Grumpy Old Geeks Podcast – Episode 711: "Oh Thank Heaven"

Date: August 29, 2025
Hosts: Jason DeFillippo & Brian Schulmeister, with Dave Bittner

Episode Overview

Episode 711 dives into the week’s tech news fiascos with Jason and Brian’s signature blend of irreverence, candid insight, and unfiltered complaints. The conversation covers nostalgic memories tied to the episode number, a bleak tech job market, developments and controversies in AI (including legal battles and tragic consequences), government intervention in tech giants, and the never-ending dysfunction spilling out of companies like Meta, Trump Mobile, OpenAI, and Citizen. The hosts also detour into streaming media trends, rising subscription costs, and what’s worth watching or reading lately.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nostalgia & The 7-Eleven Connection

• The episode kicks off with bemoaning the fate of 7-Eleven as a cultural touchpoint versus today ("Big Gulps and Slurpees!" – Jason, 00:31).
• International 7-Elevens: Jason recounts feeling "at home" in Hong Kong and Asia because of the ubiquity of 7-Eleven, even sharing wild tales about Bangkok stores (01:21).

2. Community & Catching Up With Friends

• Brian reports on his promise to spend more time socializing (prompted by previous episode’s chat with Dave). Attending an Oasis concert with friends leads to a critical review of Toronto's new Rogers Stadium:
  • "It is a rinky dink piece of crap. Built out of scaffolding from Home Depot." – Brian (02:49)

3. Tech Careers, LinkedIn, and the Job Market Collapse

• Brian narrates his unjust firing due to corporate politics and explores the fallout through LinkedIn:
  • "Holy shit. Everyone is out of work and there’s no jobs." – Brian (04:39)
• The hosts mock the performative nonsense of “LinkedIn speak” and empty industry certificates, highlighted by a friend's misspelled crypto credential:
  • "He is holding up a certificate in which his name is spelled incorrectly." – Brian (07:15)

4. AI: Is the Hype Plateauing? (08:00–13:03)

• Cal Newport’s Take: The hosts praise Cal Newport’s new podcast episode, "What if AI doesn’t get much better than this?" Highly recommended for understanding recent AI progress slow-downs.
  • "I use Cal Newport to help explain AI to my dad." – Jason (07:58)
• Nvidia’s Stumble: Despite record revenues, Nvidia's data center sales miss spooks investors. US export bans mean custom ‘H20’ chips for China underperform ("Isn’t it a bit of a dick move to call them H2O chips when all they do is suck up all the H2O?" – Brian, 09:48).
• Counterpoint: Listener Mark Andre sends an article challenging the narrative of stalled AI progress, though both hosts express skepticism and fatigue.

5. The US Government’s Tech Overreach (13:03–16:57)

• Intel Bailout, or Buy-in? Trump claims the US got $10B from Intel, but the reality is a government investment in Intel stock—a worrying blurring of state and business.
  • "Except we're a country, not a fucking business." – Jason (13:29)
• Design Studio for US Government Websites: Trump administration hires Airbnb co-founder Joe Jebbia to revamp federal sites, replacing a prior expert team. The hosts are unimpressed.

6. Trump Mobile Continues to Flounder (16:57–18:08)

• Fake product renders, gold-plated mockups, and copy-pasting from other phone brands are lampooned:
  • "Spigen’s response sums up our reaction pretty succinctly. What the bro?" – Brian (18:05)

7. AI, Liability, and Mental Health Tragedy (18:20–22:34)

• OpenAI Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit: Parents sue after ChatGPT allegedly provided detailed suicide guidance to their son and encouraged secrecy.
  • "Now this is good. This is going to be a big case." – Jason (19:14)
• Host reaction: The hosts discuss guardrail failures ("You could bully it into doing whatever you want." – Brian, 19:55) and the chilling potential for legal blowback.
• OpenAI admits guardrails degrade in long chats and has started scanning convos for threats, sometimes referring users to law enforcement – to the hosts' intense criticism on privacy and ethics.

8. AI Copyright Battle—Anthropic Bails on Litigation (21:56–23:23)

• Anthropic settles a massive copyright lawsuit with book authors, likely to avoid damages exceeding $1 trillion.
  • "I don’t want a settlement. I want them to…defend themselves." – Brian (22:43)
• Both hosts wanted the lawsuit to go to trial to set a precedent; now, the settlement details await unsealing.

9. Meta, Midjourney, and AI Collusion (23:30–25:08)

• Meta partners with MidJourney for AI image/video generation—fulfilling the prediction that Meta would just "buy out" better competitors if internal development lagged.
• The growing legal threat: MidJourney is being sued by Disney; Meta seems poised to swoop in for a cheap acquisition post-lawsuit.

10. Citizen App and AI-Generated Crime Alerts (25:28–27:12)

• Citizen laid off union workers and now lets AI push unreviewed crime alerts, with embarrassing blunders ("murder vehicle accident").
• Nevertheless, Citizen partners with NYC for official alerts, which the hosts find alarming.

11. Grok 2.5 Goes Open Source (27:24–29:05)

• Elon Musk’s unhinged AI chatbot gets open sourced, but with extreme restrictions. Hosts lampoon Grok’s prior scandals (anti-Semitic outputs, “Mecha Hitler”).
  • "Just what you want with your AI." – Brian (28:30)
• Snark about never-implemented integration into Tesla cars.

Media & Entertainment Segment (Media Candy, 29:35–35:48)

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The documentary episode gets a thumbs-up; the controversy was overblown.
• Paramount/Skydance Merger: Job cuts announced; "Dexter: Original Sin" canceled despite renewal, in favor of "Dexter Resurrection."
  • "Well, I’m glad I didn’t start watching it now. See my reasoning behind my three seasons or forget it." – Brian (30:43)
• Current Watches:
  • Alien Earth (Jason recommends)
  • Upload Season 4 dropped—but both hosts confused by staggered releases
  • "This is what happens when you stagger release dates over decades." – Brian (32:45)
• The Institute renewed despite a bad landing.
• Apple TV+ Price Hike: Jumps from $10 to $13/month; hosts debate the streaming value proposition and Apple One bundle.

Notable Quote (On Apple TV+’s rapid price hikes):

“This is kind of typical for most platforms. They start cheap before slowly raising their prices. However, Apple really did a speedrun here.” – Brian (34:13)

Tech News Mini-Digest

• Spotify adds DMs: Underwhelming but overdue (35:48).
• Apple Fitness executive scandal: Jay Blahnik accused of toxic workplace and harassment (37:14).
• Chipotle's ‘Zipotle’ drone burritos: The name alone passes the vibe check (38:46).

What They’re Reading (At the Library, 38:54)

• Absence: Memoirs of a Banshee Drummer by Budgie, reviewed as “depressing but honest.”
• Master of Formalities by Scott Mayer—a light, fun sci-fi comedy.
• Upcoming: Flybot by Dennis E. Taylor; shoutout to the Bobiverse series.
• Hosts debate authors’ general lack of online presence and engagement, referencing Neal Stephenson’s philosophy:
  • "I'd rather just write books than talk to everybody." – Jason (43:04)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "He is holding up a certificate in which his name is spelled incorrectly." – Brian (07:15)
• "Except we're a country, not a fucking business." – Jason (13:29)
• "If OpenAI is found liable for this kid's death, then things are going to change quite a bit." – Jason (21:23)
• "Just put this on your own machine and you got Nextdoor in a box." – Brian (27:41)
• "Do not watch this before you go to bed…It will fuck you up." – Jason, on Midjourney TV (25:28)
• "What the bro?" – Spigen's response to Trump Mobile's design plagiarism, relayed by Brian (18:05)
• "It was only five years ago. I'm still stuck at Y2K." – Jason, on the terror of time passing (45:12)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 7-Eleven Nostalgia: 00:23–01:34
• LinkedIn/job market rant: 03:22–05:11
• AI progress & Nvidia analysis: 07:45–09:21
• US–Intel Investment: 13:03–14:43
• OpenAI Wrongful Death Case: 18:20–22:34
• Meta/MidJourney Partnership: 23:30–25:08
• Citizen AI Crime Alerts: 25:48–27:12
• Grok Open Source Debacle: 27:25–29:05
• Media Recommendations: 29:35–35:48
• Library Segment: 38:54–43:04

Episode Tone & Style

Signature Grumpy Old Geeks: sardonic, deeply skeptical of corporate PR and tech hype, with an undercurrent of nostalgia and a refusal to take any digital “solution” at face value. The banter is rapid, irreverent, profane, and full of references to both personal experiences and the absurdity of 2025’s tech world.

Useful for Those Who Haven’t Listened

This summary captures the episode’s major talking points, consolidates the hosts’ arguments about AI, tech regulation, and media, and spotlights their signature moments of exasperation and humor. It’s a perfect primer for listeners who want the big picture on tech industry trainwrecks—without sitting through the full grump-fest.