4 chapters across the catalog
Knighting Ceremony, AS400 IBM Computer
Randy Holcomb is knighted as the "Knight of the AS400," named after the famous IBM mid-range computer system. Other donors include listeners who discovered the show through the Joe Rogan Experience and those requesting "Goat Karma" for upcoming medical surgeries.
Randy Holcomb, IBM Mainframe Titles, and Error Reporting
Randy Holcomb is knighted with a title potentially referencing the AS400 IBM mainframe. The hosts discuss difficulties in locating specific donation notes within their physical binders. A protocol is established for listeners to report errors in donation reads by emailing with the subject line "ERROR" to facilitate searching via SquirrelMail.
A detailed report from a producer in Sweden describes the struggle to replace a 1977 COBOL-based government system. The project faces significant hurdles because the original "spaghetti code" is undocumented and the aging programmers who understand it are not training replacements.
The GAO estimates that $60 billion is spent annually to maintain aging federal IT systems, including those at the Social Security Administration. Critics in Congress argue that IT graduates are being "dumbed down" to learn 1960s-era programming. The hosts defend the reliability of IBM mainframes and the AS/400, noting that the airline industry still relies on these robust legacy systems for core operations.
