October 28, 2025 • 24 mins
The mic feels heavier at 100—not from gear, but from history. We started with a doctoral dare, a $40 class, and a shaky first recording. We built a library that helped learners pass A+, Network+, and Security+ while connecting the dots between hardware, operating systems, storage, networking, and the human choices behind every device and policy. Along the way, our mission sharpened: pair skill with story, prioritize curiosity over checkboxes, and keep ethics at the center of cybersecurity and cloud.
We revisit the moments that defined the journey: early fundamentals that formed a base, a pivot into security architecture and zero trust, and the realization that protocols carry purpose. DHCP becomes resource allocation. Firewalls express trust. Wireshark reveals perspective. The show grew with the audience—from notes to narratives to lived stories sent from classrooms, help desks, and late-night study sessions. A single email about subnets “finally clicking” mattered more than download spikes, shaping how we teach: simpler words, stronger analogies, and transparent context.
Five pillars now anchor everything we make: accessibility for every learner and veteran, context that grounds acronyms in origin, curiosity that asks better questions, community that turns listeners into collaborators, and reflection that slows tech long enough for wisdom to land. We also share the personal side—health resets, renewed consistency, and the choice to keep going when the stats dip—because sustainable teaching requires a sustainable teacher.
Looking ahead, we’re doubling down on practical Q&A, live sessions, and clear paths through Network+, Security+, and cloud that never lose sight of ethics and inclusion. If you found value in the archive—from storage myths to authentication breakthroughs—help steer the next hundred. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s studying, and send your biggest question for episode 101. Your curiosity sets the agenda.
Interviews with Tech Leaders and insights on the latest emerging technology trends.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Art By Sarah/Desmond
Music by Joakim Karud
Little chacha Productions
Juan Rodriguez can be reached at
TikTok @ProfessorJrod
ProfessorJRod@gmail.com
@Prof_JRod
Instagram ProfessorJRod
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:27):
And welcome to Technology Tap.
I'm Host J.
Rodney.
In this episode, it is episodeone hundred of Technology Tap.
Let's talk about it.
(01:11):
Today we pause.
Today we reflect.
Before we move on to the nextchapter, wherever that may lead,
we look back at the first 99episodes.
The stories, the lessons, thepeople, the growth.
When I launched this podcast, Inever imagined we would build a
library of nearly 100 episodes.
I thought maybe a handful ofepisodes, some steady listeners,
(01:33):
and a modest archive.
What emerged instead was acommunity, a journey, a living
classroom.
So join me now as we walkthrough that journey, the
themes, the milestones, theturning points, and how they
shape what technology tap hasbecome.
Let's begin.
(01:53):
The moment we press record, thespark, a professor, a
microphone, a mission.
I was told by one of myinstructors when I was doing the
doc my doctoral program to writea paper of what are my three
goals.
And one of them, you know, twoof them I thought of right away,
(02:14):
which was, you know, write apaper and do a presentation.
But I couldn't think of thefirst one.
And it had to go in an order oflike which is going to be the
hardest one.
So for the easiest one, I pickeddoing a podcast, thinking that
she would never ask me to do it.
And then she turns around andshe tells everybody, all right,
do number one.
And I and I wrote to her and Itold her, I don't know how to do
(02:35):
a podcast.
And she said, figure it out.
Fortunately, I had like maybe aday or two later, I got an email
from my local community college.
And when I clicked on the email,it's it it I couldn't believe
it.
It said how to how to create apodcast.
It was a class that they wereoffering online for like 40
(02:55):
bucks.
So I signed up and I, you know,I was able to do it.
It finished the class, and thelady was great.
And I was able to create myfirst episode.
And I just showed it to people.
Like I, you know, I submitted itas my assignment, and I was
showed it to my family, myfriends, and they were like,
wow, is this you?
(03:16):
And I was like, Yeah, they werelike, wow, this is really good.
Even the lady who was teachingthe class asked me if I was on
radio before.
I guess, I don't know why.
I guess I got a radio voice.
I don't know.
I hate the way I sound aboutvoice, but most people do.
So then I thought, you know,maybe I can help you pass your
comp T exam and also show thestory behind the technology.
(03:39):
Right?
This podcast will give you helpwith passing your Compte exams.
We also sprinkle differenttechnical technology topics,
which is one of the firstepisodes I think I wrote.
So from that statement, sprang adual mission, skill plus story.
Skill, the fundamentals, thecertificates, the hands-on
story, the past of computing,the contest of cybersecurity,
(04:01):
the human angle.
In the early episodes, we laidour foundation A Plus
Fundamentals, network protocols,then the history from punch
cards to microchips.
We told the story of howmachines make humanity.
I remember one early episode,The Hidden World of Internet
Addressing, where we walkedthrough public versus private
IPs, how the internet speaks toitself.
(04:23):
And I took a moment to reflecton the bigger picture that isn't
just numbers, it's identity.
And just like that, the missiontook shape.
Equip, explain, connect.
The early themes, foundation.
Every technician needs a base.
A plus fundamentals, operatingsystem, storage, networking.
Those early episodes were thebricks.
(04:45):
History and context.
How does RAID matter?
Why does boot order matter?
Because they are part of thestory of how technology evolved.
We explore that in the episodeExploring the Digital Realm,
User Interface and Networking inOS.
Human tech bridge, not just how,but why.
How does it affect you, thestudent, the learner, the person
trying to belong in this field?
(05:09):
As we passed the first 20episodes, something changed.
The community got clearer, thequestions got deeper.
We weren't just installingdrives or configuring routers.
We were asking why securitymatters, how remote work changes
the game, what responsibility wehave as technologists.
We introduced the series A PlusFundamentals, Network Plus,
Cybersecurity Fundamentals.
(05:30):
We branched out, we done intoenterprise security
architecture, zero trust, clouddeployment.
The contact mattered.
And I matured.
I shifted from simple teachingexams to sharing insights from a
field, from education, fromlived experience.
I remember telling studentstechnology isn't a mystery, it's
(05:50):
a map.
Because the more we understandthe story, the better we
troubleshoot, the better weteach, the better we learn.
Episodes began to reflect thedual identity technician plus
educator.
The mic became a bridge betweenlabs and lecture halls, between
certification prep and careerpurpose.
The shift towards cybersecurityfundamentals, we recognize the
(06:12):
demand, the urgency.
The deep dives into history, notjust how drives work, but why
drives change the way we savedata?
The growth of the audience,students reaching out, veterans
returning a spectrum oflearners, finding value, my own
growth, doctorate completed,health journey, the recognition
that this podcast was more thancontent.
(06:33):
It was a mission.
So what are the themes thatcarried across all 99 episodes?
The ones you hear, the ones youstill hear in episode 100 and
beyond.
Let's highlight.
Curiosity over count overcompliance.
Sure, we teach forcertifications, A, Network Plus,
Security Plus, but the realdrive is curiosity.
(06:53):
What if I understand deeply, notjust tick the box, right?
Check the box.
Story behind the system.
An SSD doesn't just store data,it represents a leap in
expectations.
A firewall isn't just a device,it represents trust policies,
right?
We've told that story.
Inclusion and access.
(07:14):
Students of all backgrounds,veterans returning to civil
civilized careers, womenentering cybersecurity.
The architecture we buildincludes everyone.
Ethical responsibility.
Text without ethics is chaos.
We explore zero trust, cloudrisk, human identity in digital
form.
The story always includes whatwe should do, not just how.
(07:35):
Education as an empowerment.
Ultimately, this is about you,not just the podcast host, the
listener, the student, thetechnician, the lifelong
learner.
Take a moment, think of theepisode that changed you.
Maybe it was a zip versus CDwhen you remembered an early
backup mistake.
Maybe it was the one onauthentication that made
security click.
Whatever it was, thank you forbeing part of that journey.
(07:59):
Let's reflect on the archive asa whole.
99 episodes is not just anumber, it's nearly 100 hours of
stories, nearly 100 chapters inthe textbook of technology and
education.
What do we learn when we viewthem as one continuous
narrative?
We set evolution from hardwareto software, from site local
labs to cloud global systems.
(08:20):
We see mindset shift from fixthe PC to secure the network,
from install the drive to alsoprotect the data.
We see mission clarity, help thelearner, explain the why,
connect the tech to the human.
In those episodes, we revisitedtopics like operating systems,
networking, storage, bootprocesses, security
(08:42):
architecture, cloud strategies.
Each time we layered in story,context, and meeting.
And we did so in the language ofan educator because you're not
just listening, you're learning.
And I believe learning should bestory-driven.
I learned that teaching isn'tabout just giving the answers,
it's about asking betterquestions.
(09:02):
I learned that the audienceoften knows more than they
admit.
I just need to guide thenarrative.
I learned that health, balance,life outside the classroom
mattered.
A podcast like a career issustainable only when the person
behind it is grounded.
(09:44):
Let's list what the first 99episodes have given us.
A foundation of technicalliteracy from boot order to BLAN
tagging from IP address to zerotrust framework.
A deeper understanding ofhistory, seeing where we came
from, mind frame, mainframes,floppy disk, early network, so
we can more clearly see wherewe're going.
(10:06):
A community of learners, thosewho wrote in, reached out, past
exams, changed careers, apedagogical model, technology
education that is accessible,story rich, certificate
certification aware, a legacyarchive, 100% 100 episodes is a
teacher's library, a student'sresource, a career toolbox.
(10:30):
And for me personally, one moregift clarity of purpose.
Because when you recorded 99episodes, you know what matters,
you know what doesn't, and youknow your voice.
So now we stand at the thresholdof episode 100, not just a
milestone, but a moment ofreflection and projection.
Because 100 episodes won't lookbackwards, it'll look forward.
(10:54):
But before we go there, let'spause here.
Breathe in the first 99episodes, the stories, the
lessons, the people, the tech,the growth.
Let's honor that chapter.
Thank you to every listener, toevery student, to every educator
who played an episode in class,to every person who said, I
(11:16):
passed my exam because of you.
You made the first 99 episodesmeaningful.
And now with episode 100, we'llcarry that meaning into the next
chapter.
When you reach 100 episodes,something changes.
The microphone feels heavier,not from the weight, but from
history.
Because behind each episode liesa story, behind each story of
(11:38):
reason.
So let's go deeper, not justinto the timeline, but the soul
of Technology Tap.
If you listen closely, you canhear how the toll evolved.
In the early days, I read fromnotes.
By episode 30, I was tellingstories.
By episode 60, I was seekingthrough narratives.
By episode 90, I was livingthem.
That evolution mirrors thegrowth of technology itself.
(12:00):
Think of our transition fromstatic websites to interactive
cloud platforms, from typingcommands to speaking to
machines.
The same happened here.
Technology tap becameinteractive, alive, human.
Listeners began sending stories,their first computers, their
exam trumpets, their failuresand combats.
Those become part of the show'srhythm.
(12:21):
Here's an email that I got froma student.
Professor J.
Rod, I passed my security plustoday.
Thank you for breaking downsubnets like a storyteller.
My daughter and I listened toyour first episode on Floppy
Disc.
She couldn't believe we onceused these.
You made the cloud make sense tome.
No buzzwords, just clarity.
Each message a bite ofgratitude.
(12:41):
Each voice proof that educationcan travel further than any
network cable.
Access 99 episodes, five pillarshave held technology tap
upright.
Accessibility.
Every learner deserves adoorway.
Every veteran or first genstudent, everyone can learn tech
if we speak human first.
Context, we never drop acronymswithout ancestry.
(13:03):
DHCP wasn't just a protocol, itwas a product of never
evolution.
Ray wasn't a number, it was anidea.
Curiosity, the best techniciansaren't those who know
everything.
They're the ones who never stopasking why.
Community, this podcast became astudy group without borders.
SUNY, Mercy, WCC, YC's, allconnected by curiosities.
(13:26):
Reflection.
Technology moves fast, butwisdom requires stillness.
Each episode offered a moment topause and ask, what does this
mean for us?
When I listen back, I hear thosefive themes woven into every
episode, like source code thatcompiles the entire journey.
Behind every episode lies theunseen world of preparation,
(13:47):
late nights writing scriptsbeside a humming desktop.
Coffee stained on a notebooklabeled network addressing
draft.
Power outages in the middle ofediting, students knocking on
the door, just as I say, welcomeback to technology tab on my
notebook.
The Microsoft, the microphonebecame a confessional booth for
tech educators everywhere.
(14:08):
Every record button carriedintentions to teach, to connect,
to remember.
And let me tell you, some ofthese recordings almost didn't
make it.
There were moments of doubt.
Would anyone listen?
Would anybody care?
But then I get an email from astudent saying, Professor, I
finally understand a particulartopic.
And that was enough.
(14:29):
Because at that moment,technology tab wasn't just
audio, it was impact.
Every lab, every exam wediscussed, every example we
discussed have a bigger messagehidden inside.
When we configured DHCP scopes,it wasn't just about addresses,
it was about allocation.
When we analyzed Wiresharkcaptures, it wasn't about
(14:49):
packets, it was aboutperspective.
And even when we explorecybersecurity, it wasn't just
defense, it was about duty.
Episode 68, haunting weak spots,remains one of my favorite
because in that one we connectthe technical to the ethical.
We reminded ourselves thatcybersecurity isn't paranoia,
(15:10):
it's preparation.
From those lives of philosophyemerged.
Technology without empathy, it'sjust engineering.
Our responsibilities aseducators and practitioners is
to build a system that protects,empowered, and includes ethics.
By the time episode 80 arrived,I aired, I noticed something
(15:31):
beautiful.
Listeners wasn't just local,they were global.
Downloads from Kenya, Brazil,the Philippines, India, Germany,
different accents, samecuriosity.
It reminded me that learningknows no borders.
Technology has always been auniversal language, binary
translated into billions ofdialects of creativity.
In those later episodes, weexpanded our focus cloud
(15:54):
computing, AI, digital ethics.
We didn't just ask what's next,we asked who's next.
Who will lead, who would teach,who will design the next network
of knowledge.
And that's when I realizedTechnology Tap has become more
than a podcast.
It has created or evolved ortaught modern learners.
(16:16):
Let's zoom out.
If you were to map the first 99episodes like a network diagram,
what patterns would you see?
History notes, turning, IBMfloppies, IBM floppy disks,
punch cards, hardware clusters,CPUs, RAM, motherboards,
connectors, network layers, IP,DNS, DCP, security gateways,
(16:37):
encryption, authentication,policies, human interface,
design, accessibility,education, mentorship.
Together they form thetechnology tab topology, a web
of interconnected learning,every topic from branches from
one idea.
Technology is the language ofproblem solving.
That's the legacy of the first99 episodes.
(16:59):
They form a system, not asequence.
You can start anywhere and youalways find your way back to
purpose.
After 99 episodes, here's whatI've learned not about tech, but
about people.
Learners crave meaning more thanmetrics.
They just don't want to pass,they want to understand.
Stories make memory stick, andI've always been a big proponent
(17:21):
of that.
Every technical principleanchored in story becomes
unforgettable, and I've proventhis in my classes.
Education is emotional.
When you believe your studentscan succeed, they start to
believe it too.
And I hardly I agree with thatwholeheartedly.
Technology changes for curiositydoesn't.
It's the one constant variablein this digital equation.
(17:44):
The best teachers never stopbeing students, and I'm still
learning from every email, everymessage, every download.
I want to pause to thank you.
If you ever plus play, if youever shared an episode, if you
ever learned one new termbecause of technology tap, you
are part of this milestone.
(18:05):
And I thank you, you know,deeply, deeply thank you.
To my students, you are thereason this exists.
To my colleagues, thank you forbelieving that learning can be
fun.
To my family, thank you forunderstanding that just one more
edit sometimes means threehours.
And to my listeners, thank youfor trusting my voice through
(18:27):
your speakers, your earbuds,your commutes, and even your
nights before the exam.
We tapped into something notjust technology, but
transformation.
99 episodes, each one a pulse ofpassion, each one a fragment of
a greater story.
The story of how technologymirrors the human spirit.
(18:50):
When we started, we explored thehow.
Then we discovered the why.
Now, as we stand at 100, weprepare for what's next.
Because the tap never stops.
It keeps flowing.
One episode, one lesson, onelife at a time.
So, with that being said, again,I want to thank anybody who's
(19:12):
ever listened to this, you know,sometimes I call it dopey
podcast of mine that I do frommy home office with ambulances
running in the background.
I don't know if you ever hearthat, or fan buzzing, or my dog
barking.
You know, I just want to thankyou.
You know, 100 episodes is a lot,and I and I know I haven't been
(19:35):
consistent until lately, thelast maybe two months, I've been
trying to be very, veryconsistent, trying to build up
this community.
Like I had a nice community, youknow, from 2020 to 2023 or 2024,
but I just, you know, I had totake time off, and you know, the
doctorate really took a toll onme health-wise, you know, uh, I
(19:58):
gained a lot of weight.
I was, you know, my I was not inthe best of health.
So I took a year and just, youknow, dedicated to my my health
and you know, physical andmental health, and and and I
came up with a plan on how I wasgonna continue this.
And I was gonna be more, youknow, social media available.
(20:21):
You know, I'm on TikTok, eventhough I don't understand it.
I'm on Instagram, even though Idon't understand that either.
LinkedIn, I've always been on,and I'm still there, you know,
and I'm on here.
So again, 100 episodes, neverthought I would do it.
Uh, my professor kind of likechallenged me to do this, and
(20:42):
you know, over a hundredepisodes later, here I am, you
know, and and it's and it hasits down points, right?
I check, you know, every day howmany people are listening to to
this.
And you know, and it'sdisappointing when I when it on
some days I only get threelisteners.
But it's great on some days whenI get 200 in one day.
(21:05):
So it has its ups and downs, butI'm not I'm not gonna give up.
I'm not I'm not giving up.
I'm gonna do this, you know,another hundred episodes,
another 200 episodes.
I'm not here to make money, youknow.
I'm I'm here to to help peoplewho want to get certified.
I got seven.
I got seven cop tiercertifications, and I wish I had
(21:28):
a mentor who could help me.
And uh so I decided to be amentor.
Hopefully, I'm uh, you know, youguys who are listening to this
kind of see this as a you know,can see me as a mentor.
So what's next for technologytab?
Well, you tell me.
I mean, I've I being episode 100made me reflect and go over like
(21:49):
what's the what's the mostpopular ones and the it's the
questions, it's the questionanswers ones are very, very
popular here.
So I don't know.
I I want to do more questionsand answers.
I want to do more, you know,TikTok live, you know, with
question and answers.
I think we can do that once Ifigure out how it works.
(22:13):
So you tell me guys, what do youwant to what do you want me to
do with technology tab?
Email me please at professorjrodjrod at gmail.com.
Tell me what you want to hear.
Tell me a topic that you want tolearn.
Do you want me to do networkplus?
Do you want me to do tech plus?
Like, you know, tell me now, andI'll try to I'll try to fit in.
(22:35):
As always, please follow meYouTube.
I'm on YouTube, please follow methere.
I don't have a face, it's justthe the the voice.
Follow me on LinkedIn, follow meon TikTok, follow me on
Instagram, please, prof atProfessor Jrod.
Right?
That's that's that's both mythings.
(22:57):
And if you never see my face,you can see you'll see it on uh
on uh Instagram and and TikTok.
So you can put the the name tothe face, and you can see why
that teacher thought I had aradio voice, right?
So again, once again, thank youso much for listening to it.
So here's to the next hundred,everyone.
(23:19):
Keep learning, keep questioning,and always keep tapping into
technology.
Thank you so much.
(23:44):
This has been a presentation ofLittle Cha Cha Productions, art
by Savra, music by Joe Kim.
We're now part of the Pod MatchNetwork.
You can follow me at TikTok atProfessor J Rod at J R O D, or
you can email me at Professor JRod J R O D at Gmail dot com.
And welcome to Technology Tap.
I'm Host J.
Rodney.
In this episode, it is episodeone hundred of Technology Tap.
Let's talk about it.
(01:11):
Today we pause.
Today we reflect.
Before we move on to the nextchapter, wherever that may lead,
we look back at the first 99episodes.
The stories, the lessons, thepeople, the growth.
When I launched this podcast, Inever imagined we would build a
library of nearly 100 episodes.
I thought maybe a handful ofepisodes, some steady listeners,
(01:33):
and a modest archive.
What emerged instead was acommunity, a journey, a living
classroom.
So join me now as we walkthrough that journey, the
themes, the milestones, theturning points, and how they
shape what technology tap hasbecome.
Let's begin.
(01:53):
The moment we press record, thespark, a professor, a
microphone, a mission.
I was told by one of myinstructors when I was doing the
doc my doctoral program to writea paper of what are my three
goals.
And one of them, you know, twoof them I thought of right away,
(02:14):
which was, you know, write apaper and do a presentation.
But I couldn't think of thefirst one.
And it had to go in an order oflike which is going to be the
hardest one.
So for the easiest one, I pickeddoing a podcast, thinking that
she would never ask me to do it.
And then she turns around andshe tells everybody, all right,
do number one.
And I and I wrote to her and Itold her, I don't know how to do
(02:35):
a podcast.
And she said, figure it out.
Fortunately, I had like maybe aday or two later, I got an email
from my local community college.
And when I clicked on the email,it's it it I couldn't believe
it.
It said how to how to create apodcast.
It was a class that they wereoffering online for like 40
(02:55):
bucks.
So I signed up and I, you know,I was able to do it.
It finished the class, and thelady was great.
And I was able to create myfirst episode.
And I just showed it to people.
Like I, you know, I submitted itas my assignment, and I was
showed it to my family, myfriends, and they were like,
wow, is this you?
(03:16):
And I was like, Yeah, they werelike, wow, this is really good.
Even the lady who was teachingthe class asked me if I was on
radio before.
I guess, I don't know why.
I guess I got a radio voice.
I don't know.
I hate the way I sound aboutvoice, but most people do.
So then I thought, you know,maybe I can help you pass your
comp T exam and also show thestory behind the technology.
(03:39):
Right?
This podcast will give you helpwith passing your Compte exams.
We also sprinkle differenttechnical technology topics,
which is one of the firstepisodes I think I wrote.
So from that statement, sprang adual mission, skill plus story.
Skill, the fundamentals, thecertificates, the hands-on
story, the past of computing,the contest of cybersecurity,
(04:01):
the human angle.
In the early episodes, we laidour foundation A Plus
Fundamentals, network protocols,then the history from punch
cards to microchips.
We told the story of howmachines make humanity.
I remember one early episode,The Hidden World of Internet
Addressing, where we walkedthrough public versus private
IPs, how the internet speaks toitself.
(04:23):
And I took a moment to reflecton the bigger picture that isn't
just numbers, it's identity.
And just like that, the missiontook shape.
Equip, explain, connect.
The early themes, foundation.
Every technician needs a base.
A plus fundamentals, operatingsystem, storage, networking.
Those early episodes were thebricks.
(04:45):
History and context.
How does RAID matter?
Why does boot order matter?
Because they are part of thestory of how technology evolved.
We explore that in the episodeExploring the Digital Realm,
User Interface and Networking inOS.
Human tech bridge, not just how,but why.
How does it affect you, thestudent, the learner, the person
trying to belong in this field?
(05:09):
As we passed the first 20episodes, something changed.
The community got clearer, thequestions got deeper.
We weren't just installingdrives or configuring routers.
We were asking why securitymatters, how remote work changes
the game, what responsibility wehave as technologists.
We introduced the series A PlusFundamentals, Network Plus,
Cybersecurity Fundamentals.
(05:30):
We branched out, we done intoenterprise security
architecture, zero trust, clouddeployment.
The contact mattered.
And I matured.
I shifted from simple teachingexams to sharing insights from a
field, from education, fromlived experience.
I remember telling studentstechnology isn't a mystery, it's
(05:50):
a map.
Because the more we understandthe story, the better we
troubleshoot, the better weteach, the better we learn.
Episodes began to reflect thedual identity technician plus
educator.
The mic became a bridge betweenlabs and lecture halls, between
certification prep and careerpurpose.
The shift towards cybersecurityfundamentals, we recognize the
(06:12):
demand, the urgency.
The deep dives into history, notjust how drives work, but why
drives change the way we savedata?
The growth of the audience,students reaching out, veterans
returning a spectrum oflearners, finding value, my own
growth, doctorate completed,health journey, the recognition
that this podcast was more thancontent.
(06:33):
It was a mission.
So what are the themes thatcarried across all 99 episodes?
The ones you hear, the ones youstill hear in episode 100 and
beyond.
Let's highlight.
Curiosity over count overcompliance.
Sure, we teach forcertifications, A, Network Plus,
Security Plus, but the realdrive is curiosity.
(06:53):
What if I understand deeply, notjust tick the box, right?
Check the box.
Story behind the system.
An SSD doesn't just store data,it represents a leap in
expectations.
A firewall isn't just a device,it represents trust policies,
right?
We've told that story.
Inclusion and access.
(07:14):
Students of all backgrounds,veterans returning to civil
civilized careers, womenentering cybersecurity.
The architecture we buildincludes everyone.
Ethical responsibility.
Text without ethics is chaos.
We explore zero trust, cloudrisk, human identity in digital
form.
The story always includes whatwe should do, not just how.
(07:35):
Education as an empowerment.
Ultimately, this is about you,not just the podcast host, the
listener, the student, thetechnician, the lifelong
learner.
Take a moment, think of theepisode that changed you.
Maybe it was a zip versus CDwhen you remembered an early
backup mistake.
Maybe it was the one onauthentication that made
security click.
Whatever it was, thank you forbeing part of that journey.
(07:59):
Let's reflect on the archive asa whole.
99 episodes is not just anumber, it's nearly 100 hours of
stories, nearly 100 chapters inthe textbook of technology and
education.
What do we learn when we viewthem as one continuous
narrative?
We set evolution from hardwareto software, from site local
labs to cloud global systems.
(08:20):
We see mindset shift from fixthe PC to secure the network,
from install the drive to alsoprotect the data.
We see mission clarity, help thelearner, explain the why,
connect the tech to the human.
In those episodes, we revisitedtopics like operating systems,
networking, storage, bootprocesses, security
(08:42):
architecture, cloud strategies.
Each time we layered in story,context, and meeting.
And we did so in the language ofan educator because you're not
just listening, you're learning.
And I believe learning should bestory-driven.
I learned that teaching isn'tabout just giving the answers,
it's about asking betterquestions.
(09:02):
I learned that the audienceoften knows more than they
admit.
I just need to guide thenarrative.
I learned that health, balance,life outside the classroom
mattered.
A podcast like a career issustainable only when the person
behind it is grounded.
(09:44):
Let's list what the first 99episodes have given us.
A foundation of technicalliteracy from boot order to BLAN
tagging from IP address to zerotrust framework.
A deeper understanding ofhistory, seeing where we came
from, mind frame, mainframes,floppy disk, early network, so
we can more clearly see wherewe're going.
(10:06):
A community of learners, thosewho wrote in, reached out, past
exams, changed careers, apedagogical model, technology
education that is accessible,story rich, certificate
certification aware, a legacyarchive, 100% 100 episodes is a
teacher's library, a student'sresource, a career toolbox.
(10:30):
And for me personally, one moregift clarity of purpose.
Because when you recorded 99episodes, you know what matters,
you know what doesn't, and youknow your voice.
So now we stand at the thresholdof episode 100, not just a
milestone, but a moment ofreflection and projection.
Because 100 episodes won't lookbackwards, it'll look forward.
(10:54):
But before we go there, let'spause here.
Breathe in the first 99episodes, the stories, the
lessons, the people, the tech,the growth.
Let's honor that chapter.
Thank you to every listener, toevery student, to every educator
who played an episode in class,to every person who said, I
(11:16):
passed my exam because of you.
You made the first 99 episodesmeaningful.
And now with episode 100, we'llcarry that meaning into the next
chapter.
When you reach 100 episodes,something changes.
The microphone feels heavier,not from the weight, but from
history.
Because behind each episode liesa story, behind each story of
(11:38):
reason.
So let's go deeper, not justinto the timeline, but the soul
of Technology Tap.
If you listen closely, you canhear how the toll evolved.
In the early days, I read fromnotes.
By episode 30, I was tellingstories.
By episode 60, I was seekingthrough narratives.
By episode 90, I was livingthem.
That evolution mirrors thegrowth of technology itself.
(12:00):
Think of our transition fromstatic websites to interactive
cloud platforms, from typingcommands to speaking to
machines.
The same happened here.
Technology tap becameinteractive, alive, human.
Listeners began sending stories,their first computers, their
exam trumpets, their failuresand combats.
Those become part of the show'srhythm.
(12:21):
Here's an email that I got froma student.
Professor J.
Rod, I passed my security plustoday.
Thank you for breaking downsubnets like a storyteller.
My daughter and I listened toyour first episode on Floppy
Disc.
She couldn't believe we onceused these.
You made the cloud make sense tome.
No buzzwords, just clarity.
Each message a bite ofgratitude.
(12:41):
Each voice proof that educationcan travel further than any
network cable.
Access 99 episodes, five pillarshave held technology tap
upright.
Accessibility.
Every learner deserves adoorway.
Every veteran or first genstudent, everyone can learn tech
if we speak human first.
Context, we never drop acronymswithout ancestry.
(13:03):
DHCP wasn't just a protocol, itwas a product of never
evolution.
Ray wasn't a number, it was anidea.
Curiosity, the best techniciansaren't those who know
everything.
They're the ones who never stopasking why.
Community, this podcast became astudy group without borders.
SUNY, Mercy, WCC, YC's, allconnected by curiosities.
(13:26):
Reflection.
Technology moves fast, butwisdom requires stillness.
Each episode offered a moment topause and ask, what does this
mean for us?
When I listen back, I hear thosefive themes woven into every
episode, like source code thatcompiles the entire journey.
Behind every episode lies theunseen world of preparation,
(13:47):
late nights writing scriptsbeside a humming desktop.
Coffee stained on a notebooklabeled network addressing
draft.
Power outages in the middle ofediting, students knocking on
the door, just as I say, welcomeback to technology tab on my
notebook.
The Microsoft, the microphonebecame a confessional booth for
tech educators everywhere.
(14:08):
Every record button carriedintentions to teach, to connect,
to remember.
And let me tell you, some ofthese recordings almost didn't
make it.
There were moments of doubt.
Would anyone listen?
Would anybody care?
But then I get an email from astudent saying, Professor, I
finally understand a particulartopic.
And that was enough.
(14:29):
Because at that moment,technology tab wasn't just
audio, it was impact.
Every lab, every exam wediscussed, every example we
discussed have a bigger messagehidden inside.
When we configured DHCP scopes,it wasn't just about addresses,
it was about allocation.
When we analyzed Wiresharkcaptures, it wasn't about
(14:49):
packets, it was aboutperspective.
And even when we explorecybersecurity, it wasn't just
defense, it was about duty.
Episode 68, haunting weak spots,remains one of my favorite
because in that one we connectthe technical to the ethical.
We reminded ourselves thatcybersecurity isn't paranoia,
(15:10):
it's preparation.
From those lives of philosophyemerged.
Technology without empathy, it'sjust engineering.
Our responsibilities aseducators and practitioners is
to build a system that protects,empowered, and includes ethics.
By the time episode 80 arrived,I aired, I noticed something
(15:31):
beautiful.
Listeners wasn't just local,they were global.
Downloads from Kenya, Brazil,the Philippines, India, Germany,
different accents, samecuriosity.
It reminded me that learningknows no borders.
Technology has always been auniversal language, binary
translated into billions ofdialects of creativity.
In those later episodes, weexpanded our focus cloud
(15:54):
computing, AI, digital ethics.
We didn't just ask what's next,we asked who's next.
Who will lead, who would teach,who will design the next network
of knowledge.
And that's when I realizedTechnology Tap has become more
than a podcast.
It has created or evolved ortaught modern learners.
(16:16):
Let's zoom out.
If you were to map the first 99episodes like a network diagram,
what patterns would you see?
History notes, turning, IBMfloppies, IBM floppy disks,
punch cards, hardware clusters,CPUs, RAM, motherboards,
connectors, network layers, IP,DNS, DCP, security gateways,
(16:37):
encryption, authentication,policies, human interface,
design, accessibility,education, mentorship.
Together they form thetechnology tab topology, a web
of interconnected learning,every topic from branches from
one idea.
Technology is the language ofproblem solving.
That's the legacy of the first99 episodes.
(16:59):
They form a system, not asequence.
You can start anywhere and youalways find your way back to
purpose.
After 99 episodes, here's whatI've learned not about tech, but
about people.
Learners crave meaning more thanmetrics.
They just don't want to pass,they want to understand.
Stories make memory stick, andI've always been a big proponent
(17:21):
of that.
Every technical principleanchored in story becomes
unforgettable, and I've proventhis in my classes.
Education is emotional.
When you believe your studentscan succeed, they start to
believe it too.
And I hardly I agree with thatwholeheartedly.
Technology changes for curiositydoesn't.
It's the one constant variablein this digital equation.
(17:44):
The best teachers never stopbeing students, and I'm still
learning from every email, everymessage, every download.
I want to pause to thank you.
If you ever plus play, if youever shared an episode, if you
ever learned one new termbecause of technology tap, you
are part of this milestone.
(18:05):
And I thank you, you know,deeply, deeply thank you.
To my students, you are thereason this exists.
To my colleagues, thank you forbelieving that learning can be
fun.
To my family, thank you forunderstanding that just one more
edit sometimes means threehours.
And to my listeners, thank youfor trusting my voice through
(18:27):
your speakers, your earbuds,your commutes, and even your
nights before the exam.
We tapped into something notjust technology, but
transformation.
99 episodes, each one a pulse ofpassion, each one a fragment of
a greater story.
The story of how technologymirrors the human spirit.
(18:50):
When we started, we explored thehow.
Then we discovered the why.
Now, as we stand at 100, weprepare for what's next.
Because the tap never stops.
It keeps flowing.
One episode, one lesson, onelife at a time.
So, with that being said, again,I want to thank anybody who's
(19:12):
ever listened to this, you know,sometimes I call it dopey
podcast of mine that I do frommy home office with ambulances
running in the background.
I don't know if you ever hearthat, or fan buzzing, or my dog
barking.
You know, I just want to thankyou.
You know, 100 episodes is a lot,and I and I know I haven't been
(19:35):
consistent until lately, thelast maybe two months, I've been
trying to be very, veryconsistent, trying to build up
this community.
Like I had a nice community, youknow, from 2020 to 2023 or 2024,
but I just, you know, I had totake time off, and you know, the
doctorate really took a toll onme health-wise, you know, uh, I
(19:58):
gained a lot of weight.
I was, you know, my I was not inthe best of health.
So I took a year and just, youknow, dedicated to my my health
and you know, physical andmental health, and and and I
came up with a plan on how I wasgonna continue this.
And I was gonna be more, youknow, social media available.
(20:21):
You know, I'm on TikTok, eventhough I don't understand it.
I'm on Instagram, even though Idon't understand that either.
LinkedIn, I've always been on,and I'm still there, you know,
and I'm on here.
So again, 100 episodes, neverthought I would do it.
Uh, my professor kind of likechallenged me to do this, and
(20:42):
you know, over a hundredepisodes later, here I am, you
know, and and it's and it hasits down points, right?
I check, you know, every day howmany people are listening to to
this.
And you know, and it'sdisappointing when I when it on
some days I only get threelisteners.
But it's great on some days whenI get 200 in one day.
(21:05):
So it has its ups and downs, butI'm not I'm not gonna give up.
I'm not I'm not giving up.
I'm gonna do this, you know,another hundred episodes,
another 200 episodes.
I'm not here to make money, youknow.
I'm I'm here to to help peoplewho want to get certified.
I got seven.
I got seven cop tiercertifications, and I wish I had
(21:28):
a mentor who could help me.
And uh so I decided to be amentor.
Hopefully, I'm uh, you know, youguys who are listening to this
kind of see this as a you know,can see me as a mentor.
So what's next for technologytab?
Well, you tell me.
I mean, I've I being episode 100made me reflect and go over like
(21:49):
what's the what's the mostpopular ones and the it's the
questions, it's the questionanswers ones are very, very
popular here.
So I don't know.
I I want to do more questionsand answers.
I want to do more, you know,TikTok live, you know, with
question and answers.
I think we can do that once Ifigure out how it works.
(22:13):
So you tell me guys, what do youwant to what do you want me to
do with technology tab?
Email me please at professorjrodjrod at gmail.com.
Tell me what you want to hear.
Tell me a topic that you want tolearn.
Do you want me to do networkplus?
Do you want me to do tech plus?
Like, you know, tell me now, andI'll try to I'll try to fit in.
(22:35):
As always, please follow meYouTube.
I'm on YouTube, please follow methere.
I don't have a face, it's justthe the the voice.
Follow me on LinkedIn, follow meon TikTok, follow me on
Instagram, please, prof atProfessor Jrod.
Right?
That's that's that's both mythings.
(22:57):
And if you never see my face,you can see you'll see it on uh
on uh Instagram and and TikTok.
So you can put the the name tothe face, and you can see why
that teacher thought I had aradio voice, right?
So again, once again, thank youso much for listening to it.
So here's to the next hundred,everyone.
(23:19):
Keep learning, keep questioning,and always keep tapping into
technology.
Thank you so much.
(23:44):
This has been a presentation ofLittle Cha Cha Productions, art
by Savra, music by Joe Kim.
We're now part of the Pod MatchNetwork.
You can follow me at TikTok atProfessor J Rod at J R O D, or
you can email me at Professor JRod J R O D at Gmail dot com.
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