NT 026 - One Nontopical Year!

And we're back. Sir, this is a

historic moment. Is it the

Artemis? Is that the historic

moment?

No, but that did happen and

that was a lot of fun to watch

both the launch and the landing

.

I mean that happened a while

ago. What do you mean? Well, it

happened a while ago when

people are listening to this.

People are listening to this?

Aw. After our disaster of the

last episode in which we

started talking about

government, deleted that part

of it, and then started talking

about electrical power, this

show is actually significant.

I know that you might not

appreciate this, but this is

Episode 26. It's the same as

the year it's made in. Yeah. So

, Episode 26 in the year 2026.

And way back in the day, my

friends and I had a really,

really bad video project. That

was called Star Wars Episode 26

.

It all comes full circle. It

all comes full circle. It's

just amazing. But it's also

significant because, first of

all, this episode, if going as

planned, will release on May 2

nd. Our first episode released

on May 4th.

May 4th. Be with you. Of last

year. So, congratulations, sir.

26 episodes at, on average, an

episode every other week,

equals one year.

Yippee. Yippee. Yippee. And

whenever you hit a major

milestone, you want to take the

time to reflect upon that

milestone, how you got there,

and where you're planning on

going with it in the future.

Talking. What? Talking. Talking

. Talking. And talking.

And more talking. And more

talking because this is a

podcast. Do you remember what

the first attempt to do this

was like? Maybe. Or actually,

let's go before that. Let's go

back before, before this was

actually a thing. What prompted

the idea of doing this? What

you want to talk about? Exactly

.

Why don't you explain that a

little bit to the literal

dozens of listeners we have.

What about it? So, what do you

mean by what you want to talk

about? Why does that have

meaning?

Because that's just what I ask

you every time we went on a

walk.

So, Kit is a very interesting

being in that he does not just

like walking in silence and

appreciating the nature or the-

Well, there's not much nature

around here.

The vehicles around him. Kit

needs to fill every second with

some kind of entertaining

content to himself.

Now you make me sound like an

iPad, Kit. How dare you?

Okay, Kit is not an iPad, Kit.

We took steps to prevent that.

But, um, no, we would go on

walks.

And inevitably, we told this

story at some point.

I think it was like episode

four or something.

But we might as well revisit it

because it's a year in.

But we would end up having some

really interesting

conversations.

And sometimes we still have

interesting conversations that

we don't capture on the podcast

.

Because sometimes we record

more than one episode at the

same time.

Which is just a production

trick.

We could be recording all of

these.

Maybe we recorded all of these

last year.

You'll never know.

But I think some of the initial

conversations were around- The

thing that I think really

prompted it was- We were

talking about the video game

world of Mario.

And how it's quite possibly the

worst run kingdom ever.

If you actually stop to think

about it.

And how repetitive it is.

How, like, stupid people are.

And that was a fun conversation

.

We were like, oh, well, you

know.

How dumb is the Mushroom King

and the Princess and whatnot.

If they're constantly getting

invaded by Bowser and his kids.

Like, how dumb are you?

You'd think you would make a

military.

So we went on and on and on.

And I said, you know what?

We should sit down and record

that.

That was a fun conversation.

So we sat down and recorded it.

And the result-

Bad.

And why was it bad?

Because it wasn't natural.

Yeah, it wasn't natural.

It was us sitting down in front

of two microphones, which is

what, like, podcasters do.

But it was more of a static.

And I remember Kit sat in front

of the microphone.

And his overall affect or his

overall attitude was, this is

weird.

Like, I'm just sitting in front

of a microphone.

He'd also have a hard time,

like, actually being on top of

the microphone so you could

hear him.

And we decided universally,

after we recorded twice, this

ain't working.

The first time didn't work

because we were rehashing a

story that we already told.

Like, we had already had the

fun conversation while we were

walking.

And now we're sitting in front

of microphones trying to re-

have that moment of fun and

humor.

And we're not actors.

So it just felt like we were

redoing something that we

already did, which was a lot

less fun.

And the second conversation you

actually heard part of as part

of our Christmas break, which

was the Jedi getting cut in

half with a lightsaber.

And the Palpatine Insurance

Agency.

Yep, Palpatine Insurance Agency

.

So that ended up being

something that was good enough

that we could release it as

bonus content, really.

But it still was awkward.

And there are advantages of

recording in a more controlled

environment.

For example, you don't have the

noise of cars and wind.

And you don't hear me breathing

and you don't hear other noises

.

But it's just not the same.

Fast forward a year later.

There was a sale on these

wireless microphones.

And the nice thing about

wireless microphones that

connect directly to a phone is

that you can clip them to your

shirt or use the magnets and

just walk and talk.

And so that changed the whole

game.

We could go on walks.

I could hit record.

And whatever happens, happens.

And for the most part, it kind

of worked.

But I think the biggest

struggle was coming up with a

name.

Do you remember how that, how

difficult that was?

Not entirely.

We were trying to come up with

names.

And this was back in 2025.

And AI was like four or five

generations behind where it is

now, obviously.

And just for ha-has, I decided

to say what the show was going

to be about and see if it could

come up with any great names.

And shocker, what was the

result?

Bad.

It sucked.

It sucked.

It sucked.

It sucked.

It sucked.

We couldn't really come up with

a good name for what it is that

we're doing because we're just

walking and talking.

Don't get me wrong.

We got in a groove, which we'll

talk about in a bit.

And we may go back to, I don't

know yet.

But nothing was catching.

Nothing felt right.

And I remember we were in my

bedroom.

We were trying to come up with

a name.

And at one point, Kit goes like

, how about non-topical?

And I'm like, well, good.

That sounds like nonsensical.

It encompasses the fact that we

're not discussing any

particular topic usually.

So Kit gets full credit for the

name.

Eh, eh, eh.

Now, there was one problem, and

hopefully it will never come

and bite us in the rear.

There was a comedy podcast

prior to us that used the name

non-topical.

However, that comedy podcast

had not released any episodes

in a year or two.

So from trademark or copyright,

technically they could, if they

wanted to, apply for a

trademark and then we'd have to

change the name.

Yeah.

Because they used it first.

But nobody had used the name in

quite some time.

And I figured we're a small

enough podcast, it probably won

't ever make a difference.

And then just recently, I got

an email.

What?

We're being sued for $50,000.

We are?

No.

Oh.

I just made that up.

I just made that up.

So that's the only risk that

came with the name.

But that show did not seem to

be all that successful.

So that's probably why they

stopped doing it.

Huh.

Now, our show is not that

successful either.

But I'd like to think we still

have fun doing it.

Like there's sometimes it feels

like an obligation.

Like, oh, we got to record and

I got to edit it and you got to

make an image.

Sometimes it feels obligational

.

But a lot of times we really

had some great conversations.

And I think that's what we want

to try to keep to cultivate.

So as we've mentioned in the

past, Kit B, 17.

Going on 18.

Marching ever forward towards

the inevitable cutting of the

umbilicus between his parental

units and himself.

And I would say that, like,

stereotypically speaking, it's

a very difficult time in

relationships between adults

and their children.

Because they're not children.

I mean, they're still always

your children.

But Kit is not yet a grown

person who is taking on the

cost of his own dwelling and

stuff.

But he's not like a two-year-

old or a five-year-old or an

eight-year-old who can barely

rub two brain cells together.

Woolly bear.

Yay, woolly bear.

And because of that, it's a

transitional phase.

And I'd like to say that

overall, and Kit, feel free to

jump in and chime in at any

time.

But despite some major changes

that have happened in both of

our lives over the past several

years,

we've navigated that pretty

well.

This podcast has been part of

that.

And I think that no matter what

happens in life, as long as it

's feasible,

I want to keep doing this with

you.

Because it's not just about the

work that we put in and then

the editing and all of that

junk.

It's about us spending the time

together.

And we do that in other ways,

too.

Like, we've started making

Sunday mornings like Deep Rock

Galactic morning.

Deep Rock Galactic.

And even though I don't play

Minecraft that much, as we

demonstrated a few episodes

back,

we still keep an eye on

Minecraft and talk about it.

I value that.

You know, like, I really value

that.

Now, Kit, I know it's hard for

you to open up, but what would

you say, and I know your memory

doesn't go that far back,

you have like this random

access memory in your brain

that basically lasts about five

seconds.

Yeah.

But over the past year of doing

this, what would you say that

you've taken away from it or

enjoyed the most about it?

Cheese case meals.

Of course he's going to say

cheese case.

No, more seriously, though.

Like, what has the experience

been for you in terms of, you

know, we're divided by, I think

, almost 20 years.

What have you enjoyed and what

have you also like kind of been

like, eh, it's not great.

Cheese case.

This is something you need to

work on.

You have to learn to find your

voice, sir.

Hold on.

Let me try to cut out my vocal

cords real quick.

Then I'll give you my voice.

Always a kidder and always

deflecting the questions that

have meaning.

I don't remember much.

So you can't remember any of

the fun story ideas that we've

come up with when we were doing

just story type stuff?

I remember that we did a

Guardian one.

Yep.

And this is something that

actually I hope the podcast

will help with eventually is to

give you a platform to start to

find your voice.

And I know that you're joking

saying, oh, let me cut out my

vocal cords.

But this is something that I

know, like, I struggled with

when I was younger.

And it's not so much that I don

't talk.

We know I can talk.

But there's that fear of, I don

't want to upset anybody with

what I say.

Or I don't want to take the

time to think deeply about

things because I might find

emotions that I don't like.

And I know that that's all

subconscious, but that's why

you'll hear me talking more

sometimes than Kit.

Because Kit tends to be very,

very precise in his

communication.

He wants to keep it as little

as possible while still

contributing.

Efficiency.

Efficiency.

Efficiency.

I'll ask a more important

question.

Does that mean that you don't

derive any positive from doing

this?

It makes you talk about stuff.

So I don't have to ask what you

want to talk about.

But I'm saying, like, if you

had the choice to do this or

not do this, would you still

choose, after a year of

creating these episodes, would

you still choose to continue

doing it?

I guess so.

In doing that and making that

choice, are you making that

choice because you feel like

that's what I want you to do?

Or is it because you actually

want to keep doing it?

I don't know.

How about we talk a little bit

about technology?

Oh, no.

Oh, no, not technology.

So, as we said in the past, the

idea started with a full

podcast setup, a mixer, and

other, like, equipment, and we

discovered very quickly that

didn't work for us.

So the next evolution was I got

these wireless mics, and the

wireless mics, they're okay.

And the reason I say they're

okay is because there are some

problems with it that we're

still trying to work out.

But the first setup, the

initial setup that we had, the

dongle that connects into the

base of your phone, would not

fit into my phone without a

wire.

My phone case was too thick.

And that created a problem.

Which you may or may not have

experienced in previous

episodes.

And that problem was, is that,

first of all, sometimes it

would partially pull out of the

phone while we're walking.

So then the microphones were

cut in and out.

We also had an episode where it

completely disconnected the

mics for a good chunk.

Like, that was the Subnautica

episode.

Where we came up with a Subnaut

ica story.

And that episode took literal

hours of trying to buy tools

and stuff to fix.

So, the good news about that is

, I've acquired a variety of

different plug-ins and stuff to

help to make this sound better.

But, we also had to find a way

to reduce the likelihood of

having that situation happen

again.

So, what I did was, I did a

factory reset on an old phone.

Took the case off that old

phone.

And so now we record on a phone

that's like three or four

generations old.

Recently, we made another

adjustment as well.

In the past, we were recording

one single stereo track.

And now, we record a stereo

track, but Kit's voice is in

the left side and my voice is

on the right side.

Or vice versa.

And I split those into two mono

tracks so that I can

individually level each one.

And all of that's great.

Except for the fact that

sometimes the wireless signal

between the mics and the

receiver can still cut out.

Despite the fact that we're

only like two feet away from it

.

And so, eventually, I'd like to

get to a point where we can

invest on some new mics that

actually will record wirelessly

.

But will also record natively

on the mics themselves.

And that's a little bit more

money.

And I just don't have it at the

moment.

But eventually, we hope to get

there.

I'm also constantly looking for

workflow tools to make it

easier to edit.

Because, especially now that I

'm editing on two separate

tracks, there's more work that

has to be done.

Like, each one has to be level

ed separately.

And then I have to go in and

remove audio from his track

when I'm talking.

So that I don't get an echo of

my own voice and vice versa.

But that's all in the name of

making the show sound betterer.

For the 12 people that listen.

Yeah.

So, psychologically, that's

primarily what we do.

I normally edit in an

application called Audacity,

which is free.

I use their OpenVINO plugins

for noise suppression.

Which is what we use to get rid

of some of the car audio in the

background.

And then I use a paid plugin

called DX Revive to give it a

little bit more of that studio

sound.

So that even though we're

walking outside, we can still

have a little bit of that

outdoor noise while sounding

clear and crisp.

And that's really what the goal

is.

But if I could find a way to do

it in a single go to make it a

little bit more effective, I'd

like to do that.

So the mics that we're using

are Rode Wireless Micros.

Those are the mics we're

currently using.

Eventually, we'd like to go

with the DJI Wireless 3 or

something like that.

Which are the ones that can

record in like 32-bit float

point right on the mics

themselves.

Which give us a much cleaner

audio track.

But those cost additional money

.

And obviously, if I were to

find better audio editing

solutions, those would actually

require investment as well.

And that's not to say that I

won't eventually pay for it.

It's just giving you a sense of

the technology that we're using

.

So let's talk a little bit

about content.

Content.

When we started the show, what

would you classify our content

primarily as?

Random stuff.

Random stuff.

But what would you say we kind

of got in a groove with?

Movies.

Yeah, coming up with movie

ideas, TV shows ideas, etc.

And actually, I still think

that that's where the show

shines.

Because it's entertaining for

both of us to go through

creating fun stories, coming up

with ideas.

And of course, coming up with a

Hollywood deal that they can't

use their shady accounting to

get out of.

I don't think that we've spoken

much about like super serious

topics.

And when we have, it's always

been in a fictional light, like

creating a fictional perfect

country.

Yeah.

And stuff like that.

I still think it would be good.

But then Kit pointed out that

we're kind of stuck in a groove

of doing fiction.

So we've been experimenting

with doing more randomized

topics.

So that it is kind of non-top

ical.

That it isn't just a let's

create fiction scenario type of

show.

But if I'm honest, I also kind

of feel like it's been more

difficult to have natural

discussions with those types of

things.

The last episode is actually a

good example of that.

Kit and I started talking about

it started off with the Iran

war.

And then it went into

government.

And we very quickly realized

that it wasn't working.

It just wasn't working.

And so then I was like, oh,

here's something I saw on a

social media site about power

plants.

Let's talk about that.

And that went a little bit

better.

But this is not an educational

show.

At least it's not meant to be.

And we spent a half hour or so

talking, giving a treatise

about how power plants work.

Yeah.

And what are good and bad power

plants and all of that.

I don't know that that's the

direction we want to keep

moving in.

So, Kit, if you could see the

show move in a particular

direction, and don't take this

literally.

I don't want to hear north,

south, east, or west, or up or

down, or left or right.

What do you feel most excited

or most engaged with?

Deep Rock Galactic.

I mean, we could talk more

about what we're doing in terms

of playing games and stuff.

But do we want this to be a

show where we just talk about

what we're doing in life?

Does this become more of a life

cast?

Do we go back to more like

coming up with fictional

scenarios?

Or do we just hit record and

see what happens?

I mean, you're still going into

it thinking that it's for a

podcast.

And it's not just me asking

what you want to talk about.

Yeah, but it's also like, I

feel like I'm in a difficult

position when you ask that

question.

Because I, I know this is hard

for you to believe.

But there's only so many active

topics of interest that are

rattling around in my brain at

any given moment.

So, like I mentioned earlier in

this episode, if I'm doing the

majority of the talking, and if

I'm the one originating most of

the ideas, eventually that well

is going to run dry.

Well, I don't have any original

ideas.

Look, look, it doesn't matter

if they're original.

We just need ideas.

I don't have any ideas.

Because once we start talking,

we will turn those ideas into

original ideas.

I don't have any ideas.

What do you mean?

And thus highlights, again,

what I was talking about

earlier.

The dynamic here at Play can

sometimes be a little bit

difficult.

And that's just the reality of

relationships.

That's the reality of working

with somebody that you love and

care about to produce a product

.

This is why they say working

with family and friends can be

a very difficult thing.

Because there's, not that the

podcast is a business.

I mean, we're doing it for fun

and we've, hey, we've made $10.

What?

Yeah, we made $10 on this show.

But the fact that it's

something that we have to

produce on a regular basis

means that there are certain

dynamics at play.

And that the personalities

behind those dynamics can be

challenging.

And I would say, even if I'm

the one that ends up talking

more, again, I would not keep

doing this if you didn't want

to.

Because the whole point is to

connect with you, my son.

Not just to keep talking to

hear my own voice.

Which I'll be glad to do.

But that's not the point.

I guess the big question, what

can you all expect from the

future of this show?

We don't know.

Yeah.

We haven't even decided that.

Because it can change from week

to week in terms of whatever

idea that we come up with.

What our moods are at the time.

There have been episodes we've

scrapped.

Even this year, we recorded an

episode about AI that we really

kind of reached an impasse on.

Where we have two somewhat

different opinions.

And let's just say that there

was no budging either one of us

really from our camps.

And it was more of a discussion

.

I was winning.

You were winning by stonewall

ing.

I was making you feel guilty.

Therefore, I was winning.

But that said, those are few

and far between.

We try to have fun with this

and talk about what's amusing

to us at the moment.

If it's amusing.

If it's a musical.

Hey, we should do a show that's

a musical.

No.

We'll sing the entire episode.

No.

I can't sing.

So, what can you expect from

the show going forward?

You can expect the show to go

forward.

Yeah.

There will be episodes that are

really good.

And there will be episodes that

are less than good.

But one thing you can continue

to expect, no matter what, is

cheese quesadilla.

I already said cheese quesad

illa this episode.

We had to say it again.

We had to say it again.

Because it fits.

But that's one thing that you

can continue to expect.

Is cheese quesadilla to make an

appearance in most of the

episodes.

Unless we come up with a new

phrase.

Stuffed crust pizza.

And you can also expect this

segue.

To our sponsor.

Us.

Us.

That's right.

So, first of all.

If you want to give us some

information as to what you've

taken away over the past year

of the show.

Which we would love to hear.

Feedback@nontopical.com.

It's the place to do that.

But this is also a value for

value show.

Which means if you get any

value out of what you hear us

doing.

And the effort that we put into

it.

As far as some value in which

one.

Yep.

And that could be, again, by

emailing.

That could be by sharing the

show with people.

So that we grow our audience.

Or it can be in the form of

cold, hard cash.

It could be $1.

$5.

$15.

Or hypothetical $1,000.

Essentially, whatever level of

value you get out of the show.

Give that back.

Because, first of all, it helps

to inspire us to move forward.

But, second of all, it does

give us some stuff that we can

use to save up for the future.

Did you give the call finally?

Oh, I forgot.

Thank you, sir.

The place to do that little

donation is to go to

https://ko-fi.com/nontopical.

That's

https://ko-fi.com/nontopical.

What type of slash?

Forward slash.

The slash the internet uses.

Not the backslash.

So that about wraps it up for

our one year celebration of

podcasting.

Retrospective.

It might not have been the most

entertaining thing.

But, it does encompass

everything that we've done over

the past year.

The genesis of the show all the

way to where we are today.

And, a little bit of the nature

of the behind the scenes.

Both in terms of the editing.

The technology.

The technology.

And, some of the difficulties

that we have in putting the

show together.

When it comes to determining

what are we going to talk about

.

Hey, Kit.

What do you want to talk about?

My legs hot.

All right, everybody.

Well, thank you for listening.

Thank you for helping to make

this a successful first year of

nontopical.

And we hope to see you again

over the coming years as we

continue to walk, talk, and

grow through whatever this

podcast is.

So thank you for listening, for

being out there.

Until next time.

Bye.