P.S. You Should Know... | Issue #336
Support costs keep on coming
my story 🚀
i’ve been thinking 💭
Don’t forget the support costs. When we moved in to our new home in Austin a few years ago, I was gung-ho on installing smart home devices everywhere. I never fully realized my vision, but I did manage to change the exterior locks. I discovered one was failing when I couldn’t remotely unlock it for an air conditioner repair tech. It was older than all the others, so I expected to have to buy a new one. I called the manufacturer anyway. Surprise! The issue was a mechanical failure covered by a lifetime warranty. Note to self: several years after selling this product, the manufacturer continues to incur costs to answer phone calls for support as well as to honor their warranty.
That lock was part of my smart home system. The costs to support that are even higher because, in my experience, these devices often requires endless troubleshooting. Personally, I tend to eventually give up. Example: I have another lock that’s supposed to connect to Apple Home, but never has. It worked with the manufacturer’s app, so eventually I just tucked my tail between my legs and stopped trying. That also happened with two other locks that never reliably connected to my smart home hub. Well, here we are. Last week I mustered up the courage to try again with the (remote) help of a smart-home-loving friend and a lot of patience. Over a few days, we ended up getting them all to connect! The thing is, if I had hired a professional to troubleshoot I would have probably spent over a thousand dollars on labor to possibly solve the problem (no thanks). Meanwhile, I still have an outdoor camera that doesn’t quite work right. Another note to self: while the items might be relatively inexpensive to buy, the support costs (in cash and time) can easily change the math.
fun facts 🙌
A collection of beautiful website designs. “Founded in 2021, Godly is a creative feed by Rejiggle, founded by Daryl Ginn. We take pride in our selections and strongly value quality over quantity. We aim to publish multiple top-tier websites per day in the hope our platform serves as a resource for those interested in all things web and interactive design. So far we have featured 1k+ websites.” ~ learn more
The little search engine that couldn’t. Follow this link to learn what it takes to build a search engine that might rival Google’s stranglehold, and why that still might not be enough. “A couple of ex-Googlers set out to create the search engine of the future. They built something faster, simpler, and ad-free. So how come you’ve never heard of Neeva?” ~ learn more
Incandescent lightbulbs are now banned in the US. The enforced efficiency train keeps chugging along. “A new minimum standard for lightbulbs has been set at 45 lumens—or brightness—per watt. Retailers can’t sell bulbs that don’t meet the criteria, though households can continue using existing bulbs.” ~ learn more
oh, chicago 🏆
Chicago TV news crew robbed at gunpoint while filming a story on robberies. I couldn’t help but share this sad link because it happened so close to my old home in Wicker Park. “The robbery was the second to hit a Chicago TV news crew this month.” ~ learn more
tech, startups, internet ⚡
Using AI to decode animal communication. Aza Raskin’s talk will open your eyes to this amazing tendency of all human languages to map to surprisingly consistent semantic shapes. This allows AI to translate from one language directly to another without an intermediary “rosetta stone.” He takes that amazing phenomenon one step further with the idea that we can also translate animal languages the same way. ~ learn more
The “grift shift” into AI. This report in Institutional Investor tells the story of stocks who have pivoted from promoting crypto schemes without substance to all-in on AI. “Nvidia’s explosive revenue growth really tells us nothing about the future of AI,” Koppikar explains. “It turns out every scammer in America is trying to buy H100 chips right now so that they can say they own them. In 2021, scam companies put Bitcoin on their balance sheets — now the scams have shifted over to putting $40,000 H100s on the balance sheet.” My view is that there’s something real there, but it’s yet unrealized. ~ learn more
better doing 🎯
“We’re All Just Temporarily Abled”. This is a short and helpful reminder to be grateful for all the things we take for granted. ~ learn more
Are fancy fragile solutions overrated? “Is the choice between 4-wheeled and 2-wheeled suitcases archetypal of some broader category? Do we often err in choosing fancy fragile solutions that work best in ideal circumstances over simple rugged solutions that perform better in merciless reality?” ~ learn more
Belief is contagious. “You can surround yourself with people who are sure that birds aren’t real, or find a community to reinforce that the patent medicine you’re taking works. And that will increase its positive placebo effect.” ~ learn more
to your health ⚕
How modernity made us allergic. This is a wonderful deep-dive into allergies, their increasing prevalence, and the theories that might explain it. “Our very old immune systems can’t keep up with modern lifestyles and diets, leading to increases in all sorts of chronic health problems like allergies and obesity.” ~ learn more
First-hand account of an Executive Physical. “I was always aware that executive physicals— ultra-high-end, luxury concierge care— existed, but I had never met someone who went through one. and now, due to an accident with my flexible spending account, I ended up with enough cash to try it out.” ~ learn more
retail therapy 💸
Could paper bottles be the future of wine and spirit packaging? I hadn’t considered that some folks weren’t happy with glass for packaging, but it seems that paper has advantages for recyclability, de-carbonization, and weight. “Food Manufacture speaks to Frugalpac about the potential for paper bottles to challenge glass for wine and spirit packaging supremacy.” ~ learn more
under the microscope 🔬
Hookworm infections improve gluten tolerance in Celiac Disease. This randomized, placebo-controlled trial from 2020 explored whether hookworm infections caused some protection against gluten consumption for those with Celiac Disease. While they did not restore gluten tolerance for big doses, the hookworms were “associated with improved symptom scores after intermittent consumption of lower, intermittent gluten doses.” ~ learn more
Hookworms successfully prevent type 2 diabetes in human trial. In another, more recent, experiment with human hookworm species Necator americanus, researchers found that “lowered HOMA-IR values indicated that people were experiencing considerable improvements in insulin sensitivity – results that were both clinically and statistically significant.” ~ learn more
thoughts of food 🍔
Gen Z has declared pickles are cool now. “Centuries after European immigrants began selling the humble brined veg from their Lower East Side pushcarts, the younger generation has become obsessed with the deli sandwich’s best friend. Crunch the numbers at TikTok, and you’ll see — the hashtags #pickle and #pickles have a combined 9.6 billion views…” ~ learn more