Back to Work

By 5by5Society & Culture Business Technology Careers

Back to Work episodes

May 03, 2022Episode 574: Tired and Fourteen
Your hosts are finally back in action with vital updates on #productivity and #creativity. Also, ginger ale and egg substitutes.
Links:
'Severance' creator Dan Erickson's Reddit AMA: 15 burning Lumon questions answered
Raycast
— Raycast is a blazingly fast, totally extendable launcher. It lets you complete tasks, calculate, share common links, and much more.
GitHub - raycast/script-commands: Script Commands let you tailor Raycast to your needs. Think of them as little productivity boosts throughout your day.
— Script Commands let you tailor Raycast to your needs. Think of them as little productivity boosts throughout your day.
Raycast Manual
— -
7 Best Egg Substitutes for Baking and How to Use Them (w/ FREE Chart)
Amazon.com : King Arthur, Gluten Free Fudge Brownie Mix, Certified Gluten-Free, Non-GMO Project Verified, Certified Kosher, 17 Ounces : Grocery & Gourmet Food
Is Garfield a ripoff of Heathcliff? – Restaurantnorman.com
Reed's Extra Real Ginger Ale - 4pk/12 Fl Oz Cans : Target
1 hr 15 min
April 13, 2022Episode 573: Shovels, Not Teaspoons
DISCUSSED: Updates on new Plex functionality; praise for Severance; plus some updates on Merlin's new setup—and pursuing the life that you'd like to have.
Runner-Up Titles:
Shoulders Come in Pairs
Meaty and Sad
Sucked Up Into My Body Cavity
Really Hurts Your Roller Skating Muscle
It's a Nice Box
I Saved Some Nice Boxes
Links:
Wayfair | Inbox Zero Desks
Inbox Zero Ashrfi Height Adjustable Standing Desk | Wayfair
Tropic Thunder (2008) - Reference View - IMDb
— Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.
James Hong - IMDb
Akro-Mils AkroBins | Plastic Storage Bins | Stackable Storage Bins | Hanging Storage Bins
— AkroBins are the industry-leading hanging and stacking plastic storage bin. Heavy-duty, bins stack together or hang from Akro-Mils louvered racks and panels, rail racks, and louvered carts for high-density storage.
1 hr 16 min
April 05, 2022Episode 572: My Open Source Thomas Edison Film
DISCUSSED: Big news from Plex; Merlin has an expansive new computer project; and Dan continues to make his way at a new gig using his trusty calendar.
Links:
End the Streaming Struggle with Plex | Plex
— So we started to dream up a rather big dream—a system that unifies all of your subscription services, all of your watchlists, and all of your recommendations into one easy-to-use app.
Maestral
— Maestral is a lightweight Dropbox client for macOS and Linux. It provides powerful command line tools, supports gitignore patterns to exclude local files from syncing and allows syncing multiple Dropbox accounts.
Take Control of Photos – Take Control Books
— This book introduces you to the many features of Apple’s Photos app on Mac, iPad, and iPhone, with advice on navigating the interface, editing your images, searching your library like a pro, syncing with iCloud Photos, sharing photos with others, and creating photo books.
Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
— To save storage space on your Mac, you can move your Photos library to a different storage device.
Win Workplace Negotiations - Sessions - MasterClass
— Increase your influence, gain trust, and find your voice at work—all in 30 days. In this session with former FBI negotiator Chris Voss, you’ll learn 12 proven tactics to use every day at work, for big meetings or small moments. And you’ll get plenty of no-pressure practice to help you ace high-pressure situations.
Track. Discover. Share. - Trakt
TV Time | Your TV shows calendar (TVShow Time)
JustWatch - The Streaming Guide
OWC: "THUNDERBOLT DEVICE DAISY-CHAINING"
— "Thunderbolt daisy-chaining allows you to connect multiple Thunderbolt devices to your computer"
The Beths 'A Little Death' | RNZ Music Live Session - YouTube
— The Beths perform 'A Little Death' live for RNZ Music onsite at Jonathan Pearce's K Rd studio.
Samsung T7 Portable SSD 2TB - Up to 1050MB/s - USB 3.2 External Solid State Drive, Blue (MU-PC2T0H/AM) : Electronics
— TRANSFER IN A FLASH: Transfers files nearly 9. 5x faster than external hard disk drive (HDD). Reads up to 1,050 MB/s / Writes up to 1,000 MB/s on USB 3.2 Gen 2 supported devices
SAMSUNG T5 Portable SSD 2TB - Up to 540MB/s - USB 3.1 External Solid State Drive, Black (MU-PA2T0B/AM) : Electronics
— Superfast read-write speeds of up to 540 MB/s
Queen & David Bowie - "Under Pressure" (Classic Queen Mix) - YouTube
— "This remix is very close to the final album version. The bass lines seem to be a bit more prominent in the mix and the overall sound is a little less muddy. Freddie singing "that's okay!" has been removed right before Bowie sings, "it's the terror of knowing..." It is unknown who did this remix. It is rumored that this is actually an old mix from around the Hot Space time period".
Info taken from www.QueenVault.com
Understanding "Under Pressure" - YouTube
— In the history of music, there have been many great duets, but for my money, there's one that stands above them all: Under Pressure, by Queen and David Bowie. It's the result of two generational talents coming together to create a song neither could've made on their own, and it's absolutely brilliant, from the iconic bass riff to the lyrics to, yes, Freddie Mercury's pitch-perfect voice. It tells a timeless story both lyrically and musically, and it captures the best of everyone who helped make it.
Cable Labels by Wrap-It Storage
— The velcro cable tags Merlin likes.
Would I do it tomorrow? The one question you must ask yourself before you accept any invitation.
— "Anytime anyone invites you to do anything, ask yourself this question before you accept: 'Would I do it tomorrow?'"
Merlin's Wisdom Project
— A work in progress
1 hr 22 min
March 29, 2022Episode 571: Open Faced Sandwich of Reality
DISCUSSED: Dan is doing new things that require a new approach to his calendar. Merlin proposes some appropriate Calendar Kyber Crystals.
Links:
Twenty-Six Cameras: The Aviator (2004) with Merlin Mann
— Special guest Merlin Mann joins the show to review the 2004 Howard Hughes biopic: The Aviator! We look at all the blueprints, hit romance corner, and try to understand what we really need.
wisdom/wisdom.md at master · merlinmann/wisdom
—
Your calendar represents a portfolio of promises to your future self. Treat it that way.
Thus: The only events allowed on a serious person's calendar are commitments about time, location, and effort that will die if they are not successfully completed on a specific day. Full stop.
1 hr 10 min
March 21, 2022Episode 570: Toilet Experiments
DISCUSSED: Dan is back from reporting on the show floor; recommendations for some Back to Work-adjacent podcast episodes; incidental thoughts and advice on presentations as performance; everybody wants a better email app; and Dan shares his thoughts on The Batman;
Runner-Up Titles
Two Bags of Dongles
Just a Butt in a Chair
Dirty Little Secret About Daddy
A Face in the Brady Bunch Grid
The Washington Fulfillment Society
Links:
CleanShot X for Mac
Win Workplace Negotiations - Sessions - MasterClass
— And you’ll get plenty of no-pressure practice to help you ace high-pressure situations.
How to Use Calibrated Questions to Negotiate Strategically - 2022 - MasterClass
— Calibrated questions are “how” and “what” questions structured for maximum effect.
Chris Voss FBI hostage negotiator on being assertive
— No matter how conflict-averse you are there are a few key ways you can persuade people to give you what you want—whether you’re arguing at home with your spouse, trying to get a free upgrade at a hotel, or, in Chris’s case, negotiating with terrorists.
Returning to the Office . . . While Black | The New Yorker Radio Hour | WNYC Studios
— The Radio Hour’s KalaLea talks with four Black professionals and compares their experience to that of Robert Churchwell, a Black reporter hired by the Nashville Banner in 1950. Churchwell was excluded from the white newsroom and worked from home for five years.
Giant Penny | Batman Wiki | Fandom
— The Giant Penny is a staple of the batcave which is one of Batman's many trophies. It is a gigantic decorative penny with the head of Abraham Lincoln on it and which weighs 216 lbs. The penny's head-side says, "In God we Trust", "Liberty", and the year 1947
Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire (Bpg-Other): Atkinson, Cliff: 9780735620520: Amazon.com: Books
— (this really old edition is IMHO 'the good one'—MDM)
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter): 9780135800911: Business Communication Books @ Amazon.com
Back to Work Episode 38: Sorry. You Can't Have a Candle.
— On improving presentation culture.
Dan and Merlin talk about bombing the deck, advancing the slides, and striving to improve the self-perpetuating bad culture of presentations.
Keynote - LockPickingLawyer - YouTube
1 hr 30 min
March 08, 2022Episode 569: An Incurious Outsider
DISCUSSED: Dan and Merlin talk about Apple's latest event and consider what the future looks like from Cupertino.
Links:
Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support
AmazonSmile : Dry Erase Lapboards | 9 x 12 inch Large Whiteboard | Pack of 12 White Board Set | Great for Teachers, Students, Children, Classroom | Reusable, Durable, Portable, Single Sided Whiteboard : Office Products
California Conference for Women on Twitter: "Breaking the spell of high conflict requires us to actively listen. @amandaripley shares a method of listening called "looping." #CalWomen https://t.co/skUatwOY5t" / Twitter
—
Breaking the spell of high conflict requires us to actively listen.
@amandaripley shares a method of listening called "looping."
53 min
March 04, 2022Episode 568: Assistant to the Regional Danager
Links:
uBlacklist for Safari on the App Store
— "Blocks sites you specify from appearing in search engine results"
uBlacklist for Safari | Search Engine filter for Safari
Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses? - Freakonomics
— "When these firms select people to be managers based on their current job performance, they are actively making themselves worse off. In other words: the Peter Principle is as real as Laurence Peter said it was. And, I’m editorializing here, it would also seem to be incredibly stupid."
Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses? — Freakonomics Radio — Overcast
Robert Sharl on Twitter: "⁦@hotdogsladies⁩ This is the business. OHTO Super Promecha Pencil PM-1500P | Cult Pens https://t.co/Inzfsujt55" / Twitter
AmazonSmile : OHTO Super Promecha Drafting Pencil, 0.5mm (PM-1505P) : Mechanical Pencils : Office Products
Tweaks for Twitter
Amazon.com : Staedtler Mars 780 Technical Mechanical Pencil, 2mm. 780BK : Steatdler Mechanical Pencil : Office Products
Amazon.com : Staedtler Mars Carbon Lead, 12 x 2mm, HB (200-HB) : Staedtler Mars Lead Refill Hb : Office Products
Amazon.com : Staedtler 502 BK A6 Mars Rotary Action Lead Pointer and Tub for 2mm Leads, 502BKA6,Blue : Pencil Sharpeners : Office Products
Peter principle - Wikipedia
— "…employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another"
Casting the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - The First Class - YouTube
Wells for Boys - SNL - YouTube
— Introducing Wells for Boys, part of Fisher-Price's new Sensitive Boy line.
Logo Programming Language
— The Logo Programming Language, a dialect of Lisp, was designed as a tool for learning. Its features - interactivity, modularity, extensibility, flexibility of data types - follow from this goal.
Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support
59 min
February 22, 2022Episode 567: Sit on Me
DISCUSSED: the Russians are coming; Dan has thoughts on Marvel TV shows, and Merlin has thoughts on Hawkeye specifically; Merlin bravely and boldly recommends watching a film that's often considered the greatest ever made; in Follow-Up, Dan has an update on Taskpaper as well as wanting advice on how to fire Photoshop; Merlin seems weirdly excited about his new pencil; yet more praise is heaped on Rogue Amoeba; and, finally, in an unexpected twist, both your hosts realize they did the same thing last week.
Bando (After Pixelmator)
Fresh Baby (Before Pixelmator)
Fresh Baby (After Pixelmator)
Lemongrab (with Pixelmator ML Super Resolution)
Octagonal Brass
Links:
Reconcilable Differences #176: The Curse of Convenience - Relay FM
— As a main topic, your hosts dive deep on spaces.
Amazon : Kaweco Sketch Up Pencil, Brass, 5.6 mm : Arts, Crafts & Sewing
Why Should I Tell You?: A Guide to Less-Extractive Reporting – Center for Journalism Ethics
— I’m still early in my journalism career, but I’ve already encountered a number of situations that have made me question the role journalists should play as they cover people who are in some way suffering.
Drive (2011) - The Quadrant System - YouTube
Pixelmator Pro
Acorn 7 | Full Featured Photo Editor for the Mac
Affinity – Professional Creative Software
DaVinci Resolve 17 | Blackmagic Design
Amazon.com : Staedtler Mars Technico Lead Holder (780 C) : Mechanical Pencils : Office Products
Use Synology NAS as UPS Server to safely power down your other servers/computers : synology
All about the new ML Super Resolution feature in Pixelmator Pro - Pixelmator Blog
— Our latest ML-powered feature is called ML Super Resolution, released in today’s update, and it makes it possible to increase the resolution of images while keeping them stunningly sharp and detailed. Yes, zooming and enhancing images like they do in all those cheesy police dramas is now a reality!
Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven (Official Video) - YouTube
— 5…6…7
Wheat and chessboard problem - Wikipedia
— If a chessboard were to have wheat placed upon each square such that one grain were placed on the first square, two on the second, four on the third, and so on (doubling the number of grains on each subsequent square), how many grains of wheat would be on the chessboard at the finish?
1 hr 18 min
February 15, 2022Episode 566: Vice-President of Doing It Wrong
DISCUSSED: your hosts can't complain (but, sometimes, they still do); a provisional craving for secular pre-cana; what are your canonical family holidays?; Dan has to sign something; a quick clarification on eels; Dan has some camera struggles, but Merlin offers advice that's costly and not actually all that useful; as Merlin re-approaches his World of Text, he is obviously getting even more gaybones for VS Code; and, finally, Merlin begins sketching his new project about energy, fuel, and courageous non-vacations.
Runner-Up Titles
A Defensive Fist
My Uneasy Gait
Your Backdoor Camera
A Brace of Nips
If I’m to Be Your Gamera
Links:
markdownlint - Visual Studio Marketplace
— Markdown linting and style checking for Visual Studio Code
GistPad - Visual Studio Marketplace
— Manage your code snippets and developer notes using GitHub Gists and repositories.
Ulysses
— Powerful features and a pleasant, focused writing experience combined in one tool, made for people who love to write and write a lot — this is Ulysses.
Lunar Lander (video game genre) - Wikipedia
Amazon Official Site: Blink Mini
Blink for Home
Blink - Home Assistant
Wireless Security Camera Systems | Home Security Cameras | Arlo
Arlo Pro 3 Spotlight Camera
Pre-Cana - Wikipedia
Lint (software) - Wikipedia
Back to Work Episode 85: Schrödinger's Soap Holder
— This week, Dan and Merlin discuss how to use a public restroom.
R.E.M. - Camera - YouTube
Watch Cologuard® Commercials | Cologuard® Patient Site | Risk Info
merlinmann/wisdom: Merlin Mann attempts to capture the best advice he's heard and learned from.
Macromedia HomeSite - Wikipedia
Back to Work Bathroom Episodes
1 hr 36 min
February 08, 2022Episode 565: The Injustice of Youth
DISCUSSED: boiling ATX water and the long-term return of the Bang-Bang Machine; thought-provoking insight on youth, hustle, and work-life balance from Slate Political Gabfest; and Dan tries his hand at TaskPaper.
Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now)
Links:
New to HomePod or just unsure what to do with it? Try these useful voice commands - 9to5Mac
Slate Political Gabfest - The “Am I Normal?” Edition
— For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David offer advice about how to establish a work/life balance.
‘Errors’ at Treatment Plant Force 1 Million in Austin to Boil Their Water - The New York Times
— It is the second time in a year that residents of the Texas capital have been told to boil water before drinking.
Time for Timer PSA: "Hanker for a Hunk o' Cheese" (1970s) - YouTube
Time for Timer - Wikipedia
‘Time for Timer!’: Saturday morning cartoon PSAs from the 70s | Dangerous Minds
Portlandia - The Knot Store - YouTube
— "Welcome to The Knot Store…my name is Alan."
Jeff Goldblum Reviews Impressions of Himself | Vanity Fair - YouTube
— From David Duchovny's SNL skit to Tom Hiddleston and TikTok comedians, here are some of the best impressions of Jeff Goldblum.
Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now) on Vimeo
L Taraval Improvement Project | SFMTA
— Once completed, the nearly five-mile long corridor from West Portal to the Zoo will boast new transit priority traffic signals, bulbouts to make pedestrian crossing safer, new trees, high visibility cross-walks, safety boarding islands and increased accessibility. All of these changes will make Taraval more inviting for everyone that lives or travels there.
Ulysses
— "The Ultimate Writing App for Mac, iPad and iPhone"
Band of Brothers (TV Mini Series 2001) - Reference View - IMDb
1 hr 11 min

About Back to Work

From the publisher's feed

Back to Work is an award winning talk show with Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin discussing productivity, communication, work, barriers, constraints, tools, and more.