Welcome back to another episode of Two Dads and Tech. We are your hosts, Troy Munsen and Daniel Burke. Daniel Burke, Burke, Burke, Burke. You are in for a treat. In for a treat. It, it's the day before Thanksgiving.
Daniel, what are you doing for Thanksgiving? All right, so I'm in Asheville right now. If you've watched enough of these episodes, you probably recognize the room I'm in now. It's my Asheville office.
Feels great to have two offices.
I have my home office in Charleston, South Carolina, and about, I don't know, every month or two I go to Asheville where my wife's parents and her whole family live, and that's where I am now.
We're gonna have Turkey Day together as a family tomorrow. Some people driving in from lands far away, Chicago area.
But mostly her family is here, uh, and we're just staying with them, and kids are playing with their cousins. It's a good time. What about you? What are you doing for Thanksgiving tomorrow?
Well, first off, just- Also, do you call it Thanksgiving or Turkey Day? [laughs] I call it Thanksgiving. I'm not, like- I know... I'm not a child. [laughs] I know, I know. Thanksgiving. Some people call it Turkey Day.
There's- I mean- Some of them call it Turkey Day... I don't think anybody, like, legitimately goes around saying like, "Hey, you excited for Turkey Day?" I think it's, like- I know...
more like a kinda, "Oh, you're a close buddy, what are you doing for Turkey Day?" You know? [laughs] That's true. Um- That's true. Maybe, like, off the cuff...
but, but considering that's your second office, you should commute there. You should, you should work from it every day. To, to Asheville? [laughs] Yeah. Like, what is that, four hours both ways? Yeah.
I wonder what the longest daily commute is. Someone has that record. Someone in LA. They don't know they have that record. Someone in Cali. It's gotta be Cali. Or no, maybe- Well, you know, it's gotta be a billionaire.
Oh. It's gotta be someone, like, taking private jets to and fro. You know what? We- Yeah... I think we discussed this on one of the podcasts, is, like, Elon Musk's, like, week. Oh, yeah, Musk.
He's like, "Yeah, I'm in, I'm in DC tonight meeting with the President, and tomorrow I'm in SF, and then tomorrow night- Yeah... I'm gonna be in LA, and then I have to fly back to New York for..." I'm like- [laughs]...
that sounds terrible. Sounds pretty cool. It sounds cool for, like, a day. Yeah, yeah. Then it sounds terrible. Yeah. What am I doing for Thanksgiving? Nothing.
So, weird, in my, with my family in Texas, we do Thanksgiving, right? We all get together, all the fun stuff on Thanksgiving. True. Turkey Day, whatever you wanna call it. Which, real quickly, turkey, overrated.
Just me or you agree? So I had a Friendsgiving. First time I've ever had this. First time I've ever said this word. Hear me out: confit. Have you had- Mm... turkey confit? Turkey confit. I know what confit is.
Oh, my goodness. It is good? Confit. My friend, I've never consumed turkey as delicious as this. You are right, turkey's usually dry, overrated. Mm-hmm. Uh. Like, ham is better, steak is better. Yeah. Chicken- Yep...
even is better. Yep. Lot of meats are better than turkey. But I tell you- Yeah... what, this turkey, confit. Confit. Confit. What does that, what does that mean to confit something?
'Cause I know that there's- I have no idea... a lot of confit- I think you like, you, like, broil it in fat. That's probably not what's happening, but that's similar.
Confit [laughs] honestly, confit means a food that is slowly cooked in fat. [laughs] Hey, I was right. Wow, okay. You're like, "I knew it tasted fat." [laughs] Point number one for Daniel: it was really good.
Oh, that sounds good. Um, so yeah, n- yeah. Anyways, overrated. Really lean, though, I guess, if you're looking out for your figure. It's true. But who's doing that on Turkey Day? Um- It's true...
so my family, uh, they're in Texas. They're all... Actually, we're all starting to disperse a little bit. So my mom, I just saw her, I just drove back from Chicago today, 'cause I saw her.
She's going up to Michigan- Cool... to spend Thanksgiving with, like, her, I guess, boyfriend. They've been together for, like, 11 years. At what point do you stop saying boyfriend?
Is there an age or, like, a time limit of when you stop? That's like a... I don't know. I, they're, they're- Or partner? They're- Significant other?... cohabitant. Cohabitant. I don't know. It is- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I assume that they're gonna elope, and I won't really know. My mom- Maybe... she's been, she's been married, I think, like, three times, and I don't think she really wants to publicly get married again.
So I think they might just- Fair. Fair enough... and I also think in Texas, it's like if you live with somebody for seven years, then you're legally married, and that's their, that's their spiel.
But- You were in Chicago- Uh... I know not for that, but because you were chilling with our boy Travis. Walk me through the plans that could have been that turned into a workout session- Mm...
and how that was, meeting Travis in real life. Yeah. You haven't met him in real life yet, have you? I have once before, actually. Um- Oh, you have? Okay. Well- Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so this-... apologies, Travis.
I know you're listening to this. No- You're our biggest fan. But- He is our biggest fan... how was that, some IRL time with Travis? Dude, it was good. We, we get deep in the conversation, man.
Like, we talk about life and family and just, like, what kinda shaped us into who we are today. Like- Yeah... it's not just like a, "Hey, man, so Gong, ha ha, B2B, SaaS, woohoo." [laughs] Whoa.
Hey, Brian Lamonde is probably listening to this too, man. Hey. Calm your hell out. And nothing, nothing wrong with Gong. We got Gong fans. But we, we barely talk about SaaS, talk a lot about life, all that fun stuff.
Um- Do you realize how little- [laughs]... if you're anything like me, you talk about SaaS in real life, by the way? Like, when you are hanging- I don't, ever... with your friends. Like, ever. Ever.
[laughs] We live- Ever... we live in such a bubble. Anyways, so continue. Yeah. Chilled. Uh- Didn't talk about SaaS. Had a great time. Yeah. A little bit about SaaS, just about his job, what he wants to do, his career.
Um, yeah, I actually wanted to go on, like, a six-mile run, and I forgot my shoes. But I did text him on Saturday or Sunday, and I was like, "Yo, I'm gonna be in Chicago. I wanna run on Monday." And he was like...
He actually, what I took out of this screenshot, he actually [laughs] he actually kinda said no. But- Nice...
[laughs] Travis, and I know you're listening, he was like, "Well, my knee's kinda bad, so it depends on how far we run," or something like that. [laughs] And I'm like- Classic...
I'm like, "How far do you wanna run, then?" And then next thing you know, yeah, I left my running shoes. I was in a rush to get out the house.
But we ended up doing an Ellipt, and it was a back, and I'm, I'm feeling sore. I'm feeling good. Sure. He's a little, he's a little weak boy. That's all right. Um- You're gonna pass me. No, he's not weak.
He's strong, strong in the heart. But- [laughs] Strong... it was good, dude. It was good. Travis is probably somebody that I'll hit up each time I go to, go to Chicago. He's a good guy, good head on his shoulders.
Good, good friend. He's always supportive. Anything I do and anything he does, I'm, I'm there to support him. So it was nice, man. It was nice. It's great to have friends like that.
When's the last time you've met up with anybody IRL from LinkedIn, if ever from LinkedIn? Me? Oh, man. Um, it was funny. I,
uh, not meeting someone for the first time from LinkedIn, but seeing someone who I hadn't seen in maybe 10 years-Who has been apparently or allegedly following me on LinkedIn that entire time.
So it's funny 'cause I was like, "Hey man, it's been forever. When was the last time we saw each other?" It was like before kids. It was like years and years and years. He's like, "Yeah man, but I feel like I know you.
I see you every day on LinkedIn." I was like, "Oh gosh, that is not the me- Dude... I want you to know about." Um, such a fake me. I know. [laughs] Sometimes real. I, I post a lot about family on there, that's real.
Everything else, for the most part, i- it's, it's, it's... I'm, I'm, I'm a very specific type of person on LinkedIn. [laughs] Yes, you are. By design. Dude, you're so funny on LinkedIn.
You're so goofy, which outside of LinkedIn, your X has been popping off. You're like low-key getting a little famous on X. Let's talk about it. I know. [laughs] Just a little bit.
Uh, so the last few weeks, the last few weeks my X, formerly known as Twitter, just so we're all on the same page, X the platform, I got like 15 or 20 million impressions and like 250-plus thousand engagements, so like replies and quote tweets and all that stuff.
It was, it was kind of bonkers. It was all really, really dumb stuff.
Uh, so like a credit card hack that is fake that I was like, if you just pay off your credit card with a balance transfer from another credit card, it's a way to like hack the system and just have an infinite money glitch.
[laughs] I remember that. And people were like, "That can't possibly be true." I was like, "Obviously that's not true." But- Yeah... just rage bait at its finest.
So that got like three and a half million impressions and 20,000 likes and that was wild. There was a few posts like that though.
One was like a screenshot of a very famous marathon runner, I can't think of his name right now, and I was like, "What's stopping you from running marathons and looking like this?" [laughs] And it's just a bodybuilder.
And people were like, "You can't do both." It is a real person who does do both, but just rage bait, rage bait at its finest. I found, though- Yeah... I got paid about 355 bucks from Twitter. Dude, sick.
So sick, I saw that. I mean, that's pretty cool, right? I mean- Yeah... whatever. You know, I get paid every two weeks from Twitter. Usually it's like 20 to 30- That's, that's peanuts. [laughs] I know.
You're like, "That's peanuts." But like, well really, you basically have to destroy your reputation or be famous already to get paid a, a meaningful amount of money from Twitter.
So like I don't usually optimize my content on Twitter to get paid, but I was like, I'm just gonna lean in and just like post to be viral these two weeks. And 355, I was like, eh, like it wasn't worth it.
Like, it's cool. It's cool that you get paid money from Twitter to be goofy, but like, I don't know. I'm like, whatever, I'll just keep going back to the regular strategy I think moving forward. Okay. It was fun, though.
Cool. It was fun while it lasted. You ever let the comments get to you? Like people are just like, "This kid, dude's an idiot," like ever? I did once. Yeah, tell us. I, I did once.
I can't even remember what the comment was 'cause I completely removed it from existence. But yeah, I mean, people get so upset online and it's just... I- it's somewhat comedic.
When you look back in hindsight, you're like, why, why did this post about like raking... I, I had a post that go- went viral about raking leaves. It was like, If I lost everything right now, I would door knock- Yep...
and get people to pay me to rake their leaves, clean their gutters. People got so offended. People alway- people m- you- half the internet is there to find something to be offended by. Mm-hmm.
That's just how the internet functions. That's what news outlets are a lot of times optimizing their headlines for is like to get reactions from people.
So yeah, no, I legitimately right now cannot remember what, what got to me. Yeah. Yeah. But I, I like let it get to me and then I was like, you know what? Nope, moving on. So it's like- Yeah. Yeah...
you gotta just keep your wits about yourself and you'll be fine. Yeah. It's kinda what I'm doing on this whole TikTok thing, just eating food. Yeah. People have so many weird- So many... strong opinions about food.
It's like, relax. Yes. It's a wing, dude. I know. I know. [laughs] Like it's not that serious. People love their food, man. Dude, people just love their opinion, honestly- They do... more than anything.
They're just like, let's, let's like have this opinion and just shove it down people's throats. Yes. Oh, don't even get me started on the people on LinkedIn. Ugh. Oh, dude. It's everywhere.
It's not even- The, the screenshots that we send to each other, I'm like, oh. So many. So many. It's so- Speaking of opinions. Yeah. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, Turkey Day. Mm. Lot of opinions- Gobble, gobble, gobble...
going around the dinner table. Mm-hmm. And depending on how your family is or who you're eating Thanksgiving with, I realize this time of year a lot of people are eating or spending time with not their family.
I know there's some of the different nuances out there, and so we're super mindful of that. But like there's topics that are sort of off topics or off, off limits rather. Yeah. And, uh, you know, your typical ones, like
are you guys having kids to the newlyweds. Mm. Or who did you or are you going to vote for. Or- Yeah... like faith and religion is sometimes off limits. A lot of things off limits, but we have a list of questions.
Some of them are pretty r- pretty basic, pretty general.
Other ones are a little bit more nuanced and I think really the, the, the bulk of this episode is gonna be like, hey, here are 10 questions that you should ask your family during a Thanksgiving dinner.
And give us some feedback in the comments on YouTube or on LinkedIn, X, like wherever you know us from, and tell us how these conversations go.
Some of them I actually think are gonna go well, but you know, some of them maybe you're in for a surprise. Uh, Troy, I know you have some questions. I do, too. Do you wanna start?
You know, I, I feel like when we were talking about this, about creating questions, I always... I just kind of went like the funny route, which I feel- Great. Let's start there... may-
well, I mean a, a lot of them [laughs] like one of them is, is for example, the pregnant one, or are you ex- you shouldn't say are you expecting to somebody that you know is definitely not expecting.
[laughs] That would be- Just because like, ah. Yeah. But or maybe they're trying. Hey, oh my gosh, how far... No, that's bad actually. If they're trying- I know it is... you say how far along are you, and they're like...
Sorry. No, it's rough. 'Cause there's people out there trying and, and that's really- I know. That's rough. That's rough. Oh, gosh. That's, that's one of those off limits one, ones. Yeah. That is. No, it's a...
You're, you're right. I think of like m- honestly like my family. Um, my... H- how deep do I get here? We...
There's somebody in the family that's significant other we just really do not vibe with, like don't kind of- Man... come around. Um- Is that person listening to this episode right now?No.
No chance Do not, do not stain- You know-... what could have been a great relationship with Daniel Burke because of what his co-host Troy Monson is doing right now. No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no. But like,
just like, uh, like, "Hey, are you still with that guy?" Like, I don't know. There, there's a lot of... What, like what questions... Let me actually tell you, my Thanksgiving dinner is very surface level.
Is that a problem? Because we're just like, "Hey, how's your job?" "Oh, it's going well." You know- "Okay"... so here, let's, let's dig in here. Yeah.
You said something to me the other day in passing that I don't even think you thought about when you said it. You said it was...
We were gonna have a guest on, and we both had some questions prepared, and you said, "You ask the deep questions. I don't know how to be deep," or something to the effect. I, I- Mm-hmm... I'm paraphrasing.
You're like, "I'm super surfacey. You, you have- Yeah... you're better at being deep."
I said, and again I'm paraphrasing, that is a skill anyone in my opinion can learn how to exhibit, characteristics people can lean into to ask good questions. And honestly, we talk a lot about sales.
Like in sales, you ask good questions- Yeah, for sure... you're a better seller. But in real life, asking good questions can be very uncomfortable.
And typically you're not trying to sell something, you're really just trying to dig and pry and- Yeah... draw out people that you're close to. And I think... So let's start with my list of questions. Yeah.
Yours is wild and goofy. 'Cause I actually think you are not unique in that. I don't think you're unique in that.
I think a lot of people don't know how to get a layer deeper with their family members, and they're all sitting around a table with 10 people, maybe five of which they haven't seen in years.
You know, extended relatives, uncles, aunts, and like, "What do I even ask this person? Oh, so your haircut looks nice." Like that's- Dude... a stupid question. It's all it is. Don't say... Ask these questions.
So 10 Thanksgiving dinner questions to ask your family. Number one: What's one thing you're grateful for this year that you would not have been grateful for last year? Mm. That's a question, question number one.
See, that's... I don't even know who I'd- I think it's a great question... ask that one. And here's what my advice is to anyone asking some of these questions to your family tomorrow during Thanksgiving.
Ask a question, introduce the topic. Say, "Hey, I would love to ask some questions that I came across on the internet that I think would establish like a really good, healthy conversation with the family."
Ask a question. So say, "What's one thing you're grateful for this year that you weren't grateful for last year?" Then shut up. Literally, we're gonna pause right now for five seconds.
It's gonna make everyone uncomfortable. Just say nothing. That's how long it's gonna take for anyone to say anything. [laughs] Literally no... People aren't gonna say anything. I swear my table would be so...
Everyone would, would be looking at each other like, "Oh, do we really get to..." Like we have such a surface level family. Man. Ask that question tomorrow. See what happens. I'm gonna go to the next question.
I'm not with them. I'm not with them. And if you have- Keep going. Troy, if you have questions or answers, go ahead, jump in. But question number two, top 10 Thanksgiving dinner questions to ask your family.
Question number two: If we could delete one family tradition and replace it with a new one, what family tradition are you deleting, and what are you replacing it with? No. Again- I feel like-... wait five seconds.
Just let it happen. I'm gonna answer this real quick though. Yeah. Just to kind of- Go for it... keep it... We don't have many, because we're so dispersed and all over the place. Like I don't...
Oh, scratch offs for, for Christmas, but that's not Thanksgiving, so we have nothing for Thanksgiving. What I would love to do is replace it with, and we actually I think we're gonna start it next year.
My mom has a condo in Gulf Shores, is we're all gonna go out there as a family next Thanksgiving- Yep... and hope that we have like a family reunion every single Thanksgiving. 'Cause we're only getting older.
We're only getting older, y'all. So that's one that I, that I hope that we can replace it with. That's great. Yeah.
And I just watched an interesting podcast about, uh, Alzheimer's and some of the lifestyle and health regimens that can contribute to early onset dementia and Alzheimer's and stuff, and it happens way earlier than you think.
The reason I bring that up is because you said, "We're getting older." Like you and I are still early 30s, but we actually are getting older.
Like early 30s, late 20s even is when some of the health establishments that you're gonna stick with for the rest of your life without intentionally deterring from those things, they start to take place.
I mean, it just is what it is, just common biology. Okay, question number three, top 10 Thanksgiving dinner questions to ask your family: What is the pettiest thing you've ever been thankful for? That's a great one.
I feel like a lot of people could have a lot of very interesting questions here. I'll go first. The Jura E8 coffee machine that I have in my kitchen at home right now. I love that thing. I'm legitimately grateful for it.
It's petty. I don't need it. It's a luxury I do not need to have to survive, but man- Holy cow... that thing is awesome. This thing? Don't... No. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I got it used, Facebook Marketplace.
Everyone chill out. $2,574 and $2,800. No, no, no, I did it... I did it for $2,800. Hey, stop doxing me. Stop doxing me. Dog. Hold up, this? Yes. My man's got a Starbucks in his house. [laughs] It's nice.
He- It's nice... wow. But I got it on Facebook Marketplace. Everyone chill out. Wow. Everyone chill out. Wow, okay. Well, my petty thing, I don't know, my golf sim probably. Kinda like- Okay... I'm grateful for that.
Yeah. You stupid idiot. What is that, $12,000? [laughs] Oh, you have a cool coffee machine? I have a freaking basement built for a golf course.
But [laughs] but I pro- and I probably don't use it as much as a coffee machine, to be honest. So, hey, what's more justifiable? Probably yours. All right. All right. We're both, we're both living the good life.
Let's just move on from that question. Question number four, top 10 Thanksgiving dinner questions to ask your family: Which person at this table would survive the longest in a zombie apocalypse, and why?
Dude, I, I already know if I ask this question tomorrow, and I'm going to, who is going-To be every single person's answer, it's gonna be unanimous, and it's gonna be my brother-in-law.
He will survive the zombie apocalypse forever. Like, he'll just live his life- Is he just huge or what? [laughs]... in the zombie. Uh, well, he just, he just, like, carries a knife. He knows how to shoot.
He's, he's just like that guy- Yeah, yeah... that if you're in a zombie apocalypse, like, you latch onto him. He's just gonna be fine. He's just prepared. But that's a great question.
Question number five, top 10 Thanksgiving dinner questions to ask your family. Here's a good one. Let's talk about this one. What is one thing you've changed your mind about this year? Hmm.
That's a good one because I feel like, I feel like... Yeah, that's a good one. [laughs] I know. That, that's a really good one. Hmm. I'm not answering, by the way. I'm not gonna answer this one. No? Nah. No. What...
Actually, I could probably answer it. Let me think about it. Um- That entrepreneurship is fun. [laughs] Hmm. Yeah. I think it's- What about you? Yeah. For me, I think it's, I don't know if it's, like,
something I've changed my mind on, but the grass is not always greener. Mm. And I think two kind of unrelated things.
The grass is not always greener, and that's something I've really leaned into in the last 12 months, like, this calendar year. I'm like, succeed and excel and give your all where you're at.
Don't always, like, hope for, like, the next best thing because the grass isn't always greener. And I think the second thing... No, I'm blanking.
I'm blanking on the second thing, but I think the grass is not always greener. And I think i- in the, in the season of gratitude,
I've learned, like, I am immensely grateful for what I have, for who I have, my wife, my kids, the situation I'm in in life. You know, I have a job that I love.
I have a business that I love, too, you know, one with you and one with my wife. I just don't... Like, life is good. And- Yeah. Yeah, yeah...
I think when you look at w- the world as just a directionally, like, there is, you start when you're born and you stop when you die, and there's just no way out of that loop. Directionally, I feel like I'm doing great.
Like, I'm just grateful. I'm grateful for life. Yeah. And so, yeah, one thing you've changed your mind about this year, that's a good question. Everyone listening to this, ask your family that.
I think you'll find great conversations come from that. Yeah. You might only have to ask that question tomorrow and have a whole conversation for the entire dinner- Yeah, it's a good one... based just on that. Okay.
It's a really good one. Question number six, top 10 questions to ask your family during Thanksgiving dinner. If you could instantly master one skill going into next year, what would it be? Hmm. I'm waiting.
I'm waiting five seconds. You want me to answer this? Yes. It's kind of feeding into the same realm of the surface level is learning how to... And it's, I think when, when emotions are attached, I stay surface level.
In sales, I can hear a pain, and I can dig in on a pain because I don't ha- I'm not emotionally attached to that deal, you know?
But for some reason, getting the emotions out of my body and [laughs] out of my mouth, out in the open, that's just not a thing that I'm really good at it, really good at, at all.
So, like, that skill of just being able to open up, that's actually... It's, it's a lot of, it's a lot of things that I'm talking about right now with many people.
It's just, like, opening up because I don't, I don't like to. I don't like to. Yes. That's a good response. Uh, instantly master? I think- Golf... being able... [laughs] Yeah, actually golf did cross my mind.
[laughs] Uh, it would be so cool just, like, instantly- That'd be sick, yeah... become a scratch golfer and just you're just, you're, you know, overnight. Hey, I'm over here like a loser just being so serious.
[laughs] No, no, no. Uh, my, my thing is, again, this podcast I listened to about Alzheimer's was interesting.
One of the, one of the main markers, like, for your whole life, uh, propensity to develop something like that is your level of chronic stress.
Not acute stress, like got a huge project, you're under a lot of stress to finish it with a deadline. Like, that's not... It's just, like,
you know, if zero is here and if you're not watching, I'm at, you know, zero on a graph.
You're always at 20, 30, 40, uh, on a stress level of, like, you know, zero to 100, and then when you're really stressed, you're, like, at 100. I would love to master being stressed.
Like, I just want to just not be stressed about the things that, like, really don't matter.
And not to not work hard and give my all and to, like, have a level of urgency that I think is required to be successful in a lot of different areas of life, but, like, not be figuratively or literally losing sleep over it.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think that would be, if I woke up tomorrow and just had a master level of the ability to handle with and resolve the amount of stress I feel, oh, that'd be huge. That'd be sick. That'd be huge.
That'd be huge. Yeah. One more thing is also I'd love to master how to be embarrassed. Ooh. I don't, I don't- That's a good one. Yeah. I don't public speak. I don't like public speaking. This little, like- Really?...
wing this- I don't get that from you. Yeah. Yeah. But I could do it. I could wing it, but I'm, I, I hate it. Like, eh, so I host these demo days and it, you know, it's virtual, so albeit, so,
but I host them and it, it's very natural, very fine. But just standing there, and I've done it before, um, just standing there talking to a crowd full of people, not my thing. Yeah. And I want to learn.
That's a skill, public speaking, that I'd love to learn, but then the feeling of embarrassment. So, like, this stupid little passion, like, passion project wing thing. I'll go eat wings.
Recording myself in public is so weird and I can't- Yes... get over it, and I've done 19 of them now. And I'm like, "Dude, I just can't, I can't figure it out. I can't figure out how to break that embarrassment."
And I think it'll just come with time, reps, reps, reps, but- Yeah... that's one, yeah.
I think, I also think that's a feeling that a lot of people avoid, and they shouldn't, is, like, just the feeling of being embarrassed. Like, just put yourself out there. And opportunities fall into your lap.
You know this. You just put yourself- Yes... out there. You'll get, you'll get opportunities. I think people's ability to intentionally be uncomfortable- Yeah...
is their largest speed bump in life in so many different examples of this. Like, be uncomfortable.Embarrass yourself. You will find a lot of new opportunities in life from just being embarrassed.
All right, question number seven, top 10 questions to ask your family on Thanksgiving. What is the funniest or most unhinged thing a kid or someone in our family has said this year? Hmm. Hmm.
All right, yeah, I, I couldn't think off the top of my head. Probably something from Leo- Yeah... my son, but- I'd have to think too... or my, or my, my sister. [laughs] Or my mom. Geez, they all say some wild stuff.
My mom was saying some wild stuff in Chicago. I was like, "Relax. Give me a break." [laughs] Yeah. Ugh. There have been some funny ones. I didn't think about that one, but I'm sure there's a long list of them.
Uh, question number eight. What's one thing you would tell yourself at last year's Thanksgiving? Ooh, that's a good one. Chills.
If you could go back in time and tell yourself something a year ago, Thanksgiving 2024, what would you say? Hmm. Don't trust that fart in JCPenney. Oh, exactly. Oh, I tot- trust that.
I was gonna say the same exact thing. Are we both just- Ugh... letting it rip in JCPenney? [laughs] Uh, what would I... Ooh. I know. I think I would say it's not that serious. Hmm. I would be super vague.
My past self would be like, "What the, what do you mean?" But, like, I think that's what I would say. It's not that serious. You know what I would say? It's a, it's a phrase that
one of my good friends I met from LinkedIn, Brian Hamer- Hmm... he wears it on his necklace, and I love it, and it's just, "What did, what did you expect?" is all it says on his necklace, and I love that. It's good.
It's kinda like, along with yours, not that serious, like, what did you expect? So I, I like that, and that can relate to almost any scenario where there, where there is an outcome. So what did you expect?
What did you do- Mm-hmm... to get there? Mm-hmm. Um, so yeah, I like that one. I'm, I'm gonna stick with that one for now. Yeah. Okay. Question number nine, top 10 questions to ask your family during Thanksgiving dinner.
If Thanksgiving dinner were Shark Tank, the TV show, which dish are you investing in? And which one are you sending home? The turkey confit. [laughs] The turkey confit. That's what I'm gonna be. I'm, I'm- Let's see...
I'm 100% investing in that. I'm investing in- Is someone making it?... beans, potatoes, tomatoes. [laughs] Is someone making it at the family Thanksgiving? Uh, I don't know. I actually have no idea what the spread is.
Uh- Dude, what is that? I'm so uninvolved- I, I-... with the food, like, like embarrassingly- Until it's time to eat... uninvolved. Yeah, I just eat it. I will say I'm a huge, ooh, I'm a sucker for any potato
variant, right? Hmm. Like, a, oh, mashed potatoes. Chips, fries, mashed, smashed. Anything. Which also- Yeah... on, on the count of three, say the worst style of potato. You ready?
I think we're kinda lagging, so it's gonna be- I can't even, I can't even think. No, there's one. There's one. Everything else- I can't even think of a bad one. I can't even think of a bad one. No, no, no. No, no.
They're all good. But this is the worst of all the good ones. Just think of, like, what, which one you don't typically eat and which one you'd prefer not to eat over all the others. Okay. Okay. All right? Okay. Ready?
One- Yeah... two, three. Baked potato. Casserole. Baked potato. Oh, even- I'm thinking of, I'm thinking of, like, the potato casserole. I like all of them. I will literally- Me too...
smash every single form of potato, including- Me too... baked. I just like, dude, baked potatoes, it's like it takes 50 minutes to cook, and then, like, you're- Oh, I don't cook it... you're dressing and stuff.
That's, see, that's where you and I are different. You just eat it, right? I, I just sh- no, I just show up to one that's already made, or I don't eat it at all. Okay. I'm a loser. I'm a three-year-old.
But, like, okay, but here, how about this? You're at a restaurant, and it's like, here's tater tots, mashed potatoes, and a baked potato. Which one are you getting last, and which one are you getting first?
But, like, w- is it just a baked potato, or is it, like, filled with deliciousness? I mean, like, you got, like, cheese and fixings and all that stuff. That's delicious to me. I mean, it is.
[laughs] If you don't want- I, no, no... you don't want a baked potato? I'm tell, I'm telling you, it's all... I love tater tots though. That's a bad example.
The baked potato skin, uh, someone fact-check me on this, but I believe that is the healthiest part of the potato, is the skin. I'll fact-check you right now.
Which most potato forms don't have anymore, but the baked potato still does. Let's see. I know that's true for an apple. [laughs] But I, I assume it's true for a baked potato. Is the baked potato skin f- good for you?
It is very good for you because it's a concentrated source of nutrients, particularly fiber, potassium, iron, and vitamins. That's exactly what I thought. This guy knows- Those four things... his potatoes. That's right.
I'm just a, I'm a potato noob, I guess. You're just a potato noob, yep. You just go to McDonald's and eat the french fries, which, mind you, are delicious, and you should do that.
Question number 10, top 10 questions to ask your family during Thanksgiving dinner. What is something you want more of next year, and what's something you want way less of?
I want less money and more stress. [laughs] No, I want- Agreed... um, God, just make my life harder. Um, I want... Oh, I'm hungry. I haven't eaten lunch yet, and it's 3:11, and we're talking about potatoes.
Hmm, what do I want? I want less screen time. More? I don't know. I know. Hold on. Less screen time's really good.
I, and I think I could a- agree with that, but I feel like we've talked about our screen time issues so many times that I almost want to remove that from my answer. I kinda wanna- That's my answer. Yeah.
No, that's a great answer, and I think that it applies f- to probably 98% of people that are listening to this, if not more. Yeah. Um- More books. I want more- Yeah... time reading a book that's not on a screen. Okay.
So I want more time, it, it's definitely in that same vein, more time learning, even if it's not books. Like, 'cause I, I, I, I'm really bad at reading books.
Not because I can't read, but because my patience and my attention span is just crap. Yeah. But, like, learning. I feel like there's many different outlets to learn these days, and so that's what I think.
I want more family time tooI think that's a given. More family time. You and I both want more family time. I do. But like I, I actually do. I know. And less screen time and more family time actually are very- It-...
like hand in hand. One- They are... means the other in many, in many ways. But I mean- That's why, if-...
honestly, if you just remove the screens, I'm not automatically a selfless person, and I think f- more family time requires selflessness and being giving and, you know, loving and just like a nurturing parent and husband.
So, like, you know, I need more of those things to- Yeah... enjoy more family time, too. I think I always enjoy it, but you know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
Honestly, this one, I don't drink a lot. I'm not a big drinker, but- Yep... off, off, on, I'll, I'll go around the bars a little bit. Don't drink at all during the weekdays. Don't- There you go...
feel like there's any need for that. But I could even say less alcohol, even though I don't do it much. Like the- How much would less be?
Like in a perfect world, in a given year, how many, how many days are you drinking? Maybe like once per weekend, assuming something's going on that weekend, if not less. So like, for example- Yeah...
my father-in-law will come over on a weekend and we'll cook dinner and stuff, and he'll be like, "Hey, anybody want a gin and tonic?"
And a lot of times, I don't feel obligated to say yes, and actually lately I've been saying no. But sometimes I'll have like one gin and tonic, and I'm like, "What was the point of that?" Like I- Yeah...
I didn't need that. Not that I, I feel any certain way. I'm not gonna feel any certain way the next day, but it was just unnecessary.
Even though I think I just saw an article last week or two weeks ago saying gin and tonics are the healthiest cocktails for you. I believe gin and vodka are the least caloric, right? Okay. Something like that, dude.
Yeah, I don't remember. I think tequila was the least calories. Oh, tequila. I might be getting vodka and tequila.
But I think that there's a actual like studies behind, like the good things behind gin, but then again, everything's in moderation, right? Like you can't just go- Yeah...
out there and chug a bottle of gin and be like, "Yo." It's true. Health. Even water. The crazy thing is water poisoning is a real thing. If you drink too much water, like that- Yeah...
that's when I'm like, well, my entire paradigm is just like crushed. Yeah. I'm almost 515 days, or over 515 now, without alcohol. Pretty crazy. That's so crazy. Good for you. Yeah. Thanks. Um, s- so less alcohol, more,
more money. [laughs] More, more... Yeah. Yeah. More emotions. Feel like we always- Everyone could do... Well, not everyone, but- I was gonna say, we could always use more, but then it's like, well, some people don't.
Yeah. Yeah, some people don't. All right, five bonus questions then we're gonna, they're, we're, we're wrapping it up. Mm. Next five- Go... minutes, rapid fire round. Controversial Thanksgiving topics.
Number one: should people have kids if they can't financially afford them? Yes or no? Mm. Let's just go, let's just go yes or no here. No thoughts behind it. Oh, I wanna think about it, though. Um.
[laughs] My answer's yes. People have been having kids without money since the beginning of human- That's true... history, and I think it's just, w- w- we're just fine.
Like, there's probably a, like within reason, like- That's true. Like- Yes. I mean, you always figure it out. You always- You figure it out... get a kid, you always figure it out. You figure it out. Well, most cases.
Let's not say always. Um. Yeah. Yeah. People should have more kids. All right. Question number two: controversial topics to ask your family during Thanksgiving dinner. Do parents today baby their kids too much?
Or are older generations just completely out of touch with modern-day parenting and risks? Out of touch and a little mix of both. Yeah. I would- And then- I would say both. Yeah. Yeah. Both.
Yeah, I think older generations have- They're so out of touch. Yeah.
They have a lot that they did well, but they're totally out of touch with just the technology aspects of what we're dealing with and the aspect of information overload, all that stuff. Yeah, for sure.
Uh, question number three: controversial questions to ask your family during Thanksgiving dinner. Is marriage still necessary or is it just an outdated contract that people cling to out of tradition?
Hm. I don't know. I don't have an answer for that one. Yeah. Um- I think I would, if I were to answer this, I would say the word necessary needs to be tweaked. It does.
I think marriage is still good, and I think marriage still brings about a lot, even biologically, a lot of really good outcomes for- Yeah...
family units, for people who are spouses, for the commitment of a true long-term relationship. I think, I personally, we're both married to our wives. Like, I think marriage is good and people- Yeah...
should still get married. Yeah. Yeah. All right. But I, yeah, I was trying to... I was sitting there thinking like necessary- I know. I know, necessary...
you can still be in a long-term relationship with your partner or whatever- Yeah... and be very happy, right? So- Necessary threw me off. Yep.
Number four: is it selfish to prioritize your career over your family during the years that your kids are young? I think so. I was... I'm doing that, and I think so. I, I think so, too.
I was having a conversation with someone once a- about this before I was a dad, and I was kind of like trying to think through. Like I, I wanna be a dad, but I'm like married to my job. It's like, ah, what do I do?
I can't juggle it all. I'll just get a, a nanny for the first five to 10 years of their life. They're not gonna remember it anyways, you know? It's- I was like, that doesn't sound- 'Cause I'm gonna remember it...
like what I want. Like, I'm gonna remember it. Yeah. And also like, I think they are, too. It's- Yeah, five to 10... in like the formative years, like their whole existence is gonna be shaped by these five to 10 years.
Yeah. So yeah, I do think it's selfish. Again- Yeah... you gotta, there's a pendulum, but I do think it's, there's, there's selfishness there. Yeah. Yeah.
Should families stay geographically close, or is moving away and chasing opportunity the only sane modern choice? Just depends on the relationship with the family. Yeah. I agree. The, I don't think it matters.
I think that it's nice to have family, and I think it's, it's a beautiful thing, but some families are really, really disoriented and, like, need some help. Yep. And I don't think...
Maybe it's better to not be close to them. So- That's true... yeah, that's a, that's a hard one. I feel like we can't- Yeah... really answer that black and white. No, uh, I don't think there's a general answer for that.
I do think there's something to say about geographic proximity to maintain closeness. I, I've experienced this with my family. We're in Charleston, they're in Seattle,
and like, I was like, "Guys, one of us is gonna have to budge for this to work long term because we're, we're just way too far away.
So if we want to be close, it's just gonna make more sense for us to be close in proximity." And, and that is true. Now, we're all in the Charleston area, and it's, like it, it, it shows.
Um, one of us is in Vegas, but for the most part, we're all in Charleston. So anyways, this episode has been about questions to talk to your family about during Thanksgiving dinner.
And honestly, you can talk about it during any meal.
You don't have to wait till Thanksgiving, but we all know a lot of people come together to eat really good food, and in many cases it's people who you haven't seen since last Thanksgiving, maybe you haven't seen in years.
And so these are like some icebreaker conversations, and you can answer them surface level, but you can also go pretty deep with them. And I think if nothing else, they're gonna prompt a lot of really good discussion.
So you know, leave a comment on YouTube, hit us up on LinkedIn, on X, you know, wherever you find us. You know, go to Two Dads and Tech. Leave us a comment, um, there on, on the website.
Reach out to us, daniel@twodadsetechntech.com. Like we wanna hear like how these conversations go. Were these helpful? If not, let us know that as well. But subscribe on YouTube, rate us all the good things.
Check us out on twodadsetechntech.com. Any thoughts? Any closing remarks, Troy? Five stars, please, on everything. Please, we're begging you. Um- We are begging you. But no, Two Dads in Tech, twodadsetechntech.com.
Y'all already know. Um, and if you don't, welcome. But- Welcome... that's it. Happy Thanksgiving, also. Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Enjoy time with your family. See you next Wednesday. Bye.