Back to Work

Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin have a totally natural emotional reaction to the unreasonable demands they place on themselves after reading The Spongebob Report. Maybe they wouldn't have offended non-ex-Marines if they had just taken some time and consulted their Manager of Expectations.

Links for this episode:

• kung fu grippe - [Probably the Greatest Keynote Slide of All Time]
  
• Dan Benjammin' (danbenjammin) on Twitter
  
• Eddie Van Halen: The Complete 1978 Interviews
  
• [Dan] with the Les Paul (circa 1991) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• Is SpongeBob SquarePants Bad for Children? - NYTimes.com
  
• kung fu grippe - ["the visual equivalent of being told you’re eating human flesh"]
  
• Macramé - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Guided by Voices - Game of Pricks (Amoeba Records) - YouTube
  
• Ashton Kutcher's Lady in Her Panties
  
• Hypercritical #33 [Jay-Sir on Markdown and why he doesn't use it]
  
• Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science - Magazine - The Atlantic
  
• snopes.com: Microwaving Plastic Releases Cancer-Causing Agents
  
• FAQs: Using Plastics in the Microwave
  
• Tech Myth: Is it Safe to Microwave Plastic? | Apartment Therapy Unplggd
  
• Chancre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• AwayFind - Mobile notifications for priority messages. The email management solution for Gmail and Exchange.
  
• Gesneriaceae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Caillou: Games, Coloring and Activities | PBS KIDS
  
• Designing With Web Standards, 3rd Edition
  
• Won’t somebody please think of the gerbils? [dive into mark]
  
• Blueprint: A CSS Framework | Spend your time innovating, not replicating
  
• The Effects of Fast-Paced Cartoons
  
• Nickelodeon Responds to Study Claiming ‘SpongeBob’ Hinders Preschoolers’ Attention Spans - ABC News
  
• Dorf on Golf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Dorf On Golf 1 of 3 - YouTube
  
• Build and Analyze #42 [Dan explains 'The Double Speed Bit']
  
• Don Draper: "No. You do not 'COVER' for me; you MANAGE people's expectations."
  

Sponsored by Campaign Monitor and Shopify.

Merlin and Dan talk about Dan's sabbatical, hotdogs, services, triggers, Quicksilver, Launchbar, and why there's no 'I' in 'ordnance.'

Sponsored by MailChimp and Smile.

With Dan on sabbatical, Merlin is joined by John Roderick of The Long Winters to talk about life as a bull in a china closet, craving real-world constraints, making better records, and being banned for life from Interpol’s corn chip bowl.

Links for this episode:

• Van Halen - Hot For Teacher - YouTube
  
• Def Leppard- Bringing on the Heartbreak - YouTube
  
• Robert John "Mutt" Lange - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Highway to Hell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• University of Washington - washington.edu
  
• The Long Winters
  
• john roderick (johnroderick) on Twitter
  
• John Roderick (musician) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• 012: Interview: John Roderick | The Merlin Show
  
• 016: Interview: John Roderick, Part 2 | The Merlin Show
  
• 017: Interview: John Roderick, Part 3 | The Merlin Show
  
• 018: Interview: John Roderick, Part 4 | The Merlin Show
  
• Video: John Roderick on String Art Owls, Copper Pipe, and Bono's Boss | 43 Folders
  
• Flickr: Merlin's extensive "John Roderick" gallery
  
• "Blue Diamonds" - the Long Winters - YouTube
  
• The Long Winters: "The Commander Thinks Aloud" - YouTube
  
• The Long Winters - Through With Love Preview - YouTube
  
• Harvey Danger - Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo - YouTube
  
• reading room | the long winters library & archive
  
• Impasto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Helen Frankenthaler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Richard Hugo reads "Degrees of Grey in Philipsburg"
  
• Wesley Stace | John Wesley Harding
  
• MISSPEAK: "For Those About to Rock We Salute You" (not "Highway to Hell")
  
• Space Shuttle Columbia disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• [SPONSOR] Email Marketing and Email List Manager | MailChimp
  
• [PDF] The Believer: John Roderick Interview (June/July 2005)
  
• Venom (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Ashcan Rantings: Interview with John Roderick of The Long Winters
  
• Harm's Way by Jeff DeRoche - Seattle News - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper
  
• The Animals - House of the Rising Sun (1964) High Definition [HD] - YouTube
  
• John Roderick: A Night on the Town - a set on Flickr
  
• Alex Van Halen: Artists: Modern Drummer Magazine
  
• Comparative History of Ideas Program
  
• Cheer-Accident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• John Vanderslice
  
• AC/DC - “Back In Black” (1980) 
  
• kung fu grippe - "Before my heart overflowed."
  
• Air-Raid #60: Hobos of the Future with John Roderick – The Air-Raid Podcast
  
• Hanford Site
  
• Mr. Show: Gay Son/Grass Valley Greg - YouTube
  
• Western State Hurricanes "Car Parts" - YouTube
  
• Tampabay: 'They said they were glad it wasn't me'
  
• kung fu grippe - Jim? What a horrible, foul-mouthed little man. ...
  

Sponsored by Byword, MailChimp, and Smile.

With Dan on sabbatical, Merlin is joined by Jonathan Coulton to talk about traveling, horn sections, and Jonathan’s new album, Artificial Heart.

Links for this episode:

• Jonathan Coulton - Home Page
  
• JoCo Cruise Crazy II: February 19–26, 2012 | A 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise on Holland America’s ms Westerdam, with Jonathan Coulton and friends | JoCo Cruise Crazy II
  
• Thing a Week Redux
  
• 002: Interview: Jonathan Coulton | The Merlin Show
  
• 007: Interview: Jonathan Coulton, Part 2 | The Merlin Show
  
• abattoir - definition of abattoir by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
  
• Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) - IMDb
  
• Paul and Storm » Original Comedy Music from Professional Singing Persons
  
• Jonathan Coulton - First Track from Artificial Heart
  
• Jonathan Coulton - Store
  
• John Flansburgh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• John Flansburgh - TMBW: The They Might Be Giants Knowledge Base
  
• Jonathan Coulton - Shirts and Stuff
  
• TopatoCo: Skullcrusher Mountain Shirt
  
• Jonathan Coulton - TMBW: The They Might Be Giants Knowledge Base
  
• A Conversation With John Flansburgh And Jonathan Coulton | The Awl
  
• Artificial Heart (album) - JoCopedia, the Jonathan Coulton wiki
  
• Sticking It To Myself - JoCopedia, the Jonathan Coulton wiki
  
• Today With Your Wife - JoCopedia, the Jonathan Coulton wiki
  
• Jonathan Coulton - "Mr. Fancy Pants" in SF - YouTube
  
• Zendrum | Catalog
  
• Rick Springfield - Love Is Alright Tonite - YouTube
  
• Put Your Heart In It | This American Life
  
• Stan Harrison- Composer and Saxophone Player
  
• Dan Levine - TMBW: The They Might Be Giants Knowledge Base
  
• Brazil (1985)
  
• Thing a Week - JoCopedia, the Jonathan Coulton wiki
  
• Jonathan Coulton & Merlin Mann | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• Jackson Browne - The Load Out / Stay - Live 1978 - YouTube
  
• Jonathan Coulton (jonathancoulton) on Twitter
  
• Road to … - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• [SPONSOR] Byword • A Simple Text Editor for Mac
  
• [SPONSOR] Email Marketing and Email List Manager | MailChimp
  
• [SPONSOR] TextExpander: Mac Typing Shortcut Utility Saves You Time!
  
• MP3: Exclusive New Jonathan Coulton Song on Blurt Online
  

Sponsored by Byword, MailChimp, and Smile.

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.

Links for this episode:

• Who Are You in Sex and the City? from Naked Babies and Jordan_Morris
  
• Rob Corddry Has A Broner from Funny Or Die, Rob Corddry, and Brad
  
• X Lossless Decoder: Lossless audio decoder for Mac OS X
  
• HowardStern.com - Official site of The Howard Stern Show
  
• Howard Stern denies 'Super 8' bootleg | Inside Movies | EW.com
  
• YouTube Blog: Broadcast Yourself
  
• Adult Swim Presents: Childrens Hospital Season 3
  
• Productive Talk Compilation: 8-episode podcast with GTD's David Allen | 43 Folders
  
• Bruce Seeds (bruceseeds) on Twitter [Thanks for help finding that SPY article!]
  
• PDF: "Celebrity Refuseniks" - _Spy_ March 1993
  
• Amazon.com: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (9780142000281): David Allen: Books
  
• [SPONSOR] Email Marketing and Email List Manager | MailChimp
  
• [SPONSOR] Website Builder - Build a Website, Create a Blog - Squarespace
  
• [SPONSOR] Wufoo: Online Form Builder - Create Web Forms & Surveys
  
• Bloody Clowns, Sex, and Sickness: Childrens Hospital Premieres on Adult Swim Sunday - Page 3 - Blogcritics Video
  
• Amazon.com: Let It Beard: Boston Spaceships: Music
  
• Amazon.com: Bakesale: Sebadoh: Music
  
• Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream - YouTube
  
• Build and Analyze #35: Fair and Balanced - 5by5
  
• Fluxtumblr - Guided By Voices "Empties Crushed and Fired Away"
  
• Ladies? | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• BigChampagne - Online Media Measurement
  
• FX Networks - Louie - Full Episodes and Exclusive Video
  
• Hairless Whisper - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 06/10/03 - Video Clip | Comedy Central
  
• Flotsametrics and the Floating World: Excerpt
  
• Childrens Hospital Gets Renewed for Season 4 - News - TV.com
  
• blackrimglasses.com
  
• Lake Bell - IMDb
  
• MPU 050: Workflows with David Wain « Mac Power Users
  
• Rob Corddry - IMDb
  
• David Wain - IMDb
  
• Jonathan Stern - IMDb
  
• Lostpedia - The Lost Encyclopedia
  
• Occam's razor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• J.J. Abrams - Lostpedia - The Lost Encyclopedia
  
• Damon Lindelof - Lostpedia - The Lost Encyclopedia
  
• Brian K. Vaughan - Lostpedia - The Lost Encyclopedia
  
• Rob Corddry on Getting Things Done as an Actor
  
• The Winner (TV Series 2007) - IMDb
  
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) - IMDb
  
• Rob Corddry's Boston - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 07/27/04 - Video Clip | Comedy Central
  

Sponsored by MailChimp, Squarespace, and Wufoo.

Dan and Merlin talk about kid stuff, including the threat of Hot Wheels® donation, the inevitability of skinned knees, the nefariousness of the hospital gift basket, plus an important way every Dad has to go pro.

Links for this episode:

• Wherein I go a touch more insane | dooce®
  
• 30 Years Ago Today: The Day the Middle Class Died | MichaelMoore.com
  
• Woodcarving: What is your secret? « Outside the Cave
  
• Amazon.com: Naked Consumer: How Our Private Lives Become Public Commodities (9780140233032): Erik Larson: Books
  
• Prepping. - mlkshk
  
• Neurosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com: The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition) (9780316778008): William Sears, Martha Sears, Robert Sears, James Sears: Books
  
• Curb Your Enthusiasm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Bob Einstein - IMDb
  
• Welcome to Amy's Ice Creams
  
• Shabbos goy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• [Sponsor] Sponsor: Smile Software
  
• TextExpander: Mac Typing Shortcut Utility Saves You Time!
  
• [Sponsor] Build a Website - Create a Blog - Squarespace
  
• [Sponsor] Wufoo: Online Form Builder - Create Web Forms & Surveys
  
• Theodor Herzl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Sandwich Video
  
• Breathless (1960 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Hysteria - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

Sponsored by Smile, Squarespace, and Wufoo.

Merlin and Dan discuss the shameful state of film school, the realities of Ape Law, Merlin's rock opera, and the subliminal downside of Spongebob's big promotion.

Links for this episode:

• We Commissioned A Rock Opera | MailChimp Email Marketing Blog
  
• Slideshows, Slideshows Everywhere - Blog - The Official Squarespace Blog
  
• Wufoo Docs · Notification Settings
  
• Sometimes There's A Man
  
• kung fu grippe - Get that "Plica Plica" song
  
• Netflix: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
  
• Wufoo Blog · Using Wufoo for Project Inquiry Forms
  
• AlexanderTechnique.com
  
• Alexander technique - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• The Marketplace of Ideas
  
• Ham the Chimp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• ham chimp - Google Search
  
• Twitter / @hotdogsladies: Show of hands: Who wants ...
  
• ccMixter - Welcome to ccMixter
  
• Build a Website - Create a Blog - Squarespace
  
• AMC Javelin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• A VC: Subconscious Information Processing
  

Sponsored by Flow, Squarespace, and Wufoo.

This week Wutang Dan and The MZA bring the ruckus to finding a job, selling your Mustang, and putting your house on the market: remember that you can't negotiate with reality, Merlin can't do anything to make you love him, enthusiasm is irreplaceable, and you've got to find your position of strength. Protect ya neck!

Links for this episode:

• A Sandwich, A Wallet, and Elizabeth Taylor's Cousin | 43 Folders
  
• Flow: Task Management and Online Collaboration for Teams
  
• Wufoo: Online Form Builder - Create Web Forms & Surveys
  
• Build a Website - Create a Blog - Squarespace
  
• pony interior - Google Search
  
• Ford Mustang - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Kat Von D - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com: What Color Is Your Parachute? 2011: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers (9781580082709): Richard N. Bolles: Books
  
• Back to Work #24: The Daddy for your Destiny - 5by5
  
• Back to Work #23: Failure is ALWAYS an Option - 5by5
  
• The Marketplace of Ideas
  
• Sin-eater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Folk devil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

Sponsored by Flow, Squarespace, and Wufoo.

Dan and Merlin talk about nerds getting problems and about using Markdown in BBEdit, Textmate or any text app because you need to find tools that remove friction, not distractions.

Links for this episode:

• OS X Lion and the state of the new 1Password extension (Updated) | Agile Blog
  
• Daring Fireball: Markdown
  
• MultiMarkdown
  
• And now it’s all this (Blog of "Dr Drang")
  
• Welcome to BrettTerpstra.com, home of Brett Terpstra and his nerdery
  
• Macromedia HomeSite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Coeliac disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Build and Analyze #34: My Best Dan Benjamin Impression - 5by5
  
• TextMate — The Missing Editor for Mac OS X
  
• Bare Bones Software | BBEdit 10 is here!
  
• Posting style - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Text files and me IV - BBEdit and TextMate - All this
  
• Projects - Brett Terpstra
  
• nvALT 2.0 - Notational Velocity Fork
  
• Blogsmith Blogging Bundle for Textmate
  
• Markdown Service Tools - Brett Terpstra
  
• Sodastream | Turn Water Into Fresh Sparkling Water And Soda
  
• TextMate Manual » Bundles
  
• Byword • A Simple Text Editor for Mac
  
• Untitled-1.jpg
  
• TextMate Blog » Introduction to scopes
  
• Byword MultiMarkdown Guide
  
• Think of Microsoft Word as the internet
  
• Scott Schwartz - IMDb
  
• MPU 046: Workflows with Merlin Mann II « Mac Power Users
  

Sponsored by OmniPlan 2 and Harvest.

Dan's in a closet, but Merlin has a lot of FU from the last show: good jobs don't get posted on Craigslist and while you may not know what's gonna happen next, you're not just gonna install Xcode and retire on your angry bird so either do your research, get mercantile and take the leap of faith or you'll be polishing your golden handcuffs.

Links for this episode:

• MacSparky - Blog - Juggling
  
• Satisficing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Principle of good enough - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Rational ignorance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• YouTube - "Preparing for John Siracusa's Review of OS X Lion"
  
• Karl Van Hœt (karlvanhoet) on Twitter
  
• kung fu grippe - Hi. I’m 12. How am I even allowed to go to...
  
• kung fu grippe - "Plica Pilca" (Back to Work Theme Song)
  
• Anatomy of a Crushing (Pinboard Blog)
  
• Pinboard: social bookmarking for introverts
  
• Back to Work #23: Failure is ALWAYS an Option - 5by5
  
• Sci-Fi Hi-Fi: PodWorks
  
• After Dark #34: After Back To Work 024 - 5by5
  
• Amazon.com: Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (0029236723101): Steve Krug, Roger Black: Books
  
• Cybernetics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Amazon.com: Secrets of Successful Web Sites (0752059038236): David Siegel: Books
  
• Amazon.com: Creating Killer Web Sites (2nd Edition) (0752059043315): David Siegel: Books
  
• kung fu grippe - “My Business Papers” Dan’s cover letter. The...
  
• backtowork_final | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• The Wand of Brooklyn [Thanks, chainmailformanatees]
  
• Clutch (eggs) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Collective noun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• List of collective nouns for birds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Showbot | Turtle Log
  
• David Siegel - "The Project Cycle" (1997)
  

Sponsored by 1Password, Squarespace, and Flow.