Back To Work

Merlin has thoughts on survival, aging, and whether to bother trying to understand whatever NFTs are. Next up, the triumphant return of "Cool Thing I Learned This Week" brings updates on iOS dictation and a very Merlin video about organization. Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. —Nick Fury, The Avengers (2012) (https://gist.github.com/merlinmann/b64360ee2192b33b7a41eaa423cc4b86)

Your hosts discuss dramaturgy, package managers, and monospaced fonts. Ladies?

DISCUSSED: Dan misses going to the movies; cool ways to save your bacon in Git; and Merlin is excited about a (new to him) app for personal tracking and quantization.

DISCUSSED: Merlin runs the table this week with: unseasonable heat; the joy of realizing when someone obviously loved (and probably had to fight for) the thing that they made; and finally, an extended meditation on a phone charger and the decisions that seek to bridge past and future.

A classic odds n' sods episode. Merlin needs help with a journaling via voice solution; your hosts look at password enhancements in the Apple betas; praise for Apple's SF fonts and SF symbols; a trippy video about paper sizes (and the universe); and, oh, those whacky Mormon sects.

Dan & Merlin are live from the show floor, sharing their thoughts on the WWDC 2022 keynote address.

On memory, security, and sleeping injuries.

Considering the value of finding something new to suck at. Runner-Up Titles Stop Trying to Meditate and Just Breathe I’m That Guy in My Own Head The Confidence of the New Idiot

It's a very special "Oops! All Automation Check-ins" episode. But, of course—as always—there's also a philosophical component.

DISCUSSED: Dan's new tenants flip him the bird, and Merlin has strong feelings about email. Runner-up titles: Glass Surfing I Don't Believe in a Lizard Binary A Game Stop and a Bathroom A Mother Son Relationship That Is Weird The Allergies of Childhood Medium-Sized Important Breakthrough The Cultural Installation of Fear

Your hosts are finally back in action with vital updates on #productivity and #creativity. Also, ginger ale and egg substitutes.

DISCUSSED: Updates on new Plex functionality; praise for Severance; plus some updates on Merlin's new setup—and pursuing the life that you'd like to have. Runner-Up Titles: Shoulders Come in Pairs Meaty and Sad Sucked Up Into My Body Cavity Really Hurts Your Roller Skating Muscle It's a Nice Box I Saved Some Nice Boxes

DISCUSSED: Big news from Plex; Merlin has an expansive new computer project; and Dan continues to make his way at a new gig using his trusty calendar.

DISCUSSED: Dan is doing new things that require a new approach to his calendar. Merlin proposes some appropriate Calendar Kyber Crystals.

DISCUSSED: Dan is back from reporting on the show floor; recommendations for some Back to Work-adjacent podcast episodes; incidental thoughts and advice on presentations as performance; everybody wants a better email app; and Dan shares his thoughts on The Batman; Runner-Up Titles Two Bags of Dongles Just a Butt in a Chair Dirty Little Secret About Daddy A Face in the Brady Bunch Grid The Washington Fulfillment Society

DISCUSSED: Dan and Merlin talk about Apple's latest event and consider what the future looks like from Cupertino.

Links:uBlacklist for Safari on the App Store — "Blocks sites you specify from appearing in search engine results"uBlacklist for Safari | Search Engine filter for SafariWhy Are There So Many Bad Bosses? - Freakonomics — "When these firms select people to be managers based on their current job performance, they are actively making themselves worse off. In other words: the Peter Principle is as real as Laurence Peter said it was. And, I’m editorializing here, it would also seem to be incredibly stupid."495. Why Are There So Many Bad Bosses? — Freakonomics Radio — OvercastRobert Sharl on Twitter: "⁦@hotdogsladies⁩ This is the business. OHTO Super Promecha Pencil PM-1500P | Cult Pens https://t.co/Inzfsujt55" / TwitterAmazonSmile : OHTO Super Promecha Drafting Pencil, 0.5mm (PM-1505P) : Mechanical Pencils : Office ProductsTweaks for TwitterAmazon.com : Staedtler Mars 780 Technical Mechanical Pencil, 2mm. 780BK : Steatdler Mechanical Pencil : Office ProductsAmazon.com : Staedtler Mars Carbon Lead, 12 x 2

DISCUSSED: the Russians are coming; Dan has thoughts on Marvel TV shows, and Merlin has thoughts on Hawkeye specifically; Merlin bravely and boldly recommends watching a film that's often considered the greatest ever made; in Follow-Up, Dan has an update on Taskpaper as well as wanting advice on how to fire Photoshop; Merlin seems weirdly excited about his new pencil; yet more praise is heaped on Rogue Amoeba; and, finally, in an unexpected twist, both your hosts realize they did the same thing last week. Bando (After Pixelmator) Fresh Baby (Before Pixelmator) Fresh Baby (After Pixelmator) Lemongrab (with Pixelmator ML Super Resolution) Octagonal Brass

DISCUSSED: your hosts can't complain (but, sometimes, they still do); a provisional craving for secular pre-cana; what are your canonical family holidays?; Dan has to sign something; a quick clarification on eels; Dan has some camera struggles, but Merlin offers advice that's costly and not actually all that useful; as Merlin re-approaches his World of Text, he is obviously getting even more gaybones for VS Code; and, finally, Merlin begins sketching his new project about energy, fuel, and courageous non-vacations. Runner-Up Titles A Defensive Fist My Uneasy Gait Your Backdoor Camera A Brace of Nips If I’m to Be Your Gamera

DISCUSSED: boiling ATX water and the long-term return of the Bang-Bang Machine; thought-provoking insight on youth, hustle, and work-life balance from Slate Political Gabfest; and Dan tries his hand at TaskPaper. Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now)