Reconcilable Differences

Reconcilable Differences

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Reconcilable Differences episodes

  • 257: Reverse Procrastination Bingo
    Subtitle: Merlin thinks John doesn't understand the whole point of the exercise.

    This week's topic: Kids & Driving

    This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
    • Grist: A modern, open source spreadsheet that goes beyond the grid. Try it for free today.
    • Links and Show Notes:

      Things kick off with some Donkey Kong Follow-Up that leads to a fair amount of vintage video game nostalgia. Merlin has a new Thing It Took Him Too Long to Realize, but John seems determined to deny him any kind of credit or joy about it.

      In response to a listener request, John goes into more detail on what exactly Ice Day entails.

      The main topic is Kids and Driving. Which includes appropriate side topics on motion sickness, running stop signs, and Merlin's former life a very unsafe young operator.

      Also: Afterschool Specials.

      (Recorded on Tuesday, March 18, 2025)

      Credits
      • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
      • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
      • Music: Merlin Mann
      • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
      • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. Donkey Kong Mini Arcade - eBay Donkey Kong Mini Arcade price chart Mattel Football || - eBay Irish guests on The Graham Norton Show - YouTube Excalibur (1981) Project Farm's dash cam comparison - YouTube License to Drive (1988) The driving test scene from License to Drive

        Now, I love my coffee…

        Robby Benson Lance Kerwin: The feathered-haired prince of ABC Afterschool Specials Scenes from the Quincy Punk Rock Episode - YouTube Quincy Punk Episode - YouTube
        1 hr 44 min
      • 256: Tomorrow is an Ice Day
        Subtitle: Grandpa is just "Pee Pad" now,

        Follow-up brings updates on "all balls" plus a novel inversion to "Secret Weird Things People Do."

        Main topic this week is cooking alone.

        This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
        • Grist: A modern, open source spreadsheet that goes beyond the grid. Try it for free today.
        • Links and Show Notes:

          Follow-up brings updates on "all balls" plus a novel inversion to "Secret Weird Things People Do."

          This week's main topic is cooking alone.

          In this month’s member bonus episode, your hosts consider Dune: Prophecy, including some critical spycraft problems.

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

          (Recorded Tuesday, March 4, 2025)

          Credits
          • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
          • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
          • Music: Merlin Mann
          • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
          • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. Rule 34 - Wikipedia Crab legs!? Ahhh… (MTV) The Terminator: How to Turn a B-Movie Into a Masterpiece - YouTube Desmond Hume from Lost Jane Krakowski - Wikipedia Frame Game Squircle - Wikipedia Greeble (or Greebly) - Wikipedia Demand-Paged - Wikipedia Who wants…to live…forever…? - YouTube Who Wants to Live Forever - Queen Awake (TV series) - Wikipedia Pac-Man music - YouTube

            The first video game song that comes into Merlin's head is Pac-Man (not Donkey Kong)

            Moon Patrol music - YouTube Little General stores
            1 hr 29 min
          • 255: The Illusion of a Shared Experience
            Subtitle: Merlin is pretty sure Jason Mantzoukas is the voice of the booger.

            The main topic this week was almost The Big Game.

            This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
            • Grist: A modern, open source spreadsheet that goes beyond the grid. Try it for free today.
            • Links and Show Notes:

              The main topic this week was almost The Big Game.

              (Recorded on Tuesday, February 11, 2025)

              Credits
              • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
              • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
              • Music: Merlin Mann
              • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
              • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. Harrison Ford on Conan O'Brien's podcast - YouTube Salesforce Is Using A Hallucination To Sell AI - Defector Merlin's article about binaries "allballs" in PostgreSQL The (possible) origin of "allballs" Acorn - Mac graphics editor by Flying Meat Roderick on the Line #567: A High Teen

                This is the episode where John Roderick talks about taking a father and kid on a “rock tour” of Seattle.

                Bat Boy from the Weekly World News Nibble - Wikipedia The State, Season 4 Episode 4: Leonard Harris Show

                “No, it’s not in braille. It’s in English, the language of the U-S-A!”

                Acorn 8 | Full Featured Photo Editor for the Mac

                Acorn is an image editor for macOS 14 Sonoma or later, including macOS 15 Sequoia.Universal binary for Apple Silicon Macs. One of a kind, no subscriptions, no hassle.

                Bob Uecker Miller Lite commercials: Best ads of all time Easy Com-mercial, Easy Go-mercial | Bob's Burgers Wiki | Fandom

                When the commercial that Louise scripted proves to be terrible, they get football star Sandy "Can-Can" Frye to star in their commercial with the catch phrase "Burgers go great with Frye"

                "Cotton: The Fabric of Our Lives" (1992) - YouTube
                1 hr 46 min
              • 254: Someone Else’s Bucket
                Subtitle: He’s our special little guy.

                Merlin tries a new way of writing online, and John thinks about what it really means to own your web presence.

                This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
                • Pika: Start your happy blog. Get 20% off Pika Pro with code DIFFS20
                • Grist: A modern, open source spreadsheet that goes beyond the grid. Try it for free today.
                • Links and Show Notes:

                  Merlin tries a new way of writing online, and John thinks about what it really means to own your web presence.

                  In this month’s member bonus episode, your hosts catch up on this new era of Survivor.

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

                  (Recorded on Tuesday, February 4, 2025)

                  Credits
                  • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
                  • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
                  • Music: Merlin Mann
                  • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
                  • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. Merlin's (latest) website: merlin.ghost.io “Ta-da.”

                    I accidentally made this website into a newsletter, and it looks like almost fourteen people accidentally signed up for it. Which is awesome and weird. Thank you.

                    Cool URIs don't change John's website: hypercritical.co Merlin's "Cranking" essay The Peridiam YouTube channel about Survivor
                    1 hr 16 min
                  • 253: The Torpid Sons of Venezuelan Oil Men

                    This week's topic: The Simpsons Kitchen Gag.

                    This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
                    • Grist: A modern, open source spreadsheet that goes beyond the grid. Try it for free today.
                    • Links and Show Notes:

                      This week's topic: The Simpsons Kitchen Gag.

                      Credits
                      • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
                      • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
                      • Music: Merlin Mann
                      • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
                      • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. Spin the Choice | King of the Hill Wiki | Fandom

                        'So Peggy invents a game of her own called "Spin The Choice" as she finds out online that people like to spin and choose in their games.'

                        Simpsons Kitchen Gag Bart Gets an Elephant - Wikipedia

                        "After Stampy wrecks the Simpsons' house and eats all the food, Homer decides to sell Stampy to an ivory dealer."

                        The Simpsons kitchen gag GIF Why Did Van Halen Demand Concert Venues Remove Brown M&M's From the Menu?

                        "So, when I would walk backstage, if I saw a brown M&M in that bowl … well, line-check the entire production. Guaranteed you’re going to arrive at a technical error."

                        Cincinnati Union Terminal - Wikipedia The Sesame Street counting song: 1 2 3 4 5, 6 7 8 9 10, 11 12… Producer/Consumer Problem - Wikipedia Producer/Consumer Pattern and Thread Pools - Cornell Non-Newtonian fluid

                        Oobleck!

                        US Naval Terminology and Nomenclature Seaman apprentice - Wikipedia

                        Seaman apprentice is the second lowest enlisted rate in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps just above seaman recruit and below seaman

                        The Pink Stuff Krusty bets against the Harlem Globetrotters - YouTube

                        "They were using a freaking ladder for God's sakes!"

                        Hypercritical: Hyperspace

                        "The current TestFlight build WILL NOT ACTUALLY RECLAIM DISK SPACE"

                        1 hr 31 min
                      • 252: Briefly, It Was the Future.
                        Subtitle: Everything becomes crab.

                        Updates on match cuts, the college ranking racket, and some historical perspective on t-dropping.

                        Links and Show Notes:

                        Follow-Up brings updates on match cuts, the college ranking racket, and some historical perspective on t-dropping.

                        The main topic is kind of hard to pin down, but it might come down to a word choice on a website. Making it an ideal topic for this program.

                        In this month’s member bonus episode, there's some more discussion of scrobbling and media consumption, plus John watched The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015), and Merlin wants to hear how it went.

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

                        Credits
                        • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
                        • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
                        • Music: Merlin Mann
                        • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
                        • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. Kieran Healy's Mastodon thread about college admissions selectivity

                          "The selectivity racket is driven by the US News & World Report Rankings…"

                          Kieran Healy's essay about "Engines of Anxiety: Academic Rankings, Reputation, and Accountability" (PDF) The Grammarphobia Blog: Uh-oh, it’s the glottal stop

                          'English speakers have been glottalizing the letter “t” since at least the mid-19th century.'

                          Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (Video 2007) - IMDb John's Wristies This Is Water, by David Foster Wallace - Wikipedia Todd Vaziri's website - fxrant.blogspot.com Maria Menounos - Wikipedia The story of "Sidetalkin'" on the Panic Podcast Merlin's old Treo smartphone Some information about the Helmac lint roller How did Last.fm come with the term "scrobble"? The origins of "Scrobbler" - Audioscrobbler and Last.fm The Lobster (2015)
                          1 hr 41 min
                        • 251: The Finer Things

                          Merlin introduces a new segment, and John shares Application Results.

                          This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
                          • Grist: A modern, open source spreadsheet that goes beyond the grid. Try it for free today.
                          • Links and Show Notes:

                            Merlin introduces a new segment, and John shares Application Results.

                            (Recorded on Tuesday, December 17, 2024)

                            Credits
                            • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
                            • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
                            • Music: Merlin Mann
                            • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
                            • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. The Flop House Mini #116: The Definitive Action Hero Ranking Pt. 1

                              The origin of the Lucky Dip.

                              Stuart Wellington: “ And the final third category, of course: Lucky Dip! That’s where we randomly roll, and the game gets a little bit crazy.”

                              The Flop House Mini #117: The Definitive Action Hero Ranking Pt. 2

                              More Lucky Dips.

                              Lucky Dip - Cambridge Dictionary

                              "a game in which you pay to pick a prize out of a container with many different prizes in it, without being able to see what you are picking"

                              (Apparently, it's kind like what we yanks call a "grab bag.")

                              Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Match cut - Wikipedia Seven Sisters - Wikipedia
                              1 hr 41 min
                            • 250: Water Hammer
                              Subtitle: It's free real estate.

                              John has a new project and Merlin has a new Thought Technology.

                              This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
                              • Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code DIFFS.
                              • Links and Show Notes:

                                John has a new project and Merlin has a new Thought Technology. It is, admittedly, early days for both projects.

                                In Follow-Up, listeners share advice on avoiding YouTube spoilers and John figures out why his brain thought "safflower."

                                As a main topic, John is dealing with a new large appliance, and Merlin thinks he might be the only one who ever cleans out the lint trap.

                                In this month’s member bonus episode, John pitches Merlin on the new Dune show, and Merlin has a bone to pick with Survivor.

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

                                (Recorded on Tuesday, December 10, 2024)

                                Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. The Incomparable #744: Pineapple of Disappointment @smartasshat Hal from The Diplomat AeroGarden is going out of business Oceanliner Designs YouTube channel The Sinking of Britannic - Titanic's Forgotten Sister Ship - YouTube John's new washing machine: LG WT7900HBA Bartleby (1969) Dune: Prophecy Dune (1984) Dune (2021) Dune: Part Two (2024) Jessica Barden Travis Fimmel Charlie Hunnam
                                1 hr 41 min
                              • 249: Tally Ho

                                Rebuilding "Tally Ho."

                                This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
                                • Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code DIFFS.
                                • Links and Show Notes:

                                  Things kick off with a listener's field report that a millennial tic has been spotted in the wild. John says Merlin mispronounces his mispronunciations wrong.

                                  The main topic is on Rebuilding Tally Ho, a YouTube series about an ambitious project to restore a century-old sailing yacht.

                                  (Recorded on Tuesday, November 26, 2024)

                                  Credits
                                  • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
                                  • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
                                  • Music: Merlin Mann
                                  • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
                                  • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. Ethan Weed: “I heard it! Impor'nt” A timestamped link to the word in question - YouTube

                                    "im-POOR-uhn."

                                    Karl Shea's original recommendation post Rebuilding TALLY HO - from the beginning - YouTube Building the boat shed - YouTube An example of Leo's standard intro - YouTube

                                    “Hi. My name's Leo, and I'm a boatbuilder and a sailor, and I'm on a mission to rebuild and restore this 109 year old classic sailing yacht, Tally Ho.”

                                    The Ship of Theseus episode of the Tally Ho rebuild - YouTube Sherman's March (1986) Iguana chased by killer snakes | Planet Earth II: Islands - BBC - YouTube
                                    1 hr 38 min
                                  • 248: Safflower Wednesday
                                    Subtitle: Your egg salad costs too much.

                                    Election results.

                                    This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:
                                    • Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code DIFFS.
                                    • Links and Show Notes:

                                      Election results.

                                      Then, in this month’s member bonus episode, your hosts debate the merits of self-checkout.

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

                                      (Recorded on Tuesday, November 12, 2024)

                                      Credits
                                      • Audio Editor: Jim Metzendorf
                                      • Admin Assistance: Kerry Provenzano
                                      • Music: Merlin Mann
                                      • The Suits: Stephen Hackett, Myke Hurley
                                      • Get an ad-free version of the show, plus a monthly extended episode. The Talk Show #413 with Merlin Mann

                                        This again. Jiminy. Well, once more, let’s talk around another election, and try, by doing so, to maybe express something about it.

                                        CLEP Exams The origin of “Whuffie” - Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow Flooz - Wikipedia Beenz - Wikipedia Grandfather clause - Wikipedia Dinobots - Wikipedia Marty the Stop and Shop robot Sanewashing - Wikipedia Trump’s Rambling Speeches Reinforce Question of Age - The New York Times MSNBC on the “sanewashing” of Trump - YouTube S&H Green Stamps - Wikipedia
                                        1 hr 36 min

                                      About Reconcilable Differences

                                      From the publisher's feed

                                      John Siracusa and Merlin Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way. Hosted by Merlin Mann and John Siracusa.

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