#149 – Hiring Claude as a $100 Virtual Assistant cover art

#149 – Hiring Claude as a $100 Virtual Assistant

#149 – Hiring Claude as a $100 Virtual Assistant

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Episode 149: Hiring Claude as a $100 Virtual Assistant Episode Description

This week, Damashe considers canceling his Claude subscription... only to immediately sign up for a more expensive plan to hire Claude as his virtual assistant. Meanwhile, Michael tackles a Stream Deck accessibility project with help from Claude Code, and the guys make potentially dangerous plans to unleash OpenClaw on their Mastodon bot. Plus: RSS reader workflows, notification rage-quitting, Bitcoin regrets, and why good help really is hard to find (whether human or AI).

Topics Discussed

AI Assistants & Claude (2:00)

  • Damashe's plan to use Claude as a $100/month virtual assistant
  • The $50 API credit offer (expires February 16th!)
  • Why AI hasn't taken jobs... yet
  • Claude Code living in the terminal

Stream Deck Accessibility Project (15:00)

  • Making Stream Deck usable for blind users on Windows and Mac
  • The power of profiles and context-switching
  • Integration possibilities with Bunches, shortcuts, and automation

RSS Readers & Workflows (6:00)

  • Net News Wire, Liray, and the eternal search for the perfect feed reader
  • Why preview mode matters
  • The Verge's Twitter-on-their-website approach

OpenClaw Plans (1:07:00)

  • Security concerns and Leo's removal
  • The bot that got itself a phone number and called its owner
  • Plans to unleash it on the @TW Mastodon bot
  • Building a kill switch (before the bot reads this transcript)

Good Help is Hard to Find (30:00)

  • Why reliable contractors are priceless
  • The 90-day test for employees who think the job is easy
  • Michael's subcontractor success story

Also Discussed

  • Cash App notification rage-quitting
  • Uber's marketing message problem
  • Bitcoin: "I would have sold it at $2,000"
  • Home Assistant Yellow module installation anxiety
  • Raspberry Pi 5 (16GB) for sale!
Links & Resources
  • Follow the bot: @TW@technically.social (before OpenClaw takes over)
  • Claude $50 credit: Redeem in settings before Feb 16th
  • Harper's blog: Early Claude Code adopter mentioned on TWiT
  • Net News Wire: Open source RSS reader
  • PineCast referral: 50% off first 4 months (link in show notes)
Show Stats
  • Total downloads: 29,312 (just 688 away from 30K!)
  • Episode 148: 45 downloads
  • Episode 147: 154 downloads
  • Help us grow: Subscribe a friend!
Contact
  • Email: feedback@technicallyworking.show
  • Michael: @Payown@dragonscave.space
  • Damashe: @Damashe@technically.social
  • Use #TechnicallyWorking to join the conversation

Support the show at technicallyworking.show/tipjar

Episode 149 • Runtime: ~1:13:00

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