You've got a lot of Nerd

Michael Jordan Miguez Today we had the chance to catch up with one of our Service Concierge techs, Michael Jordan Miguez. We talked about a lot of different ideas including: Mexico, Mexico’s history, Aztecs, WWII, baseball, basketball, Michael’s hobbies, Michael’s past work experience, what brought him to HCTG and what the Service Concierge position does to help the customer. Michael is our 2nd guest back and we appreciate him helping us get the podcast back in action!

Today we had the opportunity to speak with Alec Luna. We discussed a lot of different topics including: football, sports related injuries, rugby, gym, work ethic, living in San Marcos, what it’s like to work in IT, and how Alec got into IT. This was our first podcast in almost 6 months and ended up being a lot of fun!

Today we interviewed award-winning Registered Dietitian, Stephanie Burns. This conversation was interesting, informative, and some of the most fun I’ve had so far on the podcast. We discussed a wide range of topics that included the Keto diet, Carnivore diet, low fat diets, the Mediterranean diet, strokes, the long term effects of poor nutrition on not only yourself but your family, making healthier food choices, learning to love the grind, making lots of small sustainable changes to become healthier, that failure is part of becoming healthier, meal planning, what Stephanie and I do at home to be healthier, that meal planning doesn’t have to be difficult – it just takes time and is a skill to be learned, yoga, wine drinking, yoga AND wine drinking, and our kids almost being run over by a driverless car.

Today we spoke with our Director of Cybersecurity Mark Jordan. As you can guess we spent a significant amount of time discussing cybersecurity, specifically, what is required to make your company more defensible, that being 100% isn’t a reality, risk mitigation, and steering the word “Hacker” back to it’s proper use as a positive attribute instead of it’s negative connotation as a generic negative cybersecurity Threat Actor. We also got to jump in a little to Mark’s hobby of photography. As always, I learned a lot from my conversation with Mark, and hope you do the same!

By far my favorite podcast of the 40 or so episodes we’ve done so far, today we spoke with Dr. Robert Tally, a literature professor who teaches a Tolkien class at Texas State University. We spend nearly two and half hours discussing all things Tolkien, including Tolkien’s childhood, various jobs that Tolkien took before writing The Hobbit, the background story to The Hobbit, how Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are intertwined, his writing style, and so, so much more. We didn’t even get to Dr. Tally’s questionable sympathies towards Orcs and Saruman! If you don’t learn something about Tolkien or the Lord of the Rings universe, you’re a LOTR wizard or you weren’t paying attention. Man, this podcast was so much fun. If you haven’t listened in awhile or were waiting for us to do something really cool, THIS IS IT. Load the podcast up on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen. Also, take a look at Dr. Tally’s latest book, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Realizing History Through Fantasy (A Critical Companion). I read it, and it’s a quick, fun read that is very informative and provides insight into why and how Tolkien made some of his creative decisions throughout the series. Once again, thanks for your support!

Today we got to speak with Kyndal Cheatham, Hill Country Tech Guys new Project Manager. We got to talking about a number of subjects that include Riding motorcycles, the dangers of riding motorcycles, hurricanes, working/managing coffee shops and bakeries, engagement stories, and camping. Kyndal was a lot of fun to talk to and we’re stoked to have her as the newest member of Hill Country Tech Guys!

Today we got to converse Michael McDonald a long-time veteran at Hill Country Tech Guys. Michael is a Tier II technician who’s moved up through the ranks during his tenure here and is currently a NOC technician. We discussed a variety of topics including: Working at an inbound tech support call center, rural ISPs, kids, COVID, the process of getting licensed to Foster to Adopt, actually completing the adoptions, what it’s like to have both parents who are psychologists, being an introvert, social anxiety, stuttering, speech coaches, and dinosaurs. Michael was a great guest today and was a lot fun to talk to!

Today we got the chance to interview Max Sanchez, our new Support Service Manager and previous NOC manager. Max and I discussed working in the oil fields, working at Rackspace, Hurricanes and the devastation left behind, FEMA and its ability to help get a community back on its feet, Galveston, what it’s like to work at AWS, dinosaurs, AI and time travel. We’re stoked to have Max back on the team and look forward to him doing a great job as our Support Service Manager!

Today we spoke Laura Lamb, Hill Country Tech Guys Director of Finance and Administration. We talked about a whole lot of different subjects including: How she got into finance while working for the Howard Hughes Corporation, earning a degree in Anthropology, study recently dead people vs really dead people, diets and illnesses in ancient Chilean mummies, gun rights and ownership, freedoms in Texas vs the other parts of the United States, moving and living all over the United States as part of an Air Force family and that she was born in the Netherlands.

Today the tables are turned, and I’m interviewed by Hill Country Tech Guy’s TJ Hines. Discussion with TJ are always fun, and this conversation was no different. We discussed a fair number of topics including dinosaurs, space, how life originated on Earth, what I do at HCTG, how I got to HCTG, working on scaffolds, trying really hard but not becoming a teacher, how to motivate people, what it took to as a team to develop the BU I managed into a success, Marvel vs. DC and how I’ve watched very few of the movies, how busy life is, how kids like what they like and it’s generally not what I like, the Astros, more stuff, and did I mention DINOSAURS!? TJ did awesome and I really appreciated him stepping up to the plate to host the podcast!

Today we got the opportunity to speak with Matthew Tuck, the newest Tier II tech addition to the Hill Country Tech Guys team. We discussed a wide range of topics including: what it’s like to work in security, retro gaming, moving up through the ranks as a tech, Matt’s hobby of taking things apart to learn how it works, and how Raspberry Pi’s can be a great teaching tool for people of all ages on how to code. This was a fun discussion and appreciate Matt’s joining us!

Today we got the chance to talk with Tyler Merrill, one of the newest Tier I techs hired at Hill Country Tech Guys. Tyler has worked in IT for around 10 years including stints at USAA and Fort Sam Houston. We discussed several topics including: his hobby of mountain biking, fantasy vs sci-fi, Stargate Universe’s superiority as the number one Stargate series, the renaissance festival, competition as a tool to better yourself, some deep sea fishing, and camping.

Today we spoke with Kanika Washington, a Tier I technician at Hill Country Tech Guys. Kaneka joined the Air Force in 2000 right after graduating high school and spent the next 7 years progressively advancing through the ranks. While in the Air Force she found her way into I.T. and enjoying the work decided to stick with it and make a career of it. We also discussed a few more topics including the, Jackson Mississippi and it’s water issues, politics, how South Korea is a great time for a 20 year old, gaming, and the importance of Critical Thinking and it’s effect on society.

Today we spoke with Javarus Burton, the most recent addition to our Tech team. Javarus has an IT background that started with the military in the 101st division. We discussed fewer subjects than we typically do, spent a lot of time talking about football and a whole lot of time discussing rugby. Javarus played running back in high school and convinced his parents to move to Texas to pursue his dream of playing at the highest level he could. We also reviewed the ins and outs of rugby, how many people play on a team, what each position entails, the national and regional level structure, and just in general how rugby is the best sport on the planet 😉 This conversation was a lot of fun! Be sure listen in!

Today we interviewed Michael Duff, a schooled IT technician who lives in Florida and is the newest member of the Hill Country Tech Guys team. We discussed his previous experience owning an IT company in Rhode Island, the trials and tribulations of starting a company from scratch, Commadore 64, and the fact that it required basic coding for any functionality, how Rhode Island actually has seasons, cloud migrations, Florida sunsets, deep sea kayak fishing.

Today we spoke with TD Smyers. TD hosts his own podcast called, No Cliches, which discusses Bold Leadership and interviews leaders from different industries. TD also is an Executive Coach, with 31 years of Naval Leadership experience, and an additional 10+ years as a CEO for multiple nonprofit organizations. We reviewed a wide variety of subjects including the Navy, Naval Power Projection, how 9/11 changed the military, the USSR and lifting the Iron Curtain, how creating opposing superpowers is good for growth, that increased manufacturing in America could provide for fulfilling jobs and build a stronger economy, free speech and America’s unique perspective on it, the difference between Leadership and management, how TD runs his Leadership courses and how to learn from your mistakes. You can listen to TD’s podcast here: https://aboldleader.com/no-cliches-podcast Read his blog here: https://aboldleader.com/ And find out to have TD help your Leadership team grow here: https://simpleleadershipstrategies.com/contact/

Today we speak with Hill Country Tech Guys newest employee, Natalie Murphy. Natalie is our Content Author who's background includes photography, journalism, and IT. We discuss a wide variety of subjects involving: Photography, newspapers, kids, dogs, cats, nursing, teaching, the sheer amount of teaching jobs available compared to 2008, why we have a teaching shortage, and more.

Today we spoke with Josh Kibbe, a Tier II on our Support Team. We discussed a few subjects including what it's like to be an escalated tech, guns, and holy moly did we go deep on Golden Tee. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but folks, there's an entire subset of American society that is deeply passionate about Golden Tee. Some people like sports, some people like knitting, others choose the Golden Tee life. We enjoyed getting to learn more about Josh and appreciate him sitting down with us. Thanks Josh!

Today we talked with Hunter White, a Tier I tech at Hill Country Tech Guys. We discuss his time in the military as an IT tech in the Marines, the war in Ukraine, World War I, World War II, and it turns out Hunter is a bit of a nerd, and not just a little bit. Hunter is an avid LOTR fan, eh…maybe LOTR historian is a better description of the knowledge that he displays on the podcast. We had to keep this one short and to the point due to time constraints, but promise that we’ll have a in-depth Lord of the Rings podcast at a date to be determined. This was a lot of fun and look forward to our next podcast with Hunter!

Today we spoke with Mitch Smith, who's got some opinions. In one of our best discussions to date we talked about what it takes to be on the infrastructure team, transitioning into IT, diesel engines(apparently Ford's 6.0 is trash), being an member of the elite Navy Search & Rescue team, PTSD from being involved in intense situations as a S&R team member, jumping out of helicopters and breaking bones.