Brad and Mark caught up on various personal and professional projects. Mark discussed his ongoing work on Real Entrepreneur, including the implementation of new software features like geo-redirections and link shortening tools. He also shared his experience with a recent 18-hour power outage that affected his work and plans to invest in better backup power solutions.

Brad shared his progress with creating Final Cut plugins for generating single-word captions and his experience with Instagram algorithm customization. They discussed the potential for Mark's pigeon racing business to benefit from a tokenized approach, with ideas around using token holder rewards to support pigeon-related expenses.

The conversation also touched on recent AI developments, including the Chloe vs History content creator and Mark's observations about targeted advertising.

AI, Cameras, Chaos & Real Business

Mark and Brad kick things off covering Brad’s latest book release and his “secret” YouTube channel focused on creator tools and gear — which, realistically, won’t stay secret for long.

The conversation quickly moves into AI, with Mark heavily using Claude and comparing it to ChatGPT. His current take is that Claude is more useful for real business workflows, while Brad’s more sceptical — mainly due to the sheer volume of AI-generated content flooding the internet.

That leads into a bigger discussion:

• Brad’s view: AI is going to create massive noise — more bots, more spam, more low-quality content
• Mark’s view: AI is a leverage tool — the right people will use it to massively increase output and efficiency

They land on the idea that AI won’t replace people — but people using AI will outperform those who don’t.

Mark then talks about running AI locally instead of relying on cloud services. He’s exploring low-power Linux machines to host AI agents, with costs gradually dropping but still not trivial. Brad points out the obvious trade-off — high RAM requirements and rising energy usage.

The more practical takeaway is combining AI with human roles. Mark’s looking at hiring a Romanian VA supported by AI to effectively produce the output of multiple staff, while Brad is using AI as a support tool for writing and creative work rather than replacing it.

From there, the conversation drifts (as it does) into gear.

Brad is upgrading to the Panasonic Lumix S5 II, mainly for its 6K open-gate capability, allowing him to shoot once and crop for multiple formats — saving time and increasing content output.

Mark, not to be outdone, is planning to pick up an Insta360 Pro 2 with an Explorer Grip to create more immersive and flexible content.

They also touch on AI-powered editing, music generation, and how tools inside Final Cut are becoming surprisingly powerful — particularly for speeding up production and creating more engaging content.

A few classic OGNT tangents follow, including hologram performances like ABBA Voyage, cancellation culture, and how public perception seems to bend depending on the situation.

Mark then shares some behind-the-scenes reality from building Real Entrepreneur — specifically working on geo-based pricing for memberships, which has turned into a technical headache involving DNS, subdomains, and developer coordination.

Next steps:

• Brad: Test AI video editing workflows and push content on his new channel
• Mark: Finish geo-redirect system, fix DNS issues, and continue building out Real Entrepreneur
• Both: Potentially launch a token next week

Bottom line:

AI is powerful, messy, and evolving fast. Most people will use it badly. A small number will use it very well — and those are the ones likely to win.

And in the middle of it all, it’s just two guys figuring it out in real time… while buying more gear than they probably need.

OGNT Podcast — Episode 4

“Crypto Degens, AI Arguments, and the Birth of More Bad Ideas”

Episode 4 of Old Gits New Tricks was essentially two middle-aged internet veterans trying to figure out whether the future belongs to AI, crypto tokens, or Romanian webcam girls running 24/7 AI clones of themselves.

Spoiler: we didn’t reach a final answer.

The Episode in a Nutshell

Mark and Brad kicked things off talking about the weird and wonderful world of meme tokens — particularly the success of BastardGuy’s TLLT token on the streaming platform Pump.fun.