676: Gay Nuclear Frogs

Summary

Podcast Summary: Grumpy Old Geeks – Episode 676: Gay Nuclear Frogs

Release Date: December 7, 2024
Hosts: Jason DeFilippo, Brian Schulmeister, with Dave Bittner

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1. TikTok Ban Upheld: Implications and Future Outlook

The episode opens with breaking news about the TikTok ban being upheld in court. Brian Schulmeister outlines the legal developments:

Brian Schulmeister (00:53): "The TikTok ban has been upheld in court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit has denied TikTok's petition to review the law after both sides asked for a ruling by December 6 before the nationwide ban, which is scheduled for a January 19 start date."

Jason DeFilippo highlights TikTok's legal stance:

Jason DeFilippo (01:38): "Exactly. Derp."

The hosts discuss the potential impact on users and the broader tech landscape, pondering Elon Musk's possible reactions and the company's future in the U.S.

Jason DeFilippo (02:18): "Between us, we've got 50 users. We should be able to make some more money if this thing goes away."

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2. Undersea Cables Sabotage: Chinese and Russian Involvement

Brian delves into the incident involving the sabotage of undersea telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea:

Brian Schulmeister (04:11): "European investigators now believe it was a Chinese commercial ship that deliberately dragged its anchor to sabotage the two undersea telecommunication cables cut in the Baltic Sea earlier this month."

The discussion shifts to the skepticism from Western intelligence regarding direct Chinese government involvement, suggesting possible Russian intelligence manipulation.

Jason DeFilippo (05:06): "And that assumes that Elon is in the good graces at that point. Which is not a guarantee anymore."

They humorously suggest involving Tom Hanks and diplomats to resolve the situation, reflecting on the complexities of international maritime laws.

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3. Elon Musk’s Tesla Pay Package Blocked by Delaware Court

A significant portion of the conversation centers on the Delaware Chancery Court's decision to block Elon Musk's extensive pay package for Tesla:

Brian Schulmeister (06:30): "Delaware court has once again rejected Elon's massive pay package valued at 101 billion dollars."

Jason compares the court's decision to a parental figure intervening for the CEO's benefit:

Jason DeFilippo (06:57): "She's like being the parent in the room saying, I'm doing this for your own good."

The hosts express skepticism about Elon Musk's future actions and his current standing.

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4. Cryptocurrency Fraud: Alex Mashinsky and Huktua Girl Scams

The episode addresses recent fraud cases in the cryptocurrency sphere:

Brian Schulmeister (07:30): "Former cryptocurrency leader Alex Mashinsky has pleaded guilty to two fraud charges."

Jason humorously references the "Huktua girl" case, where immediate cash-outs led to market crashes:

Jason DeFilippo (08:13): "Hock to a girl did a cryptocurrency and then immediately cashed out 90% of her holdings, which was almost all of it."

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5. OpenAI Sued by Canadian News Outlets for Copyright Infringement

A coalition of Canadian news organizations has taken legal action against OpenAI:

Brian Schulmeister (09:24): "A coalition of Canadian news outlets sued OpenAI on Friday for copyright infringement."

The plaintiffs argue that OpenAI profits from unauthorized use of their content in ChatGPT, challenging the company's fair use defense.

Jason DeFilippo (10:31): "Just because I heard a song playing on the radio does not mean I can sell it."

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6. Elon Musk Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over Anticompetitive Practices

Elon Musk has escalated his legal battle against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging anticompetitive behaviors:

Brian Schulmeister (10:46): "His attorneys have filed an injunction against OpenAI and Microsoft on Friday, accusing the two of anti competitive practices."

OpenAI dismisses Musk's allegations as baseless:

Brian Schulmeister (10:42): "OpenAI spokesperson said Elon's fourth attempt, which again recycles the same baseless complaints, continues to be utterly without merit."

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7. Sam Altman's Critique of Elon Musk's Potential Political Maneuvers

Sam Altman comments on Elon Musk's influence, expressing optimism yet skepticism about Musk's political intentions:

Jason DeFilippo (11:39): "Sam Altman says it would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the degree that Elon has it to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses."

The hosts debate Musk's nationality and his strategic moves in the tech and political arenas.

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8. SpaceX’s Starlink Involvement in Drug Smuggling Operations

Authorities in India have uncovered a major drug smuggling ring utilizing SpaceX’s Starlink devices:

Brian Schulmeister (13:13): "Police in Andaman and Nicobar Islands seized 13,000 pounds of meth... used Starlink mini devices to communicate."

Jason connects this to broader criminal activities leveraging modern technology.

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9. Infowars Sale Legal Complications with The Onion

Legal challenges surface as The Onion attempts to acquire Infowars:

Brian Schulmeister (13:33): "They filed a limited objection to the transfer of Infowars X accounts to the satirical media empire in a federal bankruptcy court."

The discussion questions X Corp's strategic decisions, hinting at potential user attrition.

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10. Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over Delivery Practices and Misleading Customers

Amazon is under legal scrutiny for allegedly manipulating delivery services in specific regions:

Brian Schulmeister (15:01): "Amazon is under fire for allegedly slowing deliveries in certain zip codes while misleading customers about delays."

Jason recounts historical issues with Amazon’s delivery security and customer service.

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11. Meta’s Pursuit of Nuclear Energy: A Forward-Thinking Initiative?

Meta Platforms Inc. is making strides in nuclear energy, seeking proposals for new reactors:

Brian Schulmeister (17:22): "Meta is doubling down on nuclear energy, issuing a request for proposals to developers to build 1 to 4 gigawatts of nuclear-powered electricity capacity in the US."

The hosts debate the feasibility and safety of nuclear energy, juxtaposing it with AI's environmental impact.

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12. Apple Sued for Allegedly Spying on Employees via iCloud

An individual employee has filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming unauthorized surveillance:

Jason DeFilippo (19:46): "A lawsuit filed in California accuses Apple of spying on employees through personal iCloud accounts and devices."

Brian underscores the challenges of personal privacy in corporate policies.

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13. United Health CEO Murder and Internet's Vicious Reaction

The tragic murder of United Health CEO Brian Thompson sparked a hostile online response:

Jason DeFilippo (66:15): "The United Healthcare Facebook group post had 13,000 laughing emojis after the CEO's death."

The hosts analyze the societal frustrations leading to such dehumanizing reactions.

Brian Schulmeister (67:13): "What a joy it is to be in Canada shoveling snow and know if I get a heart attack, I will be taken to a hospital and I will be treated free of charge."

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14. Tesla Cybertruck’s Design Flaws Highlighted

Criticism is directed at the Tesla Cybertruck for its impractical design, especially concerning snow accumulation:

Brian Schulmeister (43:28): "Another one for the show, Tesla's cybertruck, the most obnoxious trend... snow builds up in front of the headlights, thus blocking them."

Jason shares personal encounters with the Cybertruck, emphasizing quality control issues.

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15. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s Wealth Surpasses Musicians

Daniel Ek's net worth has skyrocketed, outpacing that of many prominent musicians:

Brian Schulmeister (41:42): "Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has a net worth of $4.9 billion, surpassing every musician in history."

The hosts critique Spotify's payout policies, favoring big tech profits over artists' earnings.

Jason DeFilippo (42:17): "Spotify has that new 1000 stream limit now that you have to do before you get even a cent."

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16. Media Reviews and Personal Insights

Beyond news, the hosts engage in reviews of various media:

• Television Shows:
  "A Man on the Inside," "Rings of Power," "Dune Prophecy," and "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew."

• Books:
  "Starter Villain" by John Scalzi and Peter Cowderon's Trusted First Contact series.

The conversation reflects on storytelling, production quality, and personal preferences, enriching the podcast's content depth.

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17. Community and Social Dynamics: Ham Radio Challenges

Dave Bittner shares his experiences entering the ham radio community, noting its predominantly older, white, male demographic:

Dave Bittner (72:09): "The ham radio community, not surprisingly, is old."

The discussion highlights communication barriers and the importance of embracing diverse interactions within niche communities.

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18. Final Thoughts on Societal Frustrations and Corporate Power

The episode concludes with a somber reflection on societal frustrations manifesting through violent actions against corporate leaders:

Jason DeFilippo (69:07): "Spotify CEO Daniel Ek's wealth is a sign that disrupting music is more profitable than creating it."

The hosts caution against the escalating tensions between the public and powerful tech figures, emphasizing the need for constructive dialogues over destructive actions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Brian Schulmeister (00:53): "The TikTok ban has been upheld in court... scheduled for a January 19 start date."

• Jason DeFilippo (05:35): "So now it's chickens, comrade."

• Brian Schulmeister (06:30): "Delaware court has once again rejected Elon's massive pay package valued at 101 billion dollars."

• Jason DeFilippo (10:31): "Just because I heard a song playing on the radio does not mean I can sell it."

• Brian Schulmeister (17:22): "Meta is doubling down on nuclear energy... build 1 to 4 gigawatts of nuclear-powered electricity capacity in the US."

• Jason DeFilippo (19:46): "A lawsuit filed in California accuses Apple of spying on employees through personal iCloud accounts and devices."

• Brian Schulmeister (41:42): "Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has a net worth of $4.9 billion, surpassing every musician in history."

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Conclusion

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, the hosts dissect a multitude of pressing tech-related issues, ranging from legal battles over social media platforms to the ethical implications of corporate surveillance. Their candid discussions, laced with humor and skepticism, provide listeners with a comprehensive overview of the current tech landscape. Whether addressing the power dynamics of billionaires like Elon Musk and Daniel Ek or exploring the societal impacts of technological advancements, DeFilippo, Schulmeister, and Bittner maintain their signature grumpiness, offering both critique and insight.

Listeners are encouraged to stay informed, question corporate motives, and support the podcast through donations and merchandise, ensuring the continuation of their unfiltered tech discourse.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements and non-content segments, focusing solely on the substantive discussions and key points presented during the episode.

Transcript

[Brian Schulmeister]

My dad works in B2B marketing.

[Jason DeFilippo]

He came by my school for career.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Day and said he was a big roas man.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Then he told everyone how much he.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Not everyone gets B2B but with LinkedIn.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You'Ll be able to reach people who do.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Get a hundred dollar credit on your next ad campaign.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Go to LinkedIn.com results to claim your credit.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's LinkedIn.com results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be to be Grumpy Old Geeks, a weekly talk show hosted by Brian Schulmeister and Jason DeFilippo discussing the finer points of what went wrong on the Internet and who's to blame. Welcome to Grumpy Old geeks. I'm Jason DeFilippo.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And I'm Brian Schilmeister. We got some breaking news. Jason, come and break it to me.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Brian.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Fresh off the Internet tubes. The TikTok ban has been upheld in court. The U.S. court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit has denied TikTok's petition to review the law after both sides asked for a ruling by December 6 before the nationwide ban, which is scheduled for a January 19 start date. We'll see if that actually happens. TikTok and creators on the app sued the federal government in an effort to halt the ban, which forces TikTok to either divest from Chinese owned parent company ByteDance or else be banned from US app stores. TikTok has argued that the ban infringes on the company's First Amendment rights and divesting from ByteDance is not possible technologically, commercially or legally. While the government maintained the ban was essential for national security, although they have put that evidence under seal and not publicly released it. Which is what you do if it's national security.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Exactly. Derp.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So we'll see what happens next. But yeah, it's all coming up quick. We'll see what happens.

[Jason DeFilippo]

All right, China. Yeah, this is going to be interesting to see what he does.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, yeah, it is going to be interesting, right? Because initially he was. Trump did want to ban TikTok. He was, he was all for it basically to basically, you know, force, force them to use US Companies and get some money. But he also seems to be very much against anything Biden did. So we could very well be fucked up.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, that's the thing. We don't know and we don't know if Elon's going to say, hey, it's good for us, man. You've got truth. I'VE got X. You know, between us, we've got 50 users. We should be able to make some more money if this thing goes away.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And that assumes that Elon is in the good graces at that point. Which is not a guarantee anymore.

[Jason DeFilippo]

It's not a guarantee, but he's lasted longer than I thought he would.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, he's not even in office yet.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know. I love every article that comes out and says that he's like the Shadow MAGA president. Makes me smile because the more light that he takes away from the big dt, the faster he is going to get out of there. Because nothing pisses Donald off more than somebody getting in his spotlight.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That's true. That is true.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yep. So that'll be fun to watch. I'm excited. I'm excited. Hope you didn't burn your hands because I was so hot off the press.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I burned my Itubes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I did burn my little fingers this weekend on some Thanksgiving dinner. So I did put out a Thanksgiving rerun episode, which. Cause we had an ad, we had to put something out and I'm poor, I need money. So I put out the Tim Ferriss episode from episode 36.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Wow.

[Jason DeFilippo]

36, Brian.

[Brian Schulmeister]

11 years ago, I did not have a kid.

[Jason DeFilippo]

No. I think. Jesus. I was still. No, you were in your 30s, I think. Still.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Wow.

[Jason DeFilippo]

God, we're old. But David Finley over on Blue sky wrote something very funny. He's like, geez, you both got way more cynical in the last 10 years. I'd feel like if you were doing that interview now, you'd both be eviscerating him on so many issues. Ideas that he promoted then. Probably. But my response to David was, you know what shit we've seen in the last 10 years.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, come on. Yeah. Look, it's an occupational hazard of doing this podcast. It is actually making us really, really cranky. Which is one of the reasons that I do demand we occasionally take a week off. Because I need to, like, recharge some happiness in my life, sit down and watch some Disney videos.

[Jason DeFilippo]

This doesn't make me cranky anymore. I just smile at it because I know, I know how the game is played. But it's still just like, you just, what can you do? This too shall pass, Brian. This too shall pass.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes, well, speaking of passing, we have some follow up on the story about the ship that supposedly dragged the anchor to cut undersea data cables. European investigators now believe it was a Chines own commercial ship that deliberately dragged its anchor to sabotage the two undersea telecommunication cables cut in the Baltic Sea earlier this month. Western law enforcement, however, and intelligence officials have told the Wall Street Journal they don't believe that the Chinese government was involved. Instead, the probe is focused on whether Russian intelligence persuaded the vessel's captain to carry out the operation. For the past week or so, NATO warships from Denmark, Germany and Sweden have surrounded the 225 meter long Ying 3. The ship's Chinese owner is reportedly cooperating with investigators, and the shipper has allowed the commercial vessel to be stopped in international waters. So they are negotiating with the owner to access the ship and its crew. I think they need to send in Tom Hanks. From what I remember about that movie.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

International maritime laws prevent NATO from forcing the vessel to sail into one of its ports. So they've basically got surveillance and satellite footage of the ship which used to never even leave Chinese waters until this. And they basically see it going really slowly over 100 miles along the Baltic seabed, which would correspond with dragging an anchor and doing some weird zigzaggy stuff and all over the place.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So, I mean, serpentine, serpentine.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's about as red handed as you can get.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So now it's chickens, comrade.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah. Now it's trying to just figure out who, who pulled the trigger on this one. So in addition to Tom Hanks, I think we need, we need the diplomat. We need Kerry Russell in here.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. Seriously?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, this is a good one. Okay.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Never would have seen that coming.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Now, see, my theory all along was it was the Russians because we know Elon Musk has been talking to Putin. And guess who would benefit from all these cables going away. Why, Starlink would.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Starlink. Yeah, that's what you said before. Yeah. If we were that kind of show.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, if we were that kind of show, making those kind of accusations.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, we might want to be that kind of show because those kind of shows make that kind of money.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That's true. So let's just make them. Fuck it. Elon did it.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yep, Elon did it. But speaking of not making any money, Elon Musk's massive multi billion dollar Tesla pay package was blocked by a judge again. Wah wah wah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, he's a government employee now. I'm sure he'll be rolling in the bucks.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, got the Doge money. Yep, that's right. Yes. The Delaware court has once again rejected Elon's massive pay package valued at 101 billion dol. Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathleen McCormick, who is my new favorite person, ruled it was unfair to shareholders, even though they voted on it again. And said, give them the money.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That's because they're all yes men. Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, yeah. She's like. She's being the parent in the room saying, I'm doing this for your own good. You must eat your vegetables. And here, keep the money.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, I've got a story later on in the show about the Tesla cybertruck that maybe will make you think he does not deserve any sort of pay package. Yeah, but we'll get to that.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, then, let's get on with the news, Brian.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay.

[Jason DeFilippo]

In the news.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It'S been a hot minute since we've talked about any crypto bros getting in trouble, but we've got it now.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I think it's going to be a long four years, Brian. As long as. Look, they can talk about crypto all they want as long as they don't bring back NFTs. Please can we all agree NFTs were a really stupid idea. GM F you.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, former cryptocurrency leader Alex Mashinsky has pleaded guilty to two fraud charges. The founder and CEO of Celsius Networks was indicted on seven criminal counts in 2023, including charges of fraud, conspiracy and market manipulation. He entered a not guilty plea at the time, but in the hearing today, he changed his mind to two. About two of those original counts. The first is commodities fraud, and the second is a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of his companies. In house crypto token sell reporters Reuters report.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Wait, wait, wait. If that's an in house token called does that mean it's an incel.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Ooh, nice move. On part of the plea deal, he has agreed not to appeal any sentence of 30 years or less. And I didn't put this in the news, but I did see it breaking. Hock to a girl did a cryptocurrency and then immediately cashed out 90% of her holdings, which was almost all of it. And it immediately crashed and there are now calls for her to be sent to jail. So we might have a crypto girl in the news by next week.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, man, I wonder how will she.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Do her number one podcast from jail? Jason?

[Jason DeFilippo]

I don't know. I don't know. I mean, what's his name? Well, the death row records guy. What? Who is that? Suge Knight. Suge Knight has a podcast from jail every three minutes.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You get that thing from the jail.

[Jason DeFilippo]

It's in there, too. Yeah. They seriously need to hire me, though. It sounds terrible. Come on, guys.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Landlord.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, Come on, shug. Come on, shug. Send me some of that sweet money. I'll fix it. I cannot believe somebody got to Huktua girl. She seemed to have such good counsel up until this point. Who the fuck got to her and said, you know what would be a really good idea? Securities fraud. Because you're not making enough money so far. Let's do it, girl.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Jesus would have been better off with OnlyFans.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Anyways, some Canadian news A coalition of Canadian news outlets sued Open AI on Friday for copyright infringement. The joint lawsuit accuses the company of capitalizing and profiting from the unauthorized use of their content for Chat GPT. Plaintiffs include cbc, Radio Canada, Post Media, Metroland, the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, and the Canadian Press. They are seeking punitive damages from OpenAI payments for any profits the Chat GPT creator made from using their news articles and a ban on further use of their content. OpenAI has noted that its news content partnerships and opt out process while voicing a belief that its practices are covered under fair use. And we all know how well opt out processes work, particularly for these black boxes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And they're also of course saying that it's all fair use, which it's not.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Just because I heard a song playing on the radio does not mean I can sell it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah. It doesn't mean I can take it, put it into my for profit organization that makes money and reuse the content. No, it doesn't work that way. Otherwise I'll just go. Spotify is all fair use, so I'm just going to grab all those things and slap a new package on the front of it.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah. And speaking of OpenAI and Elon. Elon Musk has asked the court to stop Open AI from becoming a for profit because he's allowed to tell other companies what they should do.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, keep going, keep going. I got I. I got follow up on this article, please. Keep going.

[Brian Schulmeister]

His attorneys have filed an injunction against OpenAI and Microsoft on Friday, accusing the two of anti competitive practices and seeking to stop Open AI conversion to a for profit company. He first sued Open AI earlier this year for allegedly violating its founding mission of holding AI for the benefit of humanity, but withdrew the lawsuit a few months later because it was patently stupid. He then filed another lawsuit against OpenAI in a California federal court in August and recently added Microsoft as the defendant. The new motion accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of telling investors not to fund Open AI's competitors, such as Musk's X AI, of benefiting from wrongly obtained competitively sensitive information or coordination through its relationship with Microsoft and other alleged antitrust violations. In a statement shared with Engadget in response to Musk's latest filing, an OpenAI spokesperson said Elon's fourth attempt, which again recycles the same baseless complaints, continues to be utterly without merit.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, Elon, Elon, Elon. Now here's the funny one that came out this week was Sam Altman is. I don't know what he's thinking at this point, but he came out saying at a conference, at a New York Times conference that he may turn out to be wrong. But he strongly believes that Elon will do the right thing going forward. He says it would be profoundly un American to use political power to the degree that Elon has it to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses. And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it. Let me explain to you, Sam. Elon is not American. He's South African.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Also. What do you think he did with X which he bought. He used it to unfairly help his friend and, and destroy the competitor. We know this now. He basically bought the election for $250 million plus the however many billions he bought X for.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. And it's. He didn't buy it for 44 because that wasn't all his money. The Saudis still want some of that back and everybody else or you know.

[Brian Schulmeister]

At least some favors.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. When he gets in office.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's what that whole thing where Elon said I'm fucked if he doesn't win. That's what he meant. It wasn't that like people were going to be mad at him. All the favors that he promised to the other governments that were going to get. Once I get into office, once I buy X, use that to win the election, get in office, then you'll have the ear of the President. That's what he was alluding to, that he was fucked if he didn't win.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So we are turning into that show. Fuck.

[Brian Schulmeister]

But we're not wrong.

[Jason DeFilippo]

No. Some SpaceX news here. I'm sorry. Starlink news. Indian authorities have uncovered a massive drug smuggling operation involving SpaceX Starlink satellite Internet Police in Andaman and Nicobar Islands seized 13,000 pounds of meth valued at 4 point billion for Myanmar based boats. So the deal here is on those boats they found Starlink mini devices which is what they used to communicate because nobody's looking, nobody's looking at Starlink right now because it's so small. This is where all the criminals have gone. The criminals are using Bitcoin, crypto and Starlink and Starlink. That's it right now.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep, yep. And one more story of why Elon Musk just can't let us have nice things. And hopefully the last one for the show. There's been another legal complication that may have surfaced in the Onions bid to buy the Infowars empire from bankrupt conspiracy media mogul Alex Jones, which I think the majority of this planet agrees is one of the only feel good stories that came out of last year. We all like this. They filed a limited objection to the transfer of Infowars X accounts to the satirical media empire in a federal bankruptcy court on Monday, claiming that as part of the terms of service, the trustee cannot sell, assign or otherwise transfer such license absent X Corp's consent, according to court records. If I were X, I'd just give it to them and hope that they stayed on. Because most people just say, ah, fuck it, we don't need an X account anymore. Because that's what most people have done.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, they're going to lose a couple users over this when they need to keep everybody they can get.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

But they're also opening a can of worms because every corporation out there is going, wait a minute, wait a minute. You own it. Let me think about that for a moment. That might not be the best move here. This is a very, very, very short sighted. Yes, very.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I mean, we all know it's true. We've been staying on this show from day one. Don't build your. Don't build your house in somebody else's backyard. And that's what you're doing. But you don't spell it out loud to people.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, you don't. You don't hold your hand over the nozzle on the sprinkler saying, I'm turning it on. Now get out. Fucking idiots. Speaking of fucking idiots, Amazon is under fire for allegedly slowing deliveries in certain zip codes while misleading customers about delays. D.C. attorney General Brian Schw has filed a lawsuit claiming the tech giant concealed its decision to exclude some areas from in house delivery services, citing driver safety concerns.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Let me guess what areas these might be.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, let me guess. Yeah. Instead of transparency, Schwalbe alleges Amazon misled users suggesting delays were due to unrelated issues. Amazon denies the allegations, calling them categorically false. Spokesperson Kelly Nantel stated that delivery adjustments were made to protect drivers in areas with targeted threats. She also claimed the company is upfront with customers about delivery times during checkout. However, the lawsuit points to customer complaints that were reportedly met with evasive responses from Amazon Support Schwalb insists Amazon owes impacted customers clarity and compensation, arguing that prime subscribers in these regions rarely receive the fast shipping that they pay for. So, yep, go for it, man.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep. Yeah.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So. And honestly, everywhere on the planet right now is a target for Amazon delivery drivers. I mean, you weren't here because you had moved to Canada, but there was a time during the pandemic where Roves, these roving bands of robbers were robbing Amazon trains and just ripping the trains apart, taking all the stuff. Then they would get arrested. And because crime is legal in California, they were out by the afternoon. Back on the train track, some people were getting arrested twice in one day for the same crime. And it was all because of Amazon had no security on those trains. And they're like, ah, whatever, right. So in California you're fine, but in D.C. apparently they're going to slow the delivery for you. Great. Yes. All right, got some Meta news. Apparently I forget what the ecological animal was that Zuckerberg got shut down from last time when he tried to do his nuclear. His nuclear plant.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Was it badger or a butterfly? A frog?

[Jason DeFilippo]

I don't know, something like that. So Meta is doubling down on nuclear energy, issuing a request for proposals to developers to build a 1 to 4 gigawatts of nuclear nuclear powered electricity capacity in the US and to that I say 1.2 watts. Great Scott. What the hell is it? Gigawatt? The company plans to share early development costs and commit to purchasing power once reactors are operational, targeting the early2030s. So they're planning ahead.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Look, if you're not donating to our show for these amazing production values that we're throwing in these days.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I tell you, I'm telling you, man, I'm telling you. You know how much work that took? I had, it took, I had, I had to use my SetApp account. So go to GOG Show SetApp to go get your setup account today and get downy for free with your subscription. Anyway, didn't think of that one through. Anyway, this is there on the bandwagon. Everybody is going nuclear. Nuclear, Nuclear.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, I mean you kind of got to. Nuclear power is pretty safe. It's pretty clean. It's, it's, it's, it's more bang for your buck. Hopefully not a real bang. And you know they're under fire right now about the ecolo technological damage that they're doing with the, with all the AI. Like there's only so much water on this planet and we can't use it to cool your data centers. We need power from somewhere else. We need. We need to figure things out.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So. And honestly, what's the AI going to use to eradicate humanity if they can't blow up the nuclear reactors once it. Once it gains tensions? I mean, this is all part of the master plan.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, all you got to do is you got to make sure all the servers are actually in the nuclear power plants.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yes, that's it. That's it. Yep.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And don't put a fucking Starlink thing there because then they're going to get out.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, Mutually assured destruction. Here, come on.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Exactly.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Let's do it. I just finished the Rings of Power Season 2 last night, so I'm thinking this is all Sauron's plan right here. Come on. Build the nuclear stuff. We'll get to that in absence or in media candy in a minute. But come on, this makes sense. That AI is running the show already. He's behind the scenes. It's the puppet master.

[Brian Schulmeister]

One reactor to bind them. Jason.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, and I mean, Mark Zuckerberg is a robot, so he's already been. He's already been co opted by the. By the machines.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh man, we're going into gay frog territory on this podcast now.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know, but no, they protected gay frogs. That's why he couldn't build his last reactor.

[Brian Schulmeister]

We need more gay frogs. Get them out there.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Get out the gay frogs. A lawsuit filed in California accuses Apple of spying on employees through personal icloud accounts and devices. Amar Bhakta, distant cousin to Hochtua Girl, an Apple employee since 20, claims the company's policies force workers to sacrifice personal privacy, allowing Apple to surveil them at home. And even after leaving the company. Bhakta says Apple used these policies to restrict his career opportunities, including banning him from public speaking on digital advertising and altering his LinkedIn profile. That's what you sign up for when you join the mothership at Apple, man. Come on.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Look, not if they're. If they're company owned devices, the company can do whatever the fuck they want. Go buy your own phone. Phone.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, they were saying that it was his personal devices too, that they were going after because he was with his icloud account and things like that. Yeah, it's basically he's got a good case, I think.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I wonder who he pissed off.

[Jason DeFilippo]

You got to have some cojones to go straight head to head against Apple. So alone. This isn't a class action. This is one dude.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I mean, the most shocking thing to me in this whole story is that somebody would even Notice that his LinkedIn profile was all.

[Jason DeFilippo]

This episode is sponsored by hello Fresh, America's number one meal kit. With HelloFresh, you get farm fresh, pre portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Skip the stress of meal planning, grocery shopping and last minute dinnertime decisions. HelloFresh makes home cooking easy, fun and affordable. No wonder it's America's number one meal kit. Look, I love the holidays, but let's be real, they're busy. Between work, family and everything else, finding time to cook feels impossible. That's why HelloFresh has been a lifesaver. Instead of scrambling to come up with dinner ideas, I just pick meals online and everything I need, from high quality proteins to fresh produce, shows up ready to go. No wasted food, no wasted time. And let me tell you, the ingredients are top notch. HelloFresh uses sustainably sourced ingredients like farm fresh vegetables so you can feel good about what you're eating. Plus, their recipes are a hit with everyone. With 50 chef crafted options every week, from comforting classics to globally inspired dishes, you'll never get bored. My favorite this week, Ricotta Ravioli in Garlic Cream Sauce with Zucchini and Toasted Buttery Panko. It's a crowd pleaser that's way easier to make than it looks and it only takes 20 minutes. And for those extra busy weeks, HelloFresh Market has over 100 add ons like quick breakfasts, packable snacks, and even holiday desserts. It's perfect for keeping me on track when my schedule is packed. And oh boy, is it packed. Want to skip a week because you're traveling or just need a break? No problem. HelloFresh is flexible with no commitments. So what are you waiting for? Get 10 free [e-mail] FreeGoG Applied across 7 boxes. New subscribers only. Varies by plan. That's 10 free HelloFresh meals. Just go to hellofresh.com freegog hellofresh America's 1 meal kit this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks is brought to you by Deleteme. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever wondered just how much of your personal data is floating around out there on the Internet? Well, more than you think. Your name, contact info, Social Security number, even your home address. Data brokers collect it, sell it, and turn it into a commodity for anyone willing to pay. It's scary when you think about how easy it is for that information to end up in the wrong hands, leading to identity theft, spam calls, or even something more severe like harassment. As someone who shares opinions online, I've become hyper aware of our vulnerability. In today's polarized world, politically motivated attacks are on the rise, especially around election cycles. Deleteme's research shows the amount of personal data available online has tripled in recent years. There's an average of over 525 pieces of personal info on each person and it's often available for as little as $5. That's why we recommend Deleteme. It's a subscription service that works tirelessly to remove your personal information from hundreds of data brokers. You sign up. Sign up, provide them with the details you want removed, and they do all the heavy lifting. They'll even send you regular privacy reports showing what they found, where they found it, and what they've taken down. DeleteMe isn't just a one time thing. They constantly monitor and remove your information, making it much harder for bad actors to find and exploit your personal details. Take control of your data and keep your private life private with Deleteme. And for grumpy old geeks listeners, you can get 20% off your DeleteMe plan today. Go to JoinDeleteMe.com and use promo code GOG at checkout. That's JoinDeleteMe.com GOG and make sure you use that code GOG at checkout. Don't miss out on this special discount media candy.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I watched A Man on the Inside, the new Netflix show with Ted Danson from the creators of the Good Place. And it's no Good Place, but it was fun.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay. I. I was waiting for your review before I dove in because I was sketchy on it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's not bad. I. It was. It. There's a couple episodes that were a little slow. It kind of meandered a bit. It didn't have the big feels or the big belly laughs, but it was, it was good. If you're. If you're out of something to watch, it's fun and I left it satisfied. And I do hope that they don't bring it back.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Back. Okay. Okay. See, the Good Place had one thing that I really, really enjoyed every season or every episode. Jamila. Jamil. I really enjoyed Jamila on that show and I don't think that she's going to be making an appearance on this one to tend an old folks home.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I'm guessing she did not make an appearance, nor did Kristen Bell. The other thing I enjoyed on the Good Place.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And we are now three episodes into Dune Prophecy and it's fine.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I like it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I don't mind it. It's a little. It's hewing to see. I have the opposite complaint that I had with with Foundation. It's hewing too close to the horrible Brian Herbert books. I was kind of hoping that they would explore more interesting ideas and make up their own stuff, which they're not really doing. It certainly looks good. It is a beautifully shot show.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Especially I watch it on my 75 inch, 4k TV and I feel like I'm there. It's beautiful. For that, I don't mind the story even. I'm kind of enjoying it. It's fine. I don't have that Same. Exactly. Here's the deal, though. I didn't know foundation before I started watching the show, and foundation still sucked without knowing the books. Then I read foundation and I'm like, what is this? This is truly garbage. So on your recommendation, I finally finished the Rings of Power.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I actually finished it last night so I could be ready for the show today. It's fantastic.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's good, right?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, I really, really enjoyed it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah. I don't understand all the people shitting on it because I think it's just great. Of course, it's not the Fellowship of the Ring extended edition, and then the other two movies, Extended Edition, and 42 Hours later, you're huddled in a corner crying. But it's good.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. I really, really enjoyed. And it wasn't. I didn't think it was as slow as everybody said.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It probably helped to binge it, like, because it is released weekly. So that seems to put a brake on it and it makes it feel like it's longer.

[Jason DeFilippo]

But, yeah, yeah, could be. Could be. Now, the actor that played Arondir, Ismail Cruz Cordova, he's. What's his nuts in what you call it, that show that I've been trying to get you to watch. What's his nuts?

[Brian Schulmeister]

And what should we call it with starring Jamil Jamal.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I give up. Oh, God.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I have no idea what show you're talking about. Obviously.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Actually, I might be wrong. Never mind. I thought he was in Interview with a Vampire.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, okay. I am trying to watch that. I gotta get on that.

[Jason DeFilippo]

God damn it. I am strong. It's not even him. It's not him. It's Jacob Anderson. They look very similar. They look extraordinarily similar. They got the same eyes, the same. I just thought that the first guy bulked up for Lord of the Rings and then he slimmed down for Interview.

[Brian Schulmeister]

To play the gay vampire.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, trust me, they look very similar. They both have striking. They Both are very striking. So I thought he was Louie. It's like, oh, crap, he's not Louie. But I tell you what, the guy who plays Louie is awesome and the guy who plays Arondir is awesome. So. So it was easy. It was easy. This is the one where there was so much time in between watching both of them that I thought it was the same guy. Now, there was a problem with Lord of the Rings, Ring of Power, where since I did watch it back to back to back, they changed up the actor that played Adar.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I did not notice that because I waited a year and a half between seasons.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's what I'm saying. See? So memory is. Memory is a fickle little bitch. It is, yeah. Actor Joseph Mauley, he quit after season one. And here's the thing. So now when I hear these things, my radar goes up. And he basically said on. He left his goodbye post on. Back then it was Twitter, I believe. He says, I loved my time exploring Middle Earth and diving into Tolkien's mythology. I'm so honored that the character was liked. He cared deeply about telling you his story, though as an actor, it remains my wish, my job description to explore new characters and worlds. Wishing all the best to cast and crew for season two. I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines.

[Brian Schulmeister]

X. Bullshit.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I reached out now that I have friends who are real, like a list, professional actors. I called a few and said, give me this skinny here. What happened? Did this guy get caught diddling an intern? And they said, possibly.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Here's the thing, here's the thing. I understand leaving a show after it's been running for about 10 plus years. Nobody leaves a successful show after the first season.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Christopher Eccleston, well, Chris Eccleston left Doctor who. He was a total idiot. Total idiot. And he knows it. He knows it. But this one. So when with something of this caliber in this budget, this guy was locked into a basically an indentured servitude contract that he couldn't fart without production's approval for three years or at least two years if you're watching at this point. So this is not something that was mutually agreed upon. He's like, I'm just going to leave. And he was shown the door. My actor Dom, he was either shown the door because he was a pain in the ass to work with and nobody wanted him around. He did get caught diddling an intern and they decided to sweep it under the rug. Yeah, that's about it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay, one or two possibilities. Fair enough.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, he was either an asshole to work with, or they're just like, okay, please get out of here. Because production is generally not gonna switch up actors in the middle of a series unless it is a really big issue, period. And this little blurb on Twitter does not have the ring of truth at all. He did not quit to go spend more time with his family. We all know that's not true. So, anyway, moving on, Moving on. Great show, though.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, it is a great show. I like to watch some of the seasonal baking shows that come out on Food Network with the kid and the whole family. You know, they do the Halloween ones, Halloween wars and all that, and they do the Christmas cookies and Christmas baking competitions, et cetera, et cetera. And then, you know, a perfect confluence of things came together to make the best show ever that my son enjoys the most out of all of them. And actually, the production values on it are so high, it is pretty striking. Son is a huge fan of Harry Potter, and they have unleashed this year, Harry Potter, Wizards of Baking. And it's phenomenal. It's all done on the sets in London that they kept up that you can tour. We went to see them when we went to London two years ago. I had a great time there, and it's just very well done. They're on the third episode now. It's airing on Food Network, and then the day after it airs, it comes out on max streaming, which is how we watch it. And, boy, it's a lot of fun. It's a great show to watch. Do they just have a blast doing it? And they're all, like, super fans that are involved and it's really cool. It's a good time.

[Jason DeFilippo]

And is JK involved in any way? Because I'm guessing there's going to be no trans fats involved.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Absolutely not. No. She has nothing to do. Look, Max has bought the IP rights to this, and they have wasted no time in making. Putting out these shows because the other thing that we discovered that had also just come out is Harry Potter Hogwarts Tournament of Houses, which is basically just a trivia game that they put out. And it's. It's also a lot of fun. And my kid nails it like he's only. Well, he gets any. Everything that's, like, through book five, because that's where we're at right now.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Because your kid's in college now, I'm guessing. Because it's been that long, right? Feels that long, Mike.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, third grade, dude.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, man. It feels like he should be in college at this point.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I'm not. I'm not financially ready to pay for that yet. I've got a. I've got some investing.

[Jason DeFilippo]

To do before that gog show. Donate?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes, please.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, that sounds fun. Sounds fun. I'm not a Bacon show kind of guy, but I've been going back and watching the Food Star next Food Star Network star, whatever it was. Do you remember that? It ran for 14 seasons and I never got into it because I wasn't watching the Food Network then.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Right.

[Jason DeFilippo]

And it's just one of those shows. I was never a big Bobby Flay fan. It turns out it was really fun show. So we're kind of binging those. They don't have them all up there on Max, but they've got a bunch.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, and I did forget to mention that Helen Mirren is actually hosting the trivia tournament show.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Guess what I'm watching tonight.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Exactly. It's worth it just for her.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Man, I love Ellen Mirren.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Me too.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, great. The Traders Canada Season 2 just wrapped up this week. Solid season. Solid season. Out of all the Traders, it is definitely the most polite.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Of course it is. It's Canada.

[Jason DeFilippo]

They're so fucking polite. It's ridiculous. But they do have the worst faithfuls of any Traders season across the globe. And if you go to the Trader's website, it is ridiculous how many countries this show is in. It's in like 25 countries at this point. It is a juggernaut. But it was good. It was really good. I enjoyed it. I can't wait for England and the US are coming up in January, so. So I got my popcorn. I'm ready to go.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I hear the US version will be hosted in the White House.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's Survivor, dude.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's both. What? Traders will survive.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh wait, no. There's another show I'm watching that actually is even better for that one. House of Villains. It's another reality competition show. I think that's definitely more White House ups and do dads. I have a bone to pick this week, Brian. I guess I have a bone to pick every week. Some financial issues have been going on lately and just been rough times. And I was looking at my bank statement this morning trying to figure out what I can cut, what I can't cut. And I just noticed there were a couple charges that were like those are very large and very unexpected. And the first one was for $120 from describing and I'm like, wait a minute, I didn't get a notice that they were going to rebuild me for this next year, and I didn't get a notification after they billed me that they had billed me. And then I found a couple other ones, a couple of other different software packages. If I'm tempted to just call and cancel just for that alone, because that is some seriously unethical shit. I love it when I get a notification from a company that says, hey, your subscription's coming up. It's going to end next month. If you would like to change your subscription or update it, here's a link to do that.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes. It's how one should do business. Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. And Descript, I still keep going back to. It was, I think one of the founders of Descript was one of the guys who started Groupon. So you know that there's not a whole lot of ethics going on there already. But don't quote me on that one. I just have a feeling that that was one of the guys in Descript. And I just. I'm not a huge fan of the service, but it does what it does somewhat decently. So I still use it every now and again. But now I'm just pissed off at him. I'm just really pissed off at them. But, yeah, there's so many of those. Just check your bills, folks, because they're things that you set up ages ago that are still going to rebill you on a yearly cycle that they never tell you about. And if you're not looking, you can miss. Yeah, especially if you don't have a lot of disposable income at the moment. That's why I miss. I'm like, wait a minute. That was my. Yeah, that was my health insurance bill that you guys just canceled. Thank you. Thank you. But who weren't this week were Adobe, Adobe, Adobe, of all people. I think they see the writing on the wall that they need to, like, you know, turn a new leaf over. Right. I got a new gig that I have to use Premiere on, and I don't have Premiere because I was getting the bare bones Adobe deal that I could get for the photography and the podcast tools, which was still like $28 a month, $29 a month. And I'm just like, jesus, that's a lot. Yeah, I know. For Photoshop, Lightroom and the podcasting tools that they just came out with. Just the Podcasting tools are 10 bucks a month. I'm like, jesus Christ. But thank you, Cyber Monday, because I actually got all of the Adobe suite now with the podcast tools and Photoshop and everything for $2 less a month than I was paying currently. So I re swizzled and I saved $24 over the year. I'm very happy about that.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, Adobe did something right. It's a mirror.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's what I mean. And they did all the refunds in real time. Before that was one of the things that they were getting dinged in was that, okay, when you do a refund, it took forever to get back and sometimes you didn't get your money. They do that shit in real time right now they're like, Johnny on the spot. We're like, we do not like the Department of Justice. So here's your $24, right? Like, I mean, prorated to the cent. Like, the minute that you wanted, you get a refund. They're like, they got these guys with abacuses in the back going, oh, give them an extra cent just in case we're a little late. Yeah, so that was nice. I still like the affinity tools. I use those for half of my work. But there's some things that you just need Photoshop and, and Premiere for, so. Right, that's what I gotta say about that. OpenAI's Shipmas. Have you heard about this, Brian?

[Brian Schulmeister]

I have not.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So for the 12 days of Christmas, they're actually releasing new products every day. So on the first day of Shipmas, Sam Altman gave to me ChatGPT Pro, which will cost you like 240 bucks a year or. No, it's 240 bucks a month or something like that. Let me see here. It's a lot of money.

[Brian Schulmeister]

200 bucks.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Month. It's 200 bucks a month. Yeah. But they finally released their first. The names are so stupid. O1 is now out of beta and out of preview, so that is now available for the general public. And I'm not a pro user, I guess I'm a paid user. I don't know what tier I'm at now because they keep changing shit up. So, yeah, there's. But yeah, every day for the next 12 days we got new stuff. I think next one should be dropping here pretty soon. Soon. So there we go.

[Brian Schulmeister]

There you go. Well, going back to your complaint at the beginning of this segment, the FTC is now investigating Uber for its subscription policies. There have been a lot of complaints about the Uber 1 subscription program. Customers are alleging that the company signed users up for the service without their consent and made it difficult to cancel their subscriptions. Uber representative Noah Edwardson told told Bloomberg that we will continue to answer any questions the FTC may have about our cancellation policies. The Uber one cancellation process Follows both the letter and the spirit of the law, Uber one members can easily cancel their membership in the app. In fact, the majority of Those cancellations take 20 seconds or less. So that's probably a relatively new thing because the FTC clicked to cancel rule. That's coming into play. But we'll see. Being signed up without ever without consent seems a bit fucking odd to me, though. So we'll see.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yep, Yep. Okay. I think. God, I haven't used Uber in years.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Check them credit cards.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, check those credit cards for sure. When was the last time you had to use Uber?

[Brian Schulmeister]

We use it occasionally here when we don't feel like when we have a dinner with some friends that's a little bit further away and it's kind of off the beaten track of public transport, but not very often. Usually it's to the airport back. That's about it.

[Jason DeFilippo]

All right. All right. Well, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has a net worth of $4.9 billion, surpassing every musician in history, including billionaire artists like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Jay Z. Yep. Eck ranks 646th on Forbes Billionaire list, far ahead of musicians whose fortune often come from ventures outside of music. Critics highlight Eck's massive wealth as a sign that disrupting music is more profitable than creating it. I said that all along. Yep. Now, I found this article from my friend Coop over on Bluesky, and he said, where's our friend in the hoodie when we need him? This is in response to the story that we're going to cover in the Dark side with Dave coming up shortly about the United Healthcare CEO. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So, well, I mean, it certainly bolsters the argument that they're not paying out enough.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, no doubt. I saw. And in. I forget where I saw it. Somebody was showing their Apple Music payout versus their Spotify payout, and it was like 477 plays versus like, over 5,000 plays on Spotify. Like 477 on Apple Music, 5,000 on Spotify. And they got more money from Apple music from those 477 plays than they did from the 5,000 plays on Spotify. Spotify, yep. Yeah. And they've got. And don't forget, Spotify has that new 1000 stream limit now that you have to do before you get even a cent.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep, yep, yep. It's one of the reasons we've switched Apple Music in the house, so. Yeah.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, I didn't know you did. That's good.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, yeah. All of our streaming devices now do Apple Music.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Awesome. Yeah. I've been Using them for a while. It is my go to, so. Fuckers. Anyway, Walmart has officially closed its $2.3 billion all cash acquisition of TV maker Vizio. Now I've had a ton of Vizio TVs over the years. And why have I had a ton of them, Brian? Because they suck. They're basically disposable. That's right. Shit Quality, cheap. Price point falls apart at like about 15 seconds after the warranty expires. They're garbage TVs. But the G, they, they're cheap. And why did Walmart buy them? Well, because Walmart advertising, they want to be able to reach their customers more easily because what do people go to Walmart to buy? Big TVs. So does not, does not surprise me one bit. I thought somebody else was buying them previously, but I guess that fell through and now they're. They've gone to Walmart.

[Brian Schulmeister]

All right.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

All right. And it is. It is wintertime here, Jason. I had to shovel for the first time this winter this morning, but this is absolutely my favorite story of the week. Cybertruck owner complains about snow blocking his headlights. Tesla's cybertruck, the most obnoxious trend to emerge in America's current midlife crisis epidemic, is most famous for just being hideous to look at the latest TikTok video to go viral about Elon Musk's baby might be the most ridiculous yet. And yes, the cybertruck design has basically a shelf right in front of the headlights. And when it snows, the snow builds up in front of the headlights, thus blocking them. And if it ices over, it ain't falling off when you're driving.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Fun.

[Brian Schulmeister]

This is amazing.

[Jason DeFilippo]

There ain't no snow in Elon's land. Maybe.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, that's the thing I was wondering, was it ever even. It would never would have had this test because, you know, Texas, that's it.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Texas, Southern California.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, he's mostly pulled out of SoCal now, right?

[Jason DeFilippo]

So I think so. I think so.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Mostly in text, but yeah, this is pretty awesome. You should Google it or take a look at the story. It is unbelievable. There is a big shelf right below where the headlights are and it just fills up with snow, man.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I was sitting next to one at a stop sign or stoplight the other day. You can see from like, you know, from several feet away how misaligned those panels are. They're just, they're cockeyed. Those like the seams are not straight at all. And I'm like, quality control just is non existent. What A piece of shit.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And it's really jarring to see them here in Toronto. There's like a handful of them around.

[Jason DeFilippo]

And you know, because it snows in Toronto.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, yes. I haven't seen them on the road since it started snowing, I'll tell you that. Yeah, but yeah, they're so big and ugly. And people tend to have smaller cars here, especially downtown Toronto because the streets weren't built for SUVs. They're a lot smaller. And when you see one tooling around and you just go, God damn, what an asshole that person must be.

[Jason DeFilippo]

And it's a visual trick too, because I've got a Jeep and my Jeep is bigger than a cybertruck. Granted, I have a big Jeep.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You have a big Jeep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, but it's not the biggest Jeep. It's not like a gladiator. Those are bigger than mine. I've got a four door wrangler and I look down on the cybertruck, literally and metaphorically when I drive. So yeah, it's. They're just, they're just garbage, man. They're everywhere here. When you come back, you wouldn't believe it. I see like 10 a day now.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Great.

[Jason DeFilippo]

It is. Yeah. Welcome to welcome to Doucheville. This episode is brought to you by one password Extended Access Management. Imagine your company's security like the quad of a college campus. There are nice brick paths between the buildings. Those are the company owned devices, IT approved apps and managed employee identities. And then there are the paths people actually use. The shortcuts worn through the grass that are the actual straightest line from point A to point B. Those are unmanaged devices, shadow IT apps and non employee identities like contractors. Most security tools only work on those happy brick paths. But a lot of security problems take place on the shortcuts. 1Password Extended Access Management is the first security solution that brings all these unmanaged devices, apps and identities under your control. It ensures that every user credential is strong and protected, every device is known and healthy, and every App is visible. 1Password Extended Access Management solves the problems traditional IAM and MDM. It's security for the way we work today. And it's now generally available to companies with Okta and Microsoft Entra and in beta for Google Workspace customers. Check it out at 1Password.com GrumpyOldGeeks that's 1Password.com GrumpyOldgeeks this episode is brought to you by Mint Mobile. You know that feeling when you find a fantastic show or a killer song and you just have to share it with your friends. That's precisely how we feel about Mint Mode. Why? Because Mint Mobile gives you premium wireless service for just 15 bucks a month when you snag a three month plan. Yep, you heard it right. 15 bucks. Think about it. Wireless prices are ridiculous these days. But with Mint Mobile, you don't have to overpay friends. Don't let friends stay stuck with overpriced plans. Mint Mobile is here to save you and your wallet with premium wireless plans starting at just 15 bucks a month. What's included? High speed data, unlimited talk and text. All powered by the nation's largest 5G network. And here's the best part. You can bring your own phone, keep your number and transfer all your contacts. No hassle, no headaches, just savings. So if you're tired of paying too much for wireless, it's time to make the switch. To get Mint Mobile's new customer offer and your three month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.comgrade that's mintmobile.com grumpy cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com grumpy $45 upfront payment required. Equivalent to $15 a month new customers on first three month plan only speed slower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See mintmobile.com for details at the library.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, now that people are on blue sky, myself included. And it isn't just a John Scalzi novel in and of itself, I took your recommendation and got his latest book, Starter Villain. And what a delight that was.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Wasn't it delightful?

[Brian Schulmeister]

It was a truly delightful book. I highly recommend this to everybody. It was fun.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. That's all you could. That's. That's really all it is. It was just a fun short novel. I love it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It was fun and it was short. So it was a quick read, which was great. Which means with having the week off, I've actually read two books. For this one, I went back to the Trusted First Contact series by Peter Cowderon and I read one called Cold Eyes. And I have to say I think this has been my favorite one of them all. This was a little bit longer than most of his are, but it was definitely a really enjoyable sci fi book.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Wow. How are you not done with these yet?

[Brian Schulmeister]

They're all different. They're all completely different. Different. He.

[Jason DeFilippo]

How does he keep making.

[Brian Schulmeister]

He's got so many of them. I don't know. He lives in Australia. He just sits there and writes in beautiful weather and doesn't worry about snow building up on his cybertruck.

[Jason DeFilippo]

There you go. All right. Because it was mentioned twice on the show Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey, I grabbed the audiobook of it. Yeah, I don't know how they would have gotten two seasons of his show out of this either.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Right.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, it's kind of like, okay, it was decent. It was short, it was fine.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It was a nice little story. Not too much meat on the bones and.

[Jason DeFilippo]

No, not at all. Definitely not enough for more than two seasons of a series. No, that's for sure. I mean, like, yeah, one season I can see, but two?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, look, I looked at the synopsis of the show online where you see, you know, all the different episodes, and there's. There's. There's an awful lot more people in it there. There are people in different beacons that are nearby, and they're flying back and forth between the beacons, and they're talking to each other, and they. Hey, neighbor, how's it going in your beacon over there? And none of that's in the book at all.

[Jason DeFilippo]

He turned it into a universe. Okay. Yeah, it's a dude by himself going crazy. Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Talking to his rock friend.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, exactly. Okay, well, Oxford word of the year for 2024 is brain rot. And I love this over on Discord. Gabriel Pagan said, that's two words, whereas the fourth guy immediately wrote back. Pedantic is only one, though. So I would like to say burn is also one word.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I did laugh out loud when I saw that exchange.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I did, too. I did, too.

[Brian Schulmeister]

The Dark side.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Ha.

[Brian Schulmeister]

With Dave.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Welcome to the Dark side with Dave. Podcast super host Dave Buettner decodes all things cyber on Cyberwire. Daily exposes deception with Joe Kerrigan on hacking humans, dives deep into privacy with Ben Yellen on Kavanaugh, Breaks down industrial cybersecurity on Control Loop and even brings the laughs on only malware in the building. Hello, Dave.

[C]

Hello.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Happy post Thanksgiving. Good to have you back.

[C]

Well, thank you. I am well stuffed with Thanksgiving food and at least a week's worth of leftovers, so I'm feeling pretty comfortable, ready for a nap. But here we are.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Our leftovers are long gone. We did the thing that we. This is me, personally. What I look forward to for Thanksgiving is you take your stuffing, your. I like sweet potatoes. Some people like mashed potatoes. Basically, you make a ball with some turkey in it and you turn it into a thing, and you put it in your waffle press, and then you make A sandwich out of it. Use that. Use that bun for the sandwich and put some gravy on it. Oh, my God, I love it. The post Thanksgiving waffle is so.

[C]

Are you using the dressing as the bread part? Oh, that's the mani.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. Basically you make the sandwich. You make the waffle is the bread and you put some turkey in between, put some gravy on it and then chomp it like a big old sandwich.

[C]

Okay, sure. Yeah, yeah, that sounds good.

[Jason DeFilippo]

We have a little mini waffle maker that's about the size of a hamburger bun. So make a couple of those and then. So good.

[C]

Yeah, that does sound good. I could go for that.

[Jason DeFilippo]

If you got some leftovers hanging around. Hit it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

See, I like the Thanksgiving meal so much, I don't feel the need to change the form. I just continue to have the same exact meal a couple times in a row.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I like variety. I like variety.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, Star Wars Skeleton Crew came out. I think we're two episodes in at the moment. Did you get a chance to see it, Dave?

[C]

I watched them last night with my family.

[Brian Schulmeister]

All right, what do you think?

[C]

I very much enjoyed them. Very much enjoyed them.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I'm kind of torn a little bit. I kind of feel the same way about it that I felt about Star Trek Prodigy in that I'm not sure exactly who it was made for. It's not kitty enough for the kid market that they're kind of going after, but it's not adult enough for not kitty market. So it's kind of trying. It's only two episodes in. I got to give them time to get their footing here, I guess. I'm not entirely sure what's happened yet. I liked what I saw. It looks good. You know, the kids aren't as annoying as they could be. It was interesting to see a planet in the Star wars universe that have such an affluent suburb. Apparently the entire planet is an affluent suburb. Right. I like the meta references of the kid is playing with what is obviously a Sith and which is obviously a Luke Skywalker esque toy. Yeah, it was interesting. So I'm curious to see where it goes to. Obviously, you know, the first two episodes were set up. We're getting to the meat of the show now, so we'll see what happens.

[C]

Yeah, I think it, to me, it's just such a Spielbergian nostalgia trip. Like there's so many nods to that kind of storytelling and that era of storytelling, and it just works for me. It pushes those buttons and I'm having fun for some reason. I can Dial myself back to, you know, watching Elliot in ET When I watch these kids, it's very much that sort of thing. One of the things that struck me as I was watching it were all of the potential connections to Captain eo. Have you noticed this?

[Brian Schulmeister]

I don't know. I don't know. It did not come to mind.

[C]

So, okay, so people noticed in the trailer that the little fuzzball creature from Captain EO with the little butterfly wings that flies around.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay, yeah.

[C]

That is in this universe. Those creatures are in this universe.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay.

[C]

They're there and it is that creature. The other thing is Captain eo. If we sort of take Michael Jackson out of it himself out of it. He appears to be a light skinned African American or mixed race person who has a best friend who is an elephant like creature. And in Skeleton Crew, the young boy is a light skinned black kid or mixed race who has an elephant creature best friend. Captain EO also has the droid. Member of his ship's crew is a peg legged droid. And Skeleton crew has a peg legged droid.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay, I see it now.

[C]

Yes, right.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Say it like that.

[C]

Well, but think. I mean, Disney owns the IP to Captain E. It does, along with Lucas. And George Lucas didn't direct it, but he produced Captain IO. So I just, I wonder if anything more will come of this or if they're just having fun and winking to us about this. But seems like a number of things that are more than just a coincidence. But I guess we'll see.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, I guess we'll see.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Maybe the LLM that was used to write the Skeleton crew was also trained on Captain eo.

[C]

Right.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, if you start streaming episode one and then at the same time play the Captain IO soundtrack.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's right, we gotta smoke a doobie first. And then it all lines up.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, but I'm enjoying it. This is the kind of Star wars that I'm having fun with these days. Like I think we talked about it before, it's low stakes Star Wars. It looks great. There's nothing cheap about it to take you out of the story. I like the subtle ways that it expands the universe. Like even the way that there are vehicles on this planet that aren't completely hover vehicles, but.

[Brian Schulmeister]

But they're kind of are.

[C]

They kind of are. And then, and even like the kids bicycles are. You can see they're in the same evolutionary pathway as the speeder bikes and Jedi. Like there's all these things that rhyme and I don't know, I like that it's Very comforting. And I'm having a good time, so I will be watching.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Where on the timeline does this take place?

[C]

That's a good question. I don't. I mean, it says it's after the fall of the Empire.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, it's before. You know, it's in between. So it says shortly after the fall, it's like when the Mandalorian's taking place, that kind of thing.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Jason, I have not seen it yet. No, I was busy watching. I was busy watching Lord of the Rings, the Rings of Power, and Sylvan. Sorry. All right. Oh, and the Day of the Jackal. That was the other one I forgot in media. Katie, the Day of the Jackal is phenomenal. Phenomenal. Wraps up next week. I think you can watch it on Peacock. I've been getting them from England, but. Oh, my God, it's so good.

[C]

Okay.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Highly, highly recommend the Day of the Jackal, but I will get to it this week, I promise, guys.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I promise.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So that's what I was just. I'm just. I'm listening. Taking it all in. Now I'm just gonna have Captain Neo stuck in my head, so I'm gonna have to go watch that before I watch this so I can see the connection.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I can't tell you how many times I saw Captain EO as a Disney local back in the day. So many times.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, I've seen it twice when I was 18, so it's been a while.

[C]

I've seen it at least a dozen times, but, you know, and I never had the ability to just stroll down the street and walk into the Captain Theater like some of us did.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, if it wasn't for those pesky tourists, I would have seen it a lot more often too.

[C]

That's right.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. So Christmas is coming up and I saw this. This has been in the news this morning. So I thought this is right up your guys alley. More Dave than I think. Brian, Radioactive, most dangerous toy in history, has gone on sale on the auction block. The Gilbert U238 Atomic Energy Laboratory. Yes, it's up for auction and it looks so cool. I just thought, man, if they just made toys like this back in the.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You know, nowadays, reportedly Iran is trying to buy 50 of them.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Exact.

[C]

That's right. They're currently the highest bidder on ebay.

[Jason DeFilippo]

It was discontinued in 1951 over safety and material concerns. Experts say it's radiation risk is comparable to a day in the sun. It's just because it said uranium on it. And you know, this was the 50s. They were going a little crazy.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Look, we can't have lawn darts. We probably shouldn't have uranium. I'm just saying I want my jarts back, damn it.

[C]

But what's, you know, there's the whole thing with. There's all that glassware that is radioactive and it was used in clock faces to make them glow in the dark.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[C]

It wasn't uranium. It was something else.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That is radium.

[C]

Radium. Yeah, that's what it is. Radium. Yeah, it was radium. Right.

[Jason DeFilippo]

They used it on gun sights too. I just remember you can get a Glock with those on the gun sites so you can sight at night.

[C]

Right. And the ladies who worked in the factory where they put. Yeah, they died because they were licking their paintbrushes that were used to put the radium on the clock faces. But I have seen reports that if you have a radium clock, don't put it too close to your bedside because they do emit not insignificant amounts of radiation. And I guess the inverse square law is your friend when it comes to these sorts of things.

[Jason DeFilippo]

But definitely.

[C]

It's funny how they.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I keep my phone stuck to my head at night though. So my phone will block all the radiation from the clock, I'm sure. Right?

[C]

What, as you slowly microwave your brain.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Exactly. Yeah. You know, sure.

[C]

What the heck.

[Jason DeFilippo]

It's in degrees.

[C]

It's a race against time as to which one of these things are going to kill you first.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Look, I'm just going to say that Jason and I have dabbled in self. Much more self damaging behavior, behavior by choice than we will ever get from these things.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[C]

It reminds me when I was, oh gosh, probably a teenager, my grandfather who worked in the steel mills was a collector of many, many things and kind of a bit of a pack rat. And one of the things that he had somehow collected through his work in the steel mill was little bottles. Let's say a little bottle that's three inches tall and inch and a half in diameter. Little clear bottles with black caps on them. But they weren't plastic because these went back before plastic. They're probably Bakelite or something like that. But each bottle had a different metallic element in it from the steel mill.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Cool.

[C]

And they were hand labeled. So it was like, you know, iron and. Right. But then you get to things like mercury and. And it was just. And so. And he gave this to me. So I had them sitting on my shelf for a long time. And some of those metals are very reactive and probably should not have been sitting on the shelf of a young teenage boy's bedroom room back in the day.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Look, you could die, you could become Spider Man. Who knows, right?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Exactly.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jason DeFilippo]

My dad used to do all sorts of chemistry experiments in my grandparents basement. And he blew it up one time because there was something that was burning. He's like, I wonder what happens if you put water on it and he spit on it. Blew up the basement and he had no eyebrows and things like that because he was into rocketry. So they were trying to literally make rocket fusion. All this stuff down there.

[C]

Wow.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, it's back in the day, man. Like the. Yeah, sometime in the same time. 50s probably.

[C]

My father has a toy from his childhood that he still has. It's a little. I guess the best way to describe it is it's a steamroller, but it's probably 2ft long, probably a foot and a half tall. It's a steamroller on the front and it has two big like old timey farm wheels on the back. Like old farm tractor wheels.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, I know what you're talking about.

[C]

You know what I'm talking about, right?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[C]

But it is a steam powered engine in there. And my father tells me the story about how they used to put water in this thing and then they'd take old newspapers and stuff them in the little, the little firebox, light it on fire, create steam and ride it around the living room.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, what's wrong with that?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Simpler times when he was like seven.

[Jason DeFilippo]

What could possibly go wrong?

[C]

Right? Fire, superheated water, you know, not to mention the thing weighs probably 75 pounds.

[Jason DeFilippo]

But run over the baby, you know. Come on, that's all you gotta know.

[C]

Yeah, you still have. I guess that's why you had lots of kids back then because.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Let's go play. Trolley problems. Problem.

[C]

Right, right. Yeah, It's a neat little toy. I suppose someday it'll be mine. I don't know.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, I saw a thing. The thing about this is this reminds me of something I saw on one of the social platforms. It's like back in the old days they taught us how to fix a carburetor. And now they say the labels on the card don't drink the battery juice.

[C]

Right.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Don't eat.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, yeah, right. It was a greater time. It was a greater time, I think. Anyway, moving on. So I'm sure you guys have seen this everywhere in the news. United Health CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel. And manhunt is on for the guy and who we mentioned earlier about in the story. About Daniel E. So the thing about this that brings it home to tech is, my God, the people of the Internet are vicious. They are vicious. And if you go to the. I'm going to see what the new numbers are on the United Healthcare. Oh, my God. So the first time I saw this, it was on the news, right, the afternoon after it happened. And the United Healthcare Facebook group post where they say, you know, we are saddened by the loss, blah, blah, blah, had 13,000 laughing emojis. And people thought that was newsworthy because they are such a hated company. So I checked it yesterday and it was 46,000. I just looked right now, we are now up to 81,000 people laughing at the death of the United Healthcare CEO. Now, I think Chris Rock probably put this best when he said, and I'm.

[C]

Not saying he should have killed her.

[Jason DeFilippo]

But I understand that seems to be. Seems to be the consensus of the Internet. Now, some of the comments that they had to take down because they left the Instagram post with the comments open somewhere. Sorry, but my insurance and medical don't cover thoughts and prayers. My empathy is out of network for this one. And our apologies, but bullet wounds are only covered under our Platinum plus package.

[C]

So, yeah, yeah, I saw one that said, all jokes aside, it's really effed up to see so many people on here celebrating murder. No one here is the judge of who deserves to live or die. That's the job of the AI algorithm, the insurance company designed to maximize profits on your health.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Bingo.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Look, I was very, very frustrated this morning when I had to get up and actually shovel snow because it fucking snowed and it's cold and I had to go shovel it and then I went, oh, yeah, I have health care that I don't hate.

[C]

Right, Right.

[Brian Schulmeister]

What a joy it is to be in Canada shoveling snow and know if I get a heart attack, I will be taken to a hospital and I will be treated free of charge and I will be perfectly okay and I will not have to worry about all these things that are obviously coming to a head. This is definitely a sign of frustration and anger, as if Trump getting elected wasn't enough. I mean, holy shit, people are pissed.

[C]

Here's what I wonder about this. I've been thinking a lot about this and obviously, you know, it's a terrible thing that this person got murdered and, you know, you feel for his family, especially again. And I'm not saying he should have.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Killed her, but I understand.

[C]

So what I wonder what this makes me think of is Columbine. In that when Columbine happened it opened the world to the idea of school shootings. And ever since. School shootings are plague.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah.

[C]

And they were not before and now they are and it's just a normal thing. And so what I can't help wondering is with people's frustrations at not having any power against these companies that keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger, is this going to be the relief valve of society's frustrations that people are going to just. It's going to be a thing that people start taking shots at CEOs.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Watch out, head of Horizon.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. And it's not just company. This could be a full on the first shot in a class war easily. People are pissed off at billionaires. They're pissed off at these people who have everything and they have nothing. It is difficult to live with nothing and you're powerless. And if you can get some little modicum of power back. Killing the CEO is not going to change the policies of that company. But it's going to make one guy feel better.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Actually it's made an awful lot of people feel better.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Better, which is a little bit. Make them feel a little bit better. Like there was a little justification in the universe, but it's not going to change anything is the problem. Except for the worst. You know, like Dave said, I think that this very well could be, you know, everybody's beefing up their security. There are articles about all of the healthcare sites taking down the board pictures and all the bios. All these people are going underground right now because like you said, this could be, you know, this could be a sign of things to come.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[C]

And we're the home country.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, it's Christmas time, guys.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. Yeah. Woo.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And oh God, how do I even transition here? You don't. So you just go for it. I noticed that. Of course, if you.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I got it. These songs are number one with a bullet.

[C]

Oh, nice.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, I'm just. Let's take it back to Daniel Ek. I noticed the Daniel X Spotify streaming playlist, which, you know, he's a billionaire now and worth more than any of the music musicians he profits from. I'm just saying that's about it. Yeah, that's all I'm saying. Anyways, every other record executive, but I noticed all the. If you just tell your, your streaming provider to play a Christmas playlist, it's basically the same songs that we've been hearing all of our lives. It gets a little boring. So in the show notes this week I've included some alternative playlists that are out there, including the 80ish Alternative Christmas Play Playlist, Indie Christmas, the no Alternative 90s Alt Rock Christmas, A Classical Christmas, which is all classical music. It's very good in the morning one for you Dave, that I'm sure you listen to all the time. A Christmas Together, John Denver and the Muppets playlist, of course, the standard Chipmunks play and Christmas playlist and there are a bunch more out there for all types. There's a punk one I know too as well that Jason probably has bookmarks somewhere.

[C]

So yeah, yeah, no, this is good. I'm not there yet, but I'm hoping to get into the Christmas spirit this year. It's hit or miss some years, some years it comes more easily than others. But I'm hoping it'll be a good year this year. So we'll see. Time will tell. So before we go, I thought it would be nice to do a little ham radio update and as our listeners know, I recently got my my amateur radio license and I've been very much enjoying that. I've been learning a lot and turns out there is a lot to learn. So that's been fun. And I've been having fun getting the gadgets and figuring out things like antennas and cables and batteries and radios and all that fun stuff. But one of the things that has happened that I didn't really think about ahead of time was I have dropped myself into a pre existing commute and the opportunity for personal growth that that provides. Because the ham radio community, not surprisingly is old.

[Brian Schulmeister]

What?

[C]

Old?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Like 30?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Are you saying it's because it is an old community or is it a community made up of old people?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Or both?

[C]

Yes, yes. I just saw a statistic this week. The average age of someone who get their technician license, which is what I just got. The average age is 58.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay.

[Jason DeFilippo]

And we know that curve is blown by the kid who got one at the same time as you.

[C]

So there was a when I got my test there was a 13 year old kid who was there getting it at the same time. So it's so the community is old, it is white, it is male. And in my desire to learn I have dropped myself into some online chat groups and forums and things like that. And oh my goodness, these are not my people. And by that I mean you tend you over time. Those of us who've been online for a long time we self select to be in groups that align with our beliefs but also align with the style of discourse that we prefer prefer. And some people are really good at that. But a lot of people just don't understand how to communicate effectively online through the written word. And so it's just really frustrating to see people dig in. Right. Like, they'll write, for example, someone will write something and it violates a rule of the group and it gets deleted. So they write again. Why was my last post deleted? It gets deleted. Why do the moderators keep deleting my post? It gets deleted four times. I've been deleted now. These moderators suck.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Delete it.

[C]

Right. Like, what do you think is going to happen here? You know? And you can say, you know, all your. I mean, look, I know it's a stereotype about boomers and. And Karen's and boomers. Can I talk to the manager? And all that kind of stuff. So it's really been good for me as a reminder of the nice little comfortable bubble that I've created for myself to get outside of it sometimes and realize that something that I'm genuinely interested in as part of that, I'm going to have to recalibrate how I respond and react. And just my level of acceptance of people who are not like me in the way they choose to communicate and the things they believe and, of course, politics and all that kind of stuff. So I thought that might be an interesting point of conversation.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, you know, it does make me think of, like, I very much. Obviously, you and I, Dave, both very much enjoy Star wars wars. And, Jason, you and I both very much enjoy Star Trek. Not in a million years would I ever go to a conference or go on one of these fucking cruises.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay, so summed up, I think you.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Can find joy and like, something and just do it in a solitary fashion. That I don't necessarily need to be around other people who enjoy the same thing that I do. I just don't. Don't.

[C]

That's a great point. The wisdom of dialing it in.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, right.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, yeah, that's my thought on it. That's about it. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[Jason DeFilippo]

How about you, Jason? How does this community compare with the furry community?

[C]

I'm not a part of the furry community, so I would not know.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I do not believe the Venn diagram touches.

[C]

No, that. That is for sure. Oh, my gosh. Now, that would be funny if I showed up to a ham radio meeting with my wolf mask on and just.

[Brian Schulmeister]

No, you would have to be a boar. Come on.

[Jason DeFilippo]

A Borg. Right, Right.

[C]

Oh, man.

[Jason DeFilippo]

No, I'm with you. There are many communities that I am a fan of that I do not want to be A part of, you know, and from a distance, this is where I'm at.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Right, yeah. And I, I do think that the older white male demographic, even though I am of it, I do not have much in common with it, so.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, exactly. We, we, we are, but are not, you know.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I still, I'm still like a 15 year old anyway, so. Yeah, I do not identify.

[C]

Yeah, I get, I mean, but it is interesting to me how much it shifts between the generations. Like when you hit Gen X, something does change.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, definitely, definitely.

[C]

So. All right, well, I will continue to be on the air studying for my next level of amateur radio license so I can talk to more people all around the world and looking forward to that. But be careful what you ask for and do the wisdom of dialing it in.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, and Dave, you have the patience of a saint. That helps.

[C]

Not always. You see, my impatience tends to come out when I'm alone. Right, right. So I'll take it out on myself. I will bang my head against the desk when no one else is around. I don't take it out on other people. I'll go and scream into my pillow right then. And then I'm fine. And then I'm fine.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, we sort of understand that. But then again, Jason and I started the show primarily to do it in public, so.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, right. It's good, it's, it's, it's good to have a place to let it out.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Closing Shout Out. Over on Patreon, we've got some new subscribers. Jesse Lucas and JSM 1955 and a big bump from Wayne and a very nice letter. Wayne, thank you very much, much. And from the Legacy 10 as we're calling it now, I guess, Brian, Paul, Lonnie, Joe, Terry, Michael, Andy, Darth, Cat, Mike, Marie and Robert, thank you all so much.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Thank you all so much. And over at PayPal, we've got Jens, David, Judge Levi, Charlie, Jonathan, Florian, Thomas, Nicola, Simon and Kendall, who gave us a big old 200 buck donation. Thank you so much. Thanks, Kendall, Roy, thank you.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Appreciate that, brother. And over at the Tip jar we've got Gabriel, Woohoo, Sarah, Matthew and Adam. And over on Merch, Kareem bought some stuff over at Shop Gog Show. And just so everybody knows, over on Patreon, if you sign up for a little teeny bit of money, three bucks a month, you get the show early ad, free and in high definition. And if you want to sign up for the whole year, you get a few percentage points off. So hit that up and buy Some of our stuff over at Shop Gog Show. There will be new shirts coming soon. I'm almost done with my next round, so.

[Brian Schulmeister]

All right. I got to get on that too. I've been lazy.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, you've been saying that for a month.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I know. As Christmas time is coming up, I'll have some downtime. We'll see. And Wayne from Patreon did mention he sent us a review. So we got a five star review. A long time. A long, long time ago in Los Angeles, far, far away. It's a dark time for technology. Although box tops has been destroyed, technology has been. Has driven developers from their hidden bases, evading the narcissistic. Tech Bros. A small group of freedom fighters led by Jason DeFilippo, Brian Schilmeister and Dave Bittner have established a podcast in a desperate search for sanity and cash. Let's not forget the cash. The evil lord Dick Musk, obsessed with destroying everything good about technology, has dispatched billions of dollars into the far reaches of the Internet. This podcast is funny and on point for tech news. Neat gadgets, books, films and tv. Plus they got Dave Buettner, super host for like seven minutes a week. Hey, good half hour. If you don't listen and support, then I would guess you are an agent of the Tech Bros. So thank you so much, Wayne.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Thank you so much. And a big thank you to Terry. Terry. Terry sent us basically a gorilla version of the Shatner short which we asked for with the correct music in it. Yep. This is Terry from Essex, England. He says he's been a listener since we were grumpy young geeks. And he's an audio geek. And thank you so much, Terry. You replaced all the proper feels where they belonged.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, I watched it and basically if I would have seen that the first time around, I would have had chills. And perhaps they might have gotten a little dust Muskie in the room. A little not Elon Muskie. That would make me cry too, to be fair. But yeah, it was with the right music. It was so fucking spot on. It was great.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much. I wonder if we can get in trouble if we post that on Patreon.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I mean, they'd have to pay to know.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, guess what, Patreon subscribers, you're in for a treat until the lawyers show up.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Unless any of you happen to work for Paramount, in which case, shut the fuck up.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, cop didn't see it. We didn't do it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

There you go. Until next time.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I'm Brian Schulmeister and I'm Jason defilopobe thanks for listening to Grumpy old Geeks. Get all the links and goodies from Today's episode at GOG Show. 676 want to keep the grumpiness alive? Toss a few bucks our way at GOG Show. Donate. Every penny helps keep the show on the air. And we mean that quite literally. Love the show. Share it. There's a share button in your pocket podcast player. Use it to spread the grumpiness to friends, foes and everyone in between. We'll love you for it. And swing by GOG show to join our discord and chat with us and other show fans. Got thoughts? Feedback? Cool links? Hit us up at GOG Show Contact and hey, don't forget to leave a five star review at GOG Show Review and we'll read it on the show. Oh, and guess what? We've got GOG Merch Snag your grumpy gear now at Shop GOG Show. Stay grumpy.

[Brian Schulmeister]

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