The Visitor is one of the best episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This podcast episode has absolutely nothing to do with that. Although, there will be some Star Trek talk during the course of this show!

Last week I was on holidays from my work life. So, what did I do with that time off? I went for a visit to my old stomping grounds of Timmins, Ontario. I lived there for 19 years, but moved home to Sault Ste. Marie a year ago. Hence, I was the visitor to Timmins! The drive up was uneventful. I saw two moose on the side of the highway. Rarely do I see anything other than birds.

I stayed at a piece of property I own. That property is now up for sale. I decided that since I am never moving back, and Dakota has left the country, that there is no longer a need to keep the place. As an update, Dakota (my step-daughter) is still in Milwaukee. She and Luke are deciding what to do with the 30 day extension the border patrol gave them.

During one of my days I visited with my old work crew. They were happy and excited to see me, and asked so many questions. I also went to Timmins ComicCon. I saw so many old faces. Everywhere I went I felt like a celebrity. So many hugs and handshakes and smiles. I wasn't depressed at all being in Timmins. Visiting my son and my friends was a great experience.

Star Trek Picard aired its 9th episode of the final season on Thursday. I wasn't able to see it until Friday. Somehow I managed to avoid spoilers. On the way home I went to Sudbury to visit my friend Cory. I found no Hot Wheels on my journey, but I did manage to get a good one once I was back home.

This week's podcast promo: The Flopcast

Batman and more! We are taking a break from the serious side of the Soul Forge Podcast this week. We have pop culture news, memories and ground-breaking insights.

Starting off, we take a walk down memory lane. Shawn's first memory of playing with 'dinky cars' was a Batmobile with a trailer and a boat. No one knows where it ended up, but some light research suggests it was made by Corgi in the 1960s. This memory dovetails nicely with Shawn's current obsession -- collecting batmobiles from Hot Wheels.

The 1980s and 90s were a great time for Batman and more! The Michael Keaton version of Batman made his debut in 1989. The brothers had all the VHS tapes of the Batman movies. Looking back, they can be hard to watch, but at the time, they were masterpieces. After further discussion about Batman movies past and present, Robin tells us there is a Penguin tv series in the works at HBO Max. Robin also recounts his memories of the Batcab and why people would call him Batman.

And then we dive into the most recent trailers and what we have been watching. Secret Invasion is a Nick Fury tv series coming to Disney+. The movie trailers from the last week or so include Blue Beetle, Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse 2, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. There is also a new trailer for Ahsoka, the latest Star Wars series at Disney.

Finally, we chat about what else we have been watching or what may be coming soon. We are talking about Mandalorian and Star Trek Picard's third seasons. There is news of a Star Trek Starfleet Academy series. As for current tv we are watching, there is The Ark, Quantum Leap, Future Man, The Last Kingdom, The Flash and The Curse of Oak Island. Coming soon is Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Five Nights at Freddy's and season 2 of Star Trek Strange New Worlds. And to end things, there is a quick review of John Wick Chapter 4.

This week's podcast promo: ESDCU

 

Where home is, is the place where you feel in control and properly oriented in space and time. It is a predictable and secure place. In the words of poet Robert Frost, "Home is the place that, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." In short, “home” is the primary connection between you and the rest of the world.

For all people, home is the center of the world and a place of order that contrasts with the chaos elsewhere. When asked to draw a picture of “where you live,” children and adolescents worldwide invariably center their drawings around the home, making it the anchor for everything else.

A strong attachment to the place that you live results in greater satisfaction with your home and expectations of future stability in that place. These feelings transcend attachments to other people in the area and represent a genuine affection for the physical location itself. The passage of time strengthens our attachment to the places that we live. Because our physical surroundings play such an important role in creating a sense of meaning and organization in our lives, it is not surprising that our sense of the place we live is closely tied to our sense of who we are.

On this episode, Shawn converses with Luke and Dakota. You will remember them from episode 268 of the podcast. This time, the couple is attempting to build a home together. This journey has been three years in the making. And it is not quite complete yet. Dakota still has a number of paperwork hurdles to get through.

Although the place they are calling home feels more like Luke's bachelor pad, they are excited to be living together. Neither of them are experiencing any hesitation. They are truly ecstatic to be forging a life as one. Milwaukee is a beautiful city with a rich history.

Shawn has been living back in his home town for a year now. He has no regrets about leaving Timmins. Shawn knows that where home is, is wherever he feels like he belongs.

This week's podcast promo: The Epsilon Three

Gaelyn, owner and operator of Amore - For Your Pleasure is back for another visit. This week she is telling Soul Forge listeners about the complete line of Satisfyers. As a note of caution, this episode is not intended for children. Listening at work is also not recommended.

We are in the age of the love-toy revolution. Forget the times when women or men had to be embarrassed to own a vibrator or a dildo. One brand, in particular, has stood out from the great mass of products for many years: Satisfyer. Innovative, breathtaking, timeless – that is the best way to describe Satisfyer's products. With its revolutionary Air Pulse Technology, Satisfyer stimulates millions of women worldwide to their next climax. Everyone deserves good orgasms.

As the leading brand in the steadily growing sexual wellness sector, Satisfyer appeals to everyone. With an unbeatable price, Satisfyer is the sex toy of the masses. Satisfyer is there for everyone who lives out their sexuality confidently, who is curious and open to new things, and who enjoys their love life. Man, woman, single, couple, gay, straight, young, old – it doesn't matter.

Thanks to Air Pulse Technology, modern women can from now on decide utterly for themselves whether and how to get an orgasm. After placing the toy on the clitoris, the Satisfyer generates pressure waves at various strengths and levels, which you can choose freely.

Men's hearts are also set racing by the Satisfyer. The Satisfyer brand has created special love and lifestyle toys for the modern man's world that are explicitly geared to men's needs: high-tech masturbators with a special design that use an inbuilt thermal motor to simulate body temperature, generate vibrations and thereby convey a never-before experienced feeling of realistic love play – using your hand is so yesterday.

This week's podcast promo: Earth Station Who

Mint versus loose. Which is better? How do you choose to present your collection? Is there really that much of a difference between mint and loose collecting? All that and more on this week's exciting episode of The Soul Forge Podcast! But first, an update on my Hot Wheels collecting. I have been steadily on the hunt for new and unique die cast cars. YouTube has been a great source of information. People have different tastes in vehicles. It seems as though many collectors do not like the fantasy casts. Instead they prefer to only collect real-world models. This hobby can make one quite obsessive. So, mint or loose? What terms do we need to be familiar with? MOC : Mint on cardMIB : Mint in boxMIP : Mint in package HTF : Hard to findVHTF : Very hard to find Carded : Figure is still on original backing card.Boxed : Figure is still in original box.Loose : Figure is no longer in it's original box or card.Complete : Figure has all of its original accessories.Punched : The hole used to hang the card on a peg in stores has been knocked out.Unpunched : The hole used to hang the card on a peg in stores has not been knocked out. There can be many reasons for why someone will keep their action figures MIB/MOC. Some people just like the way the packages look. Many action figures made today are highly detailed, but also are in detailed packages. Others like to keep them MIB/MOC because action figures are worth way more when they are in original packages. The better the condition of the packages, the better the price will be if you ever decide to resell your action figures. Loose figures will allow you to take them out of the package and “play” with them. You can put your figures in different poses and post them online on blogs or forums. They take up way less storage space. The downside to loose figures is that they lose their values very fast. The best option (if you can afford it) is to buy 2 of everything. This way, you can display your collection both way and never have to decide! This week's podcast promo: Earth Station One  

Searching for joy is a necessary part of life. There are many day to day things that can bring you down. Sometimes you must actively seek out joy. On this week's episode of Soul Forge Podcast, Shawn and Amanda are doing their best to find the joy in the every day aspects of life.

What exactly is joy? According to the dictionary, joy is: the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation. However, in regards to the podcast, joy is simply the act of feeling good.

Origin of joy:

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English joy(e), from Old French joie, joye, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium “joy,” equivalent to gaud- (base of gaudēre “to be glad”) + -ium-ium   Amanda finds her joy through random acts of kindness. Making others feel good helps her to feel good too.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said the “surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.” New research published by a team of psychologists at the University of Missouri-Columbia suggests that King’s words are as true today as they were a half-century ago — that our own happiness is, in large part, influenced by the kindness and generosity we show to others. Amanda just might be onto something here.

We also talk about how our words can influence our moods. For instance, Shawn often says he is observing or describing. This is a more positive spin on the act of complaining or whining. Amanda thinks Shawn is actually whining, but he believes he is explaining or observing. What do you think?   This week's podcast promo: Earth Station Trek

Expectations are what we think will happen, while reality is what actually transpires. While we hope these two will match up, they often don't. This disparity of expectations vs. reality can often lead to feelings of discontentment and unhappiness. 

Expectations refer to the beliefs that you hold about the outcomes of events. While these expectations can play an important role in determining what happens and can contribute to goal-directed behavior, they can also lead to disappointment when reality does not match up to what you had hoped would happen. 

People are surprisingly bad at predicting what will make them happy. This means that your expectations might cause you to think that achieving certain goals will bring joy and contentment, but because these predictions are often wrong, you might pursue the wrong goals.

Your expectations can get the better of you when you expect more than what is realistic in a given situation. You might expect your partner to live up to what you see in romance films. You may expect your job to be an idealized version you dreamed about as a child, or even your life to match what you see on Instagram.

Expectations can create significant stress when they don't match up with reality. Also, consider how social media can greatly contribute to this. You compare our own worst moments (those not deemed to be shareable online) to others' best moments, which very often are filtered to seem perfect.

When you find that what is happening is not what you expected, actively look for the positives in what you have. You may find that once you get over the disappointment, you have something you didn't initially realize you wanted. This helps you to be more appreciative of what you have.

This week's podcast promo: Drinking with Authors

Hot Wheels are my latest micro obsession. What is a micro obsession? Those who know me, are aware that my interests vary far and wide. You never know what might hit my radar and become my next mini obsession. Last year it was prepping for the end of the world. This year, it's Hot Wheels!

For more than five decades, Hot Wheels has provided adrenaline-fueled vehicle play that ignites the challenger spirit in every kid with the most outrageous and innovative cars and track systems. Hot Wheels was born when Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler challenged his design team to create a toy car that was cooler and performed better than anything on the market. They answered with the first-ever trackable toy car.

This episode details my early history with Hot Wheels. From smashing my brother's cars to buidling towns. The price was so reasonable every kid had a ton of cars. We used to call them Dinky Cars. However, Dinky was a completely separate brand.

Hot Wheels are my newest micro obsession. I have been learning all about the history of the toy line. I have also found out about treasure hunt and super treasure hunt vehicles. Thanks in large part to a slew of YouTube channels, I have gained just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

This week's podcast promo: Cosmic Pizza

You're gonna die. I'm gonna die. We are all going to die. That is why it is important to think about end of life planning while you still can. You're gonna die. Therefore, it is up to you to plan how you wish to be taken care of.

Preplanning your final arrangements can save your family and friends from having to make decisions at a difficult time. It also gives you time to make the right choices.

The person you name in your will to handle your affairs (for example, your estate trustee) can change your plans at the time of your death, so it is important to discuss your wishes with him or her and your family members or friends.

This week on the podcast, Amanda is here to remind us all that we are going to die. She pre-planned her and her husband's funerals. Because she knows you're gonna die, she has much to say on this topic. The main take away is that pre-planning your funeral arrangements saves those left behind from having to do it during their grief. It also ensures you get what you want.

Remember to keep all important documents in a safe place where your legal representative(s) can find them easily and give a copy to the person who will likely make the arrangements. Keep in mind that your representative may not be able to have a safety deposit box opened until after the funeral.

At death, your legal representative should take your pre-arrangement documents to your chosen provider and any receipts or other evidence of payment.

The service provider will review the contract with your legal representative and let him or her know if there are any extra costs to be paid at that time.

This week's podcast promo: Cigar Nerds

It's a mixed bag of topics this week. There is no theme holding all the thoughts together. What will Shawn say on this week's episode? No one knows--not even him! Prepare yourself for a cosmic adventure to nowhere!

Valentine's Day was this week. How did you spend the day? Is it Single Awareness Day? Did you go to a fancy restaurant? I spent the day at work, followed by an evening of watching TV, eating chocolate and relaxing. Melissa went to Mexico with her family. We celebrated earlier in the week.

Television and movies are fun. I used to host a podcast all about pop culture and movies and toys. I am currently enjoying The Last Of Us. We are only 5 episodes into the series and it is really great so far. I haven't played the video game it is based on, but that doesn't seem to matter. The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard premieres this week. I have been eagerly anticipating seeing the reunion of the Next Generation crew. My brother Robin and I are going to see Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania on Thursday. Who doesn't love Paul Rudd?

The situation with my dad has improved recently. Things had been tense for quite some time. He recently reached out. We have been doing coffee and having visits. All in all, it has been quite pleasant so far.

Check out Rusted Robot Toys. It's my pop culture shop on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/RustedRobotToys

This week's podcast promo: But First, Let's Talk Nerdy