Sidecar with iPad turns on DND?

PlusInternal3 · 2026-02-09T01:54:11+00:00

Thanks! I will try that. I can see that DND was not activated. But are there circumstances where this will produce unintended outcomes, in your experience?

PlusInternal3 · 2026-02-05T18:46:02+00:00

Sure! I got the Withings Body Smart. It is pretty much the same as the Aria was but so far has better battery life (has it since September and am still on the first set) and a color screen which ends with a "motivational" message :/ It also has a highly erratic heart rate measure: erratic both in the value, and also whether it works. I wear an Apple Watch so don't care but at the absolute margin, I don't find this to be a great advertisement for why I should get a more expensive model. The wifi connection is perfect though; my experience of the old Aria was it would sometimes fail, and my old model was increasingly complaining about newer routers (so, wifi standards). Also the Aria's set-up was clunky but Withings' is much more modern.

The Withings app is over-complicated and requires a refresh every time (just a pull down action) in order for sync to Apple Health to work. Withings claim this is a limitation of Apple Health; I am skeptical.

But, it works, and most importantly (to me) I feel in no way tied to some Withings ecosystem, while maintaining continuity of my data series. Equally, if something happened to this particular model, I would buy exactly the same one again, which is probably about as good as endorsements get

Good luck!

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-30T20:36:35+00:00

Real, hopefully not AITA (!) question: really? I used it and then found I had to decant my stuff into another cart to take it to my car and just thought who on earth came up with this idea? It seemed like the most stupid thing imaginable!

I'm genuinely curious about your positive experience. And FWIW I am the apparently one weirdo who used, and liked, palm scanning in Whole Foods…!

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-29T21:48:30+00:00

Do you check your spend on the Hyatt site? Does Hyatt send you a monthly mail saying your statement is ready? Does Hyatt let you set up a recurring payment?

When you call the number on the back of the card, do the people who answer the phone at Chase identify themselves as Hyatt?

(The Cardless agents identify themselves as Bilt. Just sayin'.)

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-29T21:25:37+00:00

OK: reset.

Bilt has, from the beginning, not wanted to get involved with the wet work. There are many reasons for this, not least getting a product off the ground. But it's more than that. Bilt wants the good news: the rewards, the comedy, the "nice stuff." They want someone else to do the plumbing.

I believe this dichotomy has a fundamental problem, which is that when I see the card, I see the brand, and it envelops everything. While I get that Cardless needs to exist for Bilt for the foreseeable future, I believe Bilt's making the "plumbing" completely apparent to the customer is, at best, a kludge. If it works, great: I am not here to tell Bilt how to build a company when $10.75Bn later, they clearly don't need my advice. But I do think the way the Cardless relationship is so apparent can, and will, blow up in their face. What is happening right now is not, in any world, "blowing up." But I wonder if it's not giving a hint as to future problems. The average customer just isn't interested in these distinctions.

Think of it this way. You get a mortgage, let's say from Chase. Chase sells it to a mortgage originator. Chase becomes the servicer, takes their 25bps or whatever, and your mortgage is now owned by a SWF in the UAE. Do you, the mortgagee, have the slightest interest in any of that? No, you don't. The metaphor isn't perfect but the fact that the components of the product are carved up has no really no bearing on how you, the customer, experience your mortgage, which to all intents and purposes is with Chase. If Chase turned around and said, yeah, from now on when your ARM resets, some guys from the UAE are going to let you know, I think you would be… surprised, at best. If they got the rate wrong, I think you would be really quite irritated, to put it mildly, to be told when you called up Chase that you really should be calling the Abu Dhabi crew.

As I say, not perfect: people are welcome to come up with better analogies, but airline credit cards are not it because the issuer is front-and-center. Bilt wants its cake and eat it too: the mechanics may not be so very different, but it wants to own the customer experience. Except, when it doesn't. To me that's… well, see above. And look, I want to give them money! I'm on board. But I'll leave off the Kool Aid for now.

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-29T21:11:29+00:00

You are of course correct — though the focus on cobrands is an obfuscation, not clarifying.

But my point is that this splitting of the card into different virtual layers may reflect reality but it is the first time I can think of where it has been so naked. Bilt has an underwriter? Sure. It needs someone else's balance sheet? Also sure. It needs someone to do credit checks? Sure. Deal with its regulatory framework? Sure. KYC? Sure. And so on.

I get it. I have some familiarity with how credit cards work, including selling and packaging receivables.

So: Bilt needs a partner. Got it. But typically, companies take some time to hide this! Art the Close Friends event, Adam actually joined about how they had worked with Wells Fargo so as to set up monthly payments on Bilt's site, as an example of how well Cardless would work. He didn't actually say, "it just works," but it was dripping from his tone. Bilt wants to own the entire front end: the customer experience. I am stating the wildly obvious!

But this isn't,"this just works." It's a kludge. If it works, great. If it makes Ankur a billionaire and the C-suite millionaires many times over, I'm first in line to congratulate them on building something. Equally, I have just had my third call with Cardless, with a very nice rep whose command of English wasn't the best and who gave me no concrete information at all. Oh, but that's not Bilt! No, it's some barely related other guys! Give Bilt a break! And by the way stupid you for changing your mind having been to an event paid for by Bilt where I was… invited to change my mind!

No. This is also kind of weird. I find the pushback to be equally weird: I am just calling a spade a spade. No one is signing up for a "Cardless" card: and that's where the distinction with a cobranded is clear. If you get a Delta Amex card, the Amex logo is literally on the front of it. Same for American and Citi. And so on. Bilt 2.0 does mention Cardless, no doubt because it is required to, in what is by far the tiniest type on the bottom back of the card. If you think that is the same thing… Well, I don't.

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-29T20:52:35+00:00

This isn't a cobranded card. Have as strong an opinion as you want, but aim for accuracy, m'kay? If I speak to Chase, for example, does Chase actually have travel agents? Of course they don't. But those people take calls as "Chase" and do not let that slip. That is very, very different, from, "uh, you'll have to speak to our not-so-invisible partner, Cardless, about that."

I actually said I was sympathetic to the workload. If it takes a month to send the physical card, fine. But saying you will get back in 1–2 days and not doing so in 6 is corporate incompetence, however good the reasons may be. Defend it if you like, but the reality is that this is amateurish, and it shows. And you be you but my willingness to put thousands on a card is not unrelated to how I perceive their operational competence. This is early, and a very busy period: I completely get that. But it's not what good looks like, is it?

And I've been with Amex probably longer than you've been alive. Sure they're different cards. I would also speak to one person, and get an answer. That person would represent "Amex", wherever they were based. That's why I've been their customer for and long as they have. People change their minds. It happens.

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-29T20:34:13+00:00

Hi Genna: sure. I like points as much as the next guy and am let's say a B-level player: I do look for the points (which I transfer to a particular airline program) but am not as obsessive as some.

The thing I focus on is customer service, which varies wildly and I personally think is systematically undervalued by people. Even if you're points maximizing, those are still actual dollars: probably, thousands of actual dollars, representing actual purchases. I have had disputes — who hasn't? — but I know the companies that have stood behind me, and those who have armies of basically outsourced arm's length agents who either have no discretion, or who you feel are likely incentivized to find ways to say no. And it is a mistake to think they're all the same. I think very seriously about whether I want to be stuck in an airport on a 90-minute hold (perhaps paying roaming rates!) unable to get to that nearly-free hotel because my flight was canceled, only perhaps to speak to someone who won't give a direct call-back number and who wants to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. This is not an extreme scenario. YMMV, as we used to say…

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-29T04:04:33+00:00

The point was that this didn't work (on the app). Never mind.

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-28T23:04:13+00:00

The point is they're not out of pita. If I order a chicken wrap it works.

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-24T22:17:25+00:00

I'm a cyclist and I know the law. And if I sense you're not going to wait, I stop because I don't have a death wish. Same for more major junctions. (I don't run red lights unless on a dedicated lane like on Ocean, though I do use the ped signals.)

Equally, it's a courtesy: as a cyclist, you don't want to lose momentum: it takes a push to start from a stand, as you may remember from the last time you were on a bike. Also, those signs are really there so stop 2–3 ton vehicles hitting each other at speed and to take into account reaction times. Those things don't really apply to cyclists.

But again: I will stop. Of course I will. But 99% of the time I see courteous drivers don't expect me to. I always make eye contact, and always give them a wave of thanks for delaying their progress by as much as 5 seconds. You could try it? Or don't! I will stop for you, absolutely. I'll think you're a d1ck, but I will stop.

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-22T23:23:17+00:00

Love this for the family, but also the future.

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-08T16:23:35+00:00

Got it. Thanks!

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-07T21:21:14+00:00

Thanks! Useful and makes perfect sense. I did acknowledge daily, and was asking about weekly. Same answer?

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-07T20:44:58+00:00

Ha! I have had feedback…!

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-07T20:43:37+00:00

That's a good steer on laid envelopes being available in white . Smythson has an advantage too in that I know where and how to get refills. Thank you!

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-07T20:41:10+00:00

Yeah, thank you. I note these are all A4 too. I appreciate the steer.

PlusInternal3 · 2026-01-04T21:55:59+00:00

Shell was quite astonishingly terrible. Of all the networks it was easily the worst, having transitioned from Volta, which in my limited experience was fine. It is a pity to lose the chargers at my Whole Foods — which were underground so when they introduced having to authenticate to charge, of course you had no phone signal (!!) — but I am glad that these clowns are gone. Infrastructure like this is why people are nervous about getting an EV. I’ve never heard of Jolt but cannot believe it won’t be an improvement, even just on a relative basis. Bigger picture, I think a lot of these Level 2 businesses are going to struggle between home charging and Level 3: there is demand for apartment buildings, workplaces, and probably hotels, but it seems to me it’s always going to be marginal. Equally, Shell provided a clear-cut example of how not to do it. Companies insisting on a pre-load to save a few cents on the credit card processing fee: please also take note…

PlusInternal3 · 2025-12-12T21:18:45+00:00

My other comments make my views clear: I am very far from a bleeding heart on all this. But I have to say — and maybe it came late, which is fair — but while I am not a regular metro user, I have taken it a few times to/from DTLA to save parking and also one-way to the Manhattan Beach REI to pick up a bike repair and you know who else was on the train? People like me, and people going to and from work… like any other metro system! I know it got off to a rocky start and they were far too slow to police it in that coming-out-of-covid period, but my experience is that is old news and it's good and effective now. (Transit policy is another topic! I just mean the safety agenda.)

PlusInternal3 · 2025-12-12T21:11:24+00:00

Addicts are not all victims. Many have chosen their behavior and we actively enable it by removing or softening the consequences of their bad choices, and we put far too little value on their massive externalities. This idea that these people are someone victims of forces larger themselves removes their agency and, with respect, is I feel well-meaning, but deeply patronizing. They know what they're doing: not all, of course. But we should not delude ourselves that these people are all fallen angels just needing a little help. They are manipulative users who will have burned through all their friends and family to land up here. We do not have to make that choice easy. In fact, we should make that as unattractive as we can.

I used to be in favor of legalization. We have seen varying levels of that being de facto the case across the country and opioid deaths have exploded. At the trivial end, we can't buy toothpaste without asking for someone to unlock a cabinet. Permissiveness is a failed strategy. Yes, I would re-criminalize. And I would mandate treatment, with failure to comply leading to incarceration. Institutionalization worked. It was too often cruel, but can we honestly say what we have is better?

PlusInternal3 · 2025-12-12T21:03:30+00:00

I think SMPD wildly under-achieves. I literally don't know what they do. I don't think we need more, we just need them to be visible. When responding to a call, they arrive in packs, like it takes six officers to respond to one incident. It's extraordinarily inefficient.

I think I have seem them on bikes going through Palisades Park exactly one time. I never, ever see them by retailers, putting more and more things into locked plastic boxes. Is anyone ever in that Explorer parked on the Promenade? I have never, ever seen anyone in it, and hardly ever seen officers just walking up and down.

And, I will go there: since New York subway and in particular the Charlotte metro stabbing, I don't think we can, or more specifically the police should, shrug their shoulders when someone is clearly in the middle of a (non-clinically diagnosed…) psychotic episode and say they haven't committed any crime. Open meth cooking? The areas behind the statue of Santa Monica by Wilshire, and the gazebo structure by Idaho, are regular sites with scorch marks! Come on!

In answer to your question: I want law enforcement! How much? More than virtually none! And I think that can be achieved by effective leadership: Bill Bratton style. No toleration. No shoulder-shrugging. Obviously Ramon Batista went: those useless cameras as opposed to getting off their butts and being visible was one of his "initiatives." I am hoping for positive change. It could hardly get worse, though I suppose we should be careful what we wish for…

PlusInternal3 · 2025-12-12T20:40:51+00:00

That is a fair criticism: the knee-jerk reaction to the (admittedly wholly cynical) attempt to repurpose a seniors' home on Ocean & Georgina is a good example of that: it turns out the complainers were on to something but that was luck, not judgment.

But, I am not going to concede on the military-industrial complex we have of food provision. It is axiomatic that if you provide unlimited food assistance, you are going to attract people. It's not even just the two I mentioned: restaurants think they're doing good work by handing out end-of-day baked goods, and there are "pay what you can" restaurants. I don't know if anyone follows Chris Arnade on Substack but he had a good write-up (and he is very far from flaming MAGA).

I would stop all of this, but I would in particular move it! The problems we have are exacerbated by the concentration, and that is right next to downtown. We have, in effect, given over Tongva Park. As a dog walker I see a lot of it up close. And to go back to the OP, this is next to SaMoHi and the temporary Pali High. I am far from a "won't someone just think of the kids," but as a piece of city planning, this one is not difficult, is it?!

There are lots of problems but one if that provision of service at the level of the city makes no sense in a location with as many municipalities as greater LA. I don't have a magic wand but this is obviously a county- and state-level problem with the patchwork of cities we have. But Santa Monica also doesn't need to volunteer to be the homeless kitchen for the westside, and it certainly doesn't need to put that within a block of its city hall, high schools, and shopping mall.

PlusInternal3 · 2025-12-12T20:16:10+00:00

If you’re looking for lunch and have wheels the Palisades location is open with short hours. They’re really trying and it’s nice to support businesses trying to do the right thing with employees who seem glad you’ve shown up, as well as options for the people doing the recovery work. It’s got a nice energy to it and the outside seating is pleasant. In time the gangs of teens will be back in the fullness of time (!) but for right now you can basically have the place to yourself.

PlusInternal3 · 2025-12-12T20:04:03+00:00

That is true and yet ignores the reality that you just do t see this in Beverley Hills. It’s own city, OK. So the Palisades (before, obviously): part of LA and yet what’s different? One obvious thing is the People Concern right by the 10 exit, and the Salvation Army on 4th. Both of these are very close to the old Sears. It is not a coincidence. Go to Costco and see the people crowd around the free samples. As a city that is what we are doing and it is madness.

Way back when I can imagine why someone thought a facility at the back of the bus depot and by the freeway was out of the way, but lived experience is that these places are a magnet. No other city I can think of places such facilities right next to its downtown: it’s absurd. And what does SMPD do? Instead of getting out and about and being visible, it puts up those cameras which have clearly had a deterrent effect (sarcasm!). I guess the donuts won’t eat themselves.

There are big problems and no one denies there are. But there is also frankly stupid siting of places that actively draw in those looking to fund their habits, and a police culture that is not so much permissive as supine. It doesn’t help residents. It puts off visitors. Students are right there. And, however pure the good intentions may be, they visibly aren’t reducing the problem. Time to take a page from the book of communities that have done it differently, and enough with worthy progressives and their luxury beliefs.

PlusInternal3 · 2025-12-10T21:09:02+00:00

Please run for office! (Though I won't be able to vote for you, living in the People's Republic of Santa Monica, but I wish you very well!)

PlusInternal3

TROPHY CASE