Posts by Boo Radley

Home Depot sent my email, details of stuff I bought to Meta, customer complains

Re: Annnnnnnd...

Due to having a poor credit score I only paid cash for around 15 years. Then I got a credit card with a $300 limit, used it a lot each month, paid most of it each month, and the bank liked that. They kept raising my credit limit at regular intervals, and my credit score rose to the point that I easily qualified for a second card, then a thid one, each one with higher limits, which I started using for everything thing, including $3 purchases. I paid all of them off each month. Before I knew it I had a $20k limit on that first card, and my credit score had risen to the point that I easily qualified for a mortgage for the house I bought last year. All my cards have low balances, I still use them for nearly everything and pay 90% of the balance each month, so my interest is minimal. Long story short, by using those cards for virtually everything and paying them off like I do, I quickly took myself from a score of +/- 500 to +/- 800, and improved my life situation dramatically. So I can see why people use their cards for everything, if done the way I did it it can really pay off.

Three seconds of audio could end up costing Fox $500,000

Amber Alerts

Twice in the past month I've had Amber Alerts sent to my work phones - no exaggeration- every 5 minutes for my entire 12 hour shift. Our work phones are Kyocera flip phones that don't have the ability to disable alerts. Thankfully my Samsung Galaxy has advanced alert filtering so that I can eliminate Amber Alerts along with any others that I don't want to receive.

A few nights ago I was awakened at 2am by an Amber Alert from Dallas, which is 300 miles away. As reluctant as I am to shut off my work phone, after the third rebroadcast of the same alert, I shut it off so I could get some sleep.

Don't these fools running these systems realize that transmitting multiple alerts for the same missing kid, or alerts for simple custodial disputes makes the entire system useless, as we simply disable alerts or click them off with out even looking at them. It's like that damn boy that cried wolf so often.

Intel inside a world of pain as revenue plunges by a third

Re: Value for money

Even though they recently broke ground in Ohio, and put out grandiose plans for their fab there, has anyone heard anything about them canceling said fab? The local newspaper still thinks it's gonna get built.

Scientists conclude cats only have three personalities after YouTube clip binge

My Feline Overlords

After cohabitation for nine years with three feline overlords, all three got along fine. Then, sixteen months ago, I was tasked with finding homes for an additional three male kittens. I was unsuccessful finding new serfs for these junior overlords and ended up keeping them myself. Recently one of the youngsters has begun bullying the oldest one, causing her to fear using the home's common areas, which includes my bedroom and bed. I miss her company at night, I guessing I'm suffering from a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome, wherein I've become emotionally attached to my captor. Perhaps these scientist's study can give me insight to what I can do to alleviate the tensions in the home.

Further exasperating the situation is that an additional two older overlords came to share our space just after Christmas. Thank dog we've got plenty of square footage here but the situation is far from ideal. Tensions are too high, and they seem to be getting smarter and more clever in the ways that they torture me. I think the only thing keeping me alive is my opposable thumbs, without which the overlords cannot get into closed rooms, either to get additional food or to attack me, their humble servant.

Time to buy a phone as shops use discounts to clear out inventories

My Samsung

My entire cell phone using life I've bought used, but last year AT&T offered $800 off the price of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, along with 5 years of Android and security updates. I bought the phone, with 256gb memory, figuring I wouldn't use up all that space in the 5 to 7 years I expect to use the phone. I haven't yet regretted my purchase, all those years buying cheap and used amortized the cost of the S22 down to a very affordable point.

Second-hand and refurbished phone market takes flight amid inflation hike

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Last year I was offered the above referenced phone at what I considered a decent deal. It's the first new phone I've ever owned. I love It's big screen and ample storage, enough to last me for the five years of Android and security updates that came with it. After 23 years of buying used or having hand me down phones, I figured it was worth it. Over those years I've probably saved three times the cost of this phone.

FTX CTO and Alameda Research CEO admit fraud, pair 'cooperating' with Feds

Amphetamine

I assume you mean prescription amphetamines, like Adderall, not methamphetamine. Personally, prescription amphetamines never brought me the promised concentration and focus, meth, on the other hand...

You can hook your MIDI keyboard up to a website with Firefox 108

Allen Digital Organ

But can I hook up my three manual (three keyboard, plus pedals) Allen MIDI-fied theater organ?

Washington DC drags Amazon to court for 'yoinking' driver tips

Re: Tips?

20 years ago, before the automated trucks came along, I always tipped the garbage guys. All year, through our brutal South Texas summers, they cheerfully picked up my trash, even working holidays. One year the supervisor came along and asked that i quit giving them cases of beer as the Christmas tip, apparently they would get drunk while still on the job. After that I gave Walmart gift cards.

CT scanning tech could put an end to 100ml liquid limit on flights by 2024

Re: FWIW

I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago, flying into Houston from Brazil. Apparently TSA found a little empty 2ml glass bottle in my baggage, and that one item, combined with the fact that I had given Customs a different employer from the one on previous trips, caused them to pull me into the little windowless room, where I wasn't told why they were questioning me. They shouted seemingly random questions at me for nearly two hours, insinuating all kinds of nefarious deeds, before they finally gave me a clue as to why they were treating me this way. It seems that my frequent trips to and from Brazil (where my boyfriend and I owned a condo on Copacabana beach) plus that tiny bottle (which I guess some people might use for some kind of illicit drug) aroused their suspicion. It was a truly terrifying experience to be treated this way by agents of my own country, and was one of the reasons I quit traveling almost completely. I've only flown one time since that day, and in all likelihood won't ever fly again, for various additional reasons.

Uber to pay millions to settle claims it ripped off disabled people with unfair fees

Taxi Driver's Viewpoint

As a taxi driver, I give every customer 5 minutes to get into the car, but getting out is a slightly different issue. I had a semi-regular but not disabled customer who would pay his fare, and then take up to, literally, 10 minutes to get out of the car. Yes, he was overweight, but not morbidly obese. He would get his legs our so that his feet were on the ground, then rock back and forth to get momentum to get upright, usually failing the first few times. He would ask me to take his hand and pull him up and out, which we're not allowed to do. Plus, he would stop after each failed attempt to talk for a minute, and would only shut up when I told him to get out. His girlfriend could always see how angry his behavior made me, and the last time he rode with us I told him upfront that I wouldn't accept payment until he was actually out of the car, charging him wait time while he attempted to exit the car. That was the last time I saw him as a customer. I now see him riding with the only other local taxi company, and I'm assuming that they're charging him the same wait time that i threatened him with, as they're notorious for being jerks to their customers.

Musk tells of risk of Twitter bankruptcy as tweeters trash brands

80 Hour Weeks

I've been working 80 to 90 hours a week for the last ten weeks. I'm no spring chicken, at 61 years old, but so far it's been a breeze. The big difference is that I'm self employed, I bought the company for which I've worked the past nine years, a small taxi company that is dominant in our city. I chose to work 12 to 14 hour days, every day, because it's all for my benefit, and I know that there's light at the end of the tunnel. I simply need to hire at least one additional driver, which is harder than one would think. It seems like no one wants to do these types of jobs despite decent pay.

TikTok accused of covert plot to track specific US citizens' every move

TikTok Pre-installed

My new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra came with TikTok pre-installed, along with Facebook and Uber and a slew of Samsung apps, none of which I'll ever use. None of these apps can be un-installed, so they're just sitting on my phone, wasting space, and probably providing potential attack surfaces.

I hate government over-reach, and we already have far too many laws, but I really think there should be a law against phones coming with apps that can't be removed by the user. I paid a lot for this device, why can't I have control over it?

TicTok on my Android Phone

I just checked my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, to uninstall it, and found that while I've disabled it, it can't be uninstalled. Apparently it came pre-installed on my phone. Same goes for Facebook and Uber, I don't have accounts with any of these services, and never will, but why am I forced to have them on my device at all. I hate to advocate for any more laws than we already have, but there really ought to be a law that stops phone companies from making apps uninstallable.

People are coming out of retirement due to cost-of-living crisis

My Retirement

61 yo former techie here. Actually, I've only had one job in my field, after 5 years at Ohio State. I worked for Digital Equipment for a few short years, installing and maintaining VAXes back in DEC's heyday in the late 80s. I loved the hardware but hated the customers and the corporate environment.

Since then I've done a ton of things, but 9 years ago, on a lark, I took a job driving a taxi. Turns out it was my dream job! I work longer hours than at any other job I've ever had, but it doesn't feel like it. Last month, after a couple of years of indecision, the owner of the company decided to finally retire, and sold me the company. Yeah, Uber and Lyft have taken a tiny slice of our business, but we offer a premium service in big black Lincoln Town Cars, the extended wheelbase version, and we're the only decent, reliable taxi business in an 80 mile radius.

My retirement plan is to never retire. I love my work, I earn a decent living, and I have fun all the time. As much as I love watching TV, there's no way in hell I want to spend the rest of my life doing that. As long as I can get out of bed and drive safely, I'm going to keep working and having fun.

Online romance scamlord who netted $9.5m jailed for 25 years

25 Years

In the US federal prison system, inmates serve 85% of their sentences, they can only earn up to 15% time off for good behavior. There isn't any early parole anymore. That means he'll be off the streets for 21 years and 3 months, an entirely appropriate amount of time in my opinion.

Florida asks Supreme Court if it's OK to ban content moderation it doesn't like

Re: Sauce for the goose...

This content moderation law only applies to sites with 50 million or more users. So it won't ever apply to "Truth" Social.

US car industry leads the world in production cuts over chip shortages

Chip Shortage & Used Cars

In January and February 2021 I was shopping for a particular trim on a used Honda Civic, preferably a 2015 or 2016 model. I found the perfect car, the right options, color, and price, at a dealer in Houston, about 2 hours away. By the time I got there, it had been sold, to another dealer, who raised the asking price by 20%. It still sold quickly. Now the same year and model is selling for 40 to 50% more than the price 18 months ago. The chip shortage has a huge trickle-down effect on used car prices.

I quit car shopping last summer, as I didn't want to pay a significant markup on a car that might suddenly decrease in value by 60 to 80 percent once the chip issue sorts itself. Instead, I'll just pay the occasional, reasonable maintenance expenses on my 19 year old Ford F150. It only has 166,000 miles on it, it runs great, and almost never needs any maintenance other than oil. It ain't pretty any more, gets relatively poor gas mileage, but is dirt cheap on a per mile basis.

Plus, I have my taxi available for personal use if the truck does break down.

I paid for it, that makes it mine. Doesn’t it? No – and it never did

Re: re: streaming services and content

I have both Netflix and Hulu, but at least a couple of times a week I find myself downloading otherwise unavailable movies and TV shows from Pirate Bay. Since my PC easily streams to my TV, it's not like the old days when I had to watch my downloaded content on my PC. Co-workers always want to know where I find such good content but they're not technically savvy enough to download safely.

Leaked Uber docs reveal frequent use of 'kill switch' to deactivate tech, thwart investigators

Re: UBER revolutionised Taxis

Yeah, most Uber drivers have no clue where anything is or how to get there without the app telling them. I've been a taxi (black car) driver for years, and with the rare exception in a different town, I can count my use of GPS on one hand. I've never used GPS to get a customer to his destination, if I must, I'll look at it before pickup, but I feel it gives the customer a lack of confidence in me if I have to use it to get him where he's going. When I started this job, I didn't have GPS at all, no smartphone, only a paper map that I quickly, for the most part, memorized. That, plus watching the street names as I went to different destinations,combined with a great memory, was all I ever needed.

OpenVMS on x86-64 reaches production status with v9.2

MicroVAX

I started working at DEC right as the MicroVAX was introduced. I installed VAX 8600 systems for a year or so, and installed the first 8500 in Ohio. 8 years later I found that 8500, since upgraded to an 8550, with all it's peripherals, sitting on the dock at OSU Surplus. I asked what they had planned for it, and they told me I could have it, free of charge, if I'd just get it off their dock.

It took three trips to get it home, then four days to disassemble everything, move it into the basement, then reassemble it. I never fired up the CPU though, since my house didn't have 3-phase power, but I used the RA and TU drives with my MicroVAX II ($35 at OSU Surplus). Not a terribly efficient use of power, but it networked nicely with my Win 3.1 and Win 95 machines. I still have my VMS manual set (the Orange Wall) in storage.

Netflix to crack down on account sharing, offer ad-laden cheaper options

Re: If I pay for a platfrom

That's where I allegedly find all the good stuff that isn't on the streaming services.

Sharing Accounts

My best friend has a Netflix sub, I have Hulu. My Hulu is also logged in at his place because I spend a couple of days a week there, watching it. His Netflix account is also logged in at my place because sometimes I watch it at home. If they introduce ads and limit sharing I'll simply quit watching Netflix at my place. No big deal. If Hulu limits sharing I don't know what I'll do because I really like it, but I won't pay for two subs.

Yale finance director stole $40m in computers to resell on the sly

Re: Give back some?

I'm guessing that paying the IRS will also be a part of her sentence and I can't believe that she's not required to make full restitution to the university. I'm certain that she isn't going to get to keep a penny of that money, no matter what the article says.

America's EARN IT Act attacking Section 230 is back – and once again threatening the internet, critics say

LGBTQ People

The fact that it will disproportionately affect LGBTQ people is a feature, not a bug. The right is determined to stamp them out at any cost, so what if all the rest of us suffer the consequences, so long as they can keep the icky gays down and out of sight.

Tesla driver charged with vehicular manslaughter after deadly Autopilot crash

Who's Driving The Car?

The Tesla's driver is supposed to be in control ultimately. If my car hits another car while I'm using cruise control, you can bet I'll be charged.

No defence for outdated defenders as consumer AV nears RIP

Going Bareback

I long ago got disgusted by AV software, and started going entirely without. I download the occasional file or two from Pirate Bay, and do a reasonable amount of web surfing, but the last time my computer got infected was years ago. A quick reformat and reinstall of Windows, and I was back in business in almost no time. I also keep all data on separate drives, as well as backups. I feel I'm far more likely to lose data through a hardware failure, like a disk crash, than from a virus.

OK, boomer? Gen-X-ers, elder millennials most likely to name their cars, says DVLA

I'm 60 this year

And named my red Ford F150 Tonka, because he looks like a Tonka Truck.

I don't know yet what I'll name my next car, a Honda Civic SI.

Yeehaw, y'all! Texas done got itself a honkin' new Samsung semiconductor plant

5 Million Sq Meters?

Isn't that about 45 million square feet? That seems a bit on the large side.

Alleged Brit SIM-swapper will kill himself if extradited to US for trial, London court told

Protected Custody?

Don't worry, the US government will make sure he stays alive, until THEY want him dead.

All I want for Christmas is a delivery address that a delivery courier can find

As a taxi driver I frequently have customers giving me complex instructions on how to find their place, when all I need or want is their god damn address. In all my years I've never failed to find an address when it's given properly.

England's Data Guardian warns of plans to grant police access to patient data

Problematic At a Minimum

What if I share with my doctor that I use illicit substances? Could the police use that info to secure a search warrant for my residence, so they could arrest and imprison me?

What about if I share that I'm gay, for instance if I had HIV, could a future authoritarian regime then come after me for persecution?

Just two instances that I thought of, I'm sure there are as many reasons to keep one's medical info private as there are people needing medical care. It's a bad idea all around.

Maker of ATM bombing tutorials blew himself up – Euro cops

Re: You can just ORDER ATMs???

I remember a few years back there were a large variety of used ATM machines available on ebay. Don't know if that's still true tho.

2FA? More like 2F-in-the-way: It seems no one wants me to pay for their services after all

Re: I'm glad it's not just me

Mother in law hated him, Steinfeld, she called him. For once I trusted her judgment. Never could stand to watch him, even adverts for the show have me scrambling for the remote.

Texas law banning platforms from social media moderation challenged in lawsuit

Re: Forced speech

Texas has become a shithole state, in a shithole country. Expect more unconstitutional laws soon.

Glasgow firm fined £150k after half a million nuisance calls, spoofing phone number, using false trading names

Re: How do you find them?

One day last week I got a call stating that my Social Security Number was involved in criminal activity and a warrant for my arrest was going to be issued. I pushed the number to speak to a real person, and when one came on the line I gave him a piece of my mind before hanging up.

For the next two days, I got the same call, from different numbers, every 20 minutes. They certainly taught me to know my place, never again will I engage anyone on these calls, I'll simply hang up immediately.

Apple is about to start scanning iPhone users' devices for banned content, professor warns

Won't Someone Think of the Children?

It's nearly always the go to excuse for something that eventually ends up taking away people's rights.

Scam-baiting YouTube channel Tech Support Scams taken offline by tech support scam

Re: Anyone can be scammed

My elderly mother, god love her, was too polite to hang up on the scammers, she'd chat at them so long as they'd let her. But she never got scammed!

I've got a broken combine harvester – but the manufacturer won't give me the software key

Re: Americans throw away 416,000 cell phone

I love kittens, the only trouble with them is that they grow up to be cats.

Troll jailed for 5 years after swatting of Twitter handle owner ends in death

Re: The sentence should've been the electric chair

I only skimmed the article, but if this was a federal crime he'll go to federal prison, where there are NO inmates with internet access. So at least he can't get into that sort of trouble for a while.

Ganja believe it? Police make hash of suspected weed farm raid, pot Bitcoin mine instead

Re: Stolen Power

In my last couple of years at a big state university, we had a couple of PDP-11s and a couple of smaller VAXen running in the attic of the house we were renting, with terminals and other peripherals all over the house. By placing a resistor in place of a jumper in the electric meter, we were able to retard the meter by about 97%. The power company finally caught on because our electricity bills were too low. Shoulda used a different resistor. Also, the huge window AC units in the attic windows, running all winter, might have tipped them off. The power company cut of the power and took all the wiring back to the pole, forcing us to move out by lamplight. No one was ever charged with a crime, as a roommate had gotten the service with a fake ID. It's a lot harder to get away with this kind of stuff nowadays.

Oops, says Manchester City Council after thousands of number plates exposed in parking ticket spreadsheet

I remember a few years ago in Ohio, USA, you could walk into any DMV office with a plate number or a vehicle's VIN, pay a very modest fee, and walk out with the owner's name and address.

US Supreme Court puts a stop to FTC extracting big bucks from crooks to refund victims

Re: Amendment Zero

Yes, he will be out in less than 18 years, but not much less than 18, as federal prisoners must serve 85% of their sentence before release. The 15% they can get off their sentences for good time, if they behave themselves.

'There was no one driving that vehicle': Texas cops suspect Autopilot involved after two men killed in Tesla crash

Re: "more of a super-cruise-control"

In the US, once the car has contacted authorities, the cops will show with guns drawn, and promptly shoot the incapacitated driver when the driver is unable to follow they're shouted, and contradictory, commands.

UK terror law reviewer calls for expanded police powers to imprison people who refuse to hand over passwords

Re: Protect?

My last job was with a doctor that fell afoul of the Internal Revenue Service in this same way. They counted every dollar movement as taxable income, and billed him 1.5 million dollars, when his total income that year was less than 400k. Rather than spend a fortune fighting them, he simply closed up shop and relocated to the Philippines, where he conveniently not only spoke the language, but he also owned a nice home. Screw you, IRS!

Gummy bears as a unit of measure? The Reg Standards Soviet will not stand for this sort of silliness

Football Fields

Nothing annoys me quite as much as a building or other construction as being x football fields in length or area. I have only a vague idea of the length or area of said field, and does this vary if one is using a soccer field? I dont think they're the same size.

So, bye-bye mighty nerd haven Fry’s, took Silicon to the Valley... and now you must die

Treating Customers Like Criminals

I totally forgot about the receipt checkers. I hate stores where they expect you to show your receipt upon exiting. Fortunately there is no law that says you must show your receipt to them, and knowing that they were just doing their job, I always politely and with a smile said "No, thank you" to them. No one ever chased or harrassed me over my failure to show one, unlike at Walmart

A Must See Destination

Whenever I traveled into Houston, I always made it a point to visit Fry's. They had practically everything electronic under the sun, plus hot Asian guys to ogle.

Their sales staff though, could be really hit or miss, especially in later years, when it seemed they no longer cared who they hired.

My last trip there was two weeks ago, and many of the shelves were bare. I really wish I'd known it would be my last visit, maybe I'd have bought more goodies.

RIP, Fry's

House Republicans introduce legislation for outright ban on municipal broadband in the US

Re: Great way to lose voters

The vast majority of Republicans are poor, but they constantly vote against their own interests just they can get their way on abortion, "religious freedom" and hurting all non-white and non-straight people.

UK Supreme Court declares Uber drivers are workers, not self-employed: Ride biz's legal battle ends in a crash

Re: Well....

I'm sure those workers were paying their fair share of taxes, or doesn't Uber report the earnings to the tax authorities?