I've been using Proton Mail for several years, even signing up for a 2-year Mail Plus subscription in May of this year to take advantage of some additional features like aliases email client support. Their emphasis on privacy and security has been a main selling point for me from the beginning. So when I learned that their CEO doesn't seem to understand the security risks involved with reckless “vibe coding” with AI, that raised a red flag.

I decided I won't be renewing my subscription and that I shouldn't be dependent on email providers for my actual email addresses anymore. If you purchase your own domain, you can set up your own email address that never has to change, even if the service you use to actually send and receive email does change.

So yesterday I was brainstorming and searching for available domains. At one point I started thinking about possible domains with the “.ing” suffix. And since I've been thinking about the recent passing of Sir Patrick Stewart and Star Trek has been on my mind a lot, I discovered that boldlygo.ing was somehow still available and it wasn't being sold at a “premium” price (meaning someone wasn't squatting on it hoping to make a ridiculous profit).

So I snatched up boldlygo.ing and am slowly transitioning all my Proton Mail traffic to email addresses on my own domain.

For now, I'm using the iCloud+ custom domain feature. Since I'm already paying for iCloud+ that means it's no additional cost for me to use iCloud as my email provider.

Longer term, I'm going to be looking into moving to a more independent service. Even if I have to pay a little, decentralizing is never a bad idea.

And I do hope Proton nips these problems in the bud and gets their CEO in line – or replaces him. If they do, there's a good chance I'd eventually use Proton as the email provider for my custom domain!

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 191) #tech #privacy #security #email

Perhaps if I make use of this email-to-post thing more often instead of opening a web browser to write my posts, I'll be less tempted to seek out distraction and diversion online?

I guess it's worth a try. And it's a cool feature, regardless.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 188) #blogging #tech

I'm talking at least two weeks without screens. No smartphones, tablets, laptop or desktop computers, televisions, video game devices, etc.

How could I even make something like that happen? The problem is some of the same devices I use to distract me I also use to work, communicate, travel, manage finances, keep track of my health, and a host of other things.

I work remotely from home. My means of supporting my family requires me to look at a laptop for extended periods of time. But then, inexplicably, I choose to spend much of my free time looking at more screens.

I need a good break from technolgoy. I need a reset. I feel like I've needed one for a long time.

I wish I could have the time to just stop for a good while, and then slowly and intentionally start using technology again and pay attention to how it affects me. Make sure that I'm using it instead of it using me.

But I don't know how to even make that happen.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 187) #tech #life #addiction

This is an excerpt from Chapter 7, entitled “The Ideology of Machines: Computer Technology.” He is warning against thinking of “machine as human” and, by implication, “human as machine.”

Perhaps the most chilling case of how deeply our language is absorbing the “machine as human” metaphor began on November 4, 1988, when the computers around the ARPANET network became sluggish, filled with extraneous data, and then clogged completely. The problem spread fairly quickly to six thousand computers across the United States and overseas. The early hypothesis was that a software program had attached itself to other programs, a situation which is called (in another human-machine metaphor) a “virus.” As it happened, the intruder was a self-contained program explicitly designed to disable computers, which is called a “worm.” But the technically incorrect term “virus” stuck, no doubt because of its familiarity and its human connections. As Raymond Gozzi, Jr., discovered in his analysis of how the mass media described the event, newspapers noted that the computers were “infected,” that the virus was “virulent” and “contagious,” that attempts were made to “quarantine” the infected computers, that attempts were also being made to “sterilize” the network, and that programmers hoped to develop a “vaccine” so that computers could be “inoculated” against new attacks.

This kind of language is not merely picturesque anthropomorphism. It reflects a profound shift in perception about the relationship of computers to humans. If computers can become ill, then they can become healthy. Once healthy, they can think clearly and make decisions. The computer, it is implied, has a will, has intentions, has reasons – which means that humans are relieved of responsibility for the computer's decisions. Through a curious form of grammatical alchemy, the sentence “We use the computer to calculate” comes to mean “The computer calculates.” If a computer calculates, then it may decide to miscalculate or not calculate at all. That is what bank tellers mean when they tell you that they cannot say how much money is in your checking account because “the computers are down.” The implication, of course, is that no person at the bank is responsible. Computers make mistakes or get tired or become ill. Why blame people? We may call this line of thinking an “agentic shift,” a term I borrow from Stanley Milgram to name the process whereby humans transfer responsibility for an outcome from themselves to a more abstract agent. When this happens, we have relinquished control, which in the case of the computer means that we may, without excessive remorse, pursue ill-advised or even inhuman goals because the computer can accomplish them or be imagined to accomplish them.

In October 2026, we live in a world where generative LLM AI is being used to write software, news articles, and social media posts. To create images and music and videos. It is being used by millions of average people to do much of their thinking and creating for them. It is being used by corporations to replace human workers. It is being used by governments to make decisions to presumably improve the lives of their citizens – and also to intentionally destroy human lives.

I can see the potential of generative AI to do tremendous good. But it must be developed and used intentionally and responsibly. I believe we should not be so careless as to abdicate our responsibility for human life – for ourselves and for one another – and for our planet to a combination of sophisticated programming and hardware housed in massive, environmentally destructive data centers that continue to be built at break-neck pace.

I have 77 pages left to read in “Technopoly,” but I can already recommend it to anyone interested in technology, its benefits, and its problems.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 185) #tech #AI #books

This blog is all over the place topic-wise on purpose. I figured I could just write about whatever I felt like and the Topics page and the hashtags would allow folks to follow the topics they were interested in and ignore the topics they aren't so interested in.

I did it this way to make it easier for me, but I worry that it's not so easy for readers to follow this way, especially those subscribed via email. Maybe it's off-putting to some readers to see blog posts about prayer alongside blog posts about the latest Linux distro I'm trying.

I've wanted to write more about my faith journey, but I've been trying to maintain a balance for the sake of those who might actually be paying attention to the blog – to not saturate it too much with one topic and neglect the others people might be interested in.

I know I shouldn't care. It's my blog, why not write whatever I want? Well...I do care. I do think about how what I write might impact the handful of people that read it. It's a public blog, after all, not a private journal.

I'll keep thinking about it for a bit. But I'm leaning towards starting up my “Newfangled” blog again. I'd be posting about tech, music, and nerdy stuff over there, and keeping the deeper topics like philosophy and faith over here.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 184) #writing #faith #tech

Thanks, once again, to the wonderful Fediverse (I use Mastodon), I just learned that eBay automatically opted in all of their users to training their AI with personal data without their consent. You can opt out at this link: https://accountsettings.ebay.com/ai-preferences

They're not even trying to respect users anymore.

How can we even fight this madness? All of the Big Tech companies are doing this, and so much of our infrastructure, communication, and how we function day-to-day are dependent on the products and services of these companies.

A mass boycott of these companies would require us to stop, well, everything. Besides, boycotting doesn't work without good parallel systems in place. There are alternatives, and there are good people working very hard to make them available and as easy to adopt as possible.

But we are so far down this rabbit hole, we're not going to be able to get out without massive disruption to, again, everything.

The best we can do right now is spread the word about what these companies are doing, use and promote alternatives, and help each other navigate this technological nightmare as best we can.

Get involved in local government and oppose AI data centers.

Vote for leaders who are nohellscapet bought and paid for by Big Tech and are committed to reigning them in.

Opt out of whatever you can opt out of. Tell your family and friends.

#100DaysToOffload (No. 182) #tech #AI

There are several reasons.

Gasoline prices have always been a factor, especially now. But generally, thought of not being dependent on gas for transportation has long been appealing to me.

Other countries are way ahead of the United States in terms of EV adoption and they are seeing benefits such as less dependence on fossil fuels and improved air quality.

Speaking of air quality, I live in beautiful Cache Valley nestled in the Bear River Range of Northern Utah. During the winter months, if it gets bitter cold, we have air inversion layers that set in. The inversion traps cold air along with smoke, smog, car exhaust, etc. on the valley floor. During such events we have among the worst air quality in the country. I think it makes sense to have EVs in a place like this (assuming they are able to function adequately in extreme cold temperatures).

I know electricity prices are rising, too. Perhaps the actual savings in fuel is – or will eventually be – negligible. But I think it's important to send a signal to the “powers that be” that there is a demand for EVs in the US. We're tired of being manipulated by oil moguls and tired of the price of oil affecting the price of, well, everything else.

I've presently had my eye on a Hyundai IONIQ 5. I've been wary of the long-term reliability of Hyundai vehicles, but it seems they've made strides in recent years. I also have been looking at the Subaru Uncharted. Toyota and Honda are also auto brands I trust in terms of quality and long-term reliability.

I will not ever consider a Tesla vehicle. Explaining my reasons for that would be a whole other blog post in itself. But I think most people understand the reasons why someone would not want to give Elon Musk more money (even if they may not agree with those reasons).

Will I ever own a EV? I hope so. But they're expensive and in high demand. I can't pay for one in cash right now and I'd rather not have a car payment again unless it's absolutely necessary.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 178) #automobiles #EV #tech

RSS – Really Simple Syndication – has existed since the early days of the Internet and is still supported by many websites. It's a hallmark of the open web – which is quickly disappearing.

This feature allows you to use an RSS reader to receive new content from supported websites all in one place. Many RSS readers have extensive features that allow you to organize and customize your feeds to your heart's content.

Reddit claims they are killing RSS support because of AI bots continually scraping their content. But they already rate-limited (limited the number of times an RSS feed could be queried from a certain IP within a certain amount of time), so it's not a matter of AI bots clogging up the traffic.

I think what this comes down to is money. Reddit has slowly been trying to monetize their users more and more, and killing RSS support gives them more control over the content on their platform. We'll probably see Reddit subscription plans, eventually.

Their recommendation to use the Discord Relay as a replacement for RSS is frustrating, too. Discord is a third party company and has its own “walled garden,” meaning there is no way to access Discord content without an account. And Discord is slowly monetizing its users more and more, as well.

Imagine eventually needing to pay for a subscription to fully access Reddit and a separate subscription to fully access Discord to have the same functionality that exists for free today.

I'm not sure if I will give in and start using the Reddit app/website more when RSS support ends, or if I will decide it's not worth the frustration.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 175) #tech #AI #internet

This is not a paid advertisement, haha. Just sharing a few thoughts about how these tools are helping me.

I am working on many things all at once to improve my life mentally, physically, and spiritually. It's a lot to manage all at once, and I have been focusing on managing my time more intentionally.

I currently use an iPhone 17, MacBook Air M2, and Apple Watch SE 3. And I guess you can count a 2019 iMac that I use mostly as a streaming PC for Twitch. I find these devices to be reliable and easy to use with minimal hassle.

My family uses shared iCloud calendars so we can see important events, work schedules, etc. in each of our days.

I have also started to do more time block planning. I tried it on paper, but it's easier to do it on my phone with a dedicated calendar for it so I can see it alongside everyone else's calendars rather than carry around paper and have to constantly hand-copy calendar info from my phone to paper.

Lately I have been using Siri to set reminders and tasks as they come to mind. It's akin to writing them down in a small notebook, but easier to manage on an iPhone. I also use Siri to set timers for certain things I do during the day.

I'm using an Apple Watch and a Hume smart scale to help track workouts and various health metrics like heart rate and sleep as I work to change my diet, lower my cholesterol, and lose weight. Having that data is helpful for me so that I can see if I am making any progress towards my goals.

I am trying to more carefully curate notifications, turning notifications for many apps completely off, and for the rest, using “Do Not Disturb” during important events like church or at times during day when I want no distractions.

If I find that this all becomes too much, I'll do what I always do. Take a pause, reassess, and scale back if needed. But for now, I'm grateful I have these tools to help me.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 173) #tech

I have a friend with several adult children who have become addicted to video games, despite his and his wife's best efforts to prevent this as their parents.

Some of the things he has shared with me about the choices and lifestyles of these adult children were heartbreaking. All they do in life is oriented towards feeding their video game addiction. If they work, it's to earn money to buy video games or devices on which to play them. The fantasy worlds of video games are more real to them than real life – an escape. Real-life responsibilities and obligations don't matter all that much unless they have something to do with video games. Their desire to advance their character in a video game overrides their desire to advance or better themselves in the real world.

I believe I have a personality that is susceptible to addiction. I see in myself a strong potential to become addicted to video games – or anything else that can be addictive, really. So I have tried hard to keep such things at bay.

Because of my LDS upbringing and my personal decision to follow the Word of Wisdom, I have completely avoided even trying addictive substances, like alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs, and coffee. But there are other things that can be addictive – like video games – and I have tried to recognize when they are starting to consume me and do whatever is necessary to stop. For many years, I have refused to have any games on my smartphone, for example, and that is a hard line I know I must not cross.

But there are some things that, while they have the potential to be come addictive in excess, can actually be good in moderation and when done intentionally. It's all about finding balance. What those things are, and where the line is that indicates where those things cross into excess and addiction can be different for each of us.

In some cases, completely refraining from something that is potentially too addictive is the only viable option for a person. I personally don't intend to try alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs, or even coffee, for example. As I mentioned earlier, I believe I am prone to addiction as it is, and I feel like I'm struggling enough to find balance with the things I am already doing!

But when it comes to video games, I recognize that my fondest memories of them are in shared experiences with others. I find that I can no longer play video games on my own for very long before I begin to feel like my time is being wasted. But I feel differently if I am sharing the experience with people, making memories and having fun together.

The other night, my young adult son and I were reminiscing about Nintendo Wii games, particularly a game called “Skykanders: Spyro's Adventure.” When he was younger, he bought a copy of the game and several figurines with his own money and had fun playing the game with his friends.

We still have a Wii, and he still has his Skylanders collection. While reminiscing, we thought it might be fun to go to a local store that buys and resells video games (and all kinds of other physical media), buy a couple Skylanders figurines, and do a play-through of the game together.

Last night we brought home four Skylanders figurines, and we intended to start a new game together. But we discovered that one or both of our cats had completely chewed through the wire of the Wii motion sensor bar, so our adventure will be postponed until the two replacement motion sensor bars I ordered (better to have a backup, because cats) arrive.

I'm looking forward to sharing that experience with my son.

Going forward, I will try to keep the following guardrails in place when it comes to video games:

1. No games on my phone.
2. Prioritize playing with other people I know and focus on the social interaction.
3. When playing by myself, stream it on Twitch so that there is some component of social interaction outside the game, or play in a shared space in the house where others can see what I'm doing and interact with me.
4. Seek balance. Play as part of normal recreation time, do not play to excess or neglect more important activities.
5. Avoid games that elevate bad content such as vulgarity, sexuality, profanity, or graphic violence.

If I find that I cannot stay within those guardrails, then I need to be honest with myself about my video game addiction and completely abstain from them for my own good.

Discuss...

#100DaysToOffload (No. 171) #media #videoGames #addiction #tech