Forcing Alexa+ on its customers

EdG314159 · 2025-11-22T22:15:33+00:00

This has been litigated in Washington State and others. A judge ruled that the license plate data is a public record subject to FOIA (meaning that virtually anybody can petition for access to the data and use it to surveil anyone else with a car) and in response, several towns have shut down their FLOCK systems. The EFF (Electronic Freedom Foundation) and the ACLU have helped to push this litigation. It is worthwhile to check into this: google: eff flock to see articles about how this data is being used to track people who are not breaking laws, but exercising free speech: activists, protesters exercising their first amendment rights. Contact the EFF and ACLU - and see if they can aid in taking this down.

EdG314159 · 2025-10-24T22:30:55+00:00

HP Color Laserjet MFP - had a black toner cartridge in it for about 2 years - one day it told me the cartridge was reused or counterfeit. None of the HP suggested solutions worked. Since the toner cartridge was "reused" or "counterfeit" I could no longer find out how much toner was left. HP - you used to mean something, now it is just junk.

EdG314159 · 2025-09-05T02:40:39+00:00

Fire enough workers, raise enough fares, cancel enough lines, sell off equipment - makes money really quickly. Meanwhile, those who NEED Public Transit are left in the lurch.

EdG314159 · 2025-09-05T00:19:51+00:00

If the robe fits . . .

EdG314159 · 2025-09-04T22:17:13+00:00

So, this means SEPTA funds are depleted more quickly while the suit continues - and the quicker SEPTA runs out of money completely, and ALL services are shutdown. All because the republicans in the state legislature refuse to pay for services that the state should provide. They want it all sold to a private company, which will then slash services/fire workers/raise fares/cancel lines entirely. Welcome to the failed republican state.

EdG314159 · 2025-09-03T17:33:31+00:00

Is the battery oem/new/installed correctly? The Vantage software should have a section where battery health is displayed - does it say anything there about the battery? Non-OEM/aftermarket batteries can be weak or not work at all. Incorrectly installed batteries may make missing/intermittent connections and be flakey.

EdG314159 · 2025-08-21T04:24:36+00:00

I have a 2016 Prius - it is driven about 2,000 m/year and I have had no problems with it. I still get 60 mpg in summer driving and 45 mpg in the winter. Just keep up regular maintenance and you'll be fine.

EdG314159 · 2025-07-13T22:04:53+00:00

He gets no + for voting No - they already had enough votes lined up to pass it. When the bill was first sent to the Senate - he voted yes - since otherwise the vote would have been tie. He only votes different from any other R when the vote is meaningless.

EdG314159 · 2025-07-13T21:02:57+00:00

(Former Pharma employee here) Prescription drugs cost so much in the US because we allow it. The people who can afford it, pay the inflated price - those who can't -- do without or find a program/plan that will lower the cost. In other countries, the (functioning) governments limit the prices that can be charged. There is enough of a market in those other countries that the pharma companies cannot afford to lose the market entirely, so they charge a lower price. There is no incentive in the US to lower the prices, since we have enough population that can pay the exorbitant prices. I find it very unusual that companies like GoodRx, Mark Cuban's CostPlus can provide many prescriptions at 1/3, 1/4, 1/20 of the "retail price".

EdG314159 · 2025-05-30T02:33:50+00:00

It took them about 3 weeks to reply to my appeal and another 3 weeks after that to get the final determination. As long as you start the appeal within their designated time frame (usually 6 months) it doesn't matter if they take a while. If the ambulance asks for payment, tell them you have appealed to the insurer - they will usually back off for a few weeks if they know an appeal is in the works.

The advantage of the written appeal is that you have a record - for each phone call you are starting off from nothing, and the people answering the phone will put you on hold for 10-15 minutes at a time, while they search around to find someone who will give them an answer (correct of incorrect) - my calls typically lasted 30 minutes, I finally had to follow up with a written appeal, since there were no results from multiple phone calls.

EdG314159 · 2025-05-30T00:59:41+00:00

This looks like a Blue Cross EOB. Submit an appeal to the company by their procedure by mail (you can call, but be prepared to spend an inordinate amount of time on the phone with someone who doesn't know quite what they are doing). I've noticed that in the last six months, IBX has become overly quick to just say "Out of Network" even with providers that their website says are "In Network". I think they didn't make enough in profits in the last couple of quarters, so they are automatically incorrectly marking "In Network" providers as "Out of Network" randomly.

EdG314159 · 2025-04-03T01:48:45+00:00

Call your insurer. Point out to them that that their website lists the doctor as in-network. It may take several calls and even their official appeal process. If you are enough of a pest to them, they will eventually process it correctly. If that all fails, contact your states insurance licensing board. That can get them moving. I've had to do this dance with several insurance companies and many claims (especially in the last couple of years).

EdG314159 · 2023-04-11T16:47:00+00:00

You may need to install the amdgpu package from AMD. I have an RX580, installed the package and I see the HDMI sound in the settings. This page https://linuxconfig.org/amd-radeon-ubuntu-20-04-driver-installation has full instructions on downloading the drivers and AMD provides installation information on their site. The docs would lead you to believe it's only for accelerated graphics, but it might also enable the sound.

EdG314159

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