Peacock Streaming, Comic-Con at Home, and Remote Work

You are tuned in to Steve Megatron on Altered

Geek. Hello and welcome to Altered Geek. I'm

your host, Steve Megatron Phillips. Joining me

in this adventure into geekdom is TFG1 Mike.

You know, if there was ever time for me to drop

a fucking F -bomb, it's right about now. The

internet is messed up. Oh, I can't. I just can't

do it. So a lot has happened since the last time

we released an episode. It's beginning to look

a lot like madness. Everywhere you look. Yeah.

I think that's the most musical I've ever been

at any time in my 40 years on this planet. I'm

so like thinking about actually turning that

into a song You should And I don't like to sing

and that's the funny part is I would sing it

because I think it's funny. Oh My goodness, so

where do we start? Let's start with something

to keep pain or happiness It could be a bit of

both Let's start with the same trend that we've

been going with the last few episodes, streaming.

Oh, the good part or the bad part? For me, it's

more the bad part because it makes no damn sense.

OK, so I have been using Netflix and Hulu. Those

are the main two subscriptions that I pay for

on a regular basis since. I want to say 2010,

2011, so it's been a while. It might be a few

years. It might be 2011, 2012. I don't know.

I'm not looking at when Netflix went to streaming

or when Hulu, whatever. But the point is, I pay

the main two screen subscription for Netflix

and I pay the $11 .99 a month for Hulu. Both

of these options are no ads. Yes, Netflix has

the little previews of the show things, but it's

not an actual ad. It's a rolling trailer of that

show kind of thing. And I would be more than

willing to pay for ad free app service. More

than willing to. Sadly, most of them are tied

into cable companies or cable subscription packages

like insert ID go, TLC go, whatever go app you

can think of. It's tied to either Comcast or

Spectrum or whatever anyway But apparently everybody

has to have their own app and NBC Universal now

has theirs. It's Peacock and all over the TV

So the Peacock TV app launched as of this recording

today July 15th, 2020 We as Comcast slash Xfinity

Flex users have had it for a couple of months

now on our TV. Very rarely do I use it, but it's

been included with our cable package. I would

love to be able to do this for, you know, the

ad free version of it, but even then they say

it sucks. So on the, it doesn't suck, but On

the Peacock TV app website, there are frequently

asked questions, as there always are. Are there

other plan options? Yes, in addition to Peacock,

our free plan, we also have Peacock Premium and

Peacock Premium Plus. You can upgrade to Peacock

Premium for $4 .99 a month to unlock even more

content and then to Peacock Premium Plus for

an additional $5 a month to watch without ads.

Please note, due to streaming rights, a small

amount of programming will still contain ads,

Peacock Channel's events, and a limited number

of shows and movies. If you want me to pay you,

let's say $9 .99 a month for supposed ad free,

I don't want potential small amount of programming

carrying ads. If I'm paying for a service for

ad -free streaming there better not be any damn

ads on it Yeah, I agree with you I I don't particularly

like that idea It's a great I'm not saying that

it's not great that NBC has that service now.

I'm just worried about now that they do What's

gonna happen to all their streaming right things

that are on other things like now? The blacklist

is still on Netflix to my knowledge. Well, I've

been waiting for the seventh season to show up

on Netflix Well now that they have peacock. Why

would they put it on Netflix? They're just gonna

put the whole show on peacock. Well, the other

alternative is is this could be a thing where

Netflix pays NBC for the rights to get it That

could be and then they would be on both Right

like Star Trek. It's on Netflix. It's on Hulu.

It's on Amazon and It's on CBS all -access. So

no matter what platform you're on you can get

Star Trek Mm -hmm, so I don't see this being

a hindrance necessarily However, I I do know

that Comcast owns NBC Universal Right, so that

leaves to wonder what they're going to have on

this service For instance You know Their their

service is a little interesting because they

do show a like trailer of it When you load inside

the application, they have where you can add

it to a watch list. You can watch it now. You

can tell us who's in it, the little information

about the genre, the year, the rating, the length.

And then it has the tomato meter and then whatever

the popcorn thing is. I think it's the whole

tomato meter. And then they have an option to

mute it and then they show other things. I like

the idea behind it, but I don't necessarily...

I don't know how much I'll care. I guess it's

kind of the way... I mean, I have Netflix and

Hulu and Tubi and... I honestly don't subscribe

to any of these services for their original content.

Like, literally, none of them are original content

to me. It's merely to go back and watch the nostalgia.

Now, I get that they have to have the new stuff

in order to get people interested. Right. But

the same token, I just don't know. There's going

to come a point, and I like the fact that it's

free and that they have, yes, it has ads. That's

that's to be expected to pay for it the the other

issue I see is at some point There's gonna be

way way too many of these services and people

are just going to kind of trickle between them

Mm -hmm Whereas I preferred almost the Netflix

the Hulu the Amazon Is is kind of the big three

more so because you had a central hub for a mishmash

of things which This is basically turned into

that thing that I complained about all those

years ago about having an a la carte Where you

get to pick what you want to watch, you know

pick the channels that you watch and that's great

except for the fact that They cost anywhere between

five and thirteen dollars a month a piece and

then you add that to the general cost of just

cable, and then add it on top of your internet

bill, and you're paying as much as you were for

cable television. Granted, you do have access

to a much larger library, but it's essentially

the same thing. Yeah. So here's my thing. Yeah,

you're absolutely right. Subscribe to certain

services like Netflix and Hulu are always gonna

be in my subscriptions. That's not it's never

gonna change As long as there's still things

on there that I can watch kind of thing but Like

Disney Plus I just added that back to my subscription

around table because there's stuff on Disney

Plus that I want to see or that in the future

we want to be able to podcast about and that's

where those like are sadly one of our only failed

podcasts at this point, Podcaster Meets World.

You know, we want to eventually get back to doing

that kind of a thing. Here's my problem with

right now with Peacock. I'm looking through television

shows. I'm looking through A to Z. They have

Johnny Carson absolutely love it great they have

you know they have a lot of the oxygen stuff

because again as we said this is NBC Universal

this is Comcast so they're gonna have what all

their networks have like In ice cold blood which

is a true crime show on oxygen hosted by iced

tea I actually enjoy that show They have Hunter

on here, the old series Hunter. They have almost

every spinoff of the Kardashians, yet they don't

have the original Knight Rider on here, but they

have Airwolf. I don't understand that. Because

I know that they own certain things now that

might have aired on other networks, like something

from CBS is on Peacock. Because that's you know

NBC owns the whatever It just I don't know it's

just crazy the whole streaming thing like you

said a la carte is crazy because like There's

so many options to go to there's boomerang there's

Disney Plus There's this there's that and choice

is great having the choices is amazing paying

for all of them is the problem Yeah, I mean I

Like I said, I like the the option at this but

at the same time I just feel like we're inundated

with too many Mm -hmm, and it just doesn't seem

like it's going to stop Nope Yeah, I I don't

know I'm I Wish that We had an easier way of

going about it but Again, like I just don't see

it So Yeah, I mean I and I guess you know for

today's clientele It's it's great. It's fine.

Whatever But ultimately like I just don't find

value in any of this stuff anymore Now what's

funny is they do tell you how many days are left

to watch it when you click on a movie That's

cool. So like The Parenthood with Steve Martin,

1989 movie, it says 16 days left to watch. Because

I'm just kind of glancing through it as we talk.

But overall, I don't particularly care for their

interface, although it is nice to not have a

bombardment of a video pop up right when you

load up. like Netflix. They allow you to browse,

but they also have like this channels feature

which allows you to see like live TV, which looks

like you can actually watch live television.

So like NBC News Now and some of the other stuff

like... You know, they have like Saturday night

live vaults and you can you can toggle between

them Yeah, these different channels which again

is nice Yeah, that is very cool Perfect example

of a show that they own that was on a different

network two and a half men was a CBS show but

because NBC Universal because Universal I guess

owned that show they can have it on here and

they have See how many seasons they have all

12 seasons, but you can only watch it with premium.

Yep, which that's the case with a lot of it Yeah

And then they have like an unsolved mysteries

channel But yeah, I mean it's I guess it's okay

like but I I don't know if I see it fully see

the value in it right now Yeah, I mean not saying

we're never gonna do this and I seriously doubt

it would be you that did this with me But if

I ever did a law and order podcast I would put

my Disney plus subscription on hold for a while

and subscribe to peacock in order to get all

the seasons of Law and order kind of thing So

speaking of other unnecessary things there's

been a lot this week yes there have Disney Plus

is rebooting Home Alone with a lot of Saturday

Night Live alumni. I've seen the images in the

cast, like the disinsider .com has it. They're

having Archie Yates from Jojo Rabbit, whatever

that is, play Max, which is, I'm guessing, the

kid. And then they're going to have. Yeah, they're

going to have. I'm not really sure how they're

going to do this. There's possible possibility

they may have Macaulay Culkin guest star somewhere

in it, like just for cameo purposes or whatever.

But it's primarily at SNL veteran like Mikey

Day and Streeter and Seidel writing the script.

I don't know. Like, I mean, I guess. Whatever

they've got to reboot it for a new generation

but whatever another unnecessary sequel reboot

And then so we've had two kind of sucky things

happen in Hollywood deaths this week we had Grant

Imahara from Mythbusters and You know the the

Star Trek continues pass away due to brain aneurysm

of all things to go from like at the age of 49

like he super intelligent dude worked on like

all kinds of pop culture things you know Star

Wars yeah he was awesome he did all kinds of

stuff and then dies of a brain aneurysm Like

it's crazy. Yeah, I mean he did animatronics

for the Matrix movies galaxy quest Van Helsing

the lost world Terminator 3 and In Star Wars

stuff, and he did all the mythbusters and white

rabbit project and Netflix and to go out like

that. It just kind of sucks Yeah And then on

the flip side going from brain aneurysms to breast

cancer. We lost Kelly Preston John Travolta's

wife Now, Kelly Preston, I have known her since

before she was Travolta's wife, or maybe she

already was that that's the fact that she's married

to John Travolta really had nothing to do with

why I knew her. Yeah, she was in in Jerry Maguire,

the the bitchy girlfriend of Tom Cruise and Jerry

Maguire at first. And she was Gabby. the wife

of Michael Keaton's snowman character in 1998's

Jack Frost. And she's done other things as well,

but those are the two main films that I know

her from. Yeah, and I knew her from those two.

It's yeah, I don't know. It was. It's I don't

know. And then she died of breast cancer, which

that's horrible. Yeah, the thing that that boggles

my mind is we have so much money to throw towards

like politics and like stupid stuff and There's

nothing like I mean I get that they're constantly

working on trying to figure out How to cure cancer

and all this other stuff but They would probably

actually succeed if we could stop wasting time

and money on arguing over stupid stuff Like if

you look at social media like that's all we argue

about it's it's always something and granted

There's there's some things that have merit,

but the way people go about it Isn't intelligent

conversation. It's just You said something that

offended me. I'm gonna attack you Yeah, and that's

not it I wish that we could put those resources

and those attacks towards like These companies

that have the capability and kind of push them

into, you know, I mean, look at how much people

are pushing, you know, for stuff for COVID related

things or, you know, and I'm not saying that

these are, you know, I'm not going to get into

the race issue either. But I look at how much

people are pushing towards that. Cancer is just

it affects all humankind doesn't matter what

race you are. People die of it all the time and

it's unfortunate that that has to happen I just

wish I could see a lot of resources go there

instead of more money in politics politicians

pockets Yeah, it's so much loss of life just

due to know something that shouldn't exist So

yeah, it's it's all kinds of crazy and it just

It's so set like okay, so Last year For those

of you one people listening to this podcast I

Decided to do something I had never done before

I Decided to attempt to write a blog a day for

the entire year of 2019. So one written entry

could be on anything. It didn't matter what it

was. Whatever it was that I felt, as soon as

I woke up, I would start writing. I didn't make

it through the whole year, but I made it through

the first, I think, 80, not 83 days. First 200,

no, yeah, I made it for... through the first

83 days, and I made it sporadically to day 269,

I think. My point is, is that at one point during

this, I think it was day five or day six, I had

written about depression and how that affects

me and whatever else. And now that COVID hits,

I feel like I need to rewrite it or write a new

version of it because There's just so much think

like, say what you will about sports, say what

you will about concerts, say what you will about

whatever. Everything is essentially canceled

and I'm not talking about cancel culture at all.

I'm just saying things are postponed. Things

are moved on because we now have live in the

age of COVID and you have, you know, how can

you be six feet apart from somebody? at a concert

when the venue only holds X number of people.

You have to cut back how many people you can

let in, which means if let's say, for example,

5 ,000 people buy tickets to see Nickelback.

I know it would be more than that, but let's

just say the arena holds 3 ,000. And because

of COVID, they're only going to let 2 ,000 in.

Well, that leaves all the other people out in

the cold with having to get refunds and not being

able to see their favorite Canadian band, which

is Nickelback. You know what I mean? It's like

that whole argument now that they're having about

the school. And I'm not a parent. You are. I'm

not. Want to make that very clear. Just because

I don't have children, though, doesn't mean I

don't have any less of a valid opinion on the

fact of whether schools should open up for in

-person classroom time or not. If the schools

can't do it right, they shouldn't open. If they

can't do it for safety for everyone involved,

then no, they shouldn't do it. But anyway. Point

in bringing all of this up is is this world is?

Even more depressing than it was when I wrote

that post last year No, I agree with you I Don't

know so I guess we should go to some things that

aren't depressing We should try yeah Batman's

animated adventures Yes, I I've been rather enjoying

this comic series because not only is it continuing

the animated series where it left off with the

same art style and the same type of interest

there But what I've really been enjoying is the

fact that They've been making new toys Yes, they

have and they're they're making characters that

they're they're like They're making characters

that people would actually want so like the as

real version of Batman That was previously in

the nightfall comics. They brought him to the

DCA you Yeah, and and like they're the basic

questions are asking with the series that they're

making is what happened after the show ended

all these characters that had been created like

Deathstroke Red Hood and You know all these other

ones it says this would be a cool way to continue

the line and really create something fans would

want to own And so they have Deathstroke in the

comic. They have the Red Hood. They're bringing

some of the Dark Knight returns with a DCAU flair

to it. It's, I don't know, I've really been enjoying

this different take and the fact that they're

kind of, and you have Paul Dini and Alan Burnett

and Ty Templeton and it's just, it's so wonderfully

done. Now that we're in this age of the DC collector

stuff where they can come out with these almost

10 -inch figures that are fully articulated and

detailed, much like their DCAU counterpart, it's

really awesome to see that. Yeah, it is. The

Batman the animated series New new Batman figure

like honestly, I would probably get it. I think

it's actually there's six inches tall Which again

is not not terrible It's and it's relatively

nicely Cost to for the comics there's 99 cents.

Yep Which makes it super easy for wanting to

subscribe But DC direct has has done a bang -up

job on these figures and honestly, I look forward

to seeing what else they bring in from Batman's

universe into the DCAU Absolutely, yeah, the

figures look great. I think it's super cool that

they're doing it The eighth chapter has not released

yet, but so far they've done we've done an episode

of the pullback covering the first two issues

and they have a four issue arc from chapters

three to six that takes place and then chapter

seven and eight and whatever else beyond that

are are the next arc and it's really fun looking

at it. It's so interesting and easy. And I have

to say, I'm really excited for a lot of the DC

digital first series lately. And I never thought

I would be like this because I'm really like,

I need full color comics. I just always have

because that's what I've been used to kind of

a thing. However, and I'm probably going to pronounce

his name so wrong, but Stefan Szczek did a three

issue series called Harleen. It was under the

DC Black label. And that is in a collected edition,

but part of that is also black and white style.

And it's a black and white style that looks gorgeous.

He's they're doing this new digital first series

called Harley Quinn black white and red and He

does the first I think one or two issues And

it looks so cool. It just goes to show you again

folks How comics can change and how comics especially

with someone as narrow -minded as I can be at

times? Like I have to have it this way, no other

way. Well, artist interpretations change from

place to place and from series to series and

character to character kind of thing. And I'm

just really digging on these new things that

they're doing because they are so interesting.

Yeah, so far there are three issues of Harley

Quinn, black, white and red. So just to give

people a, and I know I'm kind of taking over

the show with comics here that should be talked

about on the pullback, but whatever, the description

for the series. One of the crown jewels of the

DC library is the. Immittable Batman black and

white classic short tales of the Cape Crusader

told purely in primal black and white ink. Unfortunately,

now Harley Quinn wants in on the action and she's

got a red pen and she has notes. In Harley Quinn,

Black, White and Red, 14 tales of Gotham City's

craziest clown princess are presented in nothing

but black, white and a bold splash of red. See

Harley and Ivy attempt to break into Superman's

fortress of solitude. See how Harley's story

unfolds in worlds beyond the DC universe. In

the alternate timelines of Batman, White Knight,

Harleen, and the Harley Quinn animated series.

See her at her darkest hours and in her happiest

moments. See her win an underground rap battle.

It just it's one of those things where. It's

kind of cool and it's interesting because you

have. An art style that you wouldn't think would

normally work, but it does. And it's just so

fun. Yeah, I mean, I've just like I said, I've

been kind of enjoying some of the stuff that

I've been reading for once, which has been nice.

So kind of continuing on other things that are

entertaining that are not depressing. Because

we all know there's lots of that out there They

well, this is kind of yeah, I could take it or

leave it, but we'll see how this goes They're

making a modern -day reboot of Fletch with John

Hamm Mm -hmm, which I was a fan of the originals

with chubby chase, but It's they were made in

the 80s and it's based on the Gregory McDonald's

1970s and 80s Fletch mystery novels But I would

be curious to see how he's able to pull it off

Just because Chevy Chase has that specific type

of comedic timing yeah, and delivering of his

lines, so Again, I would be interested to see

how How it goes But I can't really judge it until

it comes out because like I'm not too familiar

with John Ham. I know that he's done a lot of

other like diverse roles, but Again, like I don't

necessarily think everything needs a reboot True,

I mean we talked about that in a future episode

of studio 2009 yes But yeah, I don't know. I

don't know If it works it works if it doesn't

it doesn't if it doesn't they won't make another

one exactly So yeah Let's see what what else

oh, I've been writing I've been trying to write

anyway in a Star Trek RPG Mm -hmm But Yeah, I

mean I'm still in the early stages of that but

The other exciting thing is next week Comic -con

at home. That's right which that I'm super excited

for actually because There even if there's nothing

from Marvel or Lucasfilm or any that you know

these big right areas It's it's Cool that for

the first time everyone will be able to attend

San Diego Comic -Con Mm -hmm. It's the first

time in 50 years that it's not taking place physically,

but to see it go virtual I'm ecstatic because

this will be the first time and only time I will

be able to see Comic -Con and So There I know

there's like a Huge Star Trek panel that's got

a lot of the stuff for that That's that's gonna

kind of play out which that I'm very interested

in just because I want to see what direction

they're going with everything Lower expectations.

I'm not looking forward to You mean lower decks.

I know it's lowered expectations That's what

I'm calling it The that Matthew Kiddish Actually

called it that at one point which I thought was

kind of conveniently correct So yeah, I mean

I I'm probably going to check it out to see how

stupid it is, but I don't foresee myself watching

it at all Even though it takes place in universe

I don't Like I can only stomach so much stupid

that's written into Star Trek in modern -day

Yeah, and discovery and Picard have enough of

that in their plot holes And they're they're

bad writing and how it comes out at the end of

the episodes So again, I just I can't stomach

it in an animated series. Like I wish that they

could just What sad is is I think that the Nickelodeon

The Nick Jr. Nickelodeon kids Series that's gonna

come out. I have higher expectations for that

than I do This yeah, and I would probably actually

watch it because it'll be clean This this is

gonna be I have a I have a feeling yes, they're

gonna talk about the menial jobs on a starship

But the whole series just is kind of laziness

rolled into it Even the Starship is like a recycled

parts of the Enterprise -D. So yeah, honestly,

I just don't care. I'm looking forward to the

information that's going to drop about Picard

Season 2, Discovery Season 3 of what they're

going to do with it, and Strange New Worlds with

Captain Pike. Honestly beyond that I don't care.

I do look forward to seeing what else though

comes out of this comic -con at home just because

I'm not sure and I just Yeah, I just I don't

know how it's going to play out And what exactly

they're going to have involved, but it's it's

definitely Gonna be something fun to check out

for everyone involved Especially with everybody

being caged at home. And we have more awesome

things as well. Because not only do we have San

Diego Comic Con at home, this news actually came

out on your birthday this year. Starting today

though, July 15th through September 9th, it's

free comic book summer! Obviously due to COVID

-19, Free Comic Book Day, which is normally the

first Saturday in May, could not have happened.

Well, they are turning it into Free Comic Book

Summer. So what does that mean? The beloved event

has been rescheduled and reworked to take place

throughout July and early September. In order

to accommodate social distancing and store capacity

regulations across the country, effectively make

it Free Comic Book Summer. Scheduled to take

place between today, July 15th and September

9th, comic shops will receive five to six free

comic book day titles in their weekly shipments

during each week of the promotional window. Release

of these titles may vary from shop to shop as

retailers are encouraged to release the books

as they see fit for their unique circumstances.

Retailers may release one free title a day may

make all of that week's free titles available

at once, or any other plan that works for them.

Free Combook Summer is designed to be flexible

and customizable so retailers and fans can get

the most out of the event. That's cool. I think

that's really cool. I'm happy about a lot of

the things that are basically coming out that

are for the fans. And honestly, this is great

to have it available. There was one other thing

I was going to bring up. Aside from the fact

that I'm tired of videos auto playing on all

websites. I've had to reinstall an HTML 5 blocker

Why did you start sounding British there for

a second because I was doing it earlier when

I was reading books to my kids He's well I get

I I gotta do like a thing for kids soon I'm trying

to figure out what I'm gonna do because it's

like two weeks away So I'm like basically I'm

going to I'm gonna use character voices and I'm

gonna read something because It's easier on me

and I don't have to look at people so it works

great So I used it out of my kids and they thought

it was hilarious and they're like yes do it And

I'm like do the voices suck and they're like

no keep doing it So I have a built -in audience

that can tell me if I'm horrible or not So The

other thing is and these things are just quite

humorous to be honest This this is my my dialogue

about it I says this is utterly stupid to be

honest Yes I used a pun but same time if this

is legit part of the problem is the massive amount

of beef eaten due to fast food and eat Event

eating maybe stop eating so much of it um burger

king becomes a leader in fart prevention technology

i wish i could make up this title um they literally

created a music video about the cow menu and

it's they're like cow farts are one of the biggest

threats to the future of humanity The livestock

industry is directly responsible for around a

quarter of climate change since the beginning

of the industrial age. Sixty five percent of

those cattle whose flatulence is full of methane

and greenhouse gas, 34 times stronger than carbon

dioxide. And let's not forget about the burps.

So they're going to come up with a special stomach

bacteria. No. Or they say that they have a special

stomach bacteria that ferments their diet. So

they're like. It becomes even gassier. So this

is when they eat corn or soy They become gassier.

So what happens if you let them just I don't

know eat grass what they were designed to do

It's because they mass produce these things so

much You know, they it says if you'd prefer not

to do a deep dive into it It's the Burger King

made this delightful video to explain it Of the

impending climate apocalypse Which honestly is

a joke I'm not saying that climates don't change

because things do happen They're partnering it

now Burger King has not really been relevant

They've been kind of flailing for the last couple

years anyway, so this is humorous to me and to

begin with This is but they've partnered with

top scientists to develop and test a new diet

for cows which Why don't you just have a meat

grass stop feeding them soy and corn where they

can't digest it? That's why they keep farting

so much If I would have told this to my kids,

they would have been laughing hysterically. But

they're saying that their study is that they're

gonna reduce their daily emissions by 33%. Part

of the problem is maybe they should just stop

building so many fast food places. I'm not saying

that they aren't great in a pinch, but most people

just rely on it for general eating. Okay, so

here's where I'm gonna jump in folks I Was born

Literally, I wish I had a picture of it, but

I remember this clearly I was born with an Oreo

cookie in one side of my mouth and an ice cream

sandwich in the other side of my mouth For most

of my life. My brainwaves have been salty sweet

salty sweet Yes, my mom cooked great meals. Yes,

we had fried chicken. We had mashed potatoes.

We had American chop suey, if anyone out there

even knows what that is. We had spaghetti. We

had all the healthy stuff in the world. And yes,

I did have healthy snacks at times too. However,

now that I'm a 40 year old adult who is obese

as all hell, and I've been disabled all my life.

I'm sorry, like this perfect example is the rant

I went on yesterday or the other day on Facebook.

The local post office is a nine minute walk from

my door to its door. It took me an hour. I'm

six foot four hundred and something pounds. I

walk all the time. Ever since we moved out here

to the Pacific Northwest, I've been walking more

in the last Six, seven, eight, nine months, almost

a year and a half now. We haven't been here a

year and a half, but in the last year and a half,

I've been walking more than I ever have in my

life. But that walk nearly killed me. So, yeah,

on the way home, I stopped into Subway to get

a couple of their sliders that they have. Or

like right now in our apartment out here in the

Pacific Northwest, folks, apparently nobody believes

in central air conditioning at all. It's a miracle

if you find anywhere to live out here in Oregon

or Washington state That has central air So we

have to use portable units because the apartments

don't let you put in window units and window

units would be loud Noisier than than the portable

units already are We have one portable unit right

now and it's helping my wife get her through

these trying times meanwhile I'm sweating like

a stuffed pig over here. Yeah, and I'm not saying

anything. Right. No, no, no. But my point in

saying all of that is to say this. I am not like

our apartment, if you if you took a temperature

out in my in my here in my room or out in our

living room, it would probably say it's somewhere

between 78 and 80 degrees in here. Why the hell

would I turn on a 400 degree oven to cook a pizza?

Versus calling Domino's or whatever insert whatever

restaurant Domino's did not pay for me saying

that at all I wish they did I do like I do like

Domino's by the way. I know you do That's why

I brought it up Domino's is delicious. That's

right And healthy too because you can put all

kinds of vegetables on the pizza Anyways Yeah,

I'm not saying anything against people that are

eating it. I'm just saying that part of the problem

is We're consuming Beef at such an exponential

rate Yeah that we're creating the problem by

making these cows have to eat so much that they

cannot keep up with the way to feed them and

So the cheap way of doing it is by feeding them

corn and soy which they cannot digest which is

90 % of the problem and That's why there's such

a big deal over having them fed grass Because

those ones are the ones that can actually digest

it and they do not have the issue So it's again.

It's these mass feedlots where they stuff corn

and antibiotics into these cows That's the problem

Yeah, no, absolutely it is Much rather I'd much

rather eat grass along with the cows. It's healthier

And honest I don't want a cow furting on my food

I don't want gassy cow. It's just I don't want

gassy cow Yeah, anyways, I just I don't know

it's funny to me. I'm yes my family doesn't eat

beef I We eat poultry like and fish like we just

don't eat the other kinds not that I won't eat

a hamburger I have and I I probably would again

if depending on where I go, but I Don't it's

not one of those things where just I have to

have one and I there's honestly there's other

foods I'll eat so it's I I like a good salad

every now and again loaded with all kinds of

stuff on it not just you know lettuce but anyways

but yeah I mean honestly like I think it's kind

of humorous that this is a thing I remember years

ago we kind of covered the Beyond Burger and

the Impossible burger You know the meat replacement

stuff and they're good. They're not they're not

meat replacement good, but they are good and

They're a lot better than those like Boca burgers

or some of that other stuff that they have that

some of that weird fake meat Yeah, these those

two at least bleed like real meat Right and it

actually it's not even blood It's like a chemical

that they put in it to kind of keep it so that

when it they freeze it it doesn't destroy the

meat It's not actually one it just sucks the

It sucks the blood out with it a little bit.

That's why it comes out colored, but it's not

actually the blood but regardless it's it's it's

funny to me that Yeah, so It's just crazy and

we all have different eating habits and whatever

else it depends on how we were raised and yes

people can and do change and And everything else

but for me personally If I'm craving a burger,

I want a real burger. I don't want a turkey burger

or a chicken burger. If I wanted a turkey burger

or a chicken burger, I'd have a chicken sandwich

or a turkey sandwich. Every time because things

are more expensive out here compared to Illinois

and other places east of the Mississippi. Every

time Karen has bought like ground turkey. to

use with hamburger helper at first I was like

uh that's not how that's supposed to work but

I tried it and I'm like oh it's just like Thanksgiving

except on a nightly basis because you're putting

turkey in the hamburger helper instead of the

actual hamburger it is very good it's very delicious

I enjoy it but I'm like it's Thanksgiving every

day of the year it's groundhog Thanksgiving no

So getting over to something else that is kind

of quasi good bad depending on how you look at

it NPR radio ratings collapse as pandemic ends

listeners commutes Which I was wondering how

this was going to play out Because I knew NPR

is like a juggernaut in the radio podcast space

Especially with the amount of money that they

pump into it It says that their broadcast ratings

for nearly all of NPR's radio shows took a deep

dive in major markets this spring as the coronavirus

kept many Americans from commuting. It says the

network shows lost roughly a quarter of their

audience between the second quarter of 2019 and

the same months in 2020. People who listen to

NPR shows on the radio at home before the pandemic

by and large still do, but many of those who

listen on their commute have not rejoined from

home. And that threatens to alter the terrain

for NPR as they've anticipated that these changes

would happen. And they expected them to take

place over the next decade. And one of my coworkers

used to work in public radio, or not public radio,

but news broadcast. And he said that they anticipated

that within the next 10 to 20 years, working

remotely and changing the norm for media consumption.

Right. Would happen. It's just that they didn't

expect that a virus would kick it into high gear

and make it happen at Yeah, so they weren't totally

ready for it, but they kind of knew it was coming

so they were a little bit more prepared But they're

saying that audio research audience research

Shows that their audience is disproportionately

made up of professionals who are able to work

from home and who are interested in doing so

even after the pandemic subsides Like myself

and a lot of the people I work with most of us

would prefer to work from home. We feel more

like I honestly feel more able to get work done

and Not saying to like some degree like cuz there's

some there's sometimes There's there's sometimes

That I interruptions happen. Yeah, and and that's

to be That's to be expected. But at the same

time, I don't have that hour long commute a day.

I don't have the half hour there, half hour back,

and then traffic that I have to deal with. I

don't have weather getting in the way. I don't

have to spend the first 15 minutes I'm there

setting all my crap up again, and then 15 minutes

tearing it down at the end of the day. Because

I just honestly just leave it. I have a USB hub

That I switcher. It's an H. Well, it's actually

an HDMI switcher. I bought it years ago when

I was when I had a Xbox 360 I had the PlayStation

2 I had the the Nintendo Wii I had you know all

these different Devices and I had a TV that had

a bunch of ports on the back and a blu -ray player

and a computer and everything else. So I had

to have this thing and so then after I got rid

of everything and I just had the blu -ray player

and two ports in the back. I didn't need it anymore.

So I threw it in a box. And then after this happened,

I was like, hey, I have a monitor that has HDMI.

And so I hook up my work computer to it when

I'm working. And then I just select the correct

screen so that it goes to the right machine.

And I have both computers on so that I can do

graphical needs or any other stuff that I can

do faster on my Windows machine. I can do there.

And then I send it to myself over Slack. download

it and then I have it over on the other computer

within seconds and And so it's it's just nice.

I don't know to have that that option, but I

I feel like I get a lot more done Plus I get

to eat with my family, which is great So and

if I need to take a break in the middle of the

day to go take care of something I can and then

I can come back later in the night Yeah, which

I've been known to do that. But honestly, I would

prefer to work from home even after this is all

done other than production times Right. No, absolutely.

Yeah working from home is much better Now me

personally, I don't have a job because I have

zero qualifications to get paid for anything

Other than being an idiot And sadly nobody's

paying me to be into unintelligible Not not even

you the you -know -who is anyway Yeah, but it's

one of those things where if I have to call some

like okay perfect example is Every month I have

to call pods to make payments because that's

how I have it set up So our storage units that

we're paying for I have to call them and I have

to talk to them, which is fine I don't mind talking

to people Whatever Well now that we're doing

this whole work from home thing especially in

the beginning when everybody was quarantined

Even though most people still are You know, I

it's a clear difference from people working at

home compared to where they were working at an

actual office building because You can hear things

in the bag. I don't care Don't care if I can

hear your kid crying or your cat crying or whatever

my my cat it's the joke of the Our zoom meetings

now my cat sits on my lap whenever there's a

zoom meeting my cat will jump up on my lap during

the meeting they're like Where's kitty and then

like all of a sudden she'll stand up and she'll

try and pet my face and people start running

And then I push her down. I'm like go away And

then there'll be something that will happen and

she'll start talking. Like yesterday we had a

meeting and my boss is in the meeting, like the

head boss, like the main manager. And he's like,

what was it he said? Give me a second. But yeah,

I mean, it's humorous though, because like now

when I go into a meeting and they're like, they're

like, where's your cat? because like they know

that the cat shows up during meetings and So

here here it is Because I sent this to my boss

yesterday So I screen -capped the meeting because

humorous stuff is humorous And The the main manager

he goes dude white cat in a chair make you a

super villain And I says yeah, it does doesn't

it I says she's my meeting cat whenever I'm in

one she has to be here and he puts lol so at

the end of the meeting just a Kind of mess with

everybody I says by the way I says I'm not a

super villain and then they're like what and

he says He says you look like that. He says what's

that character and because like my chair and

everything he's like Mm -hmm. He says the bad

guy from inspector gadget, and I was like And

I because I haven't used my doctor claw in a

long time, and I thought it would be hilarious

And so I'd used it on point So my cat sitting

on my lap, and I'm you know have my hand on her

and everything and she's going And I I go next

time catch it And then they all started just

laughing hysterically like everybody in the meeting

It was a great way to end the meeting by the

way, but They're like oh, it was Steve impromptu

those great So yeah, it was like I said, it was

a lot of fun Having that aspect and people just

kind of expected at this point like I'll see

other people's kids run through the background

or you know somebody will be like randomly like

I'll be right back because like you'll have back

-to -back meetings sometimes they're like I got

a pee and then they'll just like disappear or

something or I had too much to drink and then

they'll go away and like come back like five

seconds later, but I don't know it's just it's

humorous either way like I prefer it but Kind

of going back to NPR from this tangent, they're

saying that due to the plunge in radio listenership,

their other digital platforms like their website

and their podcast downloads, it says their podcast

downloads and the usage of NPR's listening apps

are up nearly a quarter and there's a 76 % increase

in users on NPR .org. Because of this so basically

what it's alluding to is people aren't listening

to it on the radio But they're tuning in on their

computers and letting it run while they're working

So and honestly like sometimes I'll listen to

a webinar on My computer like I'll turn on the

sound and when I have nothing to listen to you

like once in a while I'll turn on a webinar put

my headphones on and then just work and I'll

pick up some useful tidbits because usually it's

about podcasting or voice acting or something

and then and then I'll go back to you know normal

operation you know while I'm listening and it's

just I don't know it's it's kind of nice in that

aspect plus I'm sitting in my own environment

so it's very comfortable um and the only other

thing I don't like right at least right now like

I didn't mind necessarily going into work um

the other thing I don't care for right now specifically

is when you're going to an office and then you

have to disinfect your area you have to wear

a mask whenever you're not in your cubicle you

have to clean the bathroom when you go to the

bathroom you have to clean the kitchen if you

have to heat up your food and so honestly it's

just it's too tedious yeah and I get the protocol

I get it I understand it and I have no issue

following directions like that's not my issue

at all I just don't like if I'm gonna have to

go to all that extra work I might as well stay

home They yeah exactly and it just live in my

own ecosystem that I can do as I please and It

affects no one but my household Yep, yes, I don't

leave the house which is kind of a double -edged

sword but I used to work from home like for 18

months when I worked for the blaze and It wasn't

that bad Nope, so but I think that about rounds

everything up like so I guess that the the questions

to the listeners are what How has the the pandemic

affected their podcast listening? How is it affected?

You know their their pop culture consumption

whether it be through streaming or television

or the websites or Just things like that in general

Because I know that it's affected a grand scheme

of things all over the place and I know that

things are starting to somewhat go back to normal

As people are going back to work a little bit

But yeah, I'd be curious to know how it's affecting

everyone Absolutely, and that can be the topic

for the next episode yes Unless some sort of

other earth -shattering news happens before then

and we feel the need to give Unintelligible opinions

on it. You mean comic -con at home? Well, there's

that too. Yes, that's that's pretty much what

the next episode is gonna be so they can expect

they can expect a lowdown of that At least at

least for what has come out by the time we record

this true Because I think it starts on like a

Tuesday. So they'll have like a Tuesday and Wednesday's

info and then they'll have to wait till the following

week to get the rest. And then we'll probably

do like a Tuesday edition or something the following

week. Probably. So anyway, so we have been. I

am the. Great one. I am Steve Megatron. No. Yes.

So until next time, get altered, get geeky, with

the altered geeks. Yes! Yes! No, you basilic

buffoon!