This week kicks off with some virus talk. Merlin is worried that we've lost the recipe for ice, and John is feeling very cynical. Don't worry about the giant barrel full of explosives; the water will cushion that. John remembers chicken pox parties, but Merlin is confused about exactly how a quarantine works. In follow-up, your hosts wrap up their (mostly spoiler-free) discussion of _Cheer_. As it turns out, cheerleaders are kind of a lot like soldiers, and you really wanna be on the lookout for those entrepreneurial dads. Merlin dreams of typewriters. John requests an update on _Millennium Actress_ progress. The main topic is the career and oeuvre of New York resident, William Martin Joel. When John was growing up, Billy Joel was everywhere and was a lot like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Then, John left Long Island. There is some disagreement about whether Billy ever technically got "big," but you gotta know that the man is a very gifted melodicist. John wonders how he would function in a Beatles-like band, and Merlin just really loves those bridges. John seems to kind of envy Billy's helicopter lifestyle. (_Recorded on Sunday, March 1, 2020_)

Reconcilable Differences

Reconcilable Differences 125: You Can't Hang a Graduation on the Wall

Merlin is healing just as John is getting sick. Merlin has chained several bad decisions, and John has concerns about Merlin's office wall. John has moved some things around in the doc. In follow-up, John has acquired some Studio Ghibli from iTunes and reports back. This leads to further discussion of the beauty of Miyazaki films and a consideration of what makes them so special. Are the roles of filmmakers similar to the work of comics artists? What if you're just not a fan of currently fashionable inking techniques? *Hollow bones*. Your hosts talk about the new Netflix show, _Cheer_. They could have gone a lot of directions, but we can all agree that there are many, many injuries to be had. Next up, a recent _Roderick on the Line_ conversation leads to a consideration of the voice in your head alongside the ability to visualize. Consciousness is very difficult to discuss. Finally, there's some back-door Secret Weird Things People Do about the cadences that trigger stuff in your head. Especially songs. John thinks Merlin definitely doesn't have an actual photographic memory. And she's loving him with that body, I just know it. (_Recorded on Tuesday, February 10, 2020_)

Reconcilable Differences 124: Figures of Action

This week kicks off with some accidental video and an update on Merlin's ill health. John has been maintaining some lists, and Merlin shares some confessions of the Banker's Box lifestyle. Many things still need to leave my house. A litany of the lost things is presented and analyzed, and a catechism for finding the lost things is interrogated. In follow-up, Merlin is ready to present his iTunes Results regarding the acquisition of Studio Ghibli movies. John finally draws a line in the sand. Why split the movie? Why no extra features? Is it Siracusa's day to watch Roderick? The magic of Miyazaki is extolled. So much smoking. Speaking of media homework, John has a new assignment for Merlin. Then, some documentary talk in general. John is back to harassing Merlin about how often he washes the towels, and Merlin is provoked into making a confession of fanciness. Some friend. John, in turn, confesses to being upset by Merlin's ghastly pet companions. Everything in the house is Bando'd. Merlin has some questions about Daisy's technology stack. This leads to a pretty deep dive on the design trade-offs that go into contemporary dog-tracking innovations. Finally, the boys return to Secret Weird Things People Do, and John has a bath mat concept for consideration, plus a hot tip on bathtub materials. (_Recorded on Thursday, January 30, 2020_)

Reconcilable Differences 123: Squirrel List

Things kick off with an administrative meeting about the doc. Merlin tries to keep John from sneaking in, and John thinks Merlin should just use his eyeballs. Analogy sandwiches and their contents are debated. John lives with an unnamed two-towel person, and Merlin thinks he knows who it is. Spock loses his phaser, and Merlin earns his first multisyllabic laugh from John. Merlin can tell whether you are an AT&T customer, and John thinks phone calls in general are creepy. Merlin demonstrates his robot hands for John. Merlin thinks he's an open book, and John realizes there's always something to be yelled at about. There's also some fairly harrowing cat follow-up. In a mini-topic, John talks about Studio Ghibli movies (finally) being available digitally, and Merlin offers to take one for the team and report back. Also, some talk about metadata. Merlin has questions for John about what constitutes a "rally." Is there a better word for having to thread an existential and chronological needle in life? Because that's what Merlin needs a name for. Regardless of what you call this phenomenon, it's not about being first or fastest; it's about timing all the jobs and obligations that you know about, as well as leaving padding for when (inevitably) more comes up or stuff changes. Like project management and software development, life has a funny way of hiding dependencies and disguising milestones. This leads to a deep dive on understanding the culture of your environment and the foibles of human nature. People, amirite? (_Recorded on Tuesday, January 14, 2020._)

Reconcilable Differences 122: A Fib of Omission

In the interest of timeliness, this episode, recorded Tuesday evening, has been rushed to you on an accelerated schedule. John continues to Prepare the Way, his wife can't close one eye, and there's a Spoiler Slot on HBO's _Watchmen_. (_Recorded on Tuesday, December 17, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 120: Where the Packages Sleep

Things kick off with a review of Thanksgiving results that quickly swerves into a deep dive on hotels. Why is Merlin obsessed with this one Marriott in Gold Country, and how come John avoids bunking with roommates? Then, there's a swerve back to the holiday of gratitude, and the boys envision a world in which you won't get anywhere near the turkey until you've dealt with an upsettingly mercurial new host. And, even then, you'll be called upon to help solve a stomach-churning murder mystery. There's just a little bit of _Survivor_ talk. Why don't the castaways like the odds of rocks, and when will Coach and Russell return as mentors? Merlin has been excavating old hard drives, and John can't understand how he ever got to this point. Hug your backups, people. Speaking of food, things wrap with a twist on Secret Weird Things People do: *what's the deal with food?* (_Recorded on Tuesday, December 3, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 119: Emcee of Thanksgiving

Things kick off with a check-in on _Watchmen_. Is John feeling more confident about it? There are MacGuffins inside of MacGuffins. John is still enjoying the Apple TV+ shows, and Merlin thinks expectation deflation can really work in your favor. John didn't remember that Jennifer Aniston was in _Office Space_. In a related mini-topic, Merlin wants to talk about _The Mandalorian_ as a way to explore what we like about _Star Wars_. Unsurprisingly, John is avoiding a poster, and Merlin gets schooled on the importance and greatness of _Return of the Jedi_. Thank goodness for our fellow fans who grew up to make new _Star Wars_ for us. John has qualms with Merlin's neologism and doesn't even like when people do that anyway. The summer of 1982 was *wild*. Your hosts try to explain live TV to their children. Also: telephones. Finally, it's time to clear out some more Secret Weird Things People Do. No spoilers. Just…listen. (_Recorded on Tuesday, November 19, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 118: THAT's the Star Wars!

Things kick off with some quick Macintosh and video game nostalgia. John redrew his sprites, and Merlin enjoyed some stolen pinball. Merlin did lots of work this week. Your hosts discuss Sayonara Wild Hearts in particular and Apple Arcade in general. Merlin's family recently rented a *very* large automobile, and its various interfaces are reviewed. John declares the vehicle to be as ugly as it is large. Where is innovation welcome, and where is it mostly preferable to avoid? And what happens when that "innovation" was really just kind of a cheat? Apple TV+ is on the docket, but, first, Merlin wants to share the detailed results of his scientific Apple TV and Siri experiments. This leads to him saying much more than "exactly one thing," and it takes much longer than the promised thirty seconds. Strap in, because this one is quite a ride. John takes over to talk about his thoughts on the new Apple TV+ shows. Viewers and critics seem to really disagree, but John found things to like. Reviews and ratings come up again. Mikhail Baryshnikov is not the guy from _Die Hard_, and there is **so** much TV. Damon Lindelof seems like a really smart guy. John gives a thumbs-up to The Space Show but feels like _Watchmen_ is still walking a line. John crosses-over with _Do By Friday_. (_Recorded on Tuesday, November 5, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 117: That’s Not the Rigatoni

John opens with some follow-up questions, and Merlin realizes it's going to be one of _those_ episodes. John calls out Merlin's racism against his people. Both your hosts are now living the arms-free lifestyle. Merlin has follow-up on his ongoing Siri and Apple TV experiment, and, improbably, this leads to further discussion of Cupertino's frustrating quality slide. Voice dinguses are reviewed, and IMDB is bad. John has some water issues, and Merlin's lizard apparently has an unconventional face. Then, more with the Apple complaints. Messages is making Merlin look insane. John has some harsh words about Merlin's _Star Wars_ spoilers, and he doesn't even like those movies anyway. Getting tickets to the movie requires some detailed instructions, but then it ended up being unnecessary. Sometimes, it's just easier to do stuff yourself. Avoiding spoilers is difficult, because, as stipulated, pretty much everything is a spoiler. _Watchmen_ is lightly discussed. John's level of commitment to media he doesn't actually like is remarkable and weirdly admirable. And, finally, John has questions about Merlin's bizarre obsession with the House of Commons' Brexit proceedings. To be clear, John is not _telling_ the joke, he's _communicating_ the joke. (_Recorded on Tuesday, October 22, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 116: Brown Sludge Water

John has some questions about productivity, and Merlin has realized the new dragon is an attractive nuisance. Merlin has questions about his costly new chair, and John offers some further arm removal encouragement. John's flying monkeys chime in, and Merlin gets a reference in one. Merlin's family watches some _Star Trek_, and technical drawings are considered. John gives Merlin some stick about his _entirely proper_ USPS formatting. Next, John has follow-up on using the Apple TV TV TV app, and Merlin is very impressed with his results. Believe it or not, this leads to discussion of problems with using the Apple TV. How do you click left on a diving board? John agrees to skip talking about the new dragon for now, but, somehow, still manages to work in some side dagger. The PG&E power debacle is discussed. Merlin assures John that his spreadsheets are safe. Your hosts return to their Secret Weird Things People Do project. You'll have to just listen and judge for yourself: are John and Merlin secretly weird? (_Recorded on Tuesday, October 8, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 115: Rational Twilight

Thanks to everyone who pitched in to raise money for St. Jude! Your hosts talk about playing Apple Arcade games with a PS4 controller, and Merlin wants to hear John's take on the new Apple TV app functionality. John doesn't want anything to screw up his place, and Merlin never wants to watch something with the Starz app. Believe it or not, this leads to some criticisms of Apple TV. John thinks he might be getting sick, and Merlin remembers when children were pumped full of cold medicine. John considers mixing up some placebos. In a mini-topic, your hosts discuss Merlin's chair results. John again makes the case for removing the arms. Games are discussed a little more. In a side-door main topic, middle school is discussed, and this leads to an exploration of the value of test prep and learning how to understand and exploit systems. Not everybody learns that. John thinks everyone needs to learn how to find food, and Merlin finally appreciates the gentle wisdom of his high school Drama teacher.

Reconcilable Differences 114: Confronted with a Jar

Things kick into gear fast as John interrogates Merlin about his weird reaction to the recent Apple event. Why all the Charlie Brown? John has calibrated his expectations for these things, but Merlin still struggles to articulate what felt so off this time. Maybe it's just not understanding the profile for the Apple customer any more, but who knows? Then, your hosts return to **Secret Weird Things People Do**, and this week it's John's turn. Merlin wants to learn about the benefits that John gets from keeping his things nice. John's introduces a _fascinating_ new thought technology involving the swirly circles emanating radiation from sources of pleasure and pain. Merlin thinks minimizing entropy can be a great source of pleasure plus a bulwark against madness. The benefits of the Tiny Life Improvement Project are extolled, and ways of detecting sources of both radiation and weirdness are examined. (_Recorded on Tuesday, September 10, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 113: Ambient Pleasure Generator

After some opening remarks, your hosts reveal the _very_ special guest for their forthcoming [member](https://www.relay.fm/membership) episode. They also invite you to please help Relay with a really cool project to benefit [an excellent cause](http://stjude.org/recdiffs). Merlin has some follow-up on his Apple TV, and John wants to understand why Merlin overpays his bills. Talk turns to the evolution of ecommerce. John assures Merlin he's still a valuable part of the team. John critiques how well or poorly Merlin helped Roderick fix his computer. Talk turns to the care and feeding of a Synology NAS running Plex. Merlin gets John to talk a little about Phoebe Waller-Bridge and her TV show, _Fleabag_. This leads to a brief, spoiler-free discussion of this terrific series. Two enthusiastic thumbs-up. This week's main topic is the backdoor pilot for a multi-episode arc: **secret weird things people do**. _Are we even able to even realize when there's something extremely weird that only we do?_ The inaugural sub-topic is Merlin's strange obsession with making spreadsheets. What is he tracking and why? Does he really need to know the historical price of asthma medicine he doesn't even use any more? Are Halloween costumes and flashlights the sort of thing a normal person would ever need or want to track? And, importantly, what sorts of things will John be trying to notice about himself? Does he have anything like separate sock drawers, and how even would he know? Tune in next time to find out! (_Recorded on Tuesday, August 27, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 112: Here Comes the But

John wants to take another shot at promoting Relay dot fm, and Merlin admits a shame. In follow-up, John has an update on _Millennium Actress_. As you know, Satoshi Kon is not the bitcoin guy. Listener response about cast iron skillets was huge. Merlin has updates on his Apple TV, and John has trouble understanding Merlin's beta obsession. Unsurprisingly, this leads to yet another discussion of the Apple TV's ample room for improvement. Children are not qualified to know which things are good or bad. In what amounts to a main topic, John interrogates Merlin about his weekly reminder errand. John assures Merlin that he does not ever need this reminder, and Merlin assures John he has his reasons why he does things. Merlin does not like creating unnecessary work for himself, and John has thoughts about the implicit encouragement to overextend oneself. How are you training your audience? John knows how this book turns out. (_Recorded on Tuesday, August 13, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 111: Brackets Around the Brackets

This week kicks off with a critique of Merlin's new haircut and eyeglasses. Also, Happy Birthday to Relay dot fm. John's recommendation of a movie viewing option is very quickly withdrawn, but then he has an even better recommendation. Next up, your hosts talk about John's experience with opening his Twitter DMs. This leads to a discussion of PR spam and the people who make it. What are the benefits and risks of making yourself more available? It's important to know what not to needle people about. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop! Merlin reads some listener mail, and John briefly disappears down a series of recursive memory holes. Talk turns to chairs. Late chairs, lost chairs, and extremely coincidental chairs. _Chairs!_ Finally, since John has recently returned from his Summer trip, it's time to review his vacation results. (_Recorded on Friday, August 2, 2019._)

Reconcilable Differences 110: Five Dollars in a Bar of Soap

John Siracusa and Merlin Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way. Hosted by John Siracusa and Merlin Mann.

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Reconcilable Differences

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