so may top hats

Brandon didn’t drop flaming paper. Collin is doing too many things. Pip has become useless.

• Don’t drop the flaming paper

• Bite the bullet

• Snow day game play

• Video game side quest

• Collin does too many things

• Brandon’s weather unit

• so may top hats

• Pip has become useless

• Everything used to be good

• Doldrums of Pip

• Thinking top hats

• Brandon Haiku

• An ancient being 

• wakes from its winter slumber 

• To see its shadow

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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE

PROVIDED BY OTTER.AI

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

podcast, school week, demonstration presentations, rubber band cars, science side quest, video games, Yakuza series, world building, client relations, coaching program, Winter Olympics, Newgate Prison, transactional nature, personal freedom, financial freedom, awkward conversation, Victorian era, former glory, disrepair, bitterness, social commentary, Pip's observations, Mr. Pocket, Mrs. Pocket, domestic economy, needles, Winter Olympics, thinking top hats, haiku, shadow

SPEAKERS

Collin Funkhouser, Brandon

Collin Funkhouser  00:04

Collin, welcome to Oh brother, a podcast where we try to figure it all out with your hosts, Brandon and Collin on this week's show, so many top hats. Ahoy. Ahoy.

Brandon  00:19

What's going on? Oh, not a lot, you know, just trying to make it through another school week, another exciting stuff. Yes, very tiring today, because we did, like, presentation today, but like, it was a like demonstration presentations where they had to do, like, little mini experiments for the class and stuff. So it was very like,

Brandon  00:56

okay, so it's good though, Good times. Good Time is very exhausting. Rush around, make sure it was got stuff, right, find the things. Don't drop, don't drop the flaming piece of paper on the floor. This time, nailed it,

Collin Funkhouser  01:12

nice. Nailed it. It's all right, it's fine.

Brandon  01:18

One year we did the, it's about air pressure, right? So, like, we did the Yo, somebody was doing the old egg in the bottle experiment where you, like, the egg sucks down into, like the milk bottle. Oh, yes, yes, yeah, okay, okay. Like, I don't remember exactly what happened. I had the paper, and you have to light it and then drop it in the thing. And I, I don't know if they, like move the bottle while I was holding the paper or what, but I, like, dropped it and it fell off and, like, right onto the floor. So you're just like, this little flaming piece pig, stamp, stamp. So now I always, I just tell all the kids all the time, like, well, I've only lit the floor on fire a small bit, so it's fine, just a little tiny bit of fire, and it went away. So it's okay, it'd be great, but it was good. It was good. Good times. It went well. It was fun. They think they had fun, they seem like they're having fun. So we're gonna go with that. We're gonna go with they were having fun. So that's what.

Collin Funkhouser  02:27

Well, you know, if kids are having fun, then I think that's a win. True everybody.

Brandon  02:33

That's true. We go with that. So, yeah, pretty good doing what else we doing? Oh, yeah, doing brand new monthly challenge, right? So switching it up for the science side quest brand new. I decided to just buy the bullet and go ahead and have them try to build rubber band cars. Oh, right.

Collin Funkhouser  02:59

Why was that? Why was what? Why did you decide to go make the the well, it's one of the

Brandon  03:05

things I've been wanting to do for a long time, but I, like, never really knew exactly how to structure it and tell them to do it. So I just finally decided, listen, I'm I don't really know if I'm going to, like, sit down and, like, plan this out. So I just decided to tell them the plan and then just let them go for it and see what happens. Right? Like, that's what I want, you know,

Collin Funkhouser  03:30

fair? I was

Brandon  03:32

like, we'll figure out the rules as we go. I don't know. We're just gonna see what challenges come up and whatever. Right? We already, we already discovered that we need to make sure that cars are 100% powered by rubber bands. Because somebody was like, what if we built a ramp? And I was like, Aha, good try. But no, like, that doesn't sound like a good idea. So we're gonna, nope, do that one. We're gonna

Collin Funkhouser  04:03

in one of the ways can I bound this discussion?

Brandon  04:06

Yeah, exactly. What are the bounds for this? But I did let I did tell them that they could either do distance or a speed test, so they can choose which one they want to which category they want to test in. Like, I'd be more exciting to get a little more options that way. Sure, right? Like, that, will they can do this or this one? Maybe it affects the design I row, like, maybe. So we'll see. We'll see. So I just bought a bunch of rubber bands. That was really the one thing that I needed to make sure that I had,

Collin Funkhouser  04:52

probably have way more than you expect,

Brandon  04:55

pretty hard to make rubber band cars without. Remember bands, not

Collin Funkhouser  05:02

really. Who can use their imagination,

Brandon  05:05

not really. Can't really do that,

Collin Funkhouser  05:11

so not recommended people.

Brandon  05:13

That's the that's the goal, right? That's the plan. That's what we've been doing, right? I also been playing a lot of video games, because I started, like when we were I got in the mood, like, after on all the snow days, and then, like, we're going just keep going, doing that.

Collin Funkhouser  05:28

So that's what, keep it going.

Brandon  05:30

Yeah, it's going, right? It's fine. However, interesting side tangent, right? So, like, this is I, well, we talked at Thanksgiving about how I had to play the Yakuza five in a long time because my save file broke, yes, right? And then I just gave up and stopped playing. So that's what I played during snow days, right? I was playing this game again, right? Very big, melodramatic Japanese gangster saga story, right? Two points about this that I think you may find intriguing. Number one, the Yakuza Zero game is actually the inspiration behind the science side quest.

Collin Funkhouser  06:22

Okay? Wasn't bang.

Brandon  06:24

Are you ready for that? No, hold

Collin Funkhouser  06:27

on, I am. Check sitting down. Okay,

Brandon  06:31

so in that game they have, okay, so the Yakuza game is famous for two things, right? What? Three, I guess, like, very, like, over the top combat, like, it's like a brawler, beat them up game, right? Kind of, it's famous for, like, very long, kind of convoluted, like, melodramatic plots, all right, so the plots are insane in these games, right? But it's all the plot is always like, very serious, right? And like dramatic and like dire, and there's always, like, really big life changing things happening. These are, of course, juxtaposed by the wackiest side quests you can possibly imagine. Oh, to bring some levity and runtime so you can, like, there's lots of other things to do. Things to do, right? But in Yakuza zero, there is a whole side mission to become like a slot car racing champion. Yes, yes. I think it's called Pocket racing in the game. So there's this huge, like, really long quest line involving, like, many, many attempts at racing, and, like, winning these races, right? And so, like that idea of, like, having a task that is repeatable and that you have to like, keep trying to, like, improve and like get better and better every time I see that was the inspiration to do some of the science side quests right. And one of the original ideas that I had that I just didn't have the materials for times to do at the time was the rubber band car. So we're back. Full circle, right? Full Circle. Shut it down. The inspiration is here, right? The this is, it is the secret. The secret sauce was video game side quests.

Collin Funkhouser  08:42

All it took

Brandon  08:44

listen, you got to draw inspiration from all over the place, right? It's really important to have a broad scope, because you never know what's going to inspire you do something weird, right? You don't be too focused in, like, lasered in on one thing. So you got to have, like, a kind of look around yes and to be inspired by other things, right? So that's the first point that I thought you might find particularly

Collin Funkhouser  09:09

interesting I am, again, Does, does wonderful on all this, all

Brandon  09:16

the all the way deep floor here

Collin Funkhouser  09:19

that we are uncovering people.

Brandon  09:23

Point number two, right? This one is, I think you might find interesting as well. So because this game series takes place in universe, like the first game, I think of like the first canonical timeline game, like Yakuza zero takes place in like 1988 Japan. Oh, right, okay. And Yakuza six is in like 2016 or something, right? And there's actually even more games that are like take place like in like today. I. Right? Or they came out, like, two years ago. So, like, right? So, like, canonically, the whole series spans at least from 1988 to now. But the game, you can always go to one city in Tokyo, right? That's like, the main place, the main setting for a lot of this stuff. Like, no matter what happens, you always end up in this place in Tokyo, right? So the game does, like it does that thing in like the real life does, where you're walking down this street and you're like, oh, this store used to not be here, right? Or like, oh, this restaurant, this is new. This used to be a different restaurant, right? And so they, like, intentionally do that. Like, they'll leave, like, what? Like, one place has been there like, forever, right? That's like, the spot you can go to these restaurants, and you can, like, go in and eat and stuff whatever. But, like, it's in this it's been in the same place for years, but then, like, a different, another place, it's like, closed down, it's like something new. I like that a lot, right? That word, yeah, I like that. So, yeah, you like, can walk by a building and like, like, oh yeah, I actually did a thing in this place, right? Like, this was an important story moment, like, right here, or I remember when this building wasn't even built yet, right? Like, it does that thing. So, like, that is sort of the undertone of the whole like, some of the story is that you, like your character, has, like, this personal connection with this place. But like, you can see that, because if you've played all of these, you can see how this city has changed over time, sure, right? So like, you're invested in it too. Like, because there's always like, Oh no, we have to save blah, blah, blah, right? Like, but you're like, Well, yeah, cuz I remember when I was at that bar thing over there, and that's where I met that one person. And it was, like, a whole Right?

Collin Funkhouser  12:04

Like, are there, are there in world, in universe, implications for some of those changes over time too? Yeah.

Brandon  12:16

Like, sometimes it's like, gone and they've made something completely different, right? Like, it's a new, like, a new development has come, right? Or like, the park is gone now, and it's like a building, right? Or like, stuff like that, so that, yeah, sometimes there is. And even in one of the games, they make good, they make a comment about it. They were, like, there's, like, this one restaurant that used to be, like an ice cream shop, and now it's like a some kind of yucatory bar or something. And the guy's like, man, there's a guy outside, and you can, like, overhear him talking to his friend. He's like, Oh, man, I remember when I used to come get ice cream here. You're like, oh, oh, they're, they know, they know they did this on purpose, right? Like, so it's like, it actually is, like, kind of like, when you drive around like, someplace like Springfield for a while, sometimes you're like, oh, yeah, that used to be the place where we would go and eat, like, ice cream after church or whatever, and like, Oh, that was, you know, that used to be this restaurant that I like spiritual, but it's like, not there anymore. So it's like, a a weird it's just like a weird thing that I've been noticing that it's kind of cool, I think, yeah, and I had no other game that I've ever played, does that thing right? That's a very unique feature, just because there are so many and they've been making for so long, and they expand a timeline of such length that, like, you can go to the same place in like, multiple games. So you like your character, and you can, like, it's one of those game things too, where you sort of, like, half make up the store yourself, but like, you have a connection to this place, yeah, right? Because, like, sometimes, like, you just end up at like, the same restaurant all the time, and so you're like, oh, that's an important place. So you walk by like, oh yeah, I remember when I was there with this other character, and I do thing, blah, blah, blah, great. So it's kind of cool, right? I think it's kind of neat. I was talking to students about this today. We were doing it out of context, video games, and she did a thing, and just like, What are you doing? And I just like, describe what I'm actually, she loves it. So instead of playing games, I'm like, I'm just playing games. Like, well, actually, see, I was going down the street looking for this thing, and then, like,

Collin Funkhouser  14:27

well, but that that's, I think that that's some people may say, like, I don't know. Like, I look at that and go, well, that what a great way to keep people engaged and make things familiar and have those callbacks, and you personally, then have a close connection to this, because it's not like the game is steering you to the building, and it's like part of the gameplay that it's changed and it's causing big upheavals. It's just, oh, hey, I noticed that, like the world is changing around me.

Brandon  15:00

Yeah, it doesn't always. It doesn't draw attention to the fact that, like, the theater has changed the sign, right? But it has changed the sign so, like, if you paying attention, you'll be like, Yo, I like the old sign better. But, like, that's a real life thing that you do, right? When you're like, Oh man, you know it was way better the old Taco Bell logo. Like, not, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, it's a sort of, like a mirrored thing. But maybe, maybe it's because, I don't know. Maybe it's because it's the also the protagonist the game is older, so you like, do this kind of thing, and I'm old now. So, like, it's a whole video, but, like, it's just an interesting vibe that I noticed, and I thought you might appreciate this aspect, yes, of this one very specific video game franchise that does, the only one that I've ever encountered that does this thing, where you have multiple games set across, like, literally multiple decades in the same city. So like, you can actually watch the city change. And like, sometimes you like, can't go, like, some games, you like, can't even go in certain areas. But other games, it's like, open. So it's like, oh, this is different now. And it's all different, new blah, blah. So like, pretty crazy stuff, I think. So, right,

Collin Funkhouser  16:19

yeah, yes, I like it, and I like that kind of detail, that attention detail for video games and just world building, and even even movies, too, whenever, if they like, revisiting the same places to see that's not just static. It's not just copy and paste or TV shows like I think that that just, I don't know it really, it makes it easier to become more engrossed in it. And it's just fun, like, it's fun to know that the creators are thinking about that kind of thing too. Yeah.

Brandon  16:51

I like, I like, a media that treats, like, the setting as a character a little bit, right? Yeah? Like, where, where this like, it's not just, like, a Oh, it's just this place. Like, no, it's this place. Like, it's a thing, right? Like, an important and it's there. It's also there if you want it, you know, because, like, you can watch things like that or or read things like that, or whatever. And, like, not really, meh, you know, you don't, you don't have to take that away, but like, it's there if you want it, you know, if you want to go to that next level, like, really dive in, like it's, it's there for you. And I think it's like a subtle nod to be like, we got you real, like people that are big fans, like, we see you, like, like,

Collin Funkhouser  17:41

Yeah, that's true of it rewards the longest fans to the biggest fans, yeah, like, and, and part of that is obviously the number of long term big fans is much smaller than the people who just kind of pick it up and periodically play however you have to. When they say, like pandering to your fans or pandering to those people, it does serve a purpose, and it's not pandering to pander. This is this is more world building for your most devoted people who genuinely love this series and this franchise. So of course, you want to spend that time giving that to them, yeah?

Brandon  18:27

And so it's just, it's just, I think it's cool that it's there to pick up if you want it. And I

Collin Funkhouser  18:32

want it, but specifically I want it,

Brandon  18:36

yeah, because, like, in this game, there's like a, like, a restaurant, right? Where, like, this is something like, I just have, like, done myself, right? Like, in like, one of the games, I think it's the first one, he like this thing happens, and your character has to go to jail for a while, right? Because, you know, he like his friend, like kills a dude, but like, you take the fall for him. It's one of those situations, right? Very over dramatic, like, Oh no, you have to stay and protect blah, blah anyway. Like, there's a conscious scene in the game where, like, Okay, before you go to, like, turn yourself into the police or whatever, like, your character, like, seeks out a certain restaurant to go eat at, right? So, like character, character building wise, like, you can, as a player, be like, Oh, this must be their, like, one a restaurant that they like a lot. So like every game that it's in there, I mean, actually, we go there, right? That's where we go. Well, I gotta go get but that's where we're going, right? Like, it's just like a layer that you get to add on top. If you want to, you'll have to, you have to do that, but, you know, you can, and it makes it more engaging. I think, right, we think about these things. And like you said, it's like a world building thing. This is a cool little brushstroke of awesomeness. So there you go. Two thoughts for you. That's what,

Collin Funkhouser  20:02

yes, I this is good. These are two big thoughts. Right off the bat, I kept writing stuff down. I'm writing no good. That's been i

Collin Funkhouser  20:25

Yes, we've been up to, I have been up to too many things. Oh no, oh no, as is per usual.

Brandon  20:35

Why am I not surprised by this statement, though? Like that's really

Collin Funkhouser  20:41

in this episode of Collin does too many things.

Brandon  20:45

How many business lunches did you go?

Collin Funkhouser  20:48

You know what? No business lunches. Oh, my goodness, no business lunches. However, what is increasing is I'm getting more and more sucked into, like, Zoom calls. And because I, like, we're also trying to do this big hiring push. So it's like, okay, well, I I have to do all the phone calls for that. Then I have to sit for the zoom the one hour zooms where we do this stuff, and have to, like, that just takes time. And you're like, Oh, well, how long can a phone call last to do a phone interview? Well, sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes 30, depending off the person's chatty. And I gotta try and cut them off, you know. So it's like, Well, okay, so I can do 11 to 1130 1130 to 1212, to 1230 like these blocks. And then people are like, well, I don't, I can't do that time, so I gotta do five o'clock. Okay, we'll do five o'clock. Five to 535 30. Like, that's all and genuinely, that is the rest of my month at this point that I have planned out. That's no fun, and I don't enjoy, I don't enjoy that part of things

22:00

that doesn't sound that doesn't sound very funny, but

Collin Funkhouser  22:04

also I don't so this, since we last spoke, we like launched a new position in our company to help Meg and I do less things, which is great, but

Brandon  22:16

it's not working yet, though. Is it because it's new? Teach them to do the things,

Collin Funkhouser  22:21

so many touch

Brandon  22:22

points while you still do the things?

Collin Funkhouser  22:25

Yes, well, I'm still doing so I'm trying look. I will say, Megan, I have been really good. We have been out of the documents. I have not been messing with stuff. I've not been hounding but

Brandon  22:34

I don't know if I believe that.

Collin Funkhouser  22:40

No, but what does happen is we kind of were like, we sat on this for so long. So here's what it is. This position is a client relations lead of Meg and I are to the point now we are so busy and stretched in so many other places, like I genuinely don't have time to reach out to people who haven't used us in eight months and say, Hey, has any information changed? That sounds really simple.

Brandon  23:09

No, just for like, those times when they just all of a sudden, Collin, out of the blue, you haven't talked to him for a year and a half and like, Hey, we're going out of town next week. Bye. Wait a minute.

Collin Funkhouser  23:19

You assume they need us next week, those five, hey, I need you Tuesday. And I go, Monday, do you mean tomorrow? And they're like, Oh yeah, tomorrow. Like, I hate everything about this conversation. Yes, it is it, is it is those, those things of we should have been putting people on these nurture loops, which I hate that phrase, but, like, I don't really love that phrase either. I'm gonna be honest with you, really bad. Just, you know, it's trying to catch people who okay, they they called me and they said they were thinking about it, and then I never reached back out to them and said, Hey, did you think about it? Right? Can I answer any other questions? Can I offer you a free Meet and Greet to come out and talk like that little stuff? Megan, we just do not have time for that. And so there's

Brandon  24:15

what can I do for you? Yeah, and I'm trying to be sleepy by it like, Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for not greasing your hair now. Yeah, slaps roof of used car.

Collin Funkhouser  24:28

Like, yes, what can I do get you in this today? You're not trying to be like that. So I am trying to just be very like, gentle touches and asking, like, hey, just information or whatever. Like, we're just, we're trying to be more engaged with like, five different client life cycles in our business now where that we've kind of figured out and are looking at, going these could all be better. How do we do this? We can have somebody do it. So part of this is we jumped in and designed. Find something for that was 1/3 of stuff that Megan that we were doing, but kind of doing, like, I don't know, like, okay, at and then the other two thirds was stuff we were we weren't doing at all, and which is means that this person comes to us for questions. Well, that's, I have not the foggiest idea of what we're going to do, you know, that situation or whatever. Yeah. So redesigning the policies around this and these nurture systems and her authority in different things and what she can and can't do. And I was like, Well, I gotta like to get me more time, because this is a lot of messaging, of crafting messages and sending them off to people, but I also have to make sure that they are still like, in our brand, right? Like it's so I wrote up a bunch of guidelines for how to do that, and then I don't kill me, don't whatever, like I did, create our own, like brand voice chat GPT, robot thing that she can screen stuff through to make sure it still sounds somewhat consistent. Yeah. And like

Brandon  26:20

robot Collin. Like, hey guys.

Collin Funkhouser  26:24

So I gotta get her chat, GPT, I gotta get an account, and I gotta, I also need to, like, Oh, right. Like, she needs access to all of our internal documents that track all of this stuff. So I gotta a company email, and I gotta set up this that, like, Oh my gosh. Like, so that happened in the past week and a half in addition to i Okay, so I this year, in addition to doing the MC stuff for now two conferences this year, one of the people that runs a Coaching program, and I was MC for her conference last year, and she came to me at the end of last year and said, Collin, I really liked you being the MC of the conference. It was wonderful. Blah, blah. Something that I'm working on is trying to be more cohesive in my communications to my coaching program this year. Would you be interested in being the MC for the year in the coaching program. Like, what is what does that require of me?

Brandon  27:33

Yeah, what is the time schedule on that sucker? Because that sounds kind of bad if you just say it that way.

Collin Funkhouser  27:42

So right now, what we got it down to is once a month, I'm going to sit down with her and I'm going to record for an hour and a half videos that then I'm releasing once a week every Monday, as in, like a Hey everybody, happy Monday. It's the third week of January. Here's what's going on in the coaching program this week. Here's where you need to show up. Here's what the schedule is. I'm talking you know. Then I get to do like, a little mini interview with the coach about what things are going on and how, what she's how things are progressing. Okay, so I got to do that. That's one a month, hour and a half, which doesn't sound like much,

Brandon  28:19

well, but what? How much prep outside of the actual call do you have to do? Right? It's like, one of those things, like, when you're college, right? You're like, Oh, my class is an hour, yeah, but like, how many hours outside of class do I have to do things for class, right? And that's,

Collin Funkhouser  28:38

there's the reviewing the documents ahead of time and going, what are we talking about for 15 minutes on this video? Do I know? Do I have any questions about this? Do I fully understand what's here? So there's, like, the review ahead of time, there's the actual sitting down, doing the interview, and then I'm doing, like, the light editing of the interview and updating it, and then uploading it, and then writing a blurb and so like, but then here's the other thing, what happens if the coaching program gets off on week two? Yeah, well, my week three and four videos are now shot, and so we have to now find another time to jump in quickly, exactly to the it's the it's the first don't get it off, people. It's the first week of February, and that's already happened, so all my days, what now I'm like, oh, oh. And then the other thing that was part of this requirement is every Friday, I post a weekly respect review, not a weekly review, but like a thought on something from the from the week that happened in all these other stuff. So I'm writing now. I'm doing all this writing, which is fine, like I love writing. Have lots of thoughts, but, you know, it's, uh, I don't want to say it's nine o'clock on a Thursday night, and I don't have anything written for tomorrow, but, but.

Brandon  30:00

Let's pretend it was, if that were, oh, it is. And so nine behind the curtain, listeners, it's 913, on a Thursday. Oh no, right? And brevity is in our strong suit.

Collin Funkhouser  30:17

Is not my strong suit in writing either, right? So I'm, I'm, this is also part of this, like, how do I frame this? Put all this stuff together? So there's that aspect. Plus, yes, I am preparing for this conference coming up, and at the end of 2024, Kyle, my very good friend, whom I love, reached out to me and was like, hey, OTC is putting on this like, oh yeah, education, recall this thing called soar, And it's for, I don't know, like ongoing education for the full time faculty and staff, where they're going to come in, and there's leadership, there's all sorts of things would love for you to come and talk. And I was like, great. So I whipped something up, sent it off, and was like, whatever. I'm a weird person who's they'll like, they'll never select me. Well, they selected me. And I was like, crap. It turned out that they got it. I was too good, oh no. Turned out that they got like, eight inches of snow, and they had to cancel the whole thing. And so I was like, whoo. Well, I applied again this year, and I did get in and it doesn't look like it's going to snow. And so I have that's true, because the talk is on Tuesday the 17th, and the next day I'm supposed to be driving to Texas to start this conference, because they are very concerned that I am not going to be there on time. And I'm like, I am driving. It's going to be okay. But they're like, Collin, we need you on site on Thursday. Because I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna be there on Thursday. I'm gonna start leaving the day before. Like, it's fine. And they're like, that far. Need you there on Thursday. They're like, totally wigged out about this. They also reached out to me, and we're like, hey, Collin, I know you're already going to be there. Like, yes. And they said, We know you're already doing a live interview for this thing that you've put that we want you to do. Could you also have a backup presentation in case where the speakers cancel?

Brandon  32:41

Okay, you did know about the live interview beforehand. That wasn't a surprise. Yes, okay, good, okay, good, because this is a thing that would happen. Sometimes we'd be like, Well, we know you're doing the live interview. Excuse me, the what?

Collin Funkhouser  32:56

Yes, so this was actually, so there's this big software company. They wanted to speak at the conference, but they were like, I don't know what we're going to speak on. And they got in their brain to come and they tapped me to do, to interview one of their user interface guidelines people about, like, human problems and technology and Oh, please.

Brandon  33:24

Oh, I have some questions. I will give you some material to talk about. Why? Oh, my God, it's always bad. It's always bad. Why? Yes, ever try it yourself before you want to? That's what I want to know.

Collin Funkhouser  33:35

Do you that's okay? So that's the thing. Like, do you dog food this stuff for yourself? That's what this process in technology is. In tech, software is called dog fooding. You eat your own stuff, you use it. So that's yeah, so send over the questions, so like, I'm doing that. And then they pitched it to the conference, and the conference like, yeah, absolutely, we'd love to do that. And then the conference came to me and was like, also, while you're preparing the MC stuff and preparing for that one. Just go ahead and, like, have something in your back pocket so that if somebody doesn't make it, we you're ready. We're ready to go. And I'm like, I am not. I just told them I will not be able to have a whole presentation and talk ready. No, like,

Brandon  34:21

I can just in case, just in case that's you want me to do that much work for you might not even need it. Just Hey, dig out one of your old ones. Okay, they don't have to know. Okay, no, right, just give, give one that you haven't presented to them before.

Collin Funkhouser  34:39

So use that, Megan, I was like, I just like you said, I am not preparing, practicing, bringing it with me, just to have it sitting there. No. So I told the organizers, I am not going to be able to do that, just given my time constraints. However, I. So three people who are attending, I'm going to reach out to them and see if they would be okay if I interviewed them live and in person. And that's what I'm going to do the if something cancels, will get two live interviews, and we'll just go with that, right like they go, because

Brandon  35:20

you can zoom me in. I'll be your

Collin Funkhouser  35:22

backup, backup back. Okay, fine, yeah, we'll do a live interview with in discussion with Brendan.

Brandon  35:31

They'll be like, Wow, this is the worst interview going on here. Why is this? So let me tell you about side quest guys.

Collin Funkhouser  35:40

Okay, no, I love it. Let's go Yes, and I don't know. So this is so anyway, that's that's been going on. And also trying to just all the all the things, all the things, Oh, okay. And also the other project that I started this year, and then we'll move on. Because, boy, how did these chapters were something

Brandon  36:06

that's true. I do have one more just anecdotes that I will talk about before we go to there. I just remembered it, just right now it's relevant for later.

Collin Funkhouser  36:16

I before mentioned coach came to me and was like, I know you're doing the MC stuff for the conference, and I've asked you to do the annual, like, the year long MC stuff. That's great. What do you think about producing and putting together a course? And I went, what,

Brandon  36:34

bro, you know, I'm a business owner, right? Like, you know, I'm busy. I know.

Collin Funkhouser  36:39

It was like, i i So this is now sitting in my brain of like, Hmm, what would I do? And so I'm just going to tell you where my brain is on this right now, frightened of this, but Okay, okay, I will also add I have already purchased the gimbal necessary to shoot this and and the wireless Rode Microphones to plug it so I could use this. It's fine. I I've always, I've been talking a lot at conferences and stuff, and to people about like productivity and, like, getting stuff done, not hashtag, not copyright, whatever, infringement from David Allen, because he'll sue people for that, but, like, because he wrote a book called Getting it.

Brandon  37:31

Getting stuff anyway, it's a fair use phrase. Everybody says that. Everybody says also the AmeriCorps motto, just saying, like, getting things done is, like their motto. Like we get things done is the thing that they say.

Collin Funkhouser  37:45

So come on. But my take is this i and this is my framing. This is what clicked for me when I was I walk to our library because also, also I had to put together a sit, stand, desk and treadmill for my home, because that's where I am in my life, where I didn't leave my house for three and a half days because I was just like, doing stuff again, not good. So I've been walking to the library more again, a thing that I love. And I was sitting in the library and was like, hmm, like, what would I do about this? And I started to think about the room that I was in. You know, I have encyclopedia. I have two sets of encyclopedias from the now, thank you.

Brandon  38:29

You have the second one. Are you just carrying them back one at a time? Walk the library?

Collin Funkhouser  38:34

No, no, they're all in my house. Okay, okay.

Brandon  38:37

Like, that's being good, like, resistance training, right? You take a backpack, and then every time you come back, you just put another encyclopedia in it. If you live like one book at a time,

Collin Funkhouser  38:45

carry the pig up the hill every day, you'll be able to be fine, exactly, right, exactly about that. So I'm going to use our library, which, by the way, turns 125 years old this year, as do as the framing and context for a productivity course, okay, the long term view community good, using your resources and like things like, you know, they, when it was originally built, they didn't have electricity run to the main stacks, which are in the back of the building, so they have these huge windows on the three stories in the back, but also the floors are glass to let light in. And talking about the inherent space constraints of a library in the book turnover to be useful to the people who are here and now, things like that, using those as framing devices for how we work and so, so shooting the course like in and around the library now, I don't have time this month, and I'm probably not going to have time in March, so I don't know when this is going to happen. Plus, I also know shooting video. Know, I can't shoot the video on like, one day in February and then not again until June.

Brandon  40:08

I mean, you could, right? And I mean, it would be, I think that would be funny, if you like, the intro is like full blown winter, and then like the next scene is, like, the middle of summer,

Collin Funkhouser  40:24

I'm in shorts, yeah,

Brandon  40:26

let's be honest, you might be in shorts in the first one. So fine. Yeah, it's like, just do this next week. Okay, it'll be warm again, right? So, yeah, keep on toes. So yeah, they'll never notice. Stand by the pine trees.

Collin Funkhouser  40:44

Oh, right, yeah. Oh, from the pine trees. Lessons, oh,

Brandon  40:48

lessons from the pine Oh, dang, let's go. Yeah.

Collin Funkhouser  40:54

So, so I've been that's been also, like, over, like, thinking about how to do and what to do, and and I'm, I am definitely one of those. I love to plan crap and plan and get and accumulate and checklist, and then when it comes to actually doing it, I'm like, Well, I mean, I wasn't going to

Brandon  41:19

actually do all that's I like how I like how that is juxtaposed against my earlier statement, and when I was like, Well, I didn't really have a plan, so I just decided to do it anyway. Like how that's the framing here, like the tale of two brothers.

Collin Funkhouser  41:40

Indeed, we've balanced we have reached nirvana. Things balanced out.

Brandon  41:47

Yeah, I think, I think that's true, yeah, I think that's a yin and yang thing. Totally, fine, yes, absolutely.

Collin Funkhouser  41:54

Oh my gosh. So I'm trying to make sure I curve steady. Don't breathe.

Brandon  42:01

Fine, nice. Anyway, anyway, my other anecdote that I almost forgot about is because we are, again, weather related, so tangentially to that one as well the warming weather this week, right? We're in a weather unit in class right now, but we got off on this topic about Groundhog's Day, right? And so I was like, Yeah, because somebody was like, well, it's warm, and the groundhog saw its shadow, so that he was wrong. And I was like, Okay, first of all, do you know how Groundhogs Day actually works? And they're like, No, I just know that there's a ground I was like, okay, hold on, gather round time out for story time. That's like, here is here is kind of what happens a large number of people gather in an excessively random part of Pennsylvania, right? Punks autonomy, Pennsylvania, right? All of our international listeners, hold on to your hats. All right, so Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and I did not remember this place is called Gobblers Knob. That's terrible, okay, that's awful. That should be legal. Um, there is a groundhog, right? And a whole bunch of men gather around a tree stump, facade cage, yes, wearing long frock coats and Top Hats and top hats people, the important part is top hats. A man reaches in, grabs a groundhog, pulls it out, puts it on the stump. The groundhog then whispers to them,

Collin Funkhouser  43:48

yes, there is definitely

Brandon  43:51

which, which another man then reads off of a scroll in prose,

Collin Funkhouser  44:01

which I think you need to understand people This means he already had it.

Brandon  44:07

Yeah, he knew the prediction. He also it has been translated from groundhog ease. That is a official statement there. And the kids were like, that is not real. And I was like, it is real. They're like, Well, show us. Boom, live stream. Okay, I need you to know that the live stream for this event was two hours long, and only the last like 10 to 15 minutes was the groundhog action. Why? So these people out in Pennsylvania, and this, this happens at sunrise, yeah, so these dudes standing out in Pennsylvania, like, four o'clock in the morning there is, like, there's like, music, right? I did not listen to any live music because I could not be bothered. I looked at the people playing, I was like, nope, not listening to that. No, nope, to that. Real hard, and I played it for the. Kids, and they're like, Yo, what the heck. Crazy. Also, it's important to notice, important to note that the groundhog that Punxsutawney Phil is canonically 140 years old. Yes, no, because it's it. Part of the lore is that it's not just a different groundhog named punks Tony. Phil, no, no, it's this. It's been the same groundhog ever since. You'll never believe it. A newspaper writer sponsored the first event. Wow, wow. Who knew, but I looked it up. He was already part of a Pennsylvania groundhog club. I have no idea what that's supposed to be. I'm sorry.

Collin Funkhouser  45:49

What? I'm sorry you use the phrase Pennsylvania groundhog club.

Brandon  45:54

Yes, yes, it did, right. Have no idea what's going on here. The research got too strange, too quick, and I had to quit. But I did learn that potentially, the reason that a groundhog does predict the weather in Pennsylvania is derived from two sources. Right. Number one, of course, the ancient tradition of Candlemas, where you have, like, mid winter blessing of candles for the remainder of the wintertime, right? And there's some sort of like, like old, old Germanic tradition of divining the weather based off of the behavior of groundhogs and badgers. And as many Germans came to Pennsylvania

Collin Funkhouser  46:48

people, we've got it. We've cracked, right?

Brandon  46:51

This is the thread here, the thread that binds us. And then all of a sudden, Pennsylvania groundhog club, newspaper, President man did that.

Collin Funkhouser  47:07

Shirts did something, yeah.

Brandon  47:14

And so this is one of those, like, if you explain, if you try to tell this to somebody, oh, yeah, they're like, there is absolutely no way that that is real. No, yeah, apparently in Hungary, a bear was used, so I could see how potentially groundhogs are better for modern times, right? Like, for sure,

Collin Funkhouser  47:42

yeah, they're a little bit more tame, easier to handle,

Brandon  47:51

or something I don't know, like,

Collin Funkhouser  47:55

very confused. I i did not know some of that, okay, for being very real, most of that. I mean,

Brandon  48:03

that's fair, because this is a very zany thing

Collin Funkhouser  48:09

that I know he was supposed to be old and it didn't know, yeah, he whispered, you know, he, like, did his, like, transfer voodoo magic or whatever,

Brandon  48:17

yeah, and there's poems involved. Like, that's like, what? Top Hats? Top Hats? Yes, I think the Elks Club was involved somehow. I'm not sure, or at least it used to be, I don't know. Anyway, that was the other thing that we talked about class today. And the kids were like, No, that's not like, Yes, guys, yes, it is,

Collin Funkhouser  48:49

oh, my goodness. Well, you know what, I'm glad, and I will argue that this is, that is very weather unit relevant. I mean, it is, it is very, you know, Barry can say, hey,

Brandon  49:03

what do you think is more accurate? An air pressure model or a groundhog?

Brandon  49:17

Yes, that's, that's what we're talking

Collin Funkhouser  49:21

about, oh, speaking, sorry, speaking of winter, are you ready for the Winter Olympics? I am. Actually, I'm very excited about this, so I Yes, do need to anyway, that's not, I'm just, I just was reminded that tomorrow is tomorrow. As we

Brandon  49:42

think of some winter Olympic themed something we already did best Olympic Winter sports. So I don't know, or have to, we'll have to brainstorm. We need some sort of Olympic tie in episode. Here, yes, right. Good on that. I'll think about that one.

Collin Funkhouser  50:05

So I only remember it is because I have been tasked with that so we don't have streaming services. Yeah, and I have been tasked with finding the best option for getting this, and I'm just realized that I did not decide whether which one to use. So, oh, I like Miss tomorrow.

Collin Funkhouser  50:40

Any who? Yeah.

Brandon  50:43

So let's talk about,

Collin Funkhouser  50:45

okay, what your man PIP here, what is the deal with these two like, I don't know.

Brandon  50:52

All three of these chapters are pretty much like filler, until, like, something else happens, right? They have like this. These are not they're very short there we there has to be like some kind of something is about to happen, right? And it just can't happen yet. We're sort of like building to something like two thirds of the way through here, there's going to be like something else happens, and then, like, the rest of the book, right? So that's what it feels like, because we're sort of, like caring. That's what it felt like at the beginning, and then we had that, like break, that was like, Oh, the here's the end of the first stage of pips expectations, right? Yes, that just came out of nowhere. And is should really be, like, a dividing section in the book so that you can see, like, what's happening. But anyway, like it was just like, dragging, dragging, dragging, nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. And then, like, a couple chapters are like, ah, build up, something happened. Bam, moving on. Like, that's what it feels like we're at right now, because these three chapters are just like, what like, especially 31

Collin Funkhouser  52:06

like, what is this? Oh, yeah,

Brandon  52:10

why does this chapter exist? Like 31 I was like, what is happening? 32 made a little bit more sense because of chapter 33 right? Those two chapters kind of go together, but like, 31 is just Herbie and PIP go to watch Hamlet at the thing, and it's kind of a shoddy performance, because they, the way to describe the actors. It's just like, their costumes are weird, but the whole time they're like speaking, he's like speaking and writing in like illusion.

Collin Funkhouser  52:49

To him, it was so hard to follow at times.

Brandon  52:53

It's very, very weird, like he's describing the characters, but he's describing them in

Collin Funkhouser  53:02

character, in character for what they're doing. And you're just like, what is i as someone who is not the most familiar with Hamlet? I was just like, I give up. I'm just gonna,

Brandon  53:18

oh, it's a very weird I get through here, but Mr. I took from this that Mr. Wopsle is like performing here, yes, right, but he has a stage name. He's Walden Garver. Garver. Walden Garver, well, is who he is and and he's not the best performer is also what I got, too. No, he, I mean, none of these performers are like, great, no, right. This is definitely not a Broadway production. This is like, A, right, yeah, yes, he's, he's like, a minor character anyway. And like, he's not that great at it. And, you know, it's just, it's, like, really awkward. And they go backstage to see him, and they're like, Well, how was it? And and PIP kind of doesn't know what to tell him. And like, it's, there's a funny interaction. The only the part of the chat that I liked is, again, it's Herbert cave today. Is PIP doesn't know how to handle this, yeah, because he doesn't want to let him down, but he also doesn't want to, like, lie straight to his face. And he's like, he's wopsle. Goes, Well, how was it out front, and PIP is just like, yeah, it was. And Herbert, like, pokes him in the back is like, capital Lee. It was kept capital Lee, of course. And pips, like, yes, yes, capitally, it was wonderful. Like, he's like, leading him on by, like, prodding him, like, literally prodding him in the like. Oh, and then it's like, and that's pretty much it. They go, and they're like, Oh, he's like, hey, hey, HERBIE, you think we should invite him over for dinner to, like, cheer him up. And he's like, Yeah, I think we should do that. And then they do, and that's the chapter, yep. What is what? What was that? What? Again, in context, like, if you're reading a lot of these in a row, right, this is more of PIP, just like, not doing anything, right, like he's, I mean, he's gone to the theater, and he goes to the theater because gentlemen, goes to the theater, but like, this is not an upscale theater. It's just like, you know, it's, this is not like the high performance theater. It's just like a theater, you know, and this is just like he, he's floundering, oh, you know, yes, like, he's just sort of like going along and he, he has become useless, Right? He's not quite as useless as, like, Mr. Pocket currently, but like, because he has no, like, his only resource is money, right? And so he just has money. Now. He doesn't like work. He doesn't have like, a job. He has no like skill or anything he doesn't really know he doesn't know anything. He doesn't really do anything. He like, goes and reads and learns some, I guess. But like, he just is kind of there drifting along because he has no other use or purpose or drive or goal like he doesn't. He's not striving to do anything like he's not like Herbert, who's like trying to work and attain the goal of being an insurer, right, to make his capital right? Pip just has capital. And like, not to be too, like Thomas painy here, but like, we have these three people that we have PIP who just has the wealth capital, and it's just sort of like sitting around spending it. We have Herbert, who is, like, trying to get wealth capital. And then we have somebody like Joe, whose only capital is his, like labor, right? And we see all these, like three different like people, right? And how they move about the world. And like Joe, we haven't seen Joe in a while, but like, Joe is, like, he's not wealthy and he doesn't have means, but like, he's very sure of himself, right? And then we go to the next tier, and we have, uh, HERBIE, who, like, has some wealth and some means, but is still sure of himself. But then we go to the top tier, which is now Pip, who has, like, all this wealth, but has, like, is not sure of himself at all, right? And he's just sort of adrift, because he has no, like, anchor point for anything, and he has no no direction, no purpose, no purpose. Yeah, right. He's not doing anything with his money. He's just sort of like, sitting around spending it,

Collin Funkhouser  58:43

and that's it. Yeah, discussion on his little helper boy that he has just because, yeah, right.

Brandon  58:49

Like, so it's not like those are his only means, like he just, he has all this stuff, but like, he has no to do with it, whereas somebody like Joe, like he doesn't have that means, but like, he knows what to do. He has a drive, he has a goal, he has a purpose. He does things right, like, but it's just so weird where we're just adrift. So this chapter again, is just like, oh, well, we went to the theater, because people go to the theater, but like, the theater kind of sucked, and wopsle was there, but that didn't help. And like, yeah. And it was now like, okay, okay. I can assume from this chapter also that he read Hamlet at some point with Mr. Pocket, because he seems to know a lot about what's going

Collin Funkhouser  59:44

on. He does drive his commentary.

Brandon  59:45

Yes, yes, he has some commentary knowledge. So there we go, whatever chapter 32 though, is weird for a different reason, we get a letter from. Stella. We just, Oh, no.

Collin Funkhouser  1:00:09

Wonder who it's from, okay?

Brandon  1:00:15

Oh no, get a letter from Stella, right? And it is very like Curt, right? Because here's the letter in the entirety a m, I am to come to London the day after tomorrow by the midday coach. I believe it was settled. You should meet me. Question mark at all events, Miss Havisham has that impression, and I write in obedience to it. She sends you her regards, yours. Estella, not I am coming to London. I am to come to London. I am just obeying, yeah, the whims of Miss Havisham again, yeah, and you are to bathe them also by coming to meet me. Yep, yes, good, yeah. And so, because PIP is insane, he gets there like early morning, just waits around, even though it's not gonna be there for like, hours, hours, it just goes. He's just like, standing around, and he keeps going and talking to the clerk, and the clerk probably wants to punch him in the face, but he's there and he sees our man, wemmick, right? And again, when it's interesting, because, well, first of all, we make is an interesting fellow, right? The clerk. He's the clerk from Mr. Jaggers, right? Jaggers, or whatever. And the first interaction, I thought was pretty interesting, because he says, he asks, you know, he just asks about how he's doing, you know stuff, right? He asks about the house, and he asks about the aged. And we make says, you know, you know, oh, thank you. And they, you know, it's pretty good. He's like, however, this is not London talk. Yeah, you think I'm going to right? Because remember, we make is a home, is home, work is work. I'm in London. I'm working. Thank you for asking, but I'm not talking about this anymore, job. And so he's like, I'm going to he's on an errand. He's got to go to the Newgate Prison, right? Because he's on errands for and he's like, yo do you want to come and see what our work is like? And PIP is like, Yeah, sure. Hold on. Let me go check and make sure my coach isn't arriving. And he goes in there, knowing full well it's gonna be, like, four more hours

Collin Funkhouser  1:03:25

to women. He's like, why? Like that? He's there just waiting aimlessly and without purpose.

Brandon  1:03:32

Yeah, so he's like, I might as well, because I know it's not going to be here forever, but I'm gonna go check just in case something changed, right? Even though it's a horse coach. So it's like, it's not gonna speed up magically, okay, just get faster. Yeah. So they, they go to Newgate, right? And this is a weird time, right? This, I don't know what to make of this exchange, really, right? When we go in here and see these people, especially the last dude, right? Like, I don't really know what we're supposed to get out of like, we see some people in there. You know when Vic is, like, addressing several people is like, Hey, you got the bill. Where do you Yeah, you got to do the thing. And you Yeah, but like you didn't do. And then

Collin Funkhouser  1:04:26

PIP does make this observation where he says it struck me that Winick walked among the prisoners much as a gardener might walk among his plants. This was first put into my head by his seeing a shoot that came up in the night and saying, What, Captain Tom, are you there? Ah, indeed. So what he's saying is like Winick is kind of in his element here, and he's just doing all these little touch points and everything is intimately familiar with him, and he's nurturing all of these relationships and content. X that he has, like, he's just the front man here, and it also means that people respond to him positively, at least Yes.

Brandon  1:05:09

So he's just kind of taking stock. He's seeing the clients. He's making the rounds. He's all he has, almost, like, you say he's, like, checking for like, oh, is any of our regular I feel like he's checking to see if any of our regular clients are here, and they need us again, like this. He's like, Oh, Tom, I didn't know you were here. Are you? Do you need me to? Do you need me? I got you remember last time? Like, it's, like, that kind of deal where it's very odd. And then we meet this other guy, this Colonel guy, right? And he's like, all, it's weird, and we are basically to expect like he is whatever he's done or whatever has happened here he is to be executed, yes, right? Monday. And like, they're just like, hey, this interaction is so weird, you know? And it's just like, I don't really know what I'm supposed to get out of that guy. Because he was all like, Oh yeah, well, you know, I and he, because he starts out. He's like, Oh, I expect to be out of here Monday, but he's gonna be out of here Monday. Like, Nah,

Collin Funkhouser  1:06:30

yes, well, yeah, he's going to be out like, as in, like, this is, this is done, and, man, it's, it's just, is, you know, he's just, and it's so it's also so transactional, because during this, whimmick also is like, Oh, hey, you still got some cool pigeons to send my way. And it's like, Yep, absolutely. And it's like, because he talked about, he goes portable property of, they're just, we're just transferring one thing to another person. It's so, like, there are no emotions here from wemmick, we mix, like, tough break anyway, got some pigeons and what?

Brandon  1:07:15

That's it? Yeah, it's very weird. Okay, so it's just like, this, like, whole thing this, like, life and death and yes, being in prison, it's just part of business, right? Just, it's just another business, like, man, whatever, like, which is weird, you know? So I guess maybe that is it, like it's just, just to show that even this, like, most dire circumstance in this context is just another business transaction, right? Like there's no the humanity is like bereft from this place, right? But the weirdest interaction is when they leave, right? And they're the guard is trying to talk to women about stuff, and he turns to pip, right? And he goes, Well, what does he say? He's like, they don't mind what they ask of me, the subordinate. You'll never catch him asking any questions of my principal, right? Because the whole time also that women is going around here. He's like, Ah, I'm not the guy. You gotta ask. I'm just the subordinate guy, right? You gotta ask the boss, right? I'm not the boss. I'm just, I can only do certain things. If you need other things. You gotta talk directly to the boss, because I can't be that guy. I'm just, I'm just the sub subordinate guy, and that the guard keeps asking him. And he's like, there he goes again. I told you, asks another question of the subordinate before the first one is dry, right? He died. He's dumb. He doesn't understand. He's like, you know that's what you're as dumb as one of your own keys when you have to do with my principal. But here you are asking me all this stuff. You won't say nothing when Jaggers is here, but you see me and you think you can get stuff out of me, but that's not my place, and I know that. So not you, buddy. Like, yeah, again, it's business only this whole thing, right? Like Crime and Punishment here, it's just business. That's what it's been reduced to. Yeah, it's like this human suffering and this human tragedy of being in prison and whatever. Because in the 1850s England, you can go to prison for, like, all kinds of really exciting things, like being poor and, like, you know, not real crimes, and here we are, and it's just a business transaction, like,

Collin Funkhouser  1:09:51

whatever PIP struggles with this. Like, this really strikes him as, like, he's really impressed with with jiggers and what he's doing. And. Like, Man, this guy is really important, and is either like, really good at his job, and he's kind of well respected in this, but also he's put off by the by the nature of the business that he's in as well, and knowing that he's like, I think just like, tangential to that, in at least a little bit not that, yeah, you know, doing this stuff, but,

Brandon  1:10:23

like, no, no, but he's associated with a person who's doing that, yeah, who

Collin Funkhouser  1:10:27

is like that? Which, yeah, you know, like, man to have, you know, I know they're not friends because Jagger, again, told him he

Brandon  1:10:34

would never be friends with somebody, but he doesn't have friends. He only has associates, right?

Collin Funkhouser  1:10:40

Yeah. Of, of like, Oh, I'm close to somebody who is capable of this. Like, yeah, I'd be unnerved too, yeah.

Brandon  1:10:46

And so I don't know if maybe this is, like, a little bit of a person. This is, I think, I think there's more commentary here than I'm picking up, because I probably don't have enough context of 1850s life in London. But like, that's weird, okay, we I know, right? But like, we do know that that Dickens is dad spent time in jail for being poor, right? He went to debtors prison, yeah? Because in Victorian England, if you didn't pay somebody enough money, you would just go to jail, a place where you can totally pay back money. Wait, hold on. Makes sense, yeah, it makes total sense, right? Yeah, it's almost like for profit, prisons are a bad idea. Okay, wow, so like, so I think there's more commentary here than I am able to ascertain at the moment, but it does feel like PIP is realizing that there's not justice happening here. It's just business transactions only, and it's like, kind of like you say is unnerving him. The like, getting a more look at the inner workings of how this world works and how Jaggers moves in these circles is like, he's like, Hmm, right. Wait, hold on. Like, that's not cool, you know.

Collin Funkhouser  1:12:19

Like, I know, and also for him, like, this is the opposite side of his position in life. And we get the, I mean, we're about to, we're about to get into this. But like, the transactional nature at both ends of the spectrum here, of of estella's just she again when she starts off by saying, I'm just doing what I'm just doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and you're going to do the same thing too, because we're just expecting to do that. It's very just like one for one. And here on the other side, we also see that same thing. There's no nothing is genuine in this. It's always because that's what the system demands. Yeah, there are inputs and outputs. There's no choices. And yes, we're, we're seeing, he's seeing that too, of like, Oh, also, like, Here are other implications too.

Brandon  1:13:12

Yeah, and if we, you know, I feel like we're getting, we're moving towards, I don't know if he's going to realize this anytime soon, because we still have like a third of this book left. But like, you know, if you look at again, more juxtapositions to Joe right, where at the beginning, right? They were all like, Joe is not of means he is poor, but he, you know, Pip, looks at that situation, he was in that situation, and he thinks like, Oh, if you know, we had means and we had money and blah, blah, we have more freedom to do whatever we wanted, right? Yeah, but now he's in this position where he does have means and money and stuff and but, like, there is not really freedom, because you just have to do all of these things in a certain way, only right. Like you said, if everything is transactional, everything is like, must be done in a certain order. So whereas Joe can, I mean, he can go to the blue board whenever he wants to. He can go take a stroll whenever he wants to. He can do like, like he has like personal freedom, but not financial freedom. And PIP has financial freedom but not personal freedom. I just came up with that right now,

Collin Funkhouser  1:14:38

after a little bit, it's better to be better to sit in that, because soon we make our way back to the

Brandon  1:14:47

Oh no, this chapter was terrible, because Estella is terrible, right? Like, oh. Yes, and yeah. So anyway, we get here, oh, we do have another one of those things, right? We have this. We have this thing again, where he sees her, and, you know, he's like, Oh, she's beautiful. And you know, her traveling dress is great. And then that he has that thing where he notices just something and he can't figure out what, what it reminds him of, right? He it happens again. So this the thing that happened in the garden or whatever, like when we were visiting Miss Havisham. Sounds like he has it again. When he sees her again, right? He has this moment of like, what is it that I'm seeing? There's like a flash of something that I'm like, but I don't know what it is like,

Collin Funkhouser  1:15:52

it happens again. So the mystery,

Brandon  1:15:55

the mystery deepens. So, yeah, we get out. They go to the house, they rest a little bit again. The beginning of this is very transactional and weird. We can learn all about the two Richmonds and which one is the appropriate one that she's going to and, oh, isn't, wouldn't you know, it's close to the pocket residence.

Collin Funkhouser  1:16:20

And this was wild revelation of the connection to the pockets, and also the joy of the revelation of the the letters like, do we believe? Do we believe that these letters are real, being taken back to Miss Miss Havisham and Stella to to read with glee.

Brandon  1:16:45

Oh yes, who knows? I don't know. I don't know. Or are we just messing with Pip's brain? Like, are we just being manipulative, manipulative losers? That's That's what that was hard to say. So the best part of this chapter is whenever I rang for tea, and the waiter reappearing with his magic clue, brought in by degrees, some 50 adjuncts to that refreshment, but not tea, but, but of tea, not a glimpse. So they bring cups and saucers and plates and knives and forks and spoons and salt cellars and muffins and all kinds of stuff, but they don't bring any tea till later, and it doesn't even look like tea. And PIP is like I served Stella something. Maybe it was tea, I don't know, basically, but he

Collin Funkhouser  1:17:43

says, like, threw some sticks in some water. And was like, Yeah, I made some tea. Yeah, they're

Brandon  1:17:48

like, I don't know what this is. And then, yeah, that was funny. Again, it's just a big pomp and circumstance. Like, here's the money, it's gonna be expensive. Here's this big pump. Like, is the substance there? No, like,

Collin Funkhouser  1:18:02

because not also they're in, not, they're not in a nice place either. It's like, he No, like, a couple different rooms to, like, make sure that once they were actually clean. Yeah.

Brandon  1:18:13

It's like, you know, it's Victorian London. We Oh, man, but then we have this part, where's the part? Though? The big part here is, whenever she is, like, she's talking about how, like, I can't remember what he says, but she's like, Well, do you know what it's like to grow up around Miss Havisham doing this I do, or how she expects people to do this, well, I do, or how she treats people like, blah, blah, blah, I know that.

Collin Funkhouser  1:18:50

Like, was she talking about Habersham or the pockets she's talking about the

Brandon  1:18:55

well, she's talking about her growing up. So I'm assuming I took this to be Habersham, right, right, which I can't refine where that is in here, but she starts talking about that, and she's, she's just like, Yeah, I know these things, right? Like, blah, oh, here, it's before the tea. Thing is that here, well, maybe because she's talking about, I don't really, I thought it was talking about her because she's talking about, it's not easy for you to know what satisfaction it gives me to see those people thwarted. Yes, right, when she's talking about, after she's talking about other letters, right for you were not brought up in that strange house from a mere baby. I was you had not your little wit sharpened by their intrigues against you, suppressed and defenseless under the mask of sympathy and pity and what not that is soft and soothing. I had. You did not gradually open your round child's eyes wider and wider to discovery that that imposter of a woman who calculates her stores of peace of mind for when she wakes up in the night, I did right like so maybe she is talking about the pockets. So maybe she was there now that I read this again here

Collin Funkhouser  1:20:19

saying her experience, she has been under the screw.

Brandon  1:20:23

Maybe she was kind of people, yeah, these kind of people.

Collin Funkhouser  1:20:28

And for a long time, and PIP has not had to experience, yeah, that kind

Brandon  1:20:33

of She's grown up around it, and he's just new to this world, yeah, yeah. Maybe that's what it is, yeah. So that was a little bit odd, because, yeah, that was, that was weird. And so you can see that she's bitter. I mean, surprise, we already knew that, but like, it's coming out again, like your bitter is showing like, oh no. Like, you know. And then blah, and then we just get here. They gotta, they take their stick tea, and then they take a carriage up to Richmond to see she's supposed to this was, this part was a, again, I don't know what the purpose of this is for, because she's just like, Oh, I'm to go here, and she is supposed to introduce me to people, and have people introduce themselves to me and like, yeah, what?

Collin Funkhouser  1:21:36

There's no point to this. Yeah at all, like, not even a little bit. I don't

Brandon  1:21:43

really know what. I don't know why they're going,

Collin Funkhouser  1:21:48

Yeah, and they're just, and he's, like, trying to find, like, they're having the most awkward conversation in the car

Brandon  1:21:59

is the whole thing is awkward. Oh, yeah, of taking me about and introducing me and showing people to me and showing me to people neat, that's the purpose of going to live with this family. And yes, the conversation in the carriage is incredibly awkward, even more awkward than it was already, which was very like, I Yeah, ah,

Collin Funkhouser  1:22:26

it's they're trying to have, there's a weird thing where they're trying to have a conversation about jiggers, and then they get, like, gassed by something, I can only imagine what's coming up, fumes Along the way, and then they just fall into the banter, because he's like, so we fell into other talk, and it was principally about the way by which we were traveling, and about what parts of London lay on the side of it and on, and what on. So it's like, hey, look, we're in London. Hey, look, there's more London over there, and more London over there. They're talking about nothing,

Brandon  1:22:59

yeah, because they don't have anything to talk about because they don't have anything in common or to share, right? Like that. It's just like, again, it's empty, vapid, pointless. Nothing is there. Like, they have nothing to talk about. So they're just like, oh yeah, blah blah. They do talk about she's like, Oh, they see the prison. They pass the prison, and she's like, that's her in this place. I can't imagine going in there and pips. Like, I probably did not mention my earlier activities of the day. I changed the sublimity very quickly.

Collin Funkhouser  1:23:29

But he did mention that Jaggers is the kind of person who does go in there, right?

Brandon  1:23:34

Yeah, yeah, but I happen to know, and she's like, how do you know that? He's like, I didn't not that I went there or anything, because, I mean, who would do that, but

Collin Funkhouser  1:23:46

totally wouldn't go

Brandon  1:23:47

in Toby. Would never go there, like, oh my gosh, no. And then so the drive. I'm not 100% sure just how far away Richmond is but like, he just drives up there and then lets her go. And then she just like, leaves him standing on the sidewalk. He like, helps uncarry The stuff, I guess, kind of and then she like, goes up to the house and hugs the people and talks to them. And then just like, leaves. Shouldn't even say like, goodbye. She just like, goes, goes inside.

Collin Funkhouser  1:24:22

She's just gone now bye, off to go be shown to people and do other things.

Brandon  1:24:27

Yes, and he goes. Then he just goes back to the pockets house.

Collin Funkhouser  1:24:30

I do love, by the way. The description of this place that she's being dropped off at, it was a place of former glory. You can

Brandon  1:24:40

tell, like, I places in this block, yes, yes.

Collin Funkhouser  1:24:45

Like, there's no current glory or richness or joy to this place, because he's talks about it was a stayed old house where hoops and powder and patches embroidered coats, rolled stockings, ruffles and. Swords had had their court days, many a time like had had, yeah, ancient trees, possession of the dead were not far off here. And then I love his description of the bell. Did you like this? Like four times he said,

Brandon  1:25:15

forgot about the bell. What do

Collin Funkhouser  1:25:18

you say? A bell with an old voice, which, I dare say, in its time, had often said to the house. Here is the green farthingale. Here is the diamond hilted sword. Here are the shoes with red heels and the blue Solitaire. It sounded gravely in the moonlight. It used to be filled with life and things and beauty and wonder, and now, how does it sound like? Great, yeah, oh, wow. We went Stella, went from one dying and dead house to another one.

Brandon  1:25:52

It's just really weird that like, again, I think there's a commentary here somewhere where, like, we, like, when you talk about, like, nowadays, when you talk about, like, Victorian era England, it's held up as, like, a grand thing, right? Like, it's supposed to be, like a height of something, you know, and it's like, oh, it's always talked about. It's like, oh, it's like, a big, important thing, and everything was great and wonderful, blah, blah. But like, everything in every location that we have been, like you said, used to be good and is now not right. Every single place that we go that we've since we've left Joe's house is like, in disrepair. It shows signs of its former glory, that everything is dirty. Everything is like, messed up, kind of, like, it's just, it's weird that the time was, you know, it talked about as, like being like this, like great thing and like wonderful thing and blah, blah. But like, the reality that PIP is seeing is, like, not that, like every like, even all these people that have all this money, like their houses, like suck and are like, run down. What do you? What are you doing with your money? Like, paint. What do you? What's happening? Like, everything is just kind of past its prime. Like, everything, even all the things that are supposed to be, you know, it's supposed to be prosperous. It's supposed to be like, in the prime of stuff. But, like, everything is past and everything is old, and everything is run down, and everything used to be good, yes, but yeah. So it's like, it's like, there's a lot of lying happening, right? Like, yeah, there's a lot of everybody. There was a sale on rose colored glasses, apparently. Because everyone's like, Oh, everything's great and wonderful, blah, blah. And you look around at the buildings, they're like, falling down and kind of bad.

Collin Funkhouser  1:27:56

There's also just this, yeah, you have this pointing out of, there's the road color rose colored glasses, society and culturally, there's this people living in the yesteryear, and there's no like in this kind of world where you're doing this, like, why would you bother making things beautiful and pretty Again, you know, why would you bother investing into your home? Why would you bother because, you know, it's, it's, yeah, it's kind of that mindset of, well, everything is, this is just fine now, and this is what we have, and just letting it go, because you're just looking towards the past, because also, he's like, is this a big house? And she's like, No, it's a it's a lady and one and her daughter. There's only two. There's no, like, this isn't a big bustling thing. It's not a thriving epicenter of newness or anything. It's just coattails.

Brandon  1:28:53

It may be a physically large location, but, like, the household is not, yes, big, right? Like, yeah. And then the last little bit is, there was one more part that I thought was funny, that is that they go back to, he goes to Hammersmith, which apparently is close to Richmond, I don't know, obviously, and he's going back to the pockets house, and he sees Jane coming back with her little lover, and he's envious, because she has a little person with him, and he needs to remember the description of the pockets house the first time we came right. Order, disorder, rather chaos. The the servants were running everything right. Mr. Pocket would place his hands on his head and, like, yank his hair because he was so, like, not in control of his life, and his children are wild. Mr. Pocket was out lecturing for he was. A most delightful lecturer on domestic economy and his treatise on the management of children and servants, were considered the very best textbook on those themes.

1:30:12

Who was reading back like again, it shows it just

Brandon  1:30:21

shows us this like disconnect from reality, where it's like, he's like, Oh yes, I know how to run a house and raise children. And then, no, clearly you don't. Because what PIP described to us was the antithesis of that, right? It was not bad at all

Collin Funkhouser  1:30:41

and and because PIP is often giving like I there, it's hard to decide, determine sometimes if, if his observation is his own and genuine, or if it is a snide comment about something going on, or if it's so it's like, this one going, okay, is this Pip's actual thought where He's genuinely impressed with these theories and such, or is he, or is this a eye roll kind of thing? Well, about what's

Brandon  1:31:11

going it's an eye roll kind of thing, because the very next sentence, but Mrs. Pocket was at home and was in a little difficulty on account of the baby having been accommodated with a needle case to keep him quiet during the unaccountable absence with a relative in the foot guard of Miller's and more needles were missing than it could be regarded as quite wholesome for A patient of such tender years, either to apply externally or to take as a topic. So they just gave a case of needles to play with to like, entertain and be like, Oh, go play over here. Okay with that. And then they realized like, oh, oh no, we're missing some we're missing some new Yes, his treatise on the management of children was considered the very best textbook. Just give your kids some needles. Man, don't do that. Listeners, do not give your children needles. Okay, don't be don't read Mr. Pockets book. It's not going to be useful at all.

Collin Funkhouser  1:32:21

Oh, goodness. And then, and then he, he like he ends here going that he wanted to. I had some notion of my heart ache, of begging him to accept my confidence, right? He really wants to go up to Mr. Pocket and talk to him, but happening to look up at Mrs. Pocket as she sat reading her book of dignities after prescribing bed as a sovereign remedy for baby, I thought, Well, no, I wouldn't.

Brandon  1:32:47

Yeah, it's like, I really wanted to let him know, but he kind of is looking at situation again and going, now is not a good time be having any help. Yeah, right. Like, there's no point this won't be helpful. Yeah? Why bother? Yeah, me like, oh, oh no, pimp indeed, what the heck is going on? Doesn't even know. No, again, something has to be brewing here, right? Like, we're not like racing towards something, but I think we're like slowly building towards something, because something has to happen to, like, shake things up a little bit. Yeah, you know, because otherwise I might not be able to make it, but I feel like there is going to be something happening to kind of like, better be just to like, because I don't know how it Couldn't right. There has to be some other event here to, like, shake up what PIP is doing. So we'll see, yeah, yeah, shake us out of this. Because he's just sort of go, like, I say, just sort of going along, and it's not doing anything, and he's not doing so I don't know, who knows what it could be, probably something awful, but we'll find out. We'll find out, find out soon, hopefully, hopefully, soon, right?

1:34:30

Maybe, yes, yes. So, all right, well, there we go.

Brandon  1:34:42

The cheers up. I have haiku for you. Collin, yes, to bring us out of the doldrums of PIP here, I have a haiku for you to end this week on. All right, here we go. Back. This is why my anecdote, my second anecdote, was important, by the way an ancient being wakes from its winter slumber to see its shadow. I

Collin Funkhouser  1:35:20

Oh, my goodness, yes,

Brandon  1:35:27

there we go. Well, we can put

Collin Funkhouser  1:35:30

it like that. It sounds exciting. I

Brandon  1:35:33

had to, you know, I was just like, Oh man, I have to. After we watched that video, I was like, Oh man, I have this, has to be it

Collin Funkhouser  1:35:40

absolutely, absolutely nailed it. Yeah, love it. Okay, well, we'll see what happens with winter or not, and we'll, we do know the Winter Olympics start tomorrow, so we'll come up with something for that. Yeah, we'll think about that, thinking, we'll put our thinking top hats on.

Brandon  1:36:04

Oh yes, our thinking top hats Perfect.

Collin Funkhouser  1:36:10

Oh, we'll try our best. All right. Well, very good. Well, we'll do this again soon. All right, love you, love you. Bye, you.