Reconcilable Differences

John has updates on some recent elective plumbing.

In Follow-Up, there's an update on movies with spelled-out abbreviations, John finally figures out why his magazine got bigger, and Merlin checks in on jiggle mode.

Next up, John shares some very biased reporting on dogs and technology. Merlin thinks people should just stop interviewing first responders. This somehow leads to a very useful discussion of proper key hygiene.

Then, your hosts conduct a studious review of the literature regarding why we build ships.

As your main topic, John has updates on some recent elective plumbing.

(Recorded on Tuesday, July 9, 2024)

What does it mean to be a young person in the age of ubiquitous capture?

Things kick off with Merlin's inspiring Apple success story. Then, there's some consideration of where all these wrecked cars might be coming from.

In Follow-Up, John learns he's not the only aging auto enthusiast whose magazine has gotten bigger. Also, listeners share more novel, rich-people technologies for making your kitchen look like it's not actually a kitchen.

The main topic finds your hosts considering what it means to be a young person in the age of ubiquitous capture. John makes a case for the value of having all your ideas challenged, and Merlin learns how little he knew about the ERA.

In this month’s member bonus episode, your hosts finally address a topic that's been hanging out in the doc for a while now: Mastodon hates threads. After making two distinct piles, Merlin does a terrible job just sticking to the first one.

You can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and, yes, support our program.

(Recorded on Tuesday, June 25, 2024)

Kessler and McKenna convincingly argue that gender is not a reflection of biological reality but rather a social construct that varies across cultures. Valuable for its insights into gender, its extensive treatment of transsexualism, and its ethnomethodological approach, Gender reviews and critiques data from biology, anthropology, sociology, and psychology.

Merlin can't tell whether John is mad at him, but John claims that he's not.

Merlin can't tell whether John is mad at him, but John claims that he's not.

In follow-up, listeners share even more upsetting information about ice machines, and John has further remarks on a podcast Merlin likes. Also, Merlin remembers to tell John about his health problems.

Names and pronunciation are further explored, and John criticizes Daisy's herding skills. Then, for some reason, they talk about lunchboxes for a while. John thinks Merlin should do more due diligence on his realizations.

In an unexpected burst of Macintosh nostalgia, your hosts recall weird hard drive problems and Kerry from MacWarehouse.

Then, Merlin has to go home to turn off the smoke alarm.

(Recorded on Tuesday, June 4, 2024)

“Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

John complains about a podcast that Merlin likes, and Merlin announces that professional eye care is a racket.

John has some concerns about Merlin’s water intake and general desk situation.

In what begins as follow-up, John has further illumination regarding the oven dial problem. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this leads to a lot of appliance talk.

John complains about a podcast that Merlin likes, and Merlin announces that professional eye care is a racket.

Finally, John wonders why he’s started receiving such a big magazine.

In this month’s member bonus episode, Merlin leads a deeper investigation into the vacation problem. Travel is about more than travel, plus if you want to get better at something, it’s useful to stop pretending you’re great at it.

(Recorded on Tuesday, May 28, 2024)

It’s not just smart— it’s countertop genius: the Tovala Smart Oven.

John thinks Merlin drinks too much water, which naturally leads to a deep dive on the landscape of consumer ice machines.

Things kick off with some initial concerns, and then Merlin shares why so many things are kind of like a television.

In Follow-Up, John has confused his retired newscasters, and Merlin still hasn't figured why he was so disoriented by a strange oven. Werner Herzog cameos are considered.

Next, Merlin has a confession that reflects the logical conclusion of realizing you can always augment the sub-standard materials supplied by a host.

Painful rituals of car seats and Catholicism are considered, and John indulges Merlin's retrospective look at 15th century gift cards for sin.

John thinks Merlin drinks too much water, which naturally leads to a deep dive on the landscape of consumer ice machines.

(Recorded on Tuesday, May 14, 2024)

Merlin shares two recent experiences with Apple technology that were unqualified successes. Which, of course, leads to a jeremiad about some consumer tech that's a good deal less successful. John explains how writing books is like jazz, man.

Things kick off with a recent Apple ID dust-up, but John's not so sure it's any different than the usual Apple ID dust-ups. Merlin has a panic attack when his beloved debit card doesn't work.

Then, there's some Follow-Up on the Magic Marker System which John thinks might be post hoc BS, and Merlin asks John to clarify his term for being his family's TV ambassador, although that's not the word he used.

In something like a main topic, Merlin shares two recent experiences with Apple technology that were unqualified successes. Which, of course, leads to a jeremiad about some consumer tech that's a good deal less successful.

Merlin suspects Airbnbs might be a racket for rich people to get free housekeeping for a house they've never actually lived in, and John explains how writing books is like jazz, man.

In this week's members-only after show, Merlin has a quick drinking update, and then your hosts discuss the very good FX show, Shōgun. Spoiler Horn fires off at 2:08:06.

You can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get cool bonus stuff, and—yes—support this program.

(Recorded on Tuesday, April 2, 2024)

Normally, the rule of threes contains the following:

Follow-Up opens with a correction from John and an admission that he's very disappointed in you, the listener. John clocks Merlin's sudden overuse of some given word.

Things kick off with an acknowledgment of the enthusiastic listener response to the Waffle House episode. Merlin compliments John on a bit, and John handles that pretty much how you'd expect.

Follow-Up opens with a correction from John and an admission that he's very disappointed in you, the listener. John clocks Merlin's sudden overuse of some given word.

There's a brief tangent into Shōgun and some films Merlin liked less than John. There's some discussion of subtitles and screenshotting.

There's further Follow-Up on the Mark System in day-to-day use. Then some discussion of horses, words that sound like other words, plus more sneaky Britishisms.

As is so often the case, this somehow leads to your hosts complaining about technology for a pretty long time. Would it kill you to provide a deep link?

Merlin suddenly becomes very animated thinking about designing a new Mark system that would involve 3D-printing some jellypacks.

The episode concludes on a surprisingly rabbinical note.

(Recorded on Tuesday, April 16, 2024)

The video that changed so many lives.

Merlin made a GPT for the Mark system.

Merlin made a jelly pack supercut.

John guides Merlin through an unusual form of communication.

John guides Merlin through an unusual form of communication.

So unusual is this form of communication that its interrogation continues through the members-only bonus episode.

Remember, you can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and, yes, support this program.

(Recorded on Tuesday, April 2, 2024)

The learning curve for a Waffle House server can be steep, and even steeper for a cook. The process by which an order cycles from the customer-menu interaction to the final presentation of food is complex, multimodal, and reliant on code-switching.

John mistakenly used this name instead of the correct one. (See next link.)

This is what John should have said.

Topic include perception, misdirection, binaries, and how it is that "Survivor" so rarely leaks.

Things kick off with the usual problems, and then somehow there's a whole thing about magic tricks, perception, and misdirection. John cannily coins "The Reverse Columbo."

In Follow-Up, Merlin has a headphone correction, Listener Dave nominates !bff, Listener Benjamin identifies the weird old guy pronunciation channel, and a band from the 80s gets the LED out.

John points out that, with computers, binaries are definitely a thing, but Merlin feels like he could go either way about it.

For a main topic, your hosts have more to say about Jelinsky. As a very entertaining dingaling, our guy's brief time on Survivor provides a good opportunity to explore how the show is produced and presented.

Finally, your hosts consider John's potential career path as "an external coach."

(Recorded on Tuesday, March 19, 2024)

The series Seinfeld mentions many fictional films, sometimes as major plot elements, sometimes minor plot elements and often as running gags.

"I ONLY ATE ONE!"

A new season of Survivor brings an amazing new dingaling with a novel definition of "several." Then, John chats with Merlin about his recent Apple Vision Pro experience.

Things kick off with having already begun, then there's some words that also mean their opposite, and some new weird pronunciations.

In Follow-Up, a new season of Survivor also brings an amazing new dingaling with a novel understanding of "several."

As a main topic, John chats with Merlin about his recent Apple Vision Pro demo.

For this month's members-only bonus show, John offers Merlin and his family advice on buying a computer.

We also have, as a special added attraction, how Merlin goes to bed.

You can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and, yes, support our program.

(Recorded on Tuesday, March 5, 2024)

In the interest of transparency, I only JUST realized SCTV is Second City TV. Ugh. I know. I KNOW.

Jelinsky's brief time in the game was marked by a tendency to overcommit before giving up at the slightest resistance. His non-committal attitude cost him his tribemates' faith and he became the first person voted out of the season.