This episode covers a number of movies, including some behind-the-scenes on how the most famous scene of The Matrix was accomplished. In addition there’s exciting news about accessing a thermal source that could have a profound positive impact on energy consumption and climate change: a new way to access geothermal power. There are warm moments about our children’s doings, and we hear about a very inflammatory way to inflate a tire. But…well, really, the majority of the episode is about movies we’ve been watching and enjoying. Have a listen and let us know what you think!

As time the avenger marches relentlessly on, it is not uncommon to think about what is remembered when we are gone. Just as Shelley wrote about forgotten Ozymandius, your Dogs contemplate the Holy Roman Empire and the Erfurt Latrine Disaster. How are the mighty fallen, and into what? It’s a lesson in humility, and once we’ve heard it we’re able to move much more contentedly into more familiar terrain, with Listener Mail and KJ Reports, as well as hearing about RJ’s newfound love for the Vancouver Rise pro soccer team. Come on along and have your perspective adjusted and your fancy tickled.

A freewheeling Episode 211 sees your Shed Dogs amazed by a homemade electric powered wheelbarrow, amused by viewing events ranging from professional soccer to videos about clearing blocked drains to series and movies we’re watching, and pondering career changes. KJ continues in his role as theatre insider and lets us know it’s really not too late for us to work in the industry, and provides a really fun anecdote about how awards shows can go wrong. There are Snappers, an ask for info from listeners about a great credit card service we heard about, some PSA info in buying your next laptop, and more. Your head doesn’t have to be empty for us to fill it up but it might help.

Your Three Dogs (our proposed name for a new wholesome TV series) were hanging around in the Shed the other month and got talking about work KJ is taking on, a litany of various dramatic and sporting amusements we’ve been watching, our health, and goings-on in the neighbourhood. RJ’s neighbourhood specifically, as he reveals that he has become a Block Watch Captain. PJ is disappointed to learn that the position does not come with an intimidating uniform, nor with training that involves jumping out of helicopters, but still…he’s a Captain! This achievement is all the more remarkable as we also learn about a long-ago run-in with seemingly innocuous freon, which is not quite the lamb we all thought it is. Episode 210 has more, of course, there’s always more, but we’re hoping this note is inviting enough for you to join us in The Shed! 

If you’re the kind of person who wonders things like how creators and money people get together to make the financial sausage for TV shows, or maybe the kind who likes to listen to seminal and random music, or, you know, hear about word meanings and origins, or perhaps you’re just the kind of listener who enjoys a chat, this is the place and we are the people for you! Episode 209 covers those bases and more, so click on the link and pull up a chair in our world.

Some topics are so deep, so wide, and so fundamental to who we are as a species that broaching them invites chaos. But if your Dogs won’t talk about it, who will, we ask you? Here in Episode 208, we take on such a topic: the fine art of soccer diving: archer’s bows, delayed collapses, endless rolling, astonishing recoveries, and why the refs never seem to catch on. We also get to hear from theatre insider KJ about Burning Mom’s triumphant run and about a rediscovered stash of 1975 London cassette letters to home. We also have PJ’s reminiscences about a Honda CR500 dirt bike that still raises heart rates, and from RJ a full tour of the new foosball‑friendly Mench Café. There’s yet another million dollar idea awaiting an enterprising listener, some Listener Mail, a great PSA on sun damage to skin, and even more… Dive right in with us!

Hear about several examples of—plus a fun encounter with—AI based scams! Avoid being taken advantage of and tremble at the future of AI! Mourn and celebrate the passing of KJ’s much-venerated 1964 International Travel-all!  Listen to several leftover chunks of last episode’s What We Did on Our Summer Vacation!  Enjoy some Snappers and even more! It’s all here, so don’t even hesitate; just dive right in and enjoy! 

Faithful listeners may recall RJ preparing to head for Spain to represent his country in table soccer and PJ preparing to go to France for an epic cycling trip.  Non-listeners (are there any?) will likely have heard about these exciting exploits at the grocery or the gym, going about their daily business. In either case, here in episode 205 we share our experiences and impressions along with our achievements as we report on What We Did On Our Summer Vacations. We’re hoping new friends made at these events will hear about themselves at the same time you do!

Here in Episode 204 we once again find AI, and its increasing use as a substitute for human interaction, entering our chat. We feel the need to assure you: we are real, even if cover art isn’t. If you talk to us, it’s an actual interaction with organic beings. This episode sees said beings discussing KJ’s goings-on with career and family, another round of Snappers, the amusing nature of artists’ conceptual renderings of proposed architectural drawings and the aforementioned AI conversation. Plus, RJ reviews Wicked: Part I in anticipation of Part II. It’s all refreshingly and reassuringly human. Any odd inflections or awkward speech rhythms are clearly the result of human software problems, believe us.

Fall has arrived again, in spite of our doubts, and despite this fully anachronistic episode. Gather ‘round the fire while we amuse ourselves talking about potential Pope names, get a full report on goings-on in KJ’s star-studded life, discuss the strange voting experiences in this year’s federal election, and yeet us some Snappers. We touch on some serious matters, too, so let’s see if we can get Friendly to call Rusty and Jerome to join us around the fire. Buddy will be pleased

In the time we’ve been making this podcast, we’ve tried hard to create a picture of three genial older men who anyone would like to chat with. Regardless of the success of that effort, in this episode we hint at a sadder aspect of those who lurk in the Shed. Yes, we have fun listener mail, we hear about the Vancouver Rise along, and we give our impressions of central vacuums. We laugh at a cute dog story. We even have a light brush with poetry. The troubling part comes with a topic we toss around lightly but which can surely only beg this scary question: Why do these guys know so much about anti-snoring devices? Alright, gotta go, time to catch some Zs, you know, saw some logs…

This episode kicks off with RJ sharing why he and Sue are founding season ticket holders for the Vancouver Rise FC, the city’s entry in the women’s professional soccer Northern Super League. KJ gives us a couple of Snappers to wrestle with, as well as another glimpse into the Wide World of Theater: from the thrill of landing a role in a new production of “West Side Story”, to the agony of a power outage on the opening night of “Burning Mom”. The antidote? RJ’s admiration of season 2 of The White Lotus. He also brings news of daughter Hannah’s efforts in a 3-minute thesis contest.

Special guest and originating visionary Hayley of Vancouver joins us in the Shed for our milestone 200th episode! We try to play it all very cool, even though (as we hear again in this episode) we have already caught the attention of various social media tool producers by our sheer longevity. Nothing spells success like people thinking they could make money from you, are we right? Still, even though on the inside we’re dancing around shouting and high-fiving each other, we coolly look at an unusually weak moneymaker, listen to Hayley’s deep disappointment over her middle name, hear another piece of Listener Mail, discuss baby names, hear about Rich’s planning for three foosball trips (one of which is anachronistic), and then…and then we slide into politics, as though against our will. Don’t worry, it’s grim. Your Shed Dogs have come to this. Stick with us, we’ll all get through it together.

Poised to jet off to the 2025 World Cup of Foosball in Spain, RJ delights with his experiences and observations at the 1st Annual North American Multitable Foosball Tournament in Trois Rivières, Quebec, including scary stories about crossing the border these days. KJ lets us hear about a short movie from his daughter Lucy that will go to Cannes, and PJ talks (okay complains) about translation apps. We wander by tidbits about Japanese recycling ideas and favourite viewing choices like Mr. Inbetween, and share whatever fragments our memories hold about Formula 1 racing we may have seen and heard. Or was it the Molson Indy? All in all, we start out with no particular destination and get there in fine style, as usual. Get on board?

In this month’s special episode we are joined by friend of the show and spiritual leader Hayley of Vancouver for a laid-back near-hour discussing some great listener mail, Snappers™, movie reviews, and of course the Super Bowl Halftime Show. We apparently also have a pretty upbeat view of the current state of award shows that we want you to hear about, plus a shorter and more bittersweet encounter with AI-generated content, too. Don’t worry, it’s not as mindbending as those previous ones, honest. Relax. Forget current events for a while. Just envision Buddy sleeping happily while we go on about the mainstream culture world. Everything will be fine.

RJ is heading to the World Foosball Championships in Spain this summer! It’s true, and you’ll hear about it here. You’ll also hear: a valuable PSA on what to do if you’re involved in a hit and run; really fun listener mail, our thoughts about our mentally taxing Episode 193, and for no real reason a good long talk about about how we use our vacuum cleaners, and how much they have sucked.

Just when we thought we had exhausted our language and usage outrage, we stumble upon a new wave of pronunciation changes that has crept up and caught us napping in our rocking chairs. So that’s the big news, but we also have Snappers, more from the world of Artificial Intelligence, some food reports from nearby eateries we’ve visited, another car oil change PSA, an introduction to Lifting Straps (which given our demographic I initially thought might be just sock garters, but thankfully not), and discussion with KJ about his recent very successful turn as Kris Kringle in the Arts Club Theatre production of “Miracle on 34th Street”. There is other stuff too, but that last sentence has worn us right out, so just go ahead and have a listen and let us know what you thought, how you’re doing, and what you’d love to hear about from us.

We were so focused on our material in this episode that we were apparently taken by surprise that we are marking seven years of, ummm, Shed stuff. This episode is largely listener mail, which we always enjoy, in which we had to revisit old, old wounds from high school days, discuss health and medical care as people our age do, and marvel at the concept of digital dentures (which sounds a lot more fun and exciting than it actually is). So we’ve all penciled in entries on our paper calendars to remember to make a way bigger deal of it when we record our epic 200th episode. But until that shows up, feel free to enjoy this one!

Salty Dogs, you say? Yes, as in salt water taffy and sailing the seas in the late 1700s. Those are just a couple of landfalls this episode makes as we hear about RJ’s trip to Portland, Astoria, and points in between, eat the saltwater taffy he brings us (don’t worry, we were mostly careful about the misophonia), wonder how bathtubs in hotels and motels are somehow not slippery yet don’t feel like sandpaper, and by a route we no longer recall get to talking about DNRs and a few of the many questions there are on that topic. You may be able to help us out on that one—it’s an important topic and we are not really up to speed. Give us a hand. Have a few laughs. Maybe even learn something, who knows? Let’s go!