Podcasts about windows

Windows are one of the most confusing—and consequential—components of a high-performance home. In this episode, the crew takes a deep dive into window and glass selection, aiming to make things clear without letting your eyes glaze over.The discussion covers dual-pane versus triple-pane insulated glazing units, IGU numbering conventions, and the relatively new i89 coating—including what it means for thermal performance and condensation risk. They also unpack the difference between center-of-glass values and full-window NFRC performance numbers, and why those distinctions matter when making real design decisions.One gem of a takeaway sums it all up, with Jake quoting Steve: “The windows, the envelope, and the HVAC are one line item.”Pete's Resources:Cardinal Glass Technical Guide (2025 Version 3.1)BA 0402 “Singing the Blues in the Key of Low-E”A Review of Advanced Architectural Glazing TechnologiesEfficient Window Coverings

Windows 11 quietly shifted the way we manage apps, protect data, and interact with our devices in 2025. This episode reveals the must-try upgrades tech insiders are buzzing about. Host: Paul Thurrott Download or subscribe to Hands-On Windows at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-windows Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

We were inundated with new Windows features in 2025, but which ones actually moved the needle? Fortnite isn't just back on iPhone and Android, it's available on Windows 11 on Arm, and it works great! Plus, 2 big mobile wins for Epic Games and some thoughts on the "right" way to roll out AI features.Windows 11 Best Windows 11 updates of 2025, in no particular order... Dark mode improvements to File Explorer Widgets major overhaul with separate widgets and Discovery feed Xbox Full Screen experience - especially good on handhelds, of course, but also any PC you use for gaming with a controller Click to Do (Copilot+ PC only) External fingerprint reader support for Windows Hello ESS -External/USB webcams supported by Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ PC only) Quick Machine Recovery is the tip of a wave of new foundational features like Admin Protection, Smart App Control (updates), and more that go beyond surface-level look and feel Redesigned Start menu isn't perfect but it's a nice improvement Copilot Vision, though this type of thing may make more sense on phones AI features in Paint, Photos, Notepad, and Snipping Tool Natural language interactions like the agent in Settings, file search, and more (mostly Copilot+ PC only, but you can do this in Copilot as well) Bluetooth LE support for improved audio quality in game chat, voice calls Gaming on Windows 11 on Arm and Snapdragon X: Major steps forward, but the same issue as always Looking ahead to 2026: 26H1, Agentic features that work, potential Windows 12, and AI PCs AI An extensive new interview with Mustafa Suleyman confirms why this guy is special and how confusing it is that Copilot is so disrespected Microsoft Copilot is auto-installing on LG smart TVs and there's no way to remove it GPT-5.2 is OpenAI's answer to Gemini 3 ChatGPT Images is OpenAI's answer to Nano Banana Pro Disney invests $1 billion OpenAI, sues Google Opera Neon is now generally available for $20 per month AI is moving quick as we all know but the bigger issue may be the incessant marketing about features like agents that don't even work now Microsoft is getting pushback on forced Copilot usage, price hikes Google is expanding its use of "experiments" outside of mainstream products with things like NotebookLM, Mixboard, CC, and much more. Maybe this is the better approach: Test separately and then integrate it into existing products Oddly enough, Microsoft does have a Windows AI Lab for this kind of experimentation Many small models vs. one big LLM in the cloud Mobile Fortnite is back in the Google Play Store in the U.S. as Google plays nice Apple loses its contempt appeal, the end of "junk fees" (Apple Tax) is in sight Xbox and gaming Xbox December Update has one big update for the mobile app and one big update for Xbox Wireless Headphones There's a new Xbox Developer Direct coming in January Half-Life 3 may really be happening, but it will be a Steam Machine launch title so it could be a while Tips & picks Tip of the year: De-enshittify Windows 11 App pick of the year: Fortnite RunAs Radio this week: Zero Trust in 2026 with Michele Bustamante Brown liquor pick of the week: Lark Symphony No. 1 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/963 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: auraframes.com/ink framer.com/design promo code WW outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

We were inundated with new Windows features in 2025, but which ones actually moved the needle? Fortnite isn't just back on iPhone and Android, it's available on Windows 11 on Arm, and it works great! Plus, 2 big mobile wins for Epic Games and some thoughts on the "right" way to roll out AI features.Windows 11 Best Windows 11 updates of 2025, in no particular order... Dark mode improvements to File Explorer Widgets major overhaul with separate widgets and Discovery feed Xbox Full Screen experience - especially good on handhelds, of course, but also any PC you use for gaming with a controller Click to Do (Copilot+ PC only) External fingerprint reader support for Windows Hello ESS -External/USB webcams supported by Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ PC only) Quick Machine Recovery is the tip of a wave of new foundational features like Admin Protection, Smart App Control (updates), and more that go beyond surface-level look and feel Redesigned Start menu isn't perfect but it's a nice improvement Copilot Vision, though this type of thing may make more sense on phones AI features in Paint, Photos, Notepad, and Snipping Tool Natural language interactions like the agent in Settings, file search, and more (mostly Copilot+ PC only, but you can do this in Copilot as well) Bluetooth LE support for improved audio quality in game chat, voice calls Gaming on Windows 11 on Arm and Snapdragon X: Major steps forward, but the same issue as always Looking ahead to 2026: 26H1, Agentic features that work, potential Windows 12, and AI PCs AI An extensive new interview with Mustafa Suleyman confirms why this guy is special and how confusing it is that Copilot is so disrespected Microsoft Copilot is auto-installing on LG smart TVs and there's no way to remove it GPT-5.2 is OpenAI's answer to Gemini 3 ChatGPT Images is OpenAI's answer to Nano Banana Pro Disney invests $1 billion OpenAI, sues Google Opera Neon is now generally available for $20 per month AI is moving quick as we all know but the bigger issue may be the incessant marketing about features like agents that don't even work now Microsoft is getting pushback on forced Copilot usage, price hikes Google is expanding its use of "experiments" outside of mainstream products with things like NotebookLM, Mixboard, CC, and much more. Maybe this is the better approach: Test separately and then integrate it into existing products Oddly enough, Microsoft does have a Windows AI Lab for this kind of experimentation Many small models vs. one big LLM in the cloud Mobile Fortnite is back in the Google Play Store in the U.S. as Google plays nice Apple loses its contempt appeal, the end of "junk fees" (Apple Tax) is in sight Xbox and gaming Xbox December Update has one big update for the mobile app and one big update for Xbox Wireless Headphones There's a new Xbox Developer Direct coming in January Half-Life 3 may really be happening, but it will be a Steam Machine launch title so it could be a while Tips & picks Tip of the year: De-enshittify Windows 11 App pick of the year: Fortnite RunAs Radio this week: Zero Trust in 2026 with Michele Bustamante Brown liquor pick of the week: Lark Symphony No. 1 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/963 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: auraframes.com/ink framer.com/design promo code WW outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

We were inundated with new Windows features in 2025, but which ones actually moved the needle? Fortnite isn't just back on iPhone and Android, it's available on Windows 11 on Arm, and it works great! Plus, 2 big mobile wins for Epic Games and some thoughts on the "right" way to roll out AI features.Windows 11 Best Windows 11 updates of 2025, in no particular order... Dark mode improvements to File Explorer Widgets major overhaul with separate widgets and Discovery feed Xbox Full Screen experience - especially good on handhelds, of course, but also any PC you use for gaming with a controller Click to Do (Copilot+ PC only) External fingerprint reader support for Windows Hello ESS -External/USB webcams supported by Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ PC only) Quick Machine Recovery is the tip of a wave of new foundational features like Admin Protection, Smart App Control (updates), and more that go beyond surface-level look and feel Redesigned Start menu isn't perfect but it's a nice improvement Copilot Vision, though this type of thing may make more sense on phones AI features in Paint, Photos, Notepad, and Snipping Tool Natural language interactions like the agent in Settings, file search, and more (mostly Copilot+ PC only, but you can do this in Copilot as well) Bluetooth LE support for improved audio quality in game chat, voice calls Gaming on Windows 11 on Arm and Snapdragon X: Major steps forward, but the same issue as always Looking ahead to 2026: 26H1, Agentic features that work, potential Windows 12, and AI PCs AI An extensive new interview with Mustafa Suleyman confirms why this guy is special and how confusing it is that Copilot is so disrespected Microsoft Copilot is auto-installing on LG smart TVs and there's no way to remove it GPT-5.2 is OpenAI's answer to Gemini 3 ChatGPT Images is OpenAI's answer to Nano Banana Pro Disney invests $1 billion OpenAI, sues Google Opera Neon is now generally available for $20 per month AI is moving quick as we all know but the bigger issue may be the incessant marketing about features like agents that don't even work now Microsoft is getting pushback on forced Copilot usage, price hikes Google is expanding its use of "experiments" outside of mainstream products with things like NotebookLM, Mixboard, CC, and much more. Maybe this is the better approach: Test separately and then integrate it into existing products Oddly enough, Microsoft does have a Windows AI Lab for this kind of experimentation Many small models vs. one big LLM in the cloud Mobile Fortnite is back in the Google Play Store in the U.S. as Google plays nice Apple loses its contempt appeal, the end of "junk fees" (Apple Tax) is in sight Xbox and gaming Xbox December Update has one big update for the mobile app and one big update for Xbox Wireless Headphones There's a new Xbox Developer Direct coming in January Half-Life 3 may really be happening, but it will be a Steam Machine launch title so it could be a while Tips & picks Tip of the year: De-enshittify Windows 11 App pick of the year: Fortnite RunAs Radio this week: Zero Trust in 2026 with Michele Bustamante Brown liquor pick of the week: Lark Symphony No. 1 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/963 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: auraframes.com/ink framer.com/design promo code WW outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

We were inundated with new Windows features in 2025, but which ones actually moved the needle? Fortnite isn't just back on iPhone and Android, it's available on Windows 11 on Arm, and it works great! Plus, 2 big mobile wins for Epic Games and some thoughts on the "right" way to roll out AI features.Windows 11 Best Windows 11 updates of 2025, in no particular order... Dark mode improvements to File Explorer Widgets major overhaul with separate widgets and Discovery feed Xbox Full Screen experience - especially good on handhelds, of course, but also any PC you use for gaming with a controller Click to Do (Copilot+ PC only) External fingerprint reader support for Windows Hello ESS -External/USB webcams supported by Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ PC only) Quick Machine Recovery is the tip of a wave of new foundational features like Admin Protection, Smart App Control (updates), and more that go beyond surface-level look and feel Redesigned Start menu isn't perfect but it's a nice improvement Copilot Vision, though this type of thing may make more sense on phones AI features in Paint, Photos, Notepad, and Snipping Tool Natural language interactions like the agent in Settings, file search, and more (mostly Copilot+ PC only, but you can do this in Copilot as well) Bluetooth LE support for improved audio quality in game chat, voice calls Gaming on Windows 11 on Arm and Snapdragon X: Major steps forward, but the same issue as always Looking ahead to 2026: 26H1, Agentic features that work, potential Windows 12, and AI PCs AI An extensive new interview with Mustafa Suleyman confirms why this guy is special and how confusing it is that Copilot is so disrespected Microsoft Copilot is auto-installing on LG smart TVs and there's no way to remove it GPT-5.2 is OpenAI's answer to Gemini 3 ChatGPT Images is OpenAI's answer to Nano Banana Pro Disney invests $1 billion OpenAI, sues Google Opera Neon is now generally available for $20 per month AI is moving quick as we all know but the bigger issue may be the incessant marketing about features like agents that don't even work now Microsoft is getting pushback on forced Copilot usage, price hikes Google is expanding its use of "experiments" outside of mainstream products with things like NotebookLM, Mixboard, CC, and much more. Maybe this is the better approach: Test separately and then integrate it into existing products Oddly enough, Microsoft does have a Windows AI Lab for this kind of experimentation Many small models vs. one big LLM in the cloud Mobile Fortnite is back in the Google Play Store in the U.S. as Google plays nice Apple loses its contempt appeal, the end of "junk fees" (Apple Tax) is in sight Xbox and gaming Xbox December Update has one big update for the mobile app and one big update for Xbox Wireless Headphones There's a new Xbox Developer Direct coming in January Half-Life 3 may really be happening, but it will be a Steam Machine launch title so it could be a while Tips & picks Tip of the year: De-enshittify Windows 11 App pick of the year: Fortnite RunAs Radio this week: Zero Trust in 2026 with Michele Bustamante Brown liquor pick of the week: Lark Symphony No. 1 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/963 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: auraframes.com/ink framer.com/design promo code WW outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

On this episode, I cover some of the issues and fallout from the recent Windows Updates, I talk a little about Windows 11 26H1, multiple security related stories and of course even more AI news! Reference Links: https://www.rorymon.com/blog/concerning-notepad-incident-december-updates-woes-festive-tech-calendar/

We were inundated with new Windows features in 2025, but which ones actually moved the needle? Fortnite isn't just back on iPhone and Android, it's available on Windows 11 on Arm, and it works great! Plus, 2 big mobile wins for Epic Games and some thoughts on the "right" way to roll out AI features.Windows 11 Best Windows 11 updates of 2025, in no particular order... Dark mode improvements to File Explorer Widgets major overhaul with separate widgets and Discovery feed Xbox Full Screen experience - especially good on handhelds, of course, but also any PC you use for gaming with a controller Click to Do (Copilot+ PC only) External fingerprint reader support for Windows Hello ESS -External/USB webcams supported by Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ PC only) Quick Machine Recovery is the tip of a wave of new foundational features like Admin Protection, Smart App Control (updates), and more that go beyond surface-level look and feel Redesigned Start menu isn't perfect but it's a nice improvement Copilot Vision, though this type of thing may make more sense on phones AI features in Paint, Photos, Notepad, and Snipping Tool Natural language interactions like the agent in Settings, file search, and more (mostly Copilot+ PC only, but you can do this in Copilot as well) Bluetooth LE support for improved audio quality in game chat, voice calls Gaming on Windows 11 on Arm and Snapdragon X: Major steps forward, but the same issue as always Looking ahead to 2026: 26H1, Agentic features that work, potential Windows 12, and AI PCs AI An extensive new interview with Mustafa Suleyman confirms why this guy is special and how confusing it is that Copilot is so disrespected Microsoft Copilot is auto-installing on LG smart TVs and there's no way to remove it GPT-5.2 is OpenAI's answer to Gemini 3 ChatGPT Images is OpenAI's answer to Nano Banana Pro Disney invests $1 billion OpenAI, sues Google Opera Neon is now generally available for $20 per month AI is moving quick as we all know but the bigger issue may be the incessant marketing about features like agents that don't even work now Microsoft is getting pushback on forced Copilot usage, price hikes Google is expanding its use of "experiments" outside of mainstream products with things like NotebookLM, Mixboard, CC, and much more. Maybe this is the better approach: Test separately and then integrate it into existing products Oddly enough, Microsoft does have a Windows AI Lab for this kind of experimentation Many small models vs. one big LLM in the cloud Mobile Fortnite is back in the Google Play Store in the U.S. as Google plays nice Apple loses its contempt appeal, the end of "junk fees" (Apple Tax) is in sight Xbox and gaming Xbox December Update has one big update for the mobile app and one big update for Xbox Wireless Headphones There's a new Xbox Developer Direct coming in January Half-Life 3 may really be happening, but it will be a Steam Machine launch title so it could be a while Tips & picks Tip of the year: De-enshittify Windows 11 App pick of the year: Fortnite RunAs Radio this week: Zero Trust in 2026 with Michele Bustamante Brown liquor pick of the week: Lark Symphony No. 1 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/963 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: auraframes.com/ink framer.com/design promo code WW outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

We're back for Episode 168 of Pixel Gaiden! In this episode Cody and Eric catch up on the news and cover Battle Of The Systems: Truxton (Arcade) vs Raiden (Arcade)   17:32 - Quick Questions 48:26 - Patreon Song 53:14- Tea Time With Tim - Amiga Memories Part 2 1:04:50 - Eric's Take - MicroProse Rising! 1:32:08 - News 2:48:46- Battle Of The Systems: Truxton (Arcade) vs Raiden (Arcade) News -    Cody – Amazing Looking C64 Game! https://psytronik.itch.io/sherwood  Eric - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3911400/Super_Blood_Hockey_Rogue_Manager/  Cody – New Evercade Releases Upcoming  https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/11/turrican-and-taito-collections-are-coming-to-evercade  Tim – Open Source DS Picio – New DS Pico based flash cart is coming soon. (Via RetroRGB)  https://retrorgb.com/open-source-nintendo-ds-flash-cart.html  Cody – Update! https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/12/cancelled-splatterhouse-rpg-splatter-world-is-now-playable-in-english  Eric - abxylute M4 Snap-On Phone Controller for Anytime Pocket Play  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1932181238/m4-snap-on-magnetic-phone-controller-for-anytime-pocket-play/faqs      Cody – Duke Nukem 3D in Voxels - https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/11/following-doom-and-doom-ii-duke-nukem-3d-is-the-latest-classic-fps-to-get-a-voxel-transformation  Tim – New Sonic the Hedgehog Mini arcade cabs coming from MyArcade. Includes: Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic Spinball and Sonic 3D Blast  https://xboxera.com/2025/12/01/sega-and-myarcade-team-up-for-new-sonic-the-hedgehog-retro-game-devices/  Eric – Sad local News – 1Up Robbed -   https://www.reddit.com/r/Sacramento/s/ObW6ymVS2J  Cody – Daytona back in the Arcades? https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/11/daytona-usa-is-returning-to-segas-body-sensation-roots  Tim – Another Commodore Plus/4 port release, this time Green Beret gets an arcade style port called Stab'N Dash. (via Indie Retro News)  https://www.indieretronews.com/2025/11/stabn-dash-commodore-plus4-gets-another.html?spref=tw  Eric - Fan community announces it will revive Unreal Tournament 2004 with Epic's blessing  https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/fan-community-announces-it-will-revive-unreal-tournament-2004-with-epics-blessing-were-doing-this-for-free-because-were-fans-of-the-game-and-we-like-a-challenge/  Cody – A new Shmup worth checking out?  https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/11/dont-miss-out-on-one-of-this-years-most-exciting-shoot-em-ups  Tim – Melkhiors Mansion a colourful 3D Isometric modern creation comes to Windows, Linux and Mac via BitGlint games on Itch.  https://bitglint.itch.io/melkhiors-mansion  Cody - https://www.retronews.com/feed-it-souls-first-impressions/  Eric – Someone working on a new Pico-8 Port - https://www.reddit.com/r/pico8/comments/1pe6kky/working_on_my_first_pico8_port/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button  Cody - https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/12/mariachi-legends-is-a-super-stylish-new-action-platformer-thats-giving-us-major-castlevania-vibes  Cody - https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/12/the-modern-fps-classic-dusk-is-getting-a-retro-inspired-rpg-spin-off  ALL – Vectrex Mini Kickstarter is complete. $1.3M! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1852390947/vectrex-mini    News Of The Weird!!!  Eric - Random: Tommy Tallarico Got Bodied So Badly He's Now Using A Fake Name | Time Extension  https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/12/random-tommy-tallarico-got-bodied-so-badly-hes-now-using-a-fake-name    Please give us a review on Apple Podcasts! Thanks for listening! You can always reach us at podcast@pixelgaiden.com. Send us an email if we missed anything in the show notes you need. You can now support us on Patreon.  Thank you to Henrik Ladefoged, Roy Fielding, Daniel James, 10MARC, Eric Sandgren, Brian Arsenault, Retro Gamer Nation, Maciej Sosnowski, Paradroyd, RAM OK ROM OK, Mitsoyama, David Vincent, Ant Stiller, Mr. Toast, Jason Holland, Mark Scott, Vicky Lamburn, Mark Richardson, Scott Partelow, Paul Jacobson, Steve Rasmussen, Steve Rasmussen's Mom, Retro Gamer Nation, Peter Price, Brett Alexander, Jason Warnes, Josh Malone (48kram), AndrewSan, Joe Ochwat, John Shawler, and Adam from Commodore Chronicles for making this show possible through their generous donation to the show.

  In this episode, Swamiji begins his discourse on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7, Verse 10, Part 1, where Shree Krishna declares: “I am the eternal seed of all beings. I am the intellect of the intelligent, and the splendor of the glorious.” This verse reveals how God is the cause behind all creation and the source of brilliance in human beings.  Swamiji explains that just as a seed contains the potential for a tree, God is the seed of all beings, the ultimate cause from which everything emanates. He emphasizes that intelligence and brilliance are not self-generated but bestowed by the Divine. Saints like Tulsidas admitted they were merely instruments, with God working through them to produce astonishing scriptures like the Ramcharitmanas. Similarly, the Bible affirms that holy men spoke as they were moved by the Spirit.  Swamiji illustrates this truth with vivid examples:  Bill Gates was empowered to create Windows, a common operating system, solving global interface problems—God chose him for that role.  Swami Vivekananda explained that even the British Empire, despite its faults, served God's purpose of uniting the world under a common language.  Tulsi Das revealed how Lord Ram Himself was the true doer behind his writings, showing that divine power manifests through chosen instruments.  Even humorous anecdotes, like the Gujarati millionaire cleverly using a bank loan for cheap parking, highlight how intelligence manifests in surprising ways—all ultimately sourced from God.  Swamiji concludes that whether brilliance or folly, all abilities originate from God. Recognizing this truth inspires humility, gratitude, and devotion, reminding seekers that they are instruments of the Divine.  About Swami Mukundananda: Swami Mukundananda is a renowned spiritual leader, Vedic scholar, Bhakti saint, best-selling author, and an international authority on the subject of mind management. He is the founder of the unique yogic system called JKYog. Swamiji holds distinguished degrees in Engineering and Management from two of India's most prestigious institutions—IIT and IIM. Having taken the renounced order of life (sanyas), he is the senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, and has been sharing Vedic wisdom across the globe for decades.  

Sara J. is getting nostalgic with a look back at 2025!From a rundown of the captivating guests she's welcomed to the show, to the launch of the RoughGauge featured artist series, the addition of two new photographers to the DATC Media team, and the company's expansion to an international presence—this year has been full of milestones.She also reflects on a year-in-the-making event that turned out to be even more meaningful than anticipated, and gives a sneak peek at what's coming in 2026 from DATC Media and the many projects she's involved with.This episode is the perfect way to cap off an iconic year!

professorjrod@gmail.comWhat if your help desk could solve recurring IT problems in minutes, not hours? In this episode, we explore the backbone of reliable IT support, focusing on clear SOPs that remove guesswork, SLAs that align technical work with business risk, and an effective ticketing flow that transforms scattered fixes into measurable outcomes. Whether you're preparing for a CompTIA exam or seeking practical IT skills development, you'll find valuable insights here. We share real-world examples—from login failures to VPN drops—that demonstrate how documentation, escalation tiers, and knowledge bases reduce time-to-resolution and prevent repeat incidents, making technology education and effective IT support attainable goals.We also get candid about the human side of support. Professionalism is not a soft skill; it is operational. We talk punctuality, clean language, and the kind of active listening that clarifies issues without talking down to users. De-escalation matters, but so do boundaries; you can stay calm without tolerating abuse. And yes, social media can cost you your job—one vague post is all it takes. These habits shape trust with customers and credibility inside the org.To round it out, we map the OS landscape you actually support: Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS on the desktop, plus iOS and Android in the field. We cover MDM realities with JAMF and Google Workspace, why file systems like NTFS and ReFS or APFS and ext4 affect security and performance, and how hardware requirements such as TPM 2.0 should drive upgrade planning. You will leave with a sharper playbook and four cert-style practice questions to test your knowledge.If you found this useful, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review to help others find it. Got a help desk win or a hard lesson learned? Send it our way and join the conversation.Support the showArt By Sarah/DesmondMusic by Joakim KarudLittle chacha ProductionsJuan Rodriguez can be reached atTikTok @ProfessorJrodProfessorJRod@gmail.com@Prof_JRodInstagram ProfessorJRod

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with Larry O'Connor, Founder of Other World Computing (OWC), for a follow-up conversation focused on OWC's latest product innovations and the company's long-standing philosophy of helping customers get more life, performance, and reliability from their technology. OWC is an ASCDI member and has built a reputation for designing solutions that “just work,” allowing users to focus on their workflows rather than managing infrastructure. O'Connor explained that OWC's roots in memory and storage upgrades naturally evolved into leadership in Thunderbolt connectivity, direct-attached storage, and enterprise NAS platforms. Today, OWC technology is deeply embedded in professional media, creative, and enterprise environments, often powering workflows behind the scenes. “Our goal is to be the boring part,” O'Connor said, noting that once OWC products are installed, they fade into the background while consistently delivering performance. A key focus of the discussion was OWC's expanded Thunderbolt 5 lineup, including the new StudioStack, which combines high-performance NVMe and spinning storage with additional downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports. Designed for systems with limited expansion options, StudioStack effectively turns a single Thunderbolt port into a powerful external PCI-style expansion point, supporting high-resolution displays, additional storage, and peripherals without sacrificing performance. O'Connor also highlighted OWC's new dual 10-gigabit Thunderbolt network dock, built to address specialized but growing needs in media, broadcast, and enterprise workflows. With two fully independent 10GbE ports, the dock enables network segmentation, bonded throughput, and dedicated traffic paths—capabilities that previously required more complex and expensive setups. “It's a game changer for customers who need predictable, high-bandwidth networking off a single cable,” he said. The conversation concluded with an update on SoftRAID 8.6, OWC's flagship software RAID solution, now enhanced for Windows 11 and the latest macOS. O'Connor emphasized SoftRAID's unique cross-platform interoperability between Mac and Windows, along with its ability to segment drives into multiple RAID levels for optimized performance and longevity—capabilities not possible with traditional hardware RAID. These innovations reflect OWC's continued commitment to performance, repairability, and long-term value across the technology lifecycle. For more information, visit https://www.owc.com/.

This show has been flagged as Clean by the host. Hello, again. This is Trey. Welcome to part 5 in my Cheap Yellow Display (CYD) Project series. If you are still listening to me ramble about this project, thank you. If you wish to catch up on earlier episodes, you can find them on my HPR profile page https://www.hackerpublicradio.org/correspondents/0394.html To review, My project is to build a portable morse code "Keyer memory" which can be connected to any of my HF transceiver radios by simply plugging it in to the code key input port. Then I could transmit stored messages by simply touching their specific icon on the touch screen. I also want to be able to program each macro individually from the graphical user interface (GUI). To do this, I need to learn how to build a GUI. Most of the CYD resources I have been referencing recommend using Squareline Studio for GUI development on the CYD. Sadly, Squareline Studio is not open source. If any of you have experience with a good, open source alternative to Squareline Studio, please record a show to help the rest of us. Squareline does have a free trial and a free single user / single computer license, which I am using for this project. It will run on Windows, Linux, and Mac. After watching several videos about using the CYD with Squareline, I started to outline the functionality I needed. Squareline provides a wide range of pre-configured boards and interfaces to choose from, in addition to widgets and controls which you can drag onto your screens, and it will automatically generate the supporting code in the background. The initial page needs to have the macro buttons, with labels for the message they will send when pressed. There also needs to be navigation buttons to move from one page to others. Another important page will be the configuration page, where the user can store the contents of each macro and set the speed at which code will be sent. I would like to have a keyboard page where the user can type a custom message and send it. I made a few GUI sketches on post-it-notes, then I installed Squareline Studio on my Ubuntu laptop to start designing. There is a bit of a learning curve. Even with guide videos, I found the user experience to be... challenging. Their own GUI leaves much to be desired. It was not designed to run on the laptop's screen size/resolution. I had to switch to a much higher resolution monitor and rearrange frames within the app itself in order to see many of the controls. Button size adjustments, alignments, and label text did not work quite as expected. Getting things sized and aligned properly took quite a bit of fiddling. The text displayed on a button is a separate object from the button itself, so I have had to put some thought into object naming so that I can write code which will change button labels dynamically. I am including some screenshots from Squareline for the interface I designed. One great feature is that you can define actions and conditions for objects in your project. For example, there are buttons on the left which will navigate to specific screens. I defined actions within Squareline, such that when the specific navigation button is pressed, it will change the button appearance to look like it has been pressed and will then scroll left or right to a specified screen. Actions were also valuable for the Speed (WPM) slider on the Config screen. When this slider is moved left and right, the GUI will change the actual number for WPM to the right of the slider. Next, there is a simulator function which can be used to test how well the GUI works. It took some trial and error, but I was able to build and successfully test, navigational actions and the WPM slider. As I was working on building the afore mentioned WPM slider, and thinking about the default words per minute of Morse to use, my ADHD interrupted me (As usual). I decided to change the default speed that I use for the Arduino Nano based Morse code practice keyer which I keep on my desk. You can learn more about this keyer in episode 3 of this series. And we will also discuss Morse code speed in a future episode in this series. The original code (As found on https://github.com/jmharvey1/ArduinoCPO ) specified 12 words per minute (WPM) as the default speed, with buttons to increase or decrease this. However, I am practicing at 20 WPM. Every time I turn on the practice set, I need to turn up the speed and guess when I am close to 20. I went ahead and opened the PracticeOscilator project in Arduino IDE and updated the wpm variable to a value of 20. No, you will not see this change reflected in my own GitHub repo because: A) I wanted to test it locally first B) 20 WPM may be a little fast for a default C) I do not use git the way that it is meant to be used, or the way I SHOULD be using it, with pull requests and all. Bad Trey. D) I was distracted ANYWAY, the reason I bring this up is that it is the first time I have used the Arduino IDE to program a board with this system since I upgraded from Ubunto 20.04 to Ubuntu 22.04. Try as I might, I was not able to get the Arduino Nano's USB port to be recognized in Linux so that I could upload the updated keyer code. I spent several days troubleshooting, using other Arduino devices, different USB ports, and different cables, all to no avail. If anyone has any recommendations, I am open to suggestions. So, I dug out my son's old Windows 10 PC and started again. I had to install the Arduino IDE, load all the necessary libraries, and my code from Github (Which I had to manually change once again, because I don't fully get git). Finally I was able to update the Arduino Nano with its new code, and it works perfectly. But this revealed the same problem for the CYD. I also could not get it to connect over USB to my Ubuntu system. Time to migrate the entire project to Windows. My next step was to install Squareline Studio on Windows. Here, I ran into another snag, as my trial license was only for one system, so I had to uninstall Squareline from Linux before I could activate the license on Windows. Did I mention that I would love to find an open source, free software product to use instead? If you know of one, please ping me or post a comment. I wasted more time trying to get the GUI project I had written on the Linux machine imported into Squareline on Windows, all the while thinking of improvements I could make if I started again from scratch. It would not load, and would not load. In the end, I started all over again. After much blood sweat and tears, my GUI code was working again, and this time in Windows. I was able to run it in the simulation mode and move from page to page successfully and also use the WPM slider. I exported the UI from Squareline, and I loaded the code it generated into a new project within Arduino IE. Now was the moment of truth. I followed instructions found on the Pang YouTube channel video [ESP32 + LVGL] Configuration input device rotary encoder ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGM6gu9OpbA ). I connected the CYD and uploaded the code. SUCCESS!! You can see my "Send" screen loaded perfectly! Now to try other screens. Wait. Drat. It does not seem like my navigation buttons work. Actually, it does not appear that the touch screen is responding at all. I spent the next several days trying to figure out what went wrong. I checked and double checked interrupt and configuration settings (Such as those described in another of Pang's videos, [CYD + LVGL] Configuration Cheap Yellow Display | Easy Guide ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmR-mjJVumU ). Nothing worked. I came to realize that I bit off more than I could chew, and I should NOT have started with such an ambitious project. Instead I should have started with a simple equivalence of "Hello World", where I could build and test simple functionality to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing, then expand on it. Lessons learned, and a good stopping point for this episode. I am open to your feedback on what you would recommend, what I should do differently, etc. You can post simple feedback as a comment or send me an email using the address in my HPR profile. As usual, if your feedback is more than a sentence or two, you might want to record it as an episode so that other listeners can benefit from it as well. Time for an espresso. Maybe I will make it a double. Or even a triple! Provide feedback on this episode.

TOPIC: The Numbers Don't Lie - There Is GOLD In Your Database! Welcome to Rethink - Reset Coaching! Topics and thoughts to help us clean off mirrors and windows! Mirrors - so we see ourselves better and Windows - so we see the world more accurately! Powered by my friends at Reagan Outdoor Advertising - Chattanooga: https://www.reaganoutdoor.com/chattanooga/ ===== THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Nutrition World: https://nutritionw.com/ Vascular Institute of Chattanooga: https://www.vascularinstituteofchattanooga.com/ The Barn Nursery: https://www.barnnursery.com/ Optimize U Chattanooga: https://optimizeunow.com/chattanooga/ Guardian Investment Advisors: https://giaplantoday.com/ Alchemy Medspa and Wellness Center: http://www.alchemychattanooga.com/ Our House Studio: https://ourhousestudiosinc.com/ Big Woody's Tree Service: https://bigwoodystreeservice.com/ ALL THINGS JEFF STYLES: www.thejeffstyles.com PART OF THE NOOGA PODCAST NETWORK: www.noogapodcasts.com Please consider leaving us a review on Apple and giving us a share to your friends! This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

In this episode of The PowerShell Podcast, Shannon Eldridge-Kuehn returns to discuss her journey since becoming a Microsoft MVP, her experiences at Microsoft Ignite, and her evolving views on technology, communication, and personal growth. Shannon shares stories from Ignite, including Mark Russinovich's fascinating demo on optical computing, and offers insight into how AI is reshaping IT work, both in efficiency and responsibility.The conversation expands beyond tech, touching on mentorship, emotional intelligence, and the importance of grace, empathy, and connection in professional and personal life. Shannon and host Andrew Pla explore how better communication, mental health awareness, and authentic collaboration can transform careers and communities alike.   Key Takeaways: AI as a partner, not a replacement – Shannon views AI as a powerful companion that amplifies human creativity, not a threat to jobs or individuality. Communication is the real superpower – Technical skills open doors, but empathy, curiosity, and active listening sustain success and build trust. Find your community and give grace – Whether mentoring or learning, everyone benefits from patience, understanding, and a supportive network. Guest Bio: Shannon Eldridge-Kuehn is a Principal Solutions Architect at AHEAD and a Microsoft MVP with a unique blend of technical depth and strong communication roots. A University of Nebraska–Lincoln graduate in Communication Studies with a minor in English, she began her journey into tech through DJing and audio troubleshooting, which sparked a passion for problem-solving. Over time, she progressed from help desk roles into advanced infrastructure and cloud engineering, with experience spanning Windows systems, VMware, Exchange, Office 365, and Azure. Her career includes roles at Microsoft and 10th Magnitude, where her love for cloud truly flourished. Shannon leverages her background in public speaking and writing to bridge the gap between business needs and technical solutions.   Resource Links: Shannon's Blog – https://shankuehn.io Shannon on X (Twitter) – https://twitter.com/shankuehn Connect with Andrew - https://andrewpla.tech/links Microsoft Ignite – https://ignite.microsoft.com PDQ Discord – https://discord.gg/PDQ PowerShell Wednesdays – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBLDfE1aiuE&list=PL1mL90yFExsix-L0havb8SbZXoYRPol0B The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/okVO33wX5xY

Verizon lost a small claims court case which might help others! Roomba's parent company is bankrupt! Samsung might end their SSD business. Disney invests in OpenAI. EU launches another anti-trust probe into Google search. Apple loses their appeal in their payments case. And maybe we could talk a LITTLE about this new phone on my desk... Let's get our tech week started right! -- Show Notes and Links https://somegadgetguy.com/b/4_6 Support Talking Tech with SomeGadgetGuy by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/talking-tech-with-somegadgetgu Find out more at https://talking-tech-with-somegadgetgu.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-c117ce for 40% off for 4 months, and support Talking Tech with SomeGadgetGuy.

In this episode Michael, Sarah and Mark discuss security-related topics from the recent Microsoft Ignite 2025 event. Lots of AI-related security topics, including using AI for security and defending AI systems. Bitlocker, Windows and so much more!This is the last episode of 2025! It was a blast, and thanks for listening! We hope you find this material useful! https://aka.ms/azsecpod@AzureSecPod See you in 2026!

Miracle On Route 34: Part 3 Being naughty can be a very good thing, if he needs help getting jolly. Based on a post by BiscuitHammer, in 3 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. "Just when I thought it couldn't get better;" Ginny sighed, lost in bliss. "You certainly know what a woman wants." "I aim to please." Santa said cheerfully, putting one arm around her waist and holding her close while he guided the sleigh. "Think we might've sated you for a while?" "Hmm, maybe for a bit, right?" she purred, stretching like a cat before sitting forward and looking down over the earth, lit by clusters of lights that punctuated the darkness of Christmas Eve. It wasn't long before she began to giggle. "Schilling for your thoughts." Santa said, giving her tit a squeeze. "Well, you probably don't remember, but we've met before," she mentioned lightly, turning her head to wink at him. "I sure remember it." "Oh? Do tell." "Well," she said casually, her thoughts drifting back. "I was sixteen and my girlfriends and I were at the mall. We saw you and decided to sit on your lap. So Cari and I were sitting on you at the same time, squirming our asses on you and kept whispering naughty things in your ears, things we wanted to do to you, you know?" Santa didn't respond for several moments. "See?" Ginny said, smirking. "Told you that you didn't remember." "What; was the date of that, Virginia?" he asked warily. "December fifteenth, eight years ago, about seven-thirty pm," she said. "I still have a photo. Why?" "Because I wasn't in your city on December fifteenth eight years ago," he said with reluctance. "I was in Lahina on Maui, judging a naked limbo contest at a luau." She was silent for some time. "You're; you're sure?" Santa nodded. "Oh, God;" Ginny whispered, her eyes distant. "That means that Cari and I were grinding on some creepy mall Santa; oh, shit, I could feel him getting hard and everything!" Ginny scrunched her face up in revulsion and was flapping her arms in horror. "Oh, God. Blah! Blah! Blah!" Santa's roaring laughter echoed through the darkness as his date for the evening struggled to not puke off the side of the sleigh and onto the unsuspecting town below. Silent Runnings. She always kind of assumed that the sleigh made little or no noise when it touched down on a roof. After all, what kept some survivalist gun nut from trying to blow Santa away with his collection of automatic rifles when he heard some noise he couldn't account for? The sleigh glided silently onto the roof, the blades letting out little more than a hiss and the patter of the reindeer's hooves barely audible. Santa leapt out lightly and assisted her in exiting the sleigh before grinning at her. "Now, I won't be long, just hang tight and stay near the sleigh, if you're within the Gellar Field, you'll keep warm, alright?" Ginny raised an eyebrow in his direction, nonplussed. "Um, 'excuse me? I'm here with Santa Fucking Claus on Christmas Motherfucking Eve. How many times can a girl say that? If you think for one second I'm not delivering presents with you, then you're even more stupid that Krampus. I'm coming." Santa seemed hesitant. "Virginia, I've been at this since Proto-Hittite times, one way or another. I'm kind of an expert and I don't want you to hurt;" "Oh, get real," she snorted, pushing past him toward the chimney. She was glad to note that the 'Gellar Field', whatever the hell that was, seemed to be keeping her warm at this distance. "If your fat ass can fit down a chimney with that huge bag, so can mine." She clambered over the lip of the chimney and eased herself down inside it. Santa watched silently as she wriggled out of sight. There was no noise for several seconds. Finally Ginny spoke, her voice coming up the flue. "Okay, kinda stuck here, with my nose pressed into my own asshole. Little help?" Santa chuckled lightly and reached for a can of grease. Piloting a Ginny. "You're getting better at this, I must say," Santa remarked as he rummaged through his bag of presents while Ginny guided the sleigh. "Last person who drove the sleigh for me, the reindeer resisted a lot. They like you." "Oh?" Ginny replied, twisting the reins slightly and veering the sleigh team southwest. "Who was she?" Santa cleared his throat. "Actually, it was Krampus. Well, he was Pete back then, and it was over six hundred years ago." It took Ginny a moment to recover from her shock and concentrate on guiding the sleigh. Fortunately, the reindeer seemed to know where they were going. "Six hundred;" "Yup," Santa confirmed. "The Belgian monks were still getting the recipe for Stella Artois right the last time one of my kids helped me out." "But what about all your wives you were telling me about?" she asked. "They must've been in the sleigh before." Santa shrugged. "Yeah, people have been in it, I've taken them places, but you and Pete are the only two who have ever helped me on Christmas Eve." She felt herself grow warm, and for once it wasn't because she was wet and horny. "I'm really helping you?" He nodded. "It may be that I'm late because of the donnybrook back at your place, Virginia, but that wasn't your fault, it's just what was meant to be. I was meant to be put behind and now you're meant to be driving this sleigh while I get organized. No matter how many me's there are out there, it won't make a difference unless you're here tonight. It's fated to be that way." Ginny didn't know what to say. She just calmly guided the sleigh, feeling a contentment she'd never quite known before. She was dimly aware of some other shadowy iteration of Santa's sleigh streaking by some miles to the north and waved absently. She couldn't explain why any of this made sense, but it did. She really was different after all. A house below them shone with a golden light in the dark and she turned the reigns easily to guide the reindeer in its direction. There were over a dense residential area, the streets lined with endless numbers of small homes and semis. They glided onto a roof and clambered out. She followed Santa and his present sack down the chimney. In spite of his bulk, he slid down the tight shaft in a way that made her cunt inexplicably wet. "Now that I think of it," she whispered as she wriggled down with him. "How do we get into houses where there's no chimney?" "It was a lot easier before central heating," he answered, almost upside down as he worked his way toward the ground. "For lack of a better term, it's just B & E, I guess. I've got the keys and security codes for every residence on earth." "Wow," she grunted as she twisted and wiggled, her tits squashed to her mouth. If they'd had more time she would have sucked on them for a bit as a reward to herself. "Even Kim Jong-Un?" "Yeah, but he's not getting anything you want to know about for Christmas," Santa muttered. "He's a very bad boy." "So, what, like a leaky bag of flaming panda shit?" she mused, occupying herself as she strained to keep up. "Because that's what he kinda deserves." "Christmas is the one night of the year we don't discuss politics, Virginia." Santa mentioned as he finally freed himself of the confines of the flue and dusted himself off. He helped Ginny out as well, smiling and kissing her nose as she held her off the ground. She blushed and let him put her down, moving to a corner of the living room and watching intently. The house they were in was not big, a modest home for a small family. Santa was rummaging around in his bag, absently noshing on the cookies left on a table near the tree. The tree itself was rather sparse on gifts, something Santa seemed to be rectifying. Ginny didn't notice the other person in the room until it was too late. "So there you are, big man;" Ginny started at the voice but Santa merely stood and turned around, smiling warmly. At the entrance to the room was a woman in a robe. She was older than Ginny, but not more than in her late twenties or early thirties. She had the look of a tired mom. "Been waiting a long, long time to prove to myself that you were real and the presents I couldn't account for just came out thin air," she sighed, nodding. She had sandy-brown hair, done in a long bob. Her face was pretty enough, but you could see in her eyes that sleep was more of an afterthought than anything. "But here you are." "It's good to see you, Linda." Santa said warmly, moving toward her and hugging her. She sighed as he embraced her and Ginny smiled, knowing exactly how content and relieved Linda felt at the moment, whoever the hell she was. "Whoa, did I just get jealous of some girl hugging Santa?" "I can't believe you're here in all your chubby glory," Linda remarked, smiling up at him. "It's a dream come true." Santa nodded. "Little Karen's been very good this year, Linda. She's a real blessing. I brought her the puppy she wanted." Ginny frowned and looked down at a small object that was obviously a puppy, wrapped prettily in Christmas paper and sporting a golden bow on its snout. The puppy panted happily, curled up and went to sleep beneath the tree. "She'll love it," Linda said quietly, her eyes shining. "She'll be so thrilled." "I know she will." Santa said, smiling and placing a hand on Linda's cheek. "Sorry things didn't work out with Bob. He doesn't know what he's missing." "Thanks, I keep telling myself that too," Linda said, dabbing at her eye. "Have you got an STD for his stocking, maybe?" "No," Santa chuckled. "But you need to know that everything's going to be fine, Linda. You've made it this far, you're raising an amazing girl and you own this place now. If I could give you Mother of the Year, I would. But I can't, not my department, so that leaves me to ask; what do you want for Christmas, Linda?" Linda looked into his eyes before her hands reached down and began fumbling with his wide, black belt. Ginny shook her head and sighed, knowing exactly why Linda's reaction was so instinctual. The mother turned her head and seemed to notice the girl in the abbreviated elf costume for the first time. "Oh," she said, her hands still undoing the belt. "Is she your chaperone, to make sure we behave?" "No, she's not my chaperone," Santa said, smiling and shaking his head. "She's my indispensable helper, without whom Christmas wouldn't come this year." Ginny blushed at his description of her. "Oh, okay," Linda said, kneeling and shimmying his red pants down and freeing his monstrous cock. "As long as she doesn't interrupt me enjoying my present." Ginny blushed again, but this time the hair on the back of her neck went up and her eyes narrowed. She folded her arms across her chest, leaned against the wall and watched silently. Very silently. "Wow," Linda mused, taking his cock in both hands and staring at it. "Just when I thought nothing could get longer than that white beard of yours." Ginny blinked and frowned for a moment. White beard? It suddenly occurred to her that Linda was seeing the Santa she had always expected to see, a fat, jolly old man with a long white beard, rosy cheeks and the rest of the Dickensian nonsense. To Ginny, he still looked like the towering, red-bearded lumbersexual she knew him to actually be. Whatever sort of glamour he radiated, it worked even in sexual situations. Without a pause, Linda took Santa's thick cock into her mouth with a sigh and began bobbing back and forth along its length. Her wet lips formed a tight seal around the shaft, her hands holding on to Santa's thighs for balance. "She's doing that all wrong," Ginny sniffed to herself. "He likes it when one hand is pumping along the shaft behind your mouth and the other one is teasing his balls. I should know." Santa turned his head, smiled at her and nodded. Ginny blushed and shut up. He took Linda's head gently in his hands, caressing her hair while she sucked his cock, letting her take all the time she liked. She undid her robe with one hand, letting it fall to a puddle at her knees, now naked. She had a mom bod, Ginny noted, not bad, she was trying to keep herself fit, probably with Tae Bo and jogging or spinning, if she could find the time. Her tits were somewhat pointy, but she wasn't repulsive by any means. Ginny felt herself getting warm as she watched, one of her hands coming up to caress her tits while the other snaked down inside the short green skirt she was wearing and beneath her thong, teasing her understandably gooey cunt. She watched intently as Linda pushed farther and farther down Santa's seemingly endless shaft, breathing through her nose as she tried to reach the root. The hand she kept on his thigh for balance squeeze his pale flesh while the other was massaging her tits, pinching the nipples. She moaned around his cock as he grew harder in her mouth. Ginny leaned her head against the wall, trying to not make noise as she pleasured herself, fingers teasing through her slippery folds or circling her throbbing clit. The hand she had on her tits mimicked Linda's squeezing and pinching her nipples, causing little needles of stinging delight to shoot through her. Linda's hand moved down between her legs and her fingers began churning inside her cunt. She moaned loudly as she pleasured herself. Normally Ginny would have thought she'd wake her kid, but Santa probably had some weird sound-dampening field just to keep things like this from happening. Typical. Ginny bit her lip as she watched, her skin blushing pink as she worked herself into a silent frenzy, her wet core beginning to blossom as Linda sucked and bobbed on Santa's cock faster and faster; Both women let out a loud moan as they came, pleasure bubbling up through Ginny's body while her fingers worked madly inside her clenching, slippery tunnel. Her knees buckled and she went to the floor, still fucking herself. Linda grunted and began swallowing as Santa came, finally pulling her mouth off and panting heavily, jerking his throbbing cock frantically and splattering his pearly cum across her tits with great eagerness. Ginny slowly lifted her head, gazing at Santa and Linda through heavily-lidded eyes. She'd cum so hard just from fingering herself. Was it her proximity to Santa that caused all her sensations to be so heightened? Santa knelt as well, hugging Linda to himself and whispering in her ear. She slowly pulled her arms up and embraced him, smiling against his shoulder and nodding gently, her eyes still closed. After holding her for some time, her took her by the chin and lifted her gaze to meet his. "Okay, back to bed with you," he said gently. "You'll sleep very well tonight and Karen will come to wake you." Linda smiled dreamily and rubbed her nose against Santa's before giving it a kiss. She stood, slipped her robe back on, winked at him and left without another word. Santa watched her leave and nodded in satisfaction. "Just what she needed," he said to himself. "Okay, Virginia, I'm going to finish these last few presents and then we're; Virginia?" But Ginny was still kneeling, slumped to one side against the wall and snoring. Santa chuckled and finished the presents before picking her up and holding her limp body under one arm and his giant sack over the other shoulder before disappearing up the flue in the blink of an eye. Carnal Knowledge. "Taip! Taip! Mano Dievas!" Kuni moaned loudly as she sat on her sister's face, grinding her cunt eagerly down onto Minna's mouth. Her blonde twin clamped her arms around her sister's thighs tightly as she lapped hungrily at the slick lips above. Santa was kneeling between Minna's legs, holding them wide and thrusting back and forth, his cock plunging in and out of her. Ginny was leaning against the wall once again, trying to not look exasperated. The Lithuanian girls were writhing and grinding in a frenzy, clearly enjoying their early Christmas present. It wasn't like they'd crept down and surprised Ginny and Santa, as Linda had, they had actually written to Santa, saying that their parents were away for the holiday and they wanted him to come and fuck them for Christmas. They'd been waiting patiently in the living room when Santa and Ginny appeared out of the chimney, the twins wearing nothing but their little cheerleader uniforms. Minna groaned shamelessly while she lashed her Kuni's twat with her tongue, shuddering as Santa's iron-hard rod nearly split her in half. Ginny had to admit, the blonde twins had rocking bodies, trim and tight from whatever activities they were involved in. She'd have to get into P90-X or Crossfit if she was ever going to compete with these two. "Senelis!" Minna gasped, sliding a finger up inside her sister, which Kuni ground on shamelessly. She gyrated her hips, fucking back against Santa, her fingernails digging into her sister's ass cheeks as she endured the battering waves of pleasure. "Ah, Duok man sunku!" "Pasakykite pra¨ome;" Santa replied, smiling slyly. "Pra¨om!" Minna wailed, her body almost thrashing. "Pra¨om pra¨om pra¨om! Nekankink manęs!" Santa nodded and leaned forward, pressing Minna's legs almost back against her body, his weight over her now as he sank his cock down inside her. The blonde girl almost screamed in pleasure. Kuni grappled onto Santa's neck and kissed him greedily, churning her cunt down onto Minna's glistening face. "Unreal," Ginny muttered. "And I thought I was a relentless horny machine. But you, sir, take the cake." "I would expect you of all people to understand by now," Santa said cheerfully. "Minna and Kuni have been very good this year. They're both at the top of their class, they've been socially active regarding building homeless shelters, they're both” "Over the age of eighteen?" Ginny bit out. "It's Lithuania, that wouldn't matter," Santa pointed out. "They've been very good girls and I'm duty-bound to give them what they want for Christmas." "So no point deductions for incest?" Ginny asked somewhat testily. "There weren't for you and your brother, were there?" he replied while Kuni nipped at his skin. Ginny blushed again and stopped talking. She watched while Kuni pulled herself off her sister's mouth and hastily clambered around to lie on top of her, kissing her sister while squirming her wet cunt down on Minna's. She groaned loudly when Santa pulled out of the girl below and pushed deep inside her. "Dear diary," Ginny muttered. "Having a great time in Vilnius, watching Santa skewer Lithuanian sisters;" Santa grunted and pushed in hard, his hips trembling as he started to cum. Kuni and Minna screamed into one another's mouths, hips bucking furiously. He pulled out of Kuni and slammed back into Minna, filling her with cum as well before both sisters scrambled to their knees while he stood. They swallowed his cock greedily, taking turns pumping the shaft while the other sucked on it. They kissed around the throbbing cock, licking the pearly cum off one another's faces. "Esate labai geros mergaitės," Santa breathed, holding them both gently by the back of their heads while they sucked hungrily. "Keep up the good work and Santa will see you again next year;" "If we're not still here with these two whores next Christmas;" Ginny thought darkly. Santa’s copilot. Ginny was guiding the sleigh, but she kept looking back at Santa, trying not to smirk. He was sitting beside her, a rather blank stare on his face, his eyes a little red around the edges. "I'm still sorta hungry;" he said somewhat absently. "So you actually thought 'Colorado Gold' was a brand of flour used to make baked goods?" "Note to self," he murmured. "Do not eat the brownies left out for you in Denver;" Basement Bound. Ginny followed Santa as they crept down the stairs toward the basement apartment, a prismatic glow on the wall ahead of them indicating a tree was nearby. They rounded a corner and paused. A young man dressed in X-Men boxers and a white t-shirt almost walked into them as he rubbed his eyes. He stared at them for a moment, saying absolutely nothing. After a long, awkward pause, Santa reached back into his sack and pulled out a wrapped gift which he slowly handed to the kid. The kid took it equally slowly and unwrapped it, his eyes widening as several deluxe editions of the newest PC games were revealed. The kid smiled sheepishly and sighed. "Thanks, now that I know you're real." "You don't seem happy, Kevin," Santa said, obviously concerned. "You've been great all year and these are what you wanted, right?" "I; yeah, they are," sighed the kid. "At least, that's what I told everyone I wanted. My friends and I, we're all gamers, and this is amazing, but;" "But;" Santa pressed. "Well, Christmas is also my birthday," Kevin said. "Here I am, eighteen finally, and I still haven't had sex with a girl yet." Santa smiled. "Well, I normally deal exclusively in Christmas wishes rather than birthdays, but perhaps this year I can help you out there, Kevin." Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Virginia," Santa stated, looking at her. "I give you Kevin the Boy. Return unto me Kevin the Man." Ginny couldn't believe what she said next. "Thought you'd never ask, Big Red;" She walked forward and took the games out of Kevin's hands, tossing them over her shoulder. Santa grabbed them hastily out of the air as Ginny poked a finger into Kevin's chest and pressed him up against the wall. His eyes were wide, not at all sure what was happening. "Santa's already given you your Christmas presents," Ginny said as she knelt in front of him and tugged at his boxers. "Which means it's up to me to give you a happy birthday;" She pulled the boxers down and tossed them aside. His cock was limp but she could already tell it was swelling with excitement. Rather than teasing the poor virgin, Ginny stroked his shaft and slid her mouth all the way down, deep-throating him. Kevin shuddered and groaned loudly. "Make all the noise you want, you won't wake your parents upstairs," Ginny mentioned, pulling her mouth off his cock for a moment and pumping the shaft with her hand while she looked up at him. "The big man here has some sort of sound-dampening field or some shit so that he doesn't get caught busting into people's houses." Kevin's hands flattened against the wall and his fingers flexed as she slid her mouth down his length again before bobbing back and forth in a slow rhythm. She felt his fingers take her by the hair and begin kneading, lost in this clearly new delight. She hummed gently, vibrating her mouth around his sensitive skin. "Well, look at you," she remarked, smiling as she pulled back and gazed at his now hard and throbbing cock, glistening with the wetness of her mouth. "That's a nice dick you've got there, Kevin. You're a grower, I'm impressed." Kevin took a deep breath. "Maybe, but it doesn't look like much when it's limp. The one time I let a girl at school see it, I was nervous and it shrunk, so she was laughing at me." "Then I'll give you a tip before I fuck you, Kevin," Ginny said, stroking the shaft and spitting on it, to keep it moist while she instructed him. "Girls can be hideous cunts about that sort of thing sometimes, but they have their own insecurities. So never bring your insecurity to the ballgame. You need to be turned on and your Johnson here on the rise by the time you get naked for her." "Uh-huh?" he said somewhat uncertainly, shivering as she bent her thumb so that the pad pressed against the top of his mushroom head every time she stroked down. He couldn't believe this was happening. Some hot Elf-chick who looked like a Warcraft mod was blowing him! "So from now on, you dominate, you got it?" Ginny said. "Make her get naked or make her turn you on so that she can see how big your cock is before you ever get out of your boxers. No girl is gonna say no to this thing when it's fully inflated, I promise." "R-really?" Kevin asked. Ginny kept her eyes locked with his but reached down under her panties for several moment before bringing her fingers up for display. They glistened wetly in the dim light. "It's made me horny, champ. And because of that cock, I need to fuck you. You with me?" Kevin just thunked his head back against the wall, closed his eyes and nodded. "Oh, and don't worry about trying to last," Ginny added. "Being around the Red Machine makes you want to fuck and cum all night. You'll be fine." She swallowed his cock with a will, determined to give this kid the best first time anyone had ever had. Her hand followed her mouth along the shaft and she hummed, swirling her tongue along its length. The kid wasn't Santa, but this would be a perfectly good ride for any girl worth fucking once he had his confidence. Her free hand worked its way back inside her panties and began fingering, teasing her wet folds and slipping inside, getting her ready for the main event. "Umm, do you want to fuck me, Kevin?" she asked, smiling up at him. "Do you want to fuck my cunt good and hard?" "Uh; yes;" he whimpered. "Say it like you mean it, Thor," she insisted, pressing her thumb along the throbbing vein on the bottom of his thick shaft. "The girl wants confidence. This cock is worth your best effort." He took several deep breaths before looking down at her and nodding. "I want to fuck you." "You do?" she asked before sliding him back down her throat. "No," he said finally, taking her under the arms and pulling her up. Ginny exhaled suddenly as his cock popped out of her mouth unexpectedly and he spun her around to press up against the wall. "I don't want to fuck you; I will fuck you." "That's my boy," Ginny breathed, her eyes flashing with sudden lust and delight. She spread her legs and tilted her hips forward, eager to feel him inside her. "Fuck me good and hard, Kevin!" "K-zon," the boy almost growled, pressing his throbbing cockhead against her entrance. "My gaming tag is K-zon and that's what the girls will call me when I fuck them!" Ginny nodded eagerly. "Good. Give it to me, K-zon;" She moaned loudly as he pushed inside her, heedless of any sense of timing or technique, but eager to be deep in a woman. He squeezed her sides as he trembled, overcome by the wet, tight sensation of her cunt gripping him. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and one leg slung over his hip as she looked into his eyes. Ginny began a pumping motion with her hips, sliding back and forth on his cock while K-zon was paralyzed by the flood of pleasure. "Alright, slugger," she whispered in a husky voice as she fucked herself on him. "Let's bust this first nut of yours quick, so you know what to expect. Don't hold back, just pound my cunt until you blow, got it?" He nodded as he buried his face in her shoulder and started pumping awkwardly with his hips, his whole body trembling. Ginny felt an unreal flush of heat coursing through her already, an intense orgasm building up inside. Holy shit, was she turned on and about to get off because she was mentoring a virgin? She pulled Kevin tight against herself and shivered, letting out a gasp while he moaned and jammed his hips up tight against hers, she could feel his cock twitching inside her as he spunked, Her own orgasm flooded over her, molten bubbles of ecstasy popping by the millions throughout her sweating, slick frame. He almost buckled at the knees, collapsing against her, panting like he'd run a marathon. Ginny smiled and caressed his hair, feeling his still-hard cock throbbing inside her. She ran her fingers over his cheek and looked into his eyes. "Ready to keep going?" she asked. "Second one's usually even better." He nodded and she pulled him down to his knees while she got on all fours, wiggling her invitingly. She winked back at him. "You know what to do, K-zon," she purred. "Show me what you're gonna do to the girls this coming year;" Without another thought, he took Ginny by the hips and slid his cock deep inside her again. Ginny moaned loudly, lowering her head to the floor and pushed back against him. She felt him begin to push back and forth and matched his rhythm by squeezing her cunt muscles around him as he slid in. His fingers dug into her hips and ass cheeks delightfully. She could tell he might last a little longer this time, but not by much. Then again, she wasn't here to teach him to be a sex god, she was here to pop his cherry and give him a birthday to remember. "Umm, right there, big man;" she panted, surprised that she meant what she was saying. She wasn't just stroking his fragile ego, she was quite serious, because he was hitting a spot in her cunt that she really liked. He had a long enough cock that it touched her pleasure spot and he was just wide enough to pleasantly stretch her so that she knew she was being fucked properly. With confidence, this kid would be a good lay. Kevin slapped his thighs against her ass cheeks and she squeaked and yelped in response. Her gooey cunt clenched him tightly, utilizing those vaginal contractions she seemed to be so damned expert at tonight. "Fuck;" Kevin grunted as he pumped his hips, his chest now glistening with sweat. "This is so much better than my hand or a fleshlight!" "Uh, and you feel a lot fucking better than a vibe," Ginny panted, still face-down and ass-up. "You're gonna make them scream, K-zon;" He seemed encouraged by her words and pumped harder, determined to make Ginny and himself cum again. He seemed to have found his rhythm and fucked her steadily, his eyes closed as he lost himself in the unreal sensation of sex with a live girl. Ginny bit at the knuckle of her middle finger, aware of how flushed and warm her body was. She could feel her wetness trickling down over her stomach from her cunt, since her ass was perched in the air. The slick, sucking noises of her sex were unmistakable. "Oh, you're doing really good, K-zon," she said breathily. "You're gonna have me cumming again before long!" Kevin seemed to be beyond words as he merely nodded hastily and kept fucking her, eyes closed and back arched. The slapping noise of his thighs against her ass was a wet one now, since they were both sweating profusely. She could feel the damp perspiration in her hairline, her mouth open and she wiped at it when she realized she was almost drooling. "Yes, K-zon!" she gasped, using the name he wanted again, pushing back against him but still letting him control the action. "Fucking make me cum! Don't hold back! Uh, fuck!" Kevin jammed his hips against her suddenly and cried out, a sound that Ginny echoed half a second later. Rapture splintered through her as she came, feeling him slamming against her as he climaxed, his pearly offering now deep inside her. Through glassy eyes, she looked around for Santa, to see if he was watching, but he was nowhere in sight. Kevin seemed ready to fall over, exhausted, but she gently pushed backward until he sat on his behind with her in his lap, facing away. Slowly she turned around and laid him on the floor, his cock still deep inside her. She put her hands on his shoulders and smiled down at him, her nipples tracing little patterns over his chest as she did so. "That was amazing, K-zon," she said quietly. "A really great addition to my night." He was still breathing heavily but nodded at her. "Thanks. It was more than I could have hoped for. I;I guess it's been a busy evening for you this way?" "Well, you're my only virgin to this point, if that's what you're asking," Ginny sighed. "The big red machine has fucked me more times tonight that I care to remember and I was nearly raped to death by Krampus, so this was exactly the sort of change of pace I needed, you know?" She sat up, still straddling him and impaled on his cock, a thought occurring to her. "Hey, Big Red," she called out. "I just let him bust in me twice, do you have any fixes dated from yesterday?" A tiny white pill flew out of the other room. She caught it deftly in her hand and popped it in her mouth. "I'm getting good at this 'time-is-fluid' shit," she giggled to herself. "Maybe I'll teach quantum physics." "You don't need a glass of water or anything?" Kevin asked, looking up at her. "Trust me, Kevin, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's swallowing." Ginny replied, smiling down at him somewhat haughtily before carefully pulling herself off his cock, causing them both to shudder and moan quietly. She knelt over his waist and sucked on his cock, cleaning their mingled cum off him and then helping him to his feet. She slipped her thong back on while Kevin retrieved his boxers. They were just straightening themselves out when Santa appeared from the other room. "Did you enjoy your birthday present, Kevin?" he asked cheerfully. "Yessir," the newly-minted young man said. "Best birthday present anyone ever received." "Glad to hear it," Santa said, nodding. "And I know it doesn't compare to what Virginia just gave you, but I think you'll be pleased with your new rig I just set up. Five terrabytes of hard drive space, thirty-two gigs of DDR4 RAM, an overclocked quad-core CPU that'll put the i7 to shame, eight fans, a nickle and copper piping coolant system and L E D to make sure everyone knows you're in the house. Oh, and I've upgraded your server to be multi-line, WAN and load-balancing. You and your guild will never lag again as long as you host." Kevin's eyes went wide. "I've got fat pipes?" Santa nodded while Ginny shook her head, understanding none of this geek talk. It only figured that Santa was a giant nerd. Kevin looked like he might faint. "Well, I've just done what you deserved," Santa mentioned. "It's Virginia who should get the credit for your night being so spectacular." "Yeah," Kevin said, blushing and smiling at her. "Thanks." "My pleasure, trust me," she said easily. "Somebody have a pen I can use?" Santa handed her one and she looked at Kevin. "Your number, dude." Kevin managed to stutter out his number, which she wrote down on her wrist before nodding in satisfaction and giving the pen back to Santa. "Alright, if I ever happen to be in Ohio for some godforsaken reason, I can look you up and give you a booty call. Sound good?" Kevin nodded dumbly. "Just remember this," she said, poking him in the chest, her voice serious. "You've got a lot to learn still. You've got a nice cock between your legs, don't treat it like a Louisville Slugger and just beat the hell out of her with it, you're better than that." He nodded. "And if a girl wants you to fuck her, she'll give you signals, so watch." Ginny added, poking his chest with her nail. "Don't assume you can just force yourself on anyone or next year it's dead spiders in your stocking, you got it?" Kevin nodded again. "Excellent," she said sweetly. "Now go to sleep, champ. Merry Christmas and happy birthday. C'mon, Santa, we have a holiday to save!" "Yes, my lady!" Santa laughed, following her out of the basement. They were back on the roof when Santa smirked at her as they climbed into the sleigh. "Dead spiders in the stocking?" She shrugged. "Isn't that what you'd give a guy if he forced himself on a girl?" "Well, no," he replied as he snapped the reins and they took off into the cold night air. "That's more of a legal issue. If he was considering it, I wouldn't have mentioned dead spiders, I'd' have been more inclined to point out that he'd spend the next few years in a cell as some fat, greasy tattooed bastard's buttery cornhole." The sleigh lurched to one side as Ginny burst out laughing. A Pretty Man. Santa stared awkwardly, making a wry face while Ginny stood off to the side, smirking. Standing in front of Santa was a very pretty young man in pale pink pajamas, his hands behind his back, one knee turned in, twisting his toe into the rug and blushing expectantly. Ginny wiped a tear away from her eye, she was trying so hard not to laugh. "Yeah, that ain't happening." Santa said finally. "But I've been so good;" the young man cooed, smiling coyly and winking. "C'mon, Santa," Ginny urged, clearly enjoying his discomfiture. "He's been so good, and you always reward your good children, don't you?" "Nice try, lady," Santa said, pressing behind his ear, apparently activating a communicator. "Get Agent 641 to me, I need a pinch hitter, stat." Santa threw a small disk on the floor while Ginny and the young boy in pink watched curiously. The device oscillated and expanded, becoming a larger disk. Seconds later it began to glow and hum. A column of rainbow light radiated up from it and a kneeling shape appeared. Seconds later, the rainbow light faded away and a lithe, comely figure stood. He had the same slender, beautiful features as the warrior-elves who had fought earlier that night, his eyes a piercing violet color, his impossibly long raven hair held in gold rings. His pale body was naked except for a tiny thong. "Holy shit snacks;" Ginny breathed as she gazed stupidly at the new arrival, feeling her thong get wet. "Ylmarin, young Trevor here has been an extra-good boy, perhaps you'd care to reward him?" Santa suggested as the inhumanly graceful being stepped off the platform. The tall being looked down at the young man named Trevor, assessing him and then nodded. "Yes, sire, I can absolutely do this." Trevor blushed furiously and giggled, covering his face. Ylmarin reached over and took the boy's hand before leading him back to the bedroom. Santa nodded and began rummaging around in his toy sack, putting items under the tree. "Okay, we got that out of the way," he said, squatting and putting items under the decidedly pink-lit tree. "Virginia, if you could hand me the, Virginia? Ginny?" He frowned and turned to look for his helper, finally sighting her. She was standing in the doorway to the bedroom and looking in. One of her hands squeezing her tits while the other had snaked down inside her panties. "Alright, go on, you little voyeur." Santa chuckled, shaking his head. "Yum yum!" she squeaked and skipped into the room, from which moans were now emanating. Seeking to be naughty. "You weren't worried about being on the Naughty List if you waited up for me?" Santa asked the dark-haired girl as she sat on her floor, watching him intently. She pushed her glasses up her nose and shook her head, pretty curly locks spilling over her shoulders as she did so. "Not worried, hmm?" he mused, observing her. "So you think you're already on the Naughty List?" The girl nodded. Ginny blinked and pursed her lips. "Why isn't she talking? Is she mute or doesn't she speak English?" Santa shook his head. "No, Ellie's just shy. She doesn't speak much at first, but once she gets going;" He knelt down in front of the girl and smiled. "Well, here I am. What is it you wanted to ask me, Ellie?" The tan girl turned her head and looked down at the floor sheepishly for several seconds before working up the nerve to speak. "I; I want my daddy, Santa." Ginny blinked. "She what, wants him back from deployment for Christmas, she wants her father to move back home;" "No, Virginia," Santa said cheerfully. "She doesn't want her father, she wants her daddy." "Oh," Ginny said, suddenly understanding. "So, now what?" "That's all she wanted for Christmas, so we give her, her daddy." Santa said simply. The girl's eyes lit up in delight and she sat up straight, looking very excited. Santa pointed behind Ellie and she turned to look behind herself; Her daddy stood in the doorway, his green-hazel eyes mirroring her excitement and a big grin on her face. His long, sandy-blond hair fell down to his shoulder blades. "Daddy!" Ginny squealed as she scrambled to her feet and threw herself against her daddy, kissing him feverishly. He held her tight, returning the kiss while she began pulling his clothes off him. "I missed you so much!" "Missed you too, baby;" he murmured through the kiss as he pulled her top off, exposing her lush tits. "I never had a daddy." Ginny sighed as she watched the couple get increasingly naked and feeling the now-familiar tingle building. "I should take care of that at some point." "I've got some other deliveries in the immediate area," Santa mentioned. "How about I go take care of them while you have a little fun with these two?" "Well, I'm not attracted to girls." Ginny said in a non-committal tone. "You just didn't know you were until tonight." Santa replied, smiling. "Just trust me on this, Virginia." "Well, like you said earlier, I've had you inside all my orifices, so what's the harm in trusting you now, right?" she admitted, shrugging. Would being bisexual be such a bad thing? It certainly widened her options for dating. Santa nodded and walked out of the room. Ginny turned to look at the couple she was left with, who were already splayed out on the rug, naked and pleasuring one another. Ellie was lying on top of her daddy, facing down his body and sucking on his cock hungrily while he was pulling her slippery cunt lips apart and sliding his tongue up and down her twat, making her shiver and moan. "Fuck it," Ginny said finally, stripping out of her skimpy outfit and walking up to the two of them. She laid down beside Ellie's daddy and smiled at her, both their heads over hips. "Feel like tag-teaming, babe?" Ellie looked up for a moment and nodded readily. Ginny smiled and leaned in, flicking her tongue against the tip of his cock. The curly-haired girl giggled and joined Ginny in teasing the throbbing cock, taking turns sliding their tongue up and down the shaft while the other swirled her tongue around the head and took it into her mouth, starting to bob up and down. Ginny felt herself getting really wet and pressed her lips to Ellie's around the head of her daddy's cock, kissing her. They both moaned as their tongues tangled around the glistening head. Ginny's hand slipped into the girl's hair, wrapping in it to hold her in place. Ellie smelled like strawberries and Ginny felt herself getting wetter as she took in the scent. "Daddy," whimpered the girl. "Fuck me;" Ginny knelt up while the other girl straddled her daddy's hips, facing down his body. Her sticky cunt was positioned over his throbbing cock and Ginny took hold of it and guided it home. Ellie sighed almost in relief as she sank down, his cock filling her. Smiling wickedly, Ginny made Ellie lie back along her daddy's body and the girl gasped as her put his hands on her tits and held her. As Ellie and her daddy began to squirm and writhe, her glistening cunt swallowing his cock greedily, Ginny bent down and tongued at the shaft as it slid back and forth through her lips. She pressed her thumb gently on Ellie's clit, causing her to shudder and moan loudly. Then her tongue traced a slow route around the engorged cunt lips, teasing her new girl lover. Ellie whimpered and panted, begging her daddy to fuck her harder. Ginny sucked Ellie's clit into her mouth and was rewarded with a strangled cry from above. She fondled the sac in front of her gently and pressed on the throbbing vein. Her cunt was getting wetter with each passing moment and she needed to know if Ellie would share; Without another word, she crawled over Ellie and settled down on top of her, her tits squashing into the succulent set below. She moved around until she felt her cunt pressed to Ellie's and the magical, rhythmic motion of the cock still pumping in and out of her. She shuddered as their lips and clits met and they wrapped their arms around one another, kissing shamelessly. Tongues snaked and writhed as they moaned into one another's mouths. "Daddy," panted the younger girl. "Fuck Santa's elf-girl; fuck her please;" Ginny felt her own ferocious desire rising as the cock slurped out of Ellie and pressed against her. She groaned gutturally as she felt the head penetrate and then she pressed down eagerly, taking it deep inside her. Still sandwiched between them, Ellie took one of Ginny's tits and sucked the nipple into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. Ginny arched her back and hissed through clenched teeth, squeezing hard on the invading cock. She ground down on Ellie's daddy, gyrating her hips and her fingers digging into the other girl's skin. Ellie sucked and bit her nipples, the delicious sting heightening her ecstasy. She body was streaming with sweat while he fucked her, Ellie's soft flesh undulating against hers. She could hear him panting and feel him stiffening and knew what happened next. With great haste and even greater reluctance, she pulled herself off the cock and knelt, pulling Ellie up into a kneeling position. She helped her daddy stand quickly while Ellie took his cock and pumped it eagerly with her hand. Once he was standing, they both attacked his cock with their mouths and hands, pleasuring him beyond endurance. He put his hand on the back of their heads and groaned loudly, his hips shuddering as he came. Both girls pressed their faces in, letting him spurt on their mouths and cheeks, hands still working the shaft quickly. The warm, sticky cum brought with it a warm flush of memories, how it always felt on her skin, the tingling, scintillating pleasure she always felt in the ardor of others. Ellie's soft tits pressed to hers, their cheeks meeting as they accepted the pearly offering, on their chins and now glazing their tits; she loved it all. She was never happier than when she was in the throes of passion with others. Was this what she was truly meant to do? Was this a Christmas epiphany? Ellie and Ginny began kissing hungrily, licking the cum off one another's faces with a fervor, then off each other's neck and tits. They returned their attention to the still twitching cock, kissing and sucking it dry. Once Ellie's daddy was spent, she laid him down and Ginny helped her snuggle into his warm, loving embrace. The girl smiled at her and giggled before blowing a kiss. Ginny gathered up her outfit and exited the apartment quietly. Not surprisingly at this point, the sleigh was just pulling back onto the roof as she arrived. Santa smiled at her. "So did you know I was bi all these years?" she asked as she clambered into the seat and beside him and snuggled into his side as they took off. He nodded. "Not my place to rob you of your journey of self-discovery, though." "Maybe," she sighed. "But think about all the fun I've missed out on, not playing with girls too. Doubling the size of my dating pool might have made a difference." "You've always been who you're meant to be, Virginia," he said cheerfully. "And your little epiphany tonight is going to have big implications in the year to come. Trust me." Her eyes widened. "For real?" "Would I lie?" Santa laughed. Ginny in the sleigh. Ginny was lying back in the plush red seat of the sleigh, her chest heaving as she stared at the pre-dawn sky. Her little elf-outfit was almost in shreds and she was missing one of her shoes. Even Santa looked a little worn. "So that's what sex with an entire sorority house feels like;" she said distantly. "Kinda gives me a new respect for those college quarterbacks. Those girls are animals." Santa nodded. "I have to admit, that wore me out a little too, which is saying something. And before you ask, yes, they have all been good this past year and they sent me one letter asking for Santa to fuck them as a sorority, so that really was their Christmas present." Ginny nodded. "That and the four metric tons of vibrators, dildos, eggs, anal beads, ben-wa balls and lingerie I saw you drop off; and about thirty Sybians." "They're a really good sorority house." Santa admitted. Ginny just stared at the sky. "Hard to believe that you're brought up a certain way, being told that good kids act a certain way, only to find out that being a total mega-slut is not grounds for being added to the Naughty List but sneaking cookies when mom told you not to is." "I didn't make the rules," Santa said, shrugging, but then he paused. "Oh, wait; ya know, I probably did, a long, long time ago." Ginny giggled tiredly. "This has been the longest and most oversexed night of my life, and that's saying something for me. Where are we headed, Big Man?" "Well, it's almost dawn." Santa said, looking east. "I'm going to have to drop you off before long now that my rounds are done." "Yeah," Ginny said somewhat reluctantly. "Since I don't have a house, I guess you should drop me off at my parents' place. I can't exactly tell 'em that my house was destroyed in a massive battle between Santa's elves and Krampus, but maybe they'll believe a gas main exploded." "You can't lie, Virginia, we've been over this." Santa said firmly. "Well I can't really tell them the truth either, can I?" Ginny pointed out, hoping she didn't sound too quarrelsome. "I know;" he said quietly, still guiding the sleigh. The soared through the dark sky for some time, saying nothing. Eventually, Ginny began to make out shapes in the night, sleek silhouettes that looked almost like slender, jet-powered Skidoos, being ridden by beings in strange armor with glowing runes and wild mans of hair. "Just my guardians," Santa said in an assuring tone. "Making sure there are no last-minute attempts to thwart us." The earth far below them took on a white cast and Ginny knew that they were above a region covered in snow. She couldn't feel it, but she could sense the cold air around them as the sleigh angled down, heading to the ground. The landing was predictably smooth and they finally came to a stop, flanked by the jet bikes and their unsettling warriors. Santa jumped out and helped Ginny down, smiling at her and wrapping her in a warm, furry red blanket from head to toe. When he pulled it off her, she was no dressed in a stylish red velvet dress, trimmed in white and ending on her upper thighs to show lots of leg. Her calf-high boots were red and edged with white, with adorable little poms dangling from the side. She even had a white poof to keep her hands warm and the Santa hat she now wore kept her ears toasty. "You look beautiful," he said as he waved in front of himself to conjure an ice mirror that reflected her image perfectly. "And without you, Virginia, there wouldn't have been a Christmas this year. You need to understand that." Ginny blushed prettily and walked alongside him, petting the reindeers as she walked by. She even gave Donner a kiss on the nose and the beast snorted and blushed, pawing the ground. They walked casually through the snow, holding hands until they were approached by several people. Ginny's eyes went wide, these were all women, clad in black armor with baroque chest plates reminiscent of bustiers. They all wore their hair bobbed, universally black or platinum in color and they carried savage-looking rifles or flamethrowers. They all knelt reverently as Santa approached. "Do I want to know?" Ginny breathed. "My personal guard," Santa said, nodding to the women as he passed through them. "Orphan girls I've saved from a cruel world. They're fanatically devoted to me, even beyond my elves." Her mouth was somewhat dry when she asked the next question. "Do you; you know;" "Yes, Virginia," he said, saving her the difficulty of asking. "They're also my lovers. When they're not fighting for me or standing guard, they live in the bliss I seem uniquely capable of giving women." "That doesn't sound like such a bad life," Ginny said, a hopeful tone in her voice. "I mean, I'm no orphan, but I'd say we pretty compatible sexually. Aren't we?" He turned and took her gently by the arms, smiling warmly down into her eyes in that way that made her knees go weak. Other people may have seen the fat old jolly man, but she could see only the copper-haired and bearded giant with eyes deeper than a galaxy and a boyish smile that she knew she'd always love. "You're right, Virginia, you're not an orphan," he said quietly. "These girls had no future. I have no right to rob you of yours. And believe me, you don't want to miss it." He took her hand and kept walking, snow gently falling as they walked through the stands of tall trees. When they emerged on the far side, he grinned and gestured grandly in front of them. Ginny's eyes went wide. Across the clearing was her lovely home, looking as good as new. Squads of warrior-elves stood guard menacingly around the perimeter while other, smaller beings she more associated with the Christmas story elves scampered around, making final adjustments to the domicile. "Like the whole thing never happened," Santa declared. "And there are even some improvements, I might add." "Ya don't say," Ginny said somewhat absently, still staring in disbelief. All sign of the titan battle fought on her property less than twelve hours ago were gone. "Uh; improvements?" Santa nodded. "We added solar panels and some subtle wind turbines, so you can officially live off the grid. Water's hooked up to a local artesian well. Improved your internet connection, you get about two hundred megabits per second, not to mention the fact that we connected you to our servers, so the Tor Network and the Deep Web have nothing on you for security and anonymity." "Wow;" was all she seemed to be able to say. "Let's see, we reinforced the frame and the roof, you could probably get hit by a meteor and barely notice," Santa continued. "Windows are made of transparent aluminum, they're durable, to say the least." "No bugs crashing through my bay windows?" she asked. "Actually got a nifty physics trick for you

Synopsis Dans cet épisode, Steve, Patrick, Francis et Jacques revient sur une semaine particulièrement chargée en actualité cybersécurité, mêlant enjeux technologiques, sécurité publique et décisions politiques. On débute avec des nouvelles locales et matérielles, notamment la nomination de Pierre Brochet comme nouveau chef de la police de Laval, ainsi que la découverte de failles majeures et d'un microphone non documenté dans le NanoKVM de Sipeed, soulevant des questions sérieuses sur la chaîne d'approvisionnement et la confiance envers le matériel. La discussion se poursuit avec les correctifs Microsoft de décembre 2025 : trois failles zero-day activement exploitées, des dizaines de vulnérabilités corrigées et une mise à jour de sécurité étendue pour Windows 10. L'équipe analyse aussi une arrestation marquante en Espagne liée au vol de 64 millions de dossiers personnels, ainsi qu'une attaque zéro-clic particulièrement inquiétante capable d'effacer un Google Drive complet via de simples courriels piégés. Un large segment est consacré aux menaces à grande échelle : l'exploitation de la faille React2Shell, ses impacts en cascade (jusqu'à une panne Cloudflare), des campagnes liées à la Chine, et un botnet responsable d'une attaque DDoS record de près de 30 Tbps. S'ajoutent des cas troublants de cybercriminalité, comme la vente de vidéos intimes issues de caméras IP piratées. Enfin, l'épisode explore les enjeux émergents autour de l'IA : vulnérabilité persistante des LLM aux prompt injections, utilisation militaire de l'IA par Google, cyberassurance couvrant les deepfakes, et avertissements sur le rôle croissant de l'IA dans la chaîne de menaces. Le tout est replacé dans un contexte géopolitique et sociétal, entre surveillance étatique, hacktivisme pro-russe et nouvelles régulations, notamment l'interdiction des réseaux sociaux pour les moins de 16 ans en Australie. Nouvelles Francis Pierre Brochet, nouveau chef de la police de Laval TVA Nouvelles Researcher finds undocumented microphone and major security flaws in Sipeed NanoKVM Jacques Microsoft December 2025 Patch Tuesday fixes 3 zero-days, 57 flaws Microsoft releases Windows 10 KB5071546 extended security update Spain arrests teen who stole 64 million personal data records Zero-Click Agentic Browser Attack Can Delete Entire Google Drive Using Crafted Emails Steve India backs off mandatory “cyber safety” app after surveillance backlash Researchers track dozens of organizations affected by React2Shell compromises tied to China's MSS React2Shell flaw exploited to breach 30 orgs, 77k IP addresses vulnerable Cloudflare blames today's outage on React2Shell mitigations Aisuru botnet behind new record-breaking 29.7 Tbps DDoS attack Korea arrests suspects selling intimate videos from hacked IP cameras Pro-Russia hacktivists conduct opportunistic attacks against U.S. and global critical infrastructure (JCA-AA25-343A) Organizations can now buy cyber insurance that covers deepfakes UK cyber agency warns LLMs will always be vulnerable to prompt injection Ignoring AI in the threat chain could be a costly mistake, experts warn Millions of children and teens lose access to accounts as Australia's world-first social media ban begins Australia social media ban – explainer video Google is powering a new US military AI platform Crew Patrick Mathieu Steve Waterhouse Francis Coats Jacques Sauvé Shamelessplug Join Hackfest/La French Connection Discord #La-French-Connection Join Hackfest us on Masodon POLAR - Québec - 29 Octobre 2026 Hackfest - Québec - 29-30-31 Octobre 2026 Crédits Montage audio par Hackfest Communication Music par Kazuki – Four Day Weekend - Dusk Locaux virtuels par Streamyard

It's briskly, unusually cold here in the Bay Area this year, so what better time to crack open another tray of cold opens for your bite-size listening pleasure. This time we discuss such micro-topics as what happens when the building fire alarm gets too old, the joy of a temperature-controlled bed, remotes that nag too much, yet another way Windows 11 is worsening, when good naps go bad, the mystery that is NixOS, and more.The possible future Windows 11 GUI we mentioned: https://mastodon.online/@grumpy_website/115673036992705122 Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod

This week, a new Australian social media ban impacts millions of youth, while AI chatbot use rises among teens. Meanwhile, new tech includes the Ayaneo Pocket Play, a PlayStation 30th Anniversary watch, the Tiiny AI Pocket Lab mini PC, the upgraded Sony Walkman NW-ZX900, Ikea's smart home AA Ladda battery system, and the forthcoming Quickshot II. With Gareth Myles and Ted Salmon Join us on Mewe RSS Link: https://techaddicts.libsyn.com/rss Direct Download | iTunes | YouTube Music | Stitcher | Tunein | Spotify  Amazon | Pocket Casts | Castbox | PodHubUK Feedback, Fallout and Contributions Crucial's news about RAM for consumers Ed Hause That's very sad. I always seemed to end up with Crucial RAM when upgrading. Shame. James Raeburn That's terrible news. I can't believe Micron are doing this. Seems very short sighted to me. Crucial was my go-to brand for RAM. Jeremy Harpham I guess the shift to motherboard-soldered RAM limits the number of newer laptops with any upgrade options. Godfrey Lisk I get my RAM from Corsair. I have also bought Kingston's HyperX RAM. Great podcast episode as per usual News Millions of children and teens lose access to accounts as Australia's world-first social media ban begins Nearly one-third of teens use AI chatbots daily Ayaneo Pocket Play is a reincarnation of the Xperia Play Anicorn x PlayStation's £600 Mechanical Watch Is The Wildest 30th Anniversary Flex Yet - Anicorn Tiiny AI Pocket Lab: Mini PC with 12-core ARM CPU and 80 GB LPDDR5X memory unveiled ahead of CES - Techpowerup Sony Walkman returns: New Walkman NW-ZX900 audio player rears its head with major upgrades revealed Smart homes on AA batteries by Ikea Quickshot II coming in Jan Banters: Knocking out a Quick Bant The free Bulk Crap Uninstaller removes apps even Windows can't + Github  PinchFlat Bargain Basement: Best UK deals and tech on sale we have spotted ORICO 5 Bay Hard Drive Enclosure for 2.5"/3.5" SATA HDD/SSD - RRP - £127.99 - Savings (2):-£32.00 Promotion Applied -£25.60 Voucher -£6.40 Order Total: £95.99 Bose SoundLink Flex Portable Bluetooth Speaker (2nd Gen), £109 from £149 OM SYSTEM WS-882 Digital Voice Recorder - £29.99 Was £61.41 PDBest 60,000mAh PowerBank £30 was £43 (if you trust the brand!) Marshall Major IV On Ear Bluetooth Headphones - £49.00 Was: £58.00 Anker Charging Base £79 from £99 Anker Prime PowerBank (with Pogo Pins) £65 from £99 AUVON Dimmable Night Light Plug in Wall with Dusk to Dawn Sensor, Rotatable LED Night Light - £16.99 RRP: £21.99 Main Show URL: http://www.techaddicts.uk | PodHubUK Contact:: gareth@techaddicts.uk | @techaddictsuk Gareth - @garethmyles | Mastodon | Blusky | garethmyles.com | Gareth's Ko-Fi Ted - tedsalmon.com | Ted's PayPal | Mastodon | Ted's AmazonYouTube: Tech Addicts  

There are FOUR lights!But besides that, we have AMD news on Redstone, their B650 chipset and so much DDR pricing and related news that you'll platz.  Oh, Kohler has got a toilet cam security issue (seriously) and your One Time Password use is so very passé.  Microsoft also plans to finally make Windows 11 better for gaming in 2026 - Steam and Bazzite reportedly not worried.Thanks to Notion and their AI enfused Notion Agent for the sponsorship this week, help us out and check out their very cool offer at:notion.com/pcperTimestamps:00:00 Preroll00:04 Intro00:25 Patreon01:34 Food with Josh03:15 Weekly DDR5 price check04:44 Micron is making more than ever before on DRAM06:51 A DDR4 / DDR5 combo board!08:57 The DRAM problem - now vs. 201712:11 AMD Redstone is out16:45 AMD extending life of B65020:05 Heavy SSD writes due to AMD chipset driver?22:55 Steam client back-ported to Windows 7, 824:50 NVIDIA allowed to export H200 to China now26:25 Noctua beige and brown 3D printer filament28:24 Windows update removes Start Menu and Explorer31:36 Podcast sponsor - Notion32:50 (In)Security Corner45:18 Gaming Quick Hits52:37 Picks of the Week1:03:47 Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This week's full broadcast of Computer Talk Radio includes - 00:00 - News of the nerd for non-nerds - Time, AI, librarians, Netflix, Warner Bros, Disney, Open AI - 11:00 - Listener Q&A - shopping changes - Ashley asks why we don't cover shopping items any more - 22:00 - Apple top exits could be good - Keith and Benjamin discuss impact of talent leaving Apple - 31:00 - Marty Winston's Wisdom - Mark Brownsten covers Shokz OpenDOTS One and Analon pan - 39:00 - Scam Series - trusted apps - Benjamin says AI driven scammers even look like real people - 44:00 - Keske on Claude AI and others - Benjamin and Steve bounce around some of the ideas of AI - 56:00 - Dr Doreen Galli - Whisper Report - Dr Galli covers cybsersecurity and how it applies to all of us - 1:07:00 - Listener Q&A - Win11 Home v Pro - Lucas asks Benjamin the balance of Windows 11 Home vs Pro - 1:16:00 - IT Professional Series - 358 - Benjamin explores future of AI and how it will change us - 1:24:00 - Listener Q&A - taking time off - Chris asks if Computer Talk Radio ever takes time away

The Eras Tour Docuseries is finally here! We are so excited to watch this series and learn how the Eras Tour all came together, so we put together some theories about what we think each of the six episodes will tackle. There's just simply too much to tackle and we are SO grateful that we get six whole episodes to see it!!!We're back with another attempt at making Taylor's songs fit into the theme of Christmas! "I Look in People's Windows" is a very intriguing track off The Tortured Poets Department, and one that we both find so beautiful and curious. It's also the shortest song in Taylor's entire discography and doesn't ever include a bridge. But, Rachel ponders, perhaps the whole song itself is a bridge for the album as a whole.​Share with us your thoughts on today's episode by sending an email to swiftandswigspodcast@gmail.com.​Leave us a written review on the Apple Podcasts app!​Follow and rate our podcast on Spotify! ​Check out our "new shit" playlist on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5LOn9LRJ8lnvnCbpl6fKVG?si=68ca3032d3aa470b⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Norway enters December with early sunsets, cold mornings, and towns covered in snow. Families across the country settle into routines that feel steady and comforting. The winter can be long, so people bring warmth into their homes. Windows glow with lights, ovens fill with baked goods, and families take out decorations that they store away the rest of the year. The season feels more like a shared tradition than a single holiday, and it grows day by day through simple moments. Most families begin getting ready weeks before Christmas. Snow often falls early, so streets look bright and clean as December starts. Some families visit small winter markets. Others stay home to set up lights and prepare for the season ahead. Children begin talking about the customs they look forward to most. Adults make lists for meals, gifts, and gatherings. The long nights create an easy pace that helps everyone slow down and settle into winter. In the countryside, families sometimes enjoy the quiet sound of snow falling outside their windows. In the cities, people walk past shops decorated with wreaths, lights, and small trees. Norway's winter creates a backdrop that shapes the whole season. It carries people from the first days of December to the weeks that follow Christmas Day. Podcast Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/christmas-traditions-sweden/ Ancestral Findings Podcast: https://ancestralfindings.com/podcast This Week's Free Genealogy Lookups: https://ancestralfindings.com/lookups Genealogy Giveaway: https://ancestralfindings.com/giveaway Genealogy eBooks: https://ancestralfindings.com/ebooks Follow Along: https://www.facebook.com/AncestralFindings https://www.instagram.com/ancestralfindings https://www.youtube.com/ancestralfindings Support Ancestral Findings: https://ancestralfindings.com/support https://ancestralfindings.com/paypal  #Genealogy #AncestralFindings #GenealogyClips

“HEROIN ALMOST TOOK MY LIFE” w/ David Cohen | The Hopeaholics PodcastIn this powerful episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, a raw and unfiltered story of survival takes center stage as David Cohen shares the gripping truth of his journey through addiction, chaos, and redemption. From forging prescriptions on Windows 95 to surviving a near-fatal heroin overdose that left him in a coma for days, his life spiraled through crime, crack houses, and moments where death felt inches away. But through unimaginable lows came a turning point—one sparked by family intervention, a gritty county-funded rehab, and a candlelit meeting that hit him with the same force as his first high. David's transformation from a young man chasing destruction to a clinical leader helping others fight the same battle is nothing short of extraordinary. This episode delivers gut-wrenching honesty, dramatic moments, and the undeniable proof that recovery is real, possible, and powerful. Tune in to hear how grit, grace, and relentless willingness can pull someone from the darkest depths into a life of purpose. His story is a reminder that no one is too far gone to rise again. If you need hope, this episode delivers it in every minute.#thehopeaholics #redemption #recovery #AlcoholAddiction #AddictionRecovery #wedorecover #SobrietyJourney #MyStory #Hope #wedorecover #treatmentcenter #natalieevamarieJoin our patreon to get access to an EXTRA EPISODE every week of ‘Off the Record', exclusive content, a thriving recovery community, and opportunities to be featured on the podcast. https://patreon.com/TheHopeaholics Go to www.Wolfpak.com today and support our sponsors. Don't forget to use code: HOPEAHOLICSPODCAST for 10% off!Follow the Hopeaholics on our Socials:https://www.instagram.com/thehopeaholics https://linktr.ee/thehopeaholicsBuy Merch: https://thehopeaholics.myshopify.comVisit our Treatment Centers: https://www.hopebythesea.comIf you or a loved one needs help, please call or text 949-615-8588. We have the resources to treat mental health and addiction. Sponsored by the Infiniti Group LLC:https://www.infinitigroupllc.com Timestamps:00:19:38 – David's Heart Stops After First Heroin Injection00:20:12 – David Wakes Up From a 4–5 Day Overdose Coma00:14:25 – Creating Fake Prescriptions Using Windows 9500:17:11 – Shooting Up a Friend First to “Test” New Drugs00:18:25 – Sliding From Pills Into Heroin and Crack Addiction00:21:41 – Car Radiator Explodes While He's High, Dealers Run00:22:28 – Using His Broken Car as a “Mobile Office” to Get High00:22:40 – Returning to Find His Car Stripped and Eventually Gone00:23:08 – Father Confronts Him: “You've Changed So Much… We Don't Know What to Do”00:24:40 – Mother Bravely Tells Her Boss Her Son Is a Heroin Addict00:25:58 – Candlelight AA Meeting Hits Him Like His First High00:26:17 – David Realizes He Must Recover With Hardened Ex-Convicts00:28:59 – Relapse Into Black Tar Heroin After Moving to Venice00:29:25 – Waking Up Beside a Mysterious Man Who Tells Him to Go Home00:30:26 – Returning Home in Psychosis With Only 10 Days Clean

What does the future of learning look like? In this episode, we go behind the scenes with Jenn Womble, the visionary driving the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), to get an exclusive look at what's coming to Orlando in January 2026.Jenn reveals the bold ideas, immersive experiences, and innovative programming shaping one of the world's most influential edtech gatherings. From stepping into a full-immersion VR classroom and exploring a reimagined vendor floor to cutting-edge talks on AI, FETC 2026 is packed with surprises that celebrate creativity, leadership, and the evolving role of technology in schools. Get your front-row seat to the future of learning!---ABOUT OUR GUESTJennifer Eakin Womble is a nationally recognized leader in education and technology, dedicated to advancing professional development and innovation in the edtech space. Since 2010, she has served as the Conference Chair for the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC)—the largest independent edtech conference in North America—curating high-impact events and professional learning experiences. She also leads the FETC Webinar Series and contributes to District Administration magazine. A nationally recognized speaker, Jennifer has been honored as an EdTech and eLearning Top Influencer, an EdTech Digest Leadership Award recipient, and a judge for the District Administration Top EdTech Products and Reimagine Education Awards.---SUBSCRIBE TO THE SERIES: ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠YouTube Music⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Overcast⁠⁠⁠FOLLOW US: ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠POWERED BY CLASSLINK: ClassLink provides one-click single sign-on into web and Windows applications, and instant access to files at school and in the cloud. Accessible from any computer, tablet, or smartphone, ClassLink is ideal for 1to1 and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠classlink.com⁠⁠⁠.

Will we see further retaliation from the Trump administration against Senator Mark Kelly? And apparently the Windows default font Calibri is too woke now? Political Analyst Chuck Todd joined the show to discuss this and other important happenings from our nation's capital. 

On this edition of the Sams Report, COD has a problem, the awards have arrived, and Windows can't get enough of Webview2. You can learn more about Connection Explorer here: https://www.stardock.com/products/connectionexplorer/ Chapters: Intro: 00:00-00:46 Tech News: 00:46-3:27 Gaming News: 3:27-8:32 Questions: 8:32-16:33 Outro: 16:33-17:21

Episode 399 of In Touch With iOS with host Dave Ginsburg, features a special guest appearance by Katie Fawkes, from Ecamm, alongside Jill McKinley, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden. The panel covers Ecamm live streaming workflows, Vision Pro app and game awards, immersive video experiences, iOS 26.2 betas, Shortcuts automation, Mac mini innovations, Apple accessories, iFixit's new AI repair tool, and the latest Apple TV+ news—delivering a packed episode full of insight, humor, and Apple ecosystem expertise. The show notes are at InTouchwithiOS.com  Direct Link to Audio  Links to our Show Give us a review on Apple Podcasts! CLICK HERE we would really appreciate it! Click this link Buy me a Coffee to support the show we would really appreciate it. intouchwithios.com/coffee  Another way to support the show is to become a Patreon member patreon.com/intouchwithios Website: In Touch With iOS YouTube Channel In Touch with iOS Magazine on Flipboard Facebook Page BlueSky Mastodon X Instagram Threads Summary In Episode 399 of In Touch With iOS, host Dave Ginsburg is joined by a full panel—including special guest Katie Fawkes from Ecamm—for a wide-ranging discussion across Apple hardware, software, services, and the evolving creator ecosystem. Katie shares her background at Ecamm and discusses how Mac-first live-streaming tools are empowering a new generation of creators. The panel explores Ecamm's Zoom integration, creative workflows, and why the Mac mini has become a gateway device for many Windows users entering the Apple ecosystem. The conversation moves into Vision Pro news, including visionOS 26.2 RC, Apple's App of the Year winners, and immersive content highlights. The panel reacts to Explore POV winning Vision Pro App of the Year and dives into immersive skiing footage from Red Bull, praising Apple's growing spatial video ambitions. Gaming gets its moment as Porta Newbie is named Vision Pro Game of the Year, with discussion around spatial controls and onboarding challenges. On the software front, the group breaks down iOS 26.2 beta changes, Apple's unusual second release candidate, and early impressions across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, and Vision Pro. Productivity apps, Shortcuts enhancements (25+ new actions), and real-world automation use cases spark a lively exchange—especially around using ChatGPT to build shortcuts. Hardware topics include Mac mini rack mounting, Thunderbolt 5 clustering, and Apple accessories—yes, including the infamous Apple polishing cloth. The panel also discusses iFixit's new FixBot AI repair assistant and the ongoing right-to-repair movement. Wrapping up, the show dives into Apple TV+ momentum, Golden Globe nominations, and upcoming releases like Margo's Got Money Troubles, Severance, Slow Horses, Pluribus, and F1. The episode closes with thoughts on Google and Apple collaborating on easier Android-to-iPhone switching, MKBHD's Phone of the Year picks, and why Apple's ecosystem continues to evolve in surprising ways. Topics and Links We welcome first time guest Katie to the show. We find out what Apple devices she uses and about Ecamm Live which our show uses and other projects. The VHS Club In Touch With Vision Pro this week.  Vision Pro 2025 Apps of the Year Explore POV App Porta Nuba Porta Nubi: Immersive Puzzles App ‎World of Red Bull - Apple TV  Legs of Steel Crew video on the shoot - Facebook Beta this week.  iOS 26 RC2 was released Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers iOS 26.2 gets new RC for iPhone ahead of launch - 9to5Mac 15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2 Apple unveils the winners of the 2025 App Store Awards Jeff asked Katie what productivity apps she uses In Touch With Mac this week macOS Beta 26.2 RC 2 was released.  Hands-on: Sonnet RackMac mini - up to three Mac minis in a single enclosure [Video] - 9to5Mac Cool things to keep things clean.  Apple Polishing Cloth WHOOSH! Pro 16.9 fl oz Refillable Screen Cleaner & Microfiber Cloth Other Topics Google and Apple partner on better Android-iPhone switching iPhone 17 is MKBHD's phone of the year iOS 26's Shortcuts app adds 25+ new actions, here's everything new - 9to5Mac What's new in Shortcuts for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26 - Apple Support JustWatch: These were Apple TV's top global movies and shows in November iPhone 17 Pro lost key Camera app feature that iPhone 16 Pro had News iFixit launches FixBot AI repair helper, with free and paid versions - 9to5Mac Apple TV reveals first look at "Margo's Got Money Troubles" from David E. Kelley Apple's "F1," "Severance," "Pluribus," "Slow Horses," "The Studio" score Golden Globe nods - Apple TV Press Apple scores top nominations for the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards Announcements Macstock 9 has wrapped for 2025. Attendees will receive a link for the session recordings when  they're ready in 30-45 days. If you missed Macstock we missed you! Why not purchase a digital pass to relive all the amazing presentations? Click the link below to purchase the digital pass. Macstock X has already been announced July 10,11,12, 2026 hopeful you all can join us.  Macstock IX Digital Pass Our Host Dave Ginsburg is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users and shares his wealth of knowledge of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and related technologies. Visit the YouTube channel https://youtube.com/intouchwithios follow him on Mastodon @daveg65, , BlueSky @daveg65  and the show @intouchwithio   Our Guest Katie Fawkes is the Director of Marketing at Ecamm, a leading live streaming and video production software for Mac users. With a background in content strategy, podcasting, and community building, Katie is passionate about helping creators confidently show up on camera and grow their brands through video. She's the co-host of The Flow and The VHS Club video podcasts, hosts multiple live video series, and speaks regularly at industry events on topics like one-take video, camera confidence, and creator marketing. Our Regular Contributors Jeff Gamet is a podcaster, technology blogger, artist, and author. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's managing editor, and Smile's TextExpander Evangelist. You can find him on Mastadon @jgamet Pixelfed @jgamet@pixelfed.social and Bluesky @jgamet.bsky.social‬ Podcasts The Context Machine Podcast  Retro Rewatch Retro Rewatch His YouTube channel https://youtube.com/jgamet Marty Jencius, Ph.D., is a professor of counselor education at Kent State University, where he researches, writes, and trains about using technology in teaching and mental health practice. His podcasts include Vision Pro Files, The Tech Savvy Professor and Circular Firing Squad Podcast. Find him at jencius@mastodon.social  https://thepodtalk.net  Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him by email at eabolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast.   Jill McKinley works in enterprise software, server administration, and IT A lifelong tech enthusiast, she started her career with Windows but is now an avid Apple fan. Beyond technology, she shares her insights on nature, faith, and personal growth through her podcasts—Buzz Blossom & Squeak, Start with Small Steps, and The Bible in Small Steps. Watch her content on YouTube at @startwithsmallsteps and follow her on X @schmern. Find all her work at http://jillfromthenorthwoods.com  Chuck Joiner is the host of MacVoices and hosts video podcasts with influential members of the Apple community. Make sure to visit macvoices.com and subscribe to his podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @chuckjoiner and join his MacVoices Facebook group.

How is package management changing? Carl and Richard talk with Gary Ewan Park about his view of the package management landscape in the Windows world. Gary talks about the array of open source and free products out there today to do package management - you really have a lot of choice! There are also retail enterprise products that focus on features companies need to support larger numbers of machines, including virtual machines and cloud containers. The challenge of security and supply chain attacks is a key part of the modern landscape - and there are tools to help you get things right!

Windows 11 just got a fresh Start menu, and it's not just a pretty face. Find out what Microsoft is quietly changing, how it affects everyone (not just Copilot+ PC users), and why your app-launching habits could shift. Host: Paul Thurrott Download or subscribe to Hands-On Windows at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-windows Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

Alexandre Dana reçoit le Dr Pierre Setbon, cardiologue spécialiste du stress. Parlons de protéger notre coeur ! Pourquoi sommes-nous de plus en plus stressés ? Comment le stress agit-il réellement sur notre cœur ? Quelle différence entre un cœur stressé et un cœur malade ? Les femmes sont-elles plus sujettes au stress ? Comment la respiration peut-elle nous aider ? Le Dr Pierre Setbon nous aide à comprendre les mécanismes du stress, ses impacts visibles et invisibles sur le cœur et nous dévoile des moyens concrets de retrouver sérénité, énergie et sécurité intérieure. Son livre, Votre ordonnance antistress pour protéger votre cœur, publié aux éditions Leduc. Épisode #648ATTENTION : ces informations ne remplacent en aucun cas une consultation chez le médecin.Quelques citations du podcast avec le Dr Pierre Setbon :"On nous demande d'être multitâche comme Windows et l'homme n'est pas fait pour être multitâche.""Se sentir stressé augmente par 2 le risque de faire un problème cardiaque sérieux.""La maîtrise de la respiration, c'est la seule chose que l'on a pour agir sur notre cerveau et pour calmer notre coeur."Recevez chaque semaine l'inspirante newsletter Métamorphose par Anne GhesquièreDécouvrez Objectif Métamorphose, notre programme en 12 étapes pour partir à la rencontre de soi-même.Suivez nos RS : Insta, Facebook & TikTokAbonnez-vous sur Apple Podcast / Spotify / Deezer / CastBox / YoutubeSoutenez Métamorphose en rejoignant la Tribu MétamorphoseThèmes abordés lors du podcast avec le Dr Pierre Setbon :00:00Introduction02:00Présentation invités02:58Explosion du stress04:00Signes du stress05:56Ne pas prendre le stress à la légère07:31Le rôle de l'adrénaline09:09Symptômes des problèmes cardiaques10:18Risque cardiaque et hiérarchie15:06Phénomène du karoshi15:49Le syndrome du coeur brisé17:48Quels examens à partir de 40 ans ?21:55Ménopause et risques cardiaques25:55Les anxiolytiques : pas adaptés pour le stress27:51Les avantages des bêtabloqueurs33:21Les cures de magnésium pour le stress léger34:47L'activité physique protectrice36:08L'assiette idéale37:37La maîtrise de la respiration39:47Éviter les excèsAvant-propos et précautions à l'écoute du podcast DR Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Windows 11 just got a fresh Start menu, and it's not just a pretty face. Find out what Microsoft is quietly changing, how it affects everyone (not just Copilot+ PC users), and why your app-launching habits could shift. Host: Paul Thurrott Download or subscribe to Hands-On Windows at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-windows Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.

Confused about Apple TV upgrades, iPhone Air, and the latest smart glasses? Steven Scott and Shaun Preece tackle listener emails on tech for blind users, from upgrading old Apple TVs and choosing the right iPhone, to smart glasses like Meta Ray-Bans, Ally Solos, and Aira. They also dive into Windows 11 installation with Rufus, sleep tracking with Apple Watch Series 11, and the realities of online accessibility tools.Aira is proud to sponsor Double Tap, supporting a community that values independence, access, and real solutions for blind and low vision users. Aira is an app that gives you on-demand visual interpreting through trained professionals who can describe surroundings, read information, or guide you using your phone's camera. It also includes Access AI, a feature that provides instant image descriptions with the option to confirm details with a live visual interpreter. Aira works with major companies, airports, universities, and retailers that offer the service for free as Access Partners, and the platform is approaching ten million calls while remaining available on both iOS and Android. In this lively episode of Double Tap, Steven and Shaun unpack a mailbag full of listener questions and tech dilemmas. Discussions range from whether to upgrade to the latest Apple TV or wait for a new release, to how the iPhone Air fits into Apple's 2025 line-up. Listeners weigh in on the frustrations of downloading and using Rufus to install Windows 11 on unsupported PCs, and Robin offers a step-by-step guide. The hosts also explore the accessibility of new smart glasses, including early impressions of Ally Solos and excitement for the upcoming Agiga Echo Vision. They debate the infantilisation of blind users in discussions about online gambling, share experiences with Apple Watch sleep tracking, and highlight listener feedback about Audible's confusing subscription model. The episode closes with tips on assistive tech resources and future trends in AI-powered wearables.Enjoying Double Tap? Share your thoughts!Email: feedback@doubletaponair.comWhatsApp audio/video: +1 613-481-0144Voicemail: 1-877-803-4567Like, subscribe, and join the conversation on accessible tech!Relevant Links• Rufus Official Site: https://rufus.ie• Seeing With Sound: https://www.seeingwithsound.com• Kentucky Assistive Tech Network: https://catsnet.org/services• Be My Eyes: https://www.bemyeyes.com• Aira: https://aira.io Find Double Tap online: YouTube, Double Tap Website---Follow on:YouTube: https://www.doubletaponair.com/youtubeX (formerly Twitter): https://www.doubletaponair.com/xInstagram: https://www.doubletaponair.com/instagramTikTok: https://www.doubletaponair.com/tiktokThreads: https://www.doubletaponair.com/threadsFacebook: https://www.doubletaponair.com/facebookLinkedIn: https://www.doubletaponair.com/linkedin Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://www.doubletaponair.com/appleSpotify: https://www.doubletaponair.com/spotifyRSS: https://www.doubletaponair.com/podcastiHeadRadio: https://www.doubletaponair.com/iheart About Double TapHosted by the insightful duo, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, Double Tap is a treasure trove of information for anyone who's blind or partially sighted and has a passion for tech. Steven and Shaun not only demystify tech, but they also regularly feature interviews and welcome guests from the community, fostering an interactive and engaging environment. Tune in every day of the week, and you'll discover how technology can seamlessly integrate into your life, enhancing daily tasks and experiences, even if your sight is limited. "Double Tap" is a registered trademark of Double Tap Productions Inc. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Christmas time wouldn't be complete without the festive shop window displays. Seán's guest's grandfather led the design and construction of Gimbel's Christmas window displays in the 1940s. The department store has become a hallmark of the holiday season, featured in classics like ‘Elf', and ‘Miracle on 34th Street'.Emer Roche joins to discuss!

December 2025's Patch Tuesday brought major shifts, but the real action is in Microsoft's pricing, privacy battles, and the arms race to control AI-enabled browsers. Plus, Paul recommends Tiny11 Builder for a clean install, or Win11Debloat for an existing install. Then, Rufus to create installation media without the forced Microsoft account (MSA) sign-in or hardware requirement checks. Use MSEdgeDirect to use the default web browser for stories from Widgets, web-based search results, etc. And ExplorerPatcher can fix the performance and reliability issues in File Explorer. It's the final Patch Tuesday of 2025 Major dark mode updates (with a fix for the "flashbang" problem) AI Agent in Settings, Click to Do, Windows Studio Effects, and Search improvements for Copilot+ PCs Many other improvements: FSE, Share, Settings, Widgets, more More Windows 11 New 25H2 preview build on Beta/Dev adds MCP public preview, Quick Machine Recovery auto-enabled, Unified Update Orchestration Platform, Windows MIDI services Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 is getting a lot more expensive in mid-2026. You didn't think all those free AI updates were free, did you? AI Paul has been talking about "programmatic" apps and services because he wasn't sure of a term for this type of interaction. But there is a term for this: Semantic. As in semantic web. And there you go Microsoft one of 1,000 companies partnering on Agentic AI Foundation because you're getting agents whether they work or not Gartner says NO to AI web browsers The New York Times is suing Perplexity for all the obvious reasons After a big win in the legal battle with OpenAI Opera for Android gets a big AI update Google Workspace Studio brings code-free agent creation to business users - automation is a solid AI use case Xbox Xbox Series X|S notably absent during Black Friday sales Call of Duty won't repeat the mistakes of the past anymore since it didn't work out twice now MS Flight Simulator 2024 is now available on PS5 Red Dead Redemption comes to mobile for the first time, free with a Netflix account Tips & Picks Tip and app(s) of the week: De-enshittify Windows 11 RunAs Radio this week: Incident Management and the Crowdstrike Event with Liam Westley Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Farm Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly auraframes.com/ink helixsleep.com/windows ventionteams.com/twit

December 2025's Patch Tuesday brought major shifts, but the real action is in Microsoft's pricing, privacy battles, and the arms race to control AI-enabled browsers. Plus, Paul recommends Tiny11 Builder for a clean install, or Win11Debloat for an existing install. Then, Rufus to create installation media without the forced Microsoft account (MSA) sign-in or hardware requirement checks. Use MSEdgeDirect to use the default web browser for stories from Widgets, web-based search results, etc. And ExplorerPatcher can fix the performance and reliability issues in File Explorer. It's the final Patch Tuesday of 2025 Major dark mode updates (with a fix for the "flashbang" problem) AI Agent in Settings, Click to Do, Windows Studio Effects, and Search improvements for Copilot+ PCs Many other improvements: FSE, Share, Settings, Widgets, more More Windows 11 New 25H2 preview build on Beta/Dev adds MCP public preview, Quick Machine Recovery auto-enabled, Unified Update Orchestration Platform, Windows MIDI services Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 is getting a lot more expensive in mid-2026. You didn't think all those free AI updates were free, did you? AI Paul has been talking about "programmatic" apps and services because he wasn't sure of a term for this type of interaction. But there is a term for this: Semantic. As in semantic web. And there you go Microsoft one of 1,000 companies partnering on Agentic AI Foundation because you're getting agents whether they work or not Gartner says NO to AI web browsers The New York Times is suing Perplexity for all the obvious reasons After a big win in the legal battle with OpenAI Opera for Android gets a big AI update Google Workspace Studio brings code-free agent creation to business users - automation is a solid AI use case Xbox Xbox Series X|S notably absent during Black Friday sales Call of Duty won't repeat the mistakes of the past anymore since it didn't work out twice now MS Flight Simulator 2024 is now available on PS5 Red Dead Redemption comes to mobile for the first time, free with a Netflix account Tips & Picks Tip and app(s) of the week: De-enshittify Windows 11 RunAs Radio this week: Incident Management and the Crowdstrike Event with Liam Westley Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Farm Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly auraframes.com/ink helixsleep.com/windows ventionteams.com/twit

December 2025's Patch Tuesday brought major shifts, but the real action is in Microsoft's pricing, privacy battles, and the arms race to control AI-enabled browsers. Plus, Paul recommends Tiny11 Builder for a clean install, or Win11Debloat for an existing install. Then, Rufus to create installation media without the forced Microsoft account (MSA) sign-in or hardware requirement checks. Use MSEdgeDirect to use the default web browser for stories from Widgets, web-based search results, etc. And ExplorerPatcher can fix the performance and reliability issues in File Explorer. It's the final Patch Tuesday of 2025 Major dark mode updates (with a fix for the "flashbang" problem) AI Agent in Settings, Click to Do, Windows Studio Effects, and Search improvements for Copilot+ PCs Many other improvements: FSE, Share, Settings, Widgets, more More Windows 11 New 25H2 preview build on Beta/Dev adds MCP public preview, Quick Machine Recovery auto-enabled, Unified Update Orchestration Platform, Windows MIDI services Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 is getting a lot more expensive in mid-2026. You didn't think all those free AI updates were free, did you? AI Paul has been talking about "programmatic" apps and services because he wasn't sure of a term for this type of interaction. But there is a term for this: Semantic. As in semantic web. And there you go Microsoft one of 1,000 companies partnering on Agentic AI Foundation because you're getting agents whether they work or not Gartner says NO to AI web browsers The New York Times is suing Perplexity for all the obvious reasons After a big win in the legal battle with OpenAI Opera for Android gets a big AI update Google Workspace Studio brings code-free agent creation to business users - automation is a solid AI use case Xbox Xbox Series X|S notably absent during Black Friday sales Call of Duty won't repeat the mistakes of the past anymore since it didn't work out twice now MS Flight Simulator 2024 is now available on PS5 Red Dead Redemption comes to mobile for the first time, free with a Netflix account Tips & Picks Tip and app(s) of the week: De-enshittify Windows 11 RunAs Radio this week: Incident Management and the Crowdstrike Event with Liam Westley Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Farm Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly auraframes.com/ink helixsleep.com/windows ventionteams.com/twit

December 2025's Patch Tuesday brought major shifts, but the real action is in Microsoft's pricing, privacy battles, and the arms race to control AI-enabled browsers. Plus, Paul recommends Tiny11 Builder for a clean install, or Win11Debloat for an existing install. Then, Rufus to create installation media without the forced Microsoft account (MSA) sign-in or hardware requirement checks. Use MSEdgeDirect to use the default web browser for stories from Widgets, web-based search results, etc. And ExplorerPatcher can fix the performance and reliability issues in File Explorer. It's the final Patch Tuesday of 2025 Major dark mode updates (with a fix for the "flashbang" problem) AI Agent in Settings, Click to Do, Windows Studio Effects, and Search improvements for Copilot+ PCs Many other improvements: FSE, Share, Settings, Widgets, more More Windows 11 New 25H2 preview build on Beta/Dev adds MCP public preview, Quick Machine Recovery auto-enabled, Unified Update Orchestration Platform, Windows MIDI services Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 is getting a lot more expensive in mid-2026. You didn't think all those free AI updates were free, did you? AI Paul has been talking about "programmatic" apps and services because he wasn't sure of a term for this type of interaction. But there is a term for this: Semantic. As in semantic web. And there you go Microsoft one of 1,000 companies partnering on Agentic AI Foundation because you're getting agents whether they work or not Gartner says NO to AI web browsers The New York Times is suing Perplexity for all the obvious reasons After a big win in the legal battle with OpenAI Opera for Android gets a big AI update Google Workspace Studio brings code-free agent creation to business users - automation is a solid AI use case Xbox Xbox Series X|S notably absent during Black Friday sales Call of Duty won't repeat the mistakes of the past anymore since it didn't work out twice now MS Flight Simulator 2024 is now available on PS5 Red Dead Redemption comes to mobile for the first time, free with a Netflix account Tips & Picks Tip and app(s) of the week: De-enshittify Windows 11 RunAs Radio this week: Incident Management and the Crowdstrike Event with Liam Westley Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Farm Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly auraframes.com/ink helixsleep.com/windows ventionteams.com/twit

Podcast DescriptionIn Episode 189 of The Citrix Session, host Bill Sutton, Director of Modern Workspace at XenTegra, is joined by Solutions Architects Stuart Donaldson and Randy Price for a deep dive into one of the most significant updates in modern Citrix authentication.This episode unpacks Microsoft Entra ID Single Sign-On inside Citrix sessions and what it means for end users, admins, and the future of passwordless access. The team breaks down why FAS has become a layer of technical debt, how Entra ID SSO removes friction for users, and what prerequisites and limitations customers need to know before adopting it.Listeners will learn: • How Entra ID SSO eliminates duplicate authentication inside Citrix sessions • Why Primary Refresh Token support is a major win for M365 user experience • What environments are supported and where FAS is still required • Operational considerations like Windows 11 requirements, VDA versions, and the impact on Auto Client Reconnect • Known issues, performance implications, and what to expect in future iterationsIf you support Citrix DAS, modern authentication, or hybrid identity environments, this episode gives you a practical, expert-level overview of what Entra ID SSO unlocks and why it matters.Technical Details can be found at: https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-daas/install-configure/session-authentication/entra-sso.html

The MacVoices Live! panel touches on Microsoft's warning about a risky experimental AI agent in Windows, raising concerns about big tech pushing features before security is understood. Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and David Ginsburg debate age-verification proposals from Roblox and Pornhub, explore Coinbase's new prediction market, and react to a massive WhatsApp data breach affecting billions of phone numbers.  MacVoices is supported by Incogni. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Get 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/CHUCK and use code CHUCK at checkout..http://incogni.com/CHUCK Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Opening, sponsor mention, and setup for AI security discussion[0:23] Microsoft warns experimental Windows AI agent may expose user data[1:52] Enterprise perspective: why companies won't enable risky AI features[3:29] The broader question: why tech firms ship features before securing them[3:46] Roblox proposes selfie-based age verification[4:49] Pornhub urges device-level age verification by Apple/Google[6:14] State-by-state regulation pressures adult platforms[7:33] Concerns about third-party apps storing user photos and IDs[9:32] The burden of age verification and whether platforms should hold it[11:10] Regulatory inconsistencies, digital IDs, and privacy trade-offs[17:36] Coinbase launches Kaushy-powered prediction market[18:41] Risks of betting platforms built on crypto or “play money”[20:35] Similarities to opaque financial instruments and fairness concerns[21:54] Recommended podcast episodes on betting markets manipulation[24:17] WhatsApp data breach exposes 3.5B phone numbers[26:03] Why WhatsApp's identity model makes leaks so damaging[27:17] Meta's years-long failure to address systemic vulnerabilities[28:22] International reliance on WhatsApp and global impact of breach[29:58] Closing roundtable, Thanksgiving plans, and contact info Links: Critics scoff after Microsoft warns AI feature can infect machines and pilfer datahttps://arstechnica.com/security/2025/11/critics-scoff-after-microsoft-warns-ai-feature-can-infect-machines-and-pilfer-data/ Roblox demands an AI-verified selfie to prevent kids from chatting to adultshttps://www.fastcompany.com/91445273/roblox-age-verification-ai-lawsuit Pornhub Is Urging Tech Giants to Enact Device-Based Age Verificationhttps://www.wired.com/story/pornhub-is-urging-tech-giants-to-enact-device-based-age-verification/ Coinbase said to launch Kalshi-powered prediction markethttps://seekingalpha.com/news/4524123-coinbase-said-to-launch-kalshi-powered-prediction-market Against The Rules podcasthttps://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/against-the-rules * Episode 4: “A Hard Way to Make an Easy Living” — explores how sports betting worked before legalization, the betting sharps, and differences between old-school versus online gambling.   * Episode 7: “Little Big Short” — discusses restrictions on online sportsbooks (for example in California), featuring perspectives from pastors, Native Americans, and short-sellers.   * Episode 8: “The Integrity Landscape” — covers how betting based on inside information hasn't gone away, and the problems this raises for athletes — especially in college sports.   * Episode 10: “Anybody Can Win, but Everybody's Gonna Lose…” — looks at online gambling and the risks to individuals, especially younger people; includes reflection by the host on protecting his son from gambling's lure. “ WhatsApp security flaw exposed 3.5B phone numbers – including yourshttps://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/whatsapp-security-flaw-exposed-3-5b-phone-numbers-including-yours/ “Wanna bet? Online prediction markets wager that you will” - CBS Sunday Morninghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGx-kqf_840 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. 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

So you've decided to switch to Linux. But what's wrong with Windows, anyway? And isn't it hard to make the switch? Joining us today to walk you through the switch to Linux is Rob Braxman, aka The Internet Privacy Guy.

The Overtired trio reunites for the first time in ages, diving into a whirlwind of health updates, hilarious anecdotes, and the latest tech obsessions. Christina shares a dramatic spinal saga while Brett and Jeff discuss everything from winning reddit contests to creating a universal markdown processor. Tune in for updates on Mark 3, the magical world of Scrivener, and why Brett’s back on Bing. Don’t miss the banter or the tech tips, and as always, get ready to laugh, learn, and maybe feel a little overtired yourself. Sponsor Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10% of all eCommerce in the US, from household names like Mattel and Gymshark, to brands just getting started. Get started today at shopify.com/overtired. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the Overtired Podcast 01:09 Christina’s Health Journey 10:53 Brett’s Insurance Woes 15:38 Jeff’s Mental Health Update 24:07 Sponsor Spot: Shopify 24:18 Sponsor: Shopify 26:23 Jeff Tweedy 27:43 Jeff’s Concert Marathon 32:16 Christina Wins Big 36:58 Monitor Setup Challenges 37:13 Ergotron Mounts and Tall Poles 38:33 Review Plans and Honest Assessments 38:59 Current Display Setup 41:30 Thunderbolt KVM and Display Preferences 42:51 MacBook Pro and Studio Comparisons 50:58 Markdown Processor: Apex 01:07:58 Scrivener and Writing Tools 01:11:55 Helium Browser and Privacy Features 01:13:56 Bing Delisting Incident Show Links Danny Brown's 10 in the New York Times (gift link) Indigo Stack Scrivener Helium Bangs Apex Apex Syntax Join the Marked 3 Beta LG 32 Inch UltraFine™evo 6K Nano IPS Black Monitor with Thunderbolt™ 5 Join the Conversation Merch Come chat on Discord! Twitter/ovrtrd Instagram/ovrtrd Youtube Get the Newsletter Thanks! You’re downloading today’s show from CacheFly’s network BackBeat Media Podcast Network Check out more episodes at overtiredpod.com and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Find Brett as @ttscoff, Christina as @film_girl, Jeff as @jsguntzel, and follow Overtired at @ovrtrd on Twitter. Transcript Brett + 2 Welcome to the Overtired Podcast Jeff: [00:00:00] Hello everybody. This is the Overtired podcast. The three of us are all together for the first time since the Carter administration. Um, it is great to see you both here. I am Jeff Severance Gunzel if I didn’t say that already. Um, and I’m here with Christina Warren and I’m here with Brett Terpstra and hello to both of you. Brett: Hi. Jeff: Great to see you both. Brett: Yeah, it’s good to see you too. I feel like I was really deadpan in the pre-show. I’ll try to liven it up for you. I was a horrible audience. You were cracking jokes and I was just Jeff: that’s true. Christina, before you came on, man, I was hot. I was on fire and Brett was, all Brett was doing was chewing and dropping Popsicle parts. Brett: Yep. I ate, I ate part of a coconut outshine Popsicle off of a concrete floor, but Jeff: It is true, and I didn’t even see him check it [00:01:00] for cat hair, Brett: I did though. Jeff: but I believe he did because he’s a, he’s a very Brett: I just vacuumed in Jeff: He’s a very good American Brett: All right. Christina’s Health Journey Brett: Well, um, I, Christina has a lot of health stuff to share and I wanna save time for that. So let’s kick off the mental health corner. Um, let’s let Christina go first, because if it takes the whole show, it takes the whole show. Go for it. Christina: Uh, I, I will not take this hold show, but thank you. Yeah. So, um, my mental health is okay-ish. Um, I would say the okay-ish part is, is because of things that are happening with my physical health and then some of the medications that I’ve had to be on, um, uh, to deal with it. Uh, prednisone. Fucking sucks, man. Never nev n never take it if you can avoid it. Um, but why Christina, why are you on prednisone or why were you on prednisone for five days? Um, uh, and I’m not anymore to be clear, but that certainly did not help my mental health. Um, at the beginning of November, I woke up and I thought that I’d [00:02:00] slept on my shoulder wrong. And, um, uh, and, and just some, some background. I, I don’t know if this is pertinent to how my injury took place or not, but, but it, I’m sure that it didn’t help. Um, I have scoliosis and in the top and the bottom of my spine, so I have it at the top of my, like, neck area and my lower back. And so my back is like a crooked s um, this will be relevant in a, in a second, but, but I, I thought that I had slept on my back bunny, and I was like, okay, well, all right, it hurts a lot, but fine. Um, and then it, a, a couple of days passed and it didn’t get any better, and then like a week passed and I was at the point where I was like, I almost feel like I need to go to the. Emergency room, I’m in pain. That is that significant. Um, and, you know, didn’t get any better. So I took some of grant’s, Gabapentin, and I took, um, some, some, uh, a few other things and I was able to get in with like a, a, a sports and spine guy. Um, and um, [00:03:00] he looked at me and he was like, yeah, I think that you have like a, a, a bolting disc, also known as a herniated disc. Go to physical therapy. See me later. We’ll, we’ll deal with it. Um. Basically like my whole left side was, was, was really sore and, and I had a lot of pain and then I had numbness in my, my fingers and um, and, and that was a problem the next day, which was actually my birthday. The numbness had at this point spread to my right side and also my lower extremities. And so at this point I called the doctor and he was like, yeah, you should go to the er. And so I went to the ER and, and they weren’t able to do anything for me other than give me, you know, like, um, you know, I was hoping they might give me like, some sort of steroid injection or something. They wouldn’t do anything other than, um, basically, um, they gave me like another type of maybe, maybe pain pill or whatever. Um, but that allowed the doctor to go ahead and. Write, uh, write up an MRI took forever for me to get an MRI, I actually had to get it in Atlanta. [00:04:00] Fun fact, uh, sometimes it is cheaper to just pay and not go through insurance and get an MR MRI and, um, a, um, uh, an x-ray, um, I was able to do it for $450 Jeff: Whoa. Really? Christina: Yeah, $400 for the MR mri. $50 for the x-ray. Jeff: Wow. Christina: Yeah. Yeah. Brett: how I, they, I had an MRI, they charged me like $1,200 and then they failed to bill insurance ’cause I was between insurance. Christina: Yes. Yeah. So what happened was, and and honestly that was gonna be the situation that I was in, not between insurance stuff, but they weren’t even gonna bill insurance. And insurance only approved certain facilities and to get into those facilities is almost impossible. Um, and so, no, there are a lot of like get an MR, I now get a, you know, mammogram, get ghetto, whatever places. And because America’s healthcare system is a HealthScape, you can bypass insurance and they will charge you way less than whatever they bill insurance for. So I, I don’t know if it’s part of the country, you know, like Seattle I think might [00:05:00] probably would’ve been more expensive. But yeah, I was able to find this place like a mile from like, not even a mile from where my parents lived, um, that did the x-rays and the MRI for $450 total. Brett: I, I hate, I hate that. That’s true, but Christina: Me too. Me too. No, no. It pisses me off. Honestly, it makes me angry because like, I’m glad that I was able to do that and get it, you know, uh, uh, expedited. Then I go into the spine, um, guy earlier this week and he looks at it and he’s like, yep, you’ve got a massive bulging disc on, on C seven, which is the, the part of your lower cervical or cervical spine, which is your neck. Um, and it’s where it connects to your ver bray. It’s like, you know, there are a few things you can do. You can do, you know, injections, you can do surgery. He is like, I’m gonna recommend you to a neurosurgeon. And I go to the neurosurgeon yesterday and he was showing me or not, uh, yeah, yesterday he was showing me the, the, the, the scans and, and showing like you up close and it’s, yeah, it’s pretty massive. Like where, where, where the disc is like it is. You could see it just from one view, like, just from like [00:06:00] looking at it like, kind of like outside, like you could actually like see like it was visible, but then when you zoomed in it’s like, oh shit, this, this thing is like massive and it’s pressing on these nerves that then go into my, my hands and other areas. But it’s pressing on both sides. It’s primarily on my left side, but it’s pressing on on my right side too, which is not good. So, um, he basically was like, okay. He was like, you know, this could go away. He was like, the pain isn’t really what I’m wanting to, to treat here. It’s, it’s the, the weakness because my, my left arm is incredibly weak. Like when they do like the, the test where like they, they push back on you to see like, okay, like how, how much can you, what, like, I am, I’m almost immediately like, I can’t hold anything back. Right? Like I’m, I’m, I’m like a toddler in terms of my strength. So, and, and then I’m freaked out because I don’t have a lot of feeling in my hands and, and that’s terrifying. Um, I’m also. Jeff: so terrifying, Christina: I’m, I’m also like in extreme pain because of, of, of where this sits. Like I can’t sleep well. Like [00:07:00] the whole thing sucks. Like the MRI, which was was like the most painful, like 25 minutes, like of my existence. ’cause I was laying flat on my back. I’m not allowed to move and I’m just like, I’m in just incredible pain with that part of, of, of, of my, my side. Like, it, it was. It was terrible. Um, but, uh, but he was like, yeah. Um, these are the sorts of surgical options we have. Um, he’s gonna, um, do basically what what he wants to do is basically do a thing where he would put in a, um, an artificial or, or synthetic disc. So they’re gonna remove the disc, put in a synthetic one. They’ll go in through the, the front of my throat to access the, my, my, my, my spine. Um, put that there and, um, you know, I’ll, I’ll be overnight in the hospital. Um, and then it’ll be a few weeks of recovery and the, the, the pain should go away immediately. Um, but it, it could be up to two years before I get full, you know, feeling back in my arm. So anyway, Jeff: years, Jesus. And Christina: I mean, and hopefully less than that, but, but it could be [00:08:00] up to that. Jeff: there’s no part of this at this point. That’s a mystery to you, right? Christina: The mystery is, I don’t know how this happened. Jeff: You don’t know how it happened, right? Of course. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Brett: So tell, tell us about the ghastly surgery. The, the throat thing really threw me like, I can’t imagine that Christina: yeah, yeah. So, well, ’cause the thing is, is that usually if what they just do, like spinal fusion, they’ll go in at the back of your neck, um, and then they’ll remove the, the, um, the, the, the, the disc. And then they’ll fuse your, your, your two bones together. Basically. They’ll, they’ll, they’ll, they’ll fuse this part of the vertebrae, but because they’re going to be replacing the, the disc, they need more room. So that’s why they have to go in through the, through, through basically your throat so that they can have more room to work. Jeff: Good lord. No thank you. Brett: Ugh. Wow. Jeff: Okay. Brett: I am really sorry that is happening. That is, that is, that dwarfs my health concerns. That is just constant pain [00:09:00] and, and it would be really scary. Christina: Yeah. Yeah. It’s not great. It’s not great, but I’m, I’m, I’m doing what I can and, uh, like I have, you know, a small amount of, of Oxycodine and I have like a, a, a, you know, some other pain medication and I’m taking the gabapentin and like, that’s helpful. The bad part is like your body, like every 12, 15 hours, like whatever, like the, the, the cycle is like, you feel it leave your system and like if you’re asleep, you wake up, right? Like, it’s one of those things, like, you immediately feel it, like when it leaves your system. And I’ve never had to do anything for pain management before. And they have me on a very, they have me like on the smallest amount of like, oxycodone you can be on. Um, and I’m using it sparingly because I don’t wanna, you know, be reliant on, on it or whatever. But it, it, but it is one of those things where I’m like, yeah, like sometimes you need fucking opiates because, you know, the pain is like so constant. And the thing is like, what sucks is that it’s not always the same type of pain. Like sometimes it’s throbbing, sometimes it’s sharp, sometimes it’s like whatever. It sucks. But the hardest thing [00:10:00] is like, and. This does impact my mental health. Like it’s hard to sleep. Like, and I’m a side sleeper. I’m a side sleeper, and I’m gonna have to become a back sleeper. So, you know. Yeah. It’s just, it’s, it’s not great. It’s not great, but, you know, that, that, that, that, that’s me. The, the good news is, and I’m very, very gratified, like I have a good surgeon. Um, I’m gonna be able to get in to get this done relatively quickly. He had an appointment for next week. I don’t think that insurance would’ve even been able to approve things fast enough for, for, for that regard. And I have, um, commitments that I can’t make then. And I, and that would also mean that I wouldn’t be able to go visit my family for Christmas. So hopefully I’ll do it right after Christmas. I’m just gonna wait, you know, for, for insurance to, to do its thing, knock on wood, and then schedule, um, from there. But yeah, Jeff: Woof. Christina: so that’s me. Um, uh, who wants to go next? Jeff or, uh, Jeff or Brett? Jeff: It’s like, that’s me. Hot potato throwing it. Brett: I’ll, I’ll go. Brett’s Insurance Woes Brett: I can continue on the insurance topic. Um, I was, for a few months [00:11:00] after getting laid off, I was on Minsu, which is Minnesota’s Medicaid, um, v version of Medicaid. And so basically I paid nothing and I had better insurance than I usually have with, uh, you know, a full deductible and premiums and everything. And it was fantastic. I was getting all the care I needed for all of the health stuff I’m going through. Um, I, they, a, a new doctor I found, ordered the 15 tests and I passed out ’cause it was so much blood and. And it, I was getting, but I was getting all these tests run. I was getting results, we were discovering things. And then my unemployment checks, the income from unemployment went like $300 over the cap for Medicaid. So [00:12:00] all of a sudden, overnight I was cut from Medicaid and I had to do an early sign up, and now I’m on courts and it sucks bad. Like they’re not covering my meds. Last month cost me $600. I was also paying. In addition to that, a $300 premium plus every doctor’s visit is 50 bucks out of pocket. So this will hopefully only last until January, and then it’ll flip over and I will be able to demonstrate basically no income, um, until like Mark makes enough money that it gets reported. Um, and even, uh, until then, like I literally am making under the, the poverty limit. So, um, I hope to be back on Medicaid shortly. I have one more month. I’ll have to pay my $600 to refill. I [00:13:00] cashed out my 401k. Um, like things were, everything was up high enough that I had made, I. I had made tens of thousands of dollars just on the investments and the 401k, but I also have a lot of concerns about the market volatility around Nvidia and the AI bubble in general. Um, so taking my money out of the market just felt okay to me. I paid the 10%, uh, penalty Jeff: Mm-hmm. Brett: and ultimately I, I came out with enough cash that I can invest on my own and be able to cover the next six months. Uh, if I don’t have any other income, which I hope to, I hope to not spend my nest egg. Um, but I did, I did a lot of thinking and calculating and I think I made the right choices. But anyway, [00:14:00] that will help if I have to pay for medical stuff that will help. Um. And then I’ve had insomnia, bad on and off. Right now I’m coming off of two days of good sleep. You’re catching me on a good day. Um, but Jeff: Still wouldn’t laugh at my jokes. Brett: before that it was, well, that’s the thing is like before that, it was four nights where I slept two to four hours per night, and by the end of it, I could barely walk. And so two nights of sleep after a stint like that, like, I’m just super, I’m deadpan, I’m dazed. Um, I could lay down and fall asleep at any time. Um, I, so, so keep me awake. Um, but yeah, that’s, that’s, that’s me. Mental health is good. Like I’m in pretty high spirits considering all this, like financial stuff and everything. Like my mood has been pretty stable. I’ve been getting a lot of coding done. I’ll tell you about projects in [00:15:00] a minute, but, um, but that’s, that’s me. I’m done. Jeff: Awesome. I’m enjoying watching your cat roll around, but clearly cannot decide to lay down at this point. Brett: No, nobody is very persnickety. Jeff: I literally have to put my. Well, you say put a cat down like you used to. When you put a kid down for a nap, you say you wanna put ’em down. Right? That’s where it’s coming from. I now have a chair next to my desk, ’cause I have one cat that walks around Yowling at about 11:00 AM while I’m working. And I have to like, put ’em down for a nap. It’s pathetic. It’s pathetic that I do that. Let’s just be clear. Brett: Yeah. Jeff: soulmate though. Jeff’s Mental Health Update Jeff: Um, I’m doing good. I’m, I’m, I’ve been feeling kind of light lately in a nice way. I’ve had ups and downs, but even with the ups and downs, there’s like a, except for one day last week was, there’s just been feeling kind of good in general, which is remarkable in a way. ’cause it’s just like stressful time. There’s some stressful business stuff, like, [00:16:00] a lot of stuff like that. But I’m feeling good and, and just like, uh, yeah, just light. I don’t know, it’s weird. Like, I’ve just been noticing that I feel kind of light and, uh. And not, not manic, not high light. Brett: Yeah. No, that’s Jeff: uh, and that’s, that’s lovely. So yeah. And so I’m doing good. I’m doing good. I fucking, it’s cold. Which sucks ’cause it just means for everybody that’s heard about my workshop over the years, that I can’t really go out there and have it be pleasant Brett: It’s, it’s been Minnesota thus far. Has had, we’ve had like one, one Sub-Zero day. Jeff: whatever. It’s fucking cold. Christina: Yeah. What one? Brett? Brett. It’s December 6th as we’re recording this one Sub-Zero day. That’s insane. Brett: Is it Jeff: Granted, granted I’ve been dressing warm, so I’m ready to go out the door for ice related things. Meaning, meaning government, ice, Brett: Uh, yeah. Yeah. Jeff: So I like wear my long underwear during [00:17:00] the day. ’cause actually like recently. So at my son’s school, which is like six blocks from here, um, has a lot of Somali immigrants in it. And, and uh, and there was a, at one point there was ice activity in the other direction, um, uh, uh, near me. And so neighbors put out a call here around so that at dismissal time people would pair up at all the intersections surrounding the school. And, um, and like a quick signal group popped up, whatever. It was so amazing because like we all just popped out there. And by the time I got out, uh, everyone was already like, posted up and I was like, I’m a, in these situations, I am a wanderer. You want me roaming? I don’t want to pair up with somebody I don’t like, I just, I grabbed a camera with a Zoom on it and like, I was like, I’m in roam. Um, it’s what I was as an activist, what I was as a reporter, like it’s just my nature. Um, but like. Everybody was out and like, and they were just like, they were ready man. And then we got like the all clear and you could just see people in the [00:18:00] neighborhood just like standing down and going home. But because of the true threat and the ongoing arrests here, now that the Minneapolis stuff has started, like I do, I was like wearing long underwear just, and I have a little bag by the door ready to like pop out if something comes up and I can be helpful. Um, and uh, and I guess what I’m saying is I should use that to go into the garage as well if I’m already prepared. Brett: Right. Jeff: But here’s, okay, so here’s a mental health thing actually. So I, one of the, I’ve gone through a few years of just sort of a little bit of paralysis around being able to just, I don’t know what, like do anything that is kind of project related that takes some thinking, whatever it is, like I’m talking about around the house or things that have kind of broken over the years, whatever. So I’ve had this snowblower and it’s a really good snowblower. It’s got headlights. And, uh, and I used to love snow blowing the entire block. Like it just made me feel good, made me feel useful. Um, and sorry I cough. I left it outside for a [00:19:00] year for a, like a winter and a spring and water got into the gas tank. It rusted out in there. I knew I couldn’t start it or I’d ruin the whole damn engine. So I left it for two years and I felt bad about myself. But this year, just like probably a month before the first big snowfall, I fucking replaced a gas tank and a carburetor on a machine. And I have never done anything like that in my life. And so then we got the snowfall and I, and I snow blowed this whole block Brett: Nice. Jeff: great. ’cause now they all owe me. Brett: I, uh, I have a, uh, so I have a little electric powered, uh, snowblower that can handle like two inches of snow. Um, and, and on big snowfalls, if you get out there every hour and keep up with it, it, it works. But, but I, my back right now, I can’t stand for, I can’t stand still for 10 minutes and I can’t move for more than like five minutes. And so I’m, I’m very disabled and El has good days and bad days, uh, thus [00:20:00] far. L’s been out there with a shovel, um, really being the hero. But we have a next door neighbor with a big gas powered snowblower. And so we went over, brought them gifts, and, um, asked if they would take care of our driveway on days we couldn’t, uh, for like, you know, we’d pay ’em 25 bucks to do the driveway. And, uh, and they were, he was still reluctant to accept money. Um. But, but we both agreed it was better to like make it a, a transaction. Jeff: Oh my God. You don’t want to get into weird Minnesota neighbor relational. Brett: right. You don’t want the you owe me thing. Um, so, so we have that set up. But in the process we made really good friends with our neighbor. Like we sat down in their living room for I think 45 minutes and just like talked about health and politics and it was, it was really fun. They’re, they’re retired. They’re in their [00:21:00] seventies and like act, he always looks super grumpy. I always thought he was a mean old man. He’s actually, he laughs more easily than most people I’ve ever met. Um, he’s actually, when people say, oh, he is actually a teddy bear, this guy really is, he’s just jovial. Uh, he just has resting angry old man face. Jeff: Or like my, I have public mis throat face, like when I’m out and about, especially when I’m shopping, I know that my face is, I’m gonna fucking kill you if you look me in the eye Brett: I used Jeff: is not my general disposition. Brett: people used to tell me that about myself, but I feel like I, I carry myself differently these days than I did when I was younger. Jeff: You know what I learned? Do you, have you both watched Veep, Christina: Yes, Jeff: you know, Richard sp split, right? Um, and, and he always kind of has this sweet like half smile and he is kind of looking up and I, I figured out at one point I was in an airport, which is where my kill everybody face especially comes up. Just to be clear. TSA, it’s just a feeling inside. I [00:22:00] have no desire to act to this out. I realized that if I make the Richard Plet face, which I can try to make for you now, which is something like if I just make the Richard Plet face, my whole disposition Brett: yeah. Yeah. Jeff: uh, and I even feel a little better. And so I just wanna recommend that to people. Look up Richard Spt, look at his face. Christina: Hey, future President Bridges split. Jeff: future President Richard Splat, also excellent in the Detroiters. Um, that’s all, uh, that’s all I wanted to say about that. Brett: I have found that like when I’m texting with someone, if I start to get frustrated, you know, you know that point where you’re still adding smiley emoticons even though you’re actually not, you’re actually getting pissed off, but you don’t wanna sound super bitchy about it, so you’re adding smile. I have found that when I add a smiley emoji in those circumstances, if I actually smile before I send it, it like my [00:23:00] mood will adjust to match, to match the tone I’m trying to convey, and it lessens my frustration with the other person. Jeff: a little joy wrist rocket. Christina: Yeah. Hey, I mean, no, but hey, but, but that, that, that, that, that’s interesting. I mean, they’re, they, they’ve done studies that like show that, right? That like show like, you know, I mean, like, some of this is all like bullshit to a certain extent, but there is something to be said for like, you know, like the power of like positive thinking and like, you know, if you go into things with like, different types of attitudes or even like, even if you like, go into job interviews or other situations, like you act confident or you smile, or you act happy or whatever. Even if you’re not like it, the, the, the, the euphoria, you know, that those sorts of uh, um, endorphin reactions or whatever can be real. So that’s interesting. Brett: Yeah, I found, I found going into job interviews with my usual sarcastic and bitter, um, kind of mindset, Jeff: I already hate this job. Brett: it doesn’t play well. It doesn’t play well. So what are your weaknesses? Fuck off. Um,[00:24:00] Christina: right. Well, well, well, I hate people. Jeff: Yeah. Dealing with motherfuckers like you, that’s one weakness. Sponsor Spot: Shopify Brett: let’s, uh, let’s do a sponsor spot and then I want to hear about Christina winning a contest. Christina: yes. Jeff: very Brett: wanna, you wanna take it away? Sponsor: Shopify Jeff: I will, um, our sponsor this week is Shopify. Um, have you ever, have you just been dreaming of owning your own business? Is that why you can’t sleep? In addition to having something to sell, you need a website. And I’ll tell you what, that’s been true for a long time. You need a payment system, you need a logo, you need a way to advertise new customers. It can all be overwhelming and confusing, but that is where today’s sponsor, Shopify comes in. shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e-commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gym Shark to brands just getting started. Get started with your own design studio with hundreds of ready to use [00:25:00] templates. 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That was Jeff: Yeah. Cha-ching Brett: they got the chorus, they got the Overtired Christina: You did. You got the Overtired Jeff: They didn’t think to ask for it, but that’s our brand. Christina: shopify.com/ Overtired. Jeff Tweedy Jeff: What was, uh, I was watching a Stephen Colbert interview with Jeff Tweedy, who just put out a triple album and, uh, it was a very thoughtful, sweet interview. And then Stephen Colbert said, you know, you’re not supposed to do this. And Jeff Tweety said, it’s all part of my career long effort to leave the public wanting less. Christina: Ha, Jeff: That was a great bit. Christina: that’s a fantastic bit. A side note, there are a couple of really good NPR, um, uh, tiny desks that have come out in the last couple of month, uh, couple of weeks. Um, uh, one is shockingly, I, I’ll, I’ll just be a a, a fucking boomer about it. The Googo dolls. Theirs was [00:27:00] great. It’s fantastic. They did a great job. It already has like millions of views, like it wrecked up like over a million views, I think like in like, like less than 24 hours. They did a great job, but, uh, but Brandy Carlisle, uh, did one, um, the other day and hers is really, really good too. So, um, so yeah. Yeah, exactly. So yeah. Anyway, you said, you saying Jeff pd maybe, I don’t know how I got from Wilco to like, you know, there, Jeff: Yeah. Well, they’ve done some good, he’s done his own good Christina: he has, he has done his own. Good, good. That’s honestly, that’s probably what I was thinking of, but Jeff: It’s my favorite Jeff besides me because Bezos, he’s not in the, he’s not in the game. Christina: No. No, he’s not. No. Um, he, he’s, he’s not on the Christmas card list at all. Jeff: Oh man. Jeff’s Concert Marathon Jeff: Can I just tell you guys that I did something, um, I did something crazy a couple weeks ago and I went to three shows in one week, like I was 20 fucking two, Brett: Good grief. Jeff: and. It was a blast. So, okay, so the background of this is my oldest son [00:28:00] loves hip hop, and when we drive him to college and back, or when I do, it’s often just me. Um, he, he goes deep and he, it’s a lot of like, kind of indie hip hop and a lot. It’s just an interesting, he listens to interesting shit, but he will go deep and he’ll just like, give me a tour through someone’s discography or through all their features somewhere, whatever it is. And like, it’s the kind of input that I love, which is just like, I don’t, even if it’s not my genre, like if you’re passionate and you can just weave me through the interrelationship and the history and whatever it is I’m in. So as a result of that, made me a huge fan of Danny Brown and made me a huge fan of the sky, Billy Woods. And so what happened was I went to a hip hop show at the seventh Street entry, uh, which is attached to First Avenue. It’s a little club, very small, lovely little place, the only place my band could sell out. Um, and I watched a hip hop show there on a Monday night, Tuesday night. I went to the Uptown Theater, which Brett is now a actually an operating [00:29:00] theater for shows. Uh, and I, and I saw Danny Brown, but I also saw two hyper pop bands, a genre I was not previously aware of, including one, which was amazing, called Fem Tenal. And I was in line to get into that show behind furries, behind trans Kids. Like it was this, I was the weirdest, like I did not belong. Underscores played, and, and this will mean something to somebody out there, but not, didn’t mean anything to me until that night. And, uh. I felt like such, there were times, not during Danny Brown, Danny Brown’s my age all good. But like there were times where I was in the crowd ’cause I’m tall. Anybody that doesn’t know I’m very tall and I’m wearing like a not very comfortable or safe guy seeming outfit, a black hoodie, a black stocking cap. Like I basically looked like I’m possibly a shooter and, and I’m like standing among all these young people loving it, but feeling a little like, should I go to the back? Even like I was leaving that show [00:30:00] and the only people my age were people’s parents that were waiting to pick them up on the way out. So anyway, that was night two. Danny Brown was awesome. And then two nights later I went to see, this is way more my speed, a band called the Dazzling Kilman who were a band that. Came out in the nineties, St. Louis and a noisy Matthew Rock. Wikipedia claims they invented math rock. It’s a really stupid claim, uh, but it’s a lovely, interesting band and it’s a friend of mine named Nick Sakes, who’s who fronted that band and was in all these great bands back when I was in bands called Colos Mite and Sick Bay, and all this is great shit. So they played a reunion show. In this tiny punk rock club here called Cloudland, just a lovely little punk rock club. And, um, and, and that was like rounded out my week. So like, I was definitely, uh, a tourist the early part of the week, mostly at the Danny Brown Show. But then I like got to come home to my noisy punk rock [00:31:00] on, uh, on Thursday night. And I, I fucking did three shows and it hurt so bad. Like even by the first of three bands on the second night. I was like, I don’t think I can make it. And I do. I already pregame shows with ibuprofen. Just to be really clear, I microdose glucose tabs at shows like, like I am, I am a full on old man doing these things. But, um, I did get some cred with my kids for being at a hyper pop show all by myself. And, Christina: Hell yeah. A a Jeff: friends seemed impressed. Christina: no, as a as, as as they should be. I’m impressed. And like, and I, I, I typically like, I definitely go to like more of like, I go, I go to shows more frequently and, and I’m, I’m even like, I’m, I’m gonna be real with you. I’m like, yeah, three in one week. Jeff: That’s a lot. Christina: That’s a lot. That’s a lot. Jeff: man. Did I feel good when I walked home from that last show though? I was like, I fucking did it. I did not believe I wasn’t gonna bail on at least two of those shows, if not all three. Anyway, just wanted to say Brett: I [00:32:00] do like one show a year, but Jeff: that’s how I’ve been for years this year. I think I’ve seen eight shows. Brett: damn. Jeff: Yeah, it’s Brett: Alright, so you’ve been teasing us about this, this contest you won. Jeff: Yeah, please, Christina. Sorry to push that off. Christina: No, no, no, no. That’s, that’s completely okay. That, that, that, that’s great. Uh, no. Christina Wins Big Christina: So, um, I won two six K monitors. Brett: Damn. Jeff: is that what those boxes are behind you? Christina: Yeah, yeah. This is what the boxes are behind me, so I haven’t been able to get them up because this happened. I got them literally right in the midst of all this stuff with my back. Um, but I do have an Ergotron poll now that is here, and, and Grant has said that he will, will get them up. But yeah, so I won 2 32 inch six K monitors from a Reddit contest. Brett: How, how, how, Jeff: How does this happen? How do I find a Reddit contest? Christina: Yeah. So I got lucky. So I have, I, I have a clearly, well, well, um, there was a little, there was a little bit of like, other step to it than that, but like, uh, so how it worked was basically, um, LG is basically just put out [00:33:00] two, they put out a new 32 inch six K monitor. I’ll have it linked in, in, in the show notes. Um, so we’ve talked about this on this podcast before, but like one of my big, like. Pet peeve, like things that I can’t get past. It’s like I need like a retina screen. Like I need like the, the perfect pixel doubling thing for that the Mac Os deals with, because I’ve used a 5K screen, either through an iMac or um, an lg, um, ultra fine or, um, a, uh, studio display. For like 11 years. And, and I, and I’ve been using retina displays on laptops even longer than that. And so if I use like a regular 4K display, like it just, it, it doesn’t work for me. Um, you can use apps like, um, like better control and other things to kind of emulate, like what would be like if you doubled the resolution, then it, it down, you know, um, of samples that, so that. It looks better than, than if it’s just like the, the, the 4K stuff where in the, the user interface things are too big and whatnot. And to be clear, this is a Macco West problem. If [00:34:00] you are using Windows or Linux or any other operating system that does fractional scaling, um, correctly, then this is not a problem. But Macco West does not do fractional scaling direct, uh, correctly. Um, weirdly iOS can, like, they can do three X resolution and other things. Um, but, but, but Macs does not. And that’s weird because some of the native resolutions on some of the MacBook errors are not even perfectly pixeled doubled, meaning Apple is already having to do a certain amount of like resolution changes to, to fit into their own, created by their, their own hubris, like way of insisting on, on only having like, like two x pixel doubling 18 years ago, we could have had independent, uh, resolutions, uh, um, for, for UI elements and, and, and window bars. But anyway, I, I’m, I’m digressing anyway. I was looking at trying to get either a second, uh, studio display, which I don’t wanna do because Apple’s reportedly going to be putting out a new one. Um, and they’re expensive or getting, um, there are now a number of different six K [00:35:00] displays that are not $6,000 that are on the market. So, um, uh, uh, Asus has one, um, there is one from like a, a Chinese company called like, or Q Con that, um, looks like a, a complete copy of this, of the pro display XDR. It has a different panel, but it’s, it’s six K and they, they’ve copied the whole design and it’s aluminum and it’s glossy and it looks great, but I’d have to like get it from like. A weird distributor, and if I have any issues with it, I don’t really wanna have to send it back to China and whatnot. And then LG has one that they just put out. And so I’ve been researching these on, on Mac rumors and on some other forums. And, um, I, uh, I, somebody in one of the Mac Roomers forums like posted that there was like a contest that LG was running in a few different subreddits where they were like, tell us why you should get one of, like, we’re gonna be giving away like either one or two monitors, and I guess they did this in a few subreddits. Tell us why this would be good for your workflow. And, um, I guess I, I guess I’m one of the people who kind of read the [00:36:00] assignment because it, okay, I’ll just be honest with this, with, with you guys on this podcast, uh, because I, I don’t think anyone from LG will hear this and my answers were accurate anyway. But anyway, this was not the sort of contest where it was like we will randomly select a winner. This was the moderators and lg, were going to read the responses and choose the winner. Jeff: Got it. Christina: So if you spend a little bit of time and thoughtfully write out a response, maybe you stand a better chance of winning the contest. Jeff: yeah, yeah. Put the work in like it was 2002. Christina: Right. Anyway, I still was shocked when I like woke up like on like Halloween and they were like, congratulations, you’ve won two monitors. I’m like, I’m sorry. What? Jeff: That’s amazing. Christina: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jeff: Nice work. I know I’ve, you know, I’ve been staring at those boxes behind you this whole time, just being like, those look like some sweet monitors. Christina: yeah, yeah. Monitor Setup Challenges Christina: I mean, and, uh, [00:37:00] uh, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, and I, I’m very much, so my, my, my only issue is, okay, how am I gonna get these on my desk? So I’m gonna have to do something with my iMac and I’m probably gonna have to get rid of my, my my, my 5K, um, uh, uh, studio display, at least in the short term. Ergotron Mounts and Tall Poles Christina: Um, but what I did do is I, um, I ordered from, um, Ergotron, ’cause I already have. Um, two of their, um, LX mounts, um, or, or, or, or arms. Um, and only one of them is being used right now. And then I have a different arm that I use for the, um, um, iMac. Um, they sell like a, if you call ’em directly, you can get them to send you a tall pole so that you can put the two arms on top of them. And that way I think I can like, have them so that I can have like one pole and then like have one on one side, one Jeff: I have a tall pole. Christina: and, and yeah, that’s what she said. Um, Jeff: as soon as I said it, I was like, for fuck’s sake. But Christina: um, but, uh, but, but yeah, but so that way I think I, I can, I, in theory, I can stack the market and have ’em side by side. I don’t know. Um, I got that. I, I had to call Tron and, and order that from them. [00:38:00] Um, it was only a hundred dollars for, for the poll and then $50 for a handling fee. Jeff: It’s not easy to ship a tall pole. Brett: That’s what she said. Christina: that is what she said. Uh, that is exactly what she said. But yeah, so I, I, the, the, the unfortunate thing is that, um, I, um, I, I had to, uh, get a, like all these, they, they came in literally right before Thanksgiving, and then I’ve had, like, all my back stuff has Jeff: Yeah, no Christina: debilitating, but I’m looking forward to, um, getting them set up and used. And, uh, yeah. Review Plans and Honest Assessments Christina: And then full review will be coming to, uh, to, I have to post a review on Reddit, but then I will also be doing a more in depth review, uh, on this podcast if anybody’s interested in, in other places too, to like, let let you know, like if it’s worth your money or not. Um, ’cause there, like I said, there are, there are a few other options out there. So it’s not one of those things where like, you know, um, like, thank you very much for the free monitor, um, monitors. But, but I, I will, I will give like the, the, you know, an honest assessment or Current Display Setup Brett: So [00:39:00] do you currently have a two display setup? Christina: No. Um, well, yes, and kind of, so I have my, my, I have my 5K studio display, and then I have like my iMac that I use as a two to display setup. But then otherwise, what I’ve had to do, and this is actually part of why I’m looking forward to this, is I have a 4K 27 inch monitor, but it’s garbage. And it, it’s one of those things where I don’t wanna use it with my Mac. And so I wind up only using it with my, with my Windows machine, with my framework desktop, um, with my Windows or Linux machine. And, and because that, even though I, it supports Thunderbolt, the Apple display is pain in the ass to use with those things. It doesn’t have the KVM built in. Like, it doesn’t like it, it just, it’s not good for that situation. So yeah, this will be of this size. I mean, again, like I, I, I’m 2 32 inch monitors. I don’t know how I’m gonna deal with that on my Jeff: I Brett: yeah. So right now I’m looking at 2 32 inch like UHD monitors, Christina: Yeah,[00:40:00] Brett: I will say that on days when my neck hurts, it sucks. It’s a, it’s too wide a range to, to like pan back and forth quickly. Like I’ll throw my back out, like trying to keep track of stuff. Um, but I have found that like if I keep the second display, just like maybe social media apps is the way I usually set it up. And then I only work on one. I tried buying an extra wide curve display, hated it. Jeff: Uh, I’ve always wanted to try one, but Christina: I don’t like them. Jeff: Yeah. Christina: Well, for me, well for me it’s two things. One, it’s the, I don’t love the whole like, you know, thing or whatever, but the big thing honestly there, if you could give me, ’cause people are like, oh, you can get a really big 5K, 2K display. I’m like, that’s not a 5K display. That is 2 27 inch, 1440 P displays. One, you know, ultra wide, which is great. Good for you. That’s not retina. And I’m a sicko Who [00:41:00] needs the, the pixel doubling? Like I wish that my eyes could not use that, but, but, but, Jeff: that needs the pixel. Like was that the headline of your Reddit, uh, Christina: no, no. It wasn’t, it wasn’t. But, but maybe it should be. Hi, I’m a sicko who only, um, fucks with, with, with, with, with, with, with retina displays. Ask me anything. Um, but no, but that’s a good point. Brett: I think 5K Psycho is the Christina: 5K Sicko is the po is the po title. I like that. I like that. No, what I’m thinking about doing and that’s great to know, Brett. Um, this kind of reaffirms my thing. Thunderbolt KVM and Display Preferences Christina: So what’s nice about these monitors is that they come with like, built in like, um, Thunderbolt 5K VM. So, which is nice. So you could conceivably have multiple, you know, computers, uh, connected, you know, to to, to one monitor, which I really like. Um, I mean like, ’cause like look, I, I’ve bitched and moaned about the studio display, um, primarily for the price, but at the same time, if mine broke tomorrow and if I didn’t have any way to replace it, I’ve, I’ve also gone on record saying I would buy a new one immediately. As mad as I am about a [00:42:00] lot of different things with that, that the built-in webcam is garbage. The, you know, the, the fact that there’s not a power button is garbage. The fact that you can’t use it with multiple inputs, it’s garbage. But it’s a really good display and it’s what I’m used to. Um, it’s really not any better than my LG Ultra fine from 2016. But you know what? Whatever it is, what it is. Um. I, I am a 5K sicko, but being able to, um, connect my, my personal machine and my work machine at the same time to one, and then have my Windows slash Linux computer connected to another, I think that’s gonna be the scenario where I’m in. So I’m not gonna necessarily be in a place where I’m like, okay, I need to try to look at both of them across 2 32 inch displays. ’cause I think that that, like, that would be awesome. But I feel like that’s too much. Brett: I would love a decent like Thunderbolt KVM setup that could actually swap like my hubs back and Christina: Yes. MacBook Pro and Studio Comparisons Brett: Um, so, ’cause I, I have a studio and I have my, uh, Infor MacBook Pro [00:43:00] and I actually work mostly on the MacBook Pro. Um, but if I could easily dock it and switch everything on my desk over to it, I would, I would work in my office more often. ’cause honestly, the M four MacBook Pro is, it’s a better machine than the original studio was. Um, and I haven’t upgraded my studio to the latest, but, um, I imagine the new one is top notch. Christina: Oh yeah. Yeah. Brett: my, my other one, a couple years old now is already long in the tooth. Christina: No, I mean, they’re still good. I mean, it’s funny, I saw that some YouTube video the other day where they were like, the best value MacBook you can get is basically a 4-year-old M1 max. And I was like, I don’t know about that guys. Like, I, I kind of disagree a little bit. Um, but the M1 max, which is I think is what is in the studio, is still a really, really good ship. But to your point, like they’ve made those, um. You know, the, the, the new ones are still so good. Like, I have an M three max as my personal laptop, and [00:44:00] that’s kind of like the dog chip in the, in the m um, series lineup. So I kind of am regretful for spending six grand on that one, but it is what it is, and I’m like, I’m not, I’m not upgrading. Um, I mean, maybe, maybe in, in next year if, if the M five Pro, uh, or M five max or whatever is, is really exceptional, maybe I’ll look at, okay, how much will you give me to, to trade it in? But even then, I, I, but I feel like I’m at that point where I’m like, it gets to a point where like it’s diminishing returns. Um, but, uh, just in terms of my own budget. But, um, yeah, the, the new just info like pro or or max, whatever, Brett: I have, I have an M four MacBook Pro sitting around that I keep forgetting to sell. Uh, it’s the one that I, it only had a 256 gigabyte hard drive, Jeff: what happened to me when I bought my M1, Brett: and I, and I regretted that enough that I just ordered another one. But, uh, for various reasons, I couldn’t just return the one I didn’t Jeff: ’cause it was.[00:45:00] Brett: so now I, now I have to sell it and I should sell it while it’s still a top of the line machine Christina: Sell it before, sell, sell, sell, sell it before next month, um, or, or February or whenever they sell it before then the, the pros come out. ’cause right now the M five base is out, but the pros are not. So I think feel like you could still get most of your value for it, especially since it has very few battery cycles. Be sure to put the battery cycles on your Facebook marketplace or eBay thing or whatever. Um, I bought my, uh, she won’t listen to this so she won’t know, but, um, they, there was a, a killer Cyber Monday deal, uh, for Best Buy where they had like a, the, the, the, so it’s several years old, but it was the, the M two MacBook Air, but the one that they upgraded to 16 gigs of Ram when Apple was like, oh, we have to have Apple Intelligence and everything, because they actually thought that they were actually gonna ship Apple Intelligence. So they like went back and they, like, they, they, you know, retconned like made the base model MacBook Air, like 16 [00:46:00] gigs. Um, and, uh, anyway, it was, it was $600, um, Jeff: still crazy. Christina: which, which like even for like a, a, a 2-year-old machine or whatever, I was like, yeah, she, my sister, I think she’s on like, like a 2014 or older than that. Like, like MacBook Air. She doesn’t even know where the MagSafe is. I don’t think she even knows where the laptop is. So she’s basically doing everything like on her phone and I’m like, okay, you need a laptop of some type, but at this point. I do feel strongly that like the, the, the $600 or, or, or actually I think it was $650, it was actually less, it is actually more expensive than what the, the, the Cyber Monday sale was, um, the M1, Walmart, MacBook Air. I’m like, absolutely not like that is at this point, do not buy that. Right? Like, I, especially with eight gigs of ram, I’m, I’m like, it’s been, it’s five years old. It’s a, it was a great machine and it was great value for a long time. $200. Cool, right? Like, if you could get something like use and, and, and, and if you could replace the battery or, you know, [00:47:00] for, for, you know, not, not too much money or whatever. Like, I, I, I could see like an argument to be made like value, right? But there’d be no way in hell that I would ever spend or tell anybody else to spend $650 on that new, but $600 for an M two with Jeff: Now we’re talking. Christina: which has the redesign brand new. I’m like, okay. Spend $150 more and you could have got the M four, um, uh, MacBook Air, obviously all around Better Machine. But for my sister, she doesn’t need that, Jeff: What do we have to do to put your sister in this M two MacBook Christina: that, that, that, that, that, that’s exactly it. So I, I, I was, well, also, it was one of those things I was like, I think that she would rather me spend the money on toys for my nephew for Santa Claus than, than, uh, giving her like a, a processor upgrade. Um, Jeff: Claus isn’t real. Brett: Oh shit. Jeff: Gotcha. Every year I spoil it for somebody. This year it was Christina and Brett. Sorry guys. Brett: right. Well, can I tell you guys Jeff: Yeah. [00:48:00] Brett Software. Brett: two quick projects before we do Jeff: Hold on. You don’t have to be quick ’cause you could call it Brett: We’re already at 45 minutes and I want Jeff: What I’m saying, skip GrAPPtitude. This is it? Brett: okay. Christina: us about Mark. Tell us about your projects. Brett: So, so Mark three is, there’s a public, um, test flight beta link. Uh, if you go to marked app.com, not marked two app.com, uh, marked app.com. Uh, you, there’s a link in the, in the, at the top for Christina: Join beta. Mm-hmm. Brett: Um, and that is public and you can join it and you can send me feedback directly through email because, um, uh, uh, the feedback reporter sucks for test flight and you can’t attach files. And half the time they come through as anonymous feedback and I can’t even follow up on ’em. So email me. But, um, I’ll be announcing that on my blog soon-ish. Um, right now there’s like [00:49:00] maybe a couple dozen, um, testers and I, it’s nice and small and I’m solving the biggest bugs right away. Um, so that’s been, that’s been big. Like Mark, even since we last talked has added. Do you remember Jeff when Merlin was on and he wanted to. He wanted to be able to manage his styles, um, and disable built-in styles. There’s now a whole table based style manager where you Jeff: saw that. Brett: you can, you can reorder, including built-in styles. You can reorder, enable, disable, edit, duplicate. Um, it’s like a full, full fledged, um, style manager. And I just built a whole web app that is a style generator that gives you, um, automatic like rhythm calculations for your CSS and you can, you can control everything through like, uh, like UI fields instead of having to [00:50:00] write CSS. Uh, but you can also o open up a very, I’ve spent a lot of time on the code mirror CSS editor in the web app. Uh, so, and it’s got live preview as you edit in the code mirror field. Um, so that’s pretty cool. And that’s built into marts. So if you go to style, um, generate style, it’ll load up a, a style generator for you. Anyway, there’s, there’s a ton. I’m not gonna go into all the details, but, uh, anyone listening who uses markdown for anything, especially if you want ability to export to like Word and epub and advanced PDF export, um, join the beta. Let me know what you think. Uh, help me squash bugs. But the other thing, every time I push a beta for review before the new bug reports come in, I’ve been putting time into a tool. Markdown Processor: Apex Brett: I’m calling [00:51:00] Apex and um, I haven’t publicly announced this one yet, but I probably will by the time this podcast comes out. Jeff: I mean, doesn’t this count? Brett: It, it does. I’m saying like this, this might be a, you hear you heard it here first kind of thing, um, but if you go to github.com/tt sc slash apex, um, I built a, uh, pure C markdown processor that combines syntax from cram down GitHub flavored markdown, multi markdown maku, um, common mark. And basically you can write syntax from any of those processors, including all of their special features, um, and in one document, and then use Apex in its unified mode, and it’ll just figure out what. All of your syntax is supposed to do. Um, so you can take, you can port documents from one platform to another [00:52:00] without worrying about how they’re gonna render. Um, if I can get any kind of adoption with Apex, it could solve a lot of problems. Um, I built it because I want to make it the default processor in marked ’cause right now, you, you have to choose, you know, cram Christina: Which one? Brett: mark and, and choosing one means you lose something in order to gain something. Um, so I wanted to build a universal one that brought together everything. And I added cool features from some extensions of other languages, such as if you have two lists in a row, normally in markdown, it’s gonna concatenate those into one list. Now you can put a carrot on a line between the two lists and it’ll break it into two lists. I also added support for a. An extension to cram down that lets you put double uh, carrots inside a table cell and [00:53:00] create a row band. So like a cell that, that expands it, you rows but doesn’t expand the rest of the row. Um, so you can do cell spans and row spans and it has a relaxed table version where you don’t have to have an alignment row, which is, uh, sometimes we just wanna make quickly table. You make two lines. You put some pipes in. This will, if there’s no alignment row, it will generate a table with just a table body and table data cells in no header. It also allows footers, you can add a footer to a table by using equals in the separator line. Um, it, it’s, Jeff: This is very civilized, Brett: it is. Christina: is amazing, Brett: So where Common Mark is extremely strict about things, um, apex is extremely permissive. Jeff: also itty bitty things like talk about the call out boxes from like Brett: oh yeah, it, it can handle call out syntax from Obsidian and Bear and Xcode Playgrounds. [00:54:00] Um, and it incorporates all of Mark’s syntax for like file includes and even renders like auto scroll pauses that work in marked and some other teleprompter situations. Um, it uses file ude syntax from multi markdown, like, which is just like a curly brace and, uh, marked, which is, uh, left like a double left, uh, angle bracket and then different. Brackets to surround a file name and it handles IA writer file inclusion where you just type a forward slash and then the name of a file and it automatically detects if that file is an image or source code or markdown text, and it will import it accordingly. And if it’s a CSV file, it’ll generate a table from it automatically. It’s, it’s kind of nuts. I, it’s kind of nuts. I could not have done this [00:55:00] without copilot. I, I am very thankful for copilot because my C skills are not, would not on their own, have been up to this task. I know enough to bug debug, but yeah, a lot of these features I got a big hand from copilot on. Jeff: This is also Brett. This is some serious Brett Terpstra. TURPs Hard Christina: Yeah, it is. I was gonna say, this is like Jeff: and also that’s right. Also, if your grandma ever wrote you a note and it, and though you couldn’t really read it, it really well, that renders perfectly Christina: Amazing. No, I was gonna say this is like, okay, so Apex is like the perfect name ’cause this is the apex of Brett. Jeff: Yes. Apex of Brett. Christina: That’s also that, that’s, that’s not an alternate episode title Apex of Brett. Because genuinely No, Brett, like I am, I am so stunned and impressed. I mean, you all, you always impressed me like you are the most impressive like developer that I, that I’ve ever known. But you, this is incredible. And, and this, I, I love this [00:56:00] because as you said, like common Mark is incredibly strict. This is incredibly permissive. But this is great. ’cause there are those scenarios where you might have like, I wanna use one feature from one thing or one from another, or I wanna combine things in various ways, or I don’t wanna have to think about it, you know? Brett: I aals, I forgot to mention I aals inline attribute list, which is a crammed down feature that lets you put curly brackets after like a paragraph and then a colon and then say, dot call out inside the curly brackets. And then when it renders the markdown, it creates that paragraph and adds class equals call out to the paragraph. Um, and in, in Cramon you can apply these to everything from list items to list to block quotes. Like you can do ’em for spans. You could like have one after, uh, link syntax and just apply, say dot external to a link. So the IAL syntax can add IDs classes and uh, arbitrary [00:57:00] attributes to any element in your markdown when it renders to HTML. And, uh, and Apex has first class support for I aals. Was really, that was, that Christina: that was really hard, Brett: I wrote it because I wanted, I wanted multi markdown, uh, for my prose writing, but I really missed the als. Christina: Yes. Okay. Because see, I run into this sort of thing too, right? Because like, this is a problem like that. I mean, it’s a very niche problem, um, that, that, you know, people who listen to this podcast probably are more familiar with than other types of people. But like, when you have to choose your markdown processor, which as you said, like Brett, like that can be a problem. Like, like with, with using Mark or anything else, you’re like, what am I giving up? What do I have? And, and like for me, because I started using mul, you know, markdown, um, uh, largely because of you, um, I think I was using it, I knew about it before you, but largely because of, of, of you, like multi markdown has always been like kind of my, or was historically my flavor of choice. It has since shifted to being [00:58:00] GitHub, labor bird markdown. But that’s just because the industry has taken that on, right? But there were, you know, certain things like in like, you know, multi markdown that work a certain way. And then yeah, there are things in crammed down. There are things in these other things in like, this is just, this is awesome. This Brett: It is, the whole thing is built on top of C mark, GFM, which is GitHub’s port of common mark with the GitHub flavored markdown Christina: Right. Brett: Um, and I built, like, I kept that as a sub-module, totally clean, and built all of this as extensions on top of Cmar, GFM, which, you know, so it has full compatibility with GitHub and with Common Merck by out, like outta the box. And then everything else is built on top of that. So it, uh, it covers, it covers all the bases. You’ll love it Christina: I’m so excited. No, this is awesome. And I Brett: blazing fast. It can render, I have a complex document that, that uses all of its features and it can render it in [00:59:00] 0.006 seconds. Christina: that’s awesome. Jeff: Awesome. Christina: That’s so cool. No, this is great. And yeah, I, and I think that honestly, like this is the sort of thing like if, yeah, if you can eventually get this to like be like the engine that powers like mark three, like, that’ll be really slick, right? Because then like, yeah, okay, I can take one document and then just, you know, kind of, you know, wi with, with the, you know, ha have, have the compatibility mode where you’re like, okay, the unified mode or whatever yo

AI adoption is facing significant challenges, as evidenced by Microsoft's CoPilot Plus initiative, which accounted for less than 10% of systems shipped in Q3 2024. Despite initial enthusiasm, privacy concerns surrounding features like the recall function have hindered consumer interest, leading Microsoft to pivot towards making all Windows 11 computers AI-capable through cloud-powered features. Concurrently, a decline in workplace AI usage has been reported, with only 11% of employees at large companies utilizing AI for productivity, a decrease from previous months. This trend raises concerns about the effectiveness and integration of AI technologies in business processes.The quality of AI research is also under scrutiny, highlighted by Kevin Zhao's claim of authorship of 113 academic papers in a single year, with many deemed low-quality by experts. The Neura IPS conference received over 21,500 submissions this year, reflecting a pressure to publish that may compromise research integrity. Additionally, a study indicated that while 75% of workers believe AI enhances their work quality, the actual productivity gains are modest, with heavy users reporting significant time savings compared to average users.In the realm of cybersecurity, Gartner has issued a warning against AI browsers, citing major risks such as prompt injection attacks that could expose sensitive data. Google is attempting to enhance security for its Chrome features that automate tasks, but concerns remain about the overall safety of AI agents in browsers. Meanwhile, the shift towards passkeys for secure authentication is gaining momentum, with over 2 billion passkeys in use, demonstrating a preference for phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication.For Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT service leaders, these developments underscore the need for a cautious approach to AI technologies and cybersecurity measures. The decline in AI adoption and the emphasis on quality research highlight the importance of integrating AI thoughtfully into existing workflows. Additionally, the urgency of addressing cybersecurity risks associated with AI browsers and the shift towards passkeys presents an opportunity for MSPs to guide clients in adopting secure and effective identity verification methods while avoiding potential pitfalls in emerging technologies. Three things to know today00:00 AI Hits the Reality Wall as Hardware Stalls, Research Quality Slips, Adoption Drops, and Safety Scores Lag07:06 Gartner Issues Stop-Sign on AI Browsers as Google Tightens Agentic Controls and Passkeys Gain Momentum10:55 Market Convergence Accelerates as NinjaOne, Netrio, and Proxmox Push Deeper into MSP Control LayersThis is the Business of Tech.     Supported by:  https://mailprotector.com/mspradio/ 

From (apocryphal?) non-mainstream midrashim on the Hellenistic persecutions. This one is mentioned by Rambam in his אִגֶּרֶת הַשְׁמַד

Jeep windows, basements, and sodas as people!- h1 full 2139 Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:45:09 +0000 57k7FIwy8XyTF90Azi8SCMG3OIbe28AC comedy,religion & spirituality,society & culture,news,government The Dave Glover Show comedy,religion & spirituality,society & culture,news,government Jeep windows, basements, and sodas as people!- h1 The Dave Glover Show has been driving St. Louis home for over 20 years. Unafraid to discuss virtually any topic, you'll hear Dave and crew's unique perspective on current events, news and politics, and anything and everything in between. © 2025 Audacy, Inc. Comedy Religion & Spirituality Society & Culture News Government False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed

This episode sponsored by Bluewater Exteriors LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/ In this raw Dropping Bombs episode, former detective Jimmy Fazekas reveals how he launched Bluewater Exteriors from his garage with $10,000 and scaled it into a multimillion-dollar home services powerhouse. Operating at 50%+ gross margins in gutters, windows, and screen enclosures, Jimmy exposes why overlooked blue-collar industries are goldmines and how private equity is starting to notice.   Jimmy breaks it down: building recurring revenue models, structuring performance pay systems, and the ugly promotion strategy that generates qualified leads without wasting ad spend. If you're ready to escape the wage ceiling and build real wealth through grit and systems, this conversation is your golden-ticket. 

Some houses are cluttered. This one was choked. Boxes stacked to the ceiling, decades of junk, crystals piled in buckets, and a revolving door of belief systems—Christianity, Catholicism, paganism, Wicca, Satanism, then “Native American spiritualism” adopted by a man who kept changing his name and his story. Shadow figures paced past bedroom doors like they were on patrol. Windows became things you didn't look out of after dark. The backyard seemed split in half—one side “fine,” the other side wrong in a way you only understand in the pit of your stomach. Is it possible for one family's chaos, pain, and obsession with the occult to invite in something that doesn't let go? Or was there always something buried there, just waiting for the right storm to feed on? #realghoststoriesonline #trueghoststory #hauntedhouse #demonicentity #shadowpeople #childhoodhaunting #occultgonewrong #paranormalpodcast #empath #survivorstory #pigman #creepystory  Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story: