Tundras live: Dumb Dad Jokes, Incorrect Opinions, Relationship Advice, and Parking Etiquette

Speaking of privacy, I've been playing around with some apps lately.

I know a guy that works at one of the major tech companies. He's got a PhD in this cyber arena and manages a team of white hat hackers. I picked his brain a bit.

First about cell phones from companies like Unplugged and Mark37. The issue he has with these (and one of his biggest issues with anything) is the OS they put on top of the Android core is not open source. So there's no way to know if there are issues, or if they did (or will) put a back-door in or a honeypot. The best option is to install an OS on a phone from the E Foundation. He recommended F-Droid for a "Play Store" equivalent. But it's not an easy load-n-go apparently.

For cell providers, they all collect and sell your personal data...even the resellers like Xfinity and Patriot Mobile. There's nothing you can do about that really other than don't download social media and similar apps that collect and share even more info. Oh, and not give personal info when you sign up...I think he was talking about using burner phones.

For apps, he's given me a number of recommendations over the years:

• Note Taking: He recommended Notesnook for a Notes app as it has full end-to-end encryption. I downloaded that last week and will be playing with it this weekend. It already looks much better than the Apple version.
• Maps: OsmAnd was suggested as they have a strong privacy policy. I've tried that app a bit and it's clearly a gen behind what Google offers. But it allows map downloads for offline nav and has some cool functionality that can be added for a fee. Unfortunately I've got to pay to enable Carplay...which is something else I'll probably do this weekend.
• Email: Years ago he told me about Protonmail and I've been very happy with it. Moved the whole family over actually. The app is great, they're rolling out password, calendar and other apps on the regular and they are very privacy focused. Plus located in the EU which has much stronger personal privacy laws. A single email account is free, but I pay the $60/yr for multiple emails (including burner emails). If anyone is interested in ProtonMail, IM me for a pro-tip before you set up your account.
• Browser: I surf this site on Safari so I can stay logged in, but surf the web using Brave. It's got a good reputation for privacy and has a good pop-up/ad blocker. They recently made it very easy to dump your cache, which is great for websites that hit you with a paywall after a few clicks.
• Texting: I've also been experimenting with Signal for my text mssg app. It has full end-to-end encryption and doesn't store anything in the cloud. I'll very likely move the family to this app in the coming months if for no other reason than to turn off the alerts on my apple app due to all the spam I've been getting.

 

LMAO Nah, I haul my own stuff around

 

Just got done with my latest and greatest blood draw...I'm not afraid of death but I damn well fear needles like there is no tomorrow...Took a crap ton of blood and left behind a massive lumpy bruise that will display the colors of the rainbow over the next week...

Glad it's over and I can stop thinking about it for another month...

My weekend can now begin in earnest. Wishing you all the best. Get out there and find a quiet place for minute and give thanks to your deity, whomever it may be, and acknowledge it's not all bad out there and while life is challenging it is no less sweet...

Be blessed my friends!

 

Glad you're still kickin! Keep up the good work.




All hail our deity, Beavis

 

Finally the weekend, got some OT yesterday.

Oil change and garage cleaning on the agenda today

 

Attempting some PPF install, making a template

 

Hunker down fellas.

Just got intel on something big happening soon.

 

Sadly, that tracks..

 

That's all we get? Is this a "turn off all electronics and put in faraday cages" stuff or "get the popcorn ready" stuff?

 

Hopefully just

 

It depends how paranoid you are and what you're doing. If I'm writing notes of things I think of to ask for at Christmastime or Googling hints for today's Wordle, do I really need top level security?

 

Raise your hand if you want him to PM on what the "something big" is.

 

I think we already have a Live PM chat going, don't we?

 

Looks like it's public knowledge now.
A friend of a friend is very involved in the situation.

 

To Iran with love.

 

Credit to @T-Rex266 for finding it on X

 

@Azblue

I only know 25 letters of the alphabet.





I don't know y.

 

https://youtu.be/XBE6g1dF6HM?si=ziK8bmNtkGubW_-h

 

I'm gonna steal that one

 

These best burgers in each state lists are always interesting. We have a decent mix of folks from around the country here. Any of you guys been to any of the joints on the list? If so, are they any good?

https://www.tastingtable.com/1889453/best-burgers-every-state/

It's a shame that the one listed for California is in Oakland as there is no way in hell I am setting foot in that city. Haven't been to the one in Flagstaff either.