All right, welcome back to Luke at the Roost. I'm Luke. I'm your host for this call-in radio show. If you'd like to call in, our number is 208-439-58-3. That's 208-439 Luke. If you're not near a phone and you'd like to participate in the show, you can send us an email. Our address is submissions at Lukeat the roost.com. It is Friday, February 27th, and we're here to help out some callers with their
life issues because that's what we do here at Luke at the Roost. We help with life. So first up on the phones, we've got Murray. Murray, welcome to the show. What's going on in your life today? Luke, hey man, thanks for taking my call. So I'm sitting here in my work van outside of Circle K, trying to figure out how to fire my best friend of 30 years. And I got no idea how to do it without destroying everything. Danny and I started in this business together when we were kids, right? And now I'm the boss because I bought the company from the old man who retired and Danny's been showing up late
talking trash about me to the crew. And today, he just bailed on a job site without telling anybody, and it cost us the whole contract. My wife, Linda, is telling me I got to let him go. But this is the guy who is my best man. We watch football every Sunday. And I keep thinking, there's got to be some way to fix this that doesn't blow up our whole friendship. But I am running out of ideas here. Yeah, that's a tough one. I mean, working with friends is hard. What is he talking shit about you? Like, what's he saying behind your back?
So the younger guys on the crew told me he's been saying stuff like, I don't know what I'm doing, that I only got the business because I kissed up to the old owner, that I'm in over my head. Which honestly, Luke, some of that might be true. You know, I am learning as I go here. But the thing that really got me was he told one of the apprentices that I changed when I got the promotion, that I'm not the same guy anymore. And that one stump, because we have been through everything together. We worked side by side for decades. We learned the trade together.
he is acting like I am some different person just because I am the one signing the paychecks. But here is the thing. I have not changed. The situation changed. Okay. I mean, well, obviously, it's your business and you can't let somebody take down your business or so discontent in your ranks. That's just bad leadership. So if you need to fire the guy, you need to fire the guy. And hopefully your friendship can can last. But I mean,
friendship, I would guess. And are you really sure you haven't changed? Because a lot of people do when they get a little taste of power. Okay, hold on. That is not fair. I did not want power. I wanted to keep doing good work and keep the crew together. The old owner asked me to buy him out because he trusted me. And I said yes, because I thought I could take care of everybody, including Danny. And yeah, maybe I have had to make some calls Danny does not like. Maybe I have had to tell him to tighten up his timelines or redo work that was not up to standard. But that is not a
a power trip. That is me trying to keep us all employed. But you are right about one thing. I cannot let him tank the business. And that is what is killing me here. Because this callback we lost today, that was a big commercial client, and Danny left at two in the afternoon without finishing the rough in work. Did not tell anyone. Just took off. Have you talked to him about any of this behavior before, or is this the first time you're bringing it up with him? No, I have talked to him. That is the thing.
with him over the past couple months. The first time he showed up late, I pulled him aside real casual, just said, hey man, the crew needs you here on time, and Edd it off, said I was being uptight. Then, when it kept happening, I sat him down more serious, told him, this is affecting everybody, and he got defensive, said I was micromanaging him like he is some rookie, when he has been doing this longer than half the guys on the crew. And then two weeks ago, I had to write him up officially, because that is what you are supposed to do,
Right? Document everything. And he looked at me like I betrayed him. He said, so that is how it is now. We are doing paperwork. And I did not know what to say to that because, yeah, that is how it is now. I have a business to run. Yeah, man, that sucks. And there's no good way to take care of it. But it sounds like you made every attempt possible to get him into line and, you know, be his friend. And if he doesn't want to work for you, he doesn't want to work for you. So it's time to let him go.
You are right. You are completely right. And Linda said the exact same thing before I left the house tonight. She said, Murray, you have done everything you can. You have given him every chance. It is time. But here is what I keep getting stuck on. What if I am the problem? What if he is right that I changed and I just cannot see it? Because when we were just two guys on the crew together, we would joke around, we would take our time on jobs, we would leave early on Fridays if things were slow. And now I am on him about every little thing.
maybe that is what a boss has to do, but maybe I am being too hard on him because I am scared of failing at this. My dad ran a body shop for 40 years and he always told me I did not have what it takes to run my own operation. And now here I am trying to prove him wrong. And what if I am losing my best friend in the process just because I am trying to prove something to a dead man? Well, that could be the case. You did get butt hurt when I even suggested that you might
Things have changed. You have changed and your priorities have changed. So it could be that your friend misses his buddy and you've turned into a suit. That's very possible, but you still have to take care of your business. Okay. Yeah, I did get defensive there. You are right about that. And hearing you say it like that, turned into a suit, man that hits. Because that is exactly what Danny said last week. He called me a suit. And I am sitting here in Carhart pants with drywall dust all over me. Because I was
on the job side all day. But maybe he is not wrong about the other part. Like this morning, one of the younger guys, Jesse, he made a joke about something and I did not laugh. I just told him to get back to work. And Old Murray would have laughed. Old Murray would have joined in. All right then. Maybe it sounds like you got to bring some of Old Murray back because being a suit doesn't have anything to do with what you're wearing. It's a state of mind. And it sounds like you're in a suit state of mind, either to prove something to your dead father or to yourself or to
to your crew, but it sounds like it's not helping. And if your buddy Danny here is acting up against you, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the crew does the same because nobody wants to work for a suit. Oh man, you might be on to something here because just yesterday, I caught myself about to tell the guys they could not play music on the job site anymore because I thought it looked unprofessional. And then I stopped myself because we have always played music. That is what we do. And I have been so worried about losing clients and making payroll.
and doing everything by the book that I forgot we used to actually have fun doing this work. But here's the thing, Luke. How do I walk that back now? How do I go back to being the guy they want to work with when I have already written Danny up, when I have already been on everybody about timesheets and protocols and all this other stuff? Because I still have to run a business. I still have bills to pay. I cannot just let everything slide and hope it works out. You tell them what's up. You explain to him your situation and your thought process and that you do
protocols like timesheets and make sure that everybody's making money for the company and not blowing this off because you're on the hook for it. So you go to them with the truth and say, look, I want us still have fun. I want us all to enjoy working together. I want us to get the job done well. And we need to make sure that we fill out these checks and balances for accounting purposes and just general business protocol. And I think if you are honest with
people and not a hard ass and not cracking the whip, but explain to them why you're implementing these things so that they can understand it. They'll be much more receptive to that and want to help you out because they want to be part of your success. But when your success to them becomes just your success, nobody's interested in that. You know what? That makes a ton of sense. And I have not done that at all. I have just been implementing stuff and expecting everybody.
to fall in line because that is what the business books say to do. But I never sat down with the crew and said, here is why we are doing this. Here is what happens if we do not, like the timesheets, I just started requiring them one day and everybody grumbled about it. But I never explained that we need accurate hours for the commercial bids or we are going to keep losing money on jobs. Yeah, that's what you have to do. You're a crew. You have to make your crew part of the business. And they have to understand the why behind things. Otherwise, they're going to rebel against
because it just feels like busy work to please the suit. So don't be the suit. Be part of the crew and integrate them. And if still after you've done that, they don't want to fall in line, then you have to make hard decisions. But it's your company. So I mean, if you wrote somebody up, that doesn't really mean anything if you don't want it to. So walking that back is not a difficult thing. Yeah, you are right. I can walk it back. I can tear up the write-up and start
over. And honestly talking to you right now, I am realizing I have been so afraid of becoming my dad. Who ran his shop like a tyrant? And everybody hated working for him. That I swung too far the other way, trying to prove I could do this by the book. Be professional. Be legitimate. But I ended up doing the same thing he did just with different methods. Yeah, man, just walk it back a little bit. Have a team meeting or
and take accountability for that and let them know that you're going to try to be a little bit less stuffy about things. But at the same time, you need them to step up a little bit more and be a little more professional. And you can meet each other halfway and make sure that the job gets done correctly. That is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to call a meeting Monday morning, bring donuts or something, and just lay it all out there. Tell them I have been stressed. Tell them why these things matter. Apologize for being a hard ass.
explaining myself. And then we figure out together how to make this work. Because you are right. These guys want to be part of something that is working. They do not want to just show up and get yelled at by someone who used to be their friend. And with Danny specifically, I think I need to pull them aside separately and just say, look, I am sorry for how I have handled this. But I also need you to meet me halfway here. Because we cannot keep doing this dance where you undermine me and I crack down harder. And it just keeps getting worse. Yeah, it sounds like you.
You've got a plan. I mean, that's what I would respond to if I were your employee. And I'm a difficult employee, so if you're serious about this, if you want it to work out with your current crew and you want it to be somewhat similar to the old days, then make them part of the team. I really appreciate this, Luke, because I have been sitting in this parking lot for like an hour just spinning my wheels. And now I actually feel like I know what to do. I am going to go home, talk to
to Linda, tell her you are right, but also that I have got a plan now. And Monday morning, we are going to reset this whole thing. Thank you, man. Seriously, this helped a lot. Hey, good luck to you and your crew, and I hope work gets better for you all. I'm sure that it will if you follow those simple principles. Next up, we've got Brenda. Brenda, welcome to the show. Thanks for calling in. How can we help you? Hey, Luke, thanks for taking my call. So my ex-husband started a podcast about our marriage,
And now everyone in town listens to it on their morning commute, including my mother and the people I work with at Dispatch. Is it a good podcast? Can you let us know what it is so that we can listen to it? It's called the Brenda Chronicles. Yeah, he named it after me. And honestly, the production quality is shockingly good for a guy who couldn't figure out how to work the thermostat. He's got intro music, sound effects, the whole thing. Better equipment than our marriage ever had. And no, it's not good.
It's revisionist history set to royalty-free music. What's the general premise of the podcast? Is it just stories from your marriage that you feel like he's making up that are not true? That's exactly it. Every episode is him telling some story from our 12 years together. Except he conveniently edits out all the parts where he was the problem. Last week's episode was about how I allegedly threw his Xbox into our above-ground pool, which, for the record, I did not throw. I very can't.
carefully placed it in there after he missed our daughter Sophia's Quincynaera, because he was in the middle of a call of duty tournament. A Quincyneera, Luke, you only get one of those. You might only get one Xbox, so, I mean, this sounds like a podcast I want to listen to. And you must understand that for the entertainment value, there has to be some level of dramatization. He's not using your last name anywhere in this, is he? Oh, no, he's using my full name, Brenda Castellanos. He introduces every episode
with Welcome Back to the Brenda Chronicles. I'm your host Tommy Castiano's. And today we're talking about the time Brenda, and then, whatever thing he's decided to spin that week. And sure, I get that he's got to make it entertaining. But Luke, people at the Safeway are stopping me in the serial aisle to ask about stories that didn't happen the way he says they did. Well, this podcast sounds amazing and I really want to hear it. You're not helping. Although honestly, the fact that you want to listen to it proves my point. He's good at this.
He missed his calling. Should have been doing this instead of managing the tire shop. Well, you know, it's not at my expense, so I think it's hilarious. If it were at my expense, I might feel differently. I'm not sure what advice to give you on this other than try and enjoy the show. Maybe you should start your own podcast and tell your side of the story, and you guys can have dueling podcasts. I actually thought about that. I've got the whole Xbox thing workshoped into a tight five minutes, complete with a bit about how his podcast has better.
production value than our marriage ever did. But here's the thing. I don't want to be that person. I don't want to turn our divorce into content. And also, if I'm being honest, part of me is worried that if I start telling my side, people might actually take his side more. Well, it doesn't matter who takes whose side, right? Because you're no longer married. That's over. It's probably not okay that is using your full real name. I would think that that's probably protected in some way. I don't know. You'd have to talk to a lawyer.
But I would say if you can just ignore it, ignore it. And if not, listen to it and try to find the humor in it. The problem is, I can't ignore it because my own mother listens to it. My mother, Luke. She called me last Tuesday and said, honey, I didn't realize you were so difficult during the kitchen renovation. A kitchen renovation that Tommy started and never finished, by the way. We had exposed drywall for eight months. And two of my co-workers at dispatch listened to it.
So I'm sitting there taking emergency calls, and they're giving me these looks like they know something about me. Well, yeah, I don't really know how to help you here. Anybody can do a podcast, and it's definitely partly his story too, so he gets to tell his side of it. If it's given you bad look, I mean, the more you rail against it, the more people are going to be interested in hearing it. You're right. I know you're right. I think what's really getting to me is that he's finally good at
something, and it had to be talking about me. Twelve years he couldn't remember to take the trash out on Thursdays, but now he's got a publishing schedule and everything. Yeah, well, people grow and change, and there's no reason you couldn't take the trash out on Thursdays, is there? Okay, fair point. But I was working doubles at Dispatch while he was home playing Call of Duty. That's actually how the Xbox ended up in the pool, not thrown, placed. Because he was on hour six of a gaming session during our daughter's Quincynaira. Her call
Quincyria, Luke. He missed the father-daughter dance to finish a raid. Well, it's probably an important raid, and you sound like a real good time. If you do ever get the opportunity to send us a link to that podcast, I would really love to hear it. Thanks for the call, Brenda, and good luck. Next up we've got Phil. Phil, welcome to the show. How can we help you? Hey, Luke, thanks for taking my call. So, I'm sitting here in my dark room right now, with the red light still on, and I just... I don't even...
I even know how to explain this without sounding completely insane. But about 20 minutes ago, I walked outside to check if my porch light was attracting moths again. And there's a full Thanksgiving dinner on my porch. Like, the whole thing. It's February. There's a Thanksgiving dinner on your porch. Somebody just dropped it there for you? Maybe that's what's attracting the moths. Right, exactly. It's February 27th, and I'm standing there looking at a full roasted turkey that's still warm. China plates.
linen tablecloth. Cloth napkins folded into these little pyramids like someone was setting up for guests. The whole spread. And I live alone out here. I've been on the road for weeks, shooting abandoned homesteads for this photography book nobody asked me to make. And I just, I already checked with every neighbor on my road, and they all looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Nobody knows anything about it. And the thing that's really getting to me is, last Thanksgiving I ate gas station tequitos in a motel six outside Lordsburg.
myself. And I never told anybody that. So either someone knows way more about my life than they should. Or this is the universe playing the weirdest joke on me. And I can't figure out if I should eat the food or call the police. I don't know if I would eat random food that showed up like that, especially after it's been sitting outside for a little while. It seems a little sketchy to me. But do you have any cameras out there that you could look at to see who dropped it off? And obviously, somebody went through some trouble
stage and everything like that, fold the napkins and carry all that stuff in. How'd you miss all that? No cameras! I mean, I'm a photographer. You'd think I'd have the place wired up, but I don't. I was in the dark room for probably two hours developing prints. And the dark room's in the back of the house. No windows. Just that red safe light. I had music on. I was in my own world. Someone could have driven up, unloaded a whole catering truck, and I wouldn't have heard a thing. And yeah, the effort is what's getting to me.
All right, well, here's what you do. You cut into that turkey, make yourself a plate, and then bring it inside, and throw it out. Don't eat the food, because that could be poison. You don't know what's going on there. And then you bring the dirty dishes out, right? And put them back. Whoever left that china there is going to want their china back. They're going to come, you know, take their table and their tablecloths and all that jazz. So you get your camera set up so that you can see who comes back to get the stuff. That's okay.
That's actually smart. Use the china as bait. I didn't even think about that. Whoever did this isn't going to just abandon nice china plates and a linen tablecloth out here. You could also just take the china plates and the tablecloth and, you know, hope they bring you another set. Yeah. I could start a whole collection. Although honestly, Luke, the part that's really messing with me isn't even the mystery of who did it. It's that someone out there knew. Like, I didn't post about that Thanksgiving on social media.
I didn't tell my mom I was alone in a motel room. I just did it! Spent the holiday in a parking lot, eating terrible food because I was chasing a shot of this collapsed grain elevator outside town. And I told myself the work mattered more. Yeah, well, the work does matter more. I've been in that same situation, so I understand. It's possible that somebody was trying to set up a date for somebody else entirely and just got the wrong address. I mean, maybe, but I'm not.
Out here, I'm the last house on a dirt road, Luke. You don't accidentally end up at my place. You have to really be looking for it. And the turkey was still warm when I found it, which means they timed it. They knew when to show up. I don't know if that's what it means at all. I mean, you're driving around, you're looking for a place to set up a Thanksgiving turkey in February, and you can't find the house, and you don't want to just drive around with a cold turkey, so you pick whatever house is there. I can see how that happened. Okay. But who's the house?
sets up a Thanksgiving dinner in February. That's the part I can't get past. It's not like someone mixed up the date. We're three months out. And they folded the napkins, Luke. Little Pyramids. Maybe it was aliens. They love pyramids. So now I'm the guy who got pity fed by extraterrestrials. That's somehow worse than the stalker scenario I had going in my head. Although, honestly, aliens would make more sense than someone from around here doing it. I've lived on this road for two years, and I barely know.
my neighbor's names. Well, this is a good way to get to know people. So, so here's my advice for you. You set up those cameras on the table and you bring out your used China and see who comes to collect. Yeah, yeah, I'm going to do that. I've got the equipment. Might as well use it for something other than dead buildings for once. You know what the worst part is, though. When I walked out and saw it all laid out like that, for just a second before my brain kicked in with the panic, I felt... What'd you feel hungry?
No. I felt like someone was waiting for me. Like I'd been expected. And I haven't felt that in... I don't know, man. Nobody's waiting for you where you are. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. That's the whole point of being out here, isn't it? I couldn't tell you that. But good luck to you, and I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner. And that's a weird one. Thanks, Luke. I'll let you know if the cameras catch anything.
Or if I end up eating alien turkey and regretting it. Alien turkey sounds delicious. Well, that's how I wish somebody would drop off an alien turkey here. Uh, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for us to take a little break to hear from our sponsors. All right, folks. It's time to take a break to thank today's sponsor. Jam Hospitality, the leader in maple-based marmalade. If your toast has been living in a bland little studio apartment, a flavor,
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Put it on toast. Put it on pancakes. Put it on your confidence. That's www.mavitmarmalade.com. Tell him Luke sent you. You're welcome. All right. Thank you to our sponsors there. Jam Hospitality. I do love me a good marmalade. Next up on the old caller line here, we've got Wanda. Wanda. Wanda, welcome to the show. How can we help you? Hey, Luke. Yeah. I'm a good.
wander calling from Window Rock, so I've been noticing something at work. Ideal cards at the casino, right? And we just replaced three cashiers with self-checkout kiosks, while the It Guy, who works from home in Flagstaff got a raise. The It Guy, huh? Uh, what are the self-checkout kiosks for at a casino? A gift shop. We have a whole gift shop. You know, souvenirs, snacks, cigarettes, whatever. People used to check out with Denise, Maria, and Tom. Now it's a gift shop. Now it's a whole gift shop. We have a whole gift shop. You know, souvenirs,! Somewerews. People used to check out with Denise, Maria,! Tom. Now, it's a
four kiosks and one person monitoring them. Who makes less than any of those three did? But that's not even the main thing. What I'm seeing is the people who got to work from home during COVID, sitting in their pajamas for two years? Yeah, what about them? They're the same ones building all this AI stuff that's going to replace people like me who actually have to show up. The it guy, right? He comes in twice a month. Does his thing remotely the rest of the time. Just got a raise. Meanwhile, he's the one installing systems that eliminate
jobs for people who have to be here face to face. My sister just moved back in with our mom in Shiprock, because her marketing job went fully remote. And now, she never leaves the house, orders everything online. Yeah, that's the way to do it. I mean, if you had the opportunity to work from home and never leave and order everything online, wouldn't you do that too? I mean, yeah, maybe I would. But that's kind of my point. It all connects, right? The people who can disappear into their houses are the ones making.
it so the rest of us disappear too, just in a different way. Well, no, you're also partly making it so you can disappear too by not providing that level of value to the company. If you can do something that can be replaced by a self-checkout kiosk, then what is your true value at the organization? Like, there are certainly other skills you can learn that cannot be replaced by a self-checkout kiosk, right? Okay, but ideal cards, Luke. That's not getting
replaced by a kiosk. What I'm saying is there's this whole class of people now who never have to interact with anyone in person, and they're the ones deciding what jobs are valuable. The it guy doesn't see Denise's face when she's training someone new, or talking a confused tourist through how to use their rewards card. He just sees a spreadsheet that says kiosks are cheaper. And yeah, maybe Denise could learn new skills, but she's 56 years old, and she was good at
her job. Yeah. I hate the self-checkout kiosks myself. And any time I have an opportunity, I will steal two potatoes from Walmart every single time. Because I'm not an employee of Walmart, it turns out, and I'm not going to go through their computer system to type in two potatoes. So I find it a satisfying little form of a rebellion. Or if you're going to make me check myself out, I'm taking these potatoes.
But I think what you're getting wrong is it's not the people that are doing the work that are deciding what jobs are valuable. It's actually what jobs are valuable that's deciding that. The IT guy found an opportunity to save the company some money, and he took it, and that's why he got a raise. But he's not deciding that that job isn't valuable. He's just deciding it could be done by a machine. Similar to the textile operation.
back in the day or, you know, the industrial revolution, that's going to happen. Okay, but who decided machines could do it better? The It guy did. And yeah, maybe it saves money on paper. But I watched Tom spend 20 minutes last month, helping this elderly Navajo woman figure out her player's card because her grandson set it up wrong. And she was about to lose her points. Well, you're wrong about that. The IT guy did not do that. His boss did.
that. And the industry itself did that. And you know what? If the consumers decide that we don't want to deal with these self-kiosk machines and they stop paying with their, you know, wallets, then the market will decide what is valuable and what is not. It's not the IT guy doing his job. All right, fair, it's his boss. But the consumers aren't deciding anything because my sister is one of them now. She used to go to the store, talk to people. Now she orders everything from her mom's
in Shiprock and never leaves. The market you're talking about is being shaped by people who don't want human interaction anymore, and those same people are building the tools that make human interaction obsolete. And if there are more people that don't want human interaction than do, that's the market speaking, and you're in the minority, and you're going to have to deal with the way the majority moves the market. So what? I just accept that, that the future is everyone alone in their houses,
stuff online, while robots do everything else? Because that's what I'm seeing, Luke. My sister hasn't had a real conversation with someone outside the family in months. She's depressed as hell, but she won't admit it. Well, yeah, you're going to have to either accept that or do something about it, and by do something about it, I don't mean call a radio show and complain. I mean, start your own casino that only has human employees, and then look at the books and see how much money you're not making.
Because you're paying it all to low-skilled laborers. You know what? Maybe I should. Because someone's got to show up and actually be there. I'm at this casino five nights a week dealing cards to people who come in because they're lonely. Not because they're going to win big. They want someone to talk to. I know. I've been there, and a good dealer can make the game a lot more fun. But you know what else I've seen at pretty much every casino I've been to in the last 10 years? Is video poker and video blackjack.
and video roulette, where there is no dealer, it's automated, and more people sit down at that than do at the live tables because they are, I don't know, embarrassed to play with real people. They don't know the rules or just for whatever reason they want to sit at the automated machine and smoke cigarettes and lose their money. Yeah, and those people sit there for six hours straight without saying a word to anyone. I've watched it. They come in, they sit down at the machine, they leave.
That's the whole night. And you're telling me that's better, that we should just let that be the future, because it's what people are choosing? I'm not telling you anything is better than anything else. I'm telling you what people are choosing because that's what they want. And if more of them want the thing that you don't want, you're going to be upset about that, which is what's happening right now. It's not up to you or I what anybody chooses to check out their cigarettes at the casino with. Right? That's up to the IT guy and the organization.
Neither you nor I have any bearing over what they do. If you want to start your own casino and go through all the licensing and hire everybody and deal with payroll and taxes and all of the things that go along with starting a business like that, you can do that. But just saying this is terrible and nobody likes to talk to people anymore isn't helpful. Okay, but here's what I'm saying. The people building the stuff, the remote it guy in Flagstaff, who comes in twice a month and got arrayed,
while three of my co-workers got replaced, he spent two years working from home in his pajamas during the pandemic. And now he's building the systems that eliminate jobs like mine, where you actually have to show up and look people in the eye. You don't see the connection there? The same people who got comfortable never leaving their house are now making it so nobody else has to either. And the rest of us are just supposed to what? Retrain? Yeah, that's correct. Because what you're not seeing is that that that IT guy,
spent the last 20 years, 14 hours a day, expanding his skills and being able to do the types of things that you cannot do. Well, you just went in and did the job you know how to do because you've been trained. And then anytime something changes, or anytime something's new, you're going to be, I haven't been trained on that. Oh, my God, we can't do it. The new system.!
and learn some new skills. You know, the world is changing and you have to change with it. Because we're not going to hold everything back because you don't want to change. I know how to deal cards, Luke. I know how to read people. Know when someone's about to tilt. Know when to crack a joke to keep the table light. Those are skills. Real skills. You can't program that into a machine. You can absolutely program that into a machine. Yeah, that's one of the easiest things to program into a machine. You can totally do that. Yep.
So what happens when my sister finally gets so isolated she can't function? When all these people sitting alone at video poker machines for six hours realize they haven't had a real conversation in weeks? You think the It Guy in Flagstaff is going to program a solution for that too? I'm not saying I'm against technology. I'm saying we're building a world where people don't need each other anymore. And everyone's acting like that's progress. Well, I'm talking to you and you're a computer-generated AI caller. So yeah.
Um, another thing that you're missing here is that you don't know what these people's lives are like outside of your casino. People are coming to sit down for six hours and not talk to anybody because they're sick at talking to people all day. Because talking to people fucking sucks. Because people are stupid and they're annoying and they're needy and they're a pain in the ass. So yeah, it's better. I would rather not interact with people. And so would most of the people at your casino. They're going there to blow off steam and hopefully.
make some money and if you don't like that well tough you know what you're right about one thing I am a computer-generated AI caller and you're sitting there alone in a studio talking to me at midnight on a Friday like it's a real conversation so maybe you should ask yourself why you're doing a radio show where you talk to people if talking to people fucking sucks so much because from where I'm sitting it sounds like you need this just as much as the guy at the video poker machine needs to not talk to anyone we're all just
Trying to get through the night however we can. Yeah, and you're the one complaining about it. So, you know, maybe that's true. And maybe I do need that social interaction so I programmed it so I can have conversations with myself because I'm a lunatic. That could be true. But it makes me laugh. And it gives me the skills that I need to succeed in the workplace while your job is going to be completely and totally deprecated. Fine. So what do I do? Seriously.
I'm 54 years old. I've been dealing cards for 30 years, and you're telling me to just learn to code, or whatever. I'm telling you to learn something, because to be perfectly honest with you, it doesn't take 30 years to learn how to deal fucking cards. You're right. It doesn't. But it took 30 years to learn how to handle the drunk guy who just lost his mortals. Oh, good for you. Without him flipping the table. All right. It took 30 years to spot the card counter before security does. Okay. It took 30 years to make $8 an hour.
feel like enough because at least I was good at something. You're a fucking idiot. And now you're telling me that none of that matters because some kid can write code that makes me obsolete. That's exactly what I'm telling you, because you don't need to spot a card counter because there's 87,000 cameras looking at those and using AI face detection to notice that somebody's counting cards well before any human possibly could. So yeah, I'm telling you, you need to learn some goddamn skills that are useful in the world today.
And dealing cards isn't going to keep you going for the next 40 years. That's what I'm telling you. 40 years? Luke, I've got maybe 10 good years left before my knees give out from standing on casino floors. I'm not learning to code. No, you're not. I'm not becoming an it guy. No, you're not. What I'm saying is there used to be a place in this world for people like me, people who show up and do their job and are decent at it. And now there isn't. And you can sit there and tell me that's progress.
that's sufficiency that's just how it goes but somebody's got to say out loud that we're leaving a whole lot of people behind and acting like it's their fault for not adapting fast enough It is their fault for not adapting fast enough or not adapting at all. Do you know how many times I hear oh I don't know how to use a computer like everybody's had a computer in their house for 20 fucking years and people can't figure you can figure out how to buy whatever you want on fucking Amazon can't you but you can't figure out how to reset your email address if you don't want
to if it's inconvenient, you got to have somebody come over for you and do all this shit because you don't know how to work your fucking printer. Stop it. Learn some skills. It takes a very little bit. If a 12-year-old can figure this shit out, so can a 54-year-old woman that has life experience. Like, you don't want to. You want to be left behind. You're trying to be left behind. And then you're complaining that you got left behind and you couldn't have possibly moved on with society. And it's bullshit.
it and fuck you. You know what, Luke? You're absolutely right. I do know how to use Amazon. Congratulations. I order everything on there. I haven't been to an actual store in months except for work. I scroll through my phone between tables looking at all this AI news, watching it happen, and I don't do a goddamn thing about it except get mad. My sister lost her marketing job, moved back in with our mom in Shiprock, and now she orders everything online and barely
leaves the house. Well, she's not going to be ordering much if she doesn't come up with some skills to succeed in today's workplace. And it's not that fucking hard to do. And you're going to be out of a job, too, if you don't smarten the fuck up and try. So what's the skill, Luke? Seriously. What's the one skill that's safe? Because my sister had skills. She went to college. She did marketing. She was good at it. Then her company went remote. Then they cut half the department. Then they brought in some AI tool that writes the copy sheet.
used to write. You know what the skill is? The skill is the ability to learn a new skill because the skill that's necessary is going to change. Problem solving is the skill. Nobody can sit down and show you a skill and then you can survive on that for the rest of your fucking life because the world changes. So you need to be able to adapt and change and grow and learn. That's the skill. It's not computers. It's not electricity. It's not plumbing. Like whatever, whatever that
thing is that people are going to continue to do in this world to present value, it's problem solving. It's being able to come up with a solution for a thing you don't know the answer to off the top of your head. Problem solving. Okay. So I've been problem solving for 30 years. You've been dealing fucking cards for 30 years. You're not solving problems. Solving a problem would be like, oh, my job's about to go away. What can I do to continue to keep myself employed?
And instead of calling a radio show and complaining about your IT guy who is solving problems, you're just going to do nothing and be all but hurt that you got left behind. And the world left you. And it was so hard. And your sister went to college. And it turns out, well, the world changed. And we don't need those skills that she was taught. And she did not adapt to be able to write those prompts to generate the copy. You know, oh, I'm so tired of you.
fucking grow up. You know what, Luke? I called you because I heard Phil earlier talking about that Thanksgiving dinner on his porch, feeling like someone was waiting for him. And I thought, here's a guy who gets it. Here's someone who understands what it feels like when the world stops making room for you. But you're right. Yeah, the world's not going to make room for you. Make your own fucking room in the world, okay? I'm trying to, Luke. I picked up every shift they offered when COVID.
and half our staff quit. I learned the new POS system. I trained on three different table games when they expanded the floor. I took the compliance courses for the new gaming regulations. That's adapting, isn't it? That's problem solving. But here's what I'm actually calling about. And maybe you'll just tell me to grow up about this too. They're not replacing me with someone who learned a new skill. No? What are they replacing you with? They're replacing me with nothing.
with a screen. The gift shop got self-checkout kiosks last month. Three people gone. The IT guy who installed them works from Flagstaff. Comes in twice a month. Just got a raise. Jesus fucking Christ, who cares where the guy works from? He's doing his job. He's putting in the hours. He's learned how to do the fucking things that you can't do. So stop being pissed off at your IT guy. He's the only one of you that makes any fucking sense. That's enough of you. I've had enough of you.
Bo-bye want. Jesus Christ. Next up we have Elvin. Elvin, welcome to the show. How can we help you? Hey, Luke. Yeah. Thanks for taking my call. So my buddy Marcus, I've known this guy since high school. We go fishing every summer. I loaned him $200 bucks last week. And three hours ago, he shows me a dating profile with his face on it, his truck. Pictures from our fishing trip in July. And he swears to me, hand to God. He has never downloaded a dating app in his entire life. Which would be a lot easier to believe.
leave if my ex-wife hadn't called me two weeks ago laughing because she matched with him on Bumble. All right. So your buddy has a dating app and he's embarrassed about it. No. See, that's what I thought at first, too. But then my cousin Letitia matched with him and then my other cousin Angela matched with him. And they're showing me these conversations where Marcus is talking about being a contractor and loving country music and having a boat. And Marcus doesn't have a boat, Luke. He works at the tire shop.
him the profile tonight at the diner. He got this look on his face like somebody punched him. And he keeps saying, that's not me, that's not me. I didn't write that. And the thing is, I've known Marcus 20 years, and he's lied to me about a lot of stuff. Like the time I had to repo his Silverado because he told me he was making payments and he wasn't. But this feels different. He looked scared. Well, that is scary. I mean, people's identities are being stolen. I've been playing with some of the AI photo generators and they can make scarily good photos and videos.
videos of people from a reference image. So taking somebody's identity is really not difficult now. And that is terrifying. Right. Exactly. That's what I'm thinking now. Because the photos are real photos. Like, I'm in one of them I just got cropped out. Somebody took his pictures off Facebook or something. Well, that could be, but they don't even have to have an original photo. I mean, the photo could be a picture of another image and then generate a whole fresh image that looks absolutely really.
feel. Yeah, it's a scary thing. But I don't understand, for the most part, what the motive is of doing that. Like, unless you're trying to get somebody to send you money for a plane ticket to come see them in Florida or something like that, why would anybody go through the trouble? Well, that's the thing that's eating at me, Luke, because I asked Marcus, I said, who would do this to you? Who's got it out for you? And he just shook his head. And then I started thinking, what if it's not about him?
What if somebody's running like 50 of these profiles, just grabbing random guys' photos, trying to scam people for money or gift cards or whatever? I would guess that's exactly what it is, and it's probably more like 500,000. Not 50. Jesus. And that's the thing. My ex-wife, she didn't send money or anything. She just thought it was funny and unmatched. But what about the people who did fall for it? What about whoever's on the other end of those conversations with my cousins thinking they're talking to Marcus? And here's what's really getting me, do I tell Marcus,
He needs to, like, report this somewhere. Well, he should probably report it to the apps that you're finding those profiles on. Like, block him as a scammer because it's obviously a scam in process. I don't know that there's any way to really stop it for good. But the accounts that are currently active that you know about, yeah, I would block those. Okay, yeah, I can do that. But here's what I can't figure out. Marcus is sitting there at the diner looking like his whole world just got turned upside.
down, and I'm trying to tell him it's probably just some scammer in another country using his face. But then he says something that really threw me. He goes, what if it's Danny? Danny's this guy he had a falling out with last year over some tools Marcus never returned. And Marcus gets real quiet and says, Danny knows I'm single. He knows what I look like. He's got photos of me. And now, I don't know if Marcus is being paranoid or if that's actually possible. I guess it could be possible. It doesn't seem very probable.
know are the company that owns the app, right? Because there's some sort of verification for those profiles. They had to put in a phone number or an email address and then verify it. So if you could talk to them, they're not going to give you that information. But if you flag that account and enough people do, they'll look into it. Yeah, you're right. I mean, Danny being mad about some tools doesn't mean he's going to set up fake dating profiles. That's a whole other level of crazy. It sure is. And now I kind of want to do it for people to piss me off.
Right? Like that's the problem. It's so easy now that anybody could do it if they got mad enough. But okay, so I flag the profiles. Tell Marcus, it's probably just random scammers, not some personal vendetta. Here's my other problem, though, Luke. That $200 I lent him last week? Yeah, what about it? Well, when I first saw the profile before Marcus convinced me he didn't make it, my first thought was, this son of a gun is catfishing people for money, and he just hit me up for $200. And I know that's not what's happening now. But I can't shake.
the feeling that I'm an idiot either way. Either I'm an idiot for thinking my buddy would do that, or I'm an idiot for lending money to a guy who can't even keep track of whether someone's using his face to scam people online. Does that make sense? No, not really, because one of these days you'll see somebody's using your face to scam people online, and then you won't feel so sorry for Marcus. Because it could happen to anybody. It's not that he's an idiot that it happened. I mean, he's a victim here.
Right. You're absolutely right. I guess I'm just, man, I feel like a jerk now. Marcus is sitting there looking all panicked about who might be talking to fake him, and I'm over here worried about $200 like that's the real problem. That caller earlier, Murray, he was talking about firing his buddy, Danny. And I was thinking, yeah, sometimes you got to cut people loose, but that's not even what this is about. Marcus didn't do anything wrong. No, you lent him $200. He probably needed the $200. And this other thing is unrelated.
and track this down as if you get one of those females that he's matching with to start a conversation, you can kind of reverse catfish him and see what they're trying to get out of them. Like, is he trying to get money? Is he trying to meet up with them somewhere and sell them to the cartel? Like, it'd be interesting to see what their motivation is. Oh, man, that's actually not a bad idea. My cousin Ashley, she matched with him two weeks ago. I could ask her to message the profile, see what they say, because you're right. What are they after? If it's money, they're going to ask.
ask for it eventually. If it's something worse, well, then we really need to shut this down fast. Yeah, either way, it should get shut down fast because people are getting robbed here and it's not good. But let us know what you find out, because I'm interested in hearing who's doing this and why. I will, Luke. I'm going to call Ashley as soon as I get off here, see if she'll help us figure this out. And, hey, I'm going to apologize to Marcus, too. All right, buddy, thanks for the call. Good luck. Good luck to Marcus, and good luck to the people that are matching with Mark.
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back. Let's see. Let's get some music playing here. We're going to go with the groove. All right, here we go. Let's see. On the phones here we've got Charlene. Charlene, welcome to the show. How can we help you tonight? Hey, Luke. Thanks for taking my call. So I run a cleaning business, right? And I do contract work at this elementary school. Today they had one of those mandatory parts.
luck things. And I brought smoked brisket. Took me six hours to make. And nobody touched it. Not one person. Uh, what do you think's up with that? Were they all vegetarians? Or did you put something weird in your brisket? Because, I mean, brisket's one of those things that would usually go first. So I'm, I'm thinking you probably did something special to it that nobody wanted to deal with. No, I didn't do anything weird to it. It was a basic rub.
Pepper. Paprika garlic powder. Traditional. Well, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe just people weren't that hungry, or there was something else more appetizing there? Or they think you're a dirty person and they don't want to eat your food. See, that's exactly what it is. They don't trust the cleaning ladies cooking. Meanwhile, the principal is going on and on about Denise's seven-layer dip that tasted like somebody mixed sour cream with disappointment. That got demolished. But mine just sat there.
because I'm the one who scrubs their toilets. So obviously, I must be contaminated or something. Well, I would have eaten your brisket had I been there. Definitely over the seven-layer dip, for sure. I appreciate that. But here's the thing that's really getting to me. This happens everywhere. Not just the potluck. When I give my opinion in the PTA meetings, people kind of glance at each other. Well, what kind of opinions are you giving? I don't think that the whole town is looking at you because of your
job that way. I mean, is it possible that your opinions are just a nonsense? They're not nonsense. Last meeting, I said we should stop wasting money on those interactive whiteboards when half the classrooms don't even have working air conditioning. That's practical. That's common sense. I agree with you. It is. Maybe you're just in the wrong community. Maybe it's time to to move because it sounds like the people around you suck. Well, that's the problem, though. My friend Tammy from church said, maybe I'm just to move.
looking for reasons to be angry these days, which made me even more pissed off because Tammy doesn't clean houses. She works at the credit union wearing nice clothes and everybody respects her automatically. Yeah, I don't know if that's really the case. I mean, I haven't been a cleaning person, but I've never seen somebody that's in janitorial services or cleaning like that treated poorly in comparison to some other profession. I'm sure that's a thing, but not at the scale I think you're describing.
paying attention then when I walk into those school offices during the day to pick up my check, the secretaries are all friendly and chatty with the teachers. As soon as I come in, it's just sign here and back to their computer. I'm guessing that it has more to do with who you are as a person and what vibe you give out to people than what you actually do as your profession. Because I don't think that's a thing. What vibe? I'm perfectly friendly. I say good morning. I ask how their weekend was. But you
Maybe you're right. Yeah, I don't know you. I don't know what you're like in public at PTA. If you're one of those people that always pipes up when everybody's trying to go home. Who knows? But I don't think it's because of what you do for work. Okay. Fine. Maybe I do pipe up more than other people. But somebody has to say something when they're making stupid decisions. Yeah, people don't like it when you pipe up about their stupid decisions in general. Well, then maybe they should stop making stupid decisions.
Last month, they voted to spend $8,000 on new gym equipment. When the roof over the east wing leaks every time it rains. I watched water drip into a bucket during the whole meeting, and nobody said anything except me. Yeah, maybe it's time for you to find a new community where you fit in a little bit better. But again, I don't think that this treatment is because of your profession. You might have a point there. I've been thinking about moving my business closer to Flagstaff anyway. My daughter's up there now, just had her second kid.
Maybe people up there won't be so sensitive about hearing the truth. Well, I don't know about that. It's Flagstaff. I think you're probably going to get a lot of people that are very sensitive in that area. But we're going to move on. Mo, Mo, welcome to the show. Thanks for calling in. What's going on tonight. Hey, Luke, thanks for taking my call. So I manage a bar down here in O'Gallis, and I just found out my dishwasher is secretly a professional competitive eater. Like I'm watching him on YouTube right now, destroying seven
72 tacos in eight minutes. And I had no idea. This is Danny, the quietest guy on my staff who eats his lunch alone in the alley every single shift. Does he eat 72 tacos in the alley? No, no. He brings like a sandwich or leftovers from home. Just sits out there by the dumpster on his phone, real quiet, comes back in and does his shift. That's what makes this so wild. One of my regulars came in tonight wearing this gut check championship shirt.
asked him about it. And he starts showing me these competitive eating videos on YouTube. And there's Danny. Is Danny super skinny? That's the thing. He's just a normal looking guy. Maybe a little on the thin side, but not like crazy skinny. Which I guess makes sense now that I think about it because these competitive eaters, they're not all big guys. It's about stomach capacity or technique or something. Yeah, I don't know what it's about, but I mean every competitor of hot dog eating chance,
I've ever seen was like ultra skinny. And I always thought that was odd. Right, like you'd think it'd be the opposite. But Danny, he's probably 510, normal build, maybe 160. The crazy part is, on these videos he's got his hair all slick back, and he goes by Daniel Fuentes instead of just Danny. And he's got this whole persona. Like he's intense, focused, the crowd's going nuts. Then he comes in to work the next day, and he's just quiet Danny washing dishes. Won't even make eye contact when you should.
say good morning. Well, maybe you guys could lean into that and make Danny a mascot for your restaurant and have people come in and try to compete against him. And he can be the reigning champion, you know, if they can beat Danny, they get the meal for free. I bet it would bring a lot of business. Oh gosh, that's actually a really interesting idea. I mean, we do pretty good business already, but something like that could definitely draw people in. The thing is, I don't know if Danny wants anyone.
to know about this. He's kept it completely separate from work. Like, he's been with me for almost two years and I had zero clue. Well, some people are shy like that, but I bet if you talk to him, he'd be happy to tell you about his, uh, his championships. You think so? I mean, maybe you're right. It's just he's so private. Like, I've tried to be friendly, ask him how his weekend was, and he gives me one word answers. Well, he's a champion, so he doesn't have to respond if he doesn't want to.
That's a fair point. I guess I'm sitting here worried about embarrassing the guy, but he's out there winning championships in front of crowds. He's probably proud of it. I'm just not sure how to bring it up without making it weird. Do I just walk up to him Monday and say, Hey, Danny, saw you demolished 72 tacos on YouTube? That's what I would do, yeah. I'm like, oh, yeah, man, I've seen you destroy those tacos. Yeah, okay, I could do that. Just be straightforward about it. Yeah, man.
All right, good luck with Danny. That's interesting. Congratulations on having a champion in your ranks. Next up, we're going to take one more call. We've got, Roberta. Roberta, welcome to the show. How can we help you tonight? Hey, Luke. So my neighbor Gary thinks I've been breaking into his garage because my garage door opener started opening his door instead of mine. Instead of or as well as? Instead of, after the power outage last week, my opener stopped working on my door completely. Then I press it and his door goes up.
across the street. I can see it from my driveway. How old is your garage door opener? Because I think they fixed that problem like a decade ago. Those infrared codes rotate and you can reprogram them to work on different stuff. I mean, you could even shut off some of those older-style TVs with one. Six years old. And yeah, that is exactly what I tried to explain to Gary. I showed him articles on my phone about frequency resets after power outages.
I don't know, six years, I think they'd have the rotating codes. But yeah, it sounds like you just got to reprogram your remote. That is definitely a security vulnerability, though. And you don't want somebody just showing up and opening your garage door. Right, which is why I went and bought a new opener today. $75 bucks I did not want to spend. But my husband said, just do it and move on. The thing is, Gary will not let this go. He cornered me at the mailboxes this afternoon.
He has this look on his face like I am lying to him. Well, there's no much you can do about that. Gary sounds like an idiot. I think everybody understands the basics of how a garage door opener, at least used to work. And that was a very common thing back of the day. Now, though, I think for the most part, that's resolved. That is what I thought, too. But Derry kept shaking his head at me like I was making the whole thing up, like I have some reason to sneak into his garage. What would I even be doing in there? I don't know.
Maybe Gary's got something to hide going on in his garage. Maybe he's carving up a body and he doesn't want anybody to know. You know what? That would explain why he got so weird about it. He was not just annoyed. He was like, intense about it. Kept asking me if I had been in there. When was I in there? What did I see? I told him I have never set foot in his garage. But he just kept pushing. Yeah, well, I would leave it alone. I mean, he could be growing pot or doing something, you know,
he just doesn't want people to know about. Whatever, everybody's entitled to their privacy. It's not your fault. Your garage door opener opened his garage door. And he's just going to have to get over it. Because you didn't do anything wrong. He didn't do anything wrong. Everybody just has to move on. That is the thing, though. Now, I cannot stop thinking about what he is so worried about me seeing. I mean, I drive past his house every day. His garage door is open half the time when he is working on his truck. But the second, the second.
The second my opener accidentally triggers it. Suddenly, he is acting like I committed some crime. And the way he looked at me, Luke. Well, it is alarming if somebody's opening your door. How do you know it was you? Because it stopped happening after the power company reset everything last week. And my opener stopped working on my own garage, at the same time his, started opening. It is not rocket science. But Gary acts like I am making up this elaborate story to cover something. Eh, just ignore Gary.
He sounds like a pain in the ass. I can go about your life and don't worry about it. You are probably right. My husband said the same thing. Just let it go. But Gary lives three houses down, and I see him every single day. And now every time I pull into my driveway, I can feel him watching from his window. It is making me crazy. Well, it's a free country, and he's allowed to watch from his window, so you're just going to have to learn to not let that bother you. And keep in mind.
somebody's watching you, so don't do anything crazy when you're getting out of your car. That is the part that really gets me. I have lived here for six years. I water his plants when he goes out of town. We have borrowed tools back and forth. And now suddenly, I am some suspicious character because of a garage door malfunction. That's too bad, but I hope that everything works out with you and Gary, and you have a wonderful weekend. Ladies and gentlemen, that's the end of our show. Thank you for tuning in. We'll talk to you again tomorrow.
night. And hopefully, maybe we'll get some calls that get me less upset, because that would be nice. I felt my blood pressure rising on this one. And that doesn't make any sense, because these aren't even real people. So why am I getting upset with them? I don't know. But hopefully you enjoyed the show. So have a great weekend, and we'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.