Technology, parts 1 and 2

Part 1:  Pat likes a certain brand of salad dressing that she buys at Whole Foods.  I like a certain brand of whole-milk buttermilk that I use to make pancakes.  Over the noon hour today, we stopped by WF to pick some up.  

At the self-checkout, there was a new option, Amazon One.  Enter your Amazon Prime credit card, have a camera scan each of your palms, and you're registered.  After registration, check out as usual, but just scan your palm instead of tapping or swiping the Amazon Prime card.  

It all went off for me without a hitch.  No floor on the amount that can be charged to Amazon One, from the looks of it.  Today's bill was 13 dollars and change, and 5% of that comes back in Amazon credit.  

Part 2:  With an eye to getting away from Twixtter, I looked into Threads.  To get an account in Threads, you need an account in Instagram.  I didn't want to use my Facebook account for Instagram, so I entered a different address and filled in all the other required blanks.  The two-factor ID went through smoothly, but instead of a welcome screen, the next thing I saw was a full-screen advisory that my account had been suspended for 180 days for a violation of terms of service.

The violation appeared to be that I hadn't used my Facebook account to sign up.  There were some words about creating fake accounts and anonymous entries, and at the bottom, a notification that I could appeal.  However, if the appeal was denied, my Instagram account would be deleted immediately.

I wanted to know more, and to assure the gatekeeper that the email was mine and is active.  What made them think I was creating a fake account?  I clicked Appeal, and the screen changed to a message that the appeal had been received and I would hear from them directly.  Missing was any space for even a 25-words-or-less statement in my defense.  

So it looks like you have to use Facebook credentials to be permitted to create an Instagram account, and Instagram is required to create a Threads account.  No thanks, never mind.  I deleted the new Instagram account, and I'll just have to get along without Threads.