The Insanely Great Podcast

Grill, Chill & Gemini

Insanely Great Podcast — Memorial Day Edition 🍔   Episode recorded: May 24, 2026 Show Notes Fire up the grill, crack open a cold one, and let Christopher and DJ keep you company while you flip burgers. This Memorial Day edition is a buffet of tech takes, hot rants, and pop culture detours — perfect for that backyard hang. On the menu this week: 🤖 Google I/O lays the smackdown. Gemini 3.5 Flash now allegedly outguns 3.1 Pro at half the power, Gemini Spark is the big consumer cloud play, and we got a sneak peek at what Siri could be if Apple ever caught up. Spoiler: Apple is paying billions for a whitelisted, watered-down Gemini and the guys aren't sure why. 👓 The smart glasses arms race. Meta's Ray-Bans, Oakleys, Apple's incoming pair, and now Google's at the party too. DJ returned his Oakleys (vertical video — really, Meta?) and Christopher's Ray-Bans live on the shelf 90% of the time. Four-hour battery life is, in technical terms, "abysmal." 🏗️ Android 17 "Cinnamon Bun" gets deeper Gemini integration. In other shocking news, water is wet. 🛠️ Google Antigravity and the slow death of the IDE — just tell the AI what to code and walk away. 🍌 Nano Banana 2 keeps being magical, and Christopher demands to know how these models change one thing without nuking the whole image. 🚀 SpaceX files for what could be the biggest IPO in history (ticker: SPCX). Also, hey, at least the toilet didn't explode this time. 💸 NVIDIA prints money ($91B quarter, $80B buyback) while we debate whether Anthropic could ever catch the shovel-seller. 🏢 Meta's layoffs hit 8,000 while employees literally train their AI replacements via keystroke surveillance. Salesforce pulled the same gaslight. Yikes. 🧠 The AGI debate gets philosophical. Are LLMs the steam engine of intelligence? Plus a fascinating tangent on world models, three-system AI learning, and why power-hungry "evolutionary" AI might actually get us there. 🎬 Mandalorian & Grogu is a two-and-a-half-hour nothing burger. Sigourney Weaver: why are you here? Where are Luke, Ahsoka, Han, and Leia? A huge missed opportunity gets thoroughly dragged. 🪄 Harry Potter marathon! DJ is initiating his 13-year-old into Hogwarts (he's never seen them!). Christopher swears by the Chris Columbus extended editions, dishes on the upcoming HBO Max reboot, and yes — they get into the Hagrid actor situation. 💍 Bonus rant: Peter Jackson recording 30-minute intros to already-four-hour extended LOTR movies. The nerds applauded. Of course they did. 🎮 Gaming corner: Diablo 4's Mephisto expansion, the new James Bond game (looks like 2005?), Hogwarts Legacy love, Crimson Desert gunning for Game of the Year, the underwhelming Switch 2 launch lineup, and rumors of a $1,500 Xbox PC-console hybrid. 📺 YouTube Premium price hike gets roasted. $26/month for a family plan? For… ad-free and downloads? Bundle it with YouTube TV or stop, Google. 📱 iPhone Ultra fold rant preview (saved for next episode): how do you call it "Ultra" when the camera lenses are worse than the Pro? 🚫 Apple Shortcuts as moral police. Try to get it to proofread anything with the word "ass" and watch it silently refuse to do its job. Cool, cool, cool. 🔥 DJ's pro tips: DeepSeek v4 Flash in Hermes agent has been ripping, and check out Ion Router — they're running the OSS 120B model at 5¢ in / 10¢ out by squeezing NVIDIA GH200s. Insanely cheap. Let us know if you try it. 🎓 And a sentimental dad moment — congrats to Christopher's daughter on graduating high school yesterday. Sniff. Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Hug your veterans, hug your data centers, and we'll see you next week. 📧 Got thoughts on Ion Router or anything else? Hit us up — we read everything.     Chapter Markers  * (00:00) - Welcome & Memorial Day Burger Talk * (00:39) - Google I/O: Smaller Agents Are the Future * (01:22) - Gemini 3.5 Flash Beats 3.1 Pro (Allegedly) * (02:37) - The Siri + Gemini WWDC Mystery * (04:31) - Why Apple Gets a Watered-Down Gemini * (06:18) - Smart Glasses Are Coming for All of Us * (07:06) - Christopher's Ray-Bans Live in a Drawer * (07:59) - DJ's Oakley Return Saga (Vertical Video?!) * (09:14) - The End of Traditional Search * (10:18) - Android 17 "Cinnamon Bun" — Surprise, More Gemini * (10:50) - Google Antigravity & Vibe-Coding IDEs * (12:09) - Nano Banana 2 Is Witchcraft * (13:02) - SpaceX Files for IPO (Ticker: SPCX) * (14:25) - NVIDIA Earnings Blowout & the China Chip Problem * (17:27) - Meta Layoffs: 8,000 Cut, Employees Training Their Replacements * (20:47) - Trump's AI Executive Order Delayed * (22:09) - The AGI Debate: Are LLMs the Steam Engine? * (23:25) - World Models & Three-System AI Learning * (25:22) - Mandalorian & Grogu Movie Review (Oof) * (29:37) - Harry Potter Marathon Time * (30:35) - The Case for the Chris Columbus Extended Editions * (32:48) - Peter Jackson's 30-Minute LOTR Intros (Bless Him) * (34:47) - Star Wars vs. Star Trek vs. Lord of the Rings Geek Cultures * (35:17) - The Janky-Looking James Bond Game * (35:45) - Diablo 4: Mephisto Expansion Impressions * (36:48) - Hogwarts Legacy Appreciation * (41:20) - Crimson Desert = Game of the Year Contender? * (41:41) - Switch 2 Underwhelms (and It's Not Even OLED?!) * (43:11) - PlayStation 6, Next Xbox & the $1,500 PC-Console * (45:20) - YouTube Premium Price Hike Rant * (48:15) - Helping a 70-Year-Old Cut Cable for Apple TV * (50:19) - iPhone Ultra "Fold" Preview Rant * (51:46) - Apple Shortcuts: The AI Moral Police * (52:51) - Should AI Be Allowed to Make App Store Apps? * (53:29) - DJ's Picks: DeepSeek v4 Flash & Ion Router * (54:15) - Wrap-Up + A Proud Dad Graduation Shoutout

An AI Apology and Apple Absurdities

In this episode of the Insanely Great Podcast, Christopher Weeks and DJ Moore tackle gym etiquette in the age of TikTok, the trillion-dollar race between Nvidia and Anthropic, the global RAM shortage that's about to mess up your next Mac order, and what Apple actually has to prove at WWDC after their $256M AI settlement. Along the way: iOS 26.5's new RCS encryption (and why you probably won't see it work), Chris Pirillo's vibe-coded Signal Flare project for getting your social accounts back, Meta secretly training AI on its own employees, a Nvidia robot running on under 4 billion parameters, and the time Chris's daughter caught him using AI to write her an apology. — CHAPTERS — * (00:00) - Welcome to the Insanely Great Podcast * (01:11) - Agent Orchestration & the PI Framework * (02:03) - Gym Pet Peeves: Phones at the Gym * (06:12) - Phone Addiction & Lost Conversation Skills * (12:01) - Cursing in the Marines & Trade Culture * (15:02) - The Trillion Dollar Race & RAM Shortage * (19:49) - WWDC Preview & Apple's Next CEO * (23:05) - Steve Jobs vs. Tim Cook Leadership * (26:25) - Butterfly Keyboards & Antennagate * (29:26) - iOS 26.5 RCS Encryption Between iPhone and Android * (35:37) - Chris Pirillo's Signal Flare & Vibe Coding * (39:48) - Early AI Memories & the AI Bubble * (40:32) - Anthropic + xAI's Colossus Deal * (42:30) - Lost Principles & Trump's China Trip * (46:14) - Anthropic Doubles Pro Plan Rate Limits * (49:31) - Chinese Espionage & Reverse Engineering * (52:22) - Back to WWDC: John Ternus & Apple Silicon * (55:03) - Apple's Intel Backup Foundry & TSMC Risk * (59:24) - Data Centers & Meta Training AI on Its Own Employees * (01:02:25) - Nvidia's 4B Parameter Robot & the Small Model Future * (01:05:38) - GPT-5.5 Pricing vs. Chinese Models * (01:07:57) - ChatGPT, Perplexity & Grok on CarPlay * (01:09:04) - People Who Can't Admit They're Wrong * (01:10:22) - The AI-Crafted Apology to My Daughter * (01:15:34) - Joanna Stern's "I Am Not a Robot" * (01:18:49) - Apple's $256M AI Settlement & Halted Research * (01:23:38) - DJ's Consulting Plug & Daughter's Graduation — LINKS & RESOURCES — - Chris Pirillo's vibe-coded app arcade: https://arcade.pirillo.com  - Signal Flare (get your locked social media accounts back): https://arcade.pirillo.com/signal-flare  - Joanna Stern's book "I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do Almost Everything" https://joannastern.com/ - Two Minute Papers on YouTube — recommended for AI/robotics research breakdowns  - Models mentioned: NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super, Qwen 3.5 (31B dense), GPT-5.5, Claude 4.6/4.7 — HIRE DJ — DJ Moore is available for consulting work — automation, infrastructure, security engineering, AI workflow development, and the intersection of security and AI. No corporate buzzwords, just practical technical leadership. Email DJ for consulting services: mailto:consulting@darrellmoore.me — HIRE DJ — DJ Moore is available for consulting work — automation, infrastructure, security engineering, AI workflow development, and the intersection of security and AI. No corporate buzzwords, just practical technical leadership. Email DJ for consulting services: consulting@darrellmoore.me —  Thanks for listening! See you next week.

Episode 7: California's Oil Cliff, the Pentagon vs. Anthropic, and the End of Junior Devs

Episode 7: Who Won in 2020? DJ and Christopher are back for May 5th, 2026 with a packed episode covering everything from California's oil crisis to the death of junior developer jobs. The show kicks off with California facing a serious gas price shock as the last shipment of Persian Gulf oil arrives in the state, with prices potentially climbing to $7-$8 a gallon. The guys debate why the Trump administration isn't tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, then take a deep dive into hybrid car ownership, solar panel economics, and home battery systems. Politics enters the chat with a discussion of California's governor race, where leading Republican candidate Steve Hilton was asked four separate times on MSNBC who won the 2020 election and refused to answer. Christopher shares his Bluesky takedown post and they reminisce about the Schwarzenegger years before tackling California's $40-50 billion bullet train to nowhere. On the AI front, the duo covers the wave of recent model drops including Kimi 2.6, DeepSeek V4 Pro, and the surprising news that Grok 4.20 has the lowest hallucination rate of any major model. They dig into Anthropic's controversial detection of the Hermes agent harness, discuss Mac Studio RAM shortages caused by the local AI boom, and debate whether iOS 27 will be Apple's "Snow Leopard" moment. Other highlights include the Elon Musk vs. OpenAI trial drama, the Department of Defense cutting Anthropic from its AI vendor list, AI data centers now drawing as much power as the entire country of Switzerland, junior developer employment dropping 20%, Bezos's long-running war on libraries, and how Nintendo refused to play ball with Amazon back in the day. The episode wraps with gaming talk on Crimson Desert's masterful Unreal Engine 5 optimization and the addictive joy of Vampire Survivors clones. Chapter Markers * (00:00) - Welcome to Episode 7 * (00:19) - California's Oil Crisis & $8 Gas Prices * (01:24) - Why Isn't Trump Tapping the Strategic Reserve? * (02:25) - Hybrid Cars: Hyundai, Honda & the Old Prius * (07:08) - Solar Panels, Energy Credits & Home Batteries * (08:46) - Clean Coal, Mass Transit & Anti-European Bias * (10:48) - Hybrid Capitalism: Medicare & Social Security * (11:42) - Trash Collection in Baton Rouge vs Everywhere Else * (13:50) - The California Governor's Race Heats Up * (15:53) - Steve Hilton Can't Say Who Won 2020 * (17:40) - California's Bullet Train to Nowhere * (20:06) - Bluesky, Threads & Roasting Steve Hilton * (21:40) - Remembering Governor Schwarzenegger * (22:19) - AI Model Drops: Kimi, DeepSeek & Hallucination Rates * (24:13) - The Spiraling Cost of AI Subscriptions * (26:10) - Anthropic's Hermes Agent File Detection Drama * (27:38) - Mac Studio & Mac Mini RAM Shortages * (29:58) - Will the Next iPhone Launch Face Shortages? * (30:55) - iPhone 16 Pro Max: Where Are the AI Features? * (32:08) - iOS 27 as Apple's "Snow Leopard" Moment * (34:03) - Joanna Stern Goes Independent & Apple Shortcuts * (36:14) - Smart Siri Hands Off to Gemini * (36:39) - Elon Musk vs. OpenAI Trial * (39:37) - DoD Cuts Anthropic from AI Vendor List * (40:53) - AI Data Centers Now Use Switzerland's Worth of Power * (43:11) - Junior Developers Down 20% Since 2024 * (44:12) - Marco Arment, AI Coding & the Death of SaaS * (45:05) - US Ranks 24th in AI Adoption * (46:32) - Trust Erosion & Why We Research Before We Speak * (47:29) - Bezos Wants to Kill Libraries * (48:18) - Nintendo vs. Amazon: An Old Feud * (50:09) - AI in Schools: Kids Are Way Ahead * (50:47) - Personal AI vs. Work AI Personalization * (52:23) - GPT-5.5 Pro vs. Anthropic's Mythos Model * (54:03) - Crimson Desert: How to Optimize Unreal Engine 5 * (55:53) - Vampire Survivors & Achilles Survivor * (56:46) - Wrap Up

The Future of AI: Smaller, Smarter, and More Efficient Models

Episode 6 | April 23, 2026 The future of AI: smaller, smarter, more efficient Chris and DJ are back — and this week things get a little spicy. We cover 8 billion AI parameters crammed into under 2 gigabytes, the real reason your next iPhone might be powered by Google, and a new Apple CEO who might just bring the hardware magic back. We also roast the MAGA phone (spoiler: it's made in China), argue about battery charging etiquette, and discuss why eating out in 2026 is now a full financial commitment. WHAT WE COVER THIS WEEK: → Hard drive shortage: 40TB+ drives are completely sold out. We dig into why. → Data center crisis: 40% of planned US facilities are stalled — power and hardware constraints are throttling AI growth. → Google + Apple: Gemini is officially powering the new Siri backend. WWDC is going to be interesting. → Bonsai's 1-bit and 1.5-bit AI models: full 8B-parameter intelligence packed into under 2GB. The future of on-device AI is here. → Apple names John Ternus as its next CEO — a hardware lifer takes the helm. Could this be a Steve Jobs-style renaissance? → Tim Cook's very diplomatic presidential goodbye, and Don Jr.'s Android phone made in China. → Meta announces 8,000 layoffs and a new AI model — sometimes those two things are connected. → Meta smart glasses: cool concept, baffling aspect ratio choices. → EU mandates user-replaceable phone batteries by 2028. Apple is not pleased. → The "Pieces" app vs. Windows Recall: local AI that actually respects your privacy. PLUS: A spirited debate on Xbox Game Pass vs. Nintendo Switch nostalgia gaming, why streaming TV desperately needs to bring back the 22-minute episode, and a cost-of-eating-out rant that will make you want to cook at home forever. New to the show? Subscribe so you never miss an episode — and if you enjoy it, leaving a review helps more people find us. * (00:00) - Intro * (00:33) - The week: NAS crashes & SSD price shock * (01:22) - Why are 40TB hard drives sold out? * (03:10) - 40% of US data centers facing delays * (03:53) - Solar power & China's lead over the US * (04:48) - Jensen Wang: Chinese AI matches the West * (06:36) - Google partners with Apple to power new Siri * (08:27) - Google AI Studio lets Gemma control your iPhone * (09:24) - New research: AI gets 100x more energy efficient * (10:30) - Bonsai's 1-bit models: 8B parameters in 2GB * (12:15) - Personalized AI that adapts to you * (13:20) - Hermes agent: the AI that dreams while you sleep * (14:39) - Best AI subscriptions worth paying for * (16:57) - OpenAI image gen & the censorship problem * (22:34) - Apple's new CEO: John Ternus takes the helm * (26:45) - Tim Cook, Trump & the presidential sendoff * (28:17) - The MAGA phone (made in China) * (29:15) - The iPhone we actually want * (30:00) - EU mandates user-replaceable batteries by 2028 * (32:09) - Battery charging etiquette debate * (33:01) - Oura ring & Apple sunglasses rumor * (34:22) - Meta smart glasses: the aspect ratio disaster * (37:57) - Meta's Muse model + 8,000 layoffs * (39:46) - Pieces app vs. Windows Recall * (41:01) - Worker privacy rights: US vs. EU * (43:16) - Game of the week: Achilles * (44:02) - Xbox Series X & Game Pass breakdown * (45:33) - Nintendo Switch 2: nostalgia mode * (47:32) - PS5 Pro prices & tariff pain * (48:48) - Streaming TV & the hour-long episode problem * (50:14) - Eating out in 2026: ouch * (51:36) - Wrap-up

How many California Democrats will Survive

Show Notes — "How Many California Democrats Will Survive?" This week Chris and DJ cover the full spectrum of American civilization — from Trump posting himself as Jesus to California Democrats somehow losing to themselves, to a man sobbing over tacos. Democracy is fine. Everything is fine. 🙏 TRUMP: THE SECOND COMING The President posted an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick. Alex Jones pushed back. Yes, that Alex Jones. When the gay-frog guy is your moral compass, you may have lost the plot. 🏛️ ERIC SWALWELL EXITS, STAGE LEFT California's Democratic frontrunner for governor resigned his seat and dropped out of the race after multiple assault allegations. Chris notes our current president has a similar rap sheet and somehow kept his job. Different rules, apparently. 🐘 CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS' IMPOSSIBLE DREAM Seven Democrats are splitting the governor's race vote into oblivion while two Republicans are each polling at 20%. Trump endorsed Steve Hilton to consolidate the GOP vote. Hilton got 43% at the state caucus — short of the 60% threshold. Nobody got endorsed. The California GOP left their own convention having accomplished nothing. 💻 APPLE NEWS: SOLD OUT EVERYTHING The MacBook Neo ($599–$699) is flying off shelves because people love cheap Apple hardware — except Apple didn't make enough chips. Meanwhile, Mac Studio high-RAM configs are completely gone, wiped out by hobbyists running local AI models. Ram shortage incoming, buckle up. 🤖 AI ROUND-UP Stanford says the US-China AI race is now neck and neck. Anthropic leads model rankings, but the next seven spots are all Chinese models. Chris uses Claude (who calls him "Captain My Captain"), ChatGPT (who calls him Elmo), and is still workshopping a Gemini nickname. DJ demos the Google AI Edge Gallery app — free on iOS, runs Gemma 4 locally, and can control your phone with a 250-parameter micro-model. 😭 MEN AND THEIR EMOTIONS Chris cries during the Battle of Yavin. DJ once sobbed in his kitchen thinking about tacos after forgetting his medication for a week. His wife has not let it go. We also get into AI companions, the death of dating risk, and why the comfort zone epidemic started long before ChatGPT. 🔫 JOHN WICK: CLOSING ARGUMENTS The guys wrap with a deep dive into the John Wick franchise. Highlights include a duel that ends like a Monty Python sketch and a very athletic woman who fights Keanu Reeves for reasons. --- Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes weekly. * (00:00) - Welcome Back & Week in Review * (00:28) - Trump Posts Himself as Jesus (Alex Jones Disapproves) * (03:29) - Eric Swalwell: Resignation Speedrun * (05:48) - The Epstein Files Were Redacted by Toddlers * (07:00) - California's Governor Race: 7 Dems vs. 2 Republicans * (09:23) - Trump Endorses Steve Hilton, Hilton Promptly Underperforms * (11:00) - The California GOP Endorses Nobody * (14:46) - Finding Balance: How to Not Get Played by the Media * (16:00) - "What's Up With That" Chrome Extension * (17:57) - Narcissism: It's Not Just for Swalwell Anymore * (20:38) - Apple MacBook Neo: Sold Out Because Nobody Planned for Success * (25:42) - Mac Studio RAM: Gone. All of It. Sorry. * (29:00) - RAM Companies Abandoned Consumers for Big Tech * (31:00) - iPhone RAM & the Apple Intelligence Features That Never Shipped * (33:08) - US vs. China in AI: Closer Than You Think * (34:46) - Captain My Captain, Elmo & the Gemini Nickname Problem * (37:41) - Google AI Edge Gallery: On-Device Gemma 4 * (39:47) - ChatGPT on CarPlay & AI Golf Tips * (41:08) - The "Her" Future: AI Companions Are Coming * (44:23) - Young Men, Dating Risk & the Comfort Zone Trap * (47:33) - Men Crying: Star Wars, Batman v Superman & Taco Tears * (51:12) - "I'm Watching Porn" — Chris's Answer to Stupid Questions * (54:00) - John Wick Deep Dive & Franchise Debate * (58:07) - Outro & Sign Off