(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.

(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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

(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.

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.

(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.