Month: August 2023

When To Pay For Software

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I recently let my Discord Nitro subscription expire, and this is a tough one for me. I use Discord quite often, but find paying for it very hard to justify due to its privacy policy and investment structure. It has become a rather ubiquitous tool in recent years, which makes me wonder if it is going to result in yet another Twitter fiasco.

Generally, I am ok with paying (and donating) for software services. They have to meet some level criteria for me to feel comfortable, though. For example, if the software and/or service is:

  • Open Source / Open Platform
    • Lemmy (and selective instances)
    • Mastodon (and selective instances)
  • Proprietary and/or Centralized, but operated in good faith, with a history and face
    • Kagi
    • MarsEdit
    • Micro.blog
    • Ivory
  • Privacy respecting by design, with mixed open source / proprietary status
    • 1Password
    • Proton Mail
    • iCloud (select services with advanced security enabled)

Discord is a prime example of something that does not quite fit into any of these categories. Discord does not respect privacy. Discord is not Open Source. Discord is not decentralized. Instead, it is held up by a combination of paid users and investors. This is enough to chase me away. I’m waiting for the inevitable sale of the platform and its data to a big tech conglomerate. The other shoe has yet to drop. Let’s just hope it isn’t placed into the hands of another Elon Musk. 

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I seem to bounce back-and-forth between keeping social media in a browser via tab groups versus accessing them through dedicated apps. Dedicated apps offer a higher level of comfort for interaction, but I think that comfort comes with a time cost (i.e., routinely checking the various apps). Having all of the social media sites in a single location (tab groups) allows me to get everything out of the way at once.

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I noticed today that my blog theme looks good everywhere except… Chrome. Great. It appears that the backdrop-filter CSS property does not account for / support multiple-levels.

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It is 108℉ (42℃) here today… the “feels like” temperature is 122℉ (50℃). This is absurd.

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Now that I have explored multiple fediverse options, I think it is time I start deleting a few accounts that I no longer care to upkeep. Calckey (Firefish) is a no-go for me. Also going to be leaving a Lemmy community that was more closed-off and safe-space driven.

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A new shelf for the wall. Thanks to @jean for the MB stickers!

A newly mounted and stylized shelf on a plain white wall. There are three levels to the shelf and it appears to be held up by an old rustic-style pipe that mounts to the wall. On the top shelf: A plush from the Interface series. An model Acura Integra. A snow globe with a golf ball inside. A tiny painting of a Civic Type R. On the middle shelf: A thank you note from Jean at Micro.blog. A Ferrari F40 Hotweels toy in the original packaging. A thank you note from a friend with a doodle of a capybara. A transparent resin block with a model car inside of it. On the bottom shelf: “Cracking the Coding Interview” book. “The mythical Man Month” book. “Introduction to Algorithims” book. A nice complete set of the four “The Art of Computer Programming” books.

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We are finally getting a break from the heat here in Kansas City. It’s nice to have all of the windows open around the house. Fall can’t get here soon enough…

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I’ve been practicing quite a bit more on LeetCode and although these problems are fun little brain teasers, it is ridiculous to think these problems are used in real interviews.

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