web02.fireside.fm Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:26:05 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Topic Lords - Episodes Tagged with “Benwilson” https://topiclords.com/tags/benwilson Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0700 Every week, Jim invites different friends to guest on Topic Lords and be excited about whatever they've been fixated on this week. en-us episodic The only place on the internet you can hear topics discussed! Jim Stormdancer Every week, Jim invites different friends to guest on Topic Lords and be excited about whatever they've been fixated on this week. yes Jim Stormdancer jim@goombas.org 336. The Four Colonoscopies https://topiclords.com/the-four-colonoscopies 0a86855a-0353-4f5b-9908-aa57ab938d8d Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0700 Jim Stormdancer full Jim Stormdancer Lords: Jason and Ben. We discuss colonoscopy prep, how to do things you're bad at, the Trustworthy Shirts Tournament, and Do not go gentle into that good night, by Dylan Thomas 1:07:29 yes Lords: * Jason * https://bumpyskies.com/ * Ben * https://www.zerofiftyone.net/ Topics: * Prepping for a colonsocopy, the jmac way! * https://fogknife.com/2023-12-31-my-colonoscopy-strategies.html * How to do things you're bad at * The Trustworthy Shirts Tournament * https://eldritch.cafe/@cassolotl/116156921111844432 * Do not go gentle into that good night, by Dylan Thomas * https://poets.org/poem/do-not-go-gentle-good-night Microtopics: * The Wordle Puzzmo and Dall-E shitposts channel. * Plugging your turbulence forecasting web site at both ends. * Kids picking a name for themselves at age 8 and then being stuck with it forever. * Going to court and the judge is named "velociraptor#1993" and that's just normal. * Trying to pick a baby name and suggesting the name of your great grandmother whom you never met, velociraptor1993. * People still being named Baker even though nobody bakes any more. * Ripped off vs. stolen. * Colonoscopy Strategies. * Poorly understood advice from well meaning friends. * Drinking squid ink the day before your colonoscopy. * A power-blasted clean empty warehouse of a colon. * Why are you still listening to these colonoscopy stories? Skip to the end of the episode where I ask you to give money to the patreon. * The tattoo on the inside of your colon of an arrow indicating "this polyp right here" * Staying up until 3 AM drinking an entire jerry can of mineral wax. * Referring to the COVID pandemic as "the pandy" * The colonoscopy robot's tattoo gun. * Knowing all the names of parts of the intestines because of the difficult boss fight inside an intestine at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. * Hideo Kojima setting out to design a game to force people to write strategy guides about traversing the human rectum. * What Google searches Hideo Kojima was trying to inspire when he designed Snatcher. * Writing a strategy guide for drinking a five gallon can of lemon-flavored gym socks. * Slightly chewy boiled sweets. * Whether Jim should already have had a colonoscopy by now. * Getting your colon cancer screening kit in the mail and it swishes when you shake the box. * The tattoo scissor robot: it's out there waiting for you. * Getting an image of someone else's intestines tattooed on the inside of your intestines. * Getting "how's my driving" or "if you can read this you're too close" or "we bought this before we realized Elon was a fascist" tattooed on the inside of your intestines. * Striving to be more comfortable with being bad at skills. * All the ways you can fail at throwing pottery. * Learning to enjoy being bad at the piano. * The doodle that Bach drew on the cover of Well Tempered Clavier. * Flanderizing yourself because nobody else will. * Art forms where you accumulate physical evidence of your skill progression. * Recording three audio books and observing yourself getting better at recording audio books. * Audible's gig economy thing. * Never studying piano because you get too much done when you procrastinate studying piano. * Converted telephone microphones. * Trying to learn to play piano with a broken digital piano and really getting into electronics repair. * Playing live music and being completely at the mercy of time passing. * The Moogseum in Asheville, North Carolina. * The aspect of human existence that you're most missing out on. * Sitting there watching people play music and wishing you could also play music. * Learning to play the Final Countdown riff or the Axel F riff and being set for life. * Following a tutorial to create a convincing cover of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi. * Rip it Up, by Orange Juice. * Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat. * The Lesser Trolley Problems. * Whether viewers of The Good Place are more likely to value moral philosophy. * MASH vs. Moomins. * Who would go around wearing a MASH shirt in 2026? * Deciding how much to trust a Moomins aficionado without knowing how old they are. * Identifying Moomins on sight. * Owl House vs. Owl City. * People who go around wearing Owl House shirts without thinking about all the passers by assuming that they mean the Fireflies band. * What the characters in Interstellar think of Dylan Thomas. * The last wave by soaking in the green bay. * Whether you should get mad before you die. * Breathing life and fire into those who yet live. * Showing people an argument for losing so that they get mad and win instead. * Charitable Reads Book Club, LLC. * Production values that are way too high for this bit. * Soupertasters 15, with guest star Michael Caine. * Corn poems vs. carrot poems. Lords:

Topics:

Microtopics:

  • The Wordle Puzzmo and Dall-E shitposts channel.
  • Plugging your turbulence forecasting web site at both ends.
  • Kids picking a name for themselves at age 8 and then being stuck with it forever.
  • Going to court and the judge is named "velociraptor#1993" and that's just normal.
  • Trying to pick a baby name and suggesting the name of your great grandmother whom you never met, velociraptor1993.
  • People still being named Baker even though nobody bakes any more.
  • Ripped off vs. stolen.
  • Colonoscopy Strategies.
  • Poorly understood advice from well meaning friends.
  • Drinking squid ink the day before your colonoscopy.
  • A power-blasted clean empty warehouse of a colon.
  • Why are you still listening to these colonoscopy stories? Skip to the end of the episode where I ask you to give money to the patreon.
  • The tattoo on the inside of your colon of an arrow indicating "this polyp right here"
  • Staying up until 3 AM drinking an entire jerry can of mineral wax.
  • Referring to the COVID pandemic as "the pandy"
  • The colonoscopy robot's tattoo gun.
  • Knowing all the names of parts of the intestines because of the difficult boss fight inside an intestine at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
  • Hideo Kojima setting out to design a game to force people to write strategy guides about traversing the human rectum.
  • What Google searches Hideo Kojima was trying to inspire when he designed Snatcher.
  • Writing a strategy guide for drinking a five gallon can of lemon-flavored gym socks.
  • Slightly chewy boiled sweets.
  • Whether Jim should already have had a colonoscopy by now.
  • Getting your colon cancer screening kit in the mail and it swishes when you shake the box.
  • The tattoo scissor robot: it's out there waiting for you.
  • Getting an image of someone else's intestines tattooed on the inside of your intestines.
  • Getting "how's my driving" or "if you can read this you're too close" or "we bought this before we realized Elon was a fascist" tattooed on the inside of your intestines.
  • Striving to be more comfortable with being bad at skills.
  • All the ways you can fail at throwing pottery.
  • Learning to enjoy being bad at the piano.
  • The doodle that Bach drew on the cover of Well Tempered Clavier.
  • Flanderizing yourself because nobody else will.
  • Art forms where you accumulate physical evidence of your skill progression.
  • Recording three audio books and observing yourself getting better at recording audio books.
  • Audible's gig economy thing.
  • Never studying piano because you get too much done when you procrastinate studying piano.
  • Converted telephone microphones.
  • Trying to learn to play piano with a broken digital piano and really getting into electronics repair.
  • Playing live music and being completely at the mercy of time passing.
  • The Moogseum in Asheville, North Carolina.
  • The aspect of human existence that you're most missing out on.
  • Sitting there watching people play music and wishing you could also play music.
  • Learning to play the Final Countdown riff or the Axel F riff and being set for life.
  • Following a tutorial to create a convincing cover of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi.
  • Rip it Up, by Orange Juice.
  • Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat.
  • The Lesser Trolley Problems.
  • Whether viewers of The Good Place are more likely to value moral philosophy.
  • M*A*S*H vs. Moomins.
  • Who would go around wearing a M*A*S*H shirt in 2026?
  • Deciding how much to trust a Moomins aficionado without knowing how old they are.
  • Identifying Moomins on sight.
  • Owl House vs. Owl City.
  • People who go around wearing Owl House shirts without thinking about all the passers by assuming that they mean the Fireflies band.
  • What the characters in Interstellar think of Dylan Thomas.
  • The last wave by soaking in the green bay.
  • Whether you should get mad before you die.
  • Breathing life and fire into those who yet live.
  • Showing people an argument for losing so that they get mad and win instead.
  • Charitable Reads Book Club, LLC.
  • Production values that are way too high for this bit.
  • Soupertasters 15, with guest star Michael Caine.
  • Corn poems vs. carrot poems.

Support Topic Lords

]]> Lords:

Topics:

Microtopics:

  • The Wordle Puzzmo and Dall-E shitposts channel.
  • Plugging your turbulence forecasting web site at both ends.
  • Kids picking a name for themselves at age 8 and then being stuck with it forever.
  • Going to court and the judge is named "velociraptor#1993" and that's just normal.
  • Trying to pick a baby name and suggesting the name of your great grandmother whom you never met, velociraptor1993.
  • People still being named Baker even though nobody bakes any more.
  • Ripped off vs. stolen.
  • Colonoscopy Strategies.
  • Poorly understood advice from well meaning friends.
  • Drinking squid ink the day before your colonoscopy.
  • A power-blasted clean empty warehouse of a colon.
  • Why are you still listening to these colonoscopy stories? Skip to the end of the episode where I ask you to give money to the patreon.
  • The tattoo on the inside of your colon of an arrow indicating "this polyp right here"
  • Staying up until 3 AM drinking an entire jerry can of mineral wax.
  • Referring to the COVID pandemic as "the pandy"
  • The colonoscopy robot's tattoo gun.
  • Knowing all the names of parts of the intestines because of the difficult boss fight inside an intestine at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
  • Hideo Kojima setting out to design a game to force people to write strategy guides about traversing the human rectum.
  • What Google searches Hideo Kojima was trying to inspire when he designed Snatcher.
  • Writing a strategy guide for drinking a five gallon can of lemon-flavored gym socks.
  • Slightly chewy boiled sweets.
  • Whether Jim should already have had a colonoscopy by now.
  • Getting your colon cancer screening kit in the mail and it swishes when you shake the box.
  • The tattoo scissor robot: it's out there waiting for you.
  • Getting an image of someone else's intestines tattooed on the inside of your intestines.
  • Getting "how's my driving" or "if you can read this you're too close" or "we bought this before we realized Elon was a fascist" tattooed on the inside of your intestines.
  • Striving to be more comfortable with being bad at skills.
  • All the ways you can fail at throwing pottery.
  • Learning to enjoy being bad at the piano.
  • The doodle that Bach drew on the cover of Well Tempered Clavier.
  • Flanderizing yourself because nobody else will.
  • Art forms where you accumulate physical evidence of your skill progression.
  • Recording three audio books and observing yourself getting better at recording audio books.
  • Audible's gig economy thing.
  • Never studying piano because you get too much done when you procrastinate studying piano.
  • Converted telephone microphones.
  • Trying to learn to play piano with a broken digital piano and really getting into electronics repair.
  • Playing live music and being completely at the mercy of time passing.
  • The Moogseum in Asheville, North Carolina.
  • The aspect of human existence that you're most missing out on.
  • Sitting there watching people play music and wishing you could also play music.
  • Learning to play the Final Countdown riff or the Axel F riff and being set for life.
  • Following a tutorial to create a convincing cover of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi.
  • Rip it Up, by Orange Juice.
  • Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat.
  • The Lesser Trolley Problems.
  • Whether viewers of The Good Place are more likely to value moral philosophy.
  • M*A*S*H vs. Moomins.
  • Who would go around wearing a M*A*S*H shirt in 2026?
  • Deciding how much to trust a Moomins aficionado without knowing how old they are.
  • Identifying Moomins on sight.
  • Owl House vs. Owl City.
  • People who go around wearing Owl House shirts without thinking about all the passers by assuming that they mean the Fireflies band.
  • What the characters in Interstellar think of Dylan Thomas.
  • The last wave by soaking in the green bay.
  • Whether you should get mad before you die.
  • Breathing life and fire into those who yet live.
  • Showing people an argument for losing so that they get mad and win instead.
  • Charitable Reads Book Club, LLC.
  • Production values that are way too high for this bit.
  • Soupertasters 15, with guest star Michael Caine.
  • Corn poems vs. carrot poems.

Support Topic Lords

]]> 307. The Bad Boy of Crossword Construction https://topiclords.com/the-bad-boy-of-crossword-construction f41766e2-6521-47db-baef-918c6eed7eb6 Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 -0700 Jim Stormdancer full Jim Stormdancer Lords: Ben and Avery. We discuss The Mishima Incident, city-wide game of hide and seek, how to stick it to bad bluetooth actors, and The Carrotman's Lament. 1:04:56 yes Lords: * Ben * Avery Topics: * The Mishima Incident, in which one of the most famous authors in Japan created his own private militia of young men, attempted to overthrow the government and, upon failing, committed ritual suicide. * City-wide game of hide and seek * How to stick it to bad Bluetooth actors * The Carrotman's Lament, by E.L. Hubert * https://x.com/sweetstench/status/1724958011754504568 * Esper says: "Avery’s anecdote about the carrot poem being something he’d do in high school reminded me of something I did in high school, where I took the song 'The Cha Cha Slide' and removed every instance of 'slide to the right' and added a bunch of 'slide to the left' so that people eventually collapsed into the wall. I got to do it at a little party with friends, and it paid off nicely." Microtopics: * Where to play some crosswords. * Cruciverbalism. * Putting the black squares where the letters don't go. * Putting structural jokes in your crossword puzzles. * The cleverer the gimmick, the less fun the crossword puzzle. * Talking into your phone's transcription software during a five hour drive and having five hours of gibberish at the end of it. * Fifth caller wins a t-shirt! * Impossible Owls. * Squishy details. * Taking on an apprenticeship with a nobel prize winner. * The Japanese Self-Defense Force. * Dressing in bee keeper outfits and hitting each other with sticks. * Buying swords for your right wing ultra nationalist militia with the proceeds of your prize-winning literature. * Exhorting the troops to reinstate the emperor of Japan but nobody can hear you because there's a helicopter flying overhead. * A poster of a kitten next to a poster of a samurai, with diametrically opposed mantras about how you ought to handle failure. * Topics that leave you speechless. * Founder Brain. * Debunking a thing from philosophy. * The Philosophy of Reversing a Linked List. * The alternate universe where Banksy is a totalitarian dictator. * Vladimir Putin tagging up the streets of Bristol in the 90s. * Top hat, eyeball and coattails. * The Residents of Theseus. * Rednex. * David Bowie starring as Tesla in The Prestige and self-driving off the set. * The percentage of Teslas on the street * Nice Stylized T as a Screw Shirt. * Brainstorming places to hide in Copenhagen. * The problem of how to define the bounds of the hide and seek legal play field. * Playing hide and seek and knocking on a stranger's door and asking if you can hide in their house. * Knocking on the door of the company that moved into the building your company was in six years ago, asking to use the conference room because you're six years late for a meeting. * Journey to the End of the Night. * Playing music and speaking in riddles. * At what point it becomes morally correct to join the zombies. * Why is it okay to name a thing after another thing? Why is it okay to name a band after someone else's song? * Whether Skibidi Toilet has been cool, is currently cool, will become cool temporarily, or will become cool and stay forever. * A meme based on a Youtube thing. * Dadaist comedy Internet videos made in Garry's Mod. * Changing the head so it's not owned by Valve. * Generations starting the alphabet over, like hurricane names. * Turn of the millennium coffee shop war stories. * Drinking coffee at 2 AM on January 1st, 2000, looking out the window and waiting for the satellites to come crashing down. * Tech folks successfully convincing people that the Y2K bug is a problem, but not what the problem actually was. * What the Y2K bug was and how we solved it. * The Corolla Must Have Control. * The phone is too eager and the car is too greedy. * The phone and the bluetooth speaker agreeing to connect, and isn't there somebody you forgot to ask?? * We invented this new thing but we don't know what it's for. Let's try to solve every problem with it and see if anything sticks. * Everybody migrating to TempleOS to get away from LLMs. * A lightweight operating system designed to be the Third Temple from the Hebrew bible. * Writing to your colleague to retract the continuum hypothesizing. * God's Chosen Programmer. * Off-Topic Lords. * A poem on the back of a bag of carrots. * A poem having been added to a bag of carrots by a scoundrel. * How many carrots you need to eat before you can be called a carrot man. * Explaining hidden tracks by first explaining that music used to come in this form called "albums." * If you have topics to talk about, we have a show for that, you don't put it on a hidden track on a CD in the 1990s. * Living to regret your self-own. Lords:

  • Ben
  • Avery

Topics:

  • The Mishima Incident, in which one of the most famous authors in Japan created his own private militia of young men, attempted to overthrow the government and, upon failing, committed ritual suicide.
  • City-wide game of hide and seek
  • How to stick it to bad Bluetooth actors
  • The Carrotman's Lament, by E.L. Hubert
    • https://x.com/sweetstench/status/1724958011754504568
    • Esper says: "Avery’s anecdote about the carrot poem being something he’d do in high school reminded me of something I did in high school, where I took the song 'The Cha Cha Slide' and removed every instance of 'slide to the right' and added a bunch of 'slide to the left' so that people eventually collapsed into the wall. I got to do it at a little party with friends, and it paid off nicely."

Microtopics:

  • Where to play some crosswords.
  • Cruciverbalism.
  • Putting the black squares where the letters don't go.
  • Putting structural jokes in your crossword puzzles.
  • The cleverer the gimmick, the less fun the crossword puzzle.
  • Talking into your phone's transcription software during a five hour drive and having five hours of gibberish at the end of it.
  • Fifth caller wins a t-shirt!
  • Impossible Owls.
  • Squishy details.
  • Taking on an apprenticeship with a nobel prize winner.
  • The Japanese Self-Defense Force.
  • Dressing in bee keeper outfits and hitting each other with sticks.
  • Buying swords for your right wing ultra nationalist militia with the proceeds of your prize-winning literature.
  • Exhorting the troops to reinstate the emperor of Japan but nobody can hear you because there's a helicopter flying overhead.
  • A poster of a kitten next to a poster of a samurai, with diametrically opposed mantras about how you ought to handle failure.
  • Topics that leave you speechless.
  • Founder Brain.
  • Debunking a thing from philosophy.
  • The Philosophy of Reversing a Linked List.
  • The alternate universe where Banksy is a totalitarian dictator.
  • Vladimir Putin tagging up the streets of Bristol in the 90s.
  • Top hat, eyeball and coattails.
  • The Residents of Theseus.
  • Rednex.
  • David Bowie starring as Tesla in The Prestige and self-driving off the set.
  • The percentage of Teslas on the street
  • Nice Stylized T as a Screw Shirt.
  • Brainstorming places to hide in Copenhagen.
  • The problem of how to define the bounds of the hide and seek legal play field.
  • Playing hide and seek and knocking on a stranger's door and asking if you can hide in their house.
  • Knocking on the door of the company that moved into the building your company was in six years ago, asking to use the conference room because you're six years late for a meeting.
  • Journey to the End of the Night.
  • Playing music and speaking in riddles.
  • At what point it becomes morally correct to join the zombies.
  • Why is it okay to name a thing after another thing? Why is it okay to name a band after someone else's song?
  • Whether Skibidi Toilet has been cool, is currently cool, will become cool temporarily, or will become cool and stay forever.
  • A meme based on a Youtube thing.
  • Dadaist comedy Internet videos made in Garry's Mod.
  • Changing the head so it's not owned by Valve.
  • Generations starting the alphabet over, like hurricane names.
  • Turn of the millennium coffee shop war stories.
  • Drinking coffee at 2 AM on January 1st, 2000, looking out the window and waiting for the satellites to come crashing down.
  • Tech folks successfully convincing people that the Y2K bug is a problem, but not what the problem actually was.
  • What the Y2K bug was and how we solved it.
  • The Corolla Must Have Control.
  • The phone is too eager and the car is too greedy.
  • The phone and the bluetooth speaker agreeing to connect, and isn't there somebody you forgot to ask??
  • We invented this new thing but we don't know what it's for. Let's try to solve every problem with it and see if anything sticks.
  • Everybody migrating to TempleOS to get away from LLMs.
  • A lightweight operating system designed to be the Third Temple from the Hebrew bible.
  • Writing to your colleague to retract the continuum hypothesizing.
  • God's Chosen Programmer.
  • Off-Topic Lords.
  • A poem on the back of a bag of carrots.
  • A poem having been added to a bag of carrots by a scoundrel.
  • How many carrots you need to eat before you can be called a carrot man.
  • Explaining hidden tracks by first explaining that music used to come in this form called "albums."
  • If you have topics to talk about, we have a show for that, you don't put it on a hidden track on a CD in the 1990s.
  • Living to regret your self-own.

Support Topic Lords

]]> Lords:

  • Ben
  • Avery

Topics:

  • The Mishima Incident, in which one of the most famous authors in Japan created his own private militia of young men, attempted to overthrow the government and, upon failing, committed ritual suicide.
  • City-wide game of hide and seek
  • How to stick it to bad Bluetooth actors
  • The Carrotman's Lament, by E.L. Hubert
    • https://x.com/sweetstench/status/1724958011754504568
    • Esper says: "Avery’s anecdote about the carrot poem being something he’d do in high school reminded me of something I did in high school, where I took the song 'The Cha Cha Slide' and removed every instance of 'slide to the right' and added a bunch of 'slide to the left' so that people eventually collapsed into the wall. I got to do it at a little party with friends, and it paid off nicely."

Microtopics:

  • Where to play some crosswords.
  • Cruciverbalism.
  • Putting the black squares where the letters don't go.
  • Putting structural jokes in your crossword puzzles.
  • The cleverer the gimmick, the less fun the crossword puzzle.
  • Talking into your phone's transcription software during a five hour drive and having five hours of gibberish at the end of it.
  • Fifth caller wins a t-shirt!
  • Impossible Owls.
  • Squishy details.
  • Taking on an apprenticeship with a nobel prize winner.
  • The Japanese Self-Defense Force.
  • Dressing in bee keeper outfits and hitting each other with sticks.
  • Buying swords for your right wing ultra nationalist militia with the proceeds of your prize-winning literature.
  • Exhorting the troops to reinstate the emperor of Japan but nobody can hear you because there's a helicopter flying overhead.
  • A poster of a kitten next to a poster of a samurai, with diametrically opposed mantras about how you ought to handle failure.
  • Topics that leave you speechless.
  • Founder Brain.
  • Debunking a thing from philosophy.
  • The Philosophy of Reversing a Linked List.
  • The alternate universe where Banksy is a totalitarian dictator.
  • Vladimir Putin tagging up the streets of Bristol in the 90s.
  • Top hat, eyeball and coattails.
  • The Residents of Theseus.
  • Rednex.
  • David Bowie starring as Tesla in The Prestige and self-driving off the set.
  • The percentage of Teslas on the street
  • Nice Stylized T as a Screw Shirt.
  • Brainstorming places to hide in Copenhagen.
  • The problem of how to define the bounds of the hide and seek legal play field.
  • Playing hide and seek and knocking on a stranger's door and asking if you can hide in their house.
  • Knocking on the door of the company that moved into the building your company was in six years ago, asking to use the conference room because you're six years late for a meeting.
  • Journey to the End of the Night.
  • Playing music and speaking in riddles.
  • At what point it becomes morally correct to join the zombies.
  • Why is it okay to name a thing after another thing? Why is it okay to name a band after someone else's song?
  • Whether Skibidi Toilet has been cool, is currently cool, will become cool temporarily, or will become cool and stay forever.
  • A meme based on a Youtube thing.
  • Dadaist comedy Internet videos made in Garry's Mod.
  • Changing the head so it's not owned by Valve.
  • Generations starting the alphabet over, like hurricane names.
  • Turn of the millennium coffee shop war stories.
  • Drinking coffee at 2 AM on January 1st, 2000, looking out the window and waiting for the satellites to come crashing down.
  • Tech folks successfully convincing people that the Y2K bug is a problem, but not what the problem actually was.
  • What the Y2K bug was and how we solved it.
  • The Corolla Must Have Control.
  • The phone is too eager and the car is too greedy.
  • The phone and the bluetooth speaker agreeing to connect, and isn't there somebody you forgot to ask??
  • We invented this new thing but we don't know what it's for. Let's try to solve every problem with it and see if anything sticks.
  • Everybody migrating to TempleOS to get away from LLMs.
  • A lightweight operating system designed to be the Third Temple from the Hebrew bible.
  • Writing to your colleague to retract the continuum hypothesizing.
  • God's Chosen Programmer.
  • Off-Topic Lords.
  • A poem on the back of a bag of carrots.
  • A poem having been added to a bag of carrots by a scoundrel.
  • How many carrots you need to eat before you can be called a carrot man.
  • Explaining hidden tracks by first explaining that music used to come in this form called "albums."
  • If you have topics to talk about, we have a show for that, you don't put it on a hidden track on a CD in the 1990s.
  • Living to regret your self-own.

Support Topic Lords

]]> 266. Voronoi Cookies https://topiclords.com/voronoi-cookies 822381c4-b108-4b1e-a707-3c0e7b1ebf15 Mon, 25 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800 Jim Stormdancer full Jim Stormdancer Lords: Ben and Andrew. We discuss baking with precise measurement vs. by feel, making crosswords, how many weeks there are in a year, The Rules by Leila Chatti, building fidgeting into a Zoom lecture, and Things of Science. 1:07:10 yes Lords: * Ben * Andrew Topics: * Baking: precise science of measurement or do it all by feel? (People have very different philosophies of muffins) * I've gotten into making crosswords this year and recently had the idea to start putting them on postcards and leaving them in public places for people to find. Am I becoming the Riddler? Is this fine? * I just found out that there aren't exactly 52 weeks in a year * The Rules, Leila Chatti * https://poets.org/poem/rules * Building fidgeting into a Zoom lecture * Things of Science. (Subscription science toy service that I got when I was a kid) Microtopics: * Posting pictures of pottery to social media. * The Hopefully Year of Layoffs. * Teaching game development as a hobby. * The interactive comic books of Jason Shiga. * Lies and truth and sea monsters. * Waiting for half an hour to find out if you fucked it up. * Baking intuitively. * Skimming a recipe and thinking "hmm yes, I've made food before" * Voronoi cookies. * Keeping separate baking notebooks for each season. * Having units that are divisible by two. * Putting it in a Gas 4 Oven. * How to pronounce "tare." * Sneaking into Grandma's kitchen and weighing all the ingredients. * Cruciverbalism. * Where to post the crosswords you've constructed. * A Lord's Puzzle. * Giving people a little bit of joy and avoiding hearing any feedback about it. * Living in the puzzle capital of the world. * Constructing a crossword puzzle for every party you attend. * The MIT Mystery Hunt. * Making art for a really small group of people. * Crosswordese. * Designing themed vs. themeless crossword puzzles. * How many weeks are in a leap year. * Yet another ratio that doesn't work out. * Calendrical systems you could use. * Things that you know that are wrong. * What's your favorite thing you don't know that you don't know? * Finding a drawer full of narwhal tusks in a bone shop and thinking "hm, sixty unicorns died here" * NASA's antigravity room. * Why doesn't the Mars habitat work out? * Multiple digressions on horse urine. * Refining horse urine into progesterone on Mars. * Suddenly realizing that you've been dead all along. * Cicadas doing whatever they do in the trees. * Acknowledging the expectations of what a poem is. * Why you always turn out to have been dead at the end. * Who is out there still making games about guns? * Adding line breaks to make your essay look like a poem. * Innominateness. * Garden path level design. * Reading aloud etudes. * Mavis Beacon Teaches Elocution. * Replacing your Zoom background with a video of yourself. * Brain massaging video of cutting sand. * The calming effect of amphetamines. * Fidgeting incessantly during Zoom calls. * Fidgeting for people so they don't have to. * Bubbling noises and space harps. * Remote testing protocols. * Plagiarism detector snake oil. * Doing homework to get used to the idea of doing homework. * Mass-production of adults. * Paperwork as a method of crowd control. * Homework as a barrier to family time vs. homework that facilitates family time. * Mailing people little bits of science. * Aerogel vs. Superslurper. * Growing mold in your oobleck. * Sending 1940s children asbestos in the mail. * Using every sense to explore the world. * A dog sniffing your hand and walking away. * Throwing away all the business cards that just have your Twitter handle on them. Lords:

  • Ben
  • Andrew

Topics:

  • Baking: precise science of measurement or do it all by feel? (People have very different philosophies of muffins)
  • I've gotten into making crosswords this year and recently had the idea to start putting them on postcards and leaving them in public places for people to find. Am I becoming the Riddler? Is this fine?
  • I just found out that there aren't exactly 52 weeks in a year
  • The Rules, Leila Chatti
  • Building fidgeting into a Zoom lecture
  • Things of Science. (Subscription science toy service that I got when I was a kid)

Microtopics:

  • Posting pictures of pottery to social media.
  • The Hopefully Year of Layoffs.
  • Teaching game development as a hobby.
  • The interactive comic books of Jason Shiga.
  • Lies and truth and sea monsters.
  • Waiting for half an hour to find out if you fucked it up.
  • Baking intuitively.
  • Skimming a recipe and thinking "hmm yes, I've made food before"
  • Voronoi cookies.
  • Keeping separate baking notebooks for each season.
  • Having units that are divisible by two.
  • Putting it in a Gas 4 Oven.
  • How to pronounce "tare."
  • Sneaking into Grandma's kitchen and weighing all the ingredients.
  • Cruciverbalism.
  • Where to post the crosswords you've constructed.
  • A Lord's Puzzle.
  • Giving people a little bit of joy and avoiding hearing any feedback about it.
  • Living in the puzzle capital of the world.
  • Constructing a crossword puzzle for every party you attend.
  • The MIT Mystery Hunt.
  • Making art for a really small group of people.
  • Crosswordese.
  • Designing themed vs. themeless crossword puzzles.
  • How many weeks are in a leap year.
  • Yet another ratio that doesn't work out.
  • Calendrical systems you could use.
  • Things that you know that are wrong.
  • What's your favorite thing you don't know that you don't know?
  • Finding a drawer full of narwhal tusks in a bone shop and thinking "hm, sixty unicorns died here"
  • NASA's antigravity room.
  • Why doesn't the Mars habitat work out?
  • Multiple digressions on horse urine.
  • Refining horse urine into progesterone on Mars.
  • Suddenly realizing that you've been dead all along.
  • Cicadas doing whatever they do in the trees.
  • Acknowledging the expectations of what a poem is.
  • Why you always turn out to have been dead at the end.
  • Who is out there still making games about guns?
  • Adding line breaks to make your essay look like a poem.
  • Innominateness.
  • Garden path level design.
  • Reading aloud etudes.
  • Mavis Beacon Teaches Elocution.
  • Replacing your Zoom background with a video of yourself.
  • Brain massaging video of cutting sand.
  • The calming effect of amphetamines.
  • Fidgeting incessantly during Zoom calls.
  • Fidgeting for people so they don't have to.
  • Bubbling noises and space harps.
  • Remote testing protocols.
  • Plagiarism detector snake oil.
  • Doing homework to get used to the idea of doing homework.
  • Mass-production of adults.
  • Paperwork as a method of crowd control.
  • Homework as a barrier to family time vs. homework that facilitates family time.
  • Mailing people little bits of science.
  • Aerogel vs. Superslurper.
  • Growing mold in your oobleck.
  • Sending 1940s children asbestos in the mail.
  • Using every sense to explore the world.
  • A dog sniffing your hand and walking away.
  • Throwing away all the business cards that just have your Twitter handle on them.

Support Topic Lords

]]> Lords:

  • Ben
  • Andrew

Topics:

  • Baking: precise science of measurement or do it all by feel? (People have very different philosophies of muffins)
  • I've gotten into making crosswords this year and recently had the idea to start putting them on postcards and leaving them in public places for people to find. Am I becoming the Riddler? Is this fine?
  • I just found out that there aren't exactly 52 weeks in a year
  • The Rules, Leila Chatti
  • Building fidgeting into a Zoom lecture
  • Things of Science. (Subscription science toy service that I got when I was a kid)

Microtopics:

  • Posting pictures of pottery to social media.
  • The Hopefully Year of Layoffs.
  • Teaching game development as a hobby.
  • The interactive comic books of Jason Shiga.
  • Lies and truth and sea monsters.
  • Waiting for half an hour to find out if you fucked it up.
  • Baking intuitively.
  • Skimming a recipe and thinking "hmm yes, I've made food before"
  • Voronoi cookies.
  • Keeping separate baking notebooks for each season.
  • Having units that are divisible by two.
  • Putting it in a Gas 4 Oven.
  • How to pronounce "tare."
  • Sneaking into Grandma's kitchen and weighing all the ingredients.
  • Cruciverbalism.
  • Where to post the crosswords you've constructed.
  • A Lord's Puzzle.
  • Giving people a little bit of joy and avoiding hearing any feedback about it.
  • Living in the puzzle capital of the world.
  • Constructing a crossword puzzle for every party you attend.
  • The MIT Mystery Hunt.
  • Making art for a really small group of people.
  • Crosswordese.
  • Designing themed vs. themeless crossword puzzles.
  • How many weeks are in a leap year.
  • Yet another ratio that doesn't work out.
  • Calendrical systems you could use.
  • Things that you know that are wrong.
  • What's your favorite thing you don't know that you don't know?
  • Finding a drawer full of narwhal tusks in a bone shop and thinking "hm, sixty unicorns died here"
  • NASA's antigravity room.
  • Why doesn't the Mars habitat work out?
  • Multiple digressions on horse urine.
  • Refining horse urine into progesterone on Mars.
  • Suddenly realizing that you've been dead all along.
  • Cicadas doing whatever they do in the trees.
  • Acknowledging the expectations of what a poem is.
  • Why you always turn out to have been dead at the end.
  • Who is out there still making games about guns?
  • Adding line breaks to make your essay look like a poem.
  • Innominateness.
  • Garden path level design.
  • Reading aloud etudes.
  • Mavis Beacon Teaches Elocution.
  • Replacing your Zoom background with a video of yourself.
  • Brain massaging video of cutting sand.
  • The calming effect of amphetamines.
  • Fidgeting incessantly during Zoom calls.
  • Fidgeting for people so they don't have to.
  • Bubbling noises and space harps.
  • Remote testing protocols.
  • Plagiarism detector snake oil.
  • Doing homework to get used to the idea of doing homework.
  • Mass-production of adults.
  • Paperwork as a method of crowd control.
  • Homework as a barrier to family time vs. homework that facilitates family time.
  • Mailing people little bits of science.
  • Aerogel vs. Superslurper.
  • Growing mold in your oobleck.
  • Sending 1940s children asbestos in the mail.
  • Using every sense to explore the world.
  • A dog sniffing your hand and walking away.
  • Throwing away all the business cards that just have your Twitter handle on them.

Support Topic Lords

]]> 186. ADHD Shame Graveyard of Browser Tabs https://topiclords.com/adhd-shame-graveyard-of-browser-tabs e076e051-4483-48be-adf5-584397fb1c33 Mon, 15 May 2023 00:00:00 -0700 Jim Stormdancer full Jim Stormdancer Lords: Tim and Ben. We discuss Thursday Night, finding your favorite music, never shipping a game and just playtesting forever, Fine Feather, having lots of browser tabs open, and secrets in Super Mario World 59:54 yes Lords: * Tim * Ben * https://linktr.ee/zerofiftyone Topics: * My Thursday Night * The daunting thought of: there is so much music that exists now - it's more than likely that your favorite song in the world is out there and you'll never find it in your lifetime. * I've been working on a small game in my spare time and I never want to ship it. I just want to have friends playtest forever. * Fine Feather * https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/3/3597ddeb-e52e-4cda-a59c-c64600489fea/vyy9So4K.jpg * The terrifying field of Hostile Nuclear Architecture * https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJmB4MFj/ * Do you have 10^3 tabs open in Chrome? * In Super Mario World, some secrets reward you by skipping levels and some reward you by adding new levels. Make up your mind! If the level add guy and the level subtract guy had just talked to each other they could've just left the levels as they were and saved everybody a lot of work. Topics: * Having something to unplug. * Continuing to take care of your children. * Going to see the Mountain Goats for your birthday. * Sleep meds that don't interact well with grapefruit. * Caring for a newborn for a month and then suddenly having a nice meal. * A cocktail of factors. * Finding an amazing new artist you become obsessed with for the next few months. * Listening to music while you work. * A poster containing the source code for Pitfall. * How to keep finding new music in your thirties. * Phonograph. * Auto-brewery syndrome but for methamphetamines. * A good song that everybody likes. * Fear of stories. * Refusing to see a movie because you're afraid of what it'll make you feel. * Going camping in the woods in order to watch a movie. * Reliving your past experience in memory. * The soap operas that your ex's mom would watch. * Buying sheet music and playing it yourself in anticipation of when the orchestra comes to your town to play you the real thing. * Sheet music as a pre-release hype document. * Reading the manual of your new video game on the car ride home. * Crestfallenness. * Listening to a record with somebody. * Rogue topics that keep threatening to come up. * Playtesting as a way to get to know your friends better. * Approaching the things that are valuable to you through the lens of an illusion that you know is an illusion. * Lockdown hobbies. * How to enjoy hobbies. * Starting a Youtube series called "Ben sucks at baking" so you get a bunch of followers who will be disappointed if you get good at baking. * Dehydrating beer to get yeast out of it. * Making beer out of the yeast that's just hanging out in the air around you. * Gordy and the Monster Moon. * Nine year olds who are incredible at climbing because they refuse to eat fish. * A sparrow showing you its whole ass. * Whether sparrows are detested. * How to dispose of nuclear waste. * Attempts to make you hind brain think "I need to leave here immediately." * The meme of the skeleton playing the trumpet. * A field of Aztec death whistles activated by the wind blowing. * Trying to save the lives of people who live far in the future. * Speaking across time. * Whether this place is a place of honor. * An ADHD Shame Graveyard of Browser Tabs. * Going over all your browser tabs to see which ones remain relevant to you. * Details of how one bathes oneself that we never discuss in public. * A web browser that'll tell you "no, I think you've had enough tabs" * A brick that gives you a key. * How Elden Ring is structured. * A game that is a foray into a new design space that demonstrates how not to solve these design problems. * A scavenger hunt to find the next Topic Lords guest. Lords:

Topics:

  • My Thursday Night
  • The daunting thought of: there is so much music that exists now - it's more than likely that your favorite song in the world is out there and you'll never find it in your lifetime.
  • I've been working on a small game in my spare time and I never want to ship it. I just want to have friends playtest forever.
  • Fine Feather
  • The terrifying field of Hostile Nuclear Architecture
  • Do you have 103 tabs open in Chrome?
  • In Super Mario World, some secrets reward you by skipping levels and some reward you by adding new levels. Make up your mind! If the level add guy and the level subtract guy had just talked to each other they could've just left the levels as they were and saved everybody a lot of work.

Topics:

  • Having something to unplug.
  • Continuing to take care of your children.
  • Going to see the Mountain Goats for your birthday.
  • Sleep meds that don't interact well with grapefruit.
  • Caring for a newborn for a month and then suddenly having a nice meal.
  • A cocktail of factors.
  • Finding an amazing new artist you become obsessed with for the next few months.
  • Listening to music while you work.
  • A poster containing the source code for Pitfall.
  • How to keep finding new music in your thirties.
  • Phonograph.
  • Auto-brewery syndrome but for methamphetamines.
  • A good song that everybody likes.
  • Fear of stories.
  • Refusing to see a movie because you're afraid of what it'll make you feel.
  • Going camping in the woods in order to watch a movie.
  • Reliving your past experience in memory.
  • The soap operas that your ex's mom would watch.
  • Buying sheet music and playing it yourself in anticipation of when the orchestra comes to your town to play you the real thing.
  • Sheet music as a pre-release hype document.
  • Reading the manual of your new video game on the car ride home.
  • Crestfallenness.
  • Listening to a record with somebody.
  • Rogue topics that keep threatening to come up.
  • Playtesting as a way to get to know your friends better.
  • Approaching the things that are valuable to you through the lens of an illusion that you know is an illusion.
  • Lockdown hobbies.
  • How to enjoy hobbies.
  • Starting a Youtube series called "Ben sucks at baking" so you get a bunch of followers who will be disappointed if you get good at baking.
  • Dehydrating beer to get yeast out of it.
  • Making beer out of the yeast that's just hanging out in the air around you.
  • Gordy and the Monster Moon.
  • Nine year olds who are incredible at climbing because they refuse to eat fish.
  • A sparrow showing you its whole ass.
  • Whether sparrows are detested.
  • How to dispose of nuclear waste.
  • Attempts to make you hind brain think "I need to leave here immediately."
  • The meme of the skeleton playing the trumpet.
  • A field of Aztec death whistles activated by the wind blowing.
  • Trying to save the lives of people who live far in the future.
  • Speaking across time.
  • Whether this place is a place of honor.
  • An ADHD Shame Graveyard of Browser Tabs.
  • Going over all your browser tabs to see which ones remain relevant to you.
  • Details of how one bathes oneself that we never discuss in public.
  • A web browser that'll tell you "no, I think you've had enough tabs"
  • A brick that gives you a key.
  • How Elden Ring is structured.
  • A game that is a foray into a new design space that demonstrates how not to solve these design problems.
  • A scavenger hunt to find the next Topic Lords guest.

Support Topic Lords

]]> Lords:

Topics:

  • My Thursday Night
  • The daunting thought of: there is so much music that exists now - it's more than likely that your favorite song in the world is out there and you'll never find it in your lifetime.
  • I've been working on a small game in my spare time and I never want to ship it. I just want to have friends playtest forever.
  • Fine Feather
  • The terrifying field of Hostile Nuclear Architecture
  • Do you have 103 tabs open in Chrome?
  • In Super Mario World, some secrets reward you by skipping levels and some reward you by adding new levels. Make up your mind! If the level add guy and the level subtract guy had just talked to each other they could've just left the levels as they were and saved everybody a lot of work.

Topics:

  • Having something to unplug.
  • Continuing to take care of your children.
  • Going to see the Mountain Goats for your birthday.
  • Sleep meds that don't interact well with grapefruit.
  • Caring for a newborn for a month and then suddenly having a nice meal.
  • A cocktail of factors.
  • Finding an amazing new artist you become obsessed with for the next few months.
  • Listening to music while you work.
  • A poster containing the source code for Pitfall.
  • How to keep finding new music in your thirties.
  • Phonograph.
  • Auto-brewery syndrome but for methamphetamines.
  • A good song that everybody likes.
  • Fear of stories.
  • Refusing to see a movie because you're afraid of what it'll make you feel.
  • Going camping in the woods in order to watch a movie.
  • Reliving your past experience in memory.
  • The soap operas that your ex's mom would watch.
  • Buying sheet music and playing it yourself in anticipation of when the orchestra comes to your town to play you the real thing.
  • Sheet music as a pre-release hype document.
  • Reading the manual of your new video game on the car ride home.
  • Crestfallenness.
  • Listening to a record with somebody.
  • Rogue topics that keep threatening to come up.
  • Playtesting as a way to get to know your friends better.
  • Approaching the things that are valuable to you through the lens of an illusion that you know is an illusion.
  • Lockdown hobbies.
  • How to enjoy hobbies.
  • Starting a Youtube series called "Ben sucks at baking" so you get a bunch of followers who will be disappointed if you get good at baking.
  • Dehydrating beer to get yeast out of it.
  • Making beer out of the yeast that's just hanging out in the air around you.
  • Gordy and the Monster Moon.
  • Nine year olds who are incredible at climbing because they refuse to eat fish.
  • A sparrow showing you its whole ass.
  • Whether sparrows are detested.
  • How to dispose of nuclear waste.
  • Attempts to make you hind brain think "I need to leave here immediately."
  • The meme of the skeleton playing the trumpet.
  • A field of Aztec death whistles activated by the wind blowing.
  • Trying to save the lives of people who live far in the future.
  • Speaking across time.
  • Whether this place is a place of honor.
  • An ADHD Shame Graveyard of Browser Tabs.
  • Going over all your browser tabs to see which ones remain relevant to you.
  • Details of how one bathes oneself that we never discuss in public.
  • A web browser that'll tell you "no, I think you've had enough tabs"
  • A brick that gives you a key.
  • How Elden Ring is structured.
  • A game that is a foray into a new design space that demonstrates how not to solve these design problems.
  • A scavenger hunt to find the next Topic Lords guest.

Support Topic Lords

]]>