Nerds On Draft

Celebrating our return from Asheville, North Carolina with two excellent beers we tasted on our trip - Sierra Nevada's Hop Hunter IPA and Oskar Blues' Deviant Dale's.

While we were immersed in the fine Asheville community of breweries and friendly folks for a few days and left feeling great about the place we hit upon the idea of doing a show about the cooperative and collaborative nature of communities. We talk about how we have seen them form and disband and delve into some of the better communities we have been a part of.

The beers this week are super good, people. You owe it to yourself to try them out. Hop Hunter IPA has become a favorite since our first surprising taste.

Brewery

Brewery

Gabe and I return from last week's deep dive into task management with a more thoughtful (and rambling) topic: heroes. How does our society create and promote heroes? Are heroes really just people we admire and are we right for doing so? What purpose do heroes serve and what responsibility do we have to be a hero to people we know?

I listened to this podcast and felt like there were a lot of paths we could have taken and questions that were left unanswered but it serves to show that this is a bigger topic than we give it credit for.

We contemplate this jawn while sipping a Velvet Merlin by Firestone Walker -- a hearty porter that wasn't really my cup of tea but we still had a decent grade for it after tallying its pluses and minuses. My opinion of this beer is like my opinion of winter at this point -- the warmer the better.

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This week Gabe and Jeff tackle the nerd Mount Everest that is task management. In some Twitter circles, you can't throw a Field Notes book without hitting someone talking about what they did to become productive. The journey into the depths of productivity porn was eased somewhat but the excellent Old Stock Ale by North Coast Brewing.

Unlike the last time Jeff and Gabe talked about task management, the word "OmniFocus" has been replaced with the word "Taskpaper" and a lot of the approach to how they manage their busy lives has undergone significant change.

GTD (Getting Things Done) still plays a huge role in the conversation so much of what they discuss applies if you're using a different tool to wrangle the day-to-day or using a plain text format like they do.

Brewery

TaskPaper Introduction on Macdrifter

Deconstructing OmniFocus

TaskPaper for Mac

Sublime Text

PlainTasks for Sublime

FilterLines for Sublime

Editorial for iOS

Taskmator for iOS

Post about Jeff's Today "perspective" for Taskpaper

gist of Python code for generating Jeff's tpToday.taskpaper file

Fear of missing out — just the phrase itself gets you thinking, especially in this day and age of constant distraction. Gabe and Jeff tackle the topic this week and kick around the idea of what it means to "miss out" on something. And is it really "fear" or just a general anxiety that what you're doing is causing you to neglect more important things?

This is another one of those topics that ranges far and wide, touching on many aspects of their lives. Drink some coffee before listening to it.

Brewery

Gabe and Jeff discuss calendars.  They put an appointment on each other's calendars to discuss Snake Dog IPA by Flying Dog Brewery and then, when they got a reminder on their phones about it, they sat down in front of microphones and drank it for your amusement.

Brewery

There are some difficult people in the world and the internet has made dealing with them more "fun" and "interactive" than ever.  Gabe and Jeff explore the idea of engaging difficult people, jerks, internet bullies and challenging co-workers.  Luckily they have the fantastic Guilty Filthy Soul by DuClaw Brewing to make them feel better while discussing it.

The conversation ranges far and wide into some topics that are probably better left undiscussed but hey, there was beer left in their glasses and these topics aren't going to talk about themselves (although in Twitter it sometimes feels that way).

Sometimes the best type of "engagement" is to avoid engagement altogether.  Also comments — avoid comments.

Brewery

Gabe and Jeff talk about the joys of owning a house while drinking a local brew from the Philly area, Neshaminy Creek's J.A.W.N.

Having a place to put your stuff sounds great on paper but it isn't as easy as just deciding to go into massive debt and moving your things to a drafty, old fixer-upper.  Scheduling repairs, dealing with how to fix things yourself, navigating boiler trouble, flooded basements, ethernet vs. WiFi, and seasonal house reminders all factor into the mix while the nerds debate the values of a session IPA.

Brought to you by TapCellar

Brewery

Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook

Gabe and Jeff talk about the irony of trying to live of so-called "simple living" while drinking a complex and excellent White Oak by The Bruery. Moving to the country and trying to buy as local as possible isn't as straightforward as it sounds. CSAs have pluses and minuses. Being bucolic with no FIOS is a bummer.

Gabe follows up on a lot of the things that have been on his mind about Jeff's move to the country, asking a lot of tough questions along the way.

The Bruery Website

Louis CK speaks the truth

Jeff's "backyard"

Have you ever taken notes during a meeting?  Have you ever tasted delicious beer?  Gabe and Jeff have done both of those things, one of which they are doing in this very podcast (hint: it isn't the note taking).

Molotov Lite by Evil Twin Brewing and Arrogant Bastard by Stone Brewing are on tap today while the Nerds talk over how they take notes — whether it is for a work meeting or during a phone call with a home contractor.  

Being old men, it is important for them to write things down and this is about eighty three minutes of them ruminating on two excellent IPAs and how they put thoughts on paper (or into a text editor).

Brewery DB

Brewery DB

Apologies in advance if this bonus-length episode overstays its welcome.  Weighing in at one hour and thirty-three minutes, Jeff and Gabe take a deep dive headlong into how they manage money while drinking a ridiculously good Citra Ass Down by Against the Grain Brewing and a Hop Ranch by Victory Brewing Company.  

Brewery

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Beer Advocate

Brewery

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You Need a Budget

BACtrack S80 Pro Breathalyzer