Knocking At The Gate

McCullers, J.F. (2023). "Come Now Witness Your Judgment."   Imagine a science fiction novel where all of the people there live in a symbiotic relationship with computers. Their children dig for precious metals that other children in gigantic factories then make into the dazzling computers. These mighty computers are everywhere and in all things, and contain all of the knowledge of the entire history of the planet. Despite the omnipresence of this knowledge, the people don't like knowing true things and instead walk around saying ignorant things to each other. Some of the people even try to make it illegal to learn things, and most of the rest of them go along with it because they're busy looking at the computers. Many of the people are uncomfortable making decisions and so they instead look to the computers to tell them what they should buy next. The computers also write simulated poems and make simulated art for the people that focus on the things the people are supp...

Trying to use the 2010s Internet with a 1980s mentality is an ongoing struggle. What I mean is that I still somehow think the Internet should be experienced so that (1) I get to the content I want in less than three clicks, (2) I do so in a way that sheds the least personal information, and (3) I get the content I want, instead of the content a robot wants me to see. This last item includes advertising, of course, all of which we all know in our hearts to be a mortal sin.  Obviously, I use a pihole as a DNS sink, and I send all of the devices I use through it: my PCs, my tablet, my phone, my teevee box, and every stupid light bulb that thinks it needs to tell corporate when it gets dark here. On my pcs, my phone, and my tablet, I used locked-down versions of Firefox with additional layers of adblock. I also block most scripting, and block specific layout elements. When I want to build up my teevee watchlist, I use an aggregator like JustWatch or Letterboxd. I expect these services ...