
Episode 416: A Squishy for the Ages
03/05/19 • 75 min
DISCUSSED: Merlin is living the Domino lifestyle; R.I.P. Two Cats Comics; praise for iA Writer; Merlin needs help with his sudden Gmail spam; a meditation on comics as some awesome fun and an ugly damned business; nostalgia for hobby shops and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks; and finally Merlin reintroduces the concept of "Power Puttering."
Links for this episode:
- Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #25 — Merlin Mann
Friend, it’s time for this epic arc to come to its conclusion. After five years, twenty-five meet-ups, and countless new friends made and awesome comics recommended, this will be our last Ungainly X-Mann Meetup with our dear friends at Two Cats Comics Three-Twenty West Portal Avenue. My all-time favorite comic shop will be closing for good on March 26th.
- Amazon.com: AIKEMI Easter Cute Pig Squishy Slow Rising Soft Scented Animal Long Eyelashes Stress Relief Baby Toys Gifts: Toys & Games
- iA Writer: The Focused Writing App for Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone and iPad
- Ep. 326: "The Cat and the Kettle" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
The Problem: John could funny crash.
- 5by5 | Back to Work #344: The Microwave Moment
- Dude smokes the world's hottest pepper(Carolina Reaper) : HadToHurt
- Brave man vapes a Carolina Reaper, the world's hottest pepper - YouTube
- Domino (comics) - Wikipedia
In addition to her exceptional marksmanship and hand-to-hand skills, Domino possesses mutant probability-altering powers, similar to those of the mutant Longshot.
- Domino (Neena Thurman) | Characters | Marvel
Given good luck thanks to her powers, Neena Thurman has served as both a dangerous mercenary and a tough and resilient hero.
- Domino | Comics | Marvel.com
Domino’s “good luck” powers activate, she escapes and takes up the life of a mercenary and eventually becomes a super hero as a mainstay member of X-Force.
- "One Last Time" - Hamilton At The White House #ObamaLegacy - YouTube
- Expedition to the Barrier Peaks - Wikipedia
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is a 1980 adventure module for the Dungeons
- Reconcilable Differences #97: Invisible Work - Relay FM
This week's sprawling main topic is "Emotional Labor." Why is it that women usually get saddled with being the Office Mom (as well as the "House Mom"), and why the heck doesn't Ralphie's dad help Randy put on his snowsuit? Who ends up ordering the birthday cake as well as justifying the ways of boss to employee? Further, how do we account for the tonnage of invisible work that, by custom more than policy, some people end up having to both identify and do?
- Amazon.com : Kershaw Clash Black Serrated Pocket Knife (1605CKTST) 3.1" Stainless Steel Blade with Black-Oxide Coating; Glass-Filled Nylon Handle with SpeedSafe Open, Locking Liner and Reversible Pocketclip; 4.3oz : Hunting Knives : Sports & Outdoors
- eero (For free overnight shipping to the US or Canada, visit eero.com and at checkout select overnight shipping then enter BACKTOWORK to make it free).
- Care/of (For 50% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins, visit TakeCareOf.com and enter promo code BACKTOWORK50).
DISCUSSED: Merlin is living the Domino lifestyle; R.I.P. Two Cats Comics; praise for iA Writer; Merlin needs help with his sudden Gmail spam; a meditation on comics as some awesome fun and an ugly damned business; nostalgia for hobby shops and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks; and finally Merlin reintroduces the concept of "Power Puttering."
Links for this episode:
- Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #25 — Merlin Mann
Friend, it’s time for this epic arc to come to its conclusion. After five years, twenty-five meet-ups, and countless new friends made and awesome comics recommended, this will be our last Ungainly X-Mann Meetup with our dear friends at Two Cats Comics Three-Twenty West Portal Avenue. My all-time favorite comic shop will be closing for good on March 26th.
- Amazon.com: AIKEMI Easter Cute Pig Squishy Slow Rising Soft Scented Animal Long Eyelashes Stress Relief Baby Toys Gifts: Toys & Games
- iA Writer: The Focused Writing App for Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone and iPad
- Ep. 326: "The Cat and the Kettle" - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann
The Problem: John could funny crash.
- 5by5 | Back to Work #344: The Microwave Moment
- Dude smokes the world's hottest pepper(Carolina Reaper) : HadToHurt
- Brave man vapes a Carolina Reaper, the world's hottest pepper - YouTube
- Domino (comics) - Wikipedia
In addition to her exceptional marksmanship and hand-to-hand skills, Domino possesses mutant probability-altering powers, similar to those of the mutant Longshot.
- Domino (Neena Thurman) | Characters | Marvel
Given good luck thanks to her powers, Neena Thurman has served as both a dangerous mercenary and a tough and resilient hero.
- Domino | Comics | Marvel.com
Domino’s “good luck” powers activate, she escapes and takes up the life of a mercenary and eventually becomes a super hero as a mainstay member of X-Force.
- "One Last Time" - Hamilton At The White House #ObamaLegacy - YouTube
- Expedition to the Barrier Peaks - Wikipedia
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks is a 1980 adventure module for the Dungeons
- Reconcilable Differences #97: Invisible Work - Relay FM
This week's sprawling main topic is "Emotional Labor." Why is it that women usually get saddled with being the Office Mom (as well as the "House Mom"), and why the heck doesn't Ralphie's dad help Randy put on his snowsuit? Who ends up ordering the birthday cake as well as justifying the ways of boss to employee? Further, how do we account for the tonnage of invisible work that, by custom more than policy, some people end up having to both identify and do?
- Amazon.com : Kershaw Clash Black Serrated Pocket Knife (1605CKTST) 3.1" Stainless Steel Blade with Black-Oxide Coating; Glass-Filled Nylon Handle with SpeedSafe Open, Locking Liner and Reversible Pocketclip; 4.3oz : Hunting Knives : Sports & Outdoors
- eero (For free overnight shipping to the US or Canada, visit eero.com and at checkout select overnight shipping then enter BACKTOWORK to make it free).
- Care/of (For 50% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins, visit TakeCareOf.com and enter promo code BACKTOWORK50).
Previous Episode

Episode 415: Fifty and Monogamous
DISCUSSED: Dan has an awesome new video; Spider-Verse is out!; Merlin's dorky Segway is discussed; app recommendations for a clean new Gmail and an even-smarter Dark Sky; Dan spills the beans on his new sound bar setup; TV selection and purchase is a known thistle; idiot trolls hassle poor Carol Danvers; Dan has an important new egg technology; and, finally, the boys fret about Apple's new 2FA requirements a little.
Links for this episode:
- This Is Fireside - YouTube
- Dark Sky
Hyperlocal weather forecasting.
- What Is HDMI ARC?
- HDMI :: Manufacturer :: HDMI 1.4 :: Audio Return Channel
- Amazon.com: All-new Sonos Beam – Compact Smart TV Soundbar with Amazon Alexa voice control built-in. Wireless home theater and streaming music in any room. (Black): Gateway
- Reviews and Ratings - RTINGS.com
- LG E7 OLED Review (OLED55E7P, OLED65E7P) - RTINGS.com
- Sorry, trolls: Rotten Tomatoes will no longer let users review a movie before its release
- Yubico | YubiKey Strong Two Factor Authentication for Business and Individual Use.
- Apple being sued because two-factor authentication on an iPhone or Mac takes too much time
- The curse of the Twitter reply guy
On Twitter, a place where a lot of bad things happen, there's a mostly harmless but decidedly annoying phenomenon. A lot of people, mostly women, have noticed that one or two men always, no matter what, reply to their tweets.
- Dash Rapid Egg Cooker: 6 Egg Capacity Electric Egg Cooker for Hard Boiled Eggs, Poached Eggs, Scrambled Eggs, or Omelets with Auto Shut Off Feature - Black
- FreshBooks (To claim your month long unrestricted free trial, go to FreshBooks.com/backtowork and enter BACK TO WORK in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section).
- Keeps (Stop worrying about hair loss for good! To receive your first month of treatment for free, go to keeps.com/backtowork).
Next Episode

Episode 417: Fish Bishop
DISCUSSED: Merlin is trying some new things and probably needs to adjust his DIP switches; audio equipment is discussed; remembering Hal Blaine; German words; fish dropsy; dining at Alamo Draft House; kids and crafts; follow-up on Power Puttering; recommending a Siracusa anecdote; recommending a philosophy podcast; recommending several cool products; some strong (if muddled) thoughts on the Michael Jackson documentary.
Links for this episode:
- Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #25 — 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, March 21st to hang out, talk about comics, and just say, “Hi.” It's free and it's fun.
- Hal Blaine - Wikipedia
Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky
- Philosophize This! – A free podcast dedicated to sharing the ideas that shaped our world!
- Philosophize This! — Overcast
- Episode #121 ... Michel Foucault pt. 1 — Philosophize This! — Overcast
- Reconcilable Differences #99: Coconut Scenario - Relay FM
Merlin needs to be rebooted, and John shares a harrowing ordeal involving Apple IDs.
- Reconcilable Differences 99: Coconut Scenario — Reconcilable Differences — Overcast
Siracusa's Apple ID ordeal begins after 1:14:09
- Arrow | Desktop Thunderbolt 3 Audio Interface | Universal Audio
- Amazon.com: Universal Audio Arrow Portable Studio Recorder, Gray: Musical Instruments
- Amazon.com: WHOOSH! Award-Winning Screen Cleaner – Safe for All Screens – Smartphones, iPads, Eyeglasses, Kindle, LED, LCD & TVs – Includes 3.4 Oz Bottle + 1 Premium Antimicrobial Microfiber Cloth: Electronics
- Amazon.com: Zeiss Lens Care Pack - 2 - 8 Ounce Bottles of Lens Cleaner, 2 Microfiber Cleaning Cloths: Health & Personal Care
- Amazon.com: TechMatte MagGrip Universal Air Vent Magnetic Mount Car Phone Holder with Powerful Magnetic Grip Technology (1 Pack) - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories
- Addalock - (1 Piece ) Portable Door Lock, Travel Lock, AirBNB Lock, School Lockdown Lock - Door Levers - Amazon.com
- Slate’s Culture Gabfest on Michael Jackson abuse documentary Leaving Neverland.
This week, Steve, Dana, and Julia discuss Leaving Neverland, a new documentary from HBO that centers on Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who allege that they were sexually abused by Michael Jackson beginning when they were 7 and 10 years old, respectively.
- Michael Jackson, the Leaving Neverland documentary, and the limits of cancel culture.
Nor would that be going far enough.
- Merlin Mann - "Go Through Hell"
Merlin's pop song based on The Waste Land and Dan.
- The Ronettes - Be My Baby (Audio) - YouTube
- Squarespace (Start your free trial site today, at Squarespace.com and when you sign up make sure to use the offer code ITSYOURSHOW to get 10% off your first purchase).
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