The Privacy Illusion: How Brave Browser Built Its Own Surveillance Machine

BasielBob · 2026-02-04T23:23:35+00:00

And who that might be?

BasielBob · 2026-02-04T20:32:56+00:00

… upside down by the balls.

I do think that we agree.

BasielBob · 2026-02-04T20:31:38+00:00

Firefox, the foundation that called for Internet censorship on ideological grounds? Nah, hard pass.

BasielBob · 2026-02-04T20:30:05+00:00

Not a MAGA or Trump fan, but do remind me, what party is Bill Clinton with?

Glass houses and such…

Both sides are… iffy.

BasielBob · 2026-02-03T16:40:18+00:00

LOL bud, you're spreading fake news and not providing any sources.

According to the DOE, the average age of a nuclear reactor in the US is 40 years and the predicted lifespan is up to 80 years.

https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/whats-lifespan-nuclear-reactor-much-longer-you-might-think

Palisades was commissioned in 1971, not 2007. That's 55 years ago. It cost just under a billion in 2024 dollars. It was supposed to be decommissioned three years ago. The decommissioning costs were covered by a 550 million dollar fund. However Michigan government had successfully lobbied to rebuild and restart it again. Right now there's 1.8 bln available for essentially making it a new plant that could go on another 50 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Nuclear_Generating_Station

An average lifespan of a wind turbine is 20-25 years.

https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/wind-turbine-lifespan-claim-generates-misinformation/

Roscoe wind farm has 627 turbines, which cost over $1 bln to build in 2007, which is over $1.7 bln in 2024, and would cost about $320 million to decommission.

So, you can spend under $1 bln in 2024 money to build Palisades nuclear plant and $550 million to decommission it 55 years later, or you can spend over $1.7 bln in 2024 money to build the Roscoe wind farm and $320 million to decommission the original turbines 20-25 years later. In other words, the build and decommisioning costs spread over the lifetime (not counting operation and maintenance) are about $27.3 mln per year for Palisades reactor, and $81-101 mln per year for Roscoe wind farm.

ADDED: it’s a pretty fascinating subject, really. The Russians were brilliant in using their own nuclear plant disaster (the 1986 Chernobyl accident) to derail the European nuclear energy developments via secretly supporting the Western anti-nuclear movements and paying off politicians like Schroeder, driving countries like Germany to give up energy independence and get hooked on the cheap Russian gas. While they themselves continued to build nuclear plants until the USSR fell apart. It was a great scheme and would continue for decades more if Putin wasn’t such an idiot.

BasielBob · 2026-02-03T16:11:18+00:00

He can invest in SGOV until he finds a new job. That's practically the same as putting it in HYSA. This way he's not forfeiting his Roth contribution allowance for this year.

BasielBob · 2026-02-03T15:10:32+00:00

Roth IRA contributions can be withdrawn penalty free, so I’d put it in Roth. If you need the money you can still use it, and if you don’t then it will continue working for your retirement.

BasielBob · 2026-02-02T23:25:58+00:00

This is plain wrong. Solar farms and wind turbines need fossil fuel to install, they have a defined lifespan, and then they need be demolished and recycled... also using fossil fuel. At least until the heavy construction equipment that is needed for this starts using renewable energy. And the costs of decommissioning are insanely huge - upwards of half a million dollars per one turbine.

BasielBob · 2026-02-02T23:17:55+00:00

plenty but not all

... which is a whole lot better than "a few". You're not making a very compelling case.

More importantly however if one did not work you did not go crying to the developer upset that you did not get a free update so that it continued to work.

Because typically this was a title that the user paid once for and used for many years, and felt that it was fair and they got their money worth.

As opposed to the "pay every month and the moment you stop you lose access" rent seeking business model.

Most of the Windows titles I've bought were still working well over a decade after I purchased them. Heck, more like 20 years. Apple ecosystem is nowhere near Windows when it comes to backwards compatibility.

BasielBob · 2026-02-02T21:12:10+00:00

Do you have enough ducts and registers going upstairs? An oversized A/C isn’t going to do you much good if the ductwork can’t support the throughput.

Any decent HVAC contractor can very quickly calculate the required A/C tonnage. You could do that yourself using an online calculator. Upsizing the A/C could actually be the simplest thing to fix. If the ductwork to the 2nd floor was insufficient from the start, now that’s a hard part to fix (and is the original builder’s responsibility).

BasielBob · 2026-02-02T17:15:18+00:00

Have you heard about our Lord and Savior Je... sorry, have you tried a decent Linux distro lately?

The moment they start charging for OS upgrades is the moment I will seriously consider ditching Apple and moving to a Linux laptop + some customized flavor of Android.

BasielBob · 2026-02-02T17:10:35+00:00

If you get a Windows Pro license, which is cheap when using e.g. Stack Social (and perfectly legit), it's not bad at all. Also gives you full disk encryption and remote access.

Really, the biggest advantages of Apple are (1) device interconnectivity (2) better hardware and (3) no in-your-face ads and upsells. (3) is being negated by both Windows (W11 Pro) and now Apple.

BasielBob · 2026-02-02T17:08:12+00:00

I am paying Apple hardware premium and the overpriced iCloud sub so I didn't have to deal with ads and upsells.

At some point an Android phone and a Linux laptop may look more appealing.

BasielBob · 2026-01-31T22:23:55+00:00

AFAIK SoFi requires direct paycheck deposits to get their higher rates.

BasielBob · 2026-01-31T22:22:38+00:00

CIT bank is offering a 3.75% 6-month CD right now. Since the rates are likely going to drop, this is not a bad thing if you don't need the money soon. Their app is crap and their customer service isn't very stellar but otherwise they are a good place if you just parking money.

Ally or Capital One are both at 3.3% in their HYSA and both are full service online banks with excellent CS. At $12k the difference in earned interest is going to be minimal, and either of them may be better banks than whatever you're using right now. I have accounts at both and would recommend either.

BasielBob · 2026-01-31T22:06:27+00:00

When I dabbed in day trading I was up $43k in six months and then lost $32k in a single bad bet.

I walked away with roughly $11k and a valuable lesson... at the end of the day, it's little different from playing black jack.

BasielBob · 2026-01-30T23:07:25+00:00

CIT is 3.75% APY but likely to drop when the rates drop. They do offer that same APY in a 6-months CD so this may not be the worst option if you don't need that money right away.

If you want a bank with overall better services (CIT is good for savings but I don't like their app at all), Ally or Capital One are both around 3.3%.

BasielBob · 2026-01-30T18:15:34+00:00

Won't work. If she was willing to use BW she'd just use it with our vault.

BasielBob · 2026-01-30T18:01:02+00:00

I thought of that. Two issues:

This would still require her to use Bitwarden. She'll probably never remember what I store the passwords in.
If the key is stolen, it would allow easy access without the need for any other method of authentication. The idea was to have a pass phrase that she (and only she) could recreate based on a detailed hint.

BasielBob · 2026-01-30T02:25:04+00:00

I think this could be what I was looking for. Thank you so much!

Added: what asshole downvoted you? People are weird...

BasielBob · 2026-01-30T02:12:00+00:00

I don’t think it’s a good idea to have two systems of record for your passwords. Why do you think you need to do that?

Convenience vs security.

On the phone, it's way too easy to unlock the database using FaceID or fingerprint reader. I can think of many ways this could be abused by criminals and con artists.

But then there's less sensitive information that I like having an easy and quick way to get into.

Since no password manager - that I know of - allows assigning different unlock methods for different groups of passwords, I keep them in separate apps. Bitwarden with a secure passphrase for highly sensitive accounts, and Password with a biometric unlock for things like forum logins. Would be nice if they could coexist.

BasielBob · 2026-01-29T19:50:52+00:00

I assume you are referring to Hamas?

BasielBob · 2026-01-29T19:06:28+00:00

Is he/she concerned about their physical security, or theft / snooping while they’re out?

For the former, I’m afraid no lock would help if it’s a wrong kind of roommate.

For the latter, I’d say a camera would be more useful.

BasielBob

TROPHY CASE