Notices by Amadi Lovelace (amaditalks@wandering.shop), page 3

I’m reminded of the night that I used my own translation app to give directions to a Russian speaking delivery guy who was very lost with my rapidly cooling pizza.

I know language localization is difficult and expensive, but I wonder how much money these businesses lose because deliverers can’t communicate with restaurants/stores when something’s complex, get lost en route, or leave deliveries in wrong places. It would be a win-win-win for everyone if everything were clearer for them.

It took that poor guy so long to figure out how to scan a barcode to prove he’d completed the delivery that I was able to look up how to say “thank you, have a nice day” in Kyrgyz, which isn’t an option in my translation app or google, apparently. I found a nice 2001 yellow background, heavily tabled webpage of phrases.

At least he left with a big smile on his face.

It makes me wonder how other people treat him. I know a lot of my less savory neighbors are probably not very patient with him.

I just received a grocery delivery. The deliverer is from Kyrgyzstan and doesn’t read well in English yet so he puts a screenshot of the delivery app into his translation app to figure out which buttons he needs to press for each step of finalizing the delivery and getting paid. It took him longer to process the delivery than to unload 27 bags.

Delivery is very much a job filled by recent immigrants. These apps desperately need to have some language options.

“Service isn’t just a courtesy, it’s a commitment,” the voice says.

“Your call is very important to us,” it intones.

“We appreciate your patience. We’ll be right with you,” it promises.

“Thank you for calling. We value your call. Someone will be with you shortly.”

US uptake of this fall’s COVID vaccine is 7%.

I’ve been on hold for 33 minutes trying to make an appointment because pharmacies are woefully understaffed nationwide & they’re the only place to get vaccinated now.

CORRELATION!

When a white man from Louisiana who has a mysterious Black “son” who he never legally adopted says this kind of thing it’s 100% reasonable to believe he means slavery. He’s pro-slavery until he proves otherwise.

From: @Green_Footballs
https://mastodon.social/@Green_Footballs/111321222736287794

Apparently the next battle I’m going to have to fight (and will probably lose) with fellow leftists is that Univeral Basic Income programs cannot replace disability income programs, disabled people must be able to augment UBI with additional disability income because of the costs of support needs. And this is true even if the UBI amount is larger than any existing disability benefit. Whatever anyone thinks it costs to live with disability, it’s probably double that. Or more.

@goatsarah they’re stunning. I’m at least a year, hopefully two, before an upgrade from my 14. I’m sure the 16 and 17 will be equally shiny. I wish they weren’t quite so captivating to be honest.

Even Americans who pay close attention to government and what it does typically fail to have a comprehensive and non-political understanding of government spending or the budget. The scope of it is just too broad for people to really understand unless they have to vocationally.

If asked what should be cut, it’s an even money bet that the Republican retired Montanan cop would pinpoint the right’s punching bags, interior, education and energy, and of course, welfare, because screw poor people.

Should we cut Social Security? No retiree will say yes, a 20 year old might. Should we cut environmental spending? Yes to that is going to come much more readily from a Republican or a senior citizen than any age Democrat, or anyone under 30.

Then get more specific. What percentage of the federal government goes to the Department of energy and how much should? What does the DOE do with that money? How about Transportation? How about Veterans Affairs? Random individuals don’t know. They can’t.

Any media that resorts to this man on the street reporting on issues that even experts need to spend a full 40 hours a week and then some to understand meaningfully is serving to misinform us. It’s a convenient framing for a short form piece or a three minute radio break when the actual topic requires too much background, and too much explaining to really be discussed meaningfully.

But it hurts us, because it obfuscates the real story.

Listening to NPR and they interviewed some retiree in Montana because his congressman is a freedom caucus member who is taking a hardline on passing a budget. Says the retiree, government must stop spending, they need to change their philosophy about the budget. But they never square the circle by asking why. And that question would lay bare the uselessness of these kinds of interviews. This man could never explain why it’s essential to him that spending is slashed or what’s unnecessary.

I had a little accident on Tuesday night, and I strained my shoulder, sprained my wrist and fractured my hand in 12 places.

Of all of it, the shoulder hurts the most, by far. Why haven’t we developed a good way to immobilize shoulders? Or to sleep standing up?

With two bills that passed through our city council unanimously, #Pittsburgh, PA has positioned itself as a #SanctuaryCity for #TransPeople. One bill prevents any city resources for being used to provide information or evidence to prosecute a trans person for seeking #GenderAffirmingCare here in the city. The second, largely symbolic but important, declares that gender affirming care will always be protected here, regardless of state or federal law.

I’m really proud of my home for this.

“Amadi, you complain a lot, and you’re always talking about serious things, but what makes you smile? What gives you a laugh?”

Amongst many other things, this does.

Republicans will take advantage of every and any mechanism that is available to take control of public offices that they did not win, and that the public does not want them to hold. If they are allowed to have any power, they will exploit it without regard to the will of the voters.

I feel like we aren’t talking nearly enough about DeSantis (FL), Abbott (TX) and Kemp (GA) using or threatening to use state laws that allow for the removal of local elected officials for significant misconduct to replace Democrats with their Republican cronies on the flimsiest of pretexts, and without any due process. DeSantis already replaced 2 prosecutors, it’s how TX took over the Houston schools, and Kemp is threatening Fani Willis.

There’s definitely no “two-tier system of justice“ when a presumptive billionaire receives a bond amount that is less than 0.002% of his alleged net worth for trying to destroy an entire nation, and people with $27.11 to their name are held in jail for months on minor theft charges because their bail is $10,000.

@inthehands my mother is similarly always cold, but not *that* cold. I think I was mostly concerned that she was in some sort of distress, but she didn’t seem like it. She also somehow didn’t seem sweaty. People are sure people!

It is 82° and I’m watching a young woman walk down Fifth Avenue wearing suede winter boots halfway up her calf and a fuzzy Sherpa jacket. I feel like I’m running a fever just looking at her. She is otherwise carefully, stylishly dressed, hair done nicely, nice makeup. She’s with a young man in a nice suit, like they’re perhaps on a date or going to an event. I’m so perplexed.

A few days ago I praised #MattMullenweig from #Automattic #WordPress & #Tumblr as someone trying to be a good contributor to web culture.

He is currently doing a live stream for Tumblr users, and in response to an epileptic user asking if there could be a standard to prevent vibrant, strobing ads as they’re a seizure risk, he made some vague noises like “yeah I guess” then instantly uggested that the user buy the no-ad upgrade.

Paywalled accessibility? Like hell.

I rescind my praise.