SPEAKER_0 [00:00:00]
Dramas, please.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:13]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:20]
This is life
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:22]
with a twist of lemon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:25]
So this, our note tonight looks like you were scraping the bottom of the barrel because the I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. The first the first thing you've got on here is current favorite song.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:35]
What is your current favorite song, Stan? I randomly ask this to people in my building when I don't know what to listen to at work,
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:42]
and I've gotten everything from
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:45]
oh, what's his name? I don't even know his name anymore. Something like pop singer guy. Justin Bieber?
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:52]
No.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:54]
Man,
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:55]
why can't I remember his name? I'm gonna have to look this up, Stan. This is a great start to the episode, let me tell you.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:01]
No. So I asked this question. So I was wondering what your favorite song is currently, Stan. I don't know that I've got a favorite song. I don't know that at any given moment I I have a favorite song. Like, I don't typically just pick one out. And right now, I'm not listening to anything new or interesting. I've got a
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:18]
bunch of Barenaked Ladies and
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:22]
Zach Brown on my phone. And when I get in the car, either podcast starts or music starts, and I just roll with it.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:29]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:31]
So do you ever have trouble where
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:34]
your phone connects to your car and
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:37]
you're expecting to pick up with the podcast where you left off, but it plays music that's in your library instead?
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:43]
I mean, if it's been a while since I've listened to a podcast. Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:47]
But not like well, I guess you don't commute.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:49]
But, like, I've been listening to podcasts on the way home from work the day before,
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:54]
and then the next day, it will start playing music. Yeah. It's it's too long of a wait for the app to be in the background, so it loses control over the the player, and the phone goes back to its default thing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:04]
Interesting.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:05]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:07]
The name is not jumping out at me on the global top 50 list on Spotify.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:14]
I can't believe I don't remember his name.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:18]
Well,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:19]
okay. So you're listening to, like, top 50 stuff? That sounds awful. No. Not not currently. So recently, I have been listening
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:26]
to the Picard soundtrack
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:29]
on Spotify. That was today's go to. Okay. Now that that I could get behind. That that I could definitely get behind.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:35]
You know, it's it's funny. I did not like the theme
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:37]
the first time I listened to it, but it has really grown on me.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:41]
Yeah. That video definitely
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:44]
helped out that we talked about couple weeks ago,
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:47]
and then also
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:49]
Just the ways that they've interlaced it throughout other parts of the show. There's some continuity to it that I don't even think the next generation had with their scoring, and so I, you know, I dig it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:01]
Yeah. Props to Jeff Russo.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:04]
Hooray, Jeff Russo, who I'd never heard of before this, but apparently, he did a bunch of the Discovery music too. Yeah. He did Discovery. He also did For All Mankind,
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:13]
which I don't think you've seen, have you? Or you signed up with me? Not.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:16]
Did I? Yeah. Think you did.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:19]
You were finishing an episode or something like that? Yeah. It was it was something like that. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:24]
I I don't there's nothing else on his repertoire that I recognize apart from that, but For All Mankind had a pretty good score too.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:31]
So, you know, that's that's worth something. Isn't there some director Russo
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:36]
in the Marvel universe? Yeah. The Russo brothers.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:39]
The Russo brothers. Yeah. This is a different different guy completely. I think so. Yeah. Don't think there's any So
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:46]
it's Alright. Speaking of of the Marvel movies though,
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:50]
I'm gonna just jump around our list here.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:52]
Have I'll do that, Stan. You have the Black Widow trailer listed.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:55]
Is this the this isn't the final trailer. Is it surely It's listed as the final trailer on
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:01]
YouTube.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:02]
Release date is May 1.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:05]
Yeah. There's plenty of time for another trailer.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:08]
Yeah. However But This did show a ton of content.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:13]
A bunch of new stuff that we hadn't seen before either.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:16]
I I don't know. So overall,
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:18]
I watched this trailer, and I was almost excited for the movie, which to this point, I have not been with any of the trailers.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:26]
But it felt very,
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:29]
and it felt like a good origin story sort of thing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:33]
So this surprises me that the trailers thus far haven't interested you because they've interested me. I
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:41]
wasn't, like, jumping out of my shoes per se.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:45]
Sarah was telling me that she read somewhere that that the
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:49]
the timeline for this one is after civil war,
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:52]
but before,
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:54]
you know, all of the excitement I get to. The Infinity Wars.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:59]
When she basically, you know, has to go into hiding, we we think, right, because Right. Of the state of the
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:06]
The Sokovia court. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:08]
And just how all that evolves.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:10]
I I will say
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:12]
oh, what what is the guy's name? The bad guy in this one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:17]
Taskmaster.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:18]
Awesome.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:20]
I'm I'm pretty excited about this. We don't we don't get any face shots, so, you know, I don't even know. Have you looked at on IMDb to see who Taskmaster is? I have not.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:30]
Alright. Let's do this. And I don't know a lot about Black Widow's story outside of MCU thus far. I I don't either, which is
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:39]
I mean, I'm I'm excited about it. Yeah. So they don't list who Taskmaster is.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:43]
So your guess is as good as mine.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:45]
But
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:47]
CGI,
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:49]
Andy Serkis.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:50]
Yeah. There you go.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:52]
Yeah. I don't know. I I'm I'm excited about this. I I
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:56]
I don't know that this is gonna be like an opening night movie for me, though.
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:00]
May 1? Guess it will depend on what I'm doing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:04]
Yeah. You know, I I I've told you this before, the whole,
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:07]
the Russian elements to the MCU
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:11]
is largely untouched.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:12]
And one of my biggest disappointments with Agent Carter, the the TV shows that they didn't go where I thought they were going to go with Leviathan,
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:21]
which is this other organization that exists
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:24]
in parallel with S. D. And with Hydra.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:28]
Right. I really wanted to see that storyline. I'm maybe we'll get some of that. I don't I don't know enough about Black Widow. I don't know if she's
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:34]
from Leviathan or related to it. I think so, but I I really I don't know. There's we don't have a lot of depth, and I anticipated in this movie
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:43]
that there would be a lot covering
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:47]
how she met
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:49]
Hawkeye.
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:50]
But there's no indication of of that. That. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:53]
And that actually could be good. I think that could be a good opportunity for her to to kinda stand alone on her own. So we'll see.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:00]
And content opportunity for a Disney plus TV show. Yeah. Bringing the actors. There you go.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:06]
Although, I I believe
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:09]
Scarlett Johansson's, like, the second highest paid MCU
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:13]
actor. So I don't I don't know Disney plus. Do you know how how old she is, Stan? I don't know. I have no idea. 35.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:21]
Do you know who's gonna be 35 this year?
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:24]
Me?
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:25]
You.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:26]
Doing
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:26]
with your life, Stan? Not that. Not that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:31]
It's interesting too, you know, this is it's been a long lull, right, since we've had
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:36]
Marvel content
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:38]
And Yeah. So we had the
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:41]
Spider Man movie.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:42]
Which is technically Sony, but yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:45]
It's still Marvel. Yeah. It's it's it's the universe, but yeah. So we had that, and then they're like, everything
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:52]
went crazy.
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:54]
What do mean it went crazy? Like the Sony Disney fight
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:57]
about Spider Man rights going forward,
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:00]
and then it was just kind of silence.
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:03]
Yeah. I mean all these TV shows which we have not seen yet.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:08]
Yeah. So it's let me think about this.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:10]
This comes out May 1.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:12]
Almost a year. Endgame was it would be more than a Endgame came out April 26. Yeah. So that that might be the longest stretch of,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:23]
like, MCU void we've had in in quite a while.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:27]
Yeah. But I I think that probably plays into the anticipation. We'll help help build that out. So or build that up rather. I guess we'll see. Yep. Hopefully, Black Widow doesn't bomb.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:37]
But based on this trailer, I don't think it will. No. I don't think so either. I don't think so either. Alright, John. What else you got on your list tonight? You're, like, all over the place. You got tree trimming down here? I don't even know what this means. Tree trimming?
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:47]
I don't know. You you wanted to know what we were gonna talk about. You didn't like any of my ideas, so I just put a bunch of stuff here that we can pick and choose from like a real conversation.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:56]
And Is this is this how you talk to your friends? You write a list down and have them pull from it? No. But you you like to be prepared. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:05]
Is this part of your lawn lawn care? This is part of my lawn care thing. So I got a tree in the back that needs to be
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:13]
trimmed,
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:13]
I think,
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:14]
but I'm not sure how. So I was wondering if you've ever had an 80 trees trimmed.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:19]
Yeah. I I I have.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:22]
Actually, both at the house in Seymour and at the house in
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:25]
Saxonburg.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:27]
So this is one thing that's always amazed me. Tree trimming is expensive. It is, like Yeah. Unusually expensive.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:34]
So in in my situation, I needed a truck with a bucket for some of the things I was having done.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:40]
I also had a stump grinder in the Saxonburg house. So those things all added up, but I think
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:46]
just call two places from the yellow pages, man, and get quotes.
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:50]
So what was the thing that you needed? The truck with the bucket? Because like, trucks not getting to my backyard. Yeah. Tree was high, so that's what it came down to. Interesting. Yeah. And
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:02]
they couldn't get the I mean, they they weren't gonna be able to get to where they needed to to trim it without that. So some places will have different, you know, saws on extenders and be able to do various things, but So the guy that I'm looking at contacting
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:17]
is
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:18]
Cedar Rapids firefighter by day,
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:21]
tree trimmer by off time. So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:24]
he he basically, like, climbs the tree and he's got these ropes and pulleys and stuff going on.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:29]
All all I'd say is just make sure that he's insured.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:34]
Yeah. I mean, I mean, seriously, because if something goes wrong, right, that that's that's really the the problem is that there's a liability there then on you.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:41]
Have to find out how good your homeowner's insurance is or is not. Isn't
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:46]
interesting. And then watch all of my costs go up. Yep. Exactly. So Alright.
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:52]
So looking at tree trimming in the backyard, you also did a grading job in Seymour,
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:01]
which
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:02]
I don't think there's any possible way that I'm gonna be able to get somebody to do that for me in my backyard.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:07]
Well, what would you wanna regrade? You just I mean, you want So right now, the land is
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:13]
headed towards the foundation of the house.
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:16]
And, like, overall, like, the lawn itself is not in
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:21]
a great spot. There's water drainage problems over by the fence,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:25]
and things just washing out. I I don't remember. Does your
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:30]
does you do you have a gate on the one side of your fence?
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:33]
No. Just the one by the garage. And you then go down steps,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:38]
and no bobcats going down there. Yeah. That's probably your problem. So if you were to do this,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:43]
you would need to open that fence up probably
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:46]
on the one side of the house to let a piece of equipment through. That'd be my guess.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:51]
Got it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:54]
Yeah. I I mean,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:57]
the the problem with grading is it requires somebody that really knows what they're doing, and it requires a piece of equipment to cover a larger piece of ground.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:07]
If you've got water issues, which you have in the past, right, like, it might be worth having somebody who does that kind of thing come out. What what I did,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:16]
I found a guy who
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:19]
he had the equipment himself.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:23]
By day, he worked for a larger
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:26]
large equipment company, and then on the weekends and whatnot, he did odd jobs with his own equipment to move dirt and things of that nature. And I think he just genuinely enjoyed doing that, and it was
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:36]
it was hobby money for him. So I mean, why wouldn't you enjoy driving around heavy machinery? Yeah. You know? But but I think, ultimately, what you need is you need to find somebody,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:46]
who does that sort of excavation work, and it's it's not gonna be cheap. I mean, it's No. It's just not. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:53]
And there's a fence in the way.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:55]
You put a built a gate into a fence, Stan? I have I have not. But, you know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:02]
you look for a handyman, I'm sure you find somebody.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:04]
No. I think the the trick with your situation is
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:08]
how wide
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:10]
would you make it? And I I don't I really don't know the answer to that.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:14]
So Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:16]
Alright. The joys of Jon.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:18]
We'll hang out. I enjoy it. It's fun until I get to stuff that I can't do.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:23]
And, like, I could probably dump a bunch of dirt in the backyard, but it's not gonna yield the results that I want.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:31]
I I think and with without looking at your grading situation,
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:35]
I think one of the things that I learned when we did our property is that
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:39]
the amount of dirt you need
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:43]
is so much larger
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:45]
than what you think. Like, visually, what what your eyes see is just totally a trick. Right? And and you need way more dirt. And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:54]
dirt's not cheap. It's you know, especially when you're getting a full dump truck.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:59]
Yeah. I guess we'll see what happens, Stan. I gotta pick and choose my battles. Yep. I mean, the
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:07]
just before you go through a massive regrading project, figure out if there's some small steps that you can take to Yeah. Can I just water? Build up along the house
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:17]
with my nice little
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:20]
one inch every for every four feet or whatever
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:24]
and
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:25]
help out there.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:26]
Yeah. I mean, start with something like that. Like, again, you gotta be careful because you don't wanna add dirt and then get it all washed away on yourself. You gotta look at where the water is originating from. Can you divert it so that it's not just all dumping in this place that you have that's low? I think those are some of the things you gotta evaluate.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:41]
You know? Make sure all the gutters are good, that kind of thing. That was last
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:45]
falls project. Did you get something to to to work on the gutters then? Yeah. The one on the where I was gonna replace a fascia board. Mhmm. Turned out that the wood was still good.
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:56]
It was just pulling away from
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:59]
the house or something like that.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:01]
So they came in. They raised the gutter up, basically,
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:04]
and reattached stuff.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:06]
Good deal. And the water flow has been better?
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:09]
As far as I can tell, I mean, most of it is snow so far,
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:14]
but I didn't notice anything yesterday. So Well, that's good. I mean, step in the right direction anyhow. Yep. Okay.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:22]
Alright.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:24]
On a happier note.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:26]
That
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:27]
seemed fine to me, John. What what are you reading right now?
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:31]
Right now, I am reading
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:33]
a book called Range
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:35]
that I just started, which is basically, like,
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:38]
ode to the common man.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:41]
Is this an is this, like, a modern written book or a classic? Like, why I've never This is this is modern. I think it probably came out came out within the last two years at least. But, basically, it's
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:51]
it starts off taking a look at,
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:54]
basically, Tiger Woods versus Roger Federer.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:58]
And Tiger Woods specialized in golf from a young age, and Federer did, like, all these sports ever before he finally settled on tennis. And now they're both, like, competing at the highest levels in their sport. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:12]
it's was kinda taking the Federer approach rather than Tiger Woods approach,
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:17]
works best for most high performing
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:19]
people.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:21]
Interesting. Okay. Yeah. So we'll see. I'm not very far into that. And then I am also on
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:27]
the third Percy Jackson and the Olympians book.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:31]
I don't remember what this one's called. I still can't get over the fact that you're reading Percy Jackson. Have you tried, Stan? No. It's great. I haven't. I
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:38]
You don't like fantasy, really? No.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:42]
That's probably a contributor. I just I don't know, man. It doesn't it doesn't interest me for reasons I just can't
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:48]
quite articulate.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:50]
Did you read Harry Potter? I did. I loved Harry Potter. I've read Harry Potter several times actually.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:56]
I'm actually probably the whole series again.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:59]
I don't know what's wrong with you. Percy Jackson is excellent.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:03]
Got lots of good
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:06]
mythology in there,
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:08]
geared
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:09]
I guess it's probably geared at a fifth grade level or so. I was just saying, isn't that like a preteen
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:15]
series?
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:16]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:18]
Okay. The kid is like a
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:20]
yeah. I think he's a fifth grader, and he has, like, ADHD.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:24]
Turns out he's a demigod. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:27]
Have you see have you seen the movies? I have not seen the movies. Okay. Well, I'll be curious to hear how the movies
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:33]
That's probably on Disney plus. I
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:36]
have
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:36]
no idea. I have no idea. I guess I should go look.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:40]
So you're you're reading two books concurrently?
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:43]
I am. So that's just something I I I have not been able to do. Normally, I don't, but I got these both from the library on Kindle.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:50]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:51]
Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:52]
Seeing what's going on. So how many books are you at on the year now?
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:57]
So this is book seven and eight Okay.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:00]
So far. I mean, two of those are Percy Jackson books, which are 300
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:04]
plus page books, but they're pretty quick reads.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:09]
What else did I read? Started the year off with remote by your friends at thirty seven signals.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:14]
Your friends. Friends.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:15]
Yeah. I like them. Stan is
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:18]
I don't know.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:20]
You don't you don't really like them, but some aspects of what they do you like. I'm lukewarm. Yeah. Like most things, I'm lukewarm.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:27]
Well, that's kinda how I felt about the book remote.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:31]
We both read that Radical Candor book this year.
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:35]
That was also a
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:37]
yeah. Probably wouldn't read it again. I I don't know that I would even recommend it, actually. It I
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:44]
so the whole premise of this book, right, is that,
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:46]
you have to have honest human relationships with people that you work with and connect in in meaningful ways. Right? Right.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:54]
And then not beat around the bush, but shoot straight with people and and all that. And and honestly, like, the book itself,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:01]
I didn't feel like had a ton of
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:04]
earth shattering insight,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:06]
but the way it was written was very chaotic and disorganized.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:10]
And so the the flow in and of itself, I think,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:14]
was detrimental to the book itself.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:17]
Yeah. Now this was written by
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:20]
was this by Sheryl Sandberg,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:22]
or did they just talk about Sheryl Sandberg? They referred to Sheryl Sandberg a lot. It was Kim Scott, who worked for for Sheryl Sandberg for a while. Yeah. So she's
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:30]
been tech
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:32]
operation stuff, really. Right? Yeah. Yeah. You know, as soon as I think this is a New York Times bestseller, which I think just goes to show that,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:39]
just because it sold a lot of books doesn't mean it was great.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:42]
Right. So specialty is not writing, but technology.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:47]
Yeah. There you go. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:49]
Okay. So you read that one.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:51]
I read The Hobbit after you read The Hobbit.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:55]
You're not telling me that, John?
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:58]
This was at the January,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:00]
I think. Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:03]
Yeah. So that two
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:05]
Percy Jackson books.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:07]
That's my six
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:09]
going seven and eight. So reading so far this year has been better than last year.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:15]
Not currently meeting my goal of reading
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:19]
five days a week. It might be close, but I'm not really tracking it as I should be. What's holding you back from doing five days a week?
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:26]
Yeah. Just other stuff going on or
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:29]
watch too much TV, stay up late.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:33]
Interesting. I wonder if you're watching more TV now than I am.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:37]
Probably right now, we're probably pretty similar.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:40]
There was a stint in there where we binge watch Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:47]
Been working my way through the Pixar movies.
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:49]
Right now, we don't have a TV show that we're watching though.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:53]
We got Picard though. Picard. Yeah. Picard. But that's a one episode a week thing, so that helps. Yeah. It's a it's a nice piece as far as I'm concerned. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:02]
but we only have a couple more episodes that left. Interestingly, I just finished a prequel book to the show Picard,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:07]
and it was it was fantastic. I really, really actually enjoyed it. It, covered
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:12]
the
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:13]
period from which Picard
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:15]
leaves the enterprise and gets promoted to admiral
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:18]
and,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:19]
then all the way up to his resignation. And so covers that time window. Yeah. It's it it was very well done. It was very well written. It was an easy read. I breezed through it,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:29]
and it added a lot of interesting insights. So, you know, the the admiral that,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:34]
kinda cusses him out at one point?
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:37]
Yeah. Yeah. She's in there when she's a captain,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:40]
and you get to learn a little bit of the dynamic behind it. You know, you get to to learn how exactly him and Raffi get, you know, pieced together,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:48]
why Raffi is kinda the way she is. You get to learn about her husband and son.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:54]
And there's actually a lot of depth there. And, you know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:59]
some other, like, glimpses into Elnor
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:01]
and Zani
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:02]
over on Vashti.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:05]
And, yeah, I I I totally recommend it. If you're nerding out on Star Trek Picard,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:10]
this book is is absolutely worth your time.
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:12]
So this one sounds interesting to me.
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:15]
The last Star Trek book that you've had me read
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:19]
was Star Trek The Serpents
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:22]
Among the Ruins.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:24]
You didn't like that one? I don't think I finished it. So Sean,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:28]
you kill me. So so this is Star Trek Picard The Last Best Hope. And
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:33]
again, like, you know, I I went into it wanting additional
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:37]
insight into what was going on and
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:40]
I got it. So I was satisfied.
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:42]
Nice. Don't spoil anything, Stan. I I won't, John. I'm Anything about the board cube in there? The artifact? No. Nothing about the artifact. It's just
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:51]
it's still just hanging out there and I It feels odd, doesn't it? It better go somewhere. Otherwise, they're just using the Borg for viewership.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:59]
I feel like the
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:01]
well, we're we're recording this early, so the episode from last week will probably tell us. Yeah. We're gonna date ourselves now. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:08]
We we'll just leave it at that. So I'm I'm at, I've completed 13 books. I actually have fourteen and fifteen in flight right now.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:17]
Yeah. Yeah. And it's interesting because they I I felt like I had a a lull in my
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:23]
reading rate, and then it it picked up real quick. But
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:26]
by far the I think the most enjoyable book I've read
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:30]
this year thus far is duty by Robert Gates, who was,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:35]
secretary of defense under both,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:37]
president Bush and president Obama.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:39]
And that was just a really insightful book. Lots of
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:45]
fascinating detail about a, you know, a period that, like
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:48]
it's history, but it's history I've lived through, you know, which is different from what I usually read.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:52]
And, highly recommend it. Just the whole the whole writing style was was really good. He's very extremely candid, more so than
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:59]
I think I have experienced in any recent memoir. So Oh. Highly recommend it. Interesting. I also read a book, by John Meacham,
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:08]
who kinda wrote the, the authoritative biographies on both Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. But this one's about, Franklin
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:15]
Delano Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill and kinda their relationship.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:20]
It just covers yeah. It just covers a period of, you know, small window of time, really, and then,
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:26]
apexes in World War two. But, really, really well written and enjoyable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:32]
Also read a Truman biography by David McCullough.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:35]
I'm I'm a big David McCullough fan. You really can't go wrong there.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:39]
So I recommend that one too. And then,
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:42]
this is one that you might be interested in. Have you heard the book Drive by Daniel h Pink?
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:46]
I have. I actually I saw him speak somewhere.
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:50]
Oh, really? Okay. And he spoke on,
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:56]
what was it? But it's that thing, like, different rhythms of productivity.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:01]
Okay. But he's a very engaging speaker.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:03]
So so this book's all about, like, what motivates people, why they do what they do, why they work.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:08]
This one was, I think, well organized and insightful. I didn't feel like it was earth shattering per se, probably because I've I've heard or read somebody talking about it. But it's,
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:19]
it's a it's a pretty popular book around manager types,
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:23]
and I think I think there's some value in it. So it's it's one I'd recommend if you're, looking for something to read.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:30]
Nice.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:31]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:32]
historical figures that I usually gravitate towards,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:35]
going back to your
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:38]
Churchill comment,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:40]
are Churchill's one of them,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:42]
Teddy Roosevelt is another,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:44]
and King Henry the eighth. Interesting.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:46]
So,
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:47]
one I wasn't gonna highlight, but I will because we're talking, and you mentioned him, is, Mornings on Horseback, which is a book I read about
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:55]
Teddy Roosevelt, but it it's a very narrow window of his life.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:00]
This is another David McCullough book. I'm I'm just a huge David McCullough fan. I think I've now officially read everything that he's written and published.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:08]
This book covers, though, what he considers Roosevelt's formative years to be.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:13]
So,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:14]
you know, kind of his time in the
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:18]
New York Congress a little bit of time before that,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:22]
you know, the the passing of his father, and then,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:26]
ultimately,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:26]
his time out west
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:29]
and, you know, to the point where he returns. You know, his first wife passes away,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:34]
finds his second wife, like that kind of window.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:36]
So before he's president, before he's,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:39]
you know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:40]
a rough rider in Cuba, and and all that stuff. And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:44]
it's it's well written. I think, actually, surprisingly, maybe. I'm less interested in Teddy Roosevelt having read it now because he just seems like a dweeb to me. Maybe I need to read about the the rest of his
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:54]
life.
SPEAKER_1 [00:26:57]
Got it. So what's
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:00]
next, Stan? I just started a book called Turn the Ship Around.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:03]
It's a true story of turning followers into leaders, written by a navy guy, David Mark Marquette.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:10]
So I don't even remember where
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:12]
where I stumbled upon this one,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:15]
but it was recommended
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:17]
or referenced somewhere. It actually maybe it was in a bibliography in in
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:21]
Jim Mattis' book. That could have been it,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:25]
which, you know, I I told you I read that one last year. Was probably one of the best books I read all last year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:30]
So, you know, that's,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:32]
that's kinda
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:33]
the the one that I'm actively reading. And then I've also been reading Destiny of the Republic, A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:41]
which is about James Garfield, which tells you kinda where I'm at. I'm on president number 20, so I'm not quite to the halfway point.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:48]
But But I'm making progress again. Yeah. And and I've read a couple that are out of order. Right? So I I like I said, already did Truman,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:54]
and I I've done Harrison,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:56]
and I've probably done somebody else up up in there. But
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:00]
yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:01]
You need more fiction in your life, Stan? I do. Well, and I can tell you what my next fiction book is gonna be if you're Oh, yeah. Really nervous. I have not started this. I'm not gonna start it. I think you need to change it because it's probably not the one that you need to read.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:14]
What's the one I need to read, John?
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:16]
The Godfather.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:18]
I thought I should I should read that. I've never actually read The Godfather.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:21]
It's very good. The next one on my list though is Firefly the Magnificent Nine.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:25]
Nice. Yeah. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:28]
that's
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:29]
that book is by what's this guy's name?
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:34]
Oh, it's just it's it's gonna kill me here. James Lovegrove.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:38]
Then Joss Joss Whedon consults
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:40]
or whatever. But I I really have enjoyed his writing as of late. So Nice.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:47]
I'm I think I'm gonna slow down a little, though, John. I've I've I've I've gone through a lot of books in the last couple weeks. I'm I'm
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:54]
Warm weather is on the horizon, Stan. Yeah. I think that's really what it is. Once once we get decent weather day to day,
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:01]
I will You're gonna be running the little league.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:04]
You're gonna get on the bike.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:06]
At this point, I've read Kayaking. More than one book a week since
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:10]
since the new year started. So I don't think I'll keep up that pace, but who knows? Probably not. That's crazy, man.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:19]
And these are all actually reading. Right? Yeah. Or hip. Yeah. No audiobooks in this? No. No. There's there's there's at least one audiobook
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:28]
from my drive out to Kansas because I had Okay. Nine hours in the car. Sure.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:34]
That will make it through a book Yeah. Of decent length. Yep.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:39]
Know, it's been one year
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:41]
since the episode
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:43]
that caused the greatest controversy in life with Twisted Lemon history.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:48]
Was that the grilled cheese one? The grilled cheese episode.
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:51]
It was last March after you came to visit me.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:55]
So we just had grilled cheese over the weekend
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:59]
and True grilled cheese, not a melt.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:02]
It
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:04]
was it was done in the oven, in bulk,
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:06]
on pans,
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:08]
and I think
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:10]
know, John, whenever I see you next, I really do need to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:14]
You should.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:16]
We use store bought bread.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:21]
You used to make bread, Stan. I know. That's been a while. I need to get I need to get back to it.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:26]
Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:28]
Can we call that an episode? I think that's an episode, John. These were these were all my ideas, Stan. Usually, you're the one with all the ideas. This was quite the ramble, but, I hope you enjoy your vacation. That's why we're recording early. Enjoy enjoy your time off. I I understand you're not going to Aruba,
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:42]
but Yep. You you will enjoy some,
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:45]
time to yourself nonetheless.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:47]
Indeed. So I might be off the grid because, you know, when I go on vacation, I go on vacation from everything. Right, Stan? There you go. Hey.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:54]
John, I I look forward to seeing you in two weeks.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:57]
Alright.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:58]
We'll talk to you later, Stan. Listeners,
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:00]
we've not had a Apple Podcast review since they renamed to Apple Podcast.
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:05]
So leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts,
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:10]
and write something if you want.