TBTL Episode #4617: USB-C Your Way Out

Date: December 11, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh

Episode Overview

On this Thursday installment of TBTL, Luke and Andrew riff on the triumphs and frustrations of tech upgrades—mainly, the joyful nirvana (and cord-pocalypse) of finally moving entirely to USB-C cables. The conversation expands into tales of phone upgrades, digital hoarding, and the psychology of never getting rid of old tech. Meanwhile, they dip into TV ads, password calamity, the current Soggy Pacific Northwest weather, and, as always, some sports talk (including the unlikely NFL return of Philip Rivers and the curious saga of Jim Harbaugh). The duo also wade through listener voicemails, the Blursday birthday messages, and their own shared neuroses about travel and tech organization.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Luke’s Charging Cable Singularity & The USB-C Epoch

• Main Story: Luke excitedly recounts finally replacing his phone, joining the USB-C era.

  "I have entered the, what would I call it, the bliss state of full charging cable singularity." (07:06)

• Pains of pre-USB-C: Refers to the chaos (“rat’s nest of cables”) when juggling different cables (Lightning, USB mini, USB-A).
• Apple “Nirvana” anecdote: The EU forced Apple’s hand into adopting USB-C, which is framed as a victory for tech sanity.
• Cable Hoarding: Neither host can bring themselves to throw away the obsolete cables, “in case I may need them again at some point.”

  "I now... have a little zipper bag that is literally like so many of those—if anybody needs 1 to 400 different old iPhone charging cables, I have them for you." (09:19)

• AirPods Holdout: The last device charging with the Lightning cable—and Luke’s inventive solution involving a wireless charging pad.

2. Phone Upgrading Rituals, Relics & Digital KonMari

• Hardware Trade-Ins: Luke and Andrew debate the aggravating economics (and “marketing genius”) of carrier trade-in deals. Luke considers selling his old phone, but dreads the Facebook Marketplace rituals:

  "Then I'm gonna have to go to a parking lot and give them the phone. I could also just keep the phone and heaven forbid I lose my new phone...” (11:30)

• Old Cables, Old Devices: Andrew describes sorting his own “banana bread, no nuts” Ziploc full of a wild assortment of cables after a trip home, finally organizing all by type.

  "I sorted that banana bread. Genevieve is sitting there, sitting on the couch... every single kind of cable is getting its own Ziploc bag." (33:56)

• Attachment to Outdated Technology: Andrew keeps certain things (“my old phone”) for rare, specific uses. Both hosts talk about that weird, illogical fear that maybe someday an old cable or plug will be necessary.

3. Tech, Ads, and Irrational Gripes: Commercials, Devices & Passwords

• Phone Commercials Rant:
  • Both hosts rag on phone company television ads, especially the escalating performances by Zoe Saldana and Jeff Bridges, and the manipulative message of “getting” to keep your old phone.
  • Andrew dubs this the “Middleditch problem”: “They used to take people I generally like and make me dislike them.” (16:16)
• Discussing Pronunciations and Name Spellings:
  • A side tangent about the correct pronunciation of Saldana (“I’ve always heard it as Saldana—like you just said it... but it's spelled with a tilde.”) (15:57)
• Password Pain and Trusty Workarounds:
  • Luke gets locked out of his TBTL email on one device, sparking a dialogue about password managers, autofill, and Andrew’s system using LastPass (and occasional post-it notes).
  • Luke on frustration with complex, auto-generated passwords:

    “There is no universe in which I will ever enter that information successfully out of my own brain.” (51:35)

4. Listener Love: Voicemails & Blursday Messages

• Listener Voicemail (Laura from Tucson):
  • Andrew plays a heartwarming call remarking on her initial belief that TBTL was Andrew’s show and Luke was “the other guy.”
  • Luke’s response:

    “Not only are things happening for you now... you’re usurping the show right out from under me and I’m fine with it.” (06:45)

• Blursday Messages:
  • A recurring segment wishing listeners and their loved ones happy birthdays—this episode includes “golden Blursdays” (when the birthday falls on Blursday/Thursday).
  • Notable exchange:

    “Happy golden Blursday to my partner, Danielle… she makes me better because I never want to disappoint her.” – Elle (77:50)

  • Several giggly bits about recurring names and near-administrative meltdowns while trying to thank everyone properly.

5. Weather Reports, Soggy Trash, and Pacific NW Living

• Atmospheric Rivers:
  • Luke describes watching floodwaters rise on the Columbia River and the generally sodden state of the region.
  • Andrew describes checking his sump pump often, a “middle-aged man” ritual:

    “I never thought I’d be a middle-aged man checking sump pump every two hours, but here we are.” (41:55)

  • Clarification on weather forecasts (43:10): The hosts try (and mostly fail) to properly explain what an “80% chance of rain” really means.

6. Show Pics, Shared Taste, and Audience Dynamics

• Andrew’s Editorial Choices:
  • Luke questions why Andrew didn’t use the infamous pizza oven in the show’s image. Andrew explains the technicalities (“black and white blob”—so he picked the nicer shot).
  • Mutual appreciation for their shared sensibilities:

    "You and I are, like, so aligned... the real thing I thought was, 'Oh, I wonder why he didn't use the pizza oven photo. There must have been a reason.'" (39:44)

Sports Stuff & Memorable Asides

7. Sports: Philip Rivers' Comeback & NFL Oddities

• Philip Rivers, 44, Returns:
  • The hosts chuckle over Rivers’ grandad status (“cherubic face”), lack of fitness, and the weirdness of rooting for a lovable antagonist.
  • Memorable moment from the Rivers press conference:

    Philip Rivers, grinning: “I'm not sure, Greg [what I weigh right now].” (58:48)

  • Luke:

    “He looks like a guy who’s been coaching high school football for the last four years…” (58:12)

  • Both want Rivers to succeed, but not at the Seahawks' expense. Luke jokes about “naked bootleg” plays for Rivers.

8. Jim Harbaugh's Loopy Press Conference

• Andrew shares a “batshit Jim Harbaugh” audio clip where Harbaugh, in a rambling post-game moment, compares the win to the birth of his children and marriage, and riffs joyously but incoherently about “the biblical definition of joy.”

9. NFL, Chiefs’ Downturn, and Doink Lore

• Brief discussion of the Chiefs’ woes, “the double doink” field goal, and sports betting (“[Butker] won me so much money during the Super Bowl because he doinked in the Super Bowl…” (73:18)). Andrew wonders if a doink is only a doink when it’s missed, or if scoring off an upright still counts.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tech Upgrades:

  "I needed a kind of unified field theory of this whole thing." – Luke (09:19)
  “We will serve under the USB-C regime for many years to come. But, you know, all things change.”—Luke (27:23)

• On Commercials:

  “Phone plan commercials... take people that I generally like and then make me dislike them.” – Andrew (16:16)

• On Listener Dynamics:

  “When Luke came back, I was like, who's this guy on Andrew's show?” – Laura (06:33)

• On Organization:

  “Every single kind of cable is getting its own Ziploc bag.” – Andrew (33:56)

• On Passwords:

  “It's secure, but it's secure from everybody, including you.” – Andrew (51:38)

• On Weather:

  “I used to think when you would see like 80% chance of rain... it meant that 80% of the day would involve rain.” – Luke (43:10)

• On Aging & Nostalgia:

  “Now I can bowl and I should bowl” – Andrew contemplates returning to his “Hard Rain” bowling alter ego (82:42)

• On Birthday Customs:

  “I didn't grow up in a big birthday culture... it would be a cake that was made, a present that was given, and called a good.” – Luke (84:52)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|-----------------------------------------| | 07:06 | Luke’s USB-C singularity revelation | | 11:06–12:34 | The pain/futility of selling old phones | | 13:24 | Discovering hardware shortcuts, new phone features | | 16:16 | “The Middleditch problem” – ads that ruin actors | | 33:56 | Andrew’s elaborate cable organization ritual | | 39:44 | Show pic omission—mutual (non)disappointment | | 41:55 | Sump pump watch & NW flooding | | 43:10–44:30 | Weather prediction confusion “80% chance of rain”| | 58:48 | Philip Rivers’ press conference quip | | 67:42 | Jim Harbaugh’s loopy press conference audio | | 73:18 | Doinks and NFL luck | | 77:47 | Start of Blursday messages | | 84:08 | Golden Blursdays and birthday customs |

Tone & Language

• Conversational, playful, and self-deprecating.
• Hosts indulge in meta-commentary on their own neuroses, podcast rituals, and sense of shared taste.
• Occasional gentle swearing and casual idioms, reflecting the relaxed style and long-running rapport.

In Summary

This episode is a tour-de-force in everyday absurdity, neurotic tech talk, and the joys and woes of middle-aged gadget ownership. Whether you’re drowning in old cables, emotionally invested in backup quarterbacks, or just here for the birthday shoutouts, TBTL’s charm is in the honest humor they find in the mundane—and in the overlapping quirks of Luke and Andrew’s personalities. Expect laughs, a little wistfulness, and maybe—just maybe—the inspiration to finally throw out those Mini-USB cables.

Power out.