This week, Dan and Merlin talk a little too much about Harry Potter, but also manage to cover some other media properties as well as the shockingly limited options for British casting. Dan has a new task management app, and Merlin decides to give it a spin too. The need for help from the jackals who make Cash's iPad app is escalated.

In a somewhat classic style, the conversation moves to considering Big Issues around work, friction, modality, usability, and apps for pound-sign productivity.

Twitter, its apps, and its perplexing (lack of?) company direction are discussed. Merlin has something like a razor for this.

Dan is told that he is upset.

Links for this episode:

• Thought-terminating cliché - RationalWikiA thought-terminating cliché is a saying, often a tautology, that is repeated in order to relieve the stress of cognitive dissonance by avoiding all further consideration of a matter. Everyday examples include "it is what it is," "it's just common sense," and "you gotta do what you gotta do."
• 5by5 | Back to Work #299: Unhook from the ComparisonThis week, Merlin shares some useful thoughts (via Patrick Rothfuss) on being careful about how we compare ourselves to others.
• Manure Digester — Unattended Consequences — Overcast
• Behind the scenes: Professor Flitwick - Pottermore
• TickTick: Todo list, checklist and task manager app for Android, iPhone and Web
• Merlin's Trick for Remembering HP ages and order
• The Mythical Man-Month - Wikipedia
• Towards a Bra-free Instagram Experience – NewCo Shift
• Welcome to Willow Management
• Douglas Adams - Wikipedia

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