Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

Many of the #infosec arguments in the encryption backdoor debate (life-or-death, manpower vs automation, tech ineffectiveness, #privacy + freedom vs benefit, govt. + big tech power) apply to #COVID-19 app tracking debate, but with many ppl changing sides.

As an update to this, @purism published a video to demonstrate how hardware kill switches work in practice to enable your webcam and microphone only during meetings, not the rest of the time your laptop is aimed at your living room or bedroom. https://youtu.be/gw1M9c3x4uQ

I'm at the phase in quarantine where I'm daydreaming about living on a sailboat for months at a time. Instead, I just spent the day cleaning and reorganizing my garage.

(apologies to Katrina and the Waves)

I used to think maybe you caught it, now baby I'm sure
And I just can't wait for a doctor to knock on my door
Now every time I get a new Prime box, gotta hold myself down
Cause I just gotta try the new treatment that's going around

Now I'm injecting sunshine, whoa
I'm injecting Clorox, whoa
I'm ingesting Lysol, whoa
And don't it feel good
Hey, all right now
And don't it feel good

I expected a global pandemic with partial shutdown of society would be the time for preppers to shine and practice their training. Yet after only a month of easy sheltering (grid up, clean water, ample food, even Netflix), some preppers are starting to crack. Disappointing.

Once I ran outside
Now I stay inside
This tainted test you've given
I give you all a swab can give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Tainted test:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/04/cdcs-failed-coronavirus-tests-were-tainted-with-coronavirus-feds-confirm/

So hypothetically, if you can get paid to take barrels of negative-value oil, do they offer contactless delivery or at least curbside pickup? #stimuluscheck https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-19/oil-drops-to-18-year-low-on-global-demand-crunch-storage-woes

I transferred some of the Altbier to a 6L keg that fits inside my kitchen fridge and is pressurized using a CO2 canister. Three weeks from grain to glass.

Some folks were curious about the time from brew day to glass. This Altbier is an ale and ferments faster (1-2 weeks) than a lager (3-4). Last week I chilled it down to cellar temps and transferred it into a keg and connected the keg to CO2 to carbonate for 1-2 weeks.

One underreported downside to wearing a mask so much is that all this talking like Batman is wearing out my voice.

In a world full of bored pranksters willing to zoombomb en masse, a truly anonymous #COVID19 contact tracing app doesn't stand a chance. It'll only take a small number of trolls to make identification mandatory.

Today I was reminded of the time I remotely wiped a server over SSH and wrote about it for Linux Journal. I figured some of you might not have read it before and would find it entertaining: https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/remotely-wipe-server

For the sake of our phones (and clothing) I hope the COVID-19 5G truthers setting fire to antennas in the UK never discover these apps use radio waves to track the infection.

I'm so happy I splurged for Penguin's high quality cloth hardcover of War and Peace (Briggs translation). It not only feels great in your hands, it has a silk ribbon bookmark! #booknerd

The article touches on some #privacy concerns, but much depends on this being voluntary. My concern is it will be false choice like many TSA rules: ie. you can "choose" to use the app and resume work/public life or "choose" to stay at home. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/04/10/apple-google-tracking-coronavirus/

Here's a practical COVID-19 challenge for makers: solve the consumer TP supply chain issues with a #3dprinted drill attachment that would let you re-spool an empty consumer TP tube from the giant (now plentiful) commercial rolls so people could do it at home.

"Why do you wear a mask?"

"They are terribly comfortable, I think everyone will be wearing them in the future."

Can this really be the first time my son has seen Princess Bride? Inconceivable!