Technically Working 171: We Also Do Interiors
Episode summary
Michael and Damashe finally come clean about the interior design business they have been running in secret. Damashe weighs a Comcast contract against fiber that has not arrived yet. Michael downgrades his Claude plan, turns Claude into a marketing assistant, and moves Earshot closer to the App Store. Plus Braille inside the box of the new glasses, the Orbit Player getting Bard support, hotel status hacking, and travel tips ahead of St. Louis.
In this episode
- VoiceOver volume levels and why the number changes depending on headphones, kids, and mixers (0:00)
- Damashe's internet dilemma: AT&T fiber with no timeline, Comcast at $150 a month for a symmetrical gig, and a one year contract with a $35 per month early termination fee (0:31)
- Running a contract past AI before you sign it, and why pressure tactics do not work (5:36)
- Starlink through US Mobile as a possible temporary option (28:11)
- The interior design confession, and the emails that started it (13:10)
- A new marketing idea: pull episode teasers off the staging site, have AI read them dramatically, and post the clips (14:00)
- Word of mouth is working. Running into listeners at NFB in Austin (15:42)
- The new glasses arrive, still in the case, but there was Braille inside the box (17:03)
- ChatGPT's iOS app loses its headings, and Michael heads back to Claude (21:11)
- Downgrading from $100 to $20 on Claude and experimenting with Ollama Cloud (30:34)
- Hands on with the Orbit Player, and Bard support arriving on the 15th (22:28)
- Earshot monetization takes shape: Earshot Plus, a tip jar, App Store Connect setup, tax forms, and the 15 percent versus 30 percent form (33:20)
- Earshot gets a shout out on Double Tap in a segment about useful vibe coded tools (35:15)
- Marriott Bonvoy, Uber One, and the free coffee economy of lounge access (44:47)
- ACB Convention is across all 10 streams. Listen at acbmedia.org, and calendar events populate to the 2026 Conference and Convention button in the ACB Link app (53:03)
- Still hunting for good barbecue in St. Louis. Beef ribs or brisket preferred (38:20)
- Airport assistance: do you check the box when booking, or just show up and ask? Using Aira, calling a friend, and deciding when to just walk to the gate yourself (1:03:18)
- Visualize Access and using pre trip airport orientation to skip the wait (1:08:03)
Call for feedback
We want your travel tips. Packing, navigating new spaces, dealing with airports and assistance requests. Send them to feedback@technicallyworking.show.
Mentioned in this episode
- ACB Media: acbmedia.org
- ACB Link app, 2026 Conference and Convention section
- Double Tap podcast
- Orbit Player
- Bard (Braille and Audio Reading Download)
- Graphic Audio: graphicaudio.net
- Aira
- Visualize Access
- Cooper's BBQ and Taco Deli, Austin
- Brailsmith
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Find us
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- Damashe on Mastodon: @damashe@technically.social
- Show bot: @tw@technically.social
- Hashtag: #TechnicallyWorking
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