• Read the Original Dune Trilogy Before You Judge It by the Movies

    Ben’s pushing back on Gene’s “I saw the movie, why read the books” stance: the original Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune — he draws the line there, since God Emperor of Dune is a later book neither of them has read — is a three-book arc he says “should be read by everyone.” Frank Herbert’s son Brian continued the series after his father’s death, but this recommendation is specifically the original trilogy. A boxed set of all three is sold as a single unit, making it an easy one-click pickup instead of hunting down three separate paperbacks.

    Frank Herbert’s Dune Saga 3-Book Boxed Set on Amazon.

    [Just Two Good Old Boys #183 2:01:41]

    Gene watches Dune

  • TMOG: Dave Plummer’s Cross-Platform Task Manager (and the $40 Pro Upgrade)

    The system-monitor app Darren built with AI turned out to closely mirror an existing commercial product: TMOG (Task Manager OG), built by Dave Plummer — the guy who wrote the original Windows Task Manager back in the 1990s and now runs the Dave’s Garage YouTube channel. TMOG runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with free real-time CPU/power/network/disk dashboards and retro color themes. The Pro upgrade ($39.95, one-time, not the “hundred bucks” guessed on air) adds a Flight Recorder that lets you scrub back through a slowdown after it happens, plus CPU benchmarking. Ben’s planning to pay for it himself.

    Direct download: tmog.org.

    [Just Two Good Old Boys #182 25:59]

    TMOG

  • MiniMax-M2: The Local AI Model to Run If You’ve Got 32GB

    Gene’s running MiniMax (MiniMax-M2, the open-weight model from Chinese AI lab MiniMax) as his local LLM, and says it’s the fastest option out there if your machine has 32GB of memory to work with — “that is the model that everybody points you at” at that size, per Gene. Other models may offer advantages at larger memory sizes, but MiniMax-M2 is specifically tuned for the 32GB sweet spot, whether you’re running it on a Mac Studio or a PC with an older Nvidia card. It’s free to download and run locally via tools like LM Studio or Ollama.

    Model download: MiniMax-M2 on Hugging Face.

    [Just Two Good Old Boys #182 32:51]

    MiniMax M2

  • The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville Lives Up to the Hype

    Ben’s planning a work trip to Nashville, and more than one person has steered him toward the Bluebird Cafe — turns out that’s well-earned advice. Opened in 1982 in a strip mall outside downtown, it’s a “listening room” where talking during a show isn’t allowed, built around songwriters performing in the round. Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift both partly landed their record deals through Bluebird sets, and Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Dierks Bentley all got their start passing its audition nights. Reservations are required for most shows — Monday’s open mic is the one first-come, first-served exception.

    Venue/reservations: bluebirdcafe.com.

    [Just Two Good Old Boys #182 1:30:50]

    Bluebird Cafe

  • The Full Moon Inn’s 1776 Bar in Luckenbach, Texas, Is Worth the Drive

    Fresh off this past Saturday’s producer meetup at the Full Moon Inn’s 1776 Bar in Luckenbach, Texas, Adam gave it a full endorsement: a 60-plus-person turnout, a cigar-smoking section, and “good people” running the place, including staffer Jenny by name — who even baked “No Agenda” right into a loaf of sourdough bread. The Full Moon Inn is a working bed-and-breakfast in the Texas Hill Country, a mile up the road from the famously tiny town of Luckenbach. Planning a Hill Country weekend, wedding, or meetup? It’s a real, bookable venue, not a pop-up.

    Bar/venue: fullmooninn.com.

    [No Agenda 1913 11:46]

    1776 Bar

  • Arby’s “Meat Muck” Rumor Is Back — Here’s What’s Actually Verified

    A viral TikTok clip restarted the old claim that Arby’s roast beef is really a “paste” or “meat muck,” not real meat — and the show dug through conflicting accounts from current and former employees on air. Here’s the actual record: Snopes investigated this exact “liquid meat” rumor back in 2005 and rated it false. Arby’s roast beef is beef plus a self-basting solution, delivered to stores in sealed bags with a gelatinous broth, slow-roasted for three to four hours, then sliced — which is exactly the paste-like, pre-cooked look the viral clips show. Old rumor, new TikTok coat of paint.

    Sources: Snopes: Is Arby’s Roast Beef “Liquid Meat”? and the recent viral-clip writeup.

    [No Agenda 1913 1:53:26]

    Arby's parody.
    Arby’s Parody

  • Read the Original Dune Trilogy Before You Judge It by the Movies

    Read the Original Dune Trilogy Before You Judge It by the Movies

    Ben’s pushing back on Gene’s “I saw the movie, why read the books” stance: the original Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune — he draws the line there, since God Emperor of Dune is a later book neither of them has read — is a three-book arc he says “should be read by everyone.”…

  • TMOG: Dave Plummer’s Cross-Platform Task Manager (and the $40 Pro Upgrade)

    TMOG: Dave Plummer’s Cross-Platform Task Manager (and the $40 Pro Upgrade)

    The system-monitor app Darren built with AI turned out to closely mirror an existing commercial product: TMOG (Task Manager OG), built by Dave Plummer — the guy who wrote the original Windows Task Manager back in the 1990s and now runs the Dave’s Garage YouTube channel. TMOG runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with free…

  • MiniMax-M2: The Local AI Model to Run If You’ve Got 32GB

    MiniMax-M2: The Local AI Model to Run If You’ve Got 32GB

    Gene’s running MiniMax (MiniMax-M2, the open-weight model from Chinese AI lab MiniMax) as his local LLM, and says it’s the fastest option out there if your machine has 32GB of memory to work with — “that is the model that everybody points you at” at that size, per Gene. Other models may offer advantages at…

  • Read the Original Dune Trilogy Before You Judge It by the Movies

    Read the Original Dune Trilogy Before You Judge It by the Movies

    Ben’s pushing back on Gene’s “I saw the movie, why read the books” stance: the original Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune — he draws the line there, since God Emperor of Dune is a later book neither of them has read — is a three-book arc he says “should be read by everyone.”…

  • TMOG: Dave Plummer’s Cross-Platform Task Manager (and the $40 Pro Upgrade)

    TMOG: Dave Plummer’s Cross-Platform Task Manager (and the $40 Pro Upgrade)

    The system-monitor app Darren built with AI turned out to closely mirror an existing commercial product: TMOG (Task Manager OG), built by Dave Plummer — the guy who wrote the original Windows Task Manager back in the 1990s and now runs the Dave’s Garage YouTube channel. TMOG runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with free…

  • MiniMax-M2: The Local AI Model to Run If You’ve Got 32GB

    MiniMax-M2: The Local AI Model to Run If You’ve Got 32GB

    Gene’s running MiniMax (MiniMax-M2, the open-weight model from Chinese AI lab MiniMax) as his local LLM, and says it’s the fastest option out there if your machine has 32GB of memory to work with — “that is the model that everybody points you at” at that size, per Gene. Other models may offer advantages at…

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