I’ll never sell anything on eBay again. Or if I do, I won’t use the Post Office to ship the package.

The Post Office lost the Pixel 6a phone I sold on eBay to a man in Miami. He got a refund, but I had to pay eBay $38 in fees, ten bucks of which went to promoting the phone on their site.

I wish I had the phone back. My sister had suggested keeping it as a backup after I’d temporarily lost it, then replaced it with the Pixel 8. But when I found it again, I figured eBay was the best solution.

I was sucked into using the post office by eBay’s offer of a discounted shipping label. Three days after I sent it off, the phone arrived at the Opa-Locka, Florida Distribution Center. I felt good about that, but the tracking information said that it was going to be late getting to Miami. No kidding. After three weeks, eBay canceled the transaction. The phone is still stuck in limbo a month later.

I tried to find an eBay human to help. But their “contact us” link took me through an endless round of articles. I also tried their chat, which brought links to even more articles. Next time I need to ship a phone, I’ll use UPS. To be fair, the Postal Service is supposed to call me back. But I’m not holding my breath.

Robo News

–“Robot dogs armed with AI-aimed rifles.”  Search on that phrase to see Ghost Robotics’ robo dogs being tested by the Marines.

In 2022, many robot vendors pledged not to arm their robots except for military sales, even though they cannot fire without a human command. Last month however, ThrowFlame started selling a $9,420 robo dog to the general public. It comes with a flamethrower on its back.

–“Meet the Robots Cleaning up Lake Tahoe.” Search on that phrase to see three robots removing trash from the lake. On the shore, a solar-powered beach bot sifts through sand to find hidden cigarette butts, bottle caps and other junk. On the lake, a robo boat picks up more trash. On the dock, a stationary cleaner attracts solid and liquid waste. Once the three robo trash-pickers are finished, volunteers sort and dispose of hundreds of pounds of  stuff. The robots come from Searial Cleaners and Eco-Clean.

–“This poison shooting robot could be the future of agriculture.” Search on that phrase to discover a Norwegian robot that delivers a precise drop of herbicide on pesky weeds without harming the surrounding plants.

Talking to Amazon

In a recent column, I mentioned that you could find Amazon’s phone number by doing a Google search on “Amazon phone number” and reading the 888-280-4331 number off the screen instead of clicking the Google link, which makes it impossible to find. But when Amazon’s phone is busy, you’ll get a message suggesting that you use their chat service instead. Search on “Amazon chat,” to go directly to their texting screen on your computer, phone or tablet.

I thought my problem was resolved when I did that last week, but a quick check of the Amazon order page showed that they were still waiting for me to send my glass pitcher back, though it came from China in a zillion pieces. A message to the vendor resolved nothing, so I launched another Amazon chat, then used the Windows Snipping Tool to get  a screenshot of what they promised. They said I’d get my refund as an Amazon gift card no more than four hours later. Sure enough, when I checked the orders page two hours later, it was there.

Wordle Mania

The game Wordle is so popular that more websites are chiming in. For example, the Hearst newspaper chain now offers free games at Puzzmo.com. LinkedIn offers them at linkedin.com/games.

LinkedIn’s “Pinpoint” is like the game “Connections,” but harder. I also found LinkedIn’s other game, “Queens” exceedingly difficult. But I can handle their “CrossClimb.”

Alexa Myths

Friends say they won’t get a smart speaker or even use the free app with Alexa inside because they don’t want her listening to their private conversations. But Alexa only listens when she hears her wake word, which is “Alexa” unless you ask her to change it to “Amazon,” “Computer,” “Echo,” or “Ziggy.”  If she’s not awake, she’s not listening.

She will, however, listen for longer periods if you sign up for Alexa Emergency Assist, a $6-a-month subscription service that offers 24/7 help from first responders and the ability to keep emergency contacts informed.

Red Solar Panels

Sonnenkraft, an Austrian company, offers red solar panels to go with red terra cotta and most other red roofs. Go to sonnenkraft.com/en for the site in English. Tesla promised this back in 2016, but their website, Tesla.com/solarroof, doesn’t show any red ones yet. I like the look of their roofs though.

Internut

UScurrency.gov/denominations has fascinating info about money. For the $100 bill, click the video showing how the Liberty Bell inside an inkwell turns from brown to green as the bill rotates. The bill also has a tiny image of Ben Franklin next to the larger Ben. But you only see it when the bill turns. Even the security ribbon morphs.

Filed under: Amazon, business, environment, games, Internuts, robots