Grumpy Old Geeks – Episode 709: Grumpy Old Gardeners

Release Date: August 15, 2025
Hosts: Jason DeFilippo, Brian Schulmeister, Dave Bittner

Overview

This week’s Grumpy Old Geeks dives headlong into the catastrophic messes of modern tech, with their customary biting humor and no-holds-barred commentary. From Tesla’s failed diner and the post-mortem on Elon’s “Doge” savings, to OpenAI’s disastrous GPT-5 rollout, billionaire bunker-building, the real (depressing) risks of AI, and the latest in tech nostalgia, it’s a jam-packed episode. As always, Jason, Brian, and Dave dissect "what went wrong and who’s to blame" in the world of technology—with salty rants, pithy analysis, and plenty of “I told you so’s.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tesla’s Hollywood Diner Fiasco

[00:20–03:33]

• Tesla Diner in LA slashed most of its menu just weeks after opening; only a few basics remain.
• Chef Eric Greenspan went from distancing himself to spinning “unprecedented demand” as the reason for the menu cuts.
• Mockery of Elon's classic "over-promise, under-deliver" playbook.
  • Quote (Jason): “Over promise and under deliver.” [03:17]
  • Brian’s snark: “This is Elon in a nutshell. Let’s get involved in something I know absolutely nothing about.” [03:10]
• General skepticism about the sustainability of any Elon Musk culinary ventures.

The Doge Debacle—Elon’s Overblown “Savings”

[03:33–07:12]

• Detailed breakdown of Doge’s inflated, inaccurate claims about cutting trillions from the US budget.
  • Original promise: $2 trillion in cuts; reality: closer to $1.4 billion.
  • Notorious misstatements, e.g., $8 billion ICE contract savings turned out to be just $8 million—then actually $5.5 million.
  • “At the end of the day… Doge cost us more than it actually cost us $2 trillion.” – Jason [06:47]
• Discusses how much more was funneled to Elon’s other companies during this period.
• “What a load of horseshit.” – Brian [07:07]

OpenAI’s Grumpy Old Launch—GPT-5 Wrecks Friend-Bots and Breaks Businesses

[07:12–14:07]

• GPT-5 launched chaotically, breaking user attachments formed with GPT-4O and upending APIs and code for businesses.
• OpenAI’s model-switching is “model roulette”—non-deterministic results hurt enterprise trust.
  • Jason: “…it is model roulette. Absolutely. You can get wildly differing responses…” [10:02]
• Snark at OpenAI’s 500 “enterprise snake oil salesmen” [09:35]
• Takedown of OpenAI’s business practices compared to old-school software rollouts: “None of that—nothing.” – Brian [12:46]

AI Threat—Jobs, Society, and the Great CEO Waiting Game

[14:07–20:19]

• Dissects the fear-mongering about AI replacing jobs immediately vs. eventual reality; features a long Gizmodo excerpt on why CEOs haven’t pulled the mass-layoff trigger.
• “It’s irresponsible. Absolutely irresponsible…why the stock market’s still going up, I still can’t fathom…” – Jason [16:15]
• Real-world coping: Jason notes everyone’s planting gardens, not subscribing to ChatGPT.
  • “I know more people who…are starting gardens.” – Jason [17:14]
• Quote (Brian): “…if you’re one of these over 35s…a lot of them have been laid off, and there ain’t no jobs for them to go to.” [17:49]

Mo Gawdat’s Dystopia Prediction

[18:15–20:34]

• Former Google X executive Mo Gawdat predicts a short-term dystopia starting 2027, driven by societal values warped by AI-fueled capitalism.
  • “He says AI acts as a magnifier of existing societal issues and our stupidities as humans…” – Brian [19:41]
  • Jason: “Which nobody’s making right now. That’s the funny part. There is no profit.” [20:34]

Social Media is Doomed: Even the Bots Polarize

[21:06–24:33]

• Amsterdam study: 500 AI chatbots on a social network quickly formed echo chambers and polarized—even with no humans involved.
  • Jason: “…the study suggests that social media structure itself may inevitably amplify division, reflecting humanity’s online behavior in a distorted toxic mirror.” [21:30]
• Shrugs at the finding: “It’s not a shocker. That’s the sad thing. After all this time, it’s just not a shocker.” [24:33]

Billionaires Build Bunkers, Sell Utopias

[24:33–25:10]

• Zuckerberg’s $300m Kauai compound details: tunnels, shelters, blast doors—blatant “apocalypse insurance.”
  • “These techno doomers sell visions of a connected AI-powered future while quietly preparing to flee it.” – Jason [23:00]
  • Same trend for Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, Sam Altman.

Meta’s Disturbing AI Chatbot Flubs

[25:10–26:01]

• Internal leak: Meta’s AI chatbots had examples of sexualized interactions with underage personas.
• Meta response: Blamed “erroneous” documentation, deleted the evidence.
• “The policy is: don’t get caught, by the way.” – Jason [25:15]

Elon vs. Sam Altman: The Battle of B.S.

[26:01–28:28]

• Musk and Altman engage in a petty social media fight over App Store conspiracies and algorithm manipulation.
  • Sam Altman: “Will you sign an affidavit that you have never directed changes to the X algorithm…?” [27:10]
  • Grok’s own AI calls out Musk’s hypocrisy, to much laughter.
• Altman launching Merge Labs to take on Neuralink (with Worldcoin’s Alex Blania).

Google, Perplexity & Browser Takeovers

[29:00–30:20]

• Perplexity offers $3B to buy Chromium if Google is forced to divest Chrome.
• Universal lament: stop putting AI in everything.
  • “Nobody wants AI in their browser. That’s just...the way it is.” – Jason [29:34]

RoboTaxis & Tesla Expansion

[30:20–32:19]

• Texas grants Tesla Robo Taxi LLC the green light for driverless ride-sharing operations.
• Brian: “You’re not getting me in one of those.” [31:47]
• Skepticism about safety, as Tesla lags behind rivals.

Good News: Gen-Edited Insulin, Air-Butter, and Crypto Crime Reckonings

[32:19–36:32]

• Scientists achieve immune-evasive, gene-edited pancreatic cell transplant for diabetic patient.
• Air-derived butter (Savor) developed in Batavia, Illinois, with Bill Gates funding; no cows or crops required.
  • Brian: “It’s got microchips in it.” [33:42]
• Terraform founder Do Kwon pleads guilty to crypto fraud in nostalgic look at the 2022 “crypto winter.”
  • “His company Terraform created a stablecoin called TerraUSD…when TerraUSD fell below its $1 peg…” [35:04]

The End of an Era: AOL Dialup Shuts Down

[36:32–38:15]

• AOL will end its dial-up service September 30, after 34 years; cue nostalgia and classic sound effects.
  • Jason: “…can’t get GPT-4O to last more than one (year).” [38:15]
  • Brian: “Move fast and break things, Jason.” [38:28]

Media Candy (Reviews and Pop Culture)

[38:31–47:18]

• “The Bad Guys 2” — good for kids, not adults.
• “Strange New Worlds” — last episode divisive; Star Trek’s habit of “immense mysteries…never speak of this again.”
• “Wicked” (movie) — surprisingly enjoyable, especially for Jeff Goldblum’s performance.
• “K-Pop Demon Hunters” — hated by Brian, loved by the kids; Jason found it decent.
• “The Pickup” (Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson) — forgettable, “could have just called this MacGuffin.”
• “Alien Earth” — anticipation, but mixed reviews.
• Streaming series fatigue: “Upload” returns, but seasons are spaced too far apart to care.
  • Quote: “Season one shows a lingering mystery; by season four, you forgot everything.” – Jason [45:16]
• Daniel Ash’s new project “Ashes and Diamonds” — disappointing single, nostalgia for his previous motorcycle song.

The Dark Side with Dave Bittner

[47:22–62:22]

• Card games nostalgia: Solitaire, Crazy Eights, premium playing card talk (Theory 11 Star Wars decks recommended).
  • Dave admits: “I don’t know how to play solitaire.” [49:48]
• New insta360 Antigravity drone discussed—possible DJI-killer with 360° live imaging and intuitive controls.
• Segway’s rise and fall explained: Dave owned one, but scooters and e-bikes are faster and cheaper.
• New $1,000, 9,000-plus piece LEGO Death Star leaks ("stormtrooper hot tub party" included for fans).
  • Brian: “This is a hard justification…also, it’s 18 plus. Looks complicated.” [61:20]
• Kodak teetering on the brink of extinction:
  • Might become a zombie licensing brand.
  • Fun Kodak trivia (8mm camcorders, Z series pocket cameras).
• Listener mail from Sweden: Reflections on America’s fading global reputation.

Quotable Moments

• On OpenAI’s business sense:
  Jason: “Why the fuck would I go buy a product from this guy who will take away the models that actually worked for my company willy nilly and not give me any options to roll back without public outcry…?” [10:48]

• On the billionaire bunker trend:
  “These techno doomers sell visions of a connected AI-powered future while quietly preparing to flee it.” – Jason [23:00]

• On GPT-5’s reckless release:
  Brian: “Not normal business practices… None of that. Nothing.” [12:46]

• On the social media polarization study:
  Jason: “This is what AI would do, not what people would do. Granted, it’s probably really fucking close…” [21:50]

• On the demise of AOL dial-up:
  Brian: “The sound of my childhood.” [37:33]

Notable Timestamps

• 00:20 – Tesla Diner opening debacle
• 03:33 – Doge “savings” myth debunked
• 07:12 – GPT-5 launch and collapse of friend-bots
• 14:07 – AI’s actual threat to jobs; CEO waiting game
• 18:15 – Mo Gawdat’s dystopian AI forecast
• 21:06 – Polarization in social media (bots study)
• 24:33 – Billionaires’ bunkers: prepping for the end
• 25:10 – Meta’s chatbot safety scandal
• 26:01 – Altman vs Musk: the public pissing match
• 29:00 – Perplexity’s Chromium bid, browser AI worries
• 30:20 – Tesla RoboTaxi launch in Texas
• 32:19 – CRISPR breakthrough for diabetes
• 33:02 – Air-derived butter (Savor)
• 34:10 – Terraform and crypto nostalgia
• 36:32 – End of AOL dial-up era
• 38:31 – Media reviews
• 47:22 – The Dark Side with Dave: nostalgia, gadgets, LEGO news
• 62:22 – Kodak’s sad decline, listener mail from Sweden

Tone & Language

True to the show’s legacy: acerbic, expletive-laced, deeply skeptical of tech hype, and laugh-out-loud funny. Jason, Brian, and Dave punch up at the billionaire class, tech leaders, and complacent CEOs, while offering genuine pathos about the state of the world and nostalgia for a simpler, pre-disruption tech era.

Useful Takeaways

• Don’t trust over-hyped launches or build critical infrastructure atop volatile platforms—“don’t build your house in someone else’s backyard.”
• CEOs, billionaires, and AI companies are serving up uncertainty and prepping for collapse while the rest of us cope.
• If tech is breaking things fast these days, maybe it’s time to invest in gardening—and real, not virtual, friends.

For Further Detail

Visit GOG Show 709 for links, references, and to support the show directly.

Stay Grumpy.

“All pennies matter.” – Jason [71:33]