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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  • Desire to Settle Down
    12/27/17

    Desire to Settle Down

    Enroute to Pittsburgh, Mike shares his recent endeavors in considering various "blue-collar" jobs, expressing excitement for these recent excursions from young professional life working in office settings. Marveling some of the positive changes and recent growth in Steubenville, he expresses desire to establish a stable presence in Ohio for the next several years, driven by a wish to engage in local politics and community affairs.

  • Humility, Listening, & Understanding
    12/4/22

    Humility, Listening, & Understanding

    Mike reflects on how social media and the internet has fundamentally changed the way we talk to each other in real life - listening to respond vs. listening to understand.

    Perhaps a dose of humility would enrich this form of conversation. Divided we fall - to some of the worst people imaginable…

  • The Pittsburgh Reveal
    12/28/17

    The Pittsburgh Reveal

    Driving in Pittsburgh is like driving in a pinball machine, but it offers the most dramatic approach into its downtown.

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.