As time the avenger marches relentlessly on, it is not uncommon to think about what is remembered when we are gone. Just as Shelley wrote about forgotten Ozymandius, your Dogs contemplate the Holy Roman Empire and the Erfurt Latrine Disaster. How are the mighty fallen, and into what? It’s a lesson in humility, and once we’ve heard it we’re able to move much more contentedly into more familiar terrain, with Listener Mail and KJ Reports, as well as hearing about RJ’s newfound love for the Vancouver Rise pro soccer team. Come on along and have your perspective adjusted and your fancy tickled.

Links: Shed Dogs; Henry VI (Holy Roman Emperor); The Holy Roman Empire; The Erfurt Latrine Disaster; Burning Mom; East Van Panto; the truck as featured at Old Parked Cars Vancouver; Marcia Earhart; The Pitch (about the origins of the Northern Super League); The Vancouver Rise FC; the Lexus LS400.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, with permission.

A freewheeling Episode 211 sees your Shed Dogs amazed by a homemade electric powered wheelbarrow, amused by viewing events ranging from professional soccer to videos about clearing blocked drains to series and movies we’re watching, and pondering career changes. KJ continues in his role as theatre insider and lets us know it’s really not too late for us to work in the industry, and provides a really fun anecdote about how awards shows can go wrong. There are Snappers, an ask for info from listeners about a great credit card service we heard about, some PSA info in buying your next laptop, and more. Your head doesn’t have to be empty for us to fill it up but it might help.

Links: Shed Dogs; Drain Cleaning Australia; Sora; Casey Neistat on Sora (before the service was shut down); The Jessies; Intimacy Coordinators; the Vancouver Rise.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, with permission.

Your Three Dogs (our proposed name for a new wholesome TV series) were hanging around in the Shed the other month and got talking about work KJ is taking on, a litany of various dramatic and sporting amusements we’ve been watching, our health, and goings-on in the neighbourhood. RJ’s neighbourhood specifically, as he reveals that he has become a Block Watch Captain. PJ is disappointed to learn that the position does not come with an intimidating uniform, nor with training that involves jumping out of helicopters, but still…he’s a Captain! This achievement is all the more remarkable as we also learn about a long-ago run-in with seemingly innocuous freon, which is not quite the lamb we all thought it is. Episode 210 has more, of course, there’s always more, but we’re hoping this note is inviting enough for you to join us in The Shed! 

Links: Shed Dogs; Bruce the drain cleaner; pneumonia; freon; Livraria Lello; The Great Gatsby; The Queen’s Gambit; The Diplomat; No Country For Old Men; Fargo (TV Series); Extraordinary Attorney Woo; Max Scherzer; Northern Super League; YouTube; PJ’s favourite tank restoration channel; this company cleans up after collisions; Burnaby Block Watch.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, with permission.

If you’re the kind of person who wonders things like how creators and money people get together to make the financial sausage for TV shows, or maybe the kind who likes to listen to seminal and random music, or, you know, hear about word meanings and origins, or perhaps you’re just the kind of listener who enjoys a chat, this is the place and we are the people for you! Episode 209 covers those bases and more, so click on the link and pull up a chair in our world.

Links: Shed Dogs; MIPCOM CANNES; the role of a television producer; Lene Lovich; Chubby Checker; The Twist; Fats Domino; Gino Vanelli, and his album Storm at Sunup and hit Wild Horses; The Grocer’s Wife.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, by permission.

Some topics are so deep, so wide, and so fundamental to who we are as a species that broaching them invites chaos. But if your Dogs won’t talk about it, who will, we ask you? Here in Episode 208, we take on such a topic: the fine art of soccer diving: archer’s bows, delayed collapses, endless rolling, astonishing recoveries, and why the refs never seem to catch on. We also get to hear from theatre insider KJ about Burning Mom’s triumphant run and about a rediscovered stash of 1975 London cassette letters to home. We also have PJ’s reminiscences about a Honda CR500 dirt bike that still raises heart rates, and from RJ a full tour of the new foosball‑friendly Mench Café. There’s yet another million dollar idea awaiting an enterprising listener, some Listener Mail, a great PSA on sun damage to skin, and even more… Dive right in with us!

Links: Shed Dogs; diving; The Falling Soldier; Burning Mom; West Side Story; Honda CR500; a Saab two-stroke sports car; the Mench Café; basal cell carcinoma.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, by permission.

Diving photo by Alasdair Middleton - https://www.flickr.com/photos/alza06/3392306237/

Maybe it was talking about Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or possibly giggling about potential Pope names. Maybe it was going back to the halcyon days of KJ’s time on Stargate or his trip to see his Texan cousins as they visited Vancouver Island. Maybe it was the warm flush of joy that getting Listener Mail always brings. We don’t really know just what it was, but KJ’s revelation that his (t)rusty 1964 International TravelAll has finally, after 47 years in his service, crossed the toll-free bridge to the Great Garage in the Sky brought back a lot of memories and feelings that the Shed isn’t often witness to. Mostly pretty great memories and feelings, I’ll add. Share them with us. We know of at least one faithful listener who had a similar road trip with a very faithful Toyota. Listen in and think about cars, or even Dogs.

Links: Shed Dogs; anachronism; how to make corn fritters; Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation; Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell; KJ’s appearance on Dial the Gate; Dr. Warner at work; the Double Decker Hamburger Hut on Vancouver Island; the 1964 International Travelall; KJ’s truck spotted by a blogger; disaster preparation kits; digitizing LPs.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, by permission.

Hear about several examples of—plus a fun encounter with—AI based scams! Avoid being taken advantage of and tremble at the future of AI! Mourn and celebrate the passing of KJ’s much-venerated 1964 International Travel-all!  Listen to several leftover chunks of last episode’s What We Did on Our Summer Vacation!  Enjoy some Snappers and even more! It’s all here, so don’t even hesitate; just dive right in and enjoy! 

Links: Shed Dogs; buy a pizza vending machine!; buy a French fries vending machine!; the Smarter Every Day video on US manufacturing; the Seven Pillars of Wisdom book; the remarkable Juliane Koepcke; International Travelall; Toyota Tacoma; the BS Remover; the pig butchering scam; emergency scams aided by AI (possible paywall); LLM note taker; Tesla ghosts; Nelson’s HMS Victory; the Mary Rose; the White Hart Hotel in St. Albans.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, with permission.

Faithful listeners may recall RJ preparing to head for Spain to represent his country in table soccer and PJ preparing to go to France for an epic cycling trip.  Non-listeners (are there any?) will likely have heard about these exciting exploits at the grocery or the gym, going about their daily business. In either case, here in episode 205 we share our experiences and impressions along with our achievements as we report on What We Did On Our Summer Vacations. We’re hoping new friends made at these events will hear about themselves at the same time you do!

Links: Shed Dogs; Lisbon; azulejo; Port wine; Porto; Barcelona; Old Barcino (Roman ruins in Barcelona); Antoni Gaudí; Sagrada Familia; the Temple Augustus columns; the Facebook page for the ITSF World Cup of Foosball 2025 in Zaragoza, Spain; Todd Loffredo; the three key aging inflection points.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, with permission.

Here in Episode 204 we once again find AI, and its increasing use as a substitute for human interaction, entering our chat. We feel the need to assure you: we are real, even if cover art isn’t. If you talk to us, it’s an actual interaction with organic beings. This episode sees said beings discussing KJ’s goings-on with career and family, another round of Snappers, the amusing nature of artists’ conceptual renderings of proposed architectural drawings and the aforementioned AI conversation. Plus, RJ reviews Wicked: Part I in anticipation of Part II. It’s all refreshingly and reassuringly human. Any odd inflections or awkward speech rhythms are clearly the result of human software problems, believe us.

Links: Shed Dogs; programmers’ views on vibe coding; large language models (LLMs, such as ChatGPT); commode; Pope Leo; Beyond Mulder & Scully, in which KJ is featured; a discussion about risks of staying near the kitchen & other areas on a cruise; West Side Story; Wicked: Part I.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, with permission.

Fall has arrived again, in spite of our doubts, and despite this fully anachronistic episode. Gather ‘round the fire while we amuse ourselves talking about potential Pope names, get a full report on goings-on in KJ’s star-studded life, discuss the strange voting experiences in this year’s federal election, and yeet us some Snappers. We touch on some serious matters, too, so let’s see if we can get Friendly to call Rusty and Jerome to join us around the fire. Buddy will be pleased!

Factoids of the month: (1) Payne Street was where KJ, PJ, and RJ lived from c. 1979 into the early 80’s. The house was close to the corner of Payne & Suffering. (2) Vatican City is 100% Catholic! One can only wonder if the Swiss Guard frog-marches non-believers out of the sovereign state. (3) Of countries with population over one million, Portugal is #1 at 80.2% Catholic. Source.

Links: Shed Dogs; regnal names, that is to say pope names; the Apostles were all Jews; Dial the Gate; When Calls the Heart; West Side Story; Sandy Winsby’s extensive body of works; West Side Story; the Lapu-Lapu Day attack; this year’s federal election; John Hancock’s signature.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, by permission.

In the time we’ve been making this podcast, we’ve tried hard to create a picture of three genial older men who anyone would like to chat with. Regardless of the success of that effort, in this episode we hint at a sadder aspect of those who lurk in the Shed. Yes, we have fun listener mail, we hear about the Vancouver Rise along, and we give our impressions of central vacuums. We laugh at a cute dog story. We even have a light brush with poetry. The troubling part comes with a topic we toss around lightly but which can surely only beg this scary question: Why do these guys know so much about anti-snoring devices? Alright, gotta go, time to catch some Zs, you know, saw some logs…

Links: Shed Dogs; the Vancouver Rise; Vancouver’s upcoming new hockey team; taxes withheld at source; anti-snoring devices; vibe coding; recurring dreams; built-in vacuum cleaners; BC’s fast food bags policy; the class action suit against TD Bank regarding their coin counting machines.

Theme music is Escaping like Indiana Jones by Komiku, with permission.