FastMail's spam filter provides a much better experience than Gmail's.

I sometimes have a side-by-side comparison for the same spam campaign. #Gmail doesn't let users send high-scoring/obvious spam to the trash. hundreds of messages per day can land in spam - too many to even skim.

#FastMail lets users adjust the threshold so obvious spam is deleted (https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/1500000278142-Improving-spam-protection#settings). only the few borderline emails land in spam.

particularly for less-savvy users who might click phishing scams, FM wins

welp, this happened:

• asked an LLM about a $2,500 product; got a fairly thorough answer, only without much nuance or firsthand experience.

• emailed my questions to the company's support.

• they replied with ~the same message that the LLM gave me, only with less detail because their LLM prompt was worse.

customer service already acts like LLMs have replaced customer service.

(Zendesk's 👍👎 feedback tool needs a "We've both pasted my email into an LLM, now what?" link)

#LLM #customerservice

Do I know anyone who knows anyone at Bandwidth.com? They're pretty grey-hat regarding SMS spam enforcement, and one might even say dark grey -- like knowingly ignoring/refusing to investigate cases where their direct customers are sending opt-out bulk SMS spam.

It's sad to watch what used to be a reasonably well-regarded carrier put revenue above ethics. Maybe someone in management would care enough to learn more.

#sip #telecom #raleighnc

when life - or an Airbnb - doesn't give you a pot to boil water, convert an "Instant Solo" Keurig clone into a pourover brewer.

a Melitta-style brewer will fit, just fold the filter back. and… it works.

#coffee #keurig

achievement unlocked: fished San Antonio River Walk. "Pearl Springs," part of the Museum Reach, just after sunrise on Saturday

went #bikefishing for the first time. although I didn't catch anything, I made friends with the birds. this one (crane?) showed up after a few minutes and kept me company.

the rod telescopes down to about 2' and fits in my backpack.

if you should end up in Montgomery, Alabama, go to Capitol Oyster Bar for a Sunday dinner concert: https://capitoloysterbar.com/entertainment-schedule/

tonight was Josh Garrett Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noiVtOa8Xrg , https://www.joshgarrettmusic.com/home

#montgomeryal

earlier today: standing in a Bass Pro Shop in Chattanooga, learning to fish from Anthropic Claude

tired of mediocre AI answers to every search query? here's how to switch to Ecosia (ecosia.org): https://ecosia.helpscoutdocs.com/article/386-use-ecosia-on-mobile

received my Bike Maintenance merit badge in the mail from Adult-ish Scouts today.

I've rebuilt V-brakes, fixed barely functional shifting, removed headset play, replaced rim tape, replaced cable guide + added liner to avoid frame rub.

hat tips to Good Weather Bike Cafe in Seattle for cable liner, avocado toast, and conversations about Blue Lug: https://goodweatherinseattle.com/

and Dmitry at Bikes Heaven in Pacifica, CA: https://bikesheaven.com/bikes/ . this is 32 years old: https://bikesheaven.com/1992-specialized-hardrock-ultra-18-violet-cranberry/

picked up a 1998 Specialized Stumpjumper hardtail in bright orange. an oldstermobile. it's in pretty good shape for surviving 26 years.

every time I book a trip, for a month or two after I search for & book the trip, Google thinks my IP is in that city. I'm going to San Antonio in November, so Google thinks I'm in San Antonio.

Google doesn't offer a way to type a different location. The search results page even has an "Update Location" link that could let someone type their location for search & maps, but… nope. way too easy! instead, it links to https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/179386

#google #googlemaps #productmanagement

@marnier if you're server-shopping, mas.to has been stable and well-run 🙂 it seems big and actively-maintained enough that I don't see it just disappearing.

some jackass Amazon.com product manager enabled their obnoxious "Rufus" AI bot popout on every product page, then omitted an option to hide/disable it on future requests.

so, use uBlock Origin to work around that product manager's misaligned incentives.

right-click the widget, choose Block Element, and use this rule:
##.rufus-panel-container

#productmanagement #UX #amazon #ublock