Episode Details

Bryan and Rich open by arguing over who got on the call first, then Rich rolls into a busy ham radio week: new 2m and handheld gear, a porch contact that led him to the Wednesday Whataburger meetup with the Jackson County club, and the night he put his laptop back on Windows just to send an email over the radio and watch it land on his own phone. That kicks off an argument over how many hops an email really makes, a turtle farm in Korea, and how much fiber is buried under the country. Bryan is about to welcome a new baby boy into the family, tells the story of tying western Nebraska grain co-ops together over rail-line fiber, and brings a locate story about a fiber hit where the marks were right and the proof was in hand.

From there it's a full Monday of rabbit holes: colonoscopy stories where the patient wakes up mid-procedure, Rich's ham, rice, and cheese experiment and the electric smoker display he needs to replace, Ron's runza memories and a kolache argument, Bryan's boudin history, and an Am I the Asshole segment from Bryan about a kid, a suit, and a wedding. The guys get into people who think they're worth $100,000 out of high school, raising kids to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and whether anybody actually asked to be here. Ron brings the work stories: hauling 12,000 pounds overweight and proving it at the scale, a mechanic candidate who wanted $38 an hour and couldn't name a tire tread depth, the Social Security age 62 versus 67 math, and a CDL school reimbursement paper he found after eight years. Bryan's mystery pain beside his shoulder blade and a knee that quits mid-show round out the aches and pains, and Bryan gets his Wendy's order wrong on the drive. The guys argue over diesel prices, Bryan's Website of the Week is a virtual cat that blocks your screen when you scroll too long, and the tip of the day is a basic training cadence.

Links Mentioned

• CatGatekeeper.org — Bryan's Website of the Week pick: a browser extension that sends a virtual cat to walk onto your screen and block what you're scrolling; Firefox, Windows, and Mac versions plus an open-source version on GitHub
• PodcastApps.com — where to grab a modern Podcasting 2.0 app and find the show's support link
• Winlink — the system behind Winlink Express, the email client Rich used to send an email over the radio to his phone
• VARA HF — the HF modem software used alongside Winlink Express
• Google — the traceroute example for counting internet hops
• Internet Archive — mentioned in the early-90s "download the whole internet" story
• Android Auto — the free bypass for running maps and YouTube at the same time
• Reddit's Am I the Asshole — the subreddit behind the new segment
• Jubilee — the YouTube show with the 50-versus-1 debate format
• GitHub — home of the open-source version of CatGatekeeper
• Zoom — the recording platform that warned the connection was unstable
• YouTube — music, memes, and the rabbit holes
• Facebook — memes and the comparison to Reddit
• Instagram — the account somebody still can't get into
• TikTok — family drama, duets, and the airing of family business
• X, Bluesky, and Mastodon — the places to shar