Two Grumpy Vets and a Duuude

<p>&lt;p&gt;This week Bryan, Rich, and the Duuude tackle the important stuff: standing water that won't quit, a GoPro that sprouted legs and ran off, and what happens when you look down your nose at explosives. Also: hovercrafts as a business model, the Waffle House pipeline, TSA's war on ranch dressing, Reddit setup live on air, caveman cabbage, and a surprisingly honest conversation about what truck drivers carry with them long after they leave the road.&lt;/p&gt;<br /><br />&lt;p&gt;Oh, and the Duuude is now on Reddit. Mostly.&lt;/p&gt;<br /><br />&lt;h3&gt;Topics This Week&lt;/h3&gt;<br />&lt;ul&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Gulf Coast flooding and the great lawnmower dilemma&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Tropical Storm Earther and the eastern edge problem&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Hovercrafts — recreational, commercial, and English Channel&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;The Obama Presidential Center and Chicago politics&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Waffle House, ranch dressing, and TSA nonsense&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Income tax history and the Federal Reserve&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Caveman cabbage recipe and rice cooker revelations&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;The missing GoPro saga&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Scrapin' the Coast and content planning&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Truck speed governors — a bad idea then, a bad idea now&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Vietnam vets and what you don't ask&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Building the Three Grumpy Vets subreddit live on air&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;ClassicGameZone.com and Neal.fun — this week's sites&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Fireworks safety tip: don't hold them&lt;/li&gt;<br />&lt;/ul&gt;<br /><br />&lt;h3&gt;Find Us&lt;/h3&gt;<br />&lt;ul&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Reddit: &lt;a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ThreeGrumpyVets"&gt;r/ThreeGrumpyVets&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Email Bryan: &lt;a href="mailto:[email protected]"&gt;[email protected]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;Email Rich: &lt;a href="mailto:[email protected]"&gt;[email protected]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;<br />&lt;/ul&gt;<br /><br />&lt;h3&gt;Sites of the Week&lt;/h3&gt;<br />&lt;ul&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.classicgamezone.com"&gt;ClassicGameZone.com&lt;/a&gt; — retro arcade games, free, in your browser&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://neal.fun"&gt;Neal.fun&lt;/a&gt; — weird little games including Internet Road Trip&lt;/li&gt;<br />&lt;/ul&gt;<br /><br />&lt;h3&gt;Support the Show&lt;/h3&gt;<br />&lt;p&gt;We're a value-for-value show. If you got something out of this episode, you can give back three ways:&lt;/p&gt;<br />&lt;ul&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Time&lt;/strong&gt; — Share the show with someone who'd appreciate it&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Talent&lt;/strong&gt; — AI art for chapter images or album art? We'd love it. Email us.&lt;/li&gt;<br />&nbsp; &lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Treasure&lt;/strong&gt; — Hit the Support link in your podcast app to send what you think we're worth&lt;/li&gt;<br />&lt;/ul&gt;<br /><br />&lt;p&gt;Listen live Thursdays at 7PM in any modern podcasting app. Find us on &lt;a href="https://podcastapps.com"&gt;podcastapps.com&lt;/a&gt; to pick your app.&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>

Rich is up to his ankles in floodwater, The Duuude just dropped $900 on a new phone he barely understands, and the Duuude's earbuds are staging a full rebellion. This week's rabbit hole starts with relentless Gulf Coast rain and a possible "Super El Nino," then spirals into a Samsung S26 nightmare, a TRICARE billing fight, a taco night gone sideways, and a brand-new flip phone wearing the Commodore name. Somewhere in there: water drop photography, ugly Cybertrucks parked next to a mint 1970s Pacer, Uber's new bus business, a website with a name you shouldn't say out loud at work, and a phone that survived getting run over twice. Buckle up.<br /><strong>On this episode:</strong><br /><ul><li>Rain, flooding, and Gulf storm fallout</li><li>A costly new phone and tech frustrations</li><li>TRICARE bills, VA care, and colonoscopy stories</li><li>Paychecks, insurance costs, and feeling "hood rich"</li><li>Taco seasoning fails and grocery store debates</li><li>Voice royalties, cigarettes, and phone choices</li><li>Android versus iPhone, and retro phone nostalgia (hello, Commodore)</li><li>Uber buses, Cybertrucks, and classic ugly cars</li><li>Water drop photography and turning art into prints</li><li>Podcast ideas, OnlyFans jokes, and internet absurdity</li><li>Current events, hot takes, and a Reddit ban story</li><li>Elon Musk, SpaceX stock, crypto, and market talk</li><li>Wrap-up: value for value, and a phone that survived two tire tracks</li></ul><strong>Links &amp; Resources Mentioned:</strong><br /> Commodore Callback 8020 flip phone -- <a href="https://commodore.net/callback/" target="_blank">commodore.net/callback</a><br /> Rasterbator (turn any image into a giant wall poster) -- <a href="https://rasterbator.net/" target="_blank">rasterbator.net</a><br /> Modern Podcasting 2.0 apps directory -- <a href="https://podcastapps.com/" target="_blank">podcastapps.com</a><br /> TrueFans -- <a href="https://truefans.fm/" target="_blank">truefans.fm</a><br /> Podverse -- <a href="https://podverse.fm/" target="_blank">podverse.fm</a><br /> Podcast Guru -- <a href="https://podcastguru.io/" target="_blank">podcastguru.io</a><br /><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 this week’s episode of Two Grumpy Vets and a Dude, we kick back for a classic catch‑up that ranges from veteran benefits wins and smart money advice to gear talk, off‑roading tales, photography nerdery, and everyday life. We celebrate a friend finally securing a 100% VA rating and unpack what back pay, legal reviews, and disciplined budgeting can look like for vets. Then it’s straight into shop talk: Crocs sizing misadventures, trail carnage at Hidden Falls, the real costs of off‑roading parks, axle weights and overweight permits, and the grind of long-haul delivery days. We also dive into phones, batteries, and easy upgrade tips, and share some kitchen-table wisdom on fried potatoes, sausage, and the indispensable cheese tax for our four-legged copilots.&nbsp;<br /><br />&nbsp;On the creative front, Rich geeks out on water‑drop photography—gear, flash timing, focus planes, and color experiments—plus a handy depth‑of‑field simulator tool for shutterbugs. We round things out with music nostalgia, bidet banter, MRE currency economics, and why we keep this show sponsor‑free: so we can speak freely, laugh loudly, and let you decide the value. If you got a chuckle, a tip, or a fresh idea, pay it forward by sharing the show or sending in your art and feedback. Until next week—be safe, be smart, and don’t forget the cheese tax.<br /><br />Website of the week -&nbsp;<a href="https://dofsimulator.net/en/" target="_blank">https://dofsimulator.net/en/</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>

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>