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life comes at you fast most of it is just smoke and mirrors we're here to clear the air whether

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it's the can't make this up moments or the hard truths hitting our streets in our state

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we're finding the signal and all that noise no spin no nonsense just the facts the fallout

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and a little bit of humor. Grab your coffee. It's time for The Morning Drip on WRTO.FM, Radio Free Georgia.

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Hey, everybody. Welcome to The Morning Drip for Thursday, August 13th, 2026. It's me, Grady D.,

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along with Mike B., here with you this morning. Word. Oh, I call in number. Phone lines are open,

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229-520-5957

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or you can text 247-365

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same number

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229-520-5957

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or shoot us an email

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morningdrip at wrto.fm

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so as we normally like to do

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on a Thursday

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try to go with

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maybe some

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I hate to say lighter shows

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lighter topics

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but

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we try to stare away from

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the politics and all the BS that's, you know, we're inundated with almost constantly. I mean,

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if you watch any news, you watch any, anything on YouTube. I mean, I watch Philip DeFranco

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religiously Monday through Thursday, but you know, you want your daily dose of BS

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and what's going on in the world. You watch stuff like that, but yeah, we, we try to keep

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it a little bit of light. That doesn't mean that we're not going to talk about some important

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things. But, you know, we're we won't necessarily talk about what Trump's doing or not doing. And

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we'll even steer away from flat cameras today. How about that?

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Also on this day in 1921, Governor Thomas Hardwick signed the act granting Georgia women

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the right to vote. And also on this day in 1942, Colonel James C. Marshall, who led the Army Corps

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of Engineers, Syracuse, New York District, set up the Manhattan Engineer District in New York City.

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It's more commonly known as the Manhattan Project that created the first atomic bomb

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at Los Alamos, New Mexico. You know, it boggles my mind, and I guess it shouldn't,

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but it boggles my mind that there was a time in this country when women couldn't vote. I just,

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i can't wrap my head around it but it was a different time so yeah it was and there are

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people today that believe that they still shouldn't vote but you know that's well they'll be dead soon

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yeah they will probably at the hands of a woman if they're if they're old enough to

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to think that women shouldn't vote they're pretty old no that's the problem a lot of these [bleep]

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or just Gen Xers or millennials.

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It's wild, man.

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It's wild.

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Oh, so like proper adults?

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Yeah, proper adults

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that you would think should know better,

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but instead they think that

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the 19th Amendment should be repealed.

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I think that's the right one.

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And the man is the head of the household,

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so he makes all the decisions.

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Funny, not that I want to veer into politics, but it just occurred to me.

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So I mentioned Philip DeFranco, right?

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So his wife, Lindsay, is running for a seat up in North Georgia where they live.

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I forget what district it is, but it's a pretty good size district.

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And one of the things that she said, I saw a video on Instagram,

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and she was talking about how she was canvassing, and she's doing the right thing.

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She wants to have conversations with people, you know, even if they don't vote for her.

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She wants to find out what it is that matters to them and that forms how they vote, which I think is good because we're all I say we're all guilty in a general sense of sometimes it's it's an us against them.

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And there are times when that is that is accurate and needed.

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But the funny thing was that she was talking to women and she's like, I don't know how to overcome this.

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And the this that she was talking about was that when she would talk to another woman and she was like, yeah, well, normally my husband tells me who to vote for.

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So let me talk to him.

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And she was just dumbfounded.

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She's like, how do I get past this?

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How do I reach these people?

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And I'm like, I don't know, man.

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I know.

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How?

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Talk to her husband.

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I mean, fair, fair.

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If she wants to know what people like, what people want, just talk to everybody.

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That's true.

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But shouldn't put two people against another.

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No, no, no, no.

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And I'm not saying she's not doing that, but it's just the fact that she's running up against.

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And I don't know how rampant this is, but she's running up against the fact that there are women in this country that base their voting decisions on what their husband.

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tell them, either the information that they share or at the direction of their husband.

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You're, you know, husband says you're going to vote for so-and-so and the wife's like,

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okay.

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I'm like, okay.

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I mean, my wife doesn't vote.

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She hasn't voted since we moved to Tifton in 2006.

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So, you know, I, I can't throw stones, but I would never tell her who she should vote

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for i will answer questions that she may have if she you know wants to know something about a

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particular candidate or something like that but well i told my wife who to vote for and that's

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because she asked that's she's like i don't know i don't know i don't care who i vote for yeah see

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that's different that's different so well she she depends on me to to reduce her anxiety and

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making decisions. So that was just one of them. I mean, isn't that what husbands are for, right?

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Every day is a school day. It is. It is. So that's going to roll us into, I was, I'm curious

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what you think about this first story. Why does everything feel so joyless? Welcome to the age of

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decadence without pleasure. This is an article over at The Guardian, and it goes on to say that

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modern life offers an endless supply of entertainment, convenience, digital distractions,

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yet many people feel less joy and more emotionally empty than ever before.

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Some cultural critics describe this as, quote, decadence without pleasure, arguing that society

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has embraced the appearance of luxury, excess, and technology, but they're losing the deeper

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satisfaction that comes with genuine human experiences. And rather than enjoying life

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for its own sake, many people are encouraged to constantly optimize themselves through biohacking

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and beauty standards, artificial intelligence, social media, and productivity, turning the

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pleasure into another goal to be measured and managed instead of just, you know, simply

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experiencing it.

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The concept contrasts today's culture with the late 19th century decadent movement, whose

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artists believed beauty and art and pleasure should be valued simply because they enrich

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life and contrast modern technologies, artificial intelligence, algorithm-driven social media,

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And even weight loss drugs like GLP-1 medications, they're presented as encouraging efficiency, optimization, and endless stimulation rather than genuine fulfillment.

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And the result, according to this perspective, is a society that is constantly connected and entertained, yet increasingly bored, isolated, and emotionally numb.

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I think I can resonate with that emotionally numb part.

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Yeah.

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The central message is not to reject technology, but to reclaim real embodied pleasures by taking time to appreciate art, nature, food, music, conversation and everyday experiences simply because they bring joy.

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And rather than trying to optimize every aspect of your life, the argument is that our limited time is better spent fully experiencing the moments that make life meaningful.

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I think you can also connect this either directly or adjacently to the lack of third places that we've talked about before.

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Yeah.

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And this is one of those squishy topics to me because you have to get in touch with your feelings and, you know, really do an introspection of yourself, I guess.

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Because like I said, the emotionally numb part, the being bored part, and I always caution myself on saying I'm bored because the universe has a way of going, really?

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Oh.

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Hold my beer.

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We can, you know, tomorrow's Friday.

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We can arrange for some fiber to be cut.

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Exactly.

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Exactly.

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I made that mistake.

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You really want something to do.

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I made that mistake back at CityNet going, well, I'm kind of bored.

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And I swear for the next four days, everything that could possibly fall apart started falling apart.

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And the guys looked at me and said, don't you ever utter that word again.

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I'm like, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry.

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But, and I, you know, I've got to admit, I find the joy that I actually find, and this is probably not healthy, but this also goes toward undiagnosed ADD or ADHD, but I find the joy in doing the artificial intelligence stuff, you know, creating these projects and working on them and seeing, you know, these ideas that I know that I personally do not have the skill set to sit down and hammer out the code.

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But that I can be a director that has essentially a pseudo team of software developers at my disposal and just go, here, this is what I'm thinking and work through all the process.

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And I mean, it's short lived, but.

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Well, I mean, some folks are using AI to try to make an attachment.

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You know, they're not using it to construct things like we are.

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mm-hmm they're not using it as a as a tool they're they're leaning on it oh yeah like the ones that

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use it uh for as they have a relationship with it is what you're saying yeah i mean there's uh

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the ai girlfriends and whatnot but i mean just somebody in chat gpt they're just spilling their

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guts and um you know basically nobody's responding they're hearing stuff but it's

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just all in context and um that kind of ruins it you know you're supposed to do that with people

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yeah and the problem with the ais is they're always they're always so accommodating you know

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they're yes men they are they really are absolutely right yeah yeah you're absolutely

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right to feel that way and you you definitely should go kill your significant other and here's

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how links resources yeah let me farm chat gpt's let me farm it over to gemini so that i can be

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taken out of this equation and i can't be found at fault for you murdering your wife

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i think it would actually turn that over to grok that's true that's true it would be grok

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grok's crazy one because grok could be like really okay yes let's go um well i'm sorry you

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feel that way, but I guess we can do that. Yeah. I guess we can do that. Uh, how, how messy do you

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want it? Uh, how, how easy to hide do you want it? Uh, do you want me to provide you with resources

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on, on disposal of bodies? I'm like, really? Not look for a clarity. I've never, I've never

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questioned or asked an AI any of this because I'm, I'm not, I don't need to murder my wife or

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anybody okay i might have some clients that i felt that way before but that's a joke everybody

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not really but anyway yeah that is kind of sad um and i think it could be definitely connected to

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this everybody's looking for connection and yeah but they don't want to talk to anybody

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like i mean i i don't have that many friends like you and i hang out yeah and that's about it

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same as my my people here in the house and then it was you yeah and every once in a while i go

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golfing with a friend like maybe once a quarter yeah i mean i got rid of the golf club set that i

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had because i the the one time that i went i went with a friend and co-worker and we didn't actually

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play golf we went to the driving range and um and it was his golf clubs at the time so and he wound

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of giving them to me later, but, and I mean, I had fun, but that was 20 years ago. I was sore for two

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days, but that was a lot of fun. Just taking out my frustrations and hitting that ball and something

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I'd never done. And, you know, he was, he was good company. He was good friend. And, uh, but I guess

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that was like a one and done for me and I never did it again. And then he, he wound up giving me

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the golf clubs. And honestly, I can't remember what I did with them. I tried to give them to

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somebody. I can't remember if I gave them to somebody or, or if it was one through, through

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one of our massive cleanings where we brought in a, a roll-off container and I just threw the

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damn things away. I don't know. Cause I did ask another friend that is, is a golfer. I sent him

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pictures of them and I said, are these really worth anything? He goes, eh, those are entry level.

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I was like, okay. But yeah, I'm right. I'm right there with you. I hang out with you. Like we do

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this we chat basically on and off all day working on projects or you know sharing information and

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that kind of stuff um i got one friend up in kentucky that you know we might talk since he's

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not with us on podcast anymore might talk to him about once every two weeks or something yeah

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so and and that's a thing that i've i've tried to my wife is is somewhat suffering from too is

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lack of friends. And I pointed out to her the other day because when you go to a job, you and

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I have a job, we have a business, but we are the business and we work out of our homes.

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But when you go to a job, you have co-workers and you develop relationships with those co-workers.

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I mean, for the longest time, my best friend was someone who worked for me and we had a lot of

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shared interest. And I had a best friend and I had a really good friend there. And we all played

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World of Warcraft and all of that. Well, not being there since 2012, those friendships started

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suffering. And one of those friends I haven't actually spoken to in five years. The other one

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I spoke to earlier this year or latter part of last year. And my wife is seeing that too. She's

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like she used to communicate with these people that, that she classified as really good friends,

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but now occasionally, you know, they'll pop up in their Facebook chat or whatever.

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And for the most part, it's only when they need something, like they have a question that they

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know she can answer, but that, that camaraderie that you would have where you're working together

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and maybe talking about each other's lives, that part's now missing. Yeah.

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nobody well one one person uh my golf buddy uh texts me every once in a while just how are you

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and he's the only one

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you know everybody else who calls need something yeah if i don't see you if i don't see you in our

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discord chat for like a day i'm like dude everything all right yeah

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yeah so um i think it's for for me it's not the lack of people i mean there are people around

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it's it's um intellectually lonely yeah i can't there's nobody i can actually have a conversation

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with who's not going to bring up something that's just [bleep] crazy um it's i don't know

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it's like everywhere you everywhere you go somebody worships trump or they believe in the

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Flat Earth or something off the wall.

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Exactly.

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Bill Gates bought up a bunch of land and he's going to control the food industry.

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And I was like, oh, come on.

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Oh, don't forget the nanites or whatever and the 5G and the COVID vaccines and all that kind of crazy nonsense.

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Oh, yeah.

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I couldn't name all of the stupid theories.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, no.

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Contrails.

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Yeah.

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I mean, chemtrails.

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Yeah.

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I'm right.

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I'm right there with you.

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I'm right there with you. It's so difficult. I, you know, we, we contemplated moving at some

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point. I do it every day. And I'm like, but you know, and now I've got, I've got one of my wayward

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sons moving back here because at one point we were actually looking at, you know, could we pull it

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off? How would we do it? What would, what would I do for an income? You know, could we move to

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Washington state or maybe Oregon or something like that? And unfortunately I did not win the

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one billion dollar Powerball last night. So I'm stuck in South Central Georgia for the foreseeable

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00:18:35,620 --> 00:18:41,820
future. But every time I look at trying to, you know, what would life be like to move to another

211
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state? You know, I've even looked at Wyoming and places like that. You know, do I want to get out

212
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there on some really flat land where there's a bunch of cows and that kind of thing? It's pretty

213
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windy yeah yeah and you you know they do have tornadoes and things like that and of course

214
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tornado alleys kind of shifted a little bit but but every time i look at that i come back and and

215
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i believe it or not i see the good aspects of living in south central georgia we'll never be

216
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the target of a terrorist attack i don't think we will be though that doesn't form my decision

217
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on where i want to live quite honestly but like we were we were incredibly lucky during the pandemic

218
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yeah we weren't stuck in an apartment in a city true um yeah we had a good time yeah i had a good

219
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time i couldn't comparatively i mean honestly i i kind of did too but i've been overindulged

220
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:51,380
unfortunately it was too easy three o'clock on a tuesday afternoon yeah i'm cracking open a beer

221
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because I'm not going anywhere

222
00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,100
and I can do everything I need to do remotely,

223
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but that's not healthy.

224
00:19:56,380 --> 00:19:57,660
It's not healthy at all.

225
00:19:57,660 --> 00:19:59,300
I wouldn't move to Florida.

226
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No, I wouldn't.

227
00:20:00,580 --> 00:20:02,160
I mean, every time you turn around.

228
00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:05,120
South Carolina's off of the table too.

229
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:05,540
Really?

230
00:20:05,540 --> 00:20:06,720
Mm-hmm.

231
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:08,200
Any particular reason?

232
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I mean, I'm legitimately asking.

233
00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,580
I mean, you take a look at I-95

234
00:20:13,580 --> 00:20:15,000
all the way through the state

235
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over the last 15 years.

236
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Yeah.

237
00:20:17,020 --> 00:20:20,480
They clearly don't know what to do with their money

238
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or they don't have any.

239
00:20:21,380 --> 00:20:26,480
because it's been a parking lot for the past 15 or 20 years.

240
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,080
Oh, so it's difficult to get through.

241
00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,040
Well, it's just the attitude.

242
00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,580
They're not keen to improve anything.

243
00:20:35,580 --> 00:20:37,580
I got you.

244
00:20:37,580 --> 00:20:38,520
What about North Carolina?

245
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:39,900
Oh, yeah, North Carolina is great.

246
00:20:39,900 --> 00:20:43,380
The Raleigh-Carrie area, the Research Triangle.

247
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Lots of beer up there, mountains.

248
00:20:46,900 --> 00:20:49,040
Asheville is a pretty cool town.

249
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They have beaches.

250
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:57,340
know yeah i used to have a friend that lived in nashville there's there's snow and skiing in the

251
00:20:57,340 --> 00:21:05,400
in the western part of the state yeah he actually he was he was the one that that um that put

252
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:10,680
everything together about how much the uh the cable broadband department was worth and how much

253
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:16,620
it could be sold for and all of that and he lived in nashville and uh the last time i i think i

254
00:21:16,620 --> 00:21:23,800
chatted with him he had moved to i want to say illinois or somewhere like that to be closer to

255
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:31,060
his grandkids and i'm like well that's a contrast but okay yeah but he did talk about the time

256
00:21:31,060 --> 00:21:36,600
because his house was positioned in such a way that his driveway had such an incline

257
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:41,100
so whenever they would have inclement weather like if it got icy or whatever

258
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it was a, it was somewhat dangerous trying to get in and out of his house.

259
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:50,260
I'm like, yeah, that, I wouldn't want to live where you're living.

260
00:21:50,260 --> 00:21:56,980
But yeah, I mean, I look, I look around, you know, we, we owned, did own property in Ben Hill

261
00:21:56,980 --> 00:22:03,140
County and I sold it in 2023. But at one point I was legitimately looking at, as I got closer to

262
00:22:03,140 --> 00:22:09,680
retirement age, would I want to, you know, sell this place and just build something over there?

263
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:13,080
Of course, that's off the table now because I sold it, but I don't know.

264
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:18,320
I'm thinking where we are going to be until I no longer breathe.

265
00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,700
I don't think I'm going to be able to go anywhere.

266
00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:23,820
Well, maybe not move, but you can go have experience.

267
00:22:23,820 --> 00:22:25,260
Well, that's true.

268
00:22:25,260 --> 00:22:25,960
That's true.

269
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:31,160
We actually saw a video the other day.

270
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,440
You ever heard of Jungle Gyms in Ohio?

271
00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:36,780
Maybe.

272
00:22:37,200 --> 00:23:03,060
So it's a, it's like a Walmart, but it's a, he's got, I think he's got two locations now, but you would need to look it up. But this, the guy who owns it and runs it, his name is, is Jim something or another. I can't remember. They call him Jungle Jim. And the store is so unique because there's a bunch, I mean, you, things that you would not normally find, you can find in there.

273
00:23:03,740 --> 00:23:10,020
each, they've got animatronics everywhere. Each department, the way he set it up, I mean,

274
00:23:10,020 --> 00:23:19,020
it's almost like going to some kind of fun house. And you, each department, the department heads

275
00:23:19,020 --> 00:23:22,700
are basically tasked with running their departments like independent businesses.

276
00:23:22,700 --> 00:23:27,860
And his attitude, whenever we saw the video, my wife was like, I love this guy because his

277
00:23:27,860 --> 00:23:34,760
attitude is that he bought a monorail, a monorail that wasn't working and had it brought over to the

278
00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:41,100
place and put a couple of million dollars into it. And the guy interviewing me is like, why? He goes,

279
00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:45,920
because I wanted it. He's like, I don't, I don't keep up with what I'm spending. He said,

280
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:55,180
I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just having fun. And I'm like, okay. But after that, my wife

281
00:23:55,180 --> 00:24:00,600
was like, we got to go visit. I'm like, I looked it up and I said, well, that's a 13 hour drive

282
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:05,580
because she doesn't fly. And she's like, you can sit in your office for 13 hours.

283
00:24:05,580 --> 00:24:12,820
Yeah. Well, she said, she said, well, that'd be a road trip. You know, it'd be fun. And, uh,

284
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I said, well, we'll have to, you know, we'll, we'll have to book a room and stay there a couple

285
00:24:16,140 --> 00:24:20,680
of days. And she's like, sounds like a good vacation to me. I'm like, yeah, well, we can't

286
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:24,920
do it until I buy a new vehicle because I don't trust either one of these vehicles we have to make

287
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:31,520
it all the way to ohio and back i don't know it could be a good story i don't need that kind of

288
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,980
i don't need that kind of pressure man but just having fun you don't know what you're doing yeah

289
00:24:35,980 --> 00:24:41,080
that's true which i mean i'm with her i would love to go visit the place and it looks like it

290
00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:49,700
would be a lot of fun and i've never been to ohio i can't say i have either but yeah he started he

291
00:24:49,700 --> 00:24:56,140
started the thing back in, I want to say 71 or something. He was one of these like little roadside

292
00:24:56,140 --> 00:25:04,560
selling produce things. And it just got bigger and bigger and bigger. So I never knew it existed

293
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:14,440
at all. So ultimately we're just bored. We're, uh, we're emotionally exhausted and numb.

294
00:25:16,420 --> 00:25:38,860
Yeah. And everywhere you go, somebody's got their phone out taking video of themselves or taking a picture of something. I went to New York City for a week and I might have taken 40 pictures. None of them were posted online. I sent a couple to you.

295
00:25:38,860 --> 00:25:50,280
yeah sent a couple of the kids um and that was about it i i met uh i went to a comedy club and

296
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:58,720
had the greatest experience that i could have ever hoped for because three of well-known comics

297
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:07,000
whose names i know uh who've i've seen specials on netflix and and all you know they're they're

298
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:14,300
pretty famous um i got to i got to hear him do their sets and then afterwards i got to i fist

299
00:26:14,300 --> 00:26:18,660
bumped one of them said thanks for being here he made the night and then i i patted the other one

300
00:26:18,660 --> 00:26:24,820
on the back and said you know it's a good job he turned around and we talked for five minutes

301
00:26:24,820 --> 00:26:30,420
awesome i was just gonna say thanks for being here it's great and i was gonna keep walking but

302
00:26:30,420 --> 00:26:37,700
he uh yeah and then uh my wife got a picture of us but i haven't even seen that picture

303
00:26:37,700 --> 00:26:42,260
that picture's gone nowhere i didn't want a picture i just wanted to tell him thanks for

304
00:26:42,260 --> 00:26:46,900
being here yeah i didn't i didn't want to what am i going to do with the picture

305
00:26:46,900 --> 00:26:53,200
i just wanted the memory for myself [bleep] everybody else no i get it i get it i don't

306
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:58,460
post pictures online i take a crap ton of pictures but most of the time i'm either doing

307
00:26:58,460 --> 00:27:04,280
it to show, to share with you or I share it in our family signal chat. Yeah. Or it's a serial

308
00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:09,980
number or it's a serial. Yeah. It's a Mac address, a serial number. Yeah. Honest, honest God's truth.

309
00:27:09,980 --> 00:27:15,960
That's, I can't half see most of the time now, you know, without putting my glasses on anything

310
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:20,600
up close. And especially if it's, you know, if it's on the back of a fricking printer or something

311
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,980
and I'm not moving that printer, I get the phone back there and I do my damnedest to take that

312
00:27:24,980 --> 00:27:29,140
picture, but yeah. Yeah. Or take, you know, I take a picture of an installation so that I can

313
00:27:29,140 --> 00:27:36,020
put it in the documentation system and go, I did that, you know, but I'm not, I'm, I've never been

314
00:27:36,020 --> 00:27:42,280
one of these. I'm not saying that I've never done this, but I'm not one of these that's like, Ooh,

315
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:47,100
let me take a picture of this food. And I'm not knocking your Instagram thing. I think what you

316
00:27:47,100 --> 00:27:51,980
do is kind of cool, but you do it so sparingly that when there's a picture there, that is something

317
00:27:51,980 --> 00:27:58,420
to behold you know yeah it's not like oh i just got a number three at mcdonald's look at this

318
00:27:58,420 --> 00:28:05,860
no to hell with that no i don't no no no no but i will think my last my last post was a beautiful

319
00:28:05,860 --> 00:28:15,160
salad my wife made yeah yeah yeah exactly um i i took a picture uh not this past sunday but sunday

320
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:20,900
before we had pancakes and bacon and yeah i saw that all that yeah i took that and i shared it

321
00:28:20,900 --> 00:28:26,600
with all of y'all and of course a lot of times when my two boys are on the west coast put it in

322
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:32,680
family chat and i might see what you guys are missing you should be in georgia i mean one of

323
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:38,100
them will be here soon but i really like for the other one and his significant other the move i

324
00:28:38,100 --> 00:28:46,020
think they'd be better off but because the cost of living is cheaper in georgia especially south

325
00:28:46,020 --> 00:28:49,060
Georgia than in San Francisco or Seattle.

326
00:28:49,060 --> 00:28:50,400
What's the reason?

327
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:55,860
I mean, yeah, the income's also not evenly matched, but yeah.

328
00:28:55,860 --> 00:28:56,700
It's the weather.

329
00:28:56,700 --> 00:28:57,880
Nobody wants to be here.

330
00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:04,200
I mean, you go outside right now, you realize this is not a place to be alive.

331
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:04,920
Oh, no.

332
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,260
I mean, matter of fact, there is a heat advisor.

333
00:29:07,260 --> 00:29:08,340
I'm glad you brought that up.

334
00:29:08,340 --> 00:29:13,240
For this area, there's a heat advisory that kicks in at 12 o'clock today, Eastern time,

335
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:20,200
expires at eight o'clock tonight with the heat index values up to 111 expected for parts of

336
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:24,340
South Central and Southwest Georgia. Yeah. I mean, for me, the calendar is red from like

337
00:29:24,340 --> 00:29:29,040
second half of June through August. Yeah. It's going to be hot or it's going to be raining.

338
00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:35,960
Yeah. Both. I mean, we're looking at real fields of 109, 110, 107, 110, 111, 112, 109. And that's

339
00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:42,960
from here through next Wednesday. So, yeah, I mean, a lot of people and my son that lives in

340
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,920
seattle right now talking to people that have never been to georgia when he explains the weather

341
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:52,940
and i think he had a friend who actually did visit georgia and she was like you weren't kidding

342
00:29:52,940 --> 00:30:00,960
and i mean she was just in north georgia yeah so yeah we flew in from colorado one day we went

343
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:06,800
through minneapolis but when we landed in atlanta we got off the plane and it was just wow

344
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:15,380
mm-hmm it's just it takes your breath away it does it takes your breath away i mean i

345
00:30:15,380 --> 00:30:23,180
i actually have to keep my my door sort of semi-closed here and sometimes i'll turn out

346
00:30:23,180 --> 00:30:29,420
these these lights and it's still 80 degrees in here but oddly enough it's a comfortable 80 for me

347
00:30:29,420 --> 00:30:36,140
because we've conditioned ourselves with um since we moved into this house you know i've got friends

348
00:30:36,140 --> 00:30:41,500
it's like if their air conditioner is any anywhere above 72 they're gonna die you know and for the

349
00:30:41,500 --> 00:30:48,440
longest time we kept ours on 80 and was very very comfortable i run it at 78 now because i'm older

350
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:55,240
and i'm i'm i get cranky when i get hot but yeah yeah weather wise it's not a great place to live

351
00:30:55,240 --> 00:31:03,040
but there are places worse so yeah i guess but i mean for me it's the it's the general attitude

352
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:09,140
of the public um and my daughter saw this last well this summer she just got back from colorado

353
00:31:09,140 --> 00:31:18,660
she's a counselor at a summer camp in estes park and the people uh basically the people west of

354
00:31:18,660 --> 00:31:26,000
mississippi are just more approachable they smile more they they share more they're just

355
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:32,820
they're more of how you're doing kind of thing and here i think it's i think it's more of an

356
00:31:32,820 --> 00:31:39,540
economic history thing but people are guarded here they don't they don't open up to somebody

357
00:31:39,540 --> 00:31:46,840
outside they don't trust people they don't trust anything except their family yeah especially if

358
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:53,740
you don't go to their church yeah man that's not really a thing that i've seen i've been invited

359
00:31:53,740 --> 00:32:00,600
to church but i haven't been shunned because i don't go to church but um just somebody some

360
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:07,540
random person who grew up here it's probably not gonna be the one to get to know yeah i mean i've

361
00:32:07,540 --> 00:32:12,660
been here over 20 years in this area and i still feel like an outsider because i didn't go to school

362
00:32:12,660 --> 00:32:22,200
with anybody here i didn't marry a local you know i mean technically i didn't either i i went to

363
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:27,420
school in ben hill county so i didn't go to school with anybody in tiff county and my wife's from

364
00:32:27,420 --> 00:32:37,940
cordial so you know and she she and uh her family moved to ben hill county in 82 so we got to know

365
00:32:37,940 --> 00:32:46,220
each other you know there but uh and my mom and dad are gone so i don't have you know i don't even

366
00:32:46,220 --> 00:32:54,240
have family immediate family other than you know you know my wife and my kids that are in this area

367
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:57,440
So I don't have any any ties like that.

368
00:32:57,440 --> 00:32:58,240
Yeah, I don't either.

369
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,540
Her folks are still alive, but they live in Benton Hill County.

370
00:33:01,540 --> 00:33:04,400
Her sister's still alive and she lives in Benton Hill County.

371
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:08,700
But yeah, now and I get what you mean.

372
00:33:08,700 --> 00:33:15,160
I mean, it's when you find somebody in this area that you can just click with and you're

373
00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,640
you're you know, you start talking about some of the things that you like and they're like,

374
00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,200
yeah, it's like, oh, my God, you got it.

375
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:28,180
You found a kindred spirit and then suddenly and then you find out that I'm going to say this and then we're going to go to break.

376
00:33:28,180 --> 00:33:31,080
Then you find out they're a Trump supporter and you're like, well, [bleep].

377
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:37,820
All right.

378
00:33:37,820 --> 00:33:39,500
With that, we're going to take a short break.

379
00:33:39,500 --> 00:33:41,660
Phone lines are open.

380
00:33:41,660 --> 00:33:44,240
You know, love to hear from you guys out there.

381
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,760
What do you think about, you know, this?

382
00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:52,400
are you feeling joyless, you know, emotionally exhausted and all of that?

383
00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:55,240
Philip actually has a shirt called I'm Emotionally Exhausted.

384
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:56,840
I thought about getting that one one time.

385
00:33:56,840 --> 00:34:00,380
But the phone lines are open, 229-520-5957.

386
00:34:00,380 --> 00:34:03,040
Or you can send a text to the same number.

387
00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:06,060
Shoot us an email, morningjip at wrto.fm.

388
00:34:06,060 --> 00:34:07,140
We'll be back in a bit.

389
00:34:15,980 --> 00:34:17,420
Your coffee is weak.

390
00:34:17,420 --> 00:34:18,720
Your commute is long.

391
00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:21,380
Your boss is, well, you know.

392
00:34:21,380 --> 00:34:23,100
It's time to wake up.

393
00:34:23,100 --> 00:34:25,140
Join the revolution of the caffeine addicted.

394
00:34:25,140 --> 00:34:26,460
The Morning Drip.

395
00:34:26,460 --> 00:34:29,040
Every morning on WRTO.FL.

396
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:30,460
It's not just a show.

397
00:34:30,460 --> 00:34:32,440
It's your daily jolt of reality.

398
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:36,080
Warning, make all sudden outbursts of free thought.

399
00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:43,840
Hey everybody, welcome back to The Morning Drip.

400
00:34:44,220 --> 00:34:51,340
For Thursday, the 13th of August, 2026, you know, if it could have shifted, we'd have had a Friday the 13th.

401
00:34:51,340 --> 00:34:56,240
I don't actually know when our next Friday the 13th is, but, you know.

402
00:34:56,240 --> 00:34:57,520
Yeah, I don't know. I don't count those.

403
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:01,500
My wife loves them. You know, she, her favorite number is 13.

404
00:35:01,500 --> 00:35:06,660
When it is Friday the 13th, I notice, but I never look forward to it.

405
00:35:06,660 --> 00:35:07,980
Yeah, I mean.

406
00:35:07,980 --> 00:35:08,580
It's just a day.

407
00:35:08,580 --> 00:35:12,240
It's just a, it's just a day. Of course, around here, we love Halloween.

408
00:35:12,980 --> 00:35:13,960
We don't really decorate.

409
00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,760
We don't go all out, but we do like that.

410
00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:19,120
I don't know.

411
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:20,520
There's just something about it.

412
00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:23,420
It's the colorations and the spookiness.

413
00:35:23,420 --> 00:35:25,680
And, you know, it's kind of fun.

414
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:31,960
But anyway, phone lines are open, 229-520-5957.

415
00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:34,280
You can also send a text to the same number.

416
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,100
I'm going to skip down that other longer article.

417
00:35:37,100 --> 00:35:40,740
Let's talk about a Northern California high school softball team

418
00:35:40,740 --> 00:35:46,040
gave up smartphones for basic flip phones for a month as an experiment aimed at improving mental

419
00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:52,600
health and reducing dependence on social media. More than a year later, players and parents say

420
00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:57,720
the experience still influences their phone habits, with teens reportedly becoming more aware

421
00:35:57,720 --> 00:36:03,520
of reaching for their phones when anxious and learning to process those feelings without

422
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:09,740
immediately turning to a device. One player also underwent brain scans during the experiment,

423
00:36:09,740 --> 00:36:19,980
which her family says initially showed withdrawal-like changes, followed by improvements in areas associated with decision-making, impulse control, and retention.

424
00:36:19,980 --> 00:36:25,160
Parents have also reported improvements in confidence, eye contact, and communication.

425
00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:32,780
And the mother and daughter who helped organize the experiment now speak publicly about more intentional technology use.

426
00:36:32,780 --> 00:36:34,720
You know, we've talked about this.

427
00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:38,540
matter of fact, I think we talked about it yesterday, the day before about, you know,

428
00:36:38,540 --> 00:36:44,860
giving up smartphones or going with flip phones or something like that. Yeah. Um, I don't know.

429
00:36:44,860 --> 00:36:51,200
What do you think about this experiment? I mean, it kind of makes sense. I mean, I'm one of those

430
00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:58,880
who's just grown tired of my phone. I still have a smartphone. Um, but I just, if it makes a noise,

431
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:08,160
i i don't care i i look at i look at the number and if it's not there's there's not a name

432
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:16,620
attached to a contact but i don't i'm not answering it yeah me either um of course i

433
00:37:16,620 --> 00:37:22,420
don't i don't do facebook don't get any notifications from any social media

434
00:37:22,420 --> 00:37:29,620
because I was just tired of it taking up so much of my attention and pulling me off of what I need

435
00:37:29,620 --> 00:37:37,340
to do. So I guess I don't need a flip phone to show me that. I just, I don't know. I put it on

436
00:37:37,340 --> 00:37:42,620
the charger on a Friday night, just like I do every night, but Saturday and Sunday, I don't touch

437
00:37:42,620 --> 00:37:48,100
it. It just stays on the nightstand the entire weekend. I can't say that I've gotten to that

438
00:37:48,100 --> 00:37:54,460
point. Now, a couple of years ago, my wife insisted that I do this experiment because I have an Apple

439
00:37:54,460 --> 00:38:03,360
watch and I went a month without the watch on my wrist and I was fine. I was fine. And the funny

440
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:10,920
thing is, is what I predominantly use my watch for is timers. I'll tell her, hey, start a timer

441
00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:17,760
for 10 minutes while I'm cooking or something like that. Um, I have used it to record audio

442
00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:23,100
because it actually has really good microphones in it. So, and I use an app on it that I can just

443
00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:28,380
record and then transfer over to the Mac mini and do what I need to with it. Uh, and maybe

444
00:38:28,380 --> 00:38:34,180
control the podcast that's playing when my daughter and I go get groceries on Friday morning

445
00:38:34,180 --> 00:38:40,100
and I need to pause it. So, you know, the phone's down in the center console so I can just reach up

446
00:38:40,100 --> 00:38:47,340
on my watch and hit the pause button. Other than that, my watch is, I know I don't use this thing

447
00:38:47,340 --> 00:38:53,660
to its fullest potential and I'm okay with that. So I could, I could do without it. I would miss

448
00:38:53,660 --> 00:38:59,740
the timer part of it, but then I got a phone that I can do that. Or I've got an, we've got an egg

449
00:38:59,740 --> 00:39:05,520
timer, you know, a manual timer. Got one of those at the windowsill at the sink if we wanted to use

450
00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:15,200
that so i i wind up using my phone more for an audio device if apple would come back with the

451
00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:21,740
damn ipod touch there are a lot of people that would probably not maybe wouldn't ditch their

452
00:39:21,740 --> 00:39:28,980
smartphone 100 but maybe do more like what you what you're talking about doing you know just put

453
00:39:28,980 --> 00:39:34,620
it on the charger and then use their ipod touch just to listen to music or what have you yeah i

454
00:39:34,620 --> 00:39:44,980
mean i would yeah i mean it's but if you do give it up you just get a flip phone for a while um if

455
00:39:44,980 --> 00:39:52,340
you're one of those who can't put your phone down um i guess it could help that summer camp that my

456
00:39:52,340 --> 00:39:59,020
daughter was a counselor at this summer that was one of the rules the kids didn't weren't allowed

457
00:39:59,020 --> 00:40:07,680
to have any electronic device yeah no phone no music player no tv um just nature and and i bet

458
00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:12,840
you know the kids enjoy the whole thing i don't think they have very many going away

459
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:23,560
um i'll heard about it but then again those kids come from affluent or maybe sometimes more than

460
00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:30,780
affluent um it's like a four-week camp and it's like seven or eight thousand dollars per camper

461
00:40:30,780 --> 00:40:39,060
send your kid there and from what i understand um some of them in the past have flown on a private

462
00:40:39,060 --> 00:40:47,320
jet to somewhere in europe for vacation that kind of that kind of affluency yes yeah um

463
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:54,160
and so they just they have no electronics but they can go um learn all kinds of stuff i mean

464
00:40:54,160 --> 00:41:01,960
my daughter was uh she was in charge of the riflery range interesting um i don't know what

465
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:09,000
else they have there but it was just activities for everybody you would never board unless you

466
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:15,640
wanted to be but i'm sure that's good for them um when in the past when we've kind of

467
00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:23,140
taken the phone or or put some restrictions on it for our son um during that time he's

468
00:41:23,140 --> 00:41:30,600
he's like a it's like a better kid yeah no it's just it's more conversational he's more involved

469
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:40,020
while he's more present um so yeah yeah growing growing up our kids when they when they got to

470
00:41:40,020 --> 00:41:45,060
the point where they had access to a computer and then eventually had their own individual computers

471
00:41:45,060 --> 00:41:50,400
They weren't allowed to just sit there hours upon hours upon hours.

472
00:41:50,400 --> 00:42:01,820
My wife would actually say, OK, you've got an hour, hours worth of computer time today or you've you've earned an extra hour for chores you did around the house or something like that.

473
00:42:01,820 --> 00:42:14,480
And then if they misbehaved, like when, you know, maybe they were out and about going grocery shopping or whatever, which, you know, as a side note, my kids being homeschooled and all of that, they were really well mannered kids.

474
00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:22,600
And the number of parents that told my wife that they were impressed with how well that they behaved in public was was very inspirational.

475
00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:31,240
But on those rare occasions, especially my oldest, where he would show his [bleep], the first thing she would do is like, well, you just lost your computer time today.

476
00:42:31,240 --> 00:42:37,300
And I mean, you might as well have just taken a knife and stuck it in his heart, you know.

477
00:42:38,180 --> 00:42:57,660
And it wasn't until they finally graduated high school and were older, you know, we're talking 16, 17 years old, where it was like, OK, you know, you you do what you as long as you're helping around the house and figuring out what you want to do with your life and stuff like that.

478
00:42:57,660 --> 00:43:09,300
The computers, the computer's yours to do whatever you want to do, because at some point we did start allowing them to, you know, they had a bad time, I think, of 10 o'clock most of the time as they got older.

479
00:43:09,300 --> 00:43:19,620
But once they got out of high school and they they hit those 17 and 18 year old ages, it was like you stay up to three or four in the morning and I need you at eight.

480
00:43:19,620 --> 00:43:25,020
Sucks for you. You're now an adult. Figure it out. That kind of thing.

481
00:43:26,300 --> 00:43:35,960
But yeah, and the first cell phones my oldest one got was not a smartphone, but he could do T9T.

482
00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:39,600
Well, actually, this one was one of those where it had a keyboard that would slide out.

483
00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:48,200
He and his mom had the same type of phone, but they were 2G, 3G phones, very limited internet access and stuff like that.

484
00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:50,280
But he would text like constantly.

485
00:43:52,060 --> 00:44:13,860
But yeah, I mean, I would one of the things that I've allowed to happen with me that I wish I had not is the number of clients that text me with issues instead of going through the proper channels of opening up a support ticket or even calling the office phone.

486
00:44:13,860 --> 00:44:18,160
because otherwise I hate texting to that extent

487
00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:20,560
because, and I've got notifications,

488
00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:22,780
audible notifications are turned off on my phone.

489
00:44:22,780 --> 00:44:24,540
That's the reason why sometimes I don't,

490
00:44:24,540 --> 00:44:26,540
it takes me a little bit to get back around

491
00:44:26,540 --> 00:44:28,340
to something that you've posted in Discord.

492
00:44:28,340 --> 00:44:31,880
You know, I'll see the emblem that there's,

493
00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:34,820
there's a, you know, a message,

494
00:44:34,820 --> 00:44:38,820
but my phone does not make a noise for any Discord stuff.

495
00:44:38,820 --> 00:44:43,520
And it vibrates for like texts and phone calls.

496
00:44:43,820 --> 00:44:49,020
Phone calls, my watch actually rings, but the phone just simply vibrates.

497
00:44:49,020 --> 00:44:54,980
So, yeah, because and those mad [bleep] that have notifications every time they get an email.

498
00:44:54,980 --> 00:44:58,140
What is wrong with you?

499
00:44:58,140 --> 00:45:00,480
They don't get much email.

500
00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:07,100
I mean, if I had that enabled on my phone, the battery would be dead in about four hours.

501
00:45:07,100 --> 00:45:09,840
That's how much freaking email I get.

502
00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:12,300
And 99% of it is crap.

503
00:45:13,300 --> 00:45:20,800
Yep. Which, I mean, let's segue into the next story about robocalls. You know, that is a big

504
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:27,080
issue. Americans receive about 4.35 billion robocalls in July, the highest monthly total

505
00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:33,780
in a year, more than 15% above the low recorded in October 2025. Nearly half were unwanted

506
00:45:33,780 --> 00:45:39,580
telemarketing or scam calls with unsolicited pre-approved personal loan offers among the most

507
00:45:39,580 --> 00:45:44,920
common. One loan campaign alone generated more than 40 million calls using thousands of different

508
00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:52,260
phone numbers and various caller names. What we're seeing here, before I move on, I know in our family,

509
00:45:52,260 --> 00:45:59,820
especially my wife, she gets at least one to two calls every day that's talking about her account

510
00:45:59,820 --> 00:46:06,960
with some financial institution that she's never had an account with. And you can tell it's AI

511
00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:11,260
generated now, you know, used to, it was just pre-recorded. Somebody actually would do a

512
00:46:11,260 --> 00:46:14,500
pre-recorded message and say, you know, you need to call us or blah, blah, blah, blah.

513
00:46:14,500 --> 00:46:21,140
Now they're tailoring it with AI and it's always some, something, some financial company or

514
00:46:21,140 --> 00:46:27,700
whatever. We, you need to call us immediately to discuss the, uh, discuss your, your, uh,

515
00:46:27,700 --> 00:46:35,720
your loan or whatever with us, that kind of crap. And like it goes on to say, Georgia has

516
00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:42,500
hit particularly hard, the 470 area code around Atlanta and even our own 229 area code in South

517
00:46:42,500 --> 00:46:49,720
Georgia both saw robocall increases 13% from June, tying for the second largest increase in the

518
00:46:49,720 --> 00:46:55,840
country. Numbers in the 229 area code receive more than 32 million robocalls during July,

519
00:46:55,840 --> 00:47:03,000
while 470 numbers receive more than 20 million. And I'm sure you, right along with me, the calls

520
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:07,000
that you, like, if it's not attached to a contact, I'm not going to answer it.

521
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:09,280
You see a lot of them come from a 229.

522
00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:12,860
They even look like they're from Tifton or Fitzgerald, but they're not.

523
00:47:12,860 --> 00:47:13,080
Yeah.

524
00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:15,800
Most of them are, say, Georgetown, I think.

525
00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:16,320
Yeah.

526
00:47:16,320 --> 00:47:16,760
Yeah.

527
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:23,000
And I think that has to do with the fact that those numbers, like, if you try to get a Google

528
00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:30,080
voice number today, I have an old one that's actually an Osceola number, believe it or not.

529
00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:33,100
But for years, you haven't been able to get those.

530
00:47:33,100 --> 00:47:36,880
Most of the Georgia numbers you get now are located in Georgetown.

531
00:47:36,880 --> 00:47:46,240
And a lot of these providers are supposed to, because you're not supposed to be able to spoof your telephone number on caller ID.

532
00:47:46,240 --> 00:47:47,320
Right.

533
00:47:47,320 --> 00:47:49,280
But they're still doing it.

534
00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:53,400
And a lot of these providers are supposed to stop that.

535
00:47:54,540 --> 00:48:01,800
I mean, like, so one of my clients, we ported their main number over to this other service that they use because they're a car dealership.

536
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:14,580
So that meant, because I'm using a local company for the SIP trunk, that the outbound caller ID could no longer be that number because they wouldn't allow it.

537
00:48:14,580 --> 00:48:17,280
They no longer have that number in their switch.

538
00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:18,660
They no longer manage it.

539
00:48:18,660 --> 00:48:32,900
So by the rules that are out there, I guess from the FCC or what have you, they're not allowed to send that number out because they don't quote on it because that's spoofing.

540
00:48:32,900 --> 00:48:37,460
You know, it would make things a lot easier because anybody calling would still be seeing that number going out.

541
00:48:37,460 --> 00:48:48,520
So now it has to be another number, which, you know, has the side issue of sometimes people can bypass the main number, you know, other issues like that.

542
00:48:48,660 --> 00:49:03,920
But the fact that these companies are still getting away with it and they shouldn't is aggravating because it goes on to say that despite efforts by regulators and phone carriers to combat illegal calls, scammers continue finding ways on the telephone networks.

543
00:49:03,920 --> 00:49:10,260
And being on the National Do Not Call Registry can reduce legitimate telemarketing, but won't necessarily stop scammers.

544
00:49:10,260 --> 00:49:24,400
So consumers are advised to let unfamiliar calls go to voicemail and independently contact banks, utilities, and other companies using trusted phone numbers rather than information provided by unexpected callers.

545
00:49:24,400 --> 00:49:26,740
Same thing can be true about phishing emails.

546
00:49:27,400 --> 00:49:40,780
You know, if you get an email from PayPal or you get an email from, say, Discover or something like that, and it's got a link that says you need to do something with the account, don't ever click that, ever.

547
00:49:40,780 --> 00:49:43,740
That's too bad nobody's listening to the show.

548
00:49:43,740 --> 00:49:44,560
I know, right?

549
00:49:44,560 --> 00:49:53,020
Because the best thing to do is, okay, go and actually log into the account like you normally would, but don't click that link.

550
00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:58,980
Because there's a, there's about a 50, 50% chance that it's going somewhere else.

551
00:49:58,980 --> 00:50:03,000
It's going to look like your bank or your credit card, but now they're getting your credentials.

552
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:11,580
So, but yeah, I, and it goes in phases too, as far as these, these robo calls, there've

553
00:50:11,580 --> 00:50:16,820
been weeks where I was constantly, several weeks back, probably a month ago, I was getting

554
00:50:16,820 --> 00:50:19,340
three and four of these damn calls daily.

555
00:50:19,340 --> 00:50:21,780
And I mean, they all looked like local numbers.

556
00:50:21,780 --> 00:50:30,720
And but now, I mean, knock on wood, my head, I haven't had any like that in a couple of days.

557
00:50:30,720 --> 00:50:32,280
So I don't know what's going on.

558
00:50:32,280 --> 00:50:35,220
Yeah, I probably miss a lot, but whatever.

559
00:50:35,220 --> 00:50:37,940
Yeah, yeah, whatever.

560
00:50:37,940 --> 00:50:41,360
The people that need to get in touch with me know how to get in touch with me.

561
00:50:41,360 --> 00:50:42,160
Exactly.

562
00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:44,480
Even if I wish they'd stop texting me.

563
00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:49,320
I actually started using a Google voice number for, I'm like, if you need to text me for support,

564
00:50:49,340 --> 00:50:54,220
here's that number. I stopped giving out any, I had actually had one. I was like,

565
00:50:54,220 --> 00:50:58,820
she's like, uh, yeah, you probably wish I didn't have your number. I said, no, you're okay. You

566
00:50:58,820 --> 00:51:05,600
don't abuse it. I said, but yeah, any new people, I say, here's the support email. Here's the support

567
00:51:05,600 --> 00:51:10,320
website. And here's a number. If you absolutely have to text me, this is the number you text me.

568
00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:16,460
They don't get my, my cell phone number for that. All right. Because we're, uh, we went long

569
00:51:16,460 --> 00:51:18,200
on the first discussion point.

570
00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:20,360
Let's cover this last one,

571
00:51:20,360 --> 00:51:21,200
which is kind of like,

572
00:51:21,200 --> 00:51:22,020
eh, okay.

573
00:51:22,020 --> 00:51:24,720
Gen Z has adopted LARPing,

574
00:51:24,720 --> 00:51:27,020
which is short for live action role-playing,

575
00:51:27,020 --> 00:51:29,540
as a new way of jokingly calling someone

576
00:51:29,540 --> 00:51:33,680
a poser, try-hard, or inauthentic.

577
00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:36,840
Instead of dressing up for fantasy role-playing,

578
00:51:36,840 --> 00:51:39,540
someone might be accused of LARPing a lifestyle,

579
00:51:39,540 --> 00:51:41,660
taking a Pilates class,

580
00:51:41,660 --> 00:51:43,600
mainly for social media photos,

581
00:51:44,020 --> 00:51:51,860
Pretending an internship represents corporate life or visiting New York for a few hours and LARPing as a New Yorker.

582
00:51:51,860 --> 00:51:56,740
Mike, did you LARP as a New Yorker when you went to spend a week in New York?

583
00:51:56,740 --> 00:51:59,180
I might have, but I didn't take any pictures.

584
00:51:59,180 --> 00:52:00,940
So you can't prove it.

585
00:52:00,940 --> 00:52:05,660
So I guess I wasn't LARPing because I never presented myself to anyone else.

586
00:52:05,660 --> 00:52:08,180
I'm a New Yorker.

587
00:52:08,180 --> 00:52:09,340
Yeah.

588
00:52:11,220 --> 00:52:22,880
The slang reflects Gen Z's complicated relationship with authenticity online, where appearing genuine is valued, but appearing overly eager or cringe can invite ridicule.

589
00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:40,160
More than half of adult Gen Zers surveyed said they have avoided expressing themselves online because they feared appearing cringe, while social media, influencers, and AI-generated content have also contributed to greater skepticism about whether what people present online is actually real.

590
00:52:40,620 --> 00:52:47,240
You know, there's a number of cases that have come about, not cases like in court cases,

591
00:52:47,240 --> 00:52:52,140
but somebody would present themselves, you know, oh, you know, we're making the Benjamins and all

592
00:52:52,140 --> 00:52:56,960
of that. And they took a picture of them in a private jet and all of that. You can literally

593
00:52:56,960 --> 00:53:02,960
go and rent those places to take photos in by the hour. And they're not, I mean, and the person

594
00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:07,300
does not own the jet. They do not own the Maserati. They don't own any of that crap.

595
00:53:08,040 --> 00:53:09,500
They're LARPing, basically.

596
00:53:09,500 --> 00:53:10,540
Yeah.

597
00:53:10,540 --> 00:53:11,600
Buy my book.

598
00:53:11,600 --> 00:53:13,400
It'll show you how to get this rich.

599
00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:14,600
Yes.

600
00:53:14,600 --> 00:53:15,420
Yes.

601
00:53:15,420 --> 00:53:21,300
And to round out the rest of the article, although LARPing is usually meant humorously,

602
00:53:21,300 --> 00:53:26,540
some worry the attitude can make young people reluctant to try new things because beginners

603
00:53:26,540 --> 00:53:29,780
risk being mocked as merely pretending to belong.

604
00:53:29,780 --> 00:53:32,300
The result is a strange balancing act.

605
00:53:32,720 --> 00:53:45,360
Gen Z places a premium on authenticity while simultaneously feeling pressure to carefully manage how authentic or enthusiastic they allow themselves to appear.

606
00:53:45,360 --> 00:53:50,840
I have a hard time recognizing this is a problem.

607
00:53:50,840 --> 00:53:53,280
Well, that's because we're not Gen Zers.

608
00:53:53,640 --> 00:54:05,380
Well, if they just present themselves as they are, I mean, if somebody tells you that you're not real, then you don't have to listen to them.

609
00:54:05,380 --> 00:54:07,900
I mean, that's true.

610
00:54:07,900 --> 00:54:14,720
That's the reason why I say one of the best, if not the best, all time invention of mankind or humankind is the Internet.

611
00:54:14,720 --> 00:54:19,620
The worst invention of humankind was social media.

612
00:54:19,620 --> 00:54:23,960
It was the absolute worst thing we could have ever used the internet for.

613
00:54:23,960 --> 00:54:27,380
Started out with a lofty goal, connect with your friends.

614
00:54:27,380 --> 00:54:30,880
You know, your high school buddy moved to Europe.

615
00:54:30,880 --> 00:54:32,540
You haven't seen them in a while.

616
00:54:32,540 --> 00:54:34,060
Easy way to connect.

617
00:54:34,060 --> 00:54:40,460
And that idea, I still think is a great idea, but that's no longer what we have.

618
00:54:40,460 --> 00:54:41,540
It's all about clout.

619
00:54:41,540 --> 00:54:48,340
It's all about, unfortunately, LARPing, trying to show people that you are more than what

620
00:54:48,340 --> 00:54:49,520
you actually are.

621
00:54:49,620 --> 00:54:54,960
Well, I think if it's clear that you don't have a goal of impressing people, I think you'd be all right.

622
00:54:54,960 --> 00:54:56,640
Eh, maybe.

623
00:54:56,640 --> 00:55:00,180
But I think it goes back to there's no joy.

624
00:55:00,180 --> 00:55:02,080
Everybody's numb.

625
00:55:02,080 --> 00:55:03,200
Right.

626
00:55:03,200 --> 00:55:04,380
Nothing's real.

627
00:55:04,380 --> 00:55:05,380
Nothing's real.

628
00:55:05,380 --> 00:55:07,380
We're not even real, man.

629
00:55:07,380 --> 00:55:08,860
This show's not even real.

630
00:55:08,860 --> 00:55:11,100
It's just a simulation.

631
00:55:11,100 --> 00:55:12,500
It is a simulation.

632
00:55:12,500 --> 00:55:15,960
We are living in a freaking simulation.

633
00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:19,100
And it is optimized for entertainment.

634
00:55:19,620 --> 00:55:22,540
the revolution will be televised.

635
00:55:22,540 --> 00:55:26,520
All right, everybody, that's going to wrap it up

636
00:55:26,520 --> 00:55:29,720
for the Thursday edition of The Morning Drip.

637
00:55:29,720 --> 00:55:31,960
Unless you've got anything else to add, Mike?

638
00:55:31,960 --> 00:55:33,460
Like, comment, and subscribe.

639
00:55:33,460 --> 00:55:37,560
Yeah, like, comment, and subscribe.

640
00:55:37,560 --> 00:55:38,180
Bye, guys.

641
00:55:38,180 --> 00:55:39,900
All right, everybody.

642
00:55:39,900 --> 00:55:43,020
We do this show Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

643
00:55:43,020 --> 00:55:44,560
around 7.30 a.m.

644
00:55:44,560 --> 00:55:46,440
But if you missed the live broadcast,

645
00:55:46,440 --> 00:55:49,160
which, shame on you, you should come and join us

646
00:55:49,160 --> 00:55:52,040
because we're just bunches of fun.

647
00:55:52,040 --> 00:55:56,520
I said that with a straight face.

648
00:55:56,520 --> 00:55:57,500
Honestly, I did.

649
00:55:57,500 --> 00:56:01,220
Anyway, I do convert these into a podcast after the fact.

650
00:56:01,220 --> 00:56:03,100
So if you do miss the show,

651
00:56:03,100 --> 00:56:05,540
all you got to do is go over to morningdrip.show

652
00:56:05,540 --> 00:56:06,800
or go to Tifton Media Works.

653
00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:07,960
Either one of those works.

654
00:56:07,960 --> 00:56:10,120
And subscribe to the show.

655
00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:12,580
I usually put up these episodes for free

656
00:56:12,580 --> 00:56:13,960
for the first 14 days.

657
00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:16,420
Then they go behind a membership paywall,

658
00:56:16,420 --> 00:56:18,780
but it's only $7 a month.

659
00:56:18,780 --> 00:56:26,440
So let me have your hard-earned cash, if you can afford it, to get access, you know, to the back catalog.

660
00:56:26,440 --> 00:56:27,660
It's worth it.

661
00:56:27,660 --> 00:56:28,240
I swear.

662
00:56:28,240 --> 00:56:28,920
Trust me.

663
00:56:28,920 --> 00:56:30,900
I'm a guy on the internet.

664
00:56:30,900 --> 00:56:37,180
The number is 229-520-5957.

665
00:56:37,180 --> 00:56:42,540
If you call during the time when the show is not broadcasting live, don't worry.

666
00:56:42,540 --> 00:56:43,620
You can leave a voicemail.

667
00:56:44,160 --> 00:56:49,100
But you can also text that same number, 24-7-229-520-5957.

668
00:56:49,100 --> 00:56:52,200
Shoot us an email, morningdrip at wrto.fm.

669
00:56:52,200 --> 00:56:58,940
Follow us on the Facebook, wrto.fm, and bluesky at wrto.fm.

670
00:56:58,940 --> 00:57:03,440
It's going to be another hot day out there, hot for the next week or so.

671
00:57:03,440 --> 00:57:05,860
So, you know, make sure you take care of yourselves.

672
00:57:05,860 --> 00:57:07,660
Drink plenty of fluids.

673
00:57:07,660 --> 00:57:08,960
Take plenty of breaks.

674
00:57:08,960 --> 00:57:12,660
Have a great Thursday, Friday, weekend.

675
00:57:13,200 --> 00:57:14,440
We'll see you next week.

676
00:57:14,440 --> 00:57:15,220
Good morning, everybody.