Jennie that went something like this:

LEADER: I don't know but I've been told -
CREW: I don't know but I've been told -
LEADER: Jennie here is getting old!
CREW: Jennie here is getting old!
LEADER: The best thing is her dessert is free!
CREW: The best thing is her dessert is free!
LEADER: The worst thing is I sing off-key!
CREW: The worst thing is I sing off-key!
LEADER: Sound off!
CREW: Hap-py!
LEADER: Sound off!
CREW: Birth-day!
LEADER: Sound off!
EVERYONE: Hap-py birth-day... To You!

I imagine restaurants are doing that instead of the traditional "Happy Birtday" song because there still exists an active copyright for that song, and there are performance rights with that, etc.

Related tags:

journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm dan+johnson birthday encouragement

Love Without Boundaries Blog

Mood: upbeat
Listening to: No Idle Frets: independent jazz guitar podcast
Eating: McDonald's steak, egg, and cheese bagel meal with orange juice, big cup of black Folgers coffee
Watching: light rain outside

You'll want to keep an eye on the Love Without Boundaries Blog over the next several days. A sister in Christ who adopted two children from China is on her way over there for a third time to participate in a cleft surgery mission. While she is away, Jennie, Keisha, and I are taking care of the kids and her home.

Godspeed her there and back! We will be praying nonstop for great things to happen.

Related tags:

journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm dan+johnson no+idle+frets love+without+boundaries china cleft+surgery+mission

Obvious Corp Acquires Odeo and Twitter

Evan Williams and Biz Stone through a new venture called Obvious Corp., have acquired the assets of Odeo and Twitter, two services I've been known to use over the past several weeks. Congratulations and best wishes!

Related tags:

evan+willaims biz+stone odeo twitter obvious+corp

You Don't Need an iPod™

The band Uncle Seth has created a great video public service announcement in song. After the jump, check it out and please forward it to your friends:



Direct Link to YouTube version of Uncle Seth’s “You Don’t Need an iPod™”

Related tags:

journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm dan+johnson podcast podcasting ipod uncle+seth how-to itunes

JIMM 67 - Caffeinated Requests, Sort Of

Mood: anticipation
Listening to: JIMM 67 - Caffeinated Requests, Sort Of
Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)
Eating: nothing yet
Watching: great Monday Night Football game last night

The latest episode of the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast is now available, featuring lots of independent music and talking with Ashley and Lindsey, who work at the Gloria Jean's coffee stand at Northgate Mall. Go get it!

Related tags:

journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm dan+johnson jimmpodcast northgate+mall gloria+jean

Another Busy Weekend

Mood: Fine
Listening to: Weekly Radio Address for 10/21/2006 and Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd
Eating: breakfast bar, chocolate milk, cranberry juice, and coffee
Watching: multi-colored leaves falling from trees outside the window

I was hardly on the computer at all this past weekend, maybe just to check email. We were just so busy with other stuff, which I'll share after the jump:

Friday night we went with some friend from our family group at church to Parky's Farm at Winton Woods. They have "Halloween Nights" right now, with a hay maze, puppet show, magic show, hay rides, rock climbing, and more. It got cold and it had rained the day before, so the ground was a little muddy.

Saturday morning we woke up and watched "Last Holiday" with Queen Latifah. Great movie.

Saturday afternoon, Keisha and I went to a Halloween gathering for some kids in the local schools who are deaf and hard of hearing. We made caramel apples, iced cupcakes, and made ghost lollipops.

Saturday evening we went to the home of a woman from church. She has two adopted kids from China, and she's getting ready to go on a mission trip back to China to help kids who have been born with cleft palates. We went to their home because we're going to be taking care of the kids while she's on her 10-day mission trip.

Sunday morning we went to church, and after that, Keisha and I went to the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park production of "ACE". It was the first time for both of us, and we had a great time.


Related tags:

journey+inside+my+mind journeyinsidemymind jimm dan+johnson winton+woods parky's+farm halloween park hamilton+county last+holiday queen+latifah hard+of+hearing caramel+apples china adoption cleft+palate playhouse+in+the+park

(BLOG) RED

From the About section:

(RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA, to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world's most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT) RED-branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT) RED product sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children with HIV/AIDS in Africa. www.joinred.com

Related tags:

(red) bono bobby+shriver global+fund red hiv/aids africa

Two More Domain Names

Today I bought two more domain names:

• homeschoolerpodcast.com
• jazzmaniaproductions.com

Yes, that's right. Another podcast is in the works, folks. If you listened to episode 65 of the JIMM Podcast (and if you didn't, there's your chance), you may know that we've been tossing the idea of a homeschooling podcast around. The neat thing about this show is that I'll be mainly the producer; Jennie will be providing more of the content. So I get the wonderful job of setting up the feed, comment hotline, etc., which is pretty much fun.

Additionally, it's about time that I got a hold of Jazzmania Productions, since that's going to be the name of the company. Right now it points to a blog I started through Blogger beta. As I mentioned over there, I've been mulling that name for over 18 years. I think that domain will become the one domain to rule them all (insert sinister laugh).

Related tags:

jazzmania jazzmania+productions homeschool homeschooling homeschoolerpodcast homeschooler+podcast domains jimmpodcast jimm journeyinsidemymind journey+inside+my+mind

How My Brain Works

All I wanted was a cup of coffee. But when I went to the kitchen, I saw some dishes in the sink, leftover from last night. I remembered that the dishes in the dishwasher were clean.

I couldn't make the coffee without the sink being cleared out, you see, because there was hardly any room for me to fill the coffeepot. So I had to empty and reload the dishwasher in order to make some coffee.

That's just how I work. Maybe a little obsessive-compulsive, perhaps.

Related tags:

coffee, dishwasher, kitchen, mess, obsessive-compulsive, OCD

Google Talkabout: Tell us how you Talk

I've been using GoogleTalk for over a year. I probably have some stories I could share, but nothing that bizarre.

Google Talkabout: Tell us how you Talk

From the JIMM Etymology Department...

Hi there, folks! I know that you come here to be enlightened, so grab your cup to catch the pearls of wisdom that drop. I've come up with a word that, to my knowledge, is not part of the English language. Check it out, after the jump:

Madagascarnage

The mess made from watching the movie Madagascar.

Now you know, and they say that is half the battle.

JIMM 66 - Contest Winner and Stuff

Latest show is up, and at a mere 24 minutes! Go get it...

I'm Glad I Just Shake Hands

According to iheartquotes, the men of the Walibri tribe of central Australia greet each other in quite a different way than we do in the U.S.A.

Fire Departments in our Complex, 2nd Report

Fire trucks are being sent away. Apparently the situation isn't as bad as it originally looked. Play the audio after the jump:

Fire Departments in our Complex, 1st Report

Right now, I'm looking out the window, counting three different fire trucks and other emergency vehicles. They've been dispatched to the building directly across from us. Check out the audio after the jump:

Freezing weather approaches in Cincinnati

Right Now: Overcast, 63 degrees F
Later: Cooler with heavy Thunderstorms, 64 degrees F
Tonight: Thunderstorm this evening, 38 degrees F

Tomorrow: Partly sunny and colder, High 49 degrees F
Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy and cold, 32 degrees F

JIMM in a Clusty Cloud

Loading Clusty Cloud ...

JIMM 65 - Hard Rock Homeschool

Latest show is up! Go get it!

On the Next Podcast Episode of Journey Inside My Mind

I've just finished recording and editing the next JIMM Podcast, in which we share some homeschool stuff and play some hard rock music. It's mixing to an mp3 right now. After I do a test listen, I'll upload it to the podcast website so you all can enjoy it. I'll also cross-post the link here for JIMM blog subscribers.

Talking with the Official Mom This Evening

Tonight we talked with the Official Mom of Journey Inside My Mind via SkypeOut. We have the laptop speakers connected to the stereo system so that everyone could hear my Mom. Keisha, Jennie, and I talked for close to an hour, and I took some pictures, which will be on this post momentarily.

What's great is that Keisha, who is hard of hearing, could hear her Nana very well and talk with her as though she was here. Technology is amazing that way.

Allergies Gone Wild!

Mood: sick
Listening to: silence in our home - everyone else is asleep
Eating: nothing yet, not much of an appetite
Watching: green leaves changing to yellow outside our apartment

Welcome to Allergies Gone Wild! That's right - I'm very congested, with runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat, and the overall malaise that comes from fall allergies. Yippee! Right.

I'd still like to get a podcast done this weekend, and you still have a chance to enter the CD giveaway contest! C'mon, send in an entry!

Hugs

Karen, the Official Goof of Journey Inside My Mind, shared this amazing YouTube video on her blog, which you'll find after the jump:



Maybe I should go get some posterboard and spend an afternoon in Fountain Square.

Thinking about PayPal

I'm thinking of signing up for a PayPal account, so that I can accept donations and for general e-commerce types of things. Thinking of setting up a business account, but, boy is this new territory for me.

Anyone wanna offer advice? Good experiences and bad experiences?

Link Testing

Testing some my LinkedIn link with something.

Jury Duty from Feb '04 Follow-up - Finally

Remember back in February 2004 when I asked you to remind me to tell you about Jury Duty? I didn't think so.

Well, this morning I was going through some old papers I had in a portfolio I was using for a job search, and I found the following note from the Court of Common Pleas:

February 17, 2004

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

This is to certify that Dan Johnson was summoned as a juror in the court of the Honorable David A. Gowdown, Judge of the Common Pleas of Montgomery, County, Ohio on February 17, 2004

Said juror was excused from this Court on February 17, 2004 at approximately 5:00 p.m. and will receive a check in the amount of TEN AND 00/100 DOLLARS ($10.00) from the Montgomery County Auditor.

Very truly yours,

James R. Russell,
Bailiff for Judge David A. Gowdown

From what I remember, it was a little bit boring. I had brought a newspaper or a couple other things to read. Random jurors were selected to be part of the original 13 jurors, but 26 others were also there. I was not part of this group, so I just sat back and watched, listening here and there.

I was unemployed, so I had the time and was even looking forward to being on a jury. The judge asked some general questions of the potential jurors, and after he was done, the prosecuting attorney and defending attorney asked questions. Some jurors were dismissed, and we all waited for the time to be done so that we could leave.

So it's been 2 years and 7 months, but there you have it.

Blogging for Money?

I have this other blog that I started back in 2002, called Get That Job!, a job-hunting and career development resource. I often get emails from other folks in that field, asking me to check out their websites and consider putting links to them on the blog, as a post or to the blogroll, or both.

Jennie and I started thinking about that this morning, and, wondering how to make this something that could make some money. How could I be able to line my wallet a little bit from helping promote your job-hunting/career development website? Is that ethical or would it be considered selling-out? I'm not even sure if it's feasible.

I don't know, but it would be nice to be able to get some coin from something that I started on my own a few years ago, but that has grown in it's readership over the years. It's been more of a hobby while I've been employed, but, as I've found myself more in the job market lately, I've started contributing to it more.

I dunno.

Yet another way to know what I'm up to

As if there weren't already enough ways for you to stay abreast of what's going on in my life:

Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you're doing. For some friends you might want instant mobile updates while for others checking the web is preferable. Invite your friends to Twitter and decide how connected you want you to be.

Twitter is brought to us by the same folks that gave us Odeo. And, they've recently begun providing an RSS feed for my updates. I might have to look into merging the Twitter feed somehow with the feed for the JIMM blog.

So, let's stay in touch, eh?