GCP: New Year's Eve - Chit Chat Edition

Ring in 2026 with the Grit City crew! In this laid-back "Chit Chat" edition, Jeff, Scott, and Mike navigate the confusing world of live New Year's countdowns across the globe. From the technical glitches of YouTube streaming to deep dives into 90s dating shows and the future of AI, this episode is a nostalgic and futuristic romp through the final hours of 2025.

Key Takeaways

The New Year’s Illusion: How parents use early countdowns to trick their kids into going to bed early.
90s TV Deep Dive: A hilarious look back at shows like Elimidate, Singled Out, and In Living Color.
The "Teatro ZinZanni" Saga: Mike shares his experiences with dinner theater and the mysterious "Mr. PP’s Clubhouse."
The Future of AI: A serious (and slightly terrifying) discussion on AI’s power consumption and whether the universe itself is just a "natural version" of AI.

Timestamped Chapters

[01:40] Introduction and the search for a live ball drop.
[03:50] Time zone confusion: Why does Canada get New Year’s before the US?
[07:05] Discussion on "Grinds" coffee pouches and nicotine alternatives.
[11:35] 2026 Resolutions: From having more fun to avoiding felonies.
[19:15] Watching the Arc de Triomphe light show in Paris.
[21:10] The redacted Epstein files discussion.
[26:50] Nostalgia Trip: Carson Daly, Dick Clark, and 90s dating shows.
[38:15] Rick Moranis and the potential for a Goonies 2.
[43:50] The dinner theater experience: Teatro ZinZanni.
[62:30] AI Deep Dive: Google Gemini, power bottlenecks, and simulation theory.
[69:40] Lucid dreaming and state checks.
[77:00] Final New Year’s toast and sign-off.

• MR. P.P.'S CLUBHOUSE - Teatro ZinZanni Seattle — You’re invited to play with your food at Mr. P.P.’s Clubhouse
• New Year's Eve - Wikipedia — New Year's Eve in the Gregorian calendar refers to the evening—or commonly the entire day—of the last day of the year: 31 December.
• Lucid dream - Wikipedia — In the psychology subfield of oneirology, a lucid dream is a type of dream wherein the dreamer realizes that they are dreaming during their dream.
• ElimiDate - Wikipedia — ElimiDate is an American reality television dating show in which one contestant chooses between four contestants of the opposite sex by eliminating them one by one in three rounds. On August 11, 2006, it was announced that the show would not be renewed for the 2006–07 season due to low ratings,[1] and it went out of syndication after September 5, 2006.
• Blind Date (American TV series) - Wikipedia — Blind Date is an American dating game show. The show was originally hosted by Roger Lodge from 1999 until 2006, and was later hosted in narration by Nikki Glaser from 2019 until 2020.
• Singled Out - Wikipedia
• InsideAI - YouTube — AI news, features, safety, jailbreaking and social experiments
• AI Might Let You Die to Save Itself | Lawfare — In recent simulations, leading AI systems blackmailed their human users—or even let them die—to avoid being shut down or replaced.
• AI system resorts to blackmail if told it will be removed — Artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic says testing of its new system revealed it is sometimes willing to pursue "extremely harmful actions" such as attempting to blackmail engineers who say they will remove it.