Weigh Your Own Packages and Print Your Own Shipping Labels
Dana’s tip for anyone who ships things regularly: the post office counter rounds your package up to the next full pound, and that adds up fast over time. Weigh it yourself and print your own label online instead — services like Pirate Ship (free) or USPS Click-N-Ship let you enter the exact weight and pay only for that. A cheap digital postal scale (no specific model named on air) is all you need at home to get the real number.
The money-saver here is the free label service: pirateship.com or USPS Click-N-Ship.
[No Agenda #1914 3:51:01]
Signature: 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 Use Venmo to Split the Dinner Bill So Nobody Has to Do Math at the Table
Dana’s fix for the inevitable bickering over who owes what at a group dinner: pay the full bill yourself, then use Venmo to split it however many ways. Venmo’s group/split-pay feature calculates the exact per-person amount and sends each person a request automatically — no napkin math, no app with twelve different splitting apps required.
It’s a free app: venmo.com or your phone’s app store.
[No Agenda #1914 3:50:23]
Tip of the Day: Don’t Install Software Updates the Day They Drop
Dana’s rule: never install a software update the day it drops, or even the day after — especially on Apple products. Let other people find the bugs first; wait a few days so they get worked out before you install. The one exception is a flagged security update, where the vendor is explicitly warning you that you’re vulnerable — install those right away. Otherwise, patience saves you from being the one who gets bricked by a bad release.
Signature: 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 Why a $20 AI Subscription Beats Buying Local AI Hardware
Gene built his own AI-usage tracker this week and used it to make a pitch: local AI hardware that can keep pace with cloud models starts around $8,000, while a basic $20-a-month cloud plan covers the vast majority of real-world use. By his own back-of-envelope math — comparing the API token rate to what a capped plan actually hands you — he figures a $20 plan delivers roughly $2,500 worth of token usage if maxed out in a month. That’s Gene’s personal calculation from the show, not a published Anthropic figure, so treat the multiplier as an estimate, not gospel.
Not an Amazon product — subscription signup: claude.ai/pricing.
[Just Two Good Old Boys #183 1:47:37]
Read the Original Dune Trilogy Before You Judge It by the Movies
Ben’s pushing back on Gene’s “I saw the movie, why read the books” stance: the original Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune — he draws the line there, since God Emperor of Dune is a later book neither of them has read — is a three-book arc he says “should be read by everyone.” Frank Herbert’s son Brian continued the series after his father’s death, but this recommendation is specifically the original trilogy. A boxed set of all three is sold as a single unit, making it an easy one-click pickup instead of hunting down three separate paperbacks.
Frank Herbert’s Dune Saga 3-Book Boxed Set on Amazon.
[Just Two Good Old Boys #183 2:01:41]
TMOG: Dave Plummer’s Cross-Platform Task Manager (and the $40 Pro Upgrade)
The system-monitor app Darren built with AI turned out to closely mirror an existing commercial product: TMOG (Task Manager OG), built by Dave Plummer — the guy who wrote the original Windows Task Manager back in the 1990s and now runs the Dave’s Garage YouTube channel. TMOG runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with free real-time CPU/power/network/disk dashboards and retro color themes. The Pro upgrade ($39.95, one-time, not the “hundred bucks” guessed on air) adds a Flight Recorder that lets you scrub back through a slowdown after it happens, plus CPU benchmarking. Ben’s planning to pay for it himself.
Direct download: tmog.org.
[Just Two Good Old Boys #182 25:59]
Weigh Your Own Packages and Print Your Own Shipping Labels
Dana’s tip for anyone who ships things regularly: the post office counter rounds your package up to the next full pound, and that adds up fast over time. Weigh it yourself and print your own label online instead — services like Pirate Ship (free) or USPS Click-N-Ship let you enter the exact weight and pay…
Use Venmo to Split the Dinner Bill So Nobody Has to Do Math at the Table
Dana’s fix for the inevitable bickering over who owes what at a group dinner: pay the full bill yourself, then use Venmo to split it however many ways. Venmo’s group/split-pay feature calculates the exact per-person amount and sends each person a request automatically — no napkin math, no app with twelve different splitting apps required.…
Tip of the Day: Don’t Install Software Updates the Day They Drop
Dana’s rule: never install a software update the day it drops, or even the day after — especially on Apple products. Let other people find the bugs first; wait a few days so they get worked out before you install. The one exception is a flagged security update, where the vendor is explicitly warning you…
Weigh Your Own Packages and Print Your Own Shipping Labels
Dana’s tip for anyone who ships things regularly: the post office counter rounds your package up to the next full pound, and that adds up fast over time. Weigh it yourself and print your own label online instead — services like Pirate Ship (free) or USPS Click-N-Ship let you enter the exact weight and pay…
Use Venmo to Split the Dinner Bill So Nobody Has to Do Math at the Table
Dana’s fix for the inevitable bickering over who owes what at a group dinner: pay the full bill yourself, then use Venmo to split it however many ways. Venmo’s group/split-pay feature calculates the exact per-person amount and sends each person a request automatically — no napkin math, no app with twelve different splitting apps required.…
Tip of the Day: Don’t Install Software Updates the Day They Drop
Dana’s rule: never install a software update the day it drops, or even the day after — especially on Apple products. Let other people find the bugs first; wait a few days so they get worked out before you install. The one exception is a flagged security update, where the vendor is explicitly warning you…