Thinking of renting a car? Heard any of the Hertz horror stories on your social media travels? RJ has his as-usual useful advice for doing business with the megalodon of motor vehicles, as well as any of the lesser fry. It could keep you out of jail! The Dogs also discuss escape rooms, melting keyboards, preparing old laptops for sale, and saving money when repairing them. Also in this episode, RJ takes a deep breath and leaves Twitter now that Elon won’t let him use Tweetbot any more. And yes, Angry Birds still exists so we talk about that, too. It’s another seriously light hearted afternoon in the Shed! 

By now, many of you will have heard of ChatGPT. If you haven’t, you will before long, so here in Episode 153 you will find an opening round of info about this groundbreaking software, in advance of an in-depth interview with friend-of-the-show Cam, who makes extensive use of the product. It’s way too important to just call a Public Service Announcement, but knowing about it is worthwhile, seriously. We have another gold-plated, if not somewhat puzzling, money making idea; an encounter with an antique cigar; a newly-functional sink in the Shed (way to go KJ!); and we find out that the world has not entirely moved on from wooden hockey sticks. We’re sure you’ll be as interested and relieved as we were to find that at least one thing hasn’t changed.

Maybe it was all the talk about the long-forgotten Robson Zoo (and whatever happened to Charlie the Lonesome Cougar, anyway?), or maybe it was our conversation around the Trophy Town documentary on the 1961 Trail Smoke Eaters, or possibly our warm reminiscence of this Christmas just past… But whatever it was, it led us to a long contemplation of the future, specifically the question of whether there is a future after this current turn on the stage of life. KJ has Thoughts, and we wonder whether you do, too.

PJ publicly announces his doddering phase as he struggles to come to grips with how much movies cost, while KJ and RJ happily discuss what they’re watching these days, and we all detail how movies will change when it’s us making them. In our ongoing quest to actually improve your life, RJ comes up with yet another golden PSA nugget on how to find your phone when you’ve taken that (not) inevitable fall on a slippery street. Speaking of inevitable, we spend some time dwelling in happy nostalgia while remembering innocent people we injured in our youthful sporting lives. And a couple added bonuses!: PJ 3.0 has become obsessed with rusty guns and how to fix them, and RJ provides a resource for you to learn how to use a rotary dial phone. Wait, don’t look into the sun, and keep your g****** eyes on the road! We’re looking at you, cinematographers and actors.

Our special guest this episode is Jenny of Rossland, with whom your Dogs went to school and generally hung out 50 or so years ago. We talk about what she’s been up to over the long past and will she will be up to in the near future (Ecuador!), and she helps us out with KJ’s Snappers and some bespoke Listener Mail as well. Anecdotes and arguments abound! 

Another afternoon in the Shed sees your Dogs coming to grips with a veritable shintangle of words and phrases in a KJ’s Snappers session. After he showed us the ropes we got a close-up tour of the ins and outs of renouncing one’s U.S. citizenship—this might be useful info for some listeners, so you’re welcome, it’s just what we do. Finally, we also got to read Listener Mail, a regular favourite. It all adds up to a ronnogram of fun, which is quite a lot!

As they shelter in the Shed from unexpectedly wintry winter conditions, your Shed Dogs wander along and talk about some old stuff (like Star Trek and California Dreaming), some pseudo old stuff (like Mad Men) as well as some more contemporary themes: revelations from IOS 16, some thoughts on the business of weather, and of course dogs—specifically the easiest way to train them so they don’t disrupt the podcast you’re trying to do. It’s all in good humour and ambles along at a relaxed pace, so kick back (or walk along) and have a listen! 

Long time listeners will know that we Dogs occasionally enjoy a K-drama. Like, you know, all the time. If you weren’t aware of that, this episode should bring you up to speed as we discuss, praise, and generally swoon over “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” on Netflix. We liked it a lot. We also take quick looks at RJ’s recent trip to Seattle and experience at a dinner club, and talk about the remixed “Revolver” that Giles Martin and modern technology have given us, but really….our focus on Attorney Woo Young Woo is extraordinary, and we hope you’re as charmed as we were. Bonus two words: flat, gloss.

On a blustery cold November day, your Dogs warmed their old erudite hearts reading emails from resolute listeners… and then reverted to propense form by prattling on about KJ’s Snappers and genteelly discoursing on why Apple has appellations and numbers for operating systems, what canine Buddy has been up to, impedimenta PJ is spending money on, and RJ’s and Sue’s Halloween. In other words, and propitiously, it’s us!

Checking in at a small but busy hotel can be tricky business, as RJ explains to us here in a little segment we call Down in the Bayeux. Attentive listeners will pick up a small yet vital tidbit that could avert all kinds of problems, and globe-trotting sophisticates like our audience will do well to lean in and listen. To complement that information, we also get highly entertaining and informative Listener Mail; it turns out your Shed Dogs don’t have really deep operatic history knowledge, after all, but we do now. Who knew Warner Brothers cartoons were so vital to our cultural education. On top of all this goodness, we do our duty as citizens and bring you some insight on political campaigning on the ground floor—something you’re considering trying? You get a look here, because we are Those Guys.

A little over 5 months ago, we spoke of a few interesting things, as we do. Here at last, we share it with you: some good phone-related travel tips (hint: avoid roaming charges!), some great listener mail (thanks!), and as always some reflection on how we are dealing with things like using the tap with debit cards, what music RJ is listening to, and in this case the novel venue he was listening to it in (half time at a Lions football game, replete with cheerleaders doing the Pony Dance). Really, we had this episode kicking around and we needed the cupboard space, so enjoy!

The Shed Dogs fall back into Daylight Losing Time with a look at all the fun things Apple’s new operating system brings to your phone: good tips, highs and lows, and favourite features. When we’re done with that, we need a change of pace and so bring you, under RJ’s tutelage, a thorough background on baguettes, followed by a rigorous taste test of three different local baguettes so that you can know what to put in that big basket on the front of your bike. After this, you’ll be able to dazzle your friends and scare your enemies with your confident cosmopolitan knowledge of one of France’s most carefully guarded culinary treasures. All you’ll need is that beret you’ve been wishing you could wear.

Have you wondered what “ortolan” might be? Have you ever been dissatisfied with the air conditioning in your discount hotel or motel? Perhaps you’ve been looking for a solid gold business investment opportunity and just haven’t landed on the right thing yet. Maybe, even, you want to wear your own dog’s fur. Regardless, do we have an episode for you! All those topics and many, many more besides are waiting to march happily from the Shed to your head, right here, right now. We know you’ll be all happily satisfied after another tasty mental meal, so pull up a chair, grab a napkin, and tuck right in.

About 50 years ago, the Whole Earth Catalogue was published, providing people with all the information and tools they needed to build their own geodesic dome homes and grow gardens and weave clothing. It also had a fun story in a lot of episodes entitled “Divine Right’s Trip”. In this episode we mainly hear about RJ’s recent 31-day sojourn in Europe, his driving experiences, food experiences, phone and translation app experiences, and increasingly hopeless efforts to talk to security guards and people in very long washroom lineups. It has that same sort of good-natured-slightly-chaotic-but-I-wanna-do-this feel as that 50-year-old column. Dig in. Listen. Laugh. Pick up a tip or two. It’s all here.

Way back in Episode 95, Member of BC’s Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Vancouver – Lower Lonsdale Bowinn Ma made her first appearance here on the podcast via Zoom. Here in Episode 140, she returns for a live in-person visit to the Shed. We spent a great hour or so discussing major transit projects with BC’s Minister of State for Infrastructure, as well as talking about the future of electric vehicles in BC, the relationships between housing and traffic, and the concept of attempting to future proof major infrastructure. Along the way we discover to our surprise that politicians do not get free food at the Legislature cafeteria and that the general public can go eat there, too! Mostly, though, what we get is time with an active, imaginative, constituent-centric representative who wants to accomplish things other than just being elected. As if that all weren’t more than enough, you’ll also get to hear a candid account of how fascinatingly eclectic the Shed experience really is for first time visitors.

Hayley and Ron of Montreal return to experience first-hand the swirling, murky mental landscapes of a session in the Shed featuring KJ’s Short Snappers. We are very fortunately grounded by excellent listener mail, but our connection to Earth gets a little tenuous here…again. Strap in and turn on!

Special guests Hayley (formerly of North Vancouver but now of Montreal) and her partner Ron (grew up in Montreal) step into the Shed to…well, really just to compare notes, pros and cons, of the two cities. Food and weather, culture and history, and of course the big one: language. PJ’s hope for a black or white, right or wrong opinion on which is the better place is once again dashed, but along the way are a few surprising insights from our guests. For instance, who would you think loves the outdoors more? Where can you get a better hot dog? In which city will a perfect stranger shovel out a parking spot for you? You’ll just have to listen. Vive la différence!

RJ returns from Las Vegas bearing at least one gift nobody wants, but still we get a great look at the world of competitive foosball (and a qualified endorsement of discount operation Flair Airlines). PJ is so excited he tries to volunteer to go play in France for Canada’s World Cup foosball team, in spite of an almost total lack of expertise. KJ shares with us some of the fruits of his steadfast attention to US politics, which leads us seamlessly into reflecting on the definitions of the words “psychopath” and “ sociopath”. Finally, we speculate on what the coming summer’s weather may look like, as a way of coping with KJ’s disappointing travel news.

It’s that special, lovely time—the time when we hear about how this year’s Oscars program went down. We build up to it with some talk about a couple of Beatles and Steely Dan specials as well as hearing the latest from KJ on the run up to the Emmys, and on the technical marvel that is the Murphy bed he is building. Finally, RJ and PJ exchange notes on their adventures in language and travel, both today and 30 years ago. There are a lot of twists and turns here, so make sure to be safe while you listen!

“In the spring an old man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of table saws and robotic waiters and new tech deployed in old games like curling”. That’s roughly what the famous poem says, and the proof is right here in this episode as we talk about those very things, as well as about RJ’s date with destiny in Las Vegas and whether 1980 was the best possible year to have been born in. We also have a lot of very fun email from faithful listeners, which goes a long way towards offsetting a bit of PJ’s customary vinegar (this time about the Pope, among other things). So sit in the garden while the bees buzz and the birds sing and have a listen!