My credit card number seems to have been compromised. After the usual calls to Citi I had a new one sent over. Had it sent FedEx overnight because we are going on vacation tomorrow. Got a note that it had been delivered but the photo wasn’t my front door or even my house. Told FedEx they sent my credit card to the wrong house.

I decided to drive around and see if I recognized the house, and indeed it was around the corner, a house on a different street with the same number. There was my new credit card. Oh, house is unoccupied and For Sale. Nice.

Tried to update my ticket with FedEx, but it would not let me (told me to try again later). Now I’m worried that FedEx is going to tell Citi that I don’t have my card, when I now do. So I called Citi. They were nice and added a note to my file. But my new card was already activated and had a charge on it. Impossible, I said. Eventually learned it was a hosting company I use that had a recurring charge. Seems Citi lets certain vendors use new cards, even ones that haven’t been activated. Ok.

Decided to give FedEx one more try. An AI chatbot! Except it didn’t understand a single thing I said. Even to the point of “type 1 to receive an email”. I typed “1” and got a no comprendo. Definitely artificial. Not very intelligent.

Pressing my luck further I tried to load my card into my phone for “tap”. Went to delete the old card (which has been automatically disabled — I suppose Citi and Google are in cahoots too) but it needed my 3 digit code. But that was in the trash chopped into little pieces. Wait I think I remember it. Yes! Fancy camera app took a photo of my new card and extracted all the data. Except my address was wrong. I moved six months ago. I’m sure Citi has my new address because it was where the new card was mailed. Updated the address and Google won’t allow me to use the card with my phone. No idea why. Said to call my credit card company. Nope. I’ll do without tap for now.

Does anything work any more?

Update:  just received the following voicemail from FedEx.  So they knew they mis-delivered and even knew the address of the place they mis-delivered it to.  How crazy is that?  I tried twice to return their call but after entering my case ID was put on hold, sent to a survey (gave lowest possible ratings) then was hung up on.

Hi, good afternoon. My name is Breon with FedEx Express here in Albuquerque, and I am calling to do a follow-up on a case that you had created.
Asking about your package. I did speak with the driver. She did misdeliver it. It looks like she did take it to. Let me see which one this is.
15 Pueblo Bonito Road, which is like a street over from you. Um, she is already done for the day, but I can have her retrieve the package tomorrow.
If you don’t want to retrieve a On your own, or if you know who lives there. It is just around the corner again at 15 Pueblo Juanita Road.
But again, I will give you a call back tomorrow to see if you were able to get your package, if not that way. I can send a retrieval to the driver.
She does apologize for that. But again, if you.
Want to give us a call back at 1-800-463-3339? And just let us know that you are not able to retrieve your package that way tomorrow. When she goes back out for delivery, I can have her retrieve that Miss delivered package and take it to you correctly.
The tracking number on your package is 484-396-612-384, and I will give you a call back tomorrow morning. Thank you and have a good night.

From The American Prospect.

Brown Stage Capitalism

We have an old Windows 10 machine. Seems it CPU is one generation too old to update to Windows 11. No matter that all we do is email and web browsing and similar light tasks. With support for Windows 10 going away I went and bought a new PC. Spent the morning getting set up for a file transfer using their Backup tools. Had no idea the real problem would be getting the new Windows 11 machine to start. Went into “update” more and sat at 6% for a half and hour. Did a restart and now it’s stuck at 0%. Reddit says it’s a common problem. People say wait anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours. Really? For a product I was forced to buy?

Update:  had both old and new PCs on the same network and tried to use the Microsoft supplied backup tool to move files over.  It didn’t work.  After an hour or so, I gave up and moved everything manually with a 1 TB USB SSD drive.  Old style.  Pretty much a full day later, a job that should have taken 10 minutes is done. I think.

Went to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta today. A pretty amazing experience. Hundreds of balloons launched. Took maybe 200 photos, but here are a few of the better ones.

Watching First Nations Experience (FNX) TV. They have a Shark Tank-like show called Bear’s Lair. A little different, in that its more of a contest with a prize at the end to be used for business investment.

Bear’s Lair TV

Its Balloon Fiesta week here in Albuquerque. Woke up before 7am and saw some balloons in the distance. Decided to drive through Bernalillo down the 313 and see how close we could get. Got some great views from the road. We plan to go Tuesday morning so we drove back home and figured we’d watch it on TV.

Within a few minutes I saw a balloon go by the window. Seemed sort of low, but what do I know? I ran out to get a photo of this beautiful balloon with the Sandias in the background. I stood in the middle of the street taking pictures and waving. But they didn’t wave back. They got lower and lower. Then the landed in the lot right in front of me.

I went over to see if I could help (Yes! Hold us down until the crew gets here!). So I hung on and chatted with the pilots, who were from Katy, TX. Soon the chase crew arrived and they took the balloon down and took it away. Talked to a few neighbors who had gathered and it seems this has happened before, but not often. Amazing experience.

Yet another AI article.  Actually an interview with AI and Robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks.  I met Rodney Brooks in the 1980s and his work was a big influence on me.  Whenever I see anything by Brooks, even an interview, I read it.  His opinions are always informed and grounded in reality.  A good update, and a very long term view, or where we are and where we might be going.  From Crazy Stupid Tech.

iRobot Founder: Don’t Believe The (AI & Robotics) Hype!

I ditched social media a long time ago and I don’t use AI if I can avoid it.  There is a large concentration of power in a small handful of companies that should disturb anyone paying attention.  It isn’t only about your personal privacy, but a sort of censorship in what you are allowed to see on-line.  And it’s all in the control of a small handful of people whose goals are primarily to enrich themselves. 

An article from Jacobin covers lots of territory.  I’m more concerned about media concentration.  These platforms pretty much decide what news stories we all read and view.  That should bother everyone. A lot.

The Algorithms That Dictate Our Lives Are Not Neutral

from Smithsonian Magazine.

Two Years After Cormac McCarthy’s Death, Rare Access to His Personal Library Reveals the Man Behind the Myth

In November 2021 I bought a mini PC from Amazon. Been using it as a TV media server. I decided to upgrade it and bought a 1 GB m.2 SSD. Took the little box apart to swap the m.2 but nothing looked right. The board was small, something called mSATA. I looked at the label on the back and it isn’t the PC I paid for back in 2021. Half the disk and half the memory. Checked my old Amazon buys and for sure, it’s a lesser model than the one I paid for.

I’m usually a pretty sophisticated buyer of computer hardware, but I expected better from Amazon. I suppose I should have checked closer. Maybe it’s time to buy another. Won’t be buying from Amazon and won’t be buying a Kamrui. Photos of my Amazon purchase, the SSD and the label on the bottom of the PC.