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In this week's episode, I take a look back at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Summer 2025. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Serpent, Book #1 in the Ghost Armor series, (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store: FALLSERPENT50 The coupon code is valid through September 15, 2025 (please note the shorter expiration date). So if you need a new audiobook this fall, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 267 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is September 5, 2025 and today I'm doing a review roundup of the movies and streaming shows I saw in Summer 2025. Before we do that, we will have Coupon of the Week and a progress update on my current writing and audiobook projects. First up, this week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Ghost in the Serpent, Book One in the Ghost Armor series (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) at my Payhip store. That is FALLSERPENT50. This coupon code will be valid through September 15th, 2025 (exactly one week). So if you need a new audiobook to listen to as we head into fall, we have got you covered. Now for an update on my current writing and audiobook projects. I am pleased to report that the rough draft of Blade of Flames, which will be the first book in my new Blades of Ruin epic fantasy series is finished. The rough draft came at about 90,000 words long, which was what I was aiming for. Next up, I will be writing a short story set as sort of a bonus in that plot line called Thunder Hammer and that will be the backstory of one of the characters in Blade of Flames. And when Blade of Flames comes out (which will hopefully be later this September), newsletter subscribers will get a free ebook copy of Thunder Hammer. So this is an excellent time to subscribe to my newsletter. I am also 8,000 words into Cloak of Worlds. At long last, I am coming back to the Cloak Mage series after nearly a year's absence. Longtime listeners will know the reason was that I had five unfinished series and I wanted to spend the summer of 2025 finishing the unfinished ones and focusing up so I will only have three ongoing series at any given time. I'm hoping Blade of Flames will come out before the end of September and Cloak of Worlds before the end of October, and after that I will be able to return to the Rivah series at long last. In audiobook news, recording is finished on Shield of Power. That will be excellently narrated by Brad Wills and hopefully once it gets through processing and quality assurance and everything, it should be showing up on the various audiobook stores before too much longer. Hollis McCarthy is about halfway through the recording of Ghost in the Siege, which was, as you know, the last book in the Ghost Armor series that just came out. And if all goes well, the audiobook should be coming out probably in October once everything is done with recording and quality assurance and all that. So that is where I'm at with my current writing and audiobook projects. 00:02:34 Main Topic: Summer 2025 Movie/TV Roundup So without further ado, let's head into our main topic. The end of summer is nigh, which means this time for my summer movie review roundup. As is usual for the summer, I saw a lot of movies, so this will be one of the longer episodes. For some reason I ended up watching a bunch of westerns. As always, the movies are ranked from least favorite to most favorite. The grades of course are totally subjective and based on nothing more than my own opinions, impressions, and interpretations. Now on to the movies. First up is the Austin Powers trilogy, the three movies of which came out in 1997, 1999, and 2002. The Austin Powers movies came out just as the Internet really got going in terms of mass adoption, which is likewise why so many Austin Powers and Dr. Evil memes are embedded in online culture. Despite that, I had never really seen any of them all the way through. They've been on in the background on TBS or whatever quite a bit when I visited people, but I've never seen them all. But I happened upon a DVD of the trilogy for $0.25 (USD), so I decided for 25 cents I would give it a go. I would say the movies were funny, albeit not particularly good. Obviously the Austin Powers movies are a parody of the James Bond movies. The movies kind of watch like an extended series of Saturday Night Live skits, only loosely connected, like the skit is what if Dr. Evil had a son named Scott who wasn't impressed with him or another skit was what if a British agent from the ‘60s arrives in the ‘90s and experiences culture clash? What if Dr. Evil didn't understand the concept of inflation and demanded only a million dollars from the United Nations? What if Dr. Evil was actually Austin's brother and they went to school together at Spy Academy? Michael Caine was pretty great as Austin's father. Overall, funny but fairly incoherent. Overall grade: C- Next up is Horrible Bosses, a very dark and very raunchy comedy from about 14 years ago. It came out in 2011. Interestingly, this movie reflects what I think is one of the major crises of the contemporary era, frequent failures of leadership at all levels of society. In the movie Nick, Dale, and Kurt are lifelong friends living in LA and all three of them have truly horrible bosses in their place of employment, ranging from a sociopathic finance director, the company founder's cokehead son, and a boorish dentist with a tendency to sexual harassment. At the bar, they fantasize about killing their horrible bosses and then mutually decide to do something about it. Obviously, they'd all be prime suspects in the murder of their own bosses, but if they killed each other's bosses, that would allow them to establish airtight alibis. However, since Nick, Dale and Kurt are not as bright as they think they are, it all goes hilariously wrong very quickly. Bob Hope has a hilarious cameo. If the best “crude comedies” I've seen are Anchorman, Zoolander, Tropic Thunder, and Dodgeball, and the worst one was MacGruber, I'd say Horrible Bosses lands about in the middle. Overall grade: C Next up is Cowboys and Aliens, which came out in 2011. Now I almost saw this in 2011 when it came out, but I was too busy to go to the theater in July of 2011, so I finally saw it here in 2025 and I would say this was almost a great movie, like the performances were great, the concept was great, the scenery was great, the special effects were great, and the story was packed full of really interesting ideas, but somehow they just didn't coalesce. I'm not entirely sure why. I think upon reflection, it was that the movie is just too overcrowded with too many characters and too many subplots. Anyway, Daniel Craig portrays a man who wakes up with no memory in the Old West, with a mysterious bracelet locked around his wrist. He makes his way to the town of Atonement, and promptly gets arrested because he is apparently a notorious outlaw (which he doesn't remember). While he is locked in jail, space aliens attack the town. The aliens, for unknown reasons, abduct many of the townspeople, and Daniel Craig's character, who is named Jake even if he doesn't remember it, must lead the town's effort to recover their abducted citizens. Harrison's Ford has an excellent performance as this awful cattle baron who nonetheless has virtues of courage and fortitude that you can't help but admire. An excellent performance. That said, the movie was just too packed, and I thought it would work better as a novel. After I watched the movie, it turned out that it was indeed based off a graphic novel. Novels and graphic novels allow for a far more complex story than a movie, and I don't think this movie quite managed to handle the transition from a graphic novel to a film. Overall grade: C Next up is Heads of State, which came out in 2025. This was kind of a stupid movie. However, the fundamental question of any movie, shouted to the audience by Russell Crow in Gladiator is, “are you not entertained?!?” I was thoroughly entertained watching this, so entertained I actually watched it twice. Not everything has to be Shakespeare or a profound meditation on the unresolvable conflicts inherent within human nature. Anyway, John Cena plays Will Derringer, newly elected President of the United States. Idris Elba plays Sam Clark, who has now been the UK Prime Minister for the last six years. Derringer was an action star who parleyed his celebrity into elected office (in the same way Arnold Schwarzenegger did), while Clarke is an army veteran who worked his way up through the UK's political system. Needless to say, the cheerful Derringer and the grim Clarke take an immediate dislike to each other. However, they'll have to team up when Air Force One is shot down, stranding them in eastern Europe. They'll have to make their way home while evading their enemies to unravel the conspiracy that threatens world peace. So half action thriller, half buddy road trip comedy. The premise really doesn't work if you think about it too much for more than thirty seconds, but the movie was funny and I enjoyed it. Jack Quaid really stole his scenes as a crazy but hyper-competent CIA officer. Overall grade: C+ Next up, Captain America: Brave New World, which came out in 2025 and I think this movie ended up on the good side of middling. You can definitely tell it went through a lot of reshoots and retooling, and I suspect the various film industry strikes hit it like a freight train. But we ended up with a reasonably solid superhero thriller. Sam Wilson is now Captain America. He's not superhuman the way Steve Rogers was and doesn't have magic powers or anything, so he kind of fights like the Mandalorian – a very capable fighter who relies on excellent armor. Meanwhile, in the grand American political tradition of failing upward, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who spent years persecuting The Hulk and whose meddling caused the Avengers to disband right before Thanos attacked, has now been elected President. To Wilson's surprise, Ross reaches out and wants him to restart the Avengers. But Ross (as we know) did a lot of shady black ops stuff for years, and one of his projects is coming back to haunt him. Wilson finds himself in the middle of a shadowy conspiracy, and it's up to him to figure out what's going on before it's too late. I was amused that lifelong government apparatchik Ross wanted to restart the Avengers, because when the Avengers had their biggest victory in Avengers: Endgame, they were essentially unsanctioned vigilantes bankrolled by a rogue tech billionaire. Overall grade: B- Next up is Ironheart, which came out in 2025. I'd say Ironheart was about 40% very weird and 60% quite good. It's sort of like the modern version of Dr. Faustus. The show got some flak on the Internet from the crossfire between the usual culture war people, but the key to understanding it is to realize that Riri Williams AKA Ironheart is in fact an antihero who's tottering on the edge of becoming a full-blown supervillain. Like Tony Stark, she's a once-in-a-generation scientific talent, but while she doesn't have Stark's alcohol problems, she's emotionally unstable, immature, ruthless, indifferent to collateral damage and consequences, and suffering from severe PTSD after her best friend and stepfather were killed in a drive-by shooting. This volatile mix gets her thrown out of MIT after her experiments cause too much destruction, and she has to go home to Chicago. To get the funds to keep working on her Iron Man armor, she turns to crime, and falls in with a gang of high-end thieves led by a mysterious figure named Hood. It turns out that Hood has actual magic powers, which both disturbs and fascinates Riri. However, Hood got his magic in a pact with a mysterious dark force. When a job goes bad, Riri gains the enmity of Hood and has to go on the run. It also turns out Hood's dark master has become very interested in Riri, which might be a lot more dangerous for everyone in the long run. Overall, I'd say this is about in the same vein as Agatha All Along, an interesting show constructed around a very morally questionable protagonist. Overall grade: B Next up is A Minecraft movie, which came out in 2024. I have to admit, I've never actually played Minecraft, so I know very little about the game and its ecosystem, only what I've generally absorbed by glancing at the news. That said, I think the movie held together quite well, and wasn't deserving of the general disdain it got in the press. (No doubt the $950 million box office compensated for any hurt feelings.) One of the many downsides of rapid technological change in the last fifty years is that the Boomers and Gen X and the Millennials and Gen Z and Gen Alpha have had such radically different formative experiences in childhood that it's harder to relate to each other. Growing up in the 1980s was a wildly different experience than growing up in the 2010s, and growing up in the 2010s was an even more wildly different experience than growing up in the 1960s. Smartphones and social media were dominant in 2020, barely starting in 2010, and implausible science fiction in 2000 and earlier, and so it was like the different generations grew up on different planets, because in some sense they actually did. (A five-year-old relative of mine just started school, and the descriptions of his school compared to what I remember of school really do sound like different planets entirely.) The Minecraft game and A Minecraft Movie might be one of those generation-locked experiences. Anyway, this has gotten very deep digression for what was essentially a portal-based LitRPG movie. A group of people experiencing various life difficulties in a rural Idaho town get sucked into the Minecraft world through a magic portal. There they must combine forces and learn to work together to master the Minecraft world to save it from an evil sorceress. As always, the fundamental question of any movie is the one that Russell Crowe's character shouted to the audience in Gladiator back in 2000. “Are you not entertained?” I admit I was entertained when watching A Minecraft Movie since it was funny and I recognized a lot of the video game mechanics, even though I've never actually played Minecraft. Like, Castlevania II had a night/day cycle the way Minecraft does, and Castlevania II was forty years ago. But that was another digression! I did enjoy A Minecraft Movie. It was kind of crazy, but it committed to the craziness and maintained a consistent creative vision, and I was entertained. Though I did think it was impressive how Jack Black's agent managed to insist that he sing several different times. Overall grade: B Next up is Back to School, which came out in 1986 and this is one of the better ‘80s comedies I've seen. Rodney Dangerfield plays Thornton Melon, who never went to college and is the wealthy owner of a chain of plus-sized clothing stores. His son Jason is attending Great Lakes University, and after Thornton's unfaithful gold-digging wife leaves him (Thornton is mostly relieved by this development), he decides to go visit his son. He quickly discovers that Jason is flailing at college, and decides to enroll to help out his son. Wacky adventures ensue! I quite enjoyed this. The fictional “Great Lakes University” was largely shot at UW-Madison in Wisconsin, which I found amusing because I spent a lot of time at UW-Madison several decades ago as a temporary IT employee. I liked seeing the characters walk past a place where I'd eat lunch outside when the day was nice, that kind of thing. Also, I'm very familiar with how the sausage gets made in higher ed. There's a scene where the dean is asking why Thornton is qualified to enter college, and then it cuts to the dean cheerfully overseeing the groundbreaking of the new Thornton Melon Hall which Thornton just donated, and I laughed so hard I almost hurt myself, because that is exactly how higher ed works. The movie had some pointless nudity, but it was only a few seconds and no doubt gets cut in network broadcasts. Overall grade: B Next up is Whiskey Galore, which came out in 1949 and this is a comedy set in Scotland during World War II. The villagers living on an isolated island have no whiskey due to wartime rationing. However, when a government ship carrying 50,000 cases of whiskey runs aground near the island, wacky hijinks ensue. I have to admit the first half of the movie was very slow and deliberate, gradually setting up all the pieces for later. Then, once the shipwreck happens, things pick up and the movie gets much funnier. Definitely worth watching both as a good comedy movie and an artifact of its time. A modicum of historical knowledge is required – if you don't know what the Home Guard is, you might have to do some Googling to understand the context of some of the scenes. Regrettably, the version I watched did not have captioning, so I had to pay really close attention to understand what the characters were saying, because some of the accents were very strong. Overall grade: B Next up is Happy Gilmore 2, which came out in 2025. This was dumb and overstuffed with celebrity cameos but thoroughly hilarious and I say this even though it uses one of my least favorite story tropes, namely “hero of previous movie is now a middle age loser.” However, the movie leads into it for comedy. When Happy Gilmore accidentally kills his wife with a line drive, he spirals into alcoholism and despair. But his five children still love him, and when his talented daughter needs tuition for school, Happy attempts to shake off his despair and go back to golf to win the money. But Happy soon stumbles onto a sinister conspiracy led by an evil CEO to transform the game of golf into his own personal profit center. Happy must team up with his old nemesis Shooter McGavin to save golf itself from the evil CEO. Amusingly, as I've said before, the best Adam Sandler movies are almost medieval. In medieval fables, it was common for a clever peasant to outwit pompous lords, corrupt priests, and greedy merchants. The best Adam Sandler protagonist remains an everyman who outwits the modern equivalent of pompous lords and corrupt priests, in this case an evil CEO. Overall grade: B+ Next up is Superman, which came out in 2025 and I thought this was pretty good and very funny at times. I think it caught the essential nature of Superman. Like, Superman should be a Lawful Good character. If he was a Dungeons and Dragons character, he would be a paladin. People on the Internet tend to take the characterization of superheroes seriously to perhaps an unhealthy degree, but it seems the best characterization of Superman is as an earnest, slightly dorky Boy Scout who goes around doing good deeds. The contrast of that good-hearted earnestness with his godlike abilities that would allow him to easily conquer and rule the world is what makes for an interesting character. I also appreciated how the movie dispensed with the overused trope of the Origin Story and just got down to business. In this movie, Lex Luthor is obsessed with destroying Superman and is willing to use both super-advanced technology and engineered geopolitical conflict to do it. Superman, because he's essentially a decent person, doesn't comprehend just how depraved Luthor is, and how far Luthor is willing to go out of petty spite. (Ironically, a billionaire willing to destroy the world out of petty spite is alas, quite realistic). Guy Gardener (“Jerkish Green Lantern”) and the extremely competent and the extremely exasperated Mr. Terrific definitely stole all their scenes. The director of the movie, James Gunn, was quite famously fired from Disney in 2018 for offensive jokes he had made on Twitter back when he was an edgy young filmmaker with an alcohol problem. I suppose Mr. Gunn can rest content knowing that Superman made more money than any Marvel movie released this year. Overall grade: A-   Next up is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which came out in 1988. This was a very strange movie, but nonetheless, one with an ambitious premise, strong performances, and a strong artistic vision. It's set in post WWII Los Angeles, and “toons” (basically cartoon characters) live and work alongside humans. Private eye Eddie Valiant hates toons since one of them killed his brother five years ago. However, he's hired by the head of a studio who's having trouble with one of his toon actors, Roger Rabbit. Roger's worried his wife Jessica is having an affair, and Valiant obtains pictures of Jessica playing patty cake (not a euphemism, they actually were playing patty cake) with another man. Roger has an emotional breakdown, and soon the other man winds up dead, and Roger insists he's innocent. Valiant and Roger find themselves sucked into a dangerous conspiracy overseen by a ruthless mastermind. This movie was such an interesting cultural artifact. It perfectly follows the structure of a ‘40s film noir movie, but with cartoons, and the dissonance between film noir and the cheerfulness of the toons was embraced and used as a frequently source of comedy. In fact, when the grim and dour Valiant uses the toons' comedy techniques as a tactical improvisation in a moment of mortal peril, it's both hilarious and awesome. Christopher Lloyd's performance as the villainous Judge Doom was amazing. (I don't think it's a spoiler to say that he's villainous, because his character is named Judge Doom and he's literally wearing a black hat.) Like, his performance perfectly captures something monstrous that is trying very hard to pretend to be human and not quite getting it right. And the amount of work it must have taken to make this movie staggers the mind. Nowadays, having live actors interact with cartoon characters is expensive, but not unduly so. It's a frequent technique. You see it all the time in commercials when a housewife is smiling at an animated roll of paper towels or something, and Marvel's essentially been doing it for years. But this was 1988! Computer animation was still a ways off. They had to shoot the movie on analog film, and then hand-draw all the animation and successfully match it to the live film. It wouldn't have worked without the performance of Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant, who plays everything perfectly straight in the same way Michael Caine did in A Muppet Christmas Carol. So kind of a strange movie, but definitely worth watching. And it has both Disney and Warner Brothers animated characters in the same movie, which is something we will never, ever see again. Overall grade: A Next up is K-Pop Demon Hunters, which came out in 2025. Like Who framed Roger Rabbit?, this is a very strange movie, but nonetheless with a clear and focused artistic vision. It is a cultural artifact that provides a fascinating look into a world of which I have no knowledge or interest, namely K-pop bands and their dueling fandoms. Anyway, the plot is that for millennia, female Korean musicians have used the magic of their voices to keep the demons locked away in a demon world. The current incarnation is a three-woman K-Pop group called Huntrix, and they are on the verge of sealing away the demons forever. Naturally, the Demon King doesn't like this, so one of his cleverer minions comes up with a plan. They'll start a Demon K-Pop Boy Band! Disguised as humans, the demon K-Pop group will win away Huntrix's fans, allowing them to breach the barrier and devour the world. However, one of the Huntrix musicians is half-demon, and she starts falling for the lead demon in the boy band, who is handsome and of course has a dark and troubled past. Essentially a musical K-drama follows. I have to admit I know practically nothing about K-Pop groups and their dueling fandoms, other than the fact that they exist. However, this was an interesting movie to watch. The animation was excellent, it did have a focused vision, and there were some funny bits. Overall grade: A Next up is Clarkson's Farm Season Four, which came out in 2025. A long time ago in the ‘90s, I watched the episode of Frasier where Frasier and Niles attempt to open a restaurant and it all goes horribly (yet hilariously) wrong. At the time, I had no money, but I promised myself that I would never invest in a restaurant. Nothing I have seen or learned in the subsequent thirty years has ever changed that decision. Season 4 of Clarkson's Farm is basically Jeremy Clarkson, like Frasier and Niles, attempting to open a restaurant, specifically a British pub. On paper it's a good idea, since Clarkson can provide the pub with food produced from his own farm and other local farmers. However, it's an enormous logistical nightmare, and Clarkson must deal with miles of red tape, contractors, and a ballooning budget, all while trying to keep his farm from going under. An excellent and entertaining documentary into the difficulties of both the farming life and food service. I still don't want to own a restaurant! Overall grade: A Next up is Tombstone, which came out in 1993. The Western genre of fiction is interesting because it's limited to such a very specific period of time and geographical region. Like the “Wild West” period that characterizes the Western genre really only lasted as a historical period from about 1865 to roughly 1890. The Western genre was at its most popular in movies from the 1940s and the 1960s, and I wonder if it declined because cultural and demographic changes made it unpopular to romanticize the Old West the way someone like Walt Disney did at Disneyland with “Frontierland.” Of course, the genre lives on in different forms in grittier Western movies, neo-Westerns like Yellowstone and Longmire, and a lot of the genre's conventions apply really well to science fiction. Everyone talks about Firefly being the first Space Western, but The Mandalorian was much more successful and was basically a Western in space (albeit with occasional visits from Space Wizards). Anyway! After that long-winded introduction, let's talk about Tombstone. When Val Kilmer died earlier this year, the news articles mentioned Tombstone as among his best work, so I decided to give it a watch. The plot centers around Wyatt Earp, played by Kurt Russell, who has decided to give up his career in law enforcement and move to Tombstone, Arizona, a silver mining boomtown, in hopes of making his fortune. However, Tombstone is mostly controlled by the Cowboys outlaw gang, and Earp is inevitably drawn into conflict with them. With the help of his brothers and Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer's character), Earp sets out to bring some law and order to Tombstone, whether the Cowboys like it or not. Holliday is in the process of dying from tuberculosis, which makes him a formidable fighter since he knows getting shot will be a less painful and protracted death than the one his illness will bring him. Kilmer plays him as a dissolute, scheming warrior-poet who nonetheless is a very loyal friend. Definitely a classic of the Western genre, and so worth watching. Overall grade: A Next up is Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the eighth Mission Impossible movie. Of the eight movies, I think the sixth one was the best one, but this one comes in at a close second. It continues on from Dead Reckoning. Ethan Hunt now possesses the key that will unlock the source code of the Entity, the malicious AI (think ChatGPT, but even more obviously evil) that is actively maneuvering the world's nuclear powers into destroying each other so the Entity can rule the remnants of humanity. Unfortunately, the Entity's source code is sitting in a wrecked Russian nuclear sub at the bottom of the Bering Sea. Even more unfortunately, the Entity knows that Hunt has the key and is trying to stop him, even as the Entity's former minion and Hunt's bitter enemy Gabriel seeks to seize control of the Entity for himself. A sense of apocalyptic doom hangs over the movie, which works well to build tension. Once again, the world is doomed, unless Ethan Hunt and his allies can save the day. The tension works extremely well during the movie's underwater sequence, and the final airborne duel between Hunt and Gabriel. I don't know if they're going to make any more Mission Impossible movies after this (they are insanely expensive), but if this is the end, it is a satisfying conclusion for the character of Ethan Hunt and the Impossible Mission Force. Overall grade: A Next up is Deep Cover, which came out in 2025. This is described as a comedy thriller, and I didn't know what to expect when I watched it, but I really enjoyed it. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Kat, a struggling comedy improv teacher living in London. Her best students are Marlon (played by Orlando Bloom), a dedicated character actor who wants to portray gritty realism but keeps getting cast in tacky commercials, and Hugh (played by Nick Mohammed), an awkward IT worker with no social skills whatsoever. One day, the three of them are recruited by Detective Sergeant Billings (played by Sean Bean) of the Metropolitan Police. The Met wants to use improv comedians to do undercover work for minor busts with drug dealers. Since it plays 200 pounds a pop, the trio agrees. Of course, things rapidly spiral out of control, because Kat, Marlon, and Hugh are actually a lot better at improv than they think, and soon they find themselves negotiating with the chief criminals of the London underworld. What follows is a movie that is both very tense and very funny. Kat, Marlon, and Hugh are in way over their heads, and will have to do the best improv of their lives to escape a very grisly fate. Whether Sean Bean dies or not (as is tradition), you will just have to watch the movie and find out. Overall grade: A Next up is Puss in Boots: The Final Wish, which came out in 2022. I don't personally know much about the history of Disney as a corporation, and I don't much care, but I do have several relatives who are very interested in the history of the Disney corporation, and therefore I have picked up some by osmosis. Apparently Disney CEO Michael Eisner forcing out Jeffrey Katzenberg in the 1990s was a very serious mistake, because Katzenberg went on to co-found DreamWorks, which has been Disney's consistent rival for animation for the last thirty years. That's like “CIA Regime Change Blowback” levels of creating your own enemy. Anyway, historical ironies aside, Puss in Boots: The Final Wish was a funny and surprisingly thoughtful animated movie. Puss in Boots is a legendary outlaw and folk hero, but he has used up eight of his nine lives. An ominous bounty hunter who looks like a humanoid wolf begins pursuing him, and the Wolf is able to shrug off the best of Puss In Boots' attacks. Panicked, Puss hides in a retirement home for elderly cats, but then hears rumors of the magical Last Wish. Hoping to use it to get his lives back, Puss In Boots sets off on the quest. It was amusing how Little Jack Horner and Goldilocks and the Three Bears were rival criminal gangs seeking the Last Wish. Overall grade: A Next up is Chicken People, which came out in 2016. A good documentary film gives you a glimpse into an alien world that you would otherwise never visit. In this example, I have absolutely no interest in competitive chicken breeding and will only raise chickens in my backyard if society ever collapses to the level that it becomes necessary for survival. That said, this was a very interesting look into the work of competitive chicken breeding. Apparently, there is an official “American Standard of Perfection” for individual chicken breeds, and the winner of the yearly chicken competition gets the title “Super Grand Champion.” Not Grand Champion, Super Grand Champion! That looks impressive on a resume. It is interesting how chicken breeding is in some sense an elaborate Skinner Box – like you can deliberately set out to breed chickens with the desirable traits on the American Standard of Perfection, but until the chickens are hatched and grow up, you don't know how they're going to turn out, so you need to try again and again and again… Overall grade: A Next up is The Mask of Zoro, which came out in 1998. I saw this in the theatre when it came out 27 years ago, but that was 27 years ago, and I don't have much of a memory of it, save that I liked it. So when I had the chance to watch it again, I did! Anthony Hopkins plays Diego de la Vega, who has the secret identity of Zorro in the final days before Mexico breaks away from the Spanish Empire. With Mexico on the verge of getting its independence, Diego decides to hang up his sword and mask and focus on his beloved wife and daughter. Unfortunately, the military governor Don Montero realizes Diego is Zorro, so has him arrested, kills his wife, and steals his baby daughter to raise as his own. Twenty years later, a bandit named Alejandro loses his brother and best friends to a brutal cavalry commander. It turns out that Montero is returning to California from Spain, and plans to seize control of California as an independent republic (which, of course, will be ruled by him). In the chaos, Diego escapes from prison and encounters a drunken Alejandro, and stops him from a futile attack upon the cavalry commander. He then proposes a pact – Diego will train Alejandro as the next Zorro, and together they can take vengeance upon the men who wronged them. This was a good movie. It was good to see that my taste in movies 27 years ago wasn't terrible. It manages to cram an entire epic plot into only 2 hours and 20 minutes. In some ways it was like a throwback to a ‘40s movie but with modern (for the ‘90s) production values, and some very good swordfights. Overall grade: A Next up is Wick is Pain, which came out in 2025. I've seen all four John Wick movies and enjoyed them thoroughly, though I've never gotten around to any of the spinoffs. Wick is Pain is a documentary about how John Wick went from a doomed indie movie with a $6.5 million hole in its budget to one of the most popular action series of the last few decades. Apparently Keanu Reeves made an offhand joke about how “Wick is pain” and that became the mantra of the cast and crew, because making an action movie that intense really was a painful experience. Definitely worth watching if you enjoyed the John Wick movies or moviemaking in general. Overall grade: A The last movie I saw this summer was Game Night, which came out in 2016. It was a hilarious, if occasionally dark comedy action thriller. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams play Max and Annie Davis, a married couple who are very competitive and enjoy playing games of all kinds. Jason has an unresolved conflict with his brother Brooks, and one night Brooks invites them over for game night, which Max resents. Halfway through the evening, Brooks is kidnapped, with Max and Annie assume is part of the game. However, Brooks really is involved in something shady. Hilarity ensues, and it's up to Max and Annie to rescue Brooks and stay alive in the process. This was really funny, though a bit dark in places. That said, Max and Annie have a loving and supportive marriage, so it was nice to see something like that portrayed on the screen. Though this also leads to some hilarity, like when Annie accidentally shoots Max in the arm. No spoilers, but the punchline to that particular sequence was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Overall grade: A So no A+ movie this time around, but I still saw a bunch of solid movies I enjoyed. One final note, I have to admit, I've really come to respect Adam Sandler as an entertainer, even if his movies and comedy are not always to my taste. He makes what he wants, makes a lot of money, ensures that his friends get paid, and then occasionally takes on a serious role in someone else's movie when he wants to flex some acting muscles. I am not surprised that nearly everyone who's in the original Happy Gilmore who was still alive wanted to come back for Happy Gilmore 2. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show enjoyable and perhaps a guide to some good movies to watch. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.  

Wat gebeurt er als je moet kiezen wat de beste Telecaster is… geblinddoekt?

Immigration attorney Lin Walker explains the recent tightening of standards by USCIS on discretionary immigration benefits. USCIS is now evaluating immigration petitioners for possible Anti-American activity, including opinions expressed on social media.This episode provides a comprehensive look at the changes, as well as the implications for First Amendment free speech rights.Don't miss out on future episodes—subscribe now to stay updated on the latest immigration news and insights.Important links:https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-to-consider-anti-americanism-in-immigrant-benefit-requestshttps://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-to-consider-anti-americanism-in-immigrant-benefit-requests

Mass Movement Meets…American Standards In which Tim hangs and chats to American Standards frontman Brandon Kellum about the band's long storied history, their decision to call it quits, their final album ‘Future Orphans', geek culture, Hardcore, the scene, and much, much more.  Tune in, turn it up, and geek out.  This one's a doozy. Find out more about American Standards here

MUSICTaylor Swift has bought her masters, meaning she now has more control over her music moving forward than she originally did, and early reports from industry outlets like Billboard, which have followed the case closely from the beginning, suggest a sale price of $360 million. Seven Mary Three's debut album, 1994's Churn, has been reissued digitally with three previously unreleased tracks: “Wrecking Wall,” an early demo of “My My,” and “Over Nothing,” which served as the blueprint for “Margarette” on both Churn and American Standard.· Rod Stewart canceled his Monday night show in Las Vegas at the last minute, sharing with fans on Instagram, "I am sorry to inform you that I'm not feeling well and my show tonight at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is being rescheduled to June 10th." Meghan Markle is trying to build her lifestyle brand, but not everyone is on board. Word has it that Meghan asked Dolly Parton to appear on her Netflix show "With Love, Meghan", and got DENIED. Lainey Wilson is known for always wearing her signature bell-bottoms. "I have completely lost count, but I've worn a new pair onstage each time for the past 15 years.· What comes to mind when I say the BEST Disney movie soundtrack. TVJonathan Joss, best known for voicing John Redcorn on King of the Hill, was fatally shot Sunday in San Antonio, Texas, Variety reports. MOVING ON INTO MOVIE NEWS:George Romero invented the zombie genre as we know it with 1968's "Night of the Living Dead". And now his daughter Tina is keeping his legacy alive . . . but with a twist. Switch 2 pre-order panic … The Nintendo Switch 2 will launch this Thursday, June 5th. Unfortunately, a bunch of excited fans got a surprise they didn't ask for when some big stores here in the U.S. and England canceled their pre-orders. They thought they were going to open the new console on day one – but now, they're scrambling. The stores suggest the customers will get a chance to buy a console next month – and some of the customers will be getting some store credit to ease their pain. AND FINALLYReddit users have been naming the celebrities they think were UNFAIRLY canceled or mistreated by the public. Let's see if you can remember why these people were canceled:Brendan Fraser: He was basically shunned after accusing the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association of groping him. He made a massive comeback with "The Whale", after which we all realized how much we missed him. Janet Jackson: Wardrobe Malfunction. We learned that phrase during the Super Bowl Halftime Show of 2004, when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet's bejeweled nipple. Everyone got on HER case, but Justin escaped pretty much unscathed for some reason. Corey Feldman: Corey, who was a famous child actor, alleged that he'd been sexually abused by powerful figures in the industry. When he publicly discussed the claims during an interview with Barbara Walters, the talk show host said, “You're damaging an entire industry.” Sinead O'Connor: She never really recovered from the blowback after she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul the Second on "Saturday Night Live" in 1992. But she was doing it to protest child abuse in the Catholic Church . . . and she had a point. Rose McGowan: Rose's career took a hit after she publicly accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse and rape. Katherin Heigel: Katherine faced immense backlash after calling out the working conditions on the Grey's Anatomy set. At the time, she was branded “difficult” to work with. Rebecca Black: She was just a 13-year-old kid trying to realize her dream of pop stardom when she released the horrible song "Friday" and it's just-as-horrible music video in 2011. In retrospect, we were all way too hard on her.AND THAT IS YOUR CRAP ON CELEBRITIES!Follow us @RizzShow @MoonValjeanHere @KingScottRules @LernVsRadio @IamRafeWilliams - Check out King Scott's Linktr.ee/kingscottrules + band @FreeThe2SG and Check out Moon's bands GREEK FIRE @GreekFire GOLDFINGER @GoldfingerMusic THE TEENAGE DIRTBAGS @TheTeenageDbags and Lern's band @LaneNarrows ⁠http://www.1057thepoint.com/RizzSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Send us a textFrom busy homes to cozy apartments, your bathroom should work for you life – and look great too!  Here with smart and stylish tips to refresh your space is designer, renovation expert, and star of HGTV's Bargain Block, Keith Bynum.Keith will also spotlight a few standout products from American Standard – a brand trusted by generations for its lasting quality, thoughtful design, and everyday functionality.  As part of its commitment to supporting homeowners and celebrating its long legacy of being a part of people's home, American Standard is giving back in a big way with the launch of The American Standard 150th Down Payment Contest.https://www.hgtv.com/shows/bargain-blockhttps://www.americanstandard-us.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooyhlRxgmBNvsxpNA2jYE1qNKdcat86SazjSPLT2edWCs_vRdhm

#823: Join us as we sit down with Laura Modi – Co-Founder & CEO of Bobbie, the mom-founded & led infant feeding company that has become the third-largest fully integrated infant formula manufacturer in the US! Designed to mirror breast milk, Bobbie is an organic baby formula crafted with intentional ingredients & simple recipes to support healthy infant growth – all while working to break the stigma surrounding formula feeding. In this episode, Laura unpacks the truth about high-quality infant formula, breaks down the difference between US & EU standards, advocates for greater acceptance for diverse feeding choices, & gets real about the societal pressures parents face when navigating formula feeding.   To Watch the Show click HERE   For Detailed Show Notes visit TSCPODCAST.COM   To connect with Bobbie click HERE   To connect with Laura Modi click HERE    To connect with Lauryn Bosstick click HERE   To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE   Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE   Get your burning questions featured on the show! Leave the Him & Her Show a voicemail at +1 (512) 537-7194.   This episode is brought to you by The Skinny Confidential   Head to the HIM & HER Show ShopMy page HERE and LTK page HERE to find all of Michael and Lauryn's favorite products mentioned on their latest episodes.   To purchase Bobbie, use code SKINNY at hibobbie.com/skinny for 20% off the first three months of a Bobbie infant formula subscription.   This episode is sponsored by The Skinny Confidential   Optimize your daily beauty routine. Shop The Skinny Confidential Mouth Tape at shoptheskinnyconfidential.com.   This episode is sponsored by FORA Travel   Visit foratravel.com/skinny and let them know you came from SKINNY to learn what it means to travel, upgraded. This episode is sponsored by LMNT   Get yours at DrinkLMNT.com/SKINNY.   This episode is sponsored by Noom   Start your GLP-1 journey today at Noom.com.   This episode is sponsored by Cymbiotika    Go to Cymbiotika.com/TSC for 20% off + free shipping.  Produced by Dear Media

Dean talks about faith-low LED lighting and the way they are built. Dean talks about American Standard and its quality, and the removal of asbestos . Lastly, Dean talks about adding slab floor to a patio to become leveled + Dean's closing thoughts and logical fallacies.  

Writer Ross Warner (Drunk on Sunday) joins us to discuss his latest book, American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond (2024), about the early years of the legendary American rock band. We also discuss our shared love of the band, how Pearl Jam's Mike McCready came to write the book's foreword, and much more. We conclude by sharing our favorite Cheap Trick songs and albumsYou buy a copy of Warner's book here.Send us a text

Hour 3 Audio from WGIG-AM and FM in Brunswick, GA

Is it American made? China from New Jersey? What is the standard worth? Proving what is good and acceptable.The Voice in the Wilderness does not endorse any link or other material found at buzzsprout.More at https://www.thevoiceinthewilderness.org/

Cheap Trick is one of rock's most quirkiest bands with a mid career triumph that launched the band into stardom. How did that all come about, and how did they manage a career that has lasted over 50 years? It's all in the book Cheap Trick American Standard from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond by Ross Warner.*Want to win a free copy of Chris Stein of Blondie's memoir Under A Rock?  It's easy, just send me an email to sign up. You can find a link to my email address below. *Reminder this is for US citizens only**Want to stay on top of the world of Rock N Roll Book and Documentaries? That's also easy. Sign up for the Monthly BLAST!! the newsletter that comes out on the last Friday of the month that features book buzz and doc news, recently released titles, top 5 lists, and more. Just shoot me over an email at the address below  and say Big Rick, send me that Blast!!Support the showemail Big Rick at:info@rocktalkstudio.com

Many know Emmet Cahill from the current iteration of Celtic Thunder, filling the spot when Paul Byron left the group. Working around his Celtic Thunder tours and recording dates, Emmet HAS been touring as a solo performer as well for the last several years. His latest tour has a stop in Palm Desert February 5th as part of the St. Margaret's Friends of Music Concert Series.David Fleming speaks with Emmet just a BIT about Celtic Thunder but focused much of the time on his solo career. Namely, some of the tunes he tends to bring out - which is a mix of American Standards and Irish classics. Songs which have a storytelling aspect to them and tend to transport the listener to another time and place.

Tune in here to this Monday edition of the Brett Winterble Show! Brett kicks off the program by talking about the potential causes of the fires in California, and the importance of electing the right people. Brett shares the example of the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, flying to another country while the city she was elected to protect was burning, then returned a week later with her hands up claiming it wasn't her fault. Nothing comes easy, everything requires hard work, but we have politicians across the nation who are only doing the fun parts, they never roll up their sleeves and do the important work. We must return to, and uphold, our standards that have carried us this far. Bo Thompson from Good Morning BT is here for this Monday's episode of Crossing the Streams. Brett and Bo talk about the confirmation process for President-elect Trump's appointees, and Brett floats the idea of a C-Span "octobox" for confirmation hearings like NFL Redzone has for football. Bo also shares what he and Beth have coming up tomorrow on Good Morning BT! Listen here for all of this and more on The Brett Winterble Show! For more from Brett Winterble check out his YouTube channel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Week on America's Podcast, we interview author Ross Warner about his book American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond. We also dive into the album Cheap Trick at Budokan: The Complete Concert. Some call Cheap Trick the "American Beatles"—we'll discuss that and much more in this episode! Tracks of the Week: Jerry picks “Ton of Bricks” by Metal Church. Mooger picks “Lord of the Thighs” by Aerosmith. Ross picks “Hail, Hail” by Pearl Jam. Marc wraps it up with “I'll Keep Trying” by Ugly Kid Joe. Until next week, watch out for those Big Eyes and Surrender to the music! Link to get the Book Plus a Code for 30% off: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781493078066/American-Standard-Cheap-Trick-from-the-Bars-to-the-Budokan-and-Beyond Code:RLFANDF30 #CheapTrick #RossWarner #AmericanStandardCheapTrickfromtheBarstotheBudokanandBeyond #Budokan #MusicLegends  #SurrenderToTheMusic #AmericanBeatles

What if the key to thriving in both your professional and personal life lies in the balance between leadership and curiosity? Unfazed Under Fire features an enlightening conversation with Nate Melby, the Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Dairyland Power Cooperative. Our discussion uncovers Nate's remarkable journey from IT to the executive suite, highlighting his unique leadership philosophy and his devotion to community roles, such as being a fire chief. We explore how these responsibilities and his academic pursuits enrich his approach to leadership and collaboration.Nate's transition from a global cybersecurity leader at American Standard to his current role at Dairyland Power Cooperative offers a compelling narrative about adaptability and resilience. We delve into the unique mission and structure of Dairyland, a cooperative serving four Midwest states, and the apprehensions that come with a first-time CIO role. The episode also underscores the vital importance of cybersecurity in safeguarding the power grid—sharing insights into the collaborative spirit within the utility industry driven by a common mission of service and innovation.Join us as we explore leadership through the lenses of humility, integrity, and authentic presence. Nate shares invaluable insights into how lessons from the fire service can translate into executive impact. The conversation is rich with discussions on innovation, agility, and the transformative role of mentorship. Whether you're an aspiring IT leader or a seasoned executive, Nate's journey will inspire you to embrace challenges and leverage inner resourcefulness for organizational success. Don't miss the chance to gain impactful leadership insights and apply these lessons to your own path.To connect with Nate, go here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-melby-0199712/Unfazed Under Fire Podcast - Host: David Craig Utts, Leadership Alchemist Access to all our platforms:https://www.unfazedunderfirepodcast.online

This week we're ranking our favorite new albums of 2024. We say this every year, but this really was an incredible year for music and insanely difficult for us to narrow down our favorites. As a result, this episode has more surprises than any other year end episode of ours to date. Some of these albums are legitimate all-time greats, so dig in.Closing track: “Roy” from TANGK by IDLESPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/everyalbumeverMerchhttps://pandermonkey.creator-spring.com/Mike's EP:Pander Monkey on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple,Instagram:Mike @pandermonkeyAlex @everyalbumalexTom @tomosmansoundsHistory Tom's stuff:Music on Spotify, ApplePodcast on Spotify, YouTubeSubstackWebsiteMike's Album of the Year:Cool World by Chat PileAlex's Album of the Year:Lives Outgrown by Beth GibbonsMike's List:10. Wild God by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds9. Via Negativa (in the doorway light) by Xeno & Oaklander8. A Chaos of Flowers by Big Brave7. Vida Blue by Mamaleek6. To All Trains by Shellac5. Rampen (apm: alien pop music) by Einstürzende Neubauten4. “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor3. Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons2. Infinite Desires by Donny Benét1. TANGK by IDLESAlex's List:10. American Standard by Uniform9. Blue Lips by Schoolboy Q8. A Chaos of Flowers by Big Brave7. Mansuetude by Buñuel 6. “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor5. She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She by Chelsea Wolfe4. Chromakopia by Tyler the Creator3. Cool World by Chat Pile2. You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To by Knocked Loose1. TANGK by IDLES

Ross Warner is making his first appearance on the podcast. Ross is the author of the brand new book American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond. Warner tells the unlikely story of the band's path to greatness, from their origins in Rockford, Illinois to their massively successful live album At Budokan to the many, many ups and downs that followed. This is a rollicking tale of artistic genius, rock excess, hilarious misbehavior, chance encounters with music's biggest names, and international stardom that brought new meaning to the phrase “big in Japan.” Drawing on exhaustive research and interviews, American Standard gives an intimate look at a truly original band.Purchase a copy of American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and BeyondAlso from Ross Warner: Drunk On SundayFollow Ross Warner:FacebookInstagramX Episode Playlist ---------- BookedOnRock.com The Booked On Rock Store The Booked On Rock YouTube Channel Follow The Booked On Rock with Eric Senich:FACEBOOKINSTAGRAMTIKTOKX Find Your Nearest Independent Bookstore Contact The Booked On Rock Podcast: thebookedonrockpodcast@gmail.com The Booked On Rock Music: “Whoosh” by Crowander / “Last Train North” & “No Mercy” by TrackTribe

Rep. Tim Walberg represents MI's Fifth Congressional District. Congressman Walberg serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee. House Passes Walberg-Led Wireless Bill to Promote American Standard- Setting

Here's an episode that we originally released on our sister show, Why? but if this isn't Grad School, well, we don't know what is.If you're like us, you need more Cheap Trick in your life. Thankfully, Ross Warner is here with his new book, American Standard: Cheap Trick from the bars to the Budokan and Beyond. It's a look at one of the great American bands and tries to sort fact from fiction. And don't just take us for it- the book is making a lot of year-end best-of lists.American Standard: Cheap Trick from the bars to the Budokan and Beyond is available right now from Backbeat books.

Special HVAC edition this week. Jim reviews the new EPA regulations surrounding the change in coolants. He details how this will impact homeowners and advises them as they consider their next system. Jim brings on Carl, an industry expert from American Standard, to discuss the impact of the new regulations on equipment manufacturing, availability and installation. Jim also has time to address questions about putting a water heater in an RV.

Pat welcomes author Ross Warner to the "Zoom Room" to promote his new book "American Standard: Cheap Trick From the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emilie Wiliams and Julia Deister are the Co-Founders of Hydrific, a venture under American Standard, a company you may have heard of before! Together with LaunchBoom, we launched a product together called The Droplet on Kickstarter which raised over $114,000 on Kickstarter with over 640 backers. Beyond the funding, in this podcast, Emilie and Julia share all of their learnings and processes they follow to build a successful product.

Some songs are so legendary that they can be re-sung, over and over. Here's a selection of some American Standards, loving recreated by folks like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Tom Rush, Mike Compton and David Grier, and others you'll recognize. All we have to do is dream … this week on The Sing Out! Radio Magazine. Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer”(excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian FolkwaysThe Tony Rice Unit / “On Green Dolphin Street” / Backwaters / RounderJames Taylor / “Pennies from Heaven” / American Standard / FantasyMark Dvorak / “L-O-V-E-On The Street Where You Live” / Let Love Go On / Ten FingersTom Rush / “Glory of Love” / Circle Game / ElektraMike Compton & David Grier / “Bye Bye Blue” / Climbing the Walls / RounderChildsplay / “Love Me Tender” / Waiting for the Dawn / Self-producedCrowe & McLaughlin / “All I Have to do is Dream” / Going Back / RounderLinda Ronstadt / “I've Got a Crush on You” / Linda Ronstadt and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra / AsylumThe Tony Rice Unit / “My Favorite Things” / Backwaters / RounderFiddle Fever / “The Sidewalks of New York” / Best of Fiddle Fever / Flying FishBob Dylan / “Some Enchanted Evening” / Shadows in the Night / ColumbiaMichael Cooney / “Me and My Shadow” / Still Cooney After All These Years / Front HallWillie Nelson / “Don't Get Around Much Anymore” / Stardust / Columbia-SonyBen Winship & Brian Wicklund / “Russian Lullaby” / Big Twang / Snake RiverThe Burnett Sisters Band / “Walking After Midnight” / Long Way From Home / BeehivePete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer”(excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian Folkways

In this episode, we sit down with Ginny Fowble and David Ford from Linn's Plumbing to explore how they leveraged CertainPath's strategies to turn their small-town family business into a thriving $2 million operation. Ginny, who transitioned from a career in banking to take over the family business, shares her journey of navigating the complexities of running a trades company and how CertainPath (formerly SGI) provided the roadmap for success during uncertain times, including the pandemic. David, a former apprentice who grew into a leadership role, offers insights into how their focus on employee culture and process improvements have boosted team morale and profitability. Learn how they implemented service fees, refined their pricing, and used CertainPath's resources to build a sustainable legacy that's poised for future growth.  Show Notes The Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.   FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/  Thank you to our sponsors: Dynamic Air Quality Solutions - Since 1982, Dynamic has been the leader in designing, manufacturing, and distributing IAQ products to the commercial and residential markets through authorized HVAC contractors.  CertainPath members receive the exclusive value add Clean Air Defense System private label to drive your brand in the market you serve. Our commitment starts with support. We provide you with World Class Industry Leading technical and communications training, face to face and online. Become a Clean Air Defense System Indoor Air Quality partner and dominate your market! Visit CleanAirDefenseSystem.com for more information.   HD Supply. At HD Supply, our job is helping you do yours. We are uniquely positioned to help drive your business through unrivaled access to professional-grade Plumbing, Electrical and HVAC products and innovative business solutions such as our Stockwise Inventory Management program fully customizable to meet your needs and improve productivity. Our national network of distribution centers and more than 2200 store locations provide national reach with a local focus, providing unmatched convenience and product availability. We Power Pros to Do More.   Shubee. It's time again to get Covered for the Cause with ShuBee! This October, ShuBee is running an awesome cause marketing campaign supporting an incredible organization dedicated to supporting families affected by a breast cancer diagnosis. Throughout October, ShuBee is committed to making a difference. For every pink product purchase, 5% of the proceeds will be donated directly to their partnered organization. Build relationships with your customers, show you care, and support a great cause by decking your team out in pink! This is an awesome opportunity to create your own campaign to support those in your community affected by Breast Cancer. Be a part of the fight and show you care! Visit ShuBee's website at www.shubee.Com, or call us to join the fight alongside United in Pink and countless families impacted by breast cancer. Get Covered for the cause with ShuBee this October   Staples. Staples is the leading provider in office supplies offering a vast selection of products and services. Over the last 2 years, Staples has also become one of the US largest janitorial suppliers as well. From your everyday business essentials to your office furniture, printing, facilities and breakroom, Staples can do it all. Staples offers benefits to help create efficacies in procurement and consolidate vendors to streamline internal processes. Visit wwww.staplesadvantage.com for learn more.    Trane & American Standard. The Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are a technician support tool with many features to help technicians better install and service systems in communicating and 24 volt applications. When installing Trane and American Standard Link equipment, our latest communicating technology, technicians can connect to the equipment via Bluetooth through the Trane or American Standard Diagnostics Mobile App while on the jobsite. Once connected, technicians have access to a dashboard of features, including real-time sensor readings, fault conditions, the ability to view or change system settings, automatic charging, and more without standing at the thermostat. Through the Diagnostics Mobile App technicians can easily configure or diagnose a Trane or American Standard Link system from the palm of their hand. For 24 volt applications the Diagnostics Mobile App guides the technician through the installation for select 24 volt equipment; providing wiring diagrams, dip switch configurations, and downloadable PDF installation reports. Technicians can access customer's Diagnostics data, see active system alerts, remotely connect to select smart thermostats, access a refrigerant calculator, and search Trane/American Standard Residential product literature. This is one tool all your technicians should have. Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are available for download in the Google Play™ store or App Store®.    

In this insightful episode, we sit down with Brian and Janal Reid, owners of Serveway Heating and Air Conditioning, to explore their journey of building a thriving HVAC business. Learn how this dynamic husband-and-wife team went from working out of a pickup truck to running a successful company that's smashing growth goals year after year. They reveal their secret to success, including: ·        Why hiring for culture is more important than skills.·        How their faith-driven leadership has shaped their business values.·        The game-changing impact of CertainPath, from training to accountability.·        Their mission to solve the skilled labor shortage through the Next Generation of Tradesmen Foundation.·        How goal-setting and team motivation are driving 20%+ year-over-year growth. Whether you're a contractor, entrepreneur, or aspiring business owner, this episode is packed with actionable tips and inspiration to take your business to the next level! Show NotesThe Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.  FOLLOW CERTAINPATH:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPathLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpathInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ Thank you to our sponsors:Shubee. It's time again to get Covered for the Cause with ShuBee! This October, ShuBee is running an awesome cause marketing campaign supporting an incredible organization dedicated to supporting families affected by a breast cancer diagnosis. Throughout October, ShuBee is committed to making a difference. For every pink product purchase, 5% of the proceeds will be donated directly to their partnered organization. Build relationships with your customers, show you care, and support a great cause by decking your team out in pink! This is an awesome opportunity to create your own campaign to support those in your community affected by Breast Cancer. Be a part of the fight and show you care! Visit ShuBee's website at www.shubee.Com, or call us to join the fight alongside United in Pink and countless families impacted by breast cancer. Get Covered for the cause with ShuBee this October  Staples. Staples is the leading provider in office supplies offering a vast selection of products and services. Over the last 2 years, Staples has also become one of the US largest janitorial suppliers as well. From your everyday business essentials to your office furniture, printing, facilities and breakroom, Staples can do it all. Staples offers benefits to help create efficacies in procurement and consolidate vendors to streamline internal processes. Visit wwww.staplesadvantage.com for learn more.   Trane & American Standard. The Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are a technician support tool with many features to help technicians better install and service systems in communicating and 24 volt applications. When installing Trane and American Standard Link equipment, our latest communicating technology, technicians can connect to the equipment via Bluetooth through the Trane or American Standard Diagnostics Mobile App while on the jobsite. Once connected, technicians have access to a dashboard of features, including real-time sensor readings, fault conditions, the ability to view or change system settings, automatic charging, and more without standing at the thermostat. Through the Diagnostics Mobile App technicians can easily configure or diagnose a Trane or American Standard Link system from the palm of their hand. For 24 volt applications the Diagnostics Mobile App guides the technician through the installation for select 24 volt equipment; providing wiring diagrams, dip switch configurations, and downloadable PDF installation reports. Technicians can access customer's Diagnostics data, see active system alerts, remotely connect to select smart thermostats, access a refrigerant calculator, and search Trane/American Standard Residential product literature. This is one tool all your technicians should have. Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are available for download in the Google Play™ store or App Store®. 

On this episode, Barry and Mike don their comic greasepaint, clown nose and big shoes and belt out some American Standards as they debate the merits of Joker: Folie a Deux, the critically and commercially panned follow up to the Oscar nominated 2019 smash hit Joker. Topics discussed include the negative response to the film, the blessing of seeing through the fog of it all, and director Todd Phillips as prophet of doom. 

Cheap Trick is one of the greatest American Rock Bands ever! And they've never stopped! They continue to release solid albums and tour almost non stop. In his book Warner gives us an in depth look at this quirky band's rise in the 70s. This is a must listen for Cheap Trick fans and fans of classic rock in general! #CheapTrick #classicrock --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeremy-lunnen7/support

Listen as we uncover the secrets behind Kline Electrical Services' astonishing growth. 18 months ago, Matt Kline started Kline Electrical Services in Hagerstown, MD, with nothing more than a dream.  Fast forward to 2024, and Kline Electrical Services is on track to hit $1.6MM in sales with impressive profit margins. Discover how Matt transformed his start-up into a thriving business by leveraging CertainPath's proven systems and strategies. Matt shares his journey from a career in franchise gyms to the electrical industry, the pivotal moments that led to his success, and the key advice he has for new contractors. Whether you're a start-up or looking to scale, this episode offers invaluable insights and practical tips for achieving extraordinary growth in the home services industry.  Show Notes The Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.   FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/  Thank you to our sponsors: Trane & American Standard. The Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are a technician support tool with many features to help technicians better install and service systems in communicating and 24 volt applications. When installing Trane and American Standard Link equipment, our latest communicating technology, technicians can connect to the equipment via Bluetooth through the Trane or American Standard Diagnostics Mobile App while on the jobsite. Once connected, technicians have access to a dashboard of features, including real-time sensor readings, fault conditions, the ability to view or change system settings, automatic charging, and more without standing at the thermostat. Through the Diagnostics Mobile App technicians can easily configure or diagnose a Trane or American Standard Link system from the palm of their hand. For 24 volt applications the Diagnostics Mobile App guides the technician through the installation for select 24 volt equipment; providing wiring diagrams, dip switch configurations, and downloadable PDF installation reports. Technicians can access customer's Diagnostics data, see active system alerts, remotely connect to select smart thermostats, access a refrigerant calculator, and search Trane/American Standard Residential product literature. This is one tool all your technicians should have. Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are available for download in the Google Play™ store or App Store®.   Shubee.  Keeping your client's floors clean can be a hassle. But it doesn't have to be when you use ShuBee's high-quality shoe covers and surface protection products on every job. Our products are specifically designed to showcase your professionalism at a minimal cost per job. Made from strong, durable materials that won't rip or tear, our products ensure maximum protection. We know that your time is valuable, and that's why we make it our mission to provide you with the tools you need to get the job done quickly and efficiently. So why wait? Try ShuBee today and experience the difference for yourself! Visit www.shubee.com to check out some of our great products and use code SC10 to get 10% off all ShuBee products.  Synchrony – Ever wonder how to calculate your true cost of financing and how to fit the price of financing into your business and pricing for products and services? In Synchrony's new and improved Toolbox website you can easily calculate your Cost of Credit, view educational videos and learn more about Synchrony's digital tools. Simply to go www.synchronybusiness.com/toolbox to explore and learn more.    Staples- Staples is the leading provider in office supplies offering a vast selection of products and services. Over the last 2 years, Staples has also become one of the US largest janitorial suppliers as well. From your everyday business essentials to your office furniture, printing, facilities and breakroom, Staples can do it all. Staples offers benefits to help create efficacies in procurement and consolidate vendors to streamline internal processes. Visit wwww.staplesadvantage.com for learn more.   pulseM + Customer Lobby. Is maximizing reviews and referrals a priority for your business in the second half of the year? pulseM and Customer Lobby are proud partners of CertainPath and can help you achieve more reviews and repeat business by working together to create value at each touchpoint in your customer journey. Increasing your amount of Google reviews has a large impact on gaining more repeat and referral business. pulseM can help you achieve up to 3x more reviews by automating review requests at the end of each job, and then, Customer Lobby's unique algorithm follows up with your customer base at the optimal time to produce a response. Customer Lobby's direct mail postcards give your customers an extra way to keep your company top-of-mind when they need to schedule their next appointment with you! If you're looking to hear more about how we partner with CertainPath members or view a free demo for pulseM and Customer Lobby, we'd love to connect with you! Visit https://get.pulsem.me/pm-plus-certainpath to get started.   Reece. Reece is a leading supplier for Pros in the Plumbing, HVAC, Waterworks, and Bath and Kitchen industries. For over 100 years, Reece has been committed to helping Pros like you build your business by providing access to top-quality products backed by the resources, service, and support of product experts. On the job and need supplies but can't get away? Reece will come to you. They make it easy to keep your job moving forward with their Rapid Delivery services. In just 2 hours, Reece will deliver to any job within 15 miles of participating branches. It's just one more way to prove Reece works for you. Visit Reece.com to learn more about Reece – your trusted supplier and partner.  

This week Jeremy interviews Mike Berdan of the band Uniform. On this episode Jeremy and Mike talk Deafheaven, Philadelphia, Nickelodeon, Bon Jovi, writing on synthesizer, his first band, opening for Turmoil, participating in early versions of Welcome the Plague Year, using music to process trauma, inspirations for his band Uniform, singing for VEINS, their new album "American Standard", and so much more! SUBSCRIBE TO THE PATREON for a bonus episode where Mike answered questions that were submitted by subscribers! Follow the show on INSTAGRAM and TWITTER

From losing money and frustration to everything changed in 18 months.  From $2.7MM in sales to $6.5MM in 18 months… and making money.  And now the company is on target to do $10MM at the end of 2024.  This is the story of Ron Frame of Champion Exteriors in Hainesport, NJ.  Ron is a fourth-generation roofer.  He knew there must be a better way to run a roofing business.  He found CertainPath and has transformed everything.  Along the way, he's lived by the mantra: “Burn it to the ground.”  It means that sometimes you must make radical change and start over to grow.    If you're looking to transform your business quickly, this is a must watch/listen interview.  Ron outlines how he completely “burned to the ground” both his call center and roofing repair division.  He went from not understanding his financials and daily KPIs to living by them daily.  And he shares some insightful marketing tips that have helped him explode in growth, while so many other roofers are struggling to generate revenue.  Show Notes The Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.   FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/  Thank you to our sponsors: Trane & American Standard. The Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are a technician support tool with many features to help technicians better install and service systems in communicating and 24 volt applications. When installing Trane and American Standard Link equipment, our latest communicating technology, technicians can connect to the equipment via Bluetooth through the Trane or American Standard Diagnostics Mobile App while on the jobsite. Once connected, technicians have access to a dashboard of features, including real-time sensor readings, fault conditions, the ability to view or change system settings, automatic charging, and more without standing at the thermostat. Through the Diagnostics Mobile App technicians can easily configure or diagnose a Trane or American Standard Link system from the palm of their hand. For 24 volt applications the Diagnostics Mobile App guides the technician through the installation for select 24 volt equipment; providing wiring diagrams, dip switch configurations, and downloadable PDF installation reports. Technicians can access customer's Diagnostics data, see active system alerts, remotely connect to select smart thermostats, access a refrigerant calculator, and search Trane/American Standard Residential product literature. This is one tool all your technicians should have. Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are available for download in the Google Play™ store or App Store®.   Shubee.  Keeping your client's floors clean can be a hassle. But it doesn't have to be when you use ShuBee's high-quality shoe covers and surface protection products on every job. Our products are specifically designed to showcase your professionalism at a minimal cost per job. Made from strong, durable materials that won't rip or tear, our products ensure maximum protection. We know that your time is valuable, and that's why we make it our mission to provide you with the tools you need to get the job done quickly and efficiently. So why wait? Try ShuBee today and experience the difference for yourself! Visit www.shubee.com to check out some of our great products and use code SC10 to get 10% off all ShuBee products.  Synchrony – Ever wonder how to calculate your true cost of financing and how to fit the price of financing into your business and pricing for products and services? In Synchrony's new and improved Toolbox website you can easily calculate your Cost of Credit, view educational videos and learn more about Synchrony's digital tools. Simply to go www.synchronybusiness.com/toolbox to explore and learn more.    Staples- Staples is the leading provider in office supplies offering a vast selection of products and services. Over the last 2 years, Staples has also become one of the US largest janitorial suppliers as well. From your everyday business essentials to your office furniture, printing, facilities and breakroom, Staples can do it all. Staples offers benefits to help create efficacies in procurement and consolidate vendors to streamline internal processes. Visit wwww.staplesadvantage.com for learn more.   pulseM + Customer Lobby. Is maximizing reviews and referrals a priority for your business in the second half of the year? pulseM and Customer Lobby are proud partners of CertainPath and can help you achieve more reviews and repeat business by working together to create value at each touchpoint in your customer journey. Increasing your amount of Google reviews has a large impact on gaining more repeat and referral business. pulseM can help you achieve up to 3x more reviews by automating review requests at the end of each job, and then, Customer Lobby's unique algorithm follows up with your customer base at the optimal time to produce a response. Customer Lobby's direct mail postcards give your customers an extra way to keep your company top-of-mind when they need to schedule their next appointment with you! If you're looking to hear more about how we partner with CertainPath members or view a free demo for pulseM and Customer Lobby, we'd love to connect with you! Visit https://get.pulsem.me/pm-plus-certainpath to get started.   Reece. Reece is a leading supplier for Pros in the Plumbing, HVAC, Waterworks, and Bath and Kitchen industries. For over 100 years, Reece has been committed to helping Pros like you build your business by providing access to top-quality products backed by the resources, service, and support of product experts. On the job and need supplies but can't get away? Reece will come to you. They make it easy to keep your job moving forward with their Rapid Delivery services. In just 2 hours, Reece will deliver to any job within 15 miles of participating branches. It's just one more way to prove Reece works for you. Visit Reece.com to learn more about Reece – your trusted supplier and partner.  

In this episode, Bob Houchin sits down with CertainPath's Brandon Marshall to discuss the importance of building a strong legacy in the home service industry. They explore the challenges faced by today's contractors and the critical role of leadership in overcoming them. Discover how emotional intelligence, team development, and a focus on personal growth can transform your business. Learn about Brandon's exciting new programs, The Pride and Synergy Camps, designed to help you become a better leader and create a lasting impact on your team and community. This episode offers practical advice and inspiring stories to help you build a successful and fulfilling business.  Show Notes The Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.  FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ Thank you to our sponsors: pulseM + Customer Lobby. Is maximizing reviews and referrals a priority for your business in the second half of the year? pulseM and Customer Lobby are proud partners of CertainPath and can help you achieve more reviews and repeat business by working together to create value at each touchpoint in your customer journey. Increasing your amount of Google reviews has a large impact on gaining more repeat and referral business. pulseM can help you achieve up to 3x more reviews by automating review requests at the end of each job, and then, Customer Lobby's unique algorithm follows up with your customer base at the optimal time to produce a response. Customer Lobby's direct mail postcards give your customers an extra way to keep your company top-of-mind when they need to schedule their next appointment with you! If you're looking to hear more about how we partner with CertainPath members or view a free demo for pulseM and Customer Lobby, we'd love to connect with you! Visit the link in the description to get started. https://get.pulsem.me/pm-plus-certainpath  Staples- Staples is the leading provider in office supplies offering a vast selection of products and services. Over the last 2 years, Staples has also become one of the US largest janitorial suppliers as well. From your everyday business essentials to your office furniture, printing, facilities and breakroom, Staples can do it all. Staples offers benefits to help create efficacies in procurement and consolidate vendors to streamline internal processes. Visit wwww.staplesadvantage.com for learn more.    Reece.  Reece is a leading supplier for Pros in the Plumbing, HVAC, Waterworks, and Bath and Kitchen industries. For over 100 years, Reece has been committed to helping Pros like you build your business by providing access to top-quality products backed by the resources, service, and support of product experts. On the job and need supplies but can't get away? Reece will come to you. They make it easy to keep your job moving forward with their Rapid Delivery services. In just 2 hours, Reece will deliver to any job within 15 miles of participating branches. It's just one more way to prove Reece works for you. Visit Reece.com to learn more about Reece – your trusted supplier and partner.  Bradford White. Bradford White is “For the Professional” which is why they developed a For the Pro® mobile app with resources and tools at your fingertips! The contractor app is loaded with a variety of information and features to support the professional service and installation of Bradford White products. With the For the Pro® app, users can scan a Bradford White product barcode and quickly check warranty status while also having access to all related documents including I/O manuals and troubleshooting guides. Contractors can also chat with the Technical Services team within the app or access training videos while on site. The For The Pro® app is available for both iOS and Android devices through the Apple and Google app stores, download it today!  Trane & American Standard. The Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are a technician support tool with many features to help technicians better install and service systems in communicating and 24 volt applications. When installing Trane and American Standard Link equipment, our latest communicating technology, technicians can connect to the equipment via Bluetooth through the Trane or American Standard Diagnostics Mobile App while on the jobsite. Once connected, technicians have access to a dashboard of features, including real-time sensor readings, fault conditions, the ability to view or change system settings, automatic charging, and more without standing at the thermostat. Through the Diagnostics Mobile App technicians can easily configure or diagnose a Trane or American Standard Link system from the palm of their hand. For 24 volt applications the Diagnostics Mobile App guides the technician through the installation for select 24 volt equipment; providing wiring diagrams, dip switch configurations, and downloadable PDF installation reports. Technicians can access customer's Diagnostics data, see active system alerts, remotely connect to select smart thermostats, access a refrigerant calculator, and search Trane/American Standard Residential product literature. This is one tool all your technicians should have. Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are available for download in the Google Play™ store or App Store®.    

Emilie Wiliams and Julia Deister are the Co-Founders of Hydrific, a venture under American Standard, a company you may have heard of before! Together with LaunchBoom, we launched a product together called The Droplet on Kickstarter which raised over $114,000 on Kickstarter with over 640 backers. Beyond the funding, in this podcast, Emilie and Julia share all of their learnings and processes they follow to build a successful product.

Hur kan man använda kreativitet och skapande för att må bättre när man egentligen inte alls mår bra? Om det pratar Magnus med Michael Berdan i Uniform som snart släpper skivan "American Standard". En skiva som tar med lyssnaren på en resa in i psyket på någon som lider av bulemi och mental ohälsa. Och den personen är just Michael Berdan. Samtalet handlar dock mest om hur kreativitet är en positiv kraft i livet.  Mår du dåligt ska du söka hjälp. Du hittar den på 1177.se. Och prata med någon som du känner förtroende för om du har en sådan person i ditt liv. Hjälp finns alltid att få. 

In the morning, Juan Carlos Conchas is an electrical service & install manager, as well as sales trainer, for Pacific Coast Home Services in San Jose, CA. In the afternoon, he straps on his tools, takes a call or two, and sells close to $1MM in residential electrical every year. (In 2023, he sold $860K.) Yes, Juan Carlos is a CertainPath Electrical Sales Crown Champion… by selling part-time!Juan Carlos never sold a thing before going to work for Pacific Coast. But when he was sent on a callback on a $30K job (that he didn't sell or work on), Juan Carlos earned that angry customer's trust—and then sold him a $100K job. Pacific Coast knew they had a star.In this show, Juan Carlos shares his entire service call process in detail, explaining how he sells everything from diagnostics to panels to rewires to whole-house surge and more. What you'll find is Juan Carlos doesn't win over customers by smooth talking or pushing. Instead, he's cool and calm in his demeanor. And he takes time to truly educate customers so they're happy about their buying decisions.Show NotesThe Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family. CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years. We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. Let us show you the way. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/Thank you to our sponsors:Trane. Did you know the Trane Home app gives homeowners control over their Trane smart comfort system from the palm of their hands? Give them the power to adjust temperature hot or cold, set schedules, monitor usage and optimize energy from anywhere. The Trane Home app gives homeowners the ability to control how their environment feels so they can create their perfect cozy space. Download the Trane Home App on the App Store or get it on Google Play.American Standard. Did you know the American Standard Home app gives homeowners control over their American Standard smart comfort system from the palm of their hands? Give them the power to adjust temperature hot or cold, set schedules, monitor usage and optimize energy from anywhere. The American Standard Home app gives homeowners the ability to control how their environment feels so they can create their perfect cozy space. Download the American Standard Home App on the App Store or get it on Google Play.Redesign.co. Feeling overwhelmed by the ever-changing world of digital marketing? Redesign.co is here to simplify it for you. We focus on what matters: getting your business seen online. With our expertise in effective digital marketing solutions like Google Paid Ads and local SEO, we help your services get the attention they deserve. No jargon, no over-the-top promises, just solid strategies to boost your online presence. Let's team up and give your business the online boost it needs! Reach out to partner with Redesign.co and stand out to potential customers when and where they are looking.Professional Plumbing Group. How many hours in a day do your plumbers waste because you do not have the right part for the job? This problem leads to additional issues and reduced productivity, poor customer satisfaction, and increases your cost per job. Professional Plumbing Group (PPG) can help you solve all those issues and more! We have everything you need to help your business grow and become more profitable by allowing you to focus on plumbing not inventory management, product selection and so much more. Go to authorizedplumberprogram.com for more information.pulseM and Customer Lobby. As you prepare for summer, it's vital to have a plan in place to maximize reviews and referrals during your busy season. If you're looking to increase your volume of online reviews or follow up with customers automatically to ensure they choose your business the next time they need service, pulseM and Customer Lobby can help you achieve this by working together to create value at each touchpoint in the customer journey. pulseM and Customer Lobby are proud partners of CertainPath and it's our focus to help members maintain trust with customers and create a personalized experience throughout the entire customer journey. Increasing your amount of Google reviews has a large influence on gaining a greater amount of repeat and referral business. pulseM can help you achieve up to 3x more reviews, while our unique algorithm within Customer Lobby can then follow up with your customer base at the optimal time to produce a response and remind customers to book their next service. If you're looking to hear more about how we partner with CertainPath members or view a free demo for pulseM and Customer Lobby, we'd love to connect with you! Visit https://know.pulsem.me/social-media-optimization to get started.Staples- Staples is the leading provider in office supplies offering a vast selection of products and services. Over the last 2 years, Staples has also become one of the US largest janitorial suppliers as well. From your everyday business essentials to your office furniture, printing, facilities and breakroom, Staples can do it all. Staples offers benefits to help create efficacies in procurement and consolidate vendors to streamline internal processes. Visit www.staplesadvantage.com for learn more.

Kaleb Thompson is a service technician and roof replacement technician for Good's Roofing in Burton, MI.  He sold an impressive $2.4MM in residential repairs and replacements last year. Kaleb has been in the roofing industry since he was 23.  He began running his own sub crew, installing new roofs for Good's Roofing.  Eventually, Kaleb accepted a position as a repair technician for Good's Roofing, and after a few additional years, Kaleb was talked into trying sales.  He's clearly blossomed in that role, becoming a Roofing Crown Champion.  In this interview, Kaleb shares his process—from how he approaches repair calls, how he flips them into replacement sales, how he presents new roof pricing, how he handles objections, and everything in between. Kaleb does an exceptional job of always putting the customer first to earn their business. Show NotesThe Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.  FOLLOW CERTAINPATH:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPathLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpathInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ Thank you to our sponsors:Reece.  Reece is a leading supplier for Pros in the Plumbing, HVAC, Waterworks, and Bath and Kitchen industries. For over 100 years, Reece has been committed to helping Pros like you build your business by providing access to top-quality products backed by the resources, service, and support of product experts. On the job and need supplies but can't get away? Reece will come to you. They make it easy to keep your job moving forward with their Rapid Delivery services. In just 2 hours, Reece will deliver to any job within 15 miles of participating branches. It's just one more way to prove Reece works for you. Visit Reece.com to learn more about Reece – your trusted supplier and partner.  Staples- Staples is the leading provider in office supplies offering a vast selection of products and services. Over the last 2 years, Staples has also become one of the US largest janitorial suppliers as well. From your everyday business essentials to your office furniture, printing, facilities and breakroom, Staples can do it all. Staples offers benefits to help create efficacies in procurement and consolidate vendors to streamline internal processes. Visit wwww.staplesadvantage.com for learn more.   Trane & American Standard. The Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are a technician support tool with many features to help technicians better install and service systems in communicating and 24-volt applications. When installing Trane and American Standard Link equipment, our latest communicating technology, technicians can connect to the equipment via Bluetooth through the Trane or American Standard Diagnostics Mobile App while on the jobsite. Once connected, technicians have access to a dashboard of features, including real-time sensor readings, fault conditions, the ability to view or change system settings, automatic charging, and more without standing at the thermostat. Through the Diagnostics Mobile App technicians can easily configure or diagnose a Trane or American Standard Link system from the palm of their hand. For 24-volt applications the Diagnostics Mobile App guides the technician through the installation for select 24-volt equipment; providing wiring diagrams, dip switch configurations, and downloadable PDF installation reports. Technicians can access customer's Diagnostics data, see active system alerts, remotely connect to select smart thermostats, access a refrigerant calculator, and search Trane/American Standard Residential product literature. This is one tool all your technicians should have. Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are available for download in the Google Play™ store or App Store®.    HD Supply. At HD Supply, our job is helping you do yours. We are uniquely positioned to help drive your business through unrivaled access to professional-grade Plumbing, Electrical and HVAC products and innovative business solutions such as our Stockwise Inventory Management program fully customizable to meet your needs and improve productivity. Our national network of distribution centers and more than 2200 store locations provide national reach with a local focus, providing unmatched convenience and product availability. We Power Pros to Do More.  Redesign.co. Feeling overwhelmed by the ever-changing world of digital marketing? Redesign.co is here to simplify it for you. We focus on what matters: getting your business seen online. With our expertise in effective digital marketing solutions like Google Paid Ads and local SEO, we help your services get the attention they deserve. No jargon, no over-the-top promises, just solid strategies to boost your online presence. Let's team up and give your business the online boost it needs! Reach out to partner with Redesign.co and stand out to potential customers when and where they are looking.   Dynamic Air Quality Solutions - Since 1982, Dynamic has been the leader in designing, manufacturing, and distributing IAQ products to the commercial and residential markets through authorized HVAC contractors.  CertainPath members receive the exclusive value add Clean Air Defense System private label to drive your brand in the market you serve. Our commitment starts with support. We provide you with World Class Industry Leading technical and communications training, face to face and online. Become a Clean Air Defense System Indoor Air Quality partner and dominate your market! Visit CleanAirDefenseSystem.com for more information. 

David Wilson is a technician for Baker Brothers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  In each of the last three years, David has sold over $6+MM in residential HVAC equipment!  David closes over 90% of his demand calls and 70% of flipped leads. Those are stunning numbers for a technician who still works with his tools, sweating it out in attics. In this interview, you will get David's entire sales process—from the moment he's dispatched to a call to how he leaves a home.  Plus, David shares his insights on training, how he stays motivated, and what new techs should be doing to perform at a high level.  In particular, David reveals some eye-opening strategies on how he obliterates objections on price, preferred equipment, home warranty, and other bids. If you're an HVAC sales professional, you MUST watch this.  If you're in home services, this is MUST-watch.  Rarely do you get the opportunity to learn from someone who's consistently performed at such an exceptional level.  Show NotesThe Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way.  With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.  FOLLOW CERTAINPATH:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPathLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpathInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ Thank you to our sponsors:Shubee.  Keeping your client's floors clean can be a hassle. But it doesn't have to be when you use ShuBee's high-quality shoe covers and surface protection products on every job. Our products are specifically designed to showcase your professionalism at a minimal cost per job. Made from strong, durable materials that won't rip or tear, our products ensure maximum protection. We know that your time is valuable, and that's why we make it our mission to provide you with the tools you need to get the job done quickly and efficiently. So why wait? Try ShuBee today and experience the difference for yourself! Visit www dot shubee dot com to check out some of our great products and use code SC10 to get 10% off all ShuBee products.  Trane & American Standard. The Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are a technician support tool with many features to help technicians better install and service systems in communicating and 24-volt applications. When installing Trane and American Standard Link equipment, our latest communicating technology, technicians can connect to the equipment via Bluetooth through the Trane or American Standard Diagnostics Mobile App while on the jobsite. Once connected, technicians have access to a dashboard of features, including real-time sensor readings, fault conditions, the ability to view or change system settings, automatic charging, and more without standing at the thermostat. Through the Diagnostics Mobile App technicians can easily configure or diagnose a Trane or American Standard Link system from the palm of their hand. For 24 volt applications the Diagnostics Mobile App guides the technician through the installation for select 24 volt equipment; providing wiring diagrams, dip switch configurations, and downloadable PDF installation reports. Technicians can access customer's Diagnostics data, see active system alerts, remotely connect to select smart thermostats, access a refrigerant calculator, and search Trane/American Standard Residential product literature. This is one tool all your technicians should have. Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are available for download in the Google Play™ store or App Store®.    Reece.  Reece is a leading supplier for Pros in the Plumbing, HVAC, Waterworks, and Bath and Kitchen industries. For over 100 years, Reece has been committed to helping Pros like you build your business by providing access to top-quality products backed by the resources, service, and support of product experts. On the job and need supplies but can't get away? Reece will come to you. They make it easy to keep your job moving forward with their Rapid Delivery services. In just 2 hours, Reece will deliver to any job within 15 miles of participating branches. It's just one more way to prove Reece works for you. Visit Reece.com to learn more about Reece – your trusted supplier and partner.

Today Garrett Wing of American Standard K9 Training joins us for a follow up episode.  Garrett runs a globally recognized dog training company with over 4 million total followers online and is one of the biggest names in dog training currently.  We have a fantastic conversation breaking down a lot of lessons learned over the years and advice for new trainers!

The guys dig deep into the high school poetry that makes up the lyrics of 7 Mary 3's hit Cumbersome. Overflowing with self-reference and Eddie Vedder's impressions, this song will make it so you don't know if you're coming or going. Oh yeah, no. Yeah yeah, no no. Yeah. No.

It's FINALLY starting to feel like Summer Hot Teas! This week, the ladies are both back in the studio catching up on travel stories, sipping some Wölffer Estate Summer in a Bottle for our Taste of Long Island to celebrate Long Island Wine Country's LI Locals Wine Week and spilling all the tea on where to celebrate #NationalBrunchMonth here on Long Island. Next week is #NationalBucketListDay - What's on your Long Island Bucket List?? Send us a DM to @longislandteapodcast on Instagram & we might just read yours on the show next week!#TasteOfLongIslandWölffer Estate Summer in a Bottle to celebrate Long Island Wine Country's LI Locals Wine Week! (April 12th – April 22nd)2024 LIWC members extend a special invitation to their Long Island neighbors to visit & experience Long Island wineries. Simply show your New York driver's license & enjoy buy one, get one tasting flights at all participating wineries. Visit liwines.com for more info & who's participating!#LongIslandLifeCelebrating Brunch Month on Long Island! Check out some of our favorite spots for a mimosa:Tap Room (Bay Shore, Farmingdale, Jericho, Massapequa Park, Patchogue and Rockville Centre)The Northport Hotel (Northport)Canoe Place Inn (Hampton Bays)Besito (Huntington, West Islip and Roslyn)The SHED (Huntington, Plainview and West Sayville)The Union (East Meadow)Village Idiot Pub (Patchogue, Lake Grove & Oakdale)Bijou's Boujie Brunch (Melville)Baron's Cove (Sag Habor) Juniper Restaurant at The Vanderbilt (Westbury)Insignia (Smithtown)Prime (Huntington)Bayberry, American Standard, Sweet Jane, Coastal Kitchen & Verde (Bay Shore)Check out more on our new blog at www.discoverlongisland.com/blog or Tap into Eat by downloading our Discover Long island App to see what's yummy near you!#ChariTEA“A Toast to Embracing Autism” on April 26th at The Harbor Club at Prime - a tribute to Joe Winters, a passionate Long Islander committed to philanthropy and advocating for top-notch services for individuals with autism since his son's diagnosis in 1996.The proceeds from this event will benefit the Winters Center for Autism, where their dedicated team strives to enhance the lives of over 100 adults with autism.All donations will be recognized with your business name in our event slideshow and on our website and can be made here: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MjAxOTc4ASK US ANYTHING!DM us on Instagram or email us at spillthetea@discoverlongisland.com. Tell us what you want to hear! Whether it is Long Island related or not, the ladies are here to spill some tea with you!WATCH US:And SUBSCRIBE on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/DiscoverLongIslandNYFOLLOW US:Follow The Long Island Tea podcast on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @LongIslandTeaPodcastWRITE TO US:Email spillthetea@discoverlongisland.com if you are interested in collaborating with us, need some "uncorked advice” or if you just want to say “How you doin?”RATE AND REVIEW US:Be sure to leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you're listening, and screenshot your review for $5 off our Merch!WEAR US:Shop Long Island merch at shop.discoverlongisland.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ability to take a deep dive into construction topics is never greater than at IBS. Because of the electrification of our home's movement, my work in the Marshall Fire rebuild and the huge incentives that are now available to those electrify their homes, I chose to dive into heat pump water heating. Yes, they are more efficient at heating hot water, but several questions still needed to be answered. Are they loud, how much do they lower the ambient room temperature, what's their recovery efficiency, can you use a recirculation loop, why is the contracting community still dragging their heals, and are they more difficult to install and maintain, where just a few? I was able to speak with American Standard, AO Smith, Rannie, did you know they now are offering a heat pump water heater, and Rheem whose conversation will be released on a buildCAST FOCUSED episode.  I was also able to speak with Master Plumber Eric Aune after one of his IBS trade floor in booth talks.  All in all, I think I was interesting to hear the relative consistency of answers from the different manufacturers of water heating heat pumps and to feel a little more grounded in my ability to recommend their installation. American Standard Heat Pump Water Heaters AO Smith Heat Pump Water Heaters Rinnai Heat Pump Water Heaters Eric Aune Aune Plumbing and Heating Mechanical Hub Make Trades Great Again Podcast

Episode Show Notes / DescriptionLuke Strange exudes positivity and passion.  It's no surprise that his two-year-old business, Cool Hand Electric, in Red Oak, TX, has already profitably grown to $1.2MM with two trucks and another soon added.  Along with his wife and business partner, Kristen, this young couple has been working hard to put good people and good processes in place. They know that's what it takes to scale. Luke has an interesting background.  He went to work as an electrician for Milestone Home Services during the housing crash. Luke experienced the company's meteoric rise, despite those economic conditions.  He took a short break from the home services industry, but ultimately, Luke was drawn to the opportunity our industry provides. After pitching Kristen the idea, she bought into Luke's vision and they started Cool Hand Electric.  The two have worked diligently together ever since, including joining CertainPath early to help them plot out their pathway to success. In this interview, Luke shares the couple's journey as a couple and as business owners.  He shares insights that have allowed them to enjoy immediate success, including… ·        Getting their financials and KPIs in place as quickly as possible.·        Marketing strategies for a small business in a giant market filled with big advertising budget competitors.·        The value of an organizational chart, even for a small business.·        How they sell their new club membership program effectively.·        Why CertainPath software has been a better choice for them than HouseCall Pro and ServiceTitan.·        Getting their inventory management in place so soon and how they did it.·        Ensuring your hungry team takes time for their families, rather than working too much and burning out.·        Training at least two to three times a week and what that training looks like.·        Utilizing all that's available to him from CertainPath including training, coaching, Expos, TAG, and more. Show NotesThe Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way.  With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.  FOLLOW CERTAINPATH:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPathLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpathInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ Thank you to our sponsors:Redesign. Feeling overwhelmed by the ever-changing world of digital marketing? Redesign.co is here to simplify it for you. We focus on what matters: getting your business seen online. With our expertise in effective digital marketing solutions like Google Paid Ads and local SEO, we help your services get the attention they deserve. No jargon, no over-the-top promises, just solid strategies to boost your online presence. Let's team up and give your business the online boost it needs! Reach out to partner with Redesign.co and stand out to potential customers when and where they are looking.   Synchrony – Ever wonder how to calculate your true cost of financing and how to fit the price of financing into your business and pricing for products and services?  In Synchrony's new and improved Toolbox website you can easily calculate your Cost of Credit, view educational videos and learn more about Synchrony's digital tools.  Simply to go synchronybusiness.com/toolbox to explore and learn more.    Reece.  Reece is a leading supplier for Pros in the Plumbing, HVAC, Waterworks, and Bath and Kitchen industries. For over 100 years, Reece has been committed to helping Pros like you build your business by providing access to top-quality products backed by the resources, service, and support of product experts. On the job and need supplies but can't get away? Reece will come to you. They make it easy to keep your job moving forward with their Rapid Delivery services. In just 2 hours, Reece will deliver to any job within 15 miles of participating branches. It's just one more way to prove Reece works for you. Visit Reece.com to learn more about Reece – your trusted supplier and partner.  Trane & American Standard. The Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are a technician support tool with many features to help technicians better install and service systems in communicating and 24 volt applications. When installing Trane and American Standard Link equipment, our latest communicating technology, technicians can connect to the equipment via Bluetooth through the Trane or American Standard Diagnostics Mobile App while on the jobsite. Once connected, technicians have access to a dashboard of features, including real-time sensor readings, fault conditions, the ability to view or change system settings, automatic charging, and more without standing at the thermostat. Through the Diagnostics Mobile App technicians can easily configure or diagnose a Trane or American Standard Link system from the palm of their hand. For 24 volt applications the Diagnostics Mobile App guides the technician through the installation for select 24 volt equipment; providing wiring diagrams, dip switch configurations, and downloadable PDF installation reports. Technicians can access customer's Diagnostics data, see active system alerts, remotely connect to select smart thermostats, access a refrigerant calculator, and search Trane/American Standard Residential product literature. This is one tool all your technicians should have. Trane and American Standard Diagnostics Mobile Apps are available for download in the Google Play™ store or App Store®. 

Venture back in time with us to a world where standardbred poultry was prized as much for their ability to lay eggs or grace our dinner tables as they were for their feathers. In our latest chat, we lift the veil on the historical tapestry of poultry breed standards, moving beyond the glossy sheen of the exhibition to reveal their profound influence on the breeds we adore today. From the Rhode Island Reds to the industrious Leghorns, we trace the impact of the 1874 American Standard of Perfection and its ripple effect on uniformity and consumer desires, linking it all back to the era of bustling live poultry markets.We navigate the nuanced dance of breeding to the standards, sharing the wisdom gleaned from years of experience. As we discuss the Rhode Island Reds' early laying prowess and the Leghorns' evolution, we confront the economic choices that shape our feathered friends. We warn of the dangers of "coop blindness" and offer insights into the art of balanced breeding, highlighting strategies that preserve vigor and breed identity. Whether you're a breeder with a passion for heritage or simply curious about the clucking creatures that roam our yards, this episode is an incubator of knowledge, poised to hatch a richer understanding of poultry's past, present, and future.We're happy to announce that we've created a new Facebook group for our growing community of listenersYou can email us at - poultrykeeperspodcast@gmail.comJoin our Facebook Groups:Poultry Keepers 360 - https://www.facebook.com/groups/354973752688125Poultry Breeders Nutrition - https://www.facebook.com/groups/4908798409211973Check out the Poultry Kepers 360 YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj68bxgvKbaHJmrOxBiMewA

On this new bonus episode, Millie and Danielle discuss flirting with Luke Wilson, unintentionally sad movies, and pure himbo joy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In keeping with its tradition of mixing and matching designs from its own history, Fender introduced the “10 for ‘15” series of limited edition guitars. Rolled out in 2015, each model was limited to 500 instruments. One of the more unusual guitars was the American Standard Telecaster - with a double cutaway. We were pleased to try it out, as you don't see so very many these days. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain Instagram || @thehighgain Web || https://www.thehighgain.com

Merch is available!Use code PODCAST for 10% off your purchase.https://beckman.creator-spring.comCall Us For A Chance To Be On The Podcast!Leave a VoicemailUSA1 (619) 784-5580

This week we wanted to talk about Seven Mary Three's debut studio album, but we didn't Google correctly so instead we're talking about their debut independent release Churn, released in 1994. If you know their 1995 release American Standard, Churn is the same album but worse. In this episode we discuss literature, mayhem, theft, emotional walls, lake corpses, cover stories, time travel, cults, honeypots, Manchurian Candidates, and so much more! Hatepod.com | TW: @AlbumHatePod | IG: @hatePod | hatePodMail@gmail.com  Episode Outline: Top of the show "Do you hate it?" Personal History History of Artist  General Thoughts  Song by Song - What do they mean!?! How Did it Do Reviews Post Episode "Do you hate it?"

Shoulder season is something that makes both roofing and HVAC contractors alike nervous.  It's those traditionally “slower” months in between your busy season.  However, shoulder season doesn't have keep you up at night if you properly plan for it. CertainPath Coaches Estee Jaacovi (HVAC) and Rich Rogers (roofing) talk about how to manage shoulder seasons in their respective trades. They share insights like how to:·        Prepare for shoulder seasons months in advance.·        Outbound current and previous customers in a way that immediately impacts your call volume.·        Properly cloverleaf neighborhoods near jobs that wins homeowners over, rather than them asking you to leave.·        Market your business to reduce the sting of shoulder season, and how to market yourself during shoulder season.·        Utilize training in a way that ensures your people are doing the very best on every single opportunity.·        Use the shoulder season as an opportunity to refine your operations, which allows for smoother and more profitable growth.·        And so much more! Show NotesThe Successful Contractor Podcast is a part of the CertainPath family.  CertainPath builds successful home service businesses—and has for 25 years.  We do it by providing contractors with a proven path to success, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,100+ strong. Doubling your sales, with a 20% net profit, and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible.  Let us show you the way.  With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information. Thank you to our sponsors: RoofSnap. Are you tired of spending hours measuring and estimating roofing jobs? RoofSnap is here with powerful tools to provide fast measurements and estimates that simplify and speed up the sales process. When you order roof measurement reports, they arrive in your inbox in as little as two hours —or sixty minutes or less with rush delivery. Or draw your own roof measurements and receive your report in minutes. CertainPath members can try out a free seven-day trial of RoofSnap. If you subscribe after your trial ends, you'll get five free measurement reports –plus one extra free report if you sign up by June 30th. Don't miss the chance to simplify your roofing process and boost your bottom line! Look for RoofSnap in your CertainPath portal to get started today. American Standard. Did you know the American Standard Home app gives homeowners control over their American Standard smart comfort system from the palm of their hands? Give them the power to adjust temperature hot or cold, set schedules, monitor usage and optimize energy from anywhere. The American Standard Home app gives homeowners the ability to control how their environment feels so they can create their perfect cozy space. Download the American Standard Home App on the App Store or get it on Google Play. Synchrony – Are your customer's reluctant to share their personal financial information with your sales team?  Help eliminate any customer concerns by allowing them to apply for financing using their personal device with Synchrony's Direct to Device technology.  This completely paperless process not only saves time, it helps reduce input error and frees your sales representative to handle other tasks.  Customers can apply using Direct to Device through a secure email sent to their device or by scanning a custom QR code.   For more information on Direct to Device and how to get set up, call your Synchrony sales team at 877 891-9803 or visit toolbox.syf.com   Yellowstone Local.  Are you a home service company struggling to find experienced employees to hire? Then you need to schedule a meeting with Yellowstone Local, the undisputed leader in helping home service companies build high performing teams. Yellowstone Local doesn't just fill open positions; they shift your entire recruiting paradigm. Changing your brand into a magnet for amazing people and helping you hire people that embody your vision, your drive, and your commitment to excellence. With an intentionally extensive approach, you'll have a partner that builds and executes the entire process for you, saving you time and money while getting the best results. So in an industry where your product is your people, don't settle for less where it matters most. Visit Yellowstonelocal.com today and experience a different way to hire. For more information, contact Warren Lentz at (512) 962-2638 or warren@yellowstonelocal.com. 

Episode Summary James teaches Margaret about sourdough bread. He provides specific instructions on how to start a sourdough starter, keep it alive, and how to then turn the starter into tasty bread. Margaret and James also discuss the intricacies of British vs American English and Margaret learns about a magical Belgian spoon. Guest Info James Stout (He/Him) can be found on Twitter @JamesStout or on the podcast It Could Happen Here. James has a book out called "The Popular Front and the Barcelona 1936 Popular Olympics." You can find it here. Host Info Margaret can be found on twitter @magpiekilljoy or instagram at @margaretkilljoy. Publisher Info This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness. You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness. Transcript Live Like the World is Dying: James on Sourdough Margaret 00:15 Hello and welcome to Live Like the World is Dying, your podcast for what feels like the end times. I'm your host Margaret killjoy, and this week we're talking about that thing you're supposed to conquer: bread. We're talking about bread. Specifically, we're talking about sourdough. And we're talking with James Stout about sourdough. And that's what we're going to talk about. It's gonna be really exciting. I didn't make that sound exciting, but it is. Bread, and baking, and all that shit, something we haven't really covered on here before. And, it's something that I'm really curious about. This podcast is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network of anarchists podcasts, and here's a jingle from another show on the network. [Hums a nondescript "jingle" melody] Margaret 01:36 And we're back. So James, if you would be so kind as to introduce yourself with your name, your pronouns, and then kind of a little bit of your background with I guess, in this case, like bread or preparedness or stuff like that? James 01:49 Yeah, totally. So I'm James. He/him for me. I have my background for this....let me think...I grew up in the countryside. So, I grew up like with animals around, with growing a lot of our own food too, just because that's the way we did stuff. And I think I moved to America in 2008. And without condescending too much, your bread is shit. And so, I was appalled by it. And I've been making my own on and off when I've been home long enough to do it ever since, I guess. And now I still live in the United States in San Diego. And I try and have a little bit of the, like the that sort of, I guess, like preparedness/countryside kind of life. Like, we have we have backyard chickens, and we bake our own bread, and we grow a lot of food too. So, I still try and keep up with all that stuff. Margaret 02:41 And that's inside the city? James 02:43 Yeah, we're not like...I don't want to make it out like we're in a high rise. I have a tiny yard. And then we've, I guess we've liberated the area in between the pavement and the road. I don't know what that area is called. Margaret 02:58 A median. James 02:59 A median. Yeah, it's been...because that's, that's like... Margaret 03:02 Well a medians in the middle of the road. [Sounds unsure] Huh? James 03:04 Yeah. Margaret 03:05 I don't know. I should know. James 03:07 Yeah, you know what I mean, that area that's like liminally public/private. And public, in the sense of owned by the city council, and you can do fuck all with it. Which, you know, isn't great. So, I obtained some lumber and I've tried to put planters out there as well. Margaret 03:24 Oh, nice. What do you grow up? James 03:25 Yeah, So I grow a number of things. I get them from...We actually had a very nice older guy...the other day and an older couple had left their keys in their car. And so I took the keys and put them in the house and left them a note saying, you know, "Come get them." And then they did, and they gave us a voucher when they came and got them, they gave us a voucher for a garden center. So, I'm going to restock my vegetables. But right now I think I've got kale. I like to go...so I do a lot of work in Tucson with a group of indigenous people there, and I like to buy indigenous plants. So there are a couple of nurseries in Tucson and go to. So, I think we have wolfberry. We have agave. We have golden currants. We have carrots. We have kale, Thai chilies, and beetroot. Margaret 04:15 So this is a terrible...I haven't eaten dinner yet. This all sounds very good. James 04:22 Yeah, this is...You're gonna be ruined when I bust out my bread from the oven. Margaret 04:28 I mean, honestly, like bread is...I love bread. I understand that everyone has different body types and different diets. I'm so grateful. I'm not gluten free. James 04:42 Yeah. Margaret 04:43 I love gluten James 04:45 Gluten is my guide star. If someone...I have diabetes, right? And it's like, I think there's a 10% coincidence of autoimmune diabetes and celiac, and I spent some time volunteering with diabetes education and various kinds of places and just...I remember like staying with some folks--and we all have diabetes, so it's fine--I was like, "Fuck, you have celiac as well? That sucks." Like, yeah, it must be profoundly difficult for people, and I'm sorry for them. There are ways to make your own--I think Bob's Red Mill has a pretty good celiac or gluten free blend that you could probably use with a sourdough starter. Certainly, if you fed that starter that flour over time and sort of messed around with your recipe you could probably get something going there. But it's not something I've spent a lot of time with. Fortunately, I'm blessed to be able to digest gluten. Margaret 05:37 So, what is sourdough? Okay, I mean, I sort of know, but I feel like this is a good starting point, right? James 05:45 Yeah. So, it's spontaneous fermentation bread, right? I guess...Like these days, people might be more familiar with like spontaneous fermentation beer like lambics and stuff. Margaret 05:55 No, I don't actually know what spontaneous fermentation means. James 05:58 Okay, so it's when you're capturing wild yeast--and capturing as a strong word--you're encouraging wild yeast from the atmosphere to come and live in a certain place. And then you're using them to ferment you're bread, or your beer, or what have you. Margaret 06:11 Okay, so rather than going and getting yeast you're counting on...This is the way that you make alcohol in prison, right? James 06:18 Yes, yeah. So I'm told. I'm sure. I mean I don't have firsthand experience with it. But yes, it is. And it's a way like ancient Belgian monks would make their beer, right? Like and you hear about back in the day, when people were making beer or making bread they had like a 'magic spoon' that they would stir it with, not knowing that the spoon was like, in fact, what carried the yeast growth from one batch to the next. Margaret 06:44 Oh, that's cool! James 06:46 Yeah. Yeah, it's fun, like a wooden spoon soaking in that yeasty mixture. So yeah, it's basically, your only ingredients for sourdough bread are salt, water, and flour. Margaret 06:59 And so, and also a sourdough starter? But I guess you're saying that you don't start with that. James 07:04 Well, yeah. The only things that you have to purchase or obtain, I guess. Yeah. So you need to get the sourdough starter, which we can get into, like, how do you encourage this bacteria to come and live with you. But you need to obtain it. And then, if you don't make it a favorable atmosphere for them to live, they will just die, right? So you have to keep them alive. And then once you've got those, then you can keep them in your fridge and feed them every week or two. And you can feed them less than that, actually. And yeah, then you've got everything you need, really. You want a big Dutch oven as well. That makes it a lot easier. But yeah, it's you could... Margaret 07:41 Which is a big iron cooking pot with a lid. James 07:44 Exactly. Like a casserole with a lid. Yeah. It's got to have a lid, but you can get those so cheaply now. Like I think I have a large one that is like 35 bucks a Target if you live near a target. I also kind of like to go to thrift stores and buy stuff like that. If I'm out and about I have a special one that I got that I use in like fires and cooking outside. Margaret 08:08 So, why do people make sourdough bread instead of...what is regular [bread]? Because regular bread has yeast in it too, right? James 08:14 Yeah, so it uses...what's the process called...there's a process through which it ferments more rapidly. It's like hyphenated. It's like two names, which...So like my bread--I'm making a batch of bread now, actually--and I started feeding the sourdough [starter] yesterday around around noon, and I build up my starter by adding flour and then I add that to my bulk ferment and then that bulk ferments and it will probably go in the oven tonight. Margaret 08:14 Bog ferment? [Misunderstanding how James says "Bulk"] James 08:33 Bulk. [Emphasizing the word.] Margaret 08:38 Bulk. Sorry. James 08:40 Yeah, like when you're bulking, you know? Yeah, so that...like it'll be the yeast, and the water, and the flour will be in contact for like 24 hours, right? So it's a much slower fermentation. And some people find this more digestively beneficial to them. Chorelywood process is what it's called when you speed ferment the bread. So, if you get your cheap bed, like Bimbo bread or whatever, and you sort of like... Margaret 09:07 Bimbo bread? James 09:08 Yeah, you don't have Bimbo bread? Margaret 09:10 No, what's Bimbo bread? James 09:12 You're from the east coast aren't you. Pan Bimbo? It's a type of bread. It's a little bear thing. I think maybe it's Mexican in origin and it's more in Latino communities or Latinx communities. But yeah. That...if you get your crappy bread.. See I don't know the American brands because I don't buy them, but Bimbo won. It just this sticks out. It sticks out in my mind. Margaret 09:36 Okay, the cliche crappy bread that I don't know anyone who eats is Wonder Bread. James 09:40 Yeah, Wonder Bread. Yeah. They sponsored a cycling team once. It was was very funny. Margaret 09:46 That's funny. James 09:47 Yeah, it's probably...That kind of bread is great to eat when you're like doing intense exercise because it just...[incomprehensible retort] Margaret 09:48 I guess okay...Yeah, it just becomes sugar right away. James 09:47 When I was racing in France, we had these things called quioche de posh, which is like pocket brioche, like the shittiest tier of brioche imaginable. Margaret 09:48 I don't know what brioche is. James 09:48 Okay, brioche like an enriched bread...ah, pretending it's a like anarchist's poor [undecipherable], which like I'm not judging anyone, but it's a like enriched bread. It's a milk bread. Like a sweet bread. Margaret 10:09 Okay, I can't imagine this object. James 10:22 it's just like this big, which is very useful in an audio medium. Yeah, I want to say it's the size of like half a cell phone or mobile phone and...Or a pocket knife, a pocket knife is a good analogy. It's about as big as a pocket knife. And then it's like injection filled with Nutella. It takes like to chews and it just it just goes to a goo. Margaret 10:51 Oh, that sounds really nice actually. James 10:52 Yeah, it's great. You need that while you're riding over mountain France or whatever. So like, cheap bread kind of does that, right? Or like sort of mass produce bread very quickly revert to this kind of pasty thing. Whereas, sourdough bread has a much better structure. And at least like I found it to be it doesn't cause any digestion issues for me. Because it ferments for longer, maybe it breaks down some that stuff a bit more easily. Some people will tell you it's more nutritious. I think that largely depends on the flour use and the ingredients you put in it. You can put other stuff in it like fruit or nuts, right. But, I like it because it's a lot more like...I can't imagine in any like...if you're looking at living more sustainably living more independently from capitalism, like, it's possible that you could grow your own grains and grind your own grains. People have done that for a while. Water would be an issue where I live in Southern California. But you know, if you have access...if you don't have access to water you're fucked anyway. Margaret 11:55 Yeah, you have bigger problems than lack of bread. James 11:58 Yeah. So, it's very sustainable in that sense, right. And I think it just tastes better. And I like making my own stuff like. I have all kinds of things that are...Literally before we spoke, I found a knife on the road, and I was regrinding so I can use it. You know, I like to grow stuff. I like to make stuff. So, it appeals to that side of me too. Yeah. Margaret 12:19 Well, that's good too. Because I feel like there's often this weird gender division within DIY. James 12:25 Yeah, it's strange. Margaret 12:27 Yeah. Like grinding your own knife is allowed to one class of people. But, then gardening is allowed to a different one. You know? That's it. James 12:36 Yeah. I think that's kind of bullshit. Like, you had a tweet today about how like trans ladies are becoming associated with firearms ownership now. Yeah, which I think it's great. Maybe cis men could be associated with doing some domestic labor as well. Margaret 12:50 That would be...you know, the world would work a little better if people were like, "Oh, I don't know. He's just gonna go into the kitchen and do all the dishes." It's like, not even...It's like, I'd make sure I do that before he comes over. Because otherwise he's going to spend the whole party doing the dishes. James 13:03 Yeah, ‘cause he's naturally inclined. Yeah. Margaret 13:07 It's the upper body strength. It really helps get into the.... James 13:10 Yeah. The broad pecs really help get into the lasagna dish. Yeah, they were just made that way. Why are the hands so big? So they can cover a whole dinner plate. Margaret 13:21 Exactly. James 13:22 Yeah. You can't argue with science. Margaret 13:27 Okay, so let's say I want to make sourdough, which I do. And I don't know anything about it. Which I don't. How do I make sourdough? I get flour. James 13:39 Yeah. Margaret 13:39 I get water. Did you say sugar? Did I make that up? James 13:42 No, no, you don't need sugar. Margaret 13:44 Salt? James 13:44 Yeah, you do need a bit of salt. So, let's say you're about starting. Margaret 13:50 Oh, and dutch oven. James 13:52 Yeah, yeah. You're one of the 500 people who texted me this in like March 20th, 2020. It caused me to have a "copy-paste-er" on my phone. So what you would do is you would go out...and I'd say like, if you have all the flours...like say you have a good Co-op or nice supermarket available to you. I would suggest buying to start off with, some rye flour, whole grain rye flour, some bread flour. King Arthur is a good brand. Bob's Red Mill is a good brand. Some supermarkets have their own bread flour. It's just gonna have a little more protein, which is a little more gluten, which will give the bread better structure. And I like to have some all purpose flour as well because it's cheaper. So, like for when I'm just feeding my starter and I'm gonna dump it. If I'm gonna dump it I don't need it to be anything fancy, right? But rye flour is great. Yeasts love rye flour. So, what I start out with is like a jar, a glass jar, preferably you don't want a plastic one. Margaret 14:48 Okay, like a mason jar. James 14:50 Yeah. So a mason jar is great. And you want to be able to....flies, like all the little buggy insects love a sourdough starter. Like, I'll use it to catch them when they're becoming a problem that. But, you don't want them in it. So, you're want to be able to put like a little cheese cloth or something over the top of it. Okay, so mason jar is great, because you can use that sealing ring. Margaret 15:11 Yeah, without anything in the middle. Yeah. James 15:14 Yeah. But you do want to let it breathe. You don't want to close the lid, because then you'll get anaerobic fermentation. So, we're going to express everything that we do in terms of percentages of the weight of the flour. So, we're going to start out with 100% hydration. So that means equal amounts of water and flour. And sometimes I read that you shouldn't use tap water, but I think those people are just kind of getting a bit too namby pamby about things. Like it's fine. It's always been fine for me. If you want to use bottled water, if you have a well, more power to you, but I've used tap water and like our tap water is dogshit in San Diego, and it's been fine. Margaret 15:52 Well, I have a well, so....although, I soften the water. So I don't know if that makes it better or worse. James 15:58 Probably better. Ours very hard. It's certainly better a for your other domestic appliances. Margaret 16:02 Yeah, that's why. Most complicated plumbing job I've set up. James 16:08 Yeah, and it's worth it, though. If you live in a hard water area, and you want an espresso machine, you can normally find one that people think is broken and if you decalcify it it's normally fine. That's a little pro tip. Used to want to have no money. I'd buy them yard sales and fix them and sell them on espresso boards. Margaret 16:28 You've had a lot of jobs. James 16:30 Yeah, a great side hustle. Yeah, didn't have a lot of money so had to have a lot of jobs. So yeah, what we're going to start out doing is we're going to do 100% hydration, right? Margaret 16:40 Okay, 1:1 water and flour. James 16:42 Yes, one to one water and flour. So let's say we're going to do 100 grams of each. It's...you can work in American Standards units, if you really must, but it's so much easier to do percentages, etc, in grams. So, I would just just start there. And then after a day, we're going to dump half of that, and feed it again. Now the stuff that you dump, you can either use to start another starter and give that to a friend or have a backup starter. Or I like to keep it and there are recipes for like making crackers out of it and that kind of thing. And you can do other stuff with it. Margaret 17:14 Wait. So I'm just putting...I'm putting some some flour and some water in a jar with some cheese cloth over it, leaving it, and then throwing half of it out? James 17:23 And then feeding it again. Margaret 17:25 By adding more of everything? James 17:27 More of the flour and the water. So another 100 grams flour, 100 grams of water, and then you're going to dump half and feed again the next day. And the reason you're doing that is to get rid of some of the like metabolites and some of the flour that's been digested. And, you want to keep giving it fresh food and that will encourage the yeast to grow. And so once that starts to fizz and bubble, and you'll kind of see little bubbles and you'll...first it'll smell pretty bad, and then after four or five days normally it starts to smell pretty good. It's kind of got a sweet kind of...people say a green apple smells sometimes. Margaret 18:01 This just seems like magic. You're not adding anything but flour and water to this jar and it's bubbling. James 18:07 Yes, it is. I think...I forget...One of the places that used to say like that yeast was proof of God or something that like....Belgian monks used to make beer this way, right? And they convinced themselves it was either their magic spoon or like God's benevolent love. It's not. Margaret 18:22 I mean, both of those things seem just as realistic as the little tiny things in the air that you can't see are eating the food. James 18:33 Yes, yeah, yeah. Invisible flour eaters. Another way to do it is if you can get nonsulfated dried fruits...so you can...You know when you get the dried apricot and they're brown not orange and they taste better? Those are unsulfated. You can also leave those in a jar. Just close the jar. Leave them in a jar with water and close the jar and after a few days it will start fizzing. Margaret 18:55 Close the jar like cheese cloth? Or like 'close it' close it? James 18:59 Lid it. Lid on. Like screw on the lid. And then after a few days, you'll see that water start fizzing. And that's what's happening there. That's the yeast coming off the skin of the fruit. And then you can use that water to make your starter, right. So mix that with flour and then feed it just like you would before. You can kind of combine these two processes, right. You can do the fruit one first and then do that 100% feed it up. And then after a while that starch is going to start bubbling. This is why you want to use a clear glass jar because you'll see it growing, right. You'll see the bubbles all the way up and you'll see that like oh yeah, this is this is fermenting now. That's what's happening. You can even if you want to you can like Sharpie on the side of the jar, you know, when you feed it and then see if it goes up. And the speed at which it will double in size depends on the temperature where you live, right, and the temperature of the starter itself. So, your that's what you're looking for. You're looking for it to double in size about every eight hours. And that's when you know you've got a good fast smoothing starter. Margaret 20:02 Okay, this totally real thing that happens. I know you're explaining this to me, but in my head this is not...when I go try this later nothing's gonna happen that's how I feel. James 20:11 It will blow your mind. It is it's so cool Margaret 20:15 I'm gonna come back and tell you that I believe in a Belgian God. James 20:19 Yeah, you just become a monk in like West Flanders. Yeah, yeah. Margaret 20:25 Okay. Is this the same yeast that is making that...Is this also alcohol? James 20:33 Yes, it's the same. What? Lactobacillus? Fuck, I used to know what they were called in Latin but I don't anymore, but yes Saccharomyces, I think. Margaret 20:43 Magic sky yeast. James 20:44 Yeah, magic sky yeast. Yes, it is. Yeah, it's the same stuff. Brewers yeast, right when you buy it...So it's just... Margaret 20:54 When I buy it it I can see it. But in the air is just exists? James 20:59 Yeah, it's just floating around. Margaret 21:02 All right. James 21:04 Okay, so the yeast have come to live with you in this jar, right? And they are thriving, and you're feeding them. So now we want to take that to where we can bake from it. So, what we do is we take from us starter and we grab half of it, right? So half of... Margaret 21:19 Half a mason jar? James 21:20 Whatever...400 grams. Yeah, it would be the whole mason jar. But we let's say because we're dumping half and feeding every day, right? So we have that amount that we have, we're gonna split it in half. Margaret 21:31 How many days before it's ready. James 21:34 It kind of depends on the temperature. It will ferment faster in a high temperature. It depends on the yeasts that are available in your area, right. So, if I gave you a sourdough starter today and you took it to where you live, right. I sent it to you in the mail, and you started feeding it, it will become different over time because of the yeast in your area as opposed my area. Margaret 21:52 But, I don't need to start from one that you sent to me. James 21:55 No, you can start from from one that you made yourself. you captured yourself. Right? So, that will probably take five or six days, maybe maybe a week. Some people like to feed it was fruit juice instead of water? I don't know if that helps. Some people put apple peels in the water because there's yeast on the skin. Right. So, let's say you spend the better part of a week...and it's very minimal effort, right, it's about five minutes of your day. And you do that, and you start to see it bubbling up, right, you start seeing in the jar it's bubbling up, okay. Now you could. So you're going to take half of that, dump it in a bowl, and you're going to add 100 grams of flour and 80 grams of water, right? So you're at 80% hydration now. And then the other half that's still in the mason jar, you're going to feed that as you normally would, right, 100, 100. Margaret 22:46 Just to keep it going? James 22:47 To keep it going. Yeah. And then you'll let that sit...I don't know, sometimes I let it sit for four hours. You don't want to let it sit for the full eight hours, because then it would have consumed all the food and it will want feeding again. So let it sit for an hour or two and then I seal it in the mason jar or with a jam jar and I pop that in the fridge. So, that slows down the fermentation. So that now...that doesn't need that....That's what we call your storage starter. And that doesn't need feeding for about a week or two. So basically, if you feed it every time you bake you're going to be okay. Okay, so now we've got this other bowl, right, which has got 100 grams of flour and 80 grams of water in your starter. We're going to mix that up, leave it for eight hours. And at this point, we can transition from using the rye flour to using our all purpose flour. Margaret 23:33 Okay, so the rye flour is just to make the starter? We're not making rye bread. James 23:38 No, well, you can, or if your stater ever gets a bit sluggish, and it's not really fermenting the rye flour will spruce...because rye flour is lower protein, right, lower gluten, it doesn't make as good of bread because gluten is what gives the bread the structure. But the protein is not really digested by the yeast, right? That's why it remains in the bread. So, if we're giving it a flour which is lower protein, there's more of the other stuff that yeast want, and that's where they like the rye flour. But that's also why you can't make your whole bread out of rye flour, or it won't be too good if you do. So. Yeah, at this point, once we've captured our starter, I would start transitioning to the AP for the two feedings that we're going to do to build up... Margaret 24:21 AP is all purpose? James 24:22 All purpose. Yeah, sorry, I'm used to using baker slang. It's how you can tell I'm like down with the kids. So you've moved to your like--what we're doing now is called building a levain. It's a French word. And we're going to do two feedings of that, right? So, we're going to do eight hours spaced apart more or less. We're going to do 100 grams of water, 80 grams all purpose...Sorry, 100 grams of all purpose flour, 80 grams of water. And again, what we're looking for is bubbling up, right. So, you can also do this in glass if you want and you're looking for it to double in size and then you feed it again. But like, it doesn't have to exactly double in size, right? Like I don't really like measure shit. I do weigh stuff, but other than that I kind of...so it's March here. It's pretty cold for San Diego. Like, it'll be in the 40s at night and the 50s in a day. And so it takes a lot longer for my bread to bake now. In the summer, it's just like whipping ass. Like the whole thing is done in like, you know, from getting out the fridge to being done in less than 12 hours. But, it's double that in the winter. Margaret 25:31 Is this making dough? James 25:33 What we're now doing is making a large kind of yeast inoculated...a large yeast culture that we're about to put into the dough. So, the reason we're using AP here is because the yeast will consume more of it, right? And it's...So, then we do that twice, right, we do that feeding twice, which is...so 80% hydration feeding twice. Then, we're going to make the dough itself. I've tried to like refine my process to make it as low stress as possible. And it makes really good bread and it takes not very much time. So, I like to bake with 1500 grams of flour, right? So that's...500 grams of flour is is a good sized loaf, right? Margaret 26:16 So you make three loaves at a time? Okay, James 26:19 Yeah, I make three loaves. I have tried to make one giant choad loaf, but it just sort of...What happens is it will blow the top off your Dutch oven. You'll get like a mushroom. What I do is, I measure up my water first. And if it's cold, I'll use hot water, and if it's hot, I use room temperature water, right. So, right now I run the hot tap a little bit. And then I'm doing the same thing I'm doing 80% hydration, right. So for that, because I'm doing 1500 grams of flour. I want 1200 grams of water. Margaret 26:46 It's so interesting because I usually think of things not in terms of...I don't usually think...I'm not much of a baker, but I don't think of things in terms of the weight of them. I think in terms of the volume of them James 26:55 Weight is so much preferable to volume, like Margaret 26:58 Yeah, no, I believe you. I'm not much of a baker. James 27:02 Yeah, people say that cooking is an art and baking in science. But, I think sourdough was like a vibe...Like once you...once you get it down and you're vibing on the same level as your sourdough starter... Margaret 27:14 Okay, because the other cliche there is, is if you can...if you can bake a cake, you can make a bomb. It's the other cliche. James 27:24 I would not trust this method for bomb making. Margaret 27:27 Yeah, don't vibe with that. James 27:28 Yeah, I'm reminded of...my colleague Robert Evans and I were doing an interview with some some folks who are part of the resistance in Myanmar. They will bomb makers, and one of them's like, "Yeah, man, unfortunately, my friend lost his hand." And we're all sitting around and I know what's coming next, and Robert knows what's coming next, and the guy knows he's gonna have to say it next, and he was like, "We really shouldn't have been smoking, dude." Margaret 27:56 Find out more at https://live-like-the-world-is-dying.pinecast.co

Time for all you MFs to get your S together because it's time for Roach Koach to talk about Dope! This week, Lorin and Matt welcome Brandon Kellum of American Standards on the show, as they discuss Dope's sophomore release, Life. Topics this episode include:-What is life as a professional screamer?-“Three guys playing some level of guitar-What doesn't Edsel Dope do?-The Josh Abraham shine-Dreds, off the charts-Buttsburgh-Edsel is a Bad Boy-And Canon Talk, where Lorin, Matt, and Brandon decide if Dope deserve a spot in the Nu-Metal Canon.Rate and review Roach Koach on iTunes! We'd appreciate it! Questions about the show? Have album recommendations? Just want to say hi? We'd love to hear from you! Contact the show @RoachKoach on Twitter, Roach Koach on Facebook , Roach Koach on Instagram, or send an email to RoachKoachPodcast at Gmail. Support the show over on our Patreon. Check out Brandon in American Standards and their new EP, Dopamine Dealer!