John Siracusa and Merlin Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way. Hosted by John Siracusa and Merlin Mann.
Follow-Up opens with a correction from John and an admission that he's very disappointed in you, the listener. John clocks Merlin's sudden overuse of some given word.
Things kick off with an acknowledgment of the enthusiastic listener response to the Waffle House episode. Merlin compliments John on a bit, and John handles that pretty much how you'd expect.
Follow-Up opens with a correction from John and an admission that he's very disappointed in you, the listener. John clocks Merlin's sudden overuse of some given word.
There's a brief tangent into Shōgun and some films Merlin liked less than John. There's some discussion of subtitles and screenshotting.
There's further Follow-Up on the Mark System in day-to-day use. Then some discussion of horses, words that sound like other words, plus more sneaky Britishisms.
As is so often the case, this somehow leads to your hosts complaining about technology for a pretty long time. Would it kill you to provide a deep link?
Merlin suddenly becomes very animated thinking about designing a new Mark system that would involve 3D-printing some jellypacks.
The episode concludes on a surprisingly rabbinical note.
(Recorded on Tuesday, April 16, 2024)
The video that changed so many lives.
Merlin made a GPT for the Mark system.
Merlin made a jelly pack supercut.
John guides Merlin through an unusual form of communication.
John guides Merlin through an unusual form of communication.
So unusual is this form of communication that its interrogation continues through the members-only bonus episode.
Remember, you can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and, yes, support this program.
(Recorded on Tuesday, April 2, 2024)
The learning curve for a Waffle House server can be steep, and even steeper for a cook. The process by which an order cycles from the customer-menu interaction to the final presentation of food is complex, multimodal, and reliant on code-switching.
John mistakenly used this name instead of the correct one. (See next link.)
This is what John should have said.
Topic include perception, misdirection, binaries, and how it is that "Survivor" so rarely leaks.
Things kick off with the usual problems, and then somehow there's a whole thing about magic tricks, perception, and misdirection. John cannily coins "The Reverse Columbo."
In Follow-Up, Merlin has a headphone correction, Listener Dave nominates !bff, Listener Benjamin identifies the weird old guy pronunciation channel, and a band from the 80s gets the LED out.
John points out that, with computers, binaries are definitely a thing, but Merlin feels like he could go either way about it.
For a main topic, your hosts have more to say about Jelinsky. As a very entertaining dingaling, our guy's brief time on Survivor provides a good opportunity to explore how the show is produced and presented.
Finally, your hosts consider John's potential career path as "an external coach."
(Recorded on Tuesday, March 19, 2024)
The series Seinfeld mentions many fictional films, sometimes as major plot elements, sometimes minor plot elements and often as running gags.
"I ONLY ATE ONE!"
A new season of Survivor brings an amazing new dingaling with a novel definition of "several." Then, John chats with Merlin about his recent Apple Vision Pro experience.
Things kick off with having already begun, then there's some words that also mean their opposite, and some new weird pronunciations.
In Follow-Up, a new season of Survivor also brings an amazing new dingaling with a novel understanding of "several."
As a main topic, John chats with Merlin about his recent Apple Vision Pro demo.
For this month's members-only bonus show, John offers Merlin and his family advice on buying a computer.
We also have, as a special added attraction, how Merlin goes to bed.
You can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and, yes, support our program.
(Recorded on Tuesday, March 5, 2024)
In the interest of transparency, I only JUST realized SCTV is Second City TV. Ugh. I know. I KNOW.
Jelinsky's brief time in the game was marked by a tendency to overcommit before giving up at the slightest resistance. His non-committal attitude cost him his tribemates' faith and he became the first person voted out of the season.
Follow-up, Billy Joel, and Apple Vision Pro.
John doesn't like how Merlin starts the show but, unsurprisingly, has nothing better to offer. Counting is discussed. Then, there's a tangent on the peculiar joys of long-running videos series.
Then there's a lot of really good listener Follow-Up, including new Things It Took You Too Long to Realize plus more examples of movies that don't seem to understand the sport that they're about. Merlin confesses that Ry is his only friend.
Next up is some fascinating FU on the ways non-English languages handle plurals. John demands Merlin find out whether his kid knows what a jellyroll is and directly implies that Merlin also does not know what a jellyroll is.
It seems like your hosts are about to talk about Apple Vision Pro when Merlin suddenly remembers there's very important new content from Dr. William Martin Joel that requires immediate discussion. John thinks he kinda looks like a Sontaran.
Then your hosts talk about Apple Vision Pro for a pretty long time.
(Recorded on Tuesday, February 20, 2024)
"Tim Heidecker's On Cinema at the Cinema is a web series created by Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington. Well, web series is reductive... its more like a cinematic universe... the OCU?"
Merlin's sole friend on the internet.
John has Follow-Up on the Ides of March that leads to an examination of Roman numerals, contextual adjectives, and the challenge of adapting software for the peoples of Volapük.
John has Follow-Up on the Ides of March that leads to an examination of Roman numerals, contextual adjectives, and the challenge of adapting software for the peoples of Volapük.
Next up is some guidance on the rope John was trying to push in the previous episode, and Merlin expresses gratitude to the listeners who also didn't know Aja has a person on it. Your hosts learn that you can't make an Omelas without…you know. Breaking something.
Then, John and Merlin talk about the American singer, Taylor Swift.
Apparently still in Follow-Up, there's more talk about DisneySea, and then Merlin gets surprisingly animated in discussing his ardor for some networking software and a recent music video.
Finally, the listener is treated to a discussion of sports in movies.
For this month's members-only bonus show, John has questions about Merlin's AI friends.
You can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and, yes, support our program.
(Recorded on Tuesday, February 6, 2024)
Margaret Qualley dances her little heart out in this outstanding commercial directed by Spike Jonze.
"or no-see-um-green"
Listen for the subtle music changes between lands in the MK. Also notice how the pavement changes as well, especially as you travel across the nation and through time from Liberty Square (the Colonial Eastern US) into the Frontierland (western US).
The Purkinje effect occurs at the transition between primary use of the photopic (cone-based) and scotopic (rod-based) systems, that is, in the mesopic state: as intensity dims, the rods take over, and before color disappears completely, it shifts towards the rods' top sensitivity.[
Your hosts begin unpacking some of the things it took them too long to realize
John has thoughts on how home chefs overcomplicate Italian recipes, and Merlin administers a pop quiz.
What starts as quick Follow-Up leads to a discussion of UNIX history, culture, and philosophy.
As a main topic, your hosts begin unpacking some of the things it took them too long to realize. Merlin provides several very interesting examples, and John does not.
But Merlin does not hold it against him.
(Recorded on Tuesday, January 23, 2024)
"Spread your wings and let me come inside"
Merlin misspoke. The amazing variant of the Haunted Mansion he was thinking of is at Hong Kong Disneyland.
So, to this day, over forty years later, whenever someone complains that "everyone already knows this" or they whine about how "everyone has already seen this," I always think the same thing: Every day, somebody's born who's never seen The Flintstones.
John shares some updates on "Secret Weird Things [Other] People Do,"
John thinks Merlin is wasting his time trying to tune his news consumption, and Merlin reveals that he knows more than you'd probably think about women's fashion.
In Follow-Up, a listener has questions about applying BFF to anime, and John offers a response that Merlin finds almost useful. Merlin shares some FU on both his late father and chapter markers.
Merlin is struggling in a shell, and John thinks a lot of people could probably benefit from learning UNIX from the bottom-up.
John shares a quick update on the Britishisms that are crossing the pond—even in the world of reality TV.
Next, up John has some updates on "Secret Weird Things People Do," collecting a few links to threads that, to varying degrees of credulity, address similar secret weird things.
Your hosts are both reminded of a memorable All in the Family scene that pretty definitely counts as one of the SWTPD. Because footwear has an order of operations you never notice until someone else does it weird.
For this month's members-only bonus show, John interrogates Merlin's new sobriety.
You can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and, yes, support our program.
(Recorded on Tuesday, January 9, 2024)
On the complexities and frustrations around seeking medical help. Especially when it involves more than just finding an egg.
Things kick off with some TV talk and a consideration of sane and civil ways to watch TV with a partner.
In Follow-Up, there's more on this whole chapter markers issue, but honestly it's all a little difficult to follow because of the way time works chronologically.
Merlin has been doing a lot of stuff with computers, and John reluctantly admits that at least JSON is better than YAML, but that's not really saying very much.
As a main topic, your hosts talk about the complexities and frustrations around seeking medical help—especially when the medical help one needs falls outside the interest, curiosity, or expertise of a given medical professional.
And especially when the help you need concerns your brain and doesn't just involve finding an egg and calling it a day.
(Recorded on Tuesday, December 19, 2023)
Paul Karason (November 14, 1950 – September 23, 2013) was an American from Bellingham, Washington, whose skin was a purple-blue color.
You people are gonna feel like such dingalings when you finally realize and accept that this is one of the great films.
For all the talk about how psychedelics might transform psychiatric care, there's still a fascinating question at the heart of psychedelic science. Is it the mind-blowing experience that fundamentally changes a person’s outlook on life? Or is it the powerful molecules that rewire the brain?
Bedlam!
The main topic this week is ideal versus actual holiday plans.
"Suggest podcast chapters for this episode. Aim for 15-20 chapters overall. Try to name the chapters descriptively and split them apart when the script moves between topics, themes, or vibes. Where possible, name the chapter using an unusual phrase or sentence that someone said during that particular chapter. Try to make sure there’s a new chapter marker at least every three minutes."
(Recorded on Tuesday, December 12, 2023)
"In a 1998 poll conducted by Doctor Who Magazine, 'Genesis of the Daleks' was praised by fans as their favourite Doctor Who story of all time."
"Pretty sweet infill sampler.
Ladies?
"Badass. This is gonna be so handy."
Merlin's networking is not working, John continues to be vexed by UK speakers, and they both can't stop talking about the software and services that ostensibly exists to help them watch moving pictures on the TV.
Merlin's networking is not working, John continues to be vexed by UK speakers, and they both can't stop talking about the software and services that ostensibly exists to help them watch moving pictures on the TV.
(Recorded on Thursday, November 28, 2023)
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