Nostr notes by Jonathan Kamens 86 47

I keep hearing people say AIs are "better at coding than ...

2026-05-14T02:22:28Z

I keep hearing people say AIs are "better at coding than people."
First of all, no, they're FASTER at coding than people, which is not at all the same thing.
Second, am I the only one who remembers when what folks in this industry do was called "software ENGINEERING," which is not at all the same as "coding"?
Notice how no one is claiming that AIs are good at software engineering?
Why do you think that is? 🤔
Most commercial tech was already shit before genAI. The AI is 10x'ing the shit. *sigh*

This is so true, and it's so immensely frustrating that most ...

2026-04-09T01:03:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…vuva
_________________________

This is so true, and it's so immensely frustrating that most Democratic electeds don't get it.
Of course, "It is difficult for a man to believe something when his salary depends on him not believing it."
These folks can only see one way of doing things, and that way is to keep their centrist, pro-Israel donors happy so they can stay in office and keep making money.

How's that working out for you so far? 😉 ...

2026-03-17T00:18:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…xa86
_________________________

How's that working out for you so far? 😉
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/13/digg-lays-off-staff-and-shuts-down-app-as-company-retools/

We forgot to bring our second EZPass transponder with us to the ...

2026-03-06T19:16:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…tcnw
_________________________

We forgot to bring our second EZPass transponder with us to the dealer, so I gave my wife, who is driving the new car home, the transponder from our minivan, and I'm hoping pay by plate will work properly for the minivan, since its make, model, and plate number are registered to our EZPass account.
5/

We're paying more than three times as much for an ...

2026-03-06T18:43:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…nw5n
_________________________

We're paying more than three times as much for an eight-year-old Accord as we paid eight years ago for a nine-year-old Ford Fusion.
Hondas retain their resale value better than Fords, and the Accord is a much nicer car, and the Ford had more miles on it when we bought but still, car prices have gone up _a lot_ in the past eight years.
3/

Last week the auto shop said it would take $3k to fix our 2009 ...

2026-03-02T21:09:47Z

Last week the auto shop said it would take $3k to fix our 2009 Ford, so we decided it's time to throw in the towel and move on to our next used car.
They said it would still be driveable for a while, but alas, today one of the killer potholes on the route home from our son's school caused the muffler to break off from the exhaust pipe.
Our search for a replacement just became a much higher priority, and in the meantime life's going to be a bit complicated.
*sigh*

I am not sure whether the $25k limit before the IRS comes after ...

2026-02-05T19:44:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…tau3
_________________________

I am not sure whether the $25k limit before the IRS comes after you for tax debt includes interest and penalties. If so, then you'd need to underpay less to avoid having the IRS come after you. The underpayment penalty is ½% per month up to a maximum of 25%, plus interest at a rate of the federal short-term rate plus 3%, determined quarterly. I am trying to clarify this ambiguity and will update this thread.
[EDIT: the $25k includes interest+penalties; see thread addendum.] (9/11)

A bowl of peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets is a healthy, ...

2026-01-30T17:09:24Z

A bowl of peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets is a healthy, nutritious lunch for an adult, right? Asking for a friend.

It's so cold in our basement right now that the chlorine ...

2026-01-25T18:07:31Z

It's so cold in our basement right now that the chlorine bleach has chunks in it.

White folks in the U.S.: I encourage you to sit with the fact ...

2026-01-25T00:47:52Z

White folks in the U.S.: I encourage you to sit with the fact that this feeling you're feeling, that you could be gunned down by a cop for no reason without them facing any repercussions, is a feeling that every Black person living in the U.S. for the past 400 years has justifiably felt for their entire lives.
Resolve now that if we make it through with democracy intact, you will actively work toward a world where everyone can be free of that fear.
Don't forget.
#BlackLivesMatter

"I think there is a plausible argument that it is morally ...

2026-01-25T00:17:49Z

"I think there is a plausible argument that it is morally permissible, and even morally necessary, to use political violence against the Trump Administration and its agents and supporters under the current circumstances in America."
The U.S. government is illegitimate. It will continue to use wide-scale violence to harm and kill many people, until it is stopped. It's past time to talk about what we must do if it can't be stopped through non-violence.
#politics #USPol
https://www.popehat.com/p/we-should-talk-about-the-morality-of-political-violence

RE: https://cosocial.ca/@timbray/115934583715057888 Starting a ...

2026-01-21T18:55:13Z

RE: https://cosocial.ca/@timbray/115934583715057888

Starting a new thread to reply to this so as not to muddy the waters in my "1Password problems I've experienced" thread.
The TLDR for why I decided to leave #Bitwarden is that their QA is shit and they seem to regress significant functionality in every new release they put out nowadays.
Not only that, but they break the same things repeatedly, suggesting that their discipline in terms of adding test cases to prevent future regressions is shit.
1/?
nostr:note1ad5cqyqe848f0dujtxcl89vypuut5yc8nhx3c4qfwszpv2s8gr9qrktet9

Least surprising news article ever. ...

2026-01-20T21:54:15Z

Least surprising news article ever.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/20/trump-administration-admits-doge-may-have-misused-americans-social-security-data/
#politics #USPol #DOGE #SSA #infosec #privacy

I just resumed using #1Password after several years of being away ...

2026-01-17T23:57:38Z

I just resumed using #1Password after several years of being away and also just started migrating my family from Bitwarden to 1Password Families.
I decided to move my family to 1Password because Bitwarden has gotten extraordinarily buggy. Based on past experience with 1Password, I thought it would be better.
I may have been wrong. In the short time since I've resumed using 1Password I've encountered a lot of significant issues.
I'm going to chronicle 1Password issues here in a running 🧵.

This is your periodic reminder that policing in the United States ...

2026-01-17T22:00:33Z

This is your periodic reminder that policing in the United States began as slave patrols and hasn't moved particularly far from its origins in the hundreds of years since.
How ICE is acting now is yet another illustration of the fact that the war we're fighting isn't new, it's just the latest flare-up of the Civil War that never ended.
#politics #USPol #ACAB
Ref: https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/origins-modern-day-policing

I was a early and frequent Digg user back in the day, and this ...

2026-01-17T21:38:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…ujny
_________________________

I was a early and frequent Digg user back in the day, and this nonsense doesn't sound anything like what made Digg great.

Yikes. Did you read the article? It sounds like they're ...

2026-01-17T21:38:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…krhe
_________________________

Yikes. Did you read the article? It sounds like they're planning a mixture of AI garbage, incredibly privacy-invasive measures, and technobabble that's complete nonsense ("…like using zero-knowledge proofs (cryptographic methods that verify information without revealing the underlying data) to verify the people using its platform…").
No, thanks.

When The Onion hits, it hits hard. "Report: Fighting Rising ...

2026-01-13T21:51:23Z

When The Onion hits, it hits hard.
"Report: Fighting Rising Tide Of Authoritarianism Sounds Like A Lot Of Work"
#TheOnion #funny #humor #politics #USPol
https://theonion.com/report-fighting-rising-tide-of-authoritarianism-sounds-1841390886/

My wife and I have been brand-loyal Hilton customers for many ...

2026-01-13T01:02:26Z

My wife and I have been brand-loyal Hilton customers for many years, but that just ended. I just told them to cancel our Hilton Honors membership. I based my email to them mostly on the template here https://indivisiblesf.org/blog/2026/1/6/hilton-hotels-cooperates-with-ice-boycott-them with some minor changes.
If you are a Hilton Honors member you should do the same.
I'm not going to patronize a business which has made it clear that it sides with the Nazis.
#politics #USPol #fascism #boycott #Hilton #HiltonBoycott

https://federate.social/@jik/115816909504566045

2026-01-12T13:28:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…w38v
_________________________

https://federate.social/@jik/115816909504566045

I'm hiring an Information Security Generalist at 4DMedical. ...

2026-01-09T18:47:36Z

I'm hiring an Information Security Generalist at 4DMedical. Ref: https://4dmedical.bamboohr.com/careers/115
"Generalist" means we're a small #infosec team so everyone on the team wears lots of hats.
4DMedical is headquartered in Australia, but this is a U.S. remote position. U.S. citizenship is required.
4D is small, about 145 people. We're doing great work that helps real people every day, and 4D truly cares about its staff.
:boostRequest: Please boost. Help people in the fedi get hired!
#GetFediHired #jobPosting

Oh, hey. Circumstances compel me to remind you not to boost stuff ...

2026-01-05T05:02:11Z

Oh, hey.
Circumstances compel me to remind you not to boost stuff that confirms your priors without checking first to make sure it's true.
Just because you like the sound of something, just because it's plausible, doesn't mean it's true.
People say things that aren't true. They have lots of motives for doing so, but regardless, misinformation and disinformation are harmful, and the more they spread the more harm they do.
Please be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Thanks.
#feditips

You may have heard that the maintainer of med-mastodon.com, a ...

2026-01-02T16:47:17Z

You may have heard that the maintainer of med-mastodon.com, a large, prominent Mastodon server, recently decided to shut down the server without warning, leaving his users with no access to their data.
This could happen to you at any time.
If you care about this, you should be backing up your data regularly.
Here's a post I just wrote about how to do that, and about what you can do with your backed-up data.
#FediTips
https://blog.kamens.us/2026/01/02/the-why-and-how-of-backing-up-your-mastodon-data/

quoting
note1d9d…klam

##

The why and how of backing up your Mastodon data

##

Why this mattersRecently, the admin of a relatively prominent Mastodon¹ server, med-mastodon.com, decided to stop maintaining the server and shut it down without warning. This is, generally speaking, a terrible thing to do, but I will give the admin the benefit of the doubt and assume that he had some very good reason why he needed to shutdown without giving his users time to export their data or migrate their account to a new server (though as far as I’ve seen he hasn’t shared any such explanation).

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last. Even servers whose admins have agreed to follow the [Mastodon Server Covenant](https://joinmastodon.org/covenant ), which among other things requires server admins to commit to giving users at least 3 months’ warning before shutting down, occasionally go belly-up without warning.

This could happen to *your* server at any time. Your server admins may be great people, but shit happens. Not only that, but your server’s admins or moderators could decide at any time to suspend or delete your account.

Some people protect themselves from this by [self-hosting their own server](https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/run-your-own/ ). That has advantages, but it also has disadvantages, including time and money costs, and so it’s not for everyone. If you’re not interested in self-hosting, but you also don’t want to run the risk of suddenly losing all your Mastodon data, then you should be backing up your data on a regular basis.##

How to back stuff upThe most important thing to back up is the list of who you follow; fortunately that’s also the easiest. In the Mastodon web app, go to Preferences, then click “Import and Export” on the left, and click “CSV” to the right of “Follows”.

There you can also download your lists, muted and blocked people and domains, and bookmarks. All of those can be imported into a different Mastodon server using the “Import” page linked on the left.
Set up a reminder to back up this stuff regularly!

The next thing to back up is posts and uploads. If you consider social media transient, you may not care about this, but otherwise, you can periodically click the “Request your archive” button on the export page. You’ll receive a notification when the archive is ready to download.

Note that unlike the CSV files, your posts and media are not easy to upload into a new server. Unless you want to jump through some hoops (see below), you’re just downloading them for reference.

If you’re paying attention, you may have noticed that there’s something important missing above: what about your followers? Can those be backed up? Alas, it’s not easy.

The way it’s *supposed* to work is when you decide you want to migrate to a new account, you configure your old account to tell your followers automatically what your new account is, and their accounts follow your new account automatically. But obviously, that doesn’t work if your old server goes away with no notice!

I’m not aware of any web tools for backing up your followers (if you know of any, post a reply!), so if this is something you care about, you’re going to need to resort to the command line. Command-line tools that support exporting followers from your server include:
https://toot.bezdomni.net">toot
https://github.com/kensanata/mastodon-archive">mastodon-archive

If you’re so inclined, you could also write code to do the export yourself; Mastodon has a [rich, well-documented API](https://docs.joinmastodon.org/client/intro/ ).

Note that mastodon-archive also supports backing up a bunch of other stuff, so you could use it to set up periodic automated backups of all the data listed above, rather than just followers. Personally, I have mastodon-archive backing up my data automatically every night.

The toot utility mentioned above also supports downloading followed hashtags (“toot tags followed“), which you may also want to back up if following hashtags is a significant part of how you use the fediverse.##

What to do with the backed-up data###

You pretty much can’t import your old postsThe bad news first: there is no good way to migrate your posts from one server to another. This isn’t just true if the old server goes away; there’s also no good way to copy posts from an existing server to a new one. People have been [asking for this for many years](https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/12423 ) but apparently it has not been enough of a priority for the Mastodon developers to implement it.

There’s at least one [early-stage effort](https://mastodoncontentmover.github.io ) to build this functionality, and somebody has written a [clever tool that server admins can use](https://github.com/BitsNBytes25/Mastodon-Migrate ) to do it as long as the old account is still available, but neither of these is a robust general-purpose solution.

You can still browse your exported data, look at the posts in a text editor, write your own code to do stuff with the data, etc. Furthermore. There are [a number of tools](https://purr.neocities.org/about/ ) for viewing and searching through your exported post archive.###

How to get your followers backIf your account wasn’t migrated automatically because it disappeared out from under you, then assuming you’ve archived your followers as described above, you’re going to need to reach out to them one by one, let them know what your new account is, and ask them to follow you again.

(If you’re in online fediverse communities where people know you, you can also make a public post about your new account and ask people you know in those communities to boost it. You may need to do this several times to catch everybody, and you might still miss some people.)

If you have a lot of followers, then sending a bunch of DMs one by one to all of them will probably be a drag. You could automate it with toot, but be careful of running afoul of your server’s posting limits; you may get throttled if you post too many DMs too quickly.

Also, keep in mind that some people don’t read DMs at all, or don’t read DMs from people they don’t follow, so everyone may not see your messages asking for them to follow you again.###

Restoring followed hashtagsYou can use the toot utility (“toot tags follow hashtag“) to restore the followed hashtags from the list you previously exported with toot. Or if there aren’t too many you can just search for them by hand in the web app and then follow them.###

Everything else, you can importThe import page in the web app’s preferences can be used to import the CSVs exported from the export page. If you used mastodon-archive or toot or whatever to export the data instead, then you can manually construct a CSV in the correct format for import.

¹This article focuses on Mastodon for clarity, but much of what is written here is applicable to any type of fediverse server.

[

](# )

[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.kamens.us%2F2026%2F01%2F02%2Fthe-why-and-how-of-backing-up-your-mastodon-data%2F&linkname=The%20why%20and%20how%20of%20backing%20up%20your%20Mastodon%20data )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )

#fediverse #Mastodon

You know that feeling of utter powerlessness you have when ...

2025-12-31T20:08:23Z

You know that feeling of utter powerlessness you have when you're fighting with The System, and despite your best efforts you're losing, and when you look to the future all you can see is more fighting and more losing?
That's how I feel every single day when dealing with the healthcare system on my elderly uncle's behalf.
Here's today's saga of hope, time, and energy being taken from me…
#healthcare #bureaucracy (1/8)

I call the pharmacy the next morning. They ask for a list of ...

2025-12-31T20:08:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…8t0e
_________________________

I call the pharmacy the next morning. They ask for a list of Uncle's meds. I email over the list, thinking this will be sufficient for the pharmacy to send new meds.
The pharmacy waits until after 6:00pm to call and tell me the hospital didn't send them any prescriptions, and all the old prescriptions were cancelled when Uncle was hospitalized, so the pharmacy can't send any meds. It's too late in the day for me to do anything about this. (3/8)

I know this is confirmation bias, but it feels to me like ...

2025-12-31T20:08:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…etru
_________________________

I know this is confirmation bias, but it feels to me like something important always goes wrong in our healthcare system at the worst possible time.
Uncle is discharged from the hospital the evening of Dec 29. They send him home without even a 1-day supply of the many medications he needs after discharge. We figure: no problem, the pharmacy will deliver new meds the next day like they always do. In the meantime Uncle has some old pills and insulin to tide him over. (2/8)

Wendy, please. It is, frankly, a bit insulting that you would ...

2025-12-31T16:29:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…wj9y
_________________________

Wendy, please. It is, frankly, a bit insulting that you would suggest that I might make that kind of mistake and post through it.
Note the date the message was sent, visible in the screenshot.

Apparently #Vanguard believes in the meme that 2020 never ended. ...

2025-12-31T15:13:28Z

Apparently #Vanguard believes in the meme that 2020 never ended.
Seriously, though, I Can't Fucking Believe that a company I've entrusted to hold hundreds of thousands of dollars of my retirement savings is confused about what year it is.
(I checked my email archive and I see no evidence that they sent out an email message like this last year, which makes this even more puzzling. Seriously, WTF.)

Oh look, another Torment Nexus Silicon Valley has decided to ...

2025-12-29T03:54:27Z

Oh look, another Torment Nexus Silicon Valley has decided to build: they've named a home security system for ridiculously rich people "Sauron". We are living in the worst possible timeline.
https://www.sauron.systems/
I'm won't be long until somebody starts a meal prep company called "Donner Party".

At least this probably isn't as bad as when they shred the ...

2025-12-28T17:05:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…kls2
_________________________

At least this probably isn't as bad as when they shred the donut box while opening it, making it completely uncloseable so the donuts that aren't eaten immediately go stale within an hour.

I live with barbarians. ...

2025-12-28T15:46:30Z

I live with barbarians.

Most married men didn't cheat in 1976 and don't cheat ...

2025-12-28T14:25:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…k2cr
_________________________

Most married men didn't cheat in 1976 and don't cheat now.
Perhaps in the culture of the entitled white men who made "Network", cheating was "just a thing bored men did," but I do not think it was or is representative of American culture as a whole.
It certainly isn't representative of the culture I've been in my whole life.

Look, I don't want to tell other people how to do the ...

2025-12-28T04:51:23Z

Look, I don't want to tell other people how to do the fediverse, but here's a tip some of you may find useful: you really don't need to boost every single post in a long thread. If you do, then anyone who doesn't care about the thread is going to be really annoyed, and they may decide to hide all your boosts or unfollow you completely. Be considerate.
Similarly, if you're posting a long thread it's good #fediquette to make posts after the first "quiet" visibility.
#feditips

Also, I found the callousness and casualness with which the movie ...

2025-12-28T01:38:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…3gwr
_________________________

Also, I found the callousness and casualness with which the movie portrayed two of its characters entering into an extramarital affair to be rather abhorrent. The man cheating on his wife of 25 years was a sympathetic character. We were supposed to like him. Am I just an old-fashioned prude for being grossed out by this? I dunno, I think adultery is a fatal character flaw; am I just a silly old fool?

Wow. I just watched "Network" for the first time with my ...

2025-12-28T01:25:22Z

Wow. I just watched "Network" for the first time with my son who is a bit obsessed with watching classic movies. It's kind of prescient; everything the main character ranted about in 1976 was true then and much more true now. And I honestly have no idea how a big budget movie so damning of the entertainment industry ever got made… by the entertainment industry.
#movies

Today I am reflecting, not for the first time, on the fact that ...

2025-12-27T02:50:56Z

Today I am reflecting, not for the first time, on the fact that Trump told us exactly what he was going to do if elected, AND many people pointed out what he was saying and yelled as loud as they could, "Listen to what this guy says he is going to do if he gets elected!" and yet somehow there are tons of people acting surprised that he's doing the things he said he was going to do, not to mention all the people who are still trying to convince us he's not doing them.
#politics #USPol #fascism

I am having a bit of trouble getting worked up about this. The ...

2025-12-26T18:12:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…56x6
_________________________

I am having a bit of trouble getting worked up about this.
The bug went public six days before Christmas. This means, frankly, that the folks who get paid to be bad actors, of which there are rather many nowadays, have had six days to figure out how to exploit it. I'm sure several of them had already figured it out before the Eclipse dude dropped the exploit.
By making the urgency of patching this issue clear, he has arguably done a public service.

RE: https://mastodon.green/@SusiArnott/115785045414888570 Anyone ...

2025-12-26T13:20:42Z

RE: https://mastodon.green/@SusiArnott/115785045414888570

Anyone who can look at this and still fail to recognize the monstrosity of what Israel has done in Gaza is a monster themselves.
#Gaza #Israel #genocide

quoting
note1jka…ya4q

"The graduates had studied and sat for examinations while working nonstop inside Gaza’s hospitals during two years of starvation, displacement and genocide. Some were also injured, arrested or had family members killed."
https://aje.io/5gkk3a

The Onion going hard in their year in review. "Gang Initiate ...

2025-12-24T21:32:12Z

The Onion going hard in their year in review.
"Gang Initiate Forced To Peacefully Deescalate Conflict To Prove He Not A Cop"
https://theonion.com/gang-initiate-forced-to-peacefully-deescalate-conflict-to-prove-he-not-a-cop/
#TheOnion #humor #funny #ACAB

I'm looking forward to when you sign a contract with your ...

2025-12-24T20:14:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…dhlt
_________________________

I'm looking forward to when you sign a contract with your employees' union so I can resume financially supporting you.

Hanukkah does not always overlap with Christmas. This year ...

2025-12-24T16:39:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…zjqu
_________________________

Hanukkah does not always overlap with Christmas. This year Hanukkah ended Monday night, December 22.

The way things are going, soon I may not be a U.S. citizen ...

2025-12-11T12:34:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…q0x8
_________________________

The way things are going, soon I may not be a U.S. citizen either. 😞

I don't believe HSBC Expat is limited to U.S. citizens.

2025-12-11T12:32:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…q0x8
_________________________

I don't believe HSBC Expat is limited to U.S. citizens.

Everything is shitty. Global enshittification and late stage ...

2025-12-11T12:29:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…vjnn
_________________________

Everything is shitty. Global enshittification and late stage capitalism in action. It's only going to get worse, unfortunately.
If you're trying to move money offshore legally, this might help: https://www.expat.hsbc.com/. It's the only way I found for someone in the U.S. who isn't rich to get money into a real offshore account.

all angry, offended and snippy when the OP started pointed out to ...

2025-12-04T22:04:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…y4sd
_________________________

all angry, offended and snippy when the OP started pointed out to them what they were doing and asking them to stop.
It's a horrifying story, and I feel a huge amount of sympathy for OP who tried to do a good deed and instead ended up with their life upended.
And I get that the OP is ND and has some self-acknowledged issues of her own and therefore was trying to be understanding of Neighbor and help her and also her ND prevented her from realizing what was going on for longer than it (2/4)

got more and more absurd, was two parallel voices, "Oh, ...

2025-12-04T22:04:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…zrf9
_________________________

got more and more absurd, was two parallel voices, "Oh, I'm so sorry this happened to you," and, "Girl, you obviously, desperately need a whole hell of a lot of therapy and you should be talking about this with your therapist, not with the internet."
And I'm just one of their internet fans and certainly don't know them well enough to have any standing to say that to them. But I hope that someone who DOES have the standing to say that to them, does. Because they really need to hear it. (4/4)

should have and also she's quite conflict-averse and ...

2025-12-04T22:04:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…dr5a
_________________________

should have and also she's quite conflict-averse and didn't want to confront Neighbor about it, etc., etc.
But still, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.
Like, I can not in a million years understand how someone could let this go on in their own home for as long as it did. Neighbor crossed SO MANY FUCKING BOUNDARIES, any one of which should have been enough to kick them out of the house and never allow them back in.
As I read the posted story, all I could hear in my head, louder and louder as things (3/4)

Someone who shall rename nameless (if you know you know, and ...

2025-12-04T22:04:53Z

Someone who shall rename nameless (if you know you know, and please don't share this with them because I'm not out to kick them when they're down) posted an article describing how they hired down-and-out Neighbor to paint their mudroom, and instead this obviously mentally ill person reorganized their house, putting everything where they couldn't find it, added a bunch of shit from their own (hoarder) house, broke appliances and other things, didn't do the job they were hired for, and got (1/4)

My son has a nascent photography business. He's talented and ...

2025-11-22T16:13:58Z

My son has a nascent photography business. He's talented and something may actually come of it. Right now he's storing all of his raw and processed images on our family NAS, which means they're being backed up nightly into the cloud. I just calculated that they're currently about $2 of our monthly backup storage cost, and slowly growing.
Do I charge his business for the storage?
#parenting #finance #gigWork

Remember: the only reason that makes sense why #ICE would deny ...

2025-11-16T15:43:01Z

Remember: the only reason that makes sense why #ICE would deny clergy access to the #Broadview detention facility to minister to the detainees is because they believe the substantial bad press and messaging damage from publicly denying clergy access is less bad than the damage that would result from the clergy seeing inside the facility and telling people what they saw.
#politics #USPol #Chicago

P.S. I would really like those of you who are anti-Trump and also ...

2025-11-05T02:37:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…keah
_________________________

P.S. I would really like those of you who are anti-Trump and also anti-Mamdani to meditate on the fact that you were campaigning against the same candidate that Trump was.
Just think about that a bit. Seriously.
It's not a coincidence or a fluke that Trump wanted Cuomo to win. It means something, actually. See if you can figure it out. Thanks.

Wow, tonight's U.S. election results are looking stunningly ...

2025-11-05T02:30:14Z

Wow, tonight's U.S. election results are looking stunningly good for Democrats across the board right now.
We've got a long fight ahead of us to fully beat back the fascists, and a lot more people are going to get hurt before it's over, and the damage they're doing is going to take decades to fix, but if tonight's results are any indication, we surely haven't lost yet. Chin up, keep the faith, keep fighting!
#politics #USPol

@npub1dpv…7mht: "The report has no answer to the media ...

2025-10-31T14:08:14Z

davekarpf (npub1dpv…7mht):
"The report has no answer to the media ownership problem. It doesn’t even raise it as a question. It includes pages upon pages bemoaning the Democratic Party’s messaging woes, without… considering that the problem might be that its opponents have access to much larger megaphones… We didn’t get here because Democrats failed to talk about 'kitchen-table issues'… We got here because Democrats believed [that] was the only thing they needed to do."
https://newrepublic.com/article/202394/centrist-democrats-welcomepac-win-elections
#politics #USPol

P.S. I still haven't figured out how my uncle is going to ...

2025-10-27T19:37:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…wc6d
_________________________

P.S. I still haven't figured out how my uncle is going to prove his identity when he goes to Chase in person, given that all of his ID cards were stolen about four months ago and none of them have been replaced (it's not like my homebound uncle needs a driver's license or passport for any other purpose!). I'm hoping bringing his Chase and BofA cards and some government letters sent to his apartment, as well as his expired passport if we can find it, will be enough.

And look, fine, I can understand if they want him to show up in ...

2025-10-27T19:35:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…ps7e
_________________________

And look, fine, I can understand if they want him to show up in person to open a new account. But they won't even lock the damn account without him showing up in person? Ridiculous.
"If there are any additional fraudulent transactions he can dispute them as well," said the person we spoke with on the phone.
That's asinine.
3/3

But that's small potatoes. The real problem is this: when my ...

2025-10-27T19:34:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…lky6
_________________________

But that's small potatoes. The real problem is this: when my uncle's BofA account was compromised, we were able to close that account, open new accounts, and get new debit cards issued for my uncle, all over the phone.
Chase, on the other hand, is requiring my mostly homebound uncle to show up in person at a Chase branch before they'll do anything. They won't even lock the account to prevent future fraudulent transactions, until he shows up in person.
2/

I'm 100% not a fan of big national banks, but hooboy I gotta ...

2025-10-27T19:00:37Z

I'm 100% not a fan of big national banks, but hooboy I gotta tell you Bank of America kicks Chase's ass when it comes to handling fraud.
Chase's fraud call center is offshore. BofA's is onshore. I have nothing against call center workers in other countries trying to make a living, but when I am dealing with thousands of dollars having been stolen from my uncle's checking account, I do not want to be speaking with someone whose accent is so thick that I'm having trouble understanding them.
1/

If you subscribe to #Microsoft365 and they just sent you email ...

2025-10-26T00:47:49Z

If you subscribe to #Microsoft365 and they just sent you email telling you they're raising your subscription fee, click the " #Microsoft account" link in the email, log in, and tell it that you want to cancel your subscription. It will then offer to let you switch back to your current, cheaper subscription, without the included #Copilot #AI crap, which you probably don't want to pay for and shouldn't be using anyway.

Why websites shouldn't indiscriminately block VPN users I ...

2025-10-25T17:52:30Z

Why websites shouldn't indiscriminately block VPN users

I convinced a state senator that government websites indiscriminately blocking VPN users is bad. Here's the case I made, which you can use yourself to keep fighting the good fight.

https://blog.kamens.us/2025/10/25/why-websites-shouldnt-indiscriminately-block-vpn-users/
#VPN #infosec #UserExperience #UX #MassachusettsRMV #WillBrownsberger

#PSA If you have a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order, make sure ...

2025-10-24T02:03:41Z

#PSA If you have a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order, make sure it's visible at all times from the entryway of your home.
This PSA brought to you courtesy of my elderly uncle being resuscitated, intubated, and put on a ventilator by EMTs, against the wishes in his DNR, because they didn't know he had one, and now he's lying sedated in an ICU, and I, as his healthcare proxy, am responsible for deciding whether to continue providing the care he didn't want or withdraw it and "see what happens." 💔

I probably have #COVID for the 2nd time. I haven't tested ...

2025-10-20T19:36:29Z

I probably have #COVID for the 2nd time. I haven't tested positive on a rapid test yet, but I have all the exact same symptoms as last time (i.e., I feel like shit), and I just got back from traveling for work. That's 2 company meetings, 2 COVID infections. 😡
My doctor refused to order a PCR test so that I can get Paxlovid, because "everybody has antibodies now." 🤦
That's so wrong it hurts.
I'm arguing with them about it but I don't know if I'll succeed.
Why does this have to be so hard? *sigh*

P.S. The only right way to respond to Miles Bruner and others ...

2025-10-20T15:23:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…fdw5
_________________________

P.S. The only right way to respond to Miles Bruner and others like him who turn against the Republicans is to wholeheartedly welcome them to the resistance.
We need all the allies we can get, and you don't attract allies by shaming people for not joining you sooner.
We are all human, we all have our weaknesses, we all rationalize things we shouldn't.
You don't have to like Bruner and people like him, but you also don't have to drive them away.

More of this, please. Also, for those of you who have been asking ...

2025-10-20T15:18:55Z

More of this, please.
Also, for those of you who have been asking what the point of the #NoKings protests is: among many other things, this is. It's no coincidence that this letter was published two days after seven million people got off their asses to protest against Trump. More Republicans are going to start turning against Trump because they see that the country is not on his side. Changing the narrative is incredibly important.
#politics #USPol
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/my-last-day-as-an-accomplice-of-the-republican-party-miles-bruner

Could you be more specific?

2025-10-20T09:05:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…d492
_________________________

Could you be more specific?

Connect an IMAP client to your Gmail account? If that doesn't ...

2025-10-20T09:01:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…9cpg
_________________________

Connect an IMAP client to your Gmail account? If that doesn't help, then I'm not sure I understand the problem you're trying to solve.

(Full disclosure: I put the electric blanket on the bed two days ...

2025-10-12T22:25:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…mkyc
_________________________

(Full disclosure: I put the electric blanket on the bed two days ago, and I turned on the baseboard heater in the bathroom a week ago, because regardless of the temperature in the rest of the house, I refuse to needlessly literally freeze my ass.)

Ah, yes, October, when I spend most of the month indecisively ...

2025-10-12T22:22:51Z

Ah, yes, October, when I spend most of the month indecisively swinging back and forth between, "I am a hearty New Englander, I do not need to turn on the heat yet," and, "I fucking hate cold, why am I torturing myself not turning on the furnace."
#NewEngland

Hello #Chicago! I will be in your totally-not-a-war-zone city ...

2025-10-11T20:42:31Z

Hello #Chicago! I will be in your totally-not-a-war-zone city next Saturday following a business trip, and I want to attend #NoKings in Grant Park, but I'd rather not go alone. "Protest buddies" are important! Anybody here in the fedi want to meet up shortly before the protest and walk over together? https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/838843/

When I started working at VA, my first government position, my ...

2025-10-10T16:01:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…px5j
_________________________

When I started working at VA, my first government position, my supervisor told me to consider myself a peer of the people on the vendor team and to approach them with that mindset.
That was terrible advice which took me at least six months to recover from.

/me Sees a big market for Faraday covers for entire houses.

2025-10-09T01:56:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…ywdd
_________________________

/me Sees a big market for Faraday covers for entire houses.

Wow, just imagine if there was any meaningful government ...

2025-09-25T17:31:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…k4gl
_________________________

Wow, just imagine if there was any meaningful government oversight over Big Tech for users in the United States. *sigh*

I recently posted that my wife and I were ceasing donations to ...

2025-09-25T14:52:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…yx5q
_________________________

I recently posted that my wife and I were ceasing donations to the #Boston #Eruv until they removed "We support Israel!" from their website.
They responded today: "I made the necessary edits to the website. Hopefully, our mutually beneficial arrangement of having a Community Eruv and having you support it as you have for many years can continue."
I'm pleased. This is honestly not what I expected.
Just a reminder that speaking up _can_ make a difference!
#Israel #genocide #BostonMA #JewishBoston

I give #USAA credit for one improvement: it appears that they ...

2025-09-24T01:58:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…wgpa
_________________________

I give #USAA credit for one improvement: it appears that they have finally listened to their members clamoring for live chat. At some point recently they appear to have added the ability to chat with USAA customer service reps online through their website.
This is a real improvement, but it's too little, too late, at least for me.
🧵 2/2

#USAA just sent out this video bragging about supposed recent ...

2025-09-24T01:57:17Z

#USAA just sent out this video bragging about supposed recent improvements:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1XgKVppBbU
This video was heavy on meaningless platitudes and light on specifics. To the extent that specific "improvements" were mentioned, they have nothing to do with the reasons why I'm in the process of leaving USAA:
1) Their website regularly malfunctions.
2) They won't do business asynchronously (via email or online messaging).
3) Half the time I ask them to do something they screw it up.
🧵1/2

We were reluctant to stop supporting the Eruv because we want ...

2025-09-22T14:29:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…7s5z
_________________________

We were reluctant to stop supporting the Eruv because we want families with young children to be able to participate fully in the Sabbath just as we could because of Boston's Eruv ("carry" includes "push", so without an Eruv, babies, diaper bags, etc. can't be easily transported on the Sabbath, leaving a parent, frankly more often than not the mother, stuck at home).
But we won't be complicit anymore.

¹An "Eruv" is a symbolic boundary erected around an area ...

2025-09-22T14:25:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…z06d
_________________________

¹An "Eruv" is a symbolic boundary erected around an area which, for complex religious reasons, permits observant Jews to carry objects within the boundary on the Sabbath. Eruvs are essential to ensure everyone in the community can participate fully in the Sabbath. Eruvs need ongoing financial support because they have to be checked and repaired every week before the Sabbath. More details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruv

My wife and I have happily supported the #Boston #Eruv for many ...

2025-09-22T14:22:33Z

My wife and I have happily supported the #Boston #Eruv for many years.¹
They put up a "We support Israel" logo on their website in October 2023 and haven't taken it down since.
I just emailed them that we won't donate again until they stop publicly supporting Israel.
It is long past time for Jews with a conscience to tell the Jewish institutions they're associated with that they're all done putting up with supporting genocide.
#Israel #Gaza #Palestine #genocide #BostonMA #JewishBoston

It's not an accident, mistake, or unwanted side-effect that ...

2025-09-17T14:05:37Z

It's not an accident, mistake, or unwanted side-effect that right-wing leaders cause recessions.
Recessions are painful and potentially fatal to normal people, but *they are good for rich people*.
➡️ People who are struggling to survive have no energy for throwing off the yoke of their oppressors.
➡️ In recessions, rich people scoop up distressed assets at bargain prices and then garner huge profits when liberals come into power and fix the economy the right-wingers broke.
#politics #economics

My laptop went crazy again, but this time it did it gradually ...

2025-09-15T20:10:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…c3x9
_________________________

My laptop went crazy again, but this time it did it gradually while I was using it, so I was able to figure out that the problem is one of firefox's WebExtensions processes is sucking up all my memory.
Remember when 16GB of RAM was enough to run Linux?
I don't want to waste any more time now dealing with this so as a stopgap I just added a 16GB swap file to the 4GB of zramswap already configured.
I'll need figure out at some point which extension is leaking RAM, but not now.
#PanCholLiveToot

Whenever I travel I get nervous about the fact that I have only ...

2025-09-15T18:36:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…8hqk
_________________________

Whenever I travel I get nervous about the fact that I have only one laptop with me. At home I have my primary desktop and two laptops, so if one of my computers stops working I have two others to fall back on. But on the road I've got just the one.
Crazy, right? Well, when I sat down to work a few minutes ago after eating lunch, my laptop was hot and unresponsive. I had to use the power button to power-cycle it.
It's just a one-off, right? Nothing to worry about? 😟
#PanCholLiveToot

This was lunch. Credit where credit is due: it was not terrible, ...

2025-09-15T18:23:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…pcpu
_________________________

This was lunch. Credit where credit is due: it was not terrible, and they sent up a flyer showing the weekly specials which makes it slightly less not ok that they haven't updated the specials on the website since May.
I saved the fruit and cherry ice for later. The salad vegetables were very fresh and tasty. The "broccoli cheddar cauliflower crust pizza" was no more or less boring than I expected.
#PanCholLiveToot

More food service whinging: * I track my caloric intake, and they ...

2025-09-15T17:39:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…u973
_________________________

More food service whinging:
* I track my caloric intake, and they don't provide calorie counts on the menu. I can ask over the phone when I order, but that's a hassle and it gets messed up if I decide to save part of my meal for later.
* Ordering over the phone is very much not state-of-the-art for hospital food service; modern hospitals allow online ordering.
I have already broken into my snacks from home because lunch is so delayed.
I am sure I will have more food complaints.
#PanCholLiveToot

So to be able to order from the regular menu I had to hang up, ...

2025-09-15T17:38:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…ash6
_________________________

So to be able to order from the regular menu I had to hang up, have the nurse to remove the kosher designation from my patient record, and then call back.
(continued)
#PanCholLiveToot

When I gave up on waiting for the kosher menu and called to order ...

2025-09-15T17:35:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…p3up
_________________________

When I gave up on waiting for the kosher menu and called to order vegetarian food from the regular menu for lunch, they said I couldn't because there was a "kosher" restriction on my diet in the database.
This is stupid. "Kosher" isn't a medical restriction, it's a personal preference. If someone indicates on check-in that they want to have the option of ordering kosher food, they should still be able to choose in the moment to order from the regular menu.
(continued)
#PanCholLiveToot

(And if it _is_ true that they don't have a printed kosher ...

2025-09-15T17:32:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…9kuk
_________________________

(And if it _is_ true that they don't have a printed kosher menu, then that is, you know, not OK?)
Anyway, apparently the nurse spoke to someone else who said they do indeed have a kosher menu and they would send one up; it is now several hours later and they still haven't done that.
The non-kosher printed menu has a typo on it.
There's a QR code on the menu for viewing the weekly specials; the specials posted at that URL are from May.
(continued)
#PanCholLiveToot

The food service here is provided by Sodexo. They are… not good ...

2025-09-15T17:30:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…3q0f
_________________________

The food service here is provided by Sodexo. They are… not good at it.
When I got to the floor this morning I told the nurse I would need a kosher menu; although I'll eat vegetarian food that isn't certified kosher, I won't eat non-kosher meat, and I don't want to go a whole week with no meat). She called food service to ask them to send up the kosher menu. They told her they don't have a kosher menu, which isn't true; they gave me one the last time I was here.
(continued)
#PanCholLiveToot

It's finally time to take the vaccine. Down the hatch! This ...

2025-09-15T16:48:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…6x8l
_________________________

It's finally time to take the vaccine. Down the hatch!
This is live, genetically modified cholera bacteria diluted in distilled water. It tastes just a little gross, mostly just salty.
Now I have to wait an hour before I can eat lunch.
I took the vaccine >20 minutes ago and they still haven't brought me the menu to order lunch, and it's going to take an hour for the food to be delivered once I order, so I am hangry.
#PanCholLiveToot

Last thing before taking the experimental vaccine is a blood ...

2025-09-15T16:43:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…f75j
_________________________

Last thing before taking the experimental vaccine is a blood draw. They took seven vials today, which works out to about 15% of a typical blood donation. That's supposedly the biggest draw of the study.
My veins are usually quite cooperative, but I've been donating blood for many years so sometimes they run into scarring and have to switch veins. Today they had to switch twice 😞 so I ended up being stabbed by needles three times. D'oh!
#PanCholLiveToot

It's a terrible monitor, but you work with what you've ...

2025-09-15T16:33:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…ruer
_________________________

It's a terrible monitor, but you work with what you've got. This big boy is also in the room, and I suppose I could figure out how to maneuver it to be close enough to the laptops to use as my second monitor, but I don't think I'll be able to get it close or low enough to be comfortable (the height isn't adjustable). #PanCholLiveToot

This is my workstation for the next week. There's a table in ...

2025-09-15T15:46:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…xdpr
_________________________

This is my workstation for the next week. There's a table in the room with an old monitor connected to a computer and some custom input devices used by other studies. I brought from home my DisplayLink hub, both VGA and DVI cables, keyboard, and mouse. I'm not exactly supposed to mess with stuff on this table, but nobody cares (I don't think they use it anymore), so now I'm plugged into the monitor and can easily switch the monitor, keyboard, and mouse between the two laptops.
#PanCholLiveToot

I have arrived at the room where I'll be staying for the next ...

2025-09-15T14:27:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…d68l
_________________________

I have arrived at the room where I'll be staying for the next week after I take a booster dose of the experimental cholera vaccine. I haven't taken the vaccine yet, so the isolation hasn't started, so the doors are propped open.
They just took my blood pressure and it was significantly higher then usual. Don't know why, it's not like there's anything going on in the world to be stressed about!
#PanCholLiveToot

The staff doing check-in for the clinical trials unit seemed ...

2025-09-15T13:15:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…wn92
_________________________

The staff doing check-in for the clinical trials unit seemed confused about why I was here today, which is slightly atypical; they're usually on the ball. But they figured it out and I've been escorted to an exam room where I am now being rescreened by one of the study doctors to confirm I'm still eligible.
She has warned me that judging from the results they have so far from this phase of the trial, 7 days in the hospital is more likely than 4.
Good thing I brought snacks.
#PanCholLiveToot

I'm masked for the time being, but once I'm admitted and ...

2025-09-15T12:59:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…8x0j
_________________________

I'm masked for the time being, but once I'm admitted and in the isolation room where I'll be spending the next four to seven days, I'll be able to safely unmask.
I'm sorry to say that very few people at the hospital, either patients or staff, are wearing masks, which is unfortunately par for the course. The staff of the clinical trials unit does mask when they're with patients, which I guess is better than nothing. 🤷
#PanCholLiveToot

The Lyft driver who brought me to the hospital was a little heavy ...

2025-09-15T12:49:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…eq8n
_________________________

The Lyft driver who brought me to the hospital was a little heavy on the horn and gas pedal even for a Boston driver. And maybe cleaning the inside of his windshield while stopped at a red light wasn't the best idea. But he'll still get a tip and five stars from me, I'm not a monster.
#PanCholLiveToot

Now's your chance to ask all your questions about what ...

2025-09-15T12:47:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…aatu
_________________________

Now's your chance to ask all your questions about what it's like to participate in a clinical trial for a kind of gross tasting experimental oral cholera vaccine!
#PanCholLiveToot

Here we go for round two of #PanCholLiveToot! I'm in a Lyft ...

2025-09-15T12:40:33Z

Here we go for round two of #PanCholLiveToot! I'm in a Lyft on my way to Brigham & Women's Hospital for my second inpatient stay to participate in a clinical trial for a revolutionary cholera vaccine called #PanChol. Catch up on the last chapter at https://blog.kamens.us/2025/09/04/panchol-clinical-trial-thread-unroll/. Follow along at #PanCholLiveToot as I post about the experience.

I know people in the U.S. who oppose everything Trump, his ...

2025-09-15T08:04:45Z

I know people in the U.S. who oppose everything Trump, his minions, and the GOP stand for and yet continue to work for the federal government as an employee or contractor or serve in the armed forces.
This is what I've realized in the past eight months:
1) Most people believe they know where their red lines are and would refuse to cross them even at risk of great personal harm.
2) Most people are wrong.
#politics #USPol #fascism #humanNature

Hey #Boston! There's an election Tuesday! If I can get up ...

2025-09-09T01:48:28Z

Hey #Boston! There's an election Tuesday!
If I can get up 5am, get to my polling place by 6am, and work 15 hours for minimum wage to help ensure that we have free and fair elections, then you can take a half hour out of your day to go vote.
There will be no line at your precinct. You will be in and out in five minutes. You just have to show up between 7am and 8pm.
Vote like your life depends on it, because it does.
#elections #voting #BostonMA

Isn't a "Vibe Coding Cleanup Specialist" just a ...

2025-09-07T18:20:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…npsg
_________________________

Isn't a "Vibe Coding Cleanup Specialist" just a "programmer"?

Here's the thing… If you're a defense attorney who wins ...

2025-09-07T16:00:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…35fm
_________________________

Here's the thing… If you're a defense attorney who wins acquittal for a client not by demonstrating to the jury that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, but rather by playing off the stupidity, racism, sexism, or misogyny of the jury, then you haven't achieved justice, you've subverted it.
If your goal is victory rather than justice, then you're doing it wrong.
Alan Dershowitz has been doing it wrong all along. Now he's just doing it wrong with no filters.