Thursday, December 9- James Hulse joins the show to share how things have changed through the pandemic, how his team has kept their business healthy, and also share with us his passion for responsible energy.
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Episode Transcript
Jim: [0:23] Good morning, everyone. Welcome to this episode of coffee with Jim and James. James, I have to tell you a quick story about our guest today. [0:00]
James Cross: [0:31] Wait, wait, wait. What’s James? You gotta, I don’t know, you said James. [0:00]
Jim: : [0:42] Oh, that’s right. We have two James’. [0:00]
James Cross: [0:45] So confusing. [0:00]
Jim: : [0:46] James Cross, I’m gonna tell you a story about James Hulse. OK? [0:00]
James Cross: [0:51] Got it. [0:00]
Jim: : [0:41] And, and ‑‑ if you know my past, CNG and LNG ‑‑ I’m kind of a, a geek in that, where you’re like a techie geek and all that stuff. [0:00]
James Cross: [0:48] Mmm‑hmm. [0:00]
Jim: : [0:48] I’m a geek in that. I remember the first time…This is a true story that I met James ‑‑ he was with, uh, our other good friend, ex‑representative of the State of Texas, Jason Isaac ‑‑ at a trade show and somehow we just got to meet each other. [0:00] [1:03] This might have been between my CenterPoint and Thigpen days, but we just started to geek out on LNG and talking about how one LNG tanker is the equivalent of six and a half CNG trailers and ‑265 degrees and all this stuff. [0:00] [1:19] And, uh, it was a wonderful time and in‑, uh, an interesting part is the friendship that grew, you know, started there and continues to this day and, ironically, through our career, James and I…Hulse, James Hulse and I. [0:00] [1:33] Uh, he then joined CenterPoint a few years later and some other things and…So it’s, uh, it’s ironic how our, our, our paths have kind of always intertwined. So with that, James Cross, let me let you bring in our guest today. If you would believe. [0:00]
James Cross: [1:47] There’s a lot of Jamesing going on. [0:00]
Jim: : [1:51] You’re it. [0:00]
James Cross: [1:52] James Hulse, we are, uh, good friends. Uh, we have a lot of overlap from the TGA, our work there. Um, I think I’ve seen him on a few golf courses here and there as well. [0:00]
Jim: : [2:07] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. [0:00]
James Cross: [2:08] James, if you don’t mind, give us a quick intro, uh, for those that may not know you and, uh, then we’ll follow up some juicy details. [0:00]
James Hulse: [2:20] Yeah, I know, I appreciate it. Thank you guys so much for, uh, inviting me. [0:00] [2:26] Um, you know, I’ve been, I’ve been a fan of the show… When you guys first started, kind of watching what you were doing and very opportune, the timing of things really what…is…defines a lot of the success and knowing when to do something. [0:00] [2:45] Y’all found a gap, especially with, you know, with the conditions of the, uh, you know, the, the pandemic and whatnot. [0:00]
James Cross: [2:54] We… [0:00]
James Hulse: [2:54] And put this thing together that kind of helped to recreate this connection and I love it. I love what you’re doing. [0:00]
James Cross: [3:03] Man, we appreciate that. [0:00]
Jim: : [3:05] Thank you, brother. [0:00]
James Cross: [3:06] We’re hearing more and more. We, we just got back from AGA, this whole data episode, which I said don’t do, but… [0:00] [3:16] Um, we just got back from AGA and we heard such great things from folks out there that very similar, you know, just having somebody and kind of recreating that conversation that, that we’ve all been missing. [0:00] [3:31] Um, which honestly, James, leads to, um, kind of the first question. It’s been a crazy year and a half, two years, almost now. Um, you know, there’s a reason we haven’t ran into each other at a show lately. [0:00] [3:48] How have you been holding up through the pandemic? What’s it look like for you? How things kind of been shaping and changing in your world? [0:00]
James Hulse: [3:59] Well, I mean, things, things, uh, things are definitely, you know, very different or have been very different over the last, what? 18, 20 months, since things kind of, you know, kind of, uh, close down, shut down, just changed, you know. [0:00] [4:16] The way we interact with people has changed, the way you approach people and maintain relationships is very different, you know. [0:00] [4:24] You know, Jimmy talked about, you know, the first time that he remembers him and I meeting, um, now that he brings that up, I do…I, I, I remember that day. [0:00] [4:37] Um, and as he started tell that story, I was a little nervous as to what he would, um, broadcast, but I, I think we have a… [0:00]
Jim: : [4:48] Right. [0:00]
James Hulse: [4:48] A good, um, a good clean track record. So I’m proud of that. So Jason Isaac’s and I can still be friends. [0:00]
Jim: : [4:58] Yeah. [0:00] [[4:58] laughter] [0:00]
Jim: : [4:59] Absolutely. [0:00]
James Hulse: [4:59] He’s probably a‑an avid listener, um, but you know, COVID side, it’s had a lot of change, you know, what was habit and good habits that you developed over years and years through, just typical behaviors and were all interrupted, you know. [0:00] [5:17] I’ll give you one example for, you know, for quite seven years previous to 2020, every morning I got up at 4:45, I was at the gym by five, working out for an hour every morning, come home. [0:00] [5:33] Just the habit of, all right, get the kids ready to get them out, make sure they’re off to school, get to the office, get to where I need to go, more traveling, you know. [0:00] [5:47] When I, when I traveled, I, I created this habit of, uh, reading a, reading a book in flight that I always brought with me. I would read this book as many pages through and I’d, I… [0:00] [6:03] I’m a little high functioning, um, attention. That’s that I got to do different things. I can’t concentrate on one thing for a long time, but I’m good at keeping several things going, so that’s why I call it highly functioning. [0:00] [6:21] But, uh, so I could read a book for an hour or two. And I went through a lot of books, which I really enjoyed, um, then when that kind of came to a screeching halt, that had to change. [0:00] [6:37] I had to find a different way to get in my exercise and workouts, you know, I bought a Peloton. I’m trying to find that solution in walks, in other workouts around the house or, or in the backyard or in the pool and stuff, you know, or… [0:00] [6:57] Um, with, with reading, it was difficult because it wasn’t like that set time when I was on a flight heading to a customer, but COVID change that, my role at the business has changed at that I’m not traveling nearly as much. [0:00] [7:15] So I’ve had to find other places that make sense and are convenient to support what were good habits, but the habits worked because of the convenience of the timing, so that happened, you know. [0:00] [7:29] The other big piece, I think you guys are probably…This show is, uh, is kind of a testament to it, is how you maintain relationships throughout the pandemic. [0:00]
Jim: : [7:41] Yeah. [0:00]
James Cross: [7:41] A little bit. [0:00]
James Hulse: [7:42] One, how do you connect with people you don’t see all the time that you used to. Whether, you know, shows, visiting customers, your employees, your co‑workers. [0:00] [7:54] And the other one is, how do you maintain relationships with the people that you’re staying a lot more, like your family, like, you know… [0:00]
Jim: : [8:04] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [8:05] People that are home all the time that you’re used to having that separation, you know. [0:00] [8:11] It, it kind of reveals in yourself. You’re good in a certain situation, can you be good in all situations? And if you can’t, how quick can you adapt and can kind of overcome. So, you know, I got engaged during COVID. [0:00]
James Cross: [8:29] Oh, wow. [0:00]
James Hulse: [8:30] A lot of things happened kind of during that. [0:00]
James Cross: [8:33] Congrats. [0:00]
Jim: : [8:34] Congrats. [0:00]
James Hulse: [8:34] Thank you, no, I’m, I’m, I’m thrilled. Very happy, uh, found a fantastic lady. And, and she fits well with our family and we fit well with her and…So we’re, uh, we’re thrilled about that. [0:00] [8:51] But, even that during that period, kind of constantly building on, building yourself to be a good partner, be a good, you know, good father. Pandemic and changing behaviour and habits, you know, you got to adjust. [0:00]
Jim: : [9:05] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [9:06] Be quick with it, so. Your show, this thing. It, it’s, you know, it was, it’s always refreshing to see who you have on, to listen to what they’re talking about. [0:00] [9:19] You know, so you’re chosen, uh, a, a testament to that. You would, I don’t know. Would this have happened if COVID didn’t happen? [0:00]
James Cross: [9:30] No way. [0:00]
Jim: : [9:31] No. [0:00]
James Cross: [9:31] Yeah, Jim wouldn’t. [0:00]
Jim: : [9:33] Not at all. [0:00]
James Cross: [9:34] Yeah. It might have been me… [0:00]
James Hulse: [9:37] Yeah, Jim was like, no, I’m getting on the road. [0:00] [[9:41] laughter] [0:00]
James Cross: [9:41] It might have been me and you, James Hulse. [0:00] [0:00] :
James Hulse: [9:45] Definitely. [0:00]
James Cross: [9:45] But, uh, yeah, Jim wouldn’t have been involved. He would’ve been too busy. [0:00]
James Hulse: [9:51] Yeah. [0:00]
Jim: : [9:52] Yeah. [0:00]
James Cross: [9:52] But it is a cool byproduct, um, for sure. [0:00] [9:56] I will say being out on the road this past week, I wondered how it would translate, you know, like, because there’s so many people that I met in a virtual environment and these were going to be some of the first times to really get there, shake their hands and, I’ll tell you, we were open arms. [0:00] [10:20] I mean everyone, I mean literally there were people that came up and hug my neck that I’ve never met before, other than through this podcast and… [0:00]
James Hulse: [10:31] Yeah. [0:00]
James Cross: [10:31] And through Zoom. And so that was awesome because, you know, honestly I was like, uh, what would be to be invited to the table in person, you know, and we were and that was really cool. [0:00] [10:46] So it’s awesome to hear that from folks that have watched it, because ‑‑ I’ve said it before ‑‑ I don’t watch the show a lot, because we live it, you know, we kind of do. [0:00] [11:01] And, and when I do go back, I’m like and I hope people are, hope were checking our boxes too, you know, like I’m really making an impact, we do, so that’s awesome. [0:00]
James Hulse: [11:15] You know, it’s a…I’ve, I’ve always, I’ve always said that disruption creates opportunity. [0:00]
James Cross: [11:23] OK. [0:00]
James Hulse: [11:23] And if you’re in disruption instead, you know, you have to focus on what is the opportunity. Don’t focus on the disruption. [0:00] [11:33] If, if you wanted to create that, that’s what you wanted. If you didn’t, you know, then there’s an opportunity for you to do something. And this was an opportunity you guys jumped on very opportune, very, you know, very intelligent, very smart move and, so. [0:00]
James Cross: [11:52] Thank you. [0:00]
James Hulse: [11:53] I’ll stop praising you now, we’ll go… [0:00]
James Cross: [11:57] Yeah, well, our next three episodes we’re doing a mini series with James Hulse about the impact of Coffee with Jim and James. [0:00] [[12:06] laughter] [0:00]
Jim: : [12:07] Oh, jeez. Let me come down to Earth, because with, uh, James Hulse’s words, I, I’m, uh, you know, how much… [0:00] [12:16] Let, let me do bring it down to Earth. And one thing we talked about in the pre‑show, we talked about it with everybody and it kind of relates to this, is that we kind of set this up like we’re catching up at a trade show. [0:00] [12:35] Just have that open organic conversation, like we haven’t seen each other in two months, hence, like before COVID, when we’ll see each other every month or two months. [0:00] [12:48] And if we were just catching up a trade show today, um, I would ask you, you know, knowing the mobile energy solutions business virtual pipeline, CNG tankers, LNG tankers, a lot of the audience kind of knows about it, but doesn’t, but it’s, it’s mobile. It’s, it’s on the move. [0:00] [13:10] And, you know, I want to dive into that business aspect that, with the pandemic, did it alter, did it change things? What during the pandemic, um, fostered in the mobile energy side? Was it, uh, positive for you guys? Was it challenging? [0:00] [13:27] Give us the, uh, give us what you encounter James Hulse. [0:00]
James Hulse: [13:32] Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Jim. And all your, your, your experience in this business. You have a lot of insight and you can probably imagine a lot of the things that we, you know, had to deal with. [0:00]
Jim: : [13:47] Yeah, totally. [0:00]
James Hulse: [13:48] I mean, you’ve led, you’ve led a business very, very similar for a long time, very successfully, you know. [0:00]
Jim: : [13:56] Right. [0:00]
James Hulse: [13:57] But, you know, the, the actual experience…You know, is well‑deserved, you know, you deserve that. [0:00] [14:03] Um, the actual experience, going through it, you know, you kind of come in. And I remember when we first decided at the tower at CenterPoint to, uh, go to work virtually. [0:00] [14:16] And I had two meeting set for some time in like, um, in April and I pushed them. It’s about, ah, you know, we’re not going to do this in April. [0:00]
James Cross: [14:29] Right. [0:00]
James Hulse: [14:30] Um, we’re, we’re gonna, we’re going to push them to May, Cinco de Mayo. It’s, uh, Corona, anti‑Corona day, Cinco de Mayo, it all makes sense. [0:00] [14:42] Let’s push it to Cinco de Mayo, that’s when we are going to beat Corona. Yeah, well. [0:00]
Jim: : [14:50] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [14:50] I wasn’t even on the…I wasn’t even right on the right year, you know, so, um, you know. [0:00] [14:59] It was…a lot of things in that respect change, you know, we, we had all our employees, you know, we’re consistently…our technicians will consistently come to the shop when they weren’t out on projects. You know, we do projects all over the lower 48. [0:00]
Jim: : [15:18] Yep. [0:00]
James Hulse: [15:18] They would come to the shop and, and they would work together and be together, you know, during the day when they weren’t out. We had to change that, we had to limit cross contact. [0:00]
Jim: : [15:33] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [15:33] So then…and then we also had to help them maintain their relationships with each other, because a lot of times they would show up on projects and rely on each other, because they were working together for 12, 13 hours at a time. [0:00] [15:51] Or they would kind of shift in with one person there. One person there in the morning, one in the evening and kind of have that exchange of information between their shifts of how things are running, any updates. And trying to minimize contact. [0:00]
Jim: : [16:08] Yep. [0:00]
James Hulse: [16:09] Because we were, we’re, we are a smaller group. We don’t have a pool of, you know, several hundred people to pull from, that if two, three percent, five percent get sick, um, that would be okay. [0:00] [16:24] You know, we, we, you know, we have, uh, 12 people in the field. One gets sick, that’s a big impact. [0:00]
Jim: : [16:33] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [16:33] So we were very, very conscious of that. We, we didn’t come out unscathed, you know. We, we, we were, we were affected, but we handled it I think very well, even the other thing about it. [0:00] [16:49] You know, 2020 was…we, we…as we went with the pandemic, we’re trying to figure out what the impact would be and all the impact would…every number was, “Here is our negative impact to the business because of this.” [0:00] [17:05] And for us, we were wrong. In the end, the impact was, you know, our customers, uh, especially utility companies. They were limiting employees from going into homes to do re‑lights, so they stopped doing shutoffs for non‑payment. [0:00] [17:21] We saw it all over the country, there were programs to stop, um, utilities from being shut off for non‑payment, because we were out of work or different things. [0:00] [17:33] Um, so they didn’t want to shut them off, not just for non‑payment, also for if there was, um, work to be done. They had to repair or replace something, they didn’t want to be in the home. [0:00]
Jim: : [17:50] Sure. [0:00]
James Hulse: [17:50] So they did everything they could to maintain the gas flow to that home, to keep it consistently running, which presented a big influx of opportunity for us, because that’s exactly what we do. [0:00]
Jim: : [18:04] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [18:05] We maintain the gas flow, maintain the integrity of the system with injecting gas downstream of the, of the shutdown portion of the pipe and isolation. [0:00] [18:15] So that started taking off and then there were delays, there were some, uh, some other issues that kind of lined up with, um, getting permits or getting things through different government organizations to get pipelines run or replaced, that some shutdowns took longer. [0:00] [18:33] So our 2020 was kind of a, not kind of, it was a record year for us. [0:00]
Jim: : [18:39] Really? [0:00]
James Hulse: [18:40] By activity, by, you know, revenue, by all our key performance indicators, were just radically up. When…if you asked me what was happening in April, I would be shaking my head like, I’m not sure. [0:00]
Jim: : [18:55] Sure. [0:00]
James Hulse: [18:55] But I’m confident it’s not going to be better, you know. You know, we were wrong, um, but wrong in a good way, you know. [0:00]
Jim: : [19:06] Yep. [0:00]
James Hulse: [19:06] They happen to happen, you know, and for us we don’t look at that, “Oh, we had this”. [0:00] [19:14] That wasn’t the win, the win was we quickly adjusted our processes, adjusted how we interacted with each other and adjusted how we, um, flow information, share information and kind of keep our business healthy, our business immune system healthy, our, our, our employees healthy. [0:00] [19:32] Those switches made it us able to kind of funnel all that to opportunity and, and take advantage of it. So, you know, you combine all of that, um, during COVID with, you know, we were going through, um, a divestiture from CenterPoint, you know. [0:00] [19:50] We’ve been working as a, as a competitive energy business under the CenterPoint name since 1997. It’s, it’s evolved a few different times over that, uh, period. [0:00] [20:02] And, um, by before, you know, COVID hit, it was, “Hey, let’s, let’s look at selling this business as well. CenterPoint is very focused on their, um, utility, reg‑regulated electric and gas utility business, which is very successful.” [0:00]
Jim: : [20:19] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [20:19] And it makes perfect sense. You know, that is the big piece. We were…if you look at the pie chart of total revenue, um, you couldn’t zoom in far enough to see the pixels of the line that Mobile Energy Solutions is, you know, so. [0:00] [[20:38] laughter] [0:00] [0:00] :
James Hulse: [20:38] We, you know, we, we weren’t core. We, we are a big support pits. We do support them to maintain the integrity of their, uh, of their systems, um, but not, not a core focus of the business and, and they realize that. [0:00] [20:56] So, well, this, um, industry is growing for you. Your customer base is growing. You need someone that can focus on you and that’s not going to be us. So, let’s put you out to the market and find a good home for you. [0:00] [21:14] And that, that’s what they did. All during COVID, we worked on that as well, so. [0:00]
Jim: : [21:21] Congratulations. [0:00]
James Cross: [21:21] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [21:22] Thank you, thank you. [0:00]
Jim: : [21:23] I mean, that’s, that’s great. [0:00] [21:26] I just want to comment a little bit before, we’ve been focusing so much on ‑‑ you did, um, or bringing it up, I should say ‑‑ we’re in the virtual world, we’re going to get back to conferences, hybrid, we’re learning about this virtual world. [0:00] [21:45] In your world, my past world, you know, the education of, uh, virtual pipeline and how can be of use and keep people up and running, you know, versus like a cut or replace and put a stapling. And, you know, that’s been done for decades and decades and decades, and people are just used to it. [0:00] [22:09] When you throw that into the pandemic time when people are like, “Oh, we don’t want to go into houses and re‑lights. How can we avoid it?” [0:00] [22:20] And I, I think people are going to really probably embrace the virtual pipeline, the mobile energy side a lot more going forward because the time of COVID had may be forced the hand into that. [0:00] [22:35] Is that a feel? Am, am I just getting that feel or is that your feeling too? [0:00]
James Hulse: [22:41] No, that’s, that’s a great assessment. You know, Jim, you, you, uh, you, I guess you’d have the experience to see that and connect the two, um, but yeah, I mean it‑it’s become more of a normal thing. [0:00] [22:59] You know, when I, when I went to CenterPoint and really started helping develop this and, and you were at, uh, at Thigpen developing it as well. The time is very different today. [0:00]
Jim: : [23:12] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [23:12] Back then, we…the, we were up against…we were this new exotic service. [0:00]
Jim: : [23:18] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [23:18] Very different, you know, a lot of people have never done it or heard of it. They’ve used alternate means when they, when they needed to. [0:00]
Jim: : [23:29] Yep. [0:00]
James Hulse: [23:29] And as the service became available and as a new tool, um, that they could use to maintain their gas flows through their customers. [0:00] [23:39] It’s become, um, more widely accepted and now everybody talks about it. Like it’s an everyday thing, which is good for business. [0:00]
James Cross: [23:49] Mm‑hmm. [0:00]
James Hulse: [23:49] Good, you know, we’ve, we’ve accomplished that as an industry. [0:00]
Jim: : [23:54] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [23:55] We’ve accomplished that, shown that it is reliable, shown that it is safe, that it can be done as well. [0:00]
Jim: : [24:03] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [24:03] And then COVID help push that and expose a lot more people in the industry to it, you know. [0:00] [24:11] And so now you see what was trying to get a meeting with a customer and tell them about this and explain what it is and explain how it works to just constantly, you’re hearing, “RFP’s going out from all these different people that would hardly even give you a meeting six years ago”. [0:00]
Jim: : [24:33] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [24:34] But now, they are just, nope, this is a normal process, we’ve got this in our book and it’s kind… [0:00]
James Cross: [24:43] Adoption. [0:00]
James Hulse: [24:43] You get a lot of… [0:00]
James Cross: [24:45] Sounds like… [0:00] [0:00] …
James Hulse: [24:46] fantastic customers that are like, work orders instead of doing this, so. [0:00]
Jim: : [24:51] It’s comfort level, and it, you know. [0:00]
James Hulse: [24:54] Yeah. [0:00]
Jim: : [24:54] The more you use it, the more comfortable, more comfortably they are, the more confident you are and all those things and it’s great to see. [0:00] [25:05] Let me switch gears a little bit on you, because I…it also brought up, uh, a topic that I know that you’re absolutely a champion of and herald it and, uh, the topic of responsible energy, give presentations on it and such like that. [0:00] [25:23] And, you know, those outside of the industry hear the words responsible energy, uh, they’re like, “Whoa, what, what type of political agenda is this?” And it really isn’t, and you do a very good job, James Hulse, of talking about that. [0:00] [25:41] Um, can you fill us in your thoughts? Why are you so passionate about that topic and, and being a champion for sharing that topic with others? [0:00]
James Hulse: [25:52] You know, um, you know. First, to me, res‑responsible energy is pretty simple. It’s, um, entails really the overall integrity of the energy system and limiting waste within there, and also failures within that system. Limit those as much as we possibly can. [0:00] [26:10] You know, we, we need to find, of course, um, long lasting fuel sources that are good for our economy, good for the environment, and good for all of our citizens, and our geographic neighbors as well. [0:00] [26:25] We are a world economy when it comes to energy. Um, and something that works well for all of us over a long period of time, what works well today and what can work well as, as technology develops. [0:00] [26:40] But, you know, my, my take on it and my focus on it is really, um, more about that reliable energy delivery and about it being as, as, um, as pure as it can be. [0:00] [26:54] Because wh‑when it’s not reliable, it’s not available to everyone, everyone doesn’t have the same, um, economic advantage. [0:00] [27:03] They don’t all have the same opportunities to, uh, to excel, the same opportunities to open their own business, or some opportunities to maintain kind of their, their stable future and their income. [0:00]
Jim: : [27:17] Right. [0:00]
James Hulse: [27:17] You look at different communities, you know, that, that whilst we supply gas to, um, and sometimes, you know… [0:00] [27:25] We’re looking at providing gas to maybe, um, a large, uh, commercial deep, like, like a plant. Where there’s two, three hundred workers that live in that small town to that plant. [0:00] [27:38] And, um, their, their response…A lot of the, the response we get from a successful project like that, that we’ve heard, is from local leadership, whether it’s from the city or the mayor or different things. [0:00] [27:54] And we really appreciate the ability to do this, to maintain our, our citizens working, the plant moving, because that’s revenue for them. That’s, that’s, you know, that’s, that’s income for their, for their, the employees that are not furloughed and things like that. [0:00] [28:13] So this, this reliable system doesn’t just create, you know, we all get our, our lights on. It means a lot more than that when it comes to all the way, hits all the way at home into our pocket. [0:00] [28:30] Not just the person providing, but the individual working at the plant, that if they shut the pipe down, like, well the plant…we, we need to do a controlled shutdown and we’re going to furlough everybody for four or five days and then come back on. [0:00] [28:49] That’s a big impact to that community, to the individuals, all the way down, you know, to the, yeah. [0:00]
Jim: : [28:57] Domino’s effect. [0:00]
James Hulse: [28:58] It, it hits that bottom line. And when you have good community leaders that understand that, really care about it. They are, they, they see that. They see before we even have to say anything and they understand that impact. [0:00] [29:14] So, when it comes to that responsible energy, finding ways to give that opportunity to everyone, we have a great nation full of opportunity and if we, we can provide affordable, clean energy to everyone, um, consistently, that they can rely on. [0:00] [29:31] It, it creates opportunity and it lifts everybody and, and it kind of gets us through some of these different things of, uh, these different inequalities that we may not perceive that are real and helps it, helps us overcome that just through energy, you know. [0:00] [29:49] So maybe I’m trying to be too, uh, I guess, uh, not patriotic, but trying to tie this too much to, like, some emotional connection, but it is. It’s, it’s, you know, you look at the example of like, uh, winter storm Uri. [0:00]
James Cross: [30:08] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [30:08] And the, and the impact that it had on, on my community here in Texas, you know. [0:00]
James Cross: [30:15] Yep. [0:00]
Jim: : [30:15] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [30:16] We come in and we, we go through this freeze that people in Wis‑Wisconsin and in Minnesota are looking at us like, “What is wrong with you?” [0:00]
Jim: : [30:27] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [30:27] It was below freezing for a couple days. We’ve been that way for, you know, three months. [0:00]
Jim: : [30:35] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [30:35] Well, we’re not, we’re not built for that. [0:00]
James Cross: [30:39] Not built for it. [0:00]
James Hulse: [30:41] And the impact it had on my neighbors with water damage… [0:00]
Jim: : [30:45] Yeah. [0:00] [0:00] …
James Hulse: [30:45] from frozen, broken pipes, you know. [0:00]
Jim: : [30:48] It’s awful. [0:00]
James Hulse: [30:49] It’s traumatic. Yeah. [0:00]
Jim: : [30:51] People don’t realize in Texas that, uh, water heaters, air conditioners units are in the attic. OK? Not the basement, because there’s no basements in Texas for lack of a better term. [0:00] [31:04] My brother over here, James Cross. I remember, uh, it was three, four, five days, I mean, we were on Zoom calls when we could. He was battling just getting water into the house. [0:00]
James Cross: [31:18] I, I smelled so bad that they kick me off of Zoom calls, you know. [0:00] [[31:24] laughter] [0:00]
James Cross: [31:24] No, I learned a lot during that time, but you’re right, we’re not built for it. [0:00]
Jim: : [31:31] No, we are not. [0:00]
James Cross: [31:33] We learned quite a bit. I learned quite a bit as a homeowner of things that… [0:00] [31:39] And I thought I was a fairly smart guy, you know, but, you know, not living in a house that’s ever had pecs or anything, you know, like all kinds of things. [0:00] [31:53] I’m just sitting here going, “Oh, well. Well, that wasn’t insulated.” [0:00] [[31:58] laughter] [0:00]
James Cross: [31:58] I learned that. [0:00]
James Hulse: [31:59] Today I learned that. [0:00]
James Cross: [32:01] I learned that about my water well, you know, or anything, right? And that it’s, um, yeah, it makes you really think about your energy choices and across the board. [0:00]
James Hulse: [32:13] You know, it… [0:00]
James Cross: [32:15] Oh, go ahead. [0:00]
James Hulse: [32:16] Sorry. It, it really does. [0:00] [32:18] And that, that impact hit, you know, like my neighbors down the street, you know, they, they don’t have, they don’t have a generator, they didn’t have certain things and I thought, well, we’re going to go someplace. [0:00] [32:35] And they don’t understand, you know, to drain the water from their house, because a lot of the pipes go through the attic. [0:00]
Jim: : [32:44] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [32:45] And we’re here, um, we have a couple generators running, kind of fluctuating different parts, different circuits in the house to keep things warm, putting whatever we can. [0:00] [32:56] I’m in the attic pushing insulation on top of pipes, you know, off of other. [0:00]
James Cross: [33:03] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [33:03] Not…this will survive us, you know, and then, and then draining it at night when we weren’t using the water, um, but those people like they were, it was a big impact, you know? [0:00] [33:17] Yeah, they have an insurance, it’ll help, but, you know. [0:00]
Jim: : [33:22] Oh, there’s, there’s disruption and chaos. [0:00]
James Hulse: [33:25] Yeah, the disruption’s huge and it’s not free, you know, the insurance, it doesn’t, does not go back and make you completely whole. It will fix your house, but you’re going to have those problems. [0:00] [33:41] So, you know, having that reliable system, you know, so during that storm, you know, we were out, with every single piece of equipment out. We were injecting gas under 27 different injection… [0:00]
James Cross: [33:54] It was awful. [0:00] [0:00] …
James Hulse: [33:55] points throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma and places that would have lost gas, which would have been… [0:00]
Jim: [34:02] Right. [0:00] [0:00] …
James Hulse: [34:02] even more impactful, because I wouldn’t be able to keep at least maybe the gas fireplace going, other furnace going with, with some power generation, um, you know. [0:00] [34:14] So, I mean, thousands of homes and businesses were kind of supported with that, you know. So what‑whatever we can do to help support that, that’s really our focus. [0:00] [34:26] And I think it’s a, you know, it’s worked well for us, it…and it helps us feel good about our contribution to that reliable energy system that we’re trying to support. [0:00]
James Cross: [34:40] I like that angle. I do, for sure. [0:00] [34:43] James, I‑I’ve been like a fly on the wall over here, because y’all just nerd out about stuff and I’ve listened and think I’m may know this and I’m just giving myself a hard time, but really, I learned so much from these shows and, um, then I feel like I get better for the next one. [0:00] [35:09] But, I did hear you talk about, you know, you’re an avid reader, earlier. I know you’ve at least watched one of our podcast, um. [0:00]
Jim: : [35:19] One and a half. [0:00]
James Cross: [35:21] Yeah, tell me. I’d, so, I’m a…I love audiobooks, um, I was just traveling last week and the same thing. I used to just put it on and…or read on all my trips. And so I’ve missed that component and had to find it in other ways. [0:00] [35:42] Tell me, what‑what’s your go‑to books? What, you know, what some of your favorites, um, this is usually where Jimmy just checks his phone and hangs out with himself because he literally has two books, I think, the Bible. [0:00]
Jim: : [35:59] The Bible. [0:00]
James Cross: [35:59] Seven habits. [0:00]
Jim: : [36:00] That’s it. [0:00]
James Cross: [36:01] Yeah, and he was forced to read both of them, thankfully. [0:00] [36:06] But what’s, what’s in your, uh, what’s in your apps or podcast? What are you listening to? What you, what do you read? What, what are some of your favorites? [0:00]
James Hulse: [36:19] Yeah, you know, I’ve, I’ve tried to be, you know, a lifelong learner. But I think I’m still learning how to learn… [0:00]
James Cross: [36:29] Yeah, same thing. [0:00] [0:00] …
James Hulse: [36:30] more than anything, you know. [0:00] [36:32] So a lot of th‑the things I read focus on, you know, some people may call it selfhelp, I call it personal or professional development, you know, so I like to learn about different subjects and things. [0:00] [36:47] On podcast, of course, you know, Coffee with Jim and James, you know. [0:00]
James Cross: [36:53] Of course. [0:00]
James Hulse: [36:53] On the daily. [0:00]
James Cross: [36:55] I’m subscribed to it as well, just to pad numbers. [0:00]
James Hulse: [36:59] Yeah, I, I support with my likes on LinkedIn. Everything I can do to help it [0:00]
James Cross: [37:05] Thank you. [0:00]
James Hulse: [37:06] Anyways, you, you guys are doing great. But outside of that, you know, I, I really enjoy, uh, Russell Brand, Tim Ferriss, Joe Rogan. [0:00]
James Cross: [37:16] Sure. [0:00]
James Hulse: [37:16] Just because like the wide variety of people that they have on there, from things that…the topics that you may completely disagree with, but even listening through it and understanding, you know, I think I understand why they believe the way they do. [0:00]
James Cross: [37:34] Feel that way, yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [37:35] Yeah, you know, I ca‑can understand why they feel that way. [0:00]
James Cross: [37:40] Oh, I understand. I love that. [0:00]
James Hulse: [37:43] Makes perfect sense. [0:00]
James Cross: [37:44] I love that, I love a good lens, you know. [0:00]
James Hulse: [37:48] Yeah. [0:00]
James Cross: [37:48] When I can get a new lens into something, that’s really refreshing. [0:00]
James Hulse: [37:53] And whether I agree with it or support it or not. As long, as you know, I can understand why they would. [0:00] [38:02] That makes perfect sense, you know, and kind of getting that, kind of breaking out of this box of who I am, you know. [0:00] [38:12] I think I’m constantly evolving and learning and if I feel like I’ve figured everything out, you know, that’s probably the, my first failure point and the next ones are quickly after that. [0:00] [38:26] But I’m reading, I’m reading two books right now. Um, one is a biography of, uh, Theodore Roosevelt, which is a super interesting. [0:00]
James Cross: [38:36] OK, right. [0:00]
James Hulse: [38:37] That guy, um, kind of, kind of a savage. [0:00]
Jim: : [38:41] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [38:41] Um, very hardcore dude who came in at a time in the, in the United States when, you know, assassination of presidents was not uncommon [0:00] [38:51] Um, with, uh, was it Abraham Lincoln and, um, and Garfield right before him, you know, the one that…he replaced Garfield. [0:00] [39:00] He comes in to be the present United States and kind of help settle things, you know, at a time when the United States was trying to figure out who they were. What are we doing? What do we value? You know? [0:00]
Jim: : [39:17] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [39:17] Where, where do we sit in the world and, and they didn’t like something, you know, back in the day, it was a, it was, you know, it was a musket, you know. [0:00] [[39:31] laughter] [0:00]
James Hulse: [39:31] Kind of differently. [0:00]
James Cross: [39:32] Yeah. Pace it off. Let’s go. [0:00]
James Hulse: [39:35] Yeah, but the other one I’m reading is, uh, is a book called The Risk, A user’s guide by General Stanley McChrystal. [0:00] [39:45] And he does a very good job of talking about how to…what risk is, things that you can do to improve the health of yourself and your business to avoid risk, assess risk. [0:00]
James Cross: [39:58] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [39:59] And he gives us a really good example, um, that I want to share, you know, we talked about…There’s risk everywhere and we all see it, we all know it. And every time you get into your car, there’s risk [0:00]
James Cross: [40:16] Sure. [0:00]
James Hulse: [40:16] But you can do things, you know, the risk is where you have no control of what that is. You can control your, um, what you do when you’re in that form of a risk. [0:00] [40:31] So when you get on a plane, do you put your seatbelt on in turbulent, you know, environment or do you not? You know, that’s up to you. You can control it. [0:00] [40:44] He gives us this example of, uh, you’re walking down the street and you know someone is down there with a handgun. [0:00] [40:53] Well, if you just walk down the street in your street clothes, you’re probably going to suffer a pretty big impact if they hit you with that gun, but if you’re going on that street with a tank, you know, that, that threat of that gun is probably pretty minimal, you know. [0:00]
James Cross: [41:15] Yes. [0:00]
James Hulse: [41:15] So how you, um, address those threats and things is important. So in your business, like, communication is extremely important, you understand that. [0:00] “[41:24] Hey, there’s a threat down here and it comes from very different, every different angle, from supply chain”. You know with us, you know. [0:00]
Jim: : [41:34] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [41:35] It’s how is our…how healthy are our suppliers we rely on, how good is our relationship with them. [0:00]
James Cross: [41:43] Right. [0:00]
Jim: : [41:43] Well. [0:00]
James Hulse: [41:43] Because that’s the health of our business, that’s a risk to our business, you know, and everything to our customers, how healthy our customers. [0:00] [41:54] How healthy is…are, you know, are all these other pieces that we can assess to make sure that, you know, if we do come across risk, we’ve really addressed it, communicated it well, and we have a good plan to kind of avoid those issues. [0:00]
James Cross: [42:13] Wonderful. [0:00]
James Hulse: [42:13] But fantastic books, I would recommend both of them. I’ve read several others, if you want a good audio book, Sapiens by Yuval Harari, I think, Yuval Harari. [0:00] [42:25] Fantastic. Very, very deep into the origin of man on a scientific level. [0:00]
James Cross: [42:30] Wow. [0:00]
James Hulse: [42:30] Very, very deep. [0:00]
Jim: : [42:31] Wow. [0:00]
James Cross: [42:32] If your mom will see this… [0:00]
James Hulse: [42:34] And if you’re an avid Bible reader, you’ll, you’ll get a different perspective. What do you say to that? [0:00]
Jim: : [42:43] Yeah, interesting. [0:00]
James Hulse: [42:44] Yeah. [0:00]
Jim: : [42:44] OK. [0:00]
James Hulse: [42:45] Very, very, very interesting. [0:00] [42:46] Why people, you know, one of the things they talk about is, is how you can unite people at a time when we went from being tribes of smaller groups, where you knew everybody individually and intimately. [0:00]
James Cross: [43:01] Mm‑hmm. [0:00]
James Hulse: [43:02] And you knew they support you, you support them, because you knew their name, you knew their children, you knew everything about them to today, a symbol now unites people that have never met. [0:00]
James Cross: [43:15] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [43:16] You can name a symbol. There are a lot of symbols. You could probably bring up that unite people. [0:00] [43:23] You can call the symbol good, bad, whatever it is, but when certain people see that symbol, they then assimilate and say, “I am with like, you know, @galApple” [0:00]
Jim: : [43:35] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [43:35] Or Android, whatever you’re holding up there, whatever. [0:00]
Jim: : [43:39] OK, yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [43:40] It’s or whatever it is. A flag. [0:00]
James Cross: [43:43] Oh, yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [43:44] Yes. [0:00]
James Cross: [43:44] A Coffee with Jim and James. [0:00]
James Hulse: [43:47] A Coffee with Jim and James. A logo. [0:00]
Jim: : [43:50] Coffee Mike. [0:00]
James Cross: [43:51] Subgroups, yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [43:51] A logo, you know, that’s one thing, you know. Here’s something I wanna show it real quick. [0:00]
James Cross: [43:59] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That I was about to ask. [0:00]
Jim: : [44:03] Yeah, peace. [0:00]
James Cross: [44:04] I was about to ask this exact question. [0:00]
Jim: : [44:07] Yeah, yeah. [0:00]
James Cross: [44:08] Yeah, what a coincidence. [0:00]
James Hulse: [44:09] I found a way to inject it. We talked about it and… [0:00]
Jim: : [44:14] Let’s do it, baby. [0:00]
James Hulse: [44:16] This is, this is so smooth, and I’m blowing it by saying how smooth I am with it. [0:00]
James Cross: [44:24] No, please, I, I’m going to let you transition. [0:00]
James Hulse: [44:28] So, you know, I was…you know, we mentioned at the very beginning our transition and divestiture from CenterPoint, which is a fantastic company. [0:00]
Jim: : [44:37] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [44:38] Cannot say anything better about my experience with CenterPoint. Great people, great processes. [0:00]
Jim: : [44:43] Yeah. [0:00]
James Cross: [44:43] The opportunity… [0:00]
James Hulse: [44:44] Yeah, you have an opportunity to work there, take it. [0:00] [44:48] But, you know, were, were excited about the opportunity we have now, we’ve kind of messing with our, our logo a little bit more, 98 percent set on this one. [0:00]
James Cross: [45:01] I think… [0:00]
James Hulse: [45:01] So I’m going to give you a quick, quick look at it. [0:00]
James Cross: [45:07] Uh, way that. [0:00]
Jim: : [45:08] Nice. [0:00]
James Hulse: [45:08] Quick look. All right, all right. [0:00]
James Cross: [45:11] So, already shut it down. Because there’s a brand department somewhere… [0:00]
James Hulse: [45:15] That’s it, that’s it. [0:00] [0:00] …
James Cross: [45:18] freaking out. [0:00]
James Hulse: [45:19] Yeah. [0:00]
Jim: : [45:19] Can I give you a little bit of pride moment here. [0:00]
James Hulse: [45:23] Yes, sir. [0:00]
Jim: : [45:24] You may or may not know, but I was part of the core two or three people that came up with the name, Mobile Energy Solutions in 2008 or 2009. [0:00]
James Hulse: [45:36] Yep, 2009 was the name changer, right? Yes, sir. [0:00]
James Cross: [45:40] That’s when I graduated high school. [0:00]
Jim: : [45:43] Yeah, well, anyways. [0:00]
James Cross: [45:44] Um, at this club. [0:00]
Jim: : [45:45] Let’s go on into another subject. [0:00]
James Cross: [45:48] I’m kidding. [0:00]
James Hulse: [45:49] But, you know, that the name that, uh, that name carries, costumers know that name, you know. [0:00]
James Cross: [45:56] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [45:57] The MES or Mobile Energy Solutions name. [0:00]
Jim: : [45:59] Yeah. [0:00]
James Hulse: [46:00] And it, and it fits very well, you know, what we deliver, you know, we had an opportunity to do it, just completely change it. [0:00] [46:10] We could do something different, you know. And when…and we said, “No, absolutely not. This is a fantastic name, it delivers the message, people know us by that.” [0:00]
Jim: : [46:21] I said so. [0:00]
James Hulse: [46:23] And take some pride in that, Jimmy. It lives on, it lives on. [0:00] [[46:28] laughter] [0:00]
James Cross: [46:28] It’s… [0:00]
Jim: : [46:29] I guess it’s, it’s kind of weird, but I do have a, a, a little pride of that. It’s fun to see that and, and it really didn’t occur to me till I’m looking at it. I’m like. [0:00]
James Cross: [46:47] That communications degree finally paying off. [0:00]
Jim: : [46:49] Yeah, that was it. [0:00]
James Hulse: [46:51] There you go. That was a while back. [0:00]
Jim: : [46:54] A while back. [0:00]
James Hulse: [46:55] Called that education, I love it. [0:00]
Jim: : [46:57] James, we’re, we’re winding down. Let’s, um, jump straight…James Hulse. [0:00]
James Cross: [47:03] I know. Freaks me out every time. [0:00]
Jim: [47:06] Trick is James, James all of the whole bit. I wonder how we can form a crowd. [0:00] [0:00] :
James Cross: [47:13] Based on Hulse’s performance, though, I will say that if I need a fill‑in one week, either way, you know, I‑I’ll be happy for James to fill in for me. [0:00]
James Hulse: [47:26] You know, I c‑. [0:00]
James Cross: [47:28] Or for you. [0:00]
James Hulse: [47:29] I was going to start a podcast. [0:00]
James Cross: [47:32] Oh, wow. [0:00]
James Hulse: [47:33] On how relationship gets right at the beginning of, of COVID. And well, as before, you know, thinking I wanted to do something like this. I bought a bunch of gear. [0:00]
James Cross: [47:45] Wow. [0:00]
James Hulse: [47:45] I’ve got my two thousand dollars worth of gear sit on the shelf here. Prime condition, ra‑, barely use, has four test recordings on it on my back patio, but. [0:00]
James Cross: [47:58] I’m awed, the professional mic. I thought that somebody was getting a rose to me. [0:00] [[48:04] laughter] [0:00]
James Cross: [48:05] Sorry, Jimmy. I jumped into this. [0:00]
Jim: : [48:07] I love it, I love it. James, i‑if we, Hulse, if we could, um, as we wind down here. You have the platform, you have the audience, you have the stage. [0:00] [48:20] And if you were to say one word, one phrase, one thought that you want to leave the audience with today, what’s on your mind? What would you want to leave them with? And it‑it is your world, so anything you want to say? [0:00]
James Hulse: [48:38] You know, the, the…I appreciate you opening the stage to anything. [0:00]
James Cross: [48:43] Wow, that’s something. [0:00]
James Hulse: [48:45] I wanna think. That’s what I heard, so. [0:00]
Jim: : [48:48] Within reason. [0:00]
James Hulse: [48:49] Within bounds and these are fantastic bounds I’m gonna put it into. So I would like to participate all three of us into kind of a little exercise. [0:00]
James Cross: [49:01] Oh, my goodness. [0:00]
James Hulse: [49:02] You know, and I’m stealing this a little bit from Tim Ferriss, if you’ve ever read his book, um, what is it? Habit champion, something of, uh, I’m galloping on the name. So in this book, he… [0:00]
Jim: : [49:18] Brought key on it, you known it Cross. [0:00]
James Hulse: [49:21] Uh, I’ll think of it. Um, he in his book, he basically sent all these letters to, like, 150 different people with six questions on and says, “Hey just respond to one or two”. [0:00]
Jim: : [49:35] OK. [0:00]
James Hulse: [49:35] And then he got these diff‑, from all these different successful people in science, you know, acting, you know, things like that. Always people you’ve heard of, you know, pretty interesting. [0:00] [49:48] And, and there were two of the questions and I’m going to give you the choice of these two and give the response to one of them. [0:00]
James Cross: [49:59] Did you just turn this around on us? I feel like we all… [0:00]
Jim: : [50:05] I think… [0:00]
James Hulse: [50:05] You, you’re the one that suggested I could fill in for you. So yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. [0:00]
James Cross: [50:14] Okay. [0:00] [[50:15] laughter] [0:00]
Jim: : [50:15] Eat the grains, big boy, eat the grains. [0:00]
James Hulse: [50:18] But I’m sure your fans want to hear from you two, not just… [0:00]
James Cross: [50:24] Yes, yes. [0:00] [0:00] …
James Hulse: [50:25] I thought even speaking. [0:00]
James Cross: [50:26] I’m sure all three of them might love it. [0:00]
Jim: : [50:30] Yes. [0:00]
James Hulse: [50:31] That, that’s the information I got and put in a pole and they say they want to meet us. [0:00]
James Cross: [50:39] Let’s do it, let’s do it. [0:00]
Jim: : [50:42] Boom. [0:00]
James Cross: [50:42] I’m ready. [0:00]
James Hulse: [50:43] So here are the two… [0:00]
Jim: : [50:45] Do it. [0:00]
James Hulse: [50:46] So here are the two things Tim Ferriss should ask, that was like I give him credit for these, but the first one, you know. [0:00] [50:56] If you could write something on a billboard, anything that everybody would see, what would you write? Or if you could give a high school senior one piece of advice, what would it be? [0:00]
James Cross: [51:10] Uh. [0:00]
James Hulse: [51:10] Pick one? [0:00]
James Cross: [51:11] I’ll explain it. [0:00]
James Hulse: [51:13] Pick one. Pick one and give a response. [0:00]
James Cross: [51:16] We have to go right now? I feel like I need some study time. [0:00]
James Hulse: [51:21] I’ll go first. [0:00]
James Cross: [51:23] My bad. [0:00]
James Hulse: [51:24] I’ll go first. I’ll take the billboard, you know. [0:00] [51:28] If, if I was to put, you know, be able to put something on a billboard that everybody drove by and saw ‑‑ especially here in Houston traffic, they will read it 30 times as they approach and go by, um, you know ‑‑ do what is most important today. That’s what I would write in there. [0:00]
Jim: : [51:51] OK, I like it. [0:00]
James Cross: [51:52] I like it. [0:00]
James Hulse: [51:53] Do what is most important today. [0:00]
James Cross: [51:56] This is going to sound corny, for me, because, um, I’ve been saying it for a year and, and those behind the scenes know why and where it comes from. But, um, I would say in both settings, that I would say, “Be brave”. [0:00] [52:14] Nothing gets done without, you know, that fear and that concern and, and nothing gets done until somebody steps up and does it. [0:00] [52:23] And it doesn’t matter what it is. It could be the smallest, most insignificant to someone else. But until you step out there, none of that hard stuff gets down. [0:00]
James Hulse: [52:35] Be brave. I love it. [0:00]
Jim: : [52:37] I don’t even know if I can go now, but I will, I would do the high school because actually with Summer ‑‑ my daughter just, graduating college ‑‑. [0:00] [52:49] She’s kind of in those years and I always gave her advice, was look for experiences and share those experiences with others. [0:00] [52:58] Because in decades and decades, when you look back at your life, it’s not the money or the clothes, or this or that, but it’s going to be all those memories and those memories come from experiences. [0:00] [53:13] So, whether it’s taking a new path around the park or going to see a, a lake or going to see a concert or going to do whatever, enjoy and really look for life’s experiences and cherish those. [0:00]
James Cross: [53:29] Like being on a podcast. [0:00]
Jim: : [53:31] Yeah, do it. [0:00]
James Cross: [53:33] With you and your good friend. [0:00] [[53:35] laughter] [0:00]
Jim: : [53:35] And I’m gaining on pie. James, that was fun. [0:00]
James Hulse: [53:39] Yeah, I appreciate you playing along. [0:00]
Jim: : [53:42] Yeah, you know, and we didn’t know that was coming. That was, James, James Hulse pulled out one of, uh, I like that. [0:00]
James Cross: [53:51] It’s making our show better. Jimmy, do write that down. [0:00] [[53:56] laughter] [0:00]
Jim: : [53:56] I don’t, I don’t own a pen, so. [0:00]
James Cross: [54:00] We’re about… [0:00]
Jim: : [54:01] Keeping it up here. [0:00]
James Cross: [54:03] JOK. [0:00]
Jim: : [54:03] James, thank you, uh, wait, James Hulse. Well, and James Cross, too, thank you James Cross, brother, as always. James Hulse thank you for joining us today. [0:00]
James Cross: [54:14] Really. [0:00]
Jim: : [54:15] We really appreciated it. We liked it. It was good. [0:00]
James Hulse: [54:19] I, I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you both very, very much. A lot of respect for the two of you and, uh, and it means a lot to kind of, for you guys to invite me on here and do this. Thank you very much. [0:00]
James Cross: [54:37] Oh, thanks man. [0:00]
Jim: : [54:38] You’re a great friend and we’re happy to have you. [0:00]
James Cross: [54:43] It’s been ton of fun and, uh, really. I mean it, when we need a stand‑in, I know the guy. [0:00] [[54:51] laughter] [0:00]
Jim: : [54:52] I thinkk this is it. [0:00]
James Hulse: [54:54] I would be more than willing to test my hand. [0:00]
Jim: : [54:58] All right. [0:00]
James Hulse: [54:59] I’ve gone as far as recording myself and then listening to it and thinking of how awful I sound. [0:00] [55:07] Well, I feel like I sound great but I have my crutch words. I’ve kind of tried to recognize so that I can not say those words all the time or those products I talk about. [0:00]
James Cross: [55:21] I’ve seen a talk about that. I feel like… [0:00]
Jim: : [55:25] Could you just be like an idiot and just say whatever comes to your mind and you just go with it every time, because that’s right. [0:00]
James Cross: [55:36] Literally be the same thing, every episode. We’ve, we’ve had discussions about both of us like, okay, we can’t say excited anymore. Not one more time. [0:00]
Jim: : [55:48] What’s the other…What’s my other word? Um, epic. Epic? [0:00]
James Cross: [55:53] Oh, I thought it was “um”. [0:00]
Jim: : [55:55] Um. [0:00]
James Hulse: [55:55] Um is a common, you have to put it… [0:00]
James Cross: [55:59] Mine is “right”. I chase with right. [0:00]
Jim: : [56:02] Mine is “yes”. [0:00]
James Cross: [56:03] Or “wow”. [0:00]
Jim: : [56:04] Anyways, we’re, we’re going down a path, James Hulse, I want to geek out with you over CNG and LNG soon, whether that’s in person or on another podcast and maybe you bring that world to other people in a video format. See what I’m doing here. [0:00]
James Cross: [56:24] Oh, no. [0:00]
James Hulse: [56:25] Anytime brother. [0:00]
Jim: : [56:26] Alright, anyways. Audience, thanks for tuning in and we hope you gained something today. [0:00] [56:31] If you’re on the LinkedIn platform connect with Mr. James Hulse. He is a wealth of information, intrigue, uh, just a generally good guy, so. [0:00]
James Cross: [56:42] Intrigue? [0:00]
Jim: : [56:42] I know. That was, I, I…That was a new word for me. Come on, I’m pride it. [0:00]
James Cross: [56:50] Working on in it. Connect with us too, man, I’m always looking for friends on LinkedIn. Kept… [0:00]
Jim: : [56:57] Yeah, fingers crossed. [0:00]
James Cross: [56:58] Keep sharing the message, come on. [0:00]
Jim: : [57:01] I’m looking for, I’m trying to break 100 connections. So please somebody connect with me. [0:00]
James Hulse: [57:07] Yeah, right. [0:00] [[57:08] laughter] [0:00]
James Hulse: [57:09] Until next week, I’ve got Coffee with Jim and James. As I always mention, please, everyone, stay safe until next week. We will see you back here. Take care of, everybody. [0:00]