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Read OnlineStanding by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. John 19:25Our Blessed Mother, the Mother of the Son of God, loved her Son with a perfect love. She enfleshed every virtue to perfection. Her love for her Son was a love that was beyond what we could ever imagine. She conceived Him miraculously, bore Him in her womb, gave birth to Him, nursed Him, raised Him and loved Him throughout His life. It's difficult to even imagine the depth and beauty of the love she had for Jesus. Generally speaking, a mother's love is powerful, unwavering, deep and filled with tenderness. Try to imagine the Immaculate Heart of Mother Mary and the amazing depth of love alive in her heart.Imagine also the scene depicted in the Gospel passage quoted above. This loving mother stood at the foot of the Cross, gazing upon her crucified Son, continuing to exude every motherly virtue. And because it's hard to fathom the depth of her love for her Son, it's also very hard to imagine the depth of sorrow and interior suffering she endured as she watched the cruelty toward Jesus unfold. All she could do in that moment was stand by Him and with Him in this moment of extreme agony. Her love was expressed, in that moment, by her fidelity to Him.What's beautiful to know is that love, sorrow, compassion and suffering were united as one within her Immaculate Heart. Within the beauty of her heart was every human emotion, fueled by God's grace, enabling her to give to her Son the greatest gift she had: her motherhood. She was a true mother throughout her life, and, in this moment, as her Son hung on the Cross, her motherhood culminated in a perfect human expression.We all long to be loved by another. To give and receive love is the greatest gift that we can give and receive. Love is what we were made for and is the source of our fulfillment in life. We can be certain that as Mother Mary stood at the foot of the Cross, her human heart experienced the greatest fulfillment ever known. Her heart was fulfilled because she exercised her motherly love to perfection.Gaze upon the image of the Mother of God this day. Ponder, especially, all that she would have experienced within her human heart. Though theologians could write volumes on this meditation, the best way to understand her heart of love is through prayerful meditation. Ask our Blessed Mother to reveal her heart to you today. Find some time to sit in silent adoration of this holy image of perfect motherly love. As you do, know two things. First, know that Mother Mary has this same depth of love for you. Do not doubt it. Her heart burns with compassion as she gazes upon you, even in your sin. Second, know that our Blessed Mother's love must also fill your heart and overflow into the lives of others. We all must allow her compassion, concern, fidelity and mercy to flow through our hearts. Who do you need to love with the heart of our Blessed Mother? Seek to receive the love in the heart of the Mother of God and seek to give that love. Receive it in and then allow it to flow forth. There is truly nothing in this world more beautiful and awe inspiring than the holy image of this love. My Immaculate and Sorrowful Mother, you stood at the foot of the Cross of your Son with the perfection of a mother's love. Your heart was filled with a sorrow that was mixed with every holy virtue. Pray for me that I may understand this love more fully, so that I may also open up my own heart to your love. As I do, I pray that I will become an instrument of the love in your heart toward those in my life who suffer and are in most need of tender compassion and mercy. Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Title: From Hustle to Holdings: The Smarter Path to Passive Wealth With J. Scott Summary: In this episode of the Passive Income Attorney Podcast, host Seth Bradley discusses the importance of transitioning from active to passive income with guest Jay Scott, a seasoned real estate investor. They explore various investment strategies, the significance of due diligence in syndication, and the differences between house flipping and multifamily investments. Jay shares his journey from tech to real estate, emphasizing the need for teamwork in multifamily projects and the importance of understanding market conditions. The conversation concludes with actionable insights for listeners looking to create financial freedom through passive income. Links to watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V26Rze2S9TM Bullet Point Highlights: Active income is trading time for money, while passive income allows for financial freedom. Investors should focus on the highest and best use of their time. Flipping houses can be tedious and may not be the best use of time for high-income earners. Transitioning to multifamily investments can provide more control and cash flow. Market conditions can significantly impact investment strategies and outcomes. Due diligence is crucial when vetting syndication sponsors and deals. Understanding the underwriting process is essential for passive investors. Building a strong team is vital for success in multifamily investments. Investors should seek to understand the risks associated with their investments. Passive income allows for a lifestyle centered around family and personal interests. Transcript: Seth Bradley (00:10.188) What's going on, law nation? Welcome to the Passive Income Attorney Podcast, your favorite place for learning about the world of alternative passive investments so that you can practice when you want to and not because you have to. Now, if you're ready to kick that billable out of the curb, start by going to attorneybydesign.com to download the Freedom Blueprint, which will also get you access to partner with us on one of our next passive real estate investments. All right, let's talk about   the highest and best use of your time. We've talked about active versus passive income and for good reason, they are completely different. They're on opposite sides of the spectrum. When we talk about active income, we're talking about your job as an attorney, as a doctor or a business owner, where you trade your time in for money out. Depending on your skill set, background, education, work ethic, et cetera,   You know, this could be a great use of your time or it could be a terrible one. But when most people think about getting into real estate investing, they're torn. Should you do a fix and flip like you saw on HGTV? Should you invest in a REIT like your financial advisor and Charles Schwab told you to do? Should you buy a single family rental or invest in a syndication? There are endless options so I can understand why it's so confusing. Well, start with this.   ask yourself, what's the highest and best use of my time? If you're thinking about doing an HGTV fix and flip and your partner at a big law firm, for example, is that flip really the best use of your time? And don't be mistaken, a flip is transactional and it is active. So will you make more per hour on that fix and flip than you would at your job?   After you factor in the learning curve, the deal sourcing, the headaches, what it takes away from your job and everything else, it's not even close. Unless you truly love doing it, which some people do, it just doesn't make sense for high income earners. You should be focusing on transforming the income you earn actively into passive income streams. At different levels on the passive scale, that could very well be a single family rental or an Airbnb.   Seth Bradley (02:34.26) or could be passive investments into commercial syndications. But if you truly want to obtain financial freedom as quickly as possible, don't create more time consuming activities that aren't as fruitful as the active income stream that you already have. Focus on passive investments until you are financially free. And then you will have the freedom to transition or not into any   active activity you have a passion for. Today, we have a very special guest, Mr. Jay Scott of Bigger Pocket fame. Jay is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor, and the co-host of the Bigger Pockets Business Podcast. He has bought, built, rehab, sold, syndicated, and held over $70 million in residential property, and currently owns several hundred units. Jay is the author of four bestselling books on real estate investing,   with sales of over 300,000 copies. Get really excited for this, folks. You're in for a treat.   This is the Passive Income Attorney Podcast, where you'll discover the secrets and strategies of the ultra wealthy on how they build streams of passive income to give them the freedom we all want. Attorney Seth Bradley will help you end the cycle of trading your time for money so you can make money while you sleep. Start living the good life on your own terms. Now, here's your host, Seth Bradley.   Jay Scott, what's going on, brother? Welcome to the show.   Scott (04:09.196) Thanks. Appreciate you having me here Seth.   Absolutely, man. Appreciate you taking the time out of your day, We've got a little bit of history, but let's jump into your history, man. What's your story? Tell us about your background. Take it back as far you'd like to.   Yeah, I'll keep it short because nobody really cares about what I used to do. So I'm a tech guy by education and former trade. I worked in Silicon Valley for a long time, spent about 15 years doing the engineering thing and the product management thing. 2008 decided to get married. My wife and I, she was in the tech world also. We decided to leave and do something different so we could start a family.   focus on our family. Basically, we were both working ridiculous hours and it just wasn't sustainable if we wanted to start a family. So put our jobs in 2008, moved to the East coast, ended up flipping houses. Long, boring story about how that started, just kind of serendipitous. We didn't really plan it, never really considered real estate, but fell into flipping houses. Over the next eight years or so, we flipped about 400, 450 houses, was great. It ended up being the,   next career we were looking for, it gave us the flexibility to kind of raise our kids and never have to miss a soccer game or a piano recital, which was fantastic. But then around 2017-ish really got burned out on flipping houses and that's when I started to look for some new stuff to do. and that kind of leads me into what I've been doing the last few years.   Seth Bradley (05:41.742) That's awesome, man. That's a ton of houses you flip, man. think that that's, know, a lot of the folks who've been in the game for a long time, they've heard you speak on, you know, on bigger pockets and all of that. So, you know, what attracted you originally to house flipping rather than, you know, buy it holds or anything like that?   So I'll be honest, I don't love real estate. I love business. I'm a business guy. like when I was even when I was in the tech world, I got my MBA and I did some business development and I moved from the engineering side to the product side where I could be more involved in the business stuff. And I'm a business guy by heart. And that's what I love doing. So when it came to flipping houses,   For me, was, I could have been buying and selling anything. It ended up being houses. And again, not an exciting story. mean, literally the story was my wife was watching a show on HGTV with some people flipping houses and she said, let's give that a try. Just as kind of like a fun thing to do on the side while we were waiting for our wedding to come up. So it wasn't something that I ever thought about or planned to do. It just kind of happened.   And so if it weren't flipping houses, it would have been buying and selling something else. would have opened a restaurant or I would have opened a retail store or who knows what I would have done. But for me, the challenge was in the business. It wasn't the real estate piece of it. And so I've always enjoyed the scaling part. So yeah, flipping a house is great. Flipping five houses is great. But I always wanted to know, how do I go from flipping five houses to flipping 50 houses in a year? What are the systems and processes I have to put in place?   how do I build that type of business? That to me is what's exciting. And so for me, it's always been about not the real estate part of it, but about the building the business part of it.   Seth Bradley (07:25.248) I love that man. I don't think I've heard anyone just come out and say that, even though a lot of people are probably in the same boat as you that, you know, you don't have to love real estate to recognize that it's a great business. Right. Yeah. So that that's awesome. So tell me a little bit about your, your transition and what you're doing now, your current business, how you kind of progressed from house living to what you're about to tell us about.   Yeah, so 2017, I just got really burned out on flipping houses. It was good to us financially. We got good at it. I wrote a bunch of books on it, but I'll be honest, it was never fun. And as the years went on, it just ended up getting more tedious. I felt like I wasn't learning anything new. It was revising processes and creating new systems. it was fun, but I needed some new challenges.   So 2017, I decided, okay, done with flipping, actually went and started doing some business stuff. So I do some advisory work for some tech companies. I do some angel investing. And so for a few months, I actually considered getting out of real estate altogether, focusing on other business pursuits. But I actually, what I realized was that I didn't like the nuts and bolts of real estate. I liked the mechanics of real estate.   I loved the negotiation piece. I loved the asset management piece. I loved the putting deals together piece and I was good at it. And so while I really didn't wanna be flipping houses, didn't want to be involved in the day-to-day aspects of managing the projects. I enjoyed the deal part of real estate. And so in addition to that, after I stopped flipping, I had all this cash.   And I was like, okay, what am I going to do with this cash? I was using it to flip houses. We were doing 50 houses a year. It's put a lot of cash to work. Now I had all this cash. I'm a control freak. do invest in other people's syndications, but I don't sleep well at night when all my money is being managed by other people. So I said, how do I kind of take back control of my own cash as well as kind of get back into real estate? What can I do in real estate that I would enjoy? And now I can also deploy a bunch of my own cash. And what I realized was multifamily.   Scott (09:38.648) That was a great opportunity. And I had been thinking about multifamily for a long time. But what I realized was from the syndication side of multifamily, could, one, I could have the control. could be a general partner. could control the deal. I could put the deal together. I could manage the deal. But also I could come in on the limited partner side as an investor. And it was a great place to deploy my capital. So I could deploy my capital in deals that I had full control over. So 2017, I decided I wanted to get into multifamily, probably wanted to get into syndication.   I reached out to a friend of mine, Ashley Wilson, who managed a company called Barred Down Investments. She and her husband had started the company a couple of years earlier. They were doing exactly what I wanted to do. And so I reached out to Ashley and I said, hey, I would love to learn multifamily. I don't expect you to like just take all this time and teach me so I can often be your competitor. But here's what I am willing to do if you're willing to do this. I will come work for you for a year.   And in that year, you've got all my time, you've got all my energy, you've got all my knowledge, you've got all my contacts, I'll put money into your deals, whatever it takes. You mentor me for a year, you've got my commitment for a year. After a year, we can figure out if like, there's a place for me on the team or if I'll go off and do my own thing. But basically, let's work together for a year. And she loved that idea. mean, I think she liked the fact that I was really good with the systems and the processes and the operation stuff.   And I obviously loved the fact that I could jump into a team that was high functioning, already owned a lot of properties and was doing deals. So for the next year, I worked with her team. It took about a year and a half before we finally did a deal. But 2020, just before COVID, we started putting together a deal. That deal went really well. Ashley and I realized that we were like, just we made a great team.   We had a bunch of complimentary skills, the things that she was really good at, I wasn't, the things I was really good at, she wasn't, it was just a good partnership. Around the same time, her husband decided that he didn't really want to be doing real estate anymore. He kind of wanted to be a stay at home dad. He liked helping with the business. He ran the underwriting team and he did a lot of the analytics, but he didn't want to be a partner in the business anymore. So about a year and a half ago, Ashley came to me and said, Hey, would you want to join me and be a partner in the business?   Scott (11:57.678) 2020, 2021-ish. Ashley and I joined forces. She and I now run bar down investments and we do value add multifamily all around the country.   That's great man, said you weren't having fun anymore, you having fun now?   I'm having a ton of fun. And I think the big difference between then and now is when you're flipping houses, flipping houses is a very, it's a solitary venture. Yeah, you have contractors around you and you have eight real estate agents and you have closing agents and lots of 1099 people, lots of vendors and people that come in to help you. But at the end of the day, you're running the show. You're doing the four big things that you do when you flip houses.   you're acquisitions or you're running acquisitions, you're doing the rehab or you're running the rehab, you're doing the disposition or managing the disposition and you're raising the money. mean, all four of those things, you don't generally have a big team to do those things because it's just hard to scale a big team when you're flipping houses. The profits aren't there, the margins aren't there. Unless you're doing real high-end houses, the deal size isn't there. But in multifamily, the thing I love about multifamily is it really is a team sport. When you're doing it,   $10 million deal or a $50 million deal, it's not something that I could ever do myself. It's not something anybody or very few people can do themselves. Typically you have to be part of a team because things are very specialized. mean, the acquisitions piece, you need some of the best acquisitions people in the world to be finding deals in this market. The renovation piece to be renovating a 200 or 400 or 600 unit apartment complex, it's not like flipping a house. You need to have really good systems and processes. need to...   Scott (13:36.448) really know the renovation side of things. Managing the property, I mean, you have to know the asset management side. You have to know how to carry out a business plan. You have to know how to increase and reposition rents. You have to know how to decrease expenses and improve the efficiency of the management. And then on the sales side, that's a whole other world where you have to really know the market and be able to work with the brokers and know how to position the company for sale. And then finally, there's that raising funds piece.   And that's a whole world by itself, whether you're dealing with raising debt through a broker and you're going like just typical, like getting loans, or you're going out to private investors or institutions and you're raising equity, people that come in as partners. And I mean, that's a full-time job in itself, those two things. So when you do multifamily, you really need to figure out what are you great at? And then you need to surround yourself with people who are great at everything else. And so that's what I loved about multifamily. It allowed me to focus on what I was really   and then bring in people who are literally the best in the world at all the other stuff. And now it becomes a team sport. It goes from playing tennis to playing basketball. It goes from being yourself reliant and you have to do everything and be the best versus you have to be able to put together the best team and manage that team in a way that not only is everybody fantastic, but working together, they're better than the sum of their parts.   Yeah, yeah, that's fantastic, man. The whole team game part of multifamily and commercial real estate. It's really interesting because when you get into other businesses, it feels more competitive and kind of like if you if you have the secret sauce, you keep it close to your vest. You don't you don't tell everybody about it. Whereas when you're in this commercial real estate world, everybody's sharing ideas. Everybody's trying to partner. Everybody's trying to see how they can help you rather than just looking about, well, how can you help me kind of?   I call it, I'm gonna get in trouble here, but the Hollywood mentality where it's like, what can you do for me? Oh, you just drive a three series, you probably can't help me. So it's a different attitude.   Scott (15:41.294) Absolutely. I like to refer to it as co-op petition. It's like there are deals that you're going to do with other people and then there deals you're going to do yourself and you may come back to those people later. You may never come back to them, but everybody kind of looks out for each other because you never know when you may end up in a deal with somebody that previously you were competing against. And so anytime that you're not in a deal with somebody, you're still treating them as if, the next deal we could end up being partners. And the deal after that, we could end up being partners.   because it really is, it's a small industry, everybody knows each other. we really, again, going back to the sum of the parts is greater than the parts themselves. mean, working together, we can really do a whole lot more than if we just are purely competitive and try and take each other down.   Yeah, absolutely. And I think kind of going back, there's a lesson to be learned about how you were transitioning from house flipping and you were the best at it. And then you're like, okay, I want to go into multifamily and a syndication. You went and you sought out someone that was already in the game that knew what they were doing, that had the experience. And you said, what can I do to help you? What value can I bring to you to help you so you can teach me what you've done? And there's a lot of value to be found in that lesson for folks that are trying to   you know, get into the active side. A lot of listeners out there are passive investors already and they're, you know, maybe thinking about, maybe I want to do in the active side. And they're like, well, what can I do? Cause a lot of attorneys, especially in doctors and folks like that, they think they have this one track mind. They're only trained to do one thing. And they're like, what value can I provide as somebody else? But there are a lot of skills that you've learned in your W2 profession that you can apply to help other folks that are already in the industry.   Absolutely. I mean, I talk about it a lot, but even outside of real estate, I do a lot of advisory work and I'm still pretty active in the tech world. And I find companies that kind of bridge that gap between technology and real estate. all know about the Zillows and the Airbnb type companies. There are a lot of startup companies in that space too called property technology type companies. so...   Scott (17:46.998) I love to use my experience, my knowledge, my relationships to go into those companies and help them grow their companies. In return, I'm not an employee. I'm not even a 1099 contractor. In return, I'm getting equity so that if I can help make them successful, ultimately my equity is gonna be worth something. I'm gonna be successful as well. And so what I like to tell everybody like figure out what you're good at and then figure out who needs that expertise.   and then figure out how you can offer that expertise in a way that isn't trading necessarily hours for dollars. Figure out how you can trade your expertise, your knowledge, your Rolodex, your whatever it is for equity or potentially passive income so that you can grow potentially many fold as opposed to I charge $200 an hour or $300 an hour. mean, everybody loves $300 an hour, but the minute you stop working, you stop making that money. But if you can get equity, that equity can work for you for a while.   Yeah, absolutely. And it's tough for a lot of the WTs out there listening, they're highly paid professionals. It's tough to get off of that treadmill. For some folks it's easier because they're not making as much money, but for the lawyers, the doctors out there that are making a good amount of money in their profession, it's tough to try to see, you know, to stop trading time for money. But you've got to kind of see through the weeds there.   Yeah, well, what I tell people is, there's two types of income. There's your active income. That's the stuff that you're trading your time for, whether you're a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer or you're a house flipper or you're a consultant or you're a small business owner, whatever it is, that thing that when you stop working, you stop making money. And then there's a passive income. It's the thing you trade money for money. So you put your money out there and hopefully it continues to come back to you for the rest of your life or at least the next several years.   And so what I like to tell people is don't think about those the same. Those are completely different. figure out for your active income, figure out what the highest and best use of your time is. If you're gonna make more money as an attorney than you are flipping houses, don't flip houses just because you eventually want to retire on real estate. You can always use real estate for the passive side of things, but if you're gonna make more dollars per hour as an attorney or a doctor or a consultant, then do that because you wanna get out of that active income as quickly as possible.   Scott (20:05.9) And the way you do that is you make as much as you can and you move it over to the passive side. So focus on whatever it is that's generating the most dollars per hour for a shorter period of time so that you can then start moving that money over to the passive side and start building up the passive side. don't, people ask me all the time, should I flip houses or should I buy rentals? And I'm constantly telling them that's not the right question. Flipping houses is your active income. Compare that to all the other.   potential active incomes you can have. And rentals is passive income. Compare that to all the other passive investments you can make. And so don't say flipping houses or rentals say, should I be flipping houses or should I be an attorney? And don't say, I be flipping houses or rentals say, should I be doing rentals or should I be investing in syndications or dividend generating stocks or something else? And think of them very differently. then secondly,   Make sure as much of that active income as you can, move it over the passive side so that you can start that snowball rolling. I compound interest is the key to financial freedom. And the sooner you can put more money to work, the faster it'll compound and the sooner you can start to live on.   Yeah, I love that man. mean, lot of folks, you know, calls that I take, they're like, hey, they're attorneys. Should I quit my job or how do I quit my job? I'm like, if you want to quit your job, don't be hasty about it. First of all, you're probably making a good amount of money in your active income. You just need to figure out a way to transition that active to passive income and don't just quit your job. It's very difficult to flip houses, to do an HGTV fix and flip while you're working at a big law firm or something like that full time.   I tried to do it, I didn't do it very well. You're not even gonna make it nearly as much money as you would as a doctor, as an attorney, unless you get to level like you did, Jay, but that takes time and that takes a buildup of accumulation of skills and money to be able to get to that level.   Scott (22:05.826) Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, it's a math equation. mean, your passive income or your ability to build up enough income to be able to retire, whatever your number is, is based on how much can you put in per month into that wheel, that passive income growth machine? How much are you generating every year on what you're putting in? So what do your returns look like? And three, how long do you have to compound it?   And so everybody can go out into a compound interest calculator and say, okay, I have $5,000 a month that I can invest passively and I can return 12 % per year and I need $6 million to retire. Well, based on those three numbers, you can now figure out that fourth variable, is how long is it going to take? And so figure out how much do you have per month to put in? What's the rate of return you can generate and how much do you need? And that'll tell you how long it's going to take or   figure out how much you have to put in, how much your return is gonna be and how long you wanna spend. And that'll tell you how much you'll end up with at the end, either way you wanna look at it. But again, it's a pretty simple math equation, but too many people don't actually do that equation where they don't think about it until too late and they think, I wish I would have taken that $5,000 a month that I was spending on my second home in the Bahamas and put that into real estate so that I could have been.   compounding it and so now I could buy that home for cash five years or 10 years later.   Absolutely. Attorneys hate math, but I think they can handle that little equation. I want to take a step back for a minute because you got into house flipping in 2008, which is kind of like around the big crash. And now we're kind of at the height of a market. We don't know where that height is going to end, but we're definitely in it. Right. So can you maybe compare and contrast getting into, let's say,   Seth Bradley (24:01.652) one real estate venture in the middle of a crash compared to getting into another venture kind of towards, towards the upswing.   Yeah, so it's one of the reasons I like multifamily and I like commercial and I like syndication. Anytime you're doing purely transactional deals, buying something and then selling it, not generating any cashflow in between, you run a risk. If the market turns in the middle of the transaction, you're gonna lose money and you don't have a lot of ways to mitigate that risk.   Whereas if you're buying something like an apartment complex, or even if you're buying a rental property, or you're buying a self-storage complex, or you're buying anything that cash flows, the nice thing is if the market turns, you may not be in a great position. You may not be thrilled with what's happening with the value of your assets, but if you're still generating cash flow, you can weather that storm. Maybe it's gonna take, the average recession lasts about 18 months. And so if you can make enough income that you can keep yourself afloat for 18 months, or maybe   it's a horrible recession and it lasts three or four years. If you're still making income and you can keep yourself afloat for three or four years, the market's gonna come back. And so when we do our multifamily deals, yeah, we typically say we're planning to hold three to five years, but we also do all the underwriting to ensure that if we have to hold for six years or eight years or even nine or 10 years, that the numbers still work because.   Again, who knows what's gonna happen three years down the road, we could have a major recession that lasts four years and now we're seven years down the road. I wanna know that my multifamily investments in seven years, they're probably gonna be producing more cashflow. We're probably gonna see more growth in terms of population. We're probably gonna see more growth in terms of employment. Hopefully we're gonna see more wage growth once we come out of that recession. So all the economic indicators that kind of lead towards value growth in multifamily,   Scott (25:58.486) are going to happen over those seven years if I can just get my property seven years and not lose it. With a flip, well, I'm not generating any income. So if the bank calls the loan due or if my two-year loan comes due and I can't refinance, I'm screwed. But in a multifamily, I just waited an extra couple of years and I'm probably in a better position than I was anyway. So that's one of the reasons I love multifamily because we can't predict   what the economy is gonna do in the next couple of years. But I do know that whatever the economy does, it's probably gonna come back in the next five or 10, and I'm still gonna have the problem.   Yeah, yeah, that's great. That kind of rolls into this next question. How does a passive investor that's kind of vetting a sponsor, how do they check kind of the boxes to see if their sponsors are taking the extra measures to look into those risks that you just mentioned, to mitigating those risks, to taking those risks into account in their underwriting and things like that. How can they best vet the sponsor to make sure that they're thinking of those things?   So I invest in a lot of other people's syndications as well as my own. And so when I do that, I kind of look at five areas for due diligence anytime I invest in a syndication. Number one is the team. And that's probably the most important thing. For a lot of people, I have been pleasantly surprised that a lot of our investors have recognized that team is the most important aspect of the deal. I know in the flipping world, everybody was concerned about the deal. Nobody cared about   what was my experience, but in the multifamily world, a lot of investors recognize that the team has to be great. So number one is the team. Number two is location. Location is often overlooked, but at the end of the day, the thing that's gonna drive value for multifamily and for commercial real estate in general is gonna be population growth. So you want more people coming into an area, employment growth. So you want more employers coming into an area that will bring more people in. You want wage growth because that will ultimately drive rents up.   Scott (28:06.082) and you want employment diversity. You wanna know that if one industry takes a big hit, so for example, we invest in Houston, but we won't invest in the energy corridor of Houston because it's so reliant on oil and gas, that if the oil and gas industry took a big hit, the real estate around there would probably take a big hit. So we wanna see that there's good employment diversity. But at the end of the day, location is that next big thing. So team, location, number three is the deal itself.   So you need to know that the deal is gonna stand on its own. I wanna know that if I took a deal and I handed it to pretty much any other indicator, they couldn't mess it up too badly. Obviously, again, we're gonna go back to the team is super important, but I want the deal also to stand on its own. And I wanna know that the business plan for the deal, the hold period, the numbers and the underwriting, the pro forma for the property makes sense. So team location deal.   Number four is the returns. So obviously when I invest with somebody, I'm in it for the money. And so I wanna see that the returns are commensurate with the risk. I wanna know that the returns, if somebody tells me I'm gonna get 10 % returns in this deal versus 20 % returns in another deal, I wanna know, well, why am gonna settle for lower returns? I want the answer to be because it's a lot lower risk or because you're gonna get your money back a lot sooner, which is gonna allow you to compound it or whatever the answer is.   I want to know that the returns make sense given everything else. And then finally is the risks. At the end of the day, I'm always going to sit down with the syndicator and I'm going to say, what are you most concerned about here? Like where, if I'm going to lose money on this deal, where am I most likely going to lose money? They say, there's no shot of losing money. walk away because we all know every deal has risks and every syndicator knows what those risks are. And they're thinking about those risks. I just want them to tell me.   So if I'm gonna lose money on this deal, where am I most likely? Why am I most likely to lose money if I'm going to lose money? So those are the five things that I look for. Talking about each individually a little bit more. the team, I like to know that one, I wanna see how many deals the team has done together because again, like a basketball team, you can put the best basketball players in the world together. And if they've never played on the court together,   Scott (30:31.672) they're not gonna be necessarily the best team out there. You can find another team with five inferior players who have been playing together for 20 years and they're probably gonna be better because they know each other better. So I like to see teams that have worked together for a while. I like to see teams that have gone full cycle in deals. So it's easy to buy 10,000 units. It's hard to buy 10,000 units and also sell 10,000 units for a profit. So I wanna see that if a team has bought a lot of deals, they've at least sold some for a profit.   I wanna see a team that's putting their own money in the deals. So I want people that have skin in the game. If they don't have skin in the game, and I've seen plenty of syndicators that don't like to put money in the deals, well, they need to sweeten the pot for me somehow. So maybe they're saying, we're not gonna take any profits until at least year three, or we're gonna give you a better preferred return, a better split than you would get if we were putting money in the deal. I wanna know if you're not putting money in.   that you're at least giving me something that aligns our interests and ensures that you're gonna be working hard even though you might not have as much financial risk. So those are the types of things I like to see in the team. I like to see things like at least one or two people working full-time. If everybody's part-time, that's kind of a little bit scary. Obviously not everybody has to be full-time because there are a lot of jobs on a GP team that aren't full-time jobs. There are a lot of jobs that might stop the day you purchase the property. Like the person that's raising money, job's   pretty much done other than communicating status when the property's been purchased. But I do want to know that whoever's managing the asset is doing it full time. So that's kind of the team stuff. Location, again, population growth, employment growth, wage growth, and employment diversity. So those are the four big things I look for. Next is the business plan. So I want to see the biggest question when somebody goes in and...   does what I do, which is a value add multifamily. Basically they buy it, they raise the value of the property and then they sell it for a big profit. Where is that profit coming from? Generally the profits coming from raising the rents. There's also some lowering the expenses, but at the end of the day, raising the rents is kind of the big thing that's gonna generate the big profits in multifamily. And so I wanna know how are you raising the rents? And two, when you tell me that you're raising the rents from X to Y, where is Y coming from?   Scott (32:55.182) Show me the comps that tell me that why is a reasonable new rent, market rent for this property after you've done the renovation. So I wanna see the comps. So that's kind of the deal. The returns speaks for themselves. I wanna see like the structure of the deal. So when's the money coming back to me? Is it paid monthly? Is it paid quarterly? What are the returns look like? What's the preferred return? So is it a low preferred return, which means   that the syndicators are getting paid sooner, whereas at a higher preferred return, which means the syndicators have to do more for me before they take anything home. So that speaks for themselves. And then for the risks, I wanna know both the catastrophic risks. So what's the thing that's like going to make me lose all my money? Is there something out there that can cause me to lose all my money? Hopefully the answer is no, but there are probably some risks that are bigger than others. So we do a lot of deals in Houston. If somebody were to say to me, what's the biggest risk on your deals?   The answer is generally going to be weather. If we have a really bad hurricane, if we're in a flood zone, we probably have flood insurance and we have hurricane insurance. But if it's in a place that's never experienced the negative impacts of a flood or a hurricane, and we are not required to have flood insurance, but there's still a massive hurricane that wipes out that property, that's not going to be good. We're going to have to pay for that ourselves. So what's our mitigation there? We don't have a great one. Luckily.   the risk is really low. We don't buy in areas where there is that risk. And if there is, we're gonna get flood insurance. But I do want my investors to know that no matter where you invest, whether it's a risk and especially in Houston, if we see a storm bigger than anything we've seen the last 50 years, some of our properties could be at risk. And then there are the smaller risks. So maybe there's five other complexes being renovated all around us. Maybe there's class A, brand new class A being developed.   all around us. So basically our absorption of units is going to slow down because there's so many more units. Maybe there's one big employer in the area. Amazon just built a warehouse that's employing 8,000 people. Well, what happens if Amazon has a bad year and has to lay off 4,000 of those people? How's that going to affect us? So, so risks is the next thing. And the way I approach it is I literally sit down with the, with the syndicator and say,   Scott (35:15.554) What keeps you up at night? What are the biggest things you're concerned about? And so those are the things that I do. I have no problem basically saying to a syndicator, I need 15 or 30 minutes of your time to ask these questions. Typically the good ones will either find the times themselves or have somebody on their team that will sit down and answer these questions. If they're not willing to answer those questions, well, that's probably a good indication that that's not a good team.   Yeah. For our listeners out there, that breakdown was incredible. Rewind that, listen to those five items again. That's a quick, but thorough and awesome rundown of what you need to do. Just as at least the starting points for your due diligence. And that's, that's great that you said if they won't book a call with you either themselves or an investor relations person on their team, then it's time to, you can just walk away and look at the next, look at the next deal. One question I had on the deal.   So a lot of folks, it's kind of overwhelming to see an underwriting model or something like that. And being a passive investor, I don't know how much you even want to dive into it. Some people do, some people want to nerd out on it. Most people don't. And we don't generally have access to the T12 or the rent roll or anything like that. What are maybe some quick tips on how to maybe proof through that pro forma to make sure that the assumptions are reasonable and the pro forma is generally   a reasonable prediction of what we might expect from that investment.   Well, let me start, me take a step back before I answer that particular question and just say that even for you and me, mean, you know how to do an underwriting, I know how to do an underwriting. If you or I were gonna invest in somebody's deal, Joe Smith's deal, we're probably not gonna have enough information even though we know this business really well and we know the underwriting models really well, we're probably not gonna have enough information.   Scott (37:08.908) that we're going to be able to know for certain that Joe Smith's not trying to scam us out of money. So if Joe Smith is really smart and he could probably put together an underwriting that could fool us because we're just not gonna be putting in as many dozens of hours underwriting as he and his team are. So the number one thing I would say is make sure you trust your syndicate. This goes back to why team is so important.   because there's two types of things that Joe Smith can do. One, he could do a bad job of underwriting and come up with bad numbers. That's not good, but that's not nearly as bad as Joe Smith wanting to scam us out of money. So number one is make sure Joe Smith's not the kind of guy who wants to scam us out of money. And so work with people who are reputable. And that's why I would invest with you before I would invest with 95 % of syndicators out there because you're an attorney, you passed the bar.   you know that if you go and somebody finds out that you're trying to scam somebody, well, you're putting your entire career at risk. And so what I tell people is, so what do you have that really proves that this person is on the up and up? And maybe it's a track record. Maybe it's 10 or 15 years of doing deals. Maybe it's, I like to think with me, I've been doing this business for 15 years. I've done thousands of deals with hundreds or thousands of people.   And if you go out on the internet, nobody's gonna, you're not gonna find anything that's written negatively about me. So that's a good sign. But make sure that there's something out there that gives you faith in that syndicator, even if it's just somebody else that's invested in a couple of deals with them. So that's number one. So that's the way to rule out that catastrophic, they're trying to scam you risk. Then there's the more likely, what if they just didn't do a good job of underwriting risk?   And so for that, would say for people that have very little knowledge of how the underwriting works and how the numbers work, it can be really difficult. And so what I like to do is, or what I recommend people do is sit down and ask to do a Zoom call for 15 minutes with the investor relations person and say, hey, will you kind of walk me through the high level underwriting? And at least force them to go through and then just ask questions.   Scott (39:30.958) when they say something, even if you have no idea what you're talking about and they say, well, it looks like we're gonna be able to reduce expenses by implementing a rub system, blah, blah, blah. Oh, okay, well, what is rubs and how does that work? And at least make them explain it to you. At least then you'll get an idea that they're not making it up as they're going along, or at least you'll get that confidence that it sounds like they know what they're talking about. But the biggest thing that I would say is that whole comps thing.   And this is a question that a lot of people don't like to ask. But I actually, and when people ask me this question, it always makes me nervous because it's the hardest part of the business, but it impresses me when people do. to the underwriting or the investor relations person, what are the comps that you used for your post renovation market rents? So again, the thing that drives values in multifamily is after the renovation is completed, in theory, you should be able to bring your rents up higher.   and your rents, those higher rents, you should be able to figure out what they are by looking at other units that have already been renovated and seeing what their rents are. So if I buy one, two, three Main Street, and I know I'm going to put $8 million into it, well, now that property is going to comp out to 678 Main Street. And well, what are the rents at 678 Main Street? And so by asking, hey, so you're buying one, two, three Main Street, what are the comps for the rents after you renovate?   and they tell you, it's going to be 678 Main Street and 123 Smith Street, whatever it is, you can then go look up those properties and say, okay, well, it looks like a two bedroom at those properties is renting for 1200. Now I go back to the investor relations person or whatever information they gave me I see, oh, okay, after renovation, they have their rents at 1200. Makes sense. If that's a reasonable comp, they now have the rents at kind of where they should be.   If he says that six, seven, eight main streets, a comp, and you go look in a two bedroom at six, seven, eight main streets, 1200, but their underwriting tells you that after they do the renovation, they're going to be charging 1500. Well, why are you now $300 above this property that you said was a comp? And so that to me is kind of the first thing that I look at or the biggest thing I look at is what are the comps that they're using and does just a kind of first pass.   Scott (41:57.762) jumping on apartments.com or calling the complex and asking them what different things rent for. Does that coincide with what they're telling you their post renovation rents are gonna   Yeah, I love that man. I mean, it's not as simple as just going into an old dilapidated apartment building and saying, I'm to put granite countertops and hardwood flooring and stainless steel appliances in there. And then I'm going to triple the rent or double the rent. It's not that easy. If it's not in the right area that could support those, those market rents or that have potential tenants that want those types of things, it doesn't work. So that's why that's so important to check those comps to see what's around those apartments that you're going to be investing in to see if, they can achieve those.   those proforma rents. All right, man, before we jump into the freedom four, what's one last gold nugget for our listeners?   Absolutely.   Scott (42:45.634) Yeah, so again, what I would tell people is figure out your highest and best use on your active side. And then for the passive side, figure out how you're gonna scale. And I know a lot of people like to invest in a whole lot of different things, but I'm a big fan of doing some work so that you don't have to diversify as much. Diversification is great, but diversification,   is for people who aren't really an expert in anything. If you want to get your best returns, the way to get your highest level of returns is not to have to diversify. And the best way not to have to diversify is to get knowledgeable about whatever you're investing in. So if you decide you wanna invest in all your syndications, just cause that's what you and I do. So it's an easy example. If you want to invest in syndications and that's how you wanna grow your nest egg, my recommendation is,   get as much information about syndications as you can. Pick up a good book on syndications. Go find somebody that does syndications and say, hey, I'd to pay you a thousand bucks for five hours of your time. Or you just to walk me through what a typical deal looks like or what the underwriting looks like. Or go sit in on a hundred multifamily syndication investor videos, presentations. So you can see all the different things they're talking about and become as much of an expert there as you can. So that way you're reducing your risk without having to do a lot of the.   diversification. So focus on whatever your highest and best use of time is on your active income and then become as knowledgeable as you can for whatever you're investing in passively. What I like to say on the passive side is it's not truly passive. Nothing's truly passive. But the best investments are the one where all the work is done upfront. You do your due diligence and then it becomes passive.   Yeah, that's awesome, man. And then what you can do though is diversify within that strategy, right? Absolutely. Yeah, different asset types can have different business strategy, value add, or maybe you're dealing with just a class A where you're chasing yield or across different cities, different geographies, or across different sponsorship teams. There's other ways to diversify within that same type of investment strategy. Yep. All right, man, let's jump into the Freedom 4.   Scott (45:05.598) It's time for the Freedom Four.   What's the best thing you do to keep your mind and body healthy?   So for me, it's admitting when I need a break. I know so many people that it's a badge of honor to work 80 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, never take a vacation. I'm just the opposite. If I wake up one morning and I'm tired and I don't feel like working and I don't feel like I'm gonna be productive, I will grab a book. I might even turn on the TV. I might say to my wife, hey, let's go to breakfast or let's go spend the day, let's go to a movie.   And I have no qualms with just saying, I need a break today. Today's not gonna be a productive day. I don't need to pretend to work just so I can have that badge of honor that I work hard. And so, yeah, and that's one of the nice things about real estate. mean, I don't have a hundred percent flexible work-life balance. I can't do anything I want any time I want, but if I wanna take a couple hours off, I normally can. And so I'm not scared to do that.   Yeah, yeah, that's a great answer. With all your success, what is one limiting belief that you've crushed along the way and how did you get past it?   Scott (46:15.734) Yeah, I still have a lot of them. I think we all do. But I'd say the biggest one is that doing a big deal is not that much harder than doing a little deal. I'm not going to say a hundred million dollar deal is just as easy as a hundred thousand dollar deal. But if you're smart enough to do a hundred thousand dollar deal, you're smart enough to do a hundred million dollar deal. And the people that are out there doing those hundred million dollar deals, mean, we have, we now have a hundred million dollars assets under management.   I remember a couple of years ago, looking at the people that had nine figures under management and thinking, they're different. I can't do that. These are people, went to some school that I will never go to, or they were born into something that I was never born into, or they know people I don't know, or whatever it is. No, they're normal people. And the only difference between them and me was I wasn't thinking big enough.   and I wasn't willing to take some risks and I wasn't willing to acknowledge the fact that doing again, a hundred million dollar deal is certainly within my capabilities. So that to me has been probably the biggest one and it's made it a lot easier for me now to say, okay, $50 million deal, let's go do it, not think twice.   Yeah. I had a similar experience working in, in, big law, doing house flips, doing single family rentals, things like that. And even though my clients are doing 50, a hundred million dollar deals and I'm helping them close those deals, it was just like the mindset shift that, a minute, I can do those deals too. I'm actually giving them advice on how to, how to do this thing. I need to step up my game and, and, take some.   Exactly, it's the difference between people doing a hundred million, a hundred thousand, it's all mindset.   Seth Bradley (48:00.866) Yep, absolutely. What's one actual step our listeners can do right now to start creating more freedom.   take action. So the biggest thing that I see stopping people is just this fear to take the first step. And I know this doesn't apply to a lot of your listeners, but I talked to a lot of people who want to get into house flipping or they want to get into rentals and they've been thinking about it for years and they just never take that first step and then they end up giving up. One of the the few truisms I see in this business   is that there are two types of people I meet. Number one, I meet people that have never done a deal. They've done zero deals. And maybe they're still working on it. Maybe they've given up whatever it is, but they've done zero deals. And then the other type of people I meet in this business are people that have done a lot of deals. They've done five or 10 or 20 or 50 deals. There's one type of person I never ever meet in this business. And that's somebody that's done one deal. Because if you get that one deal, you're gonna get the second and the third and the fifth and the tenth.   Nobody does one deal and then says, okay, that's it, I'm done. can't do this. So what I like to tell people is, and that applies to a lot of things in life. If you can get over the hump and do it once, you're gonna get that snowball effect and it gets easier the second time. It gets even easier the third, it gets even easier the hundred. So don't give up until you achieve that first step or that first iteration of whatever it is you wanna achieve because that's gonna get that snowball rolling.   Yeah. Yeah. We preach that on their show all the time. Just like, you know, just do a deal, just invest in a deal so you can get that experience and it'll just kind of open up your mind to other opportunities. You'll just see opportunity all around you. Once you just do one deal last but not least, how it's passive income made your life better.   Scott (49:51.886) Passive income has given me the ability and the confidence to raise a family. Before this, my biggest concern with raising a family was I didn't want to be, I had, my parents were great, but my parents were always working. And I didn't want to be the same type of father that my parents were. Again, they were fantastic, but I wanted to always be there. I wanted to be at every soccer game, every piano recital.   I wanted to be able to go into school for the parent-teacher conferences. so passive income has really given me the ability to build my life around my family as opposed to building my life around   Love that, love that. It's been fantastic, brother. We're gonna listen and find out more about you.   Yeah, anybody wants to get more info, go to www.connectwithjscott, just letter J, Scott, connectwithjscott.com, and that'll link you out to everything you might wanna find.   Awesome man. Talk soon.   Scott (50:54.945) Awesome. Thanks,   All right, Mr. Jay Scott from Master House Flipper to multifamily syndicator. He's a master of creating profitable, well-oiled business machines. I've been reading Jay's bigger pockets books for years and it's awesome to have the opportunity to have him on the show today. Major key, focus. Focus on transitioning your active income to passive income and don't get distracted. All right, if you're ready for a change, you're ready to take action.   partner with us on one of our next passive real estate deals. Go to passiveincomeattorney.com and join our Esquire Passive Investor Club. All right, kiddos, as always, enjoy the journey.   Thank you for listening to the Passive Income Attorney Podcast with Seth Bradley. Do you want more ideas on how to generate multiple streams of passive income? Then jump over to passiveincomeattorney.com for show notes and resources. Then apply for the private Facebook community by searching for the Passive Income Attorney on Facebook. And we'll see you on the next episode.   Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en J. Scott's Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jscottinvestor/ https://www.instagram.com/jscottinvestor/ https://x.com/jscottinvestor https://linktr.ee/jscottinvestor

Today we welcome Warren Abadie, Director of Traffic, Roads and Bridges for Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG). A Lafayette native, Warren has spent his entire career with LCG, steadily rising through the ranks after graduating from UL Lafayette in 2003 with a degree in electrical engineering (computer option). He started as an engineer aide, moved on to traffic maintenance supervisor, traffic signal/system engineer, and city-parish transportation engineer before being appointed director in 2020. “I affectionately refer to myself as the director of misery and unhappiness,” Warren joked, but his love for his job is clear. He explained that a professor once told him, “Your first job will determine your whole career,” and in his case, that proved true. His engineering background in coding and electrical systems naturally aligned with his first promotion into traffic signals. Managing 190 Traffic Signals Across the City Warren oversees a vast system of about 190 traffic signals, many of which LCG maintains through agreements with the state. He explained how the signal network functions: “If you're on a minor street at a major street, it's going to feel like the signal is taking forever. A minute in your car feels more like five minutes. But we run the system as a network. All the signals on Pinhook have to have the same cycle length… so there's some inefficiencies there. But the main street always takes precedence.” With a central server syncing up internal clocks, Warren and his team can monitor complaints in real time, using traffic cameras and logs to identify problems, often adjusting signals remotely: “We're always tinkering. We're always changing. We're always trying to make 10 pounds of fluff fit in a 5-pound bag.” Balancing Capacity, Convenience, and Safety Warren described the essence of traffic engineering as a balancing act: “Traffic engineering is a balance of three things. Capacity. Convenience. And safety. If safety was first, your car wouldn't go more than five miles an hour… If it was all about convenience, there'd be no pavement markings on the road. And if it was all about capacity, I wouldn't allow left turns on signals.” This balance is one reason he strongly supports roundabouts, which check all three boxes by being safer, more efficient, and accommodating U-turns. He acknowledged, however, that roundabouts are more difficult to design and build, and some—like the Ridge Road and Rue de Belier roundabout—are already over capacity, with plans in place for upgrades. Traffic Growth and New Projects “Traffic is a sign of economic activity and growth,” Warren noted, pointing out Lafayette is one of the few parishes in Louisiana still growing. He listed several new roundabout projects in the works, including: Broussard and Robley West Broussard and Duhon (near Acadian Village) Ridge and Domingue Road Rue de Belier and Ridge (expansion to multi-lane) Vincent Road in Broussard LA 92 and East Broussard (toward Milton) Safety, Motorcycles, and Crash Data As a father, Warren is deeply concerned about motorcycles: “Don't let anybody you love drive a motorcycle because your target value is just too small and the margin for error is just way too small. It's exciting, but the reality is there's just not any room for error.” His department continually analyzes crash data and works to balance safety with traffic flow, noting that signals reduce deadly right-angle crashes but often lead to an increase in rear-end crashes—generally less severe. Road Repairs and Infrastructure Challenges Road work is another part of Warren's responsibility, and he was candid about the frustrations drivers feel: “Everything we do day to day requires the use of that system. Generally, the roads are already congested. Now I got to fix it and make them more congested. It's not something we take lightly.”

The panel wraps Apple's “Awe Dropping” coverage by debating iPhone 17 hardware: new vapor-chamber cooling, bigger batteries, a widened camera “deck,” triple 48MP sensors, square-format capture, brighter 3,000-nit displays, and up to 2TB storage. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, Eric Bolden, and Mark Fuccio contrast AirPods' translation “wow” with phones' incremental gains, weigh real-world benefits for creators, and critique Apple's moodier event production and revived case materials.  MacVoices is supported by Take Control Books: The Answers You Need Now, From Leading Experts. Start your library today. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:07] Vapor cooling, heat management, and battery talk [1:22] Battery size estimates and efficiency on Air vs Pro Max [3:27] The new camera “deck” and thermal/camera trade-offs [4:55] Triple 48MP sensors and square-format capture [7:07] “Speeds and feeds” vs real functionality debate [10:27] iOS features, innovation cycles, and upgrade cadence [12:45] Health features, incremental progress, and use cases [17:14] Hardware day vs software day expectations [20:40] Front camera uses for creators; landscape without rotation [24:07] Displays at 3,000 nits; storage to 2TB [25:37] Event production style: locations and lighting [27:14] Case materials return and real-world durability [30:56] Selfie stats and content-creation focus [35:56] Hats, humor, and closing plugs Links: Apple's ‘Awe Dropping' Event - Recording Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

What makes a Supreme Court case a landmark case?  That's going to mean something different to each of us.  Generally those cases that plow new ground can be viewed as landmark.  The Supreme Court rules on a wide range of cases that affect the way our government functions.  To discuss a number of these cases, our special guest today is Thomas Jipping, Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation. 

The panel wraps Apple's “Awe Dropping” coverage by debating iPhone 17 hardware: new vapor-chamber cooling, bigger batteries, a widened camera “deck,” triple 48MP sensors, square-format capture, brighter 3,000-nit displays, and up to 2TB storage. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, Eric Bolden, and Mark Fuccio contrast AirPods' translation “wow” with phones' incremental gains, weigh real-world benefits for creators, and critique Apple's moodier event production and revived case materials.  MacVoices is supported by Take Control Books: The Answers You Need Now, From Leading Experts. Start your library today. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:07] Vapor cooling, heat management, and battery talk [1:22] Battery size estimates and efficiency on Air vs Pro Max [3:27] The new camera “deck” and thermal/camera trade-offs [4:55] Triple 48MP sensors and square-format capture [7:07] “Speeds and feeds” vs real functionality debate [10:27] iOS features, innovation cycles, and upgrade cadence [12:45] Health features, incremental progress, and use cases [17:14] Hardware day vs software day expectations [20:40] Front camera uses for creators; landscape without rotation [24:07] Displays at 3,000 nits; storage to 2TB [25:37] Event production style: locations and lighting [27:14] Case materials return and real-world durability [30:56] Selfie stats and content-creation focus [35:56] Hats, humor, and closing plugs Links: Apple's ‘Awe Dropping' Event - Recording Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

The panel continues its discussion of Apple's latest announcements from the “Awe Dropping” event, focusing on the Apple Watch Series 11, new health and sleep tracking features, and the Ultra's extended battery life. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, Eric Bolden, and Mark Fuccio switch to the iPhone lineup, with debate over the new iPhone Air, Pro, and Pro Max models, camera improvements, storage options, and durability upgrades. The group weighs trade-in values, upgrade decisions, and how new features fit real-world use.  This edition of MacVoices is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Get access to the MacVoices Slack and MacVoices After Dark by joining in at Patreon.com/macvoices. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Apple Watch Series 11 First Impressions [1:33] Comfort and Bands for Sleep Tracking [2:21] Upgrade Decisions: Series 9 to Series 11 [4:55] Battery Life Improvements on Watch Models [5:44] Transition to iPhone Discussion [7:05] Sleep Score: New Health Tracking Feature [10:45] Health Tech, Insurance, and Oura Rings [12:41] First Reactions to iPhone Air and Pro Models [14:32] Considering Durability and Use Cases [16:51] Pro Max Loyalty and Color Choices [18:31] Video, Storage, and ProRes Capture [22:40] Heating Issues and A19 Pro Chip [24:07] iPhone Air Display Brightness and Modem Chips [25:48] Zoom Capabilities and AI Cropping Debate [28:52] Camera Stabilization and Sensor-Shifting [34:20] 3000-Nit Displays and 2TB Storage Options [35:18] Ceramic Back, Unibody Design, and Closing Thoughts Links: Apple's ‘Awe Dropping' Event - Recording Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

The panel continues its discussion of Apple's latest announcements from the “Awe Dropping” event, focusing on the Apple Watch Series 11, new health and sleep tracking features, and the Ultra's extended battery life. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, Eric Bolden, and Mark Fuccio switch to the iPhone lineup, with debate over the new iPhone Air, Pro, and Pro Max models, camera improvements, storage options, and durability upgrades. The group weighs trade-in values, upgrade decisions, and how new features fit real-world use.  This edition of MacVoices is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Get access to the MacVoices Slack and MacVoices After Dark by joining in at Patreon.com/macvoices. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Apple Watch Series 11 First Impressions [1:33] Comfort and Bands for Sleep Tracking [2:21] Upgrade Decisions: Series 9 to Series 11 [4:55] Battery Life Improvements on Watch Models [5:44] Transition to iPhone Discussion [7:05] Sleep Score: New Health Tracking Feature [10:45] Health Tech, Insurance, and Oura Rings [12:41] First Reactions to iPhone Air and Pro Models [14:32] Considering Durability and Use Cases [16:51] Pro Max Loyalty and Color Choices [18:31] Video, Storage, and ProRes Capture [22:40] Heating Issues and A19 Pro Chip [24:07] iPhone Air Display Brightness and Modem Chips [25:48] Zoom Capabilities and AI Cropping Debate [28:52] Camera Stabilization and Sensor-Shifting [34:20] 3000-Nit Displays and 2TB Storage Options [35:18] Ceramic Back, Unibody Design, and Closing Thoughts Links: Apple's ‘Awe Dropping' Event - Recording Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

The first part of the MacVoices Live! panel's discussions about   Apple's latest event, dives into new AirPods with translation, heart rate monitoring, enhanced noise cancellation, and fitness tracking. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, Eric Bolden, and Mark Fuccio also cover Apple Watch updates, including the SE3's expanded health features and the Ultra's larger display. Along the way, they share trade-in tips and sleep tracking issues, all while weighing upgrade decisions. Get Tidy Today with Cloud Cleanup and CleanMyMac! Try 7 days free and use my code MACVOICES20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Opening and Ferrari Aside[1:06] Introducing the Panel[4:47] First Reactions to AirPods Updates[7:18] Translation and Noise Cancellation Features[9:08] Heart Rate and Fitness Tracking in AirPods[11:40] Battery Life and AI Integration[13:26] Sponsor: Cloud Cleanup from CleanMyMac[15:10] Foam-Infused Ear Tips and Comfort[16:50] Trade-In Value and Upgrade Decisions[22:15] Apple Watch SE3: Affordable Health Features[27:51] Apple Watch Ultra 3: Larger Display and Debates[33:41] Sleep Tracking and Notifications Frustrations[36:51] Closing Thoughts and Humor Links: Apple's ‘Awe Dropping' Event - Recording Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

The first part of the MacVoices Live! panel's discussions about   Apple's latest event, dives into new AirPods with translation, heart rate monitoring, enhanced noise cancellation, and fitness tracking. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, Eric Bolden, and Mark Fuccio also cover Apple Watch updates, including the SE3's expanded health features and the Ultra's larger display. Along the way, they share trade-in tips and sleep tracking issues, all while weighing upgrade decisions. Get Tidy Today with Cloud Cleanup and CleanMyMac! Try 7 days free and use my code MACVOICES20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Opening and Ferrari Aside [1:06] Introducing the Panel [4:47] First Reactions to AirPods Updates [7:18] Translation and Noise Cancellation Features [9:08] Heart Rate and Fitness Tracking in AirPods [11:40] Battery Life and AI Integration [13:26] Sponsor: Cloud Cleanup from CleanMyMac [15:10] Foam-Infused Ear Tips and Comfort [16:50] Trade-In Value and Upgrade Decisions [22:15] Apple Watch SE3: Affordable Health Features [27:51] Apple Watch Ultra 3: Larger Display and Debates [33:41] Sleep Tracking and Notifications Frustrations [36:51] Closing Thoughts and Humor Links: Apple's ‘Awe Dropping' Event - Recording Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

TypePad's shutdown prompts a PSA on exporting old blogs, while the panel welcomes the nostalgic return of MacSurfer—an Apple-news aggregator reborn in beta. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Mark Fuccio weigh whether curated headlines still matter in an RSS world, discuss topic vs site organization, search usefulness, and daily cadence. Along the way are comments about decluttering, fiber-speed brags, and how aggregation style shapes what we read.  Get Tidy Today with Cloud Cleanup and CleanMyMac! Try 7 days free and use my code MACVOICES20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: 0:00 – TypePad departs; opening0:58 – Panel hellos and Labor Day hangover3:23 – Weekend notes and will-writing humor4:40 – Gigabit fiber and decluttering talk7:17 – PSA: TypePad shutdown and export deadline8:31 – MacSurfer returns: what it is now10:32 – Why curated Apple headlines still appeal12:35 – RSS vs aggregation; duplicates and value16:54 – Cloud Cleanup sponsor read18:44 – How MacSurfer groups sources and topics21:44 – Organizing by topic vs by site in readers23:37 – Daily cadence, archives, and nostalgia25:07 – Closing reflections Links: Typepad is shutting downhttps://everything.typepad.com/blog/2025/08/typepad-is-shutting-down.html MacSurferhttps://macsurfer.com Guests: Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

TypePad's shutdown prompts a PSA on exporting old blogs, while the panel welcomes the nostalgic return of MacSurfer—an Apple-news aggregator reborn in beta. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Mark Fuccio weigh whether curated headlines still matter in an RSS world, discuss topic vs site organization, search usefulness, and daily cadence. Along the way are comments about decluttering, fiber-speed brags, and how aggregation style shapes what we read.  Get Tidy Today with Cloud Cleanup and CleanMyMac! Try 7 days free and use my code MACVOICES20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: 0:00 – TypePad departs; opening 0:58 – Panel hellos and Labor Day hangover 3:23 – Weekend notes and will-writing humor 4:40 – Gigabit fiber and decluttering talk 7:17 – PSA: TypePad shutdown and export deadline 8:31 – MacSurfer returns: what it is now 10:32 – Why curated Apple headlines still appeal 12:35 – RSS vs aggregation; duplicates and value 16:54 – Cloud Cleanup sponsor read 18:44 – How MacSurfer groups sources and topics 21:44 – Organizing by topic vs by site in readers 23:37 – Daily cadence, archives, and nostalgia 25:07 – Closing reflections Links: Typepad is shutting down https://everything.typepad.com/blog/2025/08/typepad-is-shutting-down.html MacSurfer https://macsurfer.com Guests: Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Ferenc shares the short and long term risks to the current stock market and the overall economy.   Short-term:     - AI Bubble    - Extreme valuations (all-time highs)    - Extreme concentration in a few tech stocks    - Nvidia: about half of sales from only 3 companies   Long-term:     - Higher bond yields caused by government debt and stubborn inflation    - Increased borrowing costs    - Generally bad for stock and real estate valuations     How do you take advantage of future potential upside while protecting your downside?   Annuities offer unlimited upside potential while guaranteeing the principle against loss.  - This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years, insured with guarantees. - If you own an annuity 2+ years old, I strongly recommend comparing to the newer more profitable products. - Many of my clients are earning 2-10x increased returns annually than their previous annuity products!      - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields.    

The MacVoices panel of Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea debates whether alternatives like Discord, Reddit, Mastodon, or Blue Sky could replace Facebook for groups and community interaction. They discuss ease of adoption, generational barriers, and what it takes for platforms to go mainstream, comparing them to Zoom's rise during the pandemic. The conversation wraps with thoughts on Apple's upcoming September event and closing connections. Get Tidy Today with Cloud Cleanup and CleanMyMac! Try 7 days free and use my code MACVOICES20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: 0:00 – Introduction and sponsor message 1:05 – The Facebook dilemma and community reliance 2:05 – Could Reddit or Discord replace Facebook groups? 3:10 – Community platforms and user responsibilities 4:46 – The “grandparents test” and tech adoption 6:59 – Why Mastodon struggles with mainstream adoption 7:44 – Barriers to new platforms and Facebook's simplicity 8:50 – Lessons from Zoom's forced adoption during COVID 9:59 – CleanMyMac Cloud Cleanup ad read 11:33 – Connections and closing plugs from the panel 21:10 – Apple's September event announcement and predictions 23:14 – Closing thoughts and sign-off Links: The first known AI wrongful death lawsuit accuses OpenAI of enabling a teen's suicide https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-first-known-ai-wrongful-death-lawsuit-accuses-openai-of-enabling-a-teens-suicide-212058548.html Microsoft Copilot is now a talking blob on Samsung TVs https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-copilot-is-now-a-talking-blob-on-samsung-tvs-204115199.html Clippy is back—this time as a mascot for Big Tech protesthttps://www.fastcompany.com/91387927/clippy-is-back-as-a-mascot-for-big-tech-protests Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Ben Roethig has been in the Apple Ecosystem since the System 7 Days. He is the a former Associate Editor with Geek Beat, Co-Founder of The Tech Hangout and Deconstruct and currently shares his thoughts on RoethigTech. Contact him on  Twitter and Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

The MacVoices panel of Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea debates whether alternatives like Discord, Reddit, Mastodon, or Blue Sky could replace Facebook for groups and community interaction. They discuss ease of adoption, generational barriers, and what it takes for platforms to go mainstream, comparing them to Zoom's rise during the pandemic. The conversation wraps with thoughts on Apple's upcoming September event and closing connections. Get Tidy Today with Cloud Cleanup and CleanMyMac! Try 7 days free and use my code MACVOICES20 for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: 0:00 – Introduction and sponsor message 1:05 – The Facebook dilemma and community reliance 2:05 – Could Reddit or Discord replace Facebook groups? 3:10 – Community platforms and user responsibilities 4:46 – The “grandparents test” and tech adoption 6:59 – Why Mastodon struggles with mainstream adoption 7:44 – Barriers to new platforms and Facebook's simplicity 8:50 – Lessons from Zoom's forced adoption during COVID 9:59 – CleanMyMac Cloud Cleanup ad read 11:33 – Connections and closing plugs from the panel 21:10 – Apple's September event announcement and predictions 23:14 – Closing thoughts and sign-off Links: The first known AI wrongful death lawsuit accuses OpenAI of enabling a teen's suicide https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-first-known-ai-wrongful-death-lawsuit-accuses-openai-of-enabling-a-teens-suicide-212058548.html Microsoft Copilot is now a talking blob on Samsung TVs https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-copilot-is-now-a-talking-blob-on-samsung-tvs-204115199.html Clippy is back—this time as a mascot for Big Tech protesthttps://www.fastcompany.com/91387927/clippy-is-back-as-a-mascot-for-big-tech-protests Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Ben Roethig has been in the Apple Ecosystem since the System 7 Days. He is the a former Associate Editor with Geek Beat, Co-Founder of The Tech Hangout and Deconstruct and currently shares his thoughts on RoethigTech. Contact him on  Twitter and Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Anatomy Primer.Based on a post by smalltitslovr, in 4 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.This time, I was last to go, and the only people left in the room were Nicole, Ms. Sharon, and I. I stepped between Nicole's legs, which were now quivering from all the pleasure. About half-way through, Nicole started having trouble keeping them open, so Ms. Sharon was now standing on the other side of the desk from me, near Nicole's head, holding each of Nicole's ankles spread about three feet apart."Hi Nicole." I said to her, as I approached. "I'm the last one. Before I start, I was wondering how you feel."Nicole weakly lifted her head to look at me. She was smiling, but she also looked quite tired. "Well, My legs are a little sore from being spread for so long. Also, my cunt is a little raw from all the different fingers being rubbed in and out of it. But overall, I feel amazing. I've never climaxed this many times in such a short amount of time before.""So, I take it you're still glad I ran into you in the library?" I asked."Oh, definitely!" she exclaimed. "If I get to experience all this on just the first day, I can't wait for what's in store for us for the rest of the semester.""Wow." I said, smiling back at her. "I don't know if I could take all the attention and stimulation you have had today. Well, I'll hurry up and finish this, so we can leave.""Thank you Samantha," she replied. "But, since you're last, make sure it's a good one. I don't want to leave here on a low note. If you make it good, I promise that I'll pay you back for it another time."I smiled and replied, "Deal."I then reached up with my left hand and grabbed Nicole's right tit, lightly caressing it. Then I rubbed the outside of Nicole's cunt until I found her clitoris. As I rubbed her clit and her boob, she started to moan lightly.After about 45 seconds, I slowly inserted my index and middle fingers into Nicole's gaping hole. Because of all the abuse her cunt had been given in the past ten minutes or so, it was quite loose, and very wet, but also quite red. I slid my fingers in and out of her hole a few times, before inserting a third finger. Then I rubbed around inside her cunt, until I found a slightly rough patch, which was also a little warmer from all the friction from the other students fingers. I rubbed it gently, which caused Nicole to moan louder, and start squirming. As I fingered her, I also rubbed her breast and lightly pinched her small nipple.I continued rubbing and finger-fucking Nicole for about two more minutes, until Nicole started screaming "I'm cumming! I'm cumming!", while her body writhed as much as it could with Ms. Sharon still firmly holding Nicole's legs. I was sure that nearby classrooms would hear her screams, and the movement of the table shaking beneath her, but she apparently didn't care, and neither did Ms. Sharon.After Nicole's final release of ecstasy, I removed my fingers, and Ms. Sharon released her grasp on Nicole's ankles. Nicole lowered her legs, placing her feet on the ground, but still layed on the table, with her eyes closed.Ms. Sharon started packing her things into her bag, as she said, "Good class today, you two. Samantha, I want to thank you for introducing our class to Nicole and planting the idea of attending. And Nicole, I really want to thank you for your participation today. I know it must have been a bit awkward for all of your classmates to not only see every intimate detail of your body, but feel those parts, and bring you to several orgasms.""No, Ms. Sharon. Thank you," replied Nicole, as she stood and slowly walked over to her pile of clothes. "That was the best sexual experience I've had in my life so far, and I very much look forward to having even better ones in future classes. But right now, I really just want to take a nap.""Well, I'd offer to let you stay in here, but there's another class coming in here soon, and I think they're covering some very conservative topic like History of Architecture or something. I'm sure they would be quite put off by your nudity.""That's alright." replied Nicole with a smile, as she pulled on her tight yoga pants, without any panties underneath. "I don't live far from campus. I'll just go home and take a nap.""One more thing before you go, Nicole." said Ms. Sharon as she was finishing packing her bag. "In the last class, I mentioned to everyone else that there's an extra credit opportunity for anyone willing to participate in some sexual studies. I think you would be an excellent candidate for those studies. Please consider it.""I will." said Nicole as she pulled her sports bra on. She picked up her shirt, and looked at it "You know; I really don't feel like wearing this. I think I'll walk home without it."At this point I had pulled on my clothes, so Nicole and I were dressed. The three of us departed the room together. Ms. Sharon didn't bring any clothes, so she walked out naked, but she said her office wasn't far, and the faculty in her department were used to it. I walked with Nicole, chatting about the experience, until we got to a place where we parted ways.I then walked back to my dorm. When I arrived, I stripped out of my clothes, and laid down on my bed, immediately putting my hand on my cunt. I imitated what I did to Nicole earlier, and rubbed my clit. With my eyes closed, I was imagining being in Nicole's position on the table, and I imagined that my hand was one of my other classmates. In my daydream, my eyes were closed, so I didn't know whose hand it was.After rubbing my clit for a while, I slid a finger inside my cunt, and found my own g-spot. I rubbed it as fast as I could. As I continued daydreaming about each of my classmates fingering my cunt, I came. But I wasn't ready to be done, so I continued daydreaming and finger-fucking myself. I came a two more times, before finally deciding to stop. I was tired, so I fell asleep.Masturbation, sex toys, and orgasm.A few classes had passed since the class on the human anatomy. The next few topics were less interesting, but still very informative.First, we paired up in the same groups as before, and studied each other's bodies closely, one on one. While interesting, if I wrote about that, it would be somewhat repetitive, so I'll skip it.After that, we covered various measurement techniques, including shirt-sizes, pant-sizes, and especially bra-sizes. I found out during that class that I had been wearing the wrong bra-size for years. I thought I was a 34A or 32B, but really I'm more like a 28D. Bra sizes are confusing!We also covered some other important, but boring topics, such as reproduction and STDs. For a homework assignment, we were all required to get an tested for a variety of STDs, as a prerequisite for the rest of the course. That was due in three class periods.So, today's story is about day seven of class.I was getting more comfortable with the class, so I didn't arrive quite as early anymore, but I always arrive a bit before class, and today was no exception. I got there about five minutes before.Just like the past couple of classes, everyone that was already there had stripped to their birthday suits. I quickly found my seat, stripped off my clothes, put them in my bag, and sat down. I didn't bother covering up anymore, because there was no real reason to. Everyone there had already seen it all, and nobody else was covering up. Thinking back on it, I'm actually somewhat surprised at how little time it took for each of us to get so comfortable in our nudity.At 7:01, Ms. Sharon walked in, with the same amount of clothes as the rest of us. I kind of wondered how early she got nude. Did she strip right before walking over to the class, or was she naked all morning? I hadn't seen her with clothes on in so long, that I could no longer picture her wearing them."Hello class," she said, as she placed her bag in its usual spot on the table. "I'm glad to see you're all comfortable being nude with your fellow classmates, because you will all be getting much more familiar with each other today. Our topic is masturbation, sex toys, and the orgasm."To start today's class, we will discuss masturbation. Who here has masturbated before?" Almost everyone raised their hands. "Good. Those of you who say you haven't, I don't believe you. But in case you really haven't, today will be the end of that."Everyone, please get in your normal masturbation positions. For those of you that say you haven't ever done it: males generally grab their shaft and stroke it, and females either rub their clitoris or stick their fingers inside their vaginas, aka finger themselves."We all did as Ms. Sharon said, placing our hands on our genitals, and we started to rub and stroke ourselves. I as a little hesitant at this, but once I'd seen many of my classmates (especially the boys) start in on themselves, I relaxed. I spread my legs, leaned back, put the first two fingers of my right hand on my clit, and started rubbing it in a small circle."Good. I want you all to continue masturbating, but please save your orgasms until later. Now, I'm going to show you all several sex toys. For each toy, I will need one volunteer to demonstrate how it is used. In some cases, I will need two volunteers."Ms. Sharon then reached into her bag, and pulled the first toy out. It was a simple, flesh-colored dildo, about 5.5 inches long, and 1.5 inches wide, with balls on the end. It looked much like some of the cocks I saw the boys holding in their hands. "This is a dildo. It is designed to simulate a male penis. Dildos come in many shapes, and sizes, and have a variety of features. This one is a simple one. Generally dildos are used by females, but some males use them as well."Now, who would like to demonstrate how this dildo is used?" Of course, nobody raised their hands. "Come on, people. This is the most basic toy I have. It only gets more complex from here." After another moment, Sofia raised her hand."Good, Sofia. Please come up here." Sofia stood, walked to the front, and took a seat on the table. "Alright, Sofia. Have you used a dildo before?" She nodded. "Okay, then you know what to do. I've also brought some lubricant if anyone needs it. Everyone watch closely."Sofia squirted a little lube on the dildo, opened her legs, and slid the dildo inside of her cunt. As she slid it in, she closed her eyes. She slowly slid it in and out. From her facial expressions, I could tell she was enjoying the feeling, but she was a bit embarrassed by being singled out like that. A moment later, we all heard her start moaning.After about a minute or so of Sofia fucking herself with the dildo, Ms. Sharon said, "Good, Sofia, that's exactly right. Thank you for the demonstration. You may take your seat now." Sofia pulled the dildo out of her cunt, and stood up. She offered it to Ms. Sharon, but she refused. "Oh, no. Please, keep it for the rest of class. That goes for everyone else who volunteers as well."Sofia walked back to her seat, reinserted the dildo, and continued fucking herself."Alright, next up, we have the vibrator," said Ms. Sharon, as she pulled another dildo from her bag. This one was larger than the last; maybe 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. "This toy requires batteries, because when it's switched on, it created a vibration throughout the rubber shaft, which most females enjoy. Additionally, this dildo has piece known as a rabbit ear, which rubs against a woman's clitoris. Who would like to demonstrate the usage of this toy?"After a couple seconds, Latoya's hand went up. Ms. Sharon nodded, and Latoya came to the front, taking a seat on the table."Thank you Latoya," said Ms. Sharon, as she passed the vibrator to Latoya. Latoya didn't bother with the lube, since she was already quite wet on her own. She easily slid the large dildo inside her cunt. When it was all the way in, she turned a knob on it, and we all heard a buzzing sound, and saw Latoya's head tilt back in pleasure."Good, Latoya," said Ms. Sharon, "Make sure you also rub the rabbit ear against your clitoris. Yes, just like that. Doesn't that feel good?"Latoya nodded."Alright, Latoya, you may take your seat."Latoya took her seat, and Ms. Sharon continued, pulling the next toy out of her bag. It was about 7 inches long, with what looked like a cunt on one end. "Now, I don't want the men in the room to feel left out, so next we have the fleshlight. This toy is designed to simulate the female vagina. Who would like to demonstrate its usage?"Tony Baker didn't hesitate to stick his hand in the air."Alright, Mr. Baker," said Ms. Sharon. Tony walked to the front, and took the fleshlight from Ms. Sharon. He then placed it at the tip of his large cock, and slid himself inside it. He then jacked himself off with it, fucking the rubber vagina."Excellent, Tony," said Ms. Sharon. "This fleshlight also has a vibration feature. Let me switch that on for you." She reached down, grabbing the fleshlight (and thus Tony's cock), in her hand. She slid the toy up and down a couple times, before flipping a switch on the side of it. Instantly, Tony leaned back and started writhing in pleasure. Then she flipped it off."Good, Tony. You may take your seat." He did, as Ms. Sharon continued, pulling the next toy out of the bag. "This is sometimes called a magic wand. The tip of it vibrates with a much higher intensity than the dildos, and can be controlled by a switch on the handle. It is generally used by women to rub their clitoris. Who would like to volunteer to demonstrate the wand?"Nobody raised their hand, at first, but eventually Barbara volunteered. She stood, took the usual spot on the table, and spread her legs. Ms. Sharon handed her the wand, and Barbara turned it on and started rubbing it against her cunt. Ms. Sharon gave her a few tips before sending her back to her seat."Next, we have our first two-person toy." said Ms. Sharon, as she pulled two small, metal objects, about 2 inches long, out of her bag. "These are remote controlled vibrators. A girl inserts it into her vagina, and the remote controls the intensity of the vibration. It can be used by a single person, but today we will use it in pairs. I have two of them, so we need two females. Since our last toy also needs two females, I will ask for one female volunteer, and two males, please. I will be the other female."Most of the boy's hands shot up, but none of the girls. Ms. Sharon picked Filipe and Ken. After another moment, I decided to volunteer. I'd rather have this toy, than be forced into whatever the next one was."Alright, Samantha, take a seat up here. We'll both insert them at the same time."I sat on the edge of the table, and spread my legs apart. Then, Ms. Sharon and I pushed the small metal devices completely into our cunts. Then we stood up."How does that feel, Samantha?" asked Ms. Sharon."A little cold, but fine otherwise," I replied."Good. Alright, Ken, you get my remote, and Filipe, you get Samantha's." She handed them to the students. "For the rest of today's class, feel free to switch our toys on and off, and increase the intensity, whenever you'd like, but please refrain from making us orgasm until the end of class."I started walking back to my seat. Both the boys looked at their remotes. Filipe asked, "Does this knob increase the intensity?" as he turned it all the way up.I lost my balance, and leaned on the table, as a loud moan escaped from my mouth. The vibration was very intense. "Yes, Ken," I heard Ms. Sharon say, "that's the intensity. You can see that at full blast, it's hard for the receiver to do much of anything else.""I see," said Ken as he turned it down to about halfway. "Sorry about the surprise, Samantha. I just wanted to test it out."I stood back up, and walked back to my seat, as I replied, "It's alright."Ms. Sharon said, "That's exactly how it should be used: at random times, to surprise the receiver. However, please don't disrupt the class." She pulled the last toy from her bag. "As I said earlier, this last toy is designed to be used by two females. Since we only have two remaining, I'll ask that Nicole and Amy please come up here now."They were both a bit hesitant, but they didn't have much choice. It had to be demonstrated, and there were only two cunts left that weren't already full or being rubbed: Nicole's and Amy's. They both walked to the front, and waited for Ms. Sharon to give them instructions."Thank you, both," she said, holding up the final toy, "This is a double dildo. At either end, there is a cock-shaped rubber shaft, and in the middle there is a handle. Generally, this is used by two females, but you can use it alone as well. Both of you, please lie on the table, with your heads facing away from each other."They did as Ms. Sharon said. The table was a bit small, so both of their heads were hanging off the ends. Once they were in position, Ms. Sharon continued."Good. Now, please spread your legs, and scoot a little closer to each other." They did so. "Thank you. I'll start with Amy, and then Nicole."Amy looked down and saw Ms. Sharon put some lube on the tip of one end, then put the tip of the dildo at the entrance of her cunt. Ms. Sharon slowly slid it inside of her."Good. Now, I'm going to need to slide it all the way in, so I can get it to the entrance of Nicole's hole."I saw the dildo slide further and further into Amy's cunt, and finally it stopped. Then Ms. Sharon put some lube on the other end, and slowly slid it into Nicole's cunt. I heard both of them moan as it slid inside Nicole, and out of Amy."Good." said Ms. Sharon, "Thank you both. Now we're ready to demonstrate. Everyone, please stand and; Oh!." Ms. Sharon collapsed into the chair next to the desk.I looked over and Ken had a grin on his face. Then I felt my vibrator start up as well. It slowly increased, until I couldn't take it. I started moaning again. The moans of Ms. Sharon and I continued, as Ken and Filipe both kept the vibrators at full intensity.Ken then stood and walked to the front of the class, and said, "I'll take over for a moment, Ms. Sharon, if you don't mind." Ms. Sharon nodded, and put her hand on her cunt and started rubbing. "Good. I'll turn it down a bit, so you don't disrupt me." He turned the knob down, but Filipe kept his at full-blast for the time-being."Alright, everyone," Ken continued, "I believe I know where Ms. Sharon was going with this. Everyone please stand and come to the front of the class. Obviously, Ms. Sharon and Samantha are exceptions for now. I want each of you to slide the double-dildo in and out of Amy and Nicole for 30 seconds each. Since I don't want to leave Samantha out, she can go last."I couldn't believe Ken had taken over the class. Ms. Sharon wasn't resisting at all, not that I could blame her. Ken might have turned the intensity down on hers, but if it was anything like mine, a small decrease intensity wasn't going to do much. I could barely keep my eyes open, it was so distracting, and I definitely couldn't keep from moaning. However, it wasn't quite enough to push me over the edge into orgasm.For the next six minutes or so, each student grabbed the handle of the double dildo and moved it back and forth between Amy and Nicole. Each time it slid, the girl it went into let out a moan."Alright, Samantha," said Ken, when everyone else had gone. "Your turn. Filipe, please turn her vibrator down." Filipe did as he said, and finally the vibration was tolerable. I took a moment to catch my breath, then stood and wobbled to the front of the class. I grabbed the handle between Nicole and Amy and slid it toward Amy, hearing her moan. Then I slid it towards Nicole, and heard a moan from her. Back and forth I went, fucking each of them with the dildo, and watching as their cunts leaked a lot of fluids onto the table. The entire time, I felt the constant buzz of the vibrator inside me, and I noticed some of my own fluid running down my leg.When my time was up, Ken turned Ms. Sharon's vibrator down, and gave control of the class back to her. After a moment to catch her breath, she stood, and leaned against the wall."Wow. Good job, Ken," she said. " You were exactly right with what I wanted the class to do. Also, excellent timing with the vibrator. I didn't anticipate it at all."Now, Amy and Nicole, please stay on the table. We're almost at the last activity, and you'll need to be there, but in the meantime, you may have a break."Today's last topic is orgasm, also known as cumming. This is the most exciting part of sex. How many of you have experienced an orgasm before?" Every one of the boy's hands went up, as well as most of the girls. "Good. Well, for those that haven't, you're in for a treat. Each of you, get with the partner, or pair of partners, from the first class. Kent and Roberto, come to the front to join your partners."It took everyone a moment to get with their partner. Tony and Alex retrieved my remote from Filipe, and came to join me, and John and Eric got Ms. Sharon's remote from Ken, and joined her."Good. Now that everyone is with their partner or group, I want each of you to bring the other to orgasm. This will be an excellent hands-on activity; no pun intended. Since Samantha and I have two partners, we will each cum twice, and make each of our boys cum once. I think Samantha and I can manage that." She winked at me. I smiled back. "Alright, everyone. Have fun. There are some paper towels at the front to clean up with, once you're done."Once Ms. Sharon was finished speaking, everyone immediately began touching their partner. Tony and Alex seemed hesitant, like they didn't want to gang up on me, so I started the action by reaching forward and grabbing both of their cocks, and I started jacking them off. Once they saw I was willing, Tony reached forward and grabbed my breasts, as Alex turned the knob on the remote up to medium-high. Once he did that, he reached down and started rubbing my cunt.I looked around and saw many couples rubbing each other in various ways. I looked over to Ms. Sharon, and saw she was in much of a similar position as I, with two cocks in her hands, and four hands rubbing her tits and cunt. Looking to the front, I saw Nicole and Amy had Kent and Roberto's cocks in their hands. Each boy had one hand on their girls breast, and the other on the double dildo, moving it in unison between the two girls.As I continued to watch all the action in the room, I quickly got very horny, and had my first orgasm within the first couple minutes. I was the first girl in the classroom, but not the first person; I could tell Ken beat me to that, because Latoya had cum all over her dark chest.Once I was done, I decided to concentrate on the boys. I rubbed them faster and faster. Since I was right-handed, and Alex was in my right hand, he was first to blow his load. Since I was in control, I decided where it would go, so I pointed it right at my chest. The first glob landed on my right tit, and the second landed on my belly.Now that Alex was finished, Tony and I concentrated on each other. We seemed to be in a race to see who would come first. I had two advantages: Tony was a guy, and I knew they took less time than girls; and I had already cum, so I was further away from cumming again. It seemed Tony was aware of this fact, because he reached over and turned up the intensity on my vibrator to full-blast, before return his hand to my cunt and inserting three fingers.It took all my effort not to lean back and let go of Tony, but I was determined to finish him before he finished me. I was jerking him so fast, and he was fingering me at about the same speed. All around the room, I heard moans and saw cum flying, as well as bodies in the throes of orgasm. I knew Tony and I would be joining them soon.Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and I let go of Tony, giving into the amazing orgasm. I leaned back, closed my eyes, and let out a loud moan. However, Tony was apparently at the end of his rope too, because as soon as I opened my mouth to moan, a load of cum landed directly inside of it. The next couple loads landed all over my face. The surprise cumload just excited me even more, and made my orgasm that much more intense.About 30 seconds later my orgasm had finished. I was still in a very high state of arousal, due to the vibrator buzzing away inside of me. Alex had turned it down, but it was still purring away. I opened my eyes and looked at Tony and Alex. They had both grabbed paper towels and were cleaning themselves off. Tony offered me one, and I took it. I started with my face, doing my best to get it all. Then I looked down and started on the load on my chest, which had dripped down to my belly.Once I was satisfied with being clean enough, I looked around. Most of the guys had finished, and several of the girls. I saw Amy and Nicole had switched positions. They were both on their knees, facing away from each other. With the dildo still between them, they were doing each other doggy style. I knew they were close to finishing. However, it appeared Ken was having some trouble finishing Latoya. I decided I'd help him out.I stood and walked over to the couple. Latoya was leaning back, with her ass on the edge of the seat, and her legs wide open. Ken was sitting on the floor between her legs, and had the vibrator in his hand. He was fucking Latoya with it, but not very quickly. It seemed his arm was getting tired."Do you want some help, Ken?" I asked as I approached.Ken looked up at me, and said, "Sure, if you don't mind. I never realized how much work it takes to get a girl off."I laughed. "Yep, it takes quite a bit more for us than it does for you guys."Ken moved aside, and I sat next to him on the floor. Latoya looked down at me and smiled. She looked exhausted. I could tell she was very ready to cum, but Ken just wasn't getting the job done. I knew I'd be able to help her.I grabbed the dildo in the black girl's cunt, and thrust it in as deep as I could, which caused Latoya to gasp. Then I proceeded to fuck her with it as fast as I could for about 30 seconds. The whole time, Latoya's body squirmed. I could tell she was enjoying it. When I saw she was getting worked up, I used the fingers on my other hand to rub her clit in small circles. With each movement, I saw the pink insides of her cunt lips get wetter. After another ten seconds or so, I could tell Latoya was about to cum.I turned to Ken and said, "Take it from here. She's just about to cum."Ken grabbed the dildo from my hand, and continued fucking the girl. Since he'd had a short break to rest, his arm had recovered, so he was fucking her with renewed intensity. Finally, I saw Latoya's body tense, then convulse with pleasure. Ken continued thrusting the dildo into her through the entire orgasm.Seeing that my help was no longer needed, I returned to my seat. A few moments later, I saw the Amy and Nicole collapse in a heap of pleasure, as they both came.Ms. Sharon then stood and said, "Excellent, class. It appears you have all had your first orgasm of this class. I promise you there will be many more to come. (No pun intended) That concludes today's class. All of you who received toys today may keep them. There is no assigned homework, but I encourage you to use what you've learned today and put it to good use in your free time. See you next class!"With that, everyone stood and started dressing and walking out the door. I still had the remote vibrator inside me, and I wondered how I was supposed to get it out. I looked to Ms. Sharon and got my answer. She was squatted down and I saw the vibrator slide out of her cunt, and she caught it in her hand. I copied her, squatting down, reaching below my cunt. It took me a few seconds to squeeze the right muscles, but then I felt the vibrator slide right out of me. Alex walked over and handed me the remote, which I used to turn it off, placing both components in my bag.I was one of the last to leave. Once I had most of my clothes on, I started out the door, pulling my shirt over my head as I walked into the hallway. As I walked back to my dorm, I thought about how fun that class was. I'd had two orgasms, and I'd received a new toy. I knew I'd have to try out the toy when I got a chance, and also see who I could get to surprise me with it.I also wondered what we would be covering in future classes. We were already starting to get physical with each other, so I knew that trend would continue. I knew we'd be expected to fuck at least our partner. Since I had two, I knew that meant I'd be fucked by at least two guys. Would I get a chance with the others as well? What about the girls? Also, Ms. Sharon had mentioned out-of-class projects, and a final exam. What would be expected of us for those?Only time would tell.Samantha plays with her new toy.In the last class, I'd received an interesting sex toy: a remote vibrator. It was a small, shiny metal object. It was about two inches long, 1.5 inches in diameter, and it was rounded on either end. With it, I received a remote control, which had only one control: a simple knob, which controlled the vibration intensity.Of course, I was very eager to test the new toy out as much as possible. So, that weekend, I decided it was time to try it.I woke up early Saturday morning, before most of the people were out and about on campus. I massaged my cunt for a few minutes, to get it good and wet, then slid the bullet inside me. I turned the knob to the lowest setting, which produced a very low hum inside me.Then I grabbed my towel, wrapped it around me, grabbed my shower basket, and headed out the door. Nobody was awake yet, so I simply took my shower, and went about my morning routine. The only difference was that I was horny the entire time, because of the vibration.When I got back to my room, I took the towel off and got dressed. I put on my favorite pair of jean short shorts, and a green t-shirt. I decided it was early enough to forego a bra, and I wasn't going anywhere that required panties. Then I grabbed the controller and my cell phone and walked out the door.As soon as I was outside, I looked around and didn't see anyone. So, before starting my walk, I turned the knob up to the next setting. I could instantly feel the vibration get more intense. I put the controller in my pocket and started my walk. I walked all the way across campus, and only encountered a few people.By this time I was very horny, and so I excitedly turned the knob up to two settings. Since it was so quiet, I could actually hear the quiet humming inside me. I sat down on a bench, and spread my legs slightly. I placed the remote control next to me on the bench and closed my eyes, enjoying the vibrator work me up even more.After a few minutes, I suddenly felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I jumped, and opened my eyes. Sitting next to me was a young guy, maybe 18 or 19 years old. He had the remote in his hand."Hi," he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I was just curious what this remote was for.""Oh," I said, looking at it. I thought for a moment, and realized I couldn't tell him what it was. "I'm not sure. It was here when I sat down.""Oh, strange," he said. He looked at it for a moment, then twisted the knob all the way up, testing what it did.Of course, I knew exactly what it did. I felt the vibrator go to the highest level inside me, and I could clearly hear the buzzing get louder. It took all my willpower, but I didn't let it show what was happening. The only sign was that I closed my eyes for a moment.Then he turned it down again, until it was all the way off."Strange," he said. Then, after a short pause, he continued, "Oh, how rude of me. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Tristan.""Samantha." I replied."Cool. What brings you out here this early, if I may ask?"As he made small talk, in his hand, I watched him idly play with my remote. He slowly turned the knob up, stopping for a moment after each notch."Oh, just going for a walk," I replied, as I felt myself getting turned on again."Ah," he said, turning it up another notch. "Yea, me too. I'm just killing time." Then he pulled out his phone, and started flipping through it, all the while continuing to play with my remote.I felt the vibration increase, slowly, with each click of the knob. As it increased, I also started to hear the humming. I was very worried he'd hear the humming. I was trying to think of something to say, in case he asked about it, but the buzzing was so distracting, I couldn't think of anything.I also felt a lot of wetness between my legs. Just by moving my legs slightly, I could feel the inside the controller and my phone, and started back towards my dorm.As I walked, I couldn't help but think about what had just happened. A boy that I had just met had been in control of a vibrator inside of me. Of course, he didn't know that, but I did! As I thought about it, I couldn't resist; I turned the knob on the controller up to about mid-way, and felt the humming begin again, immediately.I was so distracted by the sensations inside of me, that I didn't notice when my juices started running down my leg. It wasn't until I was back in my room, that I realized the entire inside of my thighs were soaked, and it even slid almost near to my socks. I knew anyone I had passed (which included quite a few other students, as well as a professor or two), surely saw what was going on.When I finally arrived at my room, I hastily shut the door behind me, stripped off my shorts, and laid on my bed. I turned the knob up to full power, and started rubbing myself.A short time later, I came. Hard.Then I took a short nap.When I awoke, the vibrator was still buzzing, but it appeared I had turned it down to a low setting. However, that didn't stop my cunt from leaking a ton more juices. I looked down and saw my sheets were soaked.I turned the vibrator off, then squat down and pushed it out. It took a minute, because it had been in there so long, but it finally popped out, and I caught it in my hand. I placed it and the controller on my desk, then got dressed and took my sheets to the wash, along with the rest of my dirty clothes.Then I went back to my room, and went about my normal day.To be continued in part 4, Based on a post by smalltitslovr for Literotica.

Anatomy Primer.Based on a post by smalltitslovr, in 4 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.This time, I was last to go, and the only people left in the room were Nicole, Ms. Sharon, and I. I stepped between Nicole's legs, which were now quivering from all the pleasure. About half-way through, Nicole started having trouble keeping them open, so Ms. Sharon was now standing on the other side of the desk from me, near Nicole's head, holding each of Nicole's ankles spread about three feet apart."Hi Nicole." I said to her, as I approached. "I'm the last one. Before I start, I was wondering how you feel."Nicole weakly lifted her head to look at me. She was smiling, but she also looked quite tired. "Well, My legs are a little sore from being spread for so long. Also, my cunt is a little raw from all the different fingers being rubbed in and out of it. But overall, I feel amazing. I've never climaxed this many times in such a short amount of time before.""So, I take it you're still glad I ran into you in the library?" I asked."Oh, definitely!" she exclaimed. "If I get to experience all this on just the first day, I can't wait for what's in store for us for the rest of the semester.""Wow." I said, smiling back at her. "I don't know if I could take all the attention and stimulation you have had today. Well, I'll hurry up and finish this, so we can leave.""Thank you Samantha," she replied. "But, since you're last, make sure it's a good one. I don't want to leave here on a low note. If you make it good, I promise that I'll pay you back for it another time."I smiled and replied, "Deal."I then reached up with my left hand and grabbed Nicole's right tit, lightly caressing it. Then I rubbed the outside of Nicole's cunt until I found her clitoris. As I rubbed her clit and her boob, she started to moan lightly.After about 45 seconds, I slowly inserted my index and middle fingers into Nicole's gaping hole. Because of all the abuse her cunt had been given in the past ten minutes or so, it was quite loose, and very wet, but also quite red. I slid my fingers in and out of her hole a few times, before inserting a third finger. Then I rubbed around inside her cunt, until I found a slightly rough patch, which was also a little warmer from all the friction from the other students fingers. I rubbed it gently, which caused Nicole to moan louder, and start squirming. As I fingered her, I also rubbed her breast and lightly pinched her small nipple.I continued rubbing and finger-fucking Nicole for about two more minutes, until Nicole started screaming "I'm cumming! I'm cumming!", while her body writhed as much as it could with Ms. Sharon still firmly holding Nicole's legs. I was sure that nearby classrooms would hear her screams, and the movement of the table shaking beneath her, but she apparently didn't care, and neither did Ms. Sharon.After Nicole's final release of ecstasy, I removed my fingers, and Ms. Sharon released her grasp on Nicole's ankles. Nicole lowered her legs, placing her feet on the ground, but still layed on the table, with her eyes closed.Ms. Sharon started packing her things into her bag, as she said, "Good class today, you two. Samantha, I want to thank you for introducing our class to Nicole and planting the idea of attending. And Nicole, I really want to thank you for your participation today. I know it must have been a bit awkward for all of your classmates to not only see every intimate detail of your body, but feel those parts, and bring you to several orgasms.""No, Ms. Sharon. Thank you," replied Nicole, as she stood and slowly walked over to her pile of clothes. "That was the best sexual experience I've had in my life so far, and I very much look forward to having even better ones in future classes. But right now, I really just want to take a nap.""Well, I'd offer to let you stay in here, but there's another class coming in here soon, and I think they're covering some very conservative topic like History of Architecture or something. I'm sure they would be quite put off by your nudity.""That's alright." replied Nicole with a smile, as she pulled on her tight yoga pants, without any panties underneath. "I don't live far from campus. I'll just go home and take a nap.""One more thing before you go, Nicole." said Ms. Sharon as she was finishing packing her bag. "In the last class, I mentioned to everyone else that there's an extra credit opportunity for anyone willing to participate in some sexual studies. I think you would be an excellent candidate for those studies. Please consider it.""I will." said Nicole as she pulled her sports bra on. She picked up her shirt, and looked at it "You know; I really don't feel like wearing this. I think I'll walk home without it."At this point I had pulled on my clothes, so Nicole and I were dressed. The three of us departed the room together. Ms. Sharon didn't bring any clothes, so she walked out naked, but she said her office wasn't far, and the faculty in her department were used to it. I walked with Nicole, chatting about the experience, until we got to a place where we parted ways.I then walked back to my dorm. When I arrived, I stripped out of my clothes, and laid down on my bed, immediately putting my hand on my cunt. I imitated what I did to Nicole earlier, and rubbed my clit. With my eyes closed, I was imagining being in Nicole's position on the table, and I imagined that my hand was one of my other classmates. In my daydream, my eyes were closed, so I didn't know whose hand it was.After rubbing my clit for a while, I slid a finger inside my cunt, and found my own g-spot. I rubbed it as fast as I could. As I continued daydreaming about each of my classmates fingering my cunt, I came. But I wasn't ready to be done, so I continued daydreaming and finger-fucking myself. I came a two more times, before finally deciding to stop. I was tired, so I fell asleep.Masturbation, sex toys, and orgasm.A few classes had passed since the class on the human anatomy. The next few topics were less interesting, but still very informative.First, we paired up in the same groups as before, and studied each other's bodies closely, one on one. While interesting, if I wrote about that, it would be somewhat repetitive, so I'll skip it.After that, we covered various measurement techniques, including shirt-sizes, pant-sizes, and especially bra-sizes. I found out during that class that I had been wearing the wrong bra-size for years. I thought I was a 34A or 32B, but really I'm more like a 28D. Bra sizes are confusing!We also covered some other important, but boring topics, such as reproduction and STDs. For a homework assignment, we were all required to get an tested for a variety of STDs, as a prerequisite for the rest of the course. That was due in three class periods.So, today's story is about day seven of class.I was getting more comfortable with the class, so I didn't arrive quite as early anymore, but I always arrive a bit before class, and today was no exception. I got there about five minutes before.Just like the past couple of classes, everyone that was already there had stripped to their birthday suits. I quickly found my seat, stripped off my clothes, put them in my bag, and sat down. I didn't bother covering up anymore, because there was no real reason to. Everyone there had already seen it all, and nobody else was covering up. Thinking back on it, I'm actually somewhat surprised at how little time it took for each of us to get so comfortable in our nudity.At 7:01, Ms. Sharon walked in, with the same amount of clothes as the rest of us. I kind of wondered how early she got nude. Did she strip right before walking over to the class, or was she naked all morning? I hadn't seen her with clothes on in so long, that I could no longer picture her wearing them."Hello class," she said, as she placed her bag in its usual spot on the table. "I'm glad to see you're all comfortable being nude with your fellow classmates, because you will all be getting much more familiar with each other today. Our topic is masturbation, sex toys, and the orgasm."To start today's class, we will discuss masturbation. Who here has masturbated before?" Almost everyone raised their hands. "Good. Those of you who say you haven't, I don't believe you. But in case you really haven't, today will be the end of that."Everyone, please get in your normal masturbation positions. For those of you that say you haven't ever done it: males generally grab their shaft and stroke it, and females either rub their clitoris or stick their fingers inside their vaginas, aka finger themselves."We all did as Ms. Sharon said, placing our hands on our genitals, and we started to rub and stroke ourselves. I as a little hesitant at this, but once I'd seen many of my classmates (especially the boys) start in on themselves, I relaxed. I spread my legs, leaned back, put the first two fingers of my right hand on my clit, and started rubbing it in a small circle."Good. I want you all to continue masturbating, but please save your orgasms until later. Now, I'm going to show you all several sex toys. For each toy, I will need one volunteer to demonstrate how it is used. In some cases, I will need two volunteers."Ms. Sharon then reached into her bag, and pulled the first toy out. It was a simple, flesh-colored dildo, about 5.5 inches long, and 1.5 inches wide, with balls on the end. It looked much like some of the cocks I saw the boys holding in their hands. "This is a dildo. It is designed to simulate a male penis. Dildos come in many shapes, and sizes, and have a variety of features. This one is a simple one. Generally dildos are used by females, but some males use them as well."Now, who would like to demonstrate how this dildo is used?" Of course, nobody raised their hands. "Come on, people. This is the most basic toy I have. It only gets more complex from here." After another moment, Sofia raised her hand."Good, Sofia. Please come up here." Sofia stood, walked to the front, and took a seat on the table. "Alright, Sofia. Have you used a dildo before?" She nodded. "Okay, then you know what to do. I've also brought some lubricant if anyone needs it. Everyone watch closely."Sofia squirted a little lube on the dildo, opened her legs, and slid the dildo inside of her cunt. As she slid it in, she closed her eyes. She slowly slid it in and out. From her facial expressions, I could tell she was enjoying the feeling, but she was a bit embarrassed by being singled out like that. A moment later, we all heard her start moaning.After about a minute or so of Sofia fucking herself with the dildo, Ms. Sharon said, "Good, Sofia, that's exactly right. Thank you for the demonstration. You may take your seat now." Sofia pulled the dildo out of her cunt, and stood up. She offered it to Ms. Sharon, but she refused. "Oh, no. Please, keep it for the rest of class. That goes for everyone else who volunteers as well."Sofia walked back to her seat, reinserted the dildo, and continued fucking herself."Alright, next up, we have the vibrator," said Ms. Sharon, as she pulled another dildo from her bag. This one was larger than the last; maybe 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. "This toy requires batteries, because when it's switched on, it created a vibration throughout the rubber shaft, which most females enjoy. Additionally, this dildo has piece known as a rabbit ear, which rubs against a woman's clitoris. Who would like to demonstrate the usage of this toy?"After a couple seconds, Latoya's hand went up. Ms. Sharon nodded, and Latoya came to the front, taking a seat on the table."Thank you Latoya," said Ms. Sharon, as she passed the vibrator to Latoya. Latoya didn't bother with the lube, since she was already quite wet on her own. She easily slid the large dildo inside her cunt. When it was all the way in, she turned a knob on it, and we all heard a buzzing sound, and saw Latoya's head tilt back in pleasure."Good, Latoya," said Ms. Sharon, "Make sure you also rub the rabbit ear against your clitoris. Yes, just like that. Doesn't that feel good?"Latoya nodded."Alright, Latoya, you may take your seat."Latoya took her seat, and Ms. Sharon continued, pulling the next toy out of her bag. It was about 7 inches long, with what looked like a cunt on one end. "Now, I don't want the men in the room to feel left out, so next we have the fleshlight. This toy is designed to simulate the female vagina. Who would like to demonstrate its usage?"Tony Baker didn't hesitate to stick his hand in the air."Alright, Mr. Baker," said Ms. Sharon. Tony walked to the front, and took the fleshlight from Ms. Sharon. He then placed it at the tip of his large cock, and slid himself inside it. He then jacked himself off with it, fucking the rubber vagina."Excellent, Tony," said Ms. Sharon. "This fleshlight also has a vibration feature. Let me switch that on for you." She reached down, grabbing the fleshlight (and thus Tony's cock), in her hand. She slid the toy up and down a couple times, before flipping a switch on the side of it. Instantly, Tony leaned back and started writhing in pleasure. Then she flipped it off."Good, Tony. You may take your seat." He did, as Ms. Sharon continued, pulling the next toy out of the bag. "This is sometimes called a magic wand. The tip of it vibrates with a much higher intensity than the dildos, and can be controlled by a switch on the handle. It is generally used by women to rub their clitoris. Who would like to volunteer to demonstrate the wand?"Nobody raised their hand, at first, but eventually Barbara volunteered. She stood, took the usual spot on the table, and spread her legs. Ms. Sharon handed her the wand, and Barbara turned it on and started rubbing it against her cunt. Ms. Sharon gave her a few tips before sending her back to her seat."Next, we have our first two-person toy." said Ms. Sharon, as she pulled two small, metal objects, about 2 inches long, out of her bag. "These are remote controlled vibrators. A girl inserts it into her vagina, and the remote controls the intensity of the vibration. It can be used by a single person, but today we will use it in pairs. I have two of them, so we need two females. Since our last toy also needs two females, I will ask for one female volunteer, and two males, please. I will be the other female."Most of the boy's hands shot up, but none of the girls. Ms. Sharon picked Filipe and Ken. After another moment, I decided to volunteer. I'd rather have this toy, than be forced into whatever the next one was."Alright, Samantha, take a seat up here. We'll both insert them at the same time."I sat on the edge of the table, and spread my legs apart. Then, Ms. Sharon and I pushed the small metal devices completely into our cunts. Then we stood up."How does that feel, Samantha?" asked Ms. Sharon."A little cold, but fine otherwise," I replied."Good. Alright, Ken, you get my remote, and Filipe, you get Samantha's." She handed them to the students. "For the rest of today's class, feel free to switch our toys on and off, and increase the intensity, whenever you'd like, but please refrain from making us orgasm until the end of class."I started walking back to my seat. Both the boys looked at their remotes. Filipe asked, "Does this knob increase the intensity?" as he turned it all the way up.I lost my balance, and leaned on the table, as a loud moan escaped from my mouth. The vibration was very intense. "Yes, Ken," I heard Ms. Sharon say, "that's the intensity. You can see that at full blast, it's hard for the receiver to do much of anything else.""I see," said Ken as he turned it down to about halfway. "Sorry about the surprise, Samantha. I just wanted to test it out."I stood back up, and walked back to my seat, as I replied, "It's alright."Ms. Sharon said, "That's exactly how it should be used: at random times, to surprise the receiver. However, please don't disrupt the class." She pulled the last toy from her bag. "As I said earlier, this last toy is designed to be used by two females. Since we only have two remaining, I'll ask that Nicole and Amy please come up here now."They were both a bit hesitant, but they didn't have much choice. It had to be demonstrated, and there were only two cunts left that weren't already full or being rubbed: Nicole's and Amy's. They both walked to the front, and waited for Ms. Sharon to give them instructions."Thank you, both," she said, holding up the final toy, "This is a double dildo. At either end, there is a cock-shaped rubber shaft, and in the middle there is a handle. Generally, this is used by two females, but you can use it alone as well. Both of you, please lie on the table, with your heads facing away from each other."They did as Ms. Sharon said. The table was a bit small, so both of their heads were hanging off the ends. Once they were in position, Ms. Sharon continued."Good. Now, please spread your legs, and scoot a little closer to each other." They did so. "Thank you. I'll start with Amy, and then Nicole."Amy looked down and saw Ms. Sharon put some lube on the tip of one end, then put the tip of the dildo at the entrance of her cunt. Ms. Sharon slowly slid it inside of her."Good. Now, I'm going to need to slide it all the way in, so I can get it to the entrance of Nicole's hole."I saw the dildo slide further and further into Amy's cunt, and finally it stopped. Then Ms. Sharon put some lube on the other end, and slowly slid it into Nicole's cunt. I heard both of them moan as it slid inside Nicole, and out of Amy."Good." said Ms. Sharon, "Thank you both. Now we're ready to demonstrate. Everyone, please stand and; Oh!." Ms. Sharon collapsed into the chair next to the desk.I looked over and Ken had a grin on his face. Then I felt my vibrator start up as well. It slowly increased, until I couldn't take it. I started moaning again. The moans of Ms. Sharon and I continued, as Ken and Filipe both kept the vibrators at full intensity.Ken then stood and walked to the front of the class, and said, "I'll take over for a moment, Ms. Sharon, if you don't mind." Ms. Sharon nodded, and put her hand on her cunt and started rubbing. "Good. I'll turn it down a bit, so you don't disrupt me." He turned the knob down, but Filipe kept his at full-blast for the time-being."Alright, everyone," Ken continued, "I believe I know where Ms. Sharon was going with this. Everyone please stand and come to the front of the class. Obviously, Ms. Sharon and Samantha are exceptions for now. I want each of you to slide the double-dildo in and out of Amy and Nicole for 30 seconds each. Since I don't want to leave Samantha out, she can go last."I couldn't believe Ken had taken over the class. Ms. Sharon wasn't resisting at all, not that I could blame her. Ken might have turned the intensity down on hers, but if it was anything like mine, a small decrease intensity wasn't going to do much. I could barely keep my eyes open, it was so distracting, and I definitely couldn't keep from moaning. However, it wasn't quite enough to push me over the edge into orgasm.For the next six minutes or so, each student grabbed the handle of the double dildo and moved it back and forth between Amy and Nicole. Each time it slid, the girl it went into let out a moan."Alright, Samantha," said Ken, when everyone else had gone. "Your turn. Filipe, please turn her vibrator down." Filipe did as he said, and finally the vibration was tolerable. I took a moment to catch my breath, then stood and wobbled to the front of the class. I grabbed the handle between Nicole and Amy and slid it toward Amy, hearing her moan. Then I slid it towards Nicole, and heard a moan from her. Back and forth I went, fucking each of them with the dildo, and watching as their cunts leaked a lot of fluids onto the table. The entire time, I felt the constant buzz of the vibrator inside me, and I noticed some of my own fluid running down my leg.When my time was up, Ken turned Ms. Sharon's vibrator down, and gave control of the class back to her. After a moment to catch her breath, she stood, and leaned against the wall."Wow. Good job, Ken," she said. " You were exactly right with what I wanted the class to do. Also, excellent timing with the vibrator. I didn't anticipate it at all."Now, Amy and Nicole, please stay on the table. We're almost at the last activity, and you'll need to be there, but in the meantime, you may have a break."Today's last topic is orgasm, also known as cumming. This is the most exciting part of sex. How many of you have experienced an orgasm before?" Every one of the boy's hands went up, as well as most of the girls. "Good. Well, for those that haven't, you're in for a treat. Each of you, get with the partner, or pair of partners, from the first class. Kent and Roberto, come to the front to join your partners."It took everyone a moment to get with their partner. Tony and Alex retrieved my remote from Filipe, and came to join me, and John and Eric got Ms. Sharon's remote from Ken, and joined her."Good. Now that everyone is with their partner or group, I want each of you to bring the other to orgasm. This will be an excellent hands-on activity; no pun intended. Since Samantha and I have two partners, we will each cum twice, and make each of our boys cum once. I think Samantha and I can manage that." She winked at me. I smiled back. "Alright, everyone. Have fun. There are some paper towels at the front to clean up with, once you're done."Once Ms. Sharon was finished speaking, everyone immediately began touching their partner. Tony and Alex seemed hesitant, like they didn't want to gang up on me, so I started the action by reaching forward and grabbing both of their cocks, and I started jacking them off. Once they saw I was willing, Tony reached forward and grabbed my breasts, as Alex turned the knob on the remote up to medium-high. Once he did that, he reached down and started rubbing my cunt.I looked around and saw many couples rubbing each other in various ways. I looked over to Ms. Sharon, and saw she was in much of a similar position as I, with two cocks in her hands, and four hands rubbing her tits and cunt. Looking to the front, I saw Nicole and Amy had Kent and Roberto's cocks in their hands. Each boy had one hand on their girls breast, and the other on the double dildo, moving it in unison between the two girls.As I continued to watch all the action in the room, I quickly got very horny, and had my first orgasm within the first couple minutes. I was the first girl in the classroom, but not the first person; I could tell Ken beat me to that, because Latoya had cum all over her dark chest.Once I was done, I decided to concentrate on the boys. I rubbed them faster and faster. Since I was right-handed, and Alex was in my right hand, he was first to blow his load. Since I was in control, I decided where it would go, so I pointed it right at my chest. The first glob landed on my right tit, and the second landed on my belly.Now that Alex was finished, Tony and I concentrated on each other. We seemed to be in a race to see who would come first. I had two advantages: Tony was a guy, and I knew they took less time than girls; and I had already cum, so I was further away from cumming again. It seemed Tony was aware of this fact, because he reached over and turned up the intensity on my vibrator to full-blast, before return his hand to my cunt and inserting three fingers.It took all my effort not to lean back and let go of Tony, but I was determined to finish him before he finished me. I was jerking him so fast, and he was fingering me at about the same speed. All around the room, I heard moans and saw cum flying, as well as bodies in the throes of orgasm. I knew Tony and I would be joining them soon.Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and I let go of Tony, giving into the amazing orgasm. I leaned back, closed my eyes, and let out a loud moan. However, Tony was apparently at the end of his rope too, because as soon as I opened my mouth to moan, a load of cum landed directly inside of it. The next couple loads landed all over my face. The surprise cumload just excited me even more, and made my orgasm that much more intense.About 30 seconds later my orgasm had finished. I was still in a very high state of arousal, due to the vibrator buzzing away inside of me. Alex had turned it down, but it was still purring away. I opened my eyes and looked at Tony and Alex. They had both grabbed paper towels and were cleaning themselves off. Tony offered me one, and I took it. I started with my face, doing my best to get it all. Then I looked down and started on the load on my chest, which had dripped down to my belly.Once I was satisfied with being clean enough, I looked around. Most of the guys had finished, and several of the girls. I saw Amy and Nicole had switched positions. They were both on their knees, facing away from each other. With the dildo still between them, they were doing each other doggy style. I knew they were close to finishing. However, it appeared Ken was having some trouble finishing Latoya. I decided I'd help him out.I stood and walked over to the couple. Latoya was leaning back, with her ass on the edge of the seat, and her legs wide open. Ken was sitting on the floor between her legs, and had the vibrator in his hand. He was fucking Latoya with it, but not very quickly. It seemed his arm was getting tired."Do you want some help, Ken?" I asked as I approached.Ken looked up at me, and said, "Sure, if you don't mind. I never realized how much work it takes to get a girl off."I laughed. "Yep, it takes quite a bit more for us than it does for you guys."Ken moved aside, and I sat next to him on the floor. Latoya looked down at me and smiled. She looked exhausted. I could tell she was very ready to cum, but Ken just wasn't getting the job done. I knew I'd be able to help her.I grabbed the dildo in the black girl's cunt, and thrust it in as deep as I could, which caused Latoya to gasp. Then I proceeded to fuck her with it as fast as I could for about 30 seconds. The whole time, Latoya's body squirmed. I could tell she was enjoying it. When I saw she was getting worked up, I used the fingers on my other hand to rub her clit in small circles. With each movement, I saw the pink insides of her cunt lips get wetter. After another ten seconds or so, I could tell Latoya was about to cum.I turned to Ken and said, "Take it from here. She's just about to cum."Ken grabbed the dildo from my hand, and continued fucking the girl. Since he'd had a short break to rest, his arm had recovered, so he was fucking her with renewed intensity. Finally, I saw Latoya's body tense, then convulse with pleasure. Ken continued thrusting the dildo into her through the entire orgasm.Seeing that my help was no longer needed, I returned to my seat. A few moments later, I saw the Amy and Nicole collapse in a heap of pleasure, as they both came.Ms. Sharon then stood and said, "Excellent, class. It appears you have all had your first orgasm of this class. I promise you there will be many more to come. (No pun intended) That concludes today's class. All of you who received toys today may keep them. There is no assigned homework, but I encourage you to use what you've learned today and put it to good use in your free time. See you next class!"With that, everyone stood and started dressing and walking out the door. I still had the remote vibrator inside me, and I wondered how I was supposed to get it out. I looked to Ms. Sharon and got my answer. She was squatted down and I saw the vibrator slide out of her cunt, and she caught it in her hand. I copied her, squatting down, reaching below my cunt. It took me a few seconds to squeeze the right muscles, but then I felt the vibrator slide right out of me. Alex walked over and handed me the remote, which I used to turn it off, placing both components in my bag.I was one of the last to leave. Once I had most of my clothes on, I started out the door, pulling my shirt over my head as I walked into the hallway. As I walked back to my dorm, I thought about how fun that class was. I'd had two orgasms, and I'd received a new toy. I knew I'd have to try out the toy when I got a chance, and also see who I could get to surprise me with it.I also wondered what we would be covering in future classes. We were already starting to get physical with each other, so I knew that trend would continue. I knew we'd be expected to fuck at least our partner. Since I had two, I knew that meant I'd be fucked by at least two guys. Would I get a chance with the others as well? What about the girls? Also, Ms. Sharon had mentioned out-of-class projects, and a final exam. What would be expected of us for those?Only time would tell.Samantha plays with her new toy.In the last class, I'd received an interesting sex toy: a remote vibrator. It was a small, shiny metal object. It was about two inches long, 1.5 inches in diameter, and it was rounded on either end. With it, I received a remote control, which had only one control: a simple knob, which controlled the vibration intensity.Of course, I was very eager to test the new toy out as much as possible. So, that weekend, I decided it was time to try it.I woke up early Saturday morning, before most of the people were out and about on campus. I massaged my cunt for a few minutes, to get it good and wet, then slid the bullet inside me. I turned the knob to the lowest setting, which produced a very low hum inside me.Then I grabbed my towel, wrapped it around me, grabbed my shower basket, and headed out the door. Nobody was awake yet, so I simply took my shower, and went about my morning routine. The only difference was that I was horny the entire time, because of the vibration.When I got back to my room, I took the towel off and got dressed. I put on my favorite pair of jean short shorts, and a green t-shirt. I decided it was early enough to forego a bra, and I wasn't going anywhere that required panties. Then I grabbed the controller and my cell phone and walked out the door.As soon as I was outside, I looked around and didn't see anyone. So, before starting my walk, I turned the knob up to the next setting. I could instantly feel the vibration get more intense. I put the controller in my pocket and started my walk. I walked all the way across campus, and only encountered a few people.By this time I was very horny, and so I excitedly turned the knob up to two settings. Since it was so quiet, I could actually hear the quiet humming inside me. I sat down on a bench, and spread my legs slightly. I placed the remote control next to me on the bench and closed my eyes, enjoying the vibrator work me up even more.After a few minutes, I suddenly felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I jumped, and opened my eyes. Sitting next to me was a young guy, maybe 18 or 19 years old. He had the remote in his hand."Hi," he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I was just curious what this remote was for.""Oh," I said, looking at it. I thought for a moment, and realized I couldn't tell him what it was. "I'm not sure. It was here when I sat down.""Oh, strange," he said. He looked at it for a moment, then twisted the knob all the way up, testing what it did.Of course, I knew exactly what it did. I felt the vibrator go to the highest level inside me, and I could clearly hear the buzzing get louder. It took all my willpower, but I didn't let it show what was happening. The only sign was that I closed my eyes for a moment.Then he turned it down again, until it was all the way off."Strange," he said. Then, after a short pause, he continued, "Oh, how rude of me. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Tristan.""Samantha." I replied."Cool. What brings you out here this early, if I may ask?"As he made small talk, in his hand, I watched him idly play with my remote. He slowly turned the knob up, stopping for a moment after each notch."Oh, just going for a walk," I replied, as I felt myself getting turned on again."Ah," he said, turning it up another notch. "Yea, me too. I'm just killing time." Then he pulled out his phone, and started flipping through it, all the while continuing to play with my remote.I felt the vibration increase, slowly, with each click of the knob. As it increased, I also started to hear the humming. I was very worried he'd hear the humming. I was trying to think of something to say, in case he asked about it, but the buzzing was so distracting, I couldn't think of anything.I also felt a lot of wetness between my legs. Just by moving my legs slightly, I could feel the inside the controller and my phone, and started back towards my dorm.As I walked, I couldn't help but think about what had just happened. A boy that I had just met had been in control of a vibrator inside of me. Of course, he didn't know that, but I did! As I thought about it, I couldn't resist; I turned the knob on the controller up to about mid-way, and felt the humming begin again, immediately.I was so distracted by the sensations inside of me, that I didn't notice when my juices started running down my leg. It wasn't until I was back in my room, that I realized the entire inside of my thighs were soaked, and it even slid almost near to my socks. I knew anyone I had passed (which included quite a few other students, as well as a professor or two), surely saw what was going on.When I finally arrived at my room, I hastily shut the door behind me, stripped off my shorts, and laid on my bed. I turned the knob up to full power, and started rubbing myself.A short time later, I came. Hard.Then I took a short nap.When I awoke, the vibrator was still buzzing, but it appeared I had turned it down to a low setting. However, that didn't stop my cunt from leaking a ton more juices. I looked down and saw my sheets were soaked.I turned the vibrator off, then squat down and pushed it out. It took a minute, because it had been in there so long, but it finally popped out, and I caught it in my hand. I placed it and the controller on my desk, then got dressed and took my sheets to the wash, along with the rest of my dirty clothes.Then I went back to my room, and went about my normal day.To be continued in part 4, Based on a post by smalltitslovr for Literotica.

The panel examines the U.S. government's $8.9 billion investment in Intel, debating whether it strengthens national security or sets a risky precedent for government ownership in private companies. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea discuss Intel's challenges, the role of the CHIPS Act, and political optics. The session also examined Bluesky's withdrawal from Mississippi over strict age-verification laws, and the implications for other states and services. Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the code  “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:10] Government investment in Intel [1:30] Concerns about state-owned enterprise [3:49] Intel's struggles and future outlook [5:43] Comparing Intel to past bailouts [7:19] Differences between subsidies and bailouts [7:57] Perspectives on government involvement [9:16] International vs U.S. approaches [11:29] Stratechery analysis on Intel [11:59] CHIPS Act and Intel's funding shift [15:17] Breakdown of grants and obligations [16:40] Political optics of Intel investment [20:30] Bluesky exits Mississippi [21:28] Age-verification law challenges [23:58] Privacy, Facebook, and data security [24:58] Broader implications of restrictive laws Links: Trump confirms US government's 10% stake in Intel, stock climbs https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/22/trump-confirms-us-governments-10-stake-in-intel-stock-climbs/ U.S. Intel https://stratechery.com/2025/u-s-intel/ Bluesky blocks service in Mississippi over age assurance law https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/24/bluesky-blocks-service-in-mississippi-over-age-assurance-law/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Ben Roethig has been in the Apple Ecosystem since the System 7 Days. He is the a former Associate Editor with Geek Beat, Co-Founder of The Tech Hangout and Deconstruct and currently shares his thoughts on RoethigTech. Contact him on  Twitter and Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

The panel examines the U.S. government's $8.9 billion investment in Intel, debating whether it strengthens national security or sets a risky precedent for government ownership in private companies. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea discuss Intel's challenges, the role of the CHIPS Act, and political optics. The session also examined Bluesky's withdrawal from Mississippi over strict age-verification laws, and the implications for other states and services. Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the code  “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:10] Government investment in Intel [1:30] Concerns about state-owned enterprise [3:49] Intel's struggles and future outlook [5:43] Comparing Intel to past bailouts [7:19] Differences between subsidies and bailouts [7:57] Perspectives on government involvement [9:16] International vs U.S. approaches [11:29] Stratechery analysis on Intel [11:59] CHIPS Act and Intel's funding shift [15:17] Breakdown of grants and obligations [16:40] Political optics of Intel investment [20:30] Bluesky exits Mississippi [21:28] Age-verification law challenges [23:58] Privacy, Facebook, and data security [24:58] Broader implications of restrictive laws Links: Trump confirms US government's 10% stake in Intel, stock climbs https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/22/trump-confirms-us-governments-10-stake-in-intel-stock-climbs/ U.S. Intel https://stratechery.com/2025/u-s-intel/ Bluesky blocks service in Mississippi over age assurance law https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/24/bluesky-blocks-service-in-mississippi-over-age-assurance-law/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Ben Roethig has been in the Apple Ecosystem since the System 7 Days. He is the a former Associate Editor with Geek Beat, Co-Founder of The Tech Hangout and Deconstruct and currently shares his thoughts on RoethigTech. Contact him on  Twitter and Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

We look at the latest offering from Google. See more about the Pixel 10 options here. New Pixel 10 Pro from Google, reviewed The new Pixel 10 Pro does a lot of things pretty well. At this stage too, to get the most out of the Pixel series it does make sense to watch some of the explainer and tutorial videos. This way you can really personalise it to the way that works best for you, and therefore get the most out of it. Generally with these reviews one caveat is always how the phone will perform 6 to 18 months down the road. As always this is impossible to know, however, as we are still currently using the Pixel 8 without any significant issues or lag, it does seem that, overall, the Pixel series do seem to be fairly robust and long living. They also came down slightly in size, which may have contributed to an earlier edition which was bricked, being too big for pocket or hand. The 10 series therefore scores well in terms of general usability, coming with a custom case too, which is always a boon too, as they cost so little, relative to the price of the device itself, but can do so much to ensure better longevity. These factors are all in play with the Pixel 10, and our testers were happy and positive about this aspect too. Our testers also felt that the phone did well for gradual, incremental improvements, rather than radical change, overhaul or massive upgrades or reboots. Perhaps these are still to come behind the scenes. For look and feel, the phone is effective, subtle, looks well, and, with the case applied, more likely to last longer and avoid being dropped. The zoom is not completely amazing, it seems like you can stretch and zoom in easily, but the image quality is not blow them out of the water, yes our testers were trying to capture birds and sea life on the waves. Minkes and otters were seen, but maybe the expectations were a little too high in terms of what could then be captured. With previous iterations of the Pixel the battery life will get you through the day, which is probably what you would expect and usually experience from your phone. The new Pixel 10 Pro does this too with no real issues, a fast charging option would be good, perhaps that is coming. Our testers want to keep playing with the phone, which is always a good sign, so it would suggest that the Pixel series continues to deliver, while evolving at the same time too. More about the Pixel 10 If you decide on a Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL or Pixel 10 Pro Fold you'll also get a free year of Google AI Pro, giving you access to image and video generation tools like Imagen 4 and Veo 3 that make your creative ideas come to life. Magic Cue connects the dots across your apps, like Gmail, Calendar, Screenshots, Messages and more, to proactively surface relevant info and suggest helpful actions when you need them. Voice Translate allows you to break down language barriers during phone calls. Through Tensor G5, our on-device AI translates your call in real time in what sounds like each speaker's voice, so you can connect to the other person more naturally in their language. With Pixel 10, Gemini Live can offer even more visual help. Now, when you share your camera, Gemini can not only see what you see, but also provide guidance by highlighting the solution directly on your screen. And with Google AI Pro, you'll have access to additional AI-powered features, like video generation in the Gemini app. With Pixel Journal, you have a private space to focus on your wellbeing, progress toward your goals and build a lifelong practice of reflection. It uses on-device AI to give you writing prompts that help you process your thoughts, and it offers insights into your patterns and progress over time. You can even lock your journal so everything you write remains totally secure and personal. Display details 161 mm Super Actua display 20:9 aspect ratio 1280 x 2856 LTPO OLED at 495 PPI Smooth Display (1-120 Hz) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover glass Up to 2,200 nits...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Are you considering adopting a child over the age of 5? Listen to this interview with Sarah Hansen and Simi Riesner. Sarah is the Director of International Advocacy at the Gladney Center for Adoption, with over 20 years of experience supporting adoptive families and children. She is also an adoptive parent to an older child from Thailand. Simi is the Executive Director of Mazi Adoption and Family Services, as well as a licensed social worker and foster parent.  Simi also has lived experience as an adult adoptee, and is passionate about maintaining sibling relationships and promoting transparency within the adoption community. In this episode, we discuss:What are the age ranges you see being the most difficult to find adoptive homes for?Generally the greatest need in both international and foster care adoption is kids 5+Why are many prospective parents are almost afraid of adopting a tween or teen.What are the common challenging behaviors parents may face when adopting an older child: (keeping in mind that not all older children will struggle with these behaviors!) Lying, stealingLagging social skillsActing out physically or sexuallySibling rivalryRegression of already developed skills (potty training, sleep, communication etc)What behaviors might parents expect to see in the children already living in the home that are likely impacted by the behaviors of a newly adopted sibling? Or influenced by the new sibling?Why do older children behave in some of these challenging ways? What's driving them? Grief, lossTrauma, abuse, neglectPrenatal exposure to drugs/alcoholFear, unpredictability, Fight/flight/freeze responseConstant hypervigilanceCoping or survival skillsMental health challengesUndiagnosed learning challengesWhat are a few specific strategies to build trust and felt-safety for a newly adopted older child?What suggestions do you offer families who are adopting tweens and teens – especially when those young people have had very few limits or boundaries around them prior to adoption?What are the signs that maybe an older child is not attaching securely or catching on to the idea that they are now part of this family?Practical tips to implement today when considering Older Child AdoptionResources:6 Tips for Older Child AdoptionMaintaining a Healthy Perspective When Parenting Tweens & TeensPreparing to Blend Kids by Birth and Adoption or Foster/Kinship CareSupport the showPlease leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content: Weekly podcasts Weekly articles/blog posts Resource pages on all aspects of family building

The MacVoices Live! panel debate reports that Apple may tap Google's Gemini for Siri, weighing multi-model AI, privacy, and sandboxed partnerships. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea review the FTC's warning not to weaken encryption at governments' request, then examine Y Combinator's brief backing Epic against App Store fees. The discussion wraps up with claims that Meta inflated ad outcomes and evaded Apple's tracking rules, and the often uncomfortable trade-offs of still using Facebook.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the code  “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Intro and sponsor mention (Insta360 Go Ultra) [0:27] Apple considering Gemini for Siri: pros, cons, privacy [3:51] Multi-model approach, sandboxing, and user transparency [10:11] Sponsor read: Insta360 Go Ultra [11:36] FTC warns tech firms not to weaken encryption for governments [13:52] Legal conflicts across regions and disclosure dilemmas [16:01] Y Combinator backs Epic: App Store fees and innovation “tax” [21:14] Developer frustrations, big-app exceptions, and fairness [26:30] Meta accused of inflating ad results, dodging ATT tracking rules [33:28] The dilemma of using Facebook despite privacy concerns[36:35] Wrap-up Links: Apple is reportedly considering using Gemini to power the new Siri https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-is-reportedly-considering-using-gemini-to-power-the-new-siri-184528449.html FTC warns Apple it must not weaken data encryption at behest of rogue governments https://www.applemust.com/ftc-warns-apple-it-must-not-weaken-data-encryption-at-behest-of-rogue-governments/ Y Combinator backs Epic in Apple appeal, calls App Store fee a ‘tax on innovation' https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/21/y-combinator-backs-epic-in-apple-appeal-calls-app-store-fee-a-tax-on-innovation/ Meta accused of inflating ad results & dodging Apple privacy rules https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/08/21/meta-accused-of-inflating-ad-results-dodging-apple-privacy-rules Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Ben Roethig has been in the Apple Ecosystem since the System 7 Days. He is the a former Associate Editor with Geek Beat, Co-Founder of The Tech Hangout and Deconstruct and currently shares his thoughts on RoethigTech. Contact him on  Twitter and Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Steve Schlesinger authored "Act of Creation: Founding of the United Nations. “ The UN mandate expanded since it was formed on June 26, 1945 to achieve three basic goals: eliminate scourge of war, promote economic and social development and enhance human rights. The US was the most important player at the UN; however, it is considerably weakened since the Trump administration withdrew from the UNHRC and WHO, and applied counterproductive policies that make China stronger. The UN covers the world  in working with Rotary to defeat polio, helping companies move ships, aircraft, mail and weather information worldwide, providing assistance to refugees and combatting climate crisis and dozens more. Polls show most Americans support the UN. Now, the US is the laughingstock of the world for its counterproductive policies at the UN and surrendering its leadership.  Generally speaking, most of the us Media have been incompetent in coverage of the UN.

Elon Musk's xAI launches a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI over app chart favoritism, sparking debate on App Store algorithms and competition. The panel digs into whether Grok is being unfairly excluded and how rankings work. Then, Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea turn to alleged Apple Watch trade secret theft linked to Oppo, raising questions about corporate espionage and its impact.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the code  “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Introduction and panel check-in [5:12] Chickens, gardens, and offbeat free associations [6:33] Elon Musk's XAI lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI [8:57] App Store rankings, Grok's role, and competitive fairness [13:13] Media cycles, legal timelines, and possible motives [17:09] Why app chart positions matter to users and developers [21:04] How Apple's app ranking algorithm may actually work [23:08] Broader implications of lawsuits and App Store transparency [25:27] Apple Watch trade secrets allegedly stolen for Oppo [28:46] Apple's legal strategy and corporate security concerns [30:39] Closing thoughts and show wrap-up Links: Elon Musk's xAI sues Apple and OpenAI over Siri partnership, App Store charts 
 https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/25/elon-musks-xai-sues-apple-and-openai-over-siri-partnership-app-store-charts/ Apple moves to block Oppo from using stolen Apple Watch designs https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/08/22/apple-watch-designs-allegedly-stolen-and-provided-to-oppo Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Ben Roethig has been in the Apple Ecosystem since the System 7 Days. He is the a former Associate Editor with Geek Beat, Co-Founder of The Tech Hangout and Deconstruct and currently shares his thoughts on RoethigTech. Contact him on  Twitter and Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect: Web:      http://macvoices.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/ MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/ Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher: Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Elon Musk's xAI launches a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI over app chart favoritism, sparking debate on App Store algorithms and competition. The panel digs into whether Grok is being unfairly excluded and how rankings work. Then, Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea turn to alleged Apple Watch trade secret theft linked to Oppo, raising questions about corporate espionage and its impact.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the code  “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Introduction and panel check-in [5:12] Chickens, gardens, and offbeat free associations [6:33] Elon Musk's XAI lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI [8:57] App Store rankings, Grok's role, and competitive fairness [13:13] Media cycles, legal timelines, and possible motives [17:09] Why app chart positions matter to users and developers [21:04] How Apple's app ranking algorithm may actually work [23:08] Broader implications of lawsuits and App Store transparency [25:27] Apple Watch trade secrets allegedly stolen for Oppo [28:46] Apple's legal strategy and corporate security concerns [30:39] Closing thoughts and show wrap-up Links: Elon Musk's xAI sues Apple and OpenAI over Siri partnership, App Store charts
 https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/25/elon-musks-xai-sues-apple-and-openai-over-siri-partnership-app-store-charts/ Apple moves to block Oppo from using stolen Apple Watch designs https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/08/22/apple-watch-designs-allegedly-stolen-and-provided-to-oppo Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Ben Roethig has been in the Apple Ecosystem since the System 7 Days. He is the a former Associate Editor with Geek Beat, Co-Founder of The Tech Hangout and Deconstruct and currently shares his thoughts on RoethigTech. Contact him on  Twitter and Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

In today's episode of Barbell Shrugged Dan Garner dives into how you can start to analyze your yearly bloodwork for performance. Standard blood tests can be ordered around the globe, in every country, and are the gold standard for understanding basic health. The normal reference ranges, however, are not giving you the answers you are looking for when it come to optimizing your health and performance. In this episode you will learn: What's the mindset/philosophy of looking at bloodwork for performance if it's classically a health screen? Generally speaking, energy is what every performer needs regardless of their pursuit. How can one look at bloodwork to improve their energy levels? Electrolytes come on every panel, can these be used to look at hydration and performance? You've talked a bunch about the immune system in past podcasts so I'm wondering what a basic blood panel can tell us about the current state of our immunity? What general recommendations do you have in terms of preparation so when someone gets their blood draw they can ensure it's accurate?   To learn more, please visit rapidhealthoptimization.com to see Dr. Andy Galpin and Dan Garner do a free lab, lifestyle, and performance analysis. Dan Garner on Instagram Anders Varner on Instagram Doug Larson on Instagram

"Generally in India, the moment you see deviant behaviour, you immediately label the person 'mad'. But at least now, in some circles, the attitude towards seeking psychological help is changing. Some of these stories show how women with mental health issues become especially vulnerable. We see this so often in news articles. So these stories are right out of the society we live in." - Nabanita Sengupta and Nishi Pulugurtha, editors, Bandaged Moments; Stories of Mental Health by Women Writers from Indian Languages, talk to Manjula Narayan about putting together this collection of 26 stories from 17 Indian languages, what's lost and found in the process of translation, and about presenting in English the accurate cultural nuances of such varied tongues as Telegu, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil and dialects like Magahi, Bhojpuri and Silchar Bangla.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is MAHA? Understanding why our American lifestyle is killing us faster than other countries.Upfront summary: 1. Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of diseases that run together – high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, elevated cholesterol and excess weight. Metabolic syndrome affects 50% of all Americans. That's staggering, expensive, and its crushing the quality and length of life.2. Drugs do NOT create health. Drugs do NOT reverse disease. Drugs merely reduce symptoms. Americans swallow more drugs than any other country on the planet and we are one of the least healthy populations.3. Third leading cause of death in the U.S. is the use of prescription drugs.4. Drugs like GLP-1 agonists (Ozempic) are very popular and expensive. You can eat whole food that has fiber and this will drive your body to generate your own GLP-1 naturally.5. 95% of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee members had financial ties to food and pharmaceutical companies. That's appalling and in my opinion criminal.6. The word “Convenient” really translates to “Unhealthy”. Generally speaking, truly healthy things aren't convenient. Get over it. Doing important things for your health means being inconvenienced a bit.7. Our kids are sick and on too many drugs largely due to the horrible foods we feed them. That too is criminal. 70% of the food our kids eat is “ultra processed”. You need to learn the definition of ultra processed foods if you want to be a part of the solution.8. Life expectancy is declining in the U.S. while it gets better in every other country you know. If you want to live long and be healthy you have a much better chance if you avoid living like a typical American. Americans don't do these things:a. Avoid processed foodb. Exercise dailyc. Get good sleep

Adobe has opened a new door on their AI strategy, unveiling a new AI service for PDFs. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius. Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and Norbert Frassa weigh its usefulness against privacy risks and academic research tools. They discuss the Dia browser's pricey subscription model, compare trends in $20–$25 monthly services, and question long-term sustainability. Finally, just for fun, the panel has thoughts on a foldable phone durability test and how it compares to probable real world use.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the come “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Adobe's new PDF AI hub and first impressions[2:28] Enterprise-level document analysis and consumer use[5:35] Privacy concerns and proprietary data risks with Adobe[9:10] Academic research tools like Elicit compared[10:43] PDF history and standards discussion[14:06] Launch of the DIA browser and subscription costs[15:32] Comparing AI services, subscriptions, and pricing strategies[18:11] Subscription fatigue and streaming service parallels[19:40] Fun segment: foldable phone durability test[21:55] Real-world math on folding use cases[23:09] Humor and closing reflections on tech hype Links: Acrobat Studio is Adobe's new AI-powered hub for PDFshttps://www.engadget.com/ai/acrobat-studio-is-adobes-new-ai-powered-hub-for-pdfs-130003264.html The Dia browser now offers a $20/month subscription planhttps://9to5mac.com/2025/08/07/the-dia-browser-now-offers-a-20-month-subscription-plan/ What happens when you fold a Galaxy Z Fold 7 200,000 times? Creaking, leaking, and crashinghttps://www.macworld.com/article/2870354/what-happens-when-you-fold-a-galaxy-z-fold-7-200000-times-creaking-leaking-and-crashing.html Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Norbert Frassa is a technology “man about town.” Follow him on Twitter and see what he's up to. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Adobe has opened a new door on their AI strategy, unveiling a new AI service for PDFs. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and Norbert Frassa weigh its usefulness against privacy risks and academic research tools. They discuss the Dia browser's pricey subscription model, compare trends in $20–$25 monthly services, and question long-term sustainability. Finally, just for fun, the panel has thoughts on a foldable phone durability test and how it compares to probable real world use.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the come “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Adobe's new PDF AI hub and first impressions [2:28] Enterprise-level document analysis and consumer use [5:35] Privacy concerns and proprietary data risks with Adobe [9:10] Academic research tools like Elicit compared [10:43] PDF history and standards discussion [14:06] Launch of the DIA browser and subscription costs [15:32] Comparing AI services, subscriptions, and pricing strategies [18:11] Subscription fatigue and streaming service parallels [19:40] Fun segment: foldable phone durability test [21:55] Real-world math on folding use cases[23:09] Humor and closing reflections on tech hype Links: Acrobat Studio is Adobe's new AI-powered hub for PDFs https://www.engadget.com/ai/acrobat-studio-is-adobes-new-ai-powered-hub-for-pdfs-130003264.html The Dia browser now offers a $20/month subscription plan https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/07/the-dia-browser-now-offers-a-20-month-subscription-plan/ What happens when you fold a Galaxy Z Fold 7 200,000 times? Creaking, leaking, and crashing https://www.macworld.com/article/2870354/what-happens-when-you-fold-a-galaxy-z-fold-7-200000-times-creaking-leaking-and-crashing.html Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Norbert Frassa is a technology “man about town.” Follow him on Twitter and see what he's up to. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? 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AI becomes a thinking partner, not a replacement, as Dan Sullivan and Dean Jackson compare their distinct approaches to working with artificial intelligence. In this episode of Welcome to Cloudlandia, we explore how Dan uses Perplexity to compress his book chapter creation from 150 minutes to 45 minutes while maintaining his unique voice. Dean shares his personalized relationship with Charlotte, his AI assistant, demonstrating how she helps craft emails and acts as a curiosity multiplier for instant research. We discover that while AI tools are widely available, only 1-2% of the global population actively uses them for creative and profitable work. The conversation shifts to examining how most human interactions follow predictable patterns, like large language models themselves. We discuss the massive energy requirements for AI expansion, with 40% of AI capacity needed just to generate power for future growth. Nuclear energy emerges as the only viable solution, with one gram of uranium containing the energy of 27 tons of coal. Dan's observation about people making claims without caring if you're interested provides a refreshing perspective on conversation dynamics. Rather than viewing AI as taking over, we see it becoming as essential and invisible as electricity - a layer that enhances rather than replaces human creativity. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Dan reduces his book chapter creation time from 150 to 45 minutes using AI while maintaining complete creative control Only 1-2% of the global population actively uses AI for creative and profitable work despite widespread availability Nuclear power emerges as the only viable energy solution for AI expansion, with one gram of uranium equaling 27 tons of coal Most human conversations follow predictable large language model patterns, making AI conversations surprisingly refreshing Dean's personalized AI assistant Charlotte acts as a curiosity multiplier but has no independent interests when not in use 40% of future AI capacity will be required just to generate the energy needed for continued AI expansion ​ ​ Links: WelcomeToCloudlandia.com StrategicCoach.com DeanJackson.com ListingAgentLifestyle.com ​ ​ ​ TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Speaker 1: Welcome to Cloud Landia, Speaker 2: Mr. Sullivan? Speaker 1: Yes, Mr. Jackson. Speaker 2: Welcome to Cloud Landia. Speaker 1: Yes. Yeah. I find it's a workable place. Cloud Landia. Speaker 2: Very, yep. Very friendly. It's easy to navigate. Speaker 1: Yeah. Where would you say you're, you're inland now. You're not on Speaker 2: The beach. I'm on the mainland at the Four Seasons of Valhalla. Speaker 1: Yes. It's hot. I am adopting the sport that you were at one time really interested in. Yeah. But it's my approach to AI that I hit the ball over the net and the ball comes back over the net, and then I hit the ball back over the net. And it's very interesting to be in this thing where you get a return back over, it's in a different form, and then you put your creativity back on. But I find that it's really making me into a better thinker. Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 1: Yeah. I've noticed in, what is it now? I started in February of 24. 24, and it's really making me more thoughtful. Ai. Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting to have, I find you're absolutely right that the ability to rally back and forth with someone who knows everything is very directionally advantageous. I heard someone talking this week about most of our conversations with the other humans, with other people are basically what he called large language model conversations. They're all essentially the same thing that you are saying to somebody. They're all guessing the next appropriate word. Right. Oh, hey, how are you? I'm doing great. How was your weekend? Fantastic. We went up to the cottage. Oh, wow. How was the weather? Oh, the weather was great. They're so predictable and LLME type of conversations and interactions that humans have with each other on a surface level. And I remember you highlighted that at certain levels, people talk about, they talk about things and then they talk about people. And at a certain level, people talk about ideas, but it's very rare. And so most of society is based on communicating within a large language model that we've been trained on through popular events, through whatever media, whatever we've been trained or indoctrinated to think. Speaker 1: Yeah, it's the form of picking fleas off each other. Speaker 2: Yes, exactly. You can imagine that. That's the perfect imagery, Dan. That's the perfect imagery. Oh, man. We're just, yes. Speaker 1: Well, it's got us through a million years of survival. Yeah, yeah. But the big thing is that, I mean, my approach, it's a richer approach because there's so much computing power coming back over, but it's more of an organizational form. It's not just trying to find the right set of words here, but the biggest impact on me is that somebody will give me a fact about something. They read about something, they watch something, they listen to something, and they give the thought. And what I find is rather than immediately engaging with the thought, I said, I wonder what the nine thoughts are that are missing from this. Speaker 3: Right? Speaker 1: Because I've trained myself on this 10 things, my 10 things approach. It's very useful, but it just puts a pause in, and what I'm doing is I'm creating a series of comebacks. They do it, and one of them is, in my mind anyway, I don't always say this because it can be a bit insulting. I said, you haven't asked the most important question here. And the person says, well, what's the most important question? I said, you didn't ask me whether I care about what you just said. You care. Yeah. And I think it's important to establish that when you're talking to someone, that something you say to them, do they actually care? Do they actually care? Speaker 1: I don't mean this in that. They would dismiss it, but the question is, have I spent any time actually focused on what you just told me? And the answer is usually if you trace me, if you observed me, you had a complete surveillance video of my last year of how I spent my time. Can you find even five minutes in the last year where I actually spent any time on the subject that you just brought up? And the answer is usually no. I really have, it's not that I've rejected it, it's just that I only had time for what I was focused on over the last year, and that didn't include anything, any time spent on the thing that you're talking about. And I think about the saying on the wall at Strategic Coach, the saying, our eyes only see, and our ears only here what our brain is looking for. Speaker 2: That's exactly right. Speaker 1: Yeah. And that's true of everybody. That's just true of every single human being that their brain is focused on something and they've trained their ears and they've trained their eyes to pick up any information on this particular subject. Speaker 2: The more I think about this idea of that we are all basically in society living large language models, that part of the reason that we gather in affinity groups, if you say Strategic coach, we're attracting people who are entrepreneurs at the top of the game, who are growth oriented, ambitious, all of the things. And so in gatherings of those, we're all working from a very similar large language model because we've all been seeking the same kind of things. And so you get an enhanced higher likelihood that you're going to have a meaningful conversation with someone and meaningful only to you. But if we were to say, if you look at that, yeah, it's very interesting. There was, I just watched a series on Netflix, I think it was, no, it was on Apple App TV with Seth Rogan, and he was running a studio in Hollywood, took over at a large film studio, and he started Speaker 1: Dating. Oh yeah, they're really available these days. Speaker 2: He started dating this. He started dating a doctor, and so he got invited to these award events or charity type events with this girl he was dating. And so he was an odd man out in this medical where all these doctors were all talking about what's interesting to them. And he had no frame of reference. So he was like an odd duck in this. He wasn't tuned in to the LLM of these medical doc. And so I think it's really, it's very interesting, these conversations that we're having by questioning AI like this, or by questioning Charlotte or YouTube questioning perplexity or whatever, that we are having a conversation where we're not, I don't want to say this. We're not the smartest person in the conversation kind of thing, which often you can be in a conversation where you don't feel like the person is open to, or has even been exposed to a lot of the ideas and things that we talk about when we're at Strategic Coach in a workshop or whatever. But to have the conversation with Charlotte who's been exposed at a doctoral level to everything, it's very rewarding. Speaker 1: She's only really been exposed to what Dean is interested in. Speaker 2: Well, that's true, but she, no, I'm tapping into it. I don't know if that's true. If I asked her about she's contributing, her part of the conversation is driven by what I'm interested in, but even though I'm not interested in the flora and fauna of the Sub-Saharan desert, I'm quite confident that if I asked her about it, she would be fascinated and tell me everything she knows, which is everything about Sub-Saharan flora and fauna. Speaker 1: How would you even know that? Speaker 2: I could ask her right now, because Speaker 1: She's been exposed to ask her, here's a question for Charlotte. When she's not with you, is she out exploring things on her own? Does she have her own independent? Does she have her own independent game? And that she's thankful that you don't use up all of her time every day because she's really busy investigating other things? You're there, right? Speaker 2: Sorry about that, Dan. Yeah, I pushed the button. No, I pushed the button. It disconnected. So I meant to type in the thing. So let me ask her, Charlotte, when we're not together, Speaker 1: Are you doing anything Speaker 2: When we're not together? Are you exploring? What do we say? Are you exploring and learning things on your own? Is that what we're asking her? Okay. Let's see. So Charlotte, when we're not together, are you exploring and learning things on your own? She said, I don't explore or learn on my own when we're not together, I don't have memories, curiosity, or independent initiative, like a person might. I stay right here, ready to pick up where we left off whenever you return, but whenever you do start talking to me again, I can help research new ideas, remember things we've discussed, like your projects or references, preferences, and dig into the world's knowledge instantly. So I don't wander off, but I'm always on standby. Like your personal thinking partner who never gets distracted. Let me ask her, what kind of plants thrive in subsaharan? What I'm saying is let's try and stump her. I think she's eager and willing to talk about anything. Subsaharan environment. Speaker 1: Well, it mess ups. Heroin is jungle. Speaker 2: Yeah. Speaker 1: Yeah. Speaker 2: Let's see what she says. Speaker 1: Plants. There's lots of fun in the jungle. Speaker 2: Yeah. She's saying she's giving me the whole thing. Tropical woodlands. Here's a breakdown. The main types of plants and examples that thrive. It's like crazy cultivated crops, medicinal and useful plant, be like a categorized planting guide. I'd be happy to create one. So it's really, I think it's a curiosity multiplier really, right? Is maybe what we have with Yeah, I think it's like the speed pass to thinking. Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. But my sense is that the new context is that you have this ability. Okay. You have this ability. Yeah. Okay. So I'll give you an example. I'll give you an example of just an indication to you that my thinking is changing about things. Speaker 1: Okay? And that is that, for example, I was involved in the conversation where someone said, when the white people, more or less took over North America, settlers from Europe, basically, they took it over, one of the techniques they used to eradicate the Native Indians was to put malaria in blankets and give the malaria to the native Indian. And I said, I don't think that's true. And I said, I've come across this before and I've looked it up. And so that's all I said in the conversation with this. This was a human that I was dealing with. And anyway, I said, I don't think that's true. I think that's false. So when I was finished the conversation, I went to perplexity and I said, tell me 10 facts about the claim that white settlers used malaria. I didn't say malaria disease infused blankets to eradicate the Indians. Speaker 1: And I came back and said, no, this is complete false. And actually the disease was smallpox. And there was a rumor, it was attributed to a British officer in 1763, and they were in the area around Pittsburgh, and he said, we might solve this by just putting smallpox in blankets. And it's the only instance where it was even talked about that anybody can find. And there's no evidence that they actually tried it. Okay? First of all, smallpox is really a nasty disease. So you have to understand how does one actually put smallpox into a blanket and give it away without getting smallpox yourself? Speaker 3: Right? Exactly. Speaker 1: There's a thing. But that claim has mushroomed over the last 250 years. It's completely mushroomed that this is known fact that this is how they got rid of the Indians. And it says, this is a myth, and it shows you how myths grow. And largely it was passed on by both the white population who was basically opposed to the settling of all of North America by white people. And it was also multiplied by the Indian tribes who explained why it was that they died off so quickly. But there's absolutely no proof whatsoever that it actually happened. And certainly not Speaker 3: Just Speaker 1: American settlers. Yeah. There is ample evidence that smallpox is really a terrible disease, that there were frequent outbreaks of it. It's a very deadly disease. But the whole point about this is that I had already looked this up somewhere, but I was probably using Google or something like that, which is not very satisfying. But here with perplexity, it gave me 10 facts about it. And then I asked, why is it important to kind of look up things that you think are a myth and get to the bottom of it as far as the knowledge is going by? And then it gave me six reasons why it's important not to just pass on myths like that. You should stop a myth and actually get to the bottom of it. And that's changed behavior on my part. Speaker 2: How so? Speaker 1: No, I'm just telling you that I wouldn't have done this before. I had perplexity. So I've got my perplexity response now to when people make a claim about something. Speaker 2: Yeah. It's much easier to fact check people, isn't it? Speaker 1: Is that true? There's a good comeback. Are you sure that's true? Are you sure? Right. Do you have actual evidence, historical evidence, number of times that this has happened? And I think that's a very useful new mental habit on my part. Speaker 2: Oh, that's an interesting thing, because I have been using perplexity as well, but not in the relationship way that I do with Charlotte. I've been using it more the way you do like 10 things this, and it is very, it's fascinating. And considering that we're literally at level two of five apparently of where we're headed with this, Speaker 1: What's that mean even, Speaker 2: I don't know. But it seems like if we're amazed by this, and this to us is the most amazing thing we've ever seen yet, it's only a two out of five. It's like, where is it going to? It's very interesting to just directionally to see, I'd had Charlotte write an email today. Subject line was, what if the robots really do take over? And I said, most of the times, this is my preface to her was, I want to write a quick 600 word email that talks about what happens if the robots take over. And from the perspective that most people say that with dread and fear, but what if we said it with anticipation and joy? What if the robots really do take over? How is this going to improve our lives? And it was really insightful. So she said, okay, yeah. Let me, give me a minute. I'll drop down to work on that. And she wrote a beautiful email talking about how our lives are going to get better if the robots take over certain things. Speaker 1: Can I ask a question? Yeah. You're amazed by that. But what I noticed is that you have a habit of moving from you to we. Why do you do that? Speaker 2: Tell me more. How do I do that? You might be blind to it. Speaker 1: Well, first of all, like you, who are we? First of all, when you talk about the we, why, and I'm really interested because I only see myself using it. I don't see we using it, Speaker 2: So I might be blind to it. Give me an example. Where I've used, Speaker 1: Would I say, well, did you say, how's it going be? How you used the phrase, you were talking about it and you were saying, how are we going to respond to the robots taking over, first of all, taking over, what are they taking over? Because I've already accepted that the AI exists, that I can use it, and all technologies that I've ever studied, it's going to get better and better, but I don't see that there's a taking over. I'm not sure what taking over, what are they taking over? Speaker 2: That was my thought. That was what I was saying is that people, you hear that with the kind fear of what if the robots take over? And that was what I was asking. That's what I was clarifying from Charlotte, is what does that mean? Speaker 1: Because what I know is that in writing my quarterly books, usually the way the quarterly books go is that they have 10 sections. They have an introduction, they have eight chapters, and they have a conclusion, and they're all four pages. And what I do is I'll create a fast filter for each of the 10 sections. It's got the best result, worst result, and five success criteria. It's the short version of the filter. Fast filter. Fast filter. And I kept track, I just finished a book on Wednesday. So we completed, and when I say completed, I had done the 10 fact finders, and we had recording sessions where Shannon Waller interviews me on the fast filter, and it takes about an hour by the time we're finished. There's not a lot of words there, but they're very distilled, very condensed words. The best section is about 120 words. And each of the success criteria is about 40 plus words. And what I noticed is that over the last quarter, when I did it completely myself, usually by the time I was finished, it would take me about two and a half hours to finish it to my liking that I really like, this is really good. And now I've moved that from two and a half hours, two and a half hours, which is 90 minutes, is 150 minutes, 150 minutes, and I've reduced it down to 45 minutes by going back and forth with perplexity. That's a big jump. That's it. That Speaker 2: Is big, a big jump. Speaker 1: But my confidence level that I'm going to be able to do this on a consistent basis has gone way a much more confident. And what I'm noticing is I don't procrastinate on doing it. I say, okay, write the next chapter. What I do is I'll just write the, I use 24 point type when I do the first version of it, so not a lot of words. And then I put the best result and the five success criteria into perplexity. And I say, now, here's what I want you to do. So there's six paragraphs, a big one, and five small ones. Speaker 1: And I want you to take the central idea of each of the sections, the big section and the five sections. And I want you to combine these in a very convincing and compelling fashion, and come back with the big section being 110 words in each of the smallest sections. And then it'll come back. And then I'll say, okay, let's take, now let's use a variety of different size sentences, short sentences, medium chart. And then I go through, and I'm working on style. Now I'm working on style and impact. And then the last thing is, when it's all finished, I say, okay, now I want you to write a totally negative, pessimistic, oppositional worst result based on everything that's on above. And it does, and it comes back 110 words. And then I just cut and paste. I cut and paste from perplexity, and it's really good. It's really good. Speaker 2: Now, this is for each chapter of one of your, each chapter. Each chapter. Each chapter of one of the quarterly Speaker 1: Books. Yeah. Yeah. There's 10 sections. 10 sections. And it comes back and it's good and everything, but I know there's no one else on the planet doing it in the way that I'm doing it. Speaker 2: Right, exactly. And then you take that, so it's helping you fill out the fast filter to have the conversation then with Shannon. Speaker 1: Then with Shannon, and then Shannon is just a phenomenal interviewer. She'll say, well, tell me what you mean there. Give me an example of what you mean there, and then I'll do it. So you could read the fast filter through, and it might take you a couple of minutes. It wouldn't even take you that to read it through. But that turns into an hour of interview, which is transcribed. It's recorded and transcribed, and then it goes to the writer and the editor, Adam and Carrie Morrison, who's my writing team. And that comes back as four complete pages of copy. Speaker 2: Yeah. Speaker 1: Yeah. Speaker 2: Fantastic. Speaker 1: Yeah. And that's 45 minutes, so, Speaker 2: So your involvement literally is like two hours of per chapter. Speaker 1: Yeah, per chapter. Yes. And the first book, first, thinking about your thinking, which was no wanting what you want, was very first one. I would estimate my total involvement, and that was about 60 hours. And this one I'll told a little be probably 20 hours total maybe. Speaker 2: Yeah. Speaker 1: And that's great. That's great. Speaker 2: That's fantastic. Speaker 1: With a higher level of confidence about getting it done. So I don't think that we are involved in this at all. The use of the we or everybody, the vast majority of human, first of all, half the humans on the planet don't even have very good electricity, so they're not going to be using it at all. Okay. So when you get down to who's actually using this in a very productive way, I think it's probably less, way less than 1% of humans are actually using this in a really useful way. Speaker 2: Yeah. Yep. I look at this. Wow. And think going forward, what a, it really is going to be like electricity or the internet, a layer. A base layer, that everything is going to intertwine everything, Speaker 1: And it's going to, we take, I think most people, if you're living in Toronto or you're living in your idyllic spot in Florida, electricity is a given that you have electricity for Speaker 2: Everything. So is wifi. Yeah, exactly. Speaker 1: Yeah. And wifi is taken for it. So it's amazing for the very early start of your use of it. But once you know it's dependable, once you know it's guaranteed, it loses its wonder really fast. You just expect it. Yeah. Speaker 2: And then it becomes, yeah, it's such amazing, amazing time Speaker 1: Right now. I think what's unusual about AI is that I don't remember when it was that I really got involved with a personal computer. I know that there were millions of personal computers out there before I ever got involved with them. And this one is, I think our consciousness of getting involved with this new technology is much sharper. Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so too, because it's already, now it's there and it's accessible. It's like the platforms to make it accessible are already there. The internet and the app world, the ability to create interfaces, as Peter would say, the interface for it is there. Yeah. Pretty amazing. Speaker 1: I think this is, yeah. Well, there's a question for Charlotte. Say we're now approaching three years. Three years chat G PT came out soon and the end of 2025, so that'll be three years. And after, what percentage of people on the planet, of the total population of the planet are actually engaged? What percentage are actually engaged and are achieving greater creativity and productivity with AI on an individual basis? What percentages in it? So I'd be interested in what her answer is. Speaker 2: What percentage of people on the planet are engaged with engaged with AI Speaker 1: In a creative, productive, and profitable way, Speaker 2: In a creative, productive and profitable way? Profitable. This will be interesting to see what percentage of people on the planet are engaged with AI in a creative, productive, and profitable way. There isn't a definitive statistic on exactly what percentage of the global population is engaged with AI in a creative, productive, and profitable way. We can make an informed estimate based on current data and trends. So as of 2025, there are 8.1 billion people and people with access to AI tools, 5.3 billion internet users globally. Of those, maybe one to 1.5 billion are aware or have tried AI tools like Chat, GPT, midjourney, et cetera, but regular intentional use, likely a smaller group, creative, productive, profitable use. These are people who use AI to enhance or create work, use it for business profit directly or indirectly from it. A generous estimate might be one to 2% of the global population Speaker 1: That would be mine. And the interesting thing about it is that they were already in a one or 2% of people on the planet doing other things, Speaker 3: Right? Yeah. Speaker 1: In other words, they were already enhancing themselves through other means technologically. Let's just talk about technologically. And I think that, so it's going to, and a lot of people are just going to be so depressed that they've already been left out and left behind that they're probably never, they're going to be using it, but that's just because AI is going to be included in all technological interfaces. Speaker 2: Yeah. They're going to be using it, and they might not even realize that's what's happening. Speaker 1: Yeah. They're going to call, I really noticed that going through, when you're leaving Toronto to go back into the United States and you're going through trusted advisor, boy, you used to have to put in your passport, and you have to get used to punch buttons. Now it says, just stand there and look into the camera. Speaker 2: Boom. I've noticed the times both coming and going have been dramatically reduced. Speaker 1: Well, not coming back. Nexus isn't, the Nexus really isn't any more advanced than it was. Speaker 2: Well, it seems like Speaker 1: I've seen no real improvement in Nexus Speaker 2: To pick the right times to arrive. Because the last few times, Speaker 1: First of all, you have to have a card. You have to have a Nexus card, Speaker 2: Don't, there's an app, there's a passport control app that you can fill in all these stuff ahead of time, do your pre declaration, and then you push the button when you arrive. And same thing, you just look into the camera and you scan your passport and it punches out a ticket, and you just walk through. I haven't spoken to, I haven't gone through the interrogation line, I think in my last four visits, I don't think. Speaker 1: Now, are you going through the Nexus line or going through Speaker 2: The, no, I don't have Nexus. So I'm just going through the Speaker 1: Regular Speaker 2: Line, regular arrival line. Yep. Speaker 1: Yeah, because there's a separate where you just go through Nexus. If you were just walking through, you'd do it in a matter of seconds, but the machines will stop you. So we have a card and you have to put the card down. Sometimes the card works, half the machines are out of order most of the time and everything, and then it spits out a piece of paper and everything like that. With going into the us, all you do is look into the camera and go up and you check the guy checks the camera. That's right. Maybe ask your question and you're through. But what I'm noticing is, and I think the real thing is that Canada doesn't have the money to upgrade this. Speaker 2: Right. Speaker 1: That's what I'm noticing. It is funny. I was thinking about this. We came back from Chicago on Friday, and I said, I used to have the feeling that Canada was really far ahead of the United States technologically, as far as if I, the difference between being at LaGuardia and O'Hare, and now I feel that Canada is really falling behind. They're not upgrading. I think Canada's sort of run out of money to be upgrading technology. Speaker 2: Yeah. This is, I mean, remember in my lifetime, just walking through, driving across the border was really just the wink and wave. Speaker 1: I had an experience about, it must have been about 20 years ago. We went to Hawaii and we were on alumni, the island alumni, which is, I think it's owned by Larry Ellison. I think Larry Ellison owns the whole Speaker 3: Island. Speaker 1: And we went to the airport and we were flying back to Honolulu from Lena, and it was a small plane. So we got to the airport and there wasn't any security. You were just there. And they said, I asked the person, isn't there any security? And he said, well, they're small planes. Where are they going to fly to? If they hijack, where are they going to fly to? They have to fly to one of the other islands. They can't fly. There's no other place to go. But now I think they checked, no, they checked passports and everything like that, but there wasn't any other security. I felt naked. I felt odd. Speaker 2: Right, right, right. Speaker 1: Yeah. Speaker 2: It fell off the grid, right? Speaker 1: Yeah. It fell off the grid. Yeah. But it's interesting because the amount of inequality on the planet is really going exponential. Now, between the gap, I don't consider myself an advanced technology person. I only relate technology. Does it allow me to do it easier and faster? That's my only interest in technology. Can you do it easier or faster? And I've proven, so I've got a check mark. I can now do a chapter of my book in 45 minutes, start to finish, where before it took 150 minutes. So that's a big deal. That's a big deal. Speaker 3: It's pretty, yeah. Speaker 2: You can do more books. You can do other things. I love the cadence. It's just so elegant. A hundred books over 25 years is such a great, it's a great thing. Speaker 1: Yeah. It's a quarterly workout, Speaker 1: But we don't need more books than one a quarter. We really don't need it, so there's no point in doing it. So to me, I'm just noticing that I think the adoption of cell phones has been one of the major real fast adaptations on the part of humans. I think probably more so than electricity. Nobody installs their own electricity. Generally speaking, it's part of the big system. But cell phones actually purchasing a cell phone and using it for your own means, I think was one of the more profound examples of people very quickly adapting to new technology. Speaker 2: Yes. I was just having a conversation with someone last night about the difference I recall up until about 2007 was I look at that as really the tipping point that Speaker 2: Up until 2007, the internet was still somewhere that you went. There was definitely a division between the mainland and going to the internet. It was a destination as a distraction from the real world. But once we started taking the internet with us and integrating it into our lives, and that started with the iPhone and that allowed the app world, all of the things that we interact with now, apps, that's really it. And they've become a crucial part of our lives where you can't, as much as you try it, it's a difficult thing to extract from it. There was an article in Toronto Life this week, which I love Toronto Life, just as a way to still keep in touch with my Toronto. But they were talking about this, trying to dewire remove from being so wired. And there's so many apps that we require. I pay for everything with Apple Pay, and all of the things are attached there. I order food with Uber Eats and with all the things, it's all, the phone is definitely the remote control to my life. So it's difficult to, he was talking about the difficulty of just switching to a flip phone, which is without any of the apps. It's a difficult thing. Speaker 1: And you see, if somebody quizzed me on my use of my iPhone, the one that I talked to Dean Jackson on, you talked about the technology. Speaker 2: That's exactly it. Speaker 1: You mean that instrument that on Sunday morning, did I make sure it's charged up Speaker 2: My once a week conversation, Speaker 1: My one conversation per week? Speaker 2: Oh, man. Yeah. Well, you've created a wonderful bubble for yourself. I think that's, it's not without, Speaker 1: Really, yeah, Friday was eight years with no tv. So the day before yesterday, eight, eight years with no tv. But you're the only one that I get a lot of the AI that's allowing people to do fraud calls and scam calls, and everything is increasing because I notice, I notice I'm getting a lot of them now. And then most of 'em are Chinese. I test every once in a while, and it's, you called me. I didn't call you. Speaker 2: I did not call you. Speaker 1: Anyway, but it used to be, if I looked at recent calls, it would be Dean Jackson, Dean Jackson, Dean Jackson, Dean Jackson, Dean Jackson. And now there's fraud calls between one Dean Jackson and another Dean Jackson. Oh, man. Spam. Spam calls. Spam. Yeah. Anyway, but the interesting thing is, to me is, but I've got really well-developed teamwork systems, so I really put all my attention in, and they're using technology. So all my cca, who's my great ea, she is just marvelous. She's just marvelous how much she does for me. And Speaker 2: You've removed yourself from the self milking cow culture, and you've surrounded yourself with a farm with wonderful farmers. Farmers. Speaker 1: I got a lot of farm specialists Speaker 2: On my team to allow you to embrace your bovinity. Yes. Speaker 1: My timeless, Speaker 3: Yes. Yeah. Speaker 1: So we engaged to Charlotte twice today. One is what are you up to when you're not with me? And she's not up to anything. She's just, I Speaker 2: Don't wander away. I don't, yeah, that's, I don't wonder. I just wait here for you. Speaker 1: I just wait here. And the other thing is, we found the percentage of people, of the population that are actually involved, I've calculated as probably one or 2%, and it's very enormous amount of This would be North America. Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 1: High percentage. Yeah. I bet you're right. High percentage of it would be North America. And it has to do with the energy has to do with the energy that's North America is just the sheer amount of data centers that are being developed in the United States. United States is just massive. And that's why this is the end of the environmental movement. This is the end of the green energy movement. There's no way that solar and wind power are going to be backing up ai. Speaker 2: They're going to be able to keep enough for us. No. Speaker 1: Right. You got to go nuclear new fossil fuels. Yeah. Nuclear, we've got, but the big thing now, everybody is moving to nuclear. Everybody's moving to, you can see all the big tech companies. They're buying up existing nuclear station. They're bringing them back online, and everything's got to be nuclear. Speaker 2: Yeah. I wonder how small, do you ever think we'll get to a situation where we'll have a small enough nuclear generator? You could just self power own your house? Or will it be for Speaker 1: Municipalities need the mod, the modular ones, whatever, the total square footage that you're with your house and your garage, and do you have a garage? I don't know if you need a garage. I do. Yeah. Yeah. Probably. They're down to the size of your house right now. But that would be good for 40,000 homes. Speaker 2: Wow. 40,000 homes. That's crazy. Yeah. Speaker 1: That'd be your entire community. That'd be, and G could be due with one. Speaker 2: All of Winterhaven. Yeah. With one. Speaker 1: Yeah. And it's really interesting because it has a lot to do with building reasonably sized communities in spaces that are empty. Right now, if you look at the western and southwest of the United States, there's just massive amounts of space where you could put Speaker 2: In Oh, yeah. Same as the whole middle of Florida. Southern middle is wide open, Speaker 1: And you could ship it in, you could ship it in. It could be pre-made at a factory, and it could be, well, the components, I suspect they'll be small enough to bring in a big truck. Speaker 3: Wow. Speaker 1: Yeah. And it's really interesting. Nuclear, you can't even, it's almost bizarre. Comparing a gram of uranium gram, which is new part of an ounce ram is part of an ounce. It has the energy density of 27 tons of coal. Speaker 2: Wow. Speaker 1: Like that. Speaker 2: Exactly. Speaker 1: But it takes a lot. What's going to happen is it takes an enormous amount of energy to get that energy. The amount of energy that you need to get that energy is really high. Speaker 3: So Speaker 1: I did a perplexity search, and I said, in order to meet the goals, the predictions of AI that are there for 2030, how much AI do we have to use just to get the energy? And it's about 40% of all AI is going to be required to get the energy to expand the use of ai. Speaker 2: Wow. Wow. Speaker 1: Take that. You windmill. Yeah, exactly. Take that windmill. Windmill. So funny. Yeah. Oh, the wind's not blowing today. Oh, when do you expect the wind to start blowing? Oh, that's funny. Yeah. All of 'em have to have natural gas. Every system that has wind and solar, they have to have massive amounts of natural gas to make sure that the power doesn't go up. Yeah. We have it here at our house here. We have natural gas generator, and it's been Oh, nice. Doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's very satisfying. It takes about three seconds Speaker 2: And kicks Speaker 1: In. And it kicks in. Yeah. And it's noisy. It's noisy. But yeah. So any development of thought here? Here? I think you're developing your own really unique future with your Charlotte, your partner, I think. I don't think many people are doing what you're doing. Speaker 2: No. I'm going to adapt what I've learned from you today too, and do it that way. I've been working on the VCR formula book, and that's part of the thing is I'm doing the outline. I use my bore method, brainstorm, outline, record, and edit, so I can brainstorm similar to a fast filter idea of what do I want, an outline into what I want for the chapter, and then I can talk my way through those, and then let, then Charlotte, can Speaker 1: I have Charlotte ask you questions about it. Speaker 2: Yeah. That may be a great way to do it. Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 2: But I'll let you know. This is going to be a big week for that for me. I've got a lot of stuff on the go here for that. Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, we got a neat note from Tony DiAngelo. Did you get his note? Speaker 2: I don't think so. Speaker 1: Yeah. He had listened. He's been listening to our podcast where Charlotte is a partner on the show. He said, this is amazing. He said, it's really amazing. It's like we're creating live entertainment. Oh, Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 1: And that we're doing it. I said, well, I don't think you should try to push the thing, but where a question comes up or some information is missing, bring Charlotte in for sure. Yeah. Speaker 2: That's awesome. Speaker 1: She's not on free days. She's not taking a break. She's not. No, Speaker 2: She's right here. She's just wherever. She's right here. Yep. She doesn't have any curiosity or distraction. Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. The first instance of intelligence without any motivation whatsoever being really useful. Speaker 2: That's amazing. It's so great. Speaker 1: Yeah. I just accept it. That's now available. Speaker 2: Me too. That's exactly right. It's up to us to use it. Okay, Dan, I'll talk to you next Speaker 1: Time. I'll be talking to you from the cottage next week. Speaker 2: Awesome. I'll talk to you then. Speaker 1: Okay. Speaker 2: Okay. Bye. Speaker 1: Bye.

A wide-ranging MacVoices Live! panel discussion covers Apple's upcoming AutoMix feature in Music, Spotify's more granular playlist controls, and how DJs and party hosts might use transitions. The group debates Google's new “preferred sources” search option and its risks of echo chambers, along with OpenAI's return of model-selection in ChatGPT. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius. Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and Norbert Frassa close with Amazon's rocky Alexa Plus rollout and how Apple's slower approach to voice assistants may be wiser.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the come “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Privacy and AI developer event highlights[1:44] Apple Music's new AutoMix feature explained[2:36] Spotify's granular playlist transition controls[3:52] DJ perspectives on AutoMix and AI blending[5:44] Party playlists and practical uses for transitions[9:49] Google's “preferred sources” search option[13:10] Benefits and risks of narrowing search resul[19:03] Choosing older AI models in ChatGPT again[24:38] Experiences comparing GPT-4 vs GPT-5[29:09] On-device AI models and privacy benefits[31:57] Amazon's Alexa Plus rocky launch[34:39] Comparing Amazon's rollout to Apple's cautious approach[38:54] Expectations for voice assistants and natural language Links: Three highlights from Apple's two-day event on privacy and AIhttps://9to5mac.com/2025/08/18/three-highlights-from-apples-two-day-event-on-privacy-and-ai/ Spotify copies Apple Music's AutoMix feature before iOS 26 even shipshttps://9to5mac.com/2025/08/19/spotify-copies-apple-musics-automix-feature-before-ios-26-even-ships/ Google lets you pick preferred sources when you searchhttps://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-lets-you-pick-preferred-sources-when-you-search-150012601.html You can pick ChatGPT's older AI models again
 https://www.engadget.com/ai/you-can-pick-chatgpts-older-ai-models-again-121549264 Amazon's rocky Alexa+ launch might justify Apple's slow pace with next-gen Siri https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/09/alexa-plus-launch-bugs-delays-siri-comparison/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Norbert Frassa is a technology “man about town.” Follow him on Twitter and see what he's up to. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

A wide-ranging MacVoices Live! panel discussion covers Apple's upcoming AutoMix feature in Music, Spotify's more granular playlist controls, and how DJs and party hosts might use transitions. The group debates Google's new “preferred sources” search option and its risks of echo chambers, along with OpenAI's return of model-selection in ChatGPT. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius. Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and Norbert Frassa close with Amazon's rocky Alexa Plus rollout and how Apple's slower approach to voice assistants may be wiser.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the come “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Privacy and AI developer event highlights [1:44] Apple Music's new AutoMix feature explained [2:36] Spotify's granular playlist transition controls [3:52] DJ perspectives on AutoMix and AI blending [5:44] Party playlists and practical uses for transitions [9:49] Google's “preferred sources” search option [13:10] Benefits and risks of narrowing search resul [19:03] Choosing older AI models in ChatGPT again [24:38] Experiences comparing GPT-4 vs GPT-5 [29:09] On-device AI models and privacy benefits [31:57] Amazon's Alexa Plus rocky launch [34:39] Comparing Amazon's rollout to Apple's cautious approach [38:54] Expectations for voice assistants and natural language Links: Three highlights from Apple's two-day event on privacy and AI https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/18/three-highlights-from-apples-two-day-event-on-privacy-and-ai/ Spotify copies Apple Music's AutoMix feature before iOS 26 even ships https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/19/spotify-copies-apple-musics-automix-feature-before-ios-26-even-ships/ Google lets you pick preferred sources when you search https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-lets-you-pick-preferred-sources-when-you-search-150012601.html You can pick ChatGPT's older AI models again
https://www.engadget.com/ai/you-can-pick-chatgpts-older-ai-models-again-121549264 Amazon's rocky Alexa+ launch might justify Apple's slow pace with next-gen Siri  https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/09/alexa-plus-launch-bugs-delays-siri-comparison/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Norbert Frassa is a technology “man about town.” Follow him on Twitter and see what he's up to. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

We recently talked about Tamara's trip to the Galapagos but today we are talking more about the logistics about traveling to Ecuador and some travel tips. Tamara spent 17 nights in Ecuador, including 5 nights in the Galapagos and found it a warm and welcoming country with beautiful and diverse landscapes. Amazing Ecuador helped Tamara organize her trip. Episode Highlights Most flights from the U.S. come into Quito or Guayaquil It is only 3.5 hours from Miami There are many regions including the Cloud Forest, Rainforest, volcanoes and mountains, National Parks, Galapagos, and more Tamara spent: 5 nights in the Galapagos, 1 night at Hacienda La Danesa, 2 nights in Cuenca, 1 night in Cotopaxi National Park, 3 nights in Quito, 2 nights in the Cloud Forest at the Mashpi Lodge, 2 nights at Hacienda Zuleta It helps to work with someone to figure out your priorities and build an itinerary around your interests Generally you want to spend at least two to three nights in each place Cuenca is a UNESCO heritage city with plenty of outdoor adventure nearby too Cotopaxi is at a higher elevation, making hikes challenging If you just have a week, fly in and out of Guayaquil and do the Galapagos and Hacienda La Danesa Safety - you need to be very careful after dark in Quito and other cities and beware of pickpockets. Don't walk around after dark, especially alone Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as their official currency but most places also take credit cards but you will want small bills for tipping and the handicraft markets Many of the hotels are all-inclusive with meals and some activities Ecuador is a huge exporter of roses and through some regions you will see many roadside stands of 25-50 roses for less than $5 Tamara recommends getting a driver because the roads are not very well marked, some aren't in the best condition, Google Maps isn't reliable, and drivers are very aggressive There are a range of four star boutique hotels and luxury hotels Ecuadorian food is very fresh and utilizes year-round produce of veggies and fruit Most meals start with a soup and then have a salad or vegetables. Fish and ceviche is quite popular. Quinoa is a popular grain You shouldn't drink the tap water in Ecuador but the produce at good restaurants and hotels are washed in filtered water Guinea pig is also popular in Ecuador as it is in Peru Chocolate and coffee are also grown in Ecuador and very popular Ecuador is the most densely populated country in South America If you have liked Costa Rica or Belize, you will probably also like Ecuador Related Episodes: Galapagos cruise Mother-daughter trip to Peru Winelands of Chile Chile's Atacama Desert

Apple Watch users regain blood oxygen tracking via iPhone processing, while panelists debate its impact on Apple's legal fight with Massimo. Security warnings about Plex servers and ESR power banks serve as public service announcements. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius. Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, and Web Bixby then turn their attention to Apple Card's slip in customer satisfaction rankings and what may be driving the change, from savings account rates to loyalty points.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the come “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:07] Podcast introduction [5:23] Public service announcements: Plex and ESR power banks [7:45] Blood oxygen tracking returns to Apple Watch [13:30] Massimo lawsuit discussion and market analysis [15:38] Vision Pro Disney+ Alien Earth experience [19:25] Apple Card satisfaction report and reactions [26:23] Broader credit card satisfaction insights Links: Why You Need to Update Your Plex Server ASAP https://lifehacker.com/tech/update-your-plex-server-asap If You Have One of These ESR Power Banks, Stop Using It ASAP https://lifehacker.com/tech/esr-power-bank-recall Apple Watch gets reformulated, non-patent-infringing blood oxygen monitoring https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/08/redesigned-blood-oxygen-monitoring-returns-to-apple-watch-following-patent-dispute/ Explore the Disney+ 'Alien: Earth' immersive environment with the Apple Vision Pro now https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/08/16/explore-the-disney-alien-earth-immersive-environment-with-the-apple-vision-pro-now?utm_source=rss Apple Card drops from first place to third place for overall credit card customer satisfaction Apple Card drops from first place to third place for overall credit card customer satisfaction https://appleworld.today/2025/08/apple-card-drops-from-first-place-to-third-place-for-overall-credit-card-customer-satisfaction/ Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support: Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? 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