Written on Mon Nov 11 2019 at 6:17 AM PST
(2021 Chris is doing much better)
Ey I woke up on time today. That’s refreshing. You know what else needs a refresh? My computer. I booted it up this morning and waited about 5 minutes for it to be responsive. I opened glances as quickly as I could, and it showed a high CPU IOWAIT warning. Whatever that is. I could tell the effect was an exaggeratedly long wait for anything to happen. I clicked ANGRYSearch for example, and had to wait about 3 minutes until the window actually appeared. It’s probably a misbehaving program or subsystem. Time for a refresh for sure.
Anyway, I went through and disabled some systemd services I’m not using. There’s no reason for them to start automatically if they don’t get used. Resilio sync was one of the services I disabled. Not using that anymore.
I rebooted and everything started up immediately. Wow, big difference. There is one program I see in glances that makes me a little uncomfortable. It’s called tracker-miner-fs or something like that. I googled it and apparently it’s a part of ubuntu. The title just makes me think it’s some sort of malware. As if it is a user input tracker and crypto miner. The worst malware imaginable because it’s using my computer to make someone else money. I want my computer to make me money!
Speaking of money, what’s the future going to look like? Automation and AI are going to kill jobs, that’s for sure. What once required 10 people could be cut down to 3 people by way of automation. Those 7 people who are out of jobs now have to find somewhere else to work. But that is going to be harder because the competitors to the company they got fired from are also switching to automatic methods, and aren’t looking for new people.
Capitalism accelerates the desire for automation. Government mandating a certain minimum wage does the same. Unskilled humans are going to get fucked.
This is one of the reasons why I’m not super bullish on the future. I read something on twitter about the author’s 3 things that indicate to them how people feel about the future.
- Does the person have children?
That’s all I can remember actually. I don’t remember 2 and 3. So instead I will give you a quote I like which I’m living by at the moment.
Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.
Apparently it was coined during the great American depression.
So yeah, back to the way people feel about the future. For me, it’s not good indeed. I see the reality shown in the anime Psycho-Pass coming to fruition. Complete and absolute censorship. Complete lack of privacy. Government looking over your shoulder 24/7. Strict mental state enforcement. Criminalized mental illness. Punishment for illegal thoughts.
China is leading the pack with their social rating system. If you associate with the wrong people, your score goes down. If you purchase from a blacklisted company, your score goes down. If your score gets too low, you get fired from your job. If your score gets too low, you get evicted. If your score gets too low, your savings are seized.
It’s a slow process, but this kind of government behavior kills off free thinking minds over decades. The human life is 100 years or so, but the idea of pruning undesirable humans can live on for a millennia.
This is the world we’re headed towards. The internet is being used as a mass censorship network. The wealth gained by the internet in the form of an instant communication tool may not outweigh the illth of a system which is used to enslave people just trying to live their lives.
It’s not hopeless. I have to remind myself of that. People have to be aware of the problem before they can care about the problem. Unfortunately, it’s easier to ignore the problem. Very infortunate indeed.
I look at the number of people in my life who care about internet privacy vs. those who do not, and I’m disgusted.
It’s about 1 in 50.
Maybe privacy is assumed. These devices everyone has that send data to all your friends.
“There’s nobody in a van on the street intercepting my wifi’s”
Unfortunately, that’s how many people look at the issue. Very very unfortunate indeed.
If you care about internet privacy issues, you would delete your facebook. If you care about internet privacy issues, you would use Signal rather than your built in text app.
You would not run Microsoft Windows.
Facebook, your cell carrier, and Windows are spying on you! I’m not making a conspiracy, I’m telling your established facts as repeatedly disclosed by several news agencies.
The outcome of the future is determined by today. Small steps are needed now to ensure our future is a positive one.
Don’t simply trust a company for privacy in your communications. Instead, use protocols which ensure privacy.
Ten years ago, the idea of software on your computer tracking your activities was a terrible one. People would install Spybot: Search and Destroy on their computers to scan for Spyware, software which was meant to spy on the user’s online activity. Spybot didn’t scan for viruses, didn’t set up a firewall, didn’t remove ransomware. It simply found and removed spyware.
Now, spyware is built into popular operating systems. It’s built into 99% of popular websites. Nobody bats an eye.
Please join me in fighting back. Fighting back means adopting a lifestyle of opting out. It means saying no to social media platforms which track you and/or are compliant with dragnet government spying. It means saying no to what might be easy to use software, but reduce your liberty. Fighting back means dedicating time to the research of secure and private means of communication.
Ok I’m done talking about that. I am just going to write non-stop now, and get some writer flow going. It’s probably going to be shit content now, but this is writer’s way. I got some good content in the paragraphs above, so now it’s time for the meh content.
Ok so I need money, that is for sure. Absolutely getting to the point where I am desprate. Desperate for cash. So I’m selling paracord thongs on Etsy now. That’s right, THONGS FOR YOUR BUTT! Try one today! I think my price point is fair, $68 is what it’s at right now. I don’t know if anyone will buy at that price point, but like I said in a previous writer’s way, it takes me 5 hours to make one thong!
My hands hurt. The process is physically demanding. I assume if I keep it up, my hands will get stronger, and I will develop better methods for tightening weaves which don’t put as much strain on my fingers.
I hope I can sell some paracord thongs. I hope I can sell a lot, actually. I would like to pull myself out of debt.
So I’m thinking if I make 1 or 2 a day, that is a good amount. I’ll just keep making them, stocking my Etsy store, building my brand, and hopefully word gets out. Maybe I could send a sample to an influencer. Actually, that’s probably a bad idea because if I were to suddenly get a bunch of orders, I wouldn’t be able to keep up. I gotta get some stock built up at first. Maybe 10 inventory before I start to sell.
There’s also the “survival” element of the paracord thong. It’s super gimmicky, but the thong can be disassembled into straight paracord, which can be used to tie up a tent or something. Super gimmicky because 1, the paracord thong is not comfortable to wear all day, so it’s not like the paracord is there when you need it. 2) who would take apart their underwear to use as rope? Nobody, that’s just silly!
Silly idea indeed. Maybe nobody is a freak like me, and would consider such a garment. I take that back. There are freaks on Etsy all day every day. Just search for “men’s lingerie!”
Today I think I will…
- study Japanese on Duolingo
- take pictures of the paracord thong I finished yesterday
- go for a walk
- make 1 paracord thong
- fix 2 issues in jepurdee
- add 1 feature in agents
- complete 1 JS Koan
- download Mr. Robot 406.
This list is kinda long. I don’t know if I can get to all the things, but it’s a good benchmark for what I would consider a good day.
Banks are retarded. I mean that in the most literal way possible. I can go to a bank, give them a $100 dollar bill and ask them to send it to my friend in Switzerland. They can start some long, drawn out process which would occur between 3 days to several weeks to verify that I’m not on a list of bad guys, then send the money to another bank. Not to mention the entire setup process I had to undergo when I created my bank account in the first place.
My friend in Switzerland can go to their bank and complete a similar process, and end up with $100 worth of Switzerland money.
Or I can buy Bitcoin, and send it to my friend which takes 10 minutes to buy, and 10 minutes to confirm on the network.
Banks are retarded. As in, literal retardation. As in, WHAT YEAR DO THEY THINK IT IS???!?!??!
