Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness – 11-26-25

Main Theme

This episode covers a blend of current societal topics and technological marvels. The hosts, John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo, discuss a proposed app to combat solitary drinking in bars, cultural habits around drinking, and then pivot to marvel at humanity’s latest technological leap — China's Mach 16 hypersonic plane. The overall vibe is equal parts irreverent humor, social commentary, and awe at the era's advancements.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Banning Drinking Alone at Bars & The “Drinking Buddy” App [02:44–08:39]

• Origin Story: Holmberg reports on a bar (possibly in New Hampshire) banning solo drinkers, as explained by a bartender's concerns: solo patrons often signal personal distress, can become difficult to manage, and present liability issues for the bar.
• Bar Liability: Bars face risks if a solo customer becomes belligerent, needs help, or leaves intoxicated without someone to intervene ("If I kick you out and you get mad and you drive, the bar's responsible." - John Holmberg, 03:13).
• Regulars vs. Newcomers: Regulars who begin solo often develop friendships. The restriction targets transient or unfamiliar solo patrons in late-night social hours.
• App Proposal: “Drinking Buddy” — an app connecting people who prefer not to drink alone, but also aren’t looking for conversation. Think: carpooling for introverts at social spaces. “We hook up… say, 'Hey, I'm thinking about going to Local Legends. All right, I'll meet you there.' …But Drinking Buddy, that way you can go to bars by yourself and not look like some sort of weirdo … and still, still be alone.” (Holmberg, 03:47)
• Potential Problems: The hosts joke about unintended consequences:
  • Accidental socializing or political arguments: “All right, lefty, I didn't agree to this.” (Bret Vesely, 04:11)
  • App misuse risks: Grindr parallels, “rape trap” jokes, and potential confusion over user intentions.
• Social Commentary: Drinking alone remains a social red flag: “Drinking alone is frowned upon for a reason. Usually it's not a good thing. Like, that's a sign of alcoholism.” (Holmberg, 05:45)
• Personal Anecdotes: Overnight work shifts leading to daylight “happy hour” at home, life crises leading to solo drinking, and the fine line between normal and problematic behavior.

Notable Quote

"Nobody's, like, had a great day alone and goes home and guzzles alcohol by themselves. There's something usually plowed."
— John Holmberg (06:01)

2. Perspective: Living in the Greatest Time Ever [09:00–12:04]

• Gratitude Reminder: Holmberg implores listeners to appreciate life in 2025, referencing technological abundance, on-demand services, and improving living standards.
• Economic Contradictions: A tongue-in-cheek critique of resource misuse — for example, well-off people queuing for free turkeys in luxury vehicles:
  “A dude pulled up in a brand new Trailhawk Jeep Cherokee and grabbed one of the free turkeys … Go buy a goddamn turkey.” (Holmberg, 09:33)
• Modern Complaints: Most problems are “inconveniences rather than true complaints.” (Holmberg, 10:36)
• Technological Progress: Mentions how rapid advances (FaceTime, electric cars, driverless vehicles) have normalized what was once sci-fi.

Notable Quote

"Look around you and tell me this isn’t the greatest time to be a human being, at least here for the most part. Food's in abundance ... The technology’s through the roof. What we complain about is usually fairly easy."
— John Holmberg (09:10)

3. China’s Mach 16 Hypersonic Plane [12:04–25:29]

• The News: China has unveiled a plane capable of circling the earth in seven hours (Mach 16, ~3,050 mph), with test flights already conducted.
• Comparison to the Concorde:
  • Concorde was “Mach 2, about 1,354 miles an hour” (24:28), taking three hours from New York to London. The new Chinese plane halves that, with potential for an LA–Sydney journey in five hours (“this can get me from LA to Sydney in about five hours, four hours.” – Holmberg, 12:21).
  • US and Japan are likely to join the “race to five hours.”
• Technological Speculation:
  • Will it need ‘space suits’ for passengers since it flies 25 miles up?
  • How will sonic booms be managed—US has lifted certain bans to allow supersonic flights over land.
  • Will safety measures evolve — pods, lay-flat cabins?
• Public Reaction & Beta Testing:
  • Would the hosts beta test such a plane? Some would risk it for free lifetime flights, though most agree they’d like to “see it crash once” before boarding. (15:04–15:15)
• Perspective on Progress: A century ago commercial passenger flight barely existed; now, globe-trotting in hours is becoming real. “We don’t even marvel at human achievement anymore.” (Holmberg, 15:36)
• Comic Relief: Banter about traveling on slow blimps (“for people who want to talk too much”), jokes about names (“Your captain of something. Wong.”), and the inevitability of U.S. competition.

Notable Quotes

"The Chinese have invented the Mach 16 airplane. It can go around the earth in seven hours … It can make it from New York to London in an hour and 20 minutes."
— John Holmberg (11:02)

"You’re all excited because you’ve got a GTO that goes 120. That’s crazy talk. Anyway, thanks, Chinese people. If you know a Chinese person today, tell them happy Thanksgiving."
— John Holmberg (25:29)

Memorable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• On Drinking Alone
  • “Drinking alone is frowned upon for a reason. Usually it’s not a good thing. Like, that’s a sign of alcoholism.” (Holmberg, 05:45)
  • “You weren’t exactly in the greatest mental state to be, like, alone drinking. Right.” (Holmberg to Bret, 06:45)
• On Technology and Complaints
  • “Most of the things we complain about are inconveniences rather than true complaints.” (Holmberg, 10:36)
• On the Plane's Speed
  • “If you want to go from LA to New York the long way, six hours, it’s the same flight from LA to New York right now. They can do it and you can go over. It’s unbelievable.” (Holmberg, 12:30)
• On the Human Element
  • “We as human beings, we don’t even marvel at human achievement anymore.” (Holmberg, 15:36)
  • “Think about it. From here to Albuquerque is like five minutes. Like, you want to go to Albuquerque? Maybe one of those would beta crash into Albuquerque. That wouldn’t be so bad.” (Holmberg, 16:10)
• On Competition and Progress
  • “What I know is, and you can’t tell the difference, but it is China, and you’ll piss people off. Say the opposite is that Japan and the United States aren’t going to stand for this. We’re going to build a better … Mach 17.” (Holmberg, 19:32)
  • “And the good thing is now it’s the... the race to five hours. And it’ll happen. Unless we die tragically soon. It will happen in our lifetime. Awesome.” (Holmberg, 24:39)

Structural Overview with Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |-------------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:13–02:44 | Movie talk (Tron and media tangents) | | 02:44–08:39 | Drinking alone at bars, “Drinking Buddy” app, social issues | | 09:00–12:04 | Gratitude and modern abundance, holiday anecdotes | | 12:04–25:29 | Chinese Mach 16 plane, global tech race, testing, banter |

Tone and Style

The conversation is openly irreverent and peppered with quick-witted banter and sarcasm. The hosts blend genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for technology with comic skepticism, regularly poking fun at each other and offering candid opinions on cultural behaviors.

For New Listeners

If you want an episode that typifies HMS’s mix of barstool social commentary, rapid-fire humor, and geeky joy at technological leaps, this is a quintessential example. You’ll hear the guys riff on drinking culture, marvel at engineering feats most of us can barely fathom, and never make it two minutes without a joke — all while reminding us, tongue in cheek, that “we live in the best time in history.”