Two Grumpy Vets and a Duuude

This week Brian beats the Dude onto the call, Rich is out here mowing a swamp, nobody can find the spider on the dollar bill, and the Crocs have officially lost all their tread. It's Episode 103 and we are absolutely not slowing down.<br />We kick things off with Rich half-mowing his flooded yard — and revisiting the time he had to winch his own lawnmower out of the back 40 with the Jeep. Classic Rich. We move into the dental drama, where a clinic waited until the last possible second to schedule a deep cleaning and then acted like it was Rich's emergency. It was not. Bella makes her appearance too, because of course she does — no treadmill, full Jeep rides, head out the window at exactly the right speed.<br />Rich has been getting back into macro photography and shares some shots live — a loofah, an oil lamp wick, and a $5 bill that turns out to have a whole lot going on under magnification. Brian claims he saw the spider on Lincoln's face back when he had younger eyes. We believe him. Mostly.<br />From there we roam through: vibe-coded podcast players with probable backdoors, the Toyota Stout (a $23K truck that could save America), Bitcoin dropping while Rich watches the Kraken ticker live, the AT&amp;T billing saga finally reaching its conclusion, debt collectors and the golden rule of never confirming who you are, Crocs with zero tread left and a very serious plan to retread them with old truck tires, Starlink holding up in the rain, the EU learning not to mouth off to Elon, SNAP work requirements, Juneteenth history, and the mindset gap between $28K and $130K a year.<br />Brian's Website of the Week is <a href="https://www.realworkfromanywhere.com" target="_blank">realworkfromanywhere.com</a> — a remote job board with listings across tech, support, sales, and more. He finds a listing paying $192K for customer service. The Dude is skeptical. Rich is skeptical. Brian makes them feel bad about it.<br />The Dude closes it out with his Tip of the Day: go check your spare tire right now. Seriously. Go do it.<br />Links Mentioned<br /><ul><li><a href="https://www.realworkfromanywhere.com" target="_blank">Real Work From Anywhere</a> — Remote job board, Brian's Website of the Week</li><li><a href="https://www.sourcegraph.com" target="_blank">Sourcegraph</a> — Engineering AI tools company, mentioned as a job listing example</li><li><a href="https://www.keh.com" target="_blank">KEH Camera</a> — Used camera gear marketplace, discussed for lens shopping</li><li><a href="https://www.mpb.com" target="_blank">MPB</a> — Used camera gear marketplace, also discussed</li><li><a href="https://www.miops.com" target="_blank">MIOPS</a> — Smart camera triggers; Rich is using the Splash kit and Smart+ for water drop photography</li><li><a href="https://www.kraken.com" target="_blank">Kraken</a> — Crypto exchange Rich uses; Bitcoin was live on screen during the episode</li><li><a href="https://podcastapps.com" target="_blank">podcastapps.com</a> — Find a modern Podcasting 2.0 app that supports live notifications, chapters, transcripts, and more</li><li><a href="https://podverse.fm" target="_blank">Podverse</a> — Podcasting 2.0 app, mentioned as a listener option</li></ul>Support the Show<br />Two Grumpy Vets and a Duuude runs on the <strong>value for value</strong> model — no ads, no sponsors, no one telling us what we can and can't say. If you got something out of this episode — a laugh, a thought, a groan — consider sending some value back our way.<br /><ul><li><strong>Time:</strong> Share the show on Facebook, Instagram, X, Mastodon, Blue Sky, or wherever you hang out online.</li><li><strong>Talent:</strong> Got art skills? Send us 2000x2000px episode or chapter art. We'll put your name in the show notes.</li><li><strong>Treasure:</strong> Hit the Support the Show link in your podcast app, or reach out directly.</li></ul>Contact Rich: <a target="_blank">[email protected]</a><br /> Contact Brian: <a target="_blank">[email protected]</a><br />We go live every <strong>Thursday at 7pm CT</strong>. Use a modern podcast app to get notified when we're live.]]&gt; <p><strong>Email Us:</strong><br />Rich-- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />Bryan -- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />If you are struggling with life please reach out to The Suicide Life Line - Dial 988<br /><strong>The world needs you here.&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>Three friends, zero sponsors, one biblical amount of rain. This week Rich is basically living in a bayou — the Mississippi Gulf Coast got hammered with over five inches of rain in a single week, and Bella has strong opinions about wet grass. Also, the local frogs sound like kittens and it scared the daylights out of everyone.</p> <p>Brian shares a powerful Memorial Day story — a last-minute drive to pay respects to PFC Tucker, a soldier he served as casualty assistance officer for, and the remarkable discovery that a stranger who stood vigil at the grave for 18 years had been in the same four-man fire team with Tucker — separated by 30 years and two different wars.</p> <p>From there the guys cover just about everything: DIY urns with recliner inserts, Harvard handing out 5.0 GPAs, the Dunning-Kruger effect and armchair experts, Reddit karma games, the fine art of haggling SiriusXM down to $4.99 a month, Brian's new banjitar (yes, banjitar), and why Canada's MAID program should concern everyone paying attention.</p> <p>Rich drops an AI voice income update — $293 since January and climbing — and Brian shares his website traffic wins with 800 questions for couples pulling in 250 visitors a day. The guys also make the case for de-Googling your life, why Linux gives you more convenience on your own terms, and as always, why this show will never have a mattress ad in the middle of your conversation.</p> <p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p> <p>0:00 — Welcome to the Show<br> 0:38 — It Won't Stop Raining and Bella Won't Go Outside<br> 10:49 — Bella Needs a Ride and the Frogs Are Having a Party<br> 29:05 — Memorial Day: Standing Vigil for PFC Tucker<br> 43:12 — End of Life Planning the Grumpy Vet Way<br> 57:00 — Dunning-Kruger, Cult Classics, and Blooper Reels<br> 1:08:27 — Bella vs. Ham Contests and Burger King Croissants<br> 1:13:16 — Harvard 5.0 GPAs and the Useless Degree Problem<br> 1:23:06 — Website Traffic, AI Voice Money, and Going Viral<br> 1:36:47 — Reddit Deep Dive and TikTok Shenanigans<br> 1:50:26 — The Banjitar Has Entered the Chat<br> 1:55:06 — Canada's MAID Program and Government Overreach<br> 2:19:08 — Jeep the Coast, Beach Rules, and Idiot Taxes<br> 2:25:05 — Linux, SiriusXM Haggling, and De-Googling Life<br> 2:50:06 — Value for Value: Why We Don't Do Sponsors</p> <p><strong>Support the show (Value for Value):</strong><br> If you got something out of this episode — a laugh, a thought, a groan — it's worth something. You decide how much.</p> <p> Rich: [email protected]<br> Brian: [email protected]<br> ️ Modern podcast apps with boost/support features: <a href="https://podcastingapps.com">podcastingapps.com</a></p> <p><strong>Email Us:</strong><br />Rich-- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />Bryan -- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />If you are struggling with life please reach out to The Suicide Life Line - Dial 988<br /><strong>The world needs you here.&nbsp;</strong></p>

Episode 101 kicks off with weather swings, cozy pets, and Dude unpacking the most stressful DOT physical of the year — an A1C reading that hijacked his blood pressure, a clean CPAP compliance report, and a doctor who took his sweet time delivering the verdict. Rich looks up what A1C actually measures and lands on the line of the night: <em>your blood is a freaking Oreo</em>.<br />From there: a Level 2 hazmat inspection on I-35, two stops in one day, and why being cordial beats being combative on the roadside every single time. We detour into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy" target="_blank">Idiocracy</a>, wooden clogs from the Netherlands, and what is somehow a 45-minute deep dive into the entire <a href="https://www.crocs.com/" target="_blank">Crocs catalog</a> — including the discovery that off-road Crocs with mud treads are a real product Rich nearly buys on the spot.<br />Rich gets pre-approved for an Amazon store card mid-show, Bryan says push it, Rich pushes it. We talk about Bella eating the laces off the <a href="https://www.heydude.com/" target="_blank">Hey Dudes</a>, the 10-foot selfie stick that's coming to <a href="https://cruisinthecoast.com/" target="_blank">Cruisin' the Coast</a> in October, and the legendary cone-slalom story that was almost definitely caught on three different dashcams.<br />The back half meanders through Jeep trail badges, gas prices and OPEC, COVID hindsight, Bryan's bucket list of weird European landmarks (the child eater fountain in Bern, the Veiled Christ at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansevero_Chapel_Museum" target="_blank">Sansevero Chapel</a>), American oddities like Bishop Castle and Miss Tattnell's grave in the middle of a Texas street, and a quick plug for <a href="https://standardnotes.com/" target="_blank">Standard Notes</a>. Dude falls asleep during the close. We wake him up. We wrap it up.<br />Thanks for sticking with us through 101 episodes — y'all make this worth doing every week.<br /><strong>Links mentioned in this episode:</strong><br /><ul><li><a href="https://www.crocs.com/" target="_blank">Crocs</a></li><li><a href="https://www.heydude.com/" target="_blank">Hey Dude Shoes</a></li><li><a href="https://cruisinthecoast.com/" target="_blank">Cruisin' the Coast</a></li><li><a href="https://standardnotes.com/" target="_blank">Standard Notes</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy" target="_blank">Idiocracy (2006)</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansevero_Chapel_Museum" target="_blank">Sansevero Chapel Museum</a></li><li><a href="https://podcastapps.com/" target="_blank">Modern Podcast Apps</a></li></ul><strong>Email Us:</strong><br />Rich -- <a target="_blank">[email protected]</a><br />Bryan -- <a target="_blank">[email protected]</a><br />If you are struggling with life please reach out to The Suicide Life Line - Dial 988<br /><strong>The world needs you here.</strong> <p><strong>Email Us:</strong><br />Rich-- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />Bryan -- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />If you are struggling with life please reach out to The Suicide Life Line - Dial 988<br /><strong>The world needs you here.&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>In our 100th episode, the three of us do what we’ve always done best: show up for each other and talk like real friends. Bryan opens with a peek behind the scenes on tinkering with an AI‑assisted WordPress podcast player, which sparks a spirited debate about AI hallucinations, trust, and how to push back on bad outputs. From there, we wander joyfully through big and small topics—media hype around health scares, movie rabbit holes from Star Wars to Yellowstone (and why some sequels land while others don’t), favorite actors, comedy greats, and the art of storytelling. We also touch on life, legacy, and how we’d want to be remembered, grounding it with a simple reminder to invest in real human connection. We close with gratitude for 100 episodes, an invite to support the show via value‑for‑value (share, time/talent, treasure), and a challenge for the week: go visit someone in a nursing home who doesn’t get many visitors. Thanks for riding with us—here’s to the next 100.</p> <p><strong>Email Us:</strong><br />Rich-- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />Bryan -- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />If you are struggling with life please reach out to The Suicide Life Line - Dial 988<br /><strong>The world needs you here.&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>&lt;p&gt;It's a packed night in the Two Grumpy Vets and a Duuude studio — and yes, we're back live! Rich finally got BUTT sorted out through a little terminal magic, and we're streaming live to &lt;a href="https://podhome.fm"&gt;Podhome&lt;/a&gt; once again. While we're at it, we've got some thoughts on &lt;a href="https://truefans.fm"&gt;TrueFans&lt;/a&gt; and their sudden need to know everything about everybody — spoiler: they contribute exactly 0.4% of our total downloads over two years, so the bar is set accordingly.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;From there the conversation goes exactly where you'd expect it to — everywhere. Ron's roller skating past gets fully excavated, including his time as the rink cop at Fort Sill and his brief career managing the skate counter. The guys make their case (again) for the world's most needed podcast that Ron refuses to make.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Rich drops some solid Bible advice for Ron just getting started — skip the King James, skip the Ethiopian Bible for now, and head straight to &lt;a href="https://biblegateway.com"&gt;BibleGateway.com&lt;/a&gt; for audio versions of the NASB or NIV. You can listen while you drive. Simple.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The guys also get into the DJI drone ban situation and why the FAA and FCC comment period felt more like a speed trap than a public process. Rich is making his comment. Trucking war stories make their appearance courtesy of Ron — including the legendary attempted U-turn with a three-axle gooseneck trailer on a blind curve at 70 mph. DOT inspection week is coming May 12-14, so keep your load locks where they belong.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The conversation winds through oil markets, big energy versus the little guys, the placebo effect, Chinese medicine, addiction as a coping mechanism, and pharmaceutical commercials that keep inventing new names for old problems. It's a lot. That's kind of the point.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Rich also drops &lt;a href="https://richcmedia.com"&gt;richcmedia.com&lt;/a&gt; — go check it out.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Oh, and next week? Episode 100. Yeah. That's happening.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Value for Value&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;If this show brought you something worth keeping, consider returning the favor — time, talent, or treasure. Find a Podcasting 2.0 compatible app at &lt;a href="https://podcastapps.com"&gt;podcastapps.com&lt;/a&gt; and support directly from there, or reach out and let us know how you want to help.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;Ron's Tip of the Day&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p&gt;Check in on your elderly neighbors. Not everybody has family close by. Go introduce yourself. The best stories you'll ever hear are sitting right down the street.&lt;/p&gt;</p> <p><strong>Email Us:</strong><br />Rich-- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />Bryan -- <a target="_blank">mailto://[email protected]</a><br />If you are struggling with life please reach out to The Suicide Life Line - Dial 988<br /><strong>The world needs you here.&nbsp;</strong></p>