SPEAKER_0 [00:00:00]
Drums, please.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:13]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:20]
This is life
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:21]
with a twist of lemon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:25]
So what's up, John?
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:26]
Hi, Stanley.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:27]
Back again.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:29]
You know, I thought of you this evening before we started recording,
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:33]
not because we were scheduled to record,
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:35]
but because I know one of your favorite recording artists of all time is Jimmy Buffett.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:42]
Were
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:44]
you listening to Jimmy Buffett prior to Only because
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I was mixing my own margarita.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:51]
Oh, look at you. Did you make your own simple syrup, or is this, store bought? This is simple syrup free.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:58]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:00]
my recipe calls for triple sec. So I do a shot of lime juice, a shot of triple sec, two shots tequila,
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:08]
and it comes out to a wonderful,
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consistency,
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not too sweet,
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:14]
not too
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:15]
limey.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:16]
Well, I feel like I should pause my recording and go make myself a cocktail because all I have is this bottle of water. We we can do that if you want to.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:24]
No. I don't think it's worth it. Let's let's let's
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:27]
press through. I will we'll see if I get smarter from your perspective as the night goes on.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:33]
So Alright. John,
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:36]
correct me if I'm wrong, but you had a birthday, did you not? I had a birthday back on Sunday.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:42]
So I I feel like it was an important birthday, was it not?
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:48]
Debatable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:50]
Well, what's debatable about it?
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:52]
Are any birthdays important would be the first one. And secondly, are any birthdays
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after
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:59]
'21 important?
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:01]
Okay. Alright. So I think your second question proves the first one in that, yes,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:08]
there are birth dates that are important. Otherwise, you would not have called out twenty first. Maybe. You know, there there are some important milestones.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:15]
Right? So
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:17]
10 comes to mind because you cross those double digits. I I should say You're just saying that because you have a kid who is right around 10. I I do. But, you know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:25]
one, your first birthday, your tenth birthday,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:28]
your thirteenth birthday because you're becoming a teenager.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:30]
Obviously, your sixteenth.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:32]
Eighteenth is pretty important.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:34]
20 because you crossed a milestone. 21 because you crossed another major milestone.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:39]
25 because you can get cheaper insurance.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:42]
Well, there's that. You can rent a car. Like, you know, there's there are things that happen.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:48]
And then you get to be 30,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:50]
and you just feel old.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:53]
I don't feel old, Stan, but I did turn 30 on Sunday.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:56]
So do you remember what happened when I turned 30? I do. I,
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:03]
talked to missus Lemon and orchestrated
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:06]
some of your friends to come down and surprise you. Okay. That's not what I was referring to. I meant about getting old when I bruised my foot.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:14]
Do you remember this?
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:16]
No. I don't.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:17]
I had a deep bone bruise on I think it was my right foot, and I couldn't walk for several weeks. So I went from like, I was I was actually regularly exercising. One of the the rare points in my life when I was doing that, I turned 30, and, like, the next week or two weeks, whatever, got this deep bone bruise and couldn't walk.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:37]
So I felt exceptionally old.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:40]
I don't remember this at all. Oh, it was bad. Do you remember I went to Portland, and I had to walk around Portland, and I I had, like, a win. Yeah. Yeah. That I remember. It was really bad. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:51]
Nice. I there was something else that happened that year too. Maybe it was the I had the sinus surgery
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:56]
Oh, yeah. Which also put me out for quite a bit. So I just I remember turning 30
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:02]
and feeling like I had aged a lot in a very short period of time. So I
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:07]
John, my hope is that that's not you at 30.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:10]
So far so good. I mean, we're what? What's the date today? Couple days in.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:16]
But now you're you're what?
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:19]
How many years older are you than me? Don't know. I I
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:22]
know. Was born in '89. So almost four years. Your birthday's a little later than mine in the year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:28]
So So tell me, what did you do for your birthday? Did you celebrate?
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:33]
My birthday,
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:34]
specifically, not really. On Friday,
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:37]
my wife actually surprised me with a sort of surprise party,
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:42]
which Oh. I was actually surprised, which is hard to do. So every Friday in the coworking space, we have whiskey Friday either in the building or
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:50]
at one of the neighboring bars in the area.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:54]
So she had been working for months, I guess, to make it a surprise whiskey Friday for me. So I walked in. Everybody shouted surprise. There was a cookie cake. There was buffalo chicken dip.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:07]
And
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:08]
this was not related to my birthday. It was just a nice coincidence.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:11]
There was a
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:13]
startup accelerator team from last year who
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:16]
brought in a bunch of Wagyu beef
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:19]
and seared it up, and it was amazing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:24]
Well, that that sounds to me like a pretty good birthday celebration all around there, John. Indeed.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:30]
So that was really the birthday celebration. Anna let me open my gifts from her when we got home on Friday, which was two days early.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:38]
Saturday,
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:39]
we went to see the hunchback of Notre Dame, which was actually part of Anna's Christmas gift. The community theater put that on, and that was good.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:46]
Sunday
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:48]
was really kind of a lazy day.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:50]
Went to church and
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:52]
watched voyage of the dawn treader, which I do not recommend if you've ever read the book.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:58]
And,
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:59]
yeah, game of thrones.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:01]
I believe that my kids actually
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:03]
recently just watched
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:06]
that one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:08]
And
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:09]
I don't know. I like, they they'll enjoy it. I I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it because it was a movie, but I I do remember missus Lemon not being terribly thrilled with it. So Yep. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:22]
So that was my birthday. Is that is that any different though than, like, Harry Potter after movie three
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:28]
in terms of what they did to the book? They just demolished it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:32]
About the same. Both have fairly high production value in the movies. So if you know nothing about the story as it was written, you can probably enjoy it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:41]
So, that movie that talks about,
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:43]
Mordor or whatever it is, is that pretty accurate with the book?
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:47]
Yeah. The yeah. With the little short guys and the hairy toes? I would say that Lord of the Rings is consistent
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:54]
with the spirit of the book. There are lots of bits and pieces that are cut out, including, like, major chapters surrounding different characters that don't appear in the movies at all.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:05]
The Hobbit movies, on the other hand, are not in the spirit of the Hobbit novel. It brings in a bunch of Middle Earth history,
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:14]
and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:16]
In,
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:17]
in the movie with the hobbits, the three of them, the really long ones, do do they add scenes that are not in the books?
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:26]
I don't believe that they add scenes. There's things out of order or different people saying certain lines.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:34]
Interesting.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:35]
So I think that was the thing that really ruined
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:37]
Harry Potter's four through eight for me, were the things that they added that had absolutely no origin in the book. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:45]
Cut cutting stuff out, like, get it. Right? You only have so much time. But
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:49]
when you just straight up change the story, no, thank you. Hard pass. My kids still can't totally understand why I don't like the Harry Potter movies, but what are you gonna do? Yeah. I
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:00]
can't even watch the early ones anymore just because
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:04]
partially
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:05]
because I've seen them so many times, and they're just kinda boring to me now.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:10]
See, I enjoy those first three, which they have a different tone. Right? The way that they're filmed Yeah. Is different. They're,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:19]
I don't know. Would would you say almost, like, more cartoony in in their essence?
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:23]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:24]
The or or, I don't know, like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:27]
imaginative,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:28]
maybe? They they seem less real Right. In the way that they've been filmed and just the way the characters are dressed and cast.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:35]
I I like those
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:36]
more because they stick excuse me. They stick to the books better. Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:42]
And I I feel like I don't have to, like, prepare myself for what is not,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:48]
you know, not actually in the books. So what are you gonna do though? Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:53]
Well, John,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:55]
you know, a little belated here. I did text you the morning of I hope I was the first person to text you. In my heart, I wanna You were the first person to text me. I don't think I was even awake yet.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:04]
Oh, well, great. Happy belated birthday as far as belated being on the podcast. I did get to you first, but Correct. Happy birthday, John. Now Sunday was also an important day besides it just being my thirtieth birthday.
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:15]
It was also Mother's Day, and one of our listeners who works in the same building as I do wanted to know what we did for our mothers on Mother's Day,
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:26]
especially since we're both living
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:28]
far away from our mothers.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:31]
Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:31]
You go first, John.
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:34]
So I had this big conundrum
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:37]
of,
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:38]
do I call my mom, or does my mom call me?
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:41]
Because, you know, my birthday, Mother's Day, turns out
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:46]
she called me first,
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:48]
and
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:49]
I wasn't around to answer. So then I called her and wished her a happy Mother's Day. I did look at her Amazon wish list to see if there was anything, you know, updated that I could get her, And the last things that were added to her Amazon wish list were in, like, 2016,
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:05]
so I decided to skip that part.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:09]
So I'm a little nervous to say what we did,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:13]
in part because I I know that my mom does occasionally listen to the podcast.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:18]
I think that my mother-in-law has listened to the podcast. Awesome. I don't know if they've gotten their gifts yet. Ah. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:25]
I will just say this. We,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:27]
as a family, make extensive use of Shutterfly.
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:30]
Yes.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:32]
And we make extensive use not only with pictures of our children,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:37]
but also because missus Lemon thinks it's funny, pictures of me.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:41]
And so
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:42]
there there is lemon family swag
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:45]
that if it hasn't made it to them yet, it will.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:49]
We
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:50]
probably should have ordered sooner, but I I think we always tend to misestimate
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:55]
the amount of time required
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:57]
for a production run at Shutterfly.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:00]
But, that's what we did for my mom and for,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:04]
Sarah's mom. I don't I
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:07]
is probably bad of me. I don't know that I called my mother. Oh, boy. We did talk to mom on Monday. We video chatted with the kids because that's kinda something that we we are trying to make a regular thing of. So,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:20]
yeah, shame on me on that front. I did text,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:23]
both of them as well as my sister who's a mother, you know, bright and early. And then, of course, you know, the other mother in my life,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:31]
and I would dare say the most important mother in my life is my wife's
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:36]
or my wife. Excuse me. And, I I
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:39]
made sure I said, happy Mother's Day bright and early.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:43]
I, did get missus Lummon a gift. I bought her a ring this year. I don't normally buy
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:49]
big gifts for Mother's Day. I did when Lucy was born. I bought her a ring. That brought tears to people's eyes, if I remember correctly.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:56]
Yeah. Yeah. It was like yeah. It was that's I don't know. It was a pretty ring. So this was a ring that missus Lemon had spotted months ago,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:06]
and I had very cleverly
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:08]
saved a bookmark
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:10]
for, you know, some future instance. And I thought to myself, now
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:15]
would be a good time.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:16]
I had, my kids give it to her so that it was like a gift from them. You know, this is all good to go. I should also say actually, John, I like, there was a I I bought missus Lemon something
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:29]
a few weeks ago in which I told her when I gave it to her that this was
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:32]
her Mother's Day gift, her birthday gift, her wedding anniversary gift, as well as her Christmas gift Right. And possibly the following birthday too. I know. I wish that missus Lemon would come on the podcast because it would be fun to hear her talk about this gift.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:48]
So this is this is a brand new piano
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:50]
that she got. It's a Yamaha Clavinova, some letters. It's I don't know. It's exactly what she wanted. It was not what I budgeted for, but that's okay because she's happy. And
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:02]
so that happened to that was, like I said, I kinda, like, said, okay, this is gonna cover all these gifts. The the irony of all this is that we don't typically do much for Mother's Day Right. Or Father's Day. Like, we we tend to treat those like hallmark holidays, and so we acknowledge them but don't really I don't know. It's like maybe
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:22]
every couple we get each other a gift, but it's not been consistent by any stretch.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:27]
Right.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:29]
So I hear missus Lemon also had a run-in with a judge where the judge told her to stick around for a little bit.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:36]
Oh, yeah. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:39]
so missus Lemon got a summons for jury duty,
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:42]
and, you know, there there are really, like, two kinds of people in this world. Those that get a summons and are excited, and those that are truly annoyed and want to get out of it. Right? So I have I have been called for jury duty exactly once in my life. I think missus Lemon has gotten a mail summons
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:59]
several times, but has never actually had her number pulled,
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:03]
and that happened this time. Have have you ever been called for a jury duty? I was called once here in Iowa. We basically call in the day before we're supposed to report and see if we actually have to report, and I did not. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:15]
Okay. So she called in the day before. We weren't really sure what to expect,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:19]
and she
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:21]
sat through till, I guess, like, noon. They they pulled her number for a block, so they filed in. And the way that this works, right, if you've never been through this is the attorneys get to interview you,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:31]
kinda review who you are,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:33]
and they are allowed to dismiss certain jurors. Right? Basically, that's how they whittle it down. People that they think might have a conflict or not gonna rule in their favor, whatever. Like, they they use their criteria,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:46]
to to whittle it down. So missus Lemon got dismissed.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:49]
She doesn't know why. You don't usually know why.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:52]
I I know why I got dismissed when it happened, but that's another story for another time.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:56]
And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:57]
apparently,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:58]
as she was getting up to go out, the judge is like, hey, missus Lemon, could you wait outside a couple minutes?
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:04]
And, you know, she was asking around, like, hey, what's going on?
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:08]
And nobody knew. The the office clerks were like, he's never done this before.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:12]
So anyhow,
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:14]
she gets kind of ushered back into his chambers,
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:18]
and he was excited because missus Lemon on her occupation, I think she listed like homemaker, deaconess, organist.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:26]
Apparently,
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:27]
he also played the organ and had never encountered a joke. He played the organ and just wanted to, talk shop. Nice. So that's kinda cool. You know? This just goes to prove that missus Lemon is cooler than you and cooler than me. Probably.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:44]
Probably. I I don't know that I helped any of the prep for this because I
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:49]
so
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:50]
as a a CASA, as a as a one of the things I volunteer for, I spent a fair amount of time in court.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:56]
Granted, it's juvenile court, but I was telling missus Lemon, like, all of the things that
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:01]
I thought might, you know, happen in terms of, don't bring your phone, don't make any noise while you're in the courtroom, all this stuff. And I might have gotten her a little little nervous in preparation. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:13]
shame on me.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:15]
Well,
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:16]
good.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:17]
So that's Mother's Day, me turning 30. We have another written review on iTunes, perhaps our longest longest one one yet.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:25]
Our longest one? Can I read this? Is that alright? Go for it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:28]
Or or do you like, because this is your friend.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:31]
Do you wanna read it, or do you want to now since he is a regular listener, he's our both both of our friends, and I read his wife's last week. So it's all you, man. Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:42]
Alright. So the title, wonderfully titled,
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:46]
The Seinfeld of Podcasts.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:48]
I should I should point out, I haven't actually read this yet, so this will be my first time reading it. Five star review.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:54]
Five stars. Right? Dan Chaz. That's d,
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:57]
Anchaz, Dan Chaz from Iowa.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:01]
The place where I Alright. Here we go.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:03]
This is a podcast about nothing. That would be the Seinfeld reference. So consequently, it's a podcast show about everything.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:11]
Really,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:12]
this very next episode could go anywhere,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:14]
or it could go back into the intricacies of grilled cheese or milkshakes for the one hundred and fifty sixth time,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:21]
which is somewhere
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:22]
and nowhere. That's fair. One thing is for certain.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:25]
Every episode has a golden nugget of information. Oh, that's kind. It could be important stuff like home buying or investing or learning that Stan has a small bladder and needs to pee three times, two and a half, question mark, before Avengers Endgame.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:39]
Yeah. He went there. The point is these two guys put themselves out there for my enjoyment, and they never let me down. I'm constantly yelling at the radio, yes, you too, John, Over any errors, especially MCU related,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:51]
because I'm a gentleman and would never do that in real life. Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:55]
Okay. All joking aside, these guys have the friendship and conversations we all strive to have, and it's a joy to listen to. If nothing else, John and Stan give us a snapshot of what it means to agree, disagree, laugh, learn, and live. That's not bad for a podcast about nothing and consequently
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:09]
everything.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:11]
So thank you, Danjes. Now, I'm curious. I I sent
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:14]
stickers to the Sanchez home, and I did send one for everybody in their home. Does this mean I have to send them again, or do you think I got it covered? I think you got it covered, Stan.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:24]
Okay. Alright.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:27]
Well, thanks, Sanchez.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:29]
I'll see you on Saturday.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:32]
Saturday? What are you doing on Saturday? The Sanchez's are coming over.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:36]
Oh. So You got, like, just to have a meal, or what do you what do you got planned? So Daniel and I are going golfing in the morning, and then Anna's making lunch
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:45]
and hanging out. Golf?
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:47]
Really? Golf? I live a black life That's one of those civilized
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:52]
that's one of those civilized things that you do that I don't care for. True.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:55]
There are a couple of those, but at least we have bourbon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:00]
Maybe someday I'll, enjoy golf, John. It seems unlikely, but but I'll I'll keep holding out. I'll try anyway.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:07]
Okay.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:08]
What was I gonna say?
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:10]
You interrupted me, and now it's lost. So we'll keep moving on. What do you wanna talk about next? Well,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:16]
I'm curious.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:18]
You bought a lawnmower yet? You're at you're at this point where you probably should have mowed your lawn a couple times. Have mowed my lawn a couple of times. Three, I think.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:26]
Three times. Okay. Probably needs to be done here in the next couple days again, because it rained all last week.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:32]
So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:34]
yeah, bought a lawn mower. I am that's my project for this season is to get my lawn back in shape.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:41]
Right now, I'd say it's probably about
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:45]
40 to 50% weeds,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:47]
clover,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:48]
dandelions,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:49]
thistles,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:50]
stuff like that.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:52]
So right now, I'm following the Scott's plan,
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:56]
and, yeah, going from there.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:59]
So just real quick, let's back up a little bit. What kind of lawn mower did you get? An orange one from Amazon.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:06]
Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:07]
So did you just, like, buy the cheapest one you could find? Was it gas powered, battery powered, electric powered? What'd you settle on? So it is gas powered.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:16]
It was had decent reviews,
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:20]
and
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:21]
they delivered it to my door.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:23]
So I didn't have to go. Remington, r m one thirty trailblazer.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:29]
I don't I Sorry. We couldn't find that page.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:33]
Apparently, Amazon doesn't sell it anymore.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:36]
Well, that's that's, reassuring.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:38]
Is it self propelled, or is it just straight up you gotta push it with I did not get the self propelled version,
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:44]
mostly because my lawn is really small and uneven,
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:48]
and right now it takes me maybe
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:51]
twenty minutes to mow the whole thing. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:55]
it hasn't been a problem yet. That's that's this house. Don't you remember what I told you about mine and being self propelled or not rather? Right.
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:04]
Yeah. I'm hoping to not as move as many times in my life as you have moved already in yours. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:10]
alright. Well, I hope that you always have small flat yards then, John. Right. That that's always been my biggest regret. Actually, my yard's pretty flat, but it's, I think, fairly decently sized. You got a decent size. So it takes me
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:22]
take takes me about over an hour. Are you are you bagging, or are you just letting the clippings fall? I am mulching.
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:30]
Currently,
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:31]
the lawnmower
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:32]
came with a bag, came with a discharge
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:35]
thing. I've been mulching because apparently the grass is good nutrients for the lawn when it's mulched up. I will bag before I do the,
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:47]
lawn thickening seed mixture thing,
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:50]
so that the seed can make it down to the soil.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:54]
Interesting. So I never bag. I always mulch for exactly the reasons that you have stated. My lawn looks better than a lot of my neighbors who
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:03]
do bag.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:05]
You know? I don't know. Maybe it's related. I'm not sure. My lawn looks better than a lot of my neighbors who pay for lawn treatments too.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:13]
I we don't do anything super fancy other than put down Scotts. We put down a weed thing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:20]
And, I think probably the the thing that we do that has been the most important
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:27]
is the grub control.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:29]
So we've got, like, the whole subdivision has grubs like there's no tomorrow. And you can tell because you'll be walking by somebody's yard and grasses that has been eaten by grubs, like, you literally could just pick it up right off, like, the sod will just come right up.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:44]
It's it's got a very distinct appearance to it. If you've if you have no idea what I'm talking about, Google,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:50]
you know, grass,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:51]
grubs, whatever, and look at the images because,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:55]
they're they're awful. And you gotta get out ahead of them. They're not something you can deal with after they've already started killing things.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:01]
You gotta get them when they're in their larva stage. So we last year started that a little too late. Didn't know. Never had that problem before.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:08]
But we've got a nice good lush yard coming.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:12]
As far as your situation, John, I think if you stick to the Scotts plan, you're gonna be alright. That's that's what I figure.
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:21]
I think this season's kind of just a rebuilding the lawn that is their year,
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:25]
and next year will really be when I can get out ahead of the weeds,
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:30]
and really make some headway there.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:33]
It I mean, it takes time. Right? Like, it it definitely doesn't happen
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:37]
overnight.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:38]
Like, it may even take more than one season. You have to be patient.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:41]
I you know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:44]
I I don't pay somebody to do my lawn care largely because I haven't been impressed, but also because I don't think the
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:53]
risk return
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:54]
is that great. So,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:56]
you know, the amount of money you spend, I think, would be better off on, again, like, stuff from Scott's and a spreader, and you'd be good to go, and it'll last you longer too. So I think that's the right call. I did get the push behind spreader, Stan. He convinced me of that rather than the handheld one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:12]
The handheld one, it doesn't do things evenly. Like, I think I think that would have been very frustrating for you. Now there are a couple different spreaders. Did you did you get, like, a big old wide one fancier? Did you you knowing you, you probably went for the cheapest walk behind you could find.
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:27]
I don't know if it was the cheapest. It's definitely not the biggest one because I can already do my yard in three passes.
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:35]
So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:36]
got an edge guard on it, which is very cool and helpful.
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:40]
So yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:42]
So the the stuff you're using from Scotts, is it just the normal, like, feed stuff, or is it weed and feed? So no weed and feed yet because,
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:53]
I'm gonna be doing this thicker lawn thing, which is seed.
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:58]
So I'm gonna throw down seed before I throw stuff on top of it that will keep the seed from growing.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:04]
I think that there is a weed and feed here late later in the fall. So if you go to the app, you can kinda talk about the condition of your lawn, put in your location, and it spits out
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:15]
four to six feedings
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:18]
for you to do. So the first one was just this grass food,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:22]
fertilizer
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:23]
to get everything
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:24]
going early in the spring.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:26]
I did put down grub stuff.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:29]
I don't know if I had to, but I figured better be safe than sorry here while I'm trying to rebuild the lawn.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:35]
Next one is a thicker lawn, sun shade,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:38]
then there's a midsummer feeding and a fall winterizing feed.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:46]
Alright. So here's the only divergence I'm going to recommend from the Scotts thing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:50]
In the spring, like, now, literally right now, I do a weed control, like, just straight weed control, not a weed and feed, not anything mixed. It's just
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:59]
targeting, like, dandelions and I think crabgrass or not not crabgrass. It's clover. That's what it is. And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:05]
I put it in the spreader, and I do a round of that. I highly recommend that because I'm assuming do you have dandelions? I do.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:13]
Yeah. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:15]
those things, I mean, they spread like weeds, John.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:19]
Nice. That's my that's my pun, my dad joke for that. No. Seriously,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:23]
go get something that just targets that stuff and and spread it out. You you won't regret it. It's not super expensive. And with your lawn as small as it is, it won't take that much time either. Right.
SPEAKER_1 [00:26:35]
Yep. So that's the lawn mowing adventure. I'm sure we'll circle back later to see how
SPEAKER_1 [00:26:40]
the lawn thing is going.
SPEAKER_1 [00:26:43]
You should take pictures right now of your lawn Yeah. So she can compare I should have taken pictures at the beginning of the season because it looks a whole lot better now than it did then.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:52]
Well, it's not too late, John. Take them now. You can compare at the beginning of next season as well as at the end of the season, and, just kinda see your progression. Then you could blog about it. There you go. Yeah. And
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:03]
time is my issue with blogging and other priorities.
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:06]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:07]
I should get back into a writing habit, Stan.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:10]
Writing is important, John. I write a little bit every day.
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:14]
Do you write right or do you type right?
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:18]
I mostly type right. I I do I will say this. I take notes at church by hand and sometimes notes at work by hand. It just depends.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:27]
My volunteer work that I do, like, cost of stuff, all those notes are by hand.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:31]
So I do write, but it tends to be note taking, not, like, long form.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:36]
Got it. So forget this word.
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:39]
Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:40]
One of these days, I'll write you a letter, an actual letter in the mail, not via email.
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:46]
I don't think I've ever done that for you. I have sent a letter to Henry, maybe two.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:52]
I think that's right. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:55]
I don't know. When was the last time I sent you an email, John?
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:01]
Within the last year, but it was for
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:04]
something.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:06]
I feel like now I just text you. Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:09]
Sent you an email or when you call. With the Sanchez's address because he told me to send it via email. I could have just shared their contact with you. But And interestingly enough, I did actually have it in my contacts already. So but I I wasn't wasn't sure, so you verified that for me. You have been there before. So Yep. Yep. It's been a bit. But yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:29]
So I've got email newsletters on here, which is funny because
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:34]
Mailchimp just kind of announced their whole consolidating
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:38]
of all these things that they've been building out over the last three years or so,
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:43]
and moving on from just email.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:47]
So this alright. You you still follow Mailchimp. I don't really because I don't use the product.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:53]
It's they're not really,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:55]
like, competitors with whom I work with. Like, we don't they're just a different,
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:02]
just different kind of customers. So we we don't at least as far as I know.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:07]
So I don't I don't follow them. I don't follow what they're doing, but it looks to me like the announcement you're referring to is basically just a rebranding
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:15]
of existing stuff that they've been building out over the years. Do you still use Mailchimp quite a bit, don't you? Yeah. Not personally,
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:22]
but I have a couple clients on it.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:24]
And I have little Freddie Mailchimp that sits on my desk because I haven't gotten a par bot yet.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:30]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:33]
I I don't know. I don't have a parbot, so I don't know what to say there, John.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:37]
I'll I'll throw work on that. One of these days, somebody high enough up is gonna listen, and they're gonna have pity on me and send me some swag.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:46]
Just just keep trying, buddy. Just keep trying.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:49]
So the the Mailchimp announcement was interesting to you just because, I I guess, you think they're, like, moving into a new space. Is that how you read it? Or or what was what was interesting about you about this? So really, I think that what drew us initially to Mailchimp was that they sent out really great looking newsletters
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:07]
really easily.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:09]
And when we were working for a nonprofit, we had the first 2,000 subscribers or whatever were free.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:15]
So they did email marketing for small businesses really, really, really well.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:20]
Since then, they've expanded into ecommerce.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:25]
They've expanded into,
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:27]
now they are doing what they're calling a CRM. I don't know if it's true CRM or not,
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:32]
and just kind of trying to make them this marketing platform,
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:37]
different marketing automation things.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:39]
Again, in quotes, I don't know that it's actually automation as much as automated emails
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:45]
and things of that nature.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:46]
So I think for their
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:48]
what I would consider their target customer or the people who really helped them grow to where they are now, I think it is
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:54]
they're complicating things for them. Like, I look at my previous positions where I implemented Mailchimp,
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:01]
and the people who are there now, I don't know if they would be able to utilize these other features.
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:08]
And
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:09]
one of my former employers, for sure, is gonna be really confused by all the changes changes that they've been making.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:15]
So I don't know how many of those changes have matriculated into the UI and are, like, in the way.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:21]
The CRM thing is interesting because I I mean, you
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:24]
could make the argument that they've always been a CRM in the sense that they store data and stuff there. Yeah. You're right. Like, the the bar there is pretty low. I think that when you think of,
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:35]
you know, full fledged CRMs,
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:37]
so the Microsoft Dynamics, the Salesforce, the Sugars
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:41]
of the world, they're operating at a different level than probably what Mailchimp's gonna do. And that's okay. I I don't think that makes, like, what Mailchimp does not CRM, but it's it's just
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:50]
a different kind of customer. I I would be really curious to see how much all this marketing automation stuff is
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:57]
in the way of email sending
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:59]
or not. Because I I think to your point, right, that was what they were really good at.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:04]
Worked really well when we were doing the nonprofit stuff.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:07]
And
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:09]
I I'm sure they have a set of customers that wanna move beyond their bread and butter, but that's probably not a huge swath of their customer base. Just a hypothesis.
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:21]
Alright.
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:21]
That's the appeal that they made in the kind of announcement letter from the president,
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:27]
where they said customers have been asking for this kind of stuff, whatnot.
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:31]
So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:33]
yeah, I guess we'll see. I'll still be in there, probably try to utilize some of the new features.
SPEAKER_1 [00:32:38]
But
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:41]
yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:43]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:43]
I I feel like we also had something
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:48]
in the episode ideas, and this probably wasn't related.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:51]
Where I posed the question, do people still read email newsletters? I think this is Alright. I think this is somewhat timely to you wanting to talk about Mailchimp.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:01]
How many of your customers, John, still send full fledged newsletters? Do do you have a lot of them that do that?
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:08]
I would say that not as many of them send them as should be sending them.
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:14]
We at McNary Marketing do. We send a monthly e news, we call it. I've got another
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:21]
client who sends an email
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:24]
about once a month to maybe every other month,
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:27]
things of that nature. We don't have anybody that I know of sending weekly emails or things like that. We do have some blog oriented sites
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:36]
that
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:36]
automatically
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:38]
send out RSS emails or whatever whenever there's a new post or digest things like that?
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:44]
So I have been wandering in a desert for a long time. I used to consume RSS religiously
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:51]
when Google Reader died. I tried Feedly for a bit, and then I just stopped.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:56]
I
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:57]
relied on Twitter for a lot of information, but then I was trying to get away from social media.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:02]
I have this hypothesis that most people
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:05]
get their
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:07]
did, like, the regularly digestible
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:09]
information from probably Facebook and then Twitter secondarily.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:13]
I'm I'm not big on that. So I have been looking for things to subscribe to,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:18]
and, you know, just get it in my inbox because I still am a big believer in email. So for a while now, I get two newsletters every day.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:26]
I get a, New York Times daily briefing, and then I get,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:31]
one from Investopedia at the end of the day. So the New York Times one comes in first thing, Investopedia comes in, like, six or whatever, like, at the end of the day. Basically, talks about the markets after they close all that good stuff.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:41]
Also have started getting some tech oriented email newsletters that summarize different categories of technology
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:48]
that I find interesting.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:51]
And
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:52]
I I really like that form of consumption.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:56]
I just don't I don't know. I feel like it's a dying breed of communication.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:00]
Maybe I could be totally wrong. Could be totally wrong.
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:04]
I think that there's been more of a marketing push towards
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:09]
building your email list again. You know, these things kinda go in cycles.
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:13]
But I think there's definitely been a push more towards going
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:17]
to the customer
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:19]
and in their email box. Supposedly, there's gonna be less noise than on social media, and you don't have to jump through algorithms that now both Facebook and Twitter,
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:28]
throw into things.
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:30]
I mean, you can still pay to play,
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:32]
and that always works the best.
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:34]
But if you're looking for kind of organic traffic and you already have a customer list,
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:39]
there's been a push towards these marketing emails,
SPEAKER_1 [00:35:43]
so that you can get in front of your customer without your customer having to come to you.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:48]
So here here's the thing, though. What you're describing to me is like
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:52]
the sense email I got today. Sense is that electric electricity monitor.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:56]
Right? Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:57]
I don't I don't think of that kind of email
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:01]
in the same category as say the Investopedia market summary that I get at the end of the And
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:06]
and I think it's the latter that I'm more curious if people still read.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:11]
Because I feel like back in the day, that was a big deal. Right? That was a big thing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:16]
I feel like it's lost some traction.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:19]
I don't know.
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:20]
Yeah. So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:22]
really, you're using it more as a news source,
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:25]
which is kind of the space that Apple News is trying to get into and get people, both the content creators and the consumers to meet up there.
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:35]
I don't think I see that happening as much in email anymore either unless
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:39]
your whole business model is content driven.
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:45]
I mean, you could kinda throw, like, Netflix emails and Amazon Prime Video emails into that. I don't think so. Top treading things.
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:54]
Maybe. I don't know.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:56]
So, you know, this thing of The Verge does a couple of email newsletters
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:00]
that are somewhat interesting,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:02]
but the
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:03]
ones that I have picked that I follow
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:07]
have really short form descriptions of the news. Right? So they don't go into a lot of depth. That tends to be the problem that I have with Apple News,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:16]
especially with just kinda the modern style of journalistic writing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:20]
I I I don't I don't want to go deep on a lot of these topics. I just want some familiarity
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:25]
with what is going on in the world.
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:27]
And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:28]
I don't know. Maybe I'm getting old, maybe getting crusty, curmudgeony, whatever, but I I miss those
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:34]
type of newsletters. I wish that they were more prevalent. I feel like some of the there was definitely a period of time where they were, I I at least, I feel like almost dead because RSS was at its peak. RSS, I don't think has ever come back from
SPEAKER_1 [00:37:49]
the Google Reader fall. Yeah. Killing Google Reader killed RSS
SPEAKER_1 [00:37:53]
As in blogging to an extent.
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:56]
Definitely. Right? Blogging shifted form at that point. Yep. It was a it was a big milestone. And so I think,
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:03]
that is
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:05]
I don't know. I'm trying to hearken back maybe to
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:08]
that style of consumption, that asynchronous,
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:11]
very targeted,
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:12]
not algorithm driven,
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:14]
and this is as close as I'm getting. So for better, for worse.
SPEAKER_1 [00:38:18]
I feel like you found a hole in the market, and perhaps we should create a life with a twist of lemon
SPEAKER_1 [00:38:25]
SPEAKER_1 [00:38:28]
summary
SPEAKER_1 [00:38:28]
thing.
SPEAKER_1 [00:38:29]
Interesting
SPEAKER_1 [00:38:30]
things that we we learn about, we can throw in a weekly email or something like that. I don't know if I have time to do it daily. I was gonna say, do you have time to even do a weekly? Are you talking about beyond what we talk about? Because your descriptions
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:43]
are I mean, they're they're pretty summary form.
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:47]
Right.
SPEAKER_1 [00:38:49]
Yeah. We'd have to be on the lookout for more things if we wanted to send it in a newsletter, link out to cool things.
SPEAKER_0 [00:38:55]
Feel like Get a donate button. That's just more get a donate button. Too much work. I feel like that's that's more work that I'm willing to commit to.
SPEAKER_1 [00:39:02]
So you, dear listener, if you want to volunteer
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for the thankless job of pulling together a email newsletter for us,
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leave
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a message out through our contact form on the website.
SPEAKER_1 [00:39:15]
You can tweet at me. I'll see it. Stan doesn't look at Twitter anymore.
SPEAKER_0 [00:39:20]
I did I did pull it up the other day, John. I don't remember what I was share that last episode.
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Well, there's that, but I don't know. So
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you get me started. I there's a part of me that legitimately misses Twitter.
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I I just don't wanna get sucked in. That's my that's my big concern. Same same thing with Facebook. Like, there's I I always feel bad when I find out, like, somebody had a kid or they like, somebody passed away or something I didn't know about it because I wasn't on Facebook.
SPEAKER_0 [00:39:49]
Right. It's a it's a weird world. Like, we don't know about the things that are happening with our friends without Facebook, I feel like.
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And
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We do, Stan. Well, we do, John. Sure. But I'm just talking about, like, the the broader
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the even family has this expectation that I'm going to be following them on Facebook so I know what's going on. The big
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the big baby announcements or the big engagement announcements all happen. I remember media now. I I don't remember which kid, but I told Fanker at one point, like, listen. When you have a baby, I just need you to, like, shoot me a text. I wanna be happy for you, but I I I just don't follow Facebook enough to to catch it, you know. So Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:40:27]
I don't know. If I keep in touch with you, if you're listening to this and you're wondering why I haven't celebrated some life event, it's because I just don't look at your Facebook page, and I'm sorry for that.
SPEAKER_1 [00:40:39]
But not that sorry because he's more productive than all of us who are spending copious.
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So okay. I don't believe Tell us all the things that you do, Stan, in a week. In a week? Oh, my word. Well, I was just gonna say I don't know that not being on social media makes me more productive. If anything,
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I maybe Marvel movies. Well,
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no, not really. But, like,
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I just I've chosen to use my time differently. Right? And I I wouldn't necessarily say that that's
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more productive, although sometimes it definitely is.
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I I just it's not spent glued to my phone. Well, except it is with the Kindle app. But you know what I mean. I spent a lot of time reading, John. And that's something that I didn't do as much when I was spending so much time on social media.
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Speaking of reading,
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I'm I'm in doing Team of Rivals right now. Have you heard of that book? It's the I have not. Abraham Lincoln book that the movie with
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that there will be blood guy. What's his name? Daniel Day Lewis. Is that right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:41:39]
That that that book's based on. I think that book must be based upon, like, maybe 20 pages of it near the end. I haven't gotten to that point. Got it. The book is fantastic though. It's It's like some The movie was fantastic. Yep. The movie was unbelievably
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awesome.
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The
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the book takes this really interesting angle
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following
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so
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Lincoln
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has a bunch of people he's running against for the nomination for the Republican Party, right, when he gets elected. And
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he winds up putting all of them in his cabinet.
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So, you know, all these rivals that represented different portions and different segments of the party that had very different views because they were I mean, I think, like like the Whigs before them, the Republican Party just had a really wide net of political perspectives.
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And so he puts them on his cabinet, and this book basically follows all of them and gives a perspective,
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not just of Lincoln, but also his surroundings
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through the lens of all these rivals. And that's why it's called team arrivals. It's I it's fantastic. I highly recommend it. And I'm not I'm not done with it. I'm a little more than halfway through, but
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I've it's one that I had not been able to put down.
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One of these days, I will finish Chernow's Washington biography.
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How long have you been working on that?
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I haven't picked it up in over a year.
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So
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but, I mean, you've been you started it over a year ago. When you pick it up, will you know where you left off?
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Yeah.
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See, I can't do that. If if I go a year look. If I break for a year, I will be completely lost.
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Yeah. I I can pick that up pretty easily.
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And when I actually do sit and read through it, it's a very interesting read. It's just there's so many words on the page. I should've gotten the Kindle version. Told you, man. I told you. I feel like I told you that.
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Maybe. So I've I've bought team arrivals on
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Kindle for exactly that reason. Just the, like, density
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of the book. I got it from the library. Was like, holy Moses.
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And and I I was not confident that
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I'd be able to engage. Now, also, I just I'm I'm weird. I get it. I enjoy reading on the Kindle more or even on my phone more than a book. It's it's odd. I'd recommend See, I can't read on my phone for long periods of time, like, over lunch or whatever. Can pull it out, and that's nice.
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But otherwise, it's gotta be a real book or Kindle.
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The Kindle Paperwhite, I can read on fine.
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I I love my Kindle Paperwhite. I don't particularly care reading on reading on my iPad,
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but my phone has that OLED display. And so Alright. I've put it in high contrast mode so that the background is black and the words are white.
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And that that background, the pixels are actually turned off because it's an OLED.
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And so it's actually, for me, a pretty pleasant reading experience.
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In some respects, I'd I'd like it a little bit better than the paper white
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at night. During the day, I I prefer the the paper white, but at night,
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it's just like, it's less light in my eyes,
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and Right. I dig it. You know? It's I think it's a one big advantage of the iPhone 10 s 10 s plus, that OLED display.
SPEAKER_1 [00:44:56]
Fair enough.
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I will not get that iPhone ever.
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I I'm sure with enough time elapsed,
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you, my friend, will find yourself with an OLED display iPhone.
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I will. But it won't be the 10. It'll probably be five five years from now. Excess. Whatever. I
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will buy the newest iPhone when I'm ready to upgrade, probably. There you go. Well, how long will that be?
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I don't know, man. I keep my phones forever. Yeah. Your last one you had for what? Like, four years?
SPEAKER_1 [00:45:25]
I don't know if the last one made it four years or not, but the one before that definitely did. See, I I get too jumpy. I can't do that. Like, I've
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I I did that iPhone upgrade program this year, so I'll be getting a new one in September. One every year? Yeah. Yeah.
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Nice.
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The last thing on the list where you do your best work, we can push to another episode. Yeah. We're not gonna talk about that because that's
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I I feel like there there's a lot to unpack
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there.
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Right.
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So that's all on my list. Anything else going on this week, Stan?
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This week?
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I don't think so, John. It's it's actually kinda low key after all my traveling and craziness and with jury duty being ended, I I get to kick back and relax.
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Get on your bicycle. I should do that. I today would have been a good day.
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I, I fell asleep on the couch though.
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So
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Nice. I used to never take naps, John. Now I feel like I'm old. This is what happens after you turn 30. After you turn 30, take naps all the time? I I swear to you, I never took a nap before I was 30. I I was I was, like, religiously opposed to it. But Nice. It's been cold and windy. It's been like, the weather's been unusual. The last the weekend we just had was not great. In fact, you'd you'd be happy to hear this. I grilled over the weekend for folks from church, for the church council and the count team. I grilled a bunch of chicken kebabs,
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and I did it in the rain, the windy rain,
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because that's just the kind of weather that we had and and the, the weather conspired against me. So
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I'm proud of you, Stan.
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Next up, grilling in the snow.
SPEAKER_0 [00:47:03]
Yeah. I don't I don't see it happen again. I'm too old for that, John.
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Everybody, I'll be as old as you. Yeah. Well, and then I'll be older. So Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:47:14]
Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:47:15]
Have a good week. Hey, listener. Make sure you listen or you leave a five star review on iTunes.
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Life with a Twisted Lemon, you can also find us on twistthelemonpod.com,
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twistthelemonpod
SPEAKER_0 [00:47:25]
on Twitter, as well as on Facebook.
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We love it when you reach out. Remember, five star reviews. All the other reviews can go over to Reddit.
SPEAKER_1 [00:47:33]
Todd, if you leave a written review, Stan will send you stickers if you let us know where to send I absolutely will. Alright, John. Until next time, my friend. Happy birthday, buddy. Thanks, man. Later.