Goodbye, Facebook. It’s you, not me.

I talked about it before, but within a couple weeks I’ll be gone from Facebook.

It’s going to be complicated to disconnect, because I’ll have to turn off Messenger, and Instagram, and a bunch of other services. The sheer volume of applications and sites that use Facebook for me to log into is astounding.

Why are you quitting?

There are a bunch of reasons people quit, from proven studies about how Facebook worsens your mood, to how addictive it is. Some people quit because of how toxic people can be on here, or how invasive the advertising is.

However, the main reason I’m quitting is because of their egregious record on privacy. I recently downloaded my Facebook data (which you can do too), and I was shocked at how much information they tracked.

Here’s how to do it if you’re interested:

  1. Click at the top right of any Facebook page and select Settings.
  2. Click Download a copy of your Facebook data below your General Account Settings.
  3. Click Start My Archive.

It may not work immediately. It took me a couple tries to get my data.

Another thing you should check is if credit card info is stored on there, which you can do by clicking on Settings > Payments.

I’m also disturbed by how little they tell you about new policies or changes, and how easy it is for them to give your data away to the highest bidder.

Zuckerberg has been consistent in his message that he does not care about people’s privacy, so long as he can make money.

There are other companies that do that too, but Facebook is a beast that harms other through my interaction with it.

So it’s about privacy?

Mostly. I also really dislike the way they deal with cyberbullying, fascism, and racism. Facebook is lax in all those areas. Even though I’ve done things like report the account of the Maryland KKK member who fired a gun at anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville, his account is still active.

Facebook is NOT a great place for activism outside of groups, which I’ll remain active in. I’ve been monitoring the views on my regular wall, and with each algorithm change, those go down.

Not only that, but they’ve REALLY changed their course on a lot of things. For example, here’s an interview with Facebook’s CEO saying “This is their information, they own it”.

Then, not even a full year later, Zuckerberg stated: “The age of privacy is over”.

But what about your family?

I have a lot of stuff on here, which I’ll slowly be cleaning out. It’s been over a decade that I’ve had facebook, there are family photos, all kinds of stuff. And there really isn’t another place like facebook yet, where nearly everyone is on it. It’s sad to lose that.

But I’d rather not be complicit in a system that harms people. And my being here keeps other people here. So I’m cutting ties.

So what does this mean going forward?

I have a lot of groups that I manage on here; like Naskapi Radio — (418) 585–2111 and #BaltimoreUprising. I’ll still manage those.

I also have several businesses that I manage on here, from Zerflin to a bunch of my own clients who pay me to help them with social media. I’ll keep doing that.

I’m going to be slowly archiving and deleting my content on here, especially photos. I have a giant photo collection on here, which Facebook uses to identify all of you. That makes me sick, especially since they can sell that data to other people.

I’ve made my last Facebook post ever. Unless they do some serious work to change, this is it.

Can I talk you out of it?

Nope. Though you’re welcome to talk to me about it, just not on Facebook. This decision has been 3 years in the making.

Where can we find you?

That’s easy. My website has links at the bottom left to every social media I’m on. I’m sure you’ll find something we have in common.

What if Facebook is the only social media I have?

I actually have a mailing list. You can sign up for that here.

KaBoom! needs a Web Developer

Ever wanted to work for a company that makes playgrounds?

The correct answer is yes. My buddy Michael Hammerstrom sent me this, and had I more of a coding mind & less artistry, I’d be tempted to fake it until I make it.

Get ahold of Michael here if you’re interested.

Here are the details:

Department: Mass Action

Reports To: Director, Online Development

Summary of Position:

A junior to mid-level position as a Web/Ruby on Rails developer helping build new features and improvements into our
existing applications while resolving performance issues.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Product development
  • Web Development: Write, test, deploy and maintain Ruby and Rails code that enables and improves specific features on kaboom.org.
  • Write polished code that implements the specified features and will be fast, reliable and relevant for years to come
  • Code using Rails framework, but also be ready to use PHP and other platforms as required
  • Create APIs for cross-communication and data sharing between existing web applications, databases, and mobile platforms
  • Demonstrate strong knowledge of front-end code including HTML/XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript; implement best practices that improve rendering speed and minimize cross-browser inconsistency
  • Run tests on new and existing code; document clearly; refactor to improve efficiency and modularity/reusability
  • Demonstrate efficiency in database usage and other back-end practices, with a specific focus on delivering pages as quickly as possible for rendering
  • Integrate your work with Drupal and other platforms as necessary
  • Act as owner or co-owner of selected products on kaboom.org

Operations Support
  • Monitor kaboom.org and related systems to ensure that they remain robust, secure, fast, and cost-effective.
  • Identify and diagnose problems promptly.
  • Put systems in place to ensure that problems — including malicious intrusions — are highly unlikely to occur.
  • Put systems in place that trigger appropriate notifications for all site failures, intrusions, and significant deteriorations in performance
  • All monitoring systems should generate trackable metrics and audit trails
  • Actively contributes to our inclusive work environment by valuing other people regardless of differences and takes an active role in promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence.

Master of Web Basics
  • Understand the structure, detailed elements and proper use of HTML/XHTML and cascading style sheets
  • Use common Web tools such as CSS inspectors, validators, and code editors
  • Write valid markup and style sheets from scratch
  • Understand the broad principles and proper use of JavaScript, PHP, and XML

Qualifications:

  • Computer Science degree or 2+ years programming experience
  • 1+ years industry experience
  • 2+ years programming with Ruby on Rails, Passenger, MySQL, Apache, and Linux
  • Ability to work in Rails 2.x and 3.x environments
  • Experience with Agile development methodologies like Scrum
  • Use a computer and show mastery of common software including Microsoft Office and Outlook
  • Work extended hours as necessary.

Essential Functions of Job:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the
essential function of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the
essential functions.

The employee must have the ability to maintain acceptable standards of office conduct; the ability to handle stress,
get along with others, and work in a cooperative and team oriented manner. Office days may involve sitting at a desk,
using a computer and phone for up to 10-12 hours. Other job tasks will require movement around the office.

 

Motion Sensors on Range Stoves. Why not?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt-cV-YuqQA&feature=bf_next&list=UL7oO4LGOmO6g&index=19

High Speed Robot Hand catches cellphone in midair

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KxjVlaLBmk&feature=player_embedded

I gotta say, this is REALLY cool, but a little bit unnerving too… Robots can officially dribble faster and better than any human can. And to see it catch that cellphone… pretty amazing.