The Diary of a CEO with Steve Bartlett

The Diary of a CEO with Steve Bartlett was number 12 when I listened to it. It is ranked number 15 now. The title of the episode I listened to is, "The Diary of a CEO with Steve Bartlett: CIA Whistleblower: They Can See All of Your Messages! I Was Under Surveilance in Pakistan! Interview with John Kiriakou." In this episode the host Steve Bartlett interviewed former CIA agent John Kiriakou. I thought it was an interesting inverview with Kiriakou talking about a lot of things including his personal career, intelligence agencies more generally, and some current events. He had been convicted previously for revealing some classified information regarding the waterboarding program. Kiriakou says he would do it again because we should not be doing torture. He did not mention in this podcast how he also was convicted for revealing agents names. Kiriakou seems likeable but I do have some issues. Mainly, he says he would go to prison to expose torture again but I believe his attempt to get a pardon from Trump makes him not speak the truth now. He sounded exactly like Tucker Carlson concerning Venezuela. He says whether you think it should happen or not, it's happened and there is no reason to talk about it because it's already happened. Like Carlson, Kiriakou has all sorts of criticisms for things that have already happened, but when it involves Trump there is no point to talk about it. According to this Wikipedia article Kiriakou paid $50,000 to a former Trump campaign advisor for a pardon but it wasn't enough. Later, he was told by Rudy Giuliani that a pardon would be $2 million. He wants a pardon to get his $700,000 pension back so that level of money wasn't worth it to him. I give this podcast 4/5. Bartlett asked questions to get Kiriakou to talk but I am taking one off due to it being unchallenged. Interviewing people without challenging them can be damaging if the guest lies. I do think Kiriakou speaks truth sometimes but is also a shady character who is currently seeking to bribe the president for a pardon. When interviewing such a figure there is value in challenging them but I think Kiriakou could say anything.

February Cabin Trip

We typically go to the cabin four times a year. We have our Christmas trip, our February trip, our summer trip, and our fall trip. Our February trip takes place usually during parent teacher conference weekend because the kids get Friday off of school. This year parent teacher conference was earlier than normal so our February trip was moved to the last weekend of January and yet I still call it the February trip for the sake of consistency. The photographic and video evidence of the fun we had is on Instagram. I decided I shouldn't post pictures and videos here when other people's kids are in it, but with Instagram I can limit who sees it. Kids had a lot of fun sledding. The saddest part was when Kaylee crashed into the wire fence. She was attempting to go under it. Her face took a beating. But today, when I asked who had the most fun at the cabin all of the kids, including Kaylee's, hands shot up. Here is Kaylee's injury:

Candace Review

My eleventh podcast listening to is called Candace. Candace was ranked eleventh when I listened to it, it is sixteenth as I write this. The episode I listened to is titled, "A Legal TurningPoint. It is Episode 292. Candace Owens is the host and she had no guest this episode. She talked a lot about Charlie Kirk's murder and her conspiracy theories surrounding it. She has a lot of criticism toward Turning Point USA. She talked a lot about drones that took pictures of the crowd that day and some inconsistency in security statements about whether they were allowed to have drones or not. Owens criticized Charlie Kirk's widow Erika Kirk accusing her of lying about how long she lived in China. She says Kirk says she lived in China for two weeks and then showed a clip of Charlie Kirk in an argument saying that his wife lived in China for six months. Owens treated Charlie Kirk's statement as if it is evidence that Erika Kirk was lying but I was not convinced as either one of them could be lying. Charlie Kirk could have been lying because it would strengthen the point he was making in his argument. Owens treats catching people in lies whose business model includes lying as if it is part of a bigger plot and evidence of some sort of conspiracy. Owens talked a lot about a man named Dan Flood. She has a pattern in her conspiracy theories in that they aren't really theories. She has a lot of dots but doesn't really connect them. Probably wants the listeners to connect the dots according to their imaginations. She talked about the feds being a part of a conspiracy to kill Charlie Kirk along with the Israelis. She mentioned that the government declared Charlie Kirk Day which shows that the feds killed him because if the feds give you a day that means the deep state killed you. The alternate theory that Charlie Kirk Day was given to pander to Trump's base receives no mention. She said if people freak out about what she says and call her crazy that means it is a fact. This, of course, is not true. Sometimes what a person says is just crazy. If a person says crazy things, and then is called crazy, that is not evidence of truth. Candace Owens says the Israelis killed Charlie Kirk. She says Epstein is a spy for the Israelis. She criticized people for calling her antisemetic. I think many people can criticize the Israeli government legitimately and not being antisemetic but to make up conspiracies with no evidence makes me think someone is more likely to be motivated by antisemetism. There is no way to know for sure, but Owens is probably more motivated by profit than hatred. She has a huge audience. Her tone throughout the show would make some people think they are getting some sort of inside information that she found by digging where others are too scared to go. She puts many dots out there and some people don't need the dots to be connected to believe in the conspiracy. I give the Candace podcast 0/5 for critical thinking failure and logic failure. The complete disregard for whether something is true before saying it is dishonest.

Mini golf at Fat Cats in Rexburg

We did mini golf at Fat Cats in Rexburg with our GetOut Pass today. Fat Cats doesn't have the best mini golf course. I am definitely not a fan of the glow golf style. The cool thing about this place though is that it is never crowded. This helps us take our time. The kids practice by playing different holes while we are going. Usually they are doing the hole ahead of us once they go. Kaylee and Amy both think they can just keep hitting the ball while it is moving hockey style which makes it kind of hard to keep score but I do my best. Here is a video of Kaylee's approach:

I was victorious with a score of -5. Jeff was excited when I told him he won out of the kids with a score of 2.

1977 Incredible Hulk Season 1 Locations

In the 1977 Incredible Hulk, David Banner has been travelling all over trying to find a cure for himself. When he turns into the Hulk it attracts a journalist who is trying to find out about the Hulk so he moves to another place. Here is the intro:

I thought it would be fun to map out where the Hulk has travelled. I made a map of his locations below. You can click on the map to zoom in. He is mostly in California. This map is just what is shown in the episodes. It is clear from the show that he has travelled to other places not shown in the episodes. In episode 7 journalist Jack McGee mentions that he has tracked him to Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland though this is not shown in any episode and I did not put it on the map.

Here is a summary of the season and his travels. Each of the episodes the reason he leaves is because the journalist shows up:

Episode 1. The Incredible Hulk. This was basically a TV movie. It tells of his origin. He keeps having flashbacks of a car accident he got in with his wife. He flung out of the car, his wife was trapped inside. Her door was toward the ground while the car was on fire. He attempted to lift it but it was too heavy. His wife died in the fire. Afterward, he studied people who had extraordinary strength in times of crisis. He found that the people who were able to be very strong in times of crisis all had the same gene mutation and the event occurred at a time when there was higher than normal gamma radiation from the sun. The car accident with his wife took place when there was low gamma radiation which is why his gene mutation did not help him have extraordinary strength. Naturally, he went and strapped himself in and exposed himself to a ton of gamma radiation. The intro says his exposure to gamma radiation was accidental, that is because he meant to expose himself to a lower level than he did. He found that he would turn into the Hulk when angry. A journalist from a tabloid newspaper called the National Register named Jack McGee is trying to find out about the Hulk. He breaks into the lab and accidentally starts a fire when he is caught. Banner's lab partner is killed and it is believed that Banner is killed as well. The Hulk is wanted for murder. Banner pretends to be dead so people won't find out he is the Hulk. This first episode took place near Sacramento, California.

Episode 2. Death in the Family. Banner travels to the fictional town of Everett, California. I put the location where Piru, California is because that is where it was filmed. Here he stumbles on a plot where he stumbles on a plot to kill a woman for her inheretance. He hulks out and saves the day.

Episode 3. Final Round. This takes place in Wilminton, Delaware. Here he becomes friends with a boxer who gets him a job. The boxer has been delivering packages in exchange for free gym access. He finds out that it is drugs and is considering reporting to the police. The villains of the story plan to drug the boxer. Banner finds out and hulks out and saves the day. He can't just become the hulk at will but he becomes the hulk after being angered by the villains attacking him.

Episode 4. The Beast Within. This takes place at the San Diego Zoo. Banner got a job there because he was interested in one of the experiments a scientist was doing there that he thought might be applicable to curing himself. She was very interested in his research and kept showing it to him not knowing that he was Banner. Unbeknownst to her, there is a drug smuggling ring where people were smuggling drugs inside of animals and then they would kill the animals. Banner found out and the villains attempted to kill him and the scientist. He becomes hulk and saves the day. I strongly disagree with Banner's decision to leave the zoo here. It makes no sense. It was the perfect place for him to conduct his research and the other scientist wanted him to stay. He would have had access to the best lab possible to try to cure himself. But he flees because Jack McGee came around. He should have just left for about a month until McGee moved on and then returned. With the villains arrested, he would likely be able to research in peace without turning into the hulk. Then the rest of the hulk series would just be Banner never turning into the hulk and successfully finding a cure for himself. For the rest of the season after every episode I think how he should have stayed at the zoo.

Episode 5. Of Guilt, Murder, and Models. This episode didn't give an exact location so I had to do some guessing. One of the characters mentioned Portland being north. The Hollywood like atmosphere makes me think it is near Los Angeles. In this episode, he starts out as the Hulk. He can never remember what he does while he is the Hulk and it looks like he killed a woman. He gets a job as a valet to have access to the crime scene to investigate. He find out that the Hulk was framed for murder. He solves the case and the villains try to kill him in a car crusher machine at the dump. He hulks out and escapes.

Episode 6. Terror in Times Square. He gets a job in New York City at an arcade. The villain makes his boss pay protection money. When his boss shorts him, the villain tries to force Banner's boss to kill another guy to set an example. His boss plans to kill the villain but is not likely to succeed as the villain is an experienced mobster type. Banner finds all this out and hulks out and saves the day.

Episode 7. 747. This episode starts in San Francisco. Banner boards a plane to Chicago but it ends up going to Denver instead. Banner plans to go to Chicago to meet a doctor who he believes can help him with his research for a cure. One of the pilots and a flight attendant poison the other pilot and plan to parachute out with some valuable Egyptian artifacts that are secretly being transported on the plane. Banner finds out their plan, he hulks out and knocks the other pilot out. The pilot attempted to shoot the Hulk and shot the hydraulic line which causes problems later on. When Banner comes to, he is directed from the ground on how to land the plane. He is about to crash because the hydraulic line is damaged. He hulks out which gives him the strength to pull the steering wheel up and land the plane. I thought this was one of the funnier uses of turning into the hulk. This is the first episode where Jack McGee does not appear at the end.

Episode 8. The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas. This episode takes place in Las Vegas. Banner is working in a casino. He stumbles on to a plot to kill a reporter who has a story exposing some mob activity in Vegas. The reporter convinces Banner to deliver a package to Jack McGee. Banner does so in a way that McGee never sees him. When the hulk turns into the hulk they show his shirt ripping. I believe this is the episode where his shirt rips after it has already ripped. In this episode, hulk saves Jack McGee. McGee seemed afraid of him at first but then he started to attempt to interview him. Hulk was starting to calm down. It looked like he was going to transform back into Banner right in front of McGee but then a villain shoots Hulk, angering him. Hulk runs off into the desert.

Episode 9. Never Give a Trucker an Even Break. This episode takes place on the road somewhere between Las Vegas and Carson City, Nevada. Banner is hitchhiking which he often does to travel. He gets picked up by a woman who gets him involved in this plan of hers to get a semi truck back from a bunch of villains who stole it from her. There was a lot of car chasing on here. Hulk saves the woman.

Episode 10. Life and Death. This episode takes place in the fictional city of Marysville, Oregon. I am judging this to be in the location of the real city of Corvallis, Oregon. This city used to be called Marysville and has similar characteristics as Marysville in the show. Banner is going here to be a part of dangerous and experimental research that he believes might cure him. He finds out the doctor doing the research is also part of an illegal adoption scheme where they give women money in exchange for their babies. He does this to fund his research. He believes that Banner and another woman are undercover agents. The doctor attempts to kill Banner and the woman. Banner hulks out and saves the day.

Episode 11. Earthquakes Happen. This episode takes place in the fictional city of San Tomas, California. I put the mark on the map at Barstow, California. I did this because it needs to be near an earthquake faultline, in the desert, and footage of an earthquake in Los Angeles is used in this episode so Los Angeles is nearby. This is the first episode since episode 1 where Banner didn't stumble upon a crime. This time it is him who is committing the crime. This is also the rare episode where McGee shows up before he turns into the Hulk. Similar thing happened in episode 9 but usually he shows up because he is chasing the hulk. He impersonates a nuclear safety inspector to get access to the plant. He wants to expose himself to high levels of radiation, thinking this might cure him. Right as he is about to give himself the radiation, one of the scientists stops him and then there is an earthquake. A bunch of people get trapped. Hulk saves them and stops the nuclear meltdown and flees.

Episode 12. The Waterfront Story. This episode takes place at Galveston, Texas. Banner is working as a bartender. He discovers who murdered his boss's ex-husband. The villains attempt to kill the woman. He hulks out and saves her. She wants him to stay, but he flees due to his search for his cure and because McGee is there again.

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd Review

My tenth podcast is Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd. It was tenth when I listened to it, it is the eleventh right now. The show was hosted by Dax Shepherd and Monica Padham. They interviewed country music singer Christ Stapleton. Dax and Monica said one of the goals they had with this podcast is that they don't want to be a part of the division. Chris Stapleton gave some background information on his life. He said he doesn't like deadlines and that there is no such thing as a country music emergency. They asked him what he listened to and he said he doesn't listen to anything because he likes the silence. Ideas for his music come during silence. I see the value in silence though I also see the benefit of what I do. Currently, I am learning through listening to different podcasts. I am trying to add some silent contemplation through my meditation goal. I have found it easier to meditate in the morning than at night my first night meditating. My meditation goal involves listening through prayer. I believe giving some time to silence will help me to hear what God wants to tell me. Dax told a story about people trying to provoke him in the streets. They were taking his picture and attempting to provoke him by yelling at him about if he was still trying to freeze his eleven year old daughter's eggs. He said this was completely made up and they were just trying to get a reaction out of him. He says he views this kind of harassment as a sign that he has been successful so he should not be angry with it. I give this podcast a 3/5. It got 3 points for being interesting some of the time. One point off for some cursing and one point off for times that I was not interested.

Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast Review

Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast is my ninth podcast. It is still ranked number nine on Spotify's podcast list. It is quite the switch to go from the Huberman Lab to this. The hosts are "comedians" Matt McCusker, Shane Gillis, Steve Gerben, and Billy. This podcast reminded me of This Past Weekend with Theo Von in that both podcasts were unfunny comedians trying to get laughs with shock value. I listened to a talk from Spencer W. Kimball today that reminded me of this podcast. In the October 1974 Friday morning session he said, "Profanity is the effort of a feeble brain to express itself forcibly." I would say the same goes for comedy and would alter the quote to say, "Profanity is the effort of an unfunny comedian to get a laugh." Jerry Seinfeld said "Most of the time, when you hear the dirty words sprinkled in, it’s someone who’s lost and scared and uses swearing to save their tail." I can't find the quote but I have a memory of Seinfeld saying that a comedian cursing is cheating, it is like a baseball player corking his bat. Aside from the bad comedy, another thing I thought was annoying in the podcast is when they got political and said that the tariffs must have worked because if they didn't people would be talking about it but it is never brought up. This comment is dumb because he assumes that because he hasn't heard something means nobody is talking about it. If he would go to google.com he would be able to get out of his bubble and see the negative effects of tariffs. I worry that ignorant listeners of this podcast who get limited news are influenced by small comments like this. I give this podcast 0/5 for unfunny comedy and uninformed political commentary.