The Slade and Mayson Show
Episode 477 – Cruise Control, Rogue AI & the $1 Breathalyzer Problem
What did we talk about this week on The Slade and Mayson Show ? This week, Dan continues his apparently unstoppable quest to determine whether his 1997 Corolla can have cruise control. The car is nearly 30 years old, but that certainly isn't going to stop him from finding one more thing to fiddle with. Computers provide another adventure after Dan discovers malware on his machine while trying to send some old audio files to JD. Fortunately, it was caught and removed, but it provided a useful reminder that files you've had sitting around for years can still contain surprises. Cyclospora makes another appearance as we continue following the outbreak and the questions surrounding Taylor Farms, one of the largest produce suppliers around. We also talk about the FDA finally getting involved and the difficulty of tracing a foodborne outbreak when lettuce travels through an enormous supply chain. Then we get to AI — and there's a lot of it this week. We talk about an AI agent at a San Francisco business that apparently decided an employee should be fired, concerns about attacks against Taiwan involving a combination of human intelligence and artificial intelligence, and an AI connection to a bomb threat in Georgia. That leads into a much bigger question: what happens to retirement planning when AI begins changing or eliminating the jobs people expected to have for another 10, 20 or 30 years? Technology isn't the only thing behaving strangely. We discuss the Florida breathalyzer controversy involving the Intoxilyzer 8000 and a tiny rubber component that could put DUI cases into question after police officers performed repairs on equipment that requires careful calibration. Sometimes a very expensive legal problem really can come down to a very inexpensive piece of rubber. Alcohol takes the conversation in a considerably sillier direction when Dan discovers just how little liquor he actually needs for a tiramisu recipe. That leads to some entertaining conversations at the Virginia ABC store, along with observations about Germany now discouraging parents from the practice of allowing minors to drink alongside adults. JD also brings us another unusual corner of the animal kingdom: species whose males don't survive very long after mating. Apparently for some creatures, romance really is the last thing they'll ever do. And if you're a billionaire looking for something to spend your money on, why not put a seal in space? We discuss that too, because apparently we've reached that point. Closer to home, Dan talks about his new venture, Scheduled Home Services LLC — a business built around taking care of those small recurring household jobs that are easy to postpone but become increasingly difficult or risky as people get older. That idea hits home for JD, who has spent years figuring out ways to accomplish household tasks while living with one leg. Changing filters, reaching fixtures, testing detectors and doing other seemingly simple jobs can become considerably more complicated when balance and mobility enter the equation. And JD leaves us with one final uncomfortable observation: Fifty years ago was 1976. We'll just leave that there. Old Corollas, tiny rubber rings, questionable AI decisions, foodborne illnesses, tiramisu, retirement, home maintenance and the disturbing realization that the 1970s are now half a century behind us. All that and more on Episode 477 of The Slade and Mayson Show . Listen to the podcast version: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/the-slade-and-mayson-show-2 Sponsor: http://www.IceysomethinIcey.com Music Courtesy of Dano: https://danosongs.com/ JD's Daily Country Podcast – Sladio Radio https://sladioradio.github.io/Podcast/ Follow The Slade and Mayson Show: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sladeandmayson Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/SladeAndMayson
