680: Failed Up

Summary

Grumpy Old Geeks Episode 680: "Failed Up" – Detailed Summary

Release Date: January 18, 2025
Hosts: Jason DeFilippo & Brian Schulmeister
Guest: Dave Bittner (Absent due to personal reasons)

In episode 680 of Grumpy Old Geeks, hosts Jason DeFilippo and Brian Schulmeister delve into a myriad of pressing tech issues, dissecting recent developments with their characteristic blend of sarcasm and insightful critique. Despite the absence of co-host Dave Bittner, Jason and Brian maintain their sharp commentary, covering topics from social media upheavals to the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence.

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1. Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban in the US

The episode kicks off with a significant legal development affecting the social media landscape.

Jason DeFilippo [03:43]: "The Supreme Court has upheld the law that could ban TikTok in the US leaving the matter to Donald Trump."

Jason and Brian discuss the implications of this ruling, pondering potential outcomes and the players involved in this high-stakes battle.

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2. The TikTok Ownership Tug-of-War

Following the Supreme Court's decision, the conversation shifts to the tumultuous prospects surrounding TikTok's ownership.

Brian Schulmeister [04:20]: "Well, that's all I really got for that. So."

Jason DeFilippo [04:22]: "Technically I was right. I didn't break my ankle, I broke my leg."

Jason creatively likens the potential fight over TikTok's future to a "cage match," highlighting the involvement of major tech figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.

Jason DeFilippo [04:49]: "It's fun to watch because it all comes down to what's Zuckerberg going to do."

The hosts speculate on possible buyers and investors interested in acquiring TikTok, mentioning names like Kevin O'Leary and Mr. Beast, emphasizing the chaotic nature of the negotiations.

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3. Emergence of Alternative Social Platforms: RedNote and Beyond

As TikTok's future hangs in the balance, alternative platforms like RedNote gain traction among former TikTok users.

Brian Schulmeister [07:35]: "Users are already looking for a new place to scroll away their day instead of turning to the American viable alternatives, such as YouTube shorts and Instagram reels."

RedNote, a platform openly owned by the Chinese company Xingying Information Technology, attracts users despite its blatant acknowledgment of Chinese government control.

Jason DeFilippo [08:35]: "Trust me, it's a deal. You get reviews."

Brian humorously shares snippets from RedNote, illustrating the platform's unabashed Chinese propaganda and the absurdity of American users flocking to it.

Brian Schulmeister [07:50]: "Many misguided Americans crying about the way that their countries have been, the country has been treating China because China is doing such a wonderful job not trying to destabilize our country."

The discussion highlights the irony and challenges of shifting to platforms with transparent foreign affiliations.

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4. Meta and AI: Job Cuts and Ethical Concerns

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to Meta's evolving strategies involving artificial intelligence and its repercussions on employment.

Jason DeFilippo [26:32]: "Mark Zuckerberg has revealed plans to automate his coding jobs to AI."

The hosts critique Zuckerberg's approach, noting how AI integration leads to substantial job cuts within the company.

Brian Schulmeister [27:08]: "They have just been cutting and cutting away. So yeah, all that."

Jason underscores the cycle of firing and rehiring, questioning the sustainability and ethical implications of replacing human jobs with AI.

Jason DeFilippo [28:01]: "They're replacing them with AI that they're writing themselves."

The conversation extends to broader societal impacts, including a study linking frequent AI use to diminishing critical thinking skills.

Brian Schulmeister [31:14]: "A negative correlation between frequent AI use and critical thinking abilities."

---

5. Mastodon's Transition to Nonprofit Ownership

Transitioning to the decentralized social media sphere, Mastodon announces its shift to nonprofit ownership, seeking substantial donations to sustain operations.

Jason DeFilippo [20:29]: "Mastodon has announced a transition to nonprofit ownership and is seeking $5 million in donations for its 2025 operating budget."

The move is portrayed as an attempt to distance Mastodon from corporate control and ad-driven models, emphasizing community and inclusivity.

Brian Schulmeister [20:55]: "It's a step towards sustainable governance while fostering safe, open online communities."

However, the hosts express skepticism about the platform's ability to compete against established giants.

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6. The Dark Side of Online Job Hunting and DEI Initiatives

Jason and Brian explore the frustrations surrounding online job applications, citing a Wall Street Journal study based on Greenhouse's data.

Brian Schulmeister [23:40]: "One in five online job postings, or between 18 and 22% of all jobs advertised, are either fake or never filled."

They hypothesize that some companies may post non-existent jobs to inflate their growth metrics for investment purposes. Additionally, they discuss the impact of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives potentially leading to misleading job postings.

Jason DeFilippo [24:19]: "People with fucking DEI requirements in place are posting job listings for jobs that don't exist so they can say that they are in the process of hiring and meeting their DEI quota."

Brian adds that with the political climate shifting, particularly with Trump's influence, DEI's prominence may wane, possibly impacting these deceptive practices.

---

7. Crypto Controversies: Bitcoin in Landfills and Government Stockpiles

The hosts touch upon cryptocurrency mishaps and governmental interactions with digital currencies.

Jason DeFilippo [40:00]: "Neil Gaiman does not come off well in any way, shape or form."

They recount the story of James Howell, who lost access to $765 million in Bitcoin after discarding a hard drive in a landfill. The legal battle highlights the complexities and challenges of cryptocurrency ownership and recovery.

Jason DeFilippo [40:08]: "This guy was so wrong on so many fronts, and he still tried, but sometimes you have to give up the ghost."

Additionally, they critique the government's handling of seized Bitcoin, suggesting hypocrisy in crypto regulations.

Brian Schulmeister [41:42]: "They've already got like 20 million in crypto. [...] They've got it from criminals that they've seized."

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8. Walgreens' Smart Screens: A Tech Failure

One of the most prominent segments focuses on Walgreens' failed initiative to replace refrigerator doors with digital smart screens.

Jason DeFilippo [33:03]: "The pharmacy chain partnered with Cooler Screens Inc. in 2020 to install digital doors that displayed ads and tracked shoppers habits. However, the screens have been plagued with issues, flickering crashes and even catching fire."

The partnership led to a public relations nightmare as Walgreens attempted to exit the decade-long contract due to persistent malfunctions, resulting in over 100 stores having their screens blacked out.

Brian Schulmeister [34:16]: "Let's sign a 10-year contract. Fucking idiots."

The hosts condemn Walgreens' decision, mocking the premise of adopting unproven technology without adequate testing or contingency plans.

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9. Gaming Addiction and Parental Controls

Addressing the personal aspect of technology's impact, Jason and Brian discuss the challenges of managing gaming addiction, particularly among younger users.

Brian Schulmeister [60:00]: "One of the reasons that we ended up agreeing to get Lucas the Switch is because we wanted him off of that. [...]"

They share anecdotes about addictive mobile games like "Mob Control," emphasizing the necessity of effective parental controls to mitigate excessive gaming.

Jason DeFilippo [62:49]: "It is worse than TikTok. There's something about the gameplay mechanics on that game that make time disappear and make your arm go numb."

The conversation underscores the broader societal issue of digital addiction and the struggle to balance technology use within families.

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10. Critical Reflections on Technology’s Role in Society

Throughout the episode, Jason and Brian reflect on the broader implications of technology, particularly the double-edged sword of innovation and its potential to erode critical thinking and societal structures.

Brian Schulmeister [30:31]: "We still have high critical thinking abilities."

Jason DeFilippo [32:32]: "What are we going to put in the bucket?"

These musings serve as a call to action for listeners to remain vigilant and thoughtful about their engagement with rapidly evolving technologies.

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11. Closing Thoughts and Acknowledgements

In the episode's final segments, the hosts briefly touch upon recent deaths in the tech and media world, including David Lynch, and share personal updates on their media consumption habits. They conclude with acknowledgments to their supporters on platforms like Patreon and PayPal, reinforcing their commitment to maintaining the show's independent and candid discourse.

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Notable Quotes:

• Jason DeFilippo [04:49]: "It's fun to watch because it all comes down to what's Zuckerberg going to do."

• Brian Schulmeister [07:35]: "Yep, and Met Blogs got sold to Jaws [sic]."

• Jason DeFilippo [24:19]: "People with fucking DEI requirements in place are posting job listings for jobs that don't exist so they can say that they are in the process of hiring and meeting their DEI quota."

• Brian Schulmeister [34:16]: "Let's sign a 10-year contract. Fucking idiots."

• Jason DeFilippo [62:49]: "It is worse than TikTok. There's something about the gameplay mechanics on that game that make time disappear and make your arm go numb."

---

Conclusion:

Episode 680 of Grumpy Old Geeks offers a scathing yet insightful examination of the current tech landscape. From high-profile social media battles to the ethical quandaries surrounding AI and data privacy, Jason and Brian navigate through the chaos with unfiltered honesty. Their discussions not only highlight the failures and missteps of major tech players but also reflect on the societal impacts of these technological advancements. For listeners seeking a candid take on the latest in tech, this episode serves as both a warning and a call to maintain critical thinking in an increasingly digital world.

Transcript

[Jason DeFilippo]

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 De Filippo.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And I'm Brian Schellmeister.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, Bittner's babe broke a bone, so he bailed on the broadcast. So it's just me and you today, Brian.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, you worked that one up on the drive over, didn't you?

[Jason DeFilippo]

No, just on the shitter.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay. Yeah, and unlike you, she's actually taking care of it. Remember, what was it, over 10 years ago now when you slipped and broke your leg and didn't do anything about it? Forever.

[Jason DeFilippo]

What makes you think I wouldn't remember that?

[Brian Schulmeister]

You do tend to like to forget the times that you were drastically, horribly wrong, Jason.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, I was horribly injured. That one was a different bit. But yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah. So Dave is on nurse duties and unable to join us today.

[Jason DeFilippo]

And technically I was right. I didn't break my ankle, I broke my leg. And I still walked on the leg for two weeks before going to the doctor.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes, your leg actually started to look like an entire ham.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, it was bad. It was bad. It was a green ham. Not the green eggs, but just the green ham. So Dave will be missed today, so we'll make up for it with something or other.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I guess we can't talk about Star Trek or Star Trek. Star Wars Skeleton Cruise finale. That'll have to wait.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, well, you guys are all on your own on that one anyway. But I had ham radio talk today. What are you gonna do?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Postpone to next week?

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know, but the fires are over, Brian, so we can all get back to normal.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, they're not over over, but they're somewhat contained and the winds have stopped, so.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, Brian, I'm here and I can tell you they're over, okay? The shit that anybody cares about, well over, okay?

[Brian Schulmeister]

That's a big difference between over and the shit that people care about. We could discuss that about politics or tech as well.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yes, but I mean, we live in a fire zone 24 7, 365 now it has been LA has been deemed a fire zone every single day forever. So unless there's a fire knocking at your door, fuck it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

All right, fair enough. I'm happy to hear it.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So there's an interesting psychological thing going on that I've talked to a bunch of people who have it, who lived in the. The, you know, the fire adjacent zones, the evac Zones. There's this sense of getting ripped off, that your house was not burned to the ground because you spent a week in just absolute terror and just panic, ready to go, blah, blah, when's it going to happen? When's it going to happen? And when it doesn't happen, people are like, what? But what was the big deal all about then? Jesus, come on.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That is a horrible outlook on it. You should instead be thanking your gods you're not going to have to try to deal with insurance for the next seven years trying to get your house rebuilt.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I'm not telling you it's rational. I'm telling you that's just what I'm hearing from people on the ground who went through it. So it's just one of those interesting psychological conditions I figured you being an ex psych major would find fascinating.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It is fascinating. It's horribly misguided and very full of oneself. But yes, I do understand that people do tend to be that way. I do know there are plenty of business owners that surely wish that their places would have burned down, though.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. Me being one of them, I'm standing in the middle of it right now.

[Brian Schulmeister]

With a lighter and a can of gas.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, man. Yeah. I would not have shed a tear if this office building had gone up.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Many people, many businesses felt exactly that way. Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. Oh, well.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, well.

[Jason DeFilippo]

In the news, breaking news, Brian, The Supreme Court has upheld the law that could ban TikTok in the US leaving the matter to Donald Trump.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, yeah, that's probably not looking good at the moment. Well, it depends on your take on it. If you want Tick Tock to be around, it's, it's looking great. Tick Tock CEO Xiao Chu is set to actually attend the Trump inauguration, which I, I, I'd assume one wouldn't invite him unless there was some sort of deal in play here. So we'll see.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, we'll talk about. Keep going, keep going.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, that's all I really got for that. So.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay. Because, you know, right now this could be, you know, there wasn't going to be the Mark Zuckerberg Elon Musk cage match that was just a flash in the pan. There could be this cage match, the TikTok vs. Medicage match, because Mark Zuckerberg has been sniffing up Trump's ass so hard to get, you know, meta preferred state status or however you want, however you want to put it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Propaganda. Social network number one.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Exactly, exactly. So who knows how that's going to play out right now? Because it could come down to who's got the bigger pockets to fuel the grift to make the Trump legacy continue as it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I've even heard Zuckerberg has filed to change the name yet again from Meta now to Pravda.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay, all right. Yeah, we're moving along, we're moving along. So who knows how this is going to play out? I mean, here's, here's the thing. There's so many. It's like, who's going to buy TikTok today? Rumors. We've got the Elon Musk thing that has kind of been shot down, but then we've got the Kevin O'Leary and the Dodgers owner and Mr. Beast cabal all talking about it. There's so many names swirling around and people are talking about just buying it name and then rebuild. It's. It is ridiculous. And it's just like, I just kind of want to sit back and just watch because it all comes down to what's Zuckerberg going to do? I think that's the play in play.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, Zuckerberg's best case scenario is TikTok gets banned.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Exactly. So what has he got on the table or under the table, I should say, to make that happen. So the Supreme Court has already said, put the kibosh on it. They're like, okay, we're good. Goodbye, TikTok vaminos. So now that that's in place, it's going to come down to Trump saying, okay, let's bring it back now, like.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I said, who's offering Trump the most money?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Exactly. That's what I'm saying.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That's exactly what it's gonna come down.

[Jason DeFilippo]

To, or influence, or, you know, however you wanna spin. It doesn't have to exactly be money, but it could be whose network is willing to toe the party line the most. So if TikTok is willing to put in the most Trump propaganda and swim the audience whichever way is flowing, so be it. If Meta is going to push the fish in another direction, we'll see. You know, we'll see, we'll see. I'm just. I just think it's fun to watch.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, the American people have come up with their own solution so far, Jason, and it's just as dumb as what the American people came up with for our last election. With the ban on TikTok looming and little indication that the Supreme Court will stop it, while we now know they're not going to stop it, users are already looking for a new place to scroll away their day instead of turning to the American viable alternatives, such as YouTube shorts and Instagram reels, a ton of people driven both by desperation and pettiness are hopping onto RedNote, a social media app owned by Chinese company Xingying Information Technology. Now they don't even bother to pretend that they're not just Chinese propaganda and being controlled by the Chinese government. They, they're proud about it. And so are the Americans going there.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yes. Xiaohong Chu is the new platform, aka RedNote, and I was on there this morning. Of course you were. It is, it is basically just a fun fest of Chinese people welcoming TikTok refugees.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Have you, have you had a chance to go look at it yet?

[Brian Schulmeister]

I know I have not looked at it. I have read more than a few articles and I've seen a lot of the postings on there. Many misguided Americans crying about the way that their countries have been, the country has been treating China because China is doing such a wonderful job not trying to destabilize our country. God, there's a bunch of dumb people out there.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know, but I'm sorry, the Chinese on, on the platform are hilarious. One guy was saying, you know, you know, for years we've heard, go back to China. Well, go back to America. No, just kidding. Welcome. Here's, here's, I'm going to play, I'm going to play a little snippet from one that I found this morning that I think you might like. Brian.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Hello, TikTok refugees. Ready to swap your cowboy boots for chopsticks?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, hold on to your hats.

[Brian Schulmeister]

China's got sticks that'll make you say cry, cry if you miss out. Let me tell you folks, China's beef is absolutely tremendous. Believe me, some say it's even better than when we got back home. Many people are saying this and the flavor is unbelievable. And the best part is so affordable. You save so much money, you won't believe it.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Trust me, it's a deal. You get reviews. So that is like a 20 year old Chinese kid doing a Trump impersonation to get us to go to China to buy steak.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That is very funny.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I'm like, I don't know, maybe they're onto something over there at Red Note. Could be.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, I was reading the big old article over at Gizmodo and of course, you know, if this actually does take off and if we're, if we're going with the whole tick tock ban, there's no way that this won't eventually end up on the chopping block as well for a ban because the connections to the Chinese government are pretty explicit with this particular app. And Gizmodo, the. The writer of this article makes a really good point. Point which is if the US government really wants to squash these apps so badly, what it needs to do is stop blocking. Or it need to start blocking American venture capitalists from funding these apps rather than banning citizens from using them. Because it's no in no small part US dollars that help spur the massive growth of RedNote and TikTok. So how about we just stop our American money from funding these things that we're concerned about.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Except all the venture capitalists are in Chinese owned real estate right now that they're paying rent to, so the money's going in a circle anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, yeah, maybe we should have stopped Chinese, the Chinese from buying half of our goddamn country, literally the real estate.

[Jason DeFilippo]

But too late. Too late. Well, RedNote is scrambling to hire English speaking content moderators.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Just holy shit, Jason. I think we got a part time job.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, we could be in on that one. Salaries ranging from 600 to $1,100 a month.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, more than the podcast makes us.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Pretty close. Pretty close. Yes. They have had as many as 700,000 new US user users in just two days. Two days. That's. Yeah, I mean you're really pushing some blue sky numbers there. So we're not talking about half of the population running over to them right now, but no. So it could be what they call one of those tempest in a teapots maybe?

[Brian Schulmeister]

I think so. I think this is going to shark fin soup for US users pretty quickly.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I don't know man, it's pretty funny. I might stick around for a bit. I'll learn some Mandarin on the way. On the way. There is a good article over at 404 Media about how Trump does have kind of Zuckerberg by the short and curlies with this whole TikTok thing, which I highly recommend reading because yeah, it's 404. They do a good job.

[Brian Schulmeister]

They do do a good job. But Zuckerberg is certainly trying to prove that he's got balls right now. Some of the other Zuck news that came out this week was him boastfully saying that we need more masculine energy and not feminine energy in our countries because I'm MAGA now. And then of course, throwing Sheryl Sandberg totally under the bus for basically everything that's ever gone wrong at Meta Class move. Zuck class move.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That. That woman protected your ass so hard for so many years until also she.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Opened all the doors to government for you, Zuck. You couldn't do it, so don't be an ass.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I mean, she was. She was a horrible person. Don't get me wrong. I don't. I don't care for her one bit for what she did, but she served.

[Brian Schulmeister]

She served king and country for you very well.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. Yeah, man, you really have no. No loyalty to anyone. Anyone. Shame.

[Brian Schulmeister]

No, nothing.

[Jason DeFilippo]

No, nothing. I think the. I wonder what the wife has to say about this new maga. Manly, masculine move.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, when she gets out of her money bath in Hawaii, on the island they own, she'll maybe chime in.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe they're using. What is SpaceX's Internet over there? Starlink. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe they're using Starlink. So he's put up kind of like a firewall and he talked to his buddy Elon saying, just show her the good news, don't sure the. The bad news. Who knows?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, getting back to just normal, shitty things that Meta does. Meta knowingly used pirated materials to train its Llama AI models with the blessing of company chief Mark Zuckerberg, at least according to an ongoing copyright lawsuit against the company. The plaintiffs of Cadre versus Medicase submitted court documents talking about the company's use of the Lib Gen data set for AI training. And that's the shadow library, which is. This is also include. This is the lawsuit that includes Sarah Silverman and a bunch of other people that basically said that their copyrighted materials got all caught up in this library, this shadow library that was supposed to just be like academic and general interest stuff that was out of copyright, but is full of copyrighted materials as well. And they're basically. The lawsuit is saying you use all that, all of it. So we shall see. And Meta has also admitted now that it has deleted links to decentralized Instagram competitor Pixel Feed, which I've never heard of, but there you go.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Because it's federated. Get it, get the play.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, got it, got it, got it. So, yes, a small group of posts that linked to pixelfed Social was deleted with Facebook's community standards on spam. Use this justification because, yes, anything that competes with us is spam unless we buy it. Dennis.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Part of the family.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

You know, that's the playbook. That's always the playbook. Always has been, always will be.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, the European Commission is investigating X for compliance with EU's Digital Services Act. The EC has requested internal documentation on X's recommendation algorithms, including recent and future changes. I wonder how they're going to get future changes with a retention order in place until 2025. That expands the 2023 probe into X's activities. But it is unrelated to allegations of influencing Germany's upcoming federal election. And the EC also seeks access to X's commercial APIs and technical systems. Yeah, the America is just not enough. So Elon is going after Germany now and the basically the, the new N over there and trying to pump them up. So.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, he's doing it to Canada as well, so. Oh yeah, yeah, he's. He's meddling everywhere now.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So should we just rename him Alon up there?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, pretty much the only thing that the EC got in response so far was a poop emoji with a beret hat on it.

[Jason DeFilippo]

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[Brian Schulmeister]

But since we seem to all be sick of these massively billionaire owned social networks, Mark Ruffalo is coming to the rescue.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Celeb and tech luminaries including Mark Ruffalo want to create a fully open social media ecosystem. They are basically trying to save social media from billionaire capture by creating something called Free our feeds. These folks want to build a new social media ecosystem. One of this focus on the public good instead of profit driven incentives as reported by user mag. All we ever wanted was just a straightforward algorithmic, non algorithmic timeline of our friends updates. But now we have to have a social warrior version instead of an evil billionaire version. Those are our two options. Jason. Jason.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh man. Bring back Ello, please.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So this includes Mark Ruffalo, actor, director Alex Winter, and sci fi writer and journalist Corey Doctorow. Brian Eno is involved as is Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia. So so far this is basically just they're putting their money into a public relations campaign to say we should try to. We should do this people.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, Blue sky is getting its own photo sharing app called Flashes.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I would have personally rethought that name.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I would have gone with a different name.

[Brian Schulmeister]

They might as well just called it Dickies.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know. Exactly. Come on. Yes. Offering an alternative to Meta's ecosystem. Built by Berlin developer Sebastian Vogelsang, Flashes is based on his earlier app Skeets.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You keep sending me your dick pics, I'm going to flash that skeet.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yes. This is going to use Blue skies at protocol and the app focuses on photo and video content, supporting posts with up to four images, one minute videos. Welcome to 1999.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That's all they can handle on the network right now. I think that's true.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's true.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yep. This move aligns with growing demand for open source decentralized platforms like Mastodon and Pixel Fed. Vogel Slang sees Flashes as a gateway for users who don't identify as Twitter people to explore blue sky. It aims to attract new users without replicating Instagram, emphasizing unique features and accessibility. Unique features like only one minute videos.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You know, as much as we're making fun of all these different things though, Jason, let's cast our minds back a little bit is we were screaming that there is a marketplace. There is a definite marketplace for social media that isn't controlled by an and we're getting it. So I guess we should be happy. We'll see what it's going to be. A cage match and they'll probably lose to the billionaires, but at least people are trying.

[Jason DeFilippo]

The problem is that they're trying in plain sight. I really wish they wouldn't try in plain sight. They really need to, you know, kind of do the shit under the table, get an underground following so there's something there before it hits the mainstream media. So there's, there's something's wrong. He's not even out of beta or not even in beta yet. You know, it's like, dude, I can sit around all day and say that I'm going to make this thing, make it, then bring it, come on.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, that's not how it works anymore, Jason. We release things like full self driving to let you test it out.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's right. Move fast and break things. How about you just move fast and make things instead of breaking things, just making things.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You should write a book with that. Should be the title.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That would be the title, yes. Actually my autobiography is going to be called Shoulda Coulda Woulda. Okay, so back to the same news. Mastodon has announced a transition to nonprofit ownership and is seeking $5 million in donations for its 2025 operating budget. The move signals a major expansions from its 2023 expenses of just $152,000.

[Brian Schulmeister]

All right.

[Jason DeFilippo]

The platform also emphasizes a commitment to trust, safety and inclusivity, aiming to create digital spaces free from ads and corporate control. For now, Mastodon plans to base its operations in Europe while maintaining a US based non profit for fundraising. This comes as big tech giants like Meta and X face off against the EU's stringent digital laws. And unlike Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and ex owner Musk, Mastodon founder Eugene Roschko says the platform is focused on building a resilient community centered alternative to ad driven social networks. And for Mastodon, the shift represents a step towards sustainable governance while fostering safe, open online communities. Well, for all 12 people on Mastodon. Unfortunately, Blue sky won that battle.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So, yeah, it seems to be. I mean, that all sounds great, but I think the thing that I discovered, and I even posted this on Blue sky or I skied it or whatever, whatever the response, I skeeted it moving off of X and. And then trying out threads, which I ended up not liking because, you know, what's the point in having a network like that when you get updates from people five days after they posted them? They can't. They couldn't sort that out. So I left threads and then I went to Blue sky, and Blue sky seems nice, but what I really discovered is I don't need any of them.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Any of them. That is the problem.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I'm just not interested anymore. I'm burned out on all of this stuff. I just don't care.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I have Blue Sky. I open it up every now and again. I open up threads because it cross posts my Instagram posts to threads, which is really annoying. So I have to check comments in two places because as of the first of the year, I started my photo A Day project again. And I just use Instagram to post that because it's easy and I have people there and I've just been there forever. So yeah, it's still owned by the shithead, but still, it's easy for me to post do and whatnot. And. But anything else, I'm like, I just don't care. After the explosion and everybody went from X to Blue sky or to Mastodon or whatever threat. It's exhausting. It's exhausting. You can find me on Red Note, comrade. That's where I'm gonna be.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Keep that in mind. Speaking of exhausting, we've touched on this a couple times, and now there's actually a study that proved proves that what people were feeling is indeed correct. Confusing job portals, dense competition, and time consuming application processes all conspire to make job hunting online one of the most annoying experiences on the planet. After all the work that goes into an application, 99.9% of the time, you don't even hear anything back. It's enough to make you feel like you're firing applications into the abyss, as if the jobs you've applied to never existed in the first place. Well, according to a recent study, that's actually the case.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay.

[Brian Schulmeister]

The Wall Street Journal cites internal data from the hiring platform greenhouse that showed one in five online job postings, or between 18 and 22% of all jobs advertised, are either fake or never filled. That data was culled from Greenhouse's proprietary information, which the company can access because it sells automated software that helps employers fill out job postings. People have speculated that the practice of posting such advertisements is actually a corporate strategy designed to make the businesses posting them seem like they're growing to get investments, when in fact, they are not.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, I have another theory, too.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay, what's yours?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Dei. People with fucking DEI requirements in place are posting job. Like putting up job listings for jobs that don't exist so they can say that they are in the process of hiring and meeting their DEI quota.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, I can tell you something right. Right now, Jason. We'll be able to test that, because DEI is out the fucking window now that Trump's in. So that'll be.

[Jason DeFilippo]

It was out the window a year ago. So, yeah, which is fine. So let that one go. But yeah, there's a lot of speculation about that too. But, yeah, the investment side of things. That's a. Interesting way to put it, too. Yeah, I can see that. Yeah. Because I can guarantee you, I've put out. In the past year, I've put out 40 job applications. 0 replies. 0. And I was so much. I was so overqualified for every single one I posted for.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Like, I've looked a couple times and I'm like, I'm overqualified for all of these. Yeah, it's insane. And just anecdotally, I was actually speaking with an old friend of mine that I hadn't talked to in a while because I got like a. I got a request on Instagram, which I occasionally do for a friend, and I was just like, I don't know the name. It's private. I can't go look at it. So I write like I usually do. Who are you? Because I really only accept. Except for Blue Sky, I. That's the only social that I'll like, let anybody onto anything else. Facebook, Instagram, etc. It's people I know in real life, actual. Real friends and family, and that's it. And turns out this was somebody I actually knew from my past. And it was great to reconnect, but moved to Oklahoma from California because. Could not find a job. Yeah, yeah, just the same thing. She said she applied, like, to 8 million places, like, got three interviews and just could not find a job. And eventually it was just like, it's too expensive to be here. Gotta go.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yep. Kind of half the reason we were hoping the homes would burn down to get the insurance check and go to Oklahoma. Yeah, go east, young man.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Go east, but not too far. East. Because then it gets really expensive again.

[Jason DeFilippo]

It gets expensive again. Yeah. Stop somewhere in the middle. So Mark Zuckerberg has revealed plans to automate his coding jobs to AI.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Good. The whole place is going to burn down soon then.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know. Speaking on the Joe Rogan experience, because he has gone, Zuckerberg explained that the AI could write code for meta apps and AI systems, a role traditionally filled by engineers earning mid six figure salaries. Yes. While claiming the technology would augment workers by fostering creativity, Zuckerberg avoided directly addressing job replacement concerns. Which leads me to the next article. Meta to cut roughly 5% of staff targeting lowest performers. That's right.

[Brian Schulmeister]

The shoe has dropped.

[Jason DeFilippo]

They're going to be cutting around 5% of its workforce, or roughly 3,600 jobs through performance based terminations, according to an internal memoir from Zuckerberg. Yep. So they say they plan to hire new talent to fill these roles later in the year. Sure they are. Yeah. They're aiming to reduce headcount again by 10% by the end of the current performance cycle. They have just been cutting and cutting away. So yeah, all that. First the metaverse, now the AI verse, now the Magaverse.

[Brian Schulmeister]

If you just read those couple sentences and have even a basic knowledge of math, you understand that the meta plans to hire new talent to fill these roles later this year is.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So I mean it's right there in the words like they are not going to hire people, they are firing people. That is it.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. And they're, they're replacing them with AI that they're writing themselves.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I don't know how. This is all good. I can't wait to get to your story, but I got one more here about AI. The race to power. AI is driving a surge in natural gas usage since nuclear energy remains years away from readiness. According to the financial times, the US is set to add 80 new gas powered plants by 2030, a 20% increase over the last five years. That's right, because nuclear power plants take a long time to make and gas powered ones don't, so. And President Biden's January executive order accelerated AI and energy infrastructure growth, directing federal land leases for gigawatt scale data centers. That's right. We're going to put them on the. Put them on the military bases right next to the drone. The drone helipad. So we can. The Chinese can just watch us. I don't know if you also heard this week DJI is taking away the. The no fly zones, the mandatory no fly zones. So you can just fly Your drone anywhere now.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Can't wait. Gonna be awesome.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. I don't know if you've been following the fire news down here, but one of your Canadian planes was taken out of service for several days because some douchebag with a drone was flying over the fire zone and it got hit. So as the optics are saying, you know, drones over fire zones are bad. Yeah, let's just take away all of the safeguards to prevent people from flying drones. Which actually caught me one time because I was at a friend's house and I was doing a drone demo and I'm like, why won't this thing let me go above 7ft? Turns out I was in a. I was in a no fly zone because of a fire that was like 10 miles away that I wasn't aware of.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Right.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Which would have been a good thing. And it was a good thing, so. Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes. But we have a incoming administration that does not believe in regulations.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, this is. I mean, this is the Chinese making this one too. So it's like, who knows what the fuck.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, they don't care if our infrastructure burns to the ground.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's what I'm saying. So I don't know how the. Yeah, the twists and the turns of the Ouroboros are driving me mad, Brian. They're driving me mad. Well, yes, just. Anyway, no more nuclear for quite some time. So say hello to the gas generated power plants. I don't know what happened to wind and water, but.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, Jason, the reason that we have all these thoughts and start to get so angry is because we still have high critical thinking abilities. These.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Do we really?

[Brian Schulmeister]

We do. Sadly, unfortunately. I kind of wish I was dumb at this point and didn't care, but here we are. But one thing that we know that our. Our billionaire ogliar class loves is A.I. we've just finished talking about it. Elon Musk loves A.I. let's fire everybody. Let's get A.I. in here. Zuck loves A.I. let's Fire everybody. Let's get it. Let's get AI in here. Our incoming administration loves A.I. let's let's burn the country. Brought the planet to the ground. The fun AI well, it's starting to make a lot more sense to me now, Jason, because a new study has come out that has investigated artificial intelligence and cognitive offloading by humans and found a negative correlation between frequent AI use and critical thinking abilities. Yep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Which we said from day one, the.

[Brian Schulmeister]

More you use your AI, the dumber you get.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Thank you very much, Brian. We knew. We knew it we just knew it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's now, it's now been confirmed, Jason. Although I think there's a conspiracy theory coming out about this as we speak. Oh, because.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

In the study by Michael Gerlick at SBS Swiss Business School in Zurich, Switzerland, do you know the number of participants that they used?

[Jason DeFilippo]

42.

[Brian Schulmeister]

666, which is the number of the Beast. And Joe Rogan is on fire right now. And it's something about gay frogs.

[Jason DeFilippo]

The satanic frogs are turning gay.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That's right. I gotta have a word with Michael Gerlick. If you just would have added one more person, they wouldn't have had the fuel for this.

[Jason DeFilippo]

667, the neighbor of the beast. That's the Beast.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's a real nice guy.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, he is.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Borrowed a cup of sugar from him the other day.

[Jason DeFilippo]

No, I mean look, this is just digital technology from the get go. You can't phone numbers anymore. You can't read a map, you know. Come on. Exactly.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's the same like nobody knows a phone number anymore because we've offloaded that. But this is more serious because this is like literally you're using these things to think about everything. Now what is the answer? Instead of thinking about it, you type it into your chatgpt and you destroy a river.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, that's right. You know what's funny? I actually forgot my roommate's phone number the other day and I needed it to write it down to give it to somebody. So I told them go to her URL. And it's @ the bottom of the page that we have a space for URLs in our brain where the phone numbers used to be. I think, you know, it's just we only have one bucket. What are we going to put in the bucket?

[Brian Schulmeister]

You know, for most people though, Jason, there's a hole in the bucket. Dear Liza, dear Eliza.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh man. So Walgreens, remember Walgreens? Walgreens is rethinking its decision to replace the refrigerator doors with smart screens. I wonder why. Oh yes, yes. A move that's turned shopping into a frustrating techno dystopian experience. The pharmacy chain partnered with Cooler Screens Inc. In 2020 to install digital doors that displayed ads and tracked shoppers habits. However, the screens have been plagued with issues, flickering crashes and even wait for it, catching fire. Which prompted Walgreens to try and exit its 10 year contract early. Well, the legal battle has escalated with Cooler screens retaliating by cutting feeds to over 100 stor, leaving consumers staring at blacked out doors. Welcome to Black Mirror, Brian. But here's the funny part. Isn't that why Walgreens wanted them out of the way anyway? Because they didn't fucking work so well, here's the thing. Their point.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Here's the thing. And here's why I don't particularly feel bad for Walgreens. Hey guys, there's this new technology that's unproven and we can just immediately list about 20 negatives to using it. Let's sign a 10 year contract.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Fucking idiots.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well. And I do not shed a tear for Walgreens or CVS or any of these pharmacy companies who decided to literally put everything behind a locked cage. Everything. I have been to, there's a CVS up the road and I walked in there and my jaw hit the floor. There was almost nothing that you could buy there without having to have someone come over and unlock the, the case for you. They're like, well, theft is so rampant. We just can't, we can't deal with it. I'm like, okay, well I'm not going to buy anything.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, here's the thing, here's the thing. Like first, that's dystopian and I hate it and it's disgusting. But fine, you're gonna do it. Okay, do it. But you better staff up. Because the thing is I'm not gonna wait five minutes after I push the button to get my toothpaste. To get my toothpaste. Yeah, but because the thing is there's like three people working because you won't hire anyone because you want to make the most profits. Human. You've already made us check out our own stuff because we can't have checkers anymore. But now you're going to lock everything up. You make us push a button and some 17 year old that's across the planet as far as I'm concerned, on the other side of the goddamn store is hitching up his jeans, working his way over, stopping to, to open up the Cheez Its rack and then the Goldfish rack and then the Miller High Life rack before I can get to my goddamn toothpaste. I'm not waiting that long.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Nope.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So I will go, I will drive out of my way to find a store in a nice area.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I think Cooler Screens Inc. Is probably owned by Amazon. They're just, they're just, they're just giving shitty service to push more people to buy shit at Amazon because it's faster to order something from Amazon than it is to wait for the little pimply faced 17 year old who's probably sitting around on a Chinese social network on the other side of the store trying to learn Mandarin so he can get a better paying job as a content moderator than working at fucking Walgreens.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I could get my toothpaste faster if I posted on the there saying somebody please come open the toothpaste rack.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Seriously.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, what a wonderful world we've made for ourselves.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Do you guys have that problem up in Canada with everything locked up?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay, not a single store I've ever been to has anything locked up. Not a one.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I mean it's, it's usually high ticket items, you know, like razor blades and condoms, but now it is literally you walk down in every single row is locked up. It's unbelievable. I'm like, why do you even have a store? I figure it's just for a write off. Okay, well here's a funny one. Brian Johnson, a 46 year old tech multimillionaire known for his extreme anti aging experiments, has stopped taking the experimental drug rapamycin. Johnson, who spends millions on efforts to de age himself, claims the drug may have accelerated aging instead of reversing it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oopsies.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I just love these anti aging guys. They spend their entire lives trying to get younger and have more life, but instead of having a life, you just go have a life, you know? Come on. He's taking 54 supplements a day now. I for one can't, you know, I cannot throw stones. I take. My morning regimen is 24 pills. That just keeps, that keeps the engine going. I'm not trying to get younger. I'm not trying to live forever. I'm trying to make it to tomorrow. So big difference. And I'm not a multi, multi millionaire and I just love this. Johnson admits he now looks less like his goal of a youthful teenager and more like what he describes as a vampire. Does he sparkle? Does he sparkle now?

[Brian Schulmeister]

I actually have, I think, a different take on this than you do. I'm all for it because why not let's let these guys destroy their lives, basically experiment on themselves and maybe we'll find out something that works. And in fact your, your guy that you introduced me to, Dr. Karen, the, the TikTok doctor that had that great book that we both read. He's got a podcast and I was just listening to his latest one yesterday and there he was talking. He had a guest on, I can't remember who it was, but they were basically saying we have billionaires to thank for testing out the supplements of tomorrow that will actually help us. It may kill them, but maybe they'll find some stuff that will help us.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's true. I do have an anecdote about that guy too. So I was reading his newsletter that he has and he was talking about how he takes creatine for mental agility. Instead of pumping up after the workout, you've got to have the creatine to make the muscle grow. And I'm like, okay, well I need any help I can get. And I started taking that about six months ago. And about three months into that, most of my stroke side effects started to actually, like, I could feel my right side again and my brain started to work again and I'm like, oh, that's pretty interesting. So then I reached out to my friend Mika over in Germany who's working in stroke recovery and I said, have you guys ever, you know, done any creatine therapy for your stroke recovery victims? He's like, oh yeah, we use that shit all the time. I'm like, it would have been nice if somebody in America had told me that. So I got to go to a British doctor on a newsletter to find anecdotally that creatine works for my stroke symptoms that my friend in Germany already knows. So I guess, yeah, let those guys keep going. I can see your side of the coin there, Brian. I'll go with it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Creatine is actually supposed to be really good for all kinds of this stuff. I actually have been meaning to start taking it. I should probably should, yeah.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I take it twice a day and it works pretty well. I can feel my leg again. It's great. Except I don't look like a vampire.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, that's fine. Nobody wants to look like a vampire.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, there are some sexy vampires out there. UK judge has ended James Howell's 11 year battle to recover a hard drive containing a reported $765 million in Bitcoin buried in a landfill. Sorry, guy. The Newport man lost access to 8,000 bitcoins after mistakenly discarding the drive in 2013. High Court Judge Kaiser Casey dismissed the case citing no realistic chance of success. Howells had sought permission to excavate the landfill or receive compensation equivalent to the bitcoin's value. The Newport City Council opposed the excavation, citing environmental, public health and safety risks. The court also ruled Howell's claim was barred by the six year statute of limitations as he waited until 2024 to file a lawsuit. Despite knowing the facts in 2013, ownership of the drive was another sticking point. The judge upheld the council's legal rights under UK pollution laws, affirmin that trash Delivered to the landfill belongs to the landfill authority. That's right. So this guy was so wrong on so many fronts, and he still tried, but.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, who wouldn't try for 765 million, Jason?

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know, but sometimes you have to give up the ghost. This is a hard Drive from 2013 that's been in a landfill. You think this thing's going to be viable?

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's not going to be readable yet.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, no, he's kind of done. He's kind of done. And the New York Times reports that the cryptocurrency industry is urging President elect Donald Trump. By the time this comes out, by the time you hear it, he might be president. It's the final countdown, Brian, to create a national bitcoin stockpile. Of course they are.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay, hold on a second. My understanding is the government is already sitting on like 20 million in crypto. And you know where they got it from, Jason?

[Jason DeFilippo]

The Silk Road.

[Brian Schulmeister]

This is all the stuff that they got from criminals that they've seized.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yes, that's actually the Department of Justice. They got the green light to sell $6.5 billion in seized Bitcoin.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So we obviously do not need to buy a new stockpile. We have one.

[Jason DeFilippo]

We have a stockpile. Let's just transfer it from your account to our account. You know, just move it around. Move it around. I think the Department of Justice is trying to sell it, so they get to keep the money. I think that's the key here. But, yeah, this is the bitbros trying to say that we need this to, you know, bolster bitcoin, to make it more of a thing. So, you know, and it does make sense that the US Government does need a stockpile of bitcoin because as we say, Brian, only criminals use bitcoin.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I see what you did there. Most weight loss plans are one size fits all, not taking into account each person's individual needs. Noom, on the other hand, is built for your psychology and your biology meeting you where you are.

[Jason DeFilippo]

NOOM Weight uses psychology and that's why.

[Brian Schulmeister]

They say losing weight starts with your brain, but it also takes into account.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Your unique biological factors which also affect weight loss success.

[Brian Schulmeister]

The program helps you understand the science behind your eating choices and why you have cravings. Stay focused on what's important to you with NOOM psychology and biology based approach.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Sign up for your trial [e-mail] that's.

[Brian Schulmeister]

N o o-m.com.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Media candy.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Did you watch the silo season finale last night, Jason?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yes, I did.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So did I. It was great.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I liked it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Now I've got to say there was spoiler alerts. We should do that because it just came out last night. We are going to talk a little. Yeah, just a spoiler alert. So skip ahead a little bit. If you haven't seen it yet and haven't read the books and didn't know what was coming anyways, I did see a lot of articles prior to it coming out from the early reviews saying. And there's a massive twist at the end. Well, not if you've read the books.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I don't remember the book. So it's all new to me, which is great. I. I guess it has something to do with the fact that she was wearing a fire suit at the end. So I'm guessing 1, 2 go in, 1 comes out.

[Brian Schulmeister]

No, not that part. But okay. Yeah, it was. The twist at the end was of course the fact that nobody was expecting them to go back to before the silo and seeing how it's going. Going to become about which is, you know, the second book. So.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Ah, there you go.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah. So they're basically setting that up so you can probably expect to see a little less of Jessica next season. But unfortunately. But yeah, but, but we got Jessica Henwick and she's cute. So.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay.

[Brian Schulmeister]

She'll be the female lead for the. The Before Times. I'm looking forward to it. It all seems pretty good and the casting seems pretty good for it too. So we'll see.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, in. I'm in.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's been a great show and I really enjoyed it. Yeah. See you in two years.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Try four probably. I watched Wicked this week.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You are a theater.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, yeah, it was delightful. I actually quite enjoyed it because I didn't think I was going to and my friends were like, no, you really gotta go watch it. And so I did.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Okay.

[Jason DeFilippo]

And it just like it was part one of the movie was longer than the entire musical that I actually, that I actually saw which was like, how'd they met? Manage that one? But it was actually about the same because I. I fast forwarded the songs that I don't like, which makes it even easier because it's. I've seen the musical. I had nowhere to fast forward. But no, it was beautiful. It was well acted, well sung. It was. Yeah, it was good. It was good. I started watching Jerry Springer Fights Camera Action this week. A three part miniseries on the life and times of the Jerry Springer Show. I love it. I love Jerry Springer. I'm sorry, I thought he was great.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Great it's fair. But I did read a review of it that said something along the lines of, you can see the very kernel of the downfall of American society start to blossom.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, absolutely. But it's perfect. I don't. I mean, hey, I. I like Jerry Springer. He was a good guy. He fought for. He fought for the right things, which is, you know, midgets and strippers. I'm fine with that. Let's go. I'm sorry, little people in strippers. You're not allowed to say that anymore.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, you can say whatever you want now, Jason.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That's true. Welcome to Marika. And I started watching Special Forces World's Toughest Test, Season three.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah, watching anything with Stephen Baldwin is a tough test, I'll give you that.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Spoilers. Spoilers. The first episode aired last week. See how poor Stephen doesn't make it very far. But he douches out like a Baldwin should. But he does do something. He's like 58 years old and he does actually jump from a moving boat to a moving helicopter and pulls himself up and gets on the helicopter from the boat, which is something I couldn't do. So kudos for Steven for actually doing that. So not so many kudos for bitching out and leaving the show. But anyway, it's a fun show. I've always liked. I liked season one and two as well. They're only five weeks long, so it's like a 10 day experiment. But they're fun. I enjoy them. I had a hankering with all the helicopters that I had to see last week. Week. So many helicopters, Brian. So many helicopters. I went back and I watched Blue Thunder from 1983. And then I thought to myself, jesus Christ, that movie's 42 years old. It has legs. It is a fantastic movie. If you've never seen Blue Thunder, I highly recommend it. It has some of the most amazing helicopter stunts. I almost said motorcycle stunts. I'm like, wrong movie has some of the most amazing helicopter stunts way before CG was a thing. And it is. It is just a fun movie. And then I remembered, wait, there's a TV series.

[Brian Schulmeister]

TV series.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yep, yep. One pilot and 11 episodes. So I found that on the backwaters of Sweden. I downloaded that and when I went to go put the link in the show notes, I forgot Dana Carvey is the jaffo. Just another fucking observer in the series that's from 1984. And I looked at. I'm like, that's. Holy shit. That is Dana Carvey. So that's on my. To watch this, this week, it is, it has got that classic 80. I like, I like looked at, looked at it for a second and it so has that classic 80s TV series look and feel that we all, all love.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Right?

[Jason DeFilippo]

I can't wait. I can't wait.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, I was doing the thing that I normally do almost January's and is done by February or March, which is I tell myself I'm going to listen to more music, less podcasts this year. And something popped up on my social media feed, I think on Facebook that, that helped with that. The 30 Best Dream Pop albums according to Pitchfork. Now this is from 2018, so I'm assuming it was on threads and post and it just bubbled up now.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Just came up now.

[Brian Schulmeister]

But yeah, it's a, it's a great list of bands, some of which I'm very familiar with, some of which I have never heard of. Some of them are very old, some of them are very new. New. What is dream pop? Well, it's kind of a porous border with, with Shoegaze, because even Lush is on this list. But it's their more poppy album. This is just great. Like, you know, feel good, noisy junk music in the background, lo fi and a lot of great stuff. So I'm kind of working through the albums, particularly the ones that I'd never heard of or never been through before. There's a lot of really good stuff on this list. So if you're looking for something new to listen to, you can just go through here, pick an album at random and just bring it up on your player of choice and, and fuzz out to some good feelings because we're all going to be needing them for the next four years.

[Jason DeFilippo]

It's funny that you, you went to, you went to, to music instead of podcast and I actually started because I needed to. I'm like one of those Olympians who like to train in Colorado in high altitude because you know when, when you actually get to the event, you're going to be well, well prepared. So I started listening to Coffee with Scott Adams.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh God.

[Jason DeFilippo]

His daily podcast. It is actually quite entertaining, but my God, did I not realize how batshit insane that guy?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, I could have told you. We talked about him a few years back and I like delved in for about 10 minutes and then went, this guy's nuts.

[Jason DeFilippo]

He's nuts. The problem with Scott Adams is he's got a kernel of truth and he's got a kernel of crazy because I like his books. I still like his books. And he does have a Lot of really good, interesting things to say, but he's got a lot of crazy, batshit things to say too. And if you have used AI too much and you don't have the cognitive thinking skills to separate the two, you're in trouble. You're really in trouble. But. So I like to think of this as my exercise every day. If I can parse the brilliance from the batshit, then I've had a good day. Now if I start to go crazy on this show, Brian, Brian, just pull the rip cord and say no more for you.

[Brian Schulmeister]

But I will keep that in mind.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay? Please keep that in mind.

[Brian Schulmeister]

But there is no way we could not mention this article and just kind of briefly discuss it on our show, given the amount of time that we have talked about Neil Gaiman's various things that you really love. And I'm kind of lukewarm on. I kind of like Neil Gaiman, but not everything, not as much as you do. And you know, Amanda Palmer, his now ex wife, who I personally cannot stand for very reasons and reasons I discussed ad nauseam for about five years on this podcast. But obviously this article came out about Neil Gaiman, which, you know, he's had the allegations and we kind of knew that something was going on and a lot of projects were canceled. Boy, oh boy, did you read this? It is a book in and of itself and boy, oh boy, Neil Gaiman does not come off well in any way, shape or form. And I would argue Amanda Palmer probably comes off even worse because she obviously enabled all this and turned a blind eye to it and it, boy, is that against her brand, which normally would cause a lot of problems, but these days nobody seems to give a anymore. But yeah, I, I think I, I think Neil Gaiman's done and I think Amanda Palmer should be okay after reading all of this.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So yeah, okay, yeah, I didn't even, I didn't give it a read because it, I saw the time to read was, was like 30 minutes. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna pass. I'm gonna let everybody else do the reading.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It's 30 minutes because there's well more than 30 minutes. You could bullet point about what this guy did.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, I did do a bullet point and I had Claude give me a bullet point list for the, for both sides. And I'm like. And I did, I did ask that Ed Chat GPT. I'm like, was this just a hit piece? They're like, no, this was a well balanced article and well researched. I'm like, okay, well, yep, that's all.

[Brian Schulmeister]

We need to know. Thanks.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Bye. Bye.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Sandman. Yeah, but the cops have. Didn't. Didn't press any charges, so. Okay, I don't know. Here's the deal. I like his work.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I just want. I want them to finish Sandman, and they're probably not going to now, which pisses me off. We've already gotten screwed on Good Omens. But did we really? Because Good Omens should have ended after season one anyway. That's a different thing. I just really want the end of Sandman. That's all. Please do it right. In this day and age, you can still go see Harry Potter. And she is not as bad, but right on the cusp. Everybody's got something and good old Orson Scott card, you know, and people still play Michael Jackson.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Not me. But yeah. Look, if there's one thing that came out of this whole thing is, you know, we all have our moments as parents where we feel like, boy, we didn't have a good parenting day. You'll always feel like you've been a really great dad when you read about what Neil Gaiman did.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay, well, I'm gonna cleanse the palate a little bit there, Brian. Some TV that we're still allowed to watch. Daredevil, Born again. The official trailer finally dropped and I am. I'm in. I am so pretty excited. Yep. Yeah, that. That at least cheers me up. I want, you know, death and violence and. And brutality. That's what I can go for today now. Thanks. Thanks.

[Brian Schulmeister]

That's not just Neil Gaiman. Sex life, ups and doodads. Well, something that should have happened quite a while ago has finally happened. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is stepping down from the company after eight years on the job, according to reporting from Bloomberg. This follows last year's disastrous app launch in which a redesign was missing core features and was broken in nearly every major way. And. And has still yet to be really fixed.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I was gonna say, and is still broken in nearly every major way. I use it every day.

[Brian Schulmeister]

They found someone to steer the ship now, Jason.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Who is it, Brian?

[Brian Schulmeister]

Tom Conrad. And guess what he used to do.

[Jason DeFilippo]

What did he used to do, Brian?

[Brian Schulmeister]

He co founded Pandora. He was a VP at Snap and product chief at Quibi.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, my God.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Fail. Fail upwards. But he has a nose tattoo, apparently.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, good for him. The funny thing is you can actually watch a Quibi video while you wait for your actual music to load on Sonos.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yes, well, you know. And as for the Stepping Down CEO Spence, he is getting a $7,500 per month payout until June, a cash severance of $1.9 million, and his unvested shares in Sonos will vest.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Unvested for a reason, but now vested.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Jason Magic. God, it's great to suck at your job.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, my God, I want to suck this bad. Can I? Oh, Brian.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Here's the problem. Jason, here's the problem. We have been good at what we do our whole lives.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, and we didn't wear a suit.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And I didn't get it, like, company's names tattooed on my suit.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Speak for yourself. I got Met blogs tattooed on me. Problem is, it was my company.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You better hold on to that domain.

[Jason DeFilippo]

No, we sold it.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, damn it. I hope they don't turn it into porn.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, I. Who knows? Yeah, Blogging LA and Met Blogs got sold to Jaws. Jocelyn. Jocelyn Wang, one of our writers. Long over. God, 15 years ago now, but I still have a free the media tattoo on my fucking arm with the logo.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Nice.

[Jason DeFilippo]

And it's a big one. It's not a tiny one. Oh, I got that at south by Southwest. The year that Twitter broke. Broke out. Not broke, different years. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was the next five years of the fail whale. Twitter was broken, but now it's gone. But anyway, moving on. The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against against General Motors and its OnStar division for allegedly selling location and driving data from millions count to millions, Brian, of vehicles without informed consent. Of course, the FTC claims data, collected as often as every three seconds, was used to track behaviors like hard braking, speeding and late night driving.

[Brian Schulmeister]

But the data was anonymized. Right. Cue the PODME and Anakin meme.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, right, right. This information was sold to consumer reporting agencies, enabling insurance companies to adjust rates or deny coverage. So no, Brian, it was not anonymized.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Of course not.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Under a proposed settlement, GM and OnStar face a five year ban on selling geolocation and driving data. They must also ensure future data sharing is fully disclosed and obtain explicit consumer consent. GM denies wrongdoing. Oh, fuck yourself. Stating customers were informed. But the FTC argues the process was misleading. So there you go.

[Brian Schulmeister]

There you go.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Elon Musk is in the headlines again. This time, Brian, for faking his gaming prowess.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, look, I. I'm almost glad because at some point you gotta go like, okay, this guy claims to run four different companies, plus he's like the world's best gamer at something.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Also you're a great dad to like, your 95 children.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

How are you doing all of this? How? When all you're really doing is tweeting all day?

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yep. So gamers accused him of hiring someone to level up a character in the RPG Path of Exile 2. The drama escalated when Musk appeared to struggle with basic gameplay during a live stream, sparking ridicule. I think. I think there's been enough ridicule. He could have gone without the live stream without getting ridiculed. Musk responded by leaking private messages with YouTuber Zach Hoyt, known as Asmongold, after Hoyt criticized him in the video. This move violated platform rules. According to Community notes, Musk also revoked Hoyt's verified status on X.

[Brian Schulmeister]

If you look up Manchild in the dictionary, there's just a picture of this dumb fuck.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know. Critics pointed out Musk's actions highlight double standards, with many noting he relies on teams for his ventures, just as Hoyt uses editors for his content. Yeah, this is the same thing when he. When he, you know, speed. Ran Diablo 4 or whatever. Right.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And then he did the Kessel run in under 22 parsecs.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Exactly.

[Brian Schulmeister]

An.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

So sick of this guy. We're stuck with him. Well, until Trump gets sick of him.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yep. Well, speaking of gaming, though, Brian, I saw this come through my Instagram feed, and I thought of. Well, first I thought of me because I wanted it. Then I thought of you because now you have a switch. It's called the gaming pillow, which is literally just a little pillow with an, like, an articulated arm on it that you clip your. For you. Your Nintendo Switch to. For me, it would be my iPad.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Does it come with a can of Brauno?

[Jason DeFilippo]

No.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It should.

[Jason DeFilippo]

But here's the thing, Brian. After you play for a while, your hands go numb or your arms go.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Numb, or you stop playing and get off your ass for a few minutes.

[Jason DeFilippo]

No, man. Fuck, no.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I am never buying this, because my child would just. I already thank God for the app. Let me. Let me talk about that switch app for a second. They have a parental control app where you can set daily limits. It is the best thing in the world.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Well, here's the problem with me, Brian. I'm. I'm the adult. So I got hooked on this game called Mob Control.

[Brian Schulmeister]

My son plays that.

[Jason DeFilippo]

That. You need to take that game away from him immediately.

[Brian Schulmeister]

We did. We did. We did. Did. He could not handle stopping.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I can't handle stopping. There were times when I had something I needed to kill 20 minutes. And if you want to make 20 minutes go by in about three seconds, open that app, it is worse than TikTok. It is worse than TikTok. There's something about the gameplay mechanics on that game that make time disappear and make your arm go numb, which is why I wanted a gaming pill.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Well, it's also one of the reasons that we ended up agreeing to get Lucas the Switch is because we wanted him off the iPad because of games like Mob Control. So, so we've got him off of that. And, and you know what? Everything that you said was right. Of course. My son has now had the Switch for a little bit over three weeks. And of course Nintendo announced the Switch too.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brian Schulmeister]

We don't know when it's coming. It's going to be way later this year. And I. There's no way we could have held off that long because I can't have him turn into a Mob Control Zone zombie.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, no, no. Mob Control bad. And now it's with Transformers and. Oh, my God, I've got Stars. I had Starscream like, leveled up to 62. Yeah, no, Brian, it was bad. It was really, really bad. I mean, I, I, you know, the.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Ios games are so built to be addictive. Just straight up, it was the same. We had the same issue with Angry Birds. He turned into Angry Birds Lucas. If we tried to take it away from him and cut him off. He seems much better with the Nintendo Switch. Like, he's okay when, when the timer hits.

[Jason DeFilippo]

So, yeah, I just, There was just no way for me to turn it off. I would delete the app at night and then the next night I would just reinstall it and go through, go through the, like, the five minutes of prep just so I could sync my account and get back to where I was so I could play it again. This has gone on for two months. It's bad. It's really fucking bad. Bad. I'm like a really top level Mob Control player. I'm not like Elon. I'm really tip top. I put in the fucking hours, man.

[Brian Schulmeister]

You need to give me the admin password control for your iOS from now on.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I do, I do. I need an adult. I need an adult to fucking put the.

[Brian Schulmeister]

I'll set you with the 30 limit timer that can't be broken. You'll just buy another iPad.

[Jason DeFilippo]

I know you can buy another iPad. That's the problem. I still have a fucking credit card. Come on. Do you know how many computers and iPads I have that nobody knows about? Come on. It's like when I was an alcoholic, I'd stash vodka. Now I've got iPad minis around the house. Oh, Jesus. But I am gonna try a new game that came out in Apple Arcade this week, which I'm kind of looking forward to. Final Fantasy, the OG rpg. They released it on Apple Arcade, so it's free. And there's no ads or anything in it because it's Final Fantasy plus Us, which is what they do. No, they still haven't released Flight Control. I want flight control. God damn it. Bring that back. But at least there's a timer on that one. Because the planes get too crazy. But so I can stop that one. I promise. I promise, Brian, please give me Flight control.

[Brian Schulmeister]

No.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Closing Shout out. Over at Patreon this week. Nobody signed up.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Boo.

[Jason DeFilippo]

But Sesus upped their pledge. Thank you very much. And we'd like to thank legacy Patreon subscribers, William, Roger, Kevin, Rachel, Dan, Derek, Doug, Laura, Vox, Simon, and Jason. Not me, the other Jason. So thank you all. And just a reminder, for as little as $3 a month, you can sign up and get the show early and ad free and in high definition. And if you want to sign up for the whole year, you get 5% off. So thank you very much. Sign up patreon.com gog all right, and.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Over at PayPal, we've got miles, Shari, Natalie, Linda, Ocadio, Nathaniel and Andrew.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Woohoo. Over at the Tip Jar, we've got Theodore and Sean. And no merch this week.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Oh, man. All we needed was an Alvin and we would have had Alvin, Simon and Theodore.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Oh, my God.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Still thinking about Christmas music? Apparently. At least I am.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Am now. Now I'm gonna have that the rest of the day off. No reviews this week either.

[Brian Schulmeister]

All right. And some sad news. We've lost. We lost two people in one day. And what an odd pairing it was, Jason.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yes, it is an odd pairing.

[Brian Schulmeister]

We lost a beloved brewers broadcaster and Mr. Baseball Bob Euchre, who passed away at 90. And of course, David Lynch, Blue Velvet director, Twin Peaks director, etc, dead at 78. Both. Yeah, well, one a bigger loss than the other, but, yeah, let's be honest.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Not to put a finer point on.

[Brian Schulmeister]

It, but, you know, Bob Euchre made it to 90 and had a great run, so we. I could have used a little bit more of David lynch, but, you know, like, it was a year or two ago that I heard he was basically housebound because of emphysema and all this other stuff. And, I mean, that's particularly for a creative person, but just anybody in general, once you hear about that, it's just a matter of time, unfortunately.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Yeah, it sucks. Sucks.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yep.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Now I have to go go back and rewatch Twin Peaks.

[Brian Schulmeister]

Yeah. Oh, God, it's so good. So good.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Does it have legs, though?

[Brian Schulmeister]

It does. I rewatched it. I rewatch it like once every five years.

[Jason DeFilippo]

Okay, maybe I'll do that. No, I won't. Who am I kidding? I've seen it. I don't have that much time left on this planet to go watch Twin Peaks again. Jesus. All right, I gotta go listen to the fucking Chipmunks album is what I gotta do. Until next time. I'm Jason DeFilippo.

[Brian Schulmeister]

And I'm Alvin, Simon and Theodore. Thanks for listening to Grumpy old Geeks. Get all the links and goodies from Today's episode at GOG Show 680. Want to keep the grumpiness alive? Toss a few bucks our way at GOG Show. Donate every penny. Help keeps the show on the air. Love the show. Share it. There's a share button in your podcast player. Use it to spread the grumpiness to friends, foes, and everyone in between. We'll love you for it. 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.gger show. Stay grumpy.