Open Mike LIVE

Open Mike LIVE

Join Mike George for his wanders, as he completes his quest to return home from Louisiana, battling various foes, fears and follies along the way…

Featuring occasional appearances with Dave, unidentified stoners in the park, WANDA, and Parking Garage KAREN.

Play along and join my next LIVE stream. You might be the next essential guide for Mike to finally reach home.

This collection chronicles over 7 years of live-streaming video posts I’ve recorded.

This raw format is a move from static text to video, facilitating a more immediate and direct connection with others. They are unscripted and unpolished slices in my life, documenting my travels and adventures across various locations in North America.

A man with dark hair and a bandana around his neck stands in front of red and white striped fabric and a blue section with white stars, reminiscent of the American flag.

I hope you enjoy these productions and find some small value from my story.

I’m an engineer in the industry of energy and electric power who, like many of my beloved colleagues, asks myself “how can we do better?

Gazing upon the marvels of which humanity is capable, I can’t help but compare the promise of our time to what we see happening on the news today and what anxieties haunt our children about the world we leave them. And that comparison grows more and more difficult to paint kindly.

But I cannot stay silent. So here I am to offer some civility, humor, and critical insight into how I believe we can restore American excellence, starting with each of us.

Follow my journey through the following places in America in which I’ve called home:

  • Columbus, Ohio

  • Portland, Oregon

  • Montreal, Quebec

  • Alexandria, Louisiana

  • Steubenville, Ohio

Featured Episodes

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  • The Thankless Toil
    9/29/25

    The Thankless Toil

    Mike reflects on his challenging three-year "sabbatical," particularly specific instances in which he has relied on others for financial and emotional support while being unhoused. He emphasizes the profound power of expressing gratitude and saying "thank you" to others.

  • Finding Renewed Purpose in Portland
    7/4/20

    Finding Renewed Purpose in Portland

    Mike shares personal updates, particularly about recently starting his "dream job" as a transmission operations engineer at Portland General Electric, which he is passionate about and sees as a significant positive change after a challenging year.

  • My Stolen Birthday
    4/23/25

    My Stolen Birthday

    Mike shares his recent struggles, including the theft of his belongings and car, which occurred around his 39th birthday. Despite these setbacks and over two years of living on the streets, he remains resilient, finding gratitude in those he's met during this journey.

  • Reflections on Houses & Home
    2/19/23

    Reflections on Houses & Home

    Mike contrasts between his times of being broke/unhoused versus those of financial abundance with a roof over his head.

  • Faceoff w/ Parking Garage KAREN
    12/30/24

    Faceoff w/ Parking Garage KAREN

    Mike encounters Parking Garage KAREN in his penthouse loft.

  • Penthouse Loft
    12/16/24

    Penthouse Loft

    Mike finds a fabulous and unexpected solution to his present housing woes.

  • Mardi Gras in Natchez
    2/18/23

    Mardi Gras in Natchez

    As the people of Natchez gather along Commerce Street for its Mardi Gras celebration, Mike reflects on the comeback of numerous small and mid-sized towns throughout America.

  • Final Soiree
    12/22/22

    Final Soiree

    Mike kicks back with his new friend Robert and throws an impromptu soiree to commemorate the final days of Crimson House Alexandria, as his eviction date of 1 January 2023 draws ominously near…

  • The Portland She-bacle
    9/7/22

    The Portland She-bacle

    Two years after the 2020 West Coast wildfires, Mike opens up and shares the series of traumatic events he faced mere months after moving to Portland, Oregon.

  • Camp Time
    7/25/24

    Camp Time

    Mike presents his first improvised dwelling, a "camp" site created to accommodate his overnight stays in the Clintonville district of Columbus, Ohio.

  • Places Now & Then
    7/20/24

    Places Now & Then

    Mike reflects on how notable places in our life anchor us to the past.

  • Rain Delay
    6/5/24

    Rain Delay

    When the rut starts to feel like the “new normal”…

  • Changing Face of Olde Towne East
    9/22/23

    Changing Face of Olde Towne East

    Mike strolls down Oak St in the Olde Towne East neighborhood of Columbus, while reflecting on the changes and development throughout the neighborhood.

  • Final Day of Crimson House Alexandria
    12/27/22

    Final Day of Crimson House Alexandria

    We’ve managed to take the greatest country on Earth and devolve into a nation of cowards - incapable of anything beyond armchair activism and complaining into the void of social media.

Journals & Musings

  • A hand-drawn graph on white paper shows the relationship between boredom and the tendency to write a blog. The graph has two lines, one in pink labeled "intensity of opinion" and one in orange. The pink line increases more steeply than the orange line. The title at the top reads "Figuring things out..." in green. The pink line and text indicate that as the intensity of opinion increases, so does the tendency to write a blog, especially at higher levels of opinion intensity.

    Figuring Things Out

    2013-2020

    Graphics are colorful, they invite a myriad of differing interpretations, they portray trends, etc.  Plus, they're less prone to language barriers.

    Figures make complicated concepts easier to understand, simplify, and organize. Plus, I was too lazy to write longwinded essays anymore.

  • Close-up of a person's face with blue lighting, showing a serious expression.

    My Little Corner of Semi-Reality

    2004-2013

    My life is an open book. Please don't burn it.