Mystic Access Podcast

It’s our Christmas Eve edition and we have some updates and tips to present. LOL Sorry, had to go there.

First, what do you think of our new mics? These are the Hollyland Lark M2 model and we love them so far. There are several versions you can purchase depending on whether you use Android, iOS, or both. Plus, their magnetic accessories are awesome!

Next, we have a very important announcement about ordering from us on NLS cartridges. If you like to order your documentation on cartridge, please listen carefully. We’ll update you all here as soon as we know more.

Chris has a clarification to share about using ChatGPT for weather.

Speaking of cool apps, we’ve begun using the paid version of Life360 after having used it for free in the past. This is a great way to keep track of your loved ones when you’re apart. Visit Life360.com to learn more about this great software. Or visit this link directly.

Next, Chris introduces you to Rocky, the cuddly weighted crocodile. He’s made by the same company that makes my bunny, Hazel.

Some gifts are a little unexpected, especially when you’re purchasing sight unseen. LOLChris tells the story of one Christmas gift I purchased him that was nearly a flop. It isn’t currently available from Amazon, but I’ll put in a link here if it returns.

Finally, we talk about some free and inexpensive ways to relax over the holiday break. However you spend yours, we wish you a wonderful, peaceful and delightful holiday season. We appreciate you! Happy merry everything! Talk to you next year!

This is our last full episode of 2024. We do have one more coming out on Christmas Eve, but it will just be short and sweet. So we’ve packed a few fun discussions and some heart-felt thanks into this one.

First, a friendly reminder that the mail is pretty slow this time of year, so be sure to order those presents as soon as possible at this stage. We still have some hardware available if you’re looking for gifts, and of course, lots of digital audio, too. Visit mysticaccess.com/shop for all the available goodies. Activate this link to shop with us.

I also want to remind you of a cool APH event I’ll be participating in soon after this podcast airs. I’ll be interviewed for the APH ConnectCenter’s career Conversations series on Thursday, December 12 at 6:00PM ET. I highly recommend checking out this series if you’re a high school or college student, work in Voc Rehab, or want to gain employment skills. Find the series archives on YouTube. That link takes you to a full playlist. Check out my bio for my appearance on this page, and register your seat for free using the provided link. I’ll link to my archived appearance in a future episode.

Next, we discuss our experiments with AI, specifically ChatGPT and Gemini. Learn what we like, what we feel needs improvement, and how these two AIs differ. If you want to learn more about this topic, we’ll be announcing a free class sometime early in the new year.

Speaking of AI, well, sort of, Chris found a new use for his Meta glasses that he shares.

Want a great gift for a safety-conscious friend or family member? We share about our new book for National Braille Press. Chris discusses a scam attempt he just experienced, and we share a tip for keeping our parents and those of a certain age safer.

Speaking of tips, we have a few good ones for saving some cash this winter.

Finally, we end with those heart-felt thanks I mentioned earlier. we couldn’t do this without you, and as always we appreciate your support, encouragement, kind comments, helpful feedback, and being part of our community. Happy merry everything, and wishing you joy from our hearts and home to yours.

This episode is jam-packed with goodies, so we hope you enjoy the fun.

First, you’re all warmly invited to our post-Thanksgiving open house. It’s free, fun, and festive, and takes place on Friday, November 29 between 1-5 PM eastern time. To register your seat. please visit this link.

We also mention some of our hardware that’ll be on sale for Black Friday. Check out the episode for all the details, and shop with us between Friday the 29th and Monday December 2nd to save twenty-five percent on nearly everything on MysticAccess.com.

We know the holidays are a super stressful time for many, and we provide some tips we hope may prove helpful. We also discuss some tools we recently purchased to help with our own stress, including these cuddly pizzas, some pretty fidget rings, and this adorable weighted bunny. Note that these are affiliate links; purchasing from these links gives Mystic Access a small commission. We only recommend products and services we use and love ourselves.

Finally, it’s the food edition this time around, and Lisa Salinger joins Kim in the castle kitchen to share some yummy recipes.

Kim shares:

Lisa shares:

Jiffy Corn Pudding Recipe With 6 Ingredients

Thanks, as always, for listening.

In this informative episode we begin by discuss the importance of backing up your information. We recently switched our password manager to one we simply like more, and starting from scratch would have been annoying and lengthy. Backing up is important no matter what your software or files consist of, though, and we hope this reminder is helpful.

Next, we share an upcoming event in which Mystic Access is featured. We’ll be presenting on Tek Talk during their Stocking Stuffers series on Monday, November 18 at 5:00 PM Pt, 8:00 PM ET. Join the fun, and the meeting, by visiting this link.

And speaking of hanging out with us, we’ll be having our post-Thanksgiving Day open house on Friday, November 29 between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM eastern time. Bring your tech finds and questions and get ready for lots of fun! Register to join the call by visiting this page. It’s free. You’ll receive an email with your personal joining info.

Finally, we explain how you can experience more affordable rates on your Internet, TV, and phone services. Two cell phone providers we focus on are Visible and US Mobile.

Thanks, as always, for listening! We appreciate you.

This episode has it all; something spooky, something sappy, and something practical. But first, Kim discusses a cool voting tool she found this year. While it’s unfortunately too late in the election cycle to be helpful in 2024, she wanted to share anyway in case someone is interested in using it later if it’s available in your state.

For Halloween this year, we bought a plush talking pumpkin. While he may sound cute in theory, our demo may surprise you, or even give you a scare. You can purchase him yourself at the above link. Please note that we receive a small commission if you buy through our links.

Speaking of Halloween, guess what we plan to be on a future Halloween night? Find out in this episode.

We end by talking about the importance of organization and how it plays a big role, at least for us, in making a house a home. Chris has gotten some new office furniture to assist him in being better-organized, including this eight-drawer double dresser with a sturdy steel frame, a wood top, and fabric drawers.

We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. Thanks for listening and sharing. Happy Halloween!

In this episode Chris and Kim unbox and set up the Ray-ban Meta Smart Glasses. They each decided to purchase a pair for themselves. They discuss why they ultimately chose to purchase, which glasses they bought, and an experience that caused them to buy sooner than they may have otherwise. Each setup process is a little different, so we hope you’ll enjoy listening and learning more.

Please note: At the moment, Aira explorers must have a WhatsApp account in order for agents to connect with their Meta Ray-bans. To learn more about the process and how you can advocate for a more seamless integration, check out this informative article from Aira. If you’ve considered purchasing a pair of these for yourself, we hope this podcast is helpful. Thanks for listening.

Have you ever had loved ones impacted by a hurricane, flood, tornado, or other natural disaster? Did you have accessible methods for finding accurate information? This podcast is for those times when you’re feeling helpless and want to know what’s going on in such a scary situation. In the wake of the devastation of Helene, we thought now was as important a time as any to share some tips.

Learn ways to get information, cautions when making donations, and much more. We hope this info is valuable.

As mentioned in this episode, my hometown in the western part of NC was decimated by floodding from Helene. Entire communities are washed away, and it will likely take years to build back lost infrastructure. People have lost their homes and everything they own. I know mine isn’t the only state impacted, and thousands are hurting, but if you decide to offer some well wishes, prayers, or even donations, I know those affected would be tremendously grateful. Our summer home is there, but more importantly, many of my family members are there, including my parents. I’m the only kid, and being so far away and out of touch with them right now is horible.

Here are just a few ways to donate and help flood victims in Western NC after Helene. There are plenty of others, but I thought this article gave some good ones.

Thanks, as always, for listening, especially this time.

In this episode Chris and Kim remind users of the Free event on the mac coming up on the 24th of the month.

This episode offers an upcoming class announcement, a castle interview, a fun demo, and more. Let’s dive in!

First, Chris provides an update on the pathfinder cane tip. He loves it, but there’s one important thing you must know before you buy. Listen to learn more.

Next, Kim demos the Merlin bird identification app. This free app is available for iOS and Android, and helps you identify birds from across the US and Canada. We love Merlin and hope you’ll enjoy this demo.

Next, we enter the castle for an interview with Emily Romero. Emily is a long-time Mac user. She explains why she prefers the Mac, some comparisons between Mac and Windows, the costs and benefits involved, and more. We’ll be holding a free event on the Mac on Tuesday, September 24. Emily will be co-hosting with us. If you’ve ever wondered about Mac accessibility, features, Windows comparisons, and more, we’d love for you to join us. To Register your seat, please visit this link. If you know others who may be interested, please feel free to share our interview with Emily and the link to register for the class. Weknow it’ll be both informative and fun.

Thanks, as always, for listening and spreading the word. We appreciate you.

This episode features are pre-sunrise porch ambiance as we share about a variety of topics. You’ll hear about everything from bees, to crows, to raindrops–and a lot of crickets. So, get ready for the sounds and subjects of this crazy conversation.

Chris begins by sharing about his unfortunate run-in with a tiny winged critter. Has anything like this happene to you?

We next discuss a very cool story about a recent Ambutech purchase. Not only can we highly recommend their customer support, but so far we really like the Pathfinder cane tip we purchased. Stay tuned for more thoughts as we use it more.

Speaking of mobility aids, they pop up regularly in this episode. Are you familiar with the Glide robot from Glidance? We share our initial thoughts and those of some friends and colleagues. We can’t wait to see this device inaction ourselves!

Back to canes… the WeWalk Smart Cane 2 is available for preorder. Chris owns the first version and has had mixed feelings during his time using it. We wonder how we’ll feel about the new version when it arrives?

One final cane story to share; this one will make you go yikes! Be prepared in case something like this happens to you.

those of you who are regulars know we watch a lot of scam baiting videos. One thing scammers regularly ask their potential victims to do is to let them remotely connect to the person’s computer. Don’t ever let someone you don’t know connect to your device. They’re usually out to steal your data and/or money. This leads us to a discussion of Remote Incident Manager, which Aira is now using as it’s remote connectivity tool. Chris took RIM for a test-drive and shares his experience.

One of Kim’s new favorite things is a ball chair with an included stabilizing ring. She explains the concept and why she loves it.

We next talk about our two new cases from Turtleback LV. In both cases (hahaha) our first impressions appear to be incorrect regarding these, and we’re happy about that. Listen for all the details.

Finally, if you need more office space, Chris highly recommends a printer stand! He discusses his setup here at the summer home and why he likes it so much.

We close by giving a hint about an upcoming podcast demo that you might want to sing about. Thanks so much for listening!