So, I’m the opposite of you. I used to journal on my computer, in an encrypted system. No one could (theoretically) access the files without having the digital key that I have under my control (I won’t go into details, but there’s a bit more security involved).

However, sitting at the computer and writing whatever I was thinking generally ended up in me expounding on projects that I wanted / needed to work on, or something that I wanted to research, or some other random thing that really had nothing to do with how I was feeling or anything that I needed to get on the screen.

The best change for me was getting a fountain pen. I started with a fountain pen as a winter hobby, that it would be fun to sit down and work on improving my penmanship. I figured it was something that I could do even if they power went out here during a storm (which still sometimes happens). This also seemed like a good idea to help with fine motor skills which can deteriorate with age.

Then I started writing a journal as an experiment, and I quickly found that I was writing down things that I had never written in my computer journal. It seemed that I was more free to write on paper than I was on the computer – or at least there wasn’t the distractions that I encounter all the time.

Also, something else shifted: intentionality. Writing with a pen and paper has an intentionality to it that writing on the computer doesn’t have… It’s too easy to go back and edit what I’ve put on the screen with a computer, it’s not as easy to do that with pen and paper.

There is something else about this, there have been studies that show that different regions of the mind are engaged when writing with a pen vs. a computer… However, those studies have been narrowly focused, and there is still quite a bit of debate around them.

Security for the pen & paper approach is fairly simple: there are fire and waterproof lock boxes that you can get for about $50-$100 USD. Assuming you can trust people to not steal your key, that’s a more secure way to keep your journals than anything digital is.

Just to be clear on something: any device that connects to the internet is not secure. Yes, you can take efforts to make things more secure, but if there is any chance that it can be accessed externally it isn’t secure. My system with encryption keys is one of the better security systems for digital information, but it’s still not 100 percent. My offline, paper notebooks, stored in lock box in a fireproof safe are more secure than anything on my computer.

Maybe for the one that’s stuck you could use a heat gun or hair dryer to warm it up a bit? Might loosen things up a bit.

My thinking is similar - that there are an overwhelming majority that are state actors. But, my guess is that in the non-state actor accounts it wouldn’t just be some accounts that got “swept up” as a side effect. I would be there would likely be some very noticeable targeting of certain types of accounts (ie, those that have social values that are more left leaning, or those that are trying to promote verifiable information that flies in the face of conservative narratives).

I would love to see an independent research team go through all the data from these 800m accounts, and determine which ones were actually state actors, and which were just accounts that Musk personally disagrees with.

That’s not the argument at all. The argument is that there have been warning signs, big flashing warning signs, about the dangers of using AI for years now. Most technology, in general doesn’t come with anywhere near as many warnings.

And, it’s been a known fact that people using AI are also training in the AI. That’s an active choice that people that signed up for accounts are making.

So yes, users of this technology are taking an active role in the training of the technology, that makes them complicit.

That is a far cry from data brokers going out and harvesting public records, or companies tracking your spending habits and feeding that into a database. If those companies then turned around and made a weapon, no I wouldn’t point the finger at people whose information got scraped. OTOH - if you continued to use a platform that you know is using you to gather information (aka, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, etc.) and let them do it, then yeah…you have some level of complicity.

Making a mistake is one thing. Ignoring the BIG FLASHING WARNING SIGNS is another. There have been massive warning signs around AI for several years. If you looked at the warning signs and proceeded anyway, you deserve what you get.

That’s no judgment on me. I don’t use AI. I tried it one night 3-4 years ago, realized that it wasn’t ready for widespread adoption, and haven’t touched it since.

Yes, there are applications that can be used for good or evil. But being super reductive and claiming the whole internet has tons of negative uses is ridiculous. The internet itself is a series of protocols running on communications hardware.

It is up to the users of the applications to judge whether the application is inherently positive or negative, or whether the use of the technology is being handled in a positive and/or ethical manner. And more so, it’s up to the user to judge wether the technology aligns with their personal values.

Social networks: Xitter, Farcebook, Instawhore, TikTok, Reddit… all of them have proven they are platforms of manipulation, so I walked away. In fact, most of them I walked away from before it was shown how just how bad they were.

Cryptocurrencies: had the opportunity to be good, but grifters set in on them, so I never got involved.

NFTs: the next generation of CryptoGrifters, stayed away.

AI: has never been ready to be a public application / platform. That has been apparent for the last 3-5 years. If you didn’t read and pay attention to the signs and still signed up for an account despite all the warnings being out there, then yes, you have aided and abetted in the use of the technology in manners that are going to have a severely negative impact on the world.

Here’s the thing: we have a long, long history with technology. We know that it can be used for both good and bad. However, we also should have evolved in our thinking over the past 6-7 decades in terms of how technologies are being applied.

Nuclear reactors: Mostly good with negative side effects. Judgment on this needed longer terms study to understand it’s implication. Nuclear bombs? Clearly evil.

Cassette recorders, VCRs, CD Recorders: predominantly good, but open to bad uses (i.e., piracy). The balance: mostly good, minimal negative effects

AI? Potentially good, but immediately threw up huge red flags in terms of negative uses (deep fakes, revenge porn, etc.). Even AI researchers have expressed concerns over the direction of the research.

The thing is, technology is something that we’ve lived with since the industrial revolution. Every single technological invention since that time has had major implications for it’s impact on society. We can choose, on an individual basis, how that impact is shaped. If you chose to use a technology, then you are better that it’s uses will align with your values. Don’t cry when it’s used in ways that don’t align with your values, or is used against you.

Impossible purity test? That’s utter bull crap. There have been many warnings about the negative uses of AI for years now, for example: https://aiforgood.itu.int/event/addressing-the-dark-sides-of-ai/

To expect people to be able to understand that this use could be expanded to committing state sponsored atrocities is not a stretch.

Canceling now only means you are not continuing to contribute to the war atrocities that the technology is going to be used for. If you had an account and used it, you have already contributed.

Honestly - it’s too fucking late. Anyone who had an account with OpenAI and used that garbage is already an abbetor and/or accomplice to anything that is done by Hegseth and his henchmen.

Nice release - I haven’t heard trip-hop this laid back in quite some time. Extremely well produced and mixed…

If you don’t get a response to a pm, you could go to c/piefed_meta or c/piefed_help - most of the admins will be watching those communities.

Well, this is definitely a tactic that is a new form of bullying. Sounds like they’ve been trying this all along, and are using the subpoenas to try to quell dissent. Hopefully the recipients understand this and push back on them. It sounds like the DHS knows that these court orders will not stand up to scrutiny in court and folds at the slightest legal challenge.

But, shame of Meta, Google, et al. for folding so quickly. Another reason to get off, and stay off the commercial media garbage.

Oh certainly, there are plenty of reputable affordable Chinese fountain pen companies (Asvine, Hongdian, Majohn and Jinhao to name a few). But this isn’t one of them - it’s clearly a scam given the pricing, the selective blurring in the photo, and the weird details in the listing.

This looks like a pen that the people of Arrakis would use. If they could afford the moisture for the ink.

Indeed!

Your handwriting is really good btw

I can do much better. :)

He did a whole video about it a month ago: The 3D Printed Fountain Pen Project Has Begun!.

I just emailed him a table from my ink collection which I put together per-unit pricing. There were a couple of surprising things I found. Given his recent video about inks I thought he might find it interesting.

Maybe Dooblebud would be interested – he’s been messing around with 3D printing his own pen.

I have precisely zero knowledge of anything 3D printed, so something like this would be lost on me.

Yeah, a Jinhao nib / feed makes sense. (Although I’d personally probably go for an Asvine or Hongdian nib / feed combo.)

I wonder how you’d go about figuring out how to slow down the capillary action… That’s really the most technical part of designing a fountain pen…that’s really the most critical part of the pen - or at least it is the "magic"of fountain pens.

That’s pretty cool.

Did you design a feed to go with your pen, or were you trying to use it more like a drip-style pen? I see the Kaweco Sport in the photo above, did you use the nib and feed from it?