The Unmade Podcast - 131: Tim’s Singing Lessons

Episode Date: August 24, 2023

Tim and Brady discuss tennis, toilets, our six-year anniversary, singing, super forecasting, Latvian dogs, unusual songs, and some naughty secret words. Hover - register your domain now and get 10% off by going to hover.com/unmade - https://www.hover.com/Unmade Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/unmadeFM Join the discussion of this episode on our subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/Unmade_Podcast/ Catch the podcast on YouTube where we often include accompanying videos and pictures - https://www.youtube.com/@unmadepodcast USEFUL LINKS Latvia Merch - https://the-unmade-podcast.creator-spring.com/listing/unmade-in-latvia Wallpaper and Maldives toilet (Patreon) - https://www.patreon.com/posts/some-extras-from-87728615 Think Again by Adam Grant - https://amzn.to/3YT55gM Latvian Hound - https://petkeen.com/dog-breeds/latvian-hound/ One Night in Bangkok - https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=73vP02w3mwo Rich’s raps and info to submit your own - https://www.unmade.fm/mid-pod-rap

Let me turn the air conditioner off in the next room before I forget. All right. Tim sometimes needs air conditioning because he's so hot when he's podcasting. I can hear you, you know. I heard that. I heard that. Oh, hang on. One second.

Hey, is everything all right? We're just recording, but I was just answering in case it was an emergency. Sometimes Brady's wife calls when we're on air because he's so hot. Okay, I'll call you back. Okay, bye. Okay. case it was an emergency sometimes brady's wife calls when we're on air because he's so hot okay i'll call you back okay bye uh okay so did you win tennis just now yes it was social tennis i won both sets two sets seven five seven five oh quite close then And I won all three sets at men's night last night. Every time you win, you go up a court. And I went up all the courts all the way to the top court.

I was on fire. What do you do? You play a set. And if you win that, you play another set with someone else. Is that how? Yeah, the two winners go up a court and the two losers go down a court and you split. So if you win, you and your partner go up a court, then you become opponents against

two people on the court above. So you move up and down the courts and you're constantly splitting. So I've won five consecutive sets. In fact, no, I've won eight consecutive sets because the day before that, I also won three. But that makes up for the fact we also have like a tournament, like at the tennis club in that it's like a knockout tournament. So everyone gets a partner and you get paired up and it's like, know you go through the ranks me and my partner got uh paired up against two really good players and we were it was four all so we were doing all right but they were just about to crush us and then one of them got injured and they had to like forfeit so we went through to the next round but then we went through to the next round against

the club champion and the club coach and it was an absolute demolition oh dear we got done six love six one we got on our knees and celebrated when we won our one game well done yeah so after after being absolutely humiliated and not and crushed in the in the club tournament i've now won eight consecutive sets i'm on fire these are all doubles matches though yeah these are doubles yeah i prefer playing singles for fitness but doubles is easier and it's more of a social thing at the club so i play a lot more doubles but like those these ones i've been winning are more people you know my standard nice but when but as when i got when i got when i get accidentally have to play someone who's really good from the upper echelons, I'm reminded of my standard.

Right, yes. Yes. I feel like we've walked into the third podcast appearance of my idea of mediocrity. Suddenly we're talking about mediocrity for the third podcast in a row. I am a mediocre tennis player, but I'm looking forward to playing you when I come to Australia. Yes, well, that will determine if I am also a mediocre tennis player

or a bad tennis player. I will be very, very disappointed if you beat me at tennis. I know, I know. How will you be? I'm really looking forward to it. I feel like I will be outmatched as I have in all sporting endeavours that we've engaged in together, with the exception of the swimming carnival but i but i'm playing a fair bit of tennis myself and i'm um we'll see i i'm doing all right but then when whenever the person

i'm playing with just puts their foot on the accelerator just a little bit i go oh crap oh yeah no you know they've been going a bit easy what's your strength and your weakness on the tennis court uh i think my my weakness has been my return of serve and i've been working really hard on that particularly the backhand return of serve and i'm i'm feeling much better about that now and i have i have a pretty strong forehand now i think that's that's you know sort of forehand now, I think. That's, you know, sort of. Forehand. Yeah. What did I say? I think you said from-hum.

Right. Or something like that. Sorry. That's Dutch. I sometimes sleep in Dutch. Bit of rapping. It's your spontaneous rapping. My forearm, well, of all the things I do,

like every other human being on earth, my pretty standard medium-paced forearm is my strength. It's your forehand, not your forearm. Did I say it again? Yes, my forehand, my forehand. I don't know why I'm saying forearm. Maybe because I have such bulging biceps and forearm. It could be that.

I hope your biceps aren't on your forearm, man. No, indeed. That's right. Do you know today, as we record, the exact day, not the day of release, but the day we're recording, is our sixth year anniversary since the first episode of Unmade. Huge. Wow. Incredible.

And our listeners are even more amazed. I love it. And I'm amazed that it's gone this long and that people enjoy it so much. And it's such a joy. Especially in Latvia. Indeed. Indeed. Have you monitored any tracking of listenership in Latvia? Has there been a spike? Well, I just had a look because obviously there was that moment where we briefly became the number four comedy podcast in Latvia. And if you haven't bought one of our T-shirts commemorating that, I'll put a link in the video description. Yes. And stickers and mugs.

So I went and had a look just before recording to see where we were on the comedy list and we were not in the top 100. What? We've plummeted. Yes. We've gone backwards. Yeah. Maybe they don't like us focusing on them and marketing to them

and mentioning them. That's turned them off. Maybe we came on too strong. Maybe the T-shirts were a bit much. I don't know. We came on too hard too early. Like a first date where you go in for a little peck or something and it's like, oh, no, I've stuffed it up.

No, exactly. So I don't know if we're getting a second date. But I did like the thinking of Kevin Maloney, who on Twitter slash X said that he would be switching his VPN on his computer to Latvia when he does all future downloads of the podcast, thus tricking the internet into thinking he's in Latvia and boosting our Latvia stats. So if you have a VPN on your computer or your phone, just can you sneakily switch it over to Latvia just before you download your Unmade podcast, help boost our Latvia stats. That's a great idea. Let's hope we don't melt down some switchboard in Latvia because something's being diverted. I actually tried to get us a VPN sponsor for this episode,

so I would now be able to say, and why don't you download this VPN with this code and, you know, use it? Because I thought this is a marvellous marketing opportunity. I couldn't find a VPN that was willing to sponsor us today. Ah, gosh. They weren't having us. Did you tell us we've been going for six years? Yeah, six years.

I don't know. I don't know what it would take. Maybe more listeners. I don't know. Maybe. That wouldn't hurt. That certainly wouldn't hurt. So I'm not recommending any particular VPN.

Just use the one of your choice. Indeed. And switch it over to Latvia. What's six-year anniversary? I wonder what it is. Like, you know, it could be cardboard and there's all these different materials. There's not one for every year, though, though. Isn't it only milestones?

Five, 10, 15? I'm looking it up. Six year anniversary. Iron. Oh. Because it symbolizes the strength of a couple's relationship and the strength of each partner. You want to give gifts with iron accents, apparently. Like swords?

Or sugar. I've seen someone else that says sugar. That doesn't seem right. It's certainly easy to give as a gift. I mean, I think we have enough sugar between us. Iron would be good. Well, you want a sword, dear? That would be your preferred iron gift.

Hmm. Hmm. What would you like? Yeah. I'd like a sword, too. Then we could cross swords. Oh, that'd be great. We could.

We could have a duel. Imagine that, like for our final episode, we have a duel to the death with iron swords. Yeah. That's great. The one who lives has the responsibility of uploading the episode. You better hope it's me because you know how to do it. That's right.

If the podcast just stops one day people It means we had that duel and Tim won That's right And then couldn't upload the episode That's right and I'll say I'll say that the podcast in a bottle That counts as our last one That's out there folks if you can find it Good luck

Who do you think would win a sword fight between us? Well look I'm a little bit taller You're fitter and musclier and kind of more sporty though Who do you think would win a sword fight between us? Well, look, I'm a little bit taller. You're fitter and musclier and kind of more sporty, though. You'd give it a big swing. I think you might win it, like, early with a couple of early swings. But if you don't win it early, I'll probably win it from there with a bit of agility. Because I'd, like, just prod.

I'd, like, sneakily prod you and run away, whereas you'd be going for the big beheading. Yeah. There would be, like in every sword fight in every film ever, there's like the guy who's sort of, it looks like towards the end, he's really on top and he's doing big cuts and I chop your sword in half and then you drop your sword and you're on the ground and I just, but then I'm overconfidently raised my sword to bring it down on you.

Oh, yeah. And in that moment. And I pull a little dagger I'm over confidently raised my sword to bring it down on you. And in that moment. And I pull a little dagger from my boot or something. Yeah. Yeah. And you jab me and I go. And then I fall back. Yeah.

Yeah. That's how it all goes. I like, I like in your fantasy of, even in your, in your fantasy of our sword fight, I win. Yeah. Because I think I look more majestic and awesome. Like you're still like a little guy with a pencil going, yeah. I just sort of cheated. Whereas I look great, but lose. I'm happy with that.

That's me. I'm swashbuckling. When I go and tell your wife and daughters what happened, I'll say, he looked good. He looked awesome. I stabbed him in the heart. Jab, jab. That's right.

I go down like, what's his name, in Platoon. Remember that dying scene in Platoon? Willem Dafoe. Yeah, yeah. It'll be one of those. That's a good way to go. Got some parish notices here, Tim. We had quite a few messages about toilets and bathrooms and restrooms

after the idea of reviewing toilets. Oh, yeah, yeah. Iliad said the restrooms at Bucky's, which is a chain gas station in Texas, are are always pretty spotless it's even part of their advertisement too you see billboards with stuff saying potty time and they sell bumper stickers with holding it till bucky's written on them which of course i bought one so there's a chain of gas stations in texas that market themselves on having good toilets, which I think is really clever. Yes, indeed. Yes. Full respect. Absolutely.

Chris Schreier wrote, best toilet for me is in the lobby bar at King Edward Hotel in Toronto. The actual toilets have their own fully enclosed spaces rather than stalls. Big, solid hardwood doors, well ventilated, beautifully appointed and decorated. Just remember to bring cash to tip the attendant because there is one and he will pass you delightfully soft hand towels. Dust down your jacket if needed, adjust your tie and let you know if anything in your fit or look is amiss. It's worth a fiver for sure.

Now that is something that I've seen in films many times but have never encountered in real life. And that is a man working in the bathroom doing this kind of work. I see that. I've seen that in quite a few nightclubs. They often pass you a towel and give you a little spray of cologne or something. I see that in nightclubs in the UK sometimes. Oh, no, that's well, I think maybe it's very rare in Australia, but perhaps also in the classy establishments that I don't get into, the high-class hotels. I don't think I'd be comfortable with a man adjusting my tie in the bathroom. I wouldn't want someone that much in my personal space in the toilet

because the toilet is a place where I like my distance. I like, you know, yeah. And where people tend to keep their distance from you as well, man, I think. Hmm. I think it's right. Now, I made a glib comment about petrol station toilets not being very clean because they are frequented by truck drivers.

You said, I better be careful in case we have truck drivers listening. Well, you know what's coming. This is from, oh, I don't know how to say this username topopotomopalopo ot something i don't know but anyway they said as a truck driver myself whenever i go to truck stops or service stations for a toilet break i try to keep things as neat and tidy for others as i would keep my own house however However, what Brady said about truckers is a grossly flattering understatement. Truckers are among the most degenerate, foul and intentionally antagonistic people that walk the earth.

We are lucky that the station employees do as good a job as they do. Otherwise, their toilets wouldn't be as nice as they are. Oh, dear. So there you go. Confirmation from a truck truck driver even if that truck driver tries to do the right thing there's a podcast idea talking to truck drivers they're forever driving and talking to one another on their cbs and and all that kind of stuff and they'd have all sorts of stories little rituals i always was a bit envious of them when i was young and i was

catching like a coach somewhere because you'd get off at a truck stop and there's all that really cool junk food to eat and there was lots of trucks there. It's like, oh man, they get to go to this cool takeaway place for every meal. And you know what I mean? Like, I mean, apart from the bathroom, those places are awesome with the Baymarie

with dim sims and Chico rolls and chips, burgers. You said it, man. My brother-in-law's a truck driver. I'll pick his brain. Maybe we'll get him on sometime. Oh, absolutely. Because I know they do these little things, you know, they're like, you know, like they toot and signal each other in different ways

and they know when this person's here. There's that whole CB culture. I think it's different in Australia because, you know, you're out on those big empty roads and you just occasionally see another truck. So there's a bit more camaraderie. I think in the UK where there's just motorways everywhere and a billion trucks, there's probably less camaraderie because there's just so many of them and it's so dense. Right.

You lose that. You lose that, you know, lonely moment where you meet another one coming the other way. Oh, right. Okay. In the UK, they call them lorries as well, don't they? A lorry. Yes. A lorry.

Which just reminds me of like a quaint English children's book. You know, the man in the lorry came along. It's just so quaint, like a bright red fire engine and all that lovely Englishy kind of infrastructure. It's lovely. You know. Yes. That's not what it's like no also by the way a lot of people asked about the toilets that i discussed uh in the maldives and also the wallpaper in a toilet that my wife and i photographed just to let you know i shared pictures of both of those things on patreon i always put a few extra bits

on patreon as little little treats so if you're a few extra bits on Patreon as little treats. So if you're a Patreon supporter, go along to our page, patreon.com slash unmadefm, and you can go and see that wallpaper in the toilet that we really liked and the posh Maldives toilets. Little bonus material. From as little as a dollar an episode or dollar a month? Yeah, yeah, but we'd prefer like three maybe. Three you know you can do what you want you can do what you want you you can

that's right yes but don't start low man don't like don't don't say the low one first well okay um well you can you could just say from from as much as $100 an episode, you get this material. Or $1 as well. Pay what you think it's worth. This is like every, every. No, no, no, don't say that. That's even worse. We'll end up owing money. That's less than a dollar.

We'll end up in debt. Oh, dear. All right. We also talked about breakfast and how, you know, how people are willing to have the same thing for breakfast all the time, but they won't have the same thing for dinner. Well, I heard from Global Librarian Horse who said, on the topic of why we accept having the same thing for breakfast,

but not dinner, my girlfriend lives a very stressful life in this regard. She wants something new for breakfast every day. I, as someone who has eaten the same cereal for 950 of the last 1000 days, am of course horrified by this. I just agonize over the moment every day where she goes, what will I have for breakfast today? Alas, it means that every once in a while when she makes too much breakfast for herself, I get a bite of something other than cereal in the morning. Imagine having something different for breakfast every morning. She must enjoy cooking. You've got to prepare it. Breakfast, you want something quick. You don't have to spend too much time on. I just can't think of that many

things you could eat for breakfast. Well, unless you bring in the cuisine from other meals i mean you could make up a stir fry for instance but it just seems all wrong fish you know steak barbecue i like a bit of smoked salmon for breakfast smoked salmon and egg oh yeah no no absolutely yeah the smoked salmon's good i interchange that with bacon um to i sort of do a bacon day a smoked salmon day and then a day with nothing because there's lots of um you know like stuff in each of them that means that you don't want to have them every day with my eggs but eggs are good for everyday eggs do you ever have cereal never if i have cereal it would be a late night snack or a fun thing in the afternoon. I never have cereal for breakfast. No. It's too cold and weird for breakfast time.

I mean, I like cold cereal for breakfast, but... No. No, stop it. All right. Now, last episode, we had the mid-episode wrap, and I just wanted to give credit to the person who made it, because I didn't actually have the wrap yet at the point that we were recording, so I couldn't thank him. But thanks to Rich for making the rap. Here's a little reminder of what it sounded like.

Jam, jam, here comes the man. I bet you never thought I'd be big in Japan. Dying home with the Milo man. Funny in Latvia. Hot damn. Coming in hot. 18 in Kirkstar. 33 in Oman.

Hot damn. I want to start with a big hello. Yes, yes. To the dinosaur Milo. Slow sugar on top. You better watch your back for the man in black. Out for the kill. He just walked around the block with a spoon of condensed milk.

Hot damn. And you can email us, unmadefm at gmail.com if you would like to submit your own rap to play mid show we'd uh we'd like to hear we'd like to hear what you come up with that is a great idea we can just throw them in randomly throughout the episode throw them in fantastic idea yeah yeah just a bit of a pause that requires people to make them for us so uh you know make one and if you make one you know we we may we may reward you in some way so that one drew upon sort of our voices with some, you know, bits and pieces and effects, very skillfully done.

Is that what you'd like other people to do or would you like them to rap themselves? I want people to do what they want to do. You can rap yourself. Just a rap that just appears mid-podcast. Nice. What have you got? What have you got in you?

Yeah, we want to hear it. Un made fm at gmail.com that's the email address is that all the parish notices uh i think it is yeah that's that's it for now yeah would you you do you want more i mean that's quite a lot there are several here in our parish like at melvern Uniting. We have a quiz night coming up later in the year. That's very exciting. There's a team organising that. So that's coming up. So we're doing actual parish notices from your parish now? Yeah.

Yeah, we can do that too. It's really exciting. There's a new community choir that's started. Right. And like 18 people came to the first one. And that's very exciting. New choir. It's going to be a lot of fun.

People from the community. Lots of fun. Did you go along? No. No, I didn't go along. No. I'm more of a soloist. I don't want to intimidate anyone that was there having a go for the first time.

We have not talked yet. Speaking of you being a soloist, we have not yet talked about your little side hustle. Yes. Is it true? Is it true that you have been having singing lessons yes i have yes i have been didn't we mention that already i don't think so why are you having singing lessons you're already a magnificent singer i well this is true yes but you know it's a bit like why does Coca-Cola advertise? It's because if you're number one, you want to stay number one. Look, I love to sing and I've never thought,

I don't really know any of the skills involved in singing, but we have several people who sing magnificently in our church and one of them has always said, you know what, I reckon you might have potential there, the way you speak and the way your voice works so last christmas they actually gave me the christmas gift of a wasn't a singing lesson it was sort of a vocal assessment so going along with a proper singing coach and um doing some assessment basically is it worth doing singing lessons that kind of idea right yeah okay Yeah. Okay. So I did that.

Surely someone who wants you to pay the money to give you lessons is going to say, oh, yes, you should definitely. I know. I was sceptical because I'm like, well, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. It's like asking, you know, a carpet company, do you think we need new carpet? You know, it's like. Yeah.

But this is a serious place and she's got, you know, like a master's degree, a very skilful sort of person. And I was like, okay, why and how? And I could see what they meant. And I thought either way, I'm really enjoying this. And so I bought a bunch of lessons. What did you have to do for the assessment? Like give us an example of some of the things you had to do.

Did you have to use your diaphragm? Yeah, I was waiting for that. I was so looking forward to that moment i wanted to mention the diaphragm on a regular basis to show that i knew it existed from that wonder years episode but she didn't use that a lot she talked a lot more about my phrasing and about my throat and about skill you know how to go and hit notes and come in on the note rather than working up to the note and all those sorts of things. But essentially she got me to sing and then to try a few things and try a few songs and then she's like, yeah, no, this is it.

That's on key. You can sing in key and then you can do this, this and this and this. That was thrilling to realise and to hear myself. So you passed. She signed you up. Yes, yes. So I did about 10 lessons. Wow.

Up until very recently. And I loved it. I mean, singing is just so much fun. And I learned a bunch of, I learned how to sing a few favorite songs, like a Crowded House song and a Sting song and a Harry Connick Jr. song and a few others. And I came a heck of a long way actually because you practice and you learn and you go hang on i'm holding that tune and i'm

singing you know you record yourself listen to yourself back and you go i'm in key and all that so i'm not a great singer but i'm in key ladies and gentlemen tim hein he's having a sip of water what what's he going to hit us with? Oh no no hang on hang on For the Patreon supporters If you want to Give us a little taste And then maybe we'll put a bit more on Patreon No no I think it's the other way

I think I sing now And if you're a Patreon supporter You can go and you don't have to listen to it You can listen to some lovely silence instead An episode without Tim's give us give us a little verse you want a couple of lines what could i well what was your signature what was your signature song i haven't warmed up um i did it it had to be you but that's a very difficult song because it's got all minor things in it um what was the there was the crowded house forgotten what what's the crowded house song um somewhere deep

inside something's gotta hold on you and it's pushing me aside see it stretch on forever and i know i'm right see i went up to it that's wrong i'll try it again and i know i'm right right for the first time in my life you know i'm all i'm blurry there it's not good but that's why i tell you you better be home soon there we go so There we go. So there we go. Another example. Once again, we've moved into mediocrity land. This is what we are doing with a very mediocre voice.

When you went higher there for a minute, the limiter or whatever I've got on my Zoom cut you out. So you're obviously doing something that was just too awesome for the Zoom. Dogs are barking all the way down the street outside here as well. Yes. Right. So it's not, I mean, there are good voices, but you just, it's not that I've got a great voice at all, at all. But it means that you can sing.

There's a difference between singing in tune and not singing in tune. Singing in key, right? So being able to do that and that's fun. And if you can do that, then you can sing backing vocals or you can sing something and you can hold a note and and what's end game for you here what do you want to do with this skill that you're nurturing i want to in a non-embarrassing oh help out the band be part of the band here in the church which i enjoy i do a bit of guitar playing but i you know just sing along we've got some great singers so i don't want to spoil that i want to be competent in my you know backing of of them that would be good fun i have a bit of another secret project in mind um that i don't want to share because it's way too early but i have a bit of i have a bit of an idea in mind that that could turn into something. Two-piece feed album.

No, no. I've moved on. Really? I hate to announce the split here on air, but a bit like Simon and Garfunkel, things have turned a little bit different and I'm going solo. No. Right. I do have the idea of putting together a bit of a repertoire

of a particular artist and doing a few very anonymous pub gigs to sort of just tune and see if something gets right. But that's a bit down the track and I may go back to the singing teacher to craft that a little bit more. I'm just learning a few songs at the moment. Wow, a bit of a cover artist. I've said too much. You've drawn it out of me. You're like Parkinson. You've got me to overshare. If you would like to have a guess at what artist Tim is going to cover in his next

career, send us a message. Or you could suggest someone you think Tim should cover. It's not Nick Cave, okay? All right. It's not Nick Cave, and neither is it Celine Dion. So those are two I know that I thought you were. Does it start with B and end with Onno? No, no, no, no, no.

It's nothing U2 related. No, no, no, no. Gosh, no. All right. All right. I won't push you anymore, but I am, I am intrigued. Is it possible that you'll be doing it when I'm in Australia? Or is that too soon? I think that's too soon. Yes. I wanted to come along. And even if it wasn't too soon, I would say it was too soon. All right. Ideas for a podcast. Have you got one? I do, actually.

Yes, I do. This is a, it's not what I planned to do, but I got thinking on this beforehand while I was waiting, and I'm really quite intrigued by it and want you to talk it through with me a little bit it's it's kind of about super forecasting i was reading this book i've been reading this book called think again by adam grant which is which is really quite good book about the power of knowing what you don't know which is sort of a title it doesn't mean anything. Basically, it's how to argue, how to convince people, how to argue, how to have conversations that are persuasive rather than just being a prosecutor of your point of view.

But there's actually a small bit where he goes off on a bit of a tangent, and I thought that was particularly interesting, where he talks about people that try and predict the future. These are people who try to forecast, and he talks about a tournament that actually exists where people come together and they actually compete in terms of forecasting on a whole range of areas and he talks about an organization called good judgment that sort of hosts this and the range of people that are known as sort of super forecasters. They're not particularly intelligent people.

They're not geniuses or anything, but they have strategies that have a better than average and kind of better than experts ability to forecast the future and events in the future. Give me an example. Well, you know, the people who picked that Trump would win the presidency against Clinton, you know, when it was sort of didn't seem very likely at all. But then they also, the competition comes down

to really concrete things such as who's going to win the next World Cup? Will the current president of Iran still be in office in six months? In the following year, will this individual or this company face criminal charges for an accident involving a self-driving vehicle? You know, these are sorts of examples that are very tangible.

I went looking up this idea of super forecasting, and there's like this other book that's come out about that, which is called Super Forecasting, The Art and Science of Prediction. And it talks about kind of it has like four attributes of people that are kind of super forecasters, and then it has like a list of principles of six points on how you can or you know methods that people use to to super forecast and that's all really really interesting so tell me your podcast idea yeah the podcast idea is

it could be as simple as calling it predictions or forecasting but basically getting people on to talk firstly you could get on some of these people predictions or forecasting, but basically getting people on to talk. Firstly, you could get on some of these people and talk about them, but I imagine that podcast already exists. But I like the idea of getting people on to make some predictions and they could be as small, and this is a task that maybe you and I could have, make a prediction about something that would happen

before the end of this episode, before the end of this week, and before the end of the year. You know what mean you could people could come and just speak about that way those kinds of things and and talk about why what their rationale which is really the interesting bit just simply pulling something out of the air is not that interesting but the thought processes are interesting and i'm really interested in this idea of super forecasting and the fact that people actually compete in forecasting. Why is it called super forecasting? What's the difference between super forecasting and just like forecasting stuff?

They're super forecasting tends to be people who are proven in this area and an analysis of those people and how they go about doing it. Oh, OK. Yeah. So it's more that you are a super forecaster if you're good at it. That's right. Are you good at forecasting stuff? I think everyone, this is one thing I think everyone likes to think they are, but I'm not necessarily. Oh, I don't.

I think I'm terrible. Well, I don't think I'm particularly good at it either. I'm always left with that feeling that when something happens that you go there's a feeling that goes part of me knew that was going to happen and yet i didn't let myself believe it was going to happen but but that's you can't trust that sort of reflective thinking either can you because hindsight yeah hindsight in your case that's right hindsight absolutely no i'm terrible i'm terrible i mean i think people who are really good at it must already work in the gambling industry or they're like, you know, actuaries and work in insurance and stuff like that. But it's definitely, I'm definitely terrible at it.

What do you think makes someone good at it? Like, I wonder if it's they're really analytical or they're like. They do talk about it here. They talk about four attributes this book does. Like, people apparently who have the qualities of a super forecaster have like a philosophical outlook which means that they are cautious and they're humble and non-deterministic so they don't sort of attach their things to assert their their ideas to a certain ideology like i know this is going to happen because i believe this they their thinking style is open-minded intelligent and curious reflective and numerate their forecasting style is quite pragmatic and analytical probabilistic thoughtful updaters in intuitive uh psycho psychologically so they do weigh there's a lot

of maths in this as well so they weigh probabilities and do a lot of data analysis which is quite cold but often makes a lot of sense in retrospect, because everyone, most people just go with an intuition. Oh, I think this is going to happen, or they're an outlier because they saw this one little fact. But when you actually, you know, sit down and look at the data and look at numbers and look at probabilities. Lastly, they have a work ethic, a a work ethic a strong work ethic that is they're highly systematic about the way they go about their forecasting they're not just pundits that sit back they they pour and research um yeah they crunch the data yeah that's right well that's

that explains why you're no good at it yeah that's what are some things we should predict okay one of the easiest ones is that i will forget to say the secret words from my daughters before the end of the episode. That is a reasonably safe prediction. Who's going to win the AFL football premiership in a few weeks time? I haven't been following it closely enough to make that prediction, even though I'm in a tipping group, to be honest. So, I'll say Collingwood. Collingwood is Tim's prediction. Yes. All right. When you and I play a set of tennis in November, what will the score be in the first set we play? We need to play more than one set because I'm a second set specialist.

Right. Okay. Well, you can predict both sets if you like. Which you will, I'm going to believe that you have a stronger serve and you will win, but then if I can get you angry, you will start making unforced errors on a regular basis and that will be helpful for me. You will win the first set, 6-2.

6-2, right. 6-2. And I will win the second set 6-5. Well, that's not an actual score that can exist, but all right. Like 7-5. Oh, sorry, 7-5. Yes, yes. 7-5.

All right. 7-5. All right. We'll see. Watch this space. Do you have a prediction for the tennis, our tennis match? I think I'm going to predict that i will manage to win the first two sets and i'm gonna predict six one six two right you're probably more accurate but i yes we'll see

i don't know you could be way better than i expected no i'm not i'm almost certainly not but then of course i would say that now, wouldn't I? To lull you into a false sense of security. All right. Well, maybe we'll record the match and put it on YouTube. Maybe we will. That's a big maybe. There's nothing worse than watching video of yourself playing tennis.

No. It really brings you back down to earth. Yes. I can imagine. Let's move on anyway. It's cool. It's good. It's good fun. It's a playing tennis. No. It really brings you back down to earth. Yes. I can imagine. Let's move on anyway. It's cool. It's good. It's good fun.

It's a good topic. It was a good idea. That's a good idea for a podcast, Tim. I predict that that could be a good podcast to be made one day. Your use of the word one day sort of implies that it probably won't. I don't think we'll make it. No, I don't think we'll make it. I need a quicker payoff.

I couldn't handle that podcast because people are predicting stuff and then I'm like, well, are they right or are they not? I'll have to wait a year to find out. This would be a good podcast after it's been going for a year or two and you can start going back to people's predictions. That's true. To start with, it would be a bit boring. It's the sort of podcast you would almost want to make a year's worth

and then start putting them out and having a person back. You would only put it up when you have the second time or it was in two parts. We recorded this half a year ago. Now we're here. Tell us how you came to that idea because you were right about that and wrong about that. But that takes patient podcast making. That's for sure. And that is not our cup of tea.

So let's move on to something else. And that is not our cup of tea. So let's move on to something else. This episode has been brought to you by Hover. Domain registrars, extraordinaires. If you need to register a domain on the web, go to hover.com slash unmade. That will get you 10% off your first purchase.

I register all my domains with Hover these days. I'm a very happy customer. Tim, I'm going to give you three pairs of domains, right? And for each pair, I say, you have to say which one Brady has registered and which one is still available for someone else to purchase. Are you ready? Is this because you've registered it? Is it random or is this like because I know you have a purpose for it? You decide.

Which one does Brady own? Which one is available? Here we go. OmegaSpeedmaster.watch or BradyLovesLego.toys. I know you like Omega Speedmasters as well, but surely that's not available. But it's either you own it or it is available. Those are the two options.

I can't believe it. Gosh. I'm going to say that you have bought Brady Loves Lego Dot Toys. No. I have Omega Speed Dot Toys. No. I have Omega Speedmaster Dot Watch. Wow. And at the time of recording, Brady Loves Lego Dot Toys still available. How is that still there?

Go and get it. My goodness me. Go and get it. That's incredible. What about these two? You ready? Yes. Objectivity Dot Video.

Yep. Or Money For Nothing.guitars. Surely you own Objectivity because of, well, but hang on a second. No, wait a second. Maybe, yes, maybe that's somewhere else. I'm going to say you already own the first one. Objectivity.video. Correct.

I do own that. And money for nothing.guitars is still available. That's incredible. That's still available. Wow. I know. I mean, goodness me. All right.

Last pairing. Yes. Do I own richmanfootballclub.sucks or spoon.cards? I think you've bought spoon dot cards. I think you've bought spoon dot cards. I have bought spoon dot cards for our spoon of the week collector cards and Richmond football club dot sucks. I can't believe there's a dot sucks. Yes.

Suffix, but there is. So Richmond football club dot sucks is still available if you want to stick it up, Tim, because Richmond football club is Tim's favorite team in Australian football. Oh oh golly gosh there's no need to buy that one i mean i'm really if you're on hover you can buy something else there's probably no need for that if you're on hover you could buy richmond football club dot sucks and then you could automatically redirect it to something like tim's twitter right so if anyone then puts in richmondfootballclub.sucks and presses return on their keyboard, up pops Tim's Twitter page. Look at that.

That's the fun you can have. If you want to have some fun or you've got a serious reason to have a domain, go to hover.com slash unmade, 10% off your first purchase. It's a really easy web page to use. They're a great business and they're a great supporter of the podcast thank you to hover thank you hover fantastic this is a time where we give a few prizes out to our patreon supporters go on tim grab the guitar

he's got the guitar here we go here we go. And he's got the singing voice to go with it. All right. An Australian nut unmade podcast key ring is being sent to Nina in Tasmania. You want me to sing something about Nina in Tasmania? Well, you got the voice. You've had the lessons. I'm not properly warmed up. I do apologise, Nina.

I can send something to you. Since when do you warm up? You sing all the time without warming up. No, that's the warming up. That's me. All right. Nina, Nina, oh, Nina. That song's called Nina.

All right. I liked it. And we're going to send some Spoon of the Week collector cards. Find out more at spoon.cards. Now, this is interesting. Last episode, Ian Mook from Scotland won some cards And he went onto our Patreon page and wrote I can't believe the prize algorithm has smiled upon me at last Well, Ian, the prize algorithm has smiled on you back-to-back weeks

You've won more cards Unbelievable That's crazy Nice work Fantastic Your Patreon support is paying off Ian from where? He's from Scotland, I think.

Scotland. What Scottish songs are they? I don't know. I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more. Those are not the chords to that song. Not feeling it? Not feeling it? Yeah. The Pro it. Yeah.

The Proclaimers, a Scottish band. There's a lovely band called Bell and Sebastian that are a good band out of Scotland. Yeah. Nice band. Yeah. Glass Vegas I quite like. Right.

Okay. Look at you naming bands. No, no. I'm dropping music bombs. You wait till you hear the podcast idea I'm going to share. You're going to blow your mind. Anyway, we also are sending Spoon of the Week collector cards to Gordon H from the UK as well.

Gordon H, Gordon H, Gordon H, Gordon H. Tobias from Germany. Tobias from Germany. Tobias. Oh. Tobias. Tobias. Tobias. Tobias.

What's that song called? Tobias. And finally we have Jacob from North Carolina. North Carolina. Oh, that's it. Here we go. This is a song. That's what I was playing initially, a song about Carolina by Ryan Adams called My Sweet Carolina.

What's his name again? Jacob. Jacob, Jacob All the sweetest winds they blow across the south There we go. Nice, nice. Love it. Thank you very much. Congratulations to those people. across the south there we go nice love it thank you very much congratulations to those people I'll be doing a big postal batch soon

so if you've won stuff in the last couple of weeks keep an eye on the post box I'm about to do my big packaging day and now it's time for stores of week And now it's time for... Soons of the Week. Soons?

Soons of the Week. Right. Which I learned in the last hour or so is Latvian for dog. Oh. Hmm. Right. So we're really doubling down on our Latvia thing here. We want to win back the Latvians.

Here's our Latvian Patreon supporter. I think it's Courtney saying it for us. Soons. Soons. I really tried to dig up some information to do with dogs in Latvia. It wasn't that easy. Apparently there's a movie theatre in, I think it's in Riga, called K-Soons, which means like K-Dog, which sounds like a sort of a nickname

that you would have. But the other thing I found out, and this was a real find and really saved my bacon for Soons of the Week, and that is that there's a dog breed called the Latvian Hound. Oh, nice. That's around the world? Yeah, they're mainly in Latvia. It is rare to find them elsewhere.

They're big in Latvia, obviously. They're a medium-sized hunting dog. They're usually quite black with a bit of tan. I'll put some pictures in the usual places. They're not widely known outside of Eastern Europe and Russia. They're a smart, lively dog, a handsome breed. Oh, yeah. They originated in the duchy of

Corland which is a sort of a historic part of Latvia in the west and they used to be called you know back in the 17th century and around those times uh Corland hounds and their name was later changed to Latvian hounds I think in the 1970s that the name was changed. They look a little bit like what we call a sausage dog, except with long legs. They have that sort of brown tan and face. Yes. Smooth, beautiful.

What a wonderful hound. Trained to follow the scent of animals like deer and rabbits and wild boar and then drive them towards the hunters. I'm looking at some of their ratings here on a dog website animals like deer and rabbits and wild boar and then drive them towards the hunters i was i'm looking at some of their ratings here on a dog website and they are quite high energy healthy sociable very trainable and have a decent lifespan sound like a great pet a latvian hound is this week's soons of the week nice wow yeah i can hardly wait to hear what next week's is and i have asked for more latvian words that rhyme with spoon but right we'll see we'll see how much legs this uh this segment has

let's make no promises lovely work that's that's another classic episode of soon of the week soons i think it has to have the s i think i think the singular might have the s i'm not entirely sure oh okay yes you're right my latvian is in early stages of development it is but you've come a long way yeah anyway this week's idea for a podcast from me isn't coming from me it's a suggestion from one of our patreon supporters called some jeff and i will read the idea as jeff wrote it here's a music related podcast idea that tim might be into every week review the top 100 or uk charts or number one singles of a particular year but only the songs that are not about relationships, romance, sensual undertones. Pretty much anything having a lyric containing you or we should probably disqualify it.

You then talk about what the song's about, how did it become so popular if it's not about me or you. You could get the artist to chime in on their reaction to their hit single in an ocean of breakup songs. You could discuss trends. Was a particular decade flushed with romance here are some examples from the 1980s eye of the tiger another brick in the wall nine to five what do you think of this tim discussing songs but yet they can't be about love, romance, couples, feelings. Is there a song that, what's the first song that jumps into your head

when you think about a popular song that isn't about love and you and me and we? Because there was one that jumped into my head. Yeah. Well, the one that came to mind, maybe because you mentioned the 80s, is the Do They Know It's Christmas by Band-Aid, the very famous fundraising song about poverty in Ethiopia. That was the first one that came to mind. Yeah, okay.

I think that would count. Yeah, that would count. It's about like a global issue, a serious issue. It's not a lovey-dovey song. What was the one that came to mind for you? The one that came into my head straight away was um one night in bangkok uh do you remember that song i don't think i know that song it was like it was on one of the first like hits of the 80s 70s and 80s uh tapes that i got as a

kid had it on had it on there and i never really knew what it was about it was quite a funky cool song it was quite a different song and it's actually about uh people playing chess no way that's great you know i didn't really i never really realized until later in life it was actually used on a concept album in the subsequent musical chess which was you know a stage show but the song itself was a was a hit song as well it was very popular all right it topped the charts in many countries including south africa the netherlands west germany switzerland denmark and australia it peaked at number three in canada and the us in may 1985 number 12 in the united kingdom one night in bangkok was the one that came into my head. One town's very like another when your head's down over your pieces, brother. What else have we got here?

I have more suggestions from Sum Jeff. Funky Town by Lips Incorporated. He says, in contrast, August 19, 2023 Billboard Top 100 probably has maybe five songs that fit this category. They are rare, songs that don't deal with those topics don't deal with relationships or there are even songs like that deal with you know the passing of someone you know like a father or a brother but that kind of gets a bit too close doesn't it still it's fraternal love that's veering to so it's got to be about something that's not. Money for nothing must count. Yeah, yeah.

It mentions chicks, but not in a very loving way. No, not in a loving way. No. No. Yeah. I imagine there's quite a few in the heavy metal area. There are a lot of, there's a strange strain of heavy metal, which is more about sort of you know distant lands and quests and adventures and you know i there's all that kind of genre you know

the lord of the rings kind of genre of song yes um yes they're quite ridiculous really um some of them in what about or here's one rodeo by garth. Yes, it's about the rodeo. And even that's about the lure of the rodeo away from the relationship. Like it's like the rodeo is your mistress. Oh, yeah, you're right. No, you're right. Yeah. So he's got We Shall Be Free, which is more about issues and stuff. Yeah.

Well, I tell you, here's another. There's a subsection of this idea because there is a lot of the songs that come to mind are more protest songs. If they're not about love, then they're all about issues. Oh, yeah. Winds of change. Well, that's right. Scorpions. Nice.

Yes. Yeah. So there's a. Some Jeff, you have opened a can of worms here with Tim. I can see him. He's come alive. This episode is going to go a can of worms here with Tim. I can see him. He's come alive. This episode is going to go a lot longer than I originally thought. We're going to be here a while.

But it's interesting to think of other songs aside from that as well. They're about things. So it's not about an issue and it's not about love. It's just about some, you know what I mean, like a quirky thing, like my breakfast or yeah um driving driving a car or chess yeah that's right um it's it's that that i like that idea little deuce coop is about a car by the beach boys but again i think that's got maybe there's a degree of wanting to impress your lady and impress the girl there's a little yeah that's right that

they all have that sort of slant like there's well something like in my room which is about being in your room as a teenager and that being the whole universe and stuff nah that's about angst and like i think that i don't think you can have that one but it's angst surfing usa oh okay surfing usa just about surfing or has it got is that got a bit of love and girls in it i can't remember it's hard it's hard with the beach boys you always feel like they're implying some loss or something yeah nick cave must have some red right hand that's not about relationships is it no he does a lot of what's called murder ballads so songs that are you know well like horror films murder films or murder novels he brings all that to music so they're actually some of them are quite violent and tragic in that kind of genre in his early days in particular.

So, yeah, there's a lot of that there. There's a one that I've mentioned before. My favourite song is by Nick Cave. It's called The Mercy Seat, which is about a guy on death row, you know. So that's just him thinking about that. That's not very lovey-dovey. Loads of Garth Brooks songs, Tim. Like country music must be fertile for this Because while country music does do a lot of, you know, love and stuff

There is also a lot of, like, other stuff Like, you know, Alabama Clay Yeah, yeah Just about, you know, some old guy from Alabama and stuff like that Like, country music songs sometimes veer off into these weird areas Nobody Gets Off In This Town Yeah The High School Colours Are Brown That's right Nobody gets off in this town. Yeah. The high school colours are brown.

That's right. Yeah. We can go through our extensive Garth Brooks knowledge. Yeah, totally, totally. Standing outside the fire is not about love or romance. No, no, no, about defiance. It is kind of worthy and living life to the full, but yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We Are The Champions by Queen. It's just about being a champion. Queen do a few of those sorts of songs, like We Are The Champions. And they've got that, you know, riding my bike. What's the song called? Bicycle? It's just a song about riding your bicycle. And car.

I'm alone in my car. You know, it's just about driving your car. They've got a bunch of songs just about doing. No Cars Go by Arcade Fire. Yes, that's right. Yes. Yeah. Oh, this is some, Jeff.

There's too many songs now. This is fun, though. This is fun. It's actually fun challenging. The other day, my wife and I were driving along, and we had a game where we had to name a song that had the word rain somewhere in it. Oh, yeah. Like even in the lyrics.

And that was really fun. It's really fun like testing people's music knowledge. And that's basically one of the things you could do here. That's cool. Songs that aren't about love. All right. Let me have a go. So there's Rain by Madonna, Blame It On rain by millie vanillie um oh yeah um will it

oh and i don't never see the rain it's but it's by um oh yeah what's his name the guy with the dark voice you your dad likes you know they do the great song from credence from creed yeah don't you credence to that song yeah i wish it? I wish it would rain down by Phil Collins. I can't stand the rain. That's a lot of blues songs. Oh, you would have beaten us, Tim, clearly. There's that other one. Purple Rain.

Purple Rain, yes, of course. Yes, nice. Raindrops keep falling on my head. Raindrops keep falling on your head, yes. Incy Wincy Spider is about rain. He's about... We did... For obvious reasons, we veered into quite a few nursery rhymes. Incy Wincy Spider.

One of the great classic non-love songs. Yes. Down came the rain. Nursery rhymes would be good for some Jeff's idea too, but not many of them are about love. The old father clock. What is it called? The old man's clock. That's it. Hickory dickory dock.

Hickory dickory dock as well. That's right. That's not about rain though. There's quite a few 50s songs about rock and roll and about dancing and stuff that are sort of like that or about getting down to your place. Rock around the clock. Yeah.

Are we doing rain now or are we doing non-love songs? We're jumping between them. Yeah. They're two categories. Okay. Until I think of another rain one, we'll keep it in both. Yes. We'll keep the categories open.

Yeah. Anyway, do you like this idea from Sum Jeff? Non-love songs? I do think it's a good idea. I think we're done. Thank you very much for that excellent idea. Sum Jeff. Well done, Sum Jeff.

Now, Tim, one of your earlier forecasts was that you would forget the secret words. Well, that's right. We haven't finished yet. No, that's exactly right. All right. How am I going to weave these in? Okay. Well, hang on. You have to name a song that has the secret words in them.

Oh, gosh. That's actually going to be I'm going to have to go to hip-hop for one of the songs A song with the word Tim's googling here Yeah, which is kind of cheating, isn't it? Well, no, I think I can do it in Well, yeah, no, okay Do you remember that song by Eddie Murphy called Boogie In Your Butt?

No. That was... Me neither. In your butt, put the boogie in your butt. Put the boogie in your butt in your butt. I ain't no putting no boogie in nobody's butt hang on it's the secret word boogie no that would have been a lot easier yeah what is it but it's but yes well done you could have done i like big butts i cannot lie oh that's

a classic one of course yes yes baby got back gosh missed an opportunity there that's great yeah the other one will be a lot easier but let me just um so easy that i can't think of it and i'm gonna like you know you're going out on a high this episode okay so i think i think the honest thing to do is to acknowledge that i've just found myself Googling something I wouldn't, which is songs with the word cheek. Yeah. Of which there is a few. There is a song called Cheek to Cheek, which is the Irving Berlin. You probably know that one.

We're dancing cheek to cheek. Yeah. From the film Top Hat. That's a 1930s song. So I've managed to get both words in, butt to cheek. Yeah. From the film Top Hat. That's a 1930s song. So I've managed to get both words in, butt and cheek, which is just pushing the envelope a little bit there from the youngsters, working a little bit blue. Yeah, a bit naughty.

A bit naughty, but they got in. Someone surely can take those two words and then take our invitation from earlier to create a rap in the middle and see if they can combine the two. An interlude rap for our podcast, which incorporates the words butt cheek. All right. I'll get a hold of rich and see what he's got jam jam here comes the man i got a message from the milo man i need another unmade rap

this time could it be about Butt, cheek, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, butt, what he's got. See this? Butt, butt, butt, butt, butt cheek.