The Wizard of iPhone Speaks

The Wizard of iPhone Speaks

By John MaGuirkTechnology
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The Wizard of iPhone Speaks episodes

  • Episode 13: Today's Avatar Freddie's New Folly -- recycle and repurpose are not synonymous

    Closing Banjo Music courtesy of Banjo HangOut, Wreck of the old 97 & Happy Days are here again Medley, used with permission. 
    Memo to Humana — why would I want to use your pharmacy when you are “dropping” my doctor from your plan? My medical care is not about your profit; it’s about my well-being!
    This is the final program in my five-part series about America's favorite morning beverage.

    10 min
  • Episode 12: Siri strikes again the protocoll was okay, it was the technicians that failed

    Closing Banjo music courtesy of Banjo HangOut -- Blue Skies used with permission.
    Join me next week for Trash Your Kureg -- Mother Earth will thank you.
    Here’s another little bit of weather nonsense —
    “California is already taking steps now to protect communities from a potentially historic El Niño because we know how serious these weather extremes driven by climate change can be,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said in the statement. 

    Published by AccuWeather Sept 22 (20-26)

    This online post was accompanied by a chart of Pacific Ocean temperatures. Since El Niño is always a warm onshore flow, it can’t intensify because it’s always warm. The uniqueness of El Niño is being an "onshore" flow(close to the coast) when the norm is an offshore flow

    9 min
  • Episode 3: Everybody has got their hand out, and it stinks

    Opening piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church. Closing banjo music courtesy of Banjo HangOut -- "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee..." used with permission. 

    Waffle House plays it smart 


    Since the start of the so-called penny crisis, Casa Waffle has even-numbered pricing and engaged tax-included pricing.  


    Only to-go orders trigger a decimal dilemma: WH charges 10% on to-go orders. 


    So if you visit your favorite breakfast place and use your debit card 💳. Tip the server with cash and save your host 02.5%. They earned it!  


    On a personal note — I visited my dentist's office this morning and noticed they charge 03.5% “convenience fee.”  I used my American Express Card (Dave Ramsey hates that part).




    10 min
  • Episode 3: Siri/AI going rogue is another 21st-century myth! “She” only knows what has been loaded into her memory.

    Opening piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church; closing Alabama Jubilee courtesy of BanjoHangOut --

    It's a matter of technical rule one -- "If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong & at the worst possible moment..."  Somehow I had been signed out, and the files were not loading. I apologize for the screw-up. Next time, the third in our series

    The freshness clock goes into overdrive when the beans are roasted, not when they are ground…

    12 min
  • Episode 3: Siri/AI going rogue is another 21st-century myth! “She” only knows what has been loaded into her memory.

    Opening piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church. Closing Banjo Music courtesy of BanjoHangOut --- Alabama Jubilee -- used with permission
    “Perishable goods such as seafood and dairy are particularly vulnerable because refrigerated transport is more fuel-intensive, said David Ortega, an economist at Michi-“ WSJ 09 - 12 (Diesel Prices Are Rising….


    There is a workaround — I worked at Kroger part-time evenings, and the frozen food truck arrived before 10 PM; I would transport the pallets to temporary storage in the dairy cooler. The driver could now turn off the trailer compressor because, while there might be a backhaul, it would never involve frozen product. This practice requires some effort combined with thought.

    Next time, the third in our series: The freshness clock goes into overdrive when the beans are roasted, not when they are ground…

    12 min
  • Episode 11: In this podcast, we will begin a five-part series about America’s favorite morning beverage.

    Closing music courtesy of Stevens Valley Church.
    When I was growing up, the preferred method of brewing coffee at home was by the percolator.
    More losing Control of the language — Is Clay & Buck radio the new source of misinformation?
    Perhaps when you consider a caller’s statement 09 - 14 - (20-26)
    Here’s what he said: “I’m an analyst, and I used AI to write my latest post, and I did it in record time.”
    Here’s the problem: computers (including Siri) don’t analyze anything — that’s a human function. 
    What computers do is “sort data” so the user can analyze it. Don’t believe me… Try it for yourself; a sort of data is what you will get.
    Your laptop is a binary device, just like your smartphone, and it only recognizes up and down or right and left, over and under, but fails when comparing something quantitative, like good or bad.

    10 min
  • Episode 2: Sun Tzu Knew — We Didn’t Listen

    Closing music courtesy of Banjo HangOut -- Civil War Medley -- used with permission. News Two Nashville reports today that motorists are “concerned” about high gas prices. Drivers might complain about high prices, but won’t do the one thing to save fuel: S L O W  D O W N. Just try driving on I40.
    In a manner of speaking, you and I are like the early Christians in the Colosseum, hoping for deliverance but expecting lions!
    Let me remind my fellow Americans of these words of Benjeman Franklin, upon the signing of the Declaration of Independence….
    “We must indeed all now hang together, or most assuredly, we hang separately “
    The victims of the 9/11 attack are new Christian martyrs. 

    13 min
  • Episode 10: Siri: Take a memo for Senator Marsha Blackburn....

    Closing music courtesy of BanjoHangOut -- Dixie Medley used with permission.

    It’s a desert out there, and here’s Apple’s newest bad idea —
    Genius Picks
    #6 is bound to bring “distracted driving” to new levels.
    It’s called: 
    “Watch your favorite podcast”
    FYI/if you can watch it - it’s not a podcast (MP/3); a video is an MP/4.
    I was very distressed to find that the barometer is no longer in utilities; I’d prefer it over the ability to watch a video while driving.

    9 min
  • Episode 10: This week, I heard from a German developer via e-mail about an app nomination… It’s called WonderWake “the gentle alarm….”

    Opening music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church, used with permission. Closing music courtesy of Steinway Piano Gallery -- Down by the Riverside, performed live and recorded by iPhone. 

    A cursory look puts alarms (wake-up) a close second to the plethora of gaming apps.
    On a personal note: iPhone users have always been able to toggle gentle wake-up by choosing an “ascending ring tone”. You just have to look in your library of tones.
    However, this app does not contain the obligatory warning: “In-app purchases may be required….”
    Overall, I would give the app a plus score on design and ease of use, but there’s a serious drawback, and that involves competition. As far as alarm apps are concerned, it’s a jungle out there.

    11 min

About The Wizard of iPhone Speaks

From the publisher's feed

12 1/2 minutes each Monday about the universe in your pocket or purse. If you have a new App I’d like to hear about it, call 615/584-2717 go to voice mail and leave your nomination & contact…