UPDATE [October 14, 2021]: Vanguard has confirmed to me that this issue was caused by a bug in a software update they released to their web site and then fixed a day later. See the end of this blog posting for their response. Executive summary Some time between 6:00am US/Eastern on September 14, 2021 and… Read More »
Great news, y'all. You get two "Why is @Amtrak service so terrible?" stories in one day! How exciting! (See the last installment at https://twitter.com/jikamens/status/1407335005450342403) #TrainTwitter 1/ I'm taking the Acela home tonight, so I figured hey, what the heck, I'll use one of my upgrade coupons to hop into first class and enjoy unbridled Acela… Read More »
It's time for my next installment of "Why is @Amtrak service so terrible? It doesn't need to be this way." Check out the last chapter at https://twitter.com/jikamens/status/1217620947781541889. Today's topic: how to make a pre-trip Covid-19 check form as difficult as possible to fill out. #TrainTwitter 1/ I got a notification on my phone that I… Read More »
I have been trying for three months to open a @AskSynchrony account for the @Google store. It has been an unmitigated disaster every step of the way. It boggles the mind that Google has chosen such a terrible partner for providing this service. For background, I have never been a victim of identity theft, I… Read More »
[For the record, as of January 12, 2023, this bug still isn’t fixed in the current version, 7.2.1, of Synology Drive Client for Linux, more than two years after I reported it to Synology. The workaround described below still works. However, thanks to the assistance of an extremely helpful and competent Synology support engineer, I… Read More »
I received this email at 1:15 this morning: When I saw it this morning, I was confused. I have never before received an email from “loyaltygateway.com”, and I was asleep at 1:15am, not placing an “order” to be confirmed by this email as its subject implies. It sure looks like spam, right? Well, it turns… Read More »
UPDATE [2020-07-30]: The current version of Chrome has restored the checkbox allowing people to tell Chrome to launch without prompting, so the hack described below is no longer needed. Executive summary If you’re using Google Chrome on Linux and it’s stuck in a state where every time you launch it, it starts in full-screen mode,… Read More »
I recently replaced my Fitbit Ionic, which I wore for a couple years, with a Garmin Forerunner 35. Before the Fitbit, I wore two different Pebble models, so I’ve had long-term experience with four different fitness smart-watches. Here are my thoughts about both watches and how they compare. A good overall framing for this review… Read More »
Check out https://blog.kamens.us/head-to-head-comparison-of-password-managers-with-interactive-grid/.
Dear Vanguard, Yesterday, I wrote to you about the trouble I had trying to donate stock to a charity through your site, and the additional trouble I had when trying to complain to you about the initial trouble. I also tweeted at you about it. You responded this morning: I also DM’d you and asked… Read More »