Back to Work

Latest Episodes:

Episode 363: She's My Horcrux Feb 13, 2018

Show notes

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about lots of recent experiences with the weird and often-frustrating world of streaming TV. What a mess.

There's also some discussion of sauna suits, The Eagles, Mummers, and Dan's victorious t-shirt.

Also, Dan needs your help with solving a terrible problem with one of Cash's iPad games.

Links for this episode:

Welcome | Movies Anywhere
Eagles fan gets a tattoo of the Philly Special - NFL.com
Hulu Says Super Bowl Live-Streaming Outage Was Caused by Program-Extension Glitch – Variety
An unknown number of Hulu’s live TV subscribers missed the final minutes of Super Bowl LII — just before the last-ditch effort by the New England Patriots to tie up the game failed — and the company on Monday blamed the outage on an error in its system for extending live programming past its scheduled stop time.
Philly Special
JustWatch - Streaming Search Engine for movies and tv shows
Forecast: A must-have tool for Mac podcasters - Six Colors
Ryan Hamrick
JASON KELCE FULL UNEDITED SPEECH - PHILADELPHIA EAGLES SUPER BOWL PARADE [2.8.18] - YouTube
Mummers Parade - Wikipedia
Home | Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Mütter Museum - Wikipedia
Netflix

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Episode 362: A Yuck and a Yum Feb 06, 2018

Show notes

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the Eagles' big win, what constitutes a catch, Dan's cool new shirt, Merlin's surprisingly positive interactions with Kabletown, the seeming magic of Movies Anywhere, some recent TV recommendations, and a great listener tip for using Nuzzel.

Your hosts also respond to Listener Daniel's question about new job responsibilities making him feel like an impostor.

Links for this episode:

Netflix - instantwatcher - The Ultimate Guide for Streaming
Explore | Movies Anywhere
Amazon.com: ARRIS SURFboard SB6183 16x4 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - Retail Packaging - White: Computers & Accessories
Super Bowl Celebrations, Han Solo Trailer Reaction, and the Surprise Cloverfield Movie (Ep. 224) — The Watch — Overcast
The Ringer’s Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald celebrate their beloved Eagles’ win in the Super Bowl (0:54), dissect the movie trailers that debuted during the big game (17:00), and discuss the hits and misses behind the surprise release of ‘The Cloverfield Paradox’ (29:06).save in overcast
The Philly Special T-Shirt
Completing a Catch | NFL Football Operations
Super Bowl 2018: Illegal formation doesn’t apply to Nick Foles TD vs. Patriots - SBNation.com
Altered Carbon (TV Series 2018– ) - IMDb

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Episode 361: Caveman Arithmetic Jan 30, 2018

Show notes

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about crazy kids' homework, Dan's exciting nerd field trips in the Bay Area, the magic of PIXAR, a handy Netflix companion site, and using Siri on Apple TV.

Things get a little heated during a discussion about all the weirdly fawning coverage of HomePod—and whether or when Apple's new speaker dingus might find a place in your hosts' lives.

Recommendations include a podcast with Hawkeye Pierce, an excellent boiled eggs recipe, and some cool TED-Ed videos.

Your hosts respond to listener feedback about bitter Nintendo cartridges and field an interesting question about creating consumer-friendly tech support.

Links for this episode:

List of Movies and TV Shows on Netflix | Flixable
Are you wondering what's new – or what's best – on Netflix? Flixable is a Netflix search engine that offers a complete, searchable and browsable list of all the movies and TV shows that are currently streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
Alan Alda Wants Us To Have Better Conversations — Hidden Brain — Overcast
We’ve all experienced miscommunications. Their consequences can range from hilarious… to disastrous. The actor Alan Alda — yes, THAT Alan Alda — wants to help us avoid them.
Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs - Nom Nom Paleo®
Here’s how to make perfectly-cooked hard-boiled eggs that are never overcooked (I hate the gray-green sulfur ring around overdone yolks) and are easily peeled:
TED-Ed - YouTube
Pixar's RenderMan | Renderman Home
The Food Lab: How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs | Serious Eats
Yes, Nintendo Switch cartridges taste terrible - The Verge
Amazon.com : Onyx Professional Stop The Bite Nail Biting & Thumb Sucking Deterrent Nail Polish 2 Pack 0.5oz : Beauty
Amazon.com : Probelle Anti-Bite, Stop Nail Biting and Thumb Sucking, Clear, .5 Fluid Ounces : Beauty
HomePod - Apple

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Episode 360: I Haven't Lost My Knife Jan 24, 2018

Show notes

This week, Dan and Merlin talk a lot about writing and respond to feedback from listeners.

Links for this episode:

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Episode 359: You Can't See Inside the Dog Jan 16, 2018

Show notes

This week, Dan has some weather, Cash makes a battery, homework can be a silly drag, management is about scalability and quantification, how to figure out how much you have to do, 80s movies can be problematic, ultracrepidarianism, making fish wanna get nasty, and you gotta give people ONE suggestion.

Great listener feedback on the evolution of pro kitchens, real-life risk aversion, and a terrific use of Echo's drop-in functionality.

Also, the possibilities and shortcomings of Machine Learning are discussed.

Links for this episode:

SF Sketchfest 2018: Roderick on the Line
Tuesday January 16, 2018 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Gateway Theatre 215 Jackson Street San Francisco, CA 94111
Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #20 — Merlin Mann
MERLIN MANN (Back to Work, Roderick on the Line, Reconcilable Differences, Do By Friday, You Look Nice Today, et al.) invites you to drop by Two Cats Comics on the evening of Thursday, January 18th to hang out, talk about comics, and just say, “Hi.” It's free and it's fun.
“The Labour of Two Days, Is That for Which You Ask Two Hundred Guineas!” “No; I Ask It for the Knowledge of a Lifetime.” | Quote Investigator
“The Labour of Two Days, Is That for Which You Ask Two Hundred Guineas!” “No
“But You Did That in Thirty Seconds.” “No, It Has Taken Me Forty Years To Do That.” | Quote Investigator
“But You Did That in Thirty Seconds.” “No, It Has Taken Me Forty Years To Do That.”
Ultracrepidarianism - Wikipedia
Ultracrepidarianism is the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one's knowledge.
Baghdad Battery - Wikipedia
Congo tetra - Wikipedia
C.G.P. Grey - How Machines Learn

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Episode 358: Dumb Ohio Mouth Jan 09, 2018

Show notes

This week, your hosts cover some odds and sods, share some recommendations, design some fantasy podcast apps, and introduce an exciting new feature involving the Internet Science Site.

They also respond to a listener's thorny question about dealing with negative chatter in the workplace.

Links for this episode:

Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #20 — Merlin Mann
MERLIN MANN (Back to Work, Roderick on the Line, Reconcilable Differences, Do By Friday, You Look Nice Today, et al.) invites you to drop by Two Cats Comics on the evening of Thursday, January 18th to hang out, talk about comics, and just say, “Hi.” It's free and it's fun.
Home - My Pod
Link to your audio and web links and play them through your Amazon Echo.
Yerkes–Dodson law - Wikipedia
Research has found that different tasks require different levels of arousal for optimal performance. For example, difficult or intellectually demanding tasks may require a lower level of arousal (to facilitate concentration), whereas tasks demanding stamina or persistence may be performed better with higher levels of arousal (to increase motivation).
Marchetti's constant - Wikipedia
Marchetti's constant is the average time spent by a person for commuting each day, which is approximately one hour.
Ship of Theseus - Wikipedia
The ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus's paradox, is a thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object.
Bruce Timm - Wikipedia
Ep. 273: "One Kilometer" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
The Problem: It was the first thing that John had ever finished.
Huffduffer
Horace Dediu on Twitter: "Studies show that the health benefits of riding without a helmet generally outweigh the safety benefits of riding with a helmet, so if helme… https://t.co/zosIxcuwmN"
Ditching bike helmets laws better for health
Exploring an Alternate Universe | Lapham’s Quarterly
John Waite - Missing You [OFFICIAL HQ VIDEO] - YouTube
It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) | The Official Bob Dylan Site
Journey (2012 video game) - Wikipedia
Amazon.com: Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories (9781401231156): Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Various: Books

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Episode 357: Scrolling Carousel of Pain Jan 02, 2018

Show notes

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about why they're trending, an exciting update on the Mr. Robot ATV bug, the frustrating opacity of using Apple's stuff, Dan's love for Nintendo Switch, nostalgia for NASA, Merlin's love for the Amazon Spot, the problem of fish food and regret, updates on your hosts' sleep technologies, possible solutions for killing spam on iPhone, and some more thoughts on dealing with Netflix's filtering, ratings, and…jeez kinda just everything about their dingaling interface.

Links for this episode:

Introducing Echo Spot - Amazon Official Site - Stylish, compact Echo with a screen
How to Disable Alexa's Drop-In Feature
What other home “kits” can I assemble? - organization | Ask MetaFilter
The Worst Part of Working Remotely Is Trying to Read Minds
My heart races as that familiar bubble pops up on my screen. My supervisor is typing for what seems like forever. In reality, it’s only a few seconds, but that’s still enough time for me to fall into a full-on worry spiral: Did I make a mistake? Is she mad at me? Finally, the text message appears: “Thank you.”
Square Signals : Successful habits through smoothly ratcheting...
sarahlemarie on Twitter: "@hotdogsladies Back to Work made it into the bug report on the Mr Robot problem! And it's fixed! Maybe you heard already. Catching up on my… https://t.co/WONENExNEu"
@hotdogsladies Back to Work made it into the bug report on the Mr Robot problem! And it's fixed! Maybe you heard already. Catching up on my B2W eps atm and heard you talking about it in Dec 19 show.
Amazon.com: rolls MS111 Mic Switch On/Off: Musical Instruments
Amazon.com: Pro Co Sound CDSS Short Stop Mute Box: Musical Instruments
GRIFFIN'S Top 5 Games of 2017! - YouTube
Super blue blood moon eclipse to appear January 31, 2018 | Miami Herald
Total Lunar Eclipse on January 31, 2018 – Where and When to See
Introducing Echo Spot - Amazon Official Site - Stylish, compact Echo with a screen
Edward Everett Horton - Wikipedia
Amazon.com: Ziploc Space Bag- Vacuum Seal Bag- 13 Bag Variety- 4 Travel, 2 Med, 5 Lrg, 2 XL: Home & Kitchen
Amazon.com: Natural Talalay Latex Foam Pillow Standard with Eco-friendly Hypoallergenic and Anti-mite by SWEESLEEP (Soft, 23"x15"x5"): Home & Kitchen
Nintendo Entertainment System - Wikipedia
Amazon.com: Nintendo Switch with Joy-Con Pick You Own System Bundle Options: Edition, Color, Games, Extra Controller, Case: Nintendo: Video Games
Amazon.com: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo Switch: Video Games
Apple Will Replace the Battery in Your iPhone 6 or Later Even if It Passes a Genius Bar Diagnostic Test - Mac Rumors
#104 The Case of the Phantom Caller — Reply All — Overcast

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Episode 356: Politics or Gender or Iron Man Dec 29, 2017

Show notes

The boys wrap up a big year—a huge year—with an unintentionally thematic episode about feelings, expectations, nostalgia, and the black boxes of life, technological and otherwise.

Links for this episode:

gyrosco.pe
Patriot (TV Series 2015– ) - IMDb
Fortitude (TV series) - Wikipedia
Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? (Part One) - The New York Times
Gyroscope V1.10 – Gyroscope
iPad Pro — What’s a computer — Apple - YouTube
Apple Is Ready to Ditch the Mac | John C. Dvorak | PCMag.com
Daring Fireball: Pressing the Side Button to Confirm Payments on iPhone X
Reconcilable Differences #29: Six Fax Machines - Relay FM
To wit: Merlin can't contain his fascination and admiration with how John's rationality and long view of history has colored and redirected his own conceptions about what the future holds.How does John evaluate and interpolate new technology? How should inchoate cultural vectors inform our thinking? Why do some kinds of change take such improbably more time than others? And how much do we really want to learn about cannibalism?
GRIFFIN'S Top 5 Games of 2017! - YouTube
038 - Why Are There No New Christmas Songs? — Reasonably Sound — Overcast
Watch Saturday Night Live Highlight: Tales of Fraud - NBC.com
To beat President Trump, you have to learn to think like his supporters - The Washington Post
dwelling on scandal too much can be counterproductive, then the focus must be elsewhere.
Seinfeld - Kramer wants to cancel his mail
Thrill Rides | Six Flags Great Adventure
Looking for thrills? Well, you've found them. In fact, you've found some of the fastest, tallest, wildest, gut-wrenchingest rides in the country-including a few record-breakers.
Merlin Mann on Twitter: "I feel like I've got a 5000-word essay about the levels of emotional engagement in this #DoctorWho in me. You're so lucky I don't have a Me… https://t.co/oWzdCCTsEt"
I feel like I've got a 5000-word essay about the levels of emotional engagement in this
Yass Cat Vine 5 Minute Loop - YouTube

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Episode 355: Eleven Dollars and a Bottle of Yoo-hoo Dec 19, 2017

Show notes

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about keyboard preferences (and their noises), Merlin catching Dan's weird "Mr. Robot" bug on Apple TV, feedback about "inside jokes," exclusion as a weapon, more good Robert Wright interviews, a deepish dive on Netflix personalization techniques (alongside some speculation on how well it's working), platforms and technologies as lobster traps, the problem with cartoons about screaming, how much kids love YouTube, the challenge of partnering with podcast middlepersons, a new Netflix show Dan likes, possibilities for new Marvel properties, and listener feedback on the potential benefits of using work tools you don't prefer.

Links for this episode:

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Episode 354: One Whale Dec 12, 2017

Show notes

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about (partial) resolution to Dan's Apple TV bug, some venting about delivery problems, general complaining about customer service, a good TV podcast episode, a very good Buddhism podcast episode, some excellent Buddhism talk, listener follow-up on Dan's strange video mail package, shakeups and wild innovation in the TV bidness, that creepy/mean Netflix tweet, and a listener's question about whether the tech requirements at a promising new job should be a deal-breaker.

Links for this episode:

Chapo Trap House | Free Listening on SoundCloud
What Buddhism got right about the human brain — The Ezra Klein Show — Overcast
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment: Robert Wright: 9781439195451: Amazon.com: Books
The Best TV of 2017 With Sam Esmail (Ep. 210) — The Watch — Overcast
The Ringer’s Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald are joined for their annual best TV of 2017 discussion with ‘Mr. Robot’ creator Sam Esmail. They cover what they are looking from their own television experience, this year in television (2:00), and their top-10 favorite shows of the year, including ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Mindhunter,’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale,’ and more (14:00).save in overcast
Verizon, NFL agree to new 5-year deal worth nearly $2.5 billion
Comcast continues to inject its own code into websites you visit
You Are Two - YouTube
Netflix US on Twitter: "To the 53 people who've watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: Who hurt you?"

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