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

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    #75: The Most Popular Meat Grinder in Town

    April 4th, 2018 · 129 minutes

    In something like a main topic, your hosts talk about Facebook. Schadenfreude aside, Merlin struggles with why anyone is still there, while John’s not so sure some people will ever leave.

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    Download: MP3 (88.58 MB)

    Links and Show Notes

    This week, things kick into gear quickly with a mini-topic about Instagram. Why isn’t Merlin on it, and why does John like it so much? John likes it as a refreshing break from word things, but Merlin still thinks there are too many hashtags and birds on wires. Merlin really misses the salad days of Flickr, but of course John derails it to yet another goof on Merlin’s pronunciation. And, then, the boys are on to accents. ‘Ello, guv’na!

    Next, your hosts wind back around to the occasional topic of celebrity relationships. Merlin thinks he could be friends with a given minor celebrity, and, unsurprisingly, John balks. John and Merlin acknowledge and explore their different brands of crippling self-doubt.

    Finally, your hosts ruefully wonder when they'll know it's time to walk away from the services they do like.

    (Recorded on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.)

    At a certain age, it’s impossible to get a good photograph of your child.

    They refuse to be frozen in time, and so I can feel time slipping through my fingers.

    The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon • Damn Interesting

    Anytime the phrase “That’s so weird, I just heard about that yesterday” would be appropriate, the utterer is hip-deep in Baader-Meinhof.

    Four Yorkshiremen- Monty Python - YouTube
    Manchester dialect - Wikipedia
    Yorkshire dialect - Wikipedia
    Won’t You Be My Neighbor Trailer (2018) Fred Rogers Documentary - YouTube
    #109 Is Facebook Spying on You? by Reply All from Gimlet Media

    This year we’ve gotten one question from listeners more than any other: is Facebook eavesdropping on my conversations and showing me ads based on the things that I say? This week, Alex investigates.

    iPhone protected you from Facebook call scraping. Android, not so much. | iMore
    Network effect - Wikipedia
    Andy Bowers, reflective | Merlin Mann | Flickr
    Quotidian Public Radio #3: Nation of Talkers - "Planet Comment" on Huffduffer on Huffduffer

    Social Media expert, Dr. Robert Chandler (onFocus University), joins Connor to discuss web-based community and user-generated content. He also takes a few calls from QPR listeners.

    ‘The Hamilton Polka’ - Weird Al Yankovic - YouTube
    Ken Jennings on Twitter

    Spoilers:

    "John [Roderick], please tell Merlin we are friends now"