Merlin shares a new insight about the pre-flight, but, as usual John disagrees. Then, there's some discussion of playlists and that time John got Merlin into Chvrches. There appears to be some continental disagreement about a ubiquitous facial expression, and John directs Merlin on some more of the things he supposedly pronounces weirdly. Your hosts might could want to explore the things it took them too long to realize, and Merlin graciously reads John one of his dreams. Follow-Up turns to the ...
Dec 09, 2022•2 hr 34 min•Ep. 197
Things kick off with a quick look at the recent TicketMaster dustup. Merlin shares what a "news peg" is, and John has simple ideas for avoiding unnecessary logjams on the web. As a main topic. upon Merlin's request, John generously provides a tour of his app, [**SwitchGlass**](https://switchglass.app/). We learn what itch John was scratching and how SwitchGlass differs from various other rows of icons on your Mac. In the members-only bonus show, the guys talk about, you know. Twitter. You can [s...
Nov 25, 2022•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 196
Mastodon Things kick off with about ten minutes of very useful nail clipper talk. Up next, lots of good listener Follow-Up on the origins of CSS color names, how to pause a TikTok with your meat fingers, plus revealing some scalable methods for finding free money from the government. Next, comes some FU on Lifestreams that somehow kind of becomes the basis for the rest of the episode. How can we track the stuff that's valuable to us—but also provide the specificity and context needed to annotate...
Nov 12, 2022•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 195
Things kick off with John's strident observation of pre-show hygiene, and Merlin struggles to know his Targaryens from his Velaryons and his Valyrians. Merlin has a *lot* of problem with twins, and John mourns this new generation's lack of respect for proper media queuing. As ever, Merlin's demos are the worst. There's some brief confusion about 80s music, and, even though he's drop-tuned, Merlin plays John a nice "`FMaj7`" chord. John *claims* to have no interest in Merlin making him a mixtape....
Oct 28, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 194
Things kick off with an ambitious proposal to recognize outstanding work by team members and keep the relationship fresh. After ticking an item off of his "`queue`," John leads a nominally rapid-fire round highlighted by a controversial new Secret Weird Things People Do. Things wrap with a provocative Dog Update in which John leverages the love of a British TV show to re-home a new friend with Merlin's family. Merlin identifies the wrong Helen. (_Recorded on Tuesday, October 4, 2022_)
Oct 14, 2022•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 193
John has concerns about why his fans are spinning up, and Merlin interrogates his recent obsession with the previous vice president. The main topic this week concerns a question that's been banging around in Merlin's brain forever: *is John inoculated against stress?* Once the usual arguments about wording and meaning have been (mostly) settled, numerous angles are explored. Including an exploration of one of life's thorniest differences to reconcile: how much can I be "how I am" with other peop...
Sep 30, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 192
John learns a little about a legendary Hollywood producer, and Merlin may not know how to do his job. Apple announces some new products, London Bridge is down, and your hosts continue their tour of mini-topics.
Sep 17, 2022•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 191
Things kick off with a brief debate on whether using things wrong makes you a hacker. In Follow-Up, John has updates on that announcement about dropping a device in a plane seat, and Merlin expresses skepticism about announcements in general. Then, there's some updates related to the prior discussion of performance reviews. Believe it or not, quantifying the unquantifiable is even more difficult than it sounds. And, finally, we learn why John is still behind on his podcasts as well as why Merlin...
Sep 02, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 190
In Follow-Up, John reminds everyone that RecDiffs listeners knew what’s bad about TV stands before any of the normals. John also shares his Vacation Results—alongside some anthropological observations on the state of air travel in 2022. Finally, your hosts dig in to the continuing saga of John’s TV. (_Recorded August 9, 2022_)
Aug 19, 2022•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 189
This week finds both John and Merlin helping things leave their house. In our members-only bonus show: John previews vacation planning progress. [Sign up today](https://www.relay.fm/rd/join) to get lots of extra stuff and to support our program. (_Recorded on Tuesday, July 19, 2022_)
Aug 06, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 188
Once John is ready, things kick off with a discussion of Merlin's increasing asymmetry. Follow-up concerns pinned messages. Merlin thinks Marco still doesn't understand what a priority is, and John thinks skeuomorphism doesn't mean what it used to mean. John graciously saves Merlin's sanity, and then your hosts express skepticism about the wisdom of offering subscriptions in premium automobiles. As an extended mini-topic, you hosts talk about the recent FX show, _The Bear_. John points out that ...
Jul 22, 2022•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 187
Things kick off with Merlin proposing a new title for himself which John immediately vetoes for cause. In Follow-Up, John claims that he knows what month it is, plus there's some promising new data on John's TV project. 👉 Time is running out, so please consider [**buying our shirt**](https://recdiffs.store). The main topic concerns the question we've all been asking for over two years: _is it the after times yet?_ Is Covid "over" to a point where we can feel good about making plans and…_doing_ ...
Jul 08, 2022•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 186
Things kick off with an immediate derail into Merlin's Apple Health data, with John noting that he never liked _Statistics_. Next up, your hosts have—at least by their standards—a pretty big announcement. This leads to an appropriately in-depth exegesis into the process of making and selling a t-shirt. Side topics include Scott Pilgrim, JavaScript, domain names, throwing money at artists you love, and just one of the _numerous_ ways Factory Records managed to lose lots of money. 👉 If you think ...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 185
Telling strangers what you do for work, Merlin's life as a Ricky Montgomery dad, and How to Talk to People. In our members-only bonus show: John has questions about Merlin's Bike Results, and Merlin has gotten religion about how we make cities. [Sign up today](https://www.relay.fm/rd/join) to get lots of extra stuff and to support our program. (_Recorded on Thursday, June 2, 2022_)
Jun 11, 2022•2 hr 49 min•Ep. 184
Things kick off with a dive on the hacker mindset, black swans, corner cases, and the exception that proves the rule. Whatever that means. This leads to a side trip into security, troubleshooting, and the difference between non-linear thinking and untethered madness. Finally, in a conversation both sprawling and comically on-brand, your hosts explore the concept of *properness*. What does it mean to do something properly, when should it matter, and what are the risks and benefits of demanding th...
May 27, 2022•2 hr 52 min•Ep. 183
Things kick off with some discussion of food, which finds one of your hosts trying to prove with science that he tastes everything _better_. Also, there is not a band _or_ a sports team called "The Miami Giants." Next up, John frog-marches Merlin through a check-in on his terrible sleep. Finally, on the heels of releasing their annual [member](https://www.relay.fm/rd/join) episode, John and Merlin answer some of the very good questions posed by one of their friend-guests at length. (_Recorded on...
May 13, 2022•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 182
Things kick off with an unexpected chalk talk from Merlin on the provenance of a favorite phrase as well as an even less expected history of his college's dorms. In follow-up, John would like to clarify that he knows the difference between a TV show about pirates and a Southern California hardcore band. Merlin offers to make John a mix tape. After confidently announcing he's not going to talk about his Synology updates this week, Merlin talks about his Synology updates. Next up, John has project...
Apr 29, 2022•2 hr 16 min•Ep. 181
In follow-up, John has corrections for himself, but Merlin says he knew what John meant. Errors are so much easier to identify once everybody else has had a chance to see them too. In further follow-up, both the listeners and John have some advice for Merlin on programmatically scooting Git files around on his Mac. This week's mini-topic involves some crossover with _Do By Friday_ via a consideration of the varying depictions of J.H. Christ in the iconography of different faiths. Merlin admired ...
Apr 17, 2022•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 180
Things kick off with Merlin blowing his nose and John hearing it. In Follow-Up, John brings us up to speed on his recent adventures in jury duty. Merlin has thoughts on what we can infer from a drug tester who keeps sipping meth from the big control jug. Next, John is (yet—_further_) trolled by the jackals who make announcements about their future TVs. Merlin wonders if maybe John should just learn to weld. And, finally? There's **John's Main Topic**. (_Recorded on Tuesday, March 22, 2022_)...
Mar 31, 2022•2 hr 57 min•Ep. 179
In follow-up, John continues to be trolled by the announcements of television makers, and Merlin clarifies which Blu-ray box he recommends. Also, Merlin has nice things to say about the Peacock app. As something like a main topic, John finally presents an authentic Italian-American's take on the "doing Italian food wrong" meme. Merlin wonders about locating the line between personal preference and natural law. Next up, Merlin needs John's Tech Support for a Git question And, finally, your hosts ...
Mar 19, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 178
Things kick off with a withering review of presentations by children. Follow-up covers TV pricing updates alongside John's complicated entertainment-stack needs. As a main topic, your hosts dive deep on [John's recent post about streaming video apps](https://hypercritical.co/2022/02/15/streaming-apps "Hypercritical - 'An Unsolicited Streaming App Spec'") and [a follow-up post about how people feel](https://hypercritical.co/2022/02/17/streaming-app-sentiments "Hypercritical: 'Streaming App Sentim...
Mar 05, 2022•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 177
Merlin apologizes about the links last week, but John saves the day by picking up the tabs. Follow-up covers listener feedback on CRI and what Gmail's little envelope means. Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts are extolled. John has an update on his Ongoing Appliance Rebellion but has nothing new to share on his Ongoing Toe Rebellion. As a main topic, your hosts dive deep on _spaces_. The places where we live, work, hoard, purge, and hang up just so, *so* many coats. Can there be a taxonomy of spaces that ...
Feb 19, 2022•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 176
Things kick off with your hosts not quite talking about John's scanning project, but it quickly turns into a dive into tiny on-screen targets, DRM that prevents screenshots, and why, oh, why don't streaming services make things easier to share? In follow-up, Merlin shares his new enthusiasm for the powerful combination of Git and Visual Studio Code. John expresses disappointment that Merlin still hasn't renamed his hard drive. Finally, John has important updates on his body. (_Recorded on Tuesda...
Feb 05, 2022•2 hr 48 min•Ep. 175
After some discussion of the pre-flight and Merlin's problematic meal, there's a surprising amount of donut-related content, including identifying the unexpected challenges of running a successful Donut Friday. Merlin has some thoughts on the perils of cute ordering. In follow-up, John highlights some helpful listener responses on LED bulbs. Man, light sure can be complicated. As a main topic, John tells us why Sony is breaking his heart and making his journey to buying a new television more dif...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 174
John opens with a question, and Merlin admits to thinking about John in the morning. This leads to some U2 content and quick look at Disney's _Encanto_. In follow-up, John shares some updates on his freezer situation and implies that he still plans to talk about his body soon. This week's main topic concerns Merlin's Wisdom Project.
Jan 06, 2022•2 hr 41 min•Ep. 173
Your hosts discuss John’s new freezer.
Dec 24, 2021•2 hr 51 min•Ep. 172
Things kick off with Merlin's ongoing confusion about the role of the pre-flight. Merlin thinks John is being kind of terse, and John almost quotes what The Wolf said—and, yet, he somehow remembers exactly what model of car The Wolf drove. Then, there's a fair amount of talk about old Apple keyboards. Merlin abuses his relationship with John to get some tech support. In follow-up, John takes an unprecedented third crack at explaining _security through obscurity_. John can't even imagine ever sha...
Dec 10, 2021•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 171
In follow-up, your hosts fix a couple errors, then complain about restaurant delivery apps and label makers. The hammer drill is considered and demoed. As a main topic, your hosts discuss the future of gender. (*Episode recorded Tuesday, November 16, 2021*)
Nov 27, 2021•2 hr 49 min•Ep. 170
Following an accidental pre-show, John bans clapping, and Merlin announces he doesn't want to run a store. In an epic mini-topic, John addresses how he deals with safely getting rid of old media. The answers will *not* surprise you. Next, Merlin has questions about lawn signs. Frank Chu is remembered. The main topic is _Lifestreams_. What were they, and why have you never heard of them? (_Recorded on Tuesday, November 2, 2021_)
Nov 13, 2021•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 169
Your hosts did their first pre-flight, and it went pretty well. Next up, in direct contravention to the dictates governing the uneasy peace with ATP , there is some *computer talk*. Specifically, Merlin wants to know if John really didn't do any research, and John wants to hear Merlin's reactions to Apple's recent announcements. (Editor's Note: At one point, John accidentally/casually reveals the existence of a *queue*, and, of course, it's all Merlin can do not to stop the program, start over, ...
Oct 29, 2021•2 hr 39 min•Ep. 168
