sugar_in_your_tea

@sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works

Mama told me not to come.

She said, that ain’t the way to have fun.

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sugar_in_your_tea ,

I did some housework and took my kids swimming at the pool. It was pretty chill, and I was able to explain what the holiday is all about. I hope they remember and treat others with respect.

We should probably eliminate flag day and wave our flags on Juneteenth, because ending slavery is so much more important than adopting a flag.

If you didn't get it off, I hope your work day was chill. I make it a point to not go shopping on holidays, and I hope others do too. Mad respect to Opal Lee and the rest, thank you for this holiday.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Did you see the new Zelda game? No way that would've happened without nukes.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

pop, pop pop pop, pop

The geiger counter measures future pop culture levels confirmed.

sugar_in_your_tea Mod ,

Just got back from a road trip to visit family, and day dreamed about buying a cabin somewhere. When I got home, I looked up prices, and even places super far from town are super expensive...

Well, guess that's going to have to wait.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Sure, when you can force the workforce to do a thing, that thing tends to get done. But they'll probably do it slower than if they chose to do it. So other things will suffer if they force a certain initiative.

And that's what we saw in the USSR. Certain initiatives progressed well (space program, nuclear program, etc), while others suffered (food production, basic manufacturing, etc).

sugar_in_your_tea ,

But why do we need to build stuff here? If it's cheaper elsewhere, let them build it and we'll do the higher paying work.

I guess there are national security concerns, but that sounds like we just need to make more friends and fewer enemies, as well as have redundancy in our supply chain (i.e. invest in other inexpensive labor markets, like LATAM, Africa, and India). The issue isn't that the US isn't making it, it's that China is making most of it. Diversify and the problem mostly goes away.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

You missed the point. Whether it's consensual isn't important, what's important is that a foreign power has access to a lot of detailed information about an adversary. It's hard to quantify the value of a lot of "benign" data points when aggregated.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

People won't do that at scale.

Also, China has been caught doing supply chain attacks by inserting chips onto circuit boards to make them easier to compromise. They could slip in a chip that enables a wavelength their satellites can access, for example.

That's the concern Congress has.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

receive at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet CNN’s standards for reporting

Ugh, this nonsense again? How are people supposed to get there without the media coverage something like a national debate would provide?

I like the rest of the rules, but I did notice they didn't mention Oliver Chase, the Libertarian Party candidate. I doubt he'd get to the 15% mark, but he meets the rest of the requirements.

I'd love to see a 5-way debate. More than that seems a bit much, but for an early debate, it can really give voters an interesting set of alternative perspectives, and the two major party candidates would likely be pushed into answering some uncomfortable (read: informative for voters) questions.

I didn't expect much, yet I'm still disappointed.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Yup, I've been saying for a while that Firefox should have better tools around using local data. There have been a lot of times where I wanted to find a link I visited, but gave up because the tooling sucks.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

I'm convinced people secretely hate privacy. To quote Zuck:

Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

Zuck: Just ask.

Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS

[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you manage that one?

Zuck: People just submitted it.

Zuck: I don't know why.

Zuck: They "trust me"

Zuck: Dumb fucks

Replace Zuck with Google and it's the same story.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Eh, they're pretty rare. Source: me, a full-time Firefox user.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

I disagree, I much prefer Firefox's dev tools.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

That one sentence, in case others are too lazy to read the article:

The updated policy no longer contains a sentence that previously said, “Sonos does not and will not sell personal information about our customers.” That pledge is still present in other countries, but it’s nowhere to be found in the updated US policy, which went into effect earlier this month.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Both are true, but I firmly believe western propaganda is less problematic because at least dissenting media is allowed. It's still bad, but they're not equivalent. Russian and Chinese propaganda and censorship are like being locked in a room, whereas western propaganda is just putting billboards and ads everywhere, but you're able to close the blinds and turn off the TV.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Dang, I was considering getting a Subaru, but I guess I'll reconsider.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Eh, I'm not so sure it's "well done." They should comply with local laws and perhaps respond by making it easy to add your own addon repo or sideload addons.

Getting banned just reduces your impact.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Idk, I think an addon store is different. Some regions could restrict certain types of addons (e.g. porn, gambling, crypto, language support, etc), and that should be fine. They shouldn't compromise on core Firefox features, but I think region-gating extensions is fine, provided they have a way to side-load extensions.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

It's the same general idea. Blocking gambling add-ons is just another form of censorship. As long as countries aren't dictating core browser features, I don't see why Mozilla shouldn't comply with blocking access to certain third-party add-ons in their add-on store, but they should allow users to select third-party add-on repos if they so choose (afaik, that's not a thing yet).

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Here's how it's advertised:

If someone sends a message to your email address or phone number using iMessage, you receive the message on all your Apple devices that are set up to receive messages sent to that email address or phone number. When you view an iMessage conversation, you see all messages sent from any device, so you can keep in touch with others wherever you are.

The article says nothing about deleted messages, but it does imply that what you see on one device is expected to match what you see on another. So it's reasonable to think that deleting on one device will delete on another.

I banned my daughter from using the iPhone she bought. It made her a better person | Em Rio ( www.theguardian.com )

I think its not just kids anymore, it's adults too. Everyone is glued to their screens these days. But kids are more vulnerable to influences from "social" media and don't have any defences to the psychological warfare going on. Of course they feel like shit.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

I kind of agree. That's why I don't let my kids buy stuff like that. My kid said he wanted to buy a phone, and when I told him it would be subject to our same computer policy (<2hrs/day, they earn time by reading, etc), he suddenly wasn't as interested.

But yes, if you create a bunch of new rules after they buy something, you're a dick. Let them know what the rules will be before they save up for it.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

I highly doubt the government knows where I go:

  • older car with no smart crap
  • red light and speed cameras are illegal in my state
  • I use an alternative Android ROM on my phone with a firewall

That said, I totality agree with your assessment. We need better pedestrian, cycling, and mass transit infrastructure. The problem is that pretty much nobody campaigns on that. Rs campaign on fiscal issues, Ds campaign on "culture" issues, and neither deliver on their promises anyway. I want more trains and more pedestrian/cycling infra, but neither party seems to care...

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Yeah, I forgot about triangulation. But I highly doubt my government is routinely gathering triangulation data on citizens, and especially not generally law abiding citizens like me. I suppose I could use a faraday cage to guarantee no tracking, but that's well in the "tin foil hat" category of paranoia.

I use GrapheneOS and disable location most of the time, and sensor access is disabled for most apps. My firewall only allows a handful of apps to access mobile data, and I disable mobile data entirely fairly frequently. I only use Google Play for a handful of services, and they're in a separate profile so they get fully closed when I'm done with them.

The government could subpoena information about me, but I doubt they routinely collect the sort if information that my phone exposes.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Exactly. I'm not being targeted by a state level actor, I don't have any warrants or anything, and I'm pretty boring overall.

There are two main strategies to staying hidden:

  • don't be seen
  • blend in

I do the first for the big threats (social media and other big tech), and the second for everything else. If the government wanted to find me, they could, my goal isn't to hide, but to give them no reason to look for me.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

I have Gapps in a separate profile, which I almost never use. So 99% of the time, it's not running.

And yeah, the government could find me if they had a warrant. I'm not running from the police, I'm trying to give them no reason to need to look for me. I'm more concerned about big tech tracking me and giving the government a reason to watch me, so that's what I'm looking to avoid.

If I wanted to hide from governments, I would take a very different strategy.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Here's the state code (Utah) on license plate readers:

Law Enforcement use of the ALPR systems is limited by 41-6a-2003 to:

(a) Apprehend an individual with an outstanding warrant;
(b) Locate a missing or endangered person;
(c) To enforce motor carrier laws, or
(d) To locate a stolen vehicle, or
(e) As part of an active criminal investigation.
(f) Troopers will not run ALPR data prior to, or during a traffic stop unless reasonable
suspicion can be articulated for an active criminal investigation.
(g) Any time ALPR data is used, written documentation and a case number must be
completed

It's very possible the police have scanned my license plate, and imo that's totally fine, provided my car is in public and one of the above apply.

From those:

  1. I have no warrants, so this doesn't apply
  2. Could happen to anyone, but chances are very low
  3. I'm obviously not a commercial vehicle
  4. Possible, but unlikely. I drive old, crappy cars, so my car is unlikely to be similar to a stolen car.
  5. Again, possible, but I don't commit crimes worth tracking via license plate. Any crimes I do commit would likely fall under traffic violations.
  6. I try very hard to not give police reasonable, articulable suspicion. If stopped, I give short answers and have yet to have a problem.
  7. Police are lazy, so they're unlikely to use ALPR data unless they have a good reason. I intend to never give them that good reason.

I go after the low-hanging fruit so as to not arouse suspicion and protect me if there is suspicion. Going any further (e.g. trying to fool ALPR systems) goes against that. If I'm on public roads, I assume my car can be tracked, so I drive carefully and keep my car properly maintained. I also store any potential contraband out of view so as to not raise suspicion if I am stopped.

It would be nice to go even further, but I'm not going to break the law to try to hide, I'm going to blend in instead.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Yes. The police could find me if they had a warrant, but they don't and I'm not going to give them a reason to get one. My state doesn't allow automatic use of license plate scanning equipment without reasonable suspicion, and police have to submit a report if they use it.

So I'm not worried about it. I'm not running from the police and acting like I am could give them reasonable suspicion, and that's counter-productive.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

My face is getting pretty raw from so much facepalming lately.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

At this point? It's always been security theater at the TSA. I've heard countless stories of people forgetting about a handgun in a carry-on and the TSA missed it, and others where baby milk was confiscated.

I don't know anything about the CBSA, but we (the US) should shut down the TSA, increase the liability of airlines for security, and let the airlines and their insurance decide what's enough security. They certainly couldn't do a worse job...

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Nope. My car doesn't have internet and I don't plug in any dongles from my insurance. Screw 'em.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Yes. I don't install their app, and if I did, I would prevent it from accessing any sensor data (GrapheneOS makes that an option).

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Idk, I've gone there for a quick pancake hankering at 3am, never on a road trip (we either do fast food or Zupas).

sugar_in_your_tea ,

A car repair place loses business if they don't competently repair your car. That's apparently not true for large tech companies for whatever reason.

So if your car repair place sucks at fixing your car, you should find a better one or do it yourself. If your tech service sucks at protecting your data, you should find a better one or do it yourself.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

I'm against defederartion, but I also actively avoid their communities.

I don't think the problem is with a majority of users, just a handful, but many in that handful are mods. As an anecdote, I got temp banned from a community there because somehow our discussion shifted to Russia, despite the topic having nothing to do with it, and the mod banned me for "anti-Russia" something or other (nothing I said seemed to violate community or instance rules), but I think the real reason was me challenging that user's authority.

I've also noticed a lot of downvotes for well-cited but "against the left" comments, and the responses I get are often low-effort.

I've also had some decent discussion there as well. I've challenged people's views and had good reubuttals, so it's really not all bad. I'm guessing it's a fraction of very active users that cause a lot of the issues.

So I'm against defederation, but I also recommend avoiding their communities. It seems to be a strong echo chamber, but those who aren't interested in that do seem to branch out. So don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Some instead do a Russian-style approach. It's the same thing, but with posts from users critical of Russia.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Yup, but they really don't like someone challenging them on their turf.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

In general, I've found myself happier and discussions more interesting when I replace a lemmy.ml community wo with one from another instance. When there are two competing communities with similar active users, i've found the non-lemmy.ml one to be better by pretty much any metric.

So it does work. Make a better community and users will come.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

No he doesn't. There are certain situations where a citizen may make an arrest, but AFAIK this isn't one of them.

They should sue the Jimmy Kimmel Show for assault.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

I wish they'd do that instead of stupid speed traps.

Just this morning on my way to work, I was behind a cop, and they went 30-35mph in a 25 (everyone goes 35-ish on that road, it's very wide). I know because I was following their speed, noticed I was over, then slowed down. They pulled over, then in my rear view mirror I saw their lights go on and they pulled someone over like 3 cars behind me who couldn't have been going more than 35mph.

How does that benefit anyone? I'd much prefer they "waste" time tracking down theft like this instead of taking down hardened speeding criminals on roads where the speed limit should probably be adjusted (it's residential, but it's one of the few connector roads and has tons of space).

sugar_in_your_tea Mod ,

Is anyone interested in seeing more posts here? If so, what kind of content would you like to see?

My goal here is to encourage a bit more engagement to encourage more people to improve their financial situation. Here are some options that I think I could contribute:

  • relatively regular, blog-style posts going over some aspect of FIRE - "simulation Saturday/Sunday" or something; community encouraged to provide their own
  • news articles with poor/mainstream financial advice - gives the community a chance to offer alternative perspectives, so may be more engaging
  • "back to basics" series - post links or generate OC to discuss the fundamentals of FIRE - savings rate, withdrawal strategies, etc

Or I could not bother. It seems a lot of the popular FIRE blogs are getting much less attention now, probably because they're retired and stopped caring about the blog, but mainstream media seems to be taking this as "FIRE is dead because it doesn't work."

Anyway, thoughts?

sugar_in_your_tea Mod ,

Ah, engagement for the sake of engagement. 😀

I totally appreciate people settling into a groove. I think it's kind of weird when I see people claim the FIRE movement is slowing down, when I think people just ran out of stuff to say about it, and the big spokespeople are largely happily retired.

I'm kind of that way myself. I've lost my initial excitement, so I'm interested in seeing others get excited. I see a lot of negativity both here and elsewhere, and I see the FIRE movement as being largely optimistic, so I'd like to do my part and spread that optimism.

I'm still learning things related to FIRE, but most if it isn't really actionable (e.g. I just learned details about the Social Security spousal benefit). So maybe a "back to basics" series would be more interesting, idk.

Anyway, I'm largely just thinking out loud, but I do want to see more engagement here so it can be a resource to FIRE-minded people who don't want to use Reddit for whatever reason.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Old enough/yes please/anywhere you'd like

sugar_in_your_tea Mod ,

I played around with some numbers, and it seems a lot of my concerns about RMDs are completely unfounded.

I've had a very basic Social Security and ACA calculator in my spreadsheet for a couple years now, but I think I was doing the math all wrong with inflation (nominal investment returns, and today's tax, ACA, etc limits), so I'll end up with plenty of time to convert my pretax accounts to Roth. I was concerned that I'd need to balance ACA reported income to optimize health care costs and converting enough pretax to not pay a ton when I take Social Security.

So I put everything together using today's dollars and simulated what a withdrawal strategy would look like, and I'll probably be more concerned with rationing my pretax space to not have to deal with Medicaid, rather than not being able to convert enough. It's amazing what a few percent in the wrong places can do!

Anyway, what simulations do you do? Are there any simulations you'd like to do, but don't know where to start?

sugar_in_your_tea Mod ,

It's really nice when comparing quotes for buying down a rate, or looking at the impact of additional payments. It's also incredibly easy to throw together. For anyone interested:

  • payment = PMT(mortage rate/12, mortgage term * 12, -initial principle)
  • interest = (mortgage rate/12) * remaining principle
  • principle payment = payment - interest
  • new principle = prev principle - principle payment

Throw that into a spreadsheet and drag down. Add a SUM() to figure out total interest paid or whatever. I have a VLOOKUP() to calculate interest for the current year for tax planning purposes, for example.

Maybe I'll start an unofficial weekly post about various calculations I have in my spreadsheet. I have something like 30 tabs, so surely something there is interesting to others.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

It's okay if you don't understand it, it's all a bit technical.

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Coq. They just want to Python and Coq interchangeably so they can prove their Python/Coq is free of bugs. It's just a way to get your Python/Coq tested to ensure it's clean to use, and ideally it would be tested frequently.

sugar_in_your_tea OP Mod ,

Same, I convert to Roth a little at a time to control taxes. I'm in the 12% bracket, so I convert up to the end of that bracket at the end of the year.

That said, 401l does have some advantages over an IRA, such as backdoor-Roth compatibility, legal protection from lawsuits, and the loan option. I don't need any of that, so I roll out ASAP.

So for those kinds of metrics, I just use the aggregate of all of my retirement accounts, so IRA, 401k, HSA, and taxable brokerage. I'm assuming most people only use their 401k or aggregate as well.

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