Birthday Email Automator
Compose and send personalized birthday emails with gift search integration. Import contacts from Google Calendar, Apple Contacts, Outlook, or CSV. Configurable heads-up reminders so you never miss a birthday again.
Overview
A static web app that lets you manage birthday reminders and send personalized emails with gift suggestions. No backend required -- runs entirely in the browser with EmailJS for delivery and localStorage for persistence.
Key Features
- Email Composer -- Write and send birthday emails directly from the app via EmailJS
- ICS / vCard Import -- Upload
.icsor.vcffiles from Google Calendar, Apple Contacts, or Outlook - CSV Import -- Flexible column detection, supports multiple date formats (
YYYY-MM-DD,MM/DD/YYYY,January 5 1990), downloadable template - Gift Search -- Integrated gift idea lookup for each contact
- Heads-Up Reminders -- Configurable advance notifications so you never miss a birthday
- Settings Tab -- Configure EmailJS credentials in the UI (no rebuild needed)
- CSV Export -- Back up your friends list at any time
- CORS Error Handling -- Clear diagnosis with "Open in mail app" fallback
Tech Stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Vanilla HTML / CSS / JavaScript (zero dependencies) |
| EmailJS (public key, service ID, template ID) | |
| Storage | Browser localStorage |
| Import | ICS parser, vCard parser, CSV parser (all client-side) |
| Hosting | GitHub Pages or AWS S3 |
EmailJS Template Setup
Create a template with these variables: {{to_email}}, {{subject}}, {{message}}, {{to_name}} (optional). That's it.
Import Formats
- Google Contacts: Export as vCard (.vcf)
- Google Calendar: Export as .ics
- Apple Contacts: File → Export → Export vCard
- Outlook: File → Import/Export → Export to CSV
- CSV: Header row with Name, Email, Birthday, Relationship, Notes
Deploy
# AWS S3:
cp .env.example .env
chmod +x deploy-aws.sh
./deploy-aws.sh
Sula
Live on the Chrome Web StoreBrowser extension for consumer advocacy. It reads the page you're on to surface real customer-service contacts behind chatbot walls, show your refund deadlines, draft the letter that gets your money back, and track subscriptions. Formerly Find Me People.
The Problem
Customer service is disappearing. Companies are cutting support staff, hiding contact info behind chatbot walls, and burying phone numbers under 4+ clicks. The "annoyance economy" costs Americans $165 billion per year in wasted time and money (Groundwork Collaborative, 2026). Hold times are up 60% over 20 years. 74% of customers reported a problem last year -- double the rate since 1976.
What It Does
Sula runs automatically on every page you visit and surfaces:
- Customer service emails -- ranked by relevance (support@, help@, care@ score highest; noreply@, jobs@ are penalized)
- Phone numbers -- US and international, prioritized when found near support keywords
- Business hours -- via schema.org JSON-LD, microdata, and text patterns -- with live "Open Now" / "Closed Now" status
- Support page links -- detects /contact, /support, /help even when no direct contact is on the page
- Badge count on the icon shows how many contacts were found
- Click to copy -- one click puts any contact on your clipboard
Time Saved Calculation
Average American manages 10-15+ service relationships and faces 60-80 customer service interactions per year. At 10-15 minutes spent hunting for the right number or email each time, that's 15-20 hours per year wasted on search alone -- before you even reach a person. Sula reduces that search to about 5 seconds. Saves 20+ hours per year on search, and additional time by surfacing direct support pages that bypass chatbot funnels.
Privacy
Zero data collection. Zero network requests. Zero tracking. All scanning happens locally in the browser. No backend, no analytics, no cookies. Open source for verification.
Tech Stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Platform | Chrome Extension (Manifest V3) |
| Content Script | Vanilla JavaScript -- DOM scanner with regex + schema parser |
| Background | Service Worker for badge counts |
| Popup | HTML + CSS + JS, no frameworks |
| Permissions | activeTab, scripting only |
Quick Start
# Open chrome://extensions/
# Enable Developer mode
# Click "Load unpacked" and select the folder
AI Starter Guide
Interactive site for people who want to use AI but don't know where to start. Pick a goal (automate, build, write, design, code, learn) and get curated tool recommendations with descriptions, free credits, differentiators, and "Try it" links.
The Problem
The AI tool landscape is overwhelming. There are now thousands of AI products across automation, writing, code, design, video, audio, research, agents, learning, and productivity -- and the average person doesn't know where to start. Every new tool costs you hours just to figure out what it does, whether it's worth using, and how it compares to alternatives.
The AI Ramp-Up Tax
For each new AI tool you consider, you typically spend:
- 30-45 minutes reading marketing pages and watching demos
- 30-60 minutes creating an account and configuring settings
- 1-2 hours running test prompts to evaluate quality
- 30 minutes comparing pricing and free tier limits
- 30 minutes reading reviews and Reddit threads to find drawbacks
Total: 3-5 hours per AI tool you evaluate.
The Conglomerated Math
The average curious knowledge worker evaluates 15-20 AI tools per year (one or two per month, conservatively). At 3-5 hours each, that's 45-100 hours per year just spent figuring out which tools to use -- before any actual productive work.
This guide compresses that entire evaluation phase into a 5-minute browse. Pick your goal, see the tools that win in that category, read the article and the differentiator dropdown, check the offer details, and click through to start. Saves a conservative ~75 hours per year for anyone seriously exploring AI tools.
Key Features
- 12 goal categories -- Automate, Build, Write, Design, Video, Data, Code, Research, Agents, Audio, Learn, Productivity
- 100+ tools curated with descriptions, pricing, credit offers, and direct links
- Autocomplete search -- Type "make a logo" or "automate emails" and jump straight to the right category
- Filters -- Show only Free Tier, Open Source, Beginner, or Intermediate options
- "Read more & offers" dropdown -- Detailed article + green promo box with current free credits and student discounts
- "How does this product stand out?" dropdown -- Specific differentiators vs competitors
- Zero dependencies -- pure HTML/CSS/JS, no build step, no tracking
Quick Start
open docs/index.html
# Or visit: https://matthewduke1.github.io/ai-starter-guide/