Moriah tells Ned all about life in Koln, Germany. Life as an expat!

Ned and Meg revisit a topic we love as we discuss the sheer madness of some of the proposed domestic mega-projects around the world. We’re talking about DIY Cities, and boy are there a lot of these popping up -- but only in the hypothetical so far! We talk about Charlie Munger’s Death Dorm again, plus NEOM’s impossible, sideways skyscraper called The LINE for which people have already died, as well as a totally bogus city of dildo buildings in Senegal named for a one hit wonder in the 2000s American R&B scene. But really, all of this is just to get to the discussion of the one that takes *our* cake so far, Kenya’s Konza Technopolis which is ironically the most likely to succeed logistically but which probably would be the worst to actually live in socially. Join us in complaint, and disbelief. As always, thanks for listening, send us an email if you feel like it, don’t get anyone else sick, and don’t be a dick!

Ned and Meg give each other some familial support in the form of backhanded compliments. You know the ones! Why praise someone when you can infantilize them as well? We get off topic and discuss NFTs, Ned’s coffee regimen, lifting people up just to drop them, the fall of the crypto scam empire, and finally, we share with you the best art snack so far, a discussion of the Bobby Fingers diorama of Mel Gibson’s colorful 2006 Malibu arrest. Enjoy! Thanks for listening, wash your hands, don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg get Ned’s take on reducing sugar, Christmas food cravings, YouTube videos about cake and theater set design, the history of DND, the revival of Old School Renaissance which is not the carrot cake you remember, plus actual Carrot Cake’s much less sweet culinary origin story. Join us! Wash your hands, thanks for listening, don’t be a dick!

Ned drops some edification on Meg (aka Egg) about Steamed Hams, the Simpon’s episode. Rather, ostensibly it’s about Steamed Hams, but REALLY it’s about the burgeoning art movement reiterating on the theme of Steamed Hams. This is just the beginning folks. Also Meg has shingles AGAIN so feel sorry for her, k thanks. Wash your hands, don’t get shingles, don’t be a dick.

Ned chats with some new characters, or new to listeners anyway, in Germany, on a fabulous trip, with super friends. This episode sort of comes full circle for FCBM because right after the podcast started there was a similar trip to Germany and here we find ourselves again! Milestones. Join Ned while he speaks to his expat friends living in Germany!

Ned and Meg take a proverbial poop all over forced fun (aka mandatory fun). In this episode we also talk about Meg’s mall-induced pavlovian panic attacks, which stem from a nightmare she can barely remember. As always, we thank you for listening to our weird stuff, and remember to wash your hands, and don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg chat about how Meg was a casualty of the Barf Fairy on Halloween morning in the year of oh lord 2022. In light of the fact that it is summer weather in November in Minnesota, we talk about the weather’s effect on Halloween costume viability, lightly discuss costume engineering and contraptions, and whether we favor novel costumes over the classics. Happy Halloween, you halloweenies. Wash your hands, don’t give anyone a disease, pass out candy, and don’t be a dick. Thanks for listening.

Ned and Meg expound on bookstores past and present. There are 2500 independent bookstores in the US apparently although that seems like a lot. It’s up almost 50% from ten years ago. WOW! We compare the rich experience of book reading to the impoverished experience of e-reading. Plus, card catalogs, lawsuits, illuminated text, Borders vs. Barnes and Noble, little free libraries, murder hobos, and books in bookstores as liminalities within liminalities. Thanks for listening, wash your hands, don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg cover a lot of ground in this one! Tune in for discussion of improbable vacuum levitation trains, kids soccer and the monetization of simple joys, wind turbine reiterative technology, beavers and the environment, additive vs subtractive solutions, self-governance, bad solar citizens, brakes both drum and disc, pressure canning, and the glorious return of the design snack. Strap in, wash your hands, don’t be a dick, thanks for listening!