Episode 390: A Festive Merry-Go-Round for the Very Lonely

Skype gets way too ambitious; sprinkling sauce on a service; a mandatory social network for doorbells; Dan acquires a new deity; some excellent listener follow-up on Computerized Adaptive Testing; Dan takes his boy to see a bona fide cinema classic; Dan has some great TV recommendations; Merlin reports in from the deep weeds of a fraught smart speaker ecosystem.

Links for this episode:

• The Podcast Digest: TPD 156 - Merlin Mann "An Old Man's Reframe"
  For the 4 year anniversary episode of TPD, it was my pleasure to have been joined by one of my favorite podcasters of all time - Merlin Mann!  I talk with Merlin about his history in podcasting, working with his co-hosts, the difference in his shows and some of his favorite podcasts!  
• The Podcast Digest
  
• Amazon.com: All-new Sonos One - Smart Speaker with Alexa voice control built-In. Compact size with incredible sound for any room. (black): Home Audio & Theater
  
• The Dude Abiding kit
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #389: Butt Baking
  
• CA Parent Opt-Out
  
• Chain of Command (Star Trek: The Next Generation) - Wikipedia
  
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (film) - Wikipedia
  
• 2001: A Space Odyssey - in-depth analysis - by Rob Ager 2008
  
• Computerized adaptive testing - Wikipedia
  

• Casper (Visit Casper.com/itsyourshow and use the code ITSYOURSHOW for $50 towards select mattresses).

• Chegg (For $5 off your first month’s subscription, go to chegg.com/backtowork and use promo code BACKTOWORK).