Podcasts about UL

Louie and Zach open the second hour with the best ACC-SEC challenge matchups, why Zach is more bullish on Texas and Louie is on Virginia, and how the ACC can win some respect. The guys do their daily CFB segment, and why the RB list highlights the opportunity UL has week 1. They wrap with a preview of tonight's first round and where Mikel Brown Jr will go.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cycling Tech Brief: the cycling tech that actually matters this week — and whether to update, wait, or ignore.Eovolt Afternoon Twenty V0 recalled in UK and Europe over frame-shattering weld defect — If you own an Afternoon Twenty V0, check your serial number under the bottom bracket now, stop riding, and contact UTO immediately — don't buy or ride affected units.Amazon-sold Bigniu BG10 e-bike battery explodes during charging, burning Florida rider — lawsuit filed — Do not buy high-powered 'e-bikes' from unvetted Amazon sellers; look for UL-certified batteries and verify the product meets legal e-bike classification before purchase or indoor charging.Peloton extends Bike+ seatpost replacement to UK, Germany, Austria and Australia — voluntary upgrade, not a formal recall — If you own an original-series Bike or Bike+ in the UK, Germany, Austria, or Australia, check your inbox for Peloton's email, order the free seatpost now — shipping slots are first-come, first-served with up to a 12-week wait.TrainingPeaks Virtual v19.99 ships 450+ community-driven fixes plus new world routes and hardware support — Update now — this is a meaningful stability and fidelity release, especially if you use GPXplore or export FIT files to third-party analysis tools.TrainingPeaks clarifies Basic vs Premium split in freshly updated 2026 breakdown — the paywall is steeper than many realise — Monitor: the Basic tier is too limited for self-coached structured training — trial Premium for 14 days to decide if the PMC and scheduling flexibility justify the cost versus free alternatives.Daily cycling intelligence from SEMIPRO CYCLING, produced with AI-assisted research, scripting, and synthetic voice.

The show opens the week with Louie and Zach reacting to Pat Kelsey's interesting press conference and why both have some concerns. Matt McGavic joins to discuss the PK presser and what else is happening with UL athletics. Louie and Zach react to Dusty May leaving Michigan to go to the NBA and read UL fans reactions to end the hour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research from UL and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has shown a substantial decline in concussion and injury rates amongst rugby players ever since the legal tackle height was lowered across the amateur game.While there was a sharp decline in concussion rates in men's and women's rugby, there was no significant change in concussion rates in schoolboy rugby players.Principal Research Investigators and UL Professors Tom Comyns and Professor Ian Kenny joined Gillian for more.Image via Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Cycling Tech Brief: the cycling tech that actually matters this week — and whether to update, wait, or ignore.Strava launches official MCP connector giving paid subscribers direct conversational access to their full training history via Anthropic's Claude — Monitor — if you're a paid Strava subscriber and want AI-assisted training analysis, the connector is live now and worth experimenting with; just know it's read-only and Claude-only for the moment.CPSC warns riders to immediately stop using Ridstar Q20 and Q20 Pro e-bikes — 11 fire incidents confirmed, manufacturer refuses recall — Don't buy — if you own a Ridstar Q20 or Q20 Pro, stop riding and charging it immediately, remove the battery, and contact your local household hazardous-waste program for disposal.Florida man sues Amazon and Chinese e-bike brand Bigniu after battery explodes during charging, causing severe burns and a residential fire — Monitor — if you own a Bigniu BG10 or any high-wattage moped-style 'e-bike' bought through Amazon without UL or equivalent certification, stop charging it unattended and check for any CPSC action.Garmin kicks off its biggest annual spring sale — deepest-ever discount on Fenix 8 Pro — while Apple's watchOS 27 (announced at WWDC) brings cycling power zone APIs and untethered Workout Buddy to the Apple Watch ecosystem — Monitor — if you've been waiting to buy a Fenix 8 Pro or Edge 1050, this is the window; for Apple Watch cyclists, wait for watchOS 27 public beta in July before committing to new workflows.TrainingPeaks-adjacent editorial debate: FTP vs. Critical Power — are coaches and platforms measuring the same physiological ceiling? — Monitor — no platform change to act on today; but if your training zones have felt off, ask your coach whether a CP test protocol would give you more accurate data than your current FTP estimate.Daily cycling intelligence from SEMIPRO CYCLING, produced with AI-assisted research, scripting, and synthetic voice.

Make sure to check the rest of the description for all of our social media links, including our Patreon (patreon.com/DoNotRelent)!  Slidewhistle, Immunization, and Aaron are excited to witness the announcement of patch 12.1: The Curse of Ul'tek! See what spicy waters and spicy new content will await us in this new, upcoming patch! Our Pride Month themed contest contunies!!! You can submit a picture of something you're proud of in your house, whether it's traditional "Pride" themed, pride for your heritage, pride for putting together this complicated ass piece of furniture. Send us a picture and you'll be entered to win! Winners will receive their choice of Hearthsteel, a rainbow generator in-game toy, or an item of their choice from the Blizzard store (within reason,) and any prize will be matched by a donation to a worthy cause. Submissions can be sent to any of our links or in our Discord! Please send all your love mail, hate mail, and your best snake impression to @DoNotRelentPod (Twitter) or on gmail at DoNotRelentPod@gmail.com! We will respond to literally anything and read it on the pod. Find us at: Patreon: patreon.com/DoNotRelent Linktree: donotrelent.com (go here for our Discord) YouTube: @donotrelent on YouTube (the link is long and ugly) Instagram: www.instagram.com/donotrelent Twitter: twitter.com/DoNotRelentPod Livejournal: donotrelentpod.livejournal.com E-Mail: DoNotRelentPod@gmail.com Finally, if you feel so inclined, please rate us on iTunes and bonusroll.gg. We will take a shot on air in your honor! Every rating helps! :D

Voltpost addresses EV charging station safety At the Wednesday (June 10) meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board, James Everley, a representative of Voltpost, the company contracted to install an electric vehicle charging station in the village-owned parking lot on New Street, addressed concerns raised about flooding, electrocution and fires. The Voltpost system includes a dual-charging unit mounted 10 feet off the ground on a wooden pole. When a driver activates the system using a QR code, a 25-foot cable lowers from the unit and retracts when charging is complete. Intense storms have historically caused flooding in the lower village. When Mayor Kathleen Foley pointed out that a number of sources can cause electrification of flood waters when houses are inundated, Everley responded, "Yes but our charger is very unlikely to be one of them." He emphasized that the charging unit will be mounted at a height of 10 feet, well above any flood waters, and that it will be powered by an overhead cable. John Pavlik, a resident of the lower village, asked about potential hazards caused by flood waters reaching as high as the charging port in a vehicle. "Electrocution has always been the main fear when people talk about batteries, so the engineering that has gone into safety is incredibly high," Everley said. "If there were a flood, either the vehicle and/or the charger would turn itself off." He added that Voltpost's unit has been certified by Underwriters Laboratories, which he described as "not an easy feat and a very rigorous process." UL certification is an independent safety verification that ensures products have been rigorously tested and meet national and international safety standards. Everley said that, in his 11 years in the industry, he has never heard of a fire at an EV charging station. He said that while gas-powered vehicles average 1,500 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold, EVs have 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles sold. "The only time you're likely to see a battery fire would be as the result of an accident, the same as a gas car," he said. Paul Thompson, who lives on New Street, said he had no concerns. "I'm just very satisfied as to the safety of this charging supply equipment," he said. The cost of the charging station, including hardware, installation, operations, software, driver support and maintenance, will be covered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Hudson House Inn leases the parking lot from the village for its guests and has agreed to the installation. Although Cold Spring's reservoirs have been providing residents with drinking for nearly 100 years, the village must apply to the state Department of Environmental Conservation for a permit to draw water from them. "We've been drawing water from our reservoirs since 1929 and have never had a permit; we've never been asked to apply for one," Foley said, noting the situation is not a violation and that the village will provide an annual report to the DEC summarizing water usage. Hahn Engineering will assist the village in acquiring the state permit. The situation may have come about because the reservoirs were established decades before the DEC was created in 1970. The board approved a $5,000 payment to LaBella Associates of Glens Falls for grant-writing services to assist the village with its application to the DEC Water Quality Improvement Program, which funds land acquisition for surface water protection. The application is part of multimillion-dollar repairs to the upper reservoir dam in North Highlands. Trustee Laura Bozzi said the grant application is "one of the last pieces of protecting the reservoir," will be in the $1 million range, and is highly technical. Foley pointed out that the state doesn't open Consolidated Funding Applications, including funding for WQIP, until June, with a deadline at the end of July. "We want to make sure that we land this grant," she said. The board also approved paying $11,950 to Tecton...

The “magic” Donut Labs battery gets debunked as ordinary lithium‑ion, tied to a crowdfunding-fueled scam with big promises and no manufactured cells, while real solid-state progress is still coming from major automakers. Americans are keeping cars longer (now ~13 years), slowing the spread of safety tech like advanced AEB. Driverless delivery trucks tout reliability and UL 4600 talk, but robotaxis draw scrutiny for safety claims, red-light issues, and a stalled vehicle that delayed firefighters. Zoox safety marketing and exemptions get criticized, Texas is dragged for an unfunded school-bus seatbelt mandate, liquid hydrogen gets a quick reality check, and multiple recalls hit seatbelts, moonroofs, and fire risks (Jeep, Pacifica PHEV).Support the show!https://electrek.co/2026/06/08/donut-lab-solid-state-battery-exposed-lithium-ion-fraud/https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/americans-are-keeping-their-cars-longer-than-ever-and-remaking-the-auto-industry-c169e494https://www.wsj.com/business/logistics/driverless-trucks-pepsico-texas-arizona-arkansas-ee4495f0?mod=hp_lead_pos11https://edition.cnn.com/us/waymo-robotaxis-safety-invshttps://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/bodycam-shows-cop-trying-move-102600011.htmlhttps://abc13.com/post/texas-school-districts-struggling-costs-complying-bus-seatbelt-law/19235825/https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V356-0668.pdfhttps://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V344-7460.pdfhttps://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V346-4589.pdfhttps://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V363-5757.pdfhttps://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2026/RCLRPT-26V362-0804.pdf

To je 529. epizoda naših možganskih potovanj, pred mikrofonom pa prvič gostimo – infektologinjo! V Evropi in tudi pri nas znova narašča število primerov sifilisa. Bolezen v obliki nevrosifilisa lahko močno prizadane tudi možgane. Na primeru nevrosifilisa se je veliko naučila tudi psihiatrija. Stigma je še velika. Če ga hitro odkrijejo, je zelo dobro ozdravljiv. Bolezen, ki ima zanimivo zgodovino, nikakor ni stvar preteklosti. Vabljeni na potep z Mojco Delač in njeno gostjo, specialistko infektologije, dr. Barbaro Kokošar Ulčar!

V bonusovém dílu Hlasů paměti o Státní bezpečnosti a jejich spolupracovnících vypráví autoři příběh Jaromíra Ulče. Od 70. let vyvíjel operace, lámal a verboval spolupracovníky StB. Nikdy, ani po sametové revoluci, ale nepochyboval o tom, že to co dělal, bylo správné. Naopak. Podle něj to byla zajímavá práce a navíc ho psychicky uspokojovalo, když z lidí dostal to, co chtěl slyšet. Poslechněte si jeho příběh.

Hour 1 opens with stories about Ryan Hampton's commitment to Kentucky and Malachi Moreno's return, as well as where do the locals rank. Matt McGavic joins to discuss Louisville's offseason, why UL's roster is better than Kentucky's, and what he's looking forward to for football season. Louie and Zach recap a wild Stanley Cup Final Game 3 to wrap the hour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

durée : 00:42:31 - « paun » c'est « le paon », animal symbole de renaissance et d'immortalité, comme la musique bretonne, en perpétuelle évolution. Enora et Jonathan créent leur univers musical unique et inspiré, pop folk, classique, profondément enraciné en centre bretagne. On parle ici de magie et de règne animal Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France

This week Mike McGrath from Red Hat joins us to talk about using Red Hat to talk about the relationship RHEL and their up-streams. -- During The Show -- 00:45 Intro IT at home Wrangling home "data center" Noah's old strategy Shoe makers kids have no shoes Snowballing tech Backups - pull vs push Making things modular 11:10 Interesting Tech - Carey TRMNL Mecha Comet GPD Micro PC 2 Value of pocket PCs 22:30 Shelly Devices and UL rated - Mike UL Ratings Pay attention to what you buy Many Shelly devices are UL listed UL listed Shelly devices are ~20% more expensive "Harbor Freight" answer 28:30 Red Hat Vulnerabilities Discovered and locked down in a few hours Assume breach, change everything Has worm like functionality Bypassed 2FA Multiple persistence methods Heavily obfuscated stepsecurity.io 36:45 Interview Mike McGrath Mike McGrath - Vice President, Core Platforms RHEL AI vs OpenShift AI What did Red Hat get wrong and right over the last few years Is AI a threat to open source? Does going closed source actually solve anything? CVEs Mechanisms for community influence on RHEL What are RHEL security best practices? Quantum safe encryption Install as little as possible Image mode Project Hummingbird RHEL Forever CentOS Stream and RHEL What is an upside of CentOS Stream? -- The Extra Credit Section -- For links to the articles and material referenced in this week's episode check out this week's page from our podcast dashboard! This Episode's Podcast Dashboard Phone Systems for Ask Noah provided by Voxtelesys Join us in our dedicated chatroom #GeekLab:linuxdelta.com on Matrix -- Stay In Touch -- Find all the resources for this show on the Ask Noah Dashboard Ask Noah Dashboard Need more help than a radio show can offer? Altispeed provides commercial IT services and they're excited to offer you a great deal for listening to the Ask Noah Show. Call today and ask about the discount for listeners of the Ask Noah Show! Altispeed Technologies Contact Noah live [at] asknoahshow.com -- Twitter -- Noah - Kernellinux Ask Noah Show Altispeed Technologies Special Guest: Mike McGrath.

Louie and Zach react to Milan Momcilovic officially committing to Kentucky, what ramifications it has for UK and UL, why UK should have some optimism, and how the rosters stack up. Brooks Holton from the Courier-Journal joins to discuss whether it's a loss for Louisville to not get Momcilovic, what he makes of the roster, and the Kings making the playoffs. Louie and Zach discuss the Stanley Cup Finals to end the hour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new and unique invention developed by a UL alumnus will aim to substantially improve the comfort of women during menopause. The MyCelsius band is essentially a wrist watch device which can detect a hot flush and cool an individual down by ten degrees in ten seconds. The product which is the brainchild of Aonghus O'Donovan and Maxime Kryvian is coming to the Irish Market next month. Aonghus has been speaking to Clare FM's Daragh Dolan and began by telling us the origin story of 'MyCelsius'. Photo (c) daizuoxin from Getty Images via Canva.com

MyCelsius, which has been developed to address the difficult symptoms of menopause, has just launched in Ireland and was co-developed by engineer Aonghus O'Donovan, who studied at UL before working with Dyson and in Formula. He joins Joe to explain how the bracelet works.Image via Getty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

IUL gets pitched to young professionals, families, business owners, retirees, and pretty much everyone in between. The message is always consistent: this product can solve your financial problems, provide market upside with downside protection, and generate tax-free retirement income. One product, all things to all people. For most people, IUL is the wrong tool entirely. Not because it's fraudulent. Not because it can't work for anyone. But because there's a fundamental mismatch between how it's sold and who it actually serves. And that mismatch shows up in the data.  https://youtu.be/fZS1uPmsCS0 According to a 2021 study by Gottlieb and Smetters, published in the American Economic Review (1) and drawing on SOA and LIMRA persistency data, nearly 88% of universal life policies never pay a death benefit. That figure covers all universal life products, including IUL.  And IUL was built specifically to fix the lapse problems of earlier UL products. It hasn't. The chassis is the problem. This article is a profile-by-profile look at the people who should not buy an IUL, the data that supports why, and a fair look at the narrow group for whom it might make sense. We're not taking sides. We're giving you the information you need to make a decision that actually fits your life. Key Takeaways:What IUL Actually Is, and Why the Chassis MattersThe One-Year Renewable Term ProblemWho Should Not Buy an IUL PolicyAnyone who hasn't mastered the financial basicsAnyone who needs guarantees and predictabilityAnyone practicing or planning Infinite BankingAnyone without a high, stable, long-term incomeAnyone who cannot handle the lapse riskAnyone who misunderstands what market risk means in an IULAnyone building a multi-generational legacyThe Data Nobody Shows You Before You SignThe Headline NumbersA Pattern That Keeps RepeatingTo Be Fair: Who IUL Actually ServesThe Right Buyer ProfileThe Alternative Built for the Rest of UsWhy Endowment MattersThe Reduced Paid-Up Safety NetBehavioral FitThe Decision Is Yours: Make It With the Full PictureBook a Strategy CallFrequently Asked QuestionsWho should not buy an IUL policy?Is IUL worth it for most people?What is the lapse rate for IUL policies?Who is IUL actually designed for?What is the difference between IUL and whole life for banking purposes?Can I use IUL for Infinite Banking? Key Takeaways: IUL is built on a one-year renewable term chassis, meaning internal insurance costs rise every single year as the policyholder ages Nearly 88% of universal life policies (including IUL) never pay a death benefit, with 57% of permanent policies (particularly universal life) lapsing in the first 10 years IUL cannot endow and cannot be converted to reduced paid-up status, meaning premiums are required indefinitely The product demands a level of behavioral consistency over 30 to 40 years that most people, including the most disciplined, cannot sustain IUL is not compatible with Infinite Banking because it lacks the guaranteed, predictable cash value growth the strategy requires The narrow group IUL actually serves is sophisticated, high-net-worth individuals using it specifically for estate planning leverage What IUL Actually Is, and Why the Chassis Matters Indexed universal life insurance is a form of permanent life insurance where cash value growth is linked to a market index, typically the S&P 500.  The policyholder isn't actually invested in the market. The insurance company credits growth based on index performance, subject to a cap (the maximum you can earn) and a floor (usually 0%). You participate in some of the upside. You're protected from direct index losses. That's the pitch. The One-Year Renewable Term Problem The structural reality is different from the marketing version. Unlike whole life insurance, which spreads insurance costs evenly across a lifetime so the premium never changes, IUL is built on a one-year renewable term chassis. That means the cost of insurance increases every single year as the insured ages. In the early years, you barely notice. Over decades, and especially in retirement, it becomes a serious structural pressure on the policy's cash value. The flexible premium feature, often marketed as a benefit, is part of the same structural reality. Flexibility sounds good. But it means the policy requires ongoing management and can deteriorate if premiums are reduced or skipped.  The policy doesn't just sit there working for you. It demands attention, funding, and active monitoring year after year. For a deeper look at the structural risks, internal charges, and illustration problems with IUL, see our posts on the dangerous truths about IUL risks and Todd Langford's analysis of IUL math. Who Should Not Buy an IUL Policy This is the core question. Not "is IUL good or bad?" but "is the person buying it actually a match for what the product demands?" Seven profiles. If you recognize yourself in any of them, that's information worth taking seriously. Anyone who hasn't mastered the financial basics IUL is an advanced financial product. It should not be anyone's first or second financial move. Before using a structure that combines insurance, investing, and tax planning, a person needs the basics in place: spending less than they earn, building consistent positive cash flow, and saving habitually. Parkinson's Law, the tendency for expenses to rise to meet income at every level, is real. IUL does not fix a cash flow problem. It adds complexity on top of one. If you haven't overcome the basic discipline of keeping your income above your expenses and putting the gap into savings, a complex product isn't a solution. It's a distraction from the actual problem. Anyone who needs guarantees and predictability If you need to know with certainty what your policy will be worth in 10, 20, or 30 years, IUL cannot give you that. There is no guaranteed cash value dollar amount in an IUL. The crediting depends on index performance, caps that can change annually, and internal costs that increase over time. If your financial planning requires a predictable future asset base for retirement, a major capital need, or a legacy strategy, a product built on variables is the wrong foundation. The middle class, upper middle class, and anyone with fluctuating income fall into this category. And that's most people. Anyone practicing or planning Infinite Banking IUL is actively marketed as a vehicle for Infinite Banking. It is not.  Infinite Banking requires a pool of capital that is predictable, guaranteed, and always growing. The arbitrage that makes policy loans powerful, earning in two places at once, only works when the policy's growth is reliable. In a year where the index earns zero, a policy loan doesn't just cost the loan interest. It costs the loan interest with no offsetting policy growth.  The banking system breaks down exactly when it should be working hardest. For a full breakdown, see our post on why IUL is incompatible with Infinite Banking. Anyone without a high, stable, long-term income IUL requires consistent, maximum funding over a very long time horizon to have any chance of performing as illustrated. Life disruptions like job changes, business downturns, family expenses, and medical costs interrupt premium payments. And because the policy relies on the index to help fund its own rising costs, any gap in funding creates a cascade effect that's very difficult to reverse. Even Nelson Nash, the creator of Infinite Banking, once missed funding PUAs on one of his own policies, causing the rider to close. If the creator of the strategy had trouble keeping up with premiums, the expectation that ordinary policyholders will fund an IUL perfectly for 30 to 40 years is unrealistic. Anyone who cannot handle the lapse risk Nearly 88% of universal life policies never pay a death benefit, and IUL is part of that picture. That number should stop anyone from considering this product and make them ask: why?  The answer is structural. Rising internal costs, non-guaranteed crediting, and the behavioral reality of managing a complex financial product over decades. And lapsing isn't just losing the policy. When a policy lapses with outstanding loans and cash value above the cost basis (the total premiums paid), the gain is treated as taxable ordinary income in the year of lapse. That tax bill arrives at the worst possible time, often in retirement, when income is fixed and absorbing it is most painful. Anyone who misunderstands what market risk means in an IUL Many buyers hear "zero is your floor" and believe their money is protected from losses. This is technically true and practically misleading. The 0% floor only protects against index-linked losses. It does not protect against the internal drag of rising mortality costs, administrative fees, and hedging strategy expenses, all of which continue to come out of the cash value regardless of what the index does. A zero-credit year is effectively a negative year once internal charges are factored in. And when markets perform poorly over multiple years, the insurance company's cost of maintaining those hedges rises. They respond by lowering caps. Lower caps mean less upside potential. This cycle of poor performance, higher hedge costs, and lower caps compounds over time. Anyone building a multi-generational legacy Legacy planning requires certainty across decades and generations. A policy that cannot endow, cannot be converted to reduced paid-up status, and requires active management indefinitely is not a reliable foundation for generational wealth transfer. Whole life policies endow at age 120 or 121. The cash value and death benefit converge, and the policy is contractually complete. IUL policies do not endow. Premiums are required for as long as the insured lives. There is no actuarial endpoint.  ...

Mike and Charlie interviewed Louisiana head baseball coach Matt Deggs and Chrissy Smith, a podcaster for The Kneaux. Coach Deggs broke down the Cajuns' challenge in the Starkville Regional, featuring No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 24 Cincinnati. Coach Deggs also recapped the Cajuns' trip in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and evaluated UL's pitching staff. Smith discussed Pelican head coach Jamahl Mosley's introductory press conference.

Hello there! We're back with one of the big episodes this week, Hunter and JJ burrow deep into their sleepy souls to deliver you one fine guide to playing as the Titans of Ul. I think this is our best work yet as a duo and I have utmost confidence that if you watch this whole thing you'll be able to play as the Titans in your sleep, literally.   Also once you get to the rundown we've got a special surprise if you want to hear people complain about star wars. It's easily skipped!   Come the Kansas City Tournament (June 5-7): SCPT Intergalactical Kansas City Come to our Live Comedy Show at Gen Con SCPT @ Helium Indianapolis July 30th at 8PM Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com Additional Music and Sounds by Brian Kupillas. https://wanderinglake.bandcamp.com/ Art by Sun Sanders  To learn more about our Discord, Patreon, Merch, and more, visit https://spacecatspeaceturtles.com/

Louisiana head baseball coach Matt Deggs joined Sports Talk. Coach Deggs broke down the Cajuns' challenge in the Starkville Regional, featuring No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 24 Cincinnati. Coach Deggs also recapped the Cajuns' trip in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and evaluated UL's pitching staff.

After a long weekend Louie and Zach are back and react to Malachi Moreno returning to Kentucky, and why that saves Mark Pope from a catastrophic offseason. Flory Bidunga returns to Louisville, and now they wait for Momcilovic's decision. Brooks Holton joins to discuss Bidunga's return, and his top 10 UL moments of the last calendar year. Zach buries his Cavs, and who has the edge in the West?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RDA, DRI, AI, UL, AMDR: Understanding Nutrition's “Alphabet Soup”    RDA, DRI, AI, UL, AMDR… what do these nutrition terms actually mean? This episode breaks down the “alphabet soup” of nutrient recommendations, explaining how these values are developed and how they are meant to be used. Learn why these numbers are based on averages, not exact targets, and how to apply them in a practical, real-world way. Read More: RDA, DRI, AMDR, AI, and UL: What Do These Nutrition Terms Actually Mean?

When a company moves from lab validation to commercial conversations, the phone does not just ring once. It starts ringing from multiple directions.HPQ Silicon's technology partner Novacium has signed a non-binding, non-exclusive Letter of Intent with GH Technologies, a Hong Kong based B2B distributor, to evaluate potential commercial opportunities for high capacity GEN4 lithium-ion cells in Asia Pacific markets.The LOI covers Novacium's GEN4 18650 and 21700 formats, along with other lithium-ion batteries built on Novacium's GEN4 silicon anode technology. Asia Pacific represents more than 57% of global demand for cylindrical lithium-ion cells, making it one of the most important regions for battery commercialization.GH Technologies entered the LOI following its evaluation of Novacium GEN4 cells, including reported capacity exceeding 6,600 mAh, reported energy density of 319.9 Wh/kg, and international certifications including IEC 62133, UL 1642, and UN 38.3.A related Novacium LinkedIn post added another layer of context, referencing a potential partnership value of more than US$30 million over 36 months. That figure should be understood as potential value, not confirmed revenue or a completed sales contract. Still, when combined with the official LOI, it points to the scale of the commercial opportunity now being evaluated.For HPQ, which holds a 36.8% equity interest in Novacium and exclusive North American rights to commercialize the technology under the ENDURA+ trademark, the story is moving from technical performance toward early commercial execution.WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOWAsia Expansion: Novacium signed a nonbinding, nonexclusive LOI with GH Technologies to evaluate potential commercial opportunities for GEN4 battery technologies across Asia Pacific markets.Potential US$30M Value: A Novacium LinkedIn post referenced a potential partnership value of more than US$30 million over 36 months, which should be viewed as potential value rather than confirmed revenue.High Capacity Results: GH Technologies entered the LOI after evaluating Novacium GEN4 cells, including reported capacity exceeding 6,600 mAh and reported energy density of 319.9 Wh/kg.Major Battery Market: Asia Pacific represents more than 57% of global demand for cylindrical lithium-ion cells, according to the company's release.Phone Ringing: Bernard Tourillon says HPQ is now focused on converting growing market interest into first sales, with about 10 NDAs active.Nimble Strategy: Rather than chasing only large, slow moving contracts, HPQ is targeting flexible buyers in markets such as drones, electric bikes, power tools, defense, embedded systems, and high energy density electronic equipment.CEO Bernard Tourillon:“This LOI provides a framework for Novacium and GH Technologies to evaluate potential business opportunities involving GEN4 battery technologies in Asia-Pacific markets. HPQ's 36.8% equity ownership in Novacium SAS and its exclusive North American license provide the Company with access to these technologies for Canada, the United States, and Mexico under the HPQ ENDURA+ trademark.”INVESTOR TAKEAWAYHPQ Silicon is progressing from lab validation toward early commercial execution. Novacium's GEN4 battery technology has now attracted an Asia Pacific LOI with GH Technologies, following reported high capacity cell performance and international certifications. HPQ's 36.8% equity interest in Novacium and exclusive North American commercialization rights under the ENDURA+ trademark give the company multiple ways to participate if the technology continues to advance.For investors, the key question is no longer only whether the technology can perform in testing. The next stage is whether HPQ and Novacium can convert interest, validation, and commercial discussions into first revenue, customer adoption, and a scalable commercialization model.

The insurance industry is shifting fast, and this episode of RiskCellar doesn't let a single headline slide. Hosts Brandon Schuh and Nick Hartmann are back in the cellar breaking down three of the most talked-about stories in the industry right now. The Rad Power Bikes wrongful death lawsuit and what it means for micro-mobility product liability, the escalating legal fallout from Howden's alleged broker raid on Brown & Brown, and the accelerating softening of the reinsurance market that's reshaping valuations across the board. Plus a deep dive on the collapse of litigation finance as an asset class, and why that might matter more than anyone's admitting.Brandon brings his front-row seat at the Christensen Group specialty desk to every story, and Nick matches him stride for stride with sharp market observations from the field. The episode covers the wrongful death suit filed by Shannon Stephens against Rad Power Bikes after an e-bike lithium-ion battery fire in an Alabama garage on January 3, 2025, killed her husband, Dr. Keith Stephens. Brandon unpacks the legal complexity of successor liability after Rad Power's bankruptcy, notes that the company's assets were reacquired for roughly $13 million, and questions whether the evidence standard will meet the plaintiff's burden given expert testimony that focused on design containment, not outright defect. The CPSC's intervention requiring UL certification for e-bike batteries is also examined in the context of legacy stock.The second half of the episode is equally dense. Brandon and Nick dissect the Brown & Brown vs. Howden broker raid litigation, including a new Minnesota temporary restraining order barring 16 former Brown & Brown employees now at Howden from soliciting clients or recruiting staff. With $31 million in business allegedly lost and Howden carrying roughly $5 billion in total debt against a $3 billion revenue base, the guys ask tough questions about runway and financial viability. They also explore the quiet implosion of litigation finance as an asset class, Burford Capital's 47% stock drop on a single day after a $16.1 billion Argentina judgment was overturned in a US appeals court being the centerpiece moment, alongside JP Morgan's latest analysis calling for continued reinsurance price softening into 2027. It's a dense, entertaining, and genuinely insightful look at where the market stands right now.Key Takeaways:Rad Power Bikes faces a wrongful death lawsuit tied to a lithium-ion battery thermal runaway event in January 2025Successor liability questions are unresolved, old entity is defunct; assets were acquired for ~$13M in bankruptcyBrown & Brown obtained a Minnesota TRO barring 16 former employees at Howden from soliciting clients or staffBrown & Brown disclosed ~$31M in lost business from the Howden broker raid on a recent earnings callHowden carries approximately $5B in debt against a ~$3B broker revenue base, a tight leverage positionChapters:00:00 Introduction01:55 Banter, Travel & Industry Events09:45 Rad Power Bikes Wrongful Death Lawsuit14:05 E-Bike Battery Safety, CPSC & UL Certification17:25 Brown & Brown vs. Howden, Broker Raid Update20:55 Howden's Debt Load & Financial Runway24:05 Property Rate Softening, Real Numbers from the Field26:40 Deductible Buy-Down Policies & Adverse Selection Risk29:45 Litigation Finance Collapse, Burford Capital & Argentina37:40 JP Morgan: Reinsurance Softening Into 202739:15 Three Truths and a Lie: Space Edition47:00 AI at Insurance Innovators Conference51:25 Data Centers in Space? Cooling Logistics Debate52:45 Wrap-Up & CheersConnect with Risk Cellar:Website: https://www.riskcellar.comBrandon SchuhLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-stephen-schuhInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/schuhpapaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552710523314Nick HartmannLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickjhartmann

In Hour One Louie and Zach recap NBA draft stories and why Mikel Brown's absence through out the year could cost him millions. Matt McGavic joins to discuss the weekend of UL sports, including everything NBA draft and what's exciting about football season. They wrap the hour with reaction to Zach's Cavs beating Louie's Pistons and preview the WCF.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, your family has a business. You grow up around it. You love it. It’s the center of gravity for your family life. But…you swear you'll never do it. You leave. You build something of your own. And then one day you look up and… Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in. That’s one version of the story anyway. There's another where you just never really left. Either way, you inherit something: a lease, a reputation, a relationship with people who really know you through your family and what they do. Family business is a big deal in Carencro. Charlotte Stemmans Clavier runs one that’s been in operation for almost 60 years. She’s the daughter of racehorse trainer Don Stemmans. Her family founded Stemmans Horse Supply in 1968 — one of the only specialty equine stores in the region, serving everyone from backyard horse people to the racehorse industry, with everything you need, as Charlotte puts it, from barn to bell. Charlotte has worked around horses her whole life. She started working at the racetrack at age eleven. By twelve, she was running the family store. She studied history and business at Tulane, worked for an attorney, and considered law school — before coming home. Over time, responsibility shifted to her. After her mother's passing in 2002 and her father's more recently, the store became hers to carry forward. Today, Stemmans operates two locations: the main store in Carencro and a second on the backside of Evangeline Downs. Charlotte is also a notary public, deeply involved in Louisiana horse racing organizations — and the mayor of Carencro. Jewelry wasn't Troy Raxsdale’s plan. Troy grew up in Lafayette, served four years in the U.S. Navy, came home, and studied marketing and economics at UL — while working full-time in the restaurant business. His father started a home-based jewelry business and asked Troy if he wanted to help with sales. Troy said yes. They traveled together, selling out of cases, building territory — and eventually bought a storefront together. Then Troy struck out on his own. In 1999 he founded Unique Wholesale Jewelry, which supplies retail stores across the country. And in 2021, when a Lafayette storefront called Southern Jewelers came up for sale, he bought that too. Southern Jewelers carries the range you'd expect — necklaces, bracelets, charms, custom designs — but what keeps the lights on is repairs. About sixty percent of the store's business is fixing things: resizing rings, resetting stones, restoring pieces that belong to somebody's grandmother. It's painstaking work, and it's gotten more complicated as the market fills up with jewelry from online vendors and mass retailers, where what something looks like and what it actually is aren't always the same thing. There’s a lot to be said for just enjoying life for what it is. Maybe that’s the simple pleasure of riding a horse, or admiring a precious stone. But in reality, nothing is as simple as it looks. Somebody has to provide the tools for keeping a horse healthy and happy. Somebody has to procure, display and sell precious stones. Troy and Charlotte are both contributors to providing life’s pleasures and treasures. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“These are purpose-built devices,” says Jake Jacoby, CEO of TELCLOUD. “They're UL listed, certified, tested, and designed specifically for this business.” In the latest episode of the TELCLOUD POTS and Shots Podcast Series, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, speaks with Jacoby about the hardware that makes modern POTS replacement possible. Jacoby showcases two TELCLOUD devices: the POTScast 8 LTE PC228 LTE, which supports eight analog lines, and the POTScast 2 LTE PC222 LTE, which supports two. Both are designed to support legacy and life-safety systems such as elevators, fire alarms, security systems, fax lines, SCADA applications, modems, and emergency phones as copper lines are phased out. The POTScast platform combines analog support with modern LTE and WAN connectivity, including broadband, Wi-Fi as WAN, satellite, and cellular. Each device includes 24-hour battery backup, helping ensure that critical communications continue even when building power fails. Jacoby also explains TELCLOUD's modular design. Because cellular signal is often weak inside telecom rooms, TELCLOUD supports Power over Ethernet, allowing routers from partners such as Ericsson, Peplink, Digi, InHand, ATEL, and Seego to be placed up to 250 feet away for better reception. The episode closes with the Shots segment, featuring Herencia Historico Grand Reserve Extra Añejo, a five-year-aged, small-batch tequila from Jalisco presented in a distinctive handcrafted bottle. For more information, visit telcloud.com or call 844-900-2270.

Eddy Chiang is Co-founder and CEO of Moment Energy, a company building commercial-scale energy storage systems from repurposed electric vehicle batteries. By testing, certifying, and remanufacturing second-life battery modules, Moment Energy is creating lower-cost alternatives to new lithium-ion storage while extending battery lifespans by decades. In this episode of Inevitable, Chiang explains how a growing wave of retired EV batteries is reshaping the energy storage market—making recycling alone economically unviable. The conversation covers the technical and regulatory challenges of certifying second-life systems, how Moment Energy became the first company to achieve full UL certification, and why safety, not cost, is the real barrier to adoption.  We also explore how distributed battery systems can replace traditional grid upgrades, why hyperscaler demand is accelerating deployment, and how Moment Energy is positioning storage not just as a product, but as long-term infrastructure designed to last 100 years. MCJ is a three-time investor in Moment Energy. The company just closed a $40M Series B co-led by Evok Innovations and the Canadian Growth Fund — with the participation of Amazon, Liberty Mutual, Voyager and our fund.  Episode recorded on April 14, 2026 (Published on May 5, 2026). In this episode, we cover:  (0:00) An overview of Moment Energy (2:47) Moment Energy's market evolution (6:37) What certification means and why it's the hardest part (10:22) Are second-life batteries actually safe? (12:15) Hardware + software: how Moment Energy builds safe systems (15:39) Moment Energy's product: modular, distributed battery systems (19:06) Batteries vs grid upgrades: the core economic tradeoff (25:35) Repurposed batteries and domestic supply chains (29:49) The second life of EV batteries and why most still have value (35:20) Designing battery systems to last 100 years (42:53) Demands for AI, hyperscalers, and distributed storage (47:55) Working with Amazon and scaling deployment Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

There's a version of life in Acadiana that most of us only see from a car window. We live in something of a paradise, it’s just sort of removed from your day-to-day reality. That’s in part because Louisiana’s natural beauty isn’t always so easy to see. Louisiana is flat. Famously so. We don’t have mountain vistas to behold. So, if you want to really drink in Acadiana’s splendor, you probably need to get on the water. Don’t have a boat? Don’t worry about it. Reed Rudasil has you covered. Reed is the owner of Wanderlust Rentals, a startup that rents kayaks, right on the water. He grew up in Lafayette and studied civil engineering at UL. But he figured out pretty quick he didn't want to sit in an office. He tried landscaping, he managed a crawfish restaurant, he started buying rental properties. Eventually Reed founded a property management company called Experience Louisiana, focused on short-term rentals that often put guests close to waterways. Renting kayaks came naturally from there. Many of the properties he manages sit on the water — and guests kept asking what to do once they arrived. Reed's answer was Wanderlust Rentals, Louisiana's first multi-point service kayak rental system. The concept is straightforward: kiosks placed by the water, stocked with single and tandem kayaks. Customers sign a waiver, pay, get a code, and they're on the water. No staff required. No waiting. The whole transaction happens just feet from the bayou. Don’t have a car to get the bayou? Maybe try an e-bike. They’re everywhere, in case you hadn’t noticed. The electric bike market in the United States was worth $2 billion in 2025 and is projected to more than double in the next decade. Gerri Simon is a serial entrepreneur who’s cashing in on that market. She owns eBikes Plus, a one-stop shop for electric bike sales and repair here in Lafayette. She grew up in Vermilion Parish — not far from the water, and not far from the kind of hands-on problem solving that runs in Cajun households. Gerri's dad, she'll tell you, was an engineer who never finished high school. He taught her to build things and to work on things. She took that instinct to UL, where she discovered she was good at math, and came out the other side with a degree in mechanical engineering. She later got an MBA. She went on to found and operate several businesses before landing on eBikes plus. A big part of her customer base is retirees with RVs who pack up the bikes to take with them on their roving vacations. But more and more people are turning to e-Bikes as their primary means of conveyance. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Aaron sits down with Rick Goyette, owner of All Mark Signs and Graphics, to discuss the "total teardown" of a legacy family business. Rick shares how he applied 30 years of corporate operations experience to move All Mark from a safety signage focus to a high-end custom project management powerhouse.They dive deep into the modern realities of the sign world: why answering the phone is your greatest competitive advantage, how to successfully manage a global remote design team, and when to pull the trigger on vertical integration for in-house installation and UL certification.

In this Read Listen Watch®, host Megan Ellsworth sits down with Brian Dunn and Jon Abernathy of TAMKO to explore how contractors can better protect homes and grow their business in hail-prone markets using advanced solutions like HailGuard™ shingles. The conversation covers everything from evolving insurance trends and homeowner education to the science behind TAMKO's proprietary ImpactCore™ technology, UL 2218 Class 4 ratings and real-world testing that goes beyond industry standards. Contractors will walk away with practical insights on shifting from reactive repairs to proactive storm preparedness while delivering long-term value and peace of mind to homeowners. Learn more at RoofersCoffeeShop.com!  https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/     Are you a contractor looking for resources? Become an R-Club Member today! https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/rcs-club-sign-up     Sign up for the Week in Roofing!  https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/sign-up     Learn more about (Tamko) here! (https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/directory/tamko)    Follow Us!   https://www.facebook.com/rooferscoffeeshop/   https://www.linkedin.com/company/rooferscoffeeshop-com   https://x.com/RoofCoffeeShop   https://www.instagram.com/rooferscoffeeshop/   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAQTC5U3FL9M-_wcRiEEyvw   https://www.pinterest.com/rcscom/   https://www.tiktok.com/@rooferscoffeeshop   https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/rss     #tamko #RoofersCoffeeShop #MetalCoffeeShop #AskARoofer #CoatingsCoffeeShop #RoofingProfessionals #RoofingContractors #RoofingIndustry 

On this episode of the WB Download, host Jeff Wieland sits down with Brad Fisher of SRS Distribution and Jeff Herkins of CertainTeed to dive into the critical role roofing plays in the overall performance and longevity of a home.Brad shares his journey in the industry, which began in 1996, and reflects on the impressive growth of SRS, including its acquisition by Home Depot in 2024. Jeff provides insight into CertainTeed's long-standing reputation for quality, innovation, and its wide range of products from roofing and siding to insulation, all backed by rigorous standards like UL certification.The conversation highlights the importance of doing things the right way the first time, with a strong focus on proper installation techniques, ventilation, and contractor training. Jeff explains CertainTeed's hands-on training programs and certification opportunities, while Brad emphasizes the role of distribution in ensuring builders and contractors have the support they need on every job.They also explore emerging trends in the industry, including solar shingles, impact-resistant products, and even the potential for robotics to help solve labor shortages. Beyond products and technology, the episode centers on relationships and how transparency, communication, and problem-solving are essential to maintaining trust with customers, especially during challenging times like the pandemic.This episode is a great listen for anyone building, remodeling, or simply wanting to better understand what goes into a high-quality roofing system and the partnerships behind it.SRS Distribution WebsiteCertainTeed WebsiteEmail Jeff your comments, questions, and topic requests, or be a guest on The WB Download.Email: WBDOWNLOAD@wielandbuilders.comSee Wieland Builders custom home gallery  www.wielandbuilders.comReceive inspiration monthly in our monthly newsletter See podcast behind the scenes photosFollow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Houzz or Pinterest

All teams are now on the clock! The guys put their GM hats on - joined by a special guest drafter - to make picks from AFIs deep pool of talent. There are also reviews of a vital win for UL on the road, the Minotaurs big victory over the Stags, the Giants dominating Saturday outing and the Trojans trip to Bristol in the CEFL. Some episode for one episode!

Jennifer Scanlon is CEO of UL Solutions, one of those hidden-in-plain-sight companies we like to poke at here on Decoder. UL's been around for more than 100 years; it started as a way for insurance companies to standardize fire and safety testing as electricity was the new technology spreading into homes. But now it's everywhere, and "safety" in tech doesn't just mean the hardware. UL is adapting quickly to the connected, AI-powered era... but do the companies making and distributing tech even care about standards anymore? Links:  How fake UL certifications led to Chinese ebike suit | Electrek FCC IoT program loses UL after China probe | Cybersecurity Dive FCC's Carr probes IoT program lab over “ties to China” | PC Mag The US router ban, explained | The Verge More than 500,000 hoverboards recalled (2016) | The Verge Brendan Carr is a dummy | The Vergecast Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Kabir Chopra. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the Campfire Discussion, Jimmy and Tyler sit down with Corey Jones from Rusoh Fire Extinguishers — a conversation that’s been two years in the making. And if you’re an offroader who keeps a fire extinguisher in your rig, this is the episode you didn’t know you needed. Traditional fire extinguishers have a dirty secret: they’re built for stationary environments. When you strap one to your D-pillar or bolt it to your floorboard and spend years beating it down trails, the powder inside compacts. It stops moving freely. And when you finally need it, there’s a real chance it won’t discharge the way it should. The SnailBoys and Corey dig into exactly why this happens, what “servicing” a traditional extinguisher actually requires (and how expensive it gets), and the real-world failure modes that make traditional units a questionable choice for vehicle applications. Rusoh’s solution is a non-pressurized, reloadable cartridge system — UL certified, see-through so you can visually check the powder at any time, and designed from the ground up for vehicles. Corey was the official fire extinguisher sponsor at King of the Hammers, and the Baja footage of a 10-pound Russo unit putting out a fully engulfed side-by-side race car is one of the most impressive product demonstrations Jimmy has seen. After putting 5 to 8 of them in his own warehouse, Jimmy has a pretty strong opinion: if you wheel, you need one of these. They also get into Corey’s background — how his in-laws pulled him into rock crawling (after a brief side-by-side detour he’d rather not talk about), the Toyota mini-trucks they build at Rusoh, and a standing invitation to go run the Rubicon together. **Discount code: RusohCrawlers — 25% off at russofireextinguishers.com** Rousoh Links Website: https://rusoh.com/?v=0b3b97fa6688 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rusoh_inc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RusohInc YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rusohinc.1620/videos Their Crawlers: https://www.instagram.com/rusoh_crawlers/ Baja Video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DROQfczkdnz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Monthly Announcements: Gift box tiers close April 30th at midnight — make any tier changes now Devos LightRanger 500 group buy: 90+ units claimed, 25% off (~$53/unit), April 30th deadline — add your name on Discord April giveaway: two gift boxes, deadline April 30th May giveaway sponsor: Russo Fire Extinguishers SnailTrail4x4 Discord: https://discord.gg/yFyFFkQbuyCome hang out with us on the SnailTrail4x4 Discord — it’s the easiest way to connect with Tyler and Jimmy directly, chat with fellow offroad enthusiasts, and get first access to Group Buys and Treasure Hunt token drops. Group Buy for the Devos LightRanger 500We reached out to Devos, and they are in. Here’s how the discount tiers work: 10 people → 15% off (~$60/light) 20 people → 20% off (~$56/light) 30+ people → 25% off (~$52/light) These retail at $70. To get in, just send us your email and how many units you want. You can email us at jimmy@snailtrail4x4.com or tyler@snailtrail4x4.com, or DM us on Instagram. Deadline: April 30th. Want to learn more about the LightRanger 500? Click Here: https://www.devosoutdoor.com/products/lightranger-500 MORRFlate Giveaway at 900 Reviews on Apple Podcast. But our next giveaway is when we reach 800 reviews; we are giving away an OnX Elite Membership. We will also give away an OnX Elite membership when we get to 850. However, when we reach 900 Reviews, we are teaming up with MORRFlate for a $1000 MF Product Giveaway. Go over to Apple Podcasts to leave your review now and become eligible to win. Congratulations to A13XMONT, who won a set of tires from Yokohama Tire! Call us and leave us a VOICEMAIL!!! We want to hear from you even more!!! You can call and say whatever you like! Ask a question, leave feedback, correct some information about welding, say how much you hate your Jeep, and wish you had a Toyota! We will air them all, live, on the podcast! +01-916-345-4744. If you have any negative feedback, you can call our negative feedback hotline, 408-800-5169. 4Wheel Underground has all the suspension parts you need to take your off-road rig from leaf springs to a performance suspension system. We just ordered our kits for Kermit and Samantha and are looking forward to getting them. The ordering process was quite simple, and after answering the questionnaire, we ensured we got the correct and best-fitting kits for our vehicles. If you want to level up your suspension game, check out 4Wheel Underground. SnailTrail4x4 Podcast is brought to you by all of our peeps over at irate4x4! Make sure to stop by and see all of the great perks you get for supporting SnailTrail4x4! Discount Codes, Monthly Give-Always, Gift Boxes, the SnailTrail4x4 Community, and the ST4x4 Treasure Hunt! Thank you to all of those who support us! We couldn’t do it without you guys (and gals!)! SnailSquad Monthly Giveaway For the Month of April, we are giving away Gift Boxes. Its Gift Box month and two luck indiviuals will win a one of our gift boxs. These are jam packed with goodies from tools to whiskey smokers. They are always different and always random. If you want a chance to win, sign up for the Giveaway Tier on Irate4x4 Congrats to Roger Lutz on March’s Giveaway. We gave away the new Devos LightRanger500. This little light is jam-packed with features, from red, orange, and white lights to a motion sensor. It would be perfect for inside a tent, under a canopy, or just general use around the vehicle. If you want a chance to win, sign up for the Giveaway Tier on Irate4x4 Listener Discount Codes: SnailTrail4x4 –SnailTrail15 for 15% off SnailTrail4x4 MerchMORRFlate – snailtraill4x4 to get 10% off MORRFlate Multi Tire Inflation Deflation™ Kits4WheelUnderground – snailtrail 10% offIronman 4×4 – snailtrail20 to get 20% off all Ironman 4×4 branded equipment!Sidetracked Offroad – snailtrail4x4 (lowercase) to get 15% off lights and recovery gearSpartan Rope – snailtrail4x4 to get 10% off sitewideShock Surplus – SNAILTRAIL4x4 to get $25 off any order!Mob Armor – SNAILTRAIL4X4 for 15% offSummerShine Supply – ST4x4 for 10% offBackpacker’s Pantry – Affiliate LinkLaminx Protective Films – Use the Link to get 20% off all products (Affiliate Link) Show Music: Outroll Music – Meizong Kumbang Midroll Music – ComaStudio

Today, we check in a year after the first Unsupervised Learning x Latent Space Crossover special to discuss everything that has changed (there is a lot) in the world of AI. This episode was recorded just after AIE Europe, but before the Cursor-xAI deal.Unsupervised Learning is a podcast that interviews the sharpest minds in AI about what's real today, what will be real in the future and what it means for businesses and the world - helping builders, researchers and founders deconstruct and understand the biggest breakthroughs.Thanks to Jacob and the UL production team for hosting and editing this!Jacob Effron* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobeffron/* X: https://x.com/jacobeffronFull Episode on Their YouTubeWe discuss:* swyx's view from the center of the AI engineering zeitgeist: OpenClaw, harness engineering, context engineering, evals, observability, GPUs, multimodality, and why conference tracks now reveal what matters most in AI* Whether AI infrastructure has finally stabilized: why “skills” may be the minimal viable packaging format for agents, why infra companies have had to reinvent themselves every year, and why application companies have had an easier time surviving model volatility* The vertical vs. horizontal AI startup debate: why application companies can act as the outsourced AI team for enterprises, why some horizontal companies still matter, and why sandboxes may be the clearest reinvention of classic cloud infrastructure for the AI era* The “agent lab” playbook: starting with frontier models, specializing for your domain, then training your own models once you have enough data, workload, and user behavior to justify the cost and latency savings* Why domain-specific model training is real, not just marketing: how companies like Cursor and Cognition can get users to choose their in-house models, and why search, domain specialization, and distillation are becoming more important* Open models, custom chips, and alternative inference infrastructure: why swyx has turned more bullish on open source, why non-NVIDIA hardware is suddenly getting real attention, and why every 10x speedup can unlock new product experiences* What it means to sell to agents instead of humans: why agent experience may mostly just be good developer experience by another name, why APIs and docs matter more than ever, and how pretraining-data incumbents are compounding advantages in an agent-first world* Why memory and personalization may become the next big wedge: today's models mostly reward frequency of mentions, but in the future, swyx expects product choice to be shaped much more by personalized memory systems* The state of the AI coding wars: why coding has become one of the largest and fastest-growing categories in AI, how Anthropic, OpenAI, Cursor, and Cognition have all ridden the wave, and why the category may still have more room to run* Capability exploration vs. efficiency: why the industry is still in a token-maxing, experiment-heavy phase where people are rewarded for spending more rather than less* Claude Code vs. Codex and the strange stickiness of coding products: why first magical product experiences may matter more than expected, and why the bigger mystery may be why only a few names have emerged as real winners so far* What the end state of the coding market might look like: two major players, a longer tail of niche products, and possible disruption if Microsoft, Mistral, xAI, or the Chinese labs push harder into coding* Where application companies still have room against the labs: why frontier labs are trying to expand into verticals like finance and healthcare, but still leave space for focused companies that own the workflow and the last mile* Why coding may be a preview of every other AI market: the first category to truly go parabolic, the clearest example of foundation model companies colliding with application companies, and a template for how future vertical AI markets may develop* Why AI valuations now feel unbounded: from billion-dollar ARR products built in a year to trillion-dollar market caps, swyx and Jacob unpack how the AI market has broken traditional startup intuitions about scale and durability* Consumer AI vs. coding AI: why ChatGPT's consumer category may have plateaued on frequency and product design, while coding continues to feel like a daily-use category with real momentum* The next product frontier beyond coding: consumer agents, computer use, and “coding agents breaking containment,” with swyx's thesis that 2025 was the year of coding agents and 2026 may be the year they begin to do everything else* Whether foundation models are really killing startup categories: why swyx is less worried for early founders, more worried for mid-size startups and traditional SaaS, and why building something ambitious may now be the best job interview for a frontier lab* AI vs. SaaS and the internal culture war around adoption: the tension between AI-native employees who want to rip out expensive software and skeptics who think quick AI-built replacements create fragile systems* Why traditional SaaS may be under real pressure: swyx's own experience spending six figures on event and sponsor management software, the temptation to rebuild it cheaply with AI, and the broader question of whether teams will trust custom AI-native replacements* Biosafety, security, and frontier model access: why swyx raised biosafety at a dinner with Anthropic's Mike Krieger, why Krieger argued security is the bigger issue, and what restricted model releases reveal about Anthropic vs. OpenAI* The era of giant models: why 10T+ parameter systems may only be a temporary rationing phase before bigger clusters arrive, why labs may increasingly keep their most powerful models private for distillation, and why scale alone no longer feels like a complete answer* Memory as the slowest scaling factor in AI: why context windows have improved far more slowly than people hoped, why million-token context still has not changed most real workflows, and why memory may be the key bottleneck for the next generation of systems* What swyx changed his mind on in the past year: becoming more bullish on open models, more convinced that the top tier of agent startups behaves very differently from the median AI company, and more optimistic about fine-tuning and specialized model adaptation* “Dark factories” and zero-human-review coding: the next frontier after zero human-written code, where models not only write the code but ship it without human review, forcing companies to rethink testing and verification from first principles* Why RL and post-training may matter more than people assumed: even if the resulting models get thrown out every few months, the data, workflows, and domain-specific improvements persist* Synthetic rubrics, Doctor GRPO, and multi-turn RL: why reinforcement learning is becoming much more domain-specific and multi-step than many people realize, opening the door to much deeper customization* The next frontier after coding: memory, personalization, and world models, including why swyx thinks world models matter not just for robotics or gaming, but for giving AI something closer to lived understanding* Fei-Fei Li, spatial intelligence, and the Good Will Hunting analogy: the idea that today's LLMs may know everything by reading it all, but still lack the lived experience that turns knowledge into a deeper kind of intelligenceTimestamps* 00:00:00 Intro preview: AI coding wars, startup pressure, and market structure* 00:00:28 Welcome to the Latent Space × Unsupervised Learning crossover* 00:01:17 What AI builders are focused on now: OpenClaw, harnesses, and infra* 00:04:33 Why AI infra is harder than apps, and where startups can still win* 00:06:39 Should companies train their own models?* 00:09:28 Open models, custom chips, and the new inference race* 00:11:25 Designing products for agents, not just humans* 00:16:49 The state of the AI coding wars in 2026* 00:19:27 Capability exploration, token-maxing, and why coding is going parabolic* 00:21:41 What the end state of the coding market could look like* 00:23:50 Where app companies still have room against the labs* 00:27:02 Why AI valuations and market swings feel unprecedented* 00:28:56 Consumer AI vs. coding AI, and why sticky products still matter* 00:32:28 What the next breakthrough product experience might be* 00:32:53 2026 thesis: coding agents break containment and eat the world* 00:35:27 Are foundation models wiping out startup categories?* 00:37:33 AI vs. SaaS, vibe coding, and internal team tensions* 00:40:01 Biosafety, security, and the politics of restricted model releases* 00:42:19 Giant models, compute constraints, and the limits of scale* 00:44:30 Memory as the real bottleneck in AI* 00:44:57 Why swyx changed his mind on open models* 00:47:44 Dark factories and the future of zero-human-review coding* 00:49:36 Why post-training and RL may matter more than people think* 00:51:50 Memory, world models, and the next frontier of intelligence* 00:53:54 The Good Will Hunting analogy for LLMs* 00:54:21 OutroTranscript[00:00:00] swyx: Isn't that crazy? That number is just mind boggling.[00:00:03] Jacob Effron: What is the state of the AI coding wars today?[00:00:05] swyx: We're in a phase of sort of like capability exploration. The general thesis that I have been pursuing now is that the same way that 2025 was a year coding agents 2026 is coding agents breaking containments to do everything else.[00:00:16] Jacob Effron: Do you worry about the foundation models just getting into a bunch of these startup categories?[00:00:21] swyx: Mid-size startups. Yes.[00:00:23] Jacob Effron: What do you think the end state of this market is[00:00:25] swyx: for the market structure to, to significantly change? There would be[00:00:28] Jacob Effron: today on unsupervised learning. We had a, a fun episode and what's really become an annual tradition, a crossover episode with our friends at Latent space.Swix and I sat down and we talked about everything happening in the AI ecosystem today. What we thought of the various changes at the model layer, what's happening in the infra world, the coding wars, and a bunch of other things. It's a ton of fun to do this with someone I really respect and another great podcaster in the game.Without further ado, here's our episode. Well switch. This is, uh, super fun to be back with another unsupervised learning, uh, latent space crossover episode.[00:01:02] swyx: Yeah,[00:01:02] Jacob Effron: I feel like a lot of places we could start, but you know, one thing I always find fascinating, uh, about the way you spend your time is you obviously are like at the epicenter of this engineering movement and community, and you run these events and conferences and put on these.Awesome talks and, and I think just have a great pulse on the zeitgeist of what's going on.[00:01:16] swyx: Yeah.[00:01:17] Jacob Effron: Maybe to, to start just what are the biggest topics people are thinking about right now?[00:01:21] swyx: Yeah, so I just came back from London, uh, where we did a IE Europe and we're doing roughly one per quarter now, which Yeah, you've[00:01:27] Jacob Effron: really up[00:01:27] swyx: the, hopefully[00:01:28] Jacob Effron: up the, up the pace.[00:01:29] swyx: It's trying. We're trying to match AI speed, youknow?[00:01:30] Jacob Effron: Yeah, exactly. The tops would be completely different, I imagine. Uh,[00:01:33] swyx: yeah. You know, I definitely curate the tracks, like you can see what I think. When you see the track list and the, the speakers that I invite, obviously Open Claw is like the story of the last four or five months, and then be, be just below that.I would consider harness engineering, context engineering to be two related topics in agents and rag. And then there's a long tail of Evergreen stuff like evals, observability, GPUs, uh, and uh, LM infra and just general, just in general. We also have other updates on like multimodality and, uh, generative media, let's call it.Um, but I definitely, the, the first three that I mentioned are top of mind people. Yeah.[00:02:13] Jacob Effron: I think harness is particular like, so interesting. Um, you know, there was this tweet from Harrison Chase, the, the lane chain, CEO, that, that caught my eye recently where he said, you know, it finally feels like we have stability, uh, around the infrastructure for, uh, you know, around ai.And I think what. He basically was implying his like, look over the past two, three years as a company at the epicenter of AI infrastructure, it was a bit like playing whack-a-mole, right? You were constantly moving around with, however, the building patterns were evolving[00:02:36] swyx: for Harrison for sure. Right? Like he's basically had to reinvent the company every year since he started Lang Chain.Right? It was Lang chain, Ang graph and LP agents and like, uh, I think he's like one of the most nimble, adept sharp people about this. Yeah. Yeah.[00:02:49] Jacob Effron: Saying now, now is finally the time stability[00:02:51] swyx: this. Yeah.[00:02:52] Jacob Effron: Yeah. Um, do you buy that or what have you kind of make of that take?[00:02:56] swyx: I think that. It, it's very expensive to say this Time is different sometimes, but when you're just writing code, like it's actually okay to just like try to make a call and I think it may not even matter if this call is right or not.Like I just don't even care that much because you can be right on a thesis, but if you don't, you don't figure out how to monetize the thesis, then who cares if you said something first that said, um, it does feel like, for example. Uh, we went through a lot of different ways of passion packaging integrations up with, uh, with agents.And it feels like we've landed at skills, which is like the minimal viable format. Yeah. Which is just a markdown file, uh, with some scripts attached to it, and I don't see how it can be more simple than that. And so there is some justification for. The stability around harnesses. I feel like there may be more adaptation with regards to maybe like the real time elements or subagents or memory or any of those like agent disciplines, let's call it in, in agent engineering.Uh, but if, if the thesis is that, okay, you just want agents are LMS with tools in the loop with a file system, what they can do. Retrieval with, with skills and all these like standard tooling that now seems to be relatively consensus then probably. That makes sense. Um, I just think like there's no point trying to stake your reputation on this thesis that we're there because if it changes again, just change with it.It's fine.[00:04:33] Jacob Effron: Yeah. It's always, you know, I've always been struck by how that is. Much more challenging for infrastructure companies and application companies. Like obviously I think, yeah. You know, on the application side you've seen, you know, Brett Taylor from Sierra Max, from Lara. Like, they're like, look, we build, you know, what's ahead of the models and we're willing to throw everything out every three months, you know, as the models get better and better.Exactly. Yeah. But the thing you at least have there is you have. Uh, you have an end customer, right? That's like decently sticky. Um, you know, they will mostly stick, you know, they'll, they'll give you a shot at least of, of building these things. What I've always found more challenging, uh, at, at the kind of like, you know, reinvent yourself every three months of the infrastructure layer, it's like, you know, developers are definitely a, a pickier audience maybe than an accounting firm or, uh, you know, a bank.Yeah. And so it's definitely a, a, a more challenging position to be in to, to have to constantly reinvent yourself.[00:05:17] swyx: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, and like when they turn, it's like. Very complete. Like, they'll leave to like the, the hot new thing, uh, because there's like no defensibility, I guess. Like e even, even if you are a database, like, uh, people can migrate workloads off databases.Like it's, it's a, it's a known thing. Uh, so I think like basically what we're talking about is the vertical versus horizontal, uh, debate in, in AI startups. And uh, the way I think about it also is just that like when you are. Um, Lara, when you are a bridge, like you are the outsource AI team, right? You, you are, your job is to apply whatever state ofthe art AI methods.[00:05:55] Jacob Effron: Yeah. Like this translation layer between model capabilities and your[00:05:57] swyx: own customers. Yeah. To, to the end customers and like, well, if they didn't have you, they would've to hire in house and they're not gonna hire in house so they have you. And like, I think that's like a reasonable, like very robust to any whatever trends and, and discoveries that people make in, in the engineering layer.I do think like there is, um. It like sort of useful horizontal companies being built, but they're all. Very much like, sort of like the reinventions of classic cloud in the AI era and the, the primary one being sandboxes. Yeah. Um, which like, it's another form of compute guys, like, let's not get too excited about it.But I mean, like the, the workloads are enormous.[00:06:38] Jacob Effron: Right.[00:06:38] swyx: Yeah.[00:06:39] Jacob Effron: It's interesting, and I feel like as, as part of this, you know, the questions that folks are asking around infrastructure, there's a lot around, you know, the extent to which companies should have their own AI teams and what they should be doing in-house.And, you know, uh, I think there's questions around should people be training their own models? Should people be doing, you know, rl, uh, in-house based on the data they have? I feel like, you know, one has to evolve their takes on this every, every three months with paces. But where, where are you at on this today?[00:07:00] swyx: I think, well, I mean actually all models have gone up. Um, and obviously I'm involved in cognition and also cursors doing, doing, uh, a lot of own model training. And I think that that is some part of the, what I've been calling the agent lab playbook, where you start off with the state of the art models from, uh, from the big labs and you, uh, specialize for your domain.But once you have enough workload and enough high quality data from your users, then you can obviously train your own models and like save a lot on cost and latency and all that, all that good stuff. Um, you also get like a marketing bonus of like calling it some fancy name and putting out some research[00:07:38] Jacob Effron: from my seat.I can't tell how much of it is like actual, you know, value that's provided to the end user. And how much of it is that marketing bonus? Right. It seems some combination of the[00:07:45] swyx: I think it's both.[00:07:46] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:07:46] swyx: Um, no, no. There, there actually is real value. Um, and you, you know that for a number of reasons. Like one, even when it's not subsidized, people do choose it as like one of the top four or five.This is both composer two and, uh, suite 1.6 I one of the top five models. Like in a, in a fair market? In a free market, yeah. In a, in a, in a model switch. Or people do choose it and like, it's not subsidized. Like, so that's as good as it gets. Uh, but beyond that, like domain specific models, for example. For search with, with both, which both companies have absolutely makes, makes a ton of sense.Everyone says like, yeah, we should always, always do this. And honestly like, I think the infrastructure for that is becoming easier with, um, like thinking machines tinker thing as well as primary like, uh, lab stuff. Yeah, I mean like, this is one of those like reversal of the, the bitter lesson where you first bootstrap on the large models and the general purpose models to get big.And as you get very well-defined workloads that are just high quantity but not high variance, um, then you just distill down to a smaller model and run that on your own. Right. Which like totally makes sense.[00:08:50] Jacob Effron: What I'm less clear on is the kind of DIY RL use case, which I think is really mostly around, you know, improved, uh, quality for, for different things.Obviously there's probably like more efficient ways to, you know, get a smaller model that's that's faster and cheaper. And it'll be interesting to see whether. You know, obviously you had, you know, uh, two, three years ago this whole case of companies that were, you know, pre-training and claiming better outcomes in, in their domains than getting kind of cooked as each model iteration improved.You know, I wonder whether that's a, a similar story plays out in the, uh, in, in the, our all space. Yeah, for the focus on, on on pure outcomes and quality, not the cost side, which clearly your own models for cost at scale makes a ton of sense.[00:09:28] swyx: I think there are this, there are two sides of the same coin.Like you basically always want to hold, uh, quality constant or trade off a little bit of quality for a drastic decreasing cost. And that's true for everyone. Uh, one element I wanted to bring out, which is very much in favor of open models, is custom chips. So this would be cereus, but also talu. And then there's a huge range of stuff in between.This has been a huge story this past year on just like everything non Nvidia is getting bid up, including like freaking MatX is working for, which is very, which is very rewarding for me, but I think one of those things where like, oh, like the suddenly, because the number of alternative. Hard, uh, hardware is increasing and the inference that you can get is insanely high.Like, um, we're talking thousands of tokens per second instead of less than a hundred. So the trade off for qua quality doesn't hold as much anymore because the speed is so high.[00:10:24] Jacob Effron: Have you seen a lot of companies go all in on the alternative chip?[00:10:26] swyx: So cognition has Yeah. On Cerebras, uh, and, and so has OpenAIUm, uh, and so no, I don't think so beyond that, uh, and that, do you think that's like a, that's mostly, that's foreshadowing of, that's, yeah. I used to be kind of a skeptic in terms of like, okay, so what if I get my inference at a hundred to a hundred tokens per second sped up to 200 tokens per second. It's only two X faster.It's not that big a deal. Um, but when you, uh, I think every 10 x does unlock a different usage pattern. Um, and you, we have proof in Talas and, and some of the others. That you can actually, um, drastically imp improve inference speed and what happens from there? I don't even really know, like it's, it's so hard to predict when entire applications just appear at once.Yeah. Uh, and it also isn't that expensive, right? So like, um, this is one of those things where like, I, I think the, the investment cycle is gonna be multi-year. Um, and I. Would caution people to not dismiss it too, too quickly.[00:11:25] Jacob Effron: Yeah. I mean, one other like infra question I was curious to get your thoughts on is obviously it seems increasingly a lot of the cutting edge infra companies are building for agents as the buyers of their product or users of their product, right?[00:11:35] swyx: Ooh,[00:11:36] Jacob Effron: and[00:11:37] swyx: another huge theme. Yeah. Yeah.[00:11:38] Jacob Effron: And I'm trying to figure out like what. What, what do you have to do differently about selling into agents? Um, are they just the ultimate rational developers? Uh, or is there, you know,[00:11:46] swyx: no, absolutely not. Um, I think they are easily prompt, injected and, uh, very tuned towards like, basically com compounding existing winners.[00:11:57] Jacob Effron: Yeah,[00:11:57] swyx: so like if, like, congrats if you won the lottery for getting into the training data right before 2023, because now you're like installed in there for the foreseeable future. But yeah. Uh, you know, one stat that Versal, uh, CTO Malta dropped at my conference was that there are now, uh, 60% of traffic to Elle's, um, like app arch, like admin app architecture for like configuring versal applications, uh, is bought.It's not, it's not human. Uh, so like your primary customer is agents now. Um, and it's mostly co like mostly coding agents, mostly people using CLI on CP or whatever. But yeah, I mean, I think. More. I, I think step one, if it doesn't exist as an API that agents can use, it doesn't exist. Right, right. Which I think is like, uh, it's a good hygiene thing anyway, to, to make everything API available, but not as like an extra, um.Push on like products, people to not only work on the ui, um, you should probably work on the on SCLI stuff. Beyond that, I think honestly there is like, so I, I come from the sensibility of, I think everything that you are trying to do for agents experience now, which is the term that Matt Bowman and Nullify is trying to coin, is the same thing that you should have been doing for developer experience.That you should have had good docs, you should have had a consistent API, uh, that is. Mostly stateless. Um, you should have, I guess, discoverable or progressive disclosure or like search or like whatever. And so now that people have energy in like finding these customers to do that, that's great. Um, do I believe in.Extending beyond that into something like a EO, um, for gaming The chatbots? Not necessarily, but obviously there's gonna be huge advantages when people who figure out the short term wins. Yeah. And short term wins can compound.[00:13:43] Jacob Effron: Do you think these compounding advantages to like the, the pre-training data cutoff companies, like, you know, obviously over some period of time, I imagine that doesn't persist.And so as you think about like. I dunno, three, four years from now what the, you know, selection criteria end up being. Do you think it still mirrors exactly what you were saying before? Like it's exactly what you should have been doing all along to sell a good product to developers?[00:14:01] swyx: It could be, except that I think in three, four years we'll probably have much better memory and personalization.So then general a EO or GEO doesn't really matter as much. So I think whatever memory or personalization system we end up with will probably d determine what you end up choosing much more. Than, than what is currently the case, which is just frequency of mentions, let's call it. Yeah,[00:14:26] Jacob Effron: yeah.[00:14:26] swyx: Uh, so you just spa quantity and I think that's, I mean, that's something I'm looking forward to.I do think, like, like, you know, I, I think that the fundamental exercise to work through for yourself is if you start a new, um, sort of. Uh, disruptor company. Now there's a, there's a big incumbent that everyone knows, like, like superb base. Super base is like, kind of like the Postgres, like database, uh, incumbent.If you wanna start like new superb base, how would you compete with them? And I don't necessarily have the answer, but I, I, I do think like people, like resend like relatively new. I think they would start like 20, 23 and still there was, there was a recent survey where like, people. Checked what Claude recommends by default.If you just don't prompt it with anything, just say, gimme an email provider and says, resent as in like 70, 70% of each cases. Like the fact that you can get in there with like such a relatively short existence, I think is, is encouraging.[00:15:14] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:15:14] swyx: I do think like. Um, you do want to do whatever it is to, to like to, to get in that Very short mentions this because, um, it's not gonna be 20 of them, it's gonna be like three.[00:15:26] Jacob Effron: No, definitely. It feels like, uh, you know, probably more, more consolidation than ever. Uh, or, or kind of like, you know, uh, a winner take most market than maybe the, the, the physics of go-to market in the past. Yeah. Might have, uh, enabled.[00:15:38] swyx: The other thing also is like, semantic association is gonna be very important, uh, in the sense that like, you want to do like the combo articles where you're like, use my thing with for sale, with blah, blah.And like that all gets picked up in a, in a corpus. And so that's. Probably one thing that you, you wanna do? Well, I don't know what else. Uh, it's, it's, it's, it's one of those things where like, I think I feel, I feel I'm behind, uh, I don't know how you feel about this, but like,[00:16:04] Jacob Effron: I think AI is just everyone constantly feeling like they're behind some, uh,[00:16:08] swyx: yeah.With,[00:16:09] Jacob Effron: I wanna meet the person that doesn't feel behind,[00:16:11] swyx: but like with, with ax, right? Like, so, so like, my, my stance was that exactly what I said before, like everything that you, that you should do for agents is something that you should have done for humans anyway. Yeah. And so. To the extent that you're just getting it more energy to, to do things for agents, great.But like, uh, it's hard to articulate what new thing apart from just like more spam, um, that you should be doing. Anyway, that would be my take right now. Um, I I, I do think like there, there will be more turns at this. I think the personalization turn that is coming, um, will be big. And I don't know what that looks like because like basically we're kind of, we feel kind of tapped out on the memory side of things.[00:16:49] Jacob Effron: Yeah. I, I guess since we last chatted, you know, you, you took this role over at cognition, um, and you've obviously have a, have a front row seat to the AI coding space today. You know, I feel like coding in many ways. You know, people view it as this, like, I mean, besides being like the, the mother of all markets and this massive opportunity, I think it's kinda a preview of like, what's to come for many other spaces.Both. Yeah. You know, I feel like agents are most advanced in coding. I also feel like the, you know, competition between foundation models and application companies, you know, and, uh, mirrors what we may see in other spaces. And so maybe for our listeners, can you just lay out like what is the state of the AI coding wars today?[00:17:25] swyx: Um, it is massive, right? Like, uh, and I don't think necessarily, last time we talked about this, we appreciated the size of what[00:17:32] Jacob Effron: No, I wish we did.[00:17:33] swyx: I state of AI coding wars today, um, both opening eye philanthropic have made it their p serials to competing coding. Um, and. Tropic is like 2.5 billion in a RR just from Cloud Code.The way they recognize a RR is. Opt for debate, uh, open ai. I don't think the, a public number is known, but let's call it 2 billion as well. And then cursor is like, rumored to be 2 billion, you know? And, and those, those are like the public numbers that are known? Yeah. Um, so like huge markets that have just been created in the past one year.Like, like anthropic, just like Claude Code just recently celebrated their one year anniversary, which is, yeah, pretty nice. Um, so, and then I think, like the other thing that I see is there's, there's some other people who are like, oh, here's like the, the sort of relative penetration of, uh, Claude use cases, right?Like, and it's like coding 50% and then legal, whatever. Health, uh, it's like the, the remaining ones. And there was a very popular tweet that was like, okay, I'll look at the, the empty space and all these other use cases. If you are a new founder today, you should be betting on the other stuff because on, on a sort of catch up Yeah.Theory and my. Consider my, my pushback is the same pushback that, uh, I had on app over Google, which is like, well, well why is this time different? Like, why, if it went from let's say 10 to 50% in the past year, why can't I keep going? Uh, and like getting that wrong is actually a very painful one because you could have just did, did the momentum bet.Instead of the mean reversion bed. So I, I, I think that that is the, the state of things now that people are very, very much into psychosis. Um, they're are getting rewarded for spending more rather than spending less. And I think we're not in that phase of efficiency. We're in a phase of sort of like capability exploration.So I think people who are more crazy, who are more. Uh, creative, um, get rewarded comparatively. Yeah.[00:19:27] Jacob Effron: Well, it's interesting. I mean, it feels like behind these like token maxing, leaderboards and whatnot is this, it's like the first phase of this transition from a workforce perspective is you just gotta show your employer like, Hey, I, I use these tools.[00:19:37] swyx: Here's my nu number of tokens I cost, and that's it. They don't care about the quality. Right. It is, uh, maybe distasteful to someone who cares about the craft and, and all that. Um, but directionally everyone just wants you to go up regardless. And so, um, there it is not very discerning. It's, and it's probably very sloppy, but I think it's net fine because we're still probably underusing ai just in generally.Yeah. Um, and so I think that's like very interesting. Like we had on the podcast, uh, Ryan La Poplar from OBI, who spends a billion tokens a day. Yeah. Um, and that's for those county home, it's like something like 10,000 worth, $10,000 worth a day of API tokens. If they, they did market rates, um, and like most of us can't afford that.Yeah. But like. And, and, and probably a lot of what he does is slop.[00:20:25] Jacob Effron: Right.[00:20:25] swyx: But like, he's going to dis, he's like, if there were a new capability, he would discover it first before you because he was, he was trying and you were not trying. Right. And like, you only do things that work like, well, good for you.But like the, the people who are going to discover the next hot thing are living at the edge.[00:20:42] Jacob Effron: Right and increase in living at the edge of just having the compute budget to like run these experiments. I mean, kind of similar to what living at the edge on the research side has always been. You know, it was constrained in many ways by the amount of compute you had to run these experiments.It feels similarly on the, almost on the builder or like actualizing these tools now.[00:20:56] swyx: Yeah. The other thing that's, I mean, very obvious is philanthropic is kind of like the high price premium player. Um, that where, you know. Restricting limits or restricting model releases even is like the name of the game.Whereas Codex is like, come on in guys, use our SDK, use our login and we don't care. We're gonna reset limits. Whatever you do want to try to exploit the subsidies where you can get it. And definitely Codex is super subsidized right now. Gemini also very subsidized. Um, and. Comparatively, like, I think you should make, Hey, I guess while, while that's going on, it's not that bad to be a capabilities explorer on just the $200 a month plan from Cloud Code or from OpenAI.Um, and, uh, I I, I, my sense is that people aren't even there yet.[00:21:41] Jacob Effron: How do you think this, like, market ultimately plays? I mean, it's obviously such a big market that, you know, any slice of that market is interesting for, for anyone going after it. But I think what, what makes people so interesting in the coding market particularly is it feels like it's kind of this.Foreshadowing of what will happen in other, you know, any other kind of application market that the foundation models eventually turn to and are all their models against and gather data around. And so how do you think, you know, like does there end up being room for lots of different kinds of players or like, what do you think the end state of this market is and is that, do you think that's applicable to other markets?[00:22:10] swyx: I feel like there will be, I mean. Status quo is probably the most likely outcome, which is there are two big players and there's a small range of longer tail people that, um, fit other use cases that the, the two big players don't. That feels right to me. I think that, um, for it to, for the market structure to, to significantly change there would be, there needs to be significant change in like the economics or like the, the brand building or like the, the, the, the value propositions of the, of the companies involved and I.Haven't seen any in the last six months that, that have really changed the stories materially. So I feel like they would just keep going until something, something else happens. Something else happens, meaning like Microsoft wakes up and like goes like. Guys, we have GitHub, we have, uh, you know, we, we, we'll, we'll do something much bigger here than other, other than just copilot.Um, and, uh, that would be a big change. Um, MSL has put out a model now, and I was in a breakfast with, uh, Alex Wang, where they were like, yeah, like, we, we really, really want to go after the coding use case. We haven't done anything yet, but like, don't underestimate them. Right. Um, and, and similarly for the Chinese labs.Um, I think they're trying to go after it. Like ZAI is doing stuff. GLM uh, ZI and GLM is same thing. Um, uh, and, and so it's, so like everyone's trying to get a piece of that pie. I, I feel like the, the status quo has been pretty stable for the past, like almost a year I'll say.[00:23:39] Jacob Effron: Yeah. And is the room for the, not like, you know, for, for the application companies more on like the enterprise side or like where do the, where do the, like what surface area do the model companies leave for application companies?[00:23:50] swyx: Yeah, that's a good one. Um. It's very much evolving. Um, it, I, I, I will say because opening I did not have this, the, this level of attention on coding. Yeah. Uh, a year ago. We just don't have that much history. Right. Um, and it seems like, for example, so the big push at Open I now is the Super app. Um, is that a consumer thing?Is that like a products like. Portfolio rationalization thing, how much is that gonna take away attention from coding at the time when they actually do want to put more coding? I think it's, it's very unclear. So I do think like there's, there's all these, like in both big labs, there's. Uh, sorry. Both of the, and, and drop and, and deep minus and XAI are are separate cases.Um, they are trying to see the other time expansion areas. So cloud code for finance. Yeah. Um, uh, cloud cowork, all those, all those things. Whereas I think cursor and cognition are like comparatively just focused on coding and so I, I do think they leave space and I do think for the other verticals that also means the same thing.Right. That, uh, that they're not gonna be that. Um, intensely focused on, on, on that domain. Except for, I, I think I would mark out finance and healthcare as like the next ones, um, that they're clearly going after. Uh, I, I would say comparatively, healthcare seems more thorny. There, there, there've been some announcements about it, but like, I would respect the, the finance work a lot more just because like the, the path to money is a lot clearer.[00:25:12] Jacob Effron: Yeah, no, I mean, obviously like, I, I think, you know, maybe similar to, to the space that's being left in these other domains, you know, there's obviously. Uh, a lot that's required to actually implement these tools in enterprises, uh, versus, you know, maybe just giving them, uh, giving model access to, to folks outta the box.[00:25:27] swyx: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So the, the agent lab thing is like, we'll do the last mile for you. Whereas I think the model labs tend to just trust the model and, and be minimalist about it. Both of them work.[00:25:38] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:25:38] swyx: I, I don't, I don't necessarily think one, uh, beats the other, uh, for every, for every use case. Um, all I, all I do know is that it does seem like.Uh, the large enterprises do want a dedicated partner that isn't just the model labs, which is kind of interesting.[00:25:55] Jacob Effron: We, we've been in this phase of, of pure capability exploration. And so I think nothing has been, you know, better for the large labs, right? I mean, they're always gonna be, uh, uh, the frontier of, of capability exploration.And so I think have a very good relationship with a lot of these enterprises. But ultimately over time, like. The, uh, the incentive structure of these labs is always gonna be maximal, you know, token consumption for, uh, for the end customers they work with. And there's just, I think, so few companies that have actually gotten to massive scale.Maybe coding again is the most interesting. So it's the first space that really is just completely gone, you know? Yeah. You must love it every day. Like absolutely insane. And. I think it[00:26:32] swyx: gets even. Okay. I mean, like, I think we, we say good things about crystal cognition, but the sheer liftoff of like both end UPIC and open ai.‘cause they, they, they have independent valuations. I mean, let's throw an XEI in there because it's now I ping at 1.2 trillion. That number is just mind boggling. Like I, I feel like in normal investing or normal startups, there's kind of like a ceiling market cap or valuation. Totally. That, that like you, you reach and you go like, all right, let's, it's gonna be chiller from now on.And these guys are not slow down. No.[00:27:02] Jacob Effron: Well, I also think the dynamic is fascinating about some of these later stage companies is, is, you know, in the past, I feel like in, in venture world, if you got to a certain level of scale, the question around you was really more a valuation question. And this is like why there was different phase, like, you know, types of venture people did and like the late stage growth people were just incredible at like, you know, a little bit of what's the ultimate market opportunity of this company, but also what's the right way to, to value it.Like we know it's, it's in some bands of an outcome that is like. Sure there's some variance to it, but it's like relatively understood what that bands is and then maybe you get over time surprised to the upside. Whereas any kind of like later, even the labs themselves, any later stage company, the bands of which that company might be worth right now, even in a year or two years are so massive because of how fast the ecosystem changes that it's like.Even for later stage companies, every three months could be an existential level event to the upside to the downside. Yeah. Um, and I think that, like, you are obviously seeing it in the, in the positive with code, which, you know, if you think about a company like philanthropic, you know, that. For a while, it was like unclear if they were going to have access to enough capital, um, to really stay in the, in the race, right?And then coding hit at the exact right time. They had the perfect model for it. They executed brilliantly. Um, and you know, now are, are, you know, uh, you know, one of the most valuable companies in the world.[00:28:13] swyx: Uh, at the same time, I, I don't find, I, I have zero sympathy for opening eye because they're crushing it and they're all rich.You know, this is like a high class champagne problem to have to, uh, to be number two at coding or whatever. Like, who cares? Like, you're, you're doing great.[00:28:27] Jacob Effron: Yeah. It's funny though. I can't even, I mean, you would be closer to this, uh, you know, even that you're in the AI coding space, but it's like a lot of people I talk to think Codex is just as good, if not better than Claude Code.Right. I think one thing that I've been really surprised by, and maybe, maybe Cloud Code is a better product in some ways, I'm curious your thoughts is just in consumer AI with chat GBT. You saw this big first mover advantage, right? Where admittedly today, like, I don't know, Claude Gemini. Great products.Not sure, not abundantly clear chat GBTs any better, but like. People stick with chat, GBT, it's the first thing to introduce them.[00:28:56] swyx: They stay, but they're not growing anymore. I don't know if you've seen[00:28:59] Jacob Effron: Right. But that to me is more of like a, a, a product problem than it is. They're not like, it's not like they've like lost share to someone else.My understanding is the overall problem with consumer AI today is much more of a how do you take this tool and, you know, for, for folks like us, like knowledge workers, it's like this incredible magic tool, but it's not necessarily a daily active use tool for a lot of people around the world today. And what are the like products?It's, it's kind of a category wide problem. Like in coding, for example, like. The entire space has gone parabolic. There may be some relative growth in, uh, in other consumer AI players, but it's not like consumer AI as a category is like going parabolic and they're not capturing most of that thing. I think it's actually the larger problem is much more, hey, the category has kind of hit a bit of a plateau of people haven't figured out how to bring, you know, tons more users on board.Yeah, yeah. Or increase the frequency of those users. And so it seems more of a category wide problem than it is, you know, a massive market share of change. I was gonna draw the comparison to, to the coding space where Claude Co is the first product, obviously, to introduce people to this magical experience.You know, by all accounts, codex is, is pretty damn close to as good, if not better. Um, but like still that first product, you, you would've thought that would not be a super sticky, uh, you know, product surface area. And it actually has, it turns out, I, it feels like the first lab to introduce you and experience really does, uh, keep a lot of, uh, a lot of the focus.[00:30:12] swyx: I, I think. M maybe it's like still, still early days. You know, Chad, BT is like three plus years old and Yeah. Cloud code is only one. Just turned a year. Yeah. So give it time, you know? Yeah. Like, yeah. I mean, definitely sometimes a lot of people have switched from to Codex. Maybe that will keep going. I, it's like really hard to tell.Uh, yeah. I, I, I do, I do think that. Because we are in this like, high volatility, high temperature phase. Um, the loyalty and stickiness to first movers and category creators, I don't think is as high as it might be in some other, uh, areas in our careers that we've looked at.[00:30:47] Jacob Effron: Yeah. Though, I mean, I've been surprised by the cloud code thing.I, I would've thought that, like, in many ways I always worried about the[00:30:52] swyx: enterprise. You think you would've been gone by now?[00:30:53] Jacob Effron: Not gone. But I would've, I I always worried that the, that the consumer business of these companies would be quite sticky. And then the enterprise API business. Uh, was actually like, you know, in some ways like your least loyal buyers, like they would, they would move to,[00:31:05] swyx: right, right.But, but they worked out that it wasn't the enterprise API it was enterprise product.[00:31:09] Jacob Effron: Totally. And maybe that was the, that was the secret that like, but the amount of lock-in or just default behavior that has happened in that space, uh, is, is more than I might've imagined with two products that by all accounts are pretty damn similar.Yeah.[00:31:22] swyx: No fight there. Uh, I will say I do think that Codex is still in like a catch up. Like in terms of personal experience. Um, the only thing I like out of, out of Codex is the, is like Spark and like yeah. Uh, the, I, I feel like the skills integration is a little bit better. I feel like, uh, the, the speed is a bit better.Maybe ‘cause it's in, is written in rust or whatever. Um, very minor things that you like. Almost like telling yourself rather than like objectively assessing between two, two of them. I, I, I do think, like vibes wise, I think that's going on. Um, the, the, you know, I, I feel like the, the missing questions, uh, in, in this whole debate is like, why is this so concentrated in only two names, right?Yeah. Like, um, how, where, like, where is the Gemini? You know, presence, where's the Xai presence? Um, and like they are trying, it's just they haven't made that much progress yet.[00:32:12] Jacob Effron: But what the, what the Claude Co moment does show, and it actually in some ways makes you a little more bullish on the potential for someone else to catch up because it does feel like if you're the first person to introduce some magical net new product experience, that that actually might be stickier than one might have imagined.[00:32:27] swyx: Right, right, right. Okay. Yeah.[00:32:28] Jacob Effron: And so it's, everyone can believe they have shot[00:32:29] swyx: that. What do you think that new product experience might be like? I, I, it's, it's like, and this is a failure of imagination on my part. Like, I always wonder, like, people always say this like, well, the, the thing that will save us is like being first to the next new thing.Like what is it?[00:32:41] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:32:42] swyx: It's like,[00:32:45] Jacob Effron: I dunno, something around like, uh, consumer agent, computer use, like hybrid. I think, obviously, I think we're like scratching the surface on the consumer side.[00:32:53] swyx: So my, my current theory is like the. Open claw is like a vision of things to come.[00:32:58] Jacob Effron: Totally.[00:32:58] swyx: Um, and uh, it's good that O open I has like the association with open claw, but by no means do they have the rights to win it.The general thesis that I have been pursuing now is that the year the same way that 2025 was the year of coding agents, 2026 is coding agents breaking containment to do everything else. Um, and so coding agents continue to still win, but because they generate software and software eats the world, so like, it's kind of like the trans.Associated property of like software, eat the world, coding agents, eat software, therefore coding agents eat the world. Um, which is like an interesting,[00:33:30] Jacob Effron: yeah, and breaking containment always an easier phase phrase in the consumer context than the enterprise one. You've seen people run these really cool, uh, experiments in their own personal lives.I think like,[00:33:37] swyx: yes.[00:33:38] Jacob Effron: Figuring out, you know, how you, obviously everyone's focused, you know, on the enterprise side now around how you create these experiences. I feel like the vibes, you know, people love to have these narratives of like, everything is completely shifted. It's like I actually, you know, open AI.Organizationally, uh, you know, volatility aside is, you know, great products, great team, great models like everyone else in the world is incentivized for there to be. Two, three more. Everyone would love more like great model companies. And so I feel like the, the natural forces of the world revolt when any one company, you know, is too much the star of the show, right?There's so many people in the ecosystem that are incentivized for that not to happen. And so I think I'd be shocked if we don't have. Uh, uh, reversion of vibes, not maybe completely the other way, but at least a little bit more equal at some point over the next six, 12 months.[00:34:24] swyx: I, I think there's just a kind of different stages when, when you talk about the world, one wanting more model companies, I talked think about like the neo labs.[00:34:30] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:34:31] swyx: And I mean, I don't know, is it fair to say none of them have really broken through in the past year?[00:34:35] Jacob Effron: I think that's totally fair,[00:34:37] swyx: which is rough. Um, and well, how are we gonna, how are we gonna grow that diversity in, in, in choice, like. Um, that's, this is it.[00:34:46] Jacob Effron: Yeah. It'll be really interesting to see what, what, what ends up happening with that.And you've seen, you know, folks like Nvidia, you know, very incentivized to make sure there's, there's a broader platform of, of other model providers.[00:34:57] swyx: I think, uh, I don't know people say this, but I, I, I don't think they try it hard. Nvidia tries harder to build neo clouds[00:35:05] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:35:06] swyx: Than neo labs.[00:35:07] Jacob Effron: Well, they try pretty damn hard to build neo Cloud, so[00:35:09] swyx: that's,[00:35:09] Jacob Effron: yeah.[00:35:10] swyx: But like, you know, let's call it like the, the core weaves of the world, much happier place in the, you know, than any neo lab built on top of them.[00:35:18] Jacob Effron: Yeah. That one might argue it's, it's easier to, to enable a neo cloud to be successful than it is. Uh, you can't will a neo lab into existence the same way you, soNvidia[00:35:25] swyx: has more direct control over it.Uh, for sure.[00:35:27] Jacob Effron: What else is kind of catching your eye today on the startup side? I mean, you worry, there's obviously this whole narrative of like, you know, the foundation models, you know, they announced a product and every stock goes down 15%. Like[00:35:36] swyx: Yeah.[00:35:37] Jacob Effron: Do you, do you worry about the foundation models just kind of eating into to a bunch of these startup categories?[00:35:43] swyx: Not really. I, I think actually like. As, uh, there's, there's, okay, there's, there's, there's the, there's the point of view of like being an investor in startups, and there's a point of view of like, do you wanna start something? And I think honestly, like the, the downside for all these is so. Minimal in, in a sense of like, the worst you do is you just get hired into one of these labs anyway.So I, I think the, the market for people who just do things and try things and try to execute in like a competent way, even if like it doesn't work out commercially, even if it just wasn't that great anyway. Like, but like that's your job interview to go into, into one of these things anyway, so, um, I don't feel that.From a, from a very, very small startup perspective, mid-size startups. Yes. Uh, I will say there's been a lot of dead, um, LM Infra, a lot of LM infra consolidation like the, the, uh, lang fuses of the world getting absorbed into, into click house. And I, I think. Like people have maybe worked out the domain specific playbook, uh, and like, I think that's okay.Um, and, and yeah, I'm not that, not that worried about, uh, okay. So, um, I, I would say I'd be more worried about traditional SaaS, like low NPSS. This is the whole AI versus SaaS debate that has, that's been going on. Uh, and, and like literally I'm going through that exact thing in my company where, so I like kind of.Thinking through this on a very visceral, visceral level, right? On one hand you have the people who say you vibe coders don't appreciate the amount of work that goes into A-A-C-R-M and like, yeah, you think you can rip out Salesforce? So did the 30 entrepreneurs before you, right? Like, like, you know, you classically underestimate the things that you don't.Deeply, no. And, and, and target audience is not you. Uh, at the same time, like we have never been able to build software so easily and customize software so easily and like Yeah, you're not gonna use 90% of the things in Salesforce. So like, yeah. What's the typical, so what have you, what[00:37:33] Jacob Effron: have you done internally?[00:37:34] swyx: So we have there the main SaaS that we do for event management and sponsor management. That's, and we paid 200 KA year for that. Not, not huge, but like chunky for, for, for my, my scale. Um, and like, yeah, I could probably spend 2000 and, and build like a custom version of that. Um, the, the, the trick has been dealing with my, the rest of my team and getting them on board.Yeah. ‘cause I'm the most ethical person on my team, but like, I can't make that decision myself. And I think in the same way I've been telling with other CEOs team leaders as well, it's like, well you can be super cloud pilled. You can be super LM psychosis and that you think that's okay, but you like you have to bring your team with you.And I think like there, the sort of widening disparity in LM psychosis in companies is causing real s real riffs because. And on one hand, on one hand, the people who are less AI native are not getting with the picture. They're not, they're actually like behind, they're actually not waking up to the fact that like you, everything you think is necessary is not actually that necessary.And in fact, exactly would be better of you if you just like held your nose and went in and when came out the other side. Yeah, only talking to agents in natural language and like your life would actually be better and you just, you're just like close-minded. There's that perspective. The other perspective is, oh, you vibe coder.You, you did this in a weekend and you got the 80% solution and now the rest of your employees. Have to pick up the rest of your s**t, right, that you, that you thought you were, you were such hot, amazing, uh, uh, at, but like, actually you didn't figure it out. And like, actually LMS are still useless at this and blah, blah, blah.So like, I think there's this huge debate going on in every company right now. Um, and like, um, you know, I have a small microcosm of it, but like, yeah, it, it's making me hesitate to, to pull the trigger. But like I will at some point, it's like maybe I've put it off for one year, but not like five. Yeah, but like, so, so like SaaS is definitely getting squeezed.Um, it does make me wonder, like, I, I do think that there's an opportunity for a more AI native, um, system of record thing that is not just Postgres. Um, or not just MongoDB, although both are very good. Maybe it's like a convex or like people Yeah. Bring up convex a lot. I don't know, like, like, I, I just feel like the sort of quote unquote firebase of, of AI apps isn't really a thing yet.Um, beyond what we have. Uh, which, which is fine. It's, it's, it's just. We could probably start in a more sort of rapid iteration cycle first before scaling up to like a Postgres or MongoDB, which are more sort of old tech. I was at a dinner with, uh, Mike Krieger, the CPO of en philanthropic, and, and he, we were just kind of going around the room going like, what are people most worried about?Yeah. And, uh, for me, uh, I, instead of security, I brought up biosafety. Yeah,[00:40:21] Jacob Effron: classic.[00:40:22] swyx: Um, actually, like I said, it was. Cliche and classic, and the rest of the table were, were like, what do you mean? Someone sitting at home can manufacture a virus that wipes out half of humanity,[00:40:32] Jacob Effron: almost like the OG Jeffrey Hinton.Like, this is why you should be scared.[00:40:35] swyx: I'm like, yeah, like the read the, you know, risk reports. Like this is like the thing. Um, I think, and Mike was just sitting there knowing he was sitting on Mythos and going like, actually it's security. Um, and I think like, um, I think the, there's, there's, part of it is.A very good marketing. Like too good. Yeah, like I would actually advise and topic to tune down the marketing because also it's, it is just a very good model and you don't have to make so many marketing claims around it. At the same time, it is not really a private model. If you give it to 40 companies.Each of whom have like 10,000 employees or whatever. Right. It's not, it's not private, it's, it's like there's bad actors in there.[00:41:18] Jacob Effron: Yeah. Hopefully, hopefully not as, uh, as bad as releasing it widely, but, uh, no, I mean, it's an interesting. You know, it's an interesting case study for how all, I mean, many model releases might, I mean, you know, this might be the first model release that looks like the rest of ‘em from from now on, right?[00:41:31] swyx: It, it, so it's, it's the, there's an overall product strategy, uh, for anthropic of like bundle, uh, you know, restrict access bundle, uh, product with model maybe.Whereas, uh, OpenAI has definitely been a lot more sort of. Philosophically aligned on like, we will just enable access everywhere and we don't know what you, what will come out of it. Right.[00:41:51] Jacob Effron: Right. Though, I mean, this current moment, uh, obviously the cynical take is also just ties to the amount of compute that both companies[00:41:56] swyx: Yeah.Right, right, right. Yeah, I think, I think that's true. I I do think like the, the, this is the, the, the scale, the dawn of like larger than 10 trillion parameter models is very interesting. I don't think it, I think it's a temporary phenomenon because we have much larger compute clusters coming online for everyone over the next like three, five years.It's, and this is like already written in, in the cards.[00:42:18] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:42:19] swyx: So to the extent that like, you know, will we have rationing of models, uh, above 10 trillion, uh, in like two years? I don't think so. I think everyone will have no, we'll just[00:42:29] Jacob Effron: have rationing of the next phase.[00:42:30] swyx: Right. Right. But like, that's as it should be almost like, um.My, my classic example, which I, this is just me theorizing, not anything confirmed by Google. When Google announced Gemini, they actually announced three sizes, which was Flash Pro Ultra. They never released Ultra. They only have Pro and Flash. Um, so my theory is they have ultra sitting in a basement and they just could distilling from it for, for flashing pro.Um, which like, yeah, I mean, I, I actually think that's. As it should be for any lab that they, that they do that.[00:43:02] Jacob Effron: Yeah. Just because those are the models that people actually wanna end up using. And it's just like cost prohibit.[00:43:06] swyx: It is more, yeah, it's cost. Yeah. It's, it's not the want, it's just, just, just the cost.Um, I do think, like, uh, it is interesting that, uh, for a while I was, I was considering the theory that models capped out at two, 2 trillion, and I think that's proving to be wrong. And well then if I'm wrong, how wrong? How wrong am I? Do we do 200 trillion? Do we do two quarter trillion, whatever? Um, and I don't think we have the straight answer to that, but like, uh, it's interesting that we are continuing to scale number of pers when everyone kind of assu like can see that we're not going to get like the next thousand or 1 million x from this paradigm.So like the others, like the alias of the world are working on other. Um, model architecture improvements. We need a different scaling law, I guess, because like, we're, I, I feel like people already already feel like we're tapped out on this. Like the, the end, the end state of this is we turn most of the world into data centers and like, I don't know.I don't know if we want that.[00:44:08] Jacob Effron: Yeah, I mean, uh, if the, if, if, if the return of intelligence are there, maybe, uh, maybe not so bad.[00:44:13] swyx: I, I, I think there, there's just a sheer amount of like, like un scalability that like is wrangling people's sensibilities right now. Um, especially in terms of like context lengths.Um, my classic quote is that context length is like the slowest scaling factor in, in lms.[00:44:30] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:44:30] swyx: Um, we, like, we took maybe. Three years to go from like 4,000 context length to a million and that's about it. Yeah. Like Gemini has had a million token context length for two years now. Um, and no one's using it.Like, so like yeah, it's memory. Memory is probably gonna be the, the biggest limiting constraint on all these things.[00:44:50] Jacob Effron: Yeah. Certainly seems that way. I guess I'm curious over the last year since you recorded last, like what's one thing you've changed your mind on?[00:44:57] swyx: I feel like I was kind of bearish on open models like last year.Um, in a sense of, like, I, I had just done the podcast with an Al[00:45:07] Jacob Effron: Yeah.[00:45:08] swyx: Of Braintrust where he, and he, I mean, you know, he has a good cross section of all the top AI companies and he says market share of open source is 5% and going down. Um, I think that's changed. I think it's going up. Um, and even if,[00:45:22] Jacob Effron: even though the capability gap does seem to be increasing.Spending on the[00:45:26] swyx: time. It's hard to tell. Yeah, it's, it's really hard to tell. ‘cause like, okay, for, for listeners, capability gap increasing is like on public benchmarks. And let's say you're comparing mythos versus like, I don't know, G-T-O-S-S or like GLM 5.1. And, um, it's, it is really hard to tell. ‘cause even if they were closing, you will also not believe that they were closing that much because it's very easy to gain the benchmarks.Yeah. So you just don't really, really know. Um, all you know is like. Uh, there's somewhat objective open router stats on like what people choose in a free market. And people do choose some of these open models in significant volume, except that a lot of them are heavily discounted. So you need to kind of like price adjust, uh, these things.So even if, even if that were true, which I, I'm not sure, like I, I, I feel like the numbers just up now instead of down. Uh, I think the. Separation between what the top tier agent labs

Louie's gone for the week, so Zach and Matt McGavic fill in! They start with reaction to Louisville's spring game, why they like the QB and RB rooms, and the concern that could keep them from the playoff. They discuss Wooley coming back to UL, and where they stand with John Blackwell and others, before crushing Alabama for comments made about Indiana's beatdown of them in the Rose Bowl to close the hour.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The advent of AI is either exhilarating or terrifying, depending on the day and maybe your last interaction with Siri. That’s because the stakes of the technology, at least as it’s promoted by its developers, is really really high. If what they say about it is true, it could upend human work as we know it. No wonder, then, that a crisis of trust has accompanied its rapid rise. What happens when you take AI into rooms where the stakes are high and the tolerance for error is low? Rooms like courtrooms. Or patrol cars. My guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana are both building AI products for exactly those environments. And what they've each discovered is that the technology is almost never the hardest part. The hardest part is trust. Grant Schexnailder grew up in Lafayette — out near Milton — and comes from a family of entrepreneurs. His mom runs Cheers Cheerleading Academy. Both of his grandfathers ran their own businesses. Grant went to LSU for finance, then to Southern University for law school — a calculated decision, he'll tell you, more than a calling. By day, Grant defends municipalities and government agencies against litigation. Which means he knows courtrooms. He knows juries. And he knows how much rides on who ends up in that box. When ChatGPT arrived, Grant saw something. Jury selection — one of the most consequential and least scientific parts of a trial — was a problem AI could help solve. In 2024, he co-founded Empath Legal with software engineer Shane Zhang. Empath is an AI-powered jury insight platform that aggregates public records and social media data to give litigators objective information about prospective jurors. Sarah Brasseaux is developing AI tools a little further up the criminal justice chain. She's Co-Founder of Blue Partner, an AI platform for law enforcement agencies. Sarah graduated from UL with a degree in General Studies, and she'll be the first to tell you she has no law enforcement background whatsoever. Her co-founder Ryan Bourque does, however. He's the IT Director for the district court in St. Martin Parish. Over the years he read enough police reports to see a pattern. When AI started becoming practical, he thought it could change how officers work in the field. Together, they founded Blue Partner in 2023, with mentorship from Lafayette's Opportunity Machine. Blue Partner provides cloud-based AI tools for law enforcement agencies — a hands-free chat that gives officers real-time information on a call, a voice-controlled mapping feature, and a reporting tool that helps officers write in their own words while keeping their reports court-admissible. They're currently working with the St. Martinville and Duson police departments. Sarah grew up in Wisconsin, moved to Texas at twelve, worked as a teacher, before relocating to Lafayette where she lives today. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Real clients. Real collapsed policies. Why Universal Life might be quietly robbing your family.

If you work with control panels in building automation, the design behind them impacts more than you think. Safety, troubleshooting speed, and future scalability all start long before a technician ever opens the panel door. Small design decisions can create clarity or confusion when it matters most. This episode explores what goes into UL panel design and why it should not be treated as an afterthought in your projects. Topics Covered Why panel design plays a direct role in job site safety How layout decisions influence troubleshooting time The hidden risks of overcrowded panels What separates high and low voltage components means in practice How planning today affects future system expansion If you want fewer headaches in the field and more confidence in your systems, this conversation is worth your time.

Dr. Roger Reiswig, Industry Liaison at Johnson Controls, joins Drew for a conversation spanning nearly 40 years of fire alarm industry experience. Roger started as a Simplex technician in 1986 and now represents JCI across NFPA, UL, FM, and international organizations including the European Alarm Association (Uralarm). Topics include how countries outside the US often adopt NFPA codes faster than US states, the differences between European EN standards and NFPA/UL requirements, Europe's mandatory smoke detector replacement cycles, the new 40-foot ceiling allowance for smoke detectors in NFPA 72, remote and automated inspection technology and its UL listing challenges, how UL and NFPA standards push each other forward, the birth of NFPA 3 and NFPA 4 for integrated testing (now showing up in building codes), Canada's ULC certification model, and the history of carbon monoxide detection moving from NFPA 720 into NFPA 72.   Timestamps: 0:00 - Cold open 0:27 - Episode intro 1:36 - Drew and Roger connect 2:14 - Global adoption of NFPA codes 3:39 - How aggressively other countries adopt new editions 5:03 - Why US states are slow to adopt 7:51 - Roger's career: Simplex technician to JCI liaison 10:15 - European standards (EN) vs NFPA 11:39 - Europe's smoke detector replacement requirements 14:15 - Smoke detector placement at 40-foot ceilings 17:08 - Remote and automated inspection technology 20:34 - UL listing challenges for remote testing 23:45 - Mass notification: UL 864 to UL 2572 24:34 - The 2010 NFPA 72 scope change 26:00 - NFPA 3 and NFPA 4 for integrated testing 29:49 - Canada's ULC standards vs US 32:13 - Carbon monoxide detection in NFPA 72 36:52 - How CO detectors are tested 39:11 - Wrap-up   Learn more about Inspect Point: https://www.inspectpoint.com Request a demo: https://www.inspectpoint.com/get-a-demo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspect-point YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@inspectpoint

Maybe when you're in trouble, you have someone to call. A family member. A friend. Someone who knows the system, or knows someone who does. But a lot of people don't have that. They're navigating institutions — legal, civic, governmental — that weren't really built with them in mind. And when no one's paying attention, things get lost. They need an advocate. Someone to speak for them. Corrie Gallien grew up in Opelousas. She studied criminal justice at UL, then went to law school at LSU — not because she always dreamed of being a lawyer, but because she wanted to help people, and the law turned out to be the sharpest tool for that. She spent over thirteen years in the legal field. In 2024 she launched Gallien Law, a firm focused on personal injury and appellate work — including juvenile public defense and appeals for children in state care. Kids, in other words, who have no one else in their corner. Corrie is also deaf, and a survivor of domestic abuse. Those experiences don't sit in the background — they're the engine. In 2025 she founded the Corrie Gallien Collective, a platform for advocacy, public speaking, writing, and consulting. She's a published author, a Top Twenty Under Forty honoree, and a member of Leadership Lafayette. Advocacy can amplify voices or it can provide a voice to the voice-less. Like a building or neighborhood or sense of place. Lafayette has been building itself for decades — new subdivisions, new roads, new commercial strips. And in the rush to build new, it's easy to lose what was already there. Once a building is gone, the story it carried goes with it. Denise Lanclos has spent years making sure that doesn't happen without a fight. Denise is a Lafayette native who spent her career in banking and finance, eventually serving as Director of Finance at the Cathedral of St. John. She became president of the Preservation Alliance of Lafayette in 2021 — a volunteer-run nonprofit founded in 1990 to advocate for the history and culture of this city. The Alliance was born out of a fight. In 1986, residents organized to stop the demolition of the historic St. Mary's Orphanage. They won — and that victory led the city to adopt its first historic preservation ordinance. Today, Lafayette has 140 properties on the historic registry, and the Preservation Alliance is the organization making sure they're not quietly erased. Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Discover Lafayette, we welcome Dale Clark, Ursula Quoyeser, and Kelly Viator to talk about the upcoming fifth annual Fin Feather Fur Food Festival, known as F5, benefiting Team Gleason Foundation. The event will be held April 30, 2026, at Blackham Coliseum, and if you've ever attended, you already know it's one of those rare gatherings where incredible food, community spirit, and a powerful mission all come together. This conversation brings us to the heart of why F5 matters, and why this cause continues to resonate so deeply across Acadiana. Team Gleason is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by former New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason following his ALS diagnosis in 2011. Known for his iconic blocked punt in the Superdome that symbolized hope for a recovering New Orleans, Gleason has carried that same spirit into his life's work. His message, “No White Flags,” has become a rallying cry for those facing ALS. Today, Team Gleason is recognized as one of the largest nonprofit providers of equipment and technology to the ALS community. Their mission is focused on helping individuals not just survive, but truly live, through access to communication devices, mobility equipment, care services, and even “adventures” that allow families to create lasting memories together. In the past two years alone, requests for care services, equipment, technology, and experiences have increased by 70%, reflecting both the growing need and the trust families place in this organization. As Kelly Viator of the Team Gleason Founation explains, their work begins with listening: “visit persons in their homes, to understand the environment that they're living in and what technology would best suit them and at what time.” https://youtu.be/ID6gZ85BEeE?si=TuyJG7igU2CupkHp That level of care extends beyond equipment. It includes advocacy, helping families navigate systems that are often confusing and overwhelming, and creating connection through support networks. Kelly shared that their local virtual gatherings offer a space where “sometimes we cry, but mostly we laugh,” a reminder that even in the face of ALS, community remains essential. For Ursula Quoyeser, that community has made a profound difference. She describes how her symptoms began subtly during COVID, with what she thought was a minor issue. “I started getting dropfoot, and little things just kept happening.” After a long wait to see specialists and ultimately receiving her diagnosis, her mobility declined to the point where she now relies on a wheelchair and adaptive equipment. Through Team Gleason, Ursula continues to receive critical support, including a specially equipped van that came at exactly the right moment. “I was pulling into the driveway of the dealership to buy a van when I got the call.” That kind of intervention restores independence. As Ursula shares, “I can still go places and do things.” Ursula Quoyeser, known to many as Coach Q, attended Lafayette High and played volleyball and softball at USL, now known as UL of Lafayette. She was the first female athlete inducted into the UL Lafayette Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. Dale Clark's journey with ALS led him to channel that same spirit of resilience into action. Diagnosed in October 2020, Dale very quickly began asking what he could do to make a difference. Over breakfast with friends right after his diagnosis, the idea for F5 was born. “They said, what can we do for ALS? Then we saw an article by Team Gleason and I said, we need to talk to them.” From that moment, the Fin Feather Fur Food Festival took shape, rooted in Louisiana culture and driven by purpose. Teams compete by cooking fish, wild game, or fowl; “You either cook a fish, an animal or a feather. Or perhaps a dessert!” F5 is a cooking competition where teams compete for winner status in the Fin, Feather, and Fur or Dessert division. Awards will be presented to each team winning their respective category. Dale Clark, pictured far left, with his buddies from the Florence Club at the 1st annual F5 on April 28, 2022. What started as a grassroots effort has grown into a signature Acadiana event. F5 now draws roughly 1,500 attendees each year and has raised more than $750,000 over the past four years. This year's goal is clear: reach $1 million total raised in its five years of existence. It takes a village to make that happen. Dale is quick to credit the cook teams and volunteers who fuel the event's success: “I can't thank the cook teams enough because without the cook teams, we don't have an event.” And for those attending, the experience is unforgettable with unlimited food tastings, drinks, live energy, silent auctions, and a packed room filled with purpose. But what stays with you isn't just the food. Ursula says her favorite part is seeing all the people. “Friends and family show up in big groups.”And Dale shares what matters most to him: “Meeting all the people with ALS, and their spouse coming up and giving me a hug. I really appreciate that.” Those moments are what this event is really about. Because at the end of the day, Team Gleason's mission is simple but powerful: with the support of caring individuals, people living with ALS can experience greater independence, a higher quality of life, and the dignity they deserve. F5 is how Acadiana shows up to make that happen. General admission tickets may be purchased for only $45.00 and many sponsorship opportunities are available. Visit https://teamgleason.org/f5/ or Team Gleason's website: https://teamgleason.org/. You can also just purchase tickets on April 30 at the door. Once you understand what's behind this event, it becomes very clear. This is something you definitely want to be part of.

Petula Martyn, Mid-West Correspondent, speaks with a UL chemical engineering student, Conor Davidson, who is living in a converted van.

We're only a couple of days into the week, but we've already seen some large merger & acquisition deals that could shake up the consumer goods and the food distribution industry. If that weren't enough, the healthcare industry has its own deal announcements. Plus, mailbag questions Tyler Crowe, Matt Frankel, and Lou Whiteman discuss: - Sysco's $26 billion deal for Restaurant Depot - McCormick's $44 billion deal for Unilever's food division - The track record of major consumer brand mergers - Eli Lilly acquiring Centessa Pharmaceuticals - Listener question: Thoughts on Whirlpool? Companies discussed: SYY, MKC, UL, KHC, BUD, KMB, KDP, PFGC, USFD, LLY, CNTA, WHR Host: Tyler Crowe Guests: Matt Frankel, Lou Whiteman Engineer: Dan Boyd Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailWe replay a practical guide to firestop selection and explain why the right choice starts with the barrier, the penetration, and the tested UL system. We break down mechanical and non-mechanical firestop systems so you can seal penetrations correctly, support future cable adds, and avoid costly code violations. • four selection factors: assembly type, barrier construction, penetrants, sealing method to restore rating • mechanical firestop systems for vibration and shock tolerance • cable transit systems and how inserts compress around cables • fire-rated pathways for easy moves adds and changes • factory fabricated sleeves, bushings, mineral wool, and AHJ approval • non-mechanical options: putty, firestop caulk, cementitious materials, pillows, bricks, blankets • firestop properties: intumescent expansion, endothermic heat absorption, ablative char formation • why grout and plaster crack and fail as firestopping • membrane penetrations versus through penetrations with real examples • annular space limits and why too much or too little material fails • seven jobsite tips: follow UL drawings, never mix materials, label and document, watch curing hazards and fumes If you're watching this show on YouTube, would you mind hitting the subscribe button and the bell button to be notified when new content is being produced? If you're listening to us on one of the audio podcast platforms, would you mind leaving us a five-star rating? Would you mind clicking on that QR code right there? You can become a Patreon member, you can buy Let's Talk Hilling t-shirts and support this podcast Support the showKnowledge is power!  Make sure to stop by the webpage to buy me a cup of coffee or support the show at https://linktr.ee/letstalkcabling .  Also if you would like to be a guest on the show or have a topic for discussion send me an email at chuck@letstalkcabling.com Chuck Bowser RCDD TECH#CBRCDD #RCDD

The bank refused the loan — but 40 years of whole life insurance quietly said yes. In this episode, Mary Jo shares one of the most powerful real-life examples she's ever seen of what traditional whole life insurance can become over time — even when it's not structured for Infinite Banking. This client started buying whole life policies at age 20 and simply stayed consistent for over 40 years. No fancy strategy. No Infinite Banking design. Just patience, discipline, and a commitment to paying premiums no matter what. When the bank refused to help him rebuild after a major loss, his life insurance stepped in — providing liquidity, flexibility, and control the bank never could. What followed was a complete shift in leverage, power, and perspective. This episode breaks down: Why canceling whole life is often a massive mistake How base-only policies quietly build serious strength over decades What banks don't understand about policy loans And why this client didn't even realize he already owned a bank If you have whole life insurance — or have ever been told to cancel it — you need to hear this.

Chris will be having a meetup in London March 8th, 2026 click here for more info. He will also be at Embedded World the following week at various events. Dave is also headed to a meetup in Sydney that he has presented at in the past. The "lazy man move" for meetup organizers: scheduling events within walking distance of home to simplify travel logistics. Chris provides details on his latest high-density hardware project, a 22mm circular board packed with 0201 components, Bluetooth, and a suite of sensors, noting a move from BGA to QFN for better assembly reliability. There is significant skepticism regarding "solid-state transformers" and tech articles claiming they will replace the traditional power grid, with the hosts citing efficiency losses that become massive at megawatt scales. A fascinating look into global supply chains reveals how a single AI prompt can be traced back through layers of manufacturing to sugarcane fermentation and high-purity quartz mines in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The creeping normalization of biometric face scanning in public spaces, from water park lockers to international airport terminals. The marketing tactics behind Donut Lab's solid-state battery claims, explaining how "independent third-party testing" can be carefully hand-picked to avoid industry standards. They want us  to talk about it like this The nuances of UL certification explains how companies sometimes use specific lab reports to imply broader official endorsements that do not actually exist. Dave shares his experience watching the show Silicon Valley with his son and discusses the "hideous accuracy" of the Australian public service comedy Utopia. The pros and cons of modular hardware are debated, covering the Framework laptop's "Ship of Theseus" repairability model versus high-end gaming tablets like the Asus ROG Flow Z13. Dave's viral social media quest for the best Linux distribution leads to a consensus on Linux Mint as the top choice for beginners, fueling the ongoing joke about the "Year of the Linux Desktop". Recent industry news highlights the release candidate for KiCad 10 and the discovery of a three-cent Paduk microcontroller performing auxiliary functions inside Rode wireless microphones. Pimoroni did extreme an cooling project back in 2024 that successfully overclocked the RP2350 microcontroller to 800 MHz. We just found out about it from a post from Jeff Geerling.

In this episode, recorded live at AHR Expo 2026, Bryan sits down with Louise from UEi (United Electronics Inc.) for an in-depth conversation about one of the most underestimated dangers in the HVAC trade: carbon monoxide. Rather than treating CO as just another checkmark on a safety list, Bryan and Louise dive into the full history of the gas — all the way back to early publications from 1922 and 1923 that were already studying the effects of low-level CO exposure. One of the most fascinating takeaways from their discussion is just how long the industry has known about the dangers of carbon monoxide, yet how frequently it remains misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and overlooked on the job site. Louise breaks down the science behind CO poisoning in a way that is both accessible and eye-opening. Unlike high-level acute poisoning — where symptoms are immediately obvious — low-level, chronic carbon monoxide exposure is an entirely different beast. It can mimic the flu, chronic headaches, early-onset Alzheimer's, and even heart attack symptoms. Because CO is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, it is notoriously difficult to diagnose, and victims often have no idea what is causing their illness. Compounding the problem is the cumulative nature of CO toxicity: the gas builds up in the bloodstream over time and can linger in the body for days, months, or even years after exposure ends. Bryan draws an entertaining but sobering historical connection between the prevalence of carbon monoxide poisoning during the Victorian era — when gas lamps were common inside homes — and the widespread reports of ghost sightings, fugue states, fainting spells, and the spiritualist movement of the time. It was almost certainly CO poisoning, not the paranormal. The conversation then shifts to practical, on-the-job guidance for technicians and contractors. Bryan and Louise walk through the proper process for combustion analysis: starting your analyzer outside in fresh air, identifying test ports on furnaces, boilers, and water heaters, and understanding what readings at steady state actually mean. They emphasize that CO production is not limited to furnaces alone — ranges, ovens, dryers, fireplaces, water heaters, and even propane-powered forklifts are all legitimate sources. One of the most critical points they make is that carbon monoxide hazards are often intermittent and condition-dependent. A system can appear to be working perfectly during one visit and be producing dangerous levels the next time a door is closed or a vent is accidentally blocked. Visual inspection, awareness of combustion air sourcing, and thoughtful analysis are just as important as having the right instruments. On the product side, Louise introduces two exciting new offerings from UEI. The first is the UEI Clip, a compact personal CO detector that clips onto a bag, belt, or lanyard, activates automatically at 20 ppm, and is designed as a set-it-and-forget-it safety device with a two-year sealed battery lifespan. Priced under $100, it is an affordable way to outfit an entire team with a baseline layer of personal protection. The second highlight is the new High Accuracy Clamp Meter (HAC), a commemorative product celebrating the United States' 250th anniversary. This meter excels at wattage measurement — particularly with low-draw ECM blower motors where most meters fall short — and Bluetooth integration with MeasureQuick is on the horizon. Louise also walks through UEI's revamped combustion analyzer recertification program, UEI Service Plus, which offers same-day turnaround on standard recertifications at their Indianapolis facility, extended warranties with each annual service, and transparent, upfront pricing directly on their website. Topics Covered The history of carbon monoxide research dating back to publications from 1922 and 1923, and a 1923 patent for a hot water heater that sparked a friendly debate between Bryan and Louise about terminology. How low-level, chronic CO exposure is underdiagnosed and can mimic conditions like the flu, chronic headaches, early-onset Alzheimer's, and heart attack symptoms — and why CO builds up cumulatively in the bloodstream. The fascinating historical theory connecting widespread Victorian-era reports of ghosts, fugue states, and fainting spells to chronic carbon monoxide poisoning from indoor gas lamps. CO safety thresholds: residential standard (9 ppm), World Health Organization guideline (4 ppm), first responder evacuation threshold (35 ppm), and how UL-rated home alarms may not trigger until 70 ppm sustained for 1–4 hours. Sources of CO that technicians often overlook, including ovens, ranges, dryers, fireplaces, water heaters, propane forklifts, generators, and vehicles idling near garages. Proper combustion analysis procedure: starting the analyzer outside in ambient air, identifying or installing test ports, running tests at steady state, and interpreting O2, CO, and stack temperature readings. Industry CO standards for furnaces: official standard (400 ppm), HRI recommendation (200 ppm), industry best practice (100 ppm), and modern high-efficiency benchmarks (50 ppm or less). How combustion air sourcing — and changes to it (new roofs, blocked vents, swapped doors) — is one of the most commonly missed risk factors for CO production. Why even "heat pump markets" like Florida still need combustion analysis, since over 90% of homes have at least one fuel-fired appliance. Introduction of the UEi Clip personal CO detector: set-and-forget, activates at 20 ppm, sealed 2-year battery, priced under $100, and its unexpected popularity among refrigeration technicians. Introduction of the UEi High Accuracy Clamp Meter (HAC) commemorative edition: exceptional accuracy at low current draws (ideal for ECM blower motors), full accessory kit included, and upcoming measureQuick Bluetooth integration. UEi's Service+ combustion analyzer recertification program: same-day turnaround at their Indianapolis lab, extended warranty with each annual service, prepaid UPS shipping labels, and transparent pricing on their website. A brief spotlight on UEi as a family-owned business founded by Michael Kane's parents, with their own manufacturing operations in the UK and Korea.   Learn more about UEi's new and longstanding products, as well as the Service+ guarantee, at https://ueitest.com/.  Have a question that you want us to answer on the podcast? Submit your questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/hvacschool. Purchase your tickets or learn more about the 7th Annual HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium. Subscribe to our podcast on your iPhone or Android. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Check out our handy calculators here or on the HVAC School Mobile App for Apple and Android.

It's EV News Briefly for Thursday 26 February 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDaily EV LIST PRICES FALL AS GAS GUZZLER PRICES RISENew EV list prices (excluding Tesla) dropped 2.3%, or roughly $1,500, from an average of $63,327 in September 2025 to $61,860 in January 2026, while average new gas-powered vehicle prices rose 2.5% to $47,427 over the same period. The sharpest cuts came after the federal EV tax credit expired, with the Hyundai IONIQ 5 leading the slide at a 13.8% drop of over $7,000, followed by the Chevrolet Equinox EV at nearly $4,000 off — six models in total posted drops above 5%. FORD TEASES EUROPE CAR RETURN AFTER FIESTA, FOCUSFord CEO Jim Farley used the Q4 2025 earnings call to signal "exciting plans" for passenger cars in Europe, framing the comeback as a selective, profitable return to specific segments rather than a volume land grab. Two new EVs built on Renault's Ampere platform are expected in the subcompact segment from the Ford–Renault partnership, with new passenger cars set to start arriving in 2027 under a new dedicated Europe passenger-car leadership role. UBER EXPANDS EV RIDES ACROSS EIGHT UK CITIESUber has rolled out its EV ride option to eight more UK cities — Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Belfast and Merseyside — at standard UberX prices, after falling short of its pledge to run an all-electric London fleet by end-2025. Only 40% of London miles are now covered by EVs, with UK General Manager Andrew Brem citing charging access as "the biggest barrier," prompting Uber to announce driver support measures including discounted home and public charging in partnership with Pod Point. BMW TALKS PRICE FLOOR TO DODGE EU MINI DUTYBMW and the European Commission are in advanced talks to replace the EU's 20.7% countervailing duty on China-made Mini BEVs with a minimum import price agreement, according to Handelsblatt — covering the Mini Cooper Electric and Mini Aceman, both built at BMW's Zhangjiagang joint venture with Great Wall Motor. The approach would mirror the "price undertaking" the EU accepted from Volkswagen Anhui in early February, which freed the Cupra Tavascan from countervailing duties in exchange for a confidential price floor, volume cap and EU investment commitments. EU CITY BUS SALES HIT 60% ZERO-EMISSIONSix in ten new city buses registered across the EU in 2025 were zero-emission — 56% battery-electric and 4% fuel cell — a dramatic jump from just 12% when the Clean Vehicles Directive was adopted in 2019. Five member states hit 100% zero-emission city bus sales in 2025 (Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia), and Transport & Environment says a fully zero-emission EU city bus market is achievable as early as 2028.​MG2 SET FOR 2027 UK LAUNCH AT £20,000MG will enter the electric supermini segment in 2027 with the all-new MG2, targeting a starting price of around £20,000 (~$25,200), to take on rivals including the Renault 5, Citroën e-C3, Fiat Grande Panda and the incoming VW ID. Polo. The car will use the newer E3 architecture from the MG4 Urban, run front-wheel drive with a torsion-beam rear axle for cost efficiency, and feature a 12.8-inch touchscreen with physical climate controls — a reveal is expected in the second half of 2026. MG CONFIRMS MGS9 PHEV SEVEN-SEATER FOR UKMG will launch the MGS9 plug-in hybrid SUV in the UK later in 2026 as its new flagship, offering three full adult-sized rows and targeting rivals such as the Peugeot 5008, Kia Sorento and Skoda Kodiaq at a value-led price point. The model already holds a five-star Euro NCAP rating and could reach UK showrooms as early as summer 2026, extending MG's line-up to 11 models. AUSTRALIA NVES DATA SHOWS HYBRIDS DO THE HEAVY LIFTAustralia's National Vehicle Emissions Standard published its first half-year performance data (July–December 2025), showing EVs made up roughly 12% of new vehicles supplied, with about two-thirds of manufacturers — including BYD and Polestar — meeting their fleet-wide emissions targets. Petrol- and hybrid-focused brands such as Mazda and Hyundai fell short and face penalties if they don't improve, while the data reveals that near-term emissions gains are leaning more on efficient hybrids than on full EVs. LECTRON ADAPTERS WIN UL 2252 SAFETY CERTIFICATIONLectron has earned UL 2252 safety certification across its full range of EV charging adapters — covering J3400, CCS1 and J1772 in both AC and DC variants — with its two DC adapters handling up to 500 amps at 1,000 volts for peak power of 500 kW, and built-in thermal sensors that trigger derating if heat rises during fast charging. The certification comes as the North American charging landscape remains split between NACS and CCS1 on DC networks and J1772 on AC infrastructure, making a certified bridging adapter an increasingly essential tool for EV drivers navigating the transition.