Episodes

  • Nostalgia, Music, and Computers

    Nostalgia, Music, and Computers
    Jan 15 2026
    Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/01/15/nostalgia-music-and-computers/

    It turns out that I get nostalgic about technology in the same way as I get nostalgic about music. Here's some things that take me right back to being nine, eleven, thirteen and fifteen years old.

    00:00 Intro
    00:24 Nostalgia, Music, and Computers
    00:46 When I hear "Dawnbreaker", I feel like I'm nine years old...
    05:13 When I start a new Ruby project, I feel like I'm eleven years old...
    07:45 When I hear "In Yer Face", I feel like I'm thirteen years old...
    13:23 When I see a personal Web page, I feel like I'm fifteen years old...
    17:34 Wrapup and reflection
    18:02 Outro
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    18 mins
  • Why I Am So Tired

    Why I Am So Tired
    Jan 9 2026
    Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2026/01/09/why-i-am-so-tired/

    After dusting off and modernising a joke I first read in a chain email from 1996, I can tell you conclusively that the reason that I'm tired is because I'm overworked.

    00:00 Intro
    00:32 Why I'm So Tired
    01:59 That leaves...
    02:14 History of the joke
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    3 mins
  • Actually, Yes! (that IS what my birth certificate says)

    Actually, Yes! (that IS what my birth certificate says)
    Dec 18 2025
    Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/12/18/actually-yes/

    There's a certain kind of person who, upon hearing my unusual name, immediately asks whether that's what's on my birth certificate (with an underlying implication that it's not my 'real' name, whatever that means, if it isn't). Well: as of this week, thanks to a quirk in Scottish law, the name I've used every day for almost two decades DOES appear my birth certificate. Fuck the haters.

    00:00 Intro
    00:26 Actually, Yes! (that IS what my birth certificate says)
    04:59 Outro
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    5 mins
  • The Beer Token

    The Beer Token
    Sep 4 2025
    Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/09/04/the-beer-token/

    Thanks to the success of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, we can never forget quite how much beer you used to be able to get for a fiver (plus an exceptionally-generous tip). Nowadays, it'll get you one pint, if you're lucky... and that offers us an exciting opportunity...

    00:00 Intro
    00:37 The Beer Token
    01:17 Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, extract from Chapter 2
    03:17 1979: The price of a pint of beer
    05:12 1990: The price of a pint of beer
    06:17 1998: The £2 Coin, or Original Beer Token
    08:00 2023: Beer now more likely to be £5 than £4
    08:30 An opportunity
    09:10 The £5 Coin, or a New Beer Token?
    10:20 Would a politician support this?
    10:45 Outro
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    11 mins
  • Hexagonal Cheese Scones

    Hexagonal Cheese Scones
    Aug 28 2025
    Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/08/28/hexagonal-cheese-scones/

    A poem about the shape of a scone.

    00:00 Intro
    00:30 Hexagonal Cheese Scones
    01:13 Outro
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    2 mins
  • Google Shared My Phone Number!

    Google Shared My Phone Number!
    May 21 2025
    Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/05/21/google-shared-my-phone-number/

    When people started calling my personal mobile number with questions about a voluntary organisation I'm involved with, I was confused: we weren't sharing that number. It turns out that Google had decided to take the number I used to verify my identity for Google Business some years prior and start putting it in Google Search results. WTF, Google?

    00:00 Intro
    00:31 Google shared my phone number!
    00:53 [Self-ad!] Plug for volunteering opportunities at Three Rings CIC
    01:08 Unexpected phone calls
    02:06 "Where did you find this number?"
    02:33 Finding myself on Google
    03:25 How Google first got my phone number
    04:47 The second time this month a company leaked my PII!
    05:02 "Did I click the wrong button on a popup?" and sarcasm
    05:42 Outro
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    6 mins
  • Delivery Songs

    Delivery Songs
    Mar 29 2025
    Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/03/29/delivery-songs/

    In the UK, ice cream vans are perhaps the only delivery service with their own jingle. Turkey and India are WAY ahead of us in this regard, and I've got a few ideas about how we fix that...

    00:00 Intro
    00:20 Ice cream vans
    01:14 Water, propane, and vegetables
    03:37 Other delivery services?
    06:34 Outro
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    7 mins
  • Work Slippers

    Work Slippers
    Mar 14 2025
    Based on an original blog post at: https://danq.me/2025/03/14/work-slippers/

    Last month, the dog ate my slippers, and in the week it took me to replace them my work productivity took a dip. Coincidence? Nope! They were my 'work slippers', and it turns out I needed them!

    00:00 Intro
    00:21 Work Slippers
    00:58 Routines are important
    02:19 Work slippers as part of my routine
    04:10 A new pair of slippers
    04:28 My 100th blog post of this year!
    05:07 Outro
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    5 mins