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bobbinsbob

49 karma · joined October 18, 2017

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bobbinsbob··on Ask HN: What do you wear to work everyday?
A uniform.
bobbinsbob··on How do I permanently delete my account?
Wonder how long that'll last what with the US intent on applying it's laws and regulations outside its jurisdiction.
bobbinsbob··on UMatrix Tutorial
I like the umatrix part of this guide as well: http://12bytes.org/tech/firefoxgecko-configuration-guide-for...
bobbinsbob··on Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will
That's the thing though. If those ads are forced on you say like in-game ads you can't skip then I'll just do what I do with them. Something else. Volume down, attention elsewhere until it's over. Just like those old unskippable YouTube ads. I might not be able to skip them but they don't get any of my attention either way.
bobbinsbob··on Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will
I really am thankful I don't reside in the US! Say what you want about the NHS it beats this sort of crap.
bobbinsbob··on Modern Media Is a DoS Attack on Free Will
I liked this article. It makes me happy I am not really effected by what it is saying. I have no social media, I don't see the point, and I only use whatsapp for family because they won't use signal. WhatsApp has a throwaway number so it doesn't have my actual number and it's permissions are locked down.

ublock and umatrix make my browsing experience nice, and less dangerous.

Minimal apps on my phone, nearly all Google apps disabled.

I would move to a dumb phone if I could find one that allowed whatsapp and sharing it's internet.

bobbinsbob··on Ask HN: What are your favorite browser extensions/add-ons for Firefox or chrome?
I use umatrix, awesome addon. I hardly ever see it recommend either, much better than noscript.
bobbinsbob··on Life Inside the RVs of Silicon Valley
This reminds me of the "first world problems" meme only in this instance it's more like a first world shanty town.
bobbinsbob··on Biggest drop in Facebook organic reach we have seen
Utilising that reasoning the game analogy fails also
bobbinsbob··on Biggest drop in Facebook organic reach we have seen
Oh I must have been confused when you said "end-users". But either way I think my analogy stands.
bobbinsbob··on Biggest drop in Facebook organic reach we have seen
That's true but you are, hence so was I when replying to you.
bobbinsbob··on Ask HN: Advice using Stoicism/Meditation/Zen Buddhism,etc. to buildup resilience
Each to there own ;)
bobbinsbob··on Biggest drop in Facebook organic reach we have seen
I wasn't alluding to cost as in money, though I do agree with others here that you're paying one way or another.

In relation to Facebook user I was alluding to addiction and the way you pay for that addiction.

bobbinsbob··on Biggest drop in Facebook organic reach we have seen
>"Facebook is like a game where the difficulty rises after you've had a taste of success. And by difficulty I mean you have to pay to reach your previously levels of success"

Your analogy would sound better, and imo, reflect reality more if you swapped out 'game' for 'drug'.

That is to say, Facebook is like a drug (like heroin), the more you use it the more you have to pay to get the same level of high. Don't become dependent on the freebies because that's how the dealers get you hooked.

bobbinsbob··on Ask HN: Advice using Stoicism/Meditation/Zen Buddhism,etc. to buildup resilience
>> "Dear God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

This is like a long-winded version of one of my favourites:

>"Fight battles small enough to win that are big enough to matter."

bobbinsbob··on A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations
Well like I said I'm not from the US and have no answers to a system that seems completely and obviously open to abuse. I'm always puzzled why it's the way it is in the US, the whole justice system seems like a farce especially the way the courts work.

I'm all from transparency, not only does it keep the cops right but it also means cops are safe from fabricated complaints they are subject to. I just find some of the ideas here about how to do this ridiculous from a reality perspective. And to suggest that the police should be presumed guilty it actually worse than ridiculous.

bobbinsbob··on Socially Engineering Myself into High Security Facilities
This, this sums it up perfectly.
bobbinsbob··on Socially Engineering Myself into High Security Facilities
I have many but I'll tell you this one.

I once worked on a building that was essentially ruled by the office manager (henceforward to be referred to a the wicked witch, WW for short) of one of the buildings companies. The building manager would physically shake everytime she was near.

Anyway to cut a long story short I went to the toilet without asking (yes you heard that right) and came back to find this WW at my desk basically vibrating with righteous rage. An argument ensues which ends up with WW storming off to make a complaint about me going to the toilet and my "bad" attitude which according to WW left to whole building insecure.

Up comes the building manager. I had to call him when I needed the toilet from now on.

Anyway I had noticed that the vast majority of the employees of the office WW managed had invalid passes, they were meant to have photos and employee numbers, but practically all had worn away. So I started to do my job "properly" as per the instructions set forth by WW. Every one with an invalid pass had it removed and they could not get back to work, WW was called to verify identity and she would just give them their pass back and allow them in. WW was not impressed. This lasted until lunch when no one got back into the office. They were queuing out into the street. WW was livid and tried to publicly ridicule me, just a lowly security guard messing thing up.

By the end of our second argument during which I was overly polite in tesponse to the screaming banshee the WW had turned into it was obvious she had lost.

End result. All employees allowed back into work after reissue of invalid I'd cards, I was allowed to go to the toilet when I wanted, I was sacked from that building that evening.

bobbinsbob··on A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations
Like I say I can't comment on the US system regards it's policing practices, from the outside looking in it all seems open to abuse. Where I come from the government funds the police, they don't make any profit from the likes of tickets etc.

Currently the police are savagely being under funded as are all public sectors and crime is on the rise but the difference between the police and other public services is that people seem to understand why the other public services are not performing as good as they were, but it's the fault to the police they aren't performing as good.

Like I said I would love to see bodycams on all police but as with every public body ICT project it will be mismanaged and cost way more than it needs to. Currently the police where I am can't afford it.

bobbinsbob··on Socially Engineering Myself into High Security Facilities
I used to be a security guard after I left the army (no skills in civvi street to get a better job).

Couple of things come to mind reading this. One that security guard is probably getting paid a pittance to do that job and you get what you pay for. Two the guard recognises you and your colleagues, knows you work there and doesn't really care that you're playing silly games because on their wage it's not worth the hassle pulling you up for you to get all high and mighty about the inconvenience of a lowly security guard daring to question you. Three that single guard, whilst ostensibly there for "security" is really just there for show, there's no way a single lowly paid guard can possibly provide security for a building housing 8 or 9 companies even with the best intentions.

My experience as a guard was that the employees of the companies within the building treated me with contemptuous distain until something happened at which point it was righteous anger.

bobbinsbob··on A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations
I know this won't be a popular comment but it never surprises me that this attitude that police should be guilty until proven innocent arrises. It seems to be the default setting. Just like the way everyone hates the police until they need them.

Everything is at some point the fault of the police. It seems like everyone wants the police to do only what they want them to and to be punished if the police do something different.

Now I don't come from the US so can't comment on the problems with the police there and I don't know how the police there are funded but I know from my country that some of the "solutions" stated to hold the police to account would bankrupt the police here, but then I suppose that's the fault of the police as well.

I'm all for bodycams though because at the end of the day when a fabricated complaint comes in (my experience is most of them are) then these can be easily dismissed and hopefully those people actually held to account.

bobbinsbob··on UK spies using social media data for mass surveillance
I'm British and took that survey for shits and giggles, I like a survey.

Anyway I'm not that impressed it had me down as either coming from Providence (because I pronounce mary, marry and merry different), or Santa Rosa or San Jose (because I'd never heard of a drive through liquor store which actually seems a mental idea, from a UK perspective). I know it's not supposed to work on me but there's a massive distance between the first and last two places based solely on one data point.

Makes me wonder how this would fare in a smaller country like the England or Scotland, etc.