Recording phone calls with available tools.

So a friend of mine was at work a few months back and started running into some abusive crap with her boss.  As it was over the phone, I suggested recording it but didn't know how to make that happen quick and easy.  She wasn't super tech-savvy and didn't have much on hand so I put together something of a howto for that process.

Hopefully someone will get some use out of it.

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The first thing to do is get something to attach the recording device to your phone. I recommend rubber bands but this is what I had on hand:

Essentially they are thin Velcro strips

Then just put your hands on anything that has a long, thin mic:

So essentially this:

And do your best to attach it to the phone. Wrap it around so that the tip of the recorder points at the headset:

Just get it right next to it. Your voice should be roughly the same volume as whomever you’re talking to.

It looks weird but you’re good to go. There’s a program built into every version of Windows that’ll let you record voice audio. Just type Sound into the start menu and it should pop up:

If you have problems, make sure you go through the sound tools inside Control Panel to make sure it’s not muted and is turned up as loud as possible.

[Ignore Speech Recognition.]

That should be all you need.

Even better is one of these things but you have to mess with either your phone or Bluetooth:

Still it’s crazy easy and way simpler to hold it:

Kevin Smith on the meaning of life

This talk has echoed with me more than once over the past two years and provided an unpleasant but maybe necessary perspective on life. 

The biggest switch I've had to accept is how we always think of a death in war or getting eaten by a bear as worse than dying in the modern world, but is that even true?  Confronting your idea of a good death seems almost invariably a side-channel question into a good life.

Junk by Dre

I knew they weren't premium headphones, but I didn't realize how close to garbage they were.  Beats by Dre could have been a great way to introduce a broader population to premium audio.  Instead it's just a gross money grab by people who have plenty of cash.

There's some question built into this around whether or not Dre started out making good stuff and then things got pushed down, but he clearly hasn't made any effort to distance himself from the product.

Instead, I recommend these cheap, good quality bud headphones.

A step past satire

None of the other responses to the mass-shooting in Orlando sounded like anything I hadn't heard 20x before so it was nice to hear Samatha Bee say something new.

The truth hurts

• Vitamin drinks may not be good for you.
• Engagements and diamond rings are a fake tradition that should go away

Edit: One more:

•  Expensive wine is for suckers

Youtube - best of the best

I guess it makes sense to post my favorite video from my favorite Youtube channel ... Every Frame a Painting: How to Structure a Video Essay

What it's like to work at Wal-Mart

A fascinating insight on ugliness at Wal-Mart, which explains a lot about what I've seen in my brief time in their stores from a general lack of cleanliness and order to general lack of engagement by most employees.

How to be friendly with coffee shop workers

Over time, I've spent a lot of time in coffee shops and have learned a lot about existing in that environment.  What follows is a loose guide to connecting with people in that environment but, to some extent, this is also a guide to being friends with people.  The short version?  Minimize annoyances.

Initial

• Feel free to try talking to coffee employees.  Making coffee gets boring and opportunities to interface with others is usually welcome.
• Familiarity breeds trust so being present at roughly the same time of day/week can help.
• If necessary to create a bridge, tell SHORT jokes.  I wouldn't lean on that as it can be a little off-putting.
• Learn names.

Walk away

• Pay attention to body language - for example, if they're not looking at you for more than 5 seconds, might be time to walk away.
• Verbal cues are also important.  For example, it's okay to ask "how are you?" but if you get a flat, non-committal answer, maybe move along.
• Don't try talking to employees when there's a line, when someone looks like they might be walking up to order, or when they seem stressed out / annoyed.
• If one of the employees continually avoids you or doesn't say much to you, make sure you give them plenty of space.  I've had some folks who just don't want to talk to me and that's okay.

Avoid

• Asking about tattoos or piercings, unless it's new.  The only way to bring this up is after having known the individual.  Expect the topic has been beaten to death for this person.
• Talking about the weather and traffic.  They affect everyone but they also bore everyone.  These topics have been exhausted.
• Reading name tags.  Ideally, you should ask their name.
• Asking out employees unless you feel comfortable they are single and interested.  Coffee employees tend to flirt with customers for tips, so you'll have to filter that behavior out as the best you can.  Strange as it sounds, I've only ever heard of Baristas asking out with customers, not the other way around.

Ordering

• Ideally order drinks that are easy to make.  If you ask for something a little harder, try to be gracious about it.  Try to order the same thing or from a short list.  Trust me that for some coffee shop employees, you will always be the "double decaf caramel" guy/gal and that's okay.
• It goes without saying but you should always tip.  I try to aim for in the $1 range.  Eventually you will start getting discounts on drinks, but this never *really* pays for itself.
• Feel free to tell someone if they made the drink and it was especially good.

Hanging out

• Busing tables (cleaning) a little bit can help.  Dishes are usually the most boring part of the job so you can endear yourself by making their jobs easier.
• Other (very minor) maintenance tasks also help like cleaning up your own mess and fixing something that's broken.

Rules for online dating (addendum): The First Meeting

A few more to add to my online dating series:

Initial meeting preparation tricks

• Call everyone via a forwarding number (for example Google Voice) so you can either dispose of the number or use blocking features usually available with such services.
• Where to meet?  I aim for a location that's halfway between myself and my date where there's a Plan B in case it's obviously not going well (so it wasn't a wasted drive).  I frequently go to a coffee place that's next to a store I really like.  However, it's important to make sure you meet somewhere you don't usually go so there's no chance you'll meet again accidentally.
• If your date puts off meeting more than once (or is otherwise flaky), request meeting somewhere really convenient for you.

The Elaine Stritch interruption incident

I love this old Letterman bit.  I was always impressed by her work on 30 Rock but I found her performance wonderfully unexpected and strange.

How to go to outdoor shows - Part 4: Encouraging Good Vibes

Fourth in my series on going to outdoor shows.  Back to Part 3: Bad Vibes.

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Charity 

This is a big one: it's always improved my night immensely if I can help someone out.  So for example, if you see someone looking for something, ask if you can help look for it.  Or someone who looks really, really tired, ask if they need help or water.  Heck, just giving a few bucks to a homeless person or being polite with the ticket person can go a really long way.

My best nights have always included a little kindness.


Drinking/Chemicals

If you go down this road, you probably know the standard precautions (watch your drink, don't accept anything from someone you don't know personally) but my track on this is to make sure you have -- not just a designated driver -- but a reliable sober person local and available.

If you don't have this, keep anything in this space limited to early and low key.  I know these are important to having a good time for many, so they've got to be managed.  Many situations have been created/exacerbated by chemicals, so I've started to treat them like a ticking bomb.


Going alone

More than ever before I've been going to events by myself which has meant more precautions, writing down or memorizing a few numbers in case I lose my phone, and making sure someone knows where I'm at.

Back to the beginning: Part 1: Possessions