Episode 113: Entropy's Gonna Do Its Business

TOPIC: Drafts for iOS, and Who You Want to Be

This week, Dan and Merlin cover two very different topics.

First, there's a detailed discussion of one of Merlin's favorite iOS apps, Drafts, including a deep dive on the app's extraordinary interactions with everything from Twitter to calendars to Dropbox.

Second, Dan and Merlin have an A-plus conversation on the hardest question you’ll ask yourself this week: “Is this who I want to be?”

Links for this episode:

• [SPONSOR] Shutterstock
  Royalty-Free Subscription Stock Photography & Vector Art - Search and select from millions of high resolution royalty free images, stock photos, vector art, and stock photography.
• Fancy Monkeys - Scruffy Thinking - Scruffy.TV
  On this special That Scruffy Post Show Kanen sits down with Stu Maschwitz and Merlin Mann on their second visit to the show! They discuss delegation, dealing with email and to do lists, assistants, and working hard to make being lazy possible. Does it get better than that?
• Why 'Adventure Time' Is the Best Sci-Fi Show on TV Right Now | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews | Indiewire
  Sometimes you love a show so much it can do weird things to your head. I've gone out on a limb with Cartoon Network's "Adventure Time" by deeming it a groundbreaking form of cartoon storytelling that fuses several eras of animation into a delightfully surreal and yet oddly familiar experience. I also wondered if the entire show was one big metaphor for sex. I stand by the former and wince a little when contemplating the latter as anything other than one more manifestation of the fun possibilities involved in reading into a show that has a deceptively simple surface and tangibly dark interiors. But after last night's wonderful flashback special episode, "Simon and Marcy," I'm convinced of one thing: "Adventure Time" is the best science fiction show on television right now.
• Quicksilver — Mac OS X at your Fingertips
  Quicksilver is a fast and free Mac OS X productivity application that gives you the power to control your Mac quickly and elegantly. Quicksilver learns your habits, making your everyday chores simple and efficient.
• Quicksilver — LoveQuicksilver Blog
  After almost 10 years of testing, Quicksilver lays the beta tag to rest. (If the lack of an eszett brings a tear to your eye, you can always reminisce by hitting ?S on your keyboard). What does this release mean? It means more than just a change in the version numbering system - it signifies a maturity of Quicksilver and a sign of what’s to come.
• Quicksilver — LoveQuicksilver Blog
  With the release of Quicksilver v1.0, I sat with Quicksilver’s lead developers (at our respective far-flung computers) to gather their thoughts on this historic occasion, and to find out a bit more about Quicksilver behind the scenes.
• Drafts - Agile Tortoise
  Drafts is a different kind of note taking app. In Drafts, text comes first – open the app and get a new, blank draft. Don’t get bogged down in a timeline to tweet or post to Facebook and App.net. Don’t tap through multiple screens to compose an email or SMS. Don’t navigate folders, create files and name them just to jot down a note or create a todo. Drafts is available for both iPhone and iPad.
• Amazon.com: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
  
• Gunter - The Adventure Time Wiki. Mathematical! | kung fu grippe
  
• Depeche Mode - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Depeche Mode (pron.: /dɨˈpɛʃ/) are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group’s original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan (lead vocals, occasional songwriter since 2005), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andy Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980–81). Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album, Speak & Spell, and was replaced by Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums, occasional songwriter) with Gore taking over songwriting. Wilder left the band in 1995; Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher have since continued as a trio.
• Prolost - About
  Stu Maschwitz is a filmmaker, photographer, and writer, with a passion for kinetic storytelling. A graduate of CalArts, Maschwitz spent four years at Industrial Light
• Stu Maschwitz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Stuart T. Maschwitz, commonly known as Stu Maschwitz, was the co-founder and chief technology officer of The Orphanage, a visual effects company that was based in California. He has worked as senior visual effects supervisor on several films. He previously worked at Industrial Light and Magic.
• Stu Maschwitz (5tu) on Twitter
  Filmmaking nerd.Bay Area, CA http://prolost.com
• Stuart T. Maschwitz - IMDb
  
• I Remember You - The Adventure Time Wiki. Mathematical!
  Ice King visits Marceline to ask for help in creating a song to attract princesses, but Marceline struggles to deal emotionally with his presence.
• Simon and Marcy - The Adventure Time Wiki. Mathematical!
  Synopsis: Ice King and Marceline 996 years ago.
• Simon and Marcy/Transcript - The Adventure Time Wiki. Mathematical!
  
• Gunter - The Adventure Time Wiki. Mathematical!
  Gunter is the name of the penguin that most commonly accompanies the Ice King, although in "Princess Monster Wife," it is shown that multiple penguins have subtle variants of that name but the Ice King pronounces the other penguins' names differently. The Ice King uses Gunter as his personal servant, whereas the other penguins working for the Ice King are more or less slaves. It is not completely clear whether Gunter is male or female.
• A Bug's Life (1998)
  
• David L. Lander - IMDb
  
• Dunbar's number - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. These are relationships in which an individual knows who each person is, and how each person relates to every other person.[1] Proponents assert that numbers larger than this generally require more restrictive rules, laws, and enforced norms to maintain a stable, cohesive group. It has been proposed to lie between 100 and 230, with a commonly used value of 150.
• Audiobus: Live, app-to-app audio.
  Bring your audio apps together.
• Drafts for iPad for iPad on the iTunes App Store
  Drafts, where text starts on iOS.
• Sherlock - TV.com
  This three-part series retells the tale of England's most celebrated detective but in a modern-day setting, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman taking the leads as Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson respectively.
• Nuts (Pitiful Old Man) / Remember You - Marceline and The Ice King (aka Simon) - YouTube
  This is from the cartoon Adventure Time from episode 4x25 called 'I Remember You'. Olivia Olson played Marcy and The Ice King is played by Tom Kenny.
• Anna Debenham (anna_debenham) on Twitter
  Front-end Astronaut Brighton · http://www.maban.co.uk
• Marceline & Simon - "Remember You"
  This magic keeps me alive But, it's making me crazy And, I need to save you But, who's going to save me? Please forgive me for whatever I do When I don't remember you
• Remember you (Marceline & the Ice King) lyrics - ADVENTURE TIME
  "Marceline…I can feel myself slipping away"
• Flexibits | Fantastical for Mac | Meet your Mac's new calendar.
  The Mac calendar you'll actually enjoy using
• App Cubby • Hand Crafted iPhone Apps - Launch Center
  Launch actions, not just apps! It’s like speed dial, but for more than just phone calls! Launch Center Pro creates lightning quick shortcuts to specific features buried deep within apps. Call a loved one, message a friend, launch Instagram’s camera to quickly snap a pic, tweet, or turn your iPhone into a flashlight. Launch Center Pro gets you to where you’re going faster than ever before!
• 5by5 | Hypercritical #15: The Bridges of Siracusa County
  
• 5by5 | Back to Work #13: The Kid's Great
  Dan and Merlin talk about "Cranking" - Merlin's latest post at 43folders.com.
• 5by5 | Mac Power Users
  
• Fancy Monkeys - That Scruffy Post Show with guests Merlin Mann and Stu Maschwitz on Huffduffer
  On this special That Scruffy Post Show Kanen sits down with Stu Maschwitz and Merlin Mann on their second visit to the show! They discuss delegation, dealing with email and to do lists, assistants, and working hard to make being lazy possible. Does it get better than that?
• IMDB: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
  
• Fantastic Mr Fox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Fantastic Mr Fox is a children's novel written by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1970 by George Allen & Unwin in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Chaffin. The first UK Puffin paperback edition, first issued in 1974, featured illustrations by Jill Bennett. Later editions have featured illustrations by Tony Ross (1988) and Quentin Blake (1996). The story is about Mr Fox and how he outwits his farmer neighbours to steal their food from right under their noses.
• Fantastic Mr. Fox | Fox Searchlight
  On this special That Scruffy Post Show Kanen sits down with Stu Maschwitz and Merlin Mann on their second visit to the show! They discuss delegation, dealing with email and to do lists, assistants, and working hard to make being lazy possible. Does it get better than that?
• "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists
  A searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece. A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.
• Marceline the Vampire Queen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Marceline the Vampire Queen is a main character in the American animated television series Adventure Time created by Pendleton Ward. She is voiced by Olivia Olson in most appearances, by Ava Acres as a child and by Cloris Leachman as an old woman. Marceline is a fun-loving 1,000-year-old trickster vampire queen. The name Marceline is based on the middle name of a childhood friend of Ward's, Marie. The artistic design for Marceline was created by Ward, with small changes and additions added by Phil Rynda, former lead character designer and prop designer for Adventure Time. Unlike a traditional vampire, Marceline does not need to drink blood to survive; rather, she eats the color red. Marceline is a musician who plays an electric bass that she made from her family's heirloom battle-axe.
• About handleOpenURL: - handleOpenURL: Shared Interapp Communication on iOS
  We set up handleOpenURL.com because we were looking for a central place where we could find more info about the schemes other apps were using and where we could share the schemes we implemented in our apps. Searching the Internet turned up information scattered all over the net. We thought it would be a nice thing to set up a place where this information is collected. handleOpenURL.com is open to developers to share their URL schemes.
• IPhone URL Schemes - akosma wiki
  This page centralizes code samples for URL schemes available in many iPhone applications, not only in Apple's but in many others. It also includes programming tips and references about implementing apps registering or consuming URL schemes.
• Writing Kit 3.x · Unitasking at its finest
  Advanced Markdown Text Editor…Meets Awesome Researching Tools
• whacker - The Jargon File v4.4.7
  A person, similar to a hacker, who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities. Whereas a hacker tends to produce great hacks, a whacker only ends up whacking the system or program in question. Whackers are often quite egotistical and eager to claim wizard status, regardless of the views of their peers.
• Antonio Gramsci (Hegemony) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  For Gramsci, hegemonic dominance ultimately relied on a "consented" coercion, and in a "crisis of authority" the "masks of consent" slip away, revealing the fist of force.

This week's episode of Back to Work is kindly sponsored by: Shutterstock (use code "BACKTOWORK4" for 30% off).