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I have previously written about the remarkably inexpensive Matter-enabled Myggbett door/window sensor. After living with it a while longer, my enthusiasm has diminished.
My Myggbett sensor is spewing false open/close messages at least once a day, sometimes more often. After asking people who follow IKEA more closely than I do, several problems have become arisen.
I was surprised to discover this limitation, as none of the glowing reviews of the IKEA line has mentioned this limitation. Given that the hub costs $110, the expense and hassle of IKEA's devices begin to outweigh their low cost. (I'd need to buy 15 Myggbett sensors just to break even on the Dirigera's cost.)
Moreover, adding a Dirigera Hub to an existing system is not a good idea because having multiple Matter hubs can cause confusion in the Thread network.
So I'm essentially stuck with a flawed Myggbett sensor. Fortunately, a friend suggested a workaround. In Apple Home, I created a shortcut‑based automation that waits two seconds before checking whether the sensor remains open. Because the false open/close signals occur less than a second apart, the automation can safely ignore them.
Midnight Sessions is a technical volume aimed squarely at practicing magicians. The subject is advanced card conjuring.
I missed the boat when this book was released, so the standard edition was sold out by the time that I decided that I wanted to read it. Thus, I ended up purchasing the deluxe edition, which is a limited print run, and is (I presume) a finer production with a slipcase and better binding. But both editions are of the same layout and design, which is quite stunning and surprisingly good for a niche publication. (I will, however, lodge a complaint about the aesthetic quality of the pseudo-handwritten typeface used in some sections.)
The book's unusual conceit is that the author meets an unnamed magician who challenges him to reconstruct whatever trick they've just shown. The reader is encouraged to do so too, a unique and intriguing approach among books in this genre, which typically just "spill their secrets" without challenge or enticement. I rather enjoyed the approach, and I tried to play along as best I could.
Before buying it, I read reviews that seemed oddly proud of "discovering" that more than one unnamed magician was involved. After reading it, the multiplicity is obvious, which makes the reviewers' self‑congratulation feel a bit misplaced.
The content of the book is intricate, clever, and thought-provoking. But the focus, as you can surmise from the premise, is on so-called magician foolers. The methods are deep, complex, and damn delightful. As such, in my opinion, the book is best described as c0njuring p0rn. I picked up nice techniques that I hadn't thought of, and some that I'm eager to try, but mostly I enjoyed the spectacle and how it all fits together.
I loved this book. It engaged me like few other technical magic books have, and I suspect that when I reread it in the future, I'll like it even more.
Tervis makes unbreakable, air‑insulated drinkware tumblers that are very popular, particularly in locations with high humidity. The glasses are tough, don't sweat, and they come in various "fun" designs (which primarily consists of decorations trapped between the two layers of the vessel).
Tervis heavily promotes its "lifetime guarantee," which promises replacement for failed products. A few years ago, I had a Tervis tumbler whose seal failed. When I sent the product in, they sent me a new one with the same decorative element as the one I returned.
That's a far cry from the policy they enforce today, as I recently learned the hard way.
Today, you mail in your failed tumbler, and in return, you receive a gift card for their online store. When you submit your return, you can pay $12 to ask them to re-use the decoration in the broken unit. If they're able to salvage it, they'll send you a replacement tumbler instead of a gift card, plus an additional bill for return shipping.)
I wasn't sentimental about the decoration, so I opted for the gift card. It was issued the same day that they received my return, but when I opened their email, the disappointment became apparent.
The gift card was for a paltry $15. The cheapest replacement tumbler (same size, but sans any decoration) is $12. A decorated tumbler, equivalent to the one I returned, costs $18.
So, using their gift card, I could get a plain tumbler in exchange. Not a great choice, but acceptable.
But here's the kicker: Tervis charges $11 to ship me the replacement! It would cost me an additional $8 to redeem my gift certificate, and I'd end up with a cheaper, plain tumbler.
I say "additional $8" because I'd already spent $9 just to send them the broken tumbler. Tervis isn't responsible for what UPS charges (the least expensive carrier; I checked) but that cost has to be factored in, right?
That's $9 to return my broken tumbler, plus $12 for a lesser replacement, and plus $11 shipping. Subtract the gift card, and the "lifetime guarantee" costs me $17 to claim.
To compound the insult, a replacement decorated tumbler, which includes a lid, sells for $15 at Amazon with free shipping. (The lid, at the Tervis online store, would add $4 to my replacement cost.)
Quite the warranty racket you're running, Tervis.
Postscript: I reached out to Tervis customer support about their insufficient gift card amount. Two weeks later; no response.
This New York Times post describes the prevalence of counterfeit cosmetic products, particularly among online retailers. If you've never encountered — or even imagined — such a thing, it may surprise you.
I'm not surprised, though, because I ran into the same problem more than four years ago. I'm appalled to read in the NYT post that the issue continues, and is probably even more widespread. You can read about my experience here: The Case of the Counterfeit Nivea
Amazon clearly doesn't care because — as I discovered — they have no mechanism for reporting a vendor selling fakes. And as I outlined in my post, they won't allow you to warn others by posting reviews.
That's why you should always check the Sold By and Ship By info when shopping on Amazon. Always. Forget to do so at your peril, and not just when it comes to cosmetics.