Whilst you’re right about privacy not being binary and the need to create your own threat model, the problem is that all the different parties that collect your data trade it, so if you leave one avenue open, the others that you tried to block are likely to get your data anyway. Whether this fits your personal threat model is probably an individual decision.

It sucks that we need such an extensive amount of work put in to make devices private

The issue is that, short of the extremes suggested in places like privacyguides, you’re not really making the device private. You could argue that you’re making it more private, but the counter-argument is that you’re still leaking so much data that you haven’t significantly improved your situation.

Doing something probably is better than doing nothing, but it’s not going to satisfy those who seek actual privacy. If you’ve got a particular leak that you’re worried about it’s definitely worth looking to address it though.

Try writting ‘Deceased’ on it and return it. At the very least it’ll give any human who sees it a momentary pause, and maybe they’ll take it more seriously.

Clearly fake, it says there’s a tty number in the top left corner and there isn’t.

We fix it with rockets. Circularize the orbit and set it to an integer number of days that’s divisible by 28.

That only gives you 364 daya per year and we need just fractionally less than 365.25. You end up needing an extra day every year, and if we want to keep midnight in the middle of the night, and extra full day every four years (except when we don’t). Adding those sorts of bodges onto an otherwise elegant system would be awful to work with.

Instead, I propose we build giant rocket engines pointing straight up on the equator, and adjust the Earth’s orbit until one orbit around the sun takes exactly 364 days.

I’m sure you’ve already considered it, but from that description it sounds very much like make. That compares the input files’ timestamps to the output files’ timestamps, so it might be different to your plan though.

Debian can install without systemd, you can use SysV init and udev instead. So far I’ve had no particular problems with it, and the more people who do it, the better support is likely to be.

I can’t help you much with the systemd issue, frustrating issues like that drive me round the bend too.

That’s just crazy talk. If we don’t listen to the billionaires the line might not keep going up quite so fast. For the purposes of this argument, please ignore TSLA, the climatologists obviously got to that one.

That sentence was going rather predictably right up until the last word. Well done.

Ha, no I’m definitely not, and have never been, an HR manager. It’s just one of those lessons I’ve learnt over multiple decades of working in an office and similar environments. The thought realigning is just to realise that you’re not trying to “placate” others, or do them a favour by granting them your time, but you’re actually helping yourself as being part of the ‘in’ group, even if you’re then quiet can make life a lot smoother. I’ve found people a lot more accommodating once they know me well enough to know I’m not being hostile reserved, so much as just quiet and focused reserved. It usually doesn’t take more than a few minutes per day of saying hi and maybe listening to their excitement about the latest sportsball results before people sort of mentally tick you off as being part of the group.

I’m not trying to say it’s easy, it’s not. It’s not particularly enjoyable to begin with either, but as you get into the habit of it and expect to spend x minutes per day conversing with people, it gets less difficult. Also, just listening with an occasional “uh huh” goes a surprisingly long way, people always appreciate a listener, and that way you don’t have to do much talking.

I definitely feel your pain with the loud, no boundaries ones, they can be exhausting if you either don’t or can’t manage them efficiently. That’s where I found that engaging on my terms at times that gave natural reasons to break off helped. I found most people were a lot less likely to dump if I was ‘in’ the group, but just seemed busy/preoccupied, rather than when I was ‘out’ of the group.

Think of it this way, being able to socially interact with your team in a normal work environment is a useful skill, and like any skill you only get better at it by practising. It might be hard work initially, but you’ve got a great opportunity right now, so go for it. It’s no great loss if it doesn’t go smoothly, you’re heading for the door anyway.

Good luck, and remember, if it all gets too much, you need to go, you’ve got to have that report on your boss’s desk by the end of business today.

If you want a productive outcome the first thing you’ll probably need to do is realign your thinking about this. You’re not having “to placate needy people with attention this way”, these are your teammates, and above all, other human beings, and they’re inviting you to be part of their group. Engaging with them isn’t doing them a favour, it’s doing you a favour. Yes, some people will take the slightest opportunity to talk your ear off, but not engaging at all is just setting up walls that leave you on the outside. Equally, you need to respect your need for focus and lack of distraction, which can certainly be tricky if everyone else is reliving the drama of their weekend.

I’m certainly more on the introverted side of things, but I’ve found it very beneficial to get myself out of my shell regularly to talk to other people at work. The best way I’ve found is to effectively ‘time box’ chatting time. Find times when people are generally more relaxed and chatty and you’re not focusing on work. I’ve found lunch time is often good as people will chat, but also have natural reasons to break off themselves. Maybe they go to the gym, or are meeting a friend for lunch, or maybe they just want a bit of peace and quiet! Whatever it is, it’s a good opportunity to chat for a few minutes, then if they don’t break it off, you can plead a prior engagement and break away without upsetting anyone. Even claiming you have to get back to your desk to finish a report will do. Once people find they can interact with you, but only a bit, they’ll often self-regulate.

TLDR: loose the attitude that you’re having to “placate” the “needy” and start seeing socialising as an opportunity to develop better conbections with your team. You never know when that can come in handy.

Challenge yourself to relax and spend at least 2 minutes socialising in a friendly way tomorrow, then work on extending that up to a point tgat people seem comfortable with, without them swamping you. You’ve already handed in your notice, so you have the perfect, low consequence situation to practice in.

Matching communication styles is the key here. If there’s a general chatty vibe to the team and you’re the only one not engaging then you’re the odd one out and that will invite comment.

If your team are chatty, you don’t need to go all out at the same level they are, but showing some willing and chatting at least sometimes will usually be enough to ensure harmony. Knowing how to disengage without causing offence or annoyance is also an important skill.

I prefer wooden pegs with a stainless spring, but plastic has to be pretty much the worst choice.

If they’re anything like the pegs I got, vinegar won’t help, they basically crumbled to dust!

The glue on boxes is almost certainly that strong so that anyone trying to open the box to tamper with it will also rip it, making their attempt obvious. It drives me nuts too, but aparently that’s the sort of world we live in now.

I’m using the unimaginatively titled “Barcode Scanner”. Code is here. It’s installable from f-droid.

You can scan with the camera or share an image to it.

The problem is that those issues have, and continue to, cause damage to the Linux project. Good maintainers have been hounded out, or simply given up, and bad blood exists where it absolutely shouldn’t. You’re right that much of it is political, although that usually stems from deep technical differences backed up by corporate encouragement. Political turmoil can be as damaging, if not moreso, than technical differences. At least technical differences can usually be resolved technically, politics is infinitely more nuanced.

From Marcan’s description, the way certain people treated him was absolutely unacceptable, although I’ve no doubt they’d describe things very differently. I hope the whole kernel team, maintainers and contributers, can find a way to work through these differences and work more harmoniously before more members end up burnt out, frustrated and bitter.

If they’ve got the machinery to tow your machinery then definitely don’t risk it. At this point you can do more good if you’re out of gaol and not destitute. Mind you, if you can get ner their vehicles unnoticed, a squirt of milk in the vent air intakes could provide delayed revenge when it goes off.