jik

jik, 1 day ago to windows

I really enjoy the fact that my IT department reboots my laptop overnight on a regular basis, combined with the fact that it takes about ten minutes for my laptop to stop going crazy when I log in. It makes for so much productivity when I sit down at my desk in the morning, energized to start work!
(Yes, this is #Windows, of course, and yes, there's performance-intensive security software running in the background that makes launching apps excruciatingly slow and compute-intensive.)
#IT #Trellix

jik, 2 days ago to Israel

I don't know whether #JoeBiden's false implication that the #ICC warrants assert equivalency between #Israel's government and #Hamas is based on willful blindness to the facts or cynical political maneuvering.
Either way, it is immensely disappointing.
I guess we'll have to wait 105 years for the U.S. government to acknowledge that what's happening now is #genocide, just as we had to wait that long vis a vis the #ArmenianGenocide.
#Gaza #GazaGenocide #politics

jik, 3 days ago to PersonalFinance

After listening to https://www.npr.org/2024/05/10/1197959049/zombie-second-mortgages-homeowners-foreclosure , I think this #PSA is needed:

1. If a lender tells you a loan is paid off or forgiven, demand written proof, ideally the original, signed loan document marked "paid in full." Verbal assurances are worth the paper they're printed on.
2. If a debt collector tells you they own a debt you owe, demand written proof. If they can't prove they own it, it's illegal for them to collect in it (in the US at least). When in doubt consult a lawyer.
   #PersonalFinance

jik, 9 days ago to random

I received two emails late last night from a user of my #Thunderbird extension.
The first read, in total, "WHY AM I GETTING HUNDREDS OF NOTICES!!!!"
The second, a bit later, read (again, this is the entire message), "JEZUS FUCKINNG CHRIST THE MESSAGES"
#smdh #TechSupport
1/2

jik, 11 days ago to Israel

It is impossible to support what #Israel has been and is doing in #Gaza unless you believe at some level that Israelis are more deserving of safety and security than Palestinians.
This is true regardless of whether you believe Israel's actions constitute #WarCrimes or #genocide.
There is no way to justify Israel's conduct that is not racist and xenophobic.
If this post offends you, I suggest you spend a good long time thinking about why.

jik, 13 days ago to transit

I am taking a #Greyhound #bus today between Kansas City and St. Louis. It's been so long that I can't remember the last time I took an intercity bus. It hasn't changed a bit.
Most notably, it appears to still be true that the people on buses are mostly the people who can't afford to fly.
(Yes, I know, it's a generalization based on appearances. Don't come into my mentions harassing me about it unless you've ridden a Greyhound for several hours and seen it for yourself.)
#transit

jik, 13 days ago to Wyze

Let's talk briefly about what a tire-fire #Wyze is and why you shouldn't buy from them.
I attempted to order COVID tests from them near the start of the pandemic. They sold more than they had, I never received the tests I ordered, and cancelling the order was a nightmare.
But then they started spamming me.
In 2022 I unsubscribed from their #spam.
1/2

jik, 17 days ago to politics

If your reaction to your leader having incontinence issues and wearing adult diapers is to start wearing adult diapers yourself, even though you don't need them, and bragging about it, you're probably in a cult.
(This is not a criticism of people, including #Trump, wearing adult diapers if they need them. Making fun of people with incontinence issues is despicable. This is about the over-the-top reaction of his acolytes to learning that he wears them.)
#politics #USPol

jik, 20 days ago to random

Who could have predicted that rising sea levels triggered by human-caused climate change would cause flooding in coastal areas? What a fucking surprise! Totally unexpected.
Gift link: https://wapo.st/4aZm46l
Up next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-w-pdqwiBw ("Sell their houses to who, Ben? Fucking aquaman?")

jik, 20 days ago to politics

The fundamental flaw of well-meaning politicians who have the right values and want to do the right thing is that the longer they serve, the more most of them come to fear chaos more than the injustice that drove them to politics.
This leads to 2 things: they're slow to recognize dramatic changes in the status quo, and they instinctively defend the status quo against such changes.
#JoeBiden is a perfect example of this, as demonstrated by his recent speech about #StudentSpring.
#politics

jik, 20 days ago to random

This is a brutal take-down of Nellie Bowles, her reductive views, and those of the entire segment of the population (let's call it "the Bari Weiss club") she belongs to.
Gift link: https://wapo.st/3UJo6l2

jik, 21 days ago to tech

It really annoys me when #tech chooses unnecessarily arcane terms when there are meaningful, obvious terms they could have used instead.
Who decided on "forward proxy" and "reverse proxy" when "client proxy" and "server proxy" were right there?
#dev #DevOps #DevSecOps

jik, 21 days ago to Columbia

The #NYPD in particular, and #cops in general, are such fucking clowns.
They're claiming the thick chains protestors at #Columbia used when occupying a building are proof that the protesters weren't real students.
In fact, not only are those chains widely used by students all over the city... Columbia itself sells them to students.
Don't fall for the NYPD's attempts to manufacture consent for violently attacking peaceful protesters.
#StudentSpring #politics #ACAB
Ref: https://www.404media.co/email/1cc25606-201a-4f10-87ce-aeefa8285c3f/

jik, 21 days ago to trans

Hey #trans folks and allies in the #Boston community. Please spread the word about this event taking place May 18 at Milton Academy!

jik, 21 days ago to random

The #enshittification of #Vanguard is moving along. Now they're introducing a $100 fee to close your account or transfer your assets to another firm. That's some serious bullshit right there.

jik, 21 days ago to Israel

#Israel threatens to retaliate against the #PalestinianAuthority if the #ICC issues arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
If you're the one saying, "I will punish you if you try to hold me accountable for my actions," that's a pretty good sign you're the baddies.
#politics
Ref: https://www.axios.com/2024/05/01/us-israel-palestinian-authority-icc-arrest-warrant

jik, 22 days ago to LifeHacks

I don't know who needs to hear this*, but when you're washing dishes, you need to wash all the surfaces of every dish. The top and bottom of the plate, the inside and outside of the pot, the tines and handle of the fork, etc.
Grease and germs get everywhere. You can't see or feel them when the dish is wet. washing just the parts you think came into contact with food means you're leaving the dish dirty.
#PetPeeves #LifeHacks
*Narrator: he knows exactly who needs to hear this.

jik, 22 days ago to random

The #Northeastern police department carefully separated tents and sleeping bags from backpacks etc. when they swept the encampment, then returned the backpacks etc. to students afterward while tossing the camping stuff to make it harder to restart the encampment.
I don't recall the same deference being shown to unhoused people when tent cities are swept by police.
I don't recall the same deference being shown to BLM protests.
I wonder what's different about the #StudentSpring protesters. 🤔

jik, 25 days ago to cashapp

Heads up! #CashApp probably had a big security breach they're about to announce, because they just released new terms of service with a draconian binding arbitration clause, and the only way to opt out is to fill out a specific form on paper and pay to send it to them via postal mail.
Personally, I'm just going to delete my account.
Ref: https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/tos
#privacy #infosec #cybersecurity #arbitration #BindingArbitration #ConsumerRights

jik, 25 days ago to privacy

No, Senator Bennet, I didn't fucking sign up for or agree to you sending me text messages, and fuck you for buying a list and spamming everyone on it with texts falsely claiming they signed up.
I fucking hate these fucking politicians fucking lying and fucking spamming people without their consent.
In case you didn't notice, this is something I feel strongly about.
#spam #privacy #politics #USPol #COPol

jik, 25 days ago to random

I am so sad and angry about being increasingly shut out of most communal Jewish life, starting in 2016 thanks to Trump, seguing into the pandemic, and more recently escalating thanks to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
🧵 1/10

jik, 25 days ago to disability

Just a reminder that any organization or business that says it's up to individuals to decide how cautious to be about #COVID and disclaims any responsibility to implement protective measures or policies, is really saying they're OK with discriminating against anyone who can't participate under those conditions.
The ADA was a big step forward for #disability rights. COVID was a big step backward.
A lot more people are going to be disabled by #LongCOVID before the tide changes.

jik, 26 days ago to Palestine

#3 Daughter had an anxiety attack at the #Northeastern encampment last night and got pulled out of the circle by the medics, so she wasn't arrested when the cops moved in a few minutes later.
She then led the charge to block the police wagon from driving away. They manhandled her but didn't arrest her. 🤷
She lost a bunch of stuff in the clear-out, though.
#Gaza #Palestine #genocide

jik, 27 days ago to Cybersecurity

I just got an email from #USAA with the subject "Introducing Voice ID from USAA". They're rolling out a new feature allowing people to be authenticated via voiceprint analysis when they call.
What could possibly go wrong?
Oh, yeah, this:
https://www.pcmag.com/news/deepfake-software-fools-voice-authentication-with-99-success-rate
Fortunately it's opt-in, and I certainly will not be.
#smdh #cybersecurity #infosec #privacy #ai #deepfake

jik, 1 month ago to ai

How some of my colleagues are reacting to #AI parallels how so many people have reacted to the ongoing #COVID pandemic.
"You're right, AI has huge problems and will never do what its boosters claim, but it's inevitable, so if we don't get on board we'll get run over."
No. Just no. If AI is bullshit, then people in tech need to say so and refuse to "get on board."
Just as people need to stop pretending COVID is over.
People are doing vast harm through complacency.
The emperor has no clothes.