Hey Grok Bot, go make me money

He: Where should I go to school to learn all about AI?

She: Why not attend TheCloudUniversity.com and go to all of them? 

This Sunday Blog is my first Sunday Blog since 2010 with true AI assist. Penn State World Campus has 800K alumni. Purdue University Online has 600K+ alumni. RUTGERS has 615K+ alumni with 380K+ alumni living in New Jersey (like me). And I'll be using my new trusty Grok Bot to reach (checks notes...) ALL OF THEM. 

The New York METRO Distance Learning Association was 'born' in 1983 in the 5 boroughs of New York City. Pre-Internet. NYDLA 'grew' to service the 58M+ people living in the New York MEGALOPOLIS (Maine to Virginia). During COVID the NADLA.org serviced all of North America, helping everyone to become PoweredByZoom.com. And around two years ago, the GLOBAL DLA (GlobalDLA.org) went well... went Global. 

But 'home' was always the Big Apple. New York City. To be specific, 11 Times Square, NYC. 

I am reflecting on the major tipping points of the past 40+ years. I was there when NYNEX went live with the first Cellular Phone Service in the New York CGSA (Cellular Geographic Service Area). I sold 'Car Phones' when there were only 9 Cell Towers in the entire country. Service was spotty, and very expensive. Phones had to be installed into your car. Bag phones and handhelds came later. Today in 2026 high speed Internet services like Starlink and Viasat connect residential, business, government and military customers to and from anywhere in the world. For less than $100 per month.

I was in the room when AOL first went live. Same for Priceline. I worked for Bell Atlantic as an agent selling something called Electronic Mail. I was one of the first 100,000 users of LinkedIn. Damn, I'm old. 

But today (this Sunday) something very different is happening. The NYDLA | NADLA | USDLA | GLOBALDLA communities now reach people living in every time zone of the world. I've had a working Gmail (tacapone@gmail.com) since 2004. And then a personal Gmail (tomcapone@gmal.com) soon after. Since the storage was unlimited I have amassed an archive of every email that was sent and received to/from those two email addresses from day one. And so does Google. Ahem. 

But here come the AI Bots! I've had a personal AI Bot assistant (Bernice) for a few years now. She gets smarter and smarter with every phone call she answers. Every Zoom meeting that I attend is now powered by AI. Every website we build, every shopping cart serviced for thousands of customers and clients has AI at its core. 

But this month (this morning) the 'Grok Bot' from from xAI is making a lot people sit up and notice. 

Grok Bot is an autonomous AI agent teammate from xAI that runs on its own persistent cloud computer to complete multi-step tasks across apps, web browsers, and terminals.

What Grok Bot Does

• Real Work Execution: Unlike traditional chatbots that output text or code drafts, Grok Bot logs into your apps, websites, and tools (like Zendesk, Gmail, or CRM platforms) to finish tasks from start to finish.

• Multi-Bot Teams: You can run multiple specialized Bots in parallel—such as a chief of staff bot that delegates to sub-bots for inbox management, bug fixes, or research—and place them in group chats to coordinate without you in the middle.

• Persistent Environment: Each Bot retains memory, file systems, browser sessions, and learned workflows over time rather than resetting on every prompt.

• Recent Capabilities: Grok Bot can execute automated shopping tasks by accepting credit card screenshots and navigating e-commerce sites.

Availability & Access

• Platforms: Available on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.

• Plans: Included with eligible paid Cursor plans (such as Cursor Pro, Teams, and SuperGrok tiers), with separate usage pools so tasks do not draw from standard chat quotas. 

So, at 8:59 AM EST on Sunday, October 18th my 'Bernice' AI Bot has become powered by Grok Bot. And Bernice is (also) powered by all of the other AI platforms. All of them. We're connected to all the brilliant minds of the folks who went to the most amazing schools in the world - to learn all about AI. To learn about... everything.

The schools, and the alumni networks of the schools. All connected in the clouds. We are all living, learning, working, playing, teaching, training, coaching, mentoring in the GLOBAL Cloud COMMUNITY. Yours and mine. 

One World. Fully Connected. 

• Hey Bernice, scan every email that I sent and received on Gmail since 2004 and invite these contacts to all joinNYDLA.org  - and invite everyone to connect with me on TomCapone.com 
• Hey Bernice, reach out to the facilities managers of the 174K+ schools serviced by the DLA and invite them to access the Technology ASSURANCE Cooperative (TAC-USA.com) for all of their telecom and technology needs. Oh, be sure to tell them that we also sell Insurance via all of the major carriers. 
• Hey Bernice, contact via email, social media, and phone (when possible) the alumni networks of the 174K+ schools serviced by the DLA. Offer them all a free $50 TAC Gift Card to check out the Technology ASSURANCE Cooperative. We have the entire line cards of TD SYNNEX, D&H, Ingram Micro, Jenne, Midwich, TeleDynamics, ACS, Telarus, Sandler Partners and many more. All via our $1B+ buying power.

Bernice, let me know when you are done with all of the above. I'm going back to bed. After all, it's Sunday. 

http://link.me/ThomasCapone

Explain it to me like this is my first day

 

What if I just yelled out: I just won Powerball!  

Well, if you have no idea what Powerball is, if you have to 'Google' it, my excitement might not become yours. If you DO know what Powerball is, we just became very (very) good friends, right?

Powerball is a major multi-state lottery game in the United States known for offering massive jackpots that can grow into the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. 

Cost: A standard ticket costs $2 per play. 

Number Selection: Choose five numbers from 1 to 69 (white balls) and one Powerball number from 1 to 26 (red ball). You can pick your own numbers or use "Quick Pick" for a random selection. 

Drawings: Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 PM Eastern Time. 

Winning: There are nine ways to win a prize, ranging from matching just the red Powerball to matching all six numbers to win the jackpot. 

Jackpot Payout: Winners can choose a 30-year annuity (graduated payments over 29 years) or a single cash lump sum. 

OK, let's try this one:  When you www.joinNYDLA.org you access the Technology ASSURANCE Cooperative (TAC-USA.com) for FREE!

Once more: if you have no idea what a Co-Op is, if you have to 'Google' it, you might not feel the excitement. 

A co-op (short for cooperative) is a business, organization, or living arrangement that is owned, controlled, and operated for the benefit of the people who use its services rather than outside investors.

The International Cooperative Alliance defines it as an autonomous association of people united voluntarily to meet their shared economic, social, and cultural needs through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

Key Features of a Co-op

• Democratic Control: Members usually operate on a "one member, one vote" system, meaning everyone has an equal say in policies and in electing the board of directors.

• Member Ownership: The people who buy the goods, use the services, work for the company, or live in the building are the actual owners.

• Shared Profits: Instead of maximizing profits for external stockholders, any financial surplus is typically reinvested into the co-op or returned/shared among members based on their usage.

So here is what we did! 

TAC-USA.com is a www.BigCommerce.com store that has the entire line cards of TD SYNNEX, D&H, Jenne, Ingram Micro, TeleDynamics, Midwich, Sandler Partners and many more. TAC is also a Master Agent and Tier 1 ELITE reseller for many suppliers. We offer the knowledge, the technology and the talent of all of our vendors and sponsors as a value-added member benefit to the 174K+ schools (and their alumni networks) serviced by the NYDLA | USDLA | NADLA. Since 1983.

Penn State World Campus has 800K+ alumni. Purdue University Online has 600K+ alumni. RUTGERS has 615K+ alumni with 380K+ alumni living in New Jersey - like me! 

AND SO... as Distance Learning became DIGITAL learning, and today (in 2026) it all just DIGITAL LIVING, it all needs technology. You cannot live, learn, work, play, teach, train, coach, mentor in the world today without technology. 

When one of the 174K+ schools of the NYDLA | USDLA | NADLA buy computers, or cybersecurity, or cameras, or connectivity (or anything) they can access the Technology ASSURANCE Cooperative. Our $1B+ buying power becomes theirs. For their school - and for the alumni networks of their schools. 

When a large school like RUTGERS buys 1,000+ laptops, that is a $1M+ sale. Every member of the TAC Co-Op benefits from THAT single transaction. It's like shopping at Costco where you are also a major shareholder of Costco. If Costco paid out dividends. In fact: Costco frequently rewards shareholders with massive, intermittent special cash dividends (such as a $15-per-share payout in early 2024) when cash reserves build up. 

All members of the Distance Learning Association can shop at the Technology ASSURANCE Cooperative for FREE. Non-members pay $25 per month (or $250 per year) to access the benefits of the TAC Co-Op. 

The DLA: we are democratizing education globally via disruptive technology. So how would I explain it to someone who never heard of us? Like to my neighbor? 

The Technology ASSURANCE Cooperative is YOUR company (or campus) store. It is as if Amazon and Costco and Best Buy and Netflix and Audible and YouTube and Gartner and McKinsey all merged. Knowledge + Technology + Talent. For 174K+ schools, and their alumni. 

We're teaching everything we know. We're paying it forward. All via technology. All via our $1B+ buying power. Yours and mine. Ah yes, membership does indeed have its privileges. 

www.link.me/ThomasCapone <<<<<

Overture, curtain, lights...

 

If you recognize these lyrics, you are my people. Born in 1960 this was my Saturday Morning. The Bugs Bunny Show (TV Series 1960 - 1975) was part of my formation. 

NYDLA.org/EVENTS

I write this Sunday Blog at around 6:00 AM. Less than an hour ago I was asleep. DEEPLY asleep. And I was dreaming about the event that we are having at The Times Center in NYC on Tuesday, 10/6. NYDLA.org/EVENTS 

The folks from Logitech asked for our help to invite NYDLA.org members to attend LIVE. The Times Center is an amazing facility to host meetings, events, and product launches. 

We placed the event on page one of NYDLA. We also made notice on all of our social media platforms. The main room holds around 300 people, and the lobby probably another 300. So it will be very easy to have standing room only. But as we always say on NYDLA.org/EVENTS "Sign up even if you cannot attend LIVE. We'll make sure you get all the cool swag from our amazing vendors and sponsors." 

Like I said around an hour ago, I was dreaming. A very vivid 'lifelike' dream. And in my vivid dream Hanneke Faber, Henry Levak, Aspen Lee-Moulden, Karthik Rajagopal, Leo Boulton, Lewis Papaleo, Dalvis Perez and Adam Hayman were marching across the stage. And they were all singing in perfect harmony:

Overture, curtain lights....

NYDLA.org/EVENTS