Troy Davis

skeptical optimist. everything is an experiment.

đź”— tacoapp.com, simpleoptout.com, reportphonespam.org, sawsafely.org, seattleix.net, yort.com. ex papertrail.com. 9600 8-N-1.

Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

"What happens on your device, stays on your device – until it doesn’t": https://obdev.at/blog/what-happens-on-your-device-stays-on-your-device-until-it-doesnt/

and… #macOS Sequoia adds a new option to disable.

credit: @noheger

January 08, 2025
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

good explanation from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/opinion/luigi-mangione-writer-tim-urban.html (https://archive.ph/ZQ2AF):

"And what I want to say to these people is, you don’t get to pick only your favorite causes. Maybe you are hugely pro-choice — when you’re celebrating this, you are also theoretically celebrating the future murder of the Planned Parenthood C.E.O. You are celebrating the murder of the Pfizer C.E.O. by an anti-vaxxer. You’re celebrating the attempted assassination of your favorite senator."

December 26, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

Day in the Life of a Seattle Native: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVrU15y5JWw

#seattle

December 14, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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

December 13, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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 đź‘Ťđź‘Ž feedback tool needs a "We've both pasted my email into an LLM, now what?" link)

#LLM #customerservice

December 09, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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

November 21, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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

November 21, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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

November 20, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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.

November 05, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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

November 04, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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

November 02, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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

October 09, 2024
Troy Davis
troyd@mas.to

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/

September 28, 2024