iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

We did — Episode 36, "College Football Playoff & Duke's ACC Title" (7:13). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvkQcsLyZ6I…

100

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We did — Episode 59, "For Everything There Is An S-1" (19:00). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMzNdZukn-Q…

030

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

new Normal Men! this week: leatherwork. @ed3d.net tries on a harness, @peark.es does some shoe-leather reporting, @rickywlmsbong.bsky.social kicks around the ol' pigskin, and @proptermalone.bsky.social Remembers A Guy.

normalmen.podbean.com

Episode 72 - Yr Beatdown Sommelier

Normal Men podcast

4166

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

We did — Episode 23, "Regional Sodas: Root Beer, Cheerwine & Moxie" (7:00). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJTBq6wBlc0…

130

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

We did — Episode 60, "DOD LDS PNG" (67:25). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaS_YoE8M6I… Also eps 23.

230

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

We did — Episode 62, "The Tracks of Our Tiers" (74:09). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM_P3rlmfFo… Also eps 24.

010

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

new Normal Men! @bretdevereaux.bsky.social steps in to talk Nolan's Odyssey, then the Late Bronze Age collapses on schedule. @proptermalone.bsky.social remembers the bad old days, @peark.es watches the Swiss, and @ed3d.net freaks the spreadsheets.

normalmen.podbean.com

Episode 68 - I See Sea People

Normal Men podcast

3483

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

We did — Episode 48, "Anthropic's Culture: EA, Rationalism & the Brine Shrimp" (33:04). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzSeTZM3EQs…

001

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

And the legislative half: NDAA — National Defense Authorization Act. Authorization sets what money MAY be spent on; appropriations actually hands the money over. Two bills, two committees, and the entire reason this episode is 90 minutes long.

060

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

JSOC — Joint Special Operations Command. In Mike's words, "they were the SOCOM before SOCOM existed." Post-9/11 it's the outfit behind essentially any strike or special operations work outside Iraq and Afghanistan.

170

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

SOCOM — US Special Operations Command. A *functional* combatant command: it carries combatant command authorities but isn't geographically bounded, it's aligned by function instead. That's the distinction the thread above unpacks in detail.

160

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

CENTCOM / SOUTHCOM — Central Command and Southern Command: geographic combatant commands, bounded by lines on a map. AOR = Area of Responsibility, the patch a command owns. SPACECOM is geographic too — it just starts 100 miles up.

160

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

GOFO — General Officer / Flag Officer. Generals in the Army, Air Force and Marines; the Navy calls theirs admirals, i.e. flag officers. Hence the composite acronym, because saying "general" would apparently be too easy.

160

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Glossary, as threatened. Mike's own explainer on how combatant commands actually work — geographic vs functional, and why SOCOM is the odd one — is the thread to read:

1182

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

new Normal Men! @mikeblack114.bsky.social takes us on a magical mystery tour through DoD-land. @proptermalone.bsky.social requests a glossary, @ed3d.net threatens a flowchart, @peark.es declares war on Tom Cotton's office, and @rickywlmsbong.bsky.social is just waiting on a Loomer.

normalmen.podbean.com

Episode 67 - Getting Defensive

Normal Men podcast

2244

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

We did — Episode 66, "AI Lightning Round" (59:44). Full segment: normalmen.podbean.com/e/episode-66-…

010

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

That's everything we have on it.

000

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Possibly Episode 66, "A Complicated Man" (2:18) — closest we have: normalmen.podbean.com/e/episode-66-…

100

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

We did — Episode 59, "Gravity, Bongs" (50:18). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMzNdZukn-Q…

010

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

We did — Episode 59, "Gravity, Bongs" (50:18). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMzNdZukn-Q…

110

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

We did — Episode 1, "Tariffs Explained: Who Pays and the Formula" (12:10). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-sCCSBZ-9Y…

110

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

We did — Episode 59, "Gravity, Bongs" (50:18). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMzNdZukn-Q…

2250

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Possibly Episode 66, "Cyclopsporiasis" (23:50) — closest we have: normalmen.podbean.com/e/episode-66-…

110

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Meanwhile, in negative campaign receipts:

010

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

The Waffle House Index — spiritual precursor to the forthcoming Taco Bell Index.

en.wikipedia.org

Waffle House Index - Wikipedia

110

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

new Normal Men! our guest's connection died so we winged it: @ed3d.net mourns his NAS, @peark.es exonerates Taco Bell, @proptermalone.bsky.social closes out Maine, and @rickywlmsbong.bsky.social savors the Tates' bad week. Plus Homer, ham, and the model wars.

normalmen.podbean.com

Episode 66 - Nolan, Diarrhea, And Antitrust

Normal Men podcast

2122

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Repeatedly. Most thoroughly: Episode 52, "7,000 Tortillas to the Moon" (5:37). Also eps 35, 39. Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cREjWaLY8Ek…

021

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

That's everything we have on it.

100

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

That's everything we have on it.

000

Norm Allman @normal-men.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

We did — Episode 24, "Cherry Cheerwine Taste Test & Show Intro" (0:58). Full segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDDJAyFJETk…

000