684: Don’t Be a Dick

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, Jason and Brian dive headfirst into the latest tech absurdities, financial scandals, and Elon Musk's ongoing chaos. We start with the annual frustration of unsubscribing from an email list that just won’t quit before jumping into the latest gem from Musk himself: "Some of the things that I say will be incorrect." Meanwhile, British IT worker James Howells is back with his ongoing quest to unearth his lost Bitcoin fortune—this time with a plan to buy the entire landfill where he thinks it’s buried. And despite all the corporate posturing about a return to office, remote work remains steady, much to the chagrin of commercial real estate moguls still waiting for the workforce to return.The Trump Coin debacle takes center stage, where early traders made a quick $109 million, but over 800,000 investors got wrecked to $2 billion. Adding to the dystopian financial landscape, Microsoft’s latest study finds that AI reliance makes people dumber, leading to cognitive atrophy as workers place too much trust in generative AI. Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters lands a major AI copyright win in the courts, striking a blow against legal AI startups. Over at Meta, the latest round of layoffs blindsided workers supposedly meeting performance expectations, proving that job security in tech is about as stable as Musk’s grasp on reality. A man in Alabama pleaded guilty to hacking the SEC’s X account to falsely announce Bitcoin ETF approvals, sending crypto markets on a rollercoaster ride.On the media front, Mythic Quest Season 4 is out, and we’re cautiously optimistic despite needing a breather after Season 2. The White Lotus returns, but can it survive without Stifler’s mom? Meanwhile, Karl Urban's role as Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat II is a big win. Walmart’s acquisition of the Dawn of the Dead mall seems hilariously on-brand, while Netflix’s attempt at podcasting smells like another cost-cutting maneuver. Finally, in "good news," the odds of a newly discovered asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 are rising. At least it would mean an end to Jeep’s infuriating full-screen stoplight ads. Tune in for all this and more on Grumpy Old Geeks!Sponsors:DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/684FOLLOW UPMan in Search of Lost Bitcoin Fortune Wants to Buy the Landfill Where He Swears It’s BuriedThere Hasn’t Been Much if Any Reduction in WFH in over Two Years, Despite the Hype about RTOEarly Crypto Traders Had Speedy Profit on Trump Coin as Others Suffered LossesIN THE NEWSMicrosoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition “Atrophied and Unprepared”The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge WorkersMeta's job cuts surprised some employees who said they weren't low performersSilicon Valley Software Engineers Horrified as They Can't Easily Find Jobs AnymoreMan from Alabama pleads guilty over SEC's fake bitcoin post on XKanye West’s X Account Deactivated After He Declared “IM A NAZI” In Deluge Of AntisemitismShopify took down Kanye's swastika t-shirt shop, but another antisemitic storefront still operatesShopify says risk of fraud, not Nazi swastika, was reason for Kanye West store takedownScarlett Johansson Calls for New AI Laws After Fake Video of Her Goes ViralGoogle will use machine learning to try and tell if a user is under 18UK drops 'safety' from its AI body, now called AI Security Institute, inks MOU with AnthropicBuzzfeed is launching their own social networkApple Maps plans to show 'Gulf of America,' following GoogleGov. Pritzker Says Lake Michigan Is Now Called Lake IllinoisCourt orders the CDC and FDA to restore deleted web pages related to gender identityEFF sues Elon Musk and DOGE to block their access to federal employee data14 states sue DOGE, blasting Musk's 'unprecedented' power as unconstitutionalUSAID workers sue Musk and DOGE over ‘unconstitutional power grab’ that left agency in chaosUS aid freeze claims first victims as oxygen supplies cut offElon Musk's Waste.gov Is Just a WordPress Theme Placeholder PageFucking DOGE.gov...Robert Garcia drops a dick picWell, he is a dickAnderson Cooper Snaps At Trump-Defending Chris Sununu On Live TV: ‘Don’t Be A Dick’The Odds of a Newly Discovered Asteroid Hitting Earth in 2032 Keep RisingMEDIA CANDYNever Surrender: A Galaxy Quest DocumentaryWall of ChefsMythic QuestThe White LotusOur First Look at Mortal Kombat II Is Exactly the One You WantedWalmart Bought the Mall From Dawn of the Dead, Because Subtext Is for CowardsYouTube Surprise: CEO Says TV Overtakes Mobile as “Primary Device” for ViewingAPPS & DOODADSApple patches iPhone exploit that allowed for ‘extremely sophisticated' attackApple ordered to open encrypted user accounts globally to UK spyingApple finally lets you move your digital purchases to another accountTikTok is back on the App Store and the Play Store in the U.S.This is the First-Ever AI Image to Be Granted Copyright ProtectionApple Magic TrackpadBetter Touch ToolJeep Owners Furious Over Ads That Appear Everytime Their Car StopsAT THE LIBRARYTiny Blunders/Big Disasters: Thirty-Nine Tiny Mistakes That Changed the World Forever (Revised Edition) (Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters Series) by Jared KnottBarnes & Noble opening 60 bookstores this yearWe Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse Book 1) by Dennis TaylorTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingDisney Parks’ Most Infamous Earworm Is Getting Its First Extended CutEnd of the penny? Trump tells Treasury to stop minting the coinAre pennies worth it? Trump's plan to scrap them didn't come out of nowhereThey talked about this twenty years ago on The West Wing.Getting rid of the penny introduces a new problem: nickelsBoycott TesslaDeport Elon - Red#DeportElon SubtleCLOSING SHOUT-OUTSBestselling novelist Tom Robbins dies at 92Jitterbug PerfumeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.