When it was sms compatible it was a suuuuper easy sell for my family

“It’s way more secure when you text me but you can still text everyone else you know too. And we can still use it through wifi if cell service isn’t working for me.”

It would potentially fall under “fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine” that would make it inadmissable for actual court cases but otherwise there’s nothing to stop people from gathering information that is available to the public

We can always do the “nothing beyond my immediate observation can be trusted” method like the flat earthers do

Shadows of Doubt! Its this sci fi noire game where you play as a cop that became a private eye detective. Their police force was replaced with privatized “enforcers” that uphold the policy of the new corporate government.

You solve crimes the enforcers won’t and take on side jobs to stay alive, upgrade your apartment and build enough social credit to retire to “the fields”- a suspiciously utopian retriement zone far away from the grime, storms and thick smog of the city.

This is an immersive sim. Kind of like a procedurally generated Deus Ex. You can interact with a lot of stuff turn on sinks, open cabinets, read email and newspapers, eat food, watch tv and drink alcohol until you can barely stand.

When it comes to solving crime you can sift through camera footage, take fingerprints, crawl through air ducts, ask people for information, hack into govt databases and more. You put all of the clues on a big conspiracy board in the menu until you find the murderer and bring them in…before they kill again.

I really like this one it’s like Hotline Miami but you can play it stealthy, and going loud feels like playing a John Wick scene. They also have a sequel in the works with a free demo. Intravenous: Mercenarism I think

It might not be much but it’s still legal precedent that will hopefully help it reach critical mass. Like getting Al Capone on tax evasion

I forget what privacy podcast I was listening to but they said that privacy is important because you might not be under scrutiny now but could be.

After the Boston marathon bombing reddit was scouring footage and believed a particular person was responsible (“we did it reddit!”). They were wrong. People found his address, work etc and he was stalked and harrassed for days though he did nothing wrong.

You can bet he would have liked to disappear for a while, and a little extra everyday privacy in advance would have made that a lot easier.

Yeah I’m not really trying to hide from the govt, but I would vote on limiting their power if given the chance. Anyway, what I don’t want is every corporation I deal with (car, bank, phone, apps, isp, etc) to track me so excessively.

If the govt did get curious it would take zero leg work, just ask those companies that are very willing to hand over my data to damn near anyone, or hold onto it long enough to have it stolen.

So with that in mind limiting corporate surveillance and limiting ease of govt surveillance is essentially the same thing, but the govt has the ability to put in the work and get you if they really wanted to.

Idk how the new user experience is now but back when I first downloaded it I wanted a hybrid of sat imagery when cell signal allowed, with an overlay of offline OSM data. This was for two reasons, hiking and to see if the mapping in that hike area needed any major land use edits.

Anyway I had to fiddle with the menus and settings for a while to get the overlays where I wanted it to be. Don’t get me wrong I was able to figure it out but for users who want to install and go it can be understandably frustrating

Osmand is really cool and it’s really capable but I understand that it isn’t for people who don’t want to tinker a bit to make things work just right for them.

For that Organic Maps is what I recommend.

It’s like $20 for cheap devices that talk to your phone via bluetooth. They have standalone devices too to fix that potential vulnerability.

I’m messing around with a few rn. Heltec V3s and TBeam Supremes.

Is a logitech controller required?

Stardew Valley and Kingdom Come Deliverance are the two big ones at the moment. I’ve played both a bit at a time for a while now.

Stardew Valley needs little introduction. It’s a beautiful gem of an indie game. I’m in fall of year two and just getting used to married life and making that sweet sweet gold making wine and jelly.

Kingdom Come Deliverance is an awesome RPG in a non-fantasy medieval setting. You’re the son of a blacksmith and your town is burned by a massive army leaving you a refugee seeking to avenge your parents. You’re no war hero or chosen one, just a man trying to find his place in the beautiful but uncertain world…and maybe learn to read while he’s at it

My grandma told me of a relative that came to visit them in the US from Eastern Europe (Slovakia I think) after the Soviet Union dissolved.

One thing they noticed is that he always wore his shoes. Even when staying at home. Even to bed. They asked why and he explained that it was to give him a chance of escape if the Secret Police came and he was surprised that our family didn’t have to do something similar.

Yeah we really need to step it up. Sadly we’ll never live up to the shining example of Tiananmen Square. Peak human rights!

Ah I was just kidding, you probably mean the ability for Soviets to assemble. Like that one time they all banded together to put an end to…the Soviet Union. In that case yes we have much to aspire to!

Who?

Let’s just say Ram Ranch really rocks

Don’t ask me how I know but there’s at least 18 of them

powerwolf intensifies

c/greendawn is for you!

I heard that on one ship army men were considered good luck, guarding places and keeping the gremlins out of the engines and other important systems. A new officer thought it was silly and told them to take them all down, but he changed his mind after the ship became plagued with a bunch of issues for weeks on end.