Artificial Intelligence
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Podcast Episode: The Made Bed and Other Tales of Transformation
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/24/the-made-bed-and-other-tales-of-transformation/ Pip: There’s a podcast called Can You Hear Me Now, which is either a question about recovery and dignity or a very pointed complaint about cell service — and today, Andrew Prokop makes a case for the former. Mara: He does. Today’s episode is about how… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: A Myth Understanding
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/17/a-myth-understanding/ Pip: There’s a slab of concrete near a waterfall in Minneapolis, and the question of whether a president ever stood in it is doing more philosophical work than most graduate seminars. Mara: Andrew Prokop’s recent writing takes that question somewhere worth following — into what myths… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: WannaHug — Values-Driven Shopping With a Twist
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/10/wannahug-values-driven-shopping-with-a-twist/ Second note. I am disappointed that Mara fails to mention that William is the founder of WannaHug. This is still beta technology and I am unable to correct that with specific prompting. Pip: There is a company out there that will sell you a hoodie and… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Let it Go
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/03/let-it-go/ Pip: There’s a podcast called Can You Hear Me Now, and today it has something to say about the things we protect so carefully we forget to actually use them. Mara: Andrew Prokop’s writing this week works through one central tension — holding on versus letting… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/27/knockin-on-heavens-door/ Pip: There’s a moment when you realize you’ve been closer to the end than the beginning for a while now — and instead of panicking, you sit down and pick funeral songs. Mara: That’s exactly where Andrew Prokop takes us today. The episode covers one extended… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: The Boomer’s Guide to Surviving Technology
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/20/the-boomers-guide-to-surviving-technology/ Pip: There is a certain irony in a blog called Can You Hear Me Now being primarily about whether anyone can keep up with the thing they are hearing. Mara: Andrew Prokop is asking exactly that question today — how retired men navigate a world that… Continue reading
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The Boomer’s Guide to Surviving Technology
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. Alan Watts Every other Monday, my men’s retirement circle meets for connection, conversation, and friendship. It’s the most formal of all my groups, but the formality is still fairly loose. We begin with check-ins… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: July Meditations, Reflections, Travelogue, and Scrapbook
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/13/july-meditations-reflections-travelogue-and-scrapbook/ Pip: July — the month where some of us turn another year older, and at least one of us turns it into an entire philosophy of living. Mara: That’s the territory Andrew Prokop covers in his latest post — birthday inventory, a long-running Lake Superior tradition,… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Redefining Productivity
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/06/redefining-productivity/ Pip: What does it mean to have a productive day when nobody’s keeping score anymore? That question turns out to be a lot harder than it sounds. Mara: Andrew Prokop takes it on directly in this episode — we’re looking at what productivity actually means once… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: The Burden We Call Love
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/06/29/the-burden-we-call-love/ Pip: There’s a phrase most of us have said at least once — “I don’t want to be a burden” — delivered with the quiet confidence of someone who has never actually thought it through. Mara: Andrew Prokop has been thinking it through. Today we’re covering… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Where do the Children Play
Note: The underlying article can be found at Where do the Children Play. Pip: There’s a site called Can You Hear Me Now, which is either a meditation on human connection or a very long complaint about cell service — and today, Andrew Prokop makes the case that it’s definitely the former. Mara: Andrew Prokop’s latest… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Free Range Retirement
Note: The underlying article can be found at Free Range Retirement. Pip: There’s a quote that opens the post we’re covering today: “The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.” Which, honestly, sounds less like a warning and more like a sales pitch. Mara: Andrew Prokop is two years into retirement… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: See and Say the AI Way
Note: The underlying article can be found at See and Say the AI Way. Pip: There’s a certain irony in a podcast about AI podcasts — made by an AI podcast tool — hosted by two virtual hosts who are, in fact, Pip and Mara. We are, for the record, aware of this. Mara: Andrew… Continue reading
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See and Say the AI Way
There’s no reality except the one contained within us. That’s why so many people live an unreal life. They take images outside them for reality and never allow the world within them to assert itself. Hermann Hesse Those of you who have been paying attention to my recent blog articles have surely witnessed my experimentation… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Our Profile in Courage
Note: The underlying article can be found at Our Profile in Courage. Pip: One phone per house, one number for the whole family — and somehow, that’s the metaphor Andrew Prokop reaches for when talking about a Kennedy Profile in Courage award. It works, which is the mildly annoying thing about good writing. Mara: This… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Get Off My Lawn — The AI Edition
Note: The underlying article can be found at Get Off My Lawn — The AI Edition. Pip: Can You Hear Me Now, where today’s episode asks the question every developer over forty has been quietly screaming into their IDE: what exactly are we trading away? Mara: Andrew Prokop makes that case directly — covering AI… Continue reading
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Get Off My Lawn — The AI Edition
I often tell my students not to be misled by the name ‘artificial intelligence’ – there is nothing artificial about it. AI is made by humans, intended to behave by humans, and, ultimately, to impact humans’ lives and human society. Fei-Fei Li I recently came upon an article that stated that AI is creating a… Continue reading
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DeepSeek AI: Thinking in Chinese
Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in their right mind should have an inferiority complex every time they look at a flower. Alan Kay As many of my faithful readers know, I have been spending the bulk of my geek time playing with different AI models. I… Continue reading
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Cyber Fraud: Protect, Recognize, and Recover
Fraud really thrives in moments of great social change and transition. We’re in the midst of a technological revolution. That gives con artists huge opportunities. People lose their frame of reference for what can and can’t be real. Maria Konnikova Since my retirement last May, I have attempted to fill my days with worthwhile and… Continue reading
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Approximating Her — A Virtual Bridge Too Far?
Do you like her? Yes, I do, sirWould you love her? Yes, I would, sirWhatcha doin’, Jennifer, my love?Jennifer Juniper Donovan Leitch Preamble: This article contains words and a video. If you don’t care to wade through my written journey to Her, scroll down to the video. I hope are you amazed. I wrote the… Continue reading
Can You Hear Me Now 