Episode description

Show notes:
Links:
San Francisco Looking Like Blade Runner
The Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States
Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791
The Radicalism of the American Revolution
A People's History of the United States
Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris
The Dispossessed
I, Robot
The Murderbot Diaries
Foundation
The Unicorn Project
Open Yale Courses - The American Revolution
My Brilliant Friend
Bona Fide Masks

Full transcription:
Starr:
I got to tell you guys, this was just... I don't know. This makes up for the rest of 2020 for me personally but when I took all this equipment that I had bought for the fiber optic link between my house and the new office, and I hooked it up to the cable that had been buried by electricians who didn't really know what they were doing. Regarding fiber. And I hooked everything up. It just all worked the first time.

Josh:
Wow.

Ben:
Wow.

Starr:
That was the most... This is the most amazing thing. I think that's what I need to get me through the rest of this year.

Josh:
For real.

Starr:
I'm just going to think back to that golden moment.

Josh:
Yeah. I still can't get anything but Comcast here and on top of that, we can barely breathe now because of the smoke outside.

Starr:
Oh yeah. I see the window behind you. It looks kind of apocalyptic.

Josh:
Can you see that?

Starr:
I can see it, yeah.

Josh:
It is daytime right now.

Starr:
I know. I know.

Josh:
It is so dark.

Starr:
Oh my gosh.

Ben:
I read that yesterday, it was so bad in San Francisco that the birds didn't even realize it was daytime.

Starr:
Really?

Ben:
Yep.

Starr:
Well, poor birds.

Josh:
Yeah, none of the roosters are crowing either.

Starr:
Yeah. I've just got to say though, Coit Tower in San Francisco was made for these apocalyptic red sky pictures. It's that really pointy tower.

Josh:
Yeah. Did you see the drone footage that someone did with the... Was it Blade Runner?

Ben:
Uh-huh.

Josh:
Yeah, the soundtrack.

Ben:
Yep.

Starr:
Oh, I need to find that.

Ben:
The air quality's been frustrating for me this week because I got my new kayak, and I was on vacation. I was like, "Yes, I'm going to paddle everyday all day long." And no. I did not paddle everyday all day long.

Starr:
Oh, that's frustrating.

Josh:
Yeah. Well, I was thinking about you this week. How is it up there anyway? Because I was like, if you all are dealing with any of the stuff that we have done here, I wouldn't want to be out on a river right now.

Ben:
Yeah. Well, earlier in the week, we were getting Easterly winds. So, we were getting smoke from the fires in Eastern Washington. And so, our air quality index was hovering in the low 100s. So, 100 to 120-ish in my neck of the woods. And then, as of last night, now we're getting Southernly winds, so now we're getting the California, and Oregon smoke. So, now it's gone up... I think we're around the 200ish neighborhood. So, everyday I was hoping the next day would be a little bit better and everyday, it wasn't. So, finally on Thursday I'm like, "I'm just going." So, I just went and luckily, I didn't get overwhelmed by all the smoke. I was able to successfully complete the maiden voyage of the kayak.

Josh:
Did you enjoy it?

Ben:
Yeah. It was nice.

Josh:
Was it a good paddle?

Ben:
Yeah, it was great.

Josh:
Nice.

Ben:
Yeah.

Josh:
That's good.

Starr:
Yeah. It's hazy here and unpleasant to breathe the air but it's not... It doesn't have the same world is ending vibes that are in Oregon, and San Francisco.

Josh:
Yeah. Apparently, you know Mike Perum, he was telling me that the air quality index inside his house is over 300.

Ben:
Oh, wow.

Josh:
Yeah.

Starr:
How's he measuring that?

Josh:
Yeah. They are headed North. Yeah, he's got a little... I don't know. A little meter. Yeah.

Starr:
Oh, that's so cool.

Josh:
Yeah, I want one now.

Ben:
I found that you can buy them from Purple Air.

Josh:
Oh, really?

Ben:
Purpleair.com. Yes, they have both internal and external monitors. And they have a crowd sourced map of your local neighborhood air quality. Assuming, that someone in your neighborhood has one of their devices.

Josh:
Interesting. Okay. Oh, that's cool.

Ben:
Yeah.

Starr:
Oh, cool.

Josh:
Yeah. I didn't really know anything about air quality... Like majoring air quality before. We've never really... Our air has always been pristine.

Ben:
Yeah. When you live in Washington state, it's like, "Yeah, the air's good."

Josh:
Yeah.

Ben:
Pretty much always.

Starr:
Yeah. It just comes in from the ocean, and it's always fresh. But apparently, if the air, or the ocean is full of smoke, then you're just... Yeah.

Starr:
Yes.

Josh:
The worst part about this is it could not stop raining this Spring when we were all stuck quarantined inside. It just would not stop raining. And now, we're stuck inside due to the smoke and we just wish it could rain because it would dampen everything and it just won't rain. It's really doing the opposite.

Starr:
Yeah. Well, fortunately, I bought a bunch of... A resperator type mask, not the cloth masks, and they actually... If you wear one of those, you can't actually smell smoke in the air outside.

Josh:
Oh.

Starr:
Yeah. So, we just ordered 100 more of those just to have stockpiled. Yeah. So, we got those masks.

Josh:
And you look really cool when you go for your daily walks.

Starr:
Yes. So, I wear the... I use a respiratory type mask. They're not N95, they're KN95.

Josh:
Oh.

Starr:
By, I guess a reputable company that's been approved for use by the FDA for medical stuff or something. And so, they're legit good masks. And I tend to wear them whenever I go into enclosed spaces.

Josh:
Yeah.

Starr:
Or anywhere outside now. I guess everywhere. But I always wonder, do people think I'm too bougie because of my masks that I special order? Do they think I'm putting on airs?

Josh:
Well, I mean, maybe if you lived outside of Seattle. Yeah, I don't know. There's got to be other... You got to have some fellow mask wearers that you meet on the street and just quietly nod to.

Starr:
Oh, totally.

Ben:
All you got to do is get some big baggie pants, some big old boots, strap a keyboard across your back and then you can be all like, "Yeah. I'm Blade Runner cyberpunk."