Back to Work

Latest Episodes:

Episode 293: The Frame for Our Relationship Oct 11, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: The Minimum Viable Waste of Time.

Some awesome odds and sods, a great new Markdown editor for OS X, and a main topic on dealing with those aggressive email follow-up people.

Dan's Concern™ regarding his annoying smoke detectors
Why things seem to get worse and more diverse
Evaluate the credulity of Amazon reviews with Fakespot
Scary edge cases for Samsung Note fires
Cary's great DNS switching trick
Merlin is loving Typora, a clever and powerful new desktop Markdown editor
Pandoc does many file conversion things
Homebrew makes Mac package management a doddle
Brett Terpstra's Markdown Service Tools are essential
TableFlip is a cool app for making and editing Markdown tables
Fountain and Slugline are awesome for Markdown-like screenplay writing
Also, hey. Editorial for iOS can totally handle Fountain files. Turns out!
Merlin and Dan are still really liking iOS 10
It's definitely worth the time to prune your iOS notifications
Main Topic: How should we deal with all those "just circling back" people?
iPhone spam call blocker Hiya seems to be working now

Links for this episode:

Typora — a minimal markdown reading & writing app
Typora will give you a seamless experience as both a reader and a writer. It removes the preview window, mode switcher, syntax symbols of markdown source code, and all other unnecessary distractions. Replace them with a real live preview feature to help you concentrate the content itself.
Typora Support - Typora Support
Release pandoc 1.17.2 · jgm/pandoc · GitHub
Scary Cary???? on Twitter: "#HotTip: Add different Locations for different DNS records in macOS: cc: @hotdogsladies #BackToWork https://t.co/VSyPgiLz8b"
TableFlip - Simple Table Editor for Mac
The Markdowntable editor.
Infomercials fanvid - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - YouTube
Jon Plummer on Twitter: "@hotdogsladies Do you have a smoove way to reply to the inveterate email follower-uppers? I lightly blew up at one today and I'm not proud."
Editorial for iOS
Fountain | A markup language for screenwriting.
Slugline. Simply Screenwriting.
Paul Williams Still Alive (2011) - IMDb
Termite.com <> WESTERN SUBTERRANEAN TERMITES
Smoke detector - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Williams (songwriter) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
5by5 | Hypercritical #18: Worse and More Diverse
Fakespot | Analyze and identify fake reviews
Homebrew — The missing package manager for macOS
Markdown Service Tools - BrettTerpstra.com
Hiya: Caller ID, Call Blocker & Protection for a Better Phone Experience
The Rambling Taoists: Real Life Tao - No Fight, No Blame
Screenplay Markdown — Prolost
MultiMarkdown
Sherman's March (1986 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Beatles – I Am The Walrus Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

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Episode 292: Rat King of Crush Oct 04, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: A Surfeit of Merlin Mannsplaining.

This week, Dan and Merlin produce an undisputed instaclassic odds and sods episode.

When technology makes you feel crazy.
Are retweets endorsements?
Universal New Yorker captions.
Cursed Images is amazing.
Vatican Cameos!
A totally smooth way to stop talking about someone when they walk into the room.
iOS 10 call-blocking apps. Do they even?
How to send an 'E mail' - Database - 1984 - YouTube
BIG ACTUALLY-USEFUL SEGMENT: Two super-interesting matrices.
How to plan your day.
What Percentage Alcohol? WHAT PERCENTAGE?
We still miss Phil Hartman.
A recommended RSS option.
Apple caters to Dan's News needs.
Dim your LEDs!
"Alexa, who is the Mother of Dragons?"
Fast gloss on Plex's very interesting new Cloud Sync offering.
This is one for the books.

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Episode 291: Three Healthy Holes Sep 27, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: The Unreliable Narrator of You

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about weather, compost, small changes, plus some Sling TV followup.

The main topic involves Merlin helping Dan sanely enter the Philips Hue Light ecosystem. It's not just for nerds any more. (Although, sure, yeah, it's still mostly for nerds.)

Links for this episode:

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Episode 290: Table Scraps for Cable Cutters Sep 20, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: Nobody's favorite thing.

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about update failures, magic, and attention.

Their ongoing dive into the fractured and frustrating world of the modern cord-cutter ecosystem continues.

It's ponderous.

Links for this episode:

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Episode 289: John Rhetoric Sep 13, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: Every week (and every time you think of it)

This week, Dan and Merlin start by talking about some of the great updates iOS 10—alongside the usual strident advice about backing up before you do anything. Merlin also shares the late-night debacle of trying to order a new iPhone.

There's some talk about weird 80s Budweiser commercials and then a deep dive on how (and whether) to setup and use the neato Plex DVR.

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Episode 288: History is Not Made for Horses Sep 06, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: Find My Mac. Please.

With Apple's big iPhone event coming tomorrow, Dan and Merlin discuss what makes this particular day such a black box in Apple's history. This is likely to be the last day for some time when we will know SO very little about where Apple is heading.

Also, there's some discussion of which kinds of technology we're most resistant to and maybe why that is.

Links for this episode:

Amazon.com: 100 Gram Pack of 10 "Dry&dry" Silica Gel Packets Desiccant Dehumidifiers: Home & Kitchen
iPhone 6s best-selling smartphone both in U.S. & worldwide, iPhone SE #3 in U.S. | 9to5Mac
‘Epic’: Hillary suffers 2 violent coughing fits
The Worst Yet! Hillary Clinton Suffers Serious Coughing Fit In Cleveland - Breitbart
Childhood's End - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arrival (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Humans Need Not Apply - YouTube
The Simple Solution to Traffic - YouTube
1982 Aamco "Wait for an Appointment" Commercial - YouTube
The Mind of an Architect - 99% Invisible
Upton Sinclair - Wikiquote
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!"
Reconcilable Differences #20: Stove Vigilance - Relay FM
The main topic is trust your mechanic. How to survive working with the experts who diagnose and fix your problems. John's not a Dead Kennedys fan, and Merlin's just so irrationally mad about the state of his oven.
Apple’s evolving PR boilerplate – 512 Pixels
For ages, at the bottom of press releases, Apple has included a statement about its business, and over the years, this boilerplate statement has changed numerous times.
Chip Card Nightmares? Help Is on the Way - WSJ
Hook and loop fastener - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Talk Show ?: Ep. 166, With Special Guest Rene Ritchie
Facing a Holocaust Denier | JewishBoston

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Episode 287: You Are Now Cleared for Salad Aug 30, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: Frantic SM 10 Pieces

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the problem with wraps, the problem with notebooks, and the problem with Amazon reviews.

Links for this episode:

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Episode 286: Secret Rap Name Aug 23, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: Hey, try this.

This week, Dan and Merlin have a shortie, so they talk about stuff they're loving right now and make some recommendations on gadgets, music, movies, and more.

Also, the scientific link between chemtrails and morgellons can finally be revealed.

Links for this episode:

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Episode 285: A Baller VCR Aug 16, 2016

Show notes

TOPIC: Kids don't need VCR Plus+.

This week, Dan and Merlin continue their series on updates.

The topic this week is all about media consumption—in particular, the massive changes to how they learn about, locate, obtain, schedule, and consume media over the past decade or so.

Sure, there's the usual old man talk about how How It Used To Be, but there's a heavy focus on how these changes are changing the way media is funded and produced. What's that media landscape gonna look like when a 5-year-old playing with an iPad becomes the producer of media in a very few years?

Links for this episode:

iOS, Android, and macOS Apps Now Open Source | Simplenote
The Inner Light (Star Trek: The Next Generation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Measure of a Man (Star Trek: The Next Generation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Star Trek: The Next Generation In 40 Hours — Maxistentialism Blog — Medium
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine In 82.5 Hours — Maxistentialism Blog — Medium
Random Trek | "Death Wish" (VOY) with Merlin Mann (Episode 55)
Creamed, Canned And Frozen: How The Great Depression Revamped U.S. Diets : The Salt : NPR
Do people think about food more in times of scarcity than in times of plenty? Married culinary historians Jane Ziegelman and Andy Coe think so. Ziegelman and Coe are the authors of A Square Meal, which examines the impact of the country's decade-long Great Depression on American diets.
HBO 1983 Intro (HBO) - YouTube
Researcher finds huge security flaws in Bluetooth locks
Amazon.com: CISNO Studio Condenser Mic Microphone Shock Mount With Metal Wind Screen Pop Filter Combo Mask Shield For Recording: Musical Instruments
Kevin Kline Takes a Bow, Several Times - Here's The Thing - WNYC
Kevin Kline is one of the most acclaimed entertainers working today. So how did the kid from St. Louis end up with an Oscar, two Tony awards, and a career that has intersected with those of Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury, John Cleese, and Kenneth Branagh, to name just a few?
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Helping Twilight Win The Crown - (HD) - YouTube
Trump: What's the Deal? Trump: What's the Deal?
Pessimists Archive (@PessimistsArc) | Twitter

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Episode 284: Wake Up, Van Hœt Aug 09, 2016

Show notes

This week, Dan and Merlin open with an unintentionally deep dive on how Merlin has been tricking out his house with home automation stuff.

The main topic this week returns to the theme of updates; in this case, how ubiquitous devices have changed pretty much everything.

Links for this episode:

Weiner (2016) - IMDb
5by5 | Back to Work #280: The Big Filter
5by5 | Back to Work #281: The Mayor of Chocolate Sundaes
5by5 | Back to Work #283: Cognition to Completion
Everything From This 1991 Radio Shack Ad You Can Now Do With Your Phone
There are 15 electronic gimzo type items on this page, being sold from America’s Technology Store. 13 of the 15 you now always have in your pocket.
Processing Power Compared
A single Apple iPhone 5 has 2.7 times the processing power than the 1985 Cray-2 supercomputer.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod Benchmarks - Geekbench Browser
Welcome to Primate Labs' iPhone, iPad, and iPod benchmark chart. The data on this chart is gathered from user-submitted Geekbench 3 results from the Geekbench Browser.
Amazon.com: Frigidaire FFAD7033R1 Energy Star Dehumidifier with Effortless Humidity Control, 70 pint: Home & Kitchen
Amazon.com: WeMo Insight Switch Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring, Wi-Fi, Works with Alexa: Cell Phones & Accessories
Philips 452524 Personal Wireless Lighting Hue Tap Switch - - Amazon.com
Philips 452532 Personal Wireless Lighting Hue Tap Switch - - Amazon.com
Philips 458158 Hue Dimmer Switch - Frustration Free Packaging - - Amazon.com
Amazon.com: Philips 456210 Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 Bulb Starter Kit 2nd Generation, Works with Alexa: Home Improvement
Philips 800284 Hue Lightstrip Plus, 2nd Generation - - Amazon.com
Explore and add IFTTT Recipes - IFTTT
Canary - A complete security system in a single device.
'FITTEST ON EARTH' on Netflix USA - NewOnNetflixUSA
Fittest On Earth 2015: Documentary Trailer - YouTube
Generation Iron for Rent on DVD - DVD Netflix
4 of the Best Bodybuilding Documentaries to Watch on Netflix
Generation Iron - OFFICIAL Trailer 2013 - YouTube
My Cousin Vinny (1992) - Quotes - IMDb
what would the correct ignition timing be on a 1955 Bel Air Chevrolet, with a 327 cubic-inch engine and a four-barrel carburetor?

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