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Episode 213: That's Not Where Rogue Goes! Mar 24, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: Thinking Patterns and Thinking Bias

This week, Dan and Merlin talk in detail about how our unconscious patterns of thinking can damage our quality of life and hinder our ability to grow.

Links for this episode:

Cognitive bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don't You Dare Use 'Comprised Of' On Wikipedia: One Editor Will Take It Out : NPR
For single-minded devotion to grammatical rectitude, you'd be hard-pressed to match a Wikipedia editor named Bryan Henderson, who goes by the user name of Giraffedata. He was the subject of a piece by Andrew McMillan on the long-form site Medium that provoked a lot of debate. Giraffedata has a single bee in his bonnet, the phrase "comprised of." He has written a 6,000-word essay on his Wikipedia user page explaining why he thinks it's an egregious error. And to drive home his point, he has made 47,000 edits over the last eight years, most of them aimed at purging the phrase wherever it occurs on the Wikipedia site. He doesn't show it any mercy even when it appears in a quotation — in his view, it's a kindness to writers not to quote their mistakes.
Thinking, Fast and Slow: Daniel Kahneman: 9780374533557: Amazon.com: Books
Availability heuristic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a given person's mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method or decision.
List of cognitive biases - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cognitive biases are tendencies to think in certain ways that can lead to systematic deviations from a standard of rationality or good judgment, and are often studied in psychology and behavioral economics.
Fundamental attribution error - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In social psychology, the fundamental attribution error, also known as the correspondence bias or attribution effect, is people's tendency to place an undue emphasis on internal characteristics to explain someone else's behavior in a given situation, rather than considering external factors.
Ep. 148: "Can't Find the Starch" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
The Problem: You need the belt to see the belt.
5by5 Showbot
Xanadu (Rush song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Conspiracy (TV Movie 2001) - IMDb

Episode 212: That Tuesday Feeling Mar 16, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: A lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous.

This week, Dan and Merlin are all thrown off since they're recording on a Monday. Weird, right?

They mostly talk about the respective states of comics and Apple fandom.

Links for this episode:

MailMate
MailMate is an IMAP email client for Mac OS X featuring extensive keyboard control, Markdown supported email composition, advanced search conditions and drill-down search links, equally advanced smart mailboxes, automatic signature handling, cryptographic encryption/signing (OpenPGP and S/MIME), tagging, multiple notification methods, alternative message viewer layouts including a widescreen layout, and much more. A quick overview is given below, but an extensive list of screenshots is also available. You can read about MailMate and its developer here.
30: Beyond Continuity Porn
We help new, long-time, and lapsed comic book fans alike discover characters, stories, and creators worth reading. Part panel discussion, part creator interview, all-new, and all-different each week.Co-hosted by John Gholson
Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited | Comics | Marvel.com
5by5 | After Dark #512: After Back to Work #211
phil noto - Google Search

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Episode 211: Squeeze the Teabag Mar 10, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: The weather is not the sky.

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about discovering the challenges that help you to thrive—and grow.

Links for this episode:

Email overload: Building my own email app to reach Inbox Zero.
Search | San Francisco Public Library | BiblioCommons
Costco Business Delivery - Wilcox Organic Hard Cooked and Peeled Eggs, 2 pk, 12 ct
Monodraw for Mac — Helftone
IngenuiTEA Teapot from Adagio Teas
Amazon.com : Tazo Earl Grey Filter Bag Tea, 24-Count Packages (Pack of 6) : Black Teas : Grocery & Gourmet Food
Costco Connection Magazine
M?nuka honey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amazon.com : Manuka Health MGO 400+ Manuka Honey (20+) 250gm : Grocery & Gourmet Food
5by5 | Back to Work #29: I Download FLAC
With Dan on sabbatical, Merlin is joined by TV’s Rob Corddry (Children’s Hospital, The Daily Show, Hot Tub Time Machine) to talk about Getting Things Done, writing, fear, and finding success as a blood-soaked clown.Special guest Rob Corddry.
I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79: Lauren Tarshis, Scott Dawson: 9780545459396: Amazon.com: Books
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala Classics): Pema Chodron: 9781570623448: Amazon.com: Books
Pema Chödrön - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pema Chodron Foundation — Buddhist Monastic Life in the West - Gampo Abbey
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala Classics): Pema Chodron: 9781570623448: Amazon.com: Books

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Episode 210: Fighting with Garbage Can Lids Mar 03, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: Less of an Island.

This week Dan and Merlin talk about time, negotiations, and what we want (and don't want) from our email apps.

Links for this episode:

Sponsored by Squarespace (use code ITSYOURSHOW for a free trial and 10% off), lynda (Visit the link to get a free 10 day trial), and Casper (Use the code "BACKTOWORK" for $50 off your mattress order).

Episode 209: Habitual Ritual Feb 24, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: Throwing Stars and Managers

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about working in a beehive and discuss whether they played D&D properly.

Links for this episode:

Sponsored by PDFpenPro 7 (Visit the link to learn more and start using PDFpenPro 7 today), Squarespace (Use the code ITSYOURSHOW for a free trial and 10% off), and FreshBooks (Visit the link and make sure to enter BACK TO WORK in the “How did you hear about us?” section to get FreshBooks free for 30 days).

Episode 208: Don't Touch Daddy Feb 17, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: Illness, Late Night TV, AI in the home, and Talking Baby Dolls

This week, Merlin battles the flu to talk with Dan about late night television, binge watching, talking baby dolls, and the kind of artificial intelligence we really need.

Links for this episode:

Sponsored by Squarespace (use code ITSYOURSHOW for a free trial and 10% off) and lynda (Visit the link and do something good for yourself in 2015, sign up for a FREE 10-day trial).

Episode 207: Vampires in the Wallpaper Feb 10, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: Scoping the Minimally-Viable Me

This week, Dan and Merlin catch up on illness, Marvel comics, and what-have-you, but end up talking a lot about who we really are—who "I" actually am. Merlin eventually slips into an imbued and mildly-psychedelic fugue state that may strike the listener as alternately insightful and insane.

Links for this episode:

Sponsored by Citrix GoToMeeting (Visit the link and click the “TRY IT FREE” button to get a free 30-day trial),FreshBooks (Visit the link and enter 'Back to Work' in the “How did you hear about us?” section for a free 30-day trial), and lynda (Visit the link and do something good for yourself in 2015, sign up for a FREE 10-day trial).

Episode 206: Talking to Santa Jan 27, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: Work as Practice

This week Dan and Merlin chew on some of the numerous eternal imponderables of creative work—with a special focus on "work as practice."

Links for this episode:

Cotton Bureau – #SUPERTRAIN by Roderick on the Line
Pack a small bag with the very first official Roderick on the Line shirt.
5by5 | Back to Work #31: You Can Polish AC/DC All Day Long
5by5 | Back to Work #205: Obsolete, circa 1993
5by5 | After Dark #503: After Back to Work 205
Ep. 25: "Supertrain" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety: Alan W. Watts: 8601300190136: Amazon.com: Books
Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practice ~ Film Trailer and Synopsis | American Masters | PBS
Ricky Jay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Audio Dharma - Lovingkindness (Metta)
Metta, or lovingkindness is the heartfelt wish for the well-being of oneself and others. The practice of Metta meditation is the systematic cultivation of our capacity for lovingkindness. Cultivating friendliness and goodwill is an important partner to mindfulness meditation.
"Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants" - YouTube
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say, SAY IT IN ALL CAPS | This American Life
Flow (psychology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Magic Number | You Look Nice Today
The Mind - Alan Watts - YouTube
Alan Watts speaks on worrying and compulsive thinking.

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Episode 205: Obsolete, circa 1993 Jan 21, 2015

Show notes

With Merlin on sabbatical, Dan is joined by John Roderick to discuss his recent visit to Africa, the military, corporate friends, strategic thinking, the Internet, digital books and albums, echoes, playmobil figures, measuring your arms, the tribal world, selling coats on the internet, and more.

Links for this episode:

Sponsored by Casper (Visit the link and use code COMICS for $50 towards your comfy new mattress purchase), Harry's (Start shaving smarter today and use the code COMICS for $5 off your first purchase), and Squarespace (use code ITSYOURSHOW for a free trial and 10% off).

Episode 204: Space Geisha Jan 13, 2015

Show notes

TOPIC: "I am NOT talking about bartending."

A kind of two-parter this week.

First up, a meditation on invasive thoughts, how they can take over our lives, and how we can maybe learn to deal with them.

Second (starting about 38 minutes in), a VERY SPOILER-HEAVY dissection of the amazing new time travel movie, Predestination.

Links for this episode:

Sponsored by lynda (Visit the link and do something good for yourself in 2015, sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to lynda.com), Citrix GoToMeeting (Visit the link and click the “TRY IT FREE” button to get a free 30-day trial), and Warby Parker (Visit the link and get free 3-day shipping on your order).

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