Ned and Meg revisit what has become an annual episode topic! Oh, the differences in nomenclature between Xmas and Christmas. We discuss the current status of the ongoing War on Christmas, including the oft-misunderstood Catholic Christmas traditions and appreciation for the thoughtfulness of Kwanzaa, plus we cover the big news, which this year is how the Fox Tree was burned down for reasons besides what Fox would have you believe. Amazing! We also apologize for and explain why we disappeared for a bit. It’s because Meg got a disease but it wasn’t Covid! We will be back on track soon, watch for more episodes in early 2022. As always, thanks for listening, wear a mask, wash your hands, get the shots, and don’t be a dick!

Meg and Lauren discuss their favorite peppers and birds who steal fruits. We get into a long discussion about food dehydrators and mushrooms as well. We enthuse about which foods make great powders and which CSAs to sign up for in Minneapolis. Thank you for listening and as always wash yer hands, wear a mask, get yer shots, don’t be a dick, hi Buster.

Ned and Meg discuss design methodologies and the people who made some of them famous. We also talk about Futurama, rational design, engineering and art, making the abstract real, and the Design Thinking Methods Catalog. Join us, thanks for listening, get your shots, wear a mask, wash your hands, don’t be a dick. That’s that.

Ned and Meg talk about their podcast production process and the potential for streamlining it because right now our process is a clunker! We also discuss the present, future, and past, and RIP laser discs. Heady stuff. Also laughing. The usual. Thanks for joining us, wash your hands, wear a mask, get yer shots, don’t be a dick!

Ned and Meg talk about a terrible idea.

Ned and Meg talk about a new book idea. We lay out the case for why we think it’s inspired and then get off track pretty quickly, which is exactly the point of all of this anyway. We discuss the opening lines to some famous books and also gripe about TV we hate. We also have some killer colors of the day today so thanks for listening, wash your hands, wear a mask, get the shots, don’t be a dick.

Riddle me this? What happens if Ned and Meg and Lauren record a podcast episode where we make up garbage philosophy and pass it off as wisdom? Find out. We also bring up Chesterton’s Fence and Sim City 4: Rush Hour Edition. Chicago’s civil engineering gets a shout, and then we round things off with a chat about STIs. Don’t miss it. Wash your hands, wear a mask, don’t be a dick MINNEAPOLIS I’M LOOKING AT YOU AND YOU MESSED THIS UP SO BAD.

Ned and Meg talk about the wide world of vacuum cleaners and how special some of them are to us. For example, the only heirlooms Meg’s family passes down are, in fact, Rainbow vacuum systems. Now you know. We also explore the historical aesthetics of Rainbow and other vacuum cleaners, and compare design elements to what was going on in Sci-Fi movies at the time, which leads us to National Treasure Jeff Bridges. Thanks for listening, wash your hands, wear a mask, get yer shots, don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg revisit one of their favorite books, Pragmatic Thinking and Learning, by Andy Hunt, and they discuss the concept of an expansive context. Also, multitasking makes you stoopid, so knock it off and remove that “skill” from your resume. Thank you for listening to us (especially Buster), and wash your hands, wear a mask, get the shots, don’t be a dick.

Ned and Meg confuse Meg's dad over text messages and then talk about it. We reassign the rings of hell and remind people that deterrents are not really useful in the ways that proponents usually expect them to be. We sideswipe MLMs, religion, public education, the benefits of the GED, and naming things. Welcome, thanks for coming, please email us, wash your hands, wear a mask, get the shots, don’t be a dick and thank you again.