How Do You Pan?

Mark's independently produced horror film, 'Iron Lung,' achieved the #1 movie spot for most of its opening weekend, from Thursday through Sunday at 8 PM PST. He expressed frustration over articles reporting another film as #1 by Sunday noon Eastern, suggesting unusual reporting or a technicality that shifted the win at the last minute.

Mark states, 'IT WAS NUMBER ONE FOR SO LONG LIKE 99% of the weekend... they only got first number one movie at like 8:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Like last minute.' He also mentions articles coming out Sunday noon Eastern claiming another movie was #1 while 'Iron Lung' disappeared from charts.

The hosts enthusiastically recommend the 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' series, noting its initially 'hokey' concept quickly becomes addictive. The author, Matt Damon (not the actor), originally self-published the first book online, gaining a cult following that led to a publishing deal and a rapid release cadence (multiple books per year). Seth MacFarlane's production company reportedly owns the TV series rights.

Mark finished the first book in one night. Bob is on book seven. They describe the concept as 'super hokey' but 'got to keep reading this.' Bob explains the author 'self-published it online' and it 'got such a cult following.' Mark notes the rapid release cadence (e.g., Oct 2020, Jan 2021, April, July). Wade mentions Seth MacFarlane's company owning TV rights.

The hosts share specific habits they've retained from childhood. Bob enjoys comfort foods like Lunchables and Kraft Mac & Cheese, attempts trash can basketball shots, and avoids hanging limbs off the bed due to 'sleep demons.' Wade still engages in playing pretend, doing voices, and D&D. Mark's passion is tinkering with and upgrading computers, likening it to 'tinkering with Legos but with expensive computer equipment.'

Bob lists Lunchables, Kraft Mac & Cheese, trash can basketball, not hanging limbs off the bed, and remote control toys. Wade details playing pretend, D&D, and doing voices. Mark describes his computer building and upgrading as 'tinkering with Legos.'

Mark reveals he discovered that dextrose, a common ingredient in chalky candies like Sweet Tarts and Smarties, was the specific trigger for his past episodes of low blood sugar, which caused sweating, low energy, and feeling faint. Avoiding these candies has eliminated the problem for years.

Mark states, 'I narrowed it down to what it is. It's dextrose... Any candy that has dextrose in it, if I eat too much of that, especially on an empty stomach, it will cause that to happen.' He mentions Sweet Tarts and Smarties as examples.

The cost of high-end computer components, particularly RAM and SSDs, has seen drastic, seemingly arbitrary price increases (e.g., an 8TB SSD jumping from $800 to $3200). In contrast, Apple products, specifically Mac Studios, maintain exceptionally high resale value, allowing Mark to potentially profit from selling the render farm equipment used for his movie.

Mark notes an 8TB NVMe SSD he bought for $800 is now $3200, a '4x' jump. He also states, 'Even if you don't like it, that [Mac] holds its resale value like crazy.' He plans to sell his Mac Studios and believes he 'might make money on these.'