A Geek Goes Flying

Prior: “You’re not lazy. Your brain just needs a different system.” I keep encountering these ads on Facebook, for, whatever, ADHD planners or Xennial home organization apps or ... They state they're based on research from Stanford or MIT or Harvard or ... [], and that they’ll build a solution tailored for whatever it is that makes you unique. The sales pitch always starts with some sort of shame-type thing but then moves quickly to “it’s not your fault - you didn’t fail the system, the system failed you! It wasn’t built for a brain that grew up analog and transitioned to digital.” If you take the bait you’re funneled to a set of “diagnostic questions” and then the processing theater (“Analyzing your responses … 37% … creating your individualized plan … 72% …”). Then email capture and the dark patterns - the free trial but high monthly cost - slashed in half if you buy before the fake counter reaches zero ... or the relatively low “monthly” cost paid every six months or ... I was t...

The jaunty sing-songy voice and music, the overly cute animation, the crass insertion into your nightmarescape of this dog water fountain ad ... I can’t even. (There’s one I just saw for GetQuietLab that’s in the same vein.) This is not the AI future we were promised. Or maybe it is. I don’t know anymore. 

Innioasis Y1 Ads popped up for The Classic MP3 Player (128GB) that tries to be a dupe of the OG Apple iPods. (No idea how close it comes, haven’t played with one personally.) The price as I type this is $179.99 $99.90 (and I suspect it never actually sells for $179.99), but I think  it was a bit more when I looked at it the first time. Just expensive enough to put it out of “impulse buy” territory for me (especially when I have a tragically underutilized Sony Walkman, and recently sold a Shanling M1s on eBay because I wasn’t using it enough.) Out of curiosity, I did a reverse image search and it’s apparently (also sold as?) the  Innioasis Y1 , and a bit cheaper on Amazon (which also has an even cheaper 64GB option , if you just want to try it out). It has a standard USB C port, doesn’t have a ton of storage but it’s not seriously hurting there (even using FLAC, 128GB will fit thousands of songs and hundreds of albums), claims 25 hours of music playback on a battery, has Bl...

The Algorithms™ have been feeding me a steady diet of ads for long time artisans who are blowing out their inventory on their way into retirement. Jewelry, handbags, cowboy leather, you name it. The most recent I’ve come across was “Junie” (identified within the site as “Junie Collins”). Apparently:  1975 - 2025: Junie’s retiring and her bags are 80% off! Out of curiousity I clicked through and was struck by the fact that the bags all seem to be things I’ve seen on Amazon, like this  Hazel Vintage Chest Crossbody Bag , which doesn’t really look all that handmade: Hazel Vintage Chest Crossbody Bag And, yeah, a Google Images search finds a bajillion hits for that image; the first few are $16 versions on Walmart.com (junieboutique.com lists it for $64.99). If Junie Collins is making this as advertised (“Hand-stitched by me, Junie with 35+ years of expertise”), damn, she’s busy. So, the merch is suspect inherently. But what about the domain name? Junie’s been in business for 35 ye...

Consumer being manipulated I’ve previously discussed shady sales practices , like a “fake ‘flash sale’ count-down that gives the impression the deal you’re seeing will be gone soon, creating a sense of urgency,” or linking to the Medium article  How Online Flash Sales Hack Your Brain  in describing my annoyance with “Amazon’s ‘lightning deal’ thing [where you’re pressured to] take advantage within 8 hours or whatever, and then you have 15 minutes to check out...” TIL there’s a term for them:  dark patterns ( src ). Derila's website is a minefield of dark patterns, a coercive marketing technique designed to trick online customers into making choices they don't intend to.  Dark patterns can include 'scarcity cues' such as countdown timers or warnings of low stock or expiring discounts. Or they can be 'activity notifications', where you're told with a sense or urgency, for instance, that someone just bought the item you're considering. A bit of web searchi...

I really wanted the “deal” I thought I was getting, buying a “Fully Featured” Aeron chair, size B , from SeatingMind.com, to be legit. So I ignored some red flags. Like the typos, or the fake “flash sale” count-down that gives the impression the deal you’re seeing will be gone soon, creating a sense of urgency: SeatingMind.com site showing fake flash sale countdown Pro tip: No matter when you come back, the chair will still be $549 with free shipping and no sales tax. Even if their math is a bit suspect: “ $1,199.00 $549.99 (You save $349.01 )”  Anyway. The “Item Conditon” [sic] reads: “Those chairs where purchased buy a large corporation which they did not end up needing them, due to covid, or they over purchased, so we purchased the load back, and can offer to our customers a larger discounts, They all still look Brand New, and come with a full Warranty and a full 30 Day money back” Item Conditon [sic] Text S...

Zendure SuperTank Pro Zendure SuperTank Pro I’m still enamored with the Zendure X5, but I went looking for a solution with at least 2 USB-C PD outputs, that could power both a MacBook Air and a 15.6" UPERFECT portable monitor (that I expect will become part of a flexible sit-stand setup ). The Zendure SuperTank Pro 100W PD 26800mAh power bank seems to have glowing reviews and the specs are there (and I like the OLED screen that shows what each port is delivering, how many watt hours of charge are remaining, etc), and Amazon had it as a lightning sale item marked down from $229 to $169, so I decided to take the plunge. Update: The SuperTank arrived today. To my surprise, it came with a carrying case, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-A adapter. I hooked it up to the UGREEN 100W charger through the Klein and observed it charging (it came with about a 36% charge, and Zendure recommends fully charging it before use). Using the red 60W-rated cable showed 56.0W on the SuperT...