In which we double-verify

I just spent a bunch of time setting up two-step verification on things. You probably should too. It may seem like time wasted, but at the point where your data gets hijacked, which is not an impossibility, you might think otherwise. Let’s put it this way: everyone I know of in the tech industry does it. Does that tell you something?

I’m more disinclined to do things like turn off fingerprint recognition in hopes of eluding customs officials. I might feel differently if I were less white and less old and less American in general. Your password entry into your devices is generally protected, apparently, but not physical access. There is some sort of nice point of distinction, but don’t ask me what it is.

Underlying all of this is the growing sense of paranoia about devices slash personal data in general slash the 21st Century, versus acceptance of the risks of the times. Some even question if they are, indeed, risks, and not simply the prices you pay for the benefits. People publish their life stories on Facebook, for instance. I have connections who can’t fart without lighting a match to it on Fb. I’ve asked about this, and generally people say they’re doing it for themselves, sort of as a journal, rather than expecting anyone else to really care about it. Okay, I can buy that, I guess. But there are ways of keeping a private journal. Every time I post a new profile picture, or any picture, I doubt if I’m doing it so that people will like it and respond how gorgeous I am, which seems to be the reaction any woman I know gets. Post-post feminism? Posting feminism? Beats me.

I’m now managing three accounts of Fb, plus trying to make two others disappear. That latter apparently takes a month. I can live with that. They’re really not active, except for the regular string of likes from people with unpronounceable names from unidentifiable countries, i.e., spammers. The others are my personal account, which nowadays is mostly fed by people Trumpifying one way or the other, a new DJ account that we’re building as a communication center for our customers, and the new Tournament Toolkit account, which I hope will become a place people can discuss best practices in tournament direction. That’s a lot of Fb, although as far as the first one is concerned, my personal contributions lately have been nothing but entertainments as a balance to Trumpifying. I do that on Twitter. As soon as Trump is dumped—my prediction is, sadly, a loss in the 2020 general election, and not sooner—I plan to give up Twitter for everything except tracking which celebrities just died, which is what I used to do. Ah, the memories.

No debate this weekend for me. There’s just that one more trip unto the breach at NY States. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already done so, check out the Toolkit page on Fb. Feel free to comment. Tell me I’m full of horse manure. I don’t care. Like DJT, I’m always right and I never lie. (A phrase that began “Vote for me because” in an old Firesign Theater bit. Not that you have any idea who that is…)

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