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TOPIC : It's Business All the Way Down. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about joys and frustrations of contemporary consumer technologies. So great yet so frustrating. So powerful yet so hobbled. It's weird how, as great as the newest tech ever gets, we so quickly find we're bumping right up against business, business, business . Then, there's some more discussion of updates in iOS 9 and what we ca...

TOPIC : Procrastination is a life sentence. This week, after some high-level discussion on the topics of Marvel and media reduxes, Dan and Merlin ( maaaaybe ) wrap up their initial and very positive impressions of iOS 9 on modern Apple devices. More fawning talk of Siri, plus tips on easily adding items to Reminders and Notes. Dan also lays out his freeing new philosophy and implementations for do...

TOPIC : iOS Amazement This week, Dan and Merlin talk about Dan's new iPad Air 2 and continue their discussion of how much iOS 9 on modern devices is already changing how we do our work. Also, some nerdy updates on how Merlin uses synced text files via Drafts, Editorial, and nvALT. Links for this episode: What does “Spotlight Suggestions” turn off? - alexwlchan I’m no expert, but holy crap the...

TOPIC : Speed, Reliability, and Expectations This episode, Dan and Merlin talk about this week's massive leaps forward with the pairing of iOS 9 and iPhone 6s. Links for this episode: Siri’s Headphone Tax | Bitsplitting.org If It Ain’t Fixed, Break It | Bitsplitting.org Childhood's End - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Great. My seven-year-old has discovered... | kung fu grippe OS X El Capitan re...

TOPIC : Block! Block! Body blow! Uppercut! This week, Dan and Merlin talk less about ad-blocking and more about what kind-of feels like (but might not actually be) a point of change for web advertising, podcasting, and media as a whole, which could affect, like, everything, man. Links for this episode: Internet History Podcast | From Netscape To The iPad Political Gabfest on the second Republican...

TOPIC : Knowing what you'll need to know. This week, Dan and Merlin answer a listener question about how the " slow your roll " thought technology can apply to learning new skills. Links for this episode: Political Gabfest SF Tickets | Slate Magazine's Political Gabfest | City Box Office Political Gabfest John Dickerson - How to Process a Hotel Room John Dickerson, Journalist & Handsomeman | F...

TOPIC : Stop that train! This week, Dan and Merlin talk about some ideas for noticing and then battling the surfeits of negative thought that sometimes threaten to overrun us. Also: talk of a cool new computer mouse, evolution in the comic book industry, and what constitutes "real camping." Links for this episode: Amazon.com: Logitech MX Master Wireless Mouse (910-004337): Computers & Accessor...

TOPIC : Practice, practice, practice. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the perilous wonders of practice of all kinds. Links for this episode: How Portability Ruined the Telephone - The Atlantic Amazon.com: Boiron Homeopathic Medicine Coldcalm Tablets for Colds, 60 Count: Prime Pantry Practice (learning method) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Making of an Expert Actually, practice doesn’...

TOPIC: Losing hit points. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the stuff you have to do to stay healthy and well—and the rocky path to realizing when you have to actually "make it a thing ." There's also some follow-up on OTA antennas, car keys, and how little most of us really understand about the media industries. Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #10 — Merlin Mann Strandpromenade /...

TOPIC : Compensatory muscles This week, Dan and Merlin talk about how much emotions can become like physical injuries—and what happens when we try to overcompensate for either. Links for this episode: 5by5 | The Ihnatko Almanac #152: Project Runway Andy is joined by Merlin Mann to discuss Project Runway. nevver: Peanuts | kung fu grippe adam baldwin - Google Search vincent d'onofrio - Google Searc...

TOPIC : Can I ask you a question? This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the complexities of communicating effectively via email. They also begin to sketch out a unified field theory for escalating communication media based on informational and emotional destiny. Also, more thoughts on The Smiths, plus some recommendations on books and comics for kids. Links for this episode: Food Safety Talk 79: Yo...

TOPIC : Don't just be the meatbag in the room. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about "the fill-in guy," TV shows they're loving, listener feedback, improving presentations, The Smiths, the evolution of podcasts, contact management woes, and remembering what you're capable of. Links for this episode: 'Mad Max: Fury Road' Will Be On iTunes Soon So Catch Up With Some Of Your Favorite Heroines First |...

With Merlin on sabbatical (returning next week), Dan is once again joined by John Roderick. They discuss the significance of dreams, sleep paralysis, unexplained phenomenon, alien abductions, a relationship with magic, the importance of history, night terrors, and leaving a legacy. Links for this episode: Sleep paralysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Diaper-wearing astronaut jailed in love tr...

With Merlin on sabbatical, Dan is joined by John Roderick to talk about being a candidate, taking care of yourself, managing introversion, trying on ideas without fear, the Thirty Years War, and the struggle of being a generalist. Links for this episode: John Roderick for Seattle City Council Thirty Years' War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ep. 163: "The Maisie Glotz File" - Roderick on t...

TOPIC : The perils and joys of just getting started. This week's episode is chockablock with awesomeness, from the sublime to the ridiculous. It ends on a very inspiring note. But, en route: Mexican guys love Morrissey Shabbos goys cause fire to be created An eruv is an ad hoc house described by string Merlin has Aloha for Judaism Teaching History is hard America owes some apologies Endorsing "Ord...

TOPIC : What kind of "perfect" can you tolerate? This week, Dan and Merlin have a big week. A huge week. Opening with a thank you to generous listeners, the boys then proceed to tackle some FU on the complicated world of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III (he is recognized!). Next up is some preliminary discussion on Pando's recent hit piece on Tony Hsieh, his weird edict for Holacracy at Zappos, and his...

TOPIC : Learning to shut up and relax. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the challenges and benefits of getting out of your own head. Links for this episode: Art Museum | San Francisco | International Art Museum of America The International Art Museum of America - Museums - SoMa - San Francisco, CA - Reviews - Photos - Yelp Inside Out (2015) - IMDb Life Is Beautiful - Wikipedia, the free encycl...

TOPIC : Hitting and sharing and dietetic lunch. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about having and not having siblings (and what it may or may not actually mean ) as well as addressing some of the rapid changes coming to the business of podcasting. Links for this episode: Reconcilable Differences #3: Helena Sell - Relay FM This week, John and Merlin finally set themselves to the task of beginning to...

TOPIC : You can't have ALL the phone calls. This week, Dan and Merlin battle Skype to talk about Dan't hissing floor, text editing on iOS, plus more followup on WWDC announcements. Spotlight on a second look at last week's conversation about how we do and don't communicate. Links for this episode: Special 2: The Original Trilogy of Merlin Mann In August 2012, Brett interviewed Merlin Man...

TOPIC: Poundsign Communication This week, Dan and Merlin talk about evolutions in how we do and don't communicate with each other. Links for this episode: Reconcilable Differences #1: We All Ruined It Together - Relay FM In this inaugural episode of Season 1, John and Merlin begin framing the conversation on exactly how they got how they are. From the dungeons of Usenet to the dragons of roving bu...

TOPIC: Interstitial time and why you want it back. This week, after some preliminary discussion of smoking and the children who throw rocks and run track, Dan and Merlin answer questions from listeners. Links for this episode: OpenDNS: Cloud-Delivered Security Enforcement & Intelligence Public DNS   |   Google Developers Ad-free time! | Blocking ads, unblocking Netflix, Pandora, Hulu...

Merlin and Dan use The Aviator as a jumping-off point to talk about OCD as it relates to perfectionism, creativity, and drive in the workplace. They discuss rituals and their consequences, the importance of mise en place, and eliminating disruptive processes. Also, Merlin invokes the term "workflows". Links for this episode: 5by5 | Back to Work #221: Minimally Viable Interruption TOPIC: Time, Ston...

TOPIC : Time, Stones, and Giving Yourself a Break Just…give yourself permission to not feel like a dick today. Especially if you think you don't deserve it. Links for this episode: Dogs CAN see in colour: Scientists dispel the myth that canines can only see in black and white | Daily Mail Online The Dalrymple Report Mac Power Users #257: Workflows with Merlin Mann: Episode VI - Relay FM Color Ther...

TOPIC: Hopeless and Impossible. This week, Dan and Merlin, delve deeper into the impossibly hopeless nature of email. Links for this episode: Girl Talk - All Day Girl Talk - Feed the Animals Making Time to Make: Bad Correspondence | 43 Folders Letters of Note: Just personal enough ? The Kids in the Hall - Hard Day - YouTube HBO: Living With Lincoln: Home Queen - Somebody To Love - YouTube Roman à...

TOPIC : Jumping Over the Precipice. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about what to be courageous about and when. It's rarely as easy or as simple as it seems. Links for this episode: Inside Amy Schumer - Pretentious Hotel - YouTube At sixes and sevens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia To be "at sixes and sevens" is a British English idiom used to describe a state of confusion or disarray. Axolotl -...