Ugh, so sorry to hear that. But I've had the same.
I recently got a grip for my phone (TELESIN Master Grip). It gives me a physical shutter button, as well as a much better ergonomic hold on the phone, and a tripod thread to attach my old reliable wrist strap. That, plus Lightroom Mobile configured for high-quality yet editable shots (eg, DNG), allowed me to build what felt like 80% of a proper camera — and yet with far, far less public obviousness.
I won't give up my rangefinder, but now I feel I have two choices: phone+grip for places where I don't feel comfortable with the camera, and then the camera everywhere else.
As someone with a workshop full of DeWalt tools, this was a bit concerning!
However, looking into the Dewalt situation (dunno about the other brands), it seems like only certain higher-end tools have Tool Connect+ built-in. (Dewalt's website isn't working right for me, so this isn't definitive.) For other models, it seems you can buy a locking dongle to add it to a given tool.
It seems to be primarily a Bluetooth tracker, which has to be enabled/configured in order to work.
Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't look like this is the kind of thing (like, say, HP printer carts) that will phone home and disable itself.
I think this vague term of 'use' isn't being very helpful here. Does that mean actively posting original content? Commenting? Liking? Sharing? Just scrolling/reading? Seems all those modes have a much different involvement, and likely quite different measures.
I don't use FB myself (in any mode), so this is second-hand... but my younger friends (< 30) use FB only as a necessary, lowest-common-denominator tool to keep in touch with less-close family/friends. It's low-effort ambient connection, not passionate interest or obsession. (I'm in a rural area with fairly low online/tech interest, which might affect things too.)
I've used Averia (Serif Libre, specifically) for at least a decade as my primary font for email, web pages in 'reader' mode, writing long-form text, etc. I find it extremely legible, and even calming.
Ironically, I've been a typographer for decades, both for print and online. Averia might seem an odd choice for someone intimately familiar with typographic theory/history and the vast catalog of possible fonts. But there's a certain pleasure and comfort in a font that is not trying to stand out or do anything particularly special.
The trick is that there are two "averages" in play. Let's call them the "attractiveness average" and the "physical average". Your intuition concerns the attractiveness average: you know that there are beautiful people and ugly people, and "average people" must be somewhere in the middle, yes?
But when scientists average faces to create a perceived attractive face, they're averaging together the physical characteristics of each face: distance between the eyes, position of nose and ears on the head, size of mouth, symmetry, etc. The claim is that we have an intuitive, perhaps instinctual, notion of what humans "should" look like and our perception of attractiveness is roughly a measure of conformation to that standard. So an intuitively "average-looking" person is more correctly stated as having a medium amount of deviation from the human mean.
The main reason it has this "calming" feature is because it's imperfect. By averaging different, sometimes incompatible font faces the result looks like a letter pressed on a soft paper, with all it's natural imperfections. It looks real.
Somehow I was not aware of Averia and used Old Timey for exact same reasons in the past.
On the other hand, someone here mentioned "Lato", which to me looks exactly how two robots would write holiday postcards to each other.
A few weeks back I was messing around with Claude and some sample prompts, and happened to use the term 'xyzzy', and other terms from the classic ADVENTURE. Out of the blue, Claude started presenting itself as the game. I started a brand-new conversation with the prompt "Let’s play Adventure!"... and ended up having two joyful hours of exploring. Granted, this is kind of the opposite of the posted article — in this case, I was the adventurer, not the LLM — but it was still amazing. Try it out!
———
> Let’s play Adventure!
WELCOME TO ADVENTURE!
You are standing at the end of a road before a small brick building. Around you is a forest. A small stream flows out of the building and down a gully.
Having this author as a travel companion would be a nightmare.
> In the many great cities I have actually lived and worked in, I would never consider spending whole days walking.
How utterly strange! I can't think of a city I've lived in which I've not explored extensively by walking. The idea of simply moving to a place and never seeing it as new and strange, never having the urge to learn it by exploration, feels completely alien to me.
I suppose that's why I ensure I avoid this particular type of person when traveling... :-)
I traveled there in 2008, and had that precise experience! I always wondered whether I'd just been there on a particularly excellent night, or if it was a normal happening. I'm so glad to hear it's the latter!
This is exactly how I did design my education, back in the 1980-1990s: self-driven, curiosity-based, highly experiential, with (informal) advisers and mentors. I never got a degree at all, and have never regretted it.
After reading over the website, the only thing I'd add to the program values is historical context and philosophy/ethics of technology. Doesn't have to be super-heavy, but I think there's a big problem today where people not only reinvent the wheel (which is sometimes appropriate) but aren't even aware the wheel existed before.
Thank you! In some ways, I feel like we are re-inventing the apprenticeship type of model.
And to your point regarding history/ethics/philosophy, these topics come up inevitably. In the earlier experiments we've done, the discussions can turn very philosophical. A part of me wants to include these topics in the website, but another part says it might scare off some students who may not recognize the relevance yet.
I don't have hyperacusis or tinnitus, but I am extremely sensitive to noise, especially fans, engines, pumps, and anything else that makes percussive or resonant noise. I am fortunate to live quite remotely in the countryside, with no human sounds nearby. I have a personal policy that nothing that makes continuous noise is allowed in my house. I installed all my appliances in another structure (a root cellar) a short walk from my house. It's made all the difference!
If you live in the typical American configuration of a house with a garage that is near the kitchen, consider putting your fridge/freezer out there. Sure, it's a few steps of inconvenience, but you'll find the lack of noisy appliances a true consolation. If you really need quick access to something refrigerated, put a cooler in a corner of the kitchen, and make ice with the freezer that's in the garage.
Truly silent refrigerators exist, but you won't find them at your typical home improvement box store. (Ask me why I know this!) Look into Amish appliance suppliers. Or the tiny-house folks who've found quiet, compact absorption-based fridges.
Dometic used to have small absorption fridges. (I had one in a tiny house, and it was totally silent.) Not sure if they do nowadays. (Peltier effect fridges have taken up some of the steam these days, but I'm pretty sure those have constant-running fans.) I think Dometic is still big in the sailboat community, which is another good place to investigate.
Most propane fridges are absorption style. I don't know if they're up to code for running inside a house, but they'd probably be fine on a porch or in a garage.
Otherwise, google for 'propane refrigerator' or 'gas refrigerator or 'absorption refrigerator.'
If you really want to get creative, and enjoy processing food, there's lots of fridge-free ways to preserve food, depending on the climate you live in. It's also a fun area to research and experiment with.
Oh, one more thing -- chest freezers can be converted to chest fridges with a simple thermostat-switch. As most cheap chest freezers are manual-defrost style, they tend to run their compressor less, and for whatever reason, aren't as noisy as standing fridges. I personally still wouldn't want one in my main living quarters, but as they tend to be pretty cheap to buy, it might be something to try.
I recently got a grip for my phone (TELESIN Master Grip). It gives me a physical shutter button, as well as a much better ergonomic hold on the phone, and a tripod thread to attach my old reliable wrist strap. That, plus Lightroom Mobile configured for high-quality yet editable shots (eg, DNG), allowed me to build what felt like 80% of a proper camera — and yet with far, far less public obviousness.
I won't give up my rangefinder, but now I feel I have two choices: phone+grip for places where I don't feel comfortable with the camera, and then the camera everywhere else.