Grumpy Old Geeks
Episode 735: “We’re Walking on Sunshine”
February 27, 2026
Hosts: Jason DeFillippo, Brian Schulmeister, with Dave Bittner
Summary by Podcast Summarizer

Episode Overview

In this week’s episode, Jason and Brian, with regular guest Dave Bittner, bring their razor-sharp wit and no-mercy critique to the tech world’s latest news, failures, and absurdities. The trio delves into the pitfalls of unchecked tech optimism, regulatory dead-ends, and corporate spin—covering everything from Elon Musk’s legal woes and tech layoffs disguised as “AI progress,” to AI’s actual productivity impact, the escalation in surveillance tech, privacy battles, Hollywood mergers, and nostalgia for old-school gadgets.

Expect the usual intersection of humor, genuine exasperation, and smart analysis, laced with memorable one-liners as the Geeks dissect not just what’s happening, but why it’s (often) so very broken.

Major Discussion Points & Insights

Betting on Musk’s Downfall and Tech Prediction Markets

• [00:12] Jason opens with a story about a tax economist who bet his entire $342,000 life savings against Elon Musk’s government spending cuts—and walked away with a 37% profit ($128,000).

  • “Everything that Elon says is bullshit. Everything he touches turns to a poop emoji.” – Brian [00:50]

• Concerns raised: Where are the stories of those losing everything on similar bets? This “walk of shame” is coming.

Tesla’s Legal Drama: Autopilot in Court

• [01:35] Tesla lost its motion to overturn a $243 million jury verdict regarding an Autopilot-involved fatality.
  • “California’s DMV basically said you cannot use the term autopilot in full self driving to sell cars. ... But of course, Elon did what Elon does and he's suing them back.” – Jason [02:08]
• The hosts skewer Musk’s legal strategy as a carbon copy of “his Cheeto friend’s playbook”: endless countersuing.

Jack Dorsey’s Block Layoffs: AI for PR

• [04:31] Block (formerly Square) lays off 4,000 employees—claiming it will “move faster with smaller, highly talented teams using AI.”
  • “So far be it from me to call Jack and his beard a fucking liar, but bullshit.” – Jason [05:44]
• Jason and Brian argue layoffs are masked as AI-driven restructuring, but the reality is business stagnation and crypto collapse.

Reality Check on the AI Hype Cycle

• [08:25] Goldman Sachs says massive AI investment had “basically zero” impact on US GDP growth last year.
  • “All the spending on artificial intelligence added basically zero to US GDP growth last year. ... They spent hundreds of billions of dollars ... show me the money.” – Brian [09:14]
• The cycle repeats: Push tech, blockchain, NFTs—all hype, little substance.
  • “We don't want it, we don't need it ... It fucking sucks. And it's doing shit for us except firing people.” – Jason [09:36]

Big Tech in the AI Arms Race

• OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Anthropic are burning cash:
  • Prediction of winners: Google (money, tech prowess), Anthropic for business, Meta likely to “step on their own dick.”
  • “Google's gonna win. ... They've got the money to actually back it up.” – Brian [10:38]

Sam Altman’s Water & Energy Defense for AI

• [14:20] Altman claims AI's resource-use hysteria is ‘insane’—and makes a bizarre comparison to human education:
  • “It also takes a lot of energy to train a human ... So if you compare a Chat GPT query asking whether you can stick this up your butt or not ... it really isn’t that much compared to all of human evolution.” – Sam Altman (paraphrased by Jason) [15:31]
• Social media and the hosts roast the remarks as dystopian and anti-human.

The Pentagon, AI Ethics & Grok

• [18:35] Anthropic refuses Pentagon requests to strip bans on mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.
  • “The only two things that Anthropic said, you cannot do ... massive domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weaponry. That's it.” – Jason [19:08]
• Pentagon pivots to Musk’s Grok for classified use, highlighting government’s willingness to shop for less-ethical AI.

Pushback on AI Surveillance—License Plate Readers

• [22:17] 30+ US cities drop Flock Safety’s license plate readers amid activism and privacy concerns.
  • “Supporters call it public safety, but critics call it a rolling location tracker ... already led to wrongful arrests, racial profiling, and cops treating glitchy AI hits as probable cause.” – Brian [22:58]

AI News Blunders and Racially Offensive Alerts

• [24:46] Google’s AI-generated news alert sends out the N-word in a push notification due to lack of basic content safeguards.
  • “Here’s a thought: a human editor or just a word filter list.” – Jason [26:05]

Prediction Markets’ Legal Gray Zone

• [26:32] Kalshi prediction market bans a gubernatorial candidate and a YouTuber for insider trading.
  • “None of this shit seems legal to me, but here we are.” – Jason [27:36]
• Gambling addiction is a recurring theme—these markets create real-life harm.

Age Verification: Privacy, Kids & Global Creep

• [29:54] The hosts tackle Reddit and Discord’s problematic (and hack-prone) age verification, the UK’s $20M fine for Reddit’s lax controls, and Apple’s new regional age-gating tools.
  • “It merely requires users to declare when signing up that they are over 13.” – Jason [31:12]

Media & Culture

Hollywood Merger Meltdowns & Streaming Fatigue

• [36:36] Netflix bows out as Paramount prepares to absorb Warner Brothers, sparking anxiety for creators and fans alike.
  • “Everybody is patent David Zaslav on the back ... all the shareholders are happy, all of the business people are happy. ... Who's not happy? Everybody that makes entertainment in this fucking town.” – Jason [37:06]

TV & Movie Roundup

• Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Season's best episode so far, with high praise for cast (Tilly, Bob Picardo).
• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Game of Thrones spinoff): Both hosts pleasantly surprised by its lighter, whimsical tone before (of course) things get dark. Shoutout to Brian Blondell for the tip. [41:47]
• Media flops: Night Agent Season 3 is “not very good;” Face/Off 2 and X-Files reboot filed under “Dear God, why?” (with a cautious “maybe”).
• Mortal Kombat 2 (May 8): Geeks are excited, especially for Scorpion vs. Johnny Cage.

Podcasts

• “Dropping Names and Other Things” (Jonathan Frakes & Brent Spiner): Poor audio quality & endless name-dropping wear thin quickly.
• “Once We Were Spacemen” (Nathan Fillion & Alan Tudyk): Audio excellence and genuinely funny—highly recommended.

Apps, Doodads & Tech Nostalgia

OpenAI Goes Hardware

• Smart glasses, smart speakers, and (wait for it) a smart lamp are in the works.
  • “How much ketamine did they have to take before they figured out, dude, we put it in the lamp?” – Brian [51:11]
  • Real value? Assistive tech for the blind—not frothy “AI everywhere.”

Social/Surveillance Tech

• Instagram will now notify parents if teens repeatedly search for self-harm topics.

  • “So up to five times I can contemplate suicide before it pings my dad.” – Jason [52:26]

• Handy hobbyist app alerts you if someone nearby is wearing Meta or Snap smart glasses—small resistance to surveillance culture.

  • “I hope they called it class holes.” – Jason [56:03]

Weather Apps & The Return of ‘Dark Sky’

• Acme Weather, by the former Dark Sky team, returns but underwhelms in design and price.

• Carrot Weather gets praise for its feature set and snark.

Smart Accessories & TMI

• Poo-Pourri bottles now come with RFID tags (“my poops actually have a EULA now” – Brian [79:33]).

The Dark Side with Dave Bittner

Emotional Overload & The Value of ‘Light’ Media

• Strong Songs podcast episode on Queen & Bowie’s “Under Pressure” unexpectedly brings Jason to tears, sparking discussion on emotional capacity and media consumption in stressful times.

  • “I did not expect to be openly weeping at my kid’s swim practice, but I did find myself doing so.” – Jason [57:13]
  • “There is nothing shameful in those kinds of guilty pleasures of empty calories of music ... Sometimes I need to crank up Safety Dance.” – Dave [61:56]

• Avoidance of horror/jump scare media reflects emotional exhaustion from real-world stressors.

Old School Tech Love

• Kai’s Power Tools, Bryce, and Marathon memories highlighted, along with lament for the demise of Mr. Clean’s mascot and the scrubbing bubbles childhood letdown.
• “I thought little guys ... were going to come out of this spray can and clean the tub for me. ... I lost a little bit of innocence that day.” – Dave [75:16]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Everything he touches turns to a poop emoji.” – Brian [01:01]
• “It's more Decepticon than Autobot.” – Jason [02:06]
• “So far be it from me to call Jack and his beard a fucking liar, but bullshit.” – Jason [05:44]
• “We don't want it, we don't need it. ... It fucking sucks. And it's doing shit for us except firing people.” – Jason [09:36]
• “If you compare a Chat GPT query ... it really isn’t that much compared to all of human evolution.” – Sam Altman, paraphrased [15:31]
• “How much ketamine did they have to take before they figured out, dude, we put it in the lamp?” – Brian [51:11]
• “My poops actually have a eula now” – Brian [79:33]
• “Sometimes I just need to turn on and crank up Safety Dance.” – Dave [61:56]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Betting on Musk/Prediction Markets – [00:12]
• Tesla vs. DMV; Autopilot – [01:35]
• Block layoffs, AI as cover – [04:31]
• The AI economic reality – [08:25]
• Anthropic vs. Pentagon; Grok deal – [18:35 – 21:36]
• Flock license plate surveillance backlash – [22:17]
• Google AI N-word news alert – [24:46]
• Kalshi insider trading bans – [26:32]
• Age verification/Reddit/Discord – [29:54]
• Paramount-Warner merger & Star Trek impact – [36:36]
• Media/POD: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Face/Off 2, X-Files reboot – [41:47 – 45:10]
• Apps/Doodads: Acme Weather, Carrot Weather, Poo-Pourri RFID, smart glasses detection – [54:05 – 56:03]
• ‘The Dark Side with Dave’ (music, emotions, old tech) – [56:10 – 78:25]

Closing & Listener Community

• New patrons and supporters thanked by name.
• Tribute to Robert Carradine (Revenge of the Nerds) on his passing: “Sad to hear Robert Carradine has passed.” – Jason [82:01]

Overall Tone: Biting, irreverent, and honest. The podcast pulls no punches in calling out tech industry nonsense, with a blend of sarcasm, geek nostalgia, righteous indignation, and moments of real-world reflection woven throughout. A must-listen for skeptics, builders, and old-school geeks alike.