salith @salith@computerfairi.es

PSA for anyone with an #Amazon #Kindle or even just any #kindlebooks , they are about to permanently remove the ability to download books to your computer. Your last day to use this functionality is February 26, 2025, so you have about a week. There are no easy ways to grab it all at once, but it's worth it to me to be able to access my 500+ #ebooks so I'm clicking on them one by one anyway. Amazon has been very quiet about it, so spread the word.

We get A LOT of AI "enhanced" job applications.

Often they read as generic buzzword nonsense. Occasionally we get candidates who mention the wrong company. Many include items we definitely don't want or need.

A cover letter this morning had this new gem: "With a strong foundation in programming, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, along with experience in my past career as a teenager, I am confident that I would bring value to your organization."

So, apparently that letter about terminating my Housing Benefit just means that the 'old' version of "Housing Benefit" is getting cancelled and then doesn't explain that I'm being put on the new "UC Housing Benefit".
Only found out by talking to Citizens Advice.
Lesson for life... if the Government is trying to confused the fuck out of you, get some advice.

I knew they'd try to screw me when I switched to Universal Credit (UC), so avoided it for as long as I could.
Then we had a mandatory conversion over to UC in January, and guess what... they REJECTED our Housing Benefit!
So I have to appeal, but they gave me no real instructions on HOW to appeal (they merely state that it should be in writing, but not to whom).

After realizing that my servers were offline since the 25th of January 2025, I've been in contact with Oracle support in a multitude of ways trying to figure out why this happened and how we can recover both the account and data.

I wasn't told that my account was disabled. I didn't receive an E-Mail or anything. When logging in, I was simply told that my username or password was incorrect. After (successfully) resetting my password twice, I realized it wasn't about the password. Oracle had just deleted my account without any notice.

Both through calls and text, always with the same service request (SR) number, I contacted support. Initially, support told me that my account was flagged “Inactive” and hence disabled. They also verified that they saw me login almost daily and that I never missed a payment or anything. Even if an account was inactive, that's never a reason to disable it, especially without any warning E-Mail or an E-Mail letting me know that my account was disabled in the first place.

This chat was the result of all of that, where the highest team I've yet been elevated to told me that there's nothing they can do about it, there's no reason they can tell me for why this happened, and there's no one else I could ask.

This is a public service announcement to never ever use Oracle

The tech person at Oracle at least lets me know that they'd feel similarly betrayed and dislike this handling of user data too 🥲✊

Interestingly, two days before Oracle deleted my account and all servers associated with it, I publicly criticized Oracle's CEO in a viral post for promising dystopian AI surveillance technology to his investors.

https://mastodon.de/@ErikUden/113879369270806353

What a weird coincidence.

I don't know who needs to hear this but Gilette Venus Smooth and Gilette Mach 3 blades and handles are interchangeable 🪄

Mach 3 blades are anywhere between 50c and €1 cheaper per blade than even most basic Venus blades and they are WAY sharper and give a smoother shave with a little extra care.

Venus handles are WAY more comfortable to hold, especially when wet.

Do with this information what you will.

A job I did a long time ago ⚡

Bookshop, the anti-amazon that gives $$ to local bookstores with every sale, now has ebooks. That’s a big deal: https://bookshop.org/info/ebooks

This is my car life at the moment. Needs a new main dashboard unit (aka "Clock")
If anyone can help me cover the costs to get this replaced, Ko-Fi is probably the easiest.
https://ko-fi.com/J3J16RWS

Colorado!!

As we move forward into the unknown, save this number in your phone:

844-864-8341

This is a hotline to report ICE activity and police/ICE collab activity. It's run by the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.

This is bilingual (English/Spanish) hotline.

You never know who this information might help, in the words of CIRC, let's fight for a more just and welcoming Colorado for all.

#Colorado #ColoradoPolitics

Was reminded of this image again today:

"I don't wear 🏳️‍🌈 [queer pride] items to tell you who's in my bed. I wear them so the family across the street knows they are safe. So the couple in the restaurant know they aren't alone. So the boy who sees me notice him looking at dresses knows I won't judge. I wear because you make them hide."

Ever since seeing this, I have been wearing progressive pride buttons on each of my jackets and coats (and a cap).

#queer #lgbtqia