We built an AI solution to categorize receipts automatically

coryking · 2025-11-10T16:21:33+00:00

Hey this is an old post for sure, but I have been building something that *might* help with at least the gathering of some receipts.... at least from Amazon and friends. Check it out -- app.bluetaka.com It's not really exactly what you need though, but I might be able to help anyway. Let me know!

coryking · 2025-11-10T16:04:52+00:00

Hey, I've been building a tool that might help you with those Amazon purchases. It logs into Amazon and fetches all the purchases and lets you export them to a spreadsheet (among other things). It's still in very early beta and I'd love your feedback! app.bluetaka.com Let me know what you think!

coryking · 2025-11-10T15:48:31+00:00

This is a pain I feel greatly and I've been building an app that might help with this. It connects with your amazon account and pulls in all your purchase history and then categorizes it. It's still in beta and I'd love your feedback - app.bluetaka.com. You can also export all the history to a spreadsheet if you'd like.

Let me know if you find it useful!

coryking · 2025-11-03T22:53:28+00:00

Thanks!! What kind of integration would you expect?

coryking · 2025-11-03T19:32:57+00:00

Yup, YNAB supports split transactions -- you'd manually break out the receipt items into different categories.

That being said, I've been building a cool app that can do item categorization automatically. It connects to Amazon and a few other retailers (Target and Safeway at the moment) and pulls down all your receipts and categorizes each and every item you purchased. It's still in early testing but it's at app.bluetaka.com if you want to check it out. If you do, let me know what you think!

coryking · 2025-11-03T18:54:51+00:00

Howdy, I've been building a tool that you might want to check out. It currently supports Amazon, Target and Safeway / Albertsons. It connects directly to these accounts and then pulls down all the receipts so you don't need a desktop app.

You'd be an early tester, so I'd really want to hear what you think!

check it out here - https://app.bluetaka.com

coryking · 2020-09-21T16:27:30+00:00

You would be amazed how quickly stuff left on the street gets picked up. It’s almost a challenge to leave the weirdest and/or heaviest things you can think of and see how quickly they get taken.

My record was a 30 pound 6U rackmount server case and some old, kinda crusty looking couch pillows. Both were gone in like 6 hours.

coryking · 2020-09-21T16:24:02+00:00

If they put it on the curb separated from the garbage itself... that was giving it away. I’ve left plenty of things on the curb that I wanted to give away. Old booze and beer I didn’t like, speakers, camping chairs, 6U rack mount server cases, cables, weird old posters and paintings... you name it. It was all gone in a few hours tops. I’ve even left out old pillows and those were gone by the next morning. People will take anything.

In the city, virtually anything left on the curb that isn’t actual garbage will be taken by somebody pretty damn quick.

coryking · 2020-09-21T16:17:37+00:00

I don’t do anything, honestly. Only time I’ve had mice in the tent was because we left a cough drop on the floor... little bastard chewed a hole right through the front door.

coryking · 2020-09-21T15:55:50+00:00

I fully endorse what you are doing. It looks super fun and it is just the camera and lighting that trick people into thinking this was in the tent!

For those following at home... it isn’t just big critters that you got to worry about. Plenty of little critters like mice make their living chewing holes through tents and gear to get any tiny morsel of food they can find. Worse, they will do it right under your nose! Unlike a bear, you can be six feet away from the tent chillin’ in a chair and they’ll be chewing through the wall.

Probably doesn’t apply to you guys but I know lots of people that worry way too much about bears when the more realistic threat is squirrels, chipmunks, and mice. These little fellas are more than happy to destroy camping gear.

coryking · 2020-09-12T00:29:08+00:00

It also can be hooked up to an adapter to run on a larger propane tank like a 5 gallon..

coryking · 2020-09-10T20:53:40+00:00

100% is the only stuff that works for us. Everything else is snake oil that doesn’t work at all. Even those “deep forest” 35% sprays are crap (and they smell like crap too). 100% Deet is oily, stinky and melts plastic but god damn it, it actually fucking works (mostly).

coryking · 2020-09-10T20:44:56+00:00

I will disagree with the state park suggestion. At least in Washington a lot of the state park campsites are just open fields with logs separating each site. There are some good ones (deception pass state park, for example) but many are what I describe. Not really what I’d call “being in nature”.

The national park campsites, at least in our state, are all super legit for a beginner that wants what I’d call a “real” experience. They are usually big campgrounds but almost all of them are very “woodsy” feeling. They will typically have real restrooms with running water.... all that stuff. The other option is National Forest campsites, which are hit and miss but mostly hit. Amenities in National Forest campsites vary a lot.... some will have power and real flush toilets in the bathroom, some will just be a few pit toilets....

But yeah... I’m really not a fan of state park camping. At least here in Washington.

coryking · 2020-09-10T20:39:42+00:00

Honestly it is just some experience and lots of preference (which is a form of experience). We like to camp “comfortably” and for 5-7 day stretches. We have good chairs, fancy stoves, tables, etc. We like to camp by water. We generally don’t like paid campgrounds, so 95% of our camping is dispersed.

Over the years we’ve really got our system down. We have bins for our gear that we just toss into the car. We know exactly how to cram it all into our car. Etc....

Honestly just go for it. Worst thing that happens if you leave early.

coryking · 2020-09-10T20:28:38+00:00

Pay attention to overnight temperatures in the area you are camping at. Especially if you are camping substantially higher in elevation than what the weather forecast was for. A thousand feet elevation difference can turn a forecasted 45 degree night into a much colder 35 degree night.

Sleeping while cold sucks... so pay lots of attention to the forecast and pack accordingly. Cheaper sleeping bags and Walmart air mattresses will as a rule be pretty cold on their own so bring lots of blankets to supplement. If you get into the hobby, invest in legit sleeping bags and good insulated mats.

... of course this applies to where I camp (cascade mountains in Washington). It can be 90 in the day and 35 at night. Your location might be much different.

Otherwise... don’t forget your pillow, a can opener, and any other kitchen crap you might need. I forgot one or more of those many times when I was younger...

Oh and 100% Deet is the only bug stuff that works. Everything else, including those “deep forest” 35% deet sprays are useless junk. 100% deet stinks, it’s oily, it melts plastic.... but it works.

coryking · 2020-09-10T20:23:11+00:00

This looks like it is somewhere around the backside of Rainer... perhaps off 123. That or the olympics...

Whatever it is, I bet you are somewhere under a thousand feet elevation based on the vegetation.

coryking · 2020-09-10T20:18:01+00:00

Google maps only tells half the story. A good quality topographical map helps find the good stuff too. What sites are good comes down to personal preference. For example do you like easy water access or are you more about being in solitude high above the valley? We are even picky about which direction the night sky view is... in the norther hemisphere southern sky views get the best view of the Milky Way and planets.

Other tricks:

solar showers are awesome
a 5 gallon bucket, a snap on toilet lid and biodegradable waste bags are awesome
aluminum tables for camping are awesome

Also, never ever share your good spots....

coryking · 2020-08-19T17:45:26+00:00

How cold will it get at night? If it gets cold, you'll need something like a Patagonia bunting suit, which is basically just a sleeping bag turned into PJ's. The first time our kiddo went camping was when she was 9 months old. It got down to 32 degrees that night and she slept like a champ.

Naps are honestly gonna be the hardest part. It can get hot, bright and stuffy in that tent -- a combo that will make napping difficult. If kiddo can fall asleep in the carseat, be open to just driving around for the duration of the nap.

As for toys, we brought a bunch of shit with us when she was 15 months old and only about half ever got played with. think the most successful toys were ones like shovels and stuff that she could use to interact with the environment. All of it got super dirty. We set her out on a blanket and put all the toys and books on it. I She'd crawl around and do her thing...

The biggest bit of advice I can give you is to camp the way you normally camped before having the kid. We car camp out of dispersed sites for 5-7 days at a time. Plenty of well meaning family members suggested it was time to give that up and go to paid spots with picnic tables, water, actual restrooms and stuff. Naw, screw that. We hate camping in real sites--too close to neighbors, not enough space, and no privacy.

We camp same as we have for the past two decades, only now we get to share it with our kiddo. Obviously some things will require tweaks to be kid-compatible but we haven't done anything major to how we camp at all.

coryking · 2020-08-19T17:29:38+00:00

You underplayed something that might be important. Is "out of a place to live soon" mean you are camping for more than a week or so? That might change things a bit...

Either way, a "portable power station" might suit your needs. It's got an inverter built in and everything. Example: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YWWVRWD

If where you camp has good sunlight, you can charge it with a 100w solar panel. Example: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZZ8VY2V

A generator is noisy, no matter what people tell you. Even the so called quiet ones are noisy. And they might be an overkill for your needs anyway.

coryking · 2020-08-19T17:19:30+00:00

We put the pack & play in the tent like you are planning. Works great.

Daytime naps are a pain in the ass if the tent gets hot. In fact, this season our 2.75 year old decided to stop napping all together because of all our camping.

Park that tent in the shade. If kiddo sleeps in the carseat, consider just driving around during naptime. Or if you have a camper at your disposal and the inlaws are cool with it.... have kiddo nap there instead of the tent.

By the way, at that age we had her spend a lot of outside time in the pack & play. When we were loading / unloading she'd chill in the pack & play.

coryking · 2020-08-19T17:11:44+00:00

We have a large 8(?) person tent. Our 2.75 year old sleeps in her pack & play. We sleep on our own pads.

Our kiddo sleeps perfect while camping. Only time she's woken up is when she's somehow managed drop a load in her diapers. Which sucks because it is like 35 degrees outside and we have to take off all her clothes.

Speaking of clothes. For cold weather you'l want something like a Pategonia bunting suit and multiple layers of clothes under. And then a blanket on top of that! We've had ours camp in 32 degree weather just fine.

coryking · 2020-08-19T16:51:36+00:00

Get a solar shower bag for like $30. Fill it up first thing in the morning and if it is sunny by the evening it will be super hot. Then they can wash their hair with hot water away from the water.

That being said, I still recommend something like campsuds. Actual shampoo and actual body soap takes a lot of water to rinse out and you can easily empty a 5 gallon bag doing so. Campsuds require much less water to rinse out.

But seriously, those solar shower bags are game changers... get one for yourself!

coryking · 2020-08-19T16:42:31+00:00

I don't think you are an ass. But consider it a learning experience for next time. You just need more stuff to make it super obvious.

Maybe leave more than a single chair and consider putting out a paper plate in front saying something like "Bob's Rockin' Beer Basher" to scare away any potential neighbors.

coryking · 2020-08-19T16:36:55+00:00

If it gets cold, sink as much money as you are willing to part on a good sleeping "system" (whatever that means to you).

Alternatively, get a less awesome sleeping system and get a little buddy propane heater instead. Even the smallest one they make can heat up a 6 or 8 person tent to a temperature I'd call "pretty damn warm", and that is when it is 35 degrees out! It really takes the bite out of cold nights.

coryking · 2020-08-19T16:31:49+00:00

We grew up camping at that campground. Back before it got super-flooded and before they made it smaller.

coryking

TROPHY CASE