IT in the D

Ahsoka Tano hits the Mandalorian and the internet goes crazy, Bob made a really huge mistake, Dave randomly discovers a home delivery service for weed and edibles, why you should opt out of Amazon Sidewalk immediately...

Should The Lost Boys get redone like Cobra Kai?  What about the Goonies?  Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Plus, $5.4 billion in packages have been stolen so far during the pandemic, Baby Yoda's egg eating, the boob armor outrage, Disney is screwing over writers, 200 murder hornet queens found, and more.  Listen in!

We are once again joined by infectious disease expert Fred Brown for this episode.  This time, we dive into the recent news about vaccines - what the real story is with them, when they're going to be available to which groups of people, and when you might be able to expect to get one... and where.  Challenges still facing the country, Why things aren't looking too good for the rest of 2020 and into mid-2021.  All of this and more this week.  As with every episode Fred is on, we recommend catching the video version of this if you can, since the context of his slides are important to understanding the words and conversational flow.

His presentation: COVID VACCINE HBS 2020 11 15 FINALv1

We're joined by return guest Mike Lipinski from Plante Moran to talk about the increased risks encountered by both employees and companies in the ever-increasing work from home world, especially during the pandemic as both parties were caught off guard by the increased need to do so.  From phishing attempts to ransomware attacks, it's a never ending cycle of increasing risk, especially for small to medium sized companies that are typically less prepared and working with fewer resources to make things work.

Naturally, we also talk more Mandalorian Season 2, as well as the drastic increase in searches for weed, liquor, and pizza jumped immensely during election week, whether or not Porky's holds up after all these years after Bob discovered it on Amazon Prime, and so much more...

Are you paying too much due to misconfigurations in the cloud?  Do you even understand why your bill looks like what it does?  Could you be doing better?  Listen in and check out how our guests from Tenacity Cloud - https://tenacitycloud.com/ - can help you fix things.

Plus there's The Mandalorian Season 2 to talk about, whether or not you own the content you buy from Amazon Prime Video, where to look for snacks during the apocalypse, the chaos around contact tracing here in Michigan and more...

Listen in as we reminisce about a great moment 5 years ago when Applebees opened in Detroit, chat about Sirius buying Stitcher, figure out how Roadhouse could have ever been a 3.5 hour movie, laugh at Quibi's expense, and more.  But first, we dive in with JVS Human Services - https://www.jvshumanservices.org/ - to talk about all of the great things they have going on even during these chaotic times to help people find new jobs or get financial assistance...

Our buddy August joins us tonight in his capacity as City Clerk for the city of Hamtramck so that we can dive into all of the rumors, stories, chaos, and mayhem that we're hearing about the upcoming election.  Is it safe to go to the polls? What's the deal with mail in ballots?  What if I screw up my mail in ballot?  Can I still vote in person if I requested a mail in ballot but didn't use it?

All this and more this week...

A new Michigan-based ride-share service, initially covering Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties, promises passengers and drivers one of the safest ride experiences possible. Zoom Ride, with headquarters and a call center in Dearborn, announced that the company has launched passenger service across southeastern Michigan.

In direct competition with Uber Technologies and Lyft, founders Chairman Bilal Hashwi  and CEO Basel AlYasin say Zoom Ride will fill gaps in the current ride-share marketplace by improving customer and driver safety and satisfaction, as well as increased income for drivers.

“The uniqueness of our services and safety measures supersede what is currently offered in the marketplace,” said Hashwi. “We have developed the most comprehensive ride-share app and service in the industry. We did it with input and assistance from current rideshare drivers and riders to deliver the ultimate ride experience.”

Hashwi continued, “For example, via the Zoom Ride app, female passengers now have the capability directly in the palm of their hands to request female drivers. Users will also find comfort in knowing that they may contact a company representative through our 24/7 call center, which provides live operator assistance for both the passenger and the driver. Also, loved ones will be able to track a passenger’s travels from beginning to end for added safety and security.” 

Because of COVID-19, Zoom Ride invested heavily in protective products that no other ride share company is offering.

More than 700 drivers have signed up for Zoom Ride prior to launch. At this time, approximately 350 drivers have been screened and approved through Zoom Ride’s extensive background and document verification process. Unique features offered by the safety conscious ride-share company include:

Panic button for riders and drivers. Once the button is activated, live audio and video from inside the car are streamed to the Zoom Ride security team. 

Motion activated UVC vehicle sanitizing lights. These lights automatically turn on and off to sanitize the car between rides. These are made available to all drivers.

Sneeze guard vehicle barriers. These are made available to all drivers. 

U.S.-based call center support for riders and drivers. Have a question about Zoom Ride or a Zoom Ride trip? Contact the call center and speak with a live person.

Masks. Forgot your mask? No problem. Zoom Ride provides free masks to all riders and drivers.

Driver Requests. Female passengers may request female drivers. A rider can add drivers to his/her favorite driver list to be dispatched to them first.

Photo IDs. Zoom Ride’s app displays photos and first names of both the driver and the rider for safety.

Share Trip Info. Riders and drivers can share their trip information with a family member or friend who can then track the trip in real time.

Schedule a Ride For a Friend or Family Member. The “Book for Other” option – contained within the app – allows users to book a ride for someone that doesn’t have the app, enabling smooth communication between driver and passengers. 

Book by the Hour With Multiple Stops. Make a day of it! Riders can shop, attend meetings or run errands without worrying about how long their driver will wait for them.

Preferred language preference. Set a preferred language preference and the app will work to match riders with a driver to meet their preferences. Subject to availability.

 

Zoom Ride drivers can earn 50 to 70 percent more than drivers with other ride share services, making them well motivated to offer top notch service. Riders win, too, when they download the rider app. Currently, riders using code ZOOM100 can receive $100 in FREE ride credit. Visit ww.MyZoomRide.com for details.

“Within a 24-hour period, Zoom Ride drivers have the option to choose either to pay Zoom Ride a percent of their earnings – ideal for part-time drivers – or a daily driving fee and keep everything else they earn minus insurance cost, perfect for full time drivers,” said Hashwi.

Hashwi is a former benchmarking program manager for Ford Motor Company and senior engineer at Magna International.  He also has worked for Delphi Automotive and Visteon. AlYasin, former head of Panasonic Qatar NAS Group, has also served as a manager at LG Electronics Levant and a product manager for LG Electronics Saudi.

Zoom Ride can be found online at MyZoomRide.com. Its driver and passenger apps can be found on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Once again we dive in with infectious disease expert Fred Brown, this time to talk through the potential impacts of the Michigan Supreme Court ruling, what the subsequent Department of Health ruling means, what Trump's prognosis may look like in the coming days, and so much more.  Then we all freak out when we find out how much Blac Chyna makes on Only Fans per month and a whole host of other topics.  Listen in!

Fred Brown is at: http://www.fredbrown.com/

Fred's presentation from tonight is here: COVID MI Supreme Court

Episode 367 - Chatting with Bedrock, Downtown Businesses, What's Open, Parking, Locations to Go

Check out the Open Business Directory at https://www.bedrockdetroit.com/