For people using GPG, I've updated my key for the year.

keys.openpgp.org/vks/v1/by-fin…

If I knew people on here using my old key I'd provide a signed statement, but I'm pretty sure none of y'all have it from last time...

Also once again, I've got a guide for using GPG in Android to make things easier for everyone: foggyminds.com/extra/OpenKeyCh…

Random idea for a D&D or similar "cursed" item:

The Ring of Curse-Bane
A simple ring with the inscription "I cannot free you, but I hope to spare others"

The ring is magic, but otherwise inert on it's own. However, when the wearer also is subject to another cursed item, this ring forces them to make a save to be able to part with a cursed item even momentarily (this is in addition to the typical check a cursed item usually forces). It makes the wearer more blatantly obsessed with any cursed items they carry as well.

If the wearer dies while subject to a curse, their body rises as an undead with the sole purpose of protecting the cursed item from being taken.

I imagine it being originally created by a magical prodigy who encountered a curse but didn't have access to the means to break it... so made an item that basically amplifies and feeds on a cursed item's power to prevent the curse from being passed to anyone else.

The increased obsession can be helpful potentially as it makes it much more obvious if you've been cursed, and if you can't be freed from it then it at least makes it less likely the curse will affect anyone else.

Random fiction world building idea:

Playing off the concept of "What if dragons aren't greedy but instead there's a benefit to them to make a nest out of gold?"

A world where dragons sleep on gold coins because it is a soft metal (coins because chips slide around and maybe help with molting?).

Easy start, but adding more to it: what if because of their bodyheat, weight, firebreathing, and scales they grind down and compress the gold as time passes. But then it becomes less comfortable, kinda like an old pillow that becomes flat.

What if they happily exchange chunks of this compressed gold for new gold coins?

So I'm imagining a world in which people get compressed gold from dragons and carve it into coins and distribute it. But then as the coins get handed around over time, they start to wear and resoften, and when too soft they get exchanged at the dragon horde again for a new compressed coin.

Economy as an ecosystem!

(Also Dragons obviously hate the 1% because they horde the gold without any real need, like if someone was causing a pillow shortage out of greed)

So... I should make some updates...

I managed to fuck up my back sometime on Saturday, spent Sunday with excruciating pain anytime I tried turn, even if it was just rolling over in bed.

It was bad enough that I took my once yearly aspirin (for those who don't know: any pain medication basically works once per year, but it works really well that one time).

Just as that was settling down this morning (it still hurts like hell, but I can now stand for a few seconds before it becomes agony...), my vertigo came back! ... I really can't win can I?

Primarily used my powerchair to even get around my apartment the past couple of days, and that's pretty extreme given how tiny the place is.

For broader strokes, mixed with a little recap: Still looking for work, though the market is crap. I can't do physical labor, I can't do sales, and I don't have much in the way of credentials for anything. Plus this is one of the worst times of year to be looking, though it should be picking back up in January.

Thanks to the move to Washington, losing employment didn't mean also losing healthcare. While they haven't been able to do much about it other than calm my nerves, I've been able to see doctors as shit goes haywire in my body. (I've got some medication, the motion sickness pills help with how much the vertigo amplifies my car sickness, but otherwise not much but wait and rest)

My physical pain has not been handling the weather well even before all of this. I'm very very grateful I ordered that powerchair when I did, because it's the one thing keeping me at all functional.

I didn't realize it when I picked this place, but turns out the landlord of this apartment tower is actually a non-profit partially kicked off by the city of Seattle to provide low-income housing. One of the perks of this is that I got contacted by a resident advisor who's job is to help me get things sorted out.

Right away she got me set up to have my power bill slashed in half (unfortunately only applies to the next bill, but still that's a big help). She also got me set up on the low income bus pass, literally slashing the price to a third.

Tomorrow I've got an appointment with her to help me actually make an appointment with a primary care provider (always a struggle for me between executive dysfunction and mild phone anxiety).

I've still got to go do an interview for food stamps, but barring health blocking me further I plan to do that this week.

Oh, and slowly making friends. There's hope on the horizon for a social life.

learned a great new quote, someone made a companion to Arthur C Clarke's "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

"Any sufficiently familiar technology is indistinguishable from nature" - Virginia Postrel

Random phone security 101, unlocking methods, please boost:

• Biometrics: prevents casual unlocking by someone just picking up your phone, but otherwise no real security. A cop (or other assailant) can force you to unlock your phone easily (often even without a warrant)
• Pin Code: Slightly more secure, prevents anyone from accessing easily without knowing the code. But anyone with access to your phone, time, and skill can get in. Can be significantly improved by turning on Keypad Scrambling and Distress Codes (most devices do not offer either feature without a Custom ROM, see below) and Lockouts (available much more often).
• Password: your security is proportional to how much a pain in the ass it is to unlock your phone.
• Two-Factor (Custom ROMs Only): by combining Biometrics and Pin Code you get security that rivals a secure password while still being almost as convenient as a pin code.
• Pattern Unlock: Just don't, it's honestly probably better to use just Biometric over this

Explanations:

• Keypad Scrambling: This feature re-arranges the keypad on your lock screen. Downside is you can't unlock from muscle memory, but upside is that no one can unlock your phone from smudge patterns.
• Distress Code: This is a second pin code that when entered will instead erase your phone instead of unlocking it. They can't tell which is which until your phone is being erased. Also increases security on brute forcing as there's a chance they accidentally erase your phone in the process.
• Lockout: This is where your phone prevents access after a certain number of failed login attempts. It significantly slows down brute force attacks. Phones with this feature will usually either force you to enter a more secure password after this limit is hit, but some offer the option to automatically erase your phone.
• Custom ROMs: these are alternate systems you can install on your phone, usually variants of Android. They often offer more features and security than your phone normally has, but there are unfortunately some tradeoffs due to Google's demand for control (example is you can't use tap-to-pay with a Custom ROM)

#Security