Good morning! #photography
Remote
Thomas Reed
@thomasareed@infosec.exchange
mastodon 4.8.0-alpha.3+glitchFormer Mac security professional who ran off to the woods, and now does guided tours in Yellowstone.
1715 Followers
97 Following
49 Posts
Joined August 20, 2018
E-mail:
thomas@backroadsbear.com
Business site:
Photos:
Security blog:
I made this a few years ago, to compare the size of the entire screen on an original 128k Mac with the size of the Safari icon on modern macOS. Enjoy!
We discovered the Bleu Horses (not a spelling error) out near Three Forks, Montana yesterday. They're quite interesting sculptures, made by Jim Dolan, that have features that move in the wind. Manes and tails, obviously, from the photos... but also some of them will move their heads when the wind gusts! #photography #montana
Replying to
@thomasbosboom@infosec.exchange Yelp itself is a scam. I run a business, and got myself listed on Yelp. I had a few folks give me five star reviews.
Then Yelp contacted me trying to sell me advertising services, to make my listing more prominent. I declined. Less than 24 hours later, my reviews all vanished. Yelp apparently decided, just “coincidentally” at that moment, that they were not trustworthy reviews.
I’d say this was coincidental except for all the people I’ve talked to after who have had the same experience. Worse, apparently bad reviews are always considered trustworthy, until you pay them money, then some of those disappear. Among many others, I had a client who runs a restaurant, and she’d seen EXACTLY the same thing.
Very dramatic sunrise this morning! #photography
Did you know there's a project starting up to mine gold in the middle of one of the richest wildlife habitats in North America, in the middle of Lake Clark National Park in Alaska? This mine would damage an important ecosystem for short-term monetary gains for the already wealthy.
To learn more, and take action to help, see:
Attaching some photos I took last month of animals that could be impacted. Please boost for reach.
I cannot believe Apple folded… by creating a folding phone. I seriously doubt that they’ve solved the problem of the crease line. But hey, now you’ll have an excuse to buy a new iPhone every year, ‘cause the screen will start to look like crap. 💩
Affect and improve the way you feel yam
In addition to the recent drama, 1Password has been utter crap for Mac users for years now.
* The Safari browser extension turned to junk. (To be fair, I believe this is partly Apple’s fault, though the old extension kept working fine while I was still using it.)
* The app was ported to Electron and became a bloated mess that didn’t play nicely with the system like the old native app did
* They took away the ability to choose your own storage for syncing between devices, such as iCloud, and forced people into their own cloud storage.
This week is International Dark Sky Week! Get out and enjoy dark skies sometime this week, and learn more about why it's important here:
https://www.backroadsbear.com/2026/04/13/international-dark-sky-week/
I really feel for developers named Claude right now. It’s probably kind of like being named Karen.
Replying to
@darfplatypus@infosec.exchange @Viss@mastodon.social Humans. We’re always shoving it into things that pretend to think.
@GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social Well, that’s a unique way of killing off influencers…
Replying to
Replying to
@BasicAppleGuy@mastodon.social @scriptingosx@mastodon.social Phfffshh… those young icons? What about these?
Replying to
@parkerortolani@mastodon.social @talkingmoose@mastodon.social I remember all the mismanagement and poor decisions at Apple in the last years before Steve Jobs came back. I actually started to think about what I would do for work if Apple went out of business. I knew Macintosh computers very well, but I couldn’t go work in IT for Windows machines, because I’d never used them. I will always be grateful to Steve Jobs for saving the company.
Unfortunately, I see a lot of mismanagement and poor decision making creeping back in these days. I worry about what will happen to Apple in the years ahead, and I’m thankful that my career no longer depends on Apple.
Replying to
@jschauma@mstdn.social @Viss@mastodon.social Yup, that’s me exactly. After getting laid off, I quit even trying to find a new job after a couple months because of all the AI nonsense involved. Job requirements to use AI, applications that want to know your experience level with AI, employers screening applications with AI, applicants spamming job listing via AI. It’s all just too much. I want no part of it anymore.
Replying to
@jerry@infosec.exchange You’re not missing much. The last time I was there, neither conference was worth what it cost to send me. The only advantage was getting the chance to see people I knew, which could be done via better venues.
Replying to
@hacks4pancakes@infosec.exchange I wonder what the concern is for Montana? We’re a red state, but at the same time, we’ve got a trans woman in the state house of representatives, and recently put the right to abortion into the state constitution where it will be very hard to get rid of, so many of the conservatives here aren’t as crazy as elsewhere. But I wonder if I’m missing something… 🤔
Replying to
@BasicAppleGuy@mastodon.social @scriptingosx@mastodon.social Wow, Mastodon really butchers these due to the transparent background… 🤦♂️
Replying to
@wendynather@infosec.exchange I see that and all I can ever think is, is that someone related to Mxyzptlk?
Replying to
@wdormann @Viss Okay, whatever. “I don’t believe you” is a pretty rude response, as it implies I’m lying and that nothing changed in the years since I installed it. I do distinctly remember some kind of warning about Signal notifications from somewhere, though, so this is most definitely NOT new news.
One thing that has bothered me for years about the Mac security community is that they have nearly all opted to stay in the Nazi bar (ie, Twitter… not X, I’ll never call it that). There are some exceptions here, of course, but when I left Twitter, I lost touch with a lot of friends. 😔
Replying to
@noplasticshower They are! You can see them from the highway, but they’re so much cooler up close!
Replying to
@skinnylatte@hachyderm.io @Viss@mastodon.social There’s a hot spring in Yellowstone where people have cooked just-caught fish while still on the hook.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_Cone
Replying to
@lcamtuf@infosec.exchange @dangoodin@infosec.exchange Be sure to carry cybearsecurity spray. If it charges, spray a cloud that it will need to pass through. Remember, spray low… when a cybearsecurity charges, it will come at you lower than you expect it to.
Replying to
@fuzztech@infosec.exchange @wendynather@infosec.exchange Next marketing idea: trail mix packets labeled “deez nuts.”
Replying to
@jack_daniel I grew up in Georgia back in the 80s and 90s and never heard of wildfires there back then. And people say climate change isn’t real. 😔
Replying to
I wonder if those people replying “Not at all” have seen the video of the Microsoft folks “dancing” to the song at the presentation? 😄
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAkuJXGldrM
Windows 95 Launch
Replying to
Replying to
@mattblaze@federate.social In the absence of an ND filter, have you ever tried combining multiple shots with bracketed exposures as an HD image? I’ve done that with color shots with good results, but I’ve never tried it with B&W images.
Replying to
@Routhinator@tenforward.social @talkingmoose@mastodon.social It’s bad right now. I made the decision to exit from a tech career and start a completely unrelated business.
Those sticking to tech are going to have to ride out this AI nonsense, then ride out the implosion when the AI bubble bursts. There are going to be some rough years ahead. Hopefully, it will get better at some point.
I long for the days when just making something cool that people found useful was enough.
Replying to
@g@irrelephant.co Yup! You can even set named timers… “Set a chicken timer for 30 minutes,” etc.
However, I once had a lasagna in the oven and asked Siri, via a HomePod, to “check the timer.” Works like you’d expect most of the time, but this time Siri responded, “Okay, it’s cancelled!” 🤬 Siri and I have had a very adversarial relationship since then.
Replying to
@NanoRaptor@bitbang.social I’m assuming these are real, as it would be much less funny if they were photoshopped. As such, 🤯. I think I would wreck all these cars.
Replying to
@g@irrelephant.co I can imagine… not a problem I have, but based on the very simple things I’ve seen give Siri trouble, I’m not surprised.
I'm noticing people on various forums asking questions like it's a Google search. The entire question will be something like "Best place to eat in West Yellowstone," and they're expecting people to answer.
I kind of hate it, but at the same time it's like they're doing a Google search, but not on Google, and getting actual people to answer, so I also kind of get it. 🤷♂️
Replying to
@evacide@hachyderm.io I do exactly the same thing here, in my small town, when I hear tourists complain about there not being enough shopping & dining options. Yup, this place sucks, move on and never come back. Tell all your friends. 😄
Replying to
@bruienne@infosec.exchange What was the game this image is based on? I remember it, but can’t remember the name!
Replying to
@smashingsecurity @hacks4pancakes Thanks to both of you for your presence on Mastodon, when so much of the security community is still only on Twitter. ❤️
Replying to
@marioguzman@mastodon.social @Viss@mastodon.social Anybody got a screenshot, for my own edification?
Replying to
@g@irrelephant.co Siri works well for a very small handful of minor things, which I find valuable, and beyond that I have no more use for it than any other AI.
Replying to
@g@irrelephant.co Sounds like you’re trying to do more with Siri than me. Here’s the extent of what I do with it:
- Send a text message from my watch hands free
- Set a timer or alarm on my watch hands free
- Create a reminder on my watch hands free
- Ask for my current elevation hands free (because I live in the mountains and get curious)
That’s literally it. I have very low expectations for Siri, and yet even with these four very basic things it has let me down.