Just Two Good Old Boys

We never mean any harm!

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    175 A Mega Chip Plant Could Rewrite Tech Costs

    Send us Fan Mail A chip factory the size of a city sounds like a meme until you run the numbers. We unpack the Terafab claims, why “a hundred million square feet” would be a world-changing bet on domestic semiconductor manufacturing, and what it could do to the cost of microprocessors, AI hardware, and data center capacity. Then we follow the thread where it always leads: power. If compute gets cheap, electricity becomes the bottleneck, and we talk candidly about energy options, efficiency ceilings, and why Moore’s Law never promised your grid would keep up. We also shift from industrial-scale tech to personal-scale economics with a surprisingly practical segment on YouTube monetization. We talk watch time versus subscriber count, why tutorial and training content can earn real money without chasing controversy, and how understanding your audience demographics changes the kinds of sponsors and ads you should pursue. If you’ve ever wondered whether creating is “worth it,” this section gets concrete fast. The back half turns to law, privacy, and institutional behavior: an active shooter story that spotlights how armed citizens can disrupt outcomes, a major suppressor and NFA ruling with real implications for Texans, and why enforcement and dealer risk tolerance matter as much as headlines. We also dig into license plate reader surveillance, predictable abuse of access, border-search phone security, plus a rapid-fire run through culture and politics including birthright citizenship arguments and the return of SAT requirements. If you like conversations that connect tech, incentives, and governance without pretending the tradeoffs are clean, you’ll feel at home here. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’ll argue back, and leave a review with the one topic you want us to go deeper on next time. Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community!  https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music  Check out Gene's other podcasts - podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

  2. Aug 5

    174 Ben's Cooking Episode Summer 2026

    Send us Fan Mail Shrimp and gritsIngredients Grits: 2 Tbsp. beef tallow1 medium shallot, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)3 cups chicken broth1 cup whole milk1 tsp. kosher salt1/4 tsp. black pepper1 cup uncooked quick-cooking gritsCheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)1/4 cup heavy whipping creamShrimp: 2 Tbsp. beef tallow1 lb. jumbo raw shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled f**k de-veining1/2 tsp. kosher salt1 pack  Andouille sausage1/2 cup finely chopped yellow1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper1/4 cup finely chopped celery 1 small tomato, seeded and finely choppedminced garlic to tasteTony’s to taste1/2 tsp. black pepper2 cups chicken broth2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)1 Worcestershire sauce1/2 cup thinly sliced scallionsDirections Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add shallot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add broth, milk, salt, and pepper to saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high. Slowly whisk in grits, and reduce heat to medium. Cook, whisking often, until grits are thickened and tender, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; whisk in cheese, cream, and remaining 1 tablespoon butter until smooth. Cover and keep warm. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high. Add shrimp, and sprinkle with salt; cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip shrimp, and cook, undisturbed, until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate. Reduce heat in skillet to medium-high; add sausage, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in onion, bell pepper, and celery; cook, stirring often, until tender and beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add tomato, garlic, Cajun seasoning, and black pepper to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir broth, cream, lemon juice, and Worcestershire into skillet; cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Return shrimp to skillet, and coat in sauce; cook until cooked through, about 1 minute. Red Beans and RiceIngredients: Pickled Pork 2 cups water1 cup apple cider vinegar1/4 cup kosher salt6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed2 tablespoons sugar2 tablespoons yellow mustard seedTabasco to taste3 bay leaf1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercornsIce too cool it down1 1/2 pounds fresh boneless pork butt, cut into cubesTony’s to tasteFor the beans 2 tablespoons Beef Taleo1 pack of Zummos Andouille Sausage halved and sliced1 medium onion, chopped2 medium green bell peppers, chopped3 stalks celery, chopped2 teaspoons kosher salt1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper5 cloves garlic, minced12 ounces pickled pork, cut into 1-inch pieces5 bay leaves1 teaspoon dried thymeTabasco to tasteTony’s to taste2 quarts water1 pound red kidney beans, rinsedPickled Pork Combine all of the ingredients except the ice and the pork in a saucepan set over high heat and bring to a boil. Maintain a simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the ice and stir, enough to cool it down . Put the pork into a 1-gallon zip-top bag and add the cooled pickling liquid. Remove as much air as possible, then seal the bag and place in the refrigerator for 3+ days, turning the bag occasionally.Red Beans and Rice Heat the Beef Taleo in a large  Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions and celery are semi-translucent and the bell peppers are tender. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic . Add the pickled pork and Zummos Andouille Sausage, bay leaves, thyme, hot sauce, tony’s, water, and beans to the pot and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture comes to a boil, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat slightly to maintain a steady simmer and continue to cook until the beans are tender and the sauce is thickened to your liking, another 30 to 40 minutes. If you prefer an even creamier texture, mash some of the beans.Redfish and Shrimp Puttanesca:Ingredients  Approximately 1/2 cup olive oil 1 cup finely chopped onion red and white 8 cloves minced garlic 2 (28-ounce) cans Roma plum tomatoes, broken into pieces, with juice 1 cup tightly packed, pitted, and halved Kalamata olives 2 tablespoons tomato paste 4 tablespoons drained capers 2 tablespoons minced anchovy fillets (about 8 fillets) 1/2 cup fresh chopped oregano and coarsely chopped fresh Italian 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves  dried crushed red pepper flakes Salt as needed 1 pound penne pasta, cooked to al dente 1 pound head on Shrimp (16-24) 1 pound Redfish fillet cut into 1/4” cubes  Bay leaves   Directions  In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and lightly caramelized. Add the garlic and lightly caramelize. Add the tomatoes and the remaining ingredients except for seafood and simmer until the sauce is thickened and slightly reduced, about 40 minutes. Adjust seasoning, to taste. Add Redfish and allow to cook for 10 min. Add shrimp and allow to cook for 10 min; Add penne pasta to the pan and toss for 1 minute.   Support the show Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community!  https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music  Check out Gene's other podcasts - podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

    174 Ben's Cooking Episode Summer 2026
  3. Aug 1

    173 Water Hacks And Blind Spots

    Send us Fan Mail The scariest “critical infrastructure hack” stories are rarely Hollywood level, and that’s exactly the problem. We walk through why multiple water treatment facilities have been hit across the US, how some systems end up exposed on the open internet, and why small utilities with tiny budgets become the easiest targets. If you’ve ever wondered what operational technology cybersecurity actually looks like in the real world, we translate it into plain language and focus on the part that matters: what fails, how it fails, and how to reduce the blast radius. From there we zoom out into the incentives that shape everything around us, from media credibility whiplash to public policy that quietly invites fraud. We debate EBT misuse and what benefit programs should and should not cover, then pivot to H1B visas and how “modest” wage savings still push companies to choose cheaper labor while trapping workers in sponsorship dependence. The through-line is the same: when systems get big and bureaucratic, accountability gets blurry and the edge cases become the norm. We also hit the cultural and tech signals you can’t ignore anymore: Flock surveillance cameras, cellular modems in cars, phone searches at the border, and why features like a GrapheneOS distress wipe suddenly matter. Add in a detour through DUI policing and why field sobriety tests are more subjective than most people think, plus Texas updates like Musk’s Terafab investment, robotaxis in Austin, and the brand-new Texas Stock Exchange. If you like sharp takes mixed with practical preparedness and cybersecurity reality checks, this one is for you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who cares about infrastructure and privacy, and leave a review with the one topic you want us to go deeper on next. Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community!  https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music  Check out Gene's other podcasts - podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

  4. Jul 25

    172 From Flock Cameras To Starship Landings And The Real Costs Of Modern Tech

    Send us Fan Mail Your town can buy a “camera system” and wake up in a surveillance network. We unpack how Flock cameras and automated license plate readers spread fast, why the data often slips into a private-company loophole, and what that means for transparency, cybersecurity, and basic privacy rights when cities claim they’re only “subscribing” to the footage. From there, we zoom out into the rest of the modern tech stack: DIY car repairs with an OBD2 Bluetooth scanner, the real-world sticker shock of server and hardware quotes, and why the newest Intel Xeon platforms have people thinking about AI rigs and PCIe lanes again. We also talk about AI agents writing code at insane speed, why token costs are changing corporate budgets, and why local AI models are becoming more attractive when CFOs start asking hard questions. We keep it fun too, with a deep geek-out on a SpaceX Starship flight that nails an almost surreal water landing, plus a candid thread on health tech, sleep apnea testing, and the tradeoffs between external gear and implanted devices as “smart” systems creep closer to our bodies. If you like conversations about mass surveillance, AI safety, consumer tech economics, and where all of this is headed, hit subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s the one piece of tech you refuse to let run your life? Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community!  https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music  Check out Gene's other podcasts - podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

  5. Jul 24

    171 Half Native, Fully American

    Send us Fan Mail A half-Native guy from Washington State comes on the mic and immediately complicates the tidy narratives. Native Patriot lays out how he grew up in a tiny, overwhelmingly white town near Mount Rainier, rarely felt “othered,” and now argues that the healthiest move for the country is a return to equal citizenship and real assimilation, not a politics built on permanent categories of victim and oppressor. We also get into the day-to-day reality of Washington politics: the urban-rural split, universal mail-in ballots, and what he sees as a decades-long march toward one-party control. From there, we dig into gun rights and the Second Amendment, including why state-level restrictions on common firearms spark so much outrage and why constitutional language matters when courts and legislatures disagree. Then the conversation widens: faith and civic culture, the “spiritual vacuum” idea, and why ideology can start acting like a substitute religion. We talk immigration, Islam in the West, and the pressure that forms when communities stop assimilating and start building parallel societies. We close on Native American reservations and tribal casinos, the difference between short-term uplift and long-term dependency, and why human nature keeps turning “free money” into a trap. If you want a candid, uncomfortable, and surprisingly personal conversation about American identity, culture, and politics, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who disagrees, and leave a review with the one point you think we got most right or most wrong. Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community!  https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music  Check out Gene's other podcasts - podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

  6. Jul 19

    170 When Politics, AI, And Everyday Life Collide

    Send us Fan Mail You can tell a lot about a week by what we can’t stop talking about. We start with real-world life stuff, then immediately get hijacked by the internet: a bizarre sci fi book cover, the comments section, and how “context” is doing a lot of work when marketing tries to sell fantasy, post-apocalyptic fiction, and everything adjacent. It’s funny, but it also says something about how online culture spreads and why screenshots spark arguments faster than facts.  Then we shift into current events and policy, reacting to Trump’s speech and the broader fight over election security, mail-in ballots, voter rolls, and what “fix it going forward” actually means in practice. We don’t pretend to have perfect answers, but we do lay out what claims we’re hearing, why certain talking points catch fire, and where skepticism should be applied.  The most actionable part might surprise you: we break down “Trump accounts” as an index-fund style savings plan for kids, why starting early matters, and how compounding could change the student loan and housing trajectory for a whole generation. After that, it’s a rapid tour through military readiness debates, Iran escalation and geopolitics, wildfire smoke and forest management, Cajun cooking with pickled pork, and the tech reality of local AI, Palantir, and why GPU prices feel unhinged.  If you enjoyed the mix of hard opinions, practical money talk, and tech culture reality checks, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What topic should we go deeper on next? Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community!  https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music  Check out Gene's other podcasts - podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

  7. 11/07/2024

    091 BONUS Just Two Good Old Boys Elections Special

    Send us Fan Mail Did the election night in Pennsylvania and the Rust Belt catch everyone off guard, or was it a masterstroke of strategy? We unravel the surprising victory of Trump and the eerie calm that followed in cities like DC and Baltimore, which were braced for chaos. As we ponder over the lack of expected unrest and the implications of these results, our personal stories and firsthand experiences paint a vivid picture of a nation in disbelief and contemplation. The unexpected voter shifts among Hispanic and Black male voters, as well as the Amish and Jewish communities, give us plenty to dissect about what this might mean for the political landscape. Trump's strategic choices, including picking Vance as a running mate, seem to have played a crucial role in his sweeping success. We speculate on the possibility of a future Vance presidency and what that could entail. The conversation also touches on the role of capable leadership in shaping the administration, with names like Elon Musk entering the fray. For some, this election harkens back to the Reagan era, signaling a robust rejection of wokeism. Join us for an engaging discussion that not only revisits the past but also looks ahead at what these results might mean for the future. Support the show Want to hear old episodes? All subscribers have access to the full back catalog of episodes and specials! Just Two Good Old Boys (Just Two Good Old Boys +) Communicate with us directly on x.com by joining the Good Old Boys community!  https://x.com/i/communities/1887018898605641825 Can't donate? Listen to Amy Clare Smith Music  Check out Gene's other podcasts - podcast.sirgene.com and unrelenting.show Read Ben's blog and see product links at namedben.com

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