[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 2 points 2 days ago

Did they do that test domestically or internationally?

I suspect it does not matter for international mail because (apparently) /all/ international mail is priority. At least where I am, there is only a service variation for domestic mail. I’ve asked a few different post offices for non-priority Europe-bound stamps. They do not exist. We have a choice between priority stamps and regular for domestic. As the world suckers for the digital transformation and postal usage declines, there are fewer deliveries per week for the lower class mail. It was announced that deliveries have been reduced to like 3 or so times per week for non-priority mail and I expect it to worsen.

Regarding the test you mention, 6 mailings is a tiny sample. A non-priority envelope can perhaps get lucky if the timing is such that it reaches the local post office on a delivery day. Whereas priority /should/ go out for delivery ~5 or 6 days out of the week, IIUC.

I have started using the Event Timer app (in f-droid) and set up a button for priority mail and non-priority. So when any non-priority mail comes, I log it as non-priority. It’s too small of a dataset to be useful but perhaps in a few months I’ll see a pattern.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 2 points 6 days ago

A snip of it is attached. I would say it came from a medium size org which unlikely sends much mail. It was a personal response to a letter that I sent them. I doubt they would be sending enough to get a bulk rate because they wouldn’t be sending out mail routinely.

Because it’s internationally sent, I suppose English would be a norm for any standard indicators. But you could be right that writing priority was a kind of custom msg as opposed to a paid service.

It took 4 days to reach an adjacent nation, which is about twice as fast as mail moves went both endpoints are within my city.

22

(crossposted from !smartphone_required@lemmy.sdf.org)

Before this rumor emerged, I used to have some respect for Ing because they had a “Homebanking” PC app that ran on linux. It was likely closed-source but at least it wasn’t some browser-dependent JavaScript garbage.

I suppose it’s expected that banks become increasingly enshitified in Belgium now that forced banking has emerged. Even those of us not addicted to convenience are no longer free from banking. So the incentive for banks to win business by offering good service has ended.

It’s largely the fault of consumers. When a vast majority voluntarily make all payments electronically and use the smartphone app (not hesitating to lick Google’s boots), it makes marginalisation of the remaining shrinking demographics viable.

Important to realise if you are an Ing customer not keen on being a pushover, now would be a good time to switch banks.

3

(crossposted from !smartphone_required@lemmy.sdf.org)

Before this rumor emerged, I used to have some respect for Ing because they had a “Homebanking” PC app that ran on linux. It was likely closed-source but at least it wasn’t some browser-dependent JavaScript garbage.

I suppose it’s expected that banks become increasingly enshitified in Belgium now that forced banking has emerged. Even those of us not addicted to convenience are no longer free from banking. So the incentive for banks to win business by offering good service has ended.

It’s largely the fault of consumers. When a vast majority voluntarily make all payments electronically and use the smartphone app (not hesitating to lick Google’s boots), it makes marginalisation of the remaining shrinking demographics viable.

Important to realise if you are an Ing customer not keen on being a pushover, now would be a good time to switch banks.

7

Before this rumor emerged, I used to have some respect for Ing because they had a “Homebanking” PC app that ran on linux. It was likely closed-source but at least it wasn’t some browser-dependent JavaScript garbage.

I suppose it’s expected that banks become increasingly enshitified in Belgium now that forced banking has emerged. Even those of us not addicted to convenience are no longer free from banking. So the incentive for banks to win business by offering good service has ended.

It’s largely the fault of consumers. When a vast majority voluntarily make all payments electronically and use the smartphone app (not hesitating to lick Google’s boots), it makes marginalisation of the remaining shrinking demographics viable.

Important to realise if you are an Ing customer not keen on being a pushover, now would be a good time to switch banks.

3

A priority letter from Germany arrived showing only €1.25 in postage. It’s the best price I’ve seen. Going the other direction I have to pay €2.90.

So I suppose Germany is a good origin from which to send snail mail to the rest of Europe. Are there any services for that, whereby they receive a PDF by email or via web portal, print it, and mail it?

2
submitted 3 weeks ago by ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io to c/Law@europe.pub

This is an EU Directive for which I want to find the Belgian transposition:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/NIM/?uri=CELEX%3A32009L0125

The EU links are useless.. no txt. So I go here:

https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/

and search based on the publication date (to and from 27.07.2011). There are 4 pages of hits. I cannot see how to narrow that down to directive 2009/125/EC.

This is a common problem.. I always struggle to find the Belgian transposition of EU directives. Any ideas on something that works generally? I tried searching “2009/125/EC” on the Belgian site as well as “32009L0125”, and nothing is found.

2

This is an EU Directive for which I want to find the Belgian transposition:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/NIM/?uri=CELEX%3A32009L0125

The EU links are useless.. no txt. So I go here:

https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/

and search based on the publication date (to and from 27.07.2011). There are 4 pages of hits. I cannot see how to narrow that down to directive 2009/125/EC.

This is a common problem.. I always struggle to find the Belgian transposition of EU directives. Any ideas on something that works generally? I tried searching “2009/125/EC” on the Belgian site as well as “32009L0125”, and nothing is found.

10

In my area, cooking wine does not exist. I can only easily find Sherry (for drinking) at 15% alcohol. I was told it should have 20% to be shelf-stable for ~6—24 months.

There is white port at 19½% alc. Not sure if that differs much from sherry in taste, but I suppose 19½% is close enough for shelf-stability.

Should I add table salt to the sherry to make it shelf stable? Or add brandy? Or switch to white port? Or even just brandy?

My main use: less than ~½—¾ shot mixed with corn starch as the thickening basis for stir-fries. I don’t really use sherry for anything else. I don’t even drink it because I so commonly use it in stir-fries that as a straight drink it’s like drinking Kung Pao Chicken because I can’t mentally dissociate it.

I also wonder if I should be looking for dry sherry, or simple sherry. I want the stir-fries to have the sweetness of strong sherry, so I guess dry variants would be contrary to that.

11
submitted 3 weeks ago by ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io to c/food@beehaw.org

In my area, cooking wine does not exist. I can only easily find Sherry (for drinking) at 15% alcohol. I was told it should have 20% to be shelf-stable for ~6—24 months.

There is white port at 19½% alc. Not sure if that differs much from sherry in taste, but I suppose 19½% is close enough for shelf-stability.

Should I add table salt to the sherry to make it shelf stable? Or add brandy? Or switch to white port? Or even just brandy?

My main use: less than ~½—¾ shot mixed with corn starch as the thickening basis for stir-fries. I don’t really use sherry for anything else. I don’t even drink it because I so commonly use it in stir-fries that as a straight drink it’s like drinking Kung Pao Chicken because I can’t mentally dissociate it.

I also wonder if I should be looking for dry sherry, or simple sherry. I want the stir-fries to have the sweetness of strong sherry, so I guess dry variants would be contrary to that.

update -- still unclear

Folks are saying ~12—15% is enough for shelf-stability. The non-fortified wines I have are in that range. So I’m baffled because I believe normal wine turns to vinegar if left at room temp after opening.

I also wonder if Sherry is only very slightly fortified since 15% isn’t much more than normal wine.

5
submitted 3 weeks ago by ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io to c/bugs@sopuli.xyz
1
submitted 3 weeks ago by ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io to c/cash@slrpnk.net

(crossposted to !smartphone_required)

A bank sent emails instructing customers to take a KYC interview in their app.

What if you don’t have the app? You get a get-out-of-jail free card? I’m betting marginalisation. Those without the app will lose access to their money.

Even if you have the app, an app-based interrogation is likely rife with shenanigans. Banks are sneaky. Bankers are like cops. They will ask one question at a time. They can track how long you sit on a question. You won’t know how many questions are ahead. The sensitivity of the questions will gradually escalate. If you reach a question that goes too far and say “fuck this, I’m out”, you would have already given them excessive sensitive data, creating a “point of no return” scenario. You can’t take the previous answers back at that point.

When I get a KYC interrogation, I require seeing ALL the questions at once before answering the 1st one. If just 1 question goes beyond my threshold of tolerance, I need to say “fuck off” and give them nothing.

13

A bank sent emails instructing customers to take a KYC interview in their app.

What if you don’t have the app? You get a get-out-of-jail free card? I’m betting marginalisation. Those without the app will lose access to their money.

Even if you have the app, an app-based interrogation is likely rife with shenanigans. Banks are sneaky. Bankers are like cops. They will ask one question at a time. They can track how long you sit on a question. You won’t know how many questions are ahead. The sensitivity of the questions will gradually escalate. If you reach a question that goes too far and say “fuck this, I’m out”, you would have already given them excessive sensitive data, creating a “point of no return” scenario. You can’t take the previous answers back at that point.

When I get a KYC interrogation, I require seeing ALL the questions at once before answering the 1st one. If just 1 question goes beyond my threshold of tolerance, I need to say “fuck off” and give them nothing.

4

(Crossposted on !dabradio)

I have these receivers:

  1. TechniSat TechniRadio1 (shitty amp/speaker quality)
  2. Envivo Retro (shitty amp/speaker quality; antenna: 66cm)
  3. Envivo PO-1585 (good amp/speaker quality; antenna: 90cm)

I won’t talk about receiver ① because it behaves the same as receiver ②. ② & ③ are the same brand but they behave differently. Envivo is perhaps just an Aldi rebranding from different makers.

② finds 101 signals but only “BBC WS” (World Service) from the BBC. Most importantly, it can tune BBC WS at any time.

③ finds 57 or 72 signals (probably depending on weather at the time of the scan). It always finds these BBC stations:

  • BBC WS
  • BBCAsian
  • BBC R6M (radio 6 Music)
  • BBC R5L (radio 5 Live)
  • BBC R4Ex (radio 4 Extra)
  • BBC R3
  • BBC R2
  • BBC R1
  • BBC R1x (radio 1 Xtra)

③ cannot tune any of the BBC stations. It only finds them. Exceptionally, a couple floors above ground it tuned BBC WS, once. Apart from that one time, it either says “connecting…” indefinitately, or “service not available”.

WTF is going on here? It might be normal for one receiver to have a better tuner than another, but in this case one finds many more BBC stations but tunes none of them. We might speculate that the scanning algorithm of the radio that finds more stations just has a lower signal/quality threshold for what it accepts, but the one finding more BBC finds fewer stations overall.

It’s a shame that despite the invasion of the Internet of Shit (IoT), radio makers have not realised it would be greatly useful to be able to attach a radio to the LAN to access tuning info from a PC.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 43 points 2 years ago

In Brussels there is a library that’s “open” as late as 22:00. There’s an after hours program where you register for after hours access, sign an agreement, and your library card can be used to unlock the door. Staff is gone during off hours but cameras are on. Members are not allowed to enter with non-members (can’t let anyone tailgate you incl. your friends).

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 27 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I don’t get why my fellow pirates try so hard to justify what they’re doing. We want something and we don’t want to pay the price for it because it’s either too expensive or too difficult, so we go the cheaper, easier route. And because these are large corporations trying to fuck everyone out of every last dime, we don’t feel guilt about it.

Justification is important to those who act against unethical systems. You have to separate the opportunists from the rest. An opportunist will loot any defenseless shop without the slightest sense of ethics. That’s not the same group as those who either reject an unjust system or specifically condemn a particular supplier (e.g. Sony, who is an ALEC member and who was caught unlawfully using GPL code in their DRM tools). Some would say it’s our ethical duty to do everything possible to boycott, divest, and punish Sony until they are buried.

We have a language problem that needs sorting. While it may almost¹ be fair enough to call an opportunist a “pirate” who engages in “piracy”, these words are chosen abusively as a weapon against even those who practice civil disobedience against a bad system.

  1. I say /almost/ because even in the simple case of an opportunistic media grab, equating them with those who rape and pillage is still a bit off (as RMS likes to mention).

I think you see the same problem with the thread title that I do - it’s clever but doesn’t really give a solid grounds for ethically driven actions. But it still helps to capture the idea that paying consumers are getting underhandedly deceptively stiffed by crippled purchases, which indeed rationalizes civil disobedience to some extent.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 27 points 2 years ago

Among the primary benefits: no commute, flexible work schedules and less time getting ready for work, according to WFH Research.

They forgot: being able to secretly simultaneously work 3 full-time overlapping jobs to triple your income.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 31 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

More fun to mention 11 “states” at a 5.1% uninsured cutoff, because number 11 is Peurto Rico -- a US territory that you might expect to be less developed. Since people are forced to run javascript to see the list, I’ll copy it here up to the 6% point:

  1. Massachusetts
  2. District of Columbia
  3. Hawaii
  4. Vermont
  5. Iowa (what’s a red state doing here?)
  6. Rhode Island
  7. Minnesota
  8. New Hampshire
  9. Michigan
  10. New York
  11. Puerto Rico
  12. Connecticut
  13. Pennsylvania
  14. Wisconsin
  15. Kentucky (what’s a red state doing here?)
  16. Delaware
  17. Ohio (what’s a red state doing here? OH will worsen over time; to be fair they only recently became solidly red)
  18. West Virginia

(22) California (6.5%.. worse than we might expect for CA)

(52) Texas ← ha! Of course Texass is last. 16.6% uninsured in the most notable red state showing us how to take care of people

The general pattern is expected.. the bottom of the list is mostly red states.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 25 points 2 years ago

Can’t read the article (Cloudflare blockade).

In principle there needs to be pushback on the power of defaults for sure. Yes, all the options are shit anyway, but that’s in part due to the #powerOfDefaults.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 26 points 2 years ago

I wonder if the 2024 diesel Volvos will become high-value collector’s items. There’ll always be that niche of hobbyists who refine their own biodiesel from waste oil.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 82 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

“The trend of “autobesity” is forcing car park providers to think of new ways to accommodate larger cars, such as introducing wider bays.”

That’s the most disgusting part of this. They are adapting the infrastructure to accommodate the child killers when the sensible approach is #fuckBigCars.

#fuckCars in general.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 32 points 2 years ago

Indeed. What happened with cars in the US is an “arms race” on the road. Everyone wants to be in the bigger car so they just get bigger and bigger and reach a point where that e=mc² equation is pegged.

max selfishness → max energy

As expected, right-wing U.S. republicans disproportionately drive big cars. While liberals tend to favor small cars or bicycles.

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 25 points 2 years ago

It was certainly a click bait headline. But still a fair point that train fare averages are double airfare. Although we have to question, did Greenpeace throw out the outliers before compiling the stats?

[-] ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io 43 points 2 years ago

Gender is somewhat relevant here-- according to my women studies course in uni. When women are describing a problem, they don’t usually want solutions. They want support, understanding, & sympathy, contrary to the typical male response which is to give advice & propose solutions, which then has a good chance of ending badly.

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