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Elias and Sean grew up together overseas before studying engineering in Germany and the US respectively. Breadcrumbs is their weekly chat about things past, present, and future.

Elias Lanz & Sean Lunsford


    • Jun 16, 2021 LATEST EPISODE
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    198: Neanderthal Nostalgia Trip

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2021 20:20


    Sean spends a week in a (very nice) cave and recounts his exploration of Cappadocia/Kapadokya.Links and Show NotesRock-cut architecture of Cappadocia - WikipediaTuff - WikipediaGöreme Open Air MuseumChurches of Göreme - WikipediaApse - WikipediaTransept - WikipediaNave - WikipediaDerinkuyu underground city - WikipediaBasilica Cistern - WikipediaAynalı Church Photo Gallery by Dick Osseman at pbase.comTranscriptSean: So remember how we joked that time about me pretending to record in a cave?Elias: Yeah. It was when we were talking about my trip to Wilhemshaven, and I was walking with all the background noise, and you were mimicking that. You did a great job on that in post. And then when we re-released the episode as a shorter version, it was the darling we couldn't cut, but probably should have.Sean: So, I actually am coming to you from a cave this time, sort of.Elias: Okay. So like a cave cave? Like I'm either picturing some fancy hotel, which tries to be a cave, or like some neanderthal nostalgia kind of trip that you're on. But it's probably the first, because I don't think you're wearing a loincloth and going hunting game and sitting around a fire in a damp, cold cave.Sean: No, tempting, but no. Megan and I are staying in a cave hotel. This is five levels carved into the hillside. Reception's actually on top and then you have these levels of rooms terraced down to the valley floor. So we're on the fourth of those.Elias: Okay. Impressive. But of course the most important question is, does it come with cave acoustics? Otherwise you can just forget it.Sean: Yeah. So if I pick up my laptop and my mic here, I walk back into our bathroom, which is pretty recessed into the hill, and particularly back here in our shower—yeah, there's a lot of echo here and I'm not doing it in post.Elias: Yeah, that sounds impressive. I mean, not just the natural reverb, but the whole fact that you're staying in a cave and it's a cave hotel and that, so are these all new things carved into the rock side, or are they old caves that are now being remodeled?Sean: No ours is new. Most of the hotels are new or that there've been some remodeled from older things. And the hotels themselves are all patterned after much, much older caves. And those were not hotels. Those were churches or monasteries or homes and, some even like whole underground cities.But yeah, these cave hotels—we're in one of easily dozens that are an iconic part of this region of central Turkey called Cappadocia.This is Breadcrumbs. I'm Sean.Elias: And I'm Elias. Sean and I grew up abroad and still enjoy seeing new places and thinking about how different cultures interact.Sean: Today, I'm sharing about what I've seen, experienced, and learned about the historical caves of Cappadocia.So both of us were on the road when we recorded that intro. But that was a couple of weeks ago. We're back home now. I'm recording from my studio again with considerably less reverb.But anyway, how familiar are you with Cappadocia?Elias: Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the address in 1 Peter, the letter in the New Testament. It's a region in what's modern day Turkey, that Peter wrote this letter to, and as far as I know, I don't think Paul ever made it there. But that's my context to Cappado-kia, -chia? This is a good question. So I've always known it as Cappado-chia.Sean: Yeah. I had always called it Cappado-shia before coming here. But then since being here we've taken on the Turkish—so the Turkish spelling is Kapadokya, and that's how it's pronounced, even though I continue to spell it the English way most of the time.But anyway, so this region is a major tourist destination. It's known for, again, as we talked about its cave hotels, but also balloon rides and rock formations. But it was also a major center of Christianity back in the Roman and Byzantine eras, going back to that church you mentioned in 1 Peter, and what's really interesting to see today is how that history intersects with the geography of the region, specifically like you have these dwellings for monks and hermits and you have churches and you have even entire underground cities carved into the living rock.Elias: So I'm trying to wrap my head around this, that I'm sure I heard what you said right. Okay, hotels and other things, but like underground cities and all carved into rock? How am I supposed to picture this? What's this rock like, that you're not building a house next to the mountain, but into the mountain?Sean: Yeah, so I had to look this up while we were there because we wondered that too. It's actually this volcanic rock known as tuff—T-U-F-F—made of ash that's lithified. It is a very gritty kind of texture, almost like rough concrete or something, so it is very different from a lot of other rock.And so apparently in Cappadocia, there were eruptions from several volcanoes in the region over centuries in prehistoric times, and these blanketed the whole region. After that, you had flowing water eroding that rock away and carving out these iconic spires that the area's known for now. Despite its name, tuff seems to be a pretty soft rock to dig into, which is why the hillsides and all those rock formations that make up the landscape are dotted with caves—only a handful of which are natural.Elias: So I get the idea that the rock is soft enough that you can cut into it, but it doesn't completely fall apart. And of course, right away, I'm thinking this must have incredible architectural consequences, so these must look very different than your normal run-of-the-mill house or dwelling or anything, really, just because of the way that they're made by basically subtracting stuff, rather than adding stuff to where there isn't anything. Yeah, so like, what are the caves like?Sean: Yeah. it's a little bit of a two-edged sword because it's so easily carved and eroded, a lot of the definition of those shapes is pretty rounded off. So I feel like, yeah, there may have been a time when you had sharper edges and you could have had a better sense of what things looked like, but you basically have a whole range of shapes and sizes here.We saw a lot of these in what they call the Open Air Museum, which is this whole settlement full of hermitages and monasteries and churches. There's a big spire, when you first come in, that's just peppered with holes on every side and going all the way up. And they say this was like a nunnery or something. And then there are a bunch of other cliff faces and rocks with all these other caves in them. A lot of these are just little one or two room dwellings. And so, like you said more subtractive: you had beds or shelves just carved into the walls, or you had holes dug into the floor that could have a fire or a wine press or whatever.And then one particular interesting feature we saw was: a number of the bigger rooms had this kind of raised platform with these long round troughs cut into it—basically the shape of a race track, if you can picture that. And it took us a while to figure out that these were actually dining tables for a large group of people. Like you could easily fit 20 people around this. And so you end up sitting around the edge of this with your feet dangling into the trough and the negative space in the middle of this racetrack was the table. But we, we did wonder like how does this work if someone's on that back wall and needs to get out in the middle of the meal? Do they go all the way around? Do they have to crawl across the table? I don't know.Elias: Yeah. So this is, this is fun also thinking of that modern problem that we all know so well and how they might've dealt with that, or I dunno, if it even was a problem. But of course, what I'm way more interested in here is like that table design, like, oh my goodness. Like, yes, it wouldn't have won some, I don't know, Red Dot or iF Design Award or whatever, but it's brilliant. It's so cool because it's a novel way to think of what a table even is.The first thing that came to my mind was this thing that we had in an engineering class, which was actually one of the few design classes we had. It was about how to come up with ideas, and so you take what you're making or what you're kind of trying to come up with, an element of it, and then you basically go through the different extremes, like the different types or ways or shapes that you could make it, or simply just the number.And one of the examples there was the table and how many legs you could have on the table. And you can picture this: a table with one leg and then a table with, well, two legs can be fastened on the wall; table with three legs is less common, but four, you can see, and five and six and whatever, if it's longer. And then of course, just because you got to go to the extremes, you think of a table with zero legs and then you, you know, hang it with chains on the roof. And it's kind of, I don't know, it's just with zero legs, and then you can basically work at this table and you can, I don't know, raise it or lower it, or you can swing it back and forth, and might be useful to be able to sweep underneath easily. I'd never thought about this though. And I think that's always cool, when you think of like, oh, I've actually used my system to think of every possible table in the world. Yeah, and then you visit Cappadocia, or your friend does, and you see that people made a table that your system didn't come up with.So I guess my question here now is really important. Is this a table with one leg or is this a table with infinite legs?Sean: Yeah, I definitely, I think I saw you going to the infinite legs, as you're extrapolating here, because it does kind of feel like that—they all merge into one or something, right?Elias: So now that you've led with such an amazing table design, what other cool stuff did you see there that they made?Sean: I don't know. I don't know if I can top that. We did see a lot of churches. It was actually kind of surprising just how many of these were in this pretty small area and throughout the whole region. But those too again, because they're carved into the rock, you get some different things there.A lot of these little chapels were not much different from the homes, except they were decorated to clearly be some sort of chapel. But you had the larger ones that actually replicated that traditional cruciform shape that was common for much of Christianity, with the nave and the transept and the apse. And the biggest of these even had the three-aisle basilica plan with two sets of columns, running lengthwise.Elias: Slow down, slow down. So you're using a lot of churchy technical terms here that I'm not sure our listeners are so aware of. I've heard these names before, but like, just to get the, like: nave, transept, and apse is basically cross from top to bottom?Sean: Reverse that. So yeah. So cruciform does refer to, like, shape of a cross. And then yeah, typically the apse is actually like a semicircle behind the altar. And then—you can get really pedantic with these. I actually, since living in Turkey, I've looked up the Wikipedia articles for these to actually get them all straight and those have very helpful floor plans with highlights on them and stuff. So I'll link all those.So you know, that kind of covers the range of architecture you saw. We also saw three distinct styles of artwork. This is all what's now thought of as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which has a lot of emphasis on art as part of worship and liturgy.The most basic of these just had kind of a few isolated panels on the walls, which might be illustrating different biblical scenes or later historical scenes, and otherwise were pretty bare. A number of them had more just like geometric lines and shapes following the curvature of the rocks, all in this like dark red paint. But then the most elaborate were the full plaster, like floor to ceiling, painted ones with icons and everything. These are like the really beautiful ones that you see pictures of and you just really have to see.I think the crown jewel of this Open Air Museum was the Dark Church—or the Turkish name for it is the Karanlık Kilise. Basically, it was, like, recessed even farther into the rock, with just one little shaft of light, hence the “Dark Church”. So there wasn't really any natural light in there. Which meant that this artwork from centuries and centuries ago is still incredibly well-preserved.Elias: Yeah, that sounds really amazing. And yeah it's really cool to think that like that is language back then. Like I dunno, post- Reformation and everyone being literate now, we kind of tend to forget that most people couldn't read, and so this was very much a way of communicating stories and meaning through art and the walls of churches.So I'm getting very much of a Moria vibe here. You said something about underground cities.Sean: I don't think any of them had any dwarves or Balrogs, but there are a bunch of these in the area. A lot of them were even connected by kilometers of underground tunnels. The one we saw was Derinkuyu. It dates back to the Phrygians in like the seventh or eighth century BC. And it was expanded over time, and came to its current form in the Byzantine era.Elias: So this is people's everyday lives? Why are people living underground? How deep does this go? Is this like basically a modern mall and, I guess, apartment building all underground?Sean: Yeah, the main reason for this, I think, is really defensive, and I'll come back to that. The deepest one of these was five levels deep. So there was a 55-meter ventilation shaft from the bottom level up to the surface, and that also functioned as a well, both for the people in the city and for those actually on the surface.So apparently it could fit up to 20,000 people inside, but those people probably weren't living there all the time. There was a village on the surface and really this was shelter that people could retreat to with their livestock and their food and everything in the case of invaders and war and stuff going on above ground.So you had stables and kitchens on the first level, wine and oil presses, storage rooms, and another large cruciform church down on the bottom level. We did at one point stumble into this long vaulted room with all these little side rooms off of it, and again, found out later that this was apparently some sort of religious school.I mentioned this was largely defensive. The one defensive measure we saw besides just being underground was these big stones that could be rolled across each of the passageways that were going up to the surface. And then like each floor also could be shut off by stones in all of the various passages.Elias: I'm getting very much like a stone rolled away before Jesus' tomb kind of picture here?Sean: Yeah, exactly. If that doesn't mean anything to you, like, this is basically a large round millstone. It was maybe a meter and a half across and at least a foot thick. It was kind of up on a perch or some of these were kind of in actually a dedicated, like kind of slit for this, so it could be pushed with relatively little effort and it would fall into place across the door or the passageway. And then it would take a whole team of people to get it back open from the inside, and until they did that nobody was ever getting in from the outside. Today, the ones that were still open were cemented open so that, with all the people coming through, somebody wouldn't accidentally trap everybody inside.Elias: That's cool. It's really cool to picture that and to think about like the engineers who came up with that, and then the people who actually didn't just carve the whole cities into rocks, but then carved round stones as well to work as doors. You've got to, you know, get that right, because you do want a couple people to be able to lift it back up, and if you do wrong calculations or whatever, it's a bad mistake to make.So that like I'm kind of blown away. Also just thinking back, one of my highlights in Istanbul actually was seeing basically the big Moria hall under the ground—I'm not sure if you've been there—with basically what was a water-collecting cave. So this sounds very spectacular.It's been really cool hearing about this trip and the different things you were able to see. Wrapping up here, what would you say was the highlight of the trip?Sean: So remember how we did that episode on serendipity a few years back now?Elias: Yes, yes. That was my trip in Portugal. I had a lot of great, serendipitous moments there.Sean: Yeah. So most of these churches and, caves and cities that, I've been talking about, I looked these up in advance to some degree or other, or at least had them on the agenda. Like these are things I want to see.But there was one church that was not on the itinerary at all. Our taxi driver recommended it, on the way back to the hotel, just kind of in passing and even offered to stop the meter and let us go in and wait for us. In contrast to all these other places we'd been going to, like, this was just a guy sitting at a table collecting a pretty small entrance fee. And he pretty much just handed us a flashlight and sent us inside. My family and I—and Megan's like this too like—we've always been more inclined to go and see places ourselves, at our own pace, and not worry about a tour guide. That's mostly what we'd been doing this trip, but this felt like taking it to another level. He just kind of hands us this flashlight and it feels like we're being given a charter to go and explore the unknown. We had the place pretty much ourselves, and that flashlight was certainly needed because we were mostly walking or crawling through, like, pitch dark rooms.There were three levels to this place and, the staircases, if you could call them that, were basically just little passageways, that you had to crouch all the way down in, or almost crawl in, to get through. The steps were pretty much eroded away. You did have little handholds cut into the walls. But it was just cool to like walk through this with a flashlight and not even know where is this thing gonna pop out, for however long this tiny little passageway is going. And then at the top of each one of these, like you emerge into a little room and there was another one of those empty tomb stones at the top of them. So they could retreat in here and seal it off and be pretty secure in there.So this was just a really cool find. This was the Aynalı Kilise. They translate it as like mirrored or symmetrical church. Like I said, the serendipity of it kind of the mystery, the discovery, that feeling of venturing in the dark was just really what made that.I think this kind of adventure is exactly what I love about living in Turkey and visiting old ruins and stuff here, because—I've said before, in the States, it's like you have anything that's more than a hundred years old and there's a rope around it and, sure, you can appreciate it from a distance, but don't even think about touching it. But here, you can literally climb all over ruins that are centuries or even millennia old. Like we were doing that all week. And sometimes you're just handed a flashlight and told to go explore.@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworks

    197: The Calculus of Detergent Choices

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2021 16:16


    Taking a page from a different genre of podcast to try something new, Elias and Sean look at the economics of budget airlines.TranscriptElias: So in my time traveling around Europe and all, I've actually flown Ryanair quite a lot. The detergent they use on the airplanes between flights is just nasty stuff. So I ended up getting into the habit of putting something into my bag, like a deodorant stick or toothpaste or something that would smell strong and I could rub below my nose so I wouldn't be so overwhelmed by whatever this detergent smell is. I can't even quite describe it.Sean: So why use a, uh, detergent that you have to overpower with a stick of deodorant?Elias: Yeah. I mean, I think—okay. Ryanair is a budget airline and maybe they're just saying, okay, well, everyone's paying less so they can buy their own deodorant sticks and survive the plane. I don't know for sure. We did actually get a brief intro and business model of budget airlines in a design class, but that didn't cover the calculus of detergent choices. So my guess is because it's cheap and it has a quick drying time. This is kind of just me trying to put myself into some person's shoes, making this decision. Maybe there's even something with the application—like they have some machine or something that makes it time-saving and it only works with this detergent. I mean, Ryanair definitely has less layover time. So, you know, every minute counts and there's probably something. It's probably more the time savings actually than the cost savings, but of course, time savings are cost savings.Sean: Well, I don't know. I guess as long as everyone just brings their deodorant along, hopefully that's worth it.Elias: Yeah. I mean, perhaps everyone else is olfactorily wired differently than me, and this detergent is a sweet-smelling perfume to them, but I think it's more probable that people fly just because it's cheap. Ryanair's a budget around after all, so they can kind of get away with that. But I mean, budget is in the name and it's true. The cheapest flight I ever booked was from Basel to London for 12 euros.This is Breadcrumbs. I'm Elias.Sean: And I'm Sean. Elias and I have been podcasting together for more than four years now. We're trying a new format here.Elias: Today, we're talking about budget airlines and sharing some of our travel stories along the way.Sean: See, I haven't been on these as much as it sounds like you have—budget airlines, that is. My impression is they are more of a European thing, though I have flown something like a budget airline in the States. So they're maybe starting to catch on a bit there. When I think of flying budget airlines, most of that has been between Europe and Turkey: a couple of times visiting you and on the way to visit my parents here before moving.Besides even less leg room, I remember having to pay for each piece of luggage, snack, sandwich, drink, all that, but then the base ticket was pretty cheap, so I guess, again, it was worth it. Of course, that said, most of my flights since then have been Turkish Airlines, transatlantic, and it's a very different experience: nice service and good meals and in-flight entertainment and everything. You get what you pay for, I guess. But you mentioned that you did hear somebody explain kind of the business model of budget airlines and how they turn a profit for so cheap.Elias: Yeah, we had a bit of a class where it was one of the examples that the guy gave, just to help us to think differently about how to approach a business model, how to think about customers and the offering that you have. And it was very good in a design kind of way to take a bit of a different perspective on things.Of course, you know me, I always like to take a bit of a step back when I explain things. So you need to start by asking just what a flight is.Sean: Like a plane with a bunch of people on it?Elias: Yes. Yes. Of what service is the flight to each person?Sean: I guess they have somewhere they want to go and the plane is how they get there.Elias: Yeah. Yes. I mean, all of these, all of these things are true. The flight is a way to get from A to B. It's not the only way to get from A to B. Before Ryanair and EasyJet and all those came along flying was different. And when it started, it was more of a luxury. It meant there was no economy class and flight was an experience, and it was marketed as such. And of course not to say people didn't get from A to B, but it was kind of like a package deal, and part of that was the pleasantries and that's what flying meant.So, thinking of past flights, can you recreate that moment of decision? What led you to purchase the flight and how did you go about that?Sean: I mean, the last flights I booked were going back to the States after I'd been here a year. So I'd kind of already planned on making that trip even before leaving. I kinda just figured after I'd been here, I'd want to go back and see some people again. So I do remember it was kind of this whole big thing because I had the flights to and from the States and then a couple of domestic flights in there. And then I was also planning on renting some cars to get between some other destinations. Cause I was kind of all over the country, or at least the Eastern half of it, in about five weeks.So yeah, there was this whole puzzle going on of looking at when the different flights could go and what they would cost and where do I need to be to get from A to B to C to D in the time I have and all of that. So it was quite an operation.Elias: Yeah. So you pointed out there quite nicely how especially longer trips can get quite complicated and it's really about getting from A to B in the most efficient, appropriate way possible. And you know, sometimes you take a rental car but for a lot of times, the trip that's most appropriate or the thing that you need is a flight, and then it's a question of what flight and what kind of flight. And sometimes you just need to go somewhere and sometimes you want to go somewhere.So things people need, they're willing to spend more on. The demand is not price sensitive. If like, if you have to go somewhere, well, you know, you're going to take the price. You might take the cheapest price available, but you're definitely going to go there. If you want to go there, well, you'll just have to look at what the price is and then see if it's worth it because it's not set.Sean: Yeah. I mean, for me, in a sense, that trip was not quite a need need, but again, it was kind of a something that I planned on doing and committed to doing and so it was going to happen. And honestly, you know, when I was crossing the ocean, like sure, I was looking for the good price as far as timing, but was happy to pay for the experience of a nicer airline, but I can certainly see where—when offered a really good deal, you might take a flight where you wouldn't have to begin with.Elias: Yeah. I mean, that's exactly the value proposition there and what we're getting at now is the interior of the plane is a lot less on your mind when you're making that decision. And so you can, you know, you can place a Lufthansa plane next to a Ryanair plane and play spot the difference, but you're playing the wrong game and, you know, you can see their cramped seats and the advertisements on the Ryanair plane, and of course, less space for cabin luggage and all that stuff. And then you can ask yourself, well, why would anyone fly with a budget airline? But no one makes the decision while standing on the plane. And far more importantly, it's not the thing that you think about. You don't conjure up images and dream of sitting in a plane. I mean, you get a bit of it now with the pandemic thing and people just, you know, being nostalgic for airplane food, but like, it's not really what the airline's selling. They're selling the opportunity and holidays and dreams and all those things at a low budget. And making the getting there as cheap as, like, a train ticket to the next city or as a good meal out—I could go for a good meal out or I could fly to London, you know, then you really start to think about it: “I could go to London.”So who are a budget airline's customers primarily? Picture a pie chart. It's completely filled in, and that represents basically all the people in the world, or let's say all the people that reasonably could board a plane. You know how we think about stuff, like just, plant a flag at one extreme. So if we're looking at this pie chart and now picture on that slice that represents the percentage of people who fly once a year, how big is that slice?Sean: Hm. I mean, at first I feel like it's gotta be a lot, but I don't know. Maybe there's some like, not quite confirmation bias there, but you know, we think more about people that do travel than all the many, many, many people who don't, I guess. Yeah.Elias: And also we belong to people who have traveled a lot.So it's not a lot. Of course, how do you know this or say this? The couple very back of the envelope things I saw was like 10%, maybe 5%, somewhere around there, which I think is already quite a lot. So the question then is: if that's what it is now, what was it like 10, 20, 30 years ago before budget airlines took off,Sean: Hm. I mean, definitely smaller.Elias: Yeah. Yeah. So it's definitely smaller. Of course, even without budget airlines, you would assume that over time more and more people would fly because airlines do take off more, but it is noticeable that budget airlines were a big part in that. And that gets at the crux of their business model.So—I mean, I don't think budget airline people walked into an elevator pitch with a flip chart and a pie chart on it—I love that image—but that's the easiest way I think to think of this, you know, like: “Here we have, you know, so, and so many people who could potentially fly once a year, but only 1% of them do. And there's all of these airlines battling for that 1%. We're going to go after the 99 and just carve out a bigger piece of the market.” And how do you do that? By ridiculously cheap prices. That's always how you win market share of people who just haven't adopted something yet. You give a good value proposition.Sean: Right. And then, once you have these airlines coming in, undercutting the big ones by price, that could start to even win over that little initial slice of the pie, right?Elias: Exactly, yeah. I mean, it's fun talking about these things as slices of pies. That's exactly the effect of a new business model. You know, it changes the market as you business models do. And so you could say budget airlines are an acquired taste, and a lot of people would say, “No, I like my little slice and I want my old stuff and my make it an experience and pleasantries and comfort and stuff.”But a lot of people once you've tried it, you know the flight might not be the five course meal that you look forward to, but it feeds you all right. And so even people who've had better, after adjusting expectations, happily—more or less—fly budget airlines. It does get them from A to B after all.Sean: Yeah. I mean, certainly I can see where, yeah, that gets a lot more people in the door being able to pay bargain basement prices, but there are certainly a lot of people who maybe appreciate more the experience of flying or at least want to pay a bit more to enjoy that flight itself a little bit more.Elias: Yeah, so of course a much better experience can be had elsewhere, but it's also where budget airlines have now learned to upsell you. Once they've got you hooked on flying, it's basically the equivalent of a free trial of living a traveling life, then they start to offer you these things and like, “Oh yeah, now that I've flown to a couple of cities in Europe, I can't not go to these other places, but being able to choose my seat and have a more comfortable spot or maybe a bit more leg room, or actually be able to take my hand luggage on and all these things, I wouldn't mind that.” Or all the other stuff that they come up with: fast tracking and all those things. Yeah. So then they make money off of that. And that's actually, back to the business model thing, where they make the most money: upselling, because those are the people who are willing to pay for more, and that's where you then get the best margins.Sean: Right. Yeah. I mean, I guess eventually you've up-sold yourself to maybe paying what you would have paid for a normal airline.Elias: Yes. And this is the beauty of disruption: when a newcomer to a market with a different business model, disrupts it in such a way that all the incumbents have to adapt to the new rules of the game and the expectations of what a flight is and all those things. And there's just a new equilibrium that forms.And so you have budget airlines that are now upselling, after having entered the market, with cheap prices and you have the regular airlines unbundling their offering, and you have a new form of air travel. And fundamentally, now we think of air travel differently than we did before in the same way that we think of air travel very, very differently than it first started.Sean: Yeah. And you know, the bottom line being that far more people have access to air travel and, you know, opportunities it provides than they did in the old world.Elias: When I was flying to New Zealand, this is 2014. So I was there for three weeks and yeah, this is my equivalent of your trip you were mentioning earlier. Planned it all out. I don't think I'd spent as much time planning a trip as that, because I was trying to do New Zealand in three weeks. It wasn't even three weeks. I was like 18 days in the country. So the question was how I was gonna do it, but the first thing I was needing to do was book the flight and I had these two options and one was, I think, 750 euros. And one was like 1,200 and something euros. What's the difference there? Something around 500 euros.And one was China airlines, I think, was the cheaper one. And then Emirates was the more expensive one and we'd flown Emirates a lot from Germany to Pakistan and I knew they were great. I mean, they're one of the best rated airlines. It would have been a dream and—I've already given away what I've chosen. And also like, ah, it's a 12 hour time difference. It's a really long flight. It also did have the better time—like layovers. So the China airlines flight had like a 17 hour layover in Taipei, which makes it like a, I don't know, 30 hour travel time or longer. 30, 35 hours was the travel time. So I was like, “Oh, I've never traveled that long. Do I really want to do this? I've only got that long in the country and all that.” So all of these things were factoring into it until I realized one thing.The thing that actually decided it for me was realizing, wait a second, where is that better spent, on the flight or in New Zealand? And that made the decision for me. And so the prospect of just having at least a better sense of mind about spending stuff in New Zealand. I didn't actually end up budgeting, “Oh, I have 400 more euros to spend or whatever in New Zealand now.” That's not how that works. I mean, that's also not how saving money works. When you just think of, “I'm going to go to buy the most expensive thing. I'm not going to buy that expensive thing. So now I can spend all the money I didn't spend on the most expensive thing on something else.” Yeah. Financing 101 with Sean and Elias.It's about the experience there, but also justifying your expenses and what you're doing. And that was definitely the right choice and China airlines was fine.And it, it showed me also when I was thinking about making the purchasing decision, very consciously kind of working through this—very conscious buyer—in the end, it wasn't actually about the flight, even though I was trying to think about the flight and purchasing the flight. But the moment I didn't anymore and thought about the destination, it was a no-brainer to go with China airlines.@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworks

    196: Americafast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2021 83:45


    The 2021 Yearly Themes episode(Recorded 13 January)Links and Show Notes163: Surprisingly Existential - Breadcrumbs (Overcast | Castro)189: Six Months of Lazy - Breadcrumbs (Overcast | Castro)Your Theme – yearly themes explainedThe Theme System2020: Mid-Year Performance ReviewRegeneration | seanlunsford.comSermonic Scenes of the Seven ChurchesPodcast — The Ten Minute Bible Hour2021 Focus Course Digital PlannerGoodNotes 5FeedlyNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) - IMDbGlobal VoicesSmarter Every DayMark RoberMike Boyd@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    195: A Spark in a Jar (Revisited)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2020 48:45


    Elias eats bread and ice cream in a historical German naval town. Then Sean and Elias discuss this recut of episode 191 as a prototype 10-ish minute travel episode.Links and Show NotesWilhelmshaven - WikipediaBreakfast breads in Germany: 64: Not to Be Confused With Meatloaf - Breadcrumbs (08:39 – Overcast | Castro)@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    194: Lazy Design Cycle

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2020 33:05


    Elias and Sean share mood boards to convey what they hope to create in “Breadcrumbs 2.0” and Sean experiments with audio clips for the same purpose. Elias has a confession to make.Links and Show NotesElias's mood boardSean's mood boardDesign Cycles@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    193: Healthy Dose of Self-Awareness

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2020 82:22


    Elias and Sean watch and discuss a TED Talk about creativity, the addiction to getting attention, and focusing on the things that matter.Links and Show NotesHow craving attention makes you less creative | Joseph Gordon-LevittCastro Podcast PlayerOvercast@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    192: Lousy Also-Ran Pineapple Can

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2020 65:21


    Elias and Sean continue the discussion about the future of Breadcrumbs—considering the limits of what they could create, the cornerstone of a new show, and the idea of a structural framework as a podcast's premise.Links and Show NotesGimlet 16: The Secret Formula | StartUp (Overcast | Castro)Accidental Tech PodcastThe Anthropocene ReviewedTop Four - Relay FMHow craving attention makes you less creative | Joseph Gordon-Levitt – to be discussed next episode@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    191: A Spark in a Jar

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2020 71:07


    Sean queries Elias about his trip to the German coast.Links and Show NotesWilhelmshaven - WikipediaAmazon.com: Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone (ATR Series): Musical InstrumentsBreakfast breads in Germany: 64: Not to Be Confused With Meatloaf - Breadcrumbs (08:39 – Overcast | Castro)@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.Rainforest Sounds licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Cave River licensed under a Creative Commons 0 License.

    190: Lower-Stake Legos

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2020 71:56


    Elias and Sean talk about things being like Legos and then talk through the common building blocks of podcasts—all to set up discussion about the future of the show.Links and Show NotesK'Nex - WikipediaPlaymobil - WikipediaMembership - Relay FMJuggling by Numbers - Numberphile - YouTubeFracture@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    189: Six Months of Lazy

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2020 93:28


    Elias and Sean review the year so far and look ahead to the next four months.Links and Show Notes163: Surprisingly Existential - Breadcrumbs (Overcast | Castro)Cortex #104: RGB on the eGPU (Overcast | Castro)Regeneration | seanlunsford.com165: A Puddle of Failure - Breadcrumbs (Overcast | Castro)Your Life in Weeks — Wait But Whyxkcd: Nerd Sniping133: Blanket Poo-Pooing Shoulds - Breadcrumbs (Overcast | Castro)The Crossroads of Should and MustFocused - Relay FMFaith-Based ProductivityThe Theme SystemBullet JournalTotebook – Studio NeatGod and the Pandemic@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    188: Spreadsheets Are Ziplines

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2020 78:41


    Elias and Sean share stories of hard work and then talk about hard work as climbing a mountain.Links and Show NotesSee where projects really stand with Hill Charts: Basecamp@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    187: Make the Work Work

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2020 61:32


    Elias and Sean try to define hard work.Links and Show NotesP versus NP problemMillennium Prize Problems - WikipediaThe Hobbit: A Long-Expected Autopsy (Part 1/2) - YouTubeApple's Relentless Strategy, Execution, and Point of View | by Steven Sinofsky | Jun, 2020 | Learning By ShippingIs Anyone Watching Quibi?HEY - Email at its best, new from Basecamp.JuiceroThe Chosen (TV series)@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    186: Low-Hanging Biological Fruit

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2020 63:28


    Elias and Sean discuss the messiness of working with humans.Links and Show NotesThread by @natalienageleConveyor – Version control meets task management.Companies | People-First JobsAutomattic – Making the web a better placeGhost: Turn your audience into a businessZapier | The easiest way to automate your workApple blocks Facebook from running its internal iOS apps - The VergeBrave New World - Wikipedia@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    185: Built on the Backs of Body Counts

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2020 54:47


    Elias and Sean talk about companies treating people fairly and showing humanity.Links and Show NotesATP 383: Demand-Paged Outrage — Accidental Tech Podcast (1:44:27 – Overcast | Castro)Amazon.com: Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World eBook: Harrison, Scott, Sweetingham, Lisa: Kindle StoreNetflix to start cancelling inactive customers' subscriptions – TechCrunch‎Alto's Odyssey on the App Store'Warren Buffett's Paper Wizard' is Apple's First iPhone Game Since 2008 - MacRumors@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    184: You Don't Fire Family

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2020 52:32


    Elias and Sean talk about companies who just want to be a happy family.Links and Show NotesBasecamp: About our company3 Reasons to Treat Employees Like Family | Inc.comWhy treating people like family is the key to effective leadershipBob Chapman: Why You Should Treat Your Employees As Family@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    183: Building Ships, Not Writing Poetry

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2020 68:56


    Elias and Sean compare and try to learn from the company cultures of Netflix and Basecamp.Links and Show NotesNetflix CultureGaussian elimination - WikipediaNetflix JobsBasecamp: About our companyGreatest Hits Archives - Signal v. NoiseThe presence prison - Signal v. NoiseEmployee-surveillance software is not welcome to integrate with Basecamp - Signal v. NoiseScientific management - WikipediaPlexHow we structure our work and teams at Basecamp - Signal v. NoiseStatus meetings are the scourge - Signal v. Noise@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    182: Playdough Formalization Committee

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2020 53:31


    Elias and Sean talk about the process of formalization and get into a debate about what counts as a checklist.Links and Show Notesformalise - Google Search22 Mesmerizing Pasta GIFs You Won't Be Able To Stop WatchingBasecamp: Project Management & Team Communication SoftwareMechanistic Vs. Organic Organizational Structure | BizfluentThingsFantastical@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    181: Weird, Awkward, but Beautiful

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2020 70:39


    Elias and Sean talk about systems before and after they get named and formalized.Links and Show NotesKanban - WikipediaAgile software development - WikipediaTrelloAirtableThe Toyota WayThe Checklist ManifestoGetting Things Done H.I. #39: Getting Things Done — Hello Internet (Overcast)ThingsOmniFocusBootstrap · The most popular HTML, CSS, and JS library in the world.React Native · A framework for building native apps using ReactInbox Zero - YouTubeBullet Journal@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    180: More Names for Snow and Blue

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2020 44:09


    Elias and Sean discuss the effect of language on one's perception of reality.(“Arrival” spoilers between 1:38 and 4:39)Links and Show NotesDoes the Linguistic Theory at the Center of the Film ‘Arrival' Have Any Merit? | Science | Smithsonian MagazineArrival (2016) - IMDbReady Player One (2018) - IMDbLinguistic relativity - WikipediaAmazon.com: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World eBook: Epstein, David J. : Kindle StoreEconomist Debates: Language: StatementsAbout – x-callback-url@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    179: Data Whisperers

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2020 67:03


    Elias and Sean consider the problem of too much information.Links and Show NotesUrban Dictionary: TMIUrban Dictionary: t.m.i. TMZWalk on water (Liquid Mountaineering) - YouTubeBig Data or Too Much Information? | Innovation | Smithsonian MagazineWhy Too Much Data Is A Problem And How To Prevent ItHello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms - Kindle edition by Fry, Hannah. Arts & Photography Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    178: Illegitimate Cucumber

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2020 63:31


    Elias and Sean wonder how many grains of sand make a heap.Links and Show NotesGravity Leadership PodcastCorona-Maßnahmen: "Viele Menschen sind wieder sorgloser" | tagesschau.deContinuum fallacy - WikipediaList of VeggieTales characters - WikipediaWhat If?Fuzzy logic - WikipediaDefuzzification - WikipediaNeural networks - YouTube@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    177: Legitimacy by Proxy

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2020 59:26


    Elias and Sean try to figure out what makes something legitimate.Links and Show NotesRecordSetter is this generation's Guinness World Records@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    176: Glasses Manufacturing Plant

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2020 58:43


    Elias and Sean talk about what makes a worldview and how one's worldview influences one's understanding of the truth.Links and Show NotesWorldview - WikipediaUK phone masts attacked amid 5G-coronavirus conspiracy theory | UK news | The GuardianAmazon.com: Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World eBook: Harrison, Scott, Sweetingham, Lisa: Kindle StoreThis Week in Virology | A podcast about viruses - the kind that make you sickH.I. #87: Podcast of the Century — Hello Internet (34:15 – Overcast | Castro)@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    175: Uzbek Homeopath

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2020 63:27


    Elias and Sean tackle conspiracy theories, why they persist, and what makes them so enticing to both adherents and skeptics.Links and Show NotesList of conspiracy theories - WikipediaConspiracy theory - WikipediaManipulating the YouTube Algorithm - (Part 1/3) Smarter Every Day 213 - YouTubeUngeniused #64: Chemtrails - Relay FM (Overcast | Castro)The Spectacular Finale of Mad Mike | HuffPostConway's Game of Life - Wikipedia@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    174: Urgency Virus

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2020 65:02


    Elias and Sean share personal updates from the fallout of the pandemic and then reflect further on the Medium post from last week's episode.Links and Show NotesCoronavirus: Why You Must Act Now - Tomas Pueyo - MediumFederico Viticci on Twitter: "It's going to be a tough few weeks for everyone as more countries impose lockdowns to fight #COVID19. In Italy, we'll have it until April 3 at the earliest. Here are some tips @_silviagatta and I learned over the past ~10 days of lockdown here in Rome. A thread.

    173: Picnic on the Train Tracks

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2020 61:40


    Elias and Sean talk about the coronavirus and trying to convince people of the truth.Links and Show NotesTo inform yourself and understand the risk to the public we recommend to rely on your government body responsible for health and the World Health Organization.Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now - Tomas Pueyo - MediumCoronavirus Disease (COVID-19) – Statistics and Research - Our World in DataFactfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, Rosling, Hans, Rönnlund, Anna Rosling, Rosling, Ola - Amazon.com"5-Bullet Friday" email newsletter by Tim FerrissTim Ferriss: Why you should define your fears instead of your goals | TED Talk@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    172: Deception Detection

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2020 41:33


    Elias and Sean discuss falsehood and truth's relationship to reality.Links and Show NotesTruth - WikipediaDeception - Wikipedia@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    171: Meaning Transporters

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2020 58:59


    Elias and Sean consider the relationship between meaning and truth.Links and Show NotesConsensus theory of truth - Wikipediaxkcd: Scary Names@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    170: Instruments to Measure God

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2020 59:55


    Elias and Sean discuss the relation between our individual consciousness and the truth.Links and Show NotesSocrates quoteEpistemic Paradoxes (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Dunning–Kruger effect - Wikipedialogic - Is finding truth possible? - Philosophy Stack ExchangeTruth - Wikipedia@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    169: 7 Billion Words for “Circle”

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2020 53:02


    Elias and Sean search for truth.Links and Show NotesTrue/False ParadoxTruth - WikipediaLinguistic prescription - WikipediaLinguistic description - WikipediaThe Trouble with Transporters - YouTube@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    168: Somewhere Between Socks and Marriage

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2020 61:14


    Elias and Sean discuss matching objects and people.Links and Show NotesDating RingStartUp | Gimlet (Overcast | Castro)So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love eBook: Cal Newport: Kindle StoreRange: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World eBook: David J. Epstein: Kindle Store@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    167: Fallen Off the Novel Train

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2020 72:40


    Elias and Sean consider books—from self-help books to novels—and condensing them down to index cards.Links and Show NotesMentorBox LLCMasterClass Online ClassesThe Martian: A Novel eBook: Andy Weir: Kindle StoreGetting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity eBook: David Allen, James Fallows: Kindle StoreH.I. #39: Getting Things Done — Hello Internet (Overcast)Visual book review: The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything… Fast (Josh Kaufman)SketchnotableThe First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything . . . Fast! eBook: Josh Kaufman: Kindle StoreThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change eBook: Stephen R. Covey: Kindle Store‎؜@levelsio | TwitterImportant Books & Articles - Merci Victoria Grace - MediumBecause Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language eBook: Gretchen McCulloch: Kindle StoreHello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms - Kindle edition by Hannah FryHumble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World, Matt Parker - Amazon.comReading Isn't A Race: How Speed Reading And Spritz Completly Miss The Point – RyanHoliday.netRange: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World eBook: David J. Epstein: Kindle Store@breadcrumbsfm | @splunsford | @muffinworksJingles excerpted from “Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation” by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    166: The Dashboard for My Life

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2020 62:16


    Elias and Sean return to the task management well.Links and Show NotesTodoistOmniFocusThingsBullet JournalStand-up comedy routine about Spreadsheets - YouTubeOpener ‒ open links in appsAmazon.com: Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur eBook: Derek Sivers: Kindle StoreDerek Sivers podcastClear TodosFantasticalDraftsDocuments by Readdle2DoBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    165: A Puddle of Failure

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2020 61:24


    Elias and Sean look at three different takes on numbering one's days.(Apologies for Sean's audio. Something weird happened, and then it was completely lost for the last few minutes.)Links and Show NotesYour Life in Weeks — Wait But WhyWeCroakBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    164: I Envy Your Serenity

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2020 75:45


    Elias and Sean survey the various inboxes in their lives, how they manage them, and how they feel about them.Links and Show Notesxkcd: InboxInbox Zero - YouTubeUrgency Addiction Assessment — The Focus CourseTweetbot 5 for TwitterSaneBoxCastro Podcast PlayerOvercastAccidental Tech PodcastHello InternetPhilosophy - YouTube★ ReederInstapaperFeedbinUnread: RSS ReaderFeedlyPlanet Money : NPRNetNewsWire: Open Source RSS Reader for MacBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    163: Surprisingly Existential

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2020 68:19


    In the 2020 yearly themes episode, Elias and Sean review their previous themes and look ahead to the new year.Links and Show NotesThe Focus CourseMatt WhitmanBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    162: Last Show of the Decade

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2019 76:07


    Elias and Sean consider significance and fame with respect to time.Links and Show NotesWho's Biggest? The 100 Most Significant Figures in History | TIME.comMolekule: The Worst Air Purifier We've Ever Tested - YouTubeAmazon.com: Leonardo da Vinci eBook: Walter Isaacson: Kindle StoreThe Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up) - Kindle edition by Marie Kondō. Arts & Photography Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.Tidying Up with Marie Kondo | Netflix Official SiteBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    161: Early Analog Emoji

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2019 65:02


    Elias nitpicks a language quirk and then presents quadrants relating significance to public consciousness.Links and Show NotesInvictus (2009)42 (2013)Eigenvector centrality - WikipediaA Night to Remember: The Sinking of the Titanic (The Titanic Chronicles Book 1), Walter Lord, eBook - Amazon.comBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    160: A Less Panda-Happy Time

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2019 79:33


    Elias and Sean add a few more people to last week's list and then take a step back to look at what the public consciousness is and how it works.Links and Show NotesThe Insane Logistics of Formula 1 - YouTubeCanonical's dream for an Ubuntu phone is dead | TechRadarKony 2012 - WikipediaBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    159: The Scrooge Who Stole Christmas

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2019 82:47


    Elias and Sean run through a list of iconic people and characters.Links and Show NotesBill Gates no longer 2nd richest person; Jeff Bezos may also lose crown to this fashion mogul - The Financial Express (Sean totally misread this headline)Songs that Cross Borders | Radiolab | WNYC Studios (Overcast | Castro)Leonardo da Vinci:Amazon:Kindle StoreLeonardo da Vinci | Louvre Museum | ParisSteve Jobs:Amazon:Kindle StoreEinstein: The Man, the Genius, and the Theory of Relativity:Amazon:BooksBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    158: The Einstein of Sports Medicine

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2019 63:39


    Elias and Sean discuss the term “genius” and the people to whom it is applied.Links and Show NotesClever Package Design Trickery: Bike Company Prints Flatscreen TVs on Shipping Cartons, Reduces Damage by 70%-80% - Core77Elizabeth Gilbert: Success, failure and the drive to keep creating | TED TalkDesign for the Real World: Victor Papanek: 9780500295335: Amazon.com: BooksDieter Rams - WikipediaSYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker - black - IKEACharles and Ray Eames - WikipediaArtificial Intelligence Technology and Resources: Salesforce Einstein - Salesforce.comBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    157: Successful Enough

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2019 67:09


    Elias and Sean take a look at more bad stock photography and then talk about success.Links and Show NotesSuccess – Google Images148: Kenya Literacy - Breadcrumbs (Overcast | Castro)Lance Armstrong - WikipediaSo You've Been Publicly Shamed - Amazon.com.Srinivasa Ramanujan - WikipediaBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    156: The Paragon Endpoint

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2019 67:29


    Elias and Sean talk about what they wanted to be when they grew up.Links and Show Noteswe'll pay you $5,000.00 to design the 368 logo - YouTubeFIP 010: Why Human Connection is Good For Your Social Enterprise, with Devin Hibbard | | Finding Impact (Overcast | Castro)Hot Fuzz (2007) - IMDbBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    155: Camel-Back-Breaking Moment

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2019 66:06


    Elias tells a tale of Wi-Fi woe.Links and Show NotesIncorrect passwordWait Wait...Tell Me! - 99% Invisible (Overcast | Castro)Accidental Tech Podcast: 348: Panic Shutdown (1:23:00 – Overcast | Castro)Breadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    154: More Dice to Roll With

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2019 62:43


    Elias and Sean address the role of nature versus nurture in making the next genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.Links and Show NotesNature vs. NurtureFIP 010: Why Human Connection is Good For Your Social Enterprise, with Devin Hibbard | | Finding Impact (Overcast | Castro)Impostor syndrome - WikipediaCameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model. | TED TalkBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    153: A Hope of a Date

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2019 62:20


    Elias and Sean talk about being one's own boss, and how that applies to their current situations.Links and Show NotesThe Pros and Cons of Being Your Own Boss | Bplans137: Convenience Glutton - Breadcrumbs (Overcast | Castro)Breadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    152: Paid Kindergarten

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2019 78:28


    Elias and Sean discuss “literacy” as a third category next to hard and soft skills.Links and Show NotesLooking for a JobStudio NeatBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    151: Manufacturing Clarity

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2019 61:05


    Elias and Sean talk about review cycles and feedback loops.Links and Show NotesQ&A with Grey #2 (One Million Subscribers) - YouTubeH.I. #39: Getting Things Done — Hello Internet (Overcast)Amazon.com: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity eBook: David Allen, James Fallows: Kindle StoreThe Focus CourseThe Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right - Kindle edition by Atul Gawande. Professional & Technical Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.Breadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    150: All Good Things

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2019 61:44


    The night before Elias leaves Kenya, he and Sean discuss endings and finding resolution.Links and Show NotesEleven DaysNo Dumb Questions: 063 - No Longer a Pastor (27:31 – Overcast | Castro)Breadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    149: A Million Parentheticals

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2019 61:16


    Elias and Sean discuss reductionism as applied to everything from tech products to continents and people. In the aftershow, they comment on last week's Apple event.Links and Show NotesFactfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World_and Why Things Are Better Than You Think: Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Ola Rosling: 9781250107817: Amazon.com: BooksGapminder: Gapminder Foundation is fighting devastating ignorance with a fact-based worldview that everyone can understand.Apple Events - Keynote September 2019 - AppleBreadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

    148: Kenya Literacy

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2019 67:42


    Elias and Sean look at bad stock images and then talk about hard and soft skills.Links and Show NotesTransferable Skills Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | ShutterstockTransferable Skills Written On Page Notepad Stock Photo (Edit Now) 674290693Training Development Business Education Concept Hand Stock Illustration 195037466Concept Brain Storming Knowledge Sharing Between Stock Illustration 390916618Icon Knowledge Ideas Sharing Between Two Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 414271216Traditional Agriculture Farmer Happy Harvesting Green Stock Photo (Edit Now) 1460673341Breadcrumbs - @breadcrumbsfmSean - @splunsfordElias - @muffinworksJingles excerpted from "Halo-centric Hang/Halo improvisation" by Aaron Ximm. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

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