NN - EP07 - Why Boundaries, Sleep, And Saying No Might Save Your Life

Originally released in February 2020

We pull apart disinformation, privacy, and politics while staying focused on one hard truth: balance is a choice you keep making. Between grief, satire, and music, we lay out practical ways to set boundaries, rest well, and rebuild trust at work and at home.

• Russian info warfare tactics and deepfake detection tools
• Privacy headlines including Clearview AI and data rights
• Small acts of generosity as cultural counterweights
• Personal history with fame, leadership, and integrity
• Boundaries, saying no, and managing anxiety
• Satirical PSAs and ad breaks for levity
• Education gaps and real-world skill building
• Mixed economy reality versus consumer myths
• Rest, short naps, yoga, and hemp-derived routines
• Centered politics, fair process, and civic standards

If you find the episode worthwhile, let a friend know. Or a family member, if you absolutely have to.

Chapters

• 0:51 Opening Rant And Balance Theme
• 2:10 Info Warfare, Deepfakes, And Privacy
• 8:24 Tech Headlines: Clearview And Flying Taxis
• 10:09 Small Acts, Big Heart: School Lunch Story
• 11:01 Music Interlude And Personal History Of Fame
• 18:55 Leadership, Ego, And Team Trust
• 22:55 Public Service PSA: Use Your Turn Signal
• 25:06 Trauma, Perspective, And The Need For Support
• 29:06 Education System And Real-World Skills
• 33:39 Consumer Culture And Hybrid Economy Rant
• 36:31 Mortality, Sacrifice, And Regret
• 38:53 Work-Life Balance Focus And Potential Guests
• 41:38 Satirical News Break On Politics
• 44:41 Rest, CBD, And Practical Balance Habits
• 49:18 Comedy Ad Breaks And Levity
• 51:00 Grief, Friendship, And Finding Humor
• 55:13 Boundaries, Anxiety, And Saying No
• 59:57 Road Rage, Patience, And Daily Stress
• 1:04:36 Distraction, Sports, And Nostalgia
• 1:13:38 Center-Point Politics And The Impeachment Rant
• 1:28:36 Closing Credits And Support Links

Transcript

SPEAKER_03: 0:51

Another day, another Buck Fitti. You know, CPI annual increases and stuff. That shit really adds up. Larry Compton, your host of Nerds and Nonsense, back in the saddle for episode seven, my friends. Not a lot of funny in this episode, but there will be plenty of sarcasm and ranting, so if you're into that, just saying, hey, did you know the statistics show most podcasts don't make it to seven episodes? I mean, it makes sense, given that most humans are lazy, self-serving people, largely focused on their own fame and glory. They're too busy thinking about themselves and comparing their struggles and successes to everybody else. Not all of them, of course, but certainly a lot of them. Strange thing to say for someone starting their own podcast and seeking listeners and supporters, one might think, but all of this goes towards our what's your opinion topic this month. Work life balance. There seems to be an awful lot of imbalance everywhere I look these days, and none of it is funny. Folks, we need balance. We need the left and the right in order for there to be a center. More on that here in a bit. Let's start with the headlines from our discussion about Cambridge Analytica and some privacy stuff. How about FBI director warns of ongoing Russian information warfare in the 2020 election? This one's from the Associated Press the other day. Says FBI Director Christopher Ray said Wednesday that Russia is engaged in information warfare heading into the 2020 presidential election. Though he said law enforcement has not seen ongoing efforts by Russia to target America's election infrastructure. Ray told the House Judiciary Committee that Russia, just as it did in 2016, is relying on covert social media campaigns aimed at dividing American public opinion and sowing discord. That effort, which involves fictional personas, bots, social media postings, and disinformation, may have an electionear uptick, but it is also a round-the-clock threat that is in some ways harder to combat than an election system hack, Ray said. You think? Yeah, it's frustrating, folks. But listen, this is going to be frustrating from anyone's perspective with common sense when we have, you know, the highest officers, elected officials in the country using scare tactics and fear mongering, and being the very first to turn and point the finger at their own team, at their own staff, to turn and run away immediately. I don't know that person. I certainly didn't know them as well as I thought I did. We may have spoken on the phone a time or two, but I really don't know them clearly. You know, when we have the highest law enforcement officer in the country using fear mongering and scare tactics and people believing him because, you know, he's the highest law enforcement officer in the country. Well, what about the fact that he is talking about something he has absolutely zero frigging first hand experience in? How about that? How about the fact that he has no experience, training, or education in the friggin' area of encryption that I'm aware of? I can't find any experience in that area about uh technology, developing networks, encryption, anything related. So why do you take his opinion so damn weightfully? Why do you put so much weight because he weighs so much? Okay, never mind. Just my two cents. Here's another one that kind of caught my eye. Tool to help journalists spot. Doctored images is unveiled by Jigsaw. This one was in the New York Times, the company owned by Google's parent, introduced a free tool it calls Assembler to sort out real images from fake ones. Yeah, that's uh kind of nice to hear about these sorts of things. Now there's been many tools and services and experts in this area, of course, but right from the New York Times Post, a doctored phony image of President Barack Obama shaking hands with President Husan Rouhani of Iran, a real photograph of a Muslim girl at a desk doing her homework with Donald Trump looming in the background on television. It is not always easy to tell the difference between real and fake photographs, but the pressure to get it right has never been more urgent, as the amount of false political content online continues to rise. Ha ha! Hello world! On Tuesday, Jigsaw, a company that develops cutting-edge tech and is owned by Google's parent, unveiled a free tool that researchers said could help journalists spot doctored photographs, even ones created with the help of artificial intelligence. This is good news, folks. There are a lot of stories like this out there. There is people fighting this fight. Trust me, I've been on the front lines, I've seen some of those heroes, and I respect what's getting done. We need more. We need public education. Another one uh that rings back to our topic from last month, privacy and all of that sort of thing. This one from CNET and the article Clearview AI hit with cease and desist from Google Facebook over facial recognition collection. So Google and Facebook telling them to cease and desist. In an interview with CBS this morning, Clearview AI's founder says it it is his right to collect photos for the facial recognition app. Yes, it's his right. You know, he has rights. He has rights to your picture and your data and your information shared on platforms that he is not an authority on or of or developer for. So even if that platform faces publicly, that means it's public and he can have it and do with it what he wants. Now, there's two sides of that story, of course, but I'll I'll let you make those decisions. Here's what the story says, it says CEO of Clearview AI, a controversial and secretive facial recognition startup, is defending his company's massive database of searchable faces, saying in an interview on CBS this morning Wednesday that it's his First Amendment right to collect public photos. He has also compared the practices to what Google does with its search engine. Valid point, right? If they're doing it, I can do it too. That's always a good argument. Always have that one in the pocket. You know, that that should be right at the top. Deflect and point out that hey, other people are fucking up too. I'll let you read the rest of it before I start ranting. How about this one? Autonomous Flying Taxi Cora, set for passenger trials in New Zealand, according to Engadget. This is pretty amazing to me. The venture is a partnership between Bowie and Boeing and Kitty Hawk. Companies have been saying for years that flying taxis are on the agenda. Now it looks like they're finally set to take flight. WISC, which is a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the New Zealand government to begin passenger trials of its electric autonomous aircraft Cora. The trials are set to take place in the Canterbury region of the country, although it's not clear exactly when they'll start. So head there quick and fast if you want bleeding edge. Public transportation this Uber at the next level, bitches.

unknown: 9:16

Right?

SPEAKER_03: 9:17

Let's start flying helicopters with little to no regulation because drones aren't a problem already. That's not a problem. Autonomous taxis, not gonna be an issue, trust me. We got this. Our air traffic control system is rock solid and needs no infrastructure support, uh additional personnel, or anything. We've got this, obviously, if you've traveled anywhere in the last couple decades. And here's another one. This one is from CNN. And I would like to end with uh a nice smile every once in a while. An eight-year-old boy paid off the lunch debt for his entire school by selling keychains. Do you believe this shit? I have seen grown adults in their 60s that can't see beyond their friggin' noses. Here's an eight-year-old boy who paid off the lunch debt for his entire school. Yeah. CNN says, you may have heard of celebrities of multi-billion dollar companies donating money to cover students' lunch debt, but Koing Ching from Vancouver, Washington is just your normal eight-year-old who wanted to help his schoolmates. With his handmade keychains that go for$5 each, Coney raised$4,015 to erase the lunch debt of students from his school and six others. Holy shit, man. Man, there are a lot of clueless, crazy human beings on this planet. He is not one of them. That young man is gonna be just fine. All right, let's keep things moving along. I have got a lot to get into in this episode, including how about some music.

SPEAKER_01: 11:30

Yeah, I don't know what's real or not. Yeah, I don't even understand when I be saying half the time. Yeah, be thinking when I'm wrapping cap a lot, I'm on my line. I gotta speed it up the time. That's just not what's on my mind, I gotta tell the truth to these people. I don't root, gotta scream it's the ones that I always run up in the crew. Like this line is like real and money. Yep, I'm leaving when I be singing every time. Y'all be thinking when I'm gonna keep up. I gotta speed it up. This now's on my mind. I gotta tell the truth to these people. I'll root. Gotta scream it to the ones that always roll up in the crew. Gotta tell you what it's like to be the wanna live like this. Live is life, bro. Let me wrap a bit and tell you what it is. I'm the greatest chosen one. I got this golden life I live. I told everybody that, but it's just the line shit. I'm just tryna find out how I really fit in. I'm a motherfucking mistake. Yeah, you know you cannot make me different.

SPEAKER_02: 12:46

Wanna change my team, wanna get a different life, wanna live soon. Wanna get a fun flight, live like my stream.

SPEAKER_01: 13:18

Y'all don't know it's real or not. Y'all don't even understand what I be saying half the time. Y'all be thinking when I'm rap, I'm cap a lot. I'm on my line. I gotta spit it all the time. But that's just not what's on my mind. I gotta tell the truth to these people. I'll be root. Gotta scream it to the ones that always roll up in the crew. Gotta tell you what this life is real. Wanna live like this life is like what it means. Yeah, I don't know what's real and not. Yeah, I don't even understand when I be saying half the time. Yeah, be thinking when I'm wrapping cap a lot. I'm on my line. I gotta spit it all the time, but that's just not what's on my mind. I gotta tell the truth to these people out the roof. Gotta scream it to the ones that always roll up in a coup. Gotta tell you what it's like to be the one and live like this. Lavish life, golden kid, golden one, chosen.

SPEAKER_03: 14:19

And here's a few things you might not know. One, that track you just listened to was the first ever collaborative release from my son and I. Two, I've been famous, not once, but several times throughout my life and career. Sure, you know, not necessarily famous like the Beatles or Blues Clues even, but trust me, I've been dealing with fame since I was a young boy. Racing and sports fame, military fame and recognition, club DJ scene fame, top 50 radio market fame, local, state, and federal government IT fame, law enforcement fame, teaching international law enforcement fame. For a couple of years, everyone, you know, back before everyone had a cell phone and was online, but I was. Anyway, random women I'd never met would send me sexual fantasies and nude photos to my place of work, unsolicited, and in hindsight, I probably should have burned them on receipt, but I put them all in shoeboxes because I thought they were, you know, pretty darn personal, and I honestly never looked at any of them twice until one day I met my future wife who stumbled on those shoeboxes. Fame and glory. Woohoo! I can tell you with the little I've experienced, I don't want it. I've tried to shy away from it by deflecting credit to others, doing everything that I know how to do to stay out of the damn spotlight. I don't talk about my accomplishments or what I have done previously to anyone, so much so that most who know me have no clue. Many close to me will never even know a lot of the cool things I've been fortunate enough to be a part of, and I've been a part of some really cool things. Anyway, once I decided to leave my previous career or passion, I would turn and walk away. I tried to wish everyone from that chapter of my life all the best, but you know, sometimes it took longer than others. I never shared any of those details with those around me during my next chapter ever. They don't need to know. They're basing their judgment on what I'm doing today. I hope. Many close to me will never know a lot of those cool things. So anyway, uh, once I decided to leave, I tried to wish people, you know, all the best and provide need-to-know details only. Something I realized was that not even my own family knows a lot of the stuff I've done. Not even those who worked hand in hand with me during a lot of the really cool things in those chapters of my life. Not a single one of them could know because I haven't told them about it. I don't talk about it, I don't even answer questions about it usually. That's not gonna change, is I'm not looking for recognition or fame. In other words, I'm not trying to impress you or anyone else, so please do me a favor and keep your judgmental hypothesis of who I am and what I'm about to your damn self, because I don't care to hear it. I don't care. Ask anyone who has either worked with me or been around me intimately at any point in my life, ask any of them who I am and what I'm about. Don't don't ask me. Ask them why it is that even if they didn't like me personally, uh that I would be the one they would pick within the first few picks if they were to build a team today to accomplish anything. Ask them why that is. And you might hear things like, Because he's always working, because he's dedicated, because he says what he's gonna do and then does it. Or maybe you'll hear something that some of you may really want to hear, like, he's human and I've seen him make mistakes. What I can tell you is that there has not been one single job where I haven't outperformed most of the others where I worked. I began leading grown adults at the age of 15. I have not only excelled at what I do, in some cases my work has set all new standards of excellence, and that's who I am. I'm sorry about that. But why is that? Am I just freaking amazingly gifted and smarter than everyone else?

SPEAKER_05: 19:01

No. Not even close. No, I am not. That's the key here.

SPEAKER_03: 19:08

I work with smarter people than me to this day, and I have my entire career. I absorb as much as I can from them. It's like I tell my son, it doesn't take that much to stand out when everyone else is working harder at not working than they are at doing what they know they should be doing. People will always be more focused on themselves than the company paying them to be there doing what they do for a living, unless they feel part of the team, unless they feel trusted and appreciated. It's not about intelligence or money. Listen, I'm far from perfect. If you know me, you know that. I've made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I learned to own my mistakes as quickly as I could, often before others would recognize them. I know. Teams. I know leadership and I know dedication. I also know I'm more than just that. I've always worn my emotions on my sleeve because I'm not trying to hide how I feel. I'm not calculating how I'm going to get back at you for screwing me over. Because a lot of people have screwed me over, like you, right? And I know it's going to happen again and again and again. Employers, bosses, friends, even those who I considered family. A lot of people. Humans suck, man. For me personally, in my experience, a lot of that bullshit seemed to be based on ego and jealousy and power, which fosters lack of trust and imbalance. Could they do what I did? Probably, but they didn't. So pick me, right? Rather than attack them back, though, I turned and walked away each and every time. I live in a goddamn cardboard box, is one of my favorite rants I'm known for. It's sort of like my dad's who gives a rat's ass? Everyone who ever knew him heard him say quite regularly. I know some of you may have a hard time understanding that, because you're used to being around self-centered little bitches, and you have never known what it's like to be a part of a real team based on trust and integrity. Or maybe you're one of those arrogant little pricks that likes to project your own insecurities and fucked up thoughts on others. If you fit into one of those groups, you're likely offended right now, and you should be. What is it that offends you about me pointing out that the vast majority of the human race is comprised of greedy, self-centered, gluttonous assholes? Is that news to you? Am I being too honest for your liking? I get it. Balance. You don't want to see it, at least not all the time. Balance. The following is a public safety announcement. Sort of. What if I told you that you could let other cars and people around you know ahead of time that you were going to change lanes or make a turn? It seems crazy, but using 1940s technology, every car produced these days comes with this amazingly simple, easy to use, but often overlooked feature. The turn signal lever. Or lever, if you will. Conveniently placed right next to your hand on the steering wheel, and every car produced today is a small lever that can be switched up or down, and here's how it works. And please, don't try this the first time while driving. With the vehicle in park and your foot on the brake, start your vehicle and place your hands on the wheel. Now, while looking straight ahead and keeping a firm grip on the wheel with the other hand, push the lever either way, up or down, gently, until it locks in position, and then immediately return that hand to the steering wheel. Do not be alarmed by the clicking sound, nor should you start busting a wrap to its hypnotic rhythm. Your focus should remain on those around you as you continue to travel through life at completely unreasonable speeds in your several thousand pound killing machine. Go ahead, push the lever the other way now. Keep your foot on the brake and remember to breathe. Deep breaths. You can do this. Listen, I haven't even told you the best part yet. After you complete an actual turn, the clicking noise stops all by itself. I recommend trying this a few times by yourself with the vehicle in park, of course, and then have a friend do it with you while you stand outside the vehicle and take note of the colored lights blinking on each side of your vehicle, in both the front and back of the vehicle, when the lever is activated. Or lever. You know, but this is how others around you know that you're going to change lanes or make a turn, those flashing lights. Finally, practice this while you're actually driving. Push the lever in the direction you're going to turn well before you actually start the turning process. If you don't do it until you start turning, well, you did it wrong. Immediately return to your driveway, put your vehicle in park, and repeatedly slam your forehead on the steering wheel while screaming insults at yourself for at least two minutes. And then take another deep breath and start this lesson again. This is not a real public safety announcement, and I'm not a real driving expert, but I will point out that I figured out how turn signals work long before I even considered taking driving tests. I guess that makes me more knowledgeable than most in this area. And if they are still baffling to you, I would ask that you consider selling the vehicle and maybe walking more. Have you ever traveled outside of your own bubble? Ever been overseas anywhere? European Union, Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia, China, any third world countries at all? You ever done that? Ever been to war? Have you watched humans kill each other firsthand for years on end? Not just, you know, firsthand as in war, uh law enforcement, first responder types of things, but but then you sit and have to analyze and watch those images for hours and hours and weeks and months on end because you're the one analyzing all of this evidence. What about child exploitation evidence? Have you you ever had to deal with that? Child rape and exploitation stuff? Boy. Well, if you ever have had to look at that for a few years straight, you might have a better perspective and understanding of where I am and what I'm talking about here. You need balance. In fact, your employer should be helping you with that. Quite literally, annual checkups, counseling on demand, social anxiety, and PTSD resources should not only be available, but should be required in many lines of work, in my humble opinion. And it's not. It's not in all of them today. You see, if you haven't been there, well, surely you watch the idiot box, right? Same thing. Watching TV. It's just like being there in person, watching entire civilizations live without all of the shit you take for granted every single day. Watching, you know, superheroes and these super handsome tactical forces shoot, kill, bleed, and die very patriotically. Watching bad guys kill and blow shit up. Same thing. You get it. I mean, what the hell could someone who has actually been there tell you that, you know, some Hugo boss wearing Volkswagen driving, Ivy League educated writer or producer can't teach you? I mean, they not only went to college, they probably went to an expensive one, you know, one of the elite ones, and they might have rubbed elbows with true geniuses, geniuses that are members of secret societies and special clubs and are recognized with fancy diplomas printed on this huge, egotistically sized paper using these really rare and special inks. By the way, Hugo Boss was a Nazi supporter responsible for designing and outfitting, you know, Heinrich Himmler's SS. Yeah, I'd stick my foot three foot into some salesperson's ass before I'd buy that shit. Volkswagen was created by a Nazi labor party, of course. Everybody knows that. And it used over 15,000 concentration camp slaves to ramp up production. As early as 1974, Volkswagen was caught and fined for using so-called defeat devices on emissions test. So if you thought that deception started with their clean diesel stuff in the last couple of decades, well, you're wrong. See, they've always put profit over morality and ethics. Great team to be a part of, though, so I hear. Keep buying their shit, America, makes perfect sense, you citizens of the world, you. I mean, look, this happens to all of us. I'm not excluding myself, but I do consciously make more effort these days to understand who I'm doing business with, whether they're international corporations or small businesses that I'm buying from. I want to know who they are and what they're about. That I digress, as I often do. My point I was trying to make before I started that little side rant was that you won't find selfless people or geniuses out in the wild, of course. Their value needs to be confirmed and recognized by those with formal and widely respected education, which of course will cost the most and may require a little elbow or backdoor greasing, and is absolutely unattainable for the vast majority of the entire world, even if they had the scholastic aptitude, right? Yeah, our education systems. Oh man, Americans, we'd be so smart, eh? While I am a huge, huge fan of education and a secure sharing of information, I am not a fan of our country's education system for many reasons, but first and foremost because it is not designed to provide students with any actual life skills. Period. That's it. That's my big bitch. Kids graduate high school and most of them still can't balance a checking account. They don't know shit about paying bills, managing credit, investing. They have zero employable skills. They're rarely had any accountability in any environment, let alone a team-based work environment for an employer or a company, right? Never had any accountability to anyone other than themselves, more than likely. But they can fucking pass state-mandated tests, so that's pretty impressive. Testing is the best way to prove intelligence, just like resumes are the best way to know how valuable a person is, of course. That in their bank account. You couldn't possibly bring anything to the table that can't be articulated in a resume or a curriculum vitae, or measured via a written test. Who the hell do you think you are, you egotistical ass? Sorry. Excuse me. I tend to forget, see. I tend to I tend to do that. I often forget how most people are so much more intelligent and valuable than you and I because of their education, their job, and their money, their tireless, tireless work ethic, I mean. Uh, you know, how they're focused on improving and enriching the lives of others rather than themselves. I really do apologize for for overlooking all of that effort from them. I mean, if you pay taxes and vote, bing, bang, boom, that is it, folks. That is your only required commitment to everyone in this country. And even one of those is optional, right? You don't have to vote. So if you were born here in America, you deserve stuff. Nice stuff, not just average stuff. You know, stuff like you would see on the idiot box, all that lavish uh celebrity home shit. And, you know, you gotta have it. Wanna have it? You deserve it. Every single bit of it is absolutely required in order to be successful, and it's also required in order to be happy. Consume. Consume, consume. Our economy depends on you. That's your required commitment, right? To ordered community. Just keeping up with the Jetsons, paying taxes, and maybe voting once in a while. We don't need to be considerate of others. We don't need to be engaged or contribute in any other way. Community service, volunteering, education, healthcare, military, government, law enforcement, social services, taking care of the elderly, weak, and those who can't take care of themselves. Fick them all. That's why we pay taxes, right? Let the government figure that shit out. I mean, then we can sit back and just put our feet up and bitch and whine about it, right? I mean, two cheers for capitalism, hip hip. Wait a fucking minute. This is not capitalism. We are not and have never been a capitalist society, you freaking morons. We have always been a hybrid economy, socialism and capitalism mixed. Do you get that? I mean, leave all the community service and government stuff to the dummies that are willing to do it? You know, all the while being paid less than their private sector counterparts, all the while getting fewer benefits year after year, all the while losing pensions because of incompetent money management out of their control by power-hungry, money-hungry, media spotlight hungry politicians who flip positions faster than 10-second bob. All the while, they're also taking shit from many of you. Sitting on your fat asses, bitching about how shitty everyone else is doing things. But, you know, newsflash, government employees pay taxes and vote too. Yeah! Fick me, the miserable horizon! Have I offended you yet? Yes? Well then do us a favor right this very minute. Stop reading. Get fixed. As Bill Burr has said in damn near every one of his stand-up specials, we already have enough of you. We've got that guy! Not offended? Well, you're likely very comfortable knowing that you've done more than most. And seriously, if that's the case, I want to thank you for that. From the bottom of my heart, I am not bullshitting right now. I am not being sarcastic. We need more of you. Please consider reproducing. But keep it to one or two, okay? And then fix your shit. Thanks for understanding. It's not about you, my friends. Each of us, no matter how rich or powerful, will turn to dust at some point. Money can't change that. Nothing can. Your entire existence is one single blip on the radar screen of life, the size of a gnat's ass, and it won't even be there on that same radar screen during the second pass. You could put your name in concrete on the largest buildings in the world. You can write books until you're blue in the face. You will soon be forgotten by everyone who didn't love you or know of your selflessness personally. You don't get a say in how history is written, nor who it's written by. Maybe you busted your ass to make your millions and game your fame. Hey, that's great. You started at the bottom and worked your way up at least once. Good on you. Did you work around the clock longer and harder than everyone else? Did you sacrifice more than most along the way? Yeah, you're not alone. Literally millions of us have. Some of us several times. Some were focused on money. Some were focused on other outcomes, not so capitalistic in nature, you know. Some screwed everyone they possibly could along the way. In more ways than one. A lot of people lose sight of who and what is most important to them without even realizing it, of course. For the longest time I thought working harder than most and more than most was the right thing to do for my family. You know I was wrong. I know I was wrong. I hurt the very people that I loved me, you know, the people that cared most about me, often by just not being there. And it's still happening to this day. As I have to be away for birthdays and anniversaries again this year for work. They know I don't want to be away. They know I don't like to travel. I'm trying to cut travel out of my life. But it still breaks my heart that I have missed so many of them over the years. It actually disgusts me. It pisses me the hell off. So that, my friends, is this month's topic for our what's your opinion segment? Work life balance. I've shared a few of my thoughts and I'll be sharing more this month. I'll also be reaching out to a couple of folks that I am hoping will be able to make some time to chime in. Speaking of guests, though, since August, when I first started putting pen to paper for this show, I've reached out to a total of six people. Six people to be guests on this show. Two of them quickly joined me on Skype for brief calls. Three expressed interest, but we just haven't connected and found the time. One still hasn't replied. Totally understandable, as all of these are highly respected and extremely busy individuals. This is not a highly respected nor widely listened to show. Oh, and I probably should point out that one of them is a former vice president of the United States, too, so there's that. Anyway, I'm most excited about the possibility of hopefully hearing from this amazing lady I met several years ago that is a pioneer in digital forensics, as well as a respected CEO of her own highly regarded digital forensics company, and more importantly, maybe depending on your perspective, a mom. Seriously, can you imagine that? I can't even do one of those things at that level. Talk about a fascinating perspective on work-life balance issues. Whether we hear from any of those guests or anyone else ever, uh, isn't up to me, my friends, and I don't have time to chase anybody down, especially for a hobby that's already costing me time and money to produce and develop. It brings me joy to share this show, don't get me wrong. Maybe I'll leave something behind that my family members can listen to at some point and learn a little bit more about me in my own voice. By the way, if you're from the future and you're listening right now, I still love you. Miss Justin! Earlier today in Washington, D.C., another career politician said something really, really stupid. Officials are concerned that ignorance and stupidity has blatantly crossed party lines and unfortunately has made its way to those appointed by elected officials as well. We spoke with a high-profile former politician who recently left office and asked to remain anonymous.

SPEAKER_00: 39:01

I don't know what happened. I remember when I announced my campaign for this position, but after that it's all a blur. I began babbling like an idiot, making promises I couldn't keep, attacking my political opposition, and generally always feeling like I was full of shit. Literally, my doctor said it's a chronic case of political constipation. I knew I should have stepped down right then and there, but they said they'd stop paying me if I did.

SPEAKER_03: 39:23

Do not be alarmed if you recognize these symptoms in your elected or appointed officials. There is hope, according to health experts.

SPEAKER_01: 39:32

Many of these babbling idiots are turning normal as soon as their sorry ass is voted or kicked out of office. You don't say.

SPEAKER_06: 39:38

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

SPEAKER_03: 39:41

So how am I handling the work life balance these days? Well, I'm doing better than I ever have, but definitely have a lot of room for improvement. Working from home has definitely helped the last several years. Proper rest is huge. Fifteen to twenty minute naps have always been like really important for me, but I Figured out, you know, one midday, like right at the end of my first workday, that is like totally refreshing. Anything more than 15 to 20 minutes, I don't want to get up. Finding more ways to spend time with the family, like doing yoga at home, exercising and cooking together, stuff like that. Also, about a year ago, I started taking CBD oil, extracted from naturally grown and legally grown hemp. I personally feel it's helped me tremendously with inflammation, stress, and anxiety. I feel more focused and productive, like many others have reported. I began researching CBD first, of course, and then began experimenting with it through our state-run stores here in Washington State. And have really learned quite a lot along the way. I also picked up this book by Shira Adler along the way called The ABCs of CBD. I read the entire thing almost on a flight across the country with my mom. What an easy and logical presentation of both the societal and medical facts. Mom had told me a couple of my aunts were taking CBD, so I was telling her that I had been taking it too, but that I had switched to straight hemp oil, which contains all of the cannabids, all of the CBDs, albeit to lesser specific dosages, you know, of a particular one. But the point here is I can also validate my sources and its production, and I can buy it through Amazon. So you can't buy CBD through Amazon, but you can buy hemp oil. And in my personal case, that has been sufficient for me to see results from it. So if you'd like to learn more, check out Shea Adler's book. It's called The ABCs of CBD. Why pot is not what we were taught, The Essential Guide by Shea Adler. And a few quotes of folks talking about the book. As inflammation is found at the root of so many chronic health conditions today, we must explore safe and natural ways to reduce the inflammatory burden on the body. Shear Adler provides an in-depth look into CBD and the hope and promise it holds as a natural way to address inflammation in the body. The ABCs of CBD is an informative and upbeat read about the potential of CBD as an effective tool to fight inflammation. It's a fun read that will change your mind about the therapeutic potential of cannabis. And that's from Beth Lambert, Executive Director of Epidemic Answers. The ABCs of C B D is a very engaging and entertaining book that explains all the important aspects of CBD. It is essential reading for anyone wanting to know the truth miracle of CBD. Dr. Kendra Pursaul, naturopathic physician, and more. Lots more. The ABCs of CBD by Shira Adler. Check it out. It's a great read. Do you breathe? Have you ever taken a shit before? If you answered yes to either of those questions, we've got a product for you. Introducing the Appmaster 400XL. The Appmaster 400XL is a comfy, heated toilet seat with a built-in air purifier. No more rotten carcass smell right after dad drops the morning deuce in the bathroom right off the kit. This sounds too good to be true. But the Appmaster 400XL has been tested thoroughly by some of the nastiest actors in the business. The Aspaster 400XL comes in your choice of three different colors and has over 3,000 different frame forest fresh aromas built right in. If you call within the next 20 minutes, we'll include the required power core. And you get to keep the cardboard box we ship it to you in. Don't kid yourself. Your shit really does stink. Get an Askmaster 400XL today!

SPEAKER_06: 44:00

The Askmaster 400XL is not a real product, and this is not a real commercial. But your shit definitely does stink.

SPEAKER_07: 44:20

I don't want to seem anxious. Of course.

SPEAKER_03: 44:29

Absolutely, man. So first and foremost, it's been a while since we've chatted. I haven't had a chance to catch up with you, and so much has been going on. I I wanted to again apologize or share my condolences about Subcool. And uh I did do some reading on some of the links you sent and stuff. And so yeah, that sucks.

SPEAKER_07: 44:53

Yeah, he was kind of a big deal.

SPEAKER_03: 44:56

Yeah. Yeah. You know, and when you know somebody uh personally, uh and you know, you like like we were saying, you know, you meet you have plans with them, you talk to them, and you know, you you just expect that, you know. I I've got my other best friend, you know, I grew up with as a as a kid, I haven't talked to over the phone in like ten years. But I know, you know, it's always been the case. We always have these uh situations where dealing with life and he could call on me and I could call on him anytime, and he'd answer the phone and it'd be just like yesterday. But when somebody is not there to answer the phone anymore, and you know Yes, he just takes off.

SPEAKER_07: 45:39

It didn't tell you, hey, tomorrow I will not be here.

SPEAKER_04: 45:42

Exactly, man.

SPEAKER_03: 45:44

That sucks so bad because it's like so many things, you know, so many things you you just feel like you didn't get a chance to close, or I wish I would have done this, you know. And it just sends you into a spiral. It does me personally, I know. So that's why I was thinking a lot about you this week. I know it was not a good good week to be funny.

SPEAKER_07: 46:06

But oh, I'm always funny, man, even in the darkest of situations. Oh, I know this. My brother was uh on life support. Yeah, I I still kept him coming.

SPEAKER_04: 46:19

Right.

SPEAKER_07: 46:21

Right there at his bedside, I was yelling at him, get up, Jeff, quit playing, man. Knock it off. I'm like, he's in there, watch. And everybody's all crying and shit.

SPEAKER_04: 46:33

Yeah. I know, man. That's what I love about you. I think that's what everybody has always loved about you, is you always find the funny. And they just know that. They just know being in the room, like even when you're not trying to find the funny.

SPEAKER_05: 46:48

You fucking find the stumble into the funny.

SPEAKER_07: 46:54

When he finally came out of his coma, I'd asked you, I told him what I did.

SPEAKER_04: 46:59

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_07: 47:01

Did you hear me? I said, Man, I told you, I said, I pictured you inside your little head and in a little chair with controls, laughing and shit. Not coming out.

unknown: 47:12

Right.

SPEAKER_04: 47:16

Yeah. Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_03: 47:17

I I mean, when my brother passed, you know, he'd been challenged with the medical issues for quite some time. And, you know, we were talking not every day, but it you know, every couple days we were on the phone for, you know, the last several months, and and we got, you know, reconnected, you know, like the best friends we were, you know, growing up, you know. And you know, we had re we've been re never disconnected. It's just, you know, when you spend that much time together over the phone and together again, you know, it's different and and reminiscent and all of that stuff, and then suddenly, you know, nobody's there anymore. Um and man, fuck.

SPEAKER_07: 48:00

Yep. I wasn't prepared for that either. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 48:03

So many people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07: 48:05

I told him, I was like, man, that's bullshit. I said, if anybody's gonna be on the live support, it's supposed to be me, right? Not him. I know, right? God. I know, I know. Yeah, I think the whole family shares that sentiment. I just won't say it.

SPEAKER_04: 48:26

But you know, you and I feel the same way about those sorts of things.

SPEAKER_03: 48:30

We know our your worth, I guess, and and in, you know, quite frankly, we've always put everyone else in front of us.

SPEAKER_04: 48:38

That's that's just who we are.

SPEAKER_03: 48:40

And I think that's you know, it this sounds arrogant, it sounds all of those things, but it's fucking true. So, you know, there's that. I know that doesn't mean a lot anymore these days, truth and facts.

SPEAKER_07: 48:57

Here's a good one for you.

SPEAKER_04: 48:58

What's that?

SPEAKER_07: 48:59

When I my mom, I took her to the grocery store the other day, and as you're aware, my dad, Jack, is on has cancer right now, colon cancer, and he makes walking sticks.

SPEAKER_04: 49:11

Yeah, of course I got one, man. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_07: 49:13

Right? Yeah, so my mom she doesn't use one, she uses an aluminum walking cane. And we're in the store, and a man that I don't really know who it was, but knows them had approached her and he goes, Oh, so you don't use one of uh the walking sticks? And she goes, No, I use this one, and she hadn't seen him in a while. And she goes, Oh, do you know Jack has cancer? And he goes, Yeah, him and everybody else. Did you know I was hit by a car? And she goes, No. He goes, Yeah. He's like, I got my back and my neck fused. And she goes, Oh, he goes, Well, I guess God ain't finished with you yet. He goes, He ain't finished with any of us. And he walked away.

SPEAKER_05: 49:58

Hey, finished with that's a hell of a discussion. Thanks for brightening my day.

SPEAKER_07: 50:04

Oh, my dad has cancer. Yeah, him and everybody else. I got hit by a car.

SPEAKER_03: 50:08

It's it's it's the human nature, man. It's so funny because the most beautiful people can't stop that human nature. You know, that's why I always say humans suck because we do. And that's why, you know, I think it's strange for people who have not been around people like us, because uh one of the things is they immediately think it's about us, right? That we're trying to be about us, and that just doesn't even logically compute to us, it doesn't make sense. It's fucking crazy, it's absolutely crazy.

SPEAKER_07: 50:38

Doctors have a hard time with me because they have to maintain their composure, it's just like the military, right? They have to maintain a certain composure. I mean, he can't be slapping his knees and laughing at all the funny shit I'm saying, right? But that don't mean I'm gonna stop.

SPEAKER_06: 50:51

Right. And yes, regardless of me.

SPEAKER_07: 50:53

I see little bits of tear come out of their eyes and shit, or their hands are shaking. You know, they're just gonna go in the other room and freaking die laughing. And I tell them to I'm like, I understand you have to maintain your Dr. Decorum, they have somebody with them and they're teaching. They can't just cut up, man, like we did.

SPEAKER_04: 51:12

I know.

SPEAKER_03: 51:13

That's the thing, you know. Um, I I just I don't know, that whole decorum thing. I remember rebelling so hard, you know, when I was a teenager and just trying to look like dog shit, you know, wearing the worst ratty clothes I could, torn up shit, and letting my hair grow because I just wanted people to judge me based on my looks, and that was my intention. And, you know, just that kind of rebellion at that age.

SPEAKER_07: 51:38

Right. Society does not want holes in my pants. Therefore, I'm gonna wear them. That's right. Damn you. Society frowns upon this, and I'm gonna embrace it.

SPEAKER_04: 51:49

Exactly, you know.

SPEAKER_03: 51:51

But, you know, I wasn't eating friggin' Tide Pots or anything. Society frowns upon eating Tide Pots. Uh no, I wasn't doing anything like that. Just I actually was working full time, you know, and uh buying my own shit. I was doing that and getting, you know, very few people I think even recognize that, you know. It's funny, it's really strange because I got, you know, like you, I got to be friends with like all those clicks and everything, like all throughout, not high school, but my education through military, you know, same same sort of thing. We get such diversity from that, I was saying earlier. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Hell yeah. So, what you've been doing music-wise, I heard uh what'd you get, another guitar?

SPEAKER_07: 52:44

Well, you know, my friend dying and everything said I needed cheering up, and I'm like, come on, what can I do to pull me out of this front? And then my other self said, Hey asshole, go get a guitar, man. You got a new credit card? Yes. I'm like, I do got a new credit card. Oh my god. That's right. So yada yada yada, yeah. I got another strat. It's already in the shop being customized. Oh, what you doing? The the with the collar improvement. I have the knobs moved and have some customizations done to them.

SPEAKER_04: 53:12

Right, right. Patent pending or is that yes? Yes, okay.

SPEAKER_07: 53:16

Jam pending.

SPEAKER_03: 53:20

Yeah. No, I totally dig it. That's awesome, man. That's that's friggin'. I did the same thing though. You know, I I was just friggin', you know, buying computer crap for my office here and reorganizing this week. And got some old systems out of here and refurbished a couple and uh made some space for a much more efficient studio setup and workstation setup and then hardware and software testing section. So more organization and that sort of thing. So I splurged, yes. I splurged on myself and bought some, you know.

SPEAKER_07: 53:56

As long as you clean it up, man. Splurge in the net, buddy. Couple displays on the sofa.

SPEAKER_03: 54:04

I got uh the best computer I've ever had on the way, and uh some of it's already here. It's definitely one of those geek things. So dual core, dual GPU, dual every friggin' thing. You know what I mean? That sort of thing.

SPEAKER_07: 54:20

Yes. I was talking about you at the guitar repair shop because I'm such an analog dude. And uh you know, I was telling about my friend. Oh, because well, I was I started searching through something on my phone, and I quickly gave up. I'm like, I'm not gonna stand here all day trying to flip through this shit just to show you one stupid thing to make a point. And then I was like, then he goes, How's that phone working? I'm like, well, I said my stuff works good. I said, because my friend I was in the army with, man, he is a digital professional, he's a forensics analyst, he's into all that shit, and he is a pro. I mean, he's the top of the line that comes at. And he loves making my shit work good. I never know what he does. But you can get on there, man. He makes my phone work, everything works great. But he's around, he knows how to make that shit happen.

SPEAKER_03: 55:10

It's just a pro. It's fun for me. I enjoy I enjoy helping people, number one, but I freaking enjoy the technology, you know, too. So there's that. It's just though the one when it gets frustrating is you know, when people you mean when you're having to repeat yourself. I just have this pet peeve about repeating myself already, you know. And then when I have to say the same things to the same people, I I come to a realization that they don't want to retain this. So once once you know you come to that realization, it's a matter of okay, am I going to continue just doing for them and understand that they don't want to do for themselves or or what? You know, so that's what that's where it goes.

SPEAKER_04: 55:53

And it's maddening.

SPEAKER_07: 55:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_04: 55:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_07: 55:59

Oh well, people want me to either make them play guitar, show them how to play guitar, guitar for them.

SPEAKER_04: 56:07

Right.

SPEAKER_07: 56:08

Because they don't realize it took me my entire life.

SPEAKER_04: 56:11

Right, right.

SPEAKER_07: 56:13

I'm starting to get an echo, man. What you doing, man?

SPEAKER_03: 56:16

No, here you know what I did. How about that? Did that change it? Yeah. Square square now, you know.

SPEAKER_07: 56:23

But uh, for instance my neighbor calls me the other last night. I think it was last night. He calls me. He said, Hey man, there's this kid. He just started out playing guitar and everything like that. And I told him about you and how good you are, and da da da. And uh thought maybe you'll come by and maybe get some pointers from you or something like that, or you could show him something or two. Right. And I said, Yeah, nah. He goes, So no? I'm like, yeah. Not into it. He goes, you don't want to show him nothing? Like, nah, man, not really. I just not that guy.

SPEAKER_04: 57:00

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_07: 57:02

He was left, he was like, he was so sure I was gonna say, sure, man, we can we can do this. Yeah, because that's normally my personality, man. But I'm trying something new. I'm in a no phase. I weigh it out in my head and I'm like, I got nothing to lose from saying no. Well, see that just the same.

SPEAKER_03: 57:18

So uh that's so fucking on point. It's so on point, though, because I, you know, I'm talking about work-life balance this month. That's what our topic is for the what's your opinion segment. You know, and if you want to share yours, you can call us 541-314-4271 and drop your thoughts. But uh, anyways, yeah, work-life balance, right? That is definitely right on point with that, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_07: 57:47

You know, I did leave him some advice. I said, now if he ever gets to where he is playing good and making money at it, send him on by, man. We will jam out.

SPEAKER_03: 57:56

Right, right. Well, it's about boundaries, is is really what it's about. And and respecting, you know, other people's boundaries is first, you know, in my opinion, but you you also have to set your own boundaries. And like I said, how far are you gonna um go? How far are you gonna allow this individual to you know take advantage of you if that's the case? You know, um, sometimes it's not the case. I'm not it's not always the case, but it seems to be an awful lot of time.

SPEAKER_07: 58:26

Well, I used to lend myself to whatever anybody wanted, like, hey, show me about growing this, or hey, well, how about playing this? I'm like, sure, I'll be right there.

SPEAKER_03: 58:34

Well, it's part of my anxiety.

SPEAKER_07: 58:36

It just runs you ragged.

SPEAKER_03: 58:37

Yeah, it's part of the reason of my anxiety because I want to help everybody. So it's it drives me freaking insane. You know, I am very careful about what I commit to. I commit to things I know I can provide because I've built a career out of having integrity, out of, you know, that, out of providing and and living up to my word and people's expectations. So it's important to me, you know.

SPEAKER_07: 59:03

I believe it's out of every 10 people that we're teaching or whatever we're doing, only two of them people are listening and are going to retain this.

SPEAKER_03: 59:10

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You gotta understand the percentages. That's why, you know, I I was talking, I think it might have been last episode, something about like on my, you know, community-based websites, over the entire time I've been running them, at best, only three percent have ever contributed anything. They're all consuming, right? That information. And and three percent contribute at most. And those three percent, you know, are the ones who are like, hey, I don't need to hold this shit to my chest. This is valuable information that can do great things. Why do I need to hold this to my chest? You know, it seems like people are always concerned about that sort of shit. And andor, you know, how they're gonna capitalize on it, how how they'll per personally capitalize on something, you know. Um, and and that's that's really what it boils down to. Bank accounts making a buck, baby.

SPEAKER_07: 1:00:10

Yes. You know, here's another funny thing, because uh the other day when I was coming back from Bend, caught up to it, because it's a long uh the backway is just an open road about 18 miles of just going across country until you get back over here to Prime, Kentucky.

SPEAKER_04: 1:00:27

It's a great ride, man.

SPEAKER_07: 1:00:29

We're in a line, I'm like, oh my god, how long is this line of cars? What is going on? It's like 20 cars, and I finally, when the curve in the road, you can see what's causing the holdup. It's this big 20 foot, six-foot long U-Haul. Ooh. And I which made me think, I'm like, to drive trucks, you have to go to school and everything, right? To drive big rigs and shit. Right. And this U-Haul is basically the same thing, but you don't have to have shit. You just go, hey, I'm gonna make a go of it in a new city. They're like, here you go, take this.

unknown: 1:01:01

Make it quicker.

SPEAKER_07: 1:01:03

You want me to know how to drive it? Let's give it away. You're improving your life, son. Don't think about those things.

SPEAKER_05: 1:01:07

Now get out here and move. Let's give him a bigger killing machine.

SPEAKER_07: 1:01:12

Like, shit. Why is this guy no training? And he's like, hey, I'm making a go of it. I'm fine.

SPEAKER_06: 1:01:18

I'm good. I'm all good.

SPEAKER_07: 1:01:20

He's got a 26-foot damn U-Haul. Yeah. Has no idea what they're doing.

SPEAKER_04: 1:01:25

And everybody's scared to go around him or anything, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07: 1:01:30

But it's okay. Just gotta have a little insurance of money. You can just take it. Anybody can.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:35

Oh, it's the it's like those left laners, right? Those people who travel in the left lane just for fucking traveling in the left lane. No fucking other reason. They know the other lane is for slower traffic, but they choose to travel in the fucking left lane knowing this, right? Just because they can. That's their only fucking Did I tell you the story about that chick who stopped right in the middle of the road? And so as I came up behind her, she stopped right in the middle of an intersection. As I came up behind her, I honked my horn because I was gonna go around her, and I wanted didn't want her. I didn't know what the hell she was doing. I sat, you know, I sat there for literally probably 10 seconds and I was like beep and went around. Did I tell you about that? No. Oh, she lost her shit.

SPEAKER_05: 1:02:20

She lost her shit on me. You know, she drove up.

SPEAKER_03: 1:02:25

I was a there there's a stoplight like two miles up the road, and she comes pulling up alongside me, window down, kid in the back in a child seat, the back seat, and she just starts dropping F-bombs and screaming at me. On, you know, uh she didn't know where she was going, and then and I said, I don't know what I beeped because I was going around you.

SPEAKER_05: 1:02:49

What you stopped in the middle of a damn intersection in a 35 mile an hour zone. You know, I don't understand why you're pissed at me for beeping to go around you. Oh my, I'm like, and she treated you as if you were sitting in the car with her and honked a horn.

SPEAKER_07: 1:03:06

Yes, and she's got a little long, Larry, bastard.

unknown: 1:03:11

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05: 1:03:12

She's got a kid in the backseat, and she's rolling down her window to scream at strange men. That seems real intelligent.

SPEAKER_07: 1:03:20

He's heard that.

SPEAKER_04: 1:03:22

What was that?

SPEAKER_07: 1:03:24

I guarantee you that's not the first time the kids heard that.

SPEAKER_04: 1:03:26

Oh, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_07: 1:03:27

That's the hearing it ever since the wound.

SPEAKER_04: 1:03:30

Exactly. That's the scene.

SPEAKER_07: 1:03:31

And those wounds are thin, they can hear in there, you know.

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:36

Man, I'm telling you. Yeah, I have uh just really been a bit stressed this week, which has been unusual for a while, but that, you know, I put in a very long week last week, 70 hours plus, not counting the travel and stuff, and I was just beat uh this week and really needed some time away and some rest. I'm starting to feel more normal, but I'm not there yet. Not that I was ever normal, I guess. I don't know.

SPEAKER_07: 1:04:10

Well, I was doing good till people just up and die and shit.

unknown: 1:04:14

I know, man.

SPEAKER_07: 1:04:15

I could have done without, you know, the video, man. I forgot about those videos, man. Those are like seven or more years ago.

SPEAKER_03: 1:04:21

The weed nerd.

SPEAKER_04: 1:04:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07: 1:04:25

And man, I wasn't ready for it. It just floored me. Right. It floored me. I know. And I'm like, man, this is not making me happy.

SPEAKER_04: 1:04:31

I know.

SPEAKER_07: 1:04:32

I'm like, oh man, let me go back into this time. Yes.

SPEAKER_03: 1:04:35

That day. Yes, exactly. And you know, the thing is, like, I was so yesterday, I spent hours and hours trying to distract my mind from what it wanted to process on, right? It's all processing on work stuff, and and I'm like, stop it, dude. Will you stop? And you know, I'm literally trying to force myself to not think about that stuff, and and I could not do it, no matter what I did, you know. I I just had to write it out and get it out, you know.

SPEAKER_07: 1:05:10

Yes, I have the same dilemma. Yeah, I'm two people, and I'm constantly yelling at myself. Yes, because man, the two people they do not get along. Yes, I can barely stand living with myself, very and then the other guys like feels the same fucking way.

SPEAKER_04: 1:05:25

Exactly. Very, very Bill Burrish.

SPEAKER_06: 1:05:29

Yes. Oh, Daddy almost snapped his cell phone. Yes.

SPEAKER_04: 1:05:39

Oh man, dude. That I love that's the thing I love about no matter what's going on.

SPEAKER_03: 1:05:46

Anytime I get to connect with you, I get to laugh. And that's such a rare thing. With this whole topic this month of work-life balance, man. I really appreciate you always doing that for me since day one. Us us meeting in the military. It's always been that way. So just and your family has just always been awesome to me. Your entire family. I can't wait. I guess I still got to get it down there to pick up my stick. You still have my stick in your car. You didn't sell it, did you?

SPEAKER_07: 1:06:12

Yeah, it's in my car. Everybody's got a stick. It just keeps the old man busy.

SPEAKER_04: 1:06:17

I want that thing up here though, because I need a walking stick. That uh that would be very nice to have. So I'm gonna make plans for that. Get down there and get that soon, man.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:32

Alright. Well, I appreciate you taking some time out of the day to chill. I'm looking forward to some tunes. You got any instruments lined up right now? What you got?

SPEAKER_04: 1:06:44

Anything in the lab? Feeling like playing anything? No? You weren't prepared.

SPEAKER_07: 1:06:50

Well, I got sidelined. Oh, what'd you get? It makes my guitar sound like a bass. And I don't mean just like playing vase like boom go boom. I mean like slapping popping and all kinds of man. Nice. It's it's just an awesome sound. It sounds like I'm ripping a bass to pieces, man, and I'm like Jet Black with dreadlocks, man. Snapping popping. I mean, it is. It's like Bootsy Collins good.

SPEAKER_05: 1:07:18

I thought of Jack Black when you said that, Jet Black. I'm like, Jack Black, I could see him doing that, man.

SPEAKER_07: 1:07:25

Just like that. Yeah, it's pretty cool, man. It's like it sounds exactly like a bass. Oh, that's wicked. That's awesome. Yeah. I was happy with it. I'm like, cool, I got something new.

SPEAKER_03: 1:07:37

Well, I got I know I gotta travel again this month, and I've got so I it probably won't be this month, but hopefully next month I can get down for a weekend or something. That would be really nice sometime in March, maybe. Try and figure that out.

SPEAKER_07: 1:07:52

We've been having decent weather.

SPEAKER_04: 1:07:54

Yeah, the warmer the better. The older I get. So, yes. Decent yes. Decent weather is good.

unknown: 1:08:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_07: 1:08:02

The Thursday is my day for getting the camera up the ass.

SPEAKER_04: 1:08:06

Oh, hey, we talk. Yeah, that's right. I said, you know what? He told me about this the other day via text, and I said we should film it and stream it live.

SPEAKER_05: 1:08:17

And he said, Katie Kirk just did that.

SPEAKER_07: 1:08:22

She did on today's show years ago. Her first husband died of colon cancer, so she had one on TV.

SPEAKER_04: 1:08:30

Yeah. Duh. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_07: 1:08:34

We're like looking inside her ass right now as we speak.

SPEAKER_05: 1:08:38

Well, like what's his face said there in Teladega Nights. I wish I could have been there for that.

SPEAKER_04: 1:08:48

Oh, that's so hilarious, man. Do you remember that? Uh where Talladega Knights, Will Farrell, and uh John C. Riley.

SPEAKER_03: 1:08:56

Oh.

SPEAKER_07: 1:08:57

Yes, I'm such enough where I have the lines memorized.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:02

Such stupid funny. You know, that stupid funny. Like, you know, the the three stooges, uh Laurel Hard, you know, the stupid funny. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07: 1:09:11

They're yeah, like step brothers.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:13

Yeah, those two, that same two. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:09:16

They're just freaking awesome at it together, playing off of each other, man.

SPEAKER_05: 1:09:21

Did we just become best friends? Let's go do karate in the garage. Yes.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:33

Oh man. Dang. Speaking of karate, I was watching some MMA trying to uh uh so you know get my distract my mind last night, and I think there's uh uh fights tonight. I haven't not been paying attention, uh especially not the way I used to. I keep track of who's who and where's what, but you know, like back in the day, I bought you know every pay-per-view before there was one every two weeks, you know.

SPEAKER_07: 1:10:02

Back in the day. Yeah, I did. I've moved on too.

SPEAKER_03: 1:10:05

Back it's the same with you know, I haven't bought a boxing pay-per-view in ever either. I just I watch all the free boxing that that's available through Top Rank and other ESPN and others, but I've watched classic, you know, boxing matches repeatedly since I was a kid because I've always freaking loved boxing. And in fact, speaking of things I've been reading, Jacob just got my stepson Jacob just got me a book of uh of lists. Oh shit, I should have grabbed that book and brought it up here. Oh, it's a boxing list book put together by uh Teddy Atlas and also Bert Sugar, which I don't know if you know Bert or Teddy, but oh my gosh. I was just this is such a cool book. It's got lists in there, also from you know, some boxers and stuff like Ollie and uh Sugar Ray and Sugar Ray and that guy kin to Charles Atlas that used to have those ads in the back of the comic book. No, he is not.

SPEAKER_07: 1:11:06

You're tired of boys kicking sand in your face.

SPEAKER_03: 1:11:09

Oh man, yes, I remember those ads so vividly.

SPEAKER_07: 1:11:13

Yes, there it's a little cartoon, man. It's great. The dude's at home, he's all pissed off, kicking the chair across the road.

unknown: 1:11:18

He's all screwed.

SPEAKER_07: 1:11:20

He's like, I'm gonna get the Charles Atlas looking now. He's all buff, going back, beating the shit out of people. Just be putting an undercut to this dude. The chicks are all hearting hard on him.

SPEAKER_04: 1:11:32

That's how it works.

SPEAKER_07: 1:11:33

There's in the back of every magazine, along with those x-ray goggles. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:11:38

Everybody wanted those x-ray goggles, right? I mean, um everybody wanted. Come on, they can't, they can't, they gotta work. No, they can't work. They gotta work. No, they can't work. Well, I'll send you money just to find out.

SPEAKER_07: 1:11:49

I didn't just want to be able to see inside some chick's dresses already. That's the whole point.

SPEAKER_04: 1:11:57

Yeah, those were like some crazy ads back then, man. I did Sea Monkey. Yeah. I did a uh an article for an MMA magazine writing contest years ago.

SPEAKER_03: 1:12:09

Did I tell you about that? Did I ever show that to you? Yeah, years ago, there was back in like, I don't know, it was like 2006, 2005, 2006, and I had wrote an article for this writing contest for MMA worldwide, and ended up you know being the featured article in their that year's edition and whatever, anniversary edition, whatever.

SPEAKER_04: 1:12:31

It was pretty cool. I'm just thinking about going through comic book ads, and then I was just talking to MMA. I'm like, hey, did I ever tell you that? I didn't think I'd ever told you that. See, I don't tell people shit like that.

SPEAKER_03: 1:12:43

And that's what that's what's I think, you know, it's it's it's a freaking challenge to deal with because it comes back to haunt you. I'm not hiding, I've never hid anything from anybody. It's not that. It's just uh I don't go around talking about myself.

SPEAKER_07: 1:12:59

So Well you want things to come up organically.

SPEAKER_03: 1:13:01

Yeah, I mean, and even then I don't really want to talk about it, you know, usually, you know, especially the bad shit, you know.

SPEAKER_07: 1:13:09

It's good to have a partner that already knows your shit and then they do your spokesman talking to us.

SPEAKER_03: 1:13:13

Yes. Oh, Stacy deflects for me. So I mean, I have literally been in situations where I, you know, I've had to call her, you know, to get away from I have to get away from people and call her, you know, to to calm down. And she's my you know, she's my reason. So brings about my reason again. So yeah. Anyway, I think I'm gonna go grab some more coffee and Baileys, my friend. I appreciate the time and definitely gonna throw this one in. And and if there's anything I can do, you know, certainly reach out. I'll be around the rest of the weekend hoping to re do a little relaxing and reflecting myself.

SPEAKER_07: 1:13:57

Yeah, I'm holding up. Starting Monday, I gotta start preparing for my I gotta cleanse. Actually, you don't really gotta do much until the day before that you gotta start. I got this box with all the preparations. You gotta drink a lot of this stuff and then clean out your bowel.

SPEAKER_03: 1:14:14

Right.

SPEAKER_07: 1:14:16

I had a little bow tie on that bad boy.

SPEAKER_03: 1:14:18

Katie Couric, huh?

SPEAKER_04: 1:14:22

This has been years ago. I know, but you know, that's okay. It's just coming back.

SPEAKER_03: 1:14:27

It's it's it's funny to me because you know, I'm not not a Katie Couric fan or anything. And number one. Number two, I just today was laughing at uh uh a news article in my Google news feed, you know, from CNN, I think it was, or it might have been Fox, I don't know. But it was about what's her face, the other, you know, the the cute blonde morning show girl. I think she's been on today's show and everything. I'm can't even remember her name now. But she's cute as a button and she's just posted some you know video of a workout she's doing to a Shakira challenge, you know, dance workout they do at her gym. And so she posted to her Instagram, and of course, you know, it's news. It's CNN or Fox News.

SPEAKER_04: 1:15:16

You know, I understand it being Twitter news or you know, something like that, social, you know, bullshit, but I don't understand that making like CNN or Fox or you know ABC or MBC or those sorts.

SPEAKER_03: 1:15:32

I just don't understand that. I didn't trust me, I think she's cute as a friggin' button, whatever her name is. I can't remember her right now. And I love the way Shakira dances, so I I couldn't tell you anything she plays. Do you know any music for Shakira?

SPEAKER_04: 1:15:47

Her name Kelly. Shakira? Oh! No, the girl you're trying to find out the name of Kelly Ripper. That's it. That's it. That's it, yes. Yep, Kelly Ripper.

SPEAKER_07: 1:15:57

I'm smart like that.

SPEAKER_04: 1:15:58

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_07: 1:15:59

You gotta know who the hell that is.

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:02

Yeah, that's who it is. But you know, it's funny to me.

SPEAKER_03: 1:16:06

Because it was interesting to me as well, right? So I'm sitting here like baffled why this is news, and then I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna click it.

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:16

I wanna see her dance. I wanna see her dance.

unknown: 1:16:21

Great.

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:24

She did alright.

SPEAKER_03: 1:16:25

I mean, she wasn't fabulous. I mean, she uh the instructor lady, whoever was up front leading, she was dedicated. You could tell, you know, she was committed, committed. Yeah, she was into it. Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:38

I love seeing that sort of thing. But anyway, enough of my perversion, I guess, for one Saturday.

SPEAKER_03: 1:16:48

All right, man. I will catch up with you soon, I'm quite certain. Do you suffer from an ailment or minor inconvenience that you're pretty sure others around you don't have to deal with? Astra Pharmaceutica introduces get bent. That's all one word. G-H-E-H-T, B-E-N-G-H-N-T. Get Bent is a prescription medication for any ailment or minor convenience that you may be experiencing. Is Johnny faster than you? Get bent. Does your anus frequently burn after eating a boatload of jalapenos? Get bent. Your doctor will know if it's right for you, but we've already told him it is. Get bent has zero side effects. That's why it's astronomically priced. Don't take this medication if you're allergic to it. That's just stupid. Astropharmaceutica is not a real company, and this is not a real product or commercial. Get bent. So, balance, right? Man, I gotta tell you, I feel very fortunate because I feel like I'm a type of person I've been very fortunate to be friends with, you know, just everyone throughout my life. I've I've just been around so many uh very knowledgeable people, giving and caring people. And I'm not being sarcastic, I'm being dead serious. I've worked hand in hand with some real, real heroes and seen some real hero shit. And it's awe-inspiring, you know. It's you know, one of the things I think my perspective might be a little bit unique in some ways because I like I said, I I fit you know, like in high school where they have clicks, right? They have the clicks of, you know, the nerds, the uh sports uh folks, you know, the jocks, the deadheads are metal group, you know, the hippies. You know, you have all these different cliques, and I I have friends in all of them, and and close friends, you know, in all those groups, and that's how I've felt my whole life. I've just been very, very fortunate to have friends with diverse experiences and diverse knowledge base and some very smart friends in those areas. Not everybody does, you know, not everybody gets to experience different perspectives, different positions, and I think that's important. I think it has everything to do with balance. And sorry, my my throat's getting a little choked up here, but look, I I wanted to say all of that to say this. Balance is important. It's you know the the topic of this episode, but I am going to probably rant here in a few minutes about government and some of the things in the news regarding uh politics and government. And I'm I'm doing it largely because I need to get it out. I need to get it out of me, but I want you to understand who I am. I am in the center. I am not registered as a Democrat or a Republican. I registered as an independent when I first entered government many moons ago for that very reason. I am not gonna fall in line. I am not gonna, you know, toe the line. I've had employers, in fact, I had a retired. Command sergeant major as a boss at one point who said to me, Larry, you know chain of command. You can't go around chain of command. I said to that gentleman, I know chain of command. I know leadership. And I know that one of the very first things they teach you in leadership in the military is that it's not about you. Uh that's number one. And that number two, when you have no other choice, you go around, you do the right thing, regardless of who's telling you to do it. In other words, they were very adamant that you understand you are respected to respect or expected to respect right leadership. However, if they tell you to violate a law or policy or a moral or ethical thing, you are not required to do it. And why do you think they want that right up front? They want you to understand they can't make you break the law, they can't make you be unethical. Right? So therein lies the crux. Well, all we want to do is please you, sir. We just want to please you. You know? So a lot of people don't get that in any of their leadership, you know, training or or team environment experience or professional life. They just don't ever get that. And uh people like me, with you know, uh a bit of a loud mouth, I will speak up. I'll be quiet 90% of the time, but I am gonna be the first one to raise my hand and ask a question when you don't want somebody asking questions because I'm curious and I want to know. Not because I'm an asshole. Psst.

unknown: 1:21:53

I think he's gonna start ranting.

SPEAKER_03: 1:21:55

Okay, not because it's about me, because you're sharing information. If I have a question, rather than get pissed at me for asking a question you're not prepared to answer, how about you know, taking it a different way? How about not feeling attacked? You know, that sort of thing. So again, it's about balance, and we need the right, we need the left in order for that center to exist. The extremes are necessary, but friggin' crazy. Both sides. Frigging crazy. You know, like this whole impeachment thing, right? It's just nuts. The bastardization of our constitution and our legal system. And depending on which side you're on, you believe it's nuts. It's crazy, no matter which side you're on, you know. The whole Democrats couldn't beat him at the polls, so they tried to impeach him. I read that in an actual story. I read that, right? It it they in a they beat him at the polls by millions in the popular popular vote. Are you just not friggin' awake or what? And they did impeach him, you ignorant dumbass. They've already impeached him. It's the trial, he was not convicted, right? Because there was no trial. How do you have a trial with no evidence? With no witnesses, with no new evidence. Any name one. Name one fair criminal or any other type of trial in this country where the court can say, no new witnesses, no new evidence, no new information. Name one. You cannot you cannot have a trial without an investigation. They didn't even investigate. In fact, they just spent their entire time trying to point out the other side was being asinine and deflect every friggin' thing, right? And then there's, you know, Karnak the shitty POTUS himself tweeting, oh, they're not after me, they're after you. I'm just in the way. Come on. This this is Putin wannabe. I mean, seriously, it's he's pretty gifted at fear-mongering and and molding the opinions of those who have an attention span of 140 characters or less. What a selfless man this guy is. An incredibly stable genius, so he says. Of course, he's going to fire those who obeyed the law and testified to the truth. Of course, he has to fire them. I mean, this in this case it means they were testifying, you know, against him, and it was the truth, but it was against him, so, you know, not team players. Remember, all those times he was so selfless in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Does anybody remember back then? Remember all those charities he championed and contributed to? How about how he would, you know, do things like avoid serving his country because of bone spurs, but instead volunteer to help the homeless and do those sorts of things? How he pestered the New York papers until they'd print something he wanted, usually about how much more wealthy and significant he was than they had facts to support. How his ego and greed took down an entire professional football league, or how he was sued by the government for discrimination, or maybe how he would clear the entire floor of his casinos of minorities when certain guests would come visit. Maybe maybe that. Or how he ruined the entire economy of Atlantic City. Maybe it's how he crushed some small business after small business by intentionally defrauding on agreements and contracts and dragging legal legal battles out until, you know, they were destitute. How he would, you know, ruin small businesses intentionally. How not a single bank in this country would lend him money because of his lies and horrible business practices before his TV show? Anyone remember any of that stuff? Maybe, maybe you just remember his TV show. I mean, that was the good old days, right? A good scripted show about this fictional business genius character, right? That damn idiot box, man. I get it. You don't give a shit if he has a soul, or our country's economy has been doing really well, so you know, you feel good. You feel comfortable with that. I totally get that. But our deficit's not doing so good, folks. And our richest people and corporations are now paying less than they ever have in taxes. But guess, guess who's gonna fix that? Guess who's gonna put the bill for that growing budget deficit? Do you think that Mr. Trump is gonna be involved in that? You can bet your ass he won't be involved in fixing that. It has nothing to benefit him. So if you look throughout history, nor you know, will any Republican administration actually be a part of that? Because, you know, they're great at misdirection. While Democrats are great at laying blame and promising impossible utopian dreams, right?

unknown: 1:27:27

Trickle down.

SPEAKER_03: 1:27:29

Oh man, trickle down. I believe the phrase you should be referencing is actually something about how Trump always rolls downhill, but then again, I digress. I can't control how people deal with facts any more than I can control why they think I share them or point them out. I don't care to try and solve hypothes, you know, hypothetical puzzles in anyone else's head, frankly. You manage your own thinking crazy, alright, America? And remember, it's always about you, right? No, no. You know damn well it's not about you. It's about balance. Copyright 2019, nerds of nonsense with Larry Copton. All rights reserved. Well, except that I don't really mind if you share this, so maybe feel free to do that. You know, share and share alike, that sort of thing. Speaking of copyrights, though, special thanks to Joe Daniels, copyright owner, co-writer, and original drummer from LocalH, for permission to use Bound for the Floor by LocalH as our show's theme song. Check out our Patreon community at patreon.com forward slash nerds and nonsense for more information on getting involved or supporting the show. If you're listening via nerdsandnonsense.com, simply click on the Support the Show link to learn more. Be great and do great things, my friends.