Chris Barnes

Welcome to my ~~brain~~ webpage!

I'll have more here eventually but for now enjoy my random thoughts.

Things I believe pretty strongly...

1 - If something is free you aren't the customer you are the product. This STRONGLY applies to Google. I try to stay so far away from Google products because, in my opinion, they exist to profile you, collect your data, and sell you to 3rd party advertisers (their REAL customers). I make an exception for YouTube because there's just no realistic competitor to YouTube but for everything else there are better options.

2 - Go with secure options. As a follow-on to number 1 above I also believe in going with secure options whenever absolutely possible. Sometimes this means spending a little money but it's totally worth it. For example: instead of using Gmail you can use Proton Mail or even iCloud and be more secure.

3 - Critical thinking isn't optional, it's required. Question everything, adjust where necessary. I'm not saying you should be paranoid - but you should stop once in a while and ask "why are we doing this like this - is there a better way?".

4 - Humans have REALLLLLY screwed up our planet. Like, have you ever stopped to consider everything you've ever thrown away in your life and then considered probably 90% of that crap is sitting in landfills? And it will be sitting there for HUNDREDS OF YEARS after you're dead and gone. What are we doing people!? Someone needs to find a way to get filthy rich from reconsuming landfills and recycling as much of our CENTURY of waste as possible.

5 - Buy a domain name. And of course by "buy" I mean "rent" because you're really just leasing them for multiples of years. But anyway. Get a domain name (like mine here - chrisbarnes.tech) and USE it! Use it for your email (again, pay for a service that lets you use custom domain names) and that way YOU have control over your inbound email for as long as you want. If you get fed up with Google Workspace you can migrate to Proton Mail by just repointing your domain DNS (as an example). You can also use this domain name to create email aliases so you can control spam. Also, if you're a professional you should be using a custom email domain for your business. If you're trying to look like a serious entrepreneur don't give out a gmail.com or aol.com or worse - comcast.net email address to people because now your MONEY is tied up in a 3rd party email service and you look silly. Additionally - if you're a realtor or someone who frequently emails documents to customers that ask for bank accounts or social security numbers or ANY personal information PLEASE get off of Gmail and AOL and Yahoo and onto a secure email platform with end-to-end encryption! DO IT NOW!

6 - Use a GOOD password manager. I personally recommend 1Password or Proton Pass or Apple Passwords but there are a number of really good ones out there. Additionally use unique passwords on all of your accounts and make sure they're at least 12 characters long. Use the other built-in features of good password managers as well - MFA with OTP or passkeys or physical security keys are a must!

7 - Get off of social media. Social media is the WORST. It brings out the WORST in people. It divides humantiy. For real. Cancel your accounts. If you choose to be on social media pick your platforms carefully. Personally I recommend Bluesky and Mastodon because they aren't owned or run by large companies or evil people. Also, if you are going to be on social media keep the apps off your phone! Smartphones aren't the problem - it's the ability to constantly doomscroll out of boredom.

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Tech I'm using...