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 - YouTube Help Len Testa and TouringPlans.com - Part One: The Origins - Coaster101 Last month, we were ab...
Jul 02, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 everyone live long enough to feel bad for saying something really stupid on a podcast; is Piglet a small...
Jun 25, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 to think about. There's also some thank-you's, as well as some podcast recommendations, plus a respo...
Jun 20, 2019•2 hr 42 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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) - Wikipedia Gamescape Excellent games and nerd store on Divisadero here in San Francisco. Amazon.com...
Jun 14, 2019•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast 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 were; Dan helps Merlin unpack a scene near his workplace; Merlin gets in the weeds about Roger Deakins,...
Jun 04, 2019•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 mostly end up talking about bags; also, you really need a bag in a bag in a bag; and, finally Merlin h...
May 28, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 buttons, and Merlin loves his iPad's Paste button; provisional, anecdotal praise for AT&T's Call Pro...
May 21, 2019•2 hr 38 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Off is still very good; what is the sound of one Koan falling?; your hosts discuss an article propo...
May 14, 2019•1 hr 28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 YouTube; Merlin has a recommendation for downloading internet videos (purely for educational reason...
May 07, 2019•2 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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, finally, your hosts respond to a listener's email about the therapeutic benefits of "controlling a smal...
Apr 30, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 to use his sword… yet ; people sure love them some pencils; there was some weather, so the seder got ...
Apr 23, 2019•1 hr 28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 rewired our brains; why do they have to make the print so small?; Merlin has songs in his head; and, fina...
Apr 16, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 when to go physical versus when to go digital. Links for this episode: Chris Nagele on Twitter: &quo...
Apr 09, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Mac video app; the Mac laptop keyboard problems ain't going away; Dan really likes Final Cut; Merlin...
Apr 03, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Startup: John Carreyrou: 9781524731656: Amazon.com: Books Amazon.com: Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 250 Oh...
Mar 26, 2019•2 hr 42 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: Top o' the Morling!; praise for the home release of Spider-Verse ; Dan and Merlin offer some more TV recommendations; Merlin endorses an excellent "turns out" podcast; a deep dive on slow-rise squishes and related stress toys; Merlin wears his childhood privilege on his sleeve. Finally, the guys answer an excellent listener question about the complex work of maintaining a household with someone you love. Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #25 — Merlin Mann MERLIN MANN (Bac...
Mar 19, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: Merlin is trying some new things and probably needs to adjust his DIP switches; audio equipment is discussed; remembering Hal Blaine; German words; fish dropsy; dining at Alamo Draft House; kids and crafts; follow-up on Power Puttering; recommending a Siracusa anecdote; recommending a philosophy podcast; recommending several cool products; some strong (if muddled) thoughts on the Michael Jackson documentary. Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #25 — Merlin Mann MERLIN MANN ...
Mar 12, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: Merlin is living the Domino lifestyle; R.I.P. Two Cats Comics; praise for iA Writer; Merlin needs help with his sudden Gmail spam; a meditation on comics as some awesome fun and an ugly damned business; nostalgia for hobby shops and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks ; and finally Merlin reintroduces the concept of "Power Puttering." Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #25 — Merlin Mann Friend, it’s time for this epic arc to come to its conclusion. After five years, twenty-fiv...
Mar 05, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: Dan has an awesome new video ; Spider-Verse is out!; Merlin's dorky Segway is discussed; app recommendations for a clean new Gmail and an even-smarter Dark Sky; Dan spills the beans on his new sound bar setup; TV selection and purchase is a known thistle; idiot trolls hassle poor Carol Danvers; Dan has an important new egg technology; and, finally, the boys fret about Apple's new 2FA requirements a little. Links for this episode: This Is Fireside - YouTube Dark Sky Hyperlocal weather ...
Feb 26, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mostly one big topic: screen time . Links for this episode: How to Fix “Cellular Update Failed” on iPhone with iOS 12.1.2 SMS, LTE, Cellular Data Issues 16 Surprisingly Funny Palindromes | Grammarly Blog Pessimists Archive Podcast Moral panic - Wikipedia Amazon.com: Super Stretchy Banana Assorted and Bouncy Ball Bundle by JA-RU | Stretches Long & Shrink Slow. Smells Good 3340 (Banana): Gateway Leviton 67W82 20 Amp, 277/480 Volt- 3PY, Flush Mounting Locking Receptacle, Industrial Grade, Groun...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: It's the optimistic day, but Merlin really screwed up an edit; there's some Inside Baseball about how podcasts get made; it's nice to have someone notice the shaving cream on your jowl; movie ratings are explored; why all the bosoms in 80s movies?; Dan wonders if he should have approached a celebrity; Merlin introduces further thought technologies for not being a creep with a famous person; the paucity of public experiences; Dan talks about Austin's mussel water; we learn about the pr...
Feb 12, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: Gong Hei Fat Choy! ; follow-up on the FaceTime bug and the complexity of getting bug and security reports from normals; the weirdness of bug-finders demanding a bounty; Merlin is fascinated to learn about "combinatorial explosion" and how it helps to explain why power-cycling fixes stuff; why you should always blow the dust out of the plug; recent examples of how restarting just fixes stuff; Merlin logs out of email apps and recommends an iOS calendar app; a case for killing OAuth whe...
Feb 05, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: Dan's fighting his computer and explores font corruption; Merlin hates pebbles in his shoe; Dan has an anecdote about massages; Merlin has an anecdote about the FaceTime exploit; this leads to discussion about how big companies deal with huge-scale, unexpected problems; some thoughts on The Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect; the problem with journalism about stuff we actually know about; remembering Michael Crichton; Heartbeeps! ; a clever way to reduce damage from careless delivery; is there ...
Jan 29, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: dreams and whether people like hearing them; turns out: Merlin recommends a podcast episode about mental stuff; practice vs. rehearsal; visualization as a rehearsal thing; follow-up on science fair projects; our new, post-search-engine habits; Math is hard; Merlin didn't get Anna's emails; cool screen-grabbing mojo; and Dan reviews excellent listener book recommendations. Links for this episode: 363. Think Like a Winner — Freakonomics Radio — Overcast Great athletes aren’t just great ...
Jan 22, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: moisture; kids and watches; some recent media consumption; encouraging kids to have good taste; memories of watching VHS movies in school; follow-up on Dan's new keyboard experiment; Drobo concerns; thinking about modern backup and, gosh, how that's evolved; frustrating typos; Dan and Merlin have iOS concerns; Dan has further thoughts on Bandersnatch . Links for this episode: Becket (1964 film) - Wikipedia The Beths 'A Little Death' | RNZ Music Live Session - YouTube Weirdly...
Jan 15, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: Optimistic Tuesdays; office cleanup; a grave bleach mishap; follow-up on Wirecutter ; a listener suggestion on, of all things, acupressure; Dan loves his cool new keyboard, but has a big caveat; Merlin is working with magnets; on "Hardware Disease"; request for Riordan-style book recommendations; exciting follow-up on the Burger Decay Project; plus, some closing thoughts on Apple's recent results dustup and what it might suggest about near-future tech trends. Links for this episode: i...
Jan 08, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast DISCUSSED: "Rabbit Rabbit!"; partial shutdown and the toilet problems it creates; updates on options for Bluetooth keyboards; some extremely random and anecdotal reckoning about the recent Big Apple News; your hosts' beef with Wirecutter ; some odds and sods recommendations and cool life hacks. Links for this episode: Logitech Backlit Wireless Keyboard for Apple Mac, iPad, iPhone & TV Logitech K380 Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard, Multi-Device with Most OS's Netflix categories codes - Find ...
Jan 03, 2019•2 hr 33 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's the most wonderful time of the year, so the boys answer listener mail and get a little silly. Happy Holidays, jackals. Links for this episode: Elmore Leonard: 10 Rules for Good Writing - Gotham Writers Workshop How Many Exclamation Points Do Great Writers Use?! - The Atlantic Apple says some 2018 iPad Pros might ship with a bent chassis, but claims it's not a defect - 9to5Mac They Might Be Giants-Ana Ng - YouTube Purple Toupee - Wikipedia Lincoln (album) - Wikipedia AutoSleep Automatic...
Dec 24, 2018•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Discussed: the harsh mistress of holidays, Hanukah presents, Cash's cool gift, the joys of good UX, some excellent very good recommendations, an exciting Science experiment involving hamburgers, kids are terrible at writing things down, things that changed Merlin's game, and some excellent follow-up on how we recognize number patterns. Happy Holidays, you jackals. Links for this episode: Disney•Pixar Short Film "Bao" - YouTube The Impossible Feat inside Your VCR - YouTube Closed Captio...
Dec 18, 2018•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Discussed: Merlin worries that Dan is getting ground down; web sites are getting very thirsty; Dan thinks it's like pads in football; Dan has updates and more thoughts about doing development work on an iPad; Merlin thinks we should talk more about which devices we choose for doing which things; the boys also have some recommendations. Links for this episode: Amazon.com: Clever Coffee Dripper, Large, 18 Ounces: Kitchen & Dining Smudging - Wikipedia Mosh for iOS, Best SSH Client - Blink Shell...
Dec 11, 2018•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
