This episode contains: Ben likes new things! Devon says hi. Devon's sick again. Can you tell? Steven says not to thank people for doing their job. What do you think? Disney Dreamlight Valley seems cool. What should someone do if they're totally burned out by Disneyland? Vacations with kids are just trips. Devon and Steven are done chasing kids. Steven's kids don't like Star Wars land at Disneyland. Not yet.

Shut up when I'm talking to you!: Being assertive: Reduce stress, communicate better. Assertiveness is not necessarily natural. It is a learned trait. Passive behavior can lead to stress, resentment, and feelings of victimization. Being assertive creates self-confidence, empowerment, and honest relationships. Passive, aggressive and passive-aggressive behavior all damage relationships. Just "No." is a complete sentence. You don't need to explain yourself. Formal assertiveness training is available through mental health professionals.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/assertive/art-20044644

Assertiveness Training - Fact Sheets https://www.abct.org/fact-sheets/assertiveness-training/

Power Slave: National Ignition Facility achieves fusion ignition. Fusion could power our society in future decades with clean & limitless energy. Scientists used fusion to get more energy out than put in, after ignition. Fusion would be a big step towards the U.S. net-zero carbon economy goal. All electricity, coal, nuclear plants are just complicated steam engines. Fusion: two light nuclei combine to a single heavy nucleus... SO MUCH ENERGY. Could we have wireless energy? You know, without touching? Steven dreams. To our patrons: thank you for listening. And we're sorry.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221213102033.htm

Science Fiction: High On Life is on Gamepass! Steven discusses the first ten minutes.  The Red Letter Media lads have an MST3K cameo in High On Life. (https://www.reddit.com/r/RedLetterMedia/comments/zmbole how_to_find_the_rlm_lads_in_high_on_life/) Steven killed a kid alien in High On Life. Shame on him. He should play a more civilized game... like Fallout! Was this new Star Trek DS9 comic "The Dog of War" written by A.I.? It's nuts! What happens when you smash a Corgi Dog into Deep Space Nine? The Dog of War. (https://screenrant.com/star-trek-dog-war-ds9-sequel-new-series/) Poets nearly burned Ben at the stake for suggesting to use A.I. to help write. Is writing music performed by a computer similar to A.I. generated art? Devon rocks too loud at night when he's recording music. Rock finds a way. Is it weird when a composer can write a song they cannot play? Devon muses.  Is there any difference in using a thesaurus vs. having an A.I. help write? How do solos get affected when nobody is playing the song? Check out Riffusion, generating music from text using visual sonograms. (https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/12 riffusions-ai-generates-music-from-text-using-visual-sonograms/) What is a solo for? Steven says it's about emotional peaks. When describing a group of cyborgs AND androids: Try the term "macheeple".