Did you know that this podcast existed before this podcast started? Well, it’s true. As we continue our vacations, both actually and mentally, feast your ears back to the final part of the final episode of the podcast that turned into this podcast before it was a podcast. (Checking his notes)… Eh, it’s all very timey-wimey. Just try to keep up. (Throws his notes away). Yes, it’s a pre-show spectacular, a lifting of the curtain, a peek behind-the-scenes, a scrap under the table, but mainly a cheap way for us to get away with posting something quickly while we drink wine coolers and check on our tans. There’s no other way to describe it. Honestly. I’ve listened to it three times and still don’t know what I’m listening to. Enjoy.

In this episode, we go on vacation! Things get squirrelly, random, off-kilter and weird at Up And Overcast Central as we give over to the powers of summer and all the delightful chaos it can bring. But don’t worry. This mini-episode is packed full of podcasting flavor and there’s much more Amateur Hour to come! After all, what’s better than a full episode of our show? HALF an episode! We begin as we usually do with some follow-up. William finds that OS stands for Oh Sh*t as Apple once again crashes his world around him. Time to install a new William. Then it’s the return of the crowd-pleasing, highly-rated Varmint News as the war against Scott’s remaining vehicles heats up and he is forced to take a particularly odiferous response against possible Vanhogs. Beyond the Porch brings the visceral slaughter that is crab fest as William has flashbacks to 2015’s messy Crustacean Operation by Milton Crabley. But wait! The unthinkable has happened! Jo gets on a literal roll with a pallino and a bocce Cinderella story while also managing to save her job. It’s a nerd dream nearly come true, which is good enough in our book. Not to be outdone, William takes on a squat-thrust challenge masquerading as a bocce official. It’s an old pattern that Scott can identify with if he can figure out the right direction to run. Let’s not get Physical. Physical. Scott looks forward to the Wide Gamut of Terror Machines as he plans for a day at Cedar Point with the family amid a plethora of bruising amusement devices. But what’s a summer without the Columbia Record Club Special? Not a summer I want to be a part of. Music in Rearview brings us the Go-Gos and their mystery keyboardist, which causes William to realize that he doesn’t really understand how rock bands work and as a result he goes a bit staccato. As Scott ponders his Dab Smack Go-Gos farewell tour dilemma, things go from weird to weirder and we quickly ride off into the Venus-level heat of August. Lactation… err… Vacation Ho!

In this episode, we are not nurtured by nature. After a long week with a summer cold and the working man blues, William is rebooted to find himself recording a podcast again. Is this thing still on? We go full nerd alert to discover that Agile is less than agile at 1am, get distracted by abstracting abstractions, and find that in the end everything new is old again. Or maybe new dogs have the same old tricks. Nevertheless, our radical old ideas may mean the end of the tech book business if that’s still a thing the kids are into. Not wanting to incur the wrath of Big Book, we move on. Let the Graybeards sort it out if you can find one. Scott scores an achievement by unlocking his apnea solution but needs an emergency social media intervention. With all this Horrible News from the World Wide World, phones become a pellet-providing lab experiment of endless-loop reward-seeking. William is definitely lured in by the hit as well, and we figure out an answer of sorts that may involve podcasting forever. And yes we talk about Pokemon Go again. We try not to. Honestly. But come on. Then it’s time to visit the Raccoon News Desk for a breaking beastie bulletin! Did I mention that the raccoons are revolting? We have more proof as Scott goes to war with a masked trash addict who has an expensive penchant for the taste of wiring and plastic. Sometimes nature has an abhorrent lack of healthy boundaries. Time for Scott to add some spice to that relationship. William has been there as well and shares a story of the time his attempts at pest eradication may have accidentally spawned an army of super squirrels. Groundhogs are battling rabbits. Coyote pee is everywhere. Honestly, nature is a mess. And what happened to that pesky raccoon? Scott is a legitimate businessman. I’m sure he knows nothing about it. Bada Bing. Enough said. Feel like protesting what you’ve just heard? Well, you are in luck. Scott is also riled up and needs some protest music of his own. The answer is found in an unlikely source as we once again attempt to legitimize Rush for the masses. If you think of them as a band you can smoke dope to, or libertarian whackjobs (or both), there’s much more to them than that. Music in Rearview brings you two songs from the album “Snakes and Arrows” that illustrate we live as we are shown, that what we’re shown is how we behave, and that what we teach affects the world profoundly. That is the way the wind blows. And for us, it blows towards the future where Geddy and the boys have already been and are waiting for us to catch up. Take care, nude listeners! Whackadoodle, indeed!

In this episode, we keep on persevering. As the saying goes, “When life gives you lemons, you skip a podcast.” And such it was for us. A hard-hitting week behind us, we get right to it with an exposé on the purpling of mountains – only to realize that it is all fruitless. Scott experiences a Narcolapse and struggles to remain standing. William ends his lactose-intolerance denial by cutting the cheese. There’s a cow joke in there but I don’t feel like milking this topic any further. We discuss the execution of summer with a trip to a delicious-sounding desert valley, get confused by a full Trump-country moon and wonder why people are bringing their own soundtracks into nature. Could it be that William is a large and threatening predator? We reflect on our Independence Day experiences and a fireworks kerfuffle that may be part of a vast local news conspiracy. There’s smoke on the water… and fire also on the water. Pokemon? No! Seriously. Stop it. What is behind our reaction to this viral, anti-clique phenomenon? Is it justified or are we yelling at people to get off our Pokelawns? Thankfully, we have more important things to talk about. Word of the Week returns (amazingly, there are a ton of words left) with “Perseverance”. We enjoy a far-reaching conversation on how to deal with recent national and international events as the world continues to buffet us all. As problem solvers facing a problem that cannot be easily solved, we land on the only side possible. Don’t give up. Somewhere in the bit between 0 and 1 is the answer. The topic strays to the Brexit Hot Potato, then to the challenges of working in the heart of a loopy convention rock-and-roll town, and ends with words of wisdom from somebody’s aunt… or perhaps the Talmud. But wait! There’s more show! Music in Rearview deals with a musical bug in Scott’s ear that is causing some theater tech trauma. A visit from some truly bad “Company” is not going to help. Turns out a pastor won’t either. Hopefully, Hamilton will bring the subject to a close. Finally, even though we lack the proper gene it’s time to rap things up. Stay strong and if you need something to collect, listen to our past episodes! Got to catch them all! (Disclaimer: They are not rare and also not very good in a fight)