Reconcilable Differences

This week kicks off with John reminding Merlin he needs to study up to make better jokes. Merlin thinks John just needs to buy a better long sword at the pop-up. Things move quickly into a mini-topic on the *Black Mirror* episode, "Bandersnatch." Does this unusual experiment potentially represent a new way of telling stories, and can we expect to see more uses of interactive tech on TV? John has s...

This week kicks off with a warning. Merlin has had some small reboots, and John learned about a new brain disease. John confronts Merlin on his disloyalty, and this leads to John interrogating Merlin's newfound fondness for NBA basketball. Yes: sports are discussed. Then things turn to some follow-up on Merlin's recent office cleanup, and John introduces how refuse is "aging" in his house. Merlin...

This week, John is just back from his holiday trip, and Merlin thinks he's a *titan*. Merlin's daughter wants to be a monk, and the art of AD&D is discussed. John has more questions about Merlin's Britishisms. We are introduced to "Hello, Richard" and the flats of San Francisco are re-litigated. The taxonomy of the Google doc is also re-litigated. Although it won't turn into one-third of every epi...

Things kick off with some discussion of the recent _Do By Friday_ Holiday Party, then John takes the axe to Merlin's latest experiment with the show doc. In follow-up, John catches us up on how his jammed thumb is mending, and your hosts talk about TV fixes and calibration. John reminds Merlin what they've already talked about. The list of Big Topics is briefly scanned. In further follow-up, Merli...

This week kicks off with a dive into the sad world of middle-aged injuries and afflictions. John missed a step, and Merlin experiences a grave sweatpant malfunction. Does it always take this long to heal, and why do people keep putting things in other people’s areas? John interrogates Merlin about his heartbeat, and Merlin reveals he’s conducting a personal longitudinal study. John still has conce...

This week’s *wraparound episode* kicks off with coverage of Merlin's new overalls and baby-bottle-nipple hat. John has some thoughts on this new sartorial turn, and Merlin has questions about John's sleep. Merlin gets an alarming message. Merlin expresses gratitude for John's introduction to a new band, and this leads to a discussion of how your hosts discover, consume, and curate music these days...

This week kicks off with the Mid-Term Election Extravaganza. Merlin is definitely not watching the results, and John realizes he shouldn’t have checked in at all. Listeners are assigned Spoiler Slot homework being the Amazon Prime series, _Homecoming_. Also, upon John’s recommendation, Merlin bought a very large book. Your hosts talk about the phenomenon of The Movie Before the Movie, and where it...

This week kicks off with some *Dear Evan Hansen* talk, and Merlin admits he still hasn’t *earned* the second act. This leads John to interrogate this odd affliction of Merlin’s. Both hosts finally address how, whether, and when they commit to the full consumption of cultural products. Why does John so often stick with the whole season of a C-plus TV show, and when does Merlin know he’s ready for t...

This week, Merlin has a lot going on, and John has questions about how _Do By Friday_ works behind the scenes. In turn, Merlin has some iCloud questions for John. There is discussion of photo management and the trend line for Apple’s dependability in services. John worries about losing his hearts, and Merlin gets some really terrible prints made. In-home intercom systems are recalled, and the sorr...

This week, John has a musical request for Merlin, and Merlin agrees to hop on the court. This leads to a discussion of musical fingernail trimming, and the revelation of an upsetting new callus. John has questions about Merlin’s crazy bandwidth. This leads to misty, water-colored memories of the way we downloaded. Time was, no one could get ISDN, and John makes a funny goof. John did not fix the d...

This week kicks off with some complaining about Google’s UI cruft. Also, why are school websites so bad? Technology old and new is discussed. John just wants to upload a photo, and Merlin learns a _lot_ about targeted individuals. John is skeptical about whether this is really a thing, but Merlin is pretty sure it is. John thinks Merlin missed an opportunity to be a guru, and Merlin has thoughts o...

This week, Merlin is losing his mind, and John’s kids can’t _even_. Merlin praises his kid’s tech-savvy teacher, and John has questions about how well Merlin has been following his orders. Merlin admits that he literally has not. Homework is discussed, and John confesses to once starting the world’s longest book report. John recounts his career of creative abuse of Macintosh skills back in element...

This week kicks off with John’s candid assessment of Merlin’s new facial hair experiment, and Merlin expresses sympathy for John’s own grave face challenges. Ziti is briefly discussed, and Merlin has a feature request for _ATP_. John has some questions about a podcast Merlin likes, and this leads to a discursive walk through ***what makes a podcast stick***. John doesn’t want to know how much Chap...

Again with the Skype, and the show is off and running with a quick gloss on Programming, Scratch, homemade Pong, and another podcast where John adjudicates what is or is not a thing. John goes bowling, but it isn’t _proper bowling_, and Merlin doesn’t actually make it into arcades so much anymore. John explores the squalid underworld of Gambling for Children, and Merlin talks about some recent hig...

This week, Merlin has managed his time poorly and John has notes about the verisimilitude of Memoji. John’s daughter is at camp and Merlin thinks the show notes are just a mess. This week’s mini-topic cover’s Merlin’s struggle with a sound bar. This leads to some TV (set) talk. John is in the market for a new one and Merlin asks for some tech advice. Plants are discussed. John brings us up to date...

This week starts with an inhale as Merlin fails to solve several of John's musical puzzles. Then, there's some R.E.M. talk. As you do. This week's mini-topic involves ***Merlin's Summer Projects.*** Merlin likes choosing the right word, and John doesn't really _do_ projects. This ends up leading to some deep discussion about buying a guitar and trying to get better at it. John can't understand why...

This week opens with Merlin’s heavy reappraisal of *Isle of Dogs*, plus an anecdote that involves his wife slapping a remote out of his hands. John shares some strong opinions about motion smoothing and reveals the stunning secrets of Instagram. Your hosts discuss New England. John reveals a new wrinkle in his daughter’s recent dietary radicalization, while Merlin points out that John has a lot of...

This week’s *wraparound episode* begins with the annual WWDC reporting live from the show floor. Then, Merlin explains a joke and shows John an image you can’t see yet. John has trouble stopping the flow of *WIRED*, and Apple TV apps are further discussed. Merlin briefly uses his Nest camera as a voice dingus. *Very briefly*. Your hosts talk about how they handle the Wild West of two-factor authen...

This week kicks off with a main topic: ***Kid Independence Projects***. Merlin is trying a new thing, and John admits that he’s *pan-fretful*. What kind of stuff do you undertake to encourage your kids’ independence and responsibility? What about the fires and the knives? Merlin is proud when his daughter deceives him, but John’s a little disappointed with his kid’s failure to cover her tracks. Ca...

This week kicks off punctually, with some follow-up from John on Destiny 2 users getting more vault space to hold all their stuff. Why not 3000 slots? Who even knows? Merlin confesses that he’s terrible at controlling his PlayStation and extolls the magic and perplexity of *Movies Anywhere*. Siri control of Apple TV is discussed. In more official follow-up, John has updates on the systematic **_ch...

This week, John and Merlin come in _hot_ with an accidental main topic: ***punctuality***. Is punctuality important, and how much tardiness can we abide from our pals and business associates? Merlin wonders if _expecting_ punctuality might be a form of privilege, and John has strong feelings about the police, just in general. In follow-up, Merlin clarifies where you can listen to that Simpsons epi...

This week’s episode has _lots_ of really good follow-up. Follow-up on accents, Face ID, how Roderick records, and Merlin’s new internet friend. John provides much-requested follow-up on Twitter’s recently announced changes. This leads to a broader discussion of free speech and platform ownership. John and Merlin embarrass their families, fret about Disney, and talk about some excellent Simpsons li...

This week, things kick into gear quickly with a mini-topic about ***Instagram***. Why isn’t Merlin on it, and why does John like it so much? John likes it as a refreshing break from word things, but Merlin still thinks there are too many hashtags and birds on wires. Merlin really misses the salad days of Flickr, but of course John derails it to yet another goof on Merlin’s pronunciation. And, then...

This week’s first mini-topic concerns ***John's office chair***. Honestly, why can't people just leave John's chair alone? Why always with the moving and the replacing? A chair is a very personal thing, and John likes his chair. So, what, now he has to get a bike lock or something? Merlin wonders if the form is actually hooked up to anything, and John thinks Merlin's cat looks like a towel. The se...

This week kicks off with a return to an old chestnut: _Twitter_. John doesn’t want too many things to check, and Merlin finds some therapy. The distinction of the “muffle” is highlighted. This week’s mini-topic concerns the ***new Google Calendar UI***. Merlin thinks there’s just too much clicking, and John would like some better information density. The influence of old Mac habits is explored, le...