Episode #86: Trojan Horse

The Trojan Horse might be the most famous deception in all of history.  It’s so famous that the words ‘Trojan Horse’ are a modern day description for anything that is used to sneak past security or get into a place it shouldn’t be.  Everything from computer viruses to sports plays reference that one time an advanced civilization with the most impenetrable walls ever know to man got its ass handed to it by some clever warriors with some extra wood and some free time.  We discuss the Trojan Horse and the Trojans themselves in this historically based episode of The Brick Room.  We also discuss how the term Trojan Horse is used in our modern culture and how we, as a people, think of this interesting story from the past.  Finally, we discuss how this tactic, and others similar to it, could be used in modern warfare.  Sometimes the old ways are best.  Is there a reason someone couldn’t use a Trojan Horse in a modern military scenario?  Listen in and find out.

Episode #85: Cereal and Advertising

It’s football season, everyone.  What’s that mean?  It means The Regal Beagle (where we record all our podcasts) is open two hours earlier on Sundays.  It also means they are serving burritos, in honor of football season.  So heads up:  if you live in San Diego and want to watch football and eat a burrito, come to the Regal Beagle.

Speaking of food.  This week we talk about the horrible food we ate as kids.  Basically, our diets consisted mostly of sugar.  Sometimes that sugar was flavored.  Sometimes it was wrapped in other sugar.  It’s amazing we survived.  We also talk about how doctors and scientists can’t make up their minds about what’s good for you.  Don’t eat eggs.  No, just kidding, eat eggs.  Just don’t eat fat.  Actually, you need some fat, so eat it.  Make up your mind, doctors.

Finally, we talk about advertising.  Basically it comes down to this:  there are some commercials that are so bad it guarantees that we will never, ever buy the product they are advertising.  Also, we come up with our own line of truly awesome toys for girls.  We call it our Natasha Romanoff line of toys.  If you are a little girl, especially if you have an older brother, you will want these toys.  They’ll be on sale in our Etsy store soon.  And, since everything eventually comes back to Star Wars we talk about how Princess Leia is a lot cooler than, and tougher, then many people give her credit for.  Grab your drinks, Brick Room Listeners.  Go football!

Episode #84: The Terminator Isn’t Evil

Hello, everyone!  We hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend.  We did and now we’re back with all new content.  In this week’s podcast we talk about ‘flow’.  Flow is a term some people use to describe the focused mental state people will go into when they are performing a task at their optimal level.  You’ve probably experienced this.  Maybe you were writing something, or building something or playing a sport and time seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye.  You completely lost yourself in the activity.  Not only did time fly by but while you were doing whatever it was you were doing you were completely present in the moment, focused on your surroundings, and everything seemed easy.  Athletes seek to find this mental state when they play their sport.  We wonder, can drinking help you to achieve this state of intense awareness and focus?

Next we talk about the Terminator, and here’s the thing:  the Terminator isn’t evil.  It’s just following its programming.  It’s a machine.  The humans in the Terminator movies, however, are dicks.  We also talk about Michael Biehn and how much we are fans of his.  Michael, we love you.

Finally, we wrap things up by talking about sequels and prequels that don’t need to be made.  As much as we looked forward to Promethius we both agree that the franchise didn’t need that movie.  Similarly, Blade Runner, Top Gun, and Independence Day don’t need sequels either.  Perhaps we’ll have to start writing more movies and save Hollywood from their age old nemesis:  rehashing shit.  Grab your drink, listen to the show, and then tell your friends about us.  Thanks for listening.

Best Of The Brick Room: Passwords and Illnesses

Hello Brick Room, Listeners.  We hope you all had an amazing Labor Day and Labor Day weekend.  We took the weekend off from recording but, never fear, we do have a best of episode for you to listen to.  This episode is from last October.  We talked about setting a good password for your phone and for all your online accounts.  Then we move on to discuss illness.  Mostly, we focus on food poisoning but we also talk about how to avoid your run of the mill common cold.  Wash your hands, everybody, it works.  After you’ve washed, grab your beer and turn on the Brick Room.  We’ll be back next week with all new content.

Episode #83: Online Dating

Have you ever tried online dating?  There’s a lot to do if you decide to venture into these digital waters.  You have a profile to maintain.  You have to check your account often to see if you have any messages.  You have to send messages out to other people.  It can be a lot of work.  Of course, some apps and websites try to help you manage the amount of work you need to do by pairing you up with potential matches that you will have a high probability of liking.  Each service has its own way of figuring this out.  Some websites make you fill out long quizzes, others just match you with people who happen to be nearby.  Today, in the Brick Room, we discuss the online dating scene and also spend a little bit of time looking at some specific websites.  As it turns out, there are some dating websites that cater to very specific needs and desires.  Did you know there is a dating site for farmers looking for farmers?  Or a site where you can look for someone at the airport?  There’s a lot of choice out there.  Which website is best for you?  Grab beer, take a listen, and find out.  We might just fix your love life.