idk random tech stuff?

• every time i see a UX designer ad sometimes i kick myself for not grinding experience in UX/UI when I had the chance as man, that'd be a lot more job opportunities (print design is still kinda there - imo it's a 35/65 split with print/digital - but ur missing out on big tech money), but then every time i actually see a UI design article ... or redesign with explanations ... or anything about that industry at all .. flames on the side of my face would be an understatement xD hating 99% of absolutely everything about that industry is also an understatement (see, me thinking dreamwidth is peak UI LOL) (i mean that lovingly with a shade of irony). 
  
  • "what annoys you about that industry, krad" idk, a few things ... the whole "micro-optimizing engagement is the whole reason of your paycheck" squicks out my ethics more than just slapping a logo on a paper ad. you could have a lively philosophical debate about whether one is actually more ethical or not but for me, I know i'd get fired sooner or later because I'd blow up at an executive for going the 'engagement/moar clicks' route rather than 'functional'. then there's the whole actively disagreeing with literally all the basic ""standards" done in the last 15 years .. if it were my choice we'd be all back to dumbphones, winamp, winXP (or 1996) UI ... anyway this is, clearly, why I am not a UI designer xD

• Been procrastinating on it this past year, but sometime in the past week I moved my (real name) email account over to protonmail also, and burning the google bridge once and for all.  I don't doubt that protonmail's a fed/spook/etc honeypot, but all I want is an email that's not connected with Big Data or going to be sunset like the dozens of other google apps.

• idk why i started experimenting with all these things about roughly the same month LOL but started using tor / a VPN on the regular (actually, duh, protonmail offers a free VPN connection), that's why. in some ways it's ironically way faster (???) for me at times but i'm not fond at how the VPN disconnects every time i close the laptop shut and there's no way for it to automatically reconnect when you wake it, to mimic a basic internet connection seamlessly. hmm.

• Also been using NoScript (no javascript) extensions lately to tighten up browsing habits, and it's fascinating which sites tend to have trackers all over the wazoo versus not. The amount of scripts/trackers that news sites like CNN have has been talked about before, but the most disheartening/unexpected one to see was the amount of data trackers that Inoreader (RSS reader) had.  Easily three times more than most sites. >:l  I'll still pay for it for now because damn that service sure solved an issue for me, but, huh. In hindsight that strikes me as very profitable info, knowing what the things people read who are "explicitly" off of SM and want to stay on the down low. grrr.

... i look at the above and shake my head ruefully + with amusement because this all got started with making my own site. xD  never make your site, kids, it's a gateway drug to OWNIN YER SHIT HACKIN lol. what's next, futzing with the router and raspberry pi's?