1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,580
 life comes at you fast most of it is just smoke and mirrors we're here to clear the air whether

2
00:00:13,580 --> 00:00:18,420
 it's the can't make this up moments or the hard truths hitting our streets in our state

3
00:00:18,420 --> 00:00:26,220
 we're finding the signal and all that noise no spin no nonsense just the facts the fallout

4
00:00:26,220 --> 00:00:56,200
 and a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of humor and a little bit of humor and a little bit of humor and a little bit of humor and a little bit of humor and a little bit of humor and a little bit of humor and a little bit of humor and a little bit of humor. Grab your coffee. It's time for the morning drip on WRTO.FM Radio Free Georgia. Hey everybody good morning and welcome to the morning drip for what is today? Today is Wednesday 29th of July 2026. It's me Grady D and we have Mike B in the house once again.

5
00:00:56,220 --> 00:01:00,440
 It is midweek.

6
00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:04,200
 Yeah, it is midweek.

7
00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,100
 Well, that's how you say it in German, basically.

8
00:01:08,100 --> 00:01:10,540
 Mitvok is Wednesday.

9
00:01:10,540 --> 00:01:11,780
 Mitvok.

10
00:01:11,780 --> 00:01:13,600
 Midvok, midweek.

11
00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:14,800
 Okay.

12
00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:15,640
 All right.

13
00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:16,320
 That's cool.

14
00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:17,880
 I like that.

15
00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:19,120
 That's a little bit of trivia for the day.

16
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:20,180
 Yeah.

17
00:01:20,180 --> 00:01:23,320
 Yeah, a little bit of trivia.

18
00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:25,680
 I like trivia.

19
00:01:26,060 --> 00:01:50,560
 That's actually one of the things I think sometimes aggravates my family is because I am one of these that loves to offer little tidbits of trivia, usually at the most inopportune times, like right in the middle of a show because it strikes me, you know, or I see an actor or an actress and I'm like, oh, I need to.

20
00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:52,140
 Where have I seen this person before?

21
00:01:52,140 --> 00:02:22,120
 And then I'm like, I need to do this?

22
00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:52,100
 I'm going to do this.

23
00:02:52,100 --> 00:02:53,860
 of our show notes for today.

24
00:02:53,860 --> 00:02:59,480
 That's actually got our call call in number, which is 229-520-5957.

25
00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:05,460
 And that's also our 24-7-365 text number.

26
00:03:05,460 --> 00:03:10,320
 Of course, you can email us morningdrip at wrto.fm.

27
00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:11,660
 And I have to apologize.

28
00:03:11,660 --> 00:03:14,360
 Last week, I think I may have said the morning drip.

29
00:03:14,540 --> 00:03:21,100
 It's I don't have the the in front of it, though I'm thinking about registering that domain just to be I don't know.

30
00:03:21,100 --> 00:03:23,700
 Now that I've said it, somebody's going to register it and hijack it from me.

31
00:03:23,700 --> 00:03:25,780
 But anyway, I'm doing that right now.

32
00:03:25,980 --> 00:03:26,940
 Oh, I appreciate it.

33
00:03:26,940 --> 00:03:26,980
 Oh, I appreciate it.

34
00:03:26,980 --> 00:03:29,620
 Just go ahead and forward that on over.

35
00:03:29,620 --> 00:03:30,340
 Anyway.

36
00:03:30,340 --> 00:03:32,060
 Yeah.

37
00:03:32,060 --> 00:03:34,200
 Morning drip at wrto.fm.

38
00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:49,720
 On this day, 1981, for any of you that really likes trivia, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in a grand ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, which was one of the most watched TV events in history.

39
00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:50,180
 I forget.

40
00:03:50,180 --> 00:03:51,500
 I saw the blurb.

41
00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,060
 It was like so many millions of people tuned in to watch this.

42
00:03:55,060 --> 00:04:01,300
 I don't understand the fascination that Americans have with British royalty.

43
00:04:01,300 --> 00:04:03,460
 I just I don't get it.

44
00:04:03,460 --> 00:04:08,120
 I think it's one of those things that we don't want, but we like to watch.

45
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:15,680
 It's like no kings here, but we need to see the king or and queen in other countries.

46
00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:16,300
 Is that it?

47
00:04:16,300 --> 00:04:18,240
 Look how look how happy they are.

48
00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:21,060
 I mean, it's like it's like it's celebrities.

49
00:04:22,220 --> 00:04:27,000
 I guess same reason people watch with the Jersey Shore back in the day.

50
00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:28,160
 Was that back in the day?

51
00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:28,960
 Is that show not on?

52
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:34,280
 That show hadn't been on in like a decade and a half, if I remember correctly.

53
00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:43,480
 I mean, Big Brother still runs their own like season 472, but I think Survivor is still older than that.

54
00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:44,860
 Yeah, it's about a thousand.

55
00:04:44,860 --> 00:04:49,320
 What's funny, and that always kills me as they do like two to three seasons a year.

56
00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:53,640
 So, yeah, that's like American Idol.

57
00:04:53,640 --> 00:05:00,480
 You know, the last time I saw it, it was like and what I mean when I say see it is I never watched American Idol.

58
00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:02,780
 I don't like any of those types of shows.

59
00:05:03,380 --> 00:05:03,940
 Yeah, I don't either.

60
00:05:03,940 --> 00:05:08,120
 You know, the OG is Star Search, so they can bite me.

61
00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:15,260
 But I think it was like season 34, and I'm like, this thing has not been going for 34 years.

62
00:05:16,420 --> 00:05:18,940
 You know, I know where I was 34 years ago.

63
00:05:18,940 --> 00:05:27,860
 Well, approximately where I was 34 years ago, and I can guarantee you American Idol was not on television at that point.

64
00:05:27,860 --> 00:05:34,740
 We didn't have any of the technology that would have really allowed them to do like the voting and what have you.

65
00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:39,020
 So, anyway, let's talk about the weather real quick.

66
00:05:39,020 --> 00:05:40,640
 It's going to be hot, hot, hot.

67
00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:45,900
 Looking at temps of 95 with a real feel of 111, mostly cloudy skies.

68
00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:48,580
 Might actually have a stray shower or two.

69
00:05:49,260 --> 00:05:51,540
 And as I keep harping on, stay hydrated.

70
00:05:51,540 --> 00:05:54,660
 You know, if you can take breaks, take them as often as you can.

71
00:05:54,660 --> 00:05:57,540
 Hopefully, you're not having to work outside.

72
00:05:57,540 --> 00:05:59,320
 Yeah.

73
00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:14,340
 I don't know about you, but I'm having to pattern my day around this weather to make sure that if I know I'm going to be in an environment that's unusually warm, that I need to make sure that I get there early.

74
00:06:14,340 --> 00:06:18,840
 And I'm peacing out usually by 10 or 11 o'clock.

75
00:06:19,260 --> 00:06:22,700
 Yeah, I need to go down to Miami and shop for some clothes.

76
00:06:22,700 --> 00:06:26,740
 You can't wear cotton in this mess.

77
00:06:26,740 --> 00:06:30,320
 Okay, you confuse me.

78
00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:31,880
 Why specifically Miami?

79
00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:37,840
 Because everybody wears a breathable, flowy white suit.

80
00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:39,120
 Did you see Miami Vice?

81
00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:40,120
 Is that show still on?

82
00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,800
 I used to actually have the Miami Vice get-up.

83
00:06:44,540 --> 00:06:51,380
 Every time I think of dressing in Miami, it's Don Johnson in a white Armani suit.

84
00:06:51,380 --> 00:06:53,760
 I actually had that suit.

85
00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,460
 Now, it wasn't Armani or anything, but I had the pleated pants.

86
00:06:57,980 --> 00:07:01,500
 I had the shirt, and I had the jacket, and that was it.

87
00:07:01,500 --> 00:07:05,700
 They were cheap rip-offs, knock-offs, or whatever, but I did have it.

88
00:07:05,700 --> 00:07:08,980
 I tried my damnedest in my teenage years.

89
00:07:08,980 --> 00:07:12,880
 Because we're talking about a show that was popular in the mid-'80s, folks.

90
00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,100
 And yes, Don Johnson's still around.

91
00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:19,040
 What's sad is I cannot remember the actor that played Tubbs.

92
00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:19,900
 Played who?

93
00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:21,240
 Tubbs, his partner.

94
00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:22,220
 No.

95
00:07:22,220 --> 00:07:23,600
 I don't know.

96
00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:23,940
 See?

97
00:07:23,940 --> 00:07:24,900
 Right there.

98
00:07:24,900 --> 00:07:26,040
 Right there.

99
00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:32,700
 You know they've redone Miami Vice as a movie once, and they're doing it again.

100
00:07:32,700 --> 00:07:36,100
 I never watched the first movie they did.

101
00:07:36,100 --> 00:07:37,580
 I never did either.

102
00:07:37,580 --> 00:07:39,240
 It's got some great actors in it.

103
00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:45,340
 But yeah, now they're doing a reboot of the reboot, so I don't know.

104
00:07:45,340 --> 00:07:51,140
 They're going for – what's that franchise that went crazy?

105
00:07:51,140 --> 00:07:52,240
 Fast and Furious.

106
00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:53,880
 They're going for Fast and Furious numbers.

107
00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:58,040
 I don't think anybody can catch up with Fast and Furious, honestly.

108
00:07:58,040 --> 00:07:59,860
 Yeah, they can just make their own now.

109
00:07:59,860 --> 00:08:08,060
 I think they're ending at Fast and Furious 12, I believe, because the last one was 11.

110
00:08:08,060 --> 00:08:13,760
 They had Jason Momoa as the bad guy, which you want to see somebody chew through some damn scenery.

111
00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,600
 He was absolutely phenomenal in that movie.

112
00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,300
 He was hilarious.

113
00:08:18,300 --> 00:08:20,880
 I don't care what you say.

114
00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:22,140
 That was talent.

115
00:08:22,140 --> 00:08:22,960
 Yeah.

116
00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:23,780
 Yeah.

117
00:08:23,780 --> 00:08:25,480
 Have you seen the Minecraft movie?

118
00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:25,900
 No.

119
00:08:25,900 --> 00:08:27,860
 Oh, you've got to watch that, man.

120
00:08:27,860 --> 00:08:39,140
 That's another one where you take someone like Jason Momoa, who can – he can do the same types of roles that Dwayne The Rock Johnson does.

121
00:08:39,700 --> 00:08:41,120
 But – and it's funny.

122
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:45,040
 Both of them have a massive comedic bone in them.

123
00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,780
 So in Minecraft movie, he's starring opposite Jack Black.

124
00:08:49,780 --> 00:08:51,540
 Oh, okay.

125
00:08:51,540 --> 00:08:53,800
 And, of course, now they're making a sequel.

126
00:08:54,440 --> 00:09:05,700
 But that – you would think, okay, Minecraft, how the hell can you craft a movie around a game such as Minecraft?

127
00:09:05,700 --> 00:09:11,260
 Believe it or not, they pulled it off, and they pulled it off well.

128
00:09:11,340 --> 00:09:16,580
 I think that movie's made almost a billion dollars or something, which is – just blows my mind.

129
00:09:16,580 --> 00:09:22,140
 And I went into it thinking, okay, this is going to look – this is going to be stupid.

130
00:09:22,140 --> 00:09:23,880
 No, it was funny as hell.

131
00:09:26,180 --> 00:09:32,400
 So – and it's available for you, Ben, so you can watch it anytime.

132
00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:33,860
 Okay.

133
00:09:33,860 --> 00:09:39,400
 Okay, so we're talking about – you know, we kind of veered off into movies and stuff like that.

134
00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:48,100
 But I come across this story that's talking about – and I've thought about not only what they are specifically talking about,

135
00:09:48,100 --> 00:09:58,940
 but a lot of all of our data, all right, even Facebook has a way when you can designate – I forget what the term is –

136
00:09:58,940 --> 00:10:06,220
 but you can designate somebody that can manage your personal profile when you have died

137
00:10:06,220 --> 00:10:14,680
 so that they can convert your page, if you will, your personal profile into a memorial-type site.

138
00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:20,000
 So it doesn't go away, but it lets people know that you're not conversing with a live person.

139
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,180
 You might be conversing with a ghost, but you're not conversing with a live person.

140
00:10:24,180 --> 00:10:33,600
 And this one's talking about digital photos, making a plan for your digital photos after you die.

141
00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:34,660
 It's from popular science.

142
00:10:34,660 --> 00:10:39,320
 And they're talking about that, you know, as more of our lives move online,

143
00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:44,660
 that the experts are talking about how it's important to think about what happens to your digital photos.

144
00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:47,420
 and personal files after you die.

145
00:10:47,420 --> 00:10:52,000
 You know, used to – you'd have family photo albums that were stored on the bookshelf.

146
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,020
 Many people now keep years of memories on their smartphones and cloud storage.

147
00:10:57,020 --> 00:10:59,840
 You know, you and I both have iPhones.

148
00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:07,660
 I know all my photos and videos go to iCloud, but they also go to Google Photos because I have – you know,

149
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:14,440
 I pay $2.99 a month for extra – I think it's 200 gigs of storage with Google Photos

150
00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:19,880
 and then 200 gigs with iCloud for like another $2.99 or something like that.

151
00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:24,360
 And I also have mine backed up to my local network-attached storage.

152
00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:25,960
 So I've got them in three different locations.

153
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:31,660
 So let's just say that if I take some photos that I shouldn't take or I make some video I shouldn't make,

154
00:11:31,660 --> 00:11:35,380
 I probably need to go to all three locations and make sure that they're deleted.

155
00:11:35,420 --> 00:11:37,680
 Yeah.

156
00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:41,300
 But if you're dead, you can't really be embarrassed.

157
00:11:41,300 --> 00:11:43,240
 That's true.

158
00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:44,420
 That's true.

159
00:11:46,100 --> 00:12:01,820
 So to ensure loved ones can access those memory, major companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook offer tools that like users designate – that's it – legacy contact or a similar trusted person who can request access to their accounts after their death.

160
00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:07,980
 Some people also choose to name a digital executor in their will.

161
00:12:07,980 --> 00:12:09,260
 That's a new one on me.

162
00:12:09,260 --> 00:12:27,000
 Unlike a legacy contact, a digital executor can be given broader responsibilities such as preserving photos and important files, closing online accounts, deleting sensitive information, managing websites, or transferring digital assets according to the person's wishes.

163
00:12:28,340 --> 00:12:36,440
 You've got Everplans, which is a service that can help people organize those arrangements and document their digital estate plans.

164
00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:54,280
 That's something that I never thought would – it never occurred to me that that would be a business model, a service that would spring up on helping loved ones who are grieving deal with their deceased loved ones' digital assets.

165
00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:55,600
 I never thought about that.

166
00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:56,700
 Yeah.

167
00:12:56,700 --> 00:13:06,300
 We don't worry about that for ourselves because I think we can navigate that, but a lot of folks can't.

168
00:13:06,300 --> 00:13:11,080
 I mean, even we would have trouble in some cases.

169
00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:12,720
 You just find things you never knew of.

170
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:13,720
 That is true.

171
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:33,360
 I have – I'm not a very organized person to begin with, and all my efforts, every single time that I try to better organize my digital files, I only get about 50% of the way there at best.

172
00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:46,780
 There have been many times over my lifetime that I have started the process of trying to consolidate all this stuff into one location and provide my family with instructions on how to get to it.

173
00:13:46,780 --> 00:13:56,660
 The last attempt, and it's probably more concrete than anything else that I've done in the past, but it really doesn't deal with the photos, photos, videos, and that kind of thing.

174
00:13:56,660 --> 00:14:15,480
 But I created a share on our network attached storage for the family network, the office network, et cetera, called Family Files, and everything that I think is important that the family may need access to after I die is in there, and everybody has access to it.

175
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,520
 And what I mean everybody is everybody's account.

176
00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,660
 It's not open to the – just open, open, but –

177
00:14:23,660 --> 00:14:24,740
 Right, everybody who matters.

178
00:14:24,740 --> 00:14:26,180
 Yeah, everybody that matters.

179
00:14:26,180 --> 00:14:35,840
 And my youngest son, middle child, he basically has the keys to the kingdom because he's an admin on basically everything I have.

180
00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:44,780
 And so my instructions to my family have always been, when I die, he's going to be your point person because he's going to be the only one.

181
00:14:44,780 --> 00:14:58,380
 And it may be his older brother, you know, together, but they're going to be the ones that have to go through and figure out all this stuff and get access to important documents, maybe life insurance paperwork and things like that.

182
00:14:58,380 --> 00:15:08,240
 Because when my mom passed in 2019, I had a hell of a time trying to figure out where all her documents were, and none of her stuff was digital.

183
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:09,240
 None.

184
00:15:09,740 --> 00:15:15,500
 So I was relying on, you know, manila folders that said life insurance.

185
00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:28,520
 And the weirdest thing that actually happened to me was to get a check in the mail one day from a life insurance company.

186
00:15:29,020 --> 00:15:38,240
 There was a substantial amount of money at the time that I had no idea that she even had that life insurance policy whatsoever.

187
00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:44,920
 I mean, I literally just started calling people, calling companies and going, hey, this is her name.

188
00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:45,680
 I'm her son.

189
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:47,380
 She's passed away.

190
00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,660
 Does she have a life insurance policy with you?

191
00:15:49,660 --> 00:16:00,180
 Because, and these, you know, it's not like I just went down a list and said, okay, I'm calling this one, you know, MetLife, New York Life, all of those.

192
00:16:00,180 --> 00:16:07,000
 It was, it was a list where she had at least had had policy sometime in her lifetime.

193
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,060
 And so that was the only place I knew to, I knew to start.

194
00:16:10,060 --> 00:16:22,900
 So it, you know, with all the advancements in technology that we have, it really does open up other areas that we have to contemplate when it comes to our digital photos.

195
00:16:22,900 --> 00:16:24,200
 You know, how do we back them up?

196
00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:25,400
 How do we store copies?

197
00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:34,380
 You know, how do, how do we preserve all these things that used to be in a tangible format, but now only exist as an NFT?

198
00:16:34,380 --> 00:16:35,180
 No, I'm kidding.

199
00:16:35,180 --> 00:16:36,800
 No, no fucking NFTs.

200
00:16:38,020 --> 00:16:42,740
 So, yeah, do you have a strategy yourself for you and your family?

201
00:16:42,740 --> 00:16:45,320
 It's one of those things that's been in development.

202
00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:51,020
 I think about it a lot, especially being a sole operator in my business.

203
00:16:51,020 --> 00:16:54,960
 You know, if, if I kick the bucket, who's going to figure that out?

204
00:16:54,960 --> 00:17:03,780
 So that's, you know, that's even more complex, but as far as my family, I mean, it starts with my password manager.

205
00:17:03,780 --> 00:17:10,040
 I think that's, that would be the first place to go to figure out where I have an account.

206
00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:16,360
 Like you, you bought a, a used vinyl at some obscure record store.

207
00:17:16,360 --> 00:17:17,820
 One time you had to create an account.

208
00:17:17,820 --> 00:17:22,260
 So yeah, just, I want them all gone.

209
00:17:22,260 --> 00:17:30,220
 When I kick the bucket, I don't want my family to wonder if anybody has information to, to be compromised.

210
00:17:30,220 --> 00:17:32,780
 It's almost like you need some kind of kill switch.

211
00:17:32,780 --> 00:17:41,280
 It's like, if I don't check, if, if I don't go and click this button once every 48 hours, then it just goes out and wipes everything off the planet.

212
00:17:41,860 --> 00:17:42,260
 Yeah.

213
00:17:42,260 --> 00:17:42,740
 Yeah.

214
00:17:42,740 --> 00:17:46,860
 I'm kind of like that with, with, uh, I'm right there with you.

215
00:17:46,860 --> 00:17:48,140
 I have a password manager.

216
00:17:48,140 --> 00:17:51,220
 I'm the only one in my family that uses a password manager.

217
00:17:51,220 --> 00:17:53,760
 I have tried to get my wife to use one.

218
00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:54,140
 Nope.

219
00:17:54,140 --> 00:17:55,100
 Pen and paper.

220
00:17:55,100 --> 00:18:00,240
 Uh, Tyler, for whatever reason, I don't know why he just tries to remember them.

221
00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:06,840
 We'll get on him, but I've got, I've got to, well, like you say, you know,

222
00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:12,480
 that one time 10 years ago when I bought whatever it was and I had to create an account

223
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:17,880
 and I've probably never logged back into that system, which means it usually winds up on a,

224
00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,680
 a list of compromised accounts at some point.

225
00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:26,700
 But yeah, I have on, again, in the, uh, on the network attached storage,

226
00:18:26,700 --> 00:18:36,820
 I have a folder with a file that has the email address and password for my, uh, password manager.

227
00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:41,400
 Because, you know, if they don't know that they're not getting into it, that the vault's encrypted,

228
00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:43,440
 the company's not going to give it to them.

229
00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:45,620
 You just shut out of luck.

230
00:18:45,620 --> 00:18:52,620
 And so, and the number of times I've had to use it because, you know, I'll, maybe it's a new PC or something.

231
00:18:52,620 --> 00:18:55,060
 I'm like, okay, well, I need to install Bitwarden again.

232
00:18:55,060 --> 00:18:57,160
 And then I got to log in and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

233
00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:03,300
 So, yeah, it's, um, again, like I said, it's, it's an interesting thing to have to think about

234
00:19:03,300 --> 00:19:07,740
 along with what you normally would think about when, when you have a loved one that,

235
00:19:07,740 --> 00:19:08,680
 that passes.

236
00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:12,960
 And just like you, you know, I'm, I'm the sole person in the business.

237
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:21,160
 And so it's like, okay, you, you got to figure out these services that we pay for

238
00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:25,100
 and we pay for them for the benefit of our clients and things like that.

239
00:19:25,100 --> 00:19:29,620
 And if somebody doesn't weigh in, those things keep getting billed, you know,

240
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:31,940
 even though we're no longer using them because we're dead.

241
00:19:31,940 --> 00:19:33,020
 Yeah.

242
00:19:33,020 --> 00:19:36,340
 So I don't know.

243
00:19:36,340 --> 00:19:36,540
 Yeah.

244
00:19:36,540 --> 00:19:39,120
 It's, they made me think.

245
00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:43,040
 Power of attorney would be a good thing to do too.

246
00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,720
 Password manager and a power of attorney.

247
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,860
 I haven't really thought about power of attorney.

248
00:19:48,860 --> 00:19:51,420
 Well, grant it to your wife.

249
00:19:51,420 --> 00:19:55,940
 If you kick the bucket, she can legally operate as you.

250
00:19:55,940 --> 00:19:56,580
 Yeah.

251
00:19:57,300 --> 00:20:00,300
 So if you do that before you die, then she doesn't have to go fight

252
00:20:00,300 --> 00:20:05,500
 to turn off services or cancel accounts or, you know.

253
00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:09,640
 Can you have two powers of attorney or does it just have to be one person?

254
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:14,760
 I would assume you can give away your power to as many people as you want.

255
00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,200
 It's a free country.

256
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:16,960
 Yeah.

257
00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:17,560
 Yeah.

258
00:20:18,780 --> 00:20:19,540
 No, I don't know.

259
00:20:19,540 --> 00:20:21,120
 I just, I just know it.

260
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:21,800
 I did one.

261
00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:26,160
 I had to do one before I deployed for training.

262
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:32,860
 And since I was married, I had to do a power of attorney because I think we were flying somewhere.

263
00:20:32,860 --> 00:20:36,940
 Shows the confidence in the aircraft.

264
00:20:40,540 --> 00:20:44,960
 We're going to be flying, but chances are higher you're going to die in the crash.

265
00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,560
 So go ahead and do a power of attorney.

266
00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,180
 You need to do a power of attorney before you get your butt on this plane, son.

267
00:20:51,180 --> 00:20:54,480
 That's wild.

268
00:20:55,660 --> 00:20:57,700
 That is, that is wild.

269
00:20:57,700 --> 00:20:58,500
 All right.

270
00:20:58,500 --> 00:21:05,740
 Well, for all of you out there in radio, online radio land and podcast land and all that,

271
00:21:05,740 --> 00:21:10,000
 what do you think about your digital photos after you died?

272
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:17,160
 And more so, you know, all your digital assets, your, your social media accounts, your banking accounts,

273
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:21,220
 just any and everything that you have out there.

274
00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:30,840
 Let us know 229-520-5957, or you can text 247-365, same number 229-520-5957,

275
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,160
 or shoot us an email, morningdrip at wrto.fm.

276
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,140
 We're going to take a break and we'll be back in a bit.

277
00:21:37,140 --> 00:21:43,680
 Your alarm clock is a liar.

278
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,220
 It says it's time to wake up, but you're still sleepwalking through life.

279
00:21:47,220 --> 00:21:49,680
 Stop the snooze, start the brew.

280
00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,620
 It's the morning drip on wrto.fm.

281
00:21:52,620 --> 00:22:00,380
 We're serving up unfiltered truth, questionable advice, and enough caffeine-fueled energy to power the entire Piedmont Plateau.

282
00:22:00,380 --> 00:22:04,700
 The morning drip, because sleeping in is for people with nothing to say.

283
00:22:04,700 --> 00:22:07,520
 Weekdays, only on Radio Free Georgia.

284
00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:12,140
 Hey, everybody.

285
00:22:12,140 --> 00:22:13,420
 Welcome back to the morning drip.

286
00:22:13,420 --> 00:22:17,180
 It is the morning drip for Wednesday, the 29th of July, 2026.

287
00:22:17,180 --> 00:22:19,300
 It's me, Grady D, and Mike B in the house.

288
00:22:19,300 --> 00:22:20,640
 We here.

289
00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:25,680
 Hey, are you still on Verizon for your cell phone service?

290
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:26,760
 I am.

291
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:27,220
 Okay.

292
00:22:27,220 --> 00:22:29,040
 So, this is a little ad.

293
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:32,640
 I want to talk to everybody about Visible.

294
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,020
 And I've told you this story.

295
00:22:35,020 --> 00:22:43,420
 Several years ago, my family and I, we were paying over $400 a month for service with Verizon.

296
00:22:43,420 --> 00:22:50,120
 But we switched to Visible and dropped that down to $25 per phone.

297
00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:57,840
 And the funny thing is, Visible is owned by Verizon, and it uses Verizon's nationwide 5G network.

298
00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:03,160
 So, if you decide to leave Verizon, move over to Visible, you're not leaving the network.

299
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:04,380
 You're on the same network.

300
00:23:04,380 --> 00:23:10,060
 It's just, basically, Visible is this no-frills cell phone service.

301
00:23:10,620 --> 00:23:15,760
 And it's not like you have to settle for reduced services or anything like that.

302
00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:19,860
 You still get, like I say, 5G if you're in an area that has 5G.

303
00:23:19,860 --> 00:23:22,800
 They actually have a plan that's a little bit more expensive.

304
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:30,280
 I think it's either $35 or $45 a month where you get the ultra-wide 5G, you know, for those highfalutin places that have that.

305
00:23:30,700 --> 00:23:33,800
 We don't have that down here in South Central Georgia, as far as I know.

306
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:41,240
 Unlimited text, unlimited calls, basically unlimited data.

307
00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:45,460
 And when I say $25, I mean $25.

308
00:23:45,460 --> 00:23:52,380
 It's not $25 and then this fee and that fee, and by the time you're done, it's like $32, $33, or $34.

309
00:23:52,380 --> 00:23:54,040
 No, it's a flat $25.

310
00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,300
 Or if you go to their other plan, it's a flat $45.

311
00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:07,300
 So, you know, it makes sense, you know, even if you're on AT&T or T-Mobile, to look at Visible.

312
00:24:07,300 --> 00:24:14,960
 And so, what I'm going to do is offer everybody that's listening to this live or in podcast form, go to morningdrip.show.com.

313
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,700
 And if you do, we get $20.

314
00:24:18,700 --> 00:24:21,300
 You get $20 off of your first bill.

315
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:29,600
 And you get some really good cell phone service and save some money on that cell phone bill.

316
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,240
 So, there are a limited number of spots for this promotion.

317
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:35,600
 So, you need to switch today.

318
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:41,060
 And I want to thank Visible for letting us have them right here as an affiliate.

319
00:24:41,060 --> 00:24:44,220
 Talking about money, I like to talk about money.

320
00:24:44,220 --> 00:24:46,240
 Actually, I don't like to talk about money.

321
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:47,100
 I like to make money.

322
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,820
 I don't like to talk about it because it usually means I'm having to pay somebody.

323
00:24:49,820 --> 00:24:55,700
 How many checks do you actually write per year, sir, on average?

324
00:24:55,700 --> 00:24:57,600
 Dude, I had to reorder checks earlier this year.

325
00:24:57,600 --> 00:24:58,300
 Really?

326
00:24:58,300 --> 00:24:59,300
 Yeah.

327
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:06,460
 Because I used to write them, you know, the pool service didn't have automated payments.

328
00:25:06,460 --> 00:25:08,520
 Well, they still don't.

329
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,700
 I think they don't want to pay the fees.

330
00:25:11,700 --> 00:25:15,960
 And what else do I write a check for?

331
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,540
 We have to, like, some school activity.

332
00:25:19,540 --> 00:25:20,220
 Mm-hmm.

333
00:25:20,220 --> 00:25:24,860
 Well, we need, you know, $25 for a field trip.

334
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:29,540
 And, you know, you don't send a young kid to school with cash.

335
00:25:29,540 --> 00:25:31,400
 Or a credit card.

336
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,280
 Yeah, or a credit card.

337
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:35,480
 So, you know, those kind of things.

338
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:39,800
 And just, look, see what I wrote checks for recently.

339
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,180
 Oh, I write a check for cash so I can get my allowance every month.

340
00:25:43,180 --> 00:25:46,220
 You pay yourself a check instead of that.

341
00:25:46,220 --> 00:25:46,600
 Yeah.

342
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:56,020
 Yeah, because even if you use a debit card, depending on which ATM, you're going to get dinged for some kind of service fee.

343
00:25:56,020 --> 00:25:56,480
 Yeah.

344
00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,220
 I paid the accountant for filing last year's taxes.

345
00:26:00,220 --> 00:26:00,840
 Yeah.

346
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:06,700
 We get medical bills in the mail from diagnostics or the hospital.

347
00:26:06,700 --> 00:26:10,680
 You know, whatever insurance didn't pay, we have to pay.

348
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,560
 And I don't want to make it easy for them, so I mail them a physical check.

349
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:15,920
 Okay.

350
00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:25,760
 That's got to be the most passive-aggressive thing I've heard today is I'm not going to make it easy on them.

351
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:26,800
 I'm going to write them a check.

352
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:28,080
 Yeah.

353
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,000
 And don't get me wrong.

354
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:30,820
 Don't hate me for this.

355
00:26:30,820 --> 00:26:33,140
 But during COVID, I licked the envelope.

356
00:26:33,140 --> 00:26:34,920
 No, you didn't.

357
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:35,980
 Uh-huh.

358
00:26:35,980 --> 00:26:37,860
 I licked it and sent it to them.

359
00:26:37,860 --> 00:26:39,480
 Well, I mean, that's fair.

360
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:41,960
 Not when I had COVID, but when it was going around, you know.

361
00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:42,660
 Yeah.

362
00:26:42,660 --> 00:26:47,440
 I mean, I still, on the rare occasion where I actually have to mail something, I still lick the envelope.

363
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,240
 I'm one of those strange people.

364
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:50,780
 I actually like the taste of that glue.

365
00:26:50,780 --> 00:26:52,180
 Yeah.

366
00:26:52,180 --> 00:26:53,360
 Well, when you grow up with it.

367
00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:55,560
 Exactly, exactly.

368
00:26:55,560 --> 00:27:07,860
 Now, I know in a lot of situations, like in small businesses or what have you, where they need to send out a lot of checks, they actually have like a sponge or some kind of thing where you just run across it.

369
00:27:07,860 --> 00:27:12,680
 And then, because they don't expect the person to actually sit there and lick, you know, a hundred envelopes.

370
00:27:12,740 --> 00:27:14,980
 I mean, at some point, you lose your taste buds.

371
00:27:14,980 --> 00:27:15,880
 Yeah.

372
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:25,180
 So, I honestly, before we get into the meat of this story, I think I write one check on average per year.

373
00:27:25,180 --> 00:27:36,980
 Now, I get checks from my clients that are not on some type of, because I have three different ways that I bill.

374
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:45,000
 If it's under a certain threshold, I'm okay with eating the credit card processing fees, because it's an automated invoice.

375
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:50,080
 It gets automatically paid when the invoice is sent out.

376
00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:56,120
 And I find that convenience of making sure that the cash flow is there.

377
00:27:56,120 --> 00:28:01,340
 I'll take the hit, you know, the few dollars that I take the hit.

378
00:28:01,980 --> 00:28:16,140
 The other way is if it's above that threshold and they're willing to do it, they can do basically the clearinghouse method, which they put their bank account information in, which I never see.

379
00:28:16,140 --> 00:28:21,580
 It goes through a third party thing like Plaid or whatever, and I get dinged a percent.

380
00:28:21,580 --> 00:28:31,240
 But then on the real big ones, no, they just they have to send me a check because even even one percent of a three thousand dollar invoice is more than I want to pay.

381
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:37,300
 You know, yeah, but I do for some of them.

382
00:28:37,300 --> 00:28:40,580
 Yeah, they pay like they pay that day and they never complain.

383
00:28:40,580 --> 00:28:47,160
 That's a lot of money, but they don't complain and they pay it right away.

384
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:48,800
 And I don't mind that.

385
00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:52,800
 So there's the reason why we're talking about this is there's a question.

386
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:57,720
 Should paper checks be abolished like we've just recently abolished the penny?

387
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,860
 And it seems that checks may be far less common than they once were, of course.

388
00:29:02,860 --> 00:29:05,140
 I mean, you and I are kind of examples of that.

389
00:29:05,260 --> 00:29:09,340
 You write more than I do, but they do remain an important part of the U.S.

390
00:29:09,340 --> 00:29:14,320
 payment system, especially for businesses, older Americans and certain large transactions.

391
00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:22,480
 As we just discussed, American still wrote about nine point two billion checks in twenty twenty four with a total value exceeding twenty four trillion.

392
00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:26,700
 You know, I'm not sure I'll ever get used to seeing numbers like that.

393
00:29:26,700 --> 00:29:27,080
 Trillion.

394
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:38,000
 I can't fathom trillion, but says the average person now writes only about twenty seven checks a year down dramatically from one hundred and fifty in two thousand.

395
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:42,140
 Would you say you're you're above or below that twenty seven checks a year?

396
00:29:42,140 --> 00:29:43,520
 Are you an average person?

397
00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:45,500
 It's probably below that.

398
00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:46,120
 Mm hmm.

399
00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:47,380
 Mm hmm.

400
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:50,460
 Because it's tops to a month.

401
00:29:50,460 --> 00:29:51,600
 I gotcha.

402
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:52,540
 So, yeah.

403
00:29:52,540 --> 00:29:54,840
 So at most twenty four a year.

404
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:55,820
 Yeah.

405
00:29:56,300 --> 00:30:01,700
 The average check has gone to about twenty six hundred dollars, which reflects our continued use for higher value payments.

406
00:30:01,700 --> 00:30:10,280
 And as we've just discussed, that's because when you start getting into those numbers, anything electronic is going to hit you from one percent to three percent easily.

407
00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:12,400
 I mean, the credit card processing fees.

408
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:23,240
 My accounting software, my billing software that I use notified me two months ago that the credit card transaction fees were going up.

409
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:29,980
 And I'm like, OK, which is funny because they use Stripe and Stripe, as far as I know, did not raise theirs.

410
00:30:29,980 --> 00:30:32,560
 So I don't know if it's just OK.

411
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:36,740
 They're like, well, we've got we we see an opportunity to make a little bit more money.

412
00:30:36,740 --> 00:30:38,160
 So we're going to raise these fees.

413
00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:43,360
 And oh, by the way, last week is like, hey, you know, you pay us thirty eight dollars a month.

414
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:47,680
 We're we're not going to provide you with any new features.

415
00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,980
 But we're going to go up to forty three dollars a month starting in September.

416
00:30:51,980 --> 00:30:53,180
 I'm like, great.

417
00:30:53,180 --> 00:30:59,580
 That is fantastic because our board wants a new fountain in the lobby.

418
00:30:59,580 --> 00:31:03,620
 Some somebody needs to make repairs on their yacht.

419
00:31:03,620 --> 00:31:06,520
 Times are tough.

420
00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:07,940
 They are.

421
00:31:07,940 --> 00:31:16,260
 Small businesses do remain among the biggest supporters of paper checks because they provide greater control over spending, often requiring two signatures for approval.

422
00:31:16,260 --> 00:31:25,480
 I used to have one company, one client that did require they'd have to have two signatures, which did delay the payment sometimes, which did irk me.

423
00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:36,040
 But now it's now now now there's a singular person and that's not better because he's not available, but maybe one or two times during the week.

424
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,580
 So, you know, it is what it is.

425
00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:44,120
 It does help avoid the credit card processing fees, as we just discussed.

426
00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:47,440
 Older Americans also continue to rely on checks.

427
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,680
 I know my mom did more than younger generations.

428
00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:58,640
 I know my in-laws do and many consumers unknowingly use them when the banks mail paper checks on their behalf through online bill pay services.

429
00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:05,680
 That's like when I had all these trees cut down, I used I used bill pay to pay him.

430
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,360
 And so they sent him a physical check.

431
00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:16,320
 And I'm OK with that because I don't consider that me writing a check because I don't have to go get my checkbook.

432
00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:18,580
 I don't have to actually write it out.

433
00:32:18,580 --> 00:32:19,940
 I don't have to mail it.

434
00:32:19,940 --> 00:32:21,660
 I don't have to hand it to him.

435
00:32:21,660 --> 00:32:29,560
 And I mean, he was sitting right here in in the office studio and I said, you find what bill pay, it'll it'll take like five to seven days to get to you.

436
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:30,600
 And he's like, yeah, that's fine.

437
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:31,360
 Don't worry about it.

438
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,040
 So I will do that.

439
00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:39,180
 You know, I can't even remember what I've I'd have to look at my register to see what the last check was and why I wrote it.

440
00:32:39,180 --> 00:32:40,400
 Honestly, I don't remember.

441
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:48,980
 But checks also remain common for estate settlements, insurance refunds and other situations where electronic payments aren't always practical.

442
00:32:49,680 --> 00:33:06,000
 If I remember correctly, part of this, what was in this this story is the fact that the federal government, I believe there was an executive order that Trump actually signed that the federal government will no longer send out paper checks.

443
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:19,640
 You either that not that I ever get a refund anymore, but that's like whenever I pay my taxes, my taxes are automatically deducted from, you know, one of my accounts that I designate.

444
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:37,720
 And so the flip side of that is like when Georgia decides that they want to share in the wealth of the of of the abundance of taxes that they've collected and decide that they're going to send out two hundred and fifty to five hundred dollars in refunds, if you will, or rebates or whatever they want to call it.

445
00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:45,840
 It normally gets sent back to the account that you use to either get your tax refunds or to pay your taxes.

446
00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:50,840
 They may send out paper checks, but that's because that's at a state level.

447
00:33:51,360 --> 00:34:03,960
 But as my understanding now at the federal level, if you are a social security recipient, which this affects the older folks, of course, you will no longer get a physical check in the mail.

448
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:14,180
 It automatically gets you have to have a checking account or you have to have some form of a debit only account to get your your monthly income, basically.

449
00:34:14,180 --> 00:34:16,760
 Yeah, it's just like a direct deposit.

450
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:17,800
 Yeah, it is.

451
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:18,320
 It is.

452
00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:19,100
 And I understand.

453
00:34:19,100 --> 00:34:21,080
 I mean, direct deposit doesn't cost anything.

454
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:22,360
 That's the thing.

455
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:29,380
 As far as I know, no company that I've ever worked for that did direct deposit said, OK, well, this is costing us money.

456
00:34:29,380 --> 00:34:40,940
 No, it costs them more money to print the damn checks and even hand those to you than it is just to go in and go, OK, well, here's your here's your weekly pay and just hit a few buttons.

457
00:34:40,940 --> 00:34:44,120
 And it goes into your your checking account within 24 hours.

458
00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:46,460
 You know, well, think about it.

459
00:34:47,020 --> 00:34:52,960
 I got a I got a payment in the mail from a client and they they do so much mail.

460
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:58,480
 They have a mail machine that electronically puts the postage on there.

461
00:34:58,480 --> 00:34:58,860
 Right.

462
00:34:58,860 --> 00:35:04,800
 The check they sent me, it cost them 78 cents to mail me that check.

463
00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:13,460
 Can you imagine how many I mean, just in Social Security checks that they mail out every month?

464
00:35:13,460 --> 00:35:13,980
 Yeah.

465
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:16,400
 That's 78 cents per envelope.

466
00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:20,520
 I mean, it's, you know, and the wear and tear on a printer.

467
00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:22,180
 Those poor printers.

468
00:35:22,180 --> 00:35:23,600
 I hate printers.

469
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:29,180
 But well, even if they got a reduced rate for like bulk mail or something.

470
00:35:29,180 --> 00:35:29,820
 Yeah.

471
00:35:29,820 --> 00:35:33,700
 I mean, we look at it as like you say, 78 cents.

472
00:35:33,700 --> 00:35:35,980
 But when you multiply that by.

473
00:35:35,980 --> 00:35:37,880
 How many millions?

474
00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:41,140
 Yeah, that that actually that adds up.

475
00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:47,140
 And so I do understand why it's like, OK, well, let's just do all this electronically, which I can't remember.

476
00:35:47,140 --> 00:35:48,520
 I talked about it last week or not.

477
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:54,060
 But, you know, one of my clients doesn't do direct deposit even for his 10 or 10 or so employees.

478
00:35:54,060 --> 00:35:55,900
 And I'm like, why don't you?

479
00:35:55,900 --> 00:35:57,020
 Why don't you do that?

480
00:35:57,020 --> 00:36:05,800
 And he's like, believe it or not, we actually have about maybe three or four of these folks don't even have checking accounts.

481
00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,280
 And I'm like, OK, well, they need a checking account.

482
00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:12,280
 I don't I don't know.

483
00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:12,820
 They don't.

484
00:36:12,820 --> 00:36:14,500
 I don't care what their reasons are.

485
00:36:14,500 --> 00:36:17,240
 And I'm not being an asshole.

486
00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:27,160
 But, you know, if I was running a business that size, even with 10 to 20 employees, I am trying whatever I can to make sure that my expenses stay as low as possible.

487
00:36:27,380 --> 00:36:28,520
 You're getting a check.

488
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:40,220
 You're getting your your your salary in direct deposit because you can go get a debit only where you don't technically have to have a checking account.

489
00:36:40,340 --> 00:36:45,900
 But it gets it gets deposited to that debit card, which is essentially still an account.

490
00:36:45,900 --> 00:36:47,120
 But I don't know.

491
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,980
 I don't understand the reasoning for people that are like, oh, I'm not doing that.

492
00:36:50,980 --> 00:36:52,180
 I don't trust it.

493
00:36:52,180 --> 00:36:52,840
 OK.

494
00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:53,740
 All right.

495
00:36:53,740 --> 00:36:55,680
 You live the life you're willing to put up with.

496
00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,440
 Well, I guess.

497
00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:02,940
 Well, wise words on this Wednesday from might be OK.

498
00:37:02,940 --> 00:37:07,380
 Otherwise, in other words, that it's not our problem.

499
00:37:07,380 --> 00:37:09,900
 I mean, that's fair.

500
00:37:10,340 --> 00:37:17,240
 It is my problem if I'm the business owner and I'm trying to tell the person that you've got to if you work here, you're going to do direct deposit.

501
00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:19,740
 And they tell me, well, then I guess I'm not going to work here.

502
00:37:19,740 --> 00:37:21,740
 OK, well, well, you can work here.

503
00:37:21,740 --> 00:37:22,940
 I just can't pay you.

504
00:37:22,940 --> 00:37:24,260
 Yeah.

505
00:37:24,260 --> 00:37:29,800
 Well, I invite you and I appreciate the fact that you're providing your labor free of charge.

506
00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:33,920
 So you don't want to if you don't want to get paid, you don't want to get paid.

507
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:38,860
 But, yeah, I guess some folks just don't don't trust banks.

508
00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:41,860
 Yeah, that's like and I'm probably going to get some flack for this.

509
00:37:41,860 --> 00:37:49,920
 But the place that I used to work for, we started implementing the time clocks and they were the type where they were biometric.

510
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,380
 You put your hand in and punched in a four digit code.

511
00:37:52,380 --> 00:38:03,400
 And out of 250 employees that work for this organization, we had a handful that were like, I ain't going to do that.

512
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:05,220
 That's the mark of the beast right there.

513
00:38:05,220 --> 00:38:09,720
 And I did everything I could not to laugh.

514
00:38:11,020 --> 00:38:13,200
 And I was like, OK, all right.

515
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:18,800
 Well, and this wasn't my call because I was just in charge of, you know, the tech side of it.

516
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:25,060
 But if it had been my call, I would have been the asshole that said, well, I guess you just won't get paid then.

517
00:38:25,060 --> 00:38:37,660
 Because if you're not clocking in and clocking out on this thing that we've put in that is going to streamline all of this and make processing your time sheets even faster and more accurate.

518
00:38:38,600 --> 00:39:01,160
 So while concerns remain about check fraud and bounce checks, those problems affect only a small percentage of the billions of checks written each year as the Federal Reserve weighs the future of its check processing system.

519
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:02,060
 That's what I was talking about.

520
00:39:02,060 --> 00:39:15,740
 Many payment experts argue that unlike the recently eliminated penny, paper checks still serve as an important purpose, if I could read today, and should remain available as a payment option rather than being phased out entirely.

521
00:39:15,740 --> 00:39:17,420
 I do agree with that.

522
00:39:17,420 --> 00:39:22,220
 I think the ability to write a check should still be there.

523
00:39:22,220 --> 00:39:30,080
 But I do believe that every opportunity that you can do it, try to avoid writing a check.

524
00:39:30,740 --> 00:39:44,100
 As far as, you know, large numbers of checks, like what we were just talking about, Social Security and things like that, where it's going to cost a crap ton of money just to mail the damn things out.

525
00:39:44,100 --> 00:39:44,440
 Yeah.

526
00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:55,020
 I mean, we need instruments like checks for a myriad of purposes that, you know, some folks don't see.

527
00:39:55,020 --> 00:40:05,160
 But if I were, if I were driving down to Florida to buy an airplane with cash and I get pulled over with that much money, they're going to have questions.

528
00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:08,300
 Well, that's the reason why you do money transfers.

529
00:40:08,300 --> 00:40:10,360
 You've seen that on the shows.

530
00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:13,000
 You don't buy airplanes with cash.

531
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:13,420
 I know that.

532
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:22,440
 But just, I'm just saying, if you, if you carry, well, there's some amount that if you, if you, if you have on you, it's really weird.

533
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,800
 There's a, there's an amount of money that you are not allowed to have.

534
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:26,920
 Yeah.

535
00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:30,180
 Because, well, apparently you're up to no good.

536
00:40:30,180 --> 00:40:31,500
 You're doing something nefarious.

537
00:40:31,500 --> 00:40:32,980
 You're a drug dealer, something.

538
00:40:32,980 --> 00:40:34,520
 There will be questions.

539
00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:38,720
 I mean, if you're legitimate, they're all good, but they're going to waste your time.

540
00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:46,880
 Oh, the number of times you've seen our, you know, reports and articles about asset, asset forfeiture.

541
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:48,180
 Yeah.

542
00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:53,700
 Where something like that, legitimately someone was carrying $20,000 in cash.

543
00:40:53,700 --> 00:40:57,000
 They got pulled over because they were speeding or whatever.

544
00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:05,140
 Number one, they should not have agreed to the search, but you know, that that's a different story.

545
00:41:05,140 --> 00:41:08,400
 And then the cops are like, oh, $20,000.

546
00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:15,560
 We need some new bulletproof vests because once they get their grubby hands on that stuff, you don't get it back.

547
00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:17,920
 Yeah.

548
00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:18,200
 Yeah.

549
00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:19,680
 I've heard that.

550
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:24,880
 And, you know, and I'm not shitting on law enforcement in that respect.

551
00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:29,860
 I'm just saying that there are some greedy fuckers out there that will do that kind of stuff.

552
00:41:29,860 --> 00:41:39,300
 And then if you do get it back, it's going to take you probably a couple of years and it's going to cost you, wind up costing you more than the money you're trying to get back.

553
00:41:39,300 --> 00:41:43,440
 So, yeah, don't, don't be driving around with $20,000 in cash.

554
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,820
 You probably should have checks.

555
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:51,120
 All right.

556
00:41:51,120 --> 00:42:00,200
 Well, we're going to take another short break, but the phone lines are still open to 2-9-5-2-0-5-9-5-7 or send us a text 24-7-365, same number.

557
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:18,420
 Your coffee is, well, you know, your boss is, well, you know, it's time to wake up.

558
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:24,400
 Join the revolution of the caffeine addicted, The Morning Drip, every morning on WRTO.fm.

559
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:27,760
 It's not just a show, it's your daily jolt of reality.

560
00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:31,400
 Warning, make all sudden outbursts of free thought.

561
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:43,160
 Hey, everybody, welcome back to The Morning Drip for Wednesday, the 29th of July, 2026.

562
00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,140
 Grady D and Mike B in the house.

563
00:42:45,140 --> 00:42:46,840
 Is this show still on?

564
00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:48,440
 Yeah, the show is still on.

565
00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:49,480
 Why is it not on?

566
00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:50,360
 Oh, okay.

567
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:51,900
 Well, they canceled Miami Vice.

568
00:42:51,900 --> 00:42:52,980
 I didn't know.

569
00:42:53,140 --> 00:42:55,840
 Well, as far as I know, I have not canceled this one yet.

570
00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:56,900
 I'm trying not to.

571
00:42:56,900 --> 00:42:58,320
 Okay, you let me know?

572
00:42:58,320 --> 00:42:59,420
 Yeah, I'll let you know.

573
00:42:59,420 --> 00:43:00,200
 All right.

574
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:05,720
 You know, might even do it mid, you know, mid-show like they did those poor assholes at ESPN.

575
00:43:05,720 --> 00:43:11,160
 Only reason why I know that is because it was on the Philip DeFranco show.

576
00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:14,500
 I have, otherwise, I don't give two shits about stuff on ESPN.

577
00:43:14,500 --> 00:43:18,040
 But yeah, I mean, right in the middle of the show, I forget the guy's name.

578
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:19,660
 He'd been there like 11 years or something.

579
00:43:19,660 --> 00:43:22,080
 They were like, yeah, you're fired.

580
00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:23,920
 And he was still on the air.

581
00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:26,300
 So.

582
00:43:26,300 --> 00:43:27,740
 Good story.

583
00:43:27,740 --> 00:43:29,080
 Good story.

584
00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:30,820
 All right.

585
00:43:30,820 --> 00:43:33,180
 Well, the phone lines are still open for a little bit longer.

586
00:43:33,180 --> 00:43:35,140
 229-520-5957.

587
00:43:35,140 --> 00:43:36,320
 So, last story.

588
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:38,220
 Let's talk about Apple.

589
00:43:38,220 --> 00:43:44,760
 So, NVIDIA has been the world's most valuable publicly traded company for a long time now.

590
00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:49,040
 And Apple was at one point within this week.

591
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:58,740
 They are, again, market value of $4.94 trillion, which surpassed NVIDIA's $4.75 trillion.

592
00:43:58,740 --> 00:44:00,460
 Again, trillion.

593
00:44:00,460 --> 00:44:01,520
 My brain.

594
00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:03,900
 It just explodes.

595
00:44:03,900 --> 00:44:05,020
 I mean, yeah.

596
00:44:05,020 --> 00:44:10,160
 Analysts say investors are rewarding Apple for taking a disciplined approach.

597
00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:11,320
 I love this.

598
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:16,820
 Disciplined approach to artificial intelligence, keeping capital spending in check while competitors

599
00:44:16,820 --> 00:44:22,160
 such as Alphabet, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta invest heavily in AI infrastructure.

600
00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:28,160
 Apple's actually reduced capital expenditures over the past three quarters, a strategy many

601
00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:33,500
 investors believe will help protect profit margins while still expanding its Apple intelligence

602
00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:34,220
 features.

603
00:44:34,780 --> 00:44:41,260
 Now, side note here, I love the fact it was like we're taking a disciplined approach to

604
00:44:41,260 --> 00:44:42,360
 artificial intelligence.

605
00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:47,520
 A couple of years ago, their disciplined approach was instead of calling it artificial intelligence,

606
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:54,740
 they renamed it Apple intelligence, which unfortunately they fell flat on their damn faces because it

607
00:44:54,740 --> 00:44:56,500
 was anything but intelligent.

608
00:44:57,160 --> 00:44:58,980
 Yeah, that was, we didn't see that coming.

609
00:44:58,980 --> 00:45:01,720
 We expected higher quality from Apple.

610
00:45:01,720 --> 00:45:03,000
 We're like, yes, cool.

611
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:04,320
 And then, yeah.

612
00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:05,200
 And then.

613
00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:06,340
 Nothing.

614
00:45:06,340 --> 00:45:06,940
 Yeah.

615
00:45:06,940 --> 00:45:07,780
 Nothing.

616
00:45:07,780 --> 00:45:17,400
 I, Apple has this, they have this history of coming out with features that have already existed

617
00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:22,920
 in the other platform for a number of years, but when they come out with it, they come out

618
00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:25,400
 with it in such a way that it's never been done before.

619
00:45:25,660 --> 00:45:28,500
 Well, yeah, it's never been done before inside Apple.

620
00:45:28,500 --> 00:45:37,320
 And that's not to say that it's not typically a, a parody on par with the existing function

621
00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:39,060
 or feature on the other platform.

622
00:45:39,060 --> 00:45:44,100
 But a lot of times it is a little bit better, but Apple intelligence was not one of those.

623
00:45:44,100 --> 00:45:52,740
 Now I can say this, I am running iOS 27 beta two and Siri is, and I said her name,

624
00:45:53,740 --> 00:45:59,420
 worlds apart, better than what's in iOS 26.

625
00:45:59,420 --> 00:46:01,760
 It just is.

626
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:06,220
 And you can go online, go to YouTube, go, go to MKBHD.

627
00:46:06,220 --> 00:46:10,140
 He actually did a video and it's, I love these when he does this.

628
00:46:10,140 --> 00:46:16,980
 It's actually himself talking to himself, but it's two versions of himself about how Apple's

629
00:46:16,980 --> 00:46:25,400
 logistics makes sense that they don't necessarily have to own the AI part of it.

630
00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:32,660
 They own the hardware and that's where they're going to succeed because to make their SIRI

631
00:46:32,660 --> 00:46:36,860
 version better, it's actually using Google's Gemini.

632
00:46:36,860 --> 00:46:43,020
 They, they actually went to Google and basically said, Hey, yo bro, um, we don't really know

633
00:46:43,020 --> 00:46:44,000
 what we're doing here.

634
00:46:44,100 --> 00:46:46,520
 So can you help us out kind of thing?

635
00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:48,880
 I don't know what the fuck that accent was, but it was horrible.

636
00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:52,680
 So I'm, I'm impressed with the new version.

637
00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:54,860
 Have you tried any of the beta stuff yet?

638
00:46:54,860 --> 00:46:58,520
 Um, I've been running the beta for a long time.

639
00:46:58,620 --> 00:47:02,280
 I just, I'm, I've never developed a habit of using Siri.

640
00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:07,960
 Most of the time I use Gemini on my phone, but I have been trying it out where I would

641
00:47:07,960 --> 00:47:13,340
 just default to, you know, hitting the button or saying, Hey, her name, and then asking a

642
00:47:13,340 --> 00:47:17,340
 question and about eight out of 10 times, it'll give me what I need.

643
00:47:17,340 --> 00:47:25,280
 But if I need to do an in-depth search question or whatever, I'll either bring up the Gemini.

644
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:30,260
 I used to use chat GPT all the time, but I have discovered that Jim, the Gemini app on

645
00:47:30,260 --> 00:47:33,400
 iOS is, works really, really well.

646
00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:38,200
 I also have Claude on there, but I've noticed that Claude is, you and I use Claude code a lot,

647
00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:43,880
 but I've even noticed that the GUI side of it, where you do queries and stuff still tend

648
00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:50,080
 to be more technical in nature than just general queries that I've done that I'll typically do

649
00:47:50,080 --> 00:47:51,600
 with, uh, with Gemini.

650
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:52,640
 Yeah.

651
00:47:52,640 --> 00:48:00,260
 I, I treat the different models like, um, experts in their own field or, or, you know,

652
00:48:00,260 --> 00:48:08,000
 chat GPT is better for, uh, the softer side of Sears and Claude is, is master of the hardware

653
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:08,420
 department.

654
00:48:08,420 --> 00:48:08,860
 Yeah.

655
00:48:08,860 --> 00:48:10,100
 Yeah.

656
00:48:10,100 --> 00:48:11,140
 I agree with that.

657
00:48:11,340 --> 00:48:18,060
 So along with this, uh, Apple is now rolling out a new leasing program called Apple Upgrade,

658
00:48:18,060 --> 00:48:25,760
 which will allow us customers to lease an iPhone starting at $17.99 a month through a partnership

659
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:26,720
 with Klarna.

660
00:48:26,720 --> 00:48:33,400
 Uh, Klarna is one of these, if I remember correctly, they're one of these buy now, pay later companies,

661
00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:40,620
 which it's a sad Testament to the state of our economy that this is the way people, I

662
00:48:40,620 --> 00:48:44,300
 mean, I have heard of people having to buy groceries using these types of services, which

663
00:48:44,300 --> 00:48:45,880
 is just ridiculous.

664
00:48:46,460 --> 00:48:49,480
 you know, I think it was DoorDash that accepts now.

665
00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:50,300
 Yeah.

666
00:48:50,300 --> 00:48:51,360
 DoorDash or Grubhub.

667
00:48:51,360 --> 00:48:52,280
 One of them.

668
00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:52,580
 Yeah.

669
00:48:52,580 --> 00:48:57,060
 You can, you can literally pay a per month for a pizza.

670
00:48:57,060 --> 00:49:00,820
 That better be a hellacious pizza.

671
00:49:00,820 --> 00:49:01,500
 I mean, granted.

672
00:49:01,500 --> 00:49:07,380
 And then a couple of months after they had that announcement, there was a lot of defaulted

673
00:49:07,380 --> 00:49:11,800
 accounts after that.

674
00:49:11,800 --> 00:49:12,780
 So, yeah.

675
00:49:12,780 --> 00:49:13,740
 Yeah.

676
00:49:13,740 --> 00:49:18,540
 That's, uh, man, that's, that's just irresponsible.

677
00:49:18,540 --> 00:49:23,860
 That's what I, that's, you know, I, and I'm, I'm not downing anybody that's looking at going,

678
00:49:23,860 --> 00:49:28,980
 Hey, I can't, I can't afford, I can't afford to buy a supper.

679
00:49:28,980 --> 00:49:33,740
 So I'm, I'm going to need to parse it out with four payments over the next four weeks or

680
00:49:33,740 --> 00:49:34,120
 something.

681
00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:36,080
 I, you know, look, I understand that.

682
00:49:36,080 --> 00:49:41,280
 Maybe you shouldn't buy a pizza, but then again, I'm not going to shame anybody for that

683
00:49:41,280 --> 00:49:47,720
 because sometimes that might be the only way you can, you can feed your family is, you

684
00:49:47,720 --> 00:49:52,700
 know, I don't know, a $10 pizza from Domino's or something, or buy two of them for 20 bucks.

685
00:49:52,700 --> 00:49:53,580
 Yeah.

686
00:49:53,580 --> 00:49:57,020
 No, well not through DoorDash because it's going to cost you $43.

687
00:49:57,020 --> 00:49:58,500
 Yeah, that's true.

688
00:49:58,500 --> 00:49:59,080
 That's true.

689
00:49:59,080 --> 00:50:01,880
 I mean, we even take advantage.

690
00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:06,060
 We primarily 99.9%.

691
00:50:06,060 --> 00:50:13,480
 Uh, if it's, if it's, um, pizza from, from a pizza, pizzeria, if you will, like that, it's

692
00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:14,800
 always Domino's for us.

693
00:50:14,800 --> 00:50:16,360
 They don't deliver to us out here.

694
00:50:16,460 --> 00:50:21,760
 So we always take advantage of their standard $7.99, single topping, two topping or whatever.

695
00:50:21,760 --> 00:50:27,440
 But when they do the unlimited toppings for $9.99 large, that's what we did last time.

696
00:50:27,440 --> 00:50:34,840
 And I dropped $60 on pizzas and wings because in our family, even when we have four of us

697
00:50:34,840 --> 00:50:38,820
 here, you know, that's that we we've calculated it out.

698
00:50:38,820 --> 00:50:40,800
 It's only a few bucks per meal.

699
00:50:40,800 --> 00:50:45,720
 So we'll eat on pizza for like two or three days, but I only do that about once every two

700
00:50:45,720 --> 00:50:48,520
 months because of the fact that it costs so much.

701
00:50:48,520 --> 00:50:54,220
 And I wait on their deals like that, but I can't imagine, you know, $65.

702
00:50:54,220 --> 00:50:58,120
 And then I'm like, yeah, I'm going to pay for this over four payments.

703
00:50:58,120 --> 00:50:59,320
 What?

704
00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:00,140
 Okay.

705
00:51:00,140 --> 00:51:00,620
 Yeah.

706
00:51:00,620 --> 00:51:03,420
 You could take one of those four payments and go to the grocery store.

707
00:51:03,420 --> 00:51:04,600
 Yeah, that's true.

708
00:51:04,840 --> 00:51:05,380
 That's true.

709
00:51:05,380 --> 00:51:06,320
 I mean, I can buy-

710
00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:07,260
 Unless you live where we live.

711
00:51:07,260 --> 00:51:09,720
 We can't walk to the grocery store.

712
00:51:09,720 --> 00:51:13,220
 No, we've got to spend $2 in gas to get to the grocery store.

713
00:51:13,220 --> 00:51:15,220
 So I don't know.

714
00:51:15,220 --> 00:51:15,580
 Let's see.

715
00:51:15,580 --> 00:51:20,000
 It's $3.89 a gallon last time I filled up the Explorer.

716
00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:21,960
 So diesel's $5.

717
00:51:21,960 --> 00:51:26,400
 Again, it had gotten below that, right?

718
00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:28,880
 I think it went towards 4.20.

719
00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:34,060
 It didn't get below four, but I've been driving a lot less lately.

720
00:51:34,060 --> 00:51:37,120
 Probably out of necessity.

721
00:51:37,120 --> 00:51:39,120
 Yeah.

722
00:51:39,120 --> 00:51:42,040
 I just don't want to go anywhere.

723
00:51:42,040 --> 00:51:43,340
 Well, there's that.

724
00:51:43,340 --> 00:51:46,240
 And I try to group my travel together.

725
00:51:46,240 --> 00:51:51,140
 It's like, okay, you know, if I need to go see a client, I'm like, can I group these where

726
00:51:51,140 --> 00:51:51,960
 I need to see them?

727
00:51:51,960 --> 00:51:53,880
 I need to take care of this and I need to do that.

728
00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:55,140
 Oh yeah.

729
00:51:55,140 --> 00:51:58,180
 I don't go to town for just one thing, unless it's an emergency.

730
00:51:58,180 --> 00:52:01,260
 It's like Monday, we went to a client.

731
00:52:01,260 --> 00:52:02,460
 I took my daughter with me.

732
00:52:02,460 --> 00:52:10,480
 Then we left there and I had to go to Walgreens to drop off my phone to return it so I can get

733
00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:12,120
 my $560 back.

734
00:52:12,900 --> 00:52:17,060
 And I think there was one other place we had to go by and then came home.

735
00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:21,620
 So I made it a circuit to do that.

736
00:52:21,620 --> 00:52:22,060
 Yeah.

737
00:52:22,720 --> 00:52:28,120
 But yeah, the program offers one and two year leases for iPhones, similar options for

738
00:52:28,120 --> 00:52:30,960
 Apple Watches, Macs, and iPads.

739
00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:35,020
 Customers can return the device, purchase it, or upgrade to a new remodel when the lease

740
00:52:35,020 --> 00:52:35,300
 ends.

741
00:52:35,300 --> 00:52:36,800
 Sounds just like leasing a vehicle.

742
00:52:37,360 --> 00:52:42,680
 I mean, I can see the allure of $18 a month and you always have a new phone.

743
00:52:42,680 --> 00:52:51,620
 So, I mean, it's like double the insurance coverage, accidental coverage cost.

744
00:52:51,620 --> 00:52:58,680
 But the thing is, they say starting at $17.99, deeper into the article, which is not in this

745
00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:03,560
 summary, and the phone that I have right now would run like $45 a month.

746
00:53:03,560 --> 00:53:10,400
 I have a 17 Pro Max, I have 256 gigs of storage, so I didn't go, because I have discovered over

747
00:53:10,400 --> 00:53:15,720
 the years of owning iPhones, I don't use 256 gigs of storage on my phone.

748
00:53:15,720 --> 00:53:18,320
 I look at it now, I think I've used 100 and something.

749
00:53:18,320 --> 00:53:24,800
 And that's with the number of photos and videos that I take, which is probably lower than a lot

750
00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:25,080
 of people.

751
00:53:25,080 --> 00:53:29,420
 I've got a friend that's got a terabyte version of it, and he runs out of space.

752
00:53:29,420 --> 00:53:31,640
 I'm like, what are you doing with your life?

753
00:53:31,640 --> 00:53:33,320
 Why do you need that much space on a smartphone?

754
00:53:33,560 --> 00:53:35,180
 Because he doesn't want to buy a video camera.

755
00:53:35,180 --> 00:53:37,620
 I guess.

756
00:53:37,620 --> 00:53:39,600
 I mean, quite honestly, who needs to?

757
00:53:39,600 --> 00:53:42,360
 The cameras on these things are so phenomenal.

758
00:53:42,360 --> 00:53:46,040
 I mean, they're shooting entire movies on iPhones now, so.

759
00:53:46,040 --> 00:53:46,820
 Yeah.

760
00:53:46,820 --> 00:53:52,320
 But yeah, they say the new program will replace its existing iPhone upgrade program in the

761
00:53:52,320 --> 00:53:53,140
 United States.

762
00:53:53,140 --> 00:53:57,480
 And the thing is, when it comes to Apple products, for me personally, I have an Apple

763
00:53:57,480 --> 00:54:05,400
 card, so unfortunately, I cannot do this with iPhones anymore because they changed it, but

764
00:54:05,400 --> 00:54:06,900
 I work around it.

765
00:54:06,900 --> 00:54:13,220
 Years ago, you could buy an iPhone and pay for it over 12 months interest-free.

766
00:54:13,220 --> 00:54:18,760
 Now they require you to be connected to a cell phone company.

767
00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:23,300
 And unfortunately, of the list of cell phone companies that they give you.

768
00:54:23,300 --> 00:54:23,840
 Visible's not one?

769
00:54:23,840 --> 00:54:25,160
 Visible's not one of them.

770
00:54:25,160 --> 00:54:29,320
 So I have to buy my phone outright.

771
00:54:29,320 --> 00:54:32,460
 And so, like I say, I have to work around that.

772
00:54:32,460 --> 00:54:39,200
 But I still like, I'm still looking at potentially upgrading my laptop or getting a Mac mini.

773
00:54:39,440 --> 00:54:45,960
 I don't know, but it will be on that card interest-free over 12 to 24 months.

774
00:54:45,960 --> 00:54:51,000
 That's how I bought the current MacBook Air that I have, which is a 2022 model, which even

775
00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:53,840
 four years later still kicks ass.

776
00:54:53,840 --> 00:55:01,000
 I really don't have a valid reason to upgrade it unless I want a larger screen because that's

777
00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:04,700
 what I'm looking at is this is one of the smaller screens and I'm getting older and I can't

778
00:55:04,700 --> 00:55:05,800
 see shit anymore.

779
00:55:07,480 --> 00:55:13,380
 But this announcement comes as Apple prepares for expected product price increases driven

780
00:55:13,380 --> 00:55:17,640
 by rising component costs as investors await the company's quarterly earnings report, which

781
00:55:17,640 --> 00:55:22,480
 that right there, as I notated in our comments, is the reason why I went ahead and took the

782
00:55:22,480 --> 00:55:27,880
 leap and upgraded to the 17 Pro Max, even though the 18s are coming out in less, probably in

783
00:55:27,880 --> 00:55:28,860
 a month, month and a half.

784
00:55:28,860 --> 00:55:30,360
 But...

785
00:55:30,360 --> 00:55:37,180
 Oh, well, it also says right there the reason they are raising prices for the consumer.

786
00:55:37,480 --> 00:55:42,340
 investors await the company's quarterly earnings report.

787
00:55:42,340 --> 00:55:43,280
 Yeah.

788
00:55:43,280 --> 00:55:52,340
 So can they just eat the extra cost and provide a less expensive phone that we don't have to lease

789
00:55:52,340 --> 00:55:53,060
 monthly?

790
00:55:53,060 --> 00:55:58,080
 I mean, can they come out with a phone like they came out with a MacBook Neo?

791
00:55:58,080 --> 00:56:05,820
 You know, a lower end device that still gets the job done and still gets the job done fairly

792
00:56:05,820 --> 00:56:06,440
 decently.

793
00:56:06,440 --> 00:56:07,780
 Even though...

794
00:56:07,780 --> 00:56:08,620
 Yeah, a phone my dad would use.

795
00:56:08,620 --> 00:56:09,340
 Yeah.

796
00:56:09,340 --> 00:56:10,120
 Yeah.

797
00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:14,800
 Even though they went up 20% on all their other product lines.

798
00:56:14,800 --> 00:56:18,680
 I mean, the Neo started out at $599 and $699.

799
00:56:18,680 --> 00:56:22,240
 Now, it starts at $699 and $799.

800
00:56:22,240 --> 00:56:28,380
 The MacBook Pro that I was looking at went up by $500.

801
00:56:28,380 --> 00:56:35,400
 So, you know, that was a deciding factor for me not to pull the trigger at that point because

802
00:56:35,400 --> 00:56:37,480
 I kept debating, debating, debating, debating.

803
00:56:37,480 --> 00:56:42,100
 And so after that happened, and then I saw that they were raising the iPhone prices in

804
00:56:42,100 --> 00:56:46,720
 Japan and other countries, but they had not done it yet in the United States, but potentially

805
00:56:46,720 --> 00:56:49,980
 were going to even before the 18 came out.

806
00:56:49,980 --> 00:56:54,480
 That's the reason why I did what I did and upgraded my phone because I won't need another

807
00:56:54,480 --> 00:56:55,480
 phone for...

808
00:56:55,480 --> 00:56:59,860
 I think they say the average upgrade cycle now is four years.

809
00:56:59,860 --> 00:57:04,800
 People are keeping their phones for up to four years before they actually look at trading

810
00:57:04,800 --> 00:57:05,840
 them in and upgrading.

811
00:57:06,120 --> 00:57:12,040
 And so that's essentially four new phones because they come out with a new phone practically

812
00:57:12,040 --> 00:57:12,860
 every year now.

813
00:57:12,860 --> 00:57:13,740
 They do.

814
00:57:13,740 --> 00:57:18,500
 So now they're looking at, okay, now you can do it for every two years.

815
00:57:18,500 --> 00:57:19,900
 We'll just keep you on the hook.

816
00:57:19,900 --> 00:57:25,060
 Look, from a business standpoint, this kind of makes sense because we're all looking for

817
00:57:25,060 --> 00:57:25,680
 cash flow.

818
00:57:25,680 --> 00:57:27,840
 We're all looking for residual income.

819
00:57:27,840 --> 00:57:34,300
 That's the reason why everything is a God-blessed subscription now, but not everything needs to

820
00:57:34,300 --> 00:57:35,000
 be a subscription.

821
00:57:35,600 --> 00:57:39,240
 Not everything needs to be where I pay so much per month.

822
00:57:39,240 --> 00:57:43,740
 Just, I mean, this is like what we used to do when we would actually get our phones on

823
00:57:43,740 --> 00:57:45,780
 contract from the cell phone companies.

824
00:57:45,780 --> 00:57:51,060
 You know, your cell phone service would be 50 or $60, but you had a hardware fee of anywhere

825
00:57:51,060 --> 00:57:54,980
 from 35 to 45 or $50, depending on which phone you got.

826
00:57:54,980 --> 00:58:00,640
 And you could not get out of the contract unless you paid off the phone, which is what we all

827
00:58:00,640 --> 00:58:00,900
 did.

828
00:58:00,900 --> 00:58:08,460
 We paid off all of our phones when we moved to visible because I pulled out the abacus, aka

829
00:58:08,460 --> 00:58:15,520
 the spreadsheet, and did the calculations of how much it was going to cost me for the remainder

830
00:58:15,520 --> 00:58:22,760
 of the months versus the savings that I would get by switching over to visible and what I'd

831
00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:24,840
 have to come out of pocket to pay off the phone.

832
00:58:24,840 --> 00:58:30,780
 And it made more sense to actually pay the phones off and move over to visible than it

833
00:58:30,780 --> 00:58:35,420
 was to continue to pay another 12 or 14 months with Verizon.

834
00:58:35,660 --> 00:58:42,360
 So the analysts believe the leasing program can make higher price devices easier for consumers

835
00:58:42,360 --> 00:58:47,660
 to afford by emphasizing lower monthly payments instead of upfront costs, while also encouraging

836
00:58:47,660 --> 00:58:48,800
 more frequent upgrades.

837
00:58:48,800 --> 00:58:54,880
 And the earnings call will also mark Tim Cook's final quarterly report as CEO before he transitions

838
00:58:54,880 --> 00:59:00,340
 to executive chairman with long-term hardware executive John Ternus taking over as Apple's next

839
00:59:00,340 --> 00:59:04,760
 chief executive, which is going to be interesting to see what John does with the company.

840
00:59:05,360 --> 00:59:05,700
 I don't know.

841
00:59:05,700 --> 00:59:09,940
 Is he going to add another couple of trillion dollars during his tenure?

842
00:59:09,940 --> 00:59:11,760
 You mean like Cook did?

843
00:59:11,760 --> 00:59:13,580
 Yeah.

844
00:59:13,580 --> 00:59:19,020
 I think they're just waiting on five trillion and then Tim can step down.

845
00:59:19,020 --> 00:59:19,460
 Yeah.

846
00:59:19,460 --> 00:59:20,840
 Yeah, that's it.

847
00:59:20,840 --> 00:59:21,380
 Almost there.

848
00:59:21,380 --> 00:59:22,340
 Almost there.

849
00:59:22,340 --> 00:59:23,360
 Almost there.

850
00:59:23,360 --> 00:59:32,420
 Well, fortunately, I find myself still in the position that I would not necessarily need to

851
00:59:32,420 --> 00:59:33,020
 do this.

852
00:59:33,020 --> 00:59:38,180
 And, you know, I'm I'm not one that likes to shit on people when they can't be fiscally

853
00:59:38,180 --> 00:59:38,760
 responsible.

854
00:59:38,760 --> 00:59:40,100
 They can't manage budgets.

855
00:59:40,100 --> 00:59:47,160
 I mean, God knows I've had my my years where I've made some really stupid decisions on what

856
00:59:47,160 --> 00:59:50,540
 I spent money on, how much I spent and things like that.

857
00:59:50,540 --> 00:59:58,920
 But again, this this is very telling of where we are as a society here in the United States

858
00:59:58,920 --> 01:00:08,240
 when we literally are having to finance our a phone, a device that you pretty much can't

859
01:00:08,240 --> 01:00:12,160
 get by with not having one in modern society.

860
01:00:12,160 --> 01:00:15,720
 Now, you know, you just it's almost a given you don't have a phone.

861
01:00:15,720 --> 01:00:17,760
 You're almost shunned now if you don't have a phone.

862
01:00:17,900 --> 01:00:20,140
 And look, it's like not having a bank account.

863
01:00:20,140 --> 01:00:21,120
 Exactly.

864
01:00:21,120 --> 01:00:21,820
 Exactly.

865
01:00:21,820 --> 01:00:24,260
 I mean, get a flip phone.

866
01:00:24,260 --> 01:00:26,600
 You can get you can get those for 60 bucks.

867
01:00:26,600 --> 01:00:28,300
 I mean, just something.

868
01:00:28,300 --> 01:00:28,920
 But anyway.

869
01:00:28,920 --> 01:00:29,600
 All right.

870
01:00:29,600 --> 01:00:31,400
 Well, that's it for today's show.

871
01:00:31,400 --> 01:00:38,140
 I appreciate everybody that's not listening live, but phone lines are closed.

872
01:00:39,240 --> 01:00:43,160
 But as I said, you can text that number 24 7 365.

873
01:00:43,160 --> 01:00:49,260
 Let us know if you have any comments or questions or what have you about anything we covered in

874
01:00:49,260 --> 01:00:49,960
 today's show.

875
01:00:49,960 --> 01:00:55,540
 Or you can send us an email morning drip at WRTO dot FM.

876
01:00:55,540 --> 01:01:01,960
 Again, that's morning morning drip, not the morning drip, but morning drip at WRTO dot FM.

877
01:01:01,960 --> 01:01:09,220
 I do make this show into a podcast, usually within the hour after we are done recording.

878
01:01:09,240 --> 01:01:10,260
 and broadcasting it.

879
01:01:10,260 --> 01:01:16,560
 So go over to morning drip dot show to get this episode and all the previous episodes.

880
01:01:16,560 --> 01:01:18,580
 They're up for free for 14 days.

881
01:01:18,580 --> 01:01:21,840
 And then it's just $7 a month if you want the back catalog.

882
01:01:21,840 --> 01:01:25,060
 So that's it for today.

883
01:01:25,060 --> 01:01:29,200
 Remember, it's going to be up to 111 degrees on the real feel.

884
01:01:29,200 --> 01:01:34,000
 When I walked out here at seven o'clock, it was already 80 degrees with a real feel of

885
01:01:34,000 --> 01:01:35,820
 91.

886
01:01:35,820 --> 01:01:38,520
 So it's going to be a rough one.

887
01:01:38,520 --> 01:01:43,700
 And you got to be careful because heat stroke ain't no joke.

888
01:01:43,700 --> 01:01:46,760
 And just overheating without a heat stroke ain't no joke.

889
01:01:46,760 --> 01:01:51,840
 It'll I have felt the effects of some of the stuff that we've been doing around the house

890
01:01:51,840 --> 01:01:53,680
 on Fridays and Saturdays.

891
01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:54,640
 So take care of yourselves.

892
01:01:55,740 --> 01:01:57,780
 And any words of wisdom, Mike B?

893
01:01:57,780 --> 01:02:00,660
 Um, you got three.

894
01:02:00,660 --> 01:02:04,160
 Like, comment, subscribe.

895
01:02:04,160 --> 01:02:06,660
 All right, everybody.

896
01:02:06,660 --> 01:02:08,180
 That'll be it.

897
01:02:08,180 --> 01:02:09,080
 We'll see you in the morning.

898
01:02:09,080 --> 01:02:10,280
 Good morning.