The Wizard of iPhone Speaks

Episode 8: "A billion $ here, a billion $ there and pretty soon we are talking about real money..." Everett Dirkson former speaker of the House.

John MaGuirk — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 20:00:33 +0000

Opening and closing music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church, used with permission..

When next we meet, let's talk iPhone. You don't have to go to prison to shut off your iPhone, from WSJ Weekend Edition 08/07/2026 -- reader suggested methods 08/16/20-26 I'll tell you how to do it easier.

Episode 7: Benjamin Franklin was just quoting Socrates at the third Continental Congress when he said: “We have formed a republic; let’s see if we can keep it!”

John MaGuirk — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:19:35 +0000

Opening piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church, closing courtesy of Dr Ming Wang. God Bless America recorded live by iPhone.

I know everyone has an objection to originating at text for no reason, but try this one —
Text Import Auto to 85100
You will get a ping back asking you to subscribe to Import Auto Newsletter — Reply NO
You will still get the $20.00 off — first visit coupon
PS This is important — if you do this from home and are connected to WiFi, there are no text charges!
(ATT hates that part)

Episode 6: This time next year, those newly constructed halls of commerce will be hosting pickleball bars.

John MaGuirk — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 20:14:09 +0000

Opening and closing piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church.
This podcast series is sponsored by your friends at Import Auto Maintenance. Visit thier website for a first-visit $20 (off) coupon.
Consider this story in Newsweek Magazine, August 07 (20-26),
Concrete Enemy (P29)
A chronicle of the race to build data centers over local opposition — it’s a conundrum driven on both ends by modern know-nothings.
I find it a classic example of a bogus coin toss: “heads I win, tails I win too”! Will the coin land on its edge? Highly improbable.
The construction of these digital dugouts is justified as an enhancement adjunct for AI. Then the fur flies; the opposition plays their trump card: a “resource shortage.” Wrong!
“We don’t need no stinking data center…!”
(Thank You Treasure of Sierra Madre)
Any savvy user knows you can launch your/any AI platform from that device that slips into your pocket or purse.
Also contains this feature: The PodCast Doctor is IN.

Episode 5: Glen Beck radio comentator GOT IT WRONG (Friday July 31) You can't tutor AI by scanning books

John MaGuirk — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 20:27:51 +0000

Closing piano music courtesy of Bellevue Presbyterian Church.
Today’s avatar is from a LinkedIn post decrying the destruction of books to “feed” knowledge to AI.
Is the crash of a trash-loaded tractor-trailer truck in Nashville connected to a local failed idea?
Could that trailer truck of trash have been the residue of a local attempt to “tutor” AI?

It’s not as Glen Beck suggested on the radio today — you can’t scan knowledge into a computer to “tutor” AI. I demur; it’s another demonstration of our lack of technical expertise. A PDF — portable document format is not machine-editable.

Episode 4: Coming to a fuel stop near you — Amazon (are they the 500/lb Guerilla/sic in the room?

John MaGuirk — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 21:46:04 +0000

Opening and closing music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church, (closing) Blair String Quartet plays Hyden (recorded live by iPhone 2016)

Memo to my friend David Pogue, CBS Sunday News.
“Sorry, ‘Charlie/David’ Starkist wants tuna to taste good, not tuna with good taste.”
The recent spike in lettuce-borne illnesses has more to do with “processing” than regulations.
Let's Talk Lettuce
This recent flap about lettuce is more about how it's prepared or used than "sanitation".
Here's the 411/ Most home consumers of lettuce buy the iceberg varieties of head lettuce. When arriving home, they deliver the wrapped head to the vegetable crisper at the bottom of the chill chest.
Before serving, they unwrap the now chilled lettuce and discard the top two or three leaves and rinse the remainder at the kitchen tap.
Commercial users are not so prolific -- they plan to use every possible leaf and may or may not rinse the lettuce before beginning the slicing process. Knowing the low education level dominant in our culture, this step (rinsing) is likely to be omitted.
So now, when the head meets a mandolin, it's volume that matters, not sanitation, and now, in addition to contaminated produce -- now the blade is also compromised as well, spreading the infection more widely.

Episode 3: A congressional democrat cites the Constitution of The United States, I am reminded of a remark of Harry Truman:

John MaGuirk — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 01:35:01 +0000

Harry said this -- “She (Eisenhaur) knows as much about the constitution (politics)…as a hog does about Christmas.”

Music courtesy of Steven Valley Church (Be Still My Soul) & closing music curtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church -- used with permission.

After the 2010 flood, 90% of businesses that lost data failed to reopen. Think Opery-Land!
Listeners may call MouseCalls at six one five —six six two — zero two — three five, use the coupon code W-O-O-D-Y for a $19.95 rate for the first three months.
A VIP/Silver subscription includes: MouseCalls weekly tech tips and alerts direct to your inbox.
Call six one five —six six two — zero two — three five Do it right Now!

Next time on Wizard of iPhone Woodrow Wilson was a lousy movie critic -- some remarks about Birth of a Nation (film)

Episode 2: Once Upon a Time -- (In America) Newspapers Mattered

John MaGuirk — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Opening and closing music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church (recorded live via iPhone) used with permission
The summer driving season is in full swing, and next our thoughts will turn to:

“over the river and through the wood to grandmother’s house we go”

In modern American that might be a trip to Florida or a ski excursion to Colorado

If you make that holiday drive it’s more important than ever to visit Import Auto Maintenance and let them give your vehicle a once-over lightly

Let them visually inspect those belts, hoses, including that all important breaking system, before that dreaded check engine light comes on.

Why wait for something to fail, practice a little preventive maintenance. No onboard computer can predict a part failing. The device only tells you after the fact, that may be too late.

Visit import auto maintenance dot com and look for the twenty dollar first visit coupon; call Sam at six one five — five two one — two five — nine zero ask for the pre-holiday inspection special or swing by Four Nine zero Craighead St., Nashville, TN, 37203 (for your navigator) For old-time Nashville, that’s Melrose

Craighead connects Nolensville RD & Franklin RD (eighth avenue south)

Episode 1: Does Chuck Schumer have both oars in the water -- probably NOT

John MaGuirk — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:17:53 +0000

Music for this podcast from Harpeth Presbyterian Church, used with permission.
I don't care that Maxine Waters cashes her check -- I want to know where this proxy voting thing came from? I thought a quorum call had to be answered in PERSON.. We don't need voting reform -- We need legislators who obey the law, and perform their duty.

After the 2010 flood, 90% of businesses that lost data failed to reopen. Think Opery-Land!

Listeners may call MouseCalls at six one five —six six two — zero two — three five, use the coupon code W-O-O-D-Y for a $19.95 rate for the first three months.

A VIP/Silver subscription includes: MouseCalls weekly tech tips and alerts direct to your inbox.

Call six one five —six six two — zero two — three five

Do it right Now!

Episode 1: Wizard of iPhone Speaking Series xv 07 - 03 - (20-26),

John MaGuirk — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:24:13 +0000

Violin music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church

“Import Auto Maintenance Nashville, Tennessee, wants to see you, No, actually they recommend bringing in your vehicle for a pre-season check-up before 'the winter driving season’ begins in earnest.
Yes, it’s true that most of the maintenance performed by your dad, has been taken over by the ‘computer’, however visually checking your fluids and the battery ‘reserve’ are still important.
Only preventive maintenance can tell you before a catastrophic failure, Unfortunately the computer doesn’t inform you until after the failure.
Call Import Maintenance — six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero — that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero

Episode 12: It's the washington monument reflection pool STUPID

John MaGuirk — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 20:11:58 +0000

Opening music courtesy of Stevens Valley -- closing piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Churc
In the dim, dark days of the past, we practiced preventive maintenance of our mechanical devices.
Since the early nineties, we have relegated that kind of thing to the onboard computer; that’s a problem.
The computer in your automobile tells you that something has failed; it can’t predict a part failing next week when you’re in East Overshoe, Alabama
Take a first step to prevent system failure: let Import Auto Maintenance give your favorite ride a “Safety Inspection” of those belts, hoses, filters, and fluids, including those all-important brakes.
Call Joe at Import Auto Maintenance, ask for the Travel Season Springtime Maintenance Inspection
Call six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero — That’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero

It’s okay to talk to Art too! Visit their website, importautomaintenance.com, and look for the $20 first-visit coupon.

Episode 21: Wizard of iPhone Speaks -- Interviews another podcaster

John MaGuirk — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 19:41:41 +0000

Opening & closing piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church, (Come the fount...with variations ) & opening Be Still My Soul -- used with permission. Recorded live by iPhone.
MouseCalls of Bellevue (37221) has been my provider of computer service and repair since the days of my Mac II/Plus (1985), before the world ever heard of Google.
VIP Silver is intended for seasoned citizens 55 and older, and it’s available at the introductory rate of $23.95.
VIP / Silver is total protection and backup for your digital devices.
Moving your backup to off-site storage, if you operate a business, consider buying VIP protection for your business records and devices.
After the flood of 2010, 90% of those business which lost data failed to reopen. Think Opery-Land!
Listeners may call MouseCalls at six one five —six six two — zero two — three five, use the coupon code W-O-O-D-Y for a $19.95 rate for the first three months.
A VIP/Silver subscription includes: MouseCalls weekly tech tips and alerts direct to your inbox.
Call six one five —six six two — zero two — three five

Episode 20: Apple CEO Tim Cook has warned that surging demand for memory chips driven by AI technologies is increasing costs across the sector, making

John MaGuirk — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:58:00 +0000

Opening music courtesy of Bluegrass quartet of Bellevue Presbyterian Church, recorded live by iPhone, used with permission.

In the dim dark days of the past, we practiced preventive maintenance of our mechanical devices. Since the early nineties, we have relegated that kind of thing to the onboard computer; that’s a problem.
The computer in your automobile tells you that something has failed, it can’t predict a part failing next week when you’re in East Overshoe, Alabama
Take a first step to prevent system failure, let Import Auto Maintenance give your favorite ride a “Safety Inspection” of those belts, hoses, filters, and fluids, including those all-important brakes.
Call six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero . That’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero
When next we meet, Hack number one of the five hacks of AI -- The president of the United States is too busy to do pool maintenance.

Episode 19: It’s a matter that “Golden Rule”: The Guy With The Gold (IRS) Makes The Rules!

John MaGuirk — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 21:16:12 +0000

Opening and closing music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church, recorded live by iPhone on Sunday, June 6, 2026, used with permission.

Mike Rowe gets it wrong!

In a recent radio commercial, he calls our country a “democratic” republic, and that just Ain’t so!

The United States of America is a Constitutional Republic; the last democratic republic was Rome, a place that originated “vox populi,” a literal translation is “voice of the people”.

Episode 10: Even good writers can be blindsided by AI.

John MaGuirk — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 20:56:01 +0000

Piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church, recorded live via iPhone, used with permission.
Consider this headline from Maria Bartoloma “Energy Prices Are Rising” FBN Sunday 06/07/20-26.
Hack Number One of the five hacks of AI 🤖
“Create a dramatic crisis Headline That Doesn’t deliver.”
Here’s the good news 📰. You can fight the good fight. It starts with changing your behavior.
Begin by examining your behavior and reducing your electricity use (in terms of electricity); we call this "power demand”.
Next time on Wizard of iPhone Speaks, we challenge the conventional wisdom of buying GOLD. I'll start by telling you what they won't tell you.

Episode 18: Here’s a digital fact you need to know — Editors are an endangered species, and I blame pagination.

John MaGuirk — Sun, 31 May 2026 21:43:18 +0000

Closing music courtesy of Banjo HangOut (Here I raise my Ebineezer), used with permission.
As regular listeners know, I love the printed word so much that I paid a premium price to receive a “hard” copy of Newsweek Magazine.

This week’s issue, May 29, (20-26) has two automotive stories: “The world’s greatest auto disrupters 20-26” P/26 and on P/46 “Sustainability Mercedes Benz”. My local Mercedes dealer let me drive a GLC/400 as a loner. It drove okay, but i missed the audio cues of my ML320. PS, I don't plan on buying anybody's EV.

As a reminder, the illustration that accompanies this precis is from the first Trump administration, when China embargoed our plastic scrap. They decided their landfills were full. They weren’t recycling it either.
Join me on Wednesday of this week when I talk to another podcaster about his upcoming new effort. Join me then, won’t you?

Episode 17: English is the new Lingua Franca -- thanks to Pan American Airways

John MaGuirk — Thu, 21 May 2026 22:16:21 +0000

Closing banjo music courtesy of BanjoHangOut -- Hello Dolly,

Next Time

In our Republic, voting is not about numbers, which "count", it's eligibility that matters.

Episode 16: "A little late tonight, folks. Jack Benny"

John MaGuirk — Tue, 12 May 2026 21:45:31 +0000

Closing music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church. (used with permission.)

Episode 15: Please forgive the last post -- the file was corrupt -- this time I hope I got it right

John MaGuirk — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:30:50 +0000

Closing Music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church -- Here I Raise My Ebenezer used with permission
Yes, it’s true you can get a $99 oil change just anywhere.
Visit Import Auto Maintenance for their $60/Winter Special importautomaintenance dot com for this special — local shuttle service is available.
They are more than the usual kid in the quick-change shops.
Import Auto Maintenance creates a vehicle service report, including any recommended services.
If your car is under factory warranty, you need this record of service.
Import Auto creates a service reminder to send to your registered e-mail account.
Import Auto Maintenance @ 490 Craighead Street, Nashville, TN 37204
If you are old-time Nashville, that’s in the Melrose area — Craighead connects Nolensville Pike with eighth/Ave/south/Franklin Road.
Call today @ six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero to schedule your vehicle maintenance appointment.
Thats six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero

Episode 14: The hidden wisdom of Baseball

John MaGuirk — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:20:45 +0000

Yes, it’s true you can get a $99 oil change just anywhere.

Visit Import Auto Maintenance for their $60/Winter Special at importautomaintenance dot com; local shuttle service is available.
They are more than the usual kid in the quick-change shops. Import Auto Maintenance creates a vehicle service report, including any recommended services. If your car is under factory warranty, you need this record of service. Import Auto creates a service reminder to send to your registered e-mail account.
Import Auto Maintenance at 490 Craighead Street, Nashville, TN 37204
If you are old-time Nashville, that’s in the Melrose area — Craighead connects Nolensville Pike with eighth/Ave/south/Franklin Road.
Call today @ six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero to schedule your vehicle maintenance appointment.
Thats six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero

Episode 13: Please excuse the homemade nature of this podcast, due to technical difficuties I can no longer post premium content

John MaGuirk — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Yes, it’s true you can get a $99 oil change just anywhere.

Visit Import Auto Maintenance for their $60/Winter Special importautomaintenance dot com for this special — local shuttle service is available.

They are more than the usual kid in the quick-change shops.

Import Auto Maintenance creates a vehicle service report, including any recommended services.

If your car is under factory warranty, you need this record of service.

Import Auto creates a service reminder to send to your registered e-mail account.

Import Auto Maintenance @ 490 Craighead Street, Nashville, TN 37204

If you are old time Nashville, that’s in the Melrose area — Craighead connects Nolensville Pike with eighth/Ave/south/Franklin Road.

Call today @ six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero to schedule your vehicle maintenance appointment.

Thats six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero

Episode 12: Once again betrayed by technology

John MaGuirk — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:14:00 +0000

Yes, it’s true you can get a $99 oil change just anywhere.

Visit Import Auto Maintenance for their $60/Winter Special importautomaintenance dot com for this special — local shuttle service is available.

They are more than the usual kid in the quick-change shops.

Import Auto Maintenance creates a vehicle service report, including any recommended services.

If your car is under factory warranty, you need this record of service.

Import Auto creates a service reminder to send to your registered e-mail account.

Import Auto Maintenance @ 490 Craighead Street, Nashville, TN 37204

If you are old-time Nashville, that’s in the Melrose area — Craighead connects Nolensville Pike with eighth/Ave/south/Franklin Road.

Call today @ six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero to schedule your vehicle maintenance appointment.

Thats six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero

Episode 11: Beware of Feature Creep Yes, I mean you Endurance CarCar -- When Did It Become Smart to Pay to Shop?

John MaGuirk — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 19:40:44 +0000

Yes, it’s true you can get a $99 oil change just anywhere.

Visit Import Auto Maintenance for their $60/Winter Special importautomaintenance dot com for this special — local shuttle service is available.
They are more than the usual kid in the pit, quick-change shop.
Import Auto Maintenance creates a vehicle service report, including any recommended services.
If your car is under factory warranty, you need this record of service.
Import Auto creates a service reminder to send to your registered e-mail account.
Import Auto Maintenance @ 490 Craighead Street, Nashville, TN 37204
If you are old-time Nashville, that’s in the Melrose area — Craighead connects Nolensville Pike with eighth/Ave/south/Franklin Road.
Call today @ six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero to schedule your vehicle maintenance appointment.
Thats six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero

Episode 10: Another in a series of Constitutional Minutes -- How Far We Have Fallen as a Nation,

John MaGuirk — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 17:26:38 +0000

Yes, it’s true you can get a $99 oil change just anywhere.
Visit Import Auto Maintenance for their $60/Winter Special importautomaintenance dot com for this special — local shuttle service is available.
They are more than the usual kid in the quick-change shops.
Import Auto Maintenance creates a vehicle service report, including any recommended services.

If your car is under factory warranty, you need this record of service.
Import Auto creates a service reminder to send to your registered e-mail account.

Import Auto Maintenance @ 490 Craighead Street, Nashville, TN 37204
If you are old-time Nashville, that’s in the Melrose area — Craighead connects Nolensville Pike with eighth/Ave/south/Franklin Road.
Call today @ six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero to schedule your vehicle maintenance appointment.
Thats six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero zero that’s six one five — three two seven — nine six — zero

Episode 16: A Constitutional Minute Series ii # 16 03 - 12 - (20 - 26

John MaGuirk — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 20:04:21 +0000

This podcast series is sponsored by your friends at Import Auto Maintenance. They would like to see you. Actually, they want to see your favorite ride to give it that once-over lightly. You know to change your oil and inspect those all-important belts and hoses. No computer can do preventive maintenance; a computer fault is a failure. Seri might be too late. Visit ImportAuto.com for a $20 first visit coupon. Or call them on the phone at 615/327-9600 or visit their new location, 490 Craighead Street, 37204, for your navigator. If you are old-time Nashville, that's in Melrose -- Craighead St connects Eighth Avenue South with Nolonsville Rd. If you are coming North on 65, exit at Wedgewood, turn right. Right at the next light, that's Bransford, and turn right when you see the Coca-Cola plant -- that's Craighead.

Episode 9: Let us suppose for just a moment, that the “racist” document known as the Constitution of the Unied States had not been ratified.

John MaGuirk — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:47:11 +0000

Piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church. Closing Banjo music courtesy of Banjo HangOut Alabama Jubilee,, used with permission.
In September (17 87), during the ratification of the Constitution, Delaware’s lone delegate voted “No” 🗳️ to seal the doom of that “racist” document!
A “new” republic assembly elected to govern as a Senate ( in the fashion of the Roman Republic) meets at noon the following day; present are delegates from: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island & Delaware.

Episode 1: Our first digital device wasn’t the smartphone, it was the Morse Key.

John MaGuirk — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 21:45:36 +0000

Closing music by Blair string quartet recorded live by iPhone at Harpeth Church in 20-23

Here’s the problem — there’s no upper case function on a Morse key, it’s strictly binary (dots and dashes).

Everyone knows that Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, but he made his fortune in the world of telegraphy. His seminal invention is still in use today, and if you watch Fox News business or Bloomberg, it’s that scroll on the bottom of the screen, a stock ticker. Edison invented that before his lightbulb.

By this time, the new world and the old had been linked by the Atlantic Cable (18-58). It was not a single wire, but a bundle of insulated wires, bound in gutta-purcha a forerunner of what we would call plastic.

It connected London, in England to New York City, in the US. Messages were transmitted by electric current by Morse code (dots and dashes).

Episode 14: Let me tell you my only Olympic Story -- I heard Jessie Owen's explain his Olympic Triumph over the Natzis

John MaGuirk — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:36:57 +0000

Closing music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church.
Jessie Owen personally ruined Hitler’s Olympics by winning three gold medals. 100 Yard Dash, 200 Yard, and anchor man of the 4 by 400 Relay.

At the time unheard of in track and field events.

If you would like to read the whole story for yourself, you can find Nazi Games or Berlin Games, look for them on Amazon. I donated my copies to a church library.

Meanwhile, Olympic Americans, who shouldn’t have been there, were also winning gold. Read The Boys In The Boat.

Next time on the Podcast Word Doctor, I’ll explain to my colleague Grammar Girl, the origin of the term “full stop”/UK — There is no upper case on a Morse key.

Episode 13: In this podcast, we have my interview with two guests of Dr. Ming, and we will alternate with his music, recorded live via iPhone at Steinway Gallery, used with permission.

John MaGuirk — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 01:15:53 +0000

Music courtesy of Dr. Ming Wang, recorded live at Steinway Piano Gallery in 2026, used with permission.
We begin with a shopping note you might like to have.
I’m a subscriber to Consumer Reports, and this month, March/April is the automotive annual and I found this advice on P/39 Brighten up the headlights and a product recommended by Sylvania Headlight restoration kit / $28/US
I visit a local bank weekly, it’s in a strip mall near my home, and I pass an Auto Zone, so I trotted in there with my copy of Consumer Reports — I had circled the magazine text.
Yes, they had the product, but other brands for less than $28, including one Turtle Wax for $19.99, now I know Sylvania might know more about lights, but Turtle Wax knows car finishes.
Volia, I get to the counter and discover an additional store discount of 20%, because I had joined before the advent of “club” shopping.
PS You won’t find this deal at Costco either.

Episode 12: Dave Ramsey saving Money #14 is slightly off base -- writing check forces you to audit the bill -- that's smart

John MaGuirk — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 19:17:27 +0000

Opening music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church -- closing Down by The Riverside, played on a Spiro/Steinway Piano, recorded live by iPhone at the Apple Store in Green Hills (2014), used with permission.
Here’s your digital tip of the day:
One of the most powerful features of your iPhone is Contacts, but saving texting links is “not supported”; at least there’s no field for it, but like every other feature of any Apple device. There is a workaround, and here it is,
First, create a Contact using “company,” ie NES — Hit edit, and add the text number in FIRST name — Complete the listing with the message 6 3 7 7 9 7 O U T
Volia, now the number and message show up in boldface. Of course, you still have to type in the number, but now you have a prompt and can switch between screens. (As long as you remembered to keep your phone charged). You don’t have to struggle through NES messages to report an outage.

Episode 8: We got off the rails by not stopping that first sanctuary city 🌃.

John MaGuirk — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 17:11:28 +0000

Opening & closing piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church.

In every war movie (and M*A*S*H) medics carry no weapon of any description. That goes for nurses & doctors, too. Medics wear distinctive helmets with a red cross. Hoping the enemy won’t fire on them. They don’t even carry extra ammunition. They are in the business of saving lives, not taking them.

In Tennessee, we even have a law prohibiting carrying a weapon "for the purposes of being armed..." & concealed carry is allowed.

Episode 11: Some hints, tips & yes, tricks to make your next cup of coffee the best

John MaGuirk — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:03:15 +0000

Piano music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church; closing music: Dr. Ming Wang plays "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" on a two-string Chinese violin, recorded live by iPhone at Steinway Piano Studio, used with permission.
Kroger and Publix don’t want you to use cash; they prefer their payment app. At my local Publix, they “verify” every $20 bill.
FYI/Before our money said: “In God We Trust”. Franklin’s notes said: “’tis Death to Counterfeit”.

Episode 10: Robots, androids, humanoids, What's the big deal? They are autonomous ie "not controlled"

John MaGuirk — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 21:04:29 +0000

Music courtesy of Harpeth Presbyterian Church, used with permission.
Next on our literary excursion of the field of autonomous beings, we look at Blade Runner (1982) (replicants), and the cowardly computer HAL from 2001 (A Space Odyssey - 1968)
I wish to acknowledge Jerome George for the LinkedIn post of January 3, 2026. "Asimov introduced his famous Three Laws of Robotics in the 1942 short story 'Runaround,' creating what would become the ethical cornerstone of robotics discourse for decades."

Episode 8: Robots - Robotics — Humanoids What’s the big deal?

John MaGuirk — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 19:41:47 +0000

This is the final appearance of music from Tuba Christmas (20-25), recorded live via iPhone at Bowling Green, KY -- used with permission.
Issac Asimoff was a science fiction writer. not a scientist or philosopher!.
I wish to acknowledge Jerome George for the LinkedIn post of January 3, 2026. Since it’s copyrighted material, I will read only the highlighted prose from the yellow sheets.

Episode 25: News Writing by AI is Garbage IN -- Garbage O U T

John MaGuirk — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 20:13:13 +0000

Banjo Music courtesy of Banjo HangOut -- Maple Leaf Rag -- Scott Joplin used with permission.
Seri Strikes Again -- Geographic ignorance on display.
Yes, it's true, fans, TCM has finally corrected the reference to a "poor" Quaker family (Friendly Persuasion) when in fact they are quite well off. However, they have moved the action from Pennsylvania to Indiana for no apparent reason.
PS TCM has a similar problem with Giant -- to be broadcast this weekend. Look for Maryland to be moved to New England.