Back to Work

TOPIC: Thinking Patterns and Thinking Bias

This week, Dan and Merlin talk in detail about how our unconscious patterns of thinking can damage our quality of life and hinder our ability to grow.

Links for this episode:

• Cognitive bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Don't You Dare Use 'Comprised Of' On Wikipedia: One Editor Will Take It Out : NPR
  For single-minded devotion to grammatical rectitude, you'd be hard-pressed to match a Wikipedia editor named Bryan Henderson, who goes by the user name of Giraffedata. He was the subject of a piece by Andrew McMillan on the long-form site Medium that provoked a lot of debate. Giraffedata has a single bee in his bonnet, the phrase "comprised of." He has written a 6,000-word essay on his Wikipedia user page explaining why he thinks it's an egregious error. And to drive home his point, he has made 47,000 edits over the last eight years, most of them aimed at purging the phrase wherever it occurs on the Wikipedia site. He doesn't show it any mercy even when it appears in a quotation — in his view, it's a kindness to writers not to quote their mistakes.
  

TOPIC: A lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous.

This week, Dan and Merlin are all thrown off since they're recording on a Monday. Weird, right?

They mostly talk about the respective states of comics and Apple fandom.

Links for this episode:

• MailMate
  MailMate is an IMAP email client for Mac OS X featuring extensive keyboard control, Markdown supported email composition, advanced search conditions and drill-down search links, equally advanced smart mailboxes, automatic signature handling, cryptographic encryption/signing (OpenPGP and S/MIME), tagging, multiple notification methods, alternative message viewer layouts including a widescreen layout, and much more. A quick overview is given below, but an extensive list of screenshots is also available. You can read about MailMate and its developer here.

Sponsored by Squarespace (Use the code ITSYOURSHOW for a free trial and 10% off) and lynda (Visit the link to get a free 10 day trial).

TOPIC: The weather is not the sky.

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about discovering the challenges that help you to thrive—and grow.

Links for this episode:

• Email overload: Building my own email app to reach Inbox Zero.
  
• Search | San Francisco Public Library | BiblioCommons
  
• Costco Business Delivery - Wilcox Organic Hard Cooked and Peeled Eggs, 2 pk, 12 ct
  
• Monodraw for Mac — Helftone
  
• IngenuiTEA Teapot from Adagio Teas
  
• Amazon.com : Tazo Earl Grey Filter Bag Tea, 24-Count Packages (Pack of 6) : Black Teas : Grocery & Gourmet Food
  
• Costco Connection Magazine
  
• M?nuka honey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com : Manuka Health MGO 400+ Manuka Honey (20+) 250gm : Grocery & Gourmet Food
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #29: I Download FLAC
  With Dan on sabbatical, Merlin is joined by TV’s Rob Corddry (Children’s Hospital, The Daily Show, Hot Tub Time Machine) to talk about Getting Things Done, writing, fear, and finding success as a blood-soaked clown.Special guest Rob Corddry.

Sponsored by Citrix GoToMeeting (Visit the link and click the “TRY IT FREE” button to get a free 30-day trial), and FreshBooks (Visit the link and enter 'Back to Work' in the “How did you hear about us” section for a free 30-day trial).

TOPIC: Less of an Island.

This week Dan and Merlin talk about time, negotiations, and what we want (and don't want) from our email apps.

Links for this episode:

• Eudora (email client) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Microsoft Outlook - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Slack: Be less busy
  
• Macromedia HomeSite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

Sponsored by Squarespace (use code ITSYOURSHOW for a free trial and 10% off), lynda (Visit the link to get a free 10 day trial), and Casper (Use the code "BACKTOWORK" for $50 off your mattress order).

TOPIC: Throwing Stars and Managers

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about working in a beehive and discuss whether they played D&D properly.

Links for this episode:

• Brain Games (National Geographic) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Brain Games (TV Series 2011– ) - IMDb
  
• Apollo Robbins, The Master Pickpocket: Tricks of the Trade - YouTube
  
• apollo robbins - Google Search
  
• Amazon.com : Aqua Notes - Waterproof Notepad 40 Sheet Mountable Pad : Memo Paper Pads : Office Products
  
• 5by5 | The Dan Benjamin Hour
  
• Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #7 — Merlin Mann
  

Sponsored by PDFpenPro 7 (Visit the link to learn more and start using PDFpenPro 7 today), Squarespace (Use the code ITSYOURSHOW for a free trial and 10% off), and FreshBooks (Visit the link and make sure to enter BACK TO WORK in the “How did you hear about us?” section to get FreshBooks free for 30 days).

TOPIC: Illness, Late Night TV, AI in the home, and Talking Baby Dolls

This week, Merlin battles the flu to talk with Dan about late night television, binge watching, talking baby dolls, and the kind of artificial intelligence we really need.

Links for this episode:

• "Portlandia" One Moore Episode (TV Episode 2012) - IMDb
  
• The Arsenio Hall Show - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #3: The Second Arrow
  
• Theanine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Adderall: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Safety Info - Drugs.com
  
• Amazon.com: Baby Wanna Walk: Toys & Games
  
• Oral-B’s Bluetooth Toothbrush Offers App Features It Doesn’t Necessarily Need | TechCrunch
  
• Portlandia - One more episode... - YouTube
  

Sponsored by Squarespace (use code ITSYOURSHOW for a free trial and 10% off) and lynda (Visit the link and do something good for yourself in 2015, sign up for a FREE 10-day trial).

TOPIC: Scoping the Minimally-Viable Me

This week, Dan and Merlin catch up on illness, Marvel comics, and what-have-you, but end up talking a lot about who we really are—who "I" actually am. Merlin eventually slips into an imbued and mildly-psychedelic fugue state that may strike the listener as alternately insightful and insane.

Links for this episode:

• Review: HAWKEYE #21 | Comicosity
  
• Hawkeye #21 - Comics by comiXology
  
• Updated: "Visual Guide to Marvel Character Movie Rights" Infographic by The Geek Twins [Infographic] ~ The Geek Twins
  
• From 'Batman' To 'Birdman,' Michael Keaton Knows Suits And Superheroes : NPR
  
• 5by5 Showbot
  
• The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety: Alan W. Watts: 8601300190136: Amazon.com: Books
  
• JoCo Cruise Crazy 5: Jan 31-Feb 8, 2015 | An 8-night Eastern Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, with Jonathan Coulton and friends | JoCo Cruise Crazy
  
• Birdman (2014) - IMDb
  
• Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop! (2014) on Vimeo
  
• Marvel Studios - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Louis CK - Incurable Shitty Ankle - YouTube
  
• Fantastic Four | Official Teaser Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX - YouTube
  

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TOPIC: Work as Practice

This week Dan and Merlin chew on some of the numerous eternal imponderables of creative work—with a special focus on "work as practice."

Links for this episode:

• Cotton Bureau – #SUPERTRAIN by Roderick on the Line
  Pack a small bag with the very first official Roderick on the Line shirt.

Sponsored by FreshBooks (Visit the link and enter 'Back to Work' in the “How did you hear about us?” section for a free 30-day trial) and PDFpen for iPad & iPhone (Visit the link to learn more and start editing your PDFs anywhere you are).

With Merlin on sabbatical, Dan is joined by John Roderick to discuss his recent visit to Africa, the military, corporate friends, strategic thinking, the Internet, digital books and albums, echoes, playmobil figures, measuring your arms, the tribal world, selling coats on the internet, and more.

Links for this episode:

• Lockheed AC-130 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
  
• Neoconservatism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• JCI - Cold acclimation recruits human brown fat and increases nonshivering thermogenesis
  
• Far-left politics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• How to Sharpen Pencils: A Practical & Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening for Writers, Artists, Contractors, Flange Turners, Anglesmiths, & Civil Servants: David Rees, John Hodgman: 9781612193267: Amazon.com: Books
  
• Artisanal Pencil Sharpening
  
• Jonathan Coulton
  
• Don't miss the Three Johns at Camp... - Armed Forces Entertainment
  
• SF Sketchfest 2015: Roderick on the Line with Merlin Mann an...
  

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TOPIC: "I am NOT talking about bartending."

A kind of two-parter this week.

First up, a meditation on invasive thoughts, how they can take over our lives, and how we can maybe learn to deal with them.

Second (starting about 38 minutes in), a VERY SPOILER-HEAVY dissection of the amazing new time travel movie, Predestination.

Links for this episode:

• Predestination (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• '"—All You Zombies—"' - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Predestination paradoxes in popular culture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• EP 200: All You Zombies - Escape Pod : Escape Pod
  
• Predestination International TRAILER 1 (2014) - Ethan Hawke Sci-Fi Thriller HD - YouTube
  
• mutewinter/Showbot
  
• Eclipse desktop & web IDEs
  
• Amazon.com: Etymotic Research HF5 Portable In-Ear Earphones (Black): Electronics
  
• Predestination (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Invisibilia : NPR
  
• Batman | This American Life
  
• The Man Who Couldn't Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought: 9781447238287: Amazon.com: Books
  
• Why OCD Is 'Miserable': A Science Reporter's Obsession With Contracting HIV : Shots - Health News : NPR
  
• 5by5 | Build and Analyze #37: Happy in Three Places
  
• Roswell That Ends Well - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• A time traveller's primer | Ryan North | TEDxUofT - YouTube
  
• Paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Temporal paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Predestination paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Grandfather paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Bootstrap paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• The Man Who Folded Himself - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• By His Bootstraps - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Primer (2004) - IMDb
  
• Seawater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  "However, drinking seawater to maintain hydration is counterproductive; more water must be excreted to eliminate the salt (via urine) than the amount of water from the seawater itself."

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