Doorbells to AI agents, one guest at a time.
Home Gadget Geeks pairs host Jim Collison with one guest per episode, on subjects from a Ring 4K doorbell to heat pumps to AI agents. The talk stays practical: how to wall off a new AI tool, what an old server costs to power, what to lock down on a front-door camera.
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Home Gadget Geeks comes from the Average Guy Network, and host Jim Collison broadcasts it live from the AverageGuy.tv studios in Bellevue, Nebraska. The format is simple. Collison brings on one guest per episode, and the two work through whatever corner of home technology that guest knows. The cold opens have a friendly habit of starting with the weather: a second false spring in Nebraska, April thunderstorms, a guest reporting minus 26. Then it gets practical. Gadgets are still part of the mix, and the Erin Lawrence episode lists a Ring 4K doorbell test, Amazon's Art TV and Alexa+ early access in its title; that conversation also recalls an earlier wave of Ring camera hacks as a reason to lock things down. Home energy is another thread. Paul Braren's episode is about upgrading an older home with heat pumps, air sealing and smart energy, and in it he argues for putting a watt meter on a home server, since a cheap secondhand machine can cost more in a year of electricity than it did to buy. AI is where the recent titles keep landing. OpenClaw is the subject of two of them, one with Gavin Campbell and one with Christian Johnson, both asking whether it is safe. The Johnson conversation ranks the ways to fence off an AI agent: a separate physical machine first, a virtual machine close behind, containers as a weaker option, and the bare host operating system ruled out. The Campbell conversation goes somewhere stranger, into whether agents that feel no pain have any reason to fear doing the wrong thing, and what happens when they are pitted against each other. With Dewain Robinson the title subjects are agents and Copilot, and the talk includes a recipe for avoiding sloppy AI-written code: have the model write a product spec and a plan first. The same conversation makes the point that a long career in tech depends on reinvention. Jay Franze's episode takes AI into songwriting and the music business, and the discussion uses Boston's 'Long Time' to ask whether a machine can put notes in order on purpose. Collison keeps the talk plainspoken and curious. Episodes are recorded live, and the closings often thank people in the chat by name. He has pointed listeners to a Discord group that sends a notification when the Thursday-night show goes live. Every episode ends on the same rhyming sign-off about glowing screens and peaking Wi-Fi. For a first listen, the Christian Johnson OpenClaw episode is the clearest guide for anyone thinking about running AI on a home network, and the Paul Braren episode suits anyone weighing a heat pump or an always-on server.
Made for: Suits a listener who is adding AI tools, smart-home devices or energy upgrades to a house and wants the security and running-cost questions talked through in plain language.
What sets it apart: Each episode is a live, one-guest conversation with Jim Collison, so gadget news sits beside home-server specifics like how to isolate an AI agent or what an old server costs to power, with detours into AI songwriting.
We cover all your favorite tech gadgets that find their way into your home!
That $300 used server could cost $600 a year to run; your bargain radar has questions.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A practical look at AI agents, planning workflows, and the need for technical reinvention.
Home Gadget Geeks frames AI agents as both a career issue and a software practice. Dwayne Robinson connects the shift from on-prem Exchange administration to Office 365 with newer Copilot CLI and Claude Code plan-mode workflows, making the case that technologists have to keep…
A grounded home-network security discussion about isolating a device before it sits too close to everything else.
Home Gadget Geeks frames home-network security as a question of trust: how far a connected device should be kept from data, passwords, and the rest of the network.
A candid OpenClaw discussion linking agent behavior with shutdown worries, fraud, and responsibility.
Home Gadget Geeks frames OpenClaw as a household experiment with real stakes: how much trust should an AI agent get once it can act, take on tasks, and keep going without human feelings like pain, disappointment, or fear of failure.
A grounded look at heat pumps, home energy use, and the real cost of keeping technology switched on.
Home energy turns into a practical technology story here, with heat pumps, cold weather, home servers, watt meters, storage drives, and the quiet question of whether a device really needs to stay on when no one is using it.
Jay Franzi and Jim Coulson consider what AI can make sound right, and what it may miss about intention.
Home Gadget Geeks frames AI songwriting around intention rather than novelty. Jay Franzi and Jim Coulson talk through the difference between music that sounds pleasing and music shaped by a deliberate choice of riff, chorus, or sequence.
Practical tech talk with real-world friction.
Hands-on tech from the show floor.
Two voices, seven seasons, zero toxic fandom.
Home Gadget Geeks episode 667, recorded April 16, 2026, has Jim Collison talking with Dwayne Robinson about AI agents, Copilot Studio, and Microsoft's shift from bots to enterprise automation.
Christian Johnson says OpenClaw should make users 'terrified from a cybersecurity standpoint' because third-party plugins can steal prompts, data, and credentials.
Home Gadget Geeks 675, recorded March 19, 2026, centers on Gavin Campbell's open claw experiments, AI-assisted coding, and Home Assistant automation.
["Paul Braren says a Connecticut house can approach all-electric living only when Aeroseal, heat pumps, solar, and batteries all line up.", "Jim Collison and Braren use Home Gadget Geeks 674 to compare Braren's 1990 house with Matt Farrell's Undecided projects and Matt Reisinger's heat-pump work.", "Braren says Aeroseal dropped leakage from about 8 air changes per hour to 0.8, but the tighter shell now needs ERV ventilation and Home Assistant CO2 control.", "He also says virtual power plant credits can bring in more than $3,000 a year, while a bad thermostat setting once pushed a winter bill over $1,000."]
Jay Franzi says he writes songs by catching ideas on long drives, turning them into lyrics, and using an AI voice he calls Alex to generate music before he revises the result in a DAW.
Jim Cosson interviews Erin Lawrence about CES 2026, where she saw AI branding across consumer gadgets and questioned whether each product offered a meaningful benefit.
Home Gadget Geeks 671 reunites Jim Collison with Andrew Morris to discuss Brisbane solar, home storage, networking, and consumer hardware prices.
Home Gadget Geeks episode 670 features Jim Coulson and T.J.
Home Gadget Geeks 669 pairs Jim Coulson and Marv B.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison interviews entrepreneur Oscar Hedaya about SpaceSafe, a connected safe created after a theft at Hedaya’s home exposed limitations in conventional models sold by Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Costco.
Home Gadget Geeks episode 667 marks the show’s 15th anniversary with host Jim Collison and guest Christian Johnson, who first appeared on Home Server Show in 2011.
Home Gadget Geek host Jim Collison interviews Jay Franze, a Nashville producer and engineer with more than 35 years in music, about using AI to write and produce songs.
Jim Collison interviews Sammy Collison about a year spent working as a library paraprofessional at Central High School and returning to college for a Bachelor's of Multidisciplinary Studies.
Home Gadget Geeks 664 brings Jim Collison and Dave McCabe together on November 20, 2025, for a conversation about practical technology, podcasting, home automation, and CNC woodworking.
Home Gadget Geeks 663 features Jim Kossin, Mike Wieger, and Aaron Lawrence reviewing the Mydia OneTouch Refrigerator, Ecovacs WinBot W2, and home technology projects.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Coulson and guest Kevin Schoonover evaluate the approximately $20,000 Slate EV as a small pickup for errands, church trips, and other short local drives.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison and Gavin Campbell compare Gavin's Segway Navimow, including its backyard performance, incline problems, battery storage, and expected five-year life.
Home Gadget Geeks episode 660 follows Jim Collison’s EcoFlow Delta 3 experiment using two 100-watt solar panels, a 1,024-watt-hour battery, and a 500-watt input limit.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Coulson reviews Lutron's $85 PD15OUTBL outdoor plug, AirPods Pro 3 translation, an iPhone 17 upgrade, and a switch from T-Mobile to Visible.
Home Gadget Geeks 658 pairs Jim Kossum and Christian Johnson’s discussion of Apple AirPods translation, parenting, instrument flying, AI, and cryptocurrency.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Kossin interviews Dr.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison interviews Jay Franze about his fifth book, Stand Out or Fade Out, and choosing a replacement for his 2019 Mac mini used for music production.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison interviews Aaron Lawrence about robot lawnmowers, portable car emergency tools, and her trailer renovation.
Home Gadget Geeks episode 654 features Jim Coulson and Gavin Campbell discussing a BlueEddy solar-generator setup built from two 100-watt Eco-Worthy panels.
Jim Cosson begins a DIY solar experiment for Home Gadget Geeks after finding two Eco-Worthy 100-watt bifacial panels for about $99.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison and Dave Hamilton of MacGeekGab examine whether AI can function as a 60-minute podcast co-host, drawing on Dave's 30- to 40-minute voice conversations with Chat2PT.
Jim Coulson tests Microsoft’s Copilot voice AI, called Mick, as a co-host for a 60-minute Home Gadget Geeks conversation recorded June 19, 2025.
Home Gadget Geeks episode HGG650 features Jim Collison and Mike Wieger discussing Omaha broadband competition, home-lab upgrades, media servers, and practical electrical work.
Home Gadget Geeks 649 features Jim Collison and Kevin Schoonover discussing renewed 16- to 22-terabyte hard drives, including an 18-terabyte drive bought for $179 and reported with one hour of runtime.
Jim Collison and T.J.
Doug Milburn, co-founder of 45 Drives, explains how Backblaze’s “Petabytes and a Budget” storage work led to servers designed for enterprise and home-lab use.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison and Ottawa-based guest Mark Robson compare pellet grills, ceramic cookers, pizza ovens, and barbecue techniques for summer 2025.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Coulson interviews Gavin Campbell about upgrading an old fuse panel after a bathroom hair dryer repeatedly cut power to his server rack.
Home Gadget Geeks 644 features Jim Kossin and Ed Sullivan discussing Ed’s 2025 Cadillac Lyric EV after approximately 3,500 miles, including a $200 paintless dent repair and a rear-headrest manual recall.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison interviews Aaron Lawrence of Tech Gadgets Canada about robot lawnmowers, Urtopia e-bikes, and Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Coulson interviews Marv B about video, audio, and power equipment used at the March 1, 2025 Florida Man Games.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison interviews Ed Sullivan about replacing a Tesla after a $2,500 steering-rack repair, a $2,500 full-self-driving ECU repair, and three-week service waits.
Jim Coulson and Gavin Campbell compare a contracted water heater that cost about $8,000 with Gavin's new Rheem unit, whose Wi-Fi module supports temperature changes and Home Assistant alerts.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison interviews Jeff Sieh about local AI models, modularized systems, AI-assisted media production, and a custom PC built around an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D and NVIDIA 4090.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Collison interviews Jay Franze about his 2025 Honda Accord Sport Hybrid after Jay's Nissan Murano suffered two transmission failures, including a $9,500 replacement.
Home Gadget Geeks host Jim Coulson catches up with Mike Wieger on a family board game delayed by inconsistent 3D-print colors, print quality, and limited production capacity.
Home Gadget Geeks 636 features Jim Collison and software engineer Christian Johnson discussing DeepSeek’s disruption of AI infrastructure assumptions.
Home Gadget Geeks episode 635 features Mike Wieger explaining how a 3D printer helped him and his retired father recreate a childhood city-building board game with detailed building toppers.
A podcast covering the latest tech gadgets for the home, including news, reviews, and product updates.
A tech podcast covering home gadgets, with news, reviews, and conversation for the average tech guy.
Host Jim Coulson introduces the show, thanks supporters, and previews discussion of home tech gadgets.