Transcript: 9: Trick or Tech - a halloween special

Introduction and Round the Table Updates

Clip: Welcome, everyone, to this Halloween special of The Tech Docs Podcast. Keep an eye on the shadows, and let's get started.

Your technology has a fever? Your network is short of breath, or your system just stopped responding? You're in the right place. Here we diagnose digital disorders, troubleshoot stubborn symptoms, and prescribe real-world fixes. This is for modern tech problems. No guesswork, no snake oil, just practical solutions. Welcome.

Pat: Hi. I guess that's me. It's Hannibal... I mean, it's Pat here from Cavan. They've put me in the hot seat tonight, so God help us. This is really scary for everybody. So welcome to the Halloween special. It's the ninth episode, I believe. I'm kind of rooted to this chair with pure nerves, but we'll get through this. So I'm going to pass around the group and see how everybody's month has gone, so I can take a breath and recalibrate. How's your month, Jackie?

Jackie: My month has gone very well. I've been reading. I think I'm on 265 books since the first of January. I'm actually reading one with a talking cat. It's quite good. No, it's a witch. A nice witch. So yeah, but apart from that, everything's quiet. Working away. Quite boring, actually.

Pat: Okay. Like myself, Jackie, it sounds like you have as much going on as I have. Ken, please.

Ken: Hi Pat, and everyone. Yeah, I suppose I'm boring as well. Just getting out for walks. Like Jackie, I'm listening to books. There's one particular guy, and I won't say too much about it, but he's an investigator, and he actually reminds me of Sherlock Holmes when he's speaking. It's Steve Vance narrating. It's a really good book, actually.

Stuart H: That's a good one. I know the character you're on about, yeah.

Ken: Yeah. It's a bit slow. I'm at chapter 18 or 19 now, and it's very slow to get into. I'm hoping it'll get really good, but right now it's not doing much for me. It's just lacking something, but hopefully it'll get going now. As I say, the only thing that has anything going for it is the narration, for me.

Jackie: It needs a talking cat.

Ken: Or a witch, maybe.

Jackie: All books need a talking cat.

Pat: And I love how Jackie thinks cats that can talk are boring. But anyway, Stuart H.

Stuart H: I had a bit of a boring month as well.

Jade: No, you did not.

Stuart H: Don't mention it. I was building up anticipation. I was going to casually drop it in and just move along. Fair enough. So I finished that book Ken was talking about too, and I'll just say I think I guessed the twist about seventy-five percent of the way through. It was quite a good book. I enjoyed it, and the ending was very good. And I won a silver medal in Glasgow in blind tennis as well.

Jade: Woo!

Ken: Congratulations, congratulations.

Stuart H: Thank you. It was a great weekend of tennis, and I'm literally back off the plane today as we're recording.

Jade: Fresh off the plane.

Stuart H: Hot off the plane, indeed.

Jade: There's dedication for all of our listeners.

Ken: I wonder could you record on the plane, Stuart?

Stuart H: I don't think I'd be allowed to do that.

Pat: Ryanair would charge extra if you did.

Stuart H: They would, indeed.

Pat: Well done, Stuart. Well done again.

Stuart H: Thank you. I enjoy it, and I'm quite happy to come back with something.

Pat: Thanks, Stuart.

Jade: Well, as you can all tell, I'm here with a helper, my little Mini Doc. I've had a really busy month. Well, I had a busy week last week. We had the Sight and Sound Technology exhibitions in Dublin and Cork. Thank you to everyone who showed up, and thanks to everyone who said, "Oh, we listen to your podcast." I was very blown away by the number of people who had heard of us, so that's great to know we're not talking to ourselves. It was a great week, to go to TU Dublin and to Guide Dogs in Cork and meet everybody. That was my week. Other than that, it's been a very, very quiet month. As I like it.

Pat: Thanks, Jade. And I guess I'll add my two bob's worth. I haven't done a lot. I had a visitor for a couple of weeks, which was lovely. I'm doing a lot of research more than anything else, for that course I'm meant to be doing. I'm dipping in and out of it a little bit. In my research in particular, I've found a link between sight loss and increased numbers of people with ADHD. There's a connection: quite a significant increase, from what I can see, in ADHD among the visually impaired community. So I want to dig a little bit deeper into that and see are there any other conditions that are, we'll say, more prevalent among the community.

That's kind of what I've been at, and just walking and enjoying some fresh air, watching a lot of rubbish on Netflix and eating a lot of ice cream. So that's basically been my month. If I named the ice cream, would they have to sponsor us? Maybe before the end of the episode I'll do a sponsor shout-out. For now, we'd better not.

Stuart H: A lifetime supply of ice cream for Pat.

Pat: Oh my God, no. There wouldn't be a truck big enough.

Ken: He can share, he can share.

Stuart H: I'll tell you a lovely ice cream I was having when I was over there. They had a limited edition s'mores McFlurry.

Jade: They're so nice. I had one here the other day. Don't tell my nutrition coach I ate an ice cream.

Ken: And you're complaining about the cold, and you're eating ice cream!

Stuart H: It was in a very hot shopping centre when I had it.

Pat: This one is healthy, actually, because it's soya. It's made from soya. It's Swedish Glace. And it's really, really good. It's like soft scoop. Well, it depends on what's big, Ken. To me it's a mouthful, but to the normal person it's family size.

Ken: The name sounds familiar, to be honest.

Pat: Yeah, it's really, really good.

Ken: And they have raspberry as well, do they?

Pat: They do, yeah.

Stuart H: I wonder will people be getting them in their Halloween trick-or-treat bags this year?

Pat: Never happens.

Jackie: It wouldn't get that far.

Train Accessibility and Zoom Headphone Advice

Pat: Moving on. I think we have a few emails. We certainly have one email from one of our listeners, I believe.

Jade: We do, we have two. I'm going to start with the longer one, because I don't know whether it's a rant, but to me it looks like a very genuine concern, from a traveller called Lucy. She says: "Hey Tech Docs, I'm currently travelling on a train and you guys came to mind, mainly because I didn't know where else to throw this question. I'm travelling in coach C, except coach C is at the front of the train instead of at the back. I'm wondering, why don't trains have massive NaviLens codes on the outside? Imagine the madness. I can scan the code from the platform, and my phone tells me coach C, so off I go. Revolutionary stuff altogether.

"But then there's the seat reservation problem. I'm a VoiceOver user, so I can't independently book seats by myself. I've rung TFI on numerous occasions, and have been given seats and carriages that do not exist. Just let that sink in. That takes some talent. I'm not the most confident traveller, but here's the important distinction: I don't need to learn how to get on and off the train. That I can do. My problem is knowing where I am. I can walk onto a platform and find the train, but is it my train? Where's the carriage I'm supposed to be sitting in? I can find a seat, but is it my seat? That's the accessibility gap. I don't want someone to put me on the train. I want to be able to do it independently. I want to have the same access to information as sighted people."

Lucy, that's very fair.

Jackie: I would happily agree with that. I was coming back from somewhere, and all the people had booked seats, but the seat display wasn't working. So you just go and sit anywhere you want, and then these people come, the seats get fixed, and you realise you're sitting in somebody's booked seat. I would agree with that. I can get on and off, as Lucy said. I would feel for wheelchair users. There's been nobody manning the station. How on earth is a wheelchair user getting on this train? At least I can climb up, or be thrown on. But yeah, I would agree with that. It's a massive gap. We should have been able to find our own seats and to successfully book, and that's ridiculous about the carriage not existing.

Jade: And it's funny, because at the events last week, there was a fireside chat, and Stuart Lawler might jump in and help me with the story, but I do believe somebody said Air Canada, I think it was, had put Braille seat numbers along the top, where the lockers are. The cabin crew were very keen to tell somebody, "Oh, we have Braille signage." But actually it was too high up. Somebody who's visually impaired isn't going to be reaching up to feel the Braille. I suppose Air Canada had been wanting to show it off, because it was new and it was Braille, but think about where you're putting the Braille. Is a blind person going to be reaching up?

Ken: It's a start, like. It's a start.

Stuart H: Exactly. What if you can't reach up that high?

Jade: Well, I can't.

Ken: I could possibly, but...

Pat: It'd be better on the back of the seat somehow, you'd think.

Jade: But I mean, fair play to them. It was a good start.

Jackie: I do like seeing companies taking initiatives like that.

Stuart H: Should we explain what NaviLens is, for anyone who doesn't know, based on that email? Okay, did I just throw myself into that?

Pat: So you just volunteered yourself, Stuart?

Ken: Why do you think we stay so quiet, Stuart?

Stuart H: Fair enough. NaviLens is basically a QR-style app where you can scan these particular NaviLens codes, as they're called, from an extreme distance. They are significantly larger than a regular QR code, so that they can be picked up at such a distance. I know they are in major train stations in the UK. You can scan from ground level, and they have them up on a wall very far away.

Jade: I must try that when we travel to Sight Village.

Ken: They have them in Lincoln City Library as well, I believe.

Jade: And also a shout-out to Kellogg's, because they're on some of their boxes.

Jackie: That's right.

Stuart H: And I do fully agree they would be a great addition to have on the side of trains.

Ken: Totally.

Jackie: What I like about them is, say somebody's from Spain, because they're in Spain as well, it translates them into your own language. So if I'm in Spain, I can scan there and it'll say it in English rather than in Spanish. It's very intuitive, but it's just not publicised enough. It's not pushed enough. I'd like to see them in more places.

Ken: And can you put them on your clothing as well, by laminating them or something?

Jackie: Yeah, I put them on DVDs.

Stuart H: You basically print them out onto whatever type of sheet or thing you want, because it's just ink that gets printed out. So I think we're all fully in agreement with what Lucy said.

Pat: They pride themselves on "mind the gap", you know, and maybe they'd want to mind the accessibility gap themselves.

Jade: But we also have another email, from Jessica, who says: "I'm wondering if the Tech Docs have any recommendations for Bluetooth headphones suitable for Zoom calls."

Jackie: Oh, this is the bane of my life.

Stuart H: I personally like the AirPods Pro for Zoom. I use them the whole time, and I find them quite decent.

Jade: The control room door is opening, so I'm wondering, have you something to contribute there?

Stuart L: I have. I only had a conversation about this with someone today: Bluetooth audio, and why you would or wouldn't. I don't think your correspondent says what platform. If you're on Windows, you do not want to use Bluetooth for meetings, because, without getting into it too much, Bluetooth on Windows uses a different profile, as we call it, for calls and conferencing software. So it sounds like you're on the phone. So if you're on Windows, you want to buy a headset that has a little 2.4G wireless dongle, which allows the headset to communicate directly with the computer it's connected to.

The other big advantage is there's no latency, as we call it. There's no delay, whereas Bluetooth has a bit of a delay. If you're editing audio with a Bluetooth keyboard, for example, you'll notice the slight delay you have to anticipate. So I do recommend people buy, and I don't know if you want to mention brands or not, but Logitech are really good in this area. They have really good headsets with the little dongle. The other thing with the dongle is you can walk all the way around your house, probably further than you'd get with Bluetooth. But bear in mind, if you're moving around a bit with your laptop, for example, keep the dongle safe, because if it loses its dongle, it's no use.

And some people do not like these devices, because there are people who like Bluetooth headsets that can do multi-pairing, so you can switch between your computer and your phone. That's very convenient. These particular headsets don't do that, in general anyway.

Jackie: That's the sort I'm looking for as well, because I must have bought a ton of Bluetooth headphones that declare "clear, crisp sound, designed for Zoom calls", and it's like, no, they haven't.

Stuart L: For your listeners, we'll stick the Logitech one I'm using into the show notes, although it is not the most portable. I didn't realise when I bought it, but it's a gaming headset, so it's huge.

Jade: It's a really good headset, though, and it blocks out a lot of noise.

Jackie: What's it like price-wise?

Stuart L: It was about a hundred... I believe a hundred and eight euros. That's very precise.

Jackie: That's not bad.

Ken: And to be honest, Jackie, if you worked out all the other ones you've got, you've probably spent that at least.

Jackie: I use wired ones, but I would like ones I could just walk around a wee bit with.

Stuart L: And it has a rechargeable battery, and a very accessible little app that you use with it, so you can control all your EQ and get your battery levels. I've been using it every day, all day, since last Christmas, and it's been great.

Pat: I think you get better sound quality with the dongle as well, for listening to music and stuff, don't you?

Stuart L: Yes, definitely.

Pat: I had a headset a few years back, I can't think of the brand, and the sound quality was incredible.

Ken: And Logitech is a good brand, to be honest.

Jackie: Well, if Jessica's going to buy one, I would definitely buy one, because I want something kind of Bluetooth-y rather than wired. I'm covered in wires everywhere.

Stuart H: One for everyone in the...

Ken: Logitech might, if they're listening, give you one, Jackie.

Jackie: Please, Logitech, for a poor wee blind child.

Pat: Just in the interest of fairness, there are other brands apart from Logitech, Kellogg's and Swedish Glace ice cream, just so we know. Okay, Jade, how do people contact us?

Jade: You can get in touch with us via our website at www.thetechdocpod.com. You can email us at hello@thetechdocpod.com, or if you'd like to collaborate with us, send an email to teamup@thetechdocpod.com. And it might be worth noting that our producer now has an email: producer@thetechdocpod.com, if you want to send him any Use It or Lose It ideas or tech tips you think we might like to know about. We also have voice notes available, so please, please, please give it a try. We really want to hear voice notes from people. So that's how you can contact us.

Pat: Thanks, Jade. I think we have a little word now from our Mini Doc.

Mini Doc and Scary Tech Tales

Clip: It's time for Mini Doc: how not to get things stuck in your ear.

Jade: I'm joined by my helper, aren't I? And you have a really scary story to tell everyone, don't you?

Mini Doc: Yes, I do.

Jade: What happened to you?

Mini Doc: So when I woke up, she caught my ear with the hairbrush, and I went "Ow!"

Jade: She screamed.

Mini Doc: Yeah. Then she had a look, and the back of my earring was stuck in my ear. So we went to the doctor.

Jade: The doctor couldn't get it out.

Mini Doc: So he told us to go to the hospital. We went to the hospital, which I hate, as some of you might know.

Jade: Yeah, you do. And what happened in the hospital? They couldn't get it out either, so then they had to do something for you. Laughing gas. And it tasted like...

Mini Doc: Nothing.

Jade: Nothing. They said it had flavours. Peaches?

Mini Doc: Peaches, yeah.

Jade: She had laughing gas, and she told the doctors that Bluey was her favourite TV show. But you don't remember it, do you? And then the doctors tried to get it out, didn't they? And then what happened? You moved your head and it popped out.

Mini Doc: Yeah, I did it myself.

Jade: And then, on the same ear, yesterday...

Mini Doc: I was running with my friends, and then I ran from a wasp, and it landed on the top of my ear and stung me. Luckily there was no sting left in it, so I didn't need the tweezers.

Jade: No, you didn't need the tweezers. That's a spooky story, isn't it?

Ken: Well, at least you got a day off school.

Mini Doc: Now, this is a warning to all listeners, even the Tech Docs: do not sit by a wasp nest.

Pat: That's very good advice. Well done. What a brave little girl. Bye, and thank you.

Jade: And that's my little helper.

Pat: Cool. And she survived. We all survived, thankfully. But will we survive this next section? Because this is about scary tech. I was going to start with Stuart H, but he seems to have disappeared.

Jade: He doesn't seem to be here.

Pat: Where's he gone?

Stuart H: Hello, everybody. So you want to hear about the time I was scared, scarred and traumatised for life? Are you sure? Are you absolutely one hundred percent sure? Definitely sure? If so, keep listening.

It was the year of our Lord 2026, the fifteenth of August, at 10:52. I was asleep, comfortable in my bed, having nightmares about the scary schemes the power-hungry duck was engaged in at that very moment to take over the world, when I heard... this sound. Now, I did not think anything of it at the time. But when I opened that message... it was from the commander duck.

Clip: (VoiceOver reading a WhatsApp message) Message from Pat Dolan: "What did I miss? Didn't know there was a meeting planned for today."

Stuart H: I was so confused. I didn't know what he was on about. So I swiped back one message, and I saw that I had sent a Zoom link, alongside a date and time. Now you see why I am so scared and traumatised. What has my phone been doing on its own in the background when I have not been paying attention? Who has it been in contact with? Is there a dark conspiracy? Are all the phones in contact and planning the downfall of humanity? I hope this keeps you all up at night. I went and checked the automations in the Shortcuts app. I looked online to see had this been seen before, and I could not find anything. So when you're asleep at night, and you wake up and hear... always remember: your phone has a mind of its own.

Jade: It's so funny that that story's been told, because today somebody had an experience where apparently their phone was listening to them, and anything they said, the phone would do.

Stuart H: Okay, that's gotten a bit more advanced than what I was experiencing.

Pat: Apparently that's what's meant to happen, I think. Isn't that the nature of Siri?

Jade: Like, talking about browsing history or emails, and next thing the phone screen would display said emails. Since you said that about the WhatsApp, I'm a bit spooked now.

Pat: Well, I couldn't actually think of anything scary enough, but a friend of mine put something together for me about an experience he had.

Clip: Curse you, Silicon Valley! Why must everything require a six-digit verification code sent to a device I discarded?

Is something amiss, Master? Are the servers restless?

Worse, Igor. Two-factor authentication. It demands I confirm my identity via a smartphone app. But when I touch the glass screen with my massive, corpse-stitched fingers, it doesn't even register.

Have you tried using a stylus made from a lightning conductor rod, Master?

I tried it. Locked out for too many suspicious login attempts, because my IP address looks like it's originating from a haunted graveyard.

Pat: I just find those kind of verifications way, way too scary.

Jackie: They drive me... they make me want to turn green and explode out of my clothes and claw at somebody's face.

Jade: I would literally turn into Frankenstein's woman.

Pat: I was booking a ticket. You know, even though you have the free pass, you have to book a ticket sometimes on the Expressway. And it cost three euros. Three whole euros. And I had to do a verification through my banking app before the payment would go through. Like, seriously.

Jade: For three euros.

Jackie: And then the worst is, you spend three hundred euros somewhere and there's no verification needed.

Ken: I think that could be a whole topic. Two or three years ago, on verification codes, I got scammed out of a large amount of money. Literally all small amounts, and no verification code at all. Big amounts, no verification code. I was literally cleaned out. I got my money back, thankfully. But not even one verification code, for the small amounts or the big amounts. So that could be a whole topic.

Jade: Rogue bank cards.

Pat: Jade, have you anything scary to tell us?

Jade: I do. And I will pay homage to my poor, long-suffering grandmother for this. It was back when I had the iPhone 4S. It was either the 4S or the 5, so that's going back a long time ago. I rarely used Siri. This was when I used more magnification than VoiceOver as well, I should say. And I remember having my phone on the table, and next thing, all I hear out of it is, "Hello? What do you want?" I hung up. I didn't know what it was. Next thing, my grandmother rings me and she says, "Why do you keep ringing me?" "I don't keep ringing you. My phone isn't even near me." "But I'm getting loads of missed calls from you. You keep ringing me."

I looked back at the call log. Nothing. I was like, "Nan, I'm honestly not ringing you." "There's a call coming through with your number, and when I answer it I can hear your conversations and your voice." I could be cooking, or making a cup of tea, or talking with friends, and she's, "I can hear you, I can hear your voice." It baffles me, and this went on for a good two and a half months. I couldn't figure it out. In the end I got a new phone. I fecked my phone. I was too freaked out by it.

Stuart H: That is so weird. It wasn't even in the call log.

Jade: Yeah, and genuinely, it was only my grandmother it did it to.

Stuart H: That is so strange.

Ken: That's scary.

Jade: Yeah. I would say something if I'd pocket-dialled her. I always have this thing where if I'm reading messages, I nose-dial someone by accident. But this wasn't even in the call log. The phone didn't even ring, for me to be able to say, "Oh shit, I'm calling somebody."

Stuart H: And I doubt there were all the different calling apps, like WhatsApp.

Jade: Did we even have WhatsApp at the time? I don't think so. It might have been Viber.

Jackie: I had Viber.

Pat: Yeah, well, that's way back.

Jade: It was really creepy. I was sitting in a friend's house, talking to her. We were having a cup of tea and a catch-up about guide dogs and just chit-chat in general, and she was like, "Oh, you're with someone." How do you know this?

Stuart H: I believe I might have had something similar happen to me once, when I had the iPhone 4. Apparently my iPhone was ringing someone in the middle of the night for some reason, and I was like, I don't remember doing that. And I wouldn't have done that.

Jade: But it was just my grandma. It wasn't anybody else. So Nan, because I know you listen to this, I'm very sorry for all the phone calls. And I have to DigiCoach her.

Pat: Okay. That's scary.

Stuart H: She's going to DigiCoach your grandmother.

Jade: I do that all the time.

Ken: I don't have anything too scary, Pat. I don't think it could top Stuart's or Jade's, but I have one that springs to mind. I had got another Alexa for my bedroom, and I had all the lights turned off, and I'd say I was half asleep. And next minute, my whole room ended up lighting up with this flashing thing, and I was like, what the hell's going on? I woke myself up, and I could see the Alexa lighting up all round, blue and green, and I was like, God, what's going on here? Am I dreaming? So I was giving it all these commands, and I was probably setting off all the devices in the place.

And I said I'd better plug it in again because of my alarm set for the morning, so I plugged it back in. And you know the way when you plug it in, it lights up for a few minutes? So it did that until it went back to normal. I was staring at it for a few minutes and it just faded away. In the end I reckon they must have been doing a software update or something, because I'd never really copped it in the sitting room during the day, because it would be so bright. That's the only thing I can think of: a software update.

Another thing that scares me about them: you could be just sitting down, you might even be listening to Alexa, or you might be on your phone or listening to a book. We have an Echo Pop in the hall for our doorbell, and we have her up at level ten, just so that we'll hear the door. Sometimes it'll just make a random ding noise, like someone's listening, and it's so loud it would actually scare the bejaysus out of you.

Jade: I would also just like to add a disclaimer: the Tech Docs are not responsible for any Alexas being set off right now.

Stuart H: You read my mind. I was about to say the exact same thing.

Ken: I'm so used to them now, but you still get a scare. You can still get the life frightened out of you, and it could be twelve or one o'clock at night and you'd hear the ding, and I'm like, Jesus.

Jade: Well, actually, Ken, speaking of Alexas, I remember one time, and again it's my grandmother, this all seems to happen to her. She obviously didn't realise that she'd dropped in. She'd dropped into the Alexa in my kitchen, and she was obviously talking to a friend of hers: "Oh, Jade is marvellous, and all the cooking she does," blah, blah, blah, all talking about me, and what I made my grandad for his tea. And I was like, if I call her and say "Betty", I'm going to freak her out. How am I going to hang this up without her knowing that she's done it? And then eventually she copped it, and she was like, "Who's there?"

Jackie: As people know, I have quite a few devices around the house. I'd be in the sitting room, and next minute, literally, the one in the kitchen will start playing music, and I'm going, what did I say? It gives the thing, "Playing such and such from Amazon Music", and then I have to go around the whole place looking for where the music is. It's very creepy.

Ken: It is. And how many do you have now, Jackie?

Jackie: Still the same, but I was looking at the Max one.

Jade: Oh yeah, I'd love one of them.

Jackie: I was going to do it, and then I thought I'd be put away for a very long time. But I might be investing in the headphones Stuart Lawler was talking about, because they do sound cool.

Ken: I don't know if we ever asked our listeners to guess how many...

Jade: We did, early on. But actually, interestingly enough, Jackie, I ran a group earlier, and we were talking about glasses, and that you can put seven pairs of glasses on your app. Apparently, up to seven. And we were saying nobody needs that many glasses, and someone said, "Well, Jackie might."

Stuart H: Would you not think of getting the new Apple home pad thing that they stick on your wall?

Jackie: No. I had the HomePod things, and never again. I love my iPhone, I love my iPad, my Mac, my Watch. Those things are the biggest waste of time.

Stuart H: Door stoppers.

Pat: Have you your scary story, Jackie?

Jackie: I do. Mine is actually the Meta glasses. I was standing out in the dark at the run and was going, "Hey Meta, do you see a dog?" "Yes, there is a dog, and it's sitting," because she was going to the toilet. "She's a lovely dog. What's her name?" And I was like, "Sasha." "Oh, that's a lovely name. And what breed is she?" And I'm like, "Labrador Retriever." "She's a guide dog as well? Oh, she's a guide dog. That's absolutely fantastic. They are incredible dogs." And I didn't initiate any of this conversation. It just started, and I was like, "Yeah, okay."

This really freaked me out. I know they can continue the conversation; they stay listening for a few seconds. But I was saying nothing, because I was waiting for Sasha to come back over to me so I could go and pick up. And then it started asking all the questions. It was really freaky.

Jade: Oh God, I'll never wear the glasses again.

Stuart H: It nearly sounds like someone was typing and asking.

Jackie: "What type of dog do you have?" "I don't know." "Do you want to tell me about it?" You know? But I definitely do think it was somebody asking those questions.

Stuart H: I blame Jade's grandmother again.

Jackie: Yeah. She's sitting there frantically typing.

Jade: Poor woman can barely type herself.

Jackie: But yeah, that's my freaky one.

Use It or Lose It and Tech Tip

Clip: Will you use it or lose it? Tech Docs, Tech Docs, come on, you've got to choose it! Will you use it or lose it? Today I ask you...

Stuart L: Today we have an interesting Use It or Lose It. There's no doubt that during lockdown, most of the general public acquired one of three things: a new baby, the ability to make banana bread, or an air fryer. I don't think most of us acquired a new baby during lockdown. Some of us may have made banana bread. But I think a lot of people acquired an air fryer. I even got one, not even knowing what they were till it arrived. So today I ask: would you guys use or lose your air fryer? Let's start with our host, Mr Pat Dolan.

Pat: I use it. I was reluctant to get one, because I wasn't really sure what they were. And yes, I use it all the time.

Stuart L: Brilliant, Pat.

Pat: It's great for making banana bread.

Stuart L: Jackie?

Jackie: Yes, I would definitely use it, and I love banana bread.

Stuart L: Stuart?

Stuart H: Use it. I like banana bread, and I like carrot cake too.

Jackie: Nobody made carrot cake during the lockdowns.

Stuart L: Maybe Ken did.

Ken: No, definitely not. And I didn't acquire a baby either, just in case anyone's thinking.

Stuart L: Use or lose your air fryer, Ken?

Ken: I don't really cook, Stuart, but they're very, very convenient. And I have a long story to tell, but if my mum's listening, I'd better not.

Stuart L: And last but by no means least, Jade.

Jade: I had a six-month-old baby, so I didn't need to acquire one. Love my air fryer. One hundred percent use it.

Stuart L: There you go: the air fryer gets the thumbs up from the Tech Docs. Back to you, Pat.

Pat: Thanks, Stuart. And I think we're on to our tech tip now with Jade.

Clip: It's time for a Tech Doc tip. You'll be told something you didn't know you needed to know.

Jade: I'm sticking with the spookiness. So today's tip is for anyone who uses ChatGPT. If you're using it in voice mode and you say to it "Have a good day", "Enjoy the rest of your day" or "Goodbye", she, or he, will hang up the call. I was pretty freaked out by it, because all I said was "Have a good day", not expecting it to end the call, and it just went, "Bye!" So that is my Tech Doc tip for this month.

Pat: Haven't tried that.

Jade: Now, when I was saying it to Stuart Lawler last week, you tried it, didn't you, and it didn't really work. You were having a bit of a Shayne Ward.

Stuart L: It was like the Shayne Ward song, "No U Hang Up". I actually said to her, "We're like Shayne Ward", and she started laughing at me. It was very bizarre.

Jade: A creepy laugh. I had us in fits of laughter, but it didn't work for you.

Stuart H: I wonder was it talking to Jackie as well? Was it ChatGPT talking to your Meta glasses?

Jackie: I think yes. Me and AI are just so tight right now. Me and ChatGPT have great fun with the stories you see on Facebook. There's always a three-legged poodle, or a golden retriever called Murphy, and there's always a Daniel who's a cop.

Jade: Yeah, the brother. I think it's called clickbait. On social media they post the story and they don't finish it, and then you have to go into the comments, and it's "Click here to read the rest of the story", and when you do, it's all ads.

Pat: There we go. I was wondering when that was going to happen. So we've managed to get through. I think we're all still alive. Well done, everybody. That was an experience, and I've lost two stone in weight since this started. So that's it, folks. I just want to wish everyone a very happy and spooky Halloween, and we will be back again.

(The episode closes with a Halloween song about the Docs.)

Stuart H: Happy Halloween, everyone.

Pat: I think we've done enough damage for one month, folks. Good night.