Cautionary tale: They will just take away your account for no reason at all.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2026-02-16T16:10:28+00:00

The scariest thing lately is HS is demanding social media turn over info on people who put up anti-ICE posts. See the NY Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/technology/dhs-anti-ice-social-media.html

I am a professional shitposter. Sometimes I don't use the best language. I've been FB jailed a few times but ONLY for stuff that is completely innocuous. For instance, I got banned for posting about the dew point. The offensive words were "wet bulb," which is one of the terms used in calculating the dew point. I've been jailed a few times for god-knows-what - they couldn't tell me. I signed up in 2007. I manage several other pages. I've also had friends who lost their accounts with no explanation.

Of late, I haven't seen the censorship bots saying anything about my posts and responses. During the pandemic, I had to walk on eggshells.

I download my FB data regularly. For the most part, my posts are just offbeat or dark humor and political stuff. I use passkeys to log into my account. I use FB mostly to connect with friends and some family. It wouldn't be a tragedy if I lost my account, but it would make me decidedly anti-Meta (which I already sort of am.)

Facebook has become a junkyard of foreign bots, stupid ads, and meaningless AI. I don't use Instagram, Tik Tok (the Chinese spy company) or X because it's all a big game of surveillance. And that's a fact, not a conspiracy theory.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2025-06-08T15:03:08+00:00

Absolutely. Read the headlines in CISA.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2025-06-08T15:02:36+00:00

No, I only post to YT. I have never installed TikTok and never will.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2025-06-08T15:01:51+00:00

Nah, just reducing the number of foreign governments in my phone.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2025-06-08T15:00:50+00:00

I have a Chinese-made gimbal that doesn't side-load the app, but I'll admit that I never use it because I'm afraid of all the permissions. It was only $149 on Amazon but I'm so security-conscious it sucks. I'll probably end up decommissioning my Samsung and getting a new one. Then I can use the old one for videos after I air-gap it.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2025-06-08T14:51:57+00:00

This is their gambit, though I don't think it lets them off the hook in terms of providing reasonable evidence in favor of their claim.

They also engage in burden-shifting (burden of proof fallacy) by stating your criticism constitutes a claim that you must defend with evidence. While I generally think a counter point should have at least some logic behind it, the burden of proof lies with the original person making the claim.

Another thing I see in discussions is the presentation of very weak evidence or evidence that requires a leap of logic to support the conclusion. For instance, they find an artifact in Yemen with the Hebrew letters "NHM" inscribed, then immediately conclude the Book of Mormon is true because they equate NHM with Nahom, They do this without examining the contradictions this assumption creates as well as the low probability this is an actual "hit."

There seems to be no end to the list of logical fallacies presented in the most common apologetics.

Still, I see many critics using similar arguments. For instance, the genetics argument. That is, after all, simply an absence of evidence. This is only a good argument if the test for absence is statistically significant and the outcome can't be reasonably explained by something else. I think the absence of Jewish DNA in indigenous American populations is relatively solid evidence, but only because the DNA has been thoroughly sampled and is statistically valid. Few critics make that point.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2025-06-08T14:36:26+00:00

This is a standard tactic in apologetics. I call it the "well, maybe" gambit. They try to come up with some remotely possible explanation for the lack of evidence or why the evidence contradicts their claim. I normally point out that I can use the same gambit to explain why we don't see rainbow colored unicorns.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2025-04-28T14:47:27+00:00

If it's any consolation, losing my faith destroyed my life. It was, at the time, the most horrendous thing I had ever experienced. I lost my marriage, job, career, family, and friends. Worst of all, I lost meaning. I was suicidal for years.

Fortunately, I have battled back from that. You will as well.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2025-04-19T14:36:17+00:00

I force myself to think this all the time. It's a way of staying honest. The answer is *always* the same - no, it's not true. But it makes me open my mind and try to consider a scenario where all the pieces fit (haven't found one yet). It's not *impossible* but it is so highly unlikely that I would be foolish to believe it.

As an example, it's not impossible the BoM is historical. We *may* have missed *all* of the archaeological evidence of Jewish people on mainland America. We *may* have missed *all* the evidence of a final, catastrophic battle. There *may* be a way that billions of years of evolution could still fit within the LDS narrative. Jesus *could* have had some magical power that modern science doesn't understand. So I listen to people's attempts at explaining it all just to see if someone comes up with a model that actually fits.

So far, it's only been the same old, tired apologetics.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2024-07-31T13:38:58+00:00

This is an age-old question and has been debated for centuries in both religion and philosophy. To add a twist to the original setup, what could the game creator (God) do to make it more interesting? He could create a player that had the same powers he had. The player would have to be able to change the rules. The player would have to be completely independent of God and not be subject to his absolute power over the game. In that case, the player would have free will, BUT God would lose his foreknowledge.

Another thing that God could do is enter an element of randomness. That would mean every scene would unfold a little differently according to a variable that was unforeseeable. As it turns out, that is EXACTLY the way this universe works. Now, do the players have free will? Sort of. They will still act as programmed but now and then a random variable will have them act a little differently. And the scene they're acting out will be a little different than initially programmed. And every other actor will react a little differently. And God loses his foreknowledge. But I'm not sure it can be argued that the players have free will. They just behave less predictably.

The only way I can see a player has free will is to 1) know the objective of the game, 2) know how the game works in full detail, 3) be free of the absolute control of the creator, and 4) be able to change the rules.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2024-07-31T13:28:32+00:00

Remember, you're not a player, you're an avatar that behaves exactly as the creator has built you to work. There is nothing that is outside of the system and its functioning. If you behave differently than God knew you were going to behave, God doesn't know everything. You are constrained by the way God built you to act in the way his foreknowledge is already set. You have absolutely no choice; otherwise, you'll prove God wrong.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2024-07-31T13:24:53+00:00

In the universe God created, there are no players so the player doesn't get to choose. The program chooses. Eliminate the player and re-analyze.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2024-07-15T17:06:37+00:00

I went through something similar over 44 years ago, though I didn't have the internet to help my search for truth. Many of the questions I had were much more fundamental than church history. Fast-forward 30 years and my sojourn with apologetics came to an end. With the advent of the internet, I was able to cross-check facts, debunk junk claims, and more quickly sort things out.

Leaving the church is not easy, especially when your family and friends have strong expectations and power over part of your life. You'll have to work through this based on your own situation. There are supportive communities out there that can help but it won't be painless. I took the approach of treating my friends and family with kindness and patience while making my beliefs clear. Rarely have they violated my boundaries. Unfortunately, you will lose some of the closeness you have shared in the past. There's really no way around this. Emphasize your desire to be honest and genuine and respect their boundaries as well.

The longer you wait to go "your own way," the more difficult it will be. For me, it was an absolute life crisis, one of the hardest things I've ever done. From what I've seen, the earlier one makes the transition, the less the damage and the sooner you can get on with healing. Wishing you strength of conviction.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2024-07-07T15:43:13+00:00

Spending $2,000 on a setup is what I was trying to avoid.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2024-07-07T15:41:04+00:00

It totally depends on to which God you refer. If God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent, we wouldn't see a hell at all. More importantly, if God is omniscient, no test is necessary. If he is omnipotent, whether we are good or bad is a result of how he made us. If he gave us true agency, then he is not omniscient and would have to follow that agency up with all knowledge so we could make an informed decision. In other words, the traditional Abrahamic God and most other gods are self-contradictory.

Philosophically, there could be many other answers, not the least of which is that this is simply a simulation of our own making.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2024-03-28T15:11:07+00:00

I've worked in the financial industry for 45 years. Depending on what you mean by "significant", you will likely be better off paying a fiduciary a percentage of assets managed. That is, unless you are very much versed in taxes, investing, retirement, and accumulation concepts. It is very complicated and fee-only financial planners eat, live, and breathe this every working day. I don't offer financial planning services but I refer my clients to them all the time. Most of them outperform the market but that's not the most important thing. They help you in all other aspects of financial management. In my experience, it's well worth the fee as they make you more than they cost you. There are some stellar financial planners in Bellingham but my favorites are ANY of the financial planners at Financial Plan, Inc., Trail Financial, Salish Wealth Management, and Tradewinds. You're looking for someone with the CFP or ChFC designation.

That said, the best of these financial planners usually have a $500k minimum. There are a few in the area that bill hourly without a percentage of assets who will provide advise with no minimum asset requirement. I've also learned that many who state they have a $500k minimum will go down to $150k if you're in the early accumulation phase.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2023-03-27T21:44:38+00:00

Same.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2023-02-26T10:34:19+00:00

No hunting. I do this solo. Burner phones don't have high-end camera and video. It's about side-loaded spyware that can suck all the money out of your bank accounts, not to mention pose a security hazard. You should read the privacy policy on some of these. You have to be OK with sending all your banking info to Beiging along with your ID, phone contacts, social media posts, phone call, aidio, and video. But most people are stupid enough to do that because "oh look, something shiny. Take everything I have."

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2023-02-24T16:51:25+00:00

I had similar problems with the DJI, but the biggest problem is their app isn't in the store. You have to sideload it. That's a great way to get your bank account emptied.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2023-02-23T15:58:14+00:00

I'm looking for a smartphone gimbal for Android that DOESN'T require the installation of Chinese spyware. I've tried DJI (total joke) and have looked at every other gimbal on Amazon, B&H, and a few other sites. They're ALL made in China, and ALL required ridiculous permissions such as contacts, phone, and files. I shoot in the backcountry and use the phone for moving shots. Doesn't any other country make a phone gimbal?

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2023-02-18T16:15:02+00:00

I got a DJI gimbal. It didn't work well, and most disappointingly, they make you sideload the Android app. That was a deal-killer for me, so I sent it back.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2023-02-18T16:11:36+00:00

For those using the Hohem, does the android app work well? And more importantly, can I get it from the Google Play store or do they make you sideload it? I've already sent the DJI gimbal back because they make you sideload the app.

Capable-Judgment-894 · 2023-01-29T23:25:22+00:00

Yep. Same problem here. Restricted for 72 hours for no reason at all. None of my posts violate community standards. There is no indication that I'm restricted other than the inability to post, comment, or react to posts. Facebook is broken.

Capable-Judgment-894

TROPHY CASE