2018.06.25 - Day 103

It's getting tricky to post in the right day, cos I don't the third digit :)

I know there are alternatives, Storm. Only thing, I often find them inferior in some way. Chrome is a good browser but I use Firefox because I don’t want to have to use Google search. Sometimes I have to use Chrome on some sites that don’t seem to work with Firefox – for uploading music, for example.. I use DuckDuckGo but it isn’t as good a search engine as Google, I think. I also use Ghostery to block trackers, but they probably gather information for themselves or something.
I use Express VPN but have to turn it off to watch Netflix or BBC iPlayer. I notice it also slows browsing at busy times. I also don’t like how they try to force me to take auto renew option.
A snag with going to another social media platform like Mastodon is that so many RL friends and acquaintances are on Facebook and I will lose touch with them. I also read and contribute to muscular dystrophy forums on FB and there are spiritual teachers like Joan Tollifson, who I really like, who post regularly on FB.
I think my best option is to use social media and the web sparingly and cautiously. BTW, I learned a lot about cybersecurity on a little Fururelearn course a year or two ago, but it’s a bit outdated now.

DuckDuckGo wasn't as good as Google when it started, but I think it's been as least as good for a long time now. And if you want Google results you can always put !g in the search string and you'll get them, except without a filter bubble and without all Google's tracking. Best of both worlds, though DDG is so good now I don't bother with !g anymore.

Those are the posts for today? Hmm...

I thought I wasn’t going to post again. Very busy day with no time for coursework, and went to bed very early. And immediately wrote two poems in the dark, went to sleep, woke up,and here I am.

I haven’t quite decided what kind of wacko I am, but I’m leaning towards “complete and utter”.

Hello from tomorrow. :) Fell asleep early too, after spending too much of the day chasing a doctor's appointment. I've been seeing a good rheumatologist for about 5 years, but suddenly, she closed shop, retired. This would be an unsettling but small event in most universes, but it took me so many years, and so many insensitive or crass doctors, to find her. Anyway the new doctor seems competent and responsive enough, if still clueless about how it feels to be a person in my shoes.

Found myself, after observing dynamics, thinking a lot about how little-valued 'care' can be, caring for persons. Found some comfort in this article below. Even though we seem so far from change, some could happen quickly if an idea catches on:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/nyregion/the-positive-death-movement-comes-to-life.html edited 13:01, 26 Jun 2018