*banned 4 MarkDown love* @design_RG@qoto.org

@dayvancowboy @raining_night

Even before Edward Snowden's revelations and supporting evidence, there were persistent rumours for years that taps had been set into some of the largest Internet exchanges.

Like the one in San Francisco, which was the incoming point for various trans-Pacific fiber links. Rumour had it that some federal organ had leased an entire floor below the exchange, and installed hardware above mirroring ALL traffic to their own floor. For processing and archival uses apparently.

@stux Yey, glad to see I am in good company.

The Dark theme is indeed the only one to go and keep your eyes for longer sessions!

@dayvancowboy @raining_night
I think those devices are very risky, considering who is selling them and their geo location and legal jurisdiction. Plus the character of the federal administration.

No thanks for me. But any mobile device could be spying on you as well, unless you removed the battery completely (why would manufacturer's have removed this option on newer models, eh?) or place them inside a shielded room (cutting off radio all together).

@_lunawinters You are very welcome. 😉

The country is also accepting immigration - it's possible to apply and get a permanent residency Visa if you either have a source of income aborad (investment, trusts, or pension income) or if you have a plan and want to start a new company.

A lot of European digital nomads are making Lisbon home.

Suggestion, get the Lonely Planet Portugal Guide, it's a good read and geared to travellers like us.

Or look at their website, just found this :

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/portugal

I downloaded a ebook copy of their guide from my local Library, and refered to it for the 3 weeks loan duration. Having been there before, I did it lightly, to find suggestions on cities I was not too familiar with, but the guide is solid and fun.And it you want to talk about it, I will be delighted to oblige... 😄

@Rovine
I learn Trig on the blackboard, when we used printed bookform Trig tables for each angle value.

The concept is in my mind, and I visualize the circle on the board, radius 1 unit, and sine and cosine being placed cleanly, one on each axis.

Perfectly rational and memorable.

Tangents were fun and intriguing, shooting up to infinity as the angle increased to near 90 degrees.

Geometry and math are lovely.

@freemo

Chalk and a good blackboard. And a talented genius at work.

Professor Einstein's note and office blackboard pics.

@_lunawinters That's exactly like I like it too.

Lisbon is a wonderful city in all senses, and it's enchanting to discover and explore on foot.

I have visited the country for the last 3 Springs, and still came back home with about 3,800 photos from this last trip.

Costs are affordable, I stay in hostels mostly, eat on small local eateries, and spend somewhere in the 20 to 30 Euros per day for food and accommodations.

That allows long stays, the way I like, and exploring the country in detail.

@freemo @Rovine Sorry for the unrelated post above -- my clipboard had contents from a previous post, and not related to this thread. OOPs.

Here's what I had in mind...

@Rovine @freemo
https://qoto.org/web/statuses/103154056064692821

@Rovine
LOL, there, we both see their point. 😄

I remember visiting a local older school, and to fall in love with their ancient, beautiful, smooth slate backboards.

Being a math teacher at the time, that was to salivate for. 😉
@freemo

@_lunawinters Wonderful, Aaditi.
My family came from there, and it feels completely like home when I am in Portugal, which is where I would dream to re-locate at this time.

It's a wonderful country to visit and travel, I an kind of an unofficial ambassador for Tourism Portugal it seems, but sincerely. 😜

Salaries there are lower than other Euro centres, but cost of living is lower too, and the quality of life is admirable.

I have only visited Portugal, extensively, and Southern Spain, less so, have no experience in other countries although Italy might be a nice place, specially if one speaks the language.

@freemo @Rovine

That's perfectly fine -- planning should start on paper and pencil, or a large white board or blackboard.

Things get too complex to hold in one's conscient mind. Making notes and spreading things around on the table sure helps; you can focus on a smaller piece and deal with it, then move back and look at the picture, what should come next?

Too big to chew? Take it one Byte at a time. 😉 🍷

@_lunawinters If I may suggest, Europe is the place I would consider ideal to be in, or starting a new life. Done that, changing countries totally, 30 years ago, and now am tempted to do it again.

@_lunawinters I am happiest when I am traveling, Aaditi. Do it, you won't regret, may God guide you.

@freemo It's nice to have bots running that bring content from other networks or repositories.

Have found a few interesting ones, specially the media sites; NY Times, WSJ, possibly others.

Medium term project, learn more about what's required and how to do one of those. 😉

@Rovine
I love quality, and it's easier and more affordable to find that in off-lease, Business grade hardware.

I am running an HP Elitebook as my main, go to platform, it's a delight. Stable, fast, 8 GB of ram, I replaced the hd with an ssd, and it has an i7 processor, beautiful lcd display.

The display alone is worth it, so commonly laptops that are very interesting cheap out on the display and suck for that reason.

This one I have is like a mac BooK Pro, all aluminum, a hefty 5 pounds or so, but I don't carry it around, just use it at home. Got a docking station for it if I ever want to place it on a desk and connect tons of disks and peripherals.

Unlike the MBP, it didn't cost an arm and a leg. I rescued it from neglect at a local pawn shop, came home and lovely cleaned its aluminum shell, the design is pretty and conforms to a few Milspec requirements.

Find that, any of it, on a consumer grade laptop is hard, and would cost 3 times or more what I paid for it.

@Sphinx

@robotcarsley

That sounds intriguing. I really liked the political ideas on the posts and how clear and logically explained they were.

Searching around and finding interesting info on this. Thank you!

I am posting my findings into a thread, here: https://qoto.org/web/statuses/103154056064692821

@DissidentKitty@radical.town

https://www.eclipsephase.com/game

"Humanity stands on the cusp of a new age, with accelerated technological growth converging toward a singularity point, promising an undreamt-of future. Despite the ecopocalypse and social upheavals on Earth, humanity has conquered the solar system and partially terraformed Mars. Advancements in biotechnology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science have transformed our lives. Everyone is wirelessly networked with the world around them, AIs process vast amounts of information, and nano-fabrication enables people to “print” complex devices from the molecular level—at home. Biotechnology allows people to genefix, enhance, and clone their bodies, while others pursue body modifications to adapt to new environments or make themselves into something no longer quite human. People’s minds and memories can be digitized, uploaded, transferred over long distances, and downloaded into new bodies (biological or synthetic). Death has been defeated—for those who can afford it."

OMG, wonderful art.

"Eclipse Phase is a science fiction horror[1] role-playing game with transhumanist themes.[2] Originally published by Catalyst Game Labs,[3] Eclipse Phase is now published by the game's creators, Posthuman Studios, and is released under a Creative Commons license.[4][5][6][7] "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_Phase

see also: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/284022/Eclipse-Phase-Second-Edition

and: https://www.eclipsephase.com/