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diff --git a/content/about.md b/content/about.md index 490c701..fd0ef1c 100644 --- a/content/about.md +++ b/content/about.md @@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ title: "About Page" draft: false showlinkemoji: false pageinfo: false +makerefs: false _build: list: never --- diff --git a/content/entry/a-nation-of-temporarily-embarrassed-millionaires.md b/content/entry/a-nation-of-temporarily-embarrassed-millionaires.md index e7842e2..a9808cd 100644 --- a/content/entry/a-nation-of-temporarily-embarrassed-millionaires.md +++ b/content/entry/a-nation-of-temporarily-embarrassed-millionaires.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "A Nation of Temporarily Embarrassed Millionaires" date: 2021-11-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The Gravel Institute The Gravel Institute, a crowd-funded organization that creates videos to combat right-wing disinformation, created a short video titled "You Will Never Be Rich".[1] Given their medium, which is short videos, they have very little time to get to the point. So you'll never get a complete picture of any given topic by watching their videos. That can be off-putting to some including myself who desire more detailed information, but there's definitely a place and a necessity for short-form, quickly digestible videos. diff --git a/content/entry/always-use-tor.md b/content/entry/always-use-tor.md index 7b44644..6de1b17 100644 --- a/content/entry/always-use-tor.md +++ b/content/entry/always-use-tor.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Always Use Tor" date: 2022-01-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What is Tor? Tor is an acronym for The Onion Router. Tor is free software that enables anonymous communication. The Tor Project[1], a non-profit 501c3 organization, is primarily responsible for maintaining Tor. It has been funded by human rights organizations, the US government, the national science foundation, NGOs and thousands of individual sponsors. It enables millions to use the internet in privacy, including me. diff --git a/content/entry/antinatalism.md b/content/entry/antinatalism.md index 8b076bf..db86e37 100644 --- a/content/entry/antinatalism.md +++ b/content/entry/antinatalism.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Antinatalism" date: 2021-09-05T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Richard Stallman's Antinatalism If you check the promoted page[1] of this blog, you'll see I have promoted Richard Stallman's article "Why it is important not to have children"[2]. I have the promoted page so that I have somewhere to promote others' ideas and so that I don't have to write a new post for each idea. But I still want to highlight a few of the points in that article that I find most compelling. diff --git a/content/entry/anybody-can-solve-a-rubiks-cube-blindfolded.md b/content/entry/anybody-can-solve-a-rubiks-cube-blindfolded.md index a39e9b2..c68cbe9 100644 --- a/content/entry/anybody-can-solve-a-rubiks-cube-blindfolded.md +++ b/content/entry/anybody-can-solve-a-rubiks-cube-blindfolded.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Anybody Can Solve a Rubik's Cube Blindfolded" date: 2022-05-22T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Anybody can solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded. I recorded a video of myself doing it at seventeen years old[1] using the Classic Pochmann method[2]. It took me ten minutes, but speedcubers like Flavian do it on Britain's Got Talent in under thirty.[3] diff --git a/content/entry/article-please-dont-pay-to-use-a-pay-toilet.md b/content/entry/article-please-dont-pay-to-use-a-pay-toilet.md index ed06963..80d79b0 100644 --- a/content/entry/article-please-dont-pay-to-use-a-pay-toilet.md +++ b/content/entry/article-please-dont-pay-to-use-a-pay-toilet.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Article] Please Don't Pay to Use a Pay Toilet" date: 2022-09-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Richard Stallman, founder of the free software movement, wrote an article urging people not to use pay toilets[1]. I agree with his conclusion and I want to promote his article and share my own thoughts on the matter. diff --git a/content/entry/article-you-should-be-using-an-old-computer.md b/content/entry/article-you-should-be-using-an-old-computer.md index b16ed8a..9f47fb6 100644 --- a/content/entry/article-you-should-be-using-an-old-computer.md +++ b/content/entry/article-you-should-be-using-an-old-computer.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Article] You Should Be Using an Old Computer" date: 2021-01-22T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I was going to write my own post about this subject until I discovered Luke Smith, a GNU/Linux technology Youtuber, already wrote an article about it: diff --git a/content/entry/atom-and-rss.md b/content/entry/atom-and-rss.md index c343e08..f759499 100644 --- a/content/entry/atom-and-rss.md +++ b/content/entry/atom-and-rss.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Atom and RSS" date: 2020-12-17T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Most netizens are vaguely familiar with this symbol: [RSS icon [IMG]](/resource/feed-icon-28x28.png) diff --git a/content/entry/autism-and-memory.md b/content/entry/autism-and-memory.md index 61e7ca6..18fcdfa 100644 --- a/content/entry/autism-and-memory.md +++ b/content/entry/autism-and-memory.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Autism and Memory" date: 2022-07-20T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Memory function in autism has been studied for decades.[1] The research is fascinating to me because I have high-functioning autism and it helps me describe things I already implicitly know about myself. People with high-functioning autism such as myself have both difficulties and strengths in memory compared with neurotypicals. diff --git a/content/entry/automation-and-the-meaning-of-work.md b/content/entry/automation-and-the-meaning-of-work.md index 36f83ef..255c300 100644 --- a/content/entry/automation-and-the-meaning-of-work.md +++ b/content/entry/automation-and-the-meaning-of-work.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Automation and the Meaning of Work" date: 2022-09-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Recently, artificially intelligent (AI) art generators such as DALL-E2[1], Midjourney[2] and Stable Diffusion[3] have been making headlines in the news and artists are fuming. Given the recent news attention, I figured it would be a good idea to talk about the direction AI is headed and how that affects the meaning of work going forward. diff --git a/content/entry/automation-bullshit-jobs-and-work.md b/content/entry/automation-bullshit-jobs-and-work.md index 7a4cfb7..01b51f6 100644 --- a/content/entry/automation-bullshit-jobs-and-work.md +++ b/content/entry/automation-bullshit-jobs-and-work.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Automation, Bullshit Jobs, And Work" date: 2022-01-22T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- This entry was inspired by Bullshit Jobs[1], a theory put forth by famed anarchist anthropology professor David Graeber[2]. Ever since reading it, I have been itching to write about my own observations related to automation, bullshit jobs, and work. I'll start with a few personal anecdotes related to workplace bullshit. diff --git a/content/entry/avoid-using-cryptocurrency.md b/content/entry/avoid-using-cryptocurrency.md index 8c7d6fe..daf6566 100644 --- a/content/entry/avoid-using-cryptocurrency.md +++ b/content/entry/avoid-using-cryptocurrency.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Avoid Using Cryptocurrency" date: 2021-07-18T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Cryptocurrency's Unreasonably High Energy Consumption The criticisms I'm about to levy do not apply to every cryptocurrency. I'm only criticizing the cryptocurrencies that involve high energy usage per transaction. Proof of X based cryptocurrencies where X is work, storage or some other energy-intensive process fall into this category. But I'm mostly referring to proof of work. I'm excluding proof of stake cryptocurrencies because proof of stake does not cause considerable energy usage per transaction. I'm still including non-blockchain cryptocurrencies that employ proof of work and use a high amount of energy per transaction. From now on I'll use the word "cryptocurrency" to mean only those in that high energy consumption group without further explanation. diff --git a/content/entry/avoiding-automobile-surveillance.md b/content/entry/avoiding-automobile-surveillance.md index 87bdaca..798887a 100644 --- a/content/entry/avoiding-automobile-surveillance.md +++ b/content/entry/avoiding-automobile-surveillance.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Avoiding Automobile Surveillance" date: 2020-12-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Internetification of Everything Over the past few decades, there has been increasing "internetification" of everything. The Internet of Stings[1] has infected refrigerators, watches, televisions, and even light bulbs. As it turns out, shoehorning internet connected computer chips with proprietary[2] code into everything increases their attack surface making society more vulnerable to hacking groups[3], foreign governments and Big Brother. diff --git a/content/entry/avoiding-consumer-surveillance.md b/content/entry/avoiding-consumer-surveillance.md index be469c3..17d1198 100644 --- a/content/entry/avoiding-consumer-surveillance.md +++ b/content/entry/avoiding-consumer-surveillance.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Avoiding Consumer Surveillance" date: 2020-11-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The Age of Surveillance We live in the age of surveillance capitalism[1]. Intimate data about us is collected, bought and sold for profit and social control. Intermediaries like banks, payment companies, credit card companies and governments have unprecedented access into our private lives through our purchases. This level of surveillance is tyrannical. Mass surveillance is dangerous to the health of democracy and must be stopped[2]. Big Brother should not know what we buy. In this post, I'm going to talk about how we avoid consumer surveillance. In a future post, I'll talk about anonymous online shopping and some promising software projects that could be a more permanent remedy to consumer surveillance. Ultimately, there is going to have to be political action to curtail surveillance, not just new technology. But until there is increased awareness of mass surveillance and real political action against it occurs, all we can hope to do is avoid the surveillance. So here's how you do that. diff --git a/content/entry/banning-facial-recognition-isnt-enough.md b/content/entry/banning-facial-recognition-isnt-enough.md index e766b6c..3729d08 100644 --- a/content/entry/banning-facial-recognition-isnt-enough.md +++ b/content/entry/banning-facial-recognition-isnt-enough.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Banning Facial Recognition Isn't Enough" date: 2021-05-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Government Surveillance Today, I came across this campaign to ban facial recognition: diff --git a/content/entry/book-lying.md b/content/entry/book-lying.md index f851b71..b14ee68 100644 --- a/content/entry/book-lying.md +++ b/content/entry/book-lying.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Book] Lying" date: 2020-12-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Sam Harris[1] talks about how lying is more harmful than most people imagine. From white lies, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy to more serious political deception, Sam makes the case for not lying in any situation. diff --git a/content/entry/book-stolen-focus-why-you-cant-pay-attention-and-how-to-think-deeply-again.md b/content/entry/book-stolen-focus-why-you-cant-pay-attention-and-how-to-think-deeply-again.md index 54a2c39..010805e 100644 --- a/content/entry/book-stolen-focus-why-you-cant-pay-attention-and-how-to-think-deeply-again.md +++ b/content/entry/book-stolen-focus-why-you-cant-pay-attention-and-how-to-think-deeply-again.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Book] Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention - And How to Think Deeply Again" date: 2022-12-06T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Johann Hari is an author of several New York Times best-selling books, an executive producer of an Oscar-nominated movie, and he's written for some of the world's leading newspapers and magazines. His book, Stolen Focus[1], is about how and why society has lost it's ability to pay attention. I highly recommend this book. If you read no other book this year, please read this one. diff --git a/content/entry/book-the-selfish-gene.md b/content/entry/book-the-selfish-gene.md index a74f5ff..6ac4438 100644 --- a/content/entry/book-the-selfish-gene.md +++ b/content/entry/book-the-selfish-gene.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Book] The Selfish Gene" date: 2021-04-08T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Famous atheist, evolutionary biologist, and coiner of the modern term "meme" Richard Dawkins[1] takes a gene-centric view of Darwinian evolution by natural selection in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. The gene-centric view of evolution is beautifully elegant. It does a better job of explaining evolutionary concepts than overly reductionist theories such as group selection. The basic idea is incredibly simple, an overview of it given in the first two chapters with the rest of the book going into further detail. diff --git a/content/entry/book-waking-up.md b/content/entry/book-waking-up.md index 8225470..a906247 100644 --- a/content/entry/book-waking-up.md +++ b/content/entry/book-waking-up.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Book] Waking Up" date: 2021-01-29T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- This is my second book recommendation and here I am again recommending a book authored by Sam Harris[1]. And it's probably not the last time I'll recommend his books. Allow me to justify why his content gets so much promotion on this blog. diff --git a/content/entry/breaking-my-promise.md b/content/entry/breaking-my-promise.md index 7bd5b29..683cfa6 100644 --- a/content/entry/breaking-my-promise.md +++ b/content/entry/breaking-my-promise.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Breaking My Promise" date: 2021-12-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Towards the end of July, I promised to quit flying until the climate crisis was averted and until the TSA stopped groping passengers.[1] As it turns out, that was a commitment I couldn't keep. I booked a flight. Since I made the commitment very publicly, I don't think it's fair not to write an update after breaking it. I'm not perfect. I suppose the lesson here if there is one is that I shouldn't publicly make commitments that I'm not certain I can keep. diff --git a/content/entry/bringing-civility-to-public-discourse-with-the-steel-man-technique.md b/content/entry/bringing-civility-to-public-discourse-with-the-steel-man-technique.md index 8bd3aeb..94a2681 100644 --- a/content/entry/bringing-civility-to-public-discourse-with-the-steel-man-technique.md +++ b/content/entry/bringing-civility-to-public-discourse-with-the-steel-man-technique.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Bringing Civility to Public Discourse With the Steel Man Technique" date: 2020-12-01T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The United States in 2020 The political situation in the United States right now is tense, to say the least. President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 general election. Meanwhile the bullshitter[1] continues to make baseless claims of massive mail-in voter fraud to discredit the election results. No doubt the tens of millions of Americans duped into his personality cult[2] will fall for his lies, with some taking political action as we near inauguration day[3]. The rest of Americans are bewildered by how the wannabe dictator[4] even got elected in the first place. So there is a heavy emotional and ideological divide in America today and I think any American half paying attention senses it. diff --git a/content/entry/bullshit-jobs-really-are-bullshit.md b/content/entry/bullshit-jobs-really-are-bullshit.md index 39868c1..e615f62 100644 --- a/content/entry/bullshit-jobs-really-are-bullshit.md +++ b/content/entry/bullshit-jobs-really-are-bullshit.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Bullshit Jobs Really Are Bullshit" date: 2022-11-27T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Ever since writing "Automation, Bullshit Jobs, And Work"[1], I've heard some push back which wasn't addressed in the original entry and I'd like to respond to it. diff --git a/content/entry/businesses-should-be-required-to-accept-cash.md b/content/entry/businesses-should-be-required-to-accept-cash.md index 4c0d635..bb1cff3 100644 --- a/content/entry/businesses-should-be-required-to-accept-cash.md +++ b/content/entry/businesses-should-be-required-to-accept-cash.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Businesses Should be Required to Accept Cash" date: 2022-04-22T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Businesses in the U.S. don't have to accept cash as payment for purchases, but I think they should have to. There's even a push in some countries to go completely cashless. This, in my view, would be a huge mistake. Cash helps the elderly, the poor, the unbanked, immigrants, journalists, and dissidents. Cash is the only way to purchase goods and services anonymously in regular stores. diff --git a/content/entry/challenges-driving-with-autism.md b/content/entry/challenges-driving-with-autism.md index e3f8135..c758abc 100644 --- a/content/entry/challenges-driving-with-autism.md +++ b/content/entry/challenges-driving-with-autism.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Challenges Driving With Autism" date: 2022-10-25T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Driving with autism is challenging sometimes. I'd like to share some of the difficulties I've faced driving as a person with high-functioning autism. Remember that I'm just one person with autism. Autistic brains are more different from each other than neurotypical brains, so the experiences I'm sharing here only reflect my life, not that of every autistic person. diff --git a/content/entry/come-watch-me-present-at-libreplanet-2022.md b/content/entry/come-watch-me-present-at-libreplanet-2022.md index 780a65e..9291730 100644 --- a/content/entry/come-watch-me-present-at-libreplanet-2022.md +++ b/content/entry/come-watch-me-present-at-libreplanet-2022.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Come Watch Me Present at LibrePlanet 2022!" date: 2022-03-14T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I will be delivering my talk, "Taking back the Web with Haketilo," on Saturday, March 19, 2022; 14:30–15:15 EDT, at the all-online LibrePlanet 2022 conference, and I hope you’ll check it out! diff --git a/content/entry/coming-out-as-autistic.md b/content/entry/coming-out-as-autistic.md index 152be40..893dcec 100644 --- a/content/entry/coming-out-as-autistic.md +++ b/content/entry/coming-out-as-autistic.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Coming Out as Autistic" date: 2022-05-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I've been considering writing about high-functioning autism for months now. I'm not used to sharing much about my life here, but I think what I have to say about autism can do a lot of good. Maybe it can help others be more understanding and empathetic towards autistic people. diff --git a/content/entry/comparing-multi-factor-authentication-methods.md b/content/entry/comparing-multi-factor-authentication-methods.md index 7dc3f40..254840f 100644 --- a/content/entry/comparing-multi-factor-authentication-methods.md +++ b/content/entry/comparing-multi-factor-authentication-methods.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Comparing Multi-Factor Authentication Methods" date: 2022-08-05T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I made a nice little chart comparing multi-factor authentication[1] methods from a user standpoint. Despite some of the information in the chart being slightly subjective and depending on one's threat model, I still think it's useful. So here it is: diff --git a/content/entry/consider-death.md b/content/entry/consider-death.md index 47b22a0..8dd479b 100644 --- a/content/entry/consider-death.md +++ b/content/entry/consider-death.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Consider Death" date: 2022-04-29T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- You're alive and well. You don't think about your death a whole lot. You go through life acting as if you have infinite time. You take tomorrow for granted. You take your time with others for granted. You spend your time replaying arguments you had with your friend or spouse, thinking about what you would've said or could've said if given a do-over. diff --git a/content/entry/consumer-data-protection-is-a-distraction.md b/content/entry/consumer-data-protection-is-a-distraction.md index f952017..aa62320 100644 --- a/content/entry/consumer-data-protection-is-a-distraction.md +++ b/content/entry/consumer-data-protection-is-a-distraction.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Consumer Data Protection is a Distraction" date: 2021-01-18T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- This post is a public service announcement. diff --git a/content/entry/cover-your-cameras.md b/content/entry/cover-your-cameras.md index 868c17d..073ce30 100644 --- a/content/entry/cover-your-cameras.md +++ b/content/entry/cover-your-cameras.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Cover Your Cameras" date: 2021-04-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The reasons to cover your phone camera when you aren't using it overlap with the reasons to cover your built-in laptop webcam since phones are computers. So, I'll put them into a single, non-exhaustive list: diff --git a/content/entry/dead-mans-switch.md b/content/entry/dead-mans-switch.md index b87cc60..fb70caa 100644 --- a/content/entry/dead-mans-switch.md +++ b/content/entry/dead-mans-switch.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Dead Man's Switch" date: 2021-01-27T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Definition There are many kinds of dead man's switches (abbreviated here as DMS). The DMS's this post is concerned with are software-based[1]. More specifically this post is concerned with what I will call Wikileaks/Mr. Robot style DMS's. diff --git a/content/entry/dealing-with-close-minded-people.md b/content/entry/dealing-with-close-minded-people.md index d246e4a..b14a4aa 100644 --- a/content/entry/dealing-with-close-minded-people.md +++ b/content/entry/dealing-with-close-minded-people.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Dealing With Close-Minded People" date: 2021-08-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Motivation I'm going to start this post in the same way I've started a few previous posts which is by sharing what motivated me to write it. diff --git a/content/entry/debugging-neomutt.md b/content/entry/debugging-neomutt.md index f6ed7da..5d9cf1a 100644 --- a/content/entry/debugging-neomutt.md +++ b/content/entry/debugging-neomutt.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Debugging Neomutt" date: 2021-12-13T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- About a month ago, I was checking my emails in Neomutt. When I opened a particular email, suddenly, Neomutt core dumped. diff --git a/content/entry/disgustingly-rich.md b/content/entry/disgustingly-rich.md index b6dfc33..2a9111f 100644 --- a/content/entry/disgustingly-rich.md +++ b/content/entry/disgustingly-rich.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Disgustingly Rich" date: 2021-08-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- With income and wealth inequality at its peak, a few billionaires now own more wealth than half the world's population. What are they spending all that money on? Well, the world's richest man is using it to rocket himself into space and toss skittles around in zero-g. Meanwhile... diff --git a/content/entry/documentary-line-goes-up-the-problem-with-nfts.md b/content/entry/documentary-line-goes-up-the-problem-with-nfts.md index d17e2f6..69904c7 100644 --- a/content/entry/documentary-line-goes-up-the-problem-with-nfts.md +++ b/content/entry/documentary-line-goes-up-the-problem-with-nfts.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Documentary] Line Goes Up - The Problem With NFTs" date: 2022-03-15T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Someone recently asked me what I think of NFTs. I sent them the documentary "Line Goes Up"[1]. If anyone in the future asks me my thoughts on cryptocurrency, DAOs, NFTs, Web3, or smart contracts, I will send them Line Goes Up. It currently only has around six million views, but it deserves more. diff --git a/content/entry/documentary-sicko.md b/content/entry/documentary-sicko.md index 52c897d..03280bc 100644 --- a/content/entry/documentary-sicko.md +++ b/content/entry/documentary-sicko.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Documentary] Sicko" date: 2021-01-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The Failing American Healthcare System ## Public Healthcare diff --git a/content/entry/documentary-the-norden-prison.md b/content/entry/documentary-the-norden-prison.md index 7dca4e1..31c8d3c 100644 --- a/content/entry/documentary-the-norden-prison.md +++ b/content/entry/documentary-the-norden-prison.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Documentary] The Norden: Prison" date: 2021-02-03T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The Norden The Norden[1] is a documentary series made in 2014 first aired by Finland's national public broadcasting company YLE[2]. It presents the Nordic welfare model from an outsider's perspective. The first episode looks at the Norwegian prison system. It captures so much of what's wrong with "tough" prisons like those in America and most importantly it shows a better alternative. It promotes a prison model based on rehabilitation, not revenge. You can watch it for free on archive.org: diff --git a/content/entry/domain-change-announcement.md b/content/entry/domain-change-announcement.md index 8d79d47..1d57ca7 100644 --- a/content/entry/domain-change-announcement.md +++ b/content/entry/domain-change-announcement.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Domain Change Announcement" date: 2022-12-04T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I have changed my domain from nicksphere.ch to nicholasjohnson.ch. My email has been changed accordingly from nick@nicksphere.ch to nick@nicholasjohnson.ch if you want to contact me. And finally, I changed the names of my journal repositories from "nicksphere" to simply "journal" and from "hugo-theme-nicksphere" to "hugo-theme-journal". diff --git a/content/entry/dont-call-people-homophobic-transphobic-or-islamophobic.md b/content/entry/dont-call-people-homophobic-transphobic-or-islamophobic.md index 5f5a287..a34d7bc 100644 --- a/content/entry/dont-call-people-homophobic-transphobic-or-islamophobic.md +++ b/content/entry/dont-call-people-homophobic-transphobic-or-islamophobic.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Don't Call People Homophobic, Transphobic, or Islamophobic" date: 2022-03-27T00:00:02 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The suffix "phobia" implies an irrational fear of something. If you have arachnophobia, that means you have an irrational fear of spiders. It doesn't mean you're ideologically opposed to spiders. That's why I don't like the words homophobia, transphobia, or islamophobia. Despite their suffix, those words aren't used to mean irrational fear. They indicate dislike and hatred, which isn't the same thing at all. diff --git a/content/entry/dont-fly-the-thin-blue-line-flag.md b/content/entry/dont-fly-the-thin-blue-line-flag.md index 287a520..2e191ff 100644 --- a/content/entry/dont-fly-the-thin-blue-line-flag.md +++ b/content/entry/dont-fly-the-thin-blue-line-flag.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Don't Fly The Thin Blue Line Flag" date: 2022-05-26T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Today I saw an American flag with a thin blue line as one of the stripes and the words "we support our police" under it. In case you're not aware, the thin blue line flag is internationally recognized as a symbol for support of police and law enforcement. diff --git a/content/entry/dont-let-cannabis-dispensaries-scan-your-id.md b/content/entry/dont-let-cannabis-dispensaries-scan-your-id.md index d45175e..48a2a95 100644 --- a/content/entry/dont-let-cannabis-dispensaries-scan-your-id.md +++ b/content/entry/dont-let-cannabis-dispensaries-scan-your-id.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Don't Let Cannabis Dispensaries Scan Your ID" date: 2021-10-06T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- So there's 2 problems with allowing cannabis dispensaries to scan your ID (for US citizens): diff --git a/content/entry/dont-record-others-without-permission.md b/content/entry/dont-record-others-without-permission.md index 9fbc0cf..d6c39db 100644 --- a/content/entry/dont-record-others-without-permission.md +++ b/content/entry/dont-record-others-without-permission.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Don't Record Others Without Permission" date: 2021-03-29T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The Right to Privacy We've lost the right to personal privacy to a large extent thanks to the ever-expanding corporate surveillance state. The surveillance state we all live under is getting increasing attention from non-mainstream media sources. However, something that doesn't make the non-mainstream news is the privacy we voluntarily take away from each other by recording people without their permission. diff --git a/content/entry/dont-rely-exclusively-on-a-vpn-for-online-privacy-and-security.md b/content/entry/dont-rely-exclusively-on-a-vpn-for-online-privacy-and-security.md index 7b2deec..72d805d 100644 --- a/content/entry/dont-rely-exclusively-on-a-vpn-for-online-privacy-and-security.md +++ b/content/entry/dont-rely-exclusively-on-a-vpn-for-online-privacy-and-security.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Don't Rely Exclusively on a VPN For Online Privacy and Security" date: 2022-05-20T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Don't Use a VPN For Online Privacy In 2018, After Skool published a video about how the vital right to privacy is being eroded.[1] When I saw the title of this video, I thought "this is exactly the sort of video I'll probably agree with". And it was, until after the 5-minute mark. I picked out this video to share here because it's the epitome of an increasingly common marketing lie about VPNs. diff --git a/content/entry/dont-use-github.md b/content/entry/dont-use-github.md index 6cb8d06..d11ab8e 100644 --- a/content/entry/dont-use-github.md +++ b/content/entry/dont-use-github.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Don't Use Github" date: 2021-05-31T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Why is Free Software Being Hosted on Github??? Free software being hosted on Github as its main repository is a downright embarrassment to the very principles free software is supposed to stand for. Github is a proprietary platform. Important site features can't work without proprietary JavaScript running in the browser. The backend code for Github is completely proprietary. And it's owned by Micro$oft, one of the largest megacorps to ever exist whose CEO once called GNU/Linux a "cancer" and only changed his tune when he realized there was money to be made. diff --git a/content/entry/doublethink.md b/content/entry/doublethink.md index 4dc399a..487d924 100644 --- a/content/entry/doublethink.md +++ b/content/entry/doublethink.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Doublethink" date: 2020-06-14T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Quick Note As a quick note, what people post online is often taken as something they will forever agree with and are forever held to. This is unreasonable. There needs to be some equivalent of forgiveness if one posts something horrible online, but that's a topic for another post. I'm not saying people aren't responsible for what they post. But I am saying we should aspire to take the most charitable interpretation of what people post if we care about advancing the conversation. Obviously a person's character is a factor in how you interpret what they post. diff --git a/content/entry/ego-traps.md b/content/entry/ego-traps.md index 2bea950..74cf8e9 100644 --- a/content/entry/ego-traps.md +++ b/content/entry/ego-traps.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Ego Traps" date: 2020-08-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The Ego Before I get into ego traps, I need to explain what the ego is. I made a post previously about the self[1]. But, for this post, I'm going to give a simple definition. Ego is the sensation of "I". Ego is your idea of yourself. When asked to describe yourself, the ego is what you're describing. The ego is your "persona" that you display not only to others, but that you yourself believe. It's incomplete. This has to be true because consciousness can never be an object of itself. diff --git a/content/entry/encryption-is-a-timer-not-a-lock.md b/content/entry/encryption-is-a-timer-not-a-lock.md index 39c09f6..32a142e 100644 --- a/content/entry/encryption-is-a-timer-not-a-lock.md +++ b/content/entry/encryption-is-a-timer-not-a-lock.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Encryption is a Timer, Not a Lock" date: 2022-03-23T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Encryption is Not a Lock Encryption is often explained as a lock. When you lock a safe with your valuables inside it, only yourself and the others who are granted access can unlock it. It's not a perfect analogy. A determined thief can crack a safe. By contrast, as far as we know, it's impossible to decrypt securely encrypted data without the key. diff --git a/content/entry/essay-the-simulation-argument.md b/content/entry/essay-the-simulation-argument.md index 9f9a4c5..761d277 100644 --- a/content/entry/essay-the-simulation-argument.md +++ b/content/entry/essay-the-simulation-argument.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Essay] The Simulation Argument" date: 2020-12-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Nick Bostrom[1] proposes that we are living inside a computer simulation with a 1 in 3 probability. It's easy to get the basic idea of the argument, but it's also widely misunderstood. If you read it, read carefully. diff --git a/content/entry/exposing-zoom.md b/content/entry/exposing-zoom.md index 4a2aa8f..8e98262 100644 --- a/content/entry/exposing-zoom.md +++ b/content/entry/exposing-zoom.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Exposing Zoom" date: 2020-05-23T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Foreword I often feel like my posts can come off as preachy. So this post is going to be a different than usual. This time, I want to include more facts. This post is for the people that don't necessarily share my opinion that all software should be free (as in freedom). My hope is that this will speak to a wider audience. diff --git a/content/entry/extreme-capitalism-ruins-everything.md b/content/entry/extreme-capitalism-ruins-everything.md index 8682c97..d3503fc 100644 --- a/content/entry/extreme-capitalism-ruins-everything.md +++ b/content/entry/extreme-capitalism-ruins-everything.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Extreme Capitalism Ruins Everything" date: 2022-06-18T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Why Can't America Fix Any of its Problems? I talk about a lot of different issues on this journal: everything ranging from beastiality[1] to transgender athletes[2] to private online shopping[3]. On some of these issues, especially cultural issues, there exists legitimate disagreement. But on many there is a broad consensus, at least here in Burgerland. We're only made to believe there isn't because that's what's in the interests of the very rich and powerful. diff --git a/content/entry/fable-the-fable-of-the-dragon-tyrant.md b/content/entry/fable-the-fable-of-the-dragon-tyrant.md index 1fb4074..3950d3d 100644 --- a/content/entry/fable-the-fable-of-the-dragon-tyrant.md +++ b/content/entry/fable-the-fable-of-the-dragon-tyrant.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Fable] The Fable of the Dragon Tyrant" date: 2021-01-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Death Death has been an ever-present fact of life since the dawn of humanity. Large parts of human culture have been shaped by the knowledge that one day we will cease to be. In the past our species has had no choice but to come to terms with it. But technological progress is now accelerating so rapidly that a cure for aging is conceivable. Some even argue it's inevitable. diff --git a/content/entry/fighting-the-war-on-drugs-with-jury-nullification.md b/content/entry/fighting-the-war-on-drugs-with-jury-nullification.md index d79f612..be375db 100644 --- a/content/entry/fighting-the-war-on-drugs-with-jury-nullification.md +++ b/content/entry/fighting-the-war-on-drugs-with-jury-nullification.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Fighting The War On Drugs With Jury Nullification" date: 2022-03-26T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Disclaimer: The information provided in this entry does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. This entry is for general informational purposes only. diff --git a/content/entry/flygskam.md b/content/entry/flygskam.md index fed27b2..0ff8d5f 100644 --- a/content/entry/flygskam.md +++ b/content/entry/flygskam.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Flygskam" date: 2021-07-25T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Quitting Flying One of the best ways to reduce your carbon emissions is by quitting flying. It's by far the most environmentally destructive means of travel. Most of the time it's more energy efficient to travel by train, ship or car. And at a time when climate change is destroying life on earth, there just isn't room in the carbon budget to accommodate it. So we should all minimize the number of flights we take. diff --git a/content/entry/free-international-texting-without-a-phone-number.md b/content/entry/free-international-texting-without-a-phone-number.md index b1ba283..71b1973 100644 --- a/content/entry/free-international-texting-without-a-phone-number.md +++ b/content/entry/free-international-texting-without-a-phone-number.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Free International Texting Without a Phone Number" date: 2022-04-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # SMS/Email Gateways So I just found out that many cell phone service providers run SMS/email gateways. I don't believe they're very well known, but they are extremely useful. I created a Git repo listing all the ones that are known to work[1], so be sure to check that out if you're interested. diff --git a/content/entry/free-will-is-incoherent-part-1.md b/content/entry/free-will-is-incoherent-part-1.md index f1f3f15..15424d2 100644 --- a/content/entry/free-will-is-incoherent-part-1.md +++ b/content/entry/free-will-is-incoherent-part-1.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Free Will is Incoherent - Part 1" date: 2020-06-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Preface Before you read what I have to write about free will, you should know that I agree fully with what Sam Harris[1] has written on the subject. I'm just going to be reiterating things he has said in my own words with some of my own observations. So if you are familiar with his words on the topic, I recommend skipping this post. diff --git a/content/entry/free-will-is-incoherent-part-2.md b/content/entry/free-will-is-incoherent-part-2.md index a84e187..0bcc62a 100644 --- a/content/entry/free-will-is-incoherent-part-2.md +++ b/content/entry/free-will-is-incoherent-part-2.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Free Will is Incoherent - Part 2" date: 2020-08-22T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Recap If you haven't read my part 1[1] post about why free will is incoherent, I recommend reading that before continuing. In it, I demonstrate that free will not only does not exist, but it is incoherent on many levels. To sum up, the cosmos is either deterministic or random. This leaves no room for the conventional notion of free will since neither determinism nor randomness get you free will. It's impossible to imagine a cosmos where free will does exist, and that's not because of lack of imagination. Even worse than that, there is no self to which free will could be ascribed in the first place. So, it's a deeply confused idea. diff --git a/content/entry/future-proof-digital-timestamping.md b/content/entry/future-proof-digital-timestamping.md index 3e68e8e..24950c4 100644 --- a/content/entry/future-proof-digital-timestamping.md +++ b/content/entry/future-proof-digital-timestamping.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Future-Proof Digital Timestamping" date: 2021-11-13T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Synthetic Media The internet will soon face a huge problem. AI-generated media, aka synthetic media, is becoming harder to distinguish from human-generated media. Synthetic articles shared on social media have topped the charts with readers entirely unaware what they're reading is synthetic. The amount of synthetic media posted online keeps increasing every year. Even big tech platforms and DARPA have ramped up their deepfake detection efforts. diff --git a/content/entry/gemini-appreciation-entry.md b/content/entry/gemini-appreciation-entry.md index e0322c6..5c44f63 100644 --- a/content/entry/gemini-appreciation-entry.md +++ b/content/entry/gemini-appreciation-entry.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Gemini Appreciation Entry" date: 2022-04-26T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I said I'd make an entry about Gemini[1]. This is that entry. diff --git a/content/entry/get-an-anonymous-phone-number-with-dtmfio.md b/content/entry/get-an-anonymous-phone-number-with-dtmfio.md index 64dc3dc..b79fb44 100644 --- a/content/entry/get-an-anonymous-phone-number-with-dtmfio.md +++ b/content/entry/get-an-anonymous-phone-number-with-dtmfio.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Get an Anonymous Phone Number with DTMF.io" date: 2020-11-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # ATTENTION DTMF.io has shut down. Links to the website have been replaced with archival links. diff --git a/content/entry/get-an-eco-friendly-burial.md b/content/entry/get-an-eco-friendly-burial.md index eab8093..152f200 100644 --- a/content/entry/get-an-eco-friendly-burial.md +++ b/content/entry/get-an-eco-friendly-burial.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Get an Eco-Friendly Burial" date: 2022-05-01T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Burials The amount of waste generated by traditional burials is totally unnecessary. Corpses are packed with embalming fluid, which is often environmentally disastrous. It also uses up tons of wood, steel, and concrete. Even cremation emits noxious gases into the atmosphere. How did this ever become the norm? diff --git a/content/entry/get-the-vaccine.md b/content/entry/get-the-vaccine.md index 4782ed4..302bbb3 100644 --- a/content/entry/get-the-vaccine.md +++ b/content/entry/get-the-vaccine.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Get the Vaccine" date: 2021-06-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- This is a short post encouraging all people that are eligible to get the Covid-19 vaccine. diff --git a/content/entry/git-is-not-github-git-is-not-github-git-is-not-github.md b/content/entry/git-is-not-github-git-is-not-github-git-is-not-github.md index 64984d7..03e97ae 100644 --- a/content/entry/git-is-not-github-git-is-not-github-git-is-not-github.md +++ b/content/entry/git-is-not-github-git-is-not-github-git-is-not-github.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Git Is Not Github. Git Is Not Github. Git Is Not Github." date: 2022-02-25T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- A common confusion among new programmers is that Git and Github are the same thing, despite dozens of online articles and videos explaining the difference. I was probably in their position once myself, so I'm not assigning blame. I'm writing this entry because I think the conflation of Git and Github is harmful. diff --git a/content/entry/git-privacy.md b/content/entry/git-privacy.md index 2b408d0..8f80646 100644 --- a/content/entry/git-privacy.md +++ b/content/entry/git-privacy.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Git Privacy" date: 2021-03-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The text below is comes straight from my Git repository (with slight modifications). Find it at the link below: diff --git a/content/entry/give-up-hope-take-action.md b/content/entry/give-up-hope-take-action.md index f3ee8e8..12c293f 100644 --- a/content/entry/give-up-hope-take-action.md +++ b/content/entry/give-up-hope-take-action.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Give Up Hope. Take Action." date: 2022-10-13T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Humanity is in dire circumstances right now. We're at something of a precipice. We face the threats of nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence, global heating[1], superbugs, ecological destruction, resource exhaustion, overpopulation, mass surveillance, authoritarianism, and much more. diff --git a/content/entry/goodbye-pgp.md b/content/entry/goodbye-pgp.md index 88f5333..fa067f2 100644 --- a/content/entry/goodbye-pgp.md +++ b/content/entry/goodbye-pgp.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Goodbye PGP" date: 2022-01-03T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Introduction I often do research for my journal entries and decide to change or delete them based on what I learn during the writing process. The original title of this entry was actually "The Right Way to Use PGP". After researching PGP more, I came to the conclusion that it's not worth using, which led me to write the Statement of GPG Key Transition.[1] diff --git a/content/entry/gpl-vs-permissive-licenses.md b/content/entry/gpl-vs-permissive-licenses.md index a6c0211..2b6e7e2 100644 --- a/content/entry/gpl-vs-permissive-licenses.md +++ b/content/entry/gpl-vs-permissive-licenses.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "GPL vs Permissive Licenses" date: 2022-04-11T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- When it comes to the debate between using the GNU General Public License[1] (GPL) or permissive licenses, I choose the GPL and I encourage others to do the same. diff --git a/content/entry/how-extreme-wealth-inequality-harms-the-wealthy.md b/content/entry/how-extreme-wealth-inequality-harms-the-wealthy.md index b6db57a..8857870 100644 --- a/content/entry/how-extreme-wealth-inequality-harms-the-wealthy.md +++ b/content/entry/how-extreme-wealth-inequality-harms-the-wealthy.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "How Extreme Wealth Inequality Harms The Wealthy" date: 2022-04-18T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Something people who think about wealth inequality don't often consider is just how much it harms the wealthy. The implicit assumption is that wealth inequality always benefits the wealthy, but upon even superficial consideration, it's obvious that it doesn't. diff --git a/content/entry/how-i-came-to-atheism.md b/content/entry/how-i-came-to-atheism.md index c00c744..1722954 100644 --- a/content/entry/how-i-came-to-atheism.md +++ b/content/entry/how-i-came-to-atheism.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "How I Came to Atheism" date: 2022-12-23T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## Growing Up Christian As a child, I self-identified as a Christian even though I never went to church or took religion all that seriously. That was what society had told me was true, so I believed it. I didn't know any better. diff --git a/content/entry/how-to-proselytize-free-software.md b/content/entry/how-to-proselytize-free-software.md index fa8bb92..3265e78 100644 --- a/content/entry/how-to-proselytize-free-software.md +++ b/content/entry/how-to-proselytize-free-software.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "How to Proselytize Free Software" date: 2022-06-23T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- In my last entry, The Power of Convenience[1], I talked about how convenience shapes the actions we take in life and how making something more or less convenient makes it more or less likely for people to do it. In this entry, I'll continue with the theme of convenience, applying it to free software this time. diff --git a/content/entry/how-to-transfer-large-files-from-one-computer-to-another.md b/content/entry/how-to-transfer-large-files-from-one-computer-to-another.md index 77934df..dea4961 100644 --- a/content/entry/how-to-transfer-large-files-from-one-computer-to-another.md +++ b/content/entry/how-to-transfer-large-files-from-one-computer-to-another.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "How to Transfer Large Files From One Computer to Another" date: 2022-02-24T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # How Not to Transfer Large Files The average netizen has no idea how to transfer large files to others securely. And I can't really blame them for their ignorance because most websites instructing how to do it have really bad advice. diff --git a/content/entry/i-am-autistic-not-retarded.md b/content/entry/i-am-autistic-not-retarded.md index 0a23e8d..6f88953 100644 --- a/content/entry/i-am-autistic-not-retarded.md +++ b/content/entry/i-am-autistic-not-retarded.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "I Am Autistic, Not Retarded" date: 2022-12-26T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The autism spectrum is very broad. In this entry, I'm exclusively referring to high-functioning autistics like myself. diff --git a/content/entry/i-wish-i-could-endorse-the-waking-up-app.md b/content/entry/i-wish-i-could-endorse-the-waking-up-app.md index fa8157d..406dfd3 100644 --- a/content/entry/i-wish-i-could-endorse-the-waking-up-app.md +++ b/content/entry/i-wish-i-could-endorse-the-waking-up-app.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "I Wish I Could Endorse the Waking Up App" date: 2021-12-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- If you've been reading my journal for a while, you know I'm a strong proponent of daily meditation practice. I consider meditation equally important as physical exercise. I believe strongly that people should develop a meditation practice and I'm highly skeptical of the claim that "it's not for me". I really can't communicate just how important meditation is better than Sam Harris can. He has practiced meditation for over 30 years (longer than I've existed) and he has studied with meditation masters from all over the world. He put his knowledge into an app called Waking Up.[1] diff --git a/content/entry/icannot-be-trusted.md b/content/entry/icannot-be-trusted.md index 493101e..5961c89 100644 --- a/content/entry/icannot-be-trusted.md +++ b/content/entry/icannot-be-trusted.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "ICANNot Be Trusted" date: 2022-09-07T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, also known as ICANN[1], is a U.S. nonprofit which manages the DNS[2] root servers. When you type "nicksphere.ch" into your search bar and hit enter, ICANN is ultimately in control over what happens next, not me. diff --git a/content/entry/identifying-and-processing-emotions-with-alexithymia.md b/content/entry/identifying-and-processing-emotions-with-alexithymia.md index 1ab6e25..7ff2c0f 100644 --- a/content/entry/identifying-and-processing-emotions-with-alexithymia.md +++ b/content/entry/identifying-and-processing-emotions-with-alexithymia.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Identifying And Processing Emotions With Alexithymia" date: 2022-07-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## Introduction As a person with autism[1], I suffer from alexithymia[2]. Alexithymia is the inability to identify and describe one's own emotions. Alexithymia exists in non-autistic people as well, but it's not very prevalent. It is very prevalent in people with autism. It's something I'm only just beginning to effectively manage at 23 years old. Better late than never though, right? diff --git a/content/entry/if-you-dont-like-it-then-just-leave.md b/content/entry/if-you-dont-like-it-then-just-leave.md index 402f39e..9c3c295 100644 --- a/content/entry/if-you-dont-like-it-then-just-leave.md +++ b/content/entry/if-you-dont-like-it-then-just-leave.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "\"If You Don't Like It Then Just Leave\"" date: 2021-11-26T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Being Told to Leave My Country I'm getting tired of all the people who tell me to leave my country if I don't like the way it is. I've lost count of the number of times I've been told to leave, but I've never heard it from the mouth of a thoughtful person. There's certain things thoughtful, intelligent people almost never say. "If you don't like it, just leave" is one of those things. diff --git a/content/entry/implications-of-synthetic-media.md b/content/entry/implications-of-synthetic-media.md index 48750a5..1488ccd 100644 --- a/content/entry/implications-of-synthetic-media.md +++ b/content/entry/implications-of-synthetic-media.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Implications of Synthetic Media" date: 2022-04-24T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- A few months ago, I wrote an entry titled "The Privacy Implications of Weak AI".[1] This entry is a continuation of my thoughts about AI, specifically synthetic media. diff --git a/content/entry/inception-rejecting-discord-drawio-and-visual-studio.md b/content/entry/inception-rejecting-discord-drawio-and-visual-studio.md index 94f6d9f..71a069a 100644 --- a/content/entry/inception-rejecting-discord-drawio-and-visual-studio.md +++ b/content/entry/inception-rejecting-discord-drawio-and-visual-studio.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Inception - Rejecting Discord, Draw.io, and Visual Studio" date: 2020-03-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Background In the spring of 2018, I took software engineering at SIUe[1]. Software engineering is a junior level CS course. In my view, it serves as preparation for the more demanding two semester development effort that is the senior project. I'll call the professor, "Professor X" to preserve anonymity. diff --git a/content/entry/integrated-activism.md b/content/entry/integrated-activism.md index c99c6dc..75a91c5 100644 --- a/content/entry/integrated-activism.md +++ b/content/entry/integrated-activism.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Integrated Activism" date: 2021-06-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Tunnel Vision The very first thing I want to talk about to kick off this post is something in activism that I call "tunnel vision". It happens when an activist judges the morality of every social situation through the lens of their preferred social causes only, neglecting other relevant social concerns. diff --git a/content/entry/ipv6-adoption.md b/content/entry/ipv6-adoption.md index 53e40d7..6f66401 100644 --- a/content/entry/ipv6-adoption.md +++ b/content/entry/ipv6-adoption.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "IPv6 Adoption" date: 2020-12-25T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I try to make my posts accessible in the sense that I don't want to assume the reader has prior knowledge about a topic. So I'm going to explain a bit about IPv4 and IPv6 before I talk about how you can help with IPv6 adoption. If you're already familiar with IPv4 and IPv6 feel free to skip. diff --git a/content/entry/is-beastiality-immoral.md b/content/entry/is-beastiality-immoral.md index 032d5dc..5abfc7c 100644 --- a/content/entry/is-beastiality-immoral.md +++ b/content/entry/is-beastiality-immoral.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Is Beastiality Immoral?" date: 2022-04-18T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I already wrote an entry defending incest[1], so I figured why not write about another sex taboo? This time, I'll be exploring the ethics of beastiality. diff --git a/content/entry/its-not-necessarily-irrational-to-believe-things-you-cant-justify-to-others.md b/content/entry/its-not-necessarily-irrational-to-believe-things-you-cant-justify-to-others.md index 2222068..7330f0b 100644 --- a/content/entry/its-not-necessarily-irrational-to-believe-things-you-cant-justify-to-others.md +++ b/content/entry/its-not-necessarily-irrational-to-believe-things-you-cant-justify-to-others.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "It's Not Necessarily Irrational to Believe Things You Can't Justify to Others" date: 2022-04-12T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- There's a certain mistake seasoned debaters often make when interacting with lay people and the mistake is that just because the unprepared lay person cannot presently argue a point, the seasoned debater concludes they hold that belief without justification. I'll explain why this conclusion isn't necessarily correct. diff --git a/content/entry/journal-update-015.md b/content/entry/journal-update-015.md index 33b14a4..da97d11 100644 --- a/content/entry/journal-update-015.md +++ b/content/entry/journal-update-015.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Journal Update 015" date: 2021-09-10T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- It sometimes happens that after I write a post, I think of ways it could've been better. Rarely it happens that I completely change my opinion on something and my past writing no longer reflects what I now believe. But it does happen. diff --git a/content/entry/journal-update-016.md b/content/entry/journal-update-016.md index 1dc79b3..5064910 100644 --- a/content/entry/journal-update-016.md +++ b/content/entry/journal-update-016.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Journal Update 016" date: 2021-10-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New * Freenet and Zeronet support have been removed. I don't think anyone is using those platforms to read this journal, so I deem them not worth the maintenance. diff --git a/content/entry/journal-update-017.md b/content/entry/journal-update-017.md index 5c8b01b..76e437e 100644 --- a/content/entry/journal-update-017.md +++ b/content/entry/journal-update-017.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Journal Update 017" date: 2021-12-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New * IPv6 support is back! I don't plan on removing it again. This site needs to be present on the modern internet. diff --git a/content/entry/journal-update-018.md b/content/entry/journal-update-018.md index f78a176..3fd6a53 100644 --- a/content/entry/journal-update-018.md +++ b/content/entry/journal-update-018.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Journal Update 018" date: 2022-03-03T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New * Replaced my GPG key with Age for email encryption and Signify for signing commits. GPG is ancient, bad software.[1] diff --git a/content/entry/journal-update-019.md b/content/entry/journal-update-019.md index 862f9e3..7df5787 100644 --- a/content/entry/journal-update-019.md +++ b/content/entry/journal-update-019.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Journal Update 019" date: 2022-03-14T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New * Mirrored this journal on archive.org. The archive.org link can be found on the about page[1]. Since I don't have immediate, direct control over this mirror, it's non-trivial for an adversary to remove the archive.org mirror even if I'm compromised. diff --git a/content/entry/journal-update-020.md b/content/entry/journal-update-020.md index ea43f1a..17dd05b 100644 --- a/content/entry/journal-update-020.md +++ b/content/entry/journal-update-020.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Journal Update 020" date: 2022-05-01T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New Over the past week, I rewrote my journal generator (yes, again). I created a Hugo theme[1], so Hugo now does all the heavy lifting. The new program simply called "nicksphere"[2] generates the website, the Gemini capsule, and the Atom feeds for both all in less than a second. Any plans I had for my custom generator nicksphere-gmi[3] have been scrapped. diff --git a/content/entry/journal-update-021.md b/content/entry/journal-update-021.md index 0725360..42635b1 100644 --- a/content/entry/journal-update-021.md +++ b/content/entry/journal-update-021.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Journal Update 021" date: 2022-09-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## What's New As was planned since my last journal entry[1] back in May, I polished up the hugo-theme-nicksphere[2] repository. diff --git a/content/entry/journal-update-022.md b/content/entry/journal-update-022.md index 82a9f6e..81f1d4f 100644 --- a/content/entry/journal-update-022.md +++ b/content/entry/journal-update-022.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Journal Update 022" date: 2022-12-04T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## What's New In my last journal entry update back in September[1], I talked about rebranding away from nicksphere to just my name, nicholasjohnson. Well I've finished the rebranding. For more on that, see my previous journal entry.[2] I accomplished it by the most straightforward way possible: setting up everything in parallel on a fresh server, then updating the domains. I changed some backend server stuff, but probably nobody cares about those details. diff --git a/content/entry/knowing-who-you-really-are.md b/content/entry/knowing-who-you-really-are.md index 4ebb0c7..edcbe3d 100644 --- a/content/entry/knowing-who-you-really-are.md +++ b/content/entry/knowing-who-you-really-are.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Knowing Who You Really Are" date: 2022-11-08T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- What is it that stops you from being truly fulfilled right now? diff --git a/content/entry/language-shouldnt-be-exclusive.md b/content/entry/language-shouldnt-be-exclusive.md index e5af41d..b9239eb 100644 --- a/content/entry/language-shouldnt-be-exclusive.md +++ b/content/entry/language-shouldnt-be-exclusive.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Language Shouldn't Be Exclusive" date: 2022-03-27T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- A couple months ago, Joe Rogan[1], hugely popular internet podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator, comedian, actor, and former television presenter apologized for using the word nigger on his podcast. Apparently someone made a compilation of him saying the word several times in different episodes. It got circulated, which prompted the apology. diff --git a/content/entry/leak-all-the-data.md b/content/entry/leak-all-the-data.md index c2a583e..4151950 100644 --- a/content/entry/leak-all-the-data.md +++ b/content/entry/leak-all-the-data.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Leak All the Data" date: 2021-11-04T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I know this entry is going to disqualify me from working for big tech or the government but oh well. Other things I've said on this journal have probably already disqualified me anyways. Whatever. This needs to be said. diff --git a/content/entry/learning-im-autistic-was-a-relief.md b/content/entry/learning-im-autistic-was-a-relief.md index 615095f..eb8f118 100644 --- a/content/entry/learning-im-autistic-was-a-relief.md +++ b/content/entry/learning-im-autistic-was-a-relief.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Learning I'm Autistic Was a Relief" date: 2023-01-15T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Learning I'm autistic and realizing what that meant brought me a huge amount of relief. From a neurotypical perspective, that might not make a lot of sense. You might be thinking "How could it bring you relief to learn that you're autistic? Wasn't it depressing?" Just the opposite actually and I'll explain why. However, keep in mind that I'm just one autistic person. I don't speak for everybody else. diff --git a/content/entry/legalize-all-drugs.md b/content/entry/legalize-all-drugs.md index 028da43..b84634d 100644 --- a/content/entry/legalize-all-drugs.md +++ b/content/entry/legalize-all-drugs.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Legalize All Drugs" date: 2020-11-08T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # History Lesson A century ago, alcohol prohibition in the United States began with the 18th amendment[1] prohibiting the production, importation and sale of alcoholic beverages and ended in 1933 with the 21st amendment[2]. The goal of prohibition was to reduce alcohol consumption. While prohibition succeeded in reducing alcohol consumption somewhat, it resulted in many unintended consequences including public health problems, an increase in organized crime, and corruption of law enforcement. diff --git a/content/entry/lock-him-up.md b/content/entry/lock-him-up.md index 25f221f..ff170e8 100644 --- a/content/entry/lock-him-up.md +++ b/content/entry/lock-him-up.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Lock Him Up" date: 2022-06-29T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # January 6th Hearings I've been keeping my eye on the January 6th hearings watching Robert Reich's videos summarizing the key revelations from each day. I'll put the links to those at the bottom. I'd like to make a meta summary on Robert Reich's key revelations in case you haven't been following the hearings. diff --git a/content/entry/manufacturing-agreement.md b/content/entry/manufacturing-agreement.md index 6dc8f21..e917a71 100644 --- a/content/entry/manufacturing-agreement.md +++ b/content/entry/manufacturing-agreement.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Manufacturing Agreement" date: 2021-08-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- You might think I'm writing this to lecture you that you should read the terms of service (ToS) and privacy policy (PP) agreements of the online services you use. While you definitely should, that's not my point. I'm writing this to share my observation that not agreeing to the ToS and PP is often impractical. And for that reason, in cases where it is impractical to refuse, we shouldn't consider it agreement. Rather, it is illegitimate, manufactured agreement. diff --git a/content/entry/merchants-should-stop-accepting-cryptocurrency.md b/content/entry/merchants-should-stop-accepting-cryptocurrency.md index aa7dcf4..48c131f 100644 --- a/content/entry/merchants-should-stop-accepting-cryptocurrency.md +++ b/content/entry/merchants-should-stop-accepting-cryptocurrency.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Merchants Should Stop Accepting Cryptocurrency" date: 2022-08-17T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- In my last journal entry titled "[Documentary] Line Goes Up - The Problem With NFTs"[1], I talked about my history with cryptocurrency (henceforth referred to as digital tulips[2]), how I regret ever getting involved, and I promoted a documentary explaining how it's essentially a planet-destroying ponzi scheme. In this entry, I want to build on that and talk about why merchants shouldn't accept digital tulips as a form of payment. diff --git a/content/entry/metaethics.md b/content/entry/metaethics.md index 9ef19c0..a2bb77e 100644 --- a/content/entry/metaethics.md +++ b/content/entry/metaethics.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Metaethics" date: 2020-10-11T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I'm going to talk about metaethics using the 3 questions posed by Bernard Rosen and Richard Garner. The first part is moral semantics. Moral semantics asks how we should interpret moral language, words like good, evil, right, wrong and ought. The next is moral ontology. Moral ontology asks about the nature of moral judgments. Are there many kinds of moral judgments? Are those judgments true for everyone or only specific groups? Lastly, there is moral epistemology. It talks about what we can know about morality and how we know it, irrespective of its nature. For instance, how can we justify our moral judgments to others? I'll start with moral semantics. Without defining the semantics, nothing else in this post would have any meaning. diff --git a/content/entry/mourning-the-loss-of-privacy.md b/content/entry/mourning-the-loss-of-privacy.md index f88923f..39608c1 100644 --- a/content/entry/mourning-the-loss-of-privacy.md +++ b/content/entry/mourning-the-loss-of-privacy.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Mourning the Loss of Privacy" date: 2021-05-06T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Losing Privacy I mourn the loss of collective privacy in society year after year. Seeing people passively accept more mass surveillance and less privacy rather than fight back is disheartening. Especially young people. Young people just don't seem to care. They've given up on privacy. It's an old-fashioned idea for them. I'm obliged to qualify that with "some, not all" young people. Nonetheless I find it very troubling that it's hard to find young people with sane attitudes towards privacy. This isn't to exclude the older generations. A good number of older folks have been infected with the "nothing to hide" meme. They're not immune either. The reason I'm specifically worried about young people is because they define what is normal in society. I'm able to get most older people to agree with me that the loss of privacy is a bad thing. Young people are prone to disinterest in privacy and brushing off mass surveillance as "the way things are now". diff --git a/content/entry/my-career-path.md b/content/entry/my-career-path.md index 050aa15..8112ff2 100644 --- a/content/entry/my-career-path.md +++ b/content/entry/my-career-path.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "My Career Path" date: 2021-06-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Coming Full Circle It feels good to return to the topic that started this blog in the first place: my career path. I want to more thoroughly discuss my thoughts on my career and where I'm headed. But before I talk about where I'm headed, I first have to reflect on where I began. diff --git a/content/entry/natalist-culture-is-insane.md b/content/entry/natalist-culture-is-insane.md index dbb3485..bfbf90e 100644 --- a/content/entry/natalist-culture-is-insane.md +++ b/content/entry/natalist-culture-is-insane.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Natalist Culture is Insane" date: 2023-01-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The United Nations estimated that the world population exceeded eight billion by November 2022. The *maximum* number earth can sustainably support given current technology and lifestyles is less than half that. Assuming everyone wants a European standard of living, the maximum is probably less than a third or a quarter of the current population. diff --git a/content/entry/networked-ev-charging-stations.md b/content/entry/networked-ev-charging-stations.md index e9470be..02519b5 100644 --- a/content/entry/networked-ev-charging-stations.md +++ b/content/entry/networked-ev-charging-stations.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Networked EV Charging Stations" date: 2020-09-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Eventually I want to write a separate post on why mass surveillance is stupid, dangerous, and incompatible with democracy. For those that read my blog, I'm probably preaching to the choir though. I'm going to write the rest of this post assuming the reader already understands why mass surveillance is bad, or at least sees how it could be. If you don't understand why massive government surveillance is a problem, you think that "privacy is dead", or "I have nothing to hide" comes to mind, you should do more research on mass surveillance before continuing. With that, I'll continue. diff --git a/content/entry/newcombs-paradox-resolved.md b/content/entry/newcombs-paradox-resolved.md index abe69bd..a1693fa 100644 --- a/content/entry/newcombs-paradox-resolved.md +++ b/content/entry/newcombs-paradox-resolved.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Newcomb's Paradox Resolved" date: 2020-11-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Background I "solved" Newcomb's Paradox[1] about 3 years ago if I remember right. I use solved in quotes because you don't really "solve" a paradox. Paradoxes only seem to be contradictory at first glance. But, upon further inspection, they lead you to a new understanding of the problem where the paradox disappears. In other words, paradoxes arise out of a flawed or incomplete perspective. Newcomb's paradox in particular arises out of a misunderstanding of free will[2]. diff --git a/content/entry/obligatory-consumption-must-end.md b/content/entry/obligatory-consumption-must-end.md index 5539ee3..aabeff3 100644 --- a/content/entry/obligatory-consumption-must-end.md +++ b/content/entry/obligatory-consumption-must-end.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Obligatory Consumption Must End" date: 2022-11-27T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## Preface Perhaps I'm making a mistake by even posting this, but it's something I wanna talk about and I'm hoping this short preface will mitigate the danger of making this entry. diff --git a/content/entry/on-blockchain.md b/content/entry/on-blockchain.md index 2884365..60231c3 100644 --- a/content/entry/on-blockchain.md +++ b/content/entry/on-blockchain.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "On Blockchain" date: 2021-01-06T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Blockchain is a topic I've had thoughts on for a while now. I just never got around to writing about it. There's no shortage of wild, baseless assertions in the "crypto space" about the future of blockchain. I want to clear the air by speaking sensibly about blockchain. In accordance with my theme of not assuming prior knowledge, check out the video below if you're unfamiliar with blockchain. diff --git a/content/entry/on-compassion.md b/content/entry/on-compassion.md index f8ac7a2..630ca42 100644 --- a/content/entry/on-compassion.md +++ b/content/entry/on-compassion.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "On Compassion" date: 2021-10-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The Traditional View of Compassion Compassion for me simply means a concern for other conscious beings, whether those beings are other people, toads, whales, bats, or even slugs. Compassion doesn't exclude any conscious being. This is usually obvious to everybody for non-human animals. Specifically because we never ascribe them moral agency. If a bear mauls someone to death, then it isn't personal. Even the family of the mauled person probably wouldn't hate the bear because they would know it's just a bear doing what bears do. Bears have no concept of right or wrong. So we don't hold them responsible for their actions the same way we do people. We might still kill that bear, but we wouldn't do it out of hatred. It would be killed out of necessity and hopefully as humanely as possible. diff --git a/content/entry/on-cultural-appropriation.md b/content/entry/on-cultural-appropriation.md index bfcf9bd..dc1ab04 100644 --- a/content/entry/on-cultural-appropriation.md +++ b/content/entry/on-cultural-appropriation.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "On Cultural Appropriation" date: 2022-05-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- There seems to be moral confusion about why cultural appropriation is bad. I'd like to use this entry to clear that up. We'll start with the Wikipedia definition of cultural appropriation: diff --git a/content/entry/on-drug-checking-tools.md b/content/entry/on-drug-checking-tools.md index 0e6351f..54e7e6b 100644 --- a/content/entry/on-drug-checking-tools.md +++ b/content/entry/on-drug-checking-tools.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "On Drug Checking Tools" date: 2022-01-20T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Why Are Drug Checking Tools Illegal? Why are drug checking tools illegal in the US? The overwhelming evidence is that drug testing kits save lives, yet many US states still criminalize them. Testing kits are considered drug paraphernalia, which is the government's way of saying "It's something to do with illegal drugs and illegal drugs are bad, so it's also illegal and bad." diff --git a/content/entry/on-malware.md b/content/entry/on-malware.md index 85f25ed..06026c4 100644 --- a/content/entry/on-malware.md +++ b/content/entry/on-malware.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "On Malware" date: 2021-03-12T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # A Hypothetical Program Imagine a program that: diff --git a/content/entry/on-spirituality.md b/content/entry/on-spirituality.md index 558d10e..3fe69a8 100644 --- a/content/entry/on-spirituality.md +++ b/content/entry/on-spirituality.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "On Spirituality" date: 2021-01-17T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Clarification > "The fundamental game of being is like the game of hide and go seek. We hide in the thoughts we don't know we're having. They become who we are. Then one day, something or someone wakes us up and we realize we were playing a game the entire time. This could take 10 seconds or 10 years depending on the person. But, the game goes on several times in a single human life, played out in a different way each time. Just imagine all the ways the game is being played across all of humanity. The game of being a good person and not an evil one. The game of seeking happiness. The game of seeking enlightenment..." diff --git a/content/entry/on-the-intellectual-dark-web.md b/content/entry/on-the-intellectual-dark-web.md index 6f2588b..831d6dc 100644 --- a/content/entry/on-the-intellectual-dark-web.md +++ b/content/entry/on-the-intellectual-dark-web.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "On The Intellectual Dark Web" date: 2022-04-11T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- To the frustration of ideologues, I reject most politically-oriented labels and I encourage others to do the same. Why? Because the world is extremely complex and most political ideologies are far too simple to explain completely what's going on. diff --git a/content/entry/on-transgender-athletes.md b/content/entry/on-transgender-athletes.md index 1750a45..3b211fa 100644 --- a/content/entry/on-transgender-athletes.md +++ b/content/entry/on-transgender-athletes.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "On Transgender Athletes" date: 2022-03-27T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I don't really care about professional sports, so I have no personal stake in the trans athlete debate. I consider this issue really low priority. The percentage of professional trans athletes is very tiny and there are bigger problems in society. But I've heard a lot of confusion on the topic, so I'd like to chime in. diff --git a/content/entry/organization-let-grow.md b/content/entry/organization-let-grow.md index 058fe6f..5a961e3 100644 --- a/content/entry/organization-let-grow.md +++ b/content/entry/organization-let-grow.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Organization] Let Grow" date: 2022-04-06T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Paper Guns When I was in elementary school, my childhood friend and I became fascinated with paper guns. We rolled up pieces of paper and taped the edges together to form hollow cylinders, which in our minds were gun barrels. We performed a similar procedure to craft the gun handles, taping them to the barrels. For the ammunition, we crumpled up tiny paper balls for bullets. Then we would shoot them at each other by quickly blowing air through the opposite end of the paper gun barrel. diff --git a/content/entry/overpopulation-overconsumption-and-technology.md b/content/entry/overpopulation-overconsumption-and-technology.md index 8a0598a..2bc143c 100644 --- a/content/entry/overpopulation-overconsumption-and-technology.md +++ b/content/entry/overpopulation-overconsumption-and-technology.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Overpopulation, Overconsumption, and Technology" date: 2022-10-23T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## Resource Depletion Aquifers are drying up. There are severe, prolonged droughts in regions that produce our food thanks to global heating[1]. Soon there will be wars fought over water. Species are going extinct faster than ever thanks to industrialization and the endless demand for natural resources. The global ecosystem is dying. The future is not looking good for humanity. And why is this? diff --git a/content/entry/oxen-security-fail.md b/content/entry/oxen-security-fail.md index 5ca19fa..60146c4 100644 --- a/content/entry/oxen-security-fail.md +++ b/content/entry/oxen-security-fail.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Oxen Security Fail" date: 2021-09-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Lately I've been doing research on the Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation and their various projects. On 19 September while looking at Session, I noticed getsession.org was missing the Strict-Transport-Security header[1]. So I decided to also check the security headers for oxen.io[2], lokinet.org[3], and optf.ngo[4] and what do you know, they're also missing HTTP security headers. diff --git a/content/entry/paying-close-attention-to-experience.md b/content/entry/paying-close-attention-to-experience.md index b96748e..b906ae0 100644 --- a/content/entry/paying-close-attention-to-experience.md +++ b/content/entry/paying-close-attention-to-experience.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Paying Close Attention to Experience" date: 2022-02-05T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Explaining Color to a Blind-From-Birth Person I was watching this video of a child trying to explain to a blind-from-birth man what color is like. Everybody knows it's an impossible task and inevitably the child soon learns this out as well. diff --git a/content/entry/playlist-the-alt-right-playbook.md b/content/entry/playlist-the-alt-right-playbook.md index d18a379..765a531 100644 --- a/content/entry/playlist-the-alt-right-playbook.md +++ b/content/entry/playlist-the-alt-right-playbook.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Playlist] The Alt-Right Playbook" date: 2022-12-15T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The alt-right playbook is an insightful video series which I also consider valuable teaching tool for understanding the alt-right. It was extraordinarily helpful for me personally in making sense of what's going on with this group. diff --git a/content/entry/please-dont-use-google-as-a-verb.md b/content/entry/please-dont-use-google-as-a-verb.md index caa01cd..a4625e4 100644 --- a/content/entry/please-dont-use-google-as-a-verb.md +++ b/content/entry/please-dont-use-google-as-a-verb.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Please Don't Use Google as a Verb" date: 2022-11-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Google, a company I call Goolag, has such market dominance as a search engine and email provider that it's infected the vernacular. People now say "Just Goolag it!" and I've heard that Indians say "What's your Gmail?". diff --git a/content/entry/podcast-the-key-to-trumps-appeal.md b/content/entry/podcast-the-key-to-trumps-appeal.md index 765fb91..ad670dc 100644 --- a/content/entry/podcast-the-key-to-trumps-appeal.md +++ b/content/entry/podcast-the-key-to-trumps-appeal.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Podcast] The Key to Trump's Appeal" date: 2021-01-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- There are many things I don't agree with but I understand the motivation behind them. Religion is an example. I am not a religious person, but I can easily see the appeal of religion. Religion offers consolation for death anxiety. People need to feel like their lives have meaning. Religion offers purpose. People want to believe there's something more to life than everyday conscious experience because frankly, for lots of people, everyday experience just isn't good enough. Everyday experience is dissatisfaction, disappointment and Dukkha[1]. People need hope that "this" isn't all there is. Religion gives people that hope. Even if you're nonreligious, it's not hard to see why religion appeals to people. diff --git a/content/entry/podcast-why-trump-is-unfit-for-office.md b/content/entry/podcast-why-trump-is-unfit-for-office.md index 4c00eef..44e8eaf 100644 --- a/content/entry/podcast-why-trump-is-unfit-for-office.md +++ b/content/entry/podcast-why-trump-is-unfit-for-office.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Podcast] Why Trump is Unfit For Office" date: 2021-01-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- In his Making Sense[1] podcast Sam Harris[2] talks about why Donald Trump is unfit for public office. For reference, these clips come from Making Sense episodes #38[3] and #45. They were recorded before the 2016 presidential election but the past 4 years have only shown how right Harris was in his judgment of Trump. I haven't seen anyone else speak with the same clarity and completeness about Trump as Harris, so that's why I picked these clips. diff --git a/content/entry/private-online-shopping.md b/content/entry/private-online-shopping.md index 5a2b685..05a99d1 100644 --- a/content/entry/private-online-shopping.md +++ b/content/entry/private-online-shopping.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Private Online Shopping" date: 2021-05-12T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Preface 6 months ago at the end of my post Avoiding Consumer Surveillance[1], I hinted at a post on anonymous online shopping. This is that post. As a heads up, I'll be focusing exclusively on web marketplaces since alternatives like Openbazaar are currently ghost towns. diff --git a/content/entry/psa-you-can-remove-your-property-from-street-view-services.md b/content/entry/psa-you-can-remove-your-property-from-street-view-services.md index 2942a31..2e48e24 100644 --- a/content/entry/psa-you-can-remove-your-property-from-street-view-services.md +++ b/content/entry/psa-you-can-remove-your-property-from-street-view-services.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "PSA: You Can Remove Your Property From Street View Services" date: 2022-03-14T00:00:02 draft: false +makerefs: false --- There are popular online street view services that offer detailed pictures of people's properties. These services can be used for good purposes, but they can also be used by stalkers to: diff --git a/content/entry/psychedelics-are-a-rite-of-passage.md b/content/entry/psychedelics-are-a-rite-of-passage.md index cefea92..92eb704 100644 --- a/content/entry/psychedelics-are-a-rite-of-passage.md +++ b/content/entry/psychedelics-are-a-rite-of-passage.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Psychedelics Are a Rite of Passage" date: 2022-02-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Before I discuss psychedelics in this context, I feel obligated to issue a few disclaimers. diff --git a/content/entry/raising-the-bar-on-privacy.md b/content/entry/raising-the-bar-on-privacy.md index 7f64118..37f45b4 100644 --- a/content/entry/raising-the-bar-on-privacy.md +++ b/content/entry/raising-the-bar-on-privacy.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Raising the Bar on Privacy" date: 2020-11-14T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- There's a common attitude many people have regarding privacy. I'm not talking about nothing to hide[1], although that is also a very common attitude. It has been refuted ad nauseum[2] by privacy advocates, so I won't do it again here. I'm talking about the feeling people have that the corporate/government surveillance state[3] (Big Brother) will collect their data one way or another no matter what, so there's no point in even trying to avoid mass surveillance. Privacy is already dead. Mass surveillance and its long-term negative side-effects[4] are inevitable. That's the attitude of so many people and it's disappointing. So, I'm going to offer an alternative way to think about privacy and surveillance. diff --git a/content/entry/read-receipts-are-an-antifeature.md b/content/entry/read-receipts-are-an-antifeature.md index f854e99..3fd0f9f 100644 --- a/content/entry/read-receipts-are-an-antifeature.md +++ b/content/entry/read-receipts-are-an-antifeature.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Read Receipts Are an Antifeature" date: 2022-09-11T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Why do so many messaging apps come with read receipts enabled by default? diff --git a/content/entry/rejecting-discord-and-google-colab.md b/content/entry/rejecting-discord-and-google-colab.md index ec5918c..e6ab966 100644 --- a/content/entry/rejecting-discord-and-google-colab.md +++ b/content/entry/rejecting-discord-and-google-colab.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Rejecting Discord and Google Colab" date: 2020-03-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Background This semester I took Deep Learning at SIUe[1]. Deep learning is a senior level CS elective course. I'll call the professor, "Professor X" to preserve anonymity. diff --git a/content/entry/rejecting-visual-studio.md b/content/entry/rejecting-visual-studio.md index e34f17a..9630df8 100644 --- a/content/entry/rejecting-visual-studio.md +++ b/content/entry/rejecting-visual-studio.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Rejecting Visual Studio" date: 2020-04-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Background This semester I took Intro to Artificial Intelligence at SIUe[1]. Artificial Intelligence is a senior level course. I'll call the professor, "Professor X" to preserve anonymity. diff --git a/content/entry/remote-fair-coin-flipping-with-friends.md b/content/entry/remote-fair-coin-flipping-with-friends.md index 4e6da17..2199229 100644 --- a/content/entry/remote-fair-coin-flipping-with-friends.md +++ b/content/entry/remote-fair-coin-flipping-with-friends.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Remote Fair Coin Flipping with Friends" date: 2020-11-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Suppose you and some friends want to flip a coin without meeting up. It has to be done over an authenticated communication channel[1] such as a secure messaging app. How can you do it such that nobody can predict the final result? I'll explain how to do it fairly. I'm well aware of common coin algorithms. This post is mostly just for amusement. It's my half-hearted attempt at designing a cryptosystem. More on that later. diff --git a/content/entry/shining-light-on-the-dark-side-of-law-enforcement.md b/content/entry/shining-light-on-the-dark-side-of-law-enforcement.md index 19916de..80b97fe 100644 --- a/content/entry/shining-light-on-the-dark-side-of-law-enforcement.md +++ b/content/entry/shining-light-on-the-dark-side-of-law-enforcement.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Shining Light on the Dark Side of Law Enforcement" date: 2020-12-04T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The US constitution is supposed to protect citizens from thug[1] overreach. However, evidence from the past decade shows that thugs have been stomping all over our civil liberties daily by colluding with intelligence agencies. The federal government does this by constructing lies about how agents discover information. For example if the government discovers a crime through illegal mass surveillance or another covert surveillance program, it can't use that evidence directly because that would violate the 4th amendment and expose Big Brother. Instead, "hints" are passed on to thugs so they can construct a "parallel" chain of evidence that can be used in court. This is where it gets the name parallel construction[2]. Parallel construction sounds like innocuous jargon from an architecture course, so I prefer to call the practice by the more descriptive name, evidence laundering. diff --git a/content/entry/shit-neurotypicals-say-to-autistics.md b/content/entry/shit-neurotypicals-say-to-autistics.md index bfdbe3c..1ea8a67 100644 --- a/content/entry/shit-neurotypicals-say-to-autistics.md +++ b/content/entry/shit-neurotypicals-say-to-autistics.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Shit Neurotypicals Say to Autistics" date: 2023-01-04T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- > "I don't have a problem with autistic people, but I hate weird people." diff --git a/content/entry/shouting-into-the-void.md b/content/entry/shouting-into-the-void.md index 4b8d82f..f384adb 100644 --- a/content/entry/shouting-into-the-void.md +++ b/content/entry/shouting-into-the-void.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Shouting Into the Void" date: 2021-09-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I've long had the desire to share ideas with the world. Before I started this journal though, I didn't have an outlet for that. So there was already built up pressure to express myself. The spark that started the fire that is this journal was personal events in my life and how they related to my principles. Ever since, I've shared as many good ideas here as I've had time and motivation for. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-001.md b/content/entry/site-update-001.md index 17c7af7..2852b9e 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-001.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-001.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 001" date: 2020-10-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New I just finished migrating this site to a new server in Poland and I made a few changes along the way. I added IPv6 support to the site. I cleaned up the about[1] page and added some context to give the site a clear purpose. The primary crypto donation method is now Monero instead of Bitcoin. It's better for privacy. I also switched from Ko-fi to Liberapay[2]. Liberapay supports multiple currencies and languages. It's a non-profit that handles transactions transparently with free software[3]. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-002.md b/content/entry/site-update-002.md index 7389fe5..dea83cf 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-002.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-002.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 002" date: 2020-11-13T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The RSS feed on my site works again. I'm not sure how long it was broken. I generate this site using relative URLs in order to accommodate I2P, Tor and Zeronet users. That inadvertently caused the XML for RSS to also use relative links. RSS doesn't support relative links because it has no way of knowing the URL from only the XML data. I patched it so the XML now uses absolute links. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-003.md b/content/entry/site-update-003.md index eb10080..3e70f79 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-003.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-003.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 003" date: 2020-12-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New I removed the bootstrap JS that wasn't really doing anything. The site should load faster and use less data now. I created a new tag called "info" for all site updates. The about page has been compacted so it's cleaner and easier to read and not so long-winded. I also updated my PGP key to use Curve25519 instead of RSA. PGP is awful[1]. I still use it for email only because it's better than nothing. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-004.md b/content/entry/site-update-004.md index ec89ec5..6158cda 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-004.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-004.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 004" date: 2020-12-13T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New You may have noticed the site was down on the 11th and IPv6 was unavailable on the 12th. My hosting provider had an outage, but the situation is resolved now. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-005.md b/content/entry/site-update-005.md index 94fc90f..0e0f07a 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-005.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-005.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 005" date: 2020-12-24T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New I removed the people and organizations sections on the about[1] page. I never explained why those sections were there in the first place. I just filled them with links to organizations and people. My linking to them was not an endorsement of everything those people and organizations have ever said or done. For people I was just trying to indicate that each person in the list had some important ideas. For organizations I was trying to indicate that I thought they fought for worthy causes on the whole. But there was no way for readers to know just by looking at the links which words and actions I agreed with and which I disagreed with. I removed those links because, as I've written before, I want my blog to be chiefly about ideas, not people or organizations. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-006.md b/content/entry/site-update-006.md index 44c4d8f..37ca038 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-006.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-006.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 006" date: 2020-12-27T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New I changed the website theme. It's darker now and much easier on the eyes. I didn't particularly like the last theme ever since I started using it. I only picked it because it was easy to manage with how minimal it was. I added a favicon to identify my site: diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-007.md b/content/entry/site-update-007.md index 28f79b7..6c394c9 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-007.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-007.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 007" date: 2021-01-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New I provisioned a new TLS certificate from ZeroSSL[1]. That's why there was some downtime yesterday on 0gitnick.xyz. By default Caddy[2] provisions TLS certs from Let's Encrypt[3] with a P-256 public key. I don't trust NIST curves[4] so 0gitnick.xyz uses a 4096 bit RSA key now. As of the time of this post all other clearnet site mirrors[5] use 2048 bit RSA which is also secure. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-008.md b/content/entry/site-update-008.md index a12cfed..427ac6f 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-008.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-008.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 008" date: 2021-01-31T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New It seems I'm making update posts more often than I imagined, but it's fine. I'm going to try out a list format for this one. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-009.md b/content/entry/site-update-009.md index 25c2492..482f1fb 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-009.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-009.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 009" date: 2021-02-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New I haven't posted anything for a while and I've been working behind the scenes to make improvements. Here they are: diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-010.md b/content/entry/site-update-010.md index eb36066..3f2863f 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-010.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-010.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 010" date: 2021-04-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New I did some more behind the scenes work on my site: diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-011.md b/content/entry/site-update-011.md index 76295a2..f453397 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-011.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-011.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 011" date: 2021-05-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New I paused posts because I've been busy migrating my blog to Gemini[1]: diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-012.md b/content/entry/site-update-012.md index 5d1a666..3dcfaf2 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-012.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-012.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 012" date: 2021-06-10T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New * The wonky CSS is fixed. The result is the site is much more presentable and easy to read on mobile and desktop. Specifically, the spacing is more consistent. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-013.md b/content/entry/site-update-013.md index f3ba306..525c5d7 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-013.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-013.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 013" date: 2021-07-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New * Full content Atom feeds[1] have returned. Before Gemini, I had a full content web feed, not just the summaries. After Gemini, I changed it to summaries only. Now, full content is supported again along with summaries. It was a mistake adding Gemini without full content web feed support. I shouldn't have taken that feature away from readers without warning. I was just so focused on getting Gemini that I ditched the web feed to roll that out early. Apologies to anyone using it. I don't really care how readers access my blog as long as they're reading it and I want to make it as accessible as possible for everyone. diff --git a/content/entry/site-update-014.md b/content/entry/site-update-014.md index b5af082..6e4a9a5 100644 --- a/content/entry/site-update-014.md +++ b/content/entry/site-update-014.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Site Update 014" date: 2021-08-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # What's New * My blog was added to nightfall.city[1]. diff --git a/content/entry/siue-cyberstalking-feature.md b/content/entry/siue-cyberstalking-feature.md index 98c37d7..5863ae6 100644 --- a/content/entry/siue-cyberstalking-feature.md +++ b/content/entry/siue-cyberstalking-feature.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "SIUe Cyberstalking Feature" date: 2020-06-06T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- https://www.siue.edu/search/people.shtml[1] diff --git a/content/entry/siue-eid-creation-and-maintenance-problems.md b/content/entry/siue-eid-creation-and-maintenance-problems.md index c966c4b..0079ba3 100644 --- a/content/entry/siue-eid-creation-and-maintenance-problems.md +++ b/content/entry/siue-eid-creation-and-maintenance-problems.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "SIUe e-ID Creation and Maintenance Problems" date: 2020-06-10T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Arbitrary Password Rules I'll go over them one at a time. They are found at https://eid.siue.edu/am/change_password[1]. diff --git a/content/entry/siue-unauthenticated-smtp-server.md b/content/entry/siue-unauthenticated-smtp-server.md index c70d426..f4000b3 100644 --- a/content/entry/siue-unauthenticated-smtp-server.md +++ b/content/entry/siue-unauthenticated-smtp-server.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "SIUe Unauthenticated SMTP Server" date: 2020-09-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Email Server During my last semester at SIUe[1], one of my professors demonstrated spoofing an email using an unauthenticated SMTP server (smtp.siue.edu) on the university network. I believe the server is still present on the network despite being reported multiple times to IT. It isn't accessible on the public internet, only through the university's network that all students have easy access to. Non-students could also gain access to the network fairly easily while at the university and therefore have access to the email server. diff --git a/content/entry/social-media-alternatives.md b/content/entry/social-media-alternatives.md index e88c733..15a3169 100644 --- a/content/entry/social-media-alternatives.md +++ b/content/entry/social-media-alternatives.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Social Media Alternatives" date: 2020-12-20T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- You don't want to miss out on social media, but you also don't want to deal with tracking scripts, ads and other nonsense that comes along with using proprietary walled garden platforms. Luckily there are publicly available privacy-respecting alternative front-ends for these popular social media sites: diff --git a/content/entry/start-fresh-in-every-moment.md b/content/entry/start-fresh-in-every-moment.md index f0176cd..dcffa28 100644 --- a/content/entry/start-fresh-in-every-moment.md +++ b/content/entry/start-fresh-in-every-moment.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Start Fresh In Every Moment" date: 2022-01-31T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Getting the Obvious Out of the Way Before I get into this subject, let's get the obvious out of the way so that I don't get misinterpreted. diff --git a/content/entry/statement-of-gpg-key-transition.md b/content/entry/statement-of-gpg-key-transition.md index 777c8ae..412a81d 100644 --- a/content/entry/statement-of-gpg-key-transition.md +++ b/content/entry/statement-of-gpg-key-transition.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Statement of GPG Key Transition" date: 2021-12-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Date: 2021-12-30 diff --git a/content/entry/stop-amazons-police-state.md b/content/entry/stop-amazons-police-state.md index 3ac24f9..92c1355 100644 --- a/content/entry/stop-amazons-police-state.md +++ b/content/entry/stop-amazons-police-state.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Stop Amazon's Police State" date: 2020-11-20T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Amazon's Orwellian Surveillance Hellscape Amazon is providing police departments with warrantless access to thousands of Ring doorbell cameras giving cops unprecedented, persistent surveillance capabilities of private homes and neighborhoods. This is yet another dangerous partnership between the empire of the megacorporations[1] and the state. diff --git a/content/entry/struggle-to-graduate-without-nonfree-software.md b/content/entry/struggle-to-graduate-without-nonfree-software.md index a8c02ba..475e71d 100644 --- a/content/entry/struggle-to-graduate-without-nonfree-software.md +++ b/content/entry/struggle-to-graduate-without-nonfree-software.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Struggle to Graduate Without Nonfree Software" date: 2021-10-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Introduction From the title of this journal entry alone, you might think it's about my story struggling to graduate without nonfree software. But I've already beaten that topic to death on this journal. It's time for someone else's story: Wojciech Kosior. He faced the same sort of difficulties graduating that I did, except he graduated. His story is one of incredible determination and persistence. He fought hard to graduate in freedom and won. I don't know of many people with the resolve displayed in his narrative. diff --git a/content/entry/taking-back-the-web-with-haketilo.md b/content/entry/taking-back-the-web-with-haketilo.md index ef1989c..c45a89a 100644 --- a/content/entry/taking-back-the-web-with-haketilo.md +++ b/content/entry/taking-back-the-web-with-haketilo.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Taking Back The Web With Haketilo" date: 2022-04-08T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- About a month ago, I announced[1] my LibrePlanet presentation "Taking Back The Web With Haketilo". In case you missed the livestream, there's now a final, edited copy available on the LibrePlanet website.[2] Find the direct link here.[3] diff --git a/content/entry/the-addiction-to-thinking.md b/content/entry/the-addiction-to-thinking.md index 0d700d6..2e4f910 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-addiction-to-thinking.md +++ b/content/entry/the-addiction-to-thinking.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Addiction to Thinking" date: 2021-02-06T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Disclaimer I said in a previous post[1] that posts tagged spirituality aren't to be interpreted as truth-apt[2] and that I wanted to be clearer about how to interpret these posts. Well this post is an exception. Do interpret it as making truth claims. I'm going to be more rigorous than I normally am in spiritual posts and try not to make any false claims. So let's get started. diff --git a/content/entry/the-best-way-to-proselytize-mindfulness.md b/content/entry/the-best-way-to-proselytize-mindfulness.md index e86762e..24418ff 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-best-way-to-proselytize-mindfulness.md +++ b/content/entry/the-best-way-to-proselytize-mindfulness.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Best Way to Proselytize Mindfulness" date: 2022-05-23T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- When I started practicing mindfulness and seeing benefits, the first thing I wanted to do was tell everybody how great it was. Naturally when one finds something good, one wants to share it. The problem is most people incessantly think all the time.[1] They're too lost in thought to give mindfulness a try. They're especially not going to try it just because I say so. diff --git a/content/entry/the-cult-of-productivity.md b/content/entry/the-cult-of-productivity.md index 787c299..ee96394 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-cult-of-productivity.md +++ b/content/entry/the-cult-of-productivity.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Cult of Productivity" date: 2021-05-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Education I can't speak for eastern education since I'm not familiar enough with it, but in the entire western education system, we are never taught how to live fulfilling and meaningful lives. In my estimation, this is a profound gap in education. If you don't know how to live a fulfilling life, what does any other knowledge matter? It won't satisfy you anyway. diff --git a/content/entry/the-dream-of-life.md b/content/entry/the-dream-of-life.md index 278d236..49c6d59 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-dream-of-life.md +++ b/content/entry/the-dream-of-life.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Dream of Life" date: 2022-07-06T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## Meditation is Not Trivial In a journal entry I made last year titled "The Addiction to Thinking"[1], I claimed that the normal human condition is to be spellbound by incessant thinking every minute of the day. That is, to be thinking without being aware of the thinking. I went on to claim that the lack of awareness of thinking causes nearly all of our psychological suffering. Near the end of the entry, I offered substantial evidence that there's actually an alternative to living this way. diff --git a/content/entry/the-eternal-here-and-now.md b/content/entry/the-eternal-here-and-now.md index b85e1ba..52c956e 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-eternal-here-and-now.md +++ b/content/entry/the-eternal-here-and-now.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Eternal Here and Now" date: 2020-11-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Mental Exercise I want to start this post with a few mental exercises. You'll do them first, then I'll try to explain their purpose. diff --git a/content/entry/the-meaning-of-life.md b/content/entry/the-meaning-of-life.md index 887f3c2..d7416b0 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-meaning-of-life.md +++ b/content/entry/the-meaning-of-life.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Meaning of Life" date: 2021-03-04T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Disclaimer I said in a previous post[1] that posts tagged spirituality aren't to be interpreted as truth-apt[2] and that I wanted to be clearer about how to interpret these posts. Well this post is an exception. Do interpret it as making truth claims. I'm going to be more rigorous than I normally am in spiritual posts and try not to make any false claims. So let's get started. diff --git a/content/entry/the-most-overused-programming-language.md b/content/entry/the-most-overused-programming-language.md index 687c847..aa61664 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-most-overused-programming-language.md +++ b/content/entry/the-most-overused-programming-language.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Most Overused Programming Language" date: 2022-12-21T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I am so tired of waiting ages for simple static webpages to load. They have a menu bar, side panel, header and footer, a few input fields, some buttons here and there, headings, text, and that's it. None of which requires JavaScript. The site could look identical and be faster with plain old HTML and CSS, but thanks to all the redundant 3rd-party JavaScript, it loads as slow as a turtle. diff --git a/content/entry/the-narrative-self.md b/content/entry/the-narrative-self.md index 824f2d0..952797f 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-narrative-self.md +++ b/content/entry/the-narrative-self.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Narrative Self" date: 2021-12-12T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- We all have a voice inside our heads. This voice tells us a story about how our lives are going. When you identify with that story, that is called your "narrative self". Some psychologists believe that selfhood is narrative in nature. To put it more concretely, they believe our core sense of who we are is shaped by and large by the ongoing narrative taking place inside our heads. diff --git a/content/entry/the-nonlinearity-of-intelligence.md b/content/entry/the-nonlinearity-of-intelligence.md index 6734868..71cc01b 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-nonlinearity-of-intelligence.md +++ b/content/entry/the-nonlinearity-of-intelligence.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Nonlinearity of Intelligence" date: 2020-12-12T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The word "sports" covers a wide variety of activities. It's so broad that its usefulness as a word is limited. What can you say about sports? "I like/dislike sports. I play/don't play sports". If you talk about "popular sports", "contact sports" or "mind sports", there's so much more you can say than if you're just talking about "sports". And if you pick a particular sport like basketball then you open up a world of things you can talk about. You can talk about rules of the game, the history, famous players/teams, statistics, etc. diff --git a/content/entry/the-perils-of-social-media.md b/content/entry/the-perils-of-social-media.md index f7b0b3e..a0db5c5 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-perils-of-social-media.md +++ b/content/entry/the-perils-of-social-media.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Perils of Social Media" date: 2022-09-22T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## Recording Everything Without Consent I'm exhausted of people recording everything they do wherever they go and posting it to antisocial media[1]. I don't have antisocial media for a reason. I don't consent to pictures/videos of me being uploaded to antisocial platforms. I don't agree to the terms and conditions. I don't want to be featured, not even in the background. diff --git a/content/entry/the-pledge-of-allegiance.md b/content/entry/the-pledge-of-allegiance.md index 54b8519..94bfd17 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-pledge-of-allegiance.md +++ b/content/entry/the-pledge-of-allegiance.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Pledge of Allegiance" date: 2020-12-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # The Pledge Many foreigners would be surprised to find out that we have something in the US called the Pledge of Allegiance. It's recited in public schools across the whole country every day with students standing facing the flag hand over heart. It goes like this: diff --git a/content/entry/the-power-of-convenience.md b/content/entry/the-power-of-convenience.md index 7130c5b..fc45b09 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-power-of-convenience.md +++ b/content/entry/the-power-of-convenience.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Power of Convenience" date: 2022-06-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Sometimes when people are trying to make improvements to their lives, they don't put into practice deceptively obvious life tips. They're the kind of tips you say to people and they reply that it's so obvious why even bring it up but then they consistently fail to put them into actual practice. diff --git a/content/entry/the-privacy-implications-of-weak-ai.md b/content/entry/the-privacy-implications-of-weak-ai.md index 6eb4a7e..bcc9d2e 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-privacy-implications-of-weak-ai.md +++ b/content/entry/the-privacy-implications-of-weak-ai.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Privacy Implications of Weak AI" date: 2021-11-10T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Introduction So a few days ago I started writing this entry titled "Societal Implications of Weak AI". Over the course of the next few days, I found out just how broad of a topic that is. I kept thinking of more topics and subtopics. With weak AI, there's so much to discuss. Eventually the entry ballooned to an unmanageable 30+ minute read. I couldn't figure out how to organize all the topics. So I just decided it would be best to split it up into separate, more digestible entries. diff --git a/content/entry/the-privacy-paradox.md b/content/entry/the-privacy-paradox.md index f4bb0d9..e242b41 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-privacy-paradox.md +++ b/content/entry/the-privacy-paradox.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Privacy Paradox" date: 2020-12-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- After the Snowden revelations of 2013[1], we learned that the NSA's global internet surveillance program XKeyscore[2] was flagging people that read...Linux Magazine[3]. That's right. The NSA would place you on a special high-priority surveillance list for taking an interest in one of the only operating systems that isn't known to have a backdoor[4]. But it didn't end there. diff --git a/content/entry/the-self.md b/content/entry/the-self.md index ad8b3d6..2efbd03 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-self.md +++ b/content/entry/the-self.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Self" date: 2020-05-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Language Starting at a young age, we pick up language, mainly from our parents. We are very much conditioned to think in certain ways by the language we speak. This is known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis[1]. What I want to talk about is similar to Sapir-Whorf. It isn't about how particular languages affect one's worldview, but about how any language can create a false image of the world. Language is a tool for getting information from one mind to another. But it's more than that. It is a tool for thinking. One thing that should be taught more in English classes is that writing is useful for crystallizing and refining thoughts, not just communicating them. diff --git a/content/entry/the-tipping-point-rejecting-windows-zoom-lockdown-browser-and-the-lockdown-monitor.md b/content/entry/the-tipping-point-rejecting-windows-zoom-lockdown-browser-and-the-lockdown-monitor.md index 6539b98..0fe32f9 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-tipping-point-rejecting-windows-zoom-lockdown-browser-and-the-lockdown-monitor.md +++ b/content/entry/the-tipping-point-rejecting-windows-zoom-lockdown-browser-and-the-lockdown-monitor.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Tipping Point - Rejecting Windows, Zoom, Lockdown Browser, and the Lockdown Monitor" date: 2020-03-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Background This semester I took networking at SIUe[1]. Networking is a senior level CS course. I'll call the professor, "Professor X" to preserve anonymity. diff --git a/content/entry/the-victim-mentality-versus-individual-responsibility.md b/content/entry/the-victim-mentality-versus-individual-responsibility.md index e95ff40..4fe7608 100644 --- a/content/entry/the-victim-mentality-versus-individual-responsibility.md +++ b/content/entry/the-victim-mentality-versus-individual-responsibility.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "The Victim Mentality Versus Individual Responsibility" date: 2020-04-10T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- This is a compare and contrast of two seemingly opposing ideas. What I hope to show is that actually they are just two ways of talking about the same thing. I hope to find some common ground between left and right ideology. One is often referred to as "the victim mentality" and the other is what I call "individual responsibility fetishism". diff --git a/content/entry/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-incest.md b/content/entry/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-incest.md index 26f09ca..7e64753 100644 --- a/content/entry/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-incest.md +++ b/content/entry/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-incest.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "There Is Nothing Wrong With Incest" date: 2021-12-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Some online articles use the term "incest survivor" when referring to survivors of rape and other non-consensual sexual activities. This is a bad term because there's nothing inherently wrong with incest. Let's unpack the related issues. diff --git a/content/entry/thoughts-on-blogging.md b/content/entry/thoughts-on-blogging.md index 5cbef48..116950b 100644 --- a/content/entry/thoughts-on-blogging.md +++ b/content/entry/thoughts-on-blogging.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Thoughts on Blogging" date: 2020-09-22T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Writing a Blog I'll start off by saying what this post is not. I'm not going to give any thoughts on how to organize a blog. I'm also not going to give any advice on blog topics, the technical details of running a blog on the web, etc. This post is more about what I believe to be good rules of thumb and things to keep in mind when running a blog. There are going to be exceptions and circumstances where my ideas don't apply. But, on the whole, you should still consider the following if you run a blog. diff --git a/content/entry/thoughts-on-logic.md b/content/entry/thoughts-on-logic.md index 49fb659..0e469e5 100644 --- a/content/entry/thoughts-on-logic.md +++ b/content/entry/thoughts-on-logic.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Thoughts on Logic" date: 2020-11-25T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Logic in Education The term "critical thinking" gets thrown around a lot in schools, but children aren't ever sat down and explicitly told how to think. Logic needs to be introduced in primary school and reaffirmed throughout middle and high school (secondary school in the UK). Knowing how to think logically is far more important than knowing how to calculate the area of a circle, how volcanoes work, or how to use a Bunsen burner. And teaching it shouldn't be politically controversial because there's an important distinction between telling kids what to think versus teaching them how to think. Logic is all about how to think. That's something we all should want others to know how to do well. diff --git a/content/entry/thoughts-on-spirituality.md b/content/entry/thoughts-on-spirituality.md index f832109..7dc5041 100644 --- a/content/entry/thoughts-on-spirituality.md +++ b/content/entry/thoughts-on-spirituality.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Thoughts on Spirituality" date: 2022-05-04T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # All You Have is Now There's an essential fact of life which everyone should know but is often overlooked: now is all you have. I mean right now, as in the present. Not 2 seconds ago. Not 2 seconds from now. But right now. This is it. This moment is what you've got. diff --git a/content/entry/toll-roads-should-be-illegal.md b/content/entry/toll-roads-should-be-illegal.md index c3b96bf..33203ff 100644 --- a/content/entry/toll-roads-should-be-illegal.md +++ b/content/entry/toll-roads-should-be-illegal.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Toll Roads Should Be Illegal" date: 2022-01-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I will go out of my way to avoid toll roads. I don't care if it costs more. I don't care if they're better quality. I'm aware that even if I don't pay tolls on private roads, I still pay for the upkeep of public roads through taxes. I still believe public roads are superior and toll roads should be illegal. diff --git a/content/entry/turn-off-surveillance-devices.md b/content/entry/turn-off-surveillance-devices.md index 07708cc..6d519ca 100644 --- a/content/entry/turn-off-surveillance-devices.md +++ b/content/entry/turn-off-surveillance-devices.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Turn Off Surveillance Devices" date: 2021-11-25T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Many fools now voluntarily bug their own homes with "digital assistants". It is beyond a reasonable doubt that these devices also function as corporate/government wiretaps. There are several confirmed news reports showing that Alexas, for example, record and send voice data to Amazon without explicit user consent. Amazon then stores user conversations and will not delete them, even when asked. Police have issued warrants for that voice data and Amazon has a history of cooperation with police. In effect, Amazon is building a total surveillance state. diff --git a/content/entry/understanding-precludes-hate.md b/content/entry/understanding-precludes-hate.md index 94ac52f..74cd597 100644 --- a/content/entry/understanding-precludes-hate.md +++ b/content/entry/understanding-precludes-hate.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Understanding Precludes Hate" date: 2022-12-04T00:00:02 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The premise of this entry is simple: Understanding precludes hate. Ignorance causes hate. Specifically, ignorance of the prior causes of another's actions causes hate. diff --git a/content/entry/use-a-password-manager.md b/content/entry/use-a-password-manager.md index 8fb338d..417bd83 100644 --- a/content/entry/use-a-password-manager.md +++ b/content/entry/use-a-password-manager.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Use a Password Manager" date: 2022-01-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- It's frustrating watching normies forget their insecure passwords. I've almost come to the point of refusing helping people recover accounts of forgotten passwords unless they also let me set up a password manager for them. If I don't, it invariably ends in them forgetting or misplacing their passwords again. diff --git a/content/entry/use-free-software.md b/content/entry/use-free-software.md index 79456b1..66a4339 100644 --- a/content/entry/use-free-software.md +++ b/content/entry/use-free-software.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Use Free Software" date: 2020-10-20T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- In previous posts, I have mentioned a lot about free software versus proprietary software. But I have never dedicated a standalone post to free software, so I'm doing that now. While I find the history of free software[1] fascinating, I'm not going to get into that in this post. This is more of a persuasive post. I want to convince you to use free software wherever possible rather than proprietary software[2]. There is a lot to be said on the subject. This post is about why you should use free software, not why you should code it. There are plenty of incentives to code free software though. The reason I'm choosing to focus on the user is that there's already so much free software out there, but it's not getting anywhere near the usage it deserves. diff --git a/content/entry/using-email.md b/content/entry/using-email.md index 6fa465e..a843894 100644 --- a/content/entry/using-email.md +++ b/content/entry/using-email.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Using Email" date: 2020-10-29T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Preface Email is a very old internet standard, predating the world wide web. It was first defined in 1982. It was updated[1] in 2008 and remains in widespread use. It's not a great protocol by today's standards, but we're all stuck with it. You almost certainly already have an email account. Although everyone has an email account, not everyone understands how email works or how to make the most of their account. Almost everyone with an email account just chose the first free, convenient option available for an email service provider. I know that's what I did at first. Most people just use Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL, or one of the other top providers. Knowing this has motivated me to write this post because I fear that others are missing out on a better email experience. diff --git a/content/entry/video-advertising.md b/content/entry/video-advertising.md index a887a37..e71c003 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-advertising.md +++ b/content/entry/video-advertising.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Advertising" date: 2022-10-23T00:00:01 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Most advertising and marketing is irrelevant bullshit that only serves to encourage overconsumption and most people know it's bullshit. American stand-up comedian George Carlin, whose late routines often criticized American society, performed a comedy piece about advertising[1] which I love. diff --git a/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-argument-from-design-part-1-order-and-purpose.md b/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-argument-from-design-part-1-order-and-purpose.md index 4481d51..5df8019 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-argument-from-design-part-1-order-and-purpose.md +++ b/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-argument-from-design-part-1-order-and-purpose.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Atheist Debates - Argument From Design, Part 1: Order and Purpose" date: 2021-01-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Matt Dillahunty[1] refutes the argument that a god must exist because the universe requires a designer. diff --git a/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-argument-from-design-part-2-what-are-the-odds.md b/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-argument-from-design-part-2-what-are-the-odds.md index 607d1e2..11e220c 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-argument-from-design-part-2-what-are-the-odds.md +++ b/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-argument-from-design-part-2-what-are-the-odds.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Atheist Debates - Argument From Design, Part 2: What Are the Odds?" date: 2021-01-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Matt Dillahunty[1] refutes the argument that natural explanations are improbable, so god must've created everything. diff --git a/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-pascals-wager.md b/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-pascals-wager.md index 89d6ac6..ba00518 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-pascals-wager.md +++ b/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-pascals-wager.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Atheist Debates - Pascal's Wager" date: 2021-01-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Matt Dillahunty[1] thoroughly refutes Pascal's Wager. He mentions the idea of fractal wrongness[2] which means that a worldview is wrong at every scale of resolution. Many theistic arguments are fractally wrong, not just Pascal's Wager. But I'm really glad Matt brings it up in this video. diff --git a/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-supernatural-causation.md b/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-supernatural-causation.md index 3667a39..e18d61a 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-supernatural-causation.md +++ b/content/entry/video-atheist-debates-supernatural-causation.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Atheist Debates - Supernatural Causation" date: 2021-01-16T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Matt Dillahunty[1] discusses the difficulty of demonstrating the supernatural. diff --git a/content/entry/video-breaking-bad-how-the-war-on-drugs-traumatizes-everybody.md b/content/entry/video-breaking-bad-how-the-war-on-drugs-traumatizes-everybody.md index 98bb65e..fdd690c 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-breaking-bad-how-the-war-on-drugs-traumatizes-everybody.md +++ b/content/entry/video-breaking-bad-how-the-war-on-drugs-traumatizes-everybody.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Breaking Bad | How the War on Drugs Traumatizes Everybody" date: 2022-12-15T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Breaking Bad is a fantastic series. It does a great job of debunking the black and white portrait of the drug war the DEA likes to paint: that they're the good guys catching the evil drug users, dealers, and manufacturers. Through the lives of each of the characters, you see that what's really going on is much more nuanced. diff --git a/content/entry/video-car-surveillance-an-unregulated-privacy-disaster.md b/content/entry/video-car-surveillance-an-unregulated-privacy-disaster.md index 23a3d1b..49084a4 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-car-surveillance-an-unregulated-privacy-disaster.md +++ b/content/entry/video-car-surveillance-an-unregulated-privacy-disaster.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Car Surveillance: an Unregulated Privacy Disaster" date: 2021-04-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The Hated One[1] is at it again, this time exposing automobile surveillance. I wrote a post[2] back in December of 2020 exposing some of the ways auto makers are collecting your data and what you can do about it (hint: buy an old car!). I mostly talked about all the potential vectors for collection I could think of. In his video, The Hated One gives real-world examples and the implications of auto makers collecting so much data about people. I'm happy to see this issue getting increased attention lately by privacy advocates. diff --git a/content/entry/video-dont-talk-to-the-police.md b/content/entry/video-dont-talk-to-the-police.md index 6d69344..3ca3397 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-dont-talk-to-the-police.md +++ b/content/entry/video-dont-talk-to-the-police.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Don't Talk to the Police" date: 2021-03-01T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- American law professor at Regent University School of Law and former criminal defense attorney James Duane explains why you should never talk to police without an attorney present, especially if you're innocent. diff --git a/content/entry/video-fixing-social-media-for-good.md b/content/entry/video-fixing-social-media-for-good.md index 71c8818..f6cadd7 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-fixing-social-media-for-good.md +++ b/content/entry/video-fixing-social-media-for-good.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Fixing Social Media for Good" date: 2021-01-14T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Recent events have brought the issue of social media censorship to the forefront: diff --git a/content/entry/video-is-your-keyboard-spying-on-you.md b/content/entry/video-is-your-keyboard-spying-on-you.md index eef6330..0a2d564 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-is-your-keyboard-spying-on-you.md +++ b/content/entry/video-is-your-keyboard-spying-on-you.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Is Your Keyboard Spying on You?" date: 2021-03-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Your keyboard is one of the most important things to secure in desktop and mobile environments, yet it is often overlooked. diff --git a/content/entry/video-jordan-klepper-debunks-the-good-guy-with-a-gun-argument.md b/content/entry/video-jordan-klepper-debunks-the-good-guy-with-a-gun-argument.md index c7ca209..c0f84a6 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-jordan-klepper-debunks-the-good-guy-with-a-gun-argument.md +++ b/content/entry/video-jordan-klepper-debunks-the-good-guy-with-a-gun-argument.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Jordan Klepper Debunks The \"Good Guy with a Gun\" Argument" date: 2022-06-08T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- It's so tiring to see the consecutive mass shootings here in burgerland while the same tired old debunked arguments are repeated on national television. I found a comedic video showcasing why more good guys with guns isn't the solution to America's gun violence.[1] diff --git a/content/entry/video-monero-more-anonymous-than-cash.md b/content/entry/video-monero-more-anonymous-than-cash.md index 76356d0..462af04 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-monero-more-anonymous-than-cash.md +++ b/content/entry/video-monero-more-anonymous-than-cash.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Monero: More Anonymous Than Cash" date: 2021-03-18T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Bitcoin If Bitcoin were as anonymous as most people think it is then the government would be pressuring exchanges to delist it. But they're not. The IRS would be offering cash prizes to anyone who could reliably trace transactions. That's also not happening. You'd have the corporate media keeping quiet about it, not mentioning it and hoping it goes away. But the media won't shut up about Bitcoin. diff --git a/content/entry/video-the-current-plot-to-rig-us-elections.md b/content/entry/video-the-current-plot-to-rig-us-elections.md index c0e81d3..e445b6d 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-the-current-plot-to-rig-us-elections.md +++ b/content/entry/video-the-current-plot-to-rig-us-elections.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] The Current Plot to Rig U.S. Elections" date: 2022-05-11T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- American democracy is in serious danger. Robert Reich, American professor, author, lawyer, political commentator, and previous Secretary of Labor created a video[1] explaining how Trump loyalists are rigging the upcoming 2024 presidential election. diff --git a/content/entry/video-tiktok-a-trojan-horse-into-chinas-dystopia.md b/content/entry/video-tiktok-a-trojan-horse-into-chinas-dystopia.md index 3efe9c0..18265be 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-tiktok-a-trojan-horse-into-chinas-dystopia.md +++ b/content/entry/video-tiktok-a-trojan-horse-into-chinas-dystopia.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] TikTok - a Trojan Horse into China's Dystopia" date: 2021-01-11T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- TikTok is a national security risk and yet people are still using it by the millions. President Trump signed an executive order[1] to ban TikTok by prohibiting United States citizens from doing business with the Chinese company ByteDance that owns TikTok. However the restrictions have been stalled in court since last August. At the time of the TikTok lawsuit[2] ByteDance claimed they had 100 million active users in the United States. diff --git a/content/entry/video-vengeance.md b/content/entry/video-vengeance.md index f7923b3..c253541 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-vengeance.md +++ b/content/entry/video-vengeance.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] Vengeance" date: 2020-12-29T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Darkmatter2525[1] explains punitive prison systems (5min 43sec - 11min 43sec). Click this link[2] to watch only the relevant part of the video. diff --git a/content/entry/video-you-should-delete-your-whatsapp-asap.md b/content/entry/video-you-should-delete-your-whatsapp-asap.md index 7ef50ce..11a649f 100644 --- a/content/entry/video-you-should-delete-your-whatsapp-asap.md +++ b/content/entry/video-you-should-delete-your-whatsapp-asap.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Video] You Should Delete Your Whatsapp ASAP" date: 2021-02-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- TheHatedOne[1] tells us why no one should be using Whatsapp. diff --git a/content/entry/warning-to-monero-users.md b/content/entry/warning-to-monero-users.md index 123182d..1320b1b 100644 --- a/content/entry/warning-to-monero-users.md +++ b/content/entry/warning-to-monero-users.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Warning to Monero Users" date: 2021-12-13T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Obligatory I don't support the use of Monero or other proof of work cryptocurrencies since they're destroying the planet.[1] However, I know people are going to use Monero anyways. So it makes sense to give this warning. diff --git a/content/entry/website-assange-defense.md b/content/entry/website-assange-defense.md index df30f62..db9f4d0 100644 --- a/content/entry/website-assange-defense.md +++ b/content/entry/website-assange-defense.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Website] Assange Defense" date: 2022-08-24T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Wikileaks[1] is an international non-profit organization that publishes classified news leaks from anonymous sources. Usually the news leaks expose high-level corruption and violations of human rights and civil liberties. diff --git a/content/entry/website-chat-control.md b/content/entry/website-chat-control.md index a12bb65..3330197 100644 --- a/content/entry/website-chat-control.md +++ b/content/entry/website-chat-control.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Website] Chat Control" date: 2022-07-30T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The EU wants to indiscriminately scan all EU citizens' private chats, emails, and messages without a warrant.[1] As always, the EU has chosen one of the four horsemen of the infopocalypse[2], pedophiles, as their stated reason for indiscriminately violating innocent people's right to privacy. The EU basically wants to make private digital communication impossible. diff --git a/content/entry/website-gethuman.md b/content/entry/website-gethuman.md index f19c0b4..5948b0e 100644 --- a/content/entry/website-gethuman.md +++ b/content/entry/website-gethuman.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Website] GetHuman" date: 2022-11-19T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Most of you reading this have probably had the experience of dealing with large company's customer service lines. You dial or talk through the automated menu trying to get a human on the other end to resolve your problem, but all you get is a useless robot that can't help you with your unique situation. diff --git a/content/entry/website-tosdr.md b/content/entry/website-tosdr.md index 4c00b13..b1801f4 100644 --- a/content/entry/website-tosdr.md +++ b/content/entry/website-tosdr.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Website] ToS;DR" date: 2022-11-20T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Do you read the terms of service? I do, but I don't fully understand the legalese. The only people who can are lawyers and most of us aren't lawyers. Even if we all had law degrees, time to read the terms, and understood what the terms said, it wouldn't matter whether we agreed or not because, often, disagreement is impossible if you want to be a functional member of society.[1] diff --git a/content/entry/website-use-plaintext-email.md b/content/entry/website-use-plaintext-email.md index 9d1bd86..38967cd 100644 --- a/content/entry/website-use-plaintext-email.md +++ b/content/entry/website-use-plaintext-email.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Website] Use Plaintext Email" date: 2022-09-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- In October of 2020, I wrote "Using Email"[1], an entry about how to get the most out of email. If I rewrote it today, I'd mention the email guide at the website useplaintext.email[2], which teaches good email etiquette. diff --git a/content/entry/website-visualizing-wealth-inequality-and-mass-incarceration.md b/content/entry/website-visualizing-wealth-inequality-and-mass-incarceration.md index edc828c..049bd19 100644 --- a/content/entry/website-visualizing-wealth-inequality-and-mass-incarceration.md +++ b/content/entry/website-visualizing-wealth-inequality-and-mass-incarceration.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Website] Visualizing Wealth Inequality And Mass Incarceration" date: 2022-03-05T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- When we're talking about systemic issues, we're talking about large numbers. Yet our ability to imagine large numbers of things is extremely limited. So our brains can't comprehend the scale of systemic issues. This causes us to be indifferent towards the suffering of large numbers of people. It's called mass numbing. The following quote eloquently captures the problem: diff --git a/content/entry/website-wait-until-8th.md b/content/entry/website-wait-until-8th.md index f20dd66..eef79a9 100644 --- a/content/entry/website-wait-until-8th.md +++ b/content/entry/website-wait-until-8th.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "[Website] Wait Until 8th" date: 2022-07-04T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- ## Praise Wait Until 8th[1] is a cause to empower parents to keep their children off smartphones until 8th grade. It's been promoted by multiple major news outlets. I agree with what I've read so far on their blog page[2]. They have some really good points and I recommend for anyone interested to go read it. Overall the cause seems well intended and I think we need more causes pushing to keep screens out of kids' hands. diff --git a/content/entry/what-is-sensory-overload-like.md b/content/entry/what-is-sensory-overload-like.md index ab9f3df..2352ebf 100644 --- a/content/entry/what-is-sensory-overload-like.md +++ b/content/entry/what-is-sensory-overload-like.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "What is Sensory Overload Like?" date: 2022-05-27T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Let's talk about sensory overload. What is it and what's it like from an insider's perspective? I'll try to shed some light on it, but keep in mind I'm just one autistic person. Other autistic people may have a different experience. diff --git a/content/entry/why-autistic-people-are-targets-of-manipulation-and-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim.md b/content/entry/why-autistic-people-are-targets-of-manipulation-and-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim.md index 47c6e29..e167aa3 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-autistic-people-are-targets-of-manipulation-and-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim.md +++ b/content/entry/why-autistic-people-are-targets-of-manipulation-and-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Why Autistic People Are Targets of Manipulation and How to Avoid Becoming a Victim" date: 2022-06-07T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Disclaimer I want to quickly state before I start that the opinions expressed here represent my conception of autism as an autistic person. I'm only one person with self-diagnosed autism (Asperger syndrome).[1] I am pursuing a formal diagnosis, but don't currently have one. I'm not trained in psychology or anything similar. diff --git a/content/entry/why-biden-should-expand-the-supreme-court.md b/content/entry/why-biden-should-expand-the-supreme-court.md index ec0ec40..4bff5f8 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-biden-should-expand-the-supreme-court.md +++ b/content/entry/why-biden-should-expand-the-supreme-court.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Why Biden Should Expand The Supreme Court" date: 2022-07-03T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- The U.S. Supreme Court has gone rogue. diff --git a/content/entry/why-i-dont-have-a-smartphone.md b/content/entry/why-i-dont-have-a-smartphone.md index 40fd593..9e96c56 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-i-dont-have-a-smartphone.md +++ b/content/entry/why-i-dont-have-a-smartphone.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Why I Don't Have a Smartphone" date: 2021-12-26T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Phonelessness I don't carry a smartphone. Not even a dumb phone. Most people assume I'm too poor to afford a phone plan. Not true. I voluntarily live without a phone. Technically I do own smartphones, but I don't use them. diff --git a/content/entry/why-i-dont-trust-police-and-neither-should-you.md b/content/entry/why-i-dont-trust-police-and-neither-should-you.md index 5180c82..01ed5f5 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-i-dont-trust-police-and-neither-should-you.md +++ b/content/entry/why-i-dont-trust-police-and-neither-should-you.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Why I Don't Trust Police and Neither Should You" date: 2021-10-11T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- This writing only applies to cops in the United States. In other countries, the police culture may be better (or worse). diff --git a/content/entry/why-i-dont-use-a-pseudonym.md b/content/entry/why-i-dont-use-a-pseudonym.md index 91f5e27..e648e85 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-i-dont-use-a-pseudonym.md +++ b/content/entry/why-i-dont-use-a-pseudonym.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Why I Don't Use a Pseudonym" date: 2022-02-28T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Why don't I use a pseudonym on this journal? Well, I live in the United States and despite all the problems my country has, it's still a relatively free country with respect to speech, for now. diff --git a/content/entry/why-i-left-its.md b/content/entry/why-i-left-its.md index cf8e714..6f92226 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-i-left-its.md +++ b/content/entry/why-i-left-its.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Why I Left ITS" date: 2020-07-02T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- # Background In October of 2018, I was hired to work at information technology services at SIUe[1], where I also studied. I worked there until early this year. I worked part time and met many good people there and learned how the university works and is organized. The job was well-suited for students because we usually have some free time to do our studies. I worked at the help desk[2] answering calls for a while before I eventually moved to a labs and classrooms technician position. The duties of the labs and classrooms student workers were essentially to do anything technology-related that needed done in the labs and classrooms. This included taking inventory for all the items, imaging computers, assisting professors and students if something broke during class time, setting up projectors, conference areas, replacing hardware, and responding to support calls. It was a good first job for learning common workplace skills. diff --git a/content/entry/why-superman-isnt-brave.md b/content/entry/why-superman-isnt-brave.md index e42f90d..f723006 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-superman-isnt-brave.md +++ b/content/entry/why-superman-isnt-brave.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Why Superman Isn't Brave" date: 2020-11-26T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- Superman is the most iconic comic book superhero in the world. He represents moral goodness and justice. He is loved by millions. But he isn't brave. In fact, he can't be brave. To understand why, let's start by enumerating his superpowers: diff --git a/content/entry/why-you-cannot-get-rid-of-your-ego.md b/content/entry/why-you-cannot-get-rid-of-your-ego.md index 00fbd09..32db310 100644 --- a/content/entry/why-you-cannot-get-rid-of-your-ego.md +++ b/content/entry/why-you-cannot-get-rid-of-your-ego.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Why You Cannot Get Rid of Your Ego" date: 2022-05-08T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- I'd like to clarify the idea of "losing one's ego", a concept I mentioned in my last entry, Thoughts on Spirituality[1]. diff --git a/content/entry/you-dont-need-an-antivirus.md b/content/entry/you-dont-need-an-antivirus.md index b1642de..90046af 100644 --- a/content/entry/you-dont-need-an-antivirus.md +++ b/content/entry/you-dont-need-an-antivirus.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "You Don't Need An Antivirus" date: 2022-01-09T00:00:00 draft: false +makerefs: false --- This entry is in response to recent news of Norton Antivirus putting a crypto miner[1] in their program. This is such a dumb move in so many ways it requires its own entry. Others have already commented on it, so I'd rather just tell you why you don't need an antivirus in the first place. diff --git a/content/glossary.md b/content/glossary.md index c5b7e00..feb6a15 100644 --- a/content/glossary.md +++ b/content/glossary.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Glossary" draft: false pageinfo: false +makerefs: false _build: list: never --- diff --git a/content/promoted.md b/content/promoted.md index 5f32307..c0cf5ea 100644 --- a/content/promoted.md +++ b/content/promoted.md @@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ title: "Promoted Links" draft: false pageinfo: false +makerefs: false _build: list: never --- |