Jonathan Kamens

he/his
Digital Services Expert at #USDS (https://usds.gov/), detailed to #VA.
I work primarily in #infosec, #IT, and #SaaS infrastructure. Prior to USDS, I was a #tech #startup #CISO.
Dad, old-school hacker, Righteous Indignation Man. Opinions are my own. You can follow my blog from the Fediverse via jik (npub1kjr…9mdq).
#MaskUp #COVID #CovidIsNotOver #USPol #MAPol #BosPoli #Boston #MA #politics #resist #linux #FOSS #OpenSource #ConsumerActivism #privacy #programmer #hacker #fedi22

Blog: https://blog.kamens.us/
Github: https://github.com/jikamens
Vintage home page: https://stuff.mit.edu/~jik/
Comics aggregator: https://comics.kamens.us/

Public Key

npub1znher05nmmrkrwpw5v4vnk0z7uvc5m0yh60jgzmktu7ue7l03dzsr7e3n6

NIP-05 Address

jik_at_federate.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

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Author Public Key

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Published at

2024-09-13T16:30:23Z

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Last Notes

2024-09-14 13:28:04

I complained to Comcast about something via email in 2009. I posted that email on my blog: https://blog.kamens.us/2009/07/02/comcast-still-sending-service-announcements-to-wrong-address/. At the time, I searched for the email addresses of Comcast executives and included them all on the email.
Last night I received email from someone claiming to represent Comcast, trying to bully me into taking down the blog posting.
I responded: "lol no"
Feel free to boost this post for the #StreisandEffect.
#smdh #gtfo #Comcast
https://cdn.masto.host/federatesocial/media_attachments/files/113/136/109/970/133/462/original/cbcee9f7b79b5d89.png

2024-09-11 01:41:25

OMG, "Not everyone got handed $400 million on a silver platter and then filed bankruptcy six times." Amazing. Going for the jugular!
#politics #USPol #debate

2024-09-11 01:31:28

Fact check about claims of pets being harmed! Wow, two fact-checks in one night! Amazing.
OMG, now Harris is LAUGHING at Trump. Amazing again!
#politics #USPol #debate

2024-09-11 01:30:13

Back to the racist immigration rant.
Also World War 3, that's another box to cross off on your bingo card!
Oh, they're eating the dogs and cats! Another bingo square to cross off!
#politics #USPol #debate

2024-09-10 14:19:25

#today I'm reminded what a privilege it is that my wife and I have enough disposable income that we can afford to have someone clean our house for us every two weeks. It gives my joy when the house is clean, but I sure don't have any joy trying to find the time to clean it myself with everything else I'm on the hook for in my life.

2024-09-06 21:53:11

I'm happy that the Massachusetts Audubon Society isn't affiliated with the National Audubon Society (in fact MAS was the first audubon society in the country and came into being before NAS), because that means I don't have to stop donating to MAS and cancel my membership because NAS has joined Elon Musk in trying to get the NLRB ruled unconstitutional. Ref: https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/birds-feather-audubon-joins-elon-musk-challenging-constitutionality-labor-law-after
#unions #solidarity #politics #USPol #MassachusettsAudubonSociety

2024-09-06 19:55:41

My brain was apparently processing my parking choices slowly yesterday, because I awoke with a jolt at 3:45am #today with the realization that it was street-cleaning day on the street & side I parked on (where I don't usually park) and no parking was allowed there 3-5am. I threw on clothes and rushed out of the house, expecting to find the car ticketed or towed.
I found that mine was the only car on that side of the street, but miraculously, I was neither ticketed nor towed. I have no idea why.

2024-09-05 18:44:23

- reply

That would not solve the problem, which is a person in a position of authority using that authority to treat other people rudely, and other people in authority not doing anything about that because they think it's more important to keep the guy who does a lot of work than to make sure their project treats people with respect. That's a systemic problem, not a "this one PR was handled poorly so I should open another one" problem.

2024-09-05 18:34:19

I'm not going to post a link—I do not want brigading—but I'm currently embroiled in a discussion on a PR I submitted to a project, where one of the maintainers seemingly ghosted me in the middle of discussion about the PR because I disagreed with him. Other maintainers are now telling me that I shouldn't take it personally and he didn't intend to offend. But for some strange reason he can't apologize for the offense which he supposedly gave inadvertently.
I'm so tired.
#FOSS #OSS

2024-09-05 00:13:16

- reply

And even when I've gotten over this episode, the world will still be fucked up.

2024-09-05 00:12:54

I am depressed.
By which I mean that I suffer from #dysthymia, which sometimes manifests with #anhedonia, and #today I'm in the grip of both of them, and it sucks.
The world is fucked up, I have no interest in doing or eating anything, I'm feeling overwhelmed with both work and personal responsibilities, and doing anything other than playing games on my phone seems entirely pointless.
It will pass—it always does—but right now, it sucks.
#depression #MentalHealth

2024-08-25 22:02:24

Well under 50 people per year contract eastern equine encephalitis in the entire United States. Under 10 in Massachusetts. Despite this, Massachusetts spends millions of dollars spraying to kill mosquitos.
Hundreds of people (at least) are dying directly from COVID in the U.S. every week. We're doing nothing about it.
Make it make sense.

2024-08-25 18:32:26

A vaccinated person who gets #COVID has at least a 3% likelihood of developing #LongCovid.
People taking no precautions and getting infected repeatedly tell me all the time they think I'm crazy to ride a motorcycle "because it's so dangerous."
The motorcycle fatality rate is <30 per 100 million miles.
I'd have to ride >100,000 miles for my risk of death to equal the risk of disability from one COVID infection.
People are horrendous at reality-based risk calculations.
#CovidIsNotOver

2024-08-23 18:20:49

- reply

Maybe somebody can explain to me why this individual posted this reply and then blocked me. I honestly have no fucking idea what he's trying to get at here or why he believes what I posted is so offensive that it warranted a block. Did he misinterpret my meaning, or is he one of the racists I'm talking about, or what? I have no idea.
(Link to his post: https://mastodon.social/@TheDailyBurble/113012213229490606)
https://cdn.masto.host/federatesocial/media_attachments/files/113/012/714/805/420/489/original/631ac6a6bd63ec23.png

2024-08-23 11:35:21

I'm certainly not the first person to say it, but it bears repeating: the biggest reason why some white people fear giving power to Black people is because they think Black people with power will use it to treat white people the way white people have treated Black people.
#racism

2024-08-15 13:48:00

I know this is a long-shot, but does anybody know how I can reach the #Usenet admins at #GigaNews? A user at GigaNews generated a huge flood of spam postings to moderated newsgroups this morning, and as the maintainer of two of the relay mail servers for moderated newsgroups, I need to contact the admins at GigaNews to make sure they know about it and are taking steps to prevent it from happening again.
:boostRequest: for reach if you've got any Usenet folks in your network, please.

2024-08-14 12:18:47

- reply

Mark my words: it is going to come out, only after the election, that there is other material that has been leaked that is more damaging to Trump and Vance than what Politico and the Post have reported, and they are not mentioning that other material in their reporting exactly because it is damaging.
They had to report SOMETHING about the leak, so they picked the most innocuous of the leaked material to report about.
#politics #USPol

2024-08-14 11:11:38

What a coincidence the media have suddenly learned caution and discretion about publishing leaked material when it benefits the Trump campaign when they couldn't be bothered to display even a sliver of it when they were helping Trump beat Clinton.
To see that's not the real reason, one need only compare their coverage of Biden's age and mental acuity compared to Trump's.
#politics #USPol #journalism
Why newsrooms haven’t published leaked Trump campaign documents
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/08/13/iran-email-hack-republicans-media-response/

2024-08-11 18:37:02

I kind of feel like it should be bigger news that Stephen Miller is going around accusing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris of sex trafficking.
We already knew Miller was abjectly evil, but I'm not sure we realized, or at least I didn't, that he's been fully assimilated into the #QAnon cult.
These people aren't just weird, they're insane. They truly live in a different (unreal) reality.
#politics #USPol #StephenMiller #JoeBiden #KamalaHarris
Ref: https://www.salon.com/2024/08/08/former-aide-stephen-miller-spouts-conspiracy-theory-about-kamala-harris-and-human-trafficking/

2024-08-09 17:03:04

- reply

Let me also say this: my father is a rabbi. I wear a kippah. My family belongs to an Orthodox synagogue. I have five kids, all of whom went to Jewish day schools for at least 9 years, 3 of them for 13 years.
My wife, my kids and I all believe Israel is committing genocide.
Does that make us "terrorist supporting antisemites"?
Are you interested in "seeking to understand" our viewpoint?
@npub1axy…mlr5 @npub1kxw…srux @npub1tns…snct

2024-08-09 16:48:42

- reply

I'm curious, @npub1axy…mlr5. Would you consider calling people who believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza "terrorist supporting antisemites" to be insulting?
Do you think what you're doing in this thread is "Seek[ing] to understand the other viewpoints and resolve differences constructively"?
Asking for the Code of Conduct of the PAC you're the executive director of.
Ref: https://rebellionpac.com/ethics
@npub1kxw…srux @npub1tns…snct

2024-08-09 16:15:22

- reply

Ah, yes, of course @npub1axy…mlr5 trots out the "civilian death ratio" pro-genocide talking point, which is complete bullshit.
My comprehensive explanation of why is at https://federate.social/@jik/111995864737986616 . I wrote it more than five months ago based on easily accessible public information. There has been plenty of time for Brianna and her ilk to educate themselves if they actually wanted to.
I imagine she'll block me rather than engaging with the facts.
@npub1tns…snct

2024-08-04 21:21:07

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ok, so, the fact that Ventoy users are seemingly so aggressively obsessed with getting other people to use it, combined with the fact that the primary support forum for Ventoy is on Tencent QQ, has me wondering if Ventoy is backdoored and the enthusiasm to get people to use it is manufactured.

2024-08-02 11:41:23

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I tell my sister I'm still testing positive for #COVID as of yesterday and still feel terrible. She, a PhD molecular biologist by training, responds, "At this point you can mask up and go out if you need to anyway." #smdh
No, I can't and won't, because I'm obviously still contagious and I don't want to get anyone else sick because I'm a decent human being.
The #PublicHealth establishment has failed us.
#CovidIsNotOver

2024-08-01 23:18:34

- reply

Two interesting #COVID symptoms I'm experiencing today:
1) My body has apparently decided that temperature regulation is optional. I am flopping between feeling cold and feeling hot in a room being kept at a constant air-conditioned temperature.
2) My urine flow is constricted when I pee. I suspect either my urethra or my prostate is inflamed.
0/10 do not recommend.

2024-08-01 10:35:42

- reply

Still testing positive today, at least 13 days into my infection and 11 days after the first positive test. I've got congestion, a cough, headaches, chills, and now also a fever. Haven't been able to sleep much for the past two nights. Haven't been able to work (remotely) for the past two days and won't be able to today either.
My wife just finished her Paxlovid so I suspect things are about to get worse for her as well.
This #COVID thing is quite the party. 🎉

2024-07-31 15:23:20

I suspect that a lot of white people in the fedi think if there were as much racism as Black folks are saying then they would see more of it. However, they're misunderstanding the nature of the racism. It's not casual, it's _targeted_. The racists go out of their way to find Black people and harass them.
Since it's targeted, people who aren't the targets see only a very small fraction of it.
Black folks aren't making shit up. Listen to them.
#racism

2024-07-30 16:47:24

- reply

Still testing positive today—the test line on the RAT appeared immediately and was darker than the control line, perhaps the most positive test I've seen yet—nine days after my first positive test and at least 11 days since infection.
I feel terrible today, had to take a sick day from work. Paxlovid rebound is real.
My blood pressure is also elevated.
*sigh*
#COVID

2024-07-28 13:47:25

- reply

Still testing positive today, a week after the first positive test and 2½ days after finishing the Paxlovid.
No discernible symptoms.
My wife, on the other hand, has been having gradually worsening symptoms since I exposed her despite never testing positive, so her doctor put her on Paxlovid starting yesterday. 🤷
#COVID

2024-07-26 19:13:46

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Took my last dose of Paxlovid last night. Feel fine. No symptoms to speak of, haven't taken ibuprofen since last night. No fever. Just took a rapid test (first time since Sunday), still testing positive. #COVID

2024-07-26 12:31:38

Hot take: the "year of the Linux desktop" will not arrive until Linux supports enabling or disabling full disk encryption on an already installed system, using the user's login credentials rather than a separate passphrase, like both Windows and macOS do.
#infosec #Linux #UX

2024-07-24 21:00:24

- reply

I still feel mostly fine. There's a slight taste in my mouth from the Paxlovid but not nearly as bad as some have reported.
My sore throat is a bit worse. Other than that no other symptoms, really.
I spent about an hour at an outdoor table with colleagues Thursday night. I believe everyone at that table has tested positive. I took my mask off because it was outdoors. That's probably how I got infected. Shouldn't have done that! Outdoors is safeR but not entirely safe.
#COVID

2024-07-22 22:07:13

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I feel _much_ better today. The terrible headache is gone, perhaps replaced by a runny nose and sneezing, which implies that the thing that felt like an incredibly bad sinus headache yesterday _was_ an incredibly bad sinus headache, and now thankfully my sinuses are draining.
I have been able to function most of the day. I was exhausted in the afternoon and conked out for about an hour, but that may be because I stayed up until 3am reinstalling my laptop. 😉 I needed the distraction.
#COVID

2024-07-21 20:40:31

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OMG I feel like shit. I suspect it's mostly #Paxlovid side-effects, not #COVID symptoms, since I was feeling fine until I took my first dose of Paxlovid and now a couple hours later my head hurts so much I can hardly think.
It feels like the worst sinus headache I've ever had.
Ugh.

2024-07-21 17:12:39

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Getting #Paxlovid was easy.
I googled "How to get Paxlovid". The first search result was a page at mass.gov pointing me at the telehealth partnership program Massachusetts (where I live) has with Color.
I requested a telehealth appointment, and 45 minutes later I had my Paxlovid prescription.
The bottom of that page had a link to the manufacturer's co-pay card program, which I was able to easily use to reduce my out-of-pocket cost after insurance from $25 to $0.
#COVID

2024-07-21 12:50:49

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And look... I knew this day was coming. Society has chosen to do nothing to prevent the spread of #COVID, and I can't live my life as a complete hermit, and my wife and kids certainly don't, so it was only a matter of time before I got it.
My strategy has always been to stay boosted, take precautions, and minimize the number of infections, not to expect never to get it at all.
That doesn't make this suck any less. 😦

2024-07-21 12:34:19

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My only symptoms right now are a slightly runny nose and slightly sore throat.
I'm on hold waiting for a telehealth visit to find out about getting #Paxlovid.
My last vaccine booster was March 6.

2024-07-21 12:32:02

Welp, after 4+ years of #Novid, I tested positive this morning on two consecutive RATs after attending a conference in DC last week for work at which no #COVID precautions whatsoever were taken by nearly anyone else (I masked the whole time).
Fuck fuck fuck.

2024-07-19 11:05:10

The thing I hope is alarming people about today's #CrowdStrike outage is that if the company can take out that much of America's tech infrastructure by accident with a single buggy update, our adversaries can do the same on purpose with a supply-chain attack against CrowdStrike, and that one probably wouldn't be as quick to recover from. #infosec

2024-07-05 01:47:30

I emailed my expatriate brother-in-law telling him how important it is to vote for Biden in the American elections in November.
He sent me an email filled with platitudes about how "politics come and go but family is forever" and told me that he doesn't pay attention to the news or current events and hasn't voted in American elections since 2004.
My response:
#politics #USPol
https://cdn.masto.host/federatesocial/media_attachments/files/112/731/379/868/684/977/original/f0a95aad861d407c.png