Main topic this week is Valentine’s Day. Why Merlin hates it, and why John thinks it has its purposes. Why is tonight’s Holy Day of Obligation different from all others, and why exactly did John have a mat?

This week, things open with a shockingly thorough discussion of chickens that somehow pivots to Costco caskets, TV buying decisions, Merlin's increasingly strange pronunciations, and John’s reluctant agreement to become a cron job.

Follow-up covers John finding those charts about global living conditions and Merlin finally figuring out how to remember the name of that one song.

There's a fair amount of memory talk, including more explorations of John's perpetual memory doubts and mistrust, plus, Merlin introduces another one of his “runx” files.

(Recorded on Tuesday, February 14, 2017)

A recent survey asked “All things considered, do you think the world is getting better or worse, or neither getting better nor worse?”. In Sweden 10% thought things are getting better, in the US they were only 6%, and in Germany only 4%. Very few people think that the world is getting better.

What is the evidence that we need to consider when answering this question? The question is about how the world has changed and so we must take a historical perspective. And the question is about the world as a whole and the answer must therefore consider everybody. The answer must consider the history of global living conditions – a history of everyone.

Merlin remembered the song!

"Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings"

ED-209: You now have 15 seconds to comply. You are in direct violation of Penal Code 1.13, Section 9.

Seven years after vanishing from her home, a young woman returns with mysterious new abilities and recruits five strangers for a secret mission.

"I'm the sole survivor!"

"…because my little Danielle used the right zip!"

"Nested lip gloss ice creams"

In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation (also called holydays, holidays, or days of obligation) are days on which the faithful are obliged to attend Mass.