Back to Work

DISCUSSED: Merlin has a cool new voice from talking to friends late last night; Dan has an automotive collision anecdote, while Merlin has thoughts on how preparation fails us in extreme moments; in follow-up, Listener Steve has terrific advice on dealing with bad hotel room technology; your hosts love insider information from pilots and other category pros; Dan ordered a watch, and Merlin is appa...

Dan and Merlin discuss the upcoming big Apple event and why this one's potentially interesting. Also, dog anecdotes. Links for this episode: AVIATOR VISUAL EFFECTS - BEHIND THE SCENES The Dark Crystal - Wikipedia The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - Wikipedia Upgrade #261: The 2019 iPhone Event Draft - Relay FM Supported devices - Computer - YouTube TV Help Watch YouTube TV on your TV - YouTube T...

hurricanes! hyperactivity exposing kids to the canonical films that weird, affected Hollywood accent a name for that time comparison phenomenon making your voice interactions more fun catching up on the Platinum Age of TV dealing with device charging at scale Links for this episode: Saffir–Simpson scale - Wikipedia HURRICANE DORIAN Mike's Weather Page... powered by Sparks Energy! Hurricane Neddy -...

Lots of talk about the changing media landscape, plus some odds and sods. Links for this episode: Jia Tolentino on what happens when life is an endless performance — The Ezra Klein Show — Overcast Disney World: Celebrating Utopia — Nice Try! — Overcast Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando: Richard E. Foglesong: 9780300098280: Amazon.com: Books Amazon.com: Trick Mirror: Reflections o...

DISCUSSED: finding an actor's age and height; time analogies; Merlin needs help naming two critical phenomena; Dan is dissatisfied with how cars look; could Wolverine get a Caillou tattoo, and would it grow back, hmmmm?; Merlin is getting into plants (no, not sexually ); the return of that time when Danny held the license plate; and finally, Merlin has a long stemwinder on an admittedly amorphous...

DISCUSSED: Merlin has a little visitor today. Dan has some thoughts on conference scheduling. This leads to a broader discussion of the sensitivities we may or may not have to other peoples' limitations and constraints. It's nice to meet people. For some reason, religion, churches, and clergy are discussed. " This is what Peter did say! " Finally, the guys answer a listener question about working...

Dan and Merlin explore the complexities of personal style. Not personal style as in fashion, but as in preferences, identity, and modes of interaction. How do we let others know how we are ? How do we derive a sense of what works best for us, and why is it such a shameful struggle to effectively communicate that to others? What do AirPods, Snapchat, and Bloomberg Terminals potentially have in comm...

DISCUSSED: the admirable candor of B.B. King; the simple joys of the Ordinary Night; movies that are or are not dated and how that affects your enjoyment; how sci-fi seemed to mostly miss the internet; our embarrassment of media options; tech in media and what it means for plot stuff; technology adoption curves are definitely speeding up; doing everything you can not to use your phone as a phone;...

DISCUSSED: kindness; eyeglasses, at length—including eyeglasses indignities, discounts, and injuries; a renewed surfeit of dingalings, fake friends, and a dumb podcast hit piece; and, finally, your hosts respond to a listener question on getting stressed about personal quantization. Links for this episode: How to Convince Someone When Facts Fail - Scientific American Amazon.com: Beyerdynamic DT 77...

Show notes are short this week because Merlin had to go buy contrast paints for his figs. Main topic is speculating about speculation . Links for this episode: Steve Troughton-Smith on Twitter: "Wow. For a single coat, Contrast looks amazing. Maybe the hype is real? Of course, I understand it’s a very situational paint, but for organics and cloth this could be perfect… https://t.co/10RBmU49mC " Th...

DISCUSSED: Dan has found a terrific solution for his son's iPad case; on the benefits (and challenges) of getting away from our devices for a while; listener recommendations for YouTube keyboard commands, a book about cities, and some Disney scholarship; and, finally, your hosts respond to a listener's question about "circular thoughts." Links for this episode: Keyboard shortcuts for YouTube - You...

DISCUSSED: Merlin is a little hoarse; but what's an actual pony versus an actual little horse?; there's a lot of sadness and housing problems in the Hundred Acre Wood; the challenges of recommending starter media; the further challenges of being a media super-fan; (and how this relates to not seeing The Flintstones and stealing a copy of Fight Club from Blockbuster Video); Florida is hot; may ever...

First and most importantly, Dan is back! Woo! Second, now, listen: please bear with me, and do not leave. Because, when I say we talked mostly about Disney—and especially Disney properties—it's way more interesting than you'd think. Or, so we hope. Essentially, Walt Disney World in particular has the control, data, and means to be extremely good at resource management, and that's just fascinating...

Dan's away this week, so Merlin tries going it alone. Topics include lessons from painting D&D minifigs, listener letters, and some recommendations. Feel better soon Dan; we need you! Links for this episode: Dan Benjamin (@danbenjamin) | Twitter National Park Typeface A TYPEFACE DESIGNED TO MIMIC THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE SIGNS THAT ARE CARVED USING A ROUTER BIT. Band of Brothers (miniseries)...

DISCUSSED: Merlin has a catastrophic off-by-one-week error; Roderick's June is very triggering to your hosts; sometimes, it's nice to be exposed to stuff you didn't expect, but…; at a certain point in life, you mostly just see trees of inconvenience and risk; this leads to a long (and surprisingly pretty good) meditation on FOMO, acceptance, and not pretending to be a person you never actually wer...

DISCUSSED: Nobody got enough sleep last night, but they're gonna power through anyhow; your hosts fawn over the amazing Chernobyl miniseries; various hardware mute button options are discussed; Merlin can't draw but is very excited about making pictures on an iPad; Dan is looking forward to seeing more Olyphant; your hosts address a listener's question about their "everyday carry," but honestly mo...

DISCUSSED: nasty, brutish, and short sleep; watching TV with a game controller; Dan has to deal with suite concatenation; your hosts crave the expertise of a craftsman; Merlin realizes he and his lady friend see very different forests (spoiler: hers is way better); popcorn ceiling comes in cans; your hosts contrast their views on kipple, sentimentality, and need; Dan struggles to turn off his butt...

DISCUSSED: Dan has a new setup, and Merlin randomly recommends a kids' book; your hosts remember too much; Dan realizes he took the wrong shop class, and Merlin realizes why Generation X was (and remains) mostly useless; Dan walks us through his new setup, and the boys talk about the joys of VNC; Merlin is excited about the new "Guard" functionality of the Amazon voice dingus; Ferris Bueller's Day...

DISCUSSED: Dan explains what the photos he sends mean; Merlin encourages Dan to air a beef, and Dan kindly assents; Oh, boy, Windows! My old nemesis… Windows! ; the Mac's interoperability glory days were amazing; it really sucks to watch a computer start up and start up and start up; ports confuse Merlin, who is now officially an old; Dan and Merlin talk about a few things they enjoyed watching on...

DISCUSSED: the restorative tonic of a good night's sleep; a return to sleep as video game; it's okay to tweet your hosts about hoagies and Publix; concerns about butt cancer; Dan recommends a Netflix series; Merlin endorses Overcast clips; the difficulty of balancing user requests with reality; Merlin commends the deliberate simplicity of his daughter's spork; Merlin recommends a podcast; and, fin...

DISCUSSED: Dan and Merlin get hungry, but they've had it with all the bread; the trough food is so costly; no one is sweating Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; Marvel-ish movies are discussed, including the new one with Lady Sansa; Merlin is very concerned about aphasias; Dan introduces us to Forbidden Snacks and endorses his new shoe appliance; shoe appliances are then discussed; Dan hasn't had t...

DISCUSSED: Dan has just started a new pen; there's some pen, pencil, and eraser talk; Dan has an important anecdote about utilizing eraser-based people skills; Dan's iMac is working fine, but he's concerned about the poofs coming out of the balloon blower; Dan saw Venom and has some thoughts; Merlin commends a comic and a podcast and an app launcher; the evolution of computer interaction has rewir...

DISCUSSED: What we talk about when we talk about optimism ; the power of "Act as Though"; on edibles; a YouTube recommendation, then more YouTube recommendations; how even do we tell YouTube what we never want to see again? HOW?! ; the difficulty of sensible algorithms; the fascinating concept of "pareidolia"; Professor Shoelaces's extensive metatags; your hosts answer a listener's question about...

DISCUSSED: Merlin is back on his old cans; Dan is pivoting to video; Cash stepped in paint, and kids are terrible storytellers; a book recommendation; a case for the Oxford comma, please and thank you; Dan starts asking for help with his new iMac; gross nickel–and-diming by Apple; praise for Southwest Airlines; Dan (finally) gets to finish asking for help with his new iMac; a cool new open source...

DISCUSSED: allergy attack!; big anniversary today; elegy for Two Cats Comics; some D&D talk; Dan got a sword!; yet more D&D talk; key commands for line-moving; Dan got his YouTube URL back; a Theranos book recommendation; Dan almost got cast in a TV show; some observations and reckons about Apple's big Services event. Links for this episode: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley...