That is up to the boys. They invite me, I pop on over.

Once in a while, I will resurface just to see what's going on in tech. I am very much out of touch with it. I think I probably should have hit the eject button about a year earlier, if I'm being honest.

Today is the last day of my 40s. And I've only got 4 hours left. I think my best decade so far was actually 35-45. But maybe I can make 50-60 really awesome.

Whom amongst us hasn't accidentally been added to a messaging thread? Granted, in my case it was about a bunch of folks I don't know going to see Wicked in a city I do not live in, not a strategic military plan. . . .

This was me at the Web Summit in Qatar. I got in the groove just in time to get on the flight back home! Have a great trip!

But I'm not a business guy. I'm a story guy. And my week was spent talking to people who have incredible stories to share. Many of them thanked me and said I inspired them, but honestly they're the inspirational ones. I look forward to helping them reach their audience. It's an exciting time.

Many of these creators already do phenomenal work and have impressive followings, but monetization remains a challenge. Without monetization, the podcast industry is unsustainable. We've begun the work to transform that. It's me belief that iHeart will be a huge help here.

I spent most of this week in Doha, Qatar at the Web Summit. While there, iHeart Podcasts forget a partnership with the Government Communications Office to establish a podcasting foundation to help build out the infrastructure that will provide creators in the Middle East and North Africa support.

I think, starting in March, I'm going to find local volunteer community projects to join. I feel that making a contribution that can have a positive impact on people in my area might help me make a difference. Which feels like a much better option than absorbing endless doom stories.

Same. Ditched Twitter a couple of years ago.

I'm excited to hear that Burnie Burns has acquired the Rooster Teeth assets nearly a year after WBD shut down the company. Wishing him and his team all the success in the world as they reforge the media company!

I am on Pixel Fed already, though I haven't really spent much time on it yet.

I have bought a ton of cheap ones so that, in theory, there's always a pair in arm's reach. In practice they all migrate to the couch.

I waited far too long to do it, but I've deleted my accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Downloaded everything, so at least there's that. Hard to shut down something that kept me in touch with friends, but the combo of doom scrolling and contributing to Zuck's wealth was just too much for me.

My work space. I'm part tech communicator, part cozy witch. I work by candlelight and the glow of displays. My magic is stored in Dropbox folders.

Hat on a hat.

@captainror.bsky.social Your first follower is an Internet celebrity!

I think Canada will need to be very desperate before calling on me. I'll still be with iHeart, just mostly behind the scenes.

Recording my last Techstuff episode today so I'm in the office. Decided to pose with the show cover art on our logo wall. Note how they decided my show would be the one with the thermostat in it. Thematically appropriate.

Tomorrow, I record my final episode of Techstuff as a regular host. I'll be introducing the new team. I'm really curious to find out where they'll take the show. But I'm more curious how it will feel to not be prepping or recording a tech podcast after more than 16 years of doing it weekly.

I have just two episodes of TechStuff left to host, and recorded one of them yesterday. Next week, I record my final episode. Then I hand control over to a new, incredible team starting on Friday. It will be a new era for the show, one better than I could have made it. Which is how we should work.

Stepping down from hosting TechStuff is just my first step in my long-term plan of becoming a burn out living in a beach town. This long-term plan accounts for the fact that I will need to relocate regularly due to changing sea levels.

I know I've talked about the early days of electrification, but I don't think I did one explicitly about rural electrification. I remember talking about how rural communities gave rise to the cable industry, but obviously that's a different thing.

To be clear, TechStuff will continue on. But with new caretakers!

That means the world to me. Thank you so much!

When Hugh Grant comes around, better get down on the ground. . . .

Movie theaters aren't kidding about the no tolerance policy re: singing during films. I was asked to leave before I could even get halfway through "Popular." Of course, I was watching "Heretic," so that might have had something to do with it. . . .

TechStuff Is About to Change (And That's a Good Thing) - TechStuff After 16 and a half years, I will be stepping down from being the host of TechStuff. We'll talk more about the future of the show soon, but today's episode is all about the history and evolution of th...

Today's episode of TechStuff is special to me -- I explain my upcoming departure from the show (in January), where the show came from and how it has evolved over the 16 and a half years since I co-created it.

2024 was a year of big changes for me. It started off with me being admitted to a hospital ICU for two days, and that was on January 3rd. But here's the thing -- next year will feature a more dramatic change. I have been the host of TechStuff for 16 years. I won't hit 17. You're first to know.

Since the last time I was on here, I was hospitalized a couple of times, had surgery, and am working to get into a new routine. Oh, and I also closed my X/Twitter account (before all the medical stuff). It's been busy!