DISCUSSED: Merlin has a cool new voice from talking to friends late last night; Dan has an automotive collision anecdote, while Merlin has thoughts on how preparation fails us in extreme moments; in follow-up, Listener Steve has terrific advice on dealing with bad hotel room technology; your hosts love insider information from pilots and other category pros; Dan ordered a watch, and Merlin is apparently not actually wrecking a plane; the guys respond to listener letters about ages of people in movies, Dan's world-destroying Disney fact (that he can't remember), plus a listener's concern about company password hygiene; and finally, Dan has great news about refreshing an iMac, but less great news about household password hygiene.

Links for this episode:

• Lizzo: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert - YouTube
  
• Amazon.com: Inteset 4-in-1 Universal Backlit IR Learning Remote for use with Apple TV, Xbox One, Roku, Media Center/Kodi, Nvidia Shield, most Streamers and other A/V Devices: Electronics
  
• Override Your Hotel Room Thermostat and Set It As Hot or Cold You Like
  
• Rivals of Waterdeep - YouTube
  
• Scooters (and Roller Skates) — Pessimists Archive Podcast — Overcast
  As cities freak out over e-scooters today, it’s worth looking back at when these devices were actually new. Why did people love motorized scooters in 1915, what’s different a century later, and what does all of this have to do with roller skates? They’re big questions. And the answers just might lead us to rethink how our cities are designed.

Dan and Merlin discuss the upcoming big Apple event and why this one's potentially interesting. Also, dog anecdotes.

Links for this episode:

• AVIATOR VISUAL EFFECTS - BEHIND THE SCENES
  
• The Dark Crystal - Wikipedia
  
• The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - Wikipedia
  
• Upgrade #261: The 2019 iPhone Event Draft - Relay FM
  
• Supported devices - Computer - YouTube TV Help
  
• Watch YouTube TV on your TV - YouTube TV Help
  
• Samoyed Dog Breed Information
  

Links for this episode:

• Saffir–Simpson scale - Wikipedia
  
• HURRICANE DORIAN
  
• Mike's Weather Page... powered by Sparks Energy!
  
• Hurricane Neddy - Wikipedia
  
• Hurricane Neddy | Simpsons Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia
  
• The Aviator (2004 film) - Wikipedia
  
• Technique Critique - YouTube
  
• Ben Affleck’s Armageddon commentary resurfaces, along with a few other confessionals - Polygon
  
• Can you bike to the top of GTA 5, with ONLY your voice? - YouTube
  
• Pop overachievers Genesis—including Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel—competed head to head on the charts.
  Meet chart overachievers Genesis: ’70s prog rockers turned ’80s pop juggernaut, spinning off multiple careers, countless hits, and thundering drums.
  

Lots of talk about the changing media landscape, plus some odds and sods.

Links for this episode:

• Jia Tolentino on what happens when life is an endless performance — The Ezra Klein Show — Overcast
  
• Disney World: Celebrating Utopia — Nice Try! — Overcast
  
• Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando: Richard E. Foglesong: 9780300098280: Amazon.com: Books
  
• Amazon.com: Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion (9780525510543): Jia Tolentino: Books
  
• Amazon.com: Logitech Rugged Protection Combo Keyboard and Folio Case for iPad 9.7 (5th Gen) / (6th Gen) - Bulk Packaging - Navy Blue: Computers & Accessories
  
• Amazon.com: CKCOCO Multi Charger Cable 2Pack 5FT Nylon Braided Universal 4 in 1 Multiple USB Charging Cord Adapter with 8Pin x2/Type-C/Micro USB Port Connectors for Cell Phones Tablets and More (Charging Only): Cell Phones & Accessories
  
• TechPilot Labs - TechPilot Labs
  
• SchoolMDM Mobile Device Management for Schools - TechPilot Labs
  The intuitive, cloud-based MDM designed specifically for schools. We bring simplified mobile device management to Apple deployments.
  

DISCUSSED: finding an actor's age and height; time analogies; Merlin needs help naming two critical phenomena; Dan is dissatisfied with how cars look; could Wolverine get a Caillou tattoo, and would it grow back, hmmmm?; Merlin is getting into plants (no, not sexually); the return of that time when Danny held the license plate; and finally, Merlin has a long stemwinder on an admittedly amorphous topic: the unimpeachable benefits of undoing most of the buttons we've clicked.

Links for this episode:

• How Old Were the Actors
  
• Tropic Thunder (2008) - IMDb
  
• List of cognitive biases - Wikipedia
  
• Making the Clackity Noise | kung fu grippe
  
• star wars release date to today - Wolfram|Alpha
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #27: Danny, Hold the License Plate
  
• Ep. 348: "The Other Oregon" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
  The Problem: It was mostly pranks.
  

DISCUSSED: Merlin has a little visitor today. Dan has some thoughts on conference scheduling. This leads to a broader discussion of the sensitivities we may or may not have to other peoples' limitations and constraints. It's nice to meet people.

For some reason, religion, churches, and clergy are discussed. "This is what Peter did say!"

Finally, the guys answer a listener question about working from home. Merlin poses a challenge.

Links for this episode:

• Disney’s Surprise Star Wars Stumble Hammers Quarterly Results
  
• Ramadan - Wikipedia
  
• Jon Stewart On Religion - YouTube
  
• John Siracusa on Twitter: "@atpreferences Why does everyone forget the comma?" / Twitter
  

Dan and Merlin explore the complexities of personal style. Not personal style as in fashion, but as in preferences, identity, and modes of interaction. How do we let others know how we are?

How do we derive a sense of what works best for us, and why is it such a shameful struggle to effectively communicate that to others? What do AirPods, Snapchat, and Bloomberg Terminals potentially have in common?

And, would it be cool if I just listen to this podcast instead of talking about my blouse and the weather?

Links for this episode:

• "Nathan for You" Private Investigator/Taxi Company (TV Episode 2013) - IMDb
  
• The Bloomberg terminal: clunky, costly, addictive, ubiquitous | Financial Times
  
• The Egg Is Bigger Than Before: What Is 5-Minute Crafts?
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #435: Scanner of Horizons
  

DISCUSSED: the admirable candor of B.B. King; the simple joys of the Ordinary Night; movies that are or are not dated and how that affects your enjoyment; how sci-fi seemed to mostly miss the internet; our embarrassment of media options; tech in media and what it means for plot stuff; technology adoption curves are definitely speeding up; doing everything you can not to use your phone as a phone; more generational stuff; how time and context changes our perception; should they take all the smoking out of movies and tv?; remember: you're not making errors—you're adding information; and, finally, Dan has an exciting announcement and a wet notebook.

Links for this episode:

• 5by5 | Back to Work #434: Grist for an Unnecessary Mill
  
• H. P. Lovecraft - Wikipedia
  
• H. G. Wells - Wikipedia
  
• "The Office" Chair Model (TV Episode 2008) - IMDb
  
• Chart: The Rising Speed of Technological Adoption
  
• Seeing What’s Next | Asymco
  
• 5by5 | Amplified #157: A Three Year Cold
  
• Who Are Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z?
  
• Starman (film) - Wikipedia
  
• Amazon.com: Starman: Karen Allen, Jeff Bridges, Charles Martin Smith, Ted White, Richard Jaeckel, John Carpenter, Larry J. Franco, Columbia Pictures Corporation: Movies & TV
  
• 5by5 | Amplified
  
• Amazon.com : Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Top-Spiral Notebook, 3" x 5", Black Cover, Universal Pattern, 3 Pack (No. 735-3) : Gateway
  
• "Detective Jigsaw" -MBMBAM Animatic - YouTube
  
• TOSLINK: That one consumer fiber optic standard - YouTube
  
• Merlin Mann on Twitter: ""Remember, you're not making errors; you're adding information." —Isaac the Gamescape Guy (on figure painting)" / Twitter
  
• The Boys in the Band (1970) - IMDb
  

DISCUSSED: kindness; eyeglasses, at length—including eyeglasses indignities, discounts, and injuries; a renewed surfeit of dingalings, fake friends, and a dumb podcast hit piece; and, finally, your hosts respond to a listener question on getting stressed about personal quantization.

Links for this episode:

• How to Convince Someone When Facts Fail - Scientific American
  
• Amazon.com: Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 250 Ohm Closed Dynamic Headphones Bundle with Blucoil 6-FT Headphone Extension Cable (3.5mm) and Headphone Hook: Home Audio & Theater
  
• Amazon.com: AS2M (1053121), Long Point Sharpener, sharpens in 2 steps; 2 spare blades includes. With lead pointers for 2 mm and 3.2 mm. BLUE only: Gateway
  
• Portlandia - The Knot Store - HD - YouTube
  "I think we've arrived."
  

Show notes are short this week because Merlin had to go buy contrast paints for his figs.

Main topic is speculating about speculation.

Links for this episode:

• Steve Troughton-Smith on Twitter: "Wow. For a single coat, Contrast looks amazing. Maybe the hype is real? Of course, I understand it’s a very situational paint, but for organics and cloth this could be perfect… https://t.co/10RBmU49mC"
  
• The TRUTH behind GW Contrast Paints - YouTube
  
• Citadel Contrast Paints: Resisting the Hype? - YouTube
  
• Warhammer (game) - Wikipedia
  
• Squeezed and pulled and hurt my neck in 1988
  
• The Perils and Rewards of Travel | The Hilarious World of Depression
  
• Macular degeneration - Wikipedia
  
• Yngwie Malmsteen-Arpeggios From Hell - YouTube
  
• Merlin Mann on Twitter: "Weird how the most competent and well-run aspect of United is their website for tracking your lost luggage."
  Weird how the most competent and well-run aspect of United is their website for tracking your lost luggage.