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The Computer Exorcist Bonus Show

Helping people overwhelmed by technology.

Can't get enough of The Computer Exorcist Show? Neither could we!The Computer Exorcist BONUS SHOW is hosted by author and tech guru Marc-Anthony Arena, with lots of special guests. Consider this the after-show party wher
Latest Episode10/24/2020

These things dont run on magical unicorn juice; they run on diesel!

Season 2, Ep. 7
Today we approach the Wallace Memorial Microphone to do a car episode, with special guest star mechanic Nick Laborde, the wealth of knowledge owner of Nick's Auto Repair.We discuss:The Nexcel, which aims to replace a simple oil change with an evil printer-cartridge-like gizmo that's computer-controlled and force you to buy their brand of oil.The billions of dollars that could be made by selling a Corvette SUV... and the heritage that would be destroyed if it happensRecalls that fix what the last recall broke, and recalls to fix what those recalls brokeRecall fatigueHow wireless update attacks will soon plague carsThe Corvette Flying Frunk debacle, and how GM is blaming customers for shoddy latchesGood news from Mazda, Nissan, and Ford about keeping good simple retro cars aliveThe shop class instructor who teaches kids to electrify old carsThe John Deere right-to-repair scandalA company that tears down a car and sells their findings to its competing automakersThe VW Dieselgate scandal: Why didn't they order them to put that money toward something good?The 1970s VW ethos of not reinventing the wheelThe single mom who couldn't afford to put tires on her car because she had to buy a new catalytic converter to pass inspectionThe massive need for young people to enter auto repair and other trades"The industry is a casino and the auto manufacturers are the house.""I shake my head so much that I think I have two bad discs because of it.""I remove more rodents than the Orkin man."...and many more quotable quotes from Nick!Hope you're glued to your speakers throughout the show. I know I was!Thanks to Xela for the music.
10/24/2020

These things dont run on magical unicorn juice; they run on diesel!

Season 2, Ep. 7
Today we approach the Wallace Memorial Microphone to do a car episode, with special guest star mechanic Nick Laborde, the wealth of knowledge owner of Nick's Auto Repair.We discuss:The Nexcel, which aims to replace a simple oil change with an evil printer-cartridge-like gizmo that's computer-controlled and force you to buy their brand of oil.The billions of dollars that could be made by selling a Corvette SUV... and the heritage that would be destroyed if it happensRecalls that fix what the last recall broke, and recalls to fix what those recalls brokeRecall fatigueHow wireless update attacks will soon plague carsThe Corvette Flying Frunk debacle, and how GM is blaming customers for shoddy latchesGood news from Mazda, Nissan, and Ford about keeping good simple retro cars aliveThe shop class instructor who teaches kids to electrify old carsThe John Deere right-to-repair scandalA company that tears down a car and sells their findings to its competing automakersThe VW Dieselgate scandal: Why didn't they order them to put that money toward something good?The 1970s VW ethos of not reinventing the wheelThe single mom who couldn't afford to put tires on her car because she had to buy a new catalytic converter to pass inspectionThe massive need for young people to enter auto repair and other trades"The industry is a casino and the auto manufacturers are the house.""I shake my head so much that I think I have two bad discs because of it.""I remove more rodents than the Orkin man."...and many more quotable quotes from Nick!Hope you're glued to your speakers throughout the show. I know I was!Thanks to Xela for the music.
9/6/2020

The Wu Tang Clan stole my lunch from the breakroom

Season 2, Ep. 6
On today's episode we're joined by special guest Mike Ortiz of Gotham Podcast Studio, and we discuss:How he helps people start their own podcasts (including this one!)His encounters with celebrities, including the time when the Wu Tang Clan took his lunch from the breakroomThe day Verizon bought the two dumpster-fires known as AOL and Yahoo, combined to create one giant cesspool of clickbait articles, and then wrote off half their valueHow young people don't even know how to get their photos back from the iCloud One-Way StreetHow prosecutors find photos on social media to show how unrepentant some drunk drivers areThe unknown fact that there's more to life than Trump and CovidHow you really ought to "cleanse" your Facebook posts from when you were youngBonus bonus: Stay tuned to the very end for the mic test deleted scene!Thanks to Nolan Derosia for the music!
7/3/2020

Internalizing Anger and Living in Fear with Ric Warren

Season 2, Ep. 5
In today's episode, Marc invites local Renaissance man and healer Ric Warren to talk about how technology is causing people to fear, and how taking a sabbatical from tech lowers your blood pressure and removes that "fear of missing out".We draw parallels between the holistic Teknosophy Method and his holistic and personal approach to health, including how we both dispel fear in our clients, and how sometimes the key to healing is as simple as an empathetic touch.We talk about how we've helped people who nobody else could seem to help, thanks to our out-of-the-box approach.We discuss Support Scams, and how really they're just holding up a bank with a pop gun, in other words all bark and no bite.We talk about an incredible survey a hospital did, that revealed that most disease comes from internalizing your anger.We remind people that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, and rather than pay for an "addiction" to the false sense of security that a virus scan offers, all the security you need is right there inside you.We explain some Buddhist and Christian tactics against fear... and so much more!Stick around for a "deleted scene" at the very end, and as always, thanks for telling your friends about the show!Thanks to Dave Mancini for today's music!
6/5/2020

Scaring kids and dogs with your car alarm

Season 2, Ep. 4
In this episode, Sgt. Tim returns to sideswipe Marc's angry articles with his sublime wisdom and humor.We discuss:People willingly giving up their freedom to Alexa surveillance devicesThe US Dept of Defense requiring its contractors to use open standards (FINALLY!), ensuring that their battleships and fighter jets won't be outdated arbitrarily by scummy proprietary schemes.The startling turnaround of Opel, rescued from 20 years of losses by Carlos Tavares."Temporal Appropriation", Marc's new term for auto companies resurrecting an old marque, simply to trash its reputation by creating a plasticky, sensor-ridden impostor unworthy of its heritage.Marc invents the term (and threatens to become) "80s Amish", where we refrain from all technology except that which we had during the 1980s, because that stuff wasn't evil.The demise of real human customer support, the rise of anti-empowered support agents living in chicken coops, and how to bypass the evil AI phone autoattendants that are designed to frustrate people to the point of hanging up.Music provided by the multi-talented Tommy Gravino!Thanks for listening and as always, tell your friends about the show!
4/25/2020

"60 million tons of e-waste"

Season 2, Ep. 3
I have to admit I scheduled this interview before I realized it was Earth Day... but hey, it worked out really well!In this episode we interview Cassidy Putney of Impact Earth Roc, a new waste management company that does things a bit better. Today we talk about:AI trash cans that take themselves to the curbThrowaway HP printers floating in the oceansSonos speakers, Apple AirPods, and HP ink cartridges that are designed to stop working after a certain date"Smart cities" where Toyota monitors your health with robots, vs. "Dumb cities" whose porous concrete roads absorb water in order to prevent floodsThe 60 million tons of e-waste that is estimated to be discarded in 2021 aloneand finally: 1950s washing machines that will outlive all this stuff!Thanks to SMSHNG HRTS for the rockin music, and as always thanks to Gotham Podcast Studio.
3/28/2020

They make Star Wars cuckoo clocks?

Season 2, Ep. 2
Our snarkiest special guest Dr. Mike returns to help Marc lambaste the tech industry... In this episode, we invent the word Techxit to describe liberation from deceptive Cloud services, we call Microsoft "The Cat in the Hat" for sending out update attacks that fix one thing and break 10 others, and bask in the nostalgia of 90s swap-meet computer shows, replete with Big Gulps, old Toyotas, and awkward teenagers. Oh yeah, and we balk at the existence of Star Wars cuckoo clocks.Bonus bonus content: Now included at the very end is a sound test/outtake you're sure to enjoy if you're from western NY.
2/21/2020

The guy who invented the laser printer was laughed out of Rochester.

Season 2, Ep. 1
We're back for a new season!In this episode we discuss the lives of Gary Starkweather (inventor of the laser printer), Tony Fadell (inventor of the iPod and Nest), and Coach Bob Bradley (inventor of being nice to people instead of having Twitter wars).Special guest is printer expert Pete Skidmore and music from the very talented guys of The Funeral Portrait!