Why I Left Facebook and other Ramblings

Facebook logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last week, I made an announcement on giving up on Facebook. By Tuesday, I realized that it wasn't necessarily Facebook causing me grief, but the entire internet. I found that I was tired of trying to time my online time on my laptop to when the internet was working, only to find that the internet connection wasn't there.

This would cause a problem with the rest of the day, as I try to do clean and check my laptop at the same time with hopes that the internet finally connected. This is terribly inefficient. Not only I wasn't getting anything useful done, I would only stick reading the news or browsing Facebook This wouldn't require much of an attention span. If I were interrupted by the kids, I wouldn't feel so guilty not finishing the news feed.

As a result, I started to become burned out. I guess I get burned out easily when I do things that are useless. No, keeping up with the family isn't useless, but watching the umpteenth cute and hilarious kitten/dog video is... So is passing on the umpteenth "idiot politician flavor of the day" picture meme, or watching the millionth poor sucker getting the tar beat out of him by some cop or other poor sucker.

To be honest, I didn't do anything useful in the limited time I did spend on the computer. I ended up playing Minecraft for a total of two hours in one week. Possibly less than what the average American spent watching TV.

Actually, I modded it mostly and reminisce on the days when I was capable of creating these mods. When was the last time I programmed anything? I think it was 4 or 5 years ago. Okay, if you don't count web design with a WYSIWYG editor, it's been longer than that.

There is good news. Rumor has it that the RV park changed internet providers with fiber optics. I hadn't asked yet to see for myself but I have noticed the change in speed. The WayPoints still cut out way too frequently, but we are a bit far from the nearest one. I'm not sure what could be interfering with the signal. It could be that our antennas are not strong enough.

We have considered buying our own repeater with a stronger receiver. In the meantime, I formulated a plan. After all, being offline has allowed me to formulate one.

1. I still WON'T be on Facebook until at least after the elections. Besides not wanting to create more enemies of people I would have otherwise gotten along with, I do have to retain my sanity for my kids - at least what's left of it.
2. I WILL be blogging on one of three blogs. This one, my family blog, and my new story blog.
3. I WON'T be deleting my Facebook. I do have a lot of family who want to keep up with what we are doing. So all of my blogs will post to Twitter, than to Facebook. This actually means more family updates as I will have a little more time for it.
4. I WILL be revamping MOMETEK (but not to the extreme). Since we have been cautious on how much money we spend, it's likely I will delve more into life tips for simplifying than on products.
5. I WILL eventually be vblogging again. Not sure if I'm going to wait for my new laptop, which I desperately need. My current laptop heats up too easily if I use anything graphic intensive. Since we are replacing the desktop (which is used by everyone else), it's likely I won't be getting one soon.
6. I WILL be checking in on Google+ comments to my posts, but not that I have a choice. My Blogger blogs are all integrated with Google+ so, if you want to follow me were you are more likely to be noticed, you can follow me there.

Google+ is a grey area. G+ seems to be a little more flexible on what I want to see. People follow me, but I don't have to follow them (there are a lot of people who follow me who don't put up any posts). The posts that matter most do end up in my timeline and I can choose what group I want to see.

For instance, I can choose just to see family, religious, or Tech posts (those are three of the categories I have for my circles).

So there you have it. Why I left Facebook (and most of the internet). It's not permanent, unless the world ends sometime soon.

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All the Ways to Hack Your Phone

This is pretty freaky. I knew of this bug a while ago, but I thought it had been fixed. After all, companies usually fix problems when they are publicly exposed, right? Apparently, not this one and this one is a real threat.

The only way this is avoidable is to join the ranks of the Amish and go tech free, but that's like saying that the only way to avoid a break-in, do not have a house. So, using this information, I've come up with a few suggestions to keep your phone from being hacked.

1. Be aware. Be very aware.
   Watching videos like these might freak you out, but at the same time, you know some of the tactics. Keep up with the latest tech and tech security news. By doing this you can take measures to limit the possibility of being hacked.
2. "Forget" your hotspot connections
   When you get home, tell your phone to forget all of the hotspots you logged in to that day. You probably can keep your own router. I suspect most hackers who use this tech will be out in the most populated areas.
3. Turn your Data and Wi-Fi off.
   Note: Turning of your Data will not stop you from making calls, in case you didn't know that.
   If you aren't using your phone apps, then turn both the data and Wi-Fi off. You phone is in constant communication with the networks even when idle. Every app is constantly checking for updates, and everytime it pings the servers, it transmits private data like passwords.
4. Understand that your phone is potentially unsafe.
   If you have to, do your banking and personal business on a secured PC. Make sure that all of your accounts have a different password, in case someone does get a hold of one.

No, this will not protect you 100% (this security bug is that bad), but unless someone is actively seeking you out, this will probably keep you safe. Criminals in general will pick the easiest targets. This goes for homes, cars, stores, banks, as well as phones and computers.

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Panasonic HX-WA03

I had planned on an extensive video review on this camera, verbally listing all of the features, etc, but I found the best way to show off a camera is through normal use.



Normal is defined by the fact that I'm not the only one who uses the camera. So the video includes some taken by my kids. If you watch the video, you'll realize that it's not a paradox to say that is also how I define crazy.

The only thing that I didn't do is go for a swim with it. It is supposed to be water proof but the pool at the campground I'm staying at isn't open yet, even though we've already had a few 90°F (32.2°C) days already. I think they have a specific date in mind.

It's been dropped already, twice. It still works just fine, but now there are a few scuff marks. If you are wondering, it wasn't me who dropped it this time. Honest!

Besides the videos on product I'll be posting here, you can check This (not so) Boring Life. I will be posting family videos there. Soon.

There are some features that I miss with my old camera that this doesn't have (shown at the end of the video):

1. The touchscreen. I miss being able to hit record when the screen is facing towards me. I now have to guess which side is "record" and which side is "picture".
2. The extreme optical zoom. Don't tell my kids, but I used to use my camera to check what they were doing from a distance. That said, if you zoomed in too far, you lost the anti-shake feature, so I didn't record much.
3. The shape screams CAMERA. The Panasonic screams "TOY". Although, that might be a benefit for some.
4. Battery life. The Pansonic has only a 1 hour and 30 minute battery life - give or take a few minutes, depending on what you are doing. I guess this really isn't bad, as I usually take less than an hour of video in a day. I just plug it in overnight.

What is better in this camera:

1. It's shockproof. I have six kids. I think that's pretty self-explanatory. That said, the Sony did last 3 years, so no complaints here
2. High res photos. Finally, a  camera that does both well. It also takes higher res videos than depicted here, but really, it's more than you need. Same with the 16MP photos, but who buy just what they need?
3. It fits better in my bag. The Sony is a bit "round" and it's difficult to put it in any of the pockets in my bag.
4. It's drool proof... I mean water proof. Even though I hadn't taken it for a swim, the water proof feature has already been tested by my youngest, who's 10 months old.

Unfortunately, the price has gone up on Amazon. I paid $155 (plus insurance). It's now $215 and the Sony listed in my A-Store is $223 (supposedly too low to display, but I'm displaying it here). So they are somewhat competitive in price.

Note: The Sony that's listed below is actually 2 upgrades from my old camera. They may have a lot more features than the older one, but waterproofing isn't one of them.

Check them out here:
Sony HDRCX240/B Video Camera with 2.7-Inch LCD (Black)`
Panasonic HX-WA03 Dual Waterproof 16MP Digital Camcorder (white)

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