I used to play around with custom ROMs back in the Nexus days but I use my phone now for so many banking and other security - focused things nowadays that I feel it is just too risky to do all of that on a device that uses a non OEM ROM.

Maybe I’m too paranoid, but phones have gotten so complex today that even highly technical users have trouble ensuring that every aspect of their device is safe unless it is locked down to some extent.

Yes, they do go on some tangents occasionally. I used to think it a bit strange but have grown to like it. A number of years ago Steve went on this Vitamin D research kick and he compared taking supplements versus sunbathing nude (imagining him doing that is hilarious in its own right) and getting his levels checked after each trial. The discussion on this made me decide to start taking Vitamin D supplements and I feel like that has been a benefit.

The Melatonin thing comes from a different research project Steve did to find the “perfect sleep supplement formula” and he experimented for months with different ingredients to come up with what he contends will help him sleep and help him go back to sleep after nighttime bathroom visits. I tried some of the weird ingredients and it did help, but I didn’t stick with that. Even got my wife to try it. I’ve also discovered some great Sci-if authors from their book reviews.

I think they go on these tangents to keep the show fresh after 15 years. I believe that Security Now is TWIT’s most successful show but I wonder how they are doing overall.

LOL yes it is a weird name and I almost spelled it as brita. The company is actually Elecom and the trackball is called birta - https://elecomusa.com/products/b08p66zvzx

It is a nice little trackball that comes with a case - I use it with my iPad when I travel.

Great review! Thank you for the detail.

I was a trackball user for many years, but have gotten away from that for the most part. This might be a product that would drag me back in.

I do have a Birta MT1BR mini trackball I use for travel and it is great.

Which Dems have you been waiting on to enact progressive policies? The House is controlled by MAGA republicans and the Senate is in a dead lock for the most part. How do you get any progressive policies through there? The Supreme Court is controlled by conservatives that will deny anything moderately progressive.

Real change starts with local and state elections and electing Dems there. If you want that change, then try to help Dems in Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, etc. Otherwise, just electing a Dem president is not going to suddenly make for progressive policies. It will slow down the MAGA bunch, but it won’t completely stop them until there is real change at the local and state levels.

My feelings exactly. Just being at that dinner with Putin and Flynn is all I needed to see to understand where her allegiances lie.

Agree completely about Security Now - I’ve been listening since the beginning (like 15+ years now?) and I honestly don’t remember Steve Gibson saying much political stuff. Leo is obviously pretty liberal, but he normally keeps a lid on anything political as well, unless it is tech industry specific. (Full disclosure - I am fairly liberal so maybe I’m oblivious)

Haven’t tried Obsidian, but have heard good things about it. I have about 12,000 notes and continue to be impressed with Joplin’s ability to handle that with no issues.

I switched to Joplin a few years ago from Evernote and haven’t looked back. Take control of your own notes - Joplin is open source and has clients for every platform, and imports notebooks from Evernote.

Yes, I am now 90% on Lemmy - the new Memmy app for my iPad is close to Apollo-quality and Liftoff on my Android phone (S21) is “almost” as good as Sync for Reddit was.

For Reddit, I am using RSS feeds only to browse for any posts that interest me - I am trying to not give them traffic if at all possible.

The content on Lemmy is getting better every day!

This does nothing to address one of the most expensive aspects of attending college - room and board. With rent and real estate prices climbing dramatically, this is a huge (>50%) part of the expense of college for those who cannot live at home. Students get loans to help cover that and over four years it adds up to many tens of thousands of dollars.