Bad At Magic – Page 17 – A Podcast about Games, Life, and Other Things…

July 2, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 23 – Growth Mindset

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Show Notes

Josh has a zen moment with his awesome home workstation, Ben cyberstalks old coworkers, Josh forgets how old his son is, and they discuss growth mindset vs. fixed mindset.
Intro (0:00-20:38)
- Josh’s home workstation vs. Ben’s home workstation
- The 2007 Minot nuclear weapons incident
  - Wikipedia article
Bad At Parenting (20:38-26:25)
- How do you remember your important dates?
Bad at English (26:25-29:01)
- Self-Licking Lollipop (US: Ice Cream Cone):
  - In political jargon, a self-licking ice cream cone is a self-perpetuating system that has no purpose other than to sustain itself.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (29:01-end)
- Freakonomics is a great book
- The Power of Believing You Can Improve (Ted Talk by Carol Dweck, PhD)
- Wellesley HS Class of 2012 Commencement Address: You Are Not Special
- Junior Varsity Quiz Final
- Join in the discussion on:
  - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BadAtMagicPodcast
  - Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/badatmagic/
- And please support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic

June 18, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 22 – The Descent into Madness

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Show Notes:

Josh plays to win against little children, Ben teaches grandma how to suck eggs, America protests racially-charged police brutality, Ben wastes way too much money on mobile gaming, and the bee saga comes to a conclusion
Intro (0:00-2:51)
- Book review poll winner: Mindset by Carol Dweck
Bad At Parenting (2:51-8:18)
- Spot It! Jr. Animals
- KeyForge
Bad at English (8:18-12:10)
- British Idiom: You don’t teach grandma to suck eggs
  - An English idiom that refers to giving advice to another person in a subject with which the other person is already familiar (and probably more so than the first person).
- Other Languages’ version:
  - French: Les oisons veulent mener les ois paître (“The goslings want to drive the geese to pasture”)
  - Italian: Insegnar nuotare ai pesci (“To teach fish to swim”)
  - German: German: Er will seinen Vater lernen Kinder erziehen (“He would teach his father to raise children”)
COVID-19 and Police Brutality (12:10-40:57)
Free-to-play, pay-to-win online games (40:57-1:20:37)
Getting the Bees out (1:20:37-end)
- Ben’s beekeeper video
- Josh’s handmade wooden coasters
- Don’t forget about the BAM Fitness Challenge
For next time:
- Read Mindset by Carol Dweck (8hrs) OR watch a YouTube video of her talking about it! (10min)
Links:
- AND please support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BadAtMagicPodcast
- Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/badatmagic/

June 4, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 21 – Faffing about with AI

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Show Notes :

Ben’s house gets swarmed by bees, we find new ways to lie to children to get them to do what we want, and we discuss all the ways AI can kill us (there’s a lot).
Intro (0:00-10:27)
- Bee Swarm Video
Maintaining normalcy during a quarantine (10:27-35:37)
Bad At English (35:37-39:09)
- Faff:
  1. Noun (Britain, slang) An overcomplicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of time.
    Adjusting this television is a bit of a faff.
  2. Verb (Britain, slang) To waste time on an unproductive activity.
    She faffed about so much, she never got to eat her breakfast.
Artificial Intelligence and Common Sense (39:09-end)
- Quanta Magazine article: Common Sense Comes Closer to Computers
- Automated Journalism
- Alan Turing: The Imitation Game (movie) and The Enigma (Book)
- Garry Kasparov vs. Deep Blue
- Ex Machina trailer
- Stamp Collecting Robot threatens humanity?
- Rogue Robots
- How to stop the stamp-collecting robot: The Orthogonality Thesis
For next time:
- Vote for a non-fiction book on Facebook or Reddit
  - Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
  - Mindset by Carol Zweck
  - The System by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian
  - Boyd by Robert Corham
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- And don’t forget about the BAM Fitness Challenge

May 21, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 20 – Pingyness

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Show Notes:

Ben and Josh reminisce about the best attorney at Sacred Heart, compare Steam libraries, complain about Daylight Savings Time, can’t be bothered, and explore conscientiousness/pingyness.
Scrubs (0:00-7:02)
Steam Library Comparison (7:02-37:31)
Daylight Savings Time Revisited and Bad At English (37:31-42:37)
- “Can’t be bothered” (searches of “what do Americans say instead of…”)
  - US: didn’t feel like it
  - Maybe: couldn’t care less
  - Someone else: they either said no or I’m speculating that they aren’t going to want to
Conscientiousness and Pingyness (42:37-1:49:55)
- Wikipedia: Conscientiousness
- Associated trait: Pingyness (Ben’s word)
  - Pingy people:
    - Enable read receipts on unimportant emails
    - Call right when you were about to send it
    - Get nervous when you aren’t early
    - Interpret your difference as indifference
    - Don’t believe in “less is more”
Artificial Intelligence and Common Sense (1:49:55-end)
- AI entered an essay contest
- Homework for next time:
  - Quanta Magazine article: Common Sense Comes Closer to Computers
Join us on social media and share your favorite games in your Steam Library
- Check us out on Facebook
- Bad At Magic on Reddit
- Rate us on iTunes
- Our YouTube Channel
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- And don’t forget about the BAM Fitness Challenge

May 7, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 19 – Comcast Rage

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Show Notes:

Ben and Josh explore the Stanley Parable, relive the pain of trying to cancel Comcast, argue over assigned seats, debate prayer at work, and bid a fond farewell to Sam Lloyd.
The Stanley Parable (0:00-11:44)
- SPOILER WARNING: If you intend to play The Stanley Parable, skip to 11:44
- PewDiePie plays it (language warning)
Bad at Parenting (11:44-50:06)
- The Square Cube Law
- The Law of Urination (the 21 second rule)
- What if we denotated all the nuclear weapons at the same time?
- Contagion (2011)
- Josh finding out that he actually had fiber the whole time
- Comcast hasn’t figure out how to let customers disconnect amicably in 5 years (PTSD trigger warning)
Bad at English (50:06-50:37)
- Trump = Fart
Assigned Seats (50:37-1:07:34)
- Does your family have assigned seats?
Prayer on the COVID-19 task force (1:07:34-1:35:58)
- “One change Pence brought to the panel when he assumed control at Trump’s direction was a seating chart, which changes daily based on the assigned topic for discussion. Sometimes, the meetings begin with a prayer…”  –From a CNN story ‘Inside the Trump Pence Partnership‘
- The Italian Job story about alcohol-related incident in a military unit
Farewell Ted (Sam Lloyd) (1:35:58-end)
- Scrubs: Hey Ya
- Goodbye Sam Lloyd (0:30)
Join us on social media and share your favorite Scrubs episode with Ted
- Check us out on Facebook
- Bad At Magic on Reddit
- Rate us on iTunes
- Our YouTube Channel
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- Tell your friends!

April 23, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 18 – Breaking the Rules Done Right

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Show Notes:

Ben and Josh finally talk about Magic again which leads to a discussion on the right way to break the rules
COVID-19 update (0:00-5:51)
- Ben’s prediction about movie theaters starts to come true
Bad At English (5:51-8:00)
- Jam tomorrow (idiom, British): an expression for a never-fulfilled promise
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (8:00-)
Breaking the rules done right (36:43-end)
- Is Superman Boring?
- The Magic card back
- “Gimme a Break” by Mark Rosewater (2004)
  1. Rules should be broken only when a card [storytelling, gameplay, innovation] demands it
  2. Broken rules have to feel natural
  3. Check the reason for the rule you’re breaking
  4. Breaking rules is a test for the future
  5. Not every rule can be broken
- The Captain is back and he didn’t skip leg day
- Firefly scene: The Negotiator (1:07)
- Swiffer, 1999
- Banksy’s shredder stunt
- This is not a flamethrower
- For next time:
  - Try ‘The Stanley Parable’ (2013) on Steam
Join us on social media and share your favorite rule breakers
- Check us out on Facebook
- Bad At Magic on Reddit
- Rate us on iTunes
- Our YouTube Channel
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- Tell your friends!

April 9, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 17 – Banter about Missionaries

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Show Notes:

Ben and Josh chat a bit about COVID-19, remind each other to get fit, diss on Frozen II, and Josh interviews Ben about his time as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Coronavirus AKA COVID-19 redux (0:00-21:25)
Fitness Challenge (21:25-23:06)
- Link to Bad at Magic Fitness Tracker app
Bad At English (23:06-29:26)
- Banter: “the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks”; also “
 ”to make fun of (a person); to hold up to ridicule, ‘roast’; to jest at, rally, ‘chaff’. Now usually of good-humoured raillery”. (Oxford dictionary)
Bad At Parenting (29:26-37:22)
- Minecraft and Movies
Frozen II Review (37:22-47:04)
- Movie: F- duh
- Soundtrack: A+ highly recommended
- Cloth face covers
Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ (47:04-end)
Thanks to our listeners!
- Check us out on Facebook
- Rate us on iTunes
- Bad At Magic on Reddit
- Our YouTube Channel
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- Tell your friends!

March 26, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 16 – Coronavirus Predictions

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Show Notes:

Ben and Josh discuss the elephant in the room: the Coronavirus pandemic
Intro and Fitness Challenge (0:00-4:16)
- Link to Bad at Magic Fitness Tracker app
Bad at Italian (4:16-10:03)
- Amato/a means “beloved”
- This week tell someone beloved to you why you love them!
- Ben’s Family Home Evening activity chart
Coronavirus AKA COVID-19 (10:03-end)
Thanks to our listeners!
- Check us out on Facebook
- Rate us on iTunes
- Bad At Magic on Reddit
- Our YouTube Channel
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- Tell your friends!

March 12, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 15 – Three Stops Past Barking

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Show Notes:

Ben rants about checks and Josh gets punk’d by his Amazon delivery driver. Join us for a 4-month fitness challenge. Stephen Leeds is barking mad!
Ben and Josh on checks and deliveries (0:00-19:05)
- It’s 2020, can we please stop writing checks??!
- Josh gets punk’d by the Amazon Prime delivery driver
Planning 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations (19:05-39:14)
- Ben’s Unit in Italy
- The Italian Job, Episode 9, check it out!
- This or this
Bad at English (39:14-43:21)
- Barking
  - Mad/Crazy
  - Margaret “Daggers” Thatcher was: Three stops past Barking
Bad at Magic Fitness Challenge 2020! (43:21-50:27)
- Link to Bad at Magic Fitness Tracker app
Book Discussion – Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson (50:27-2:00:00)
Thanks to our listeners!
- Check us out on Facebook
- Rate us on iTunes
- Bad At Magic on Reddit
- Our YouTube Channel
- Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- Tell your friends!

February 27, 2020August 23, 2026

Episode 14 – Bad at Magic: Mastermind Edition

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Show Notes:

Ben and Josh talk about …
Intro (0:00-5:18)
- Support us on Patreon to get access to a special bonus episode! “Magic in the MCU”
Film Theories (5:18-18:06)
- Ben’s: Groundhog Day as a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast
- Josh’s: Gaston is not the bad guy
Bad at Parenting (18:06-25:29)
- Elementary School carnivals
  - “Abraham moment”
  - Duty/desire conflicts
Sonic the Hedgehog (25:29-27:29)
- Shovelware: bad licensed games
Bad at English (27:29-31:56)
- That’s a good “starter for ten”
- Reference classic British TV quiz show ‘University Challenge‘; means: “That’s a good start” as an easy one to kick things off
- Similar to you or I saying “I’ll take The Wheel of Time for $200, Alex”
Bad at Magic: Mastermind Edition (31:56-1:22:17)
- Ben’s subject: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  - Round 1: 4/5
  - Round 2: 2/5
  - Round 3: 1/5
  - Round 4: 5/5
  - Final score: 12/20
- Josh’s subject: Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
  - Round 1: 3/5
  - Round 2: 5/5
  - Round 3: 5/5
  - Round 4: 4/5
  - Final score: 17/20
Teaser for next time (1:22:17-end):
- Book poll winner:
  - Legion: The Many Lives of Stephan Leeds by Brandon Sanderson
  - Read before Episode 15 so you’ll be ready for the conversation!
Thanks to our listeners!
- Check us out on Facebook
- Rate us on iTunes
- Bad At Magic on Reddit
- Our YouTube Channel
- Now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/badatmagic
- Tell your friends!