GrokBot — A Secondhand “My Life Has Changed” Story
J.Cal relayed an unprompted testimonial from a friend of his wife’s — a single mom working from home in Dallas — about Grok’s AI agent: “She says, you know, I got GrokBot and my life has changed. The time I have saved that I can spend with the kids or do something else or just sleep half an hour longer is amazing.” A genuine secondhand endorsement, though light on specifics of what she actually uses it for day to day.
Try it: grok.com.[No Agenda #1907 1:29:50]
The Toyota Alphard — Japan’s Luxury People-Mover You Can’t Buy Here
J.Cal’s pitch for the ultimate Japan-only ride: the Toyota Alphard. “This is like the luxury coach of Japan… every Uber there is an Alphard. Anybody who’s like a CEO gets driven in these. The doors open automatically, and you have these beautiful captain’s chairs, and they just zip you around town. It’s like a dream.” He says he’s tried to get one imported to the US and Toyota won’t sell them here — so for now, riding in one is a genuine reason to look forward to a Tokyo trip.
More info (JDM only, not sold in the US): global.toyota.com.[No Agenda #1907 2:06:40]
Muse, Part 2 — Customizing Your Own AI Agent and Making It Save You Money
Since the #1906 Muse post already went out, here’s the follow-up: Adam’s been digging into how customizable the thing actually is. Every Muse agent starts from an editable soul.md file — Adam rewrote his to say “you are becoming Adam’s personal robot” and to skip the “great question, I’d be happy to help” filler and just help. He’s since had it write a small app to control his Sonos speakers (including voice messages piped through them) and, when shopping for an Anker hub, had it check the manufacturer’s site and catch a 30%-off first-purchase discount Amazon wasn’t showing — an $85 save he wouldn’t have found himself. Worth exploring the soul.md file if you’re already on Muse and want it to actually act like your assistant instead of a generic chatbot.
Try it: ai.meta.com/muse.[No Agenda #1907 1:16:30]
Muse — Meta’s New AI Agent App
Adam Curry’s wife Tina has been using Meta’s new AI agent app, Muse, and Adam was genuinely impressed by how she’s putting it to work — not chatting with it, just handing it tasks. She used it to compare airline prices and to appraise a designer dress and find a consignment shop for it (“what is this thing worth? Well, between four and eleven hundred dollars… can I sell it somewhere?”). Adam: “I like it because, first of all, it doesn’t talk to you. It’s a text… it just does stuff.” Worth a look if you want an AI that acts instead of chats.
Try it: ai.meta.com/muse or the App Store.[No Agenda #1906 43:56]
Mom and Dad’s Duck and Sausage Gumbo — Bacon Grease Roux Is Non-Negotiable
Ben walked through his parents’ duck and andouille sausage gumbo recipe, now posted on his blog. Key tip: skip the butter roux entirely. “Who the fuck’s using butter? … Bacon grease all day long… Bacon grease makes the best roux in my mind, personally. If you don’t have saved bacon grease, then lard.” Sauté your okra in the hot roux first to kill the slime, go low and slow until the roux is as dark as you can get without burning, and swap in chicken, seafood, or whole crab for the duck and sausage if you want a variation. Ben calls gumbo his favorite food in the world — hard to argue once you taste a roux done right.
Full recipe (one of seven currently posted): namedben.com.[Just Two Good Old Boys #181 1:39:47]
Proton Mail — Gene’s Shifting His Email Over From Gmail/Outlook
After finding a stranger’s PayPal account tied to one of Ben’s own domains (a reminder of how much junk collects on old catch-all email addresses), Gene talked about actively moving away from Microsoft-hosted email: “I don’t really like that Microsoft reads my emails… at this point, I’m trying to shift over to using Proton as much as possible.” His one honest caveat: getting non-technical friends and clients to actually switch off Gmail is the hard part, not the software itself. If privacy-focused email has been on your list, Proton’s a real, working option — not a gray-market experiment.
Get it at Proton Mail. [affiliate link][Just Two Good Old Boys #181 1:48:27]
Jabra Enhance Hearing Aids — Adam’s Real-World Endorsement
During a debate about Meta’s new audio-only Ray-Bans, Adam made the case for his actual daily-driver hearing aids instead: Jabra’s. “My hearing aids is fantastic… there’s different settings, different scenarios… I have a setting that is outdoor and it has compressors and limiters and expanders in there. And if I turn my head just a…
GrokBot — A Secondhand “My Life Has Changed” Story
J.Cal relayed an unprompted testimonial from a friend of his wife’s — a single mom working from home in Dallas — about Grok’s AI agent: “She says, you know, I got GrokBot and my life has changed. The time I have saved that I can spend with the kids or do something else or just…
The Toyota Alphard — Japan’s Luxury People-Mover You Can’t Buy Here
J.Cal’s pitch for the ultimate Japan-only ride: the Toyota Alphard. “This is like the luxury coach of Japan… every Uber there is an Alphard. Anybody who’s like a CEO gets driven in these. The doors open automatically, and you have these beautiful captain’s chairs, and they just zip you around town. It’s like a dream.”…
Muse, Part 2 — Customizing Your Own AI Agent and Making It Save You Money
Since the #1906 Muse post already went out, here’s the follow-up: Adam’s been digging into how customizable the thing actually is. Every Muse agent starts from an editable soul.md file — Adam rewrote his to say “you are becoming Adam’s personal robot” and to skip the “great question, I’d be happy to help” filler and…
Jabra Enhance Hearing Aids — Adam’s Real-World Endorsement
During a debate about Meta’s new audio-only Ray-Bans, Adam made the case for his actual daily-driver hearing aids instead: Jabra’s. “My hearing aids is fantastic… there’s different settings, different scenarios… I have a setting that is outdoor and it has compressors and limiters and expanders in there. And if I turn my head just a…
GrokBot — A Secondhand “My Life Has Changed” Story
J.Cal relayed an unprompted testimonial from a friend of his wife’s — a single mom working from home in Dallas — about Grok’s AI agent: “She says, you know, I got GrokBot and my life has changed. The time I have saved that I can spend with the kids or do something else or just…
The Toyota Alphard — Japan’s Luxury People-Mover You Can’t Buy Here
J.Cal’s pitch for the ultimate Japan-only ride: the Toyota Alphard. “This is like the luxury coach of Japan… every Uber there is an Alphard. Anybody who’s like a CEO gets driven in these. The doors open automatically, and you have these beautiful captain’s chairs, and they just zip you around town. It’s like a dream.”…
Muse, Part 2 — Customizing Your Own AI Agent and Making It Save You Money
Since the #1906 Muse post already went out, here’s the follow-up: Adam’s been digging into how customizable the thing actually is. Every Muse agent starts from an editable soul.md file — Adam rewrote his to say “you are becoming Adam’s personal robot” and to skip the “great question, I’d be happy to help” filler and…