Month: January 2025

Google hacks

You remember how Google search used to be awesome? You could put in the randomest thing and it would find it for you? There was even the button to go straight to the first result because we were THAT SURE it would be what we wanted?

Then the SEO Wars and AI killed that, and now even searching directly for a company by name because you forgot their phone number brings up absolute garbage.

Yesterday I was looking up the number for Aspen Hill Plumbing, who I use all the time. They’re good over email and I loathe the phone, but I needed to get a hold of them immediately.

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Google not only showed me an ad for a competitor first, they also USED THE NAME OF THE COMPANY I WAS LOOKING FOR. This is absolutely not okay. Showing the competitor first because they bought a competitor’s name as a search term is slimy but totally accepted nowadays. But presenting one company as another? I’ve never seen that before on a reputable website.

Then this morning I saw this.

And you know what? It fucking works.

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You don’t even have to spell the profanity right.

I think what we need now is a “Let Me Google That For You” for the AI Era – you type your search term, and it adds profanity and returns you the results you’re actually looking for.

Saving family photos

This was an oddly spiritual process. We take pictures of the moments we think are valuable or important. So, in the photos he took, I saw my father’s dreams, the things he thought were beautiful, his moments of pride. And in so doing, I gained more understanding of who my parents were.

https://estherschindler.medium.com/the-old-family-photos-project-lessons-in-creating-family-photos-that-people-want-to-keep-ea3909129943

As someone who is going through the process of digitizing decades of family photos, this essay resonated with me. I’m more of the mindset “scan it all, storage is cheap”, but she’s probably right that you should be quick to throw out stuff that just isn’t good.

It’s cool that this is coming from a person who knows and loves photos, but isn’t a serious photographer (at least she doesn’t present herself as one). Her insights on what makes a good photo for preserving family memories are really interesting.

I took this as inspiration to talk to my kids. They don’t like to be photographed, and while I can’t turn that around completely, I can try to make them more comfortable with it. After all, you get better pictures from a subject that is comfortable being photographed (or oblivious, but that can have other drawbacks).

It’s funny when she says she usually got 8 worth sharing out of a box of 24-36 slides. I remember Bob, one of my photography mentors and a coworker at Ritz Camera when I was in college, telling me that if he got ONE shot out of a roll of 36 he considered that a success. “Film’s cheap”, he told me. The Ritz employee discount helped, and digital photos have completely changed the calculus.

Anyway, I’m going to take more photos of my family. You should, too.

This is why you always pay with a credit card

Yesterday morning around 10am, I got a notification of a charge on my credit card. I didn’t recognize it – it was about $10 at walmart.com. We generally do not patronize union-busting establishments (don’t ask me about my Amazon Prime account), so this was unusual. I called Capital One and they cancelled the card. This was frustrating, though necessary, since I know the number by heart and I’ve become somewhat attached to it.

By 1130, I had a notification on my phone that my card number on Google Pay had been updated so I could continue to use Google Pay even though my physical card was cancelled.

Noon today, my new card arrived via FedEx.

It’s really amazing that in barely more than 24 hours, the ONLY issue I have is having to memorize a new card number. Capital One even updated the number at many of my existing recurring payments, and provided a list of those they were not able to change themselves. I’m going to wait until I get an email saying they couldn’t charge my card because I’m lazy, but I appreciate the thought.

So, just one more reason to get a Capital One Venture X card. It’s about $400 a year but that comes with a $300 travel credit if you book through their service. It covered my Global Entry fee, and there are a ton of other benefits. It’s the best credit card I’ve ever used.

Mortgage companies and condo insurance

Do you own a condo? Have you recently gotten a breathless letter from your mortgage company telling you that the insurance policy for your building is expiring and all life on Earth is about to end in a fiery apocalypse if you don’t show them proof of insurance?

So, here’s the thing. Nearly all condo building policies are written for one year. Your mortgage company knows this. So when they send you this letter, it’s the same as a letter saying, “When you got approved for your loan, you said you were 36 years old. Now our records indicate you are 37, you dirty liar. We will murder you and your dog in your sleep if you do not rectify this IMMEDIATELY”.