Set Of Principles

I'm back from my “expedition” to the highest mountain 🏔️ in my country. It took us two days because we wanted to see the sunrise 🌄️ at the top; it was beautiful. At night I saw so many stars and I also saw the milky way; it makes you think about our existence. I'm incredibly grateful to have friends ❤️ like that.

Here are some photos I took. The views are incredible, and the trip was the highlight of this summer. Now I'm getting ready for University in October. I know it will be a lot of work, and I need to start looking for more balance to handle the upcoming challenges.

I've been having so much fun lately. Hanging out with friends makes a huge difference and improves my mood 😌️, who would have guessed. Been repairing my enduro bike 🚵️ for the past few days, now it looks like new. I've been running and working out daily for the past ten days and playing volleyball 🏐️ all summer long. On Monday, I'm going on the highest mountain 🏔️ in my country, exciting stuff. I've been taking a break from technology since I know I'm going to use computers daily in October when I'm going to be back at the University. I've also been reading a lot, but I still want to have a dedicated “reading hour,” to make reading a daily habit.

I wish you all the best.

I'm more and more satisfied with my life; I went on a few dates that went well. I've been a bit absent here, but it's been healing for my mental health 👨‍⚕️️. There's a great video 🎥️ by Arpi Park, a Stanford CS student and YouTuber, called i've done nothing in quarantine. It's about his time in the quarantine and how it's ok not to be productive. This summer I've not been extremely productive (I did work for my dad), but I've spent a lot of time with my friends and family. I'm so excited for University 🏛️ in October; I hope we won't have online classes.

I've also been reading a lot this summer. I'm currently reading Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models, written by Lauren McCann and Gabriel Weinberg, founder of DuckDuckGo🦆️. I've been reading books and listening to vinyl lately since I want to limit my social media use.

I think small steps in life can be extremely beneficial. I've found that making small steps allows me to keep being interested in a new hobby or do things longer. For example, rather than a 15km run 🏃️ once a week, I do a quick 3-6km run daily. A 5km run is not hard for me, and it brings me joy and happiness, while 15km run is going to make my muscles sore, and it's going to hurt.

I hope you're doing ok. I wish you all the best! ❤️

I see people like Elon Musk 🚀️; I know I can't compare to him, but I feel like I'm not doing anything with my life. I know this is a stupid comparison, but I feel like everyone is doing something except me. My friends, friends on the internet, random strangers, everyone is so busy and getting so much done ✔️ while I hang out at home waiting for the University 🏦️ to start in October.

I've worked for my dad most of the summer ☀️, but nothing with computers. I'm going through life changes – deleting social media, revaluating my relationships, finding purpose, personal improvement, but I still don't feel the way I want.

I should ask myself more about what I want to do. I know this is just a simple question and then also execute my desire – the most challenging part. I also want to live a life where I feel fulfilled and contribute to the community. I want to create solutions about the world's biggest problems, just like Elon Musk does, but in my own *smaller way.

So many people suggested to me that I should stay away from the internet. Consuming social media 🗯️ , in a broad sense, isn't healthy. I quit quite a large portion of my social media use and even deleted 🗑️ some accounts. For me, the question arises, what should I do with all that extra time? Sure, in some sense, I can spend that extra time with my friends and family 👨‍👩‍👦️, start a side business, start a new hobby or study longer 🙃️.

I believe that I'm happier when I spend part of my time consuming, sometimes even things that aren't too productive. For example, I like listening to music 🎶️ and doing nothing or watching non-educational YouTube videos 📹️. I think that it's essential sometimes to consume something and not to learn anything for it, just taking a moment for yourself. I mostly read nonfiction books 📚️, so that I can learn something, but I think I'm going to pick up more story-based books to increase my total reading time.

In the future, I should create some restrain to content that I consume since the YouTube algorithm can be a dangerous thing. I also believe that there's a lot of really well-made educational content on the internet that I can learn a lot from.

Welcome to Privacy Update, my personal tracking method, to keep me in good shape on my privacy journey. Privacy Update is something I believe everyone should think about starting, even people who don't have their own personal blog or haven't taken extreme measures to protect their privacy.

It seems to me that my micro-blog is the best place for my Privacy Update. I will post these every time I do something that makes my technology use more private or secure. I believe this is also an excellent way to keep track of my privacy habits.

The structure of future Privacy Updates might change.

Personal Feelings

Lately, I've been feeling ok with my privacy situation, but sometimes small things threw me off. Like that one ad, I saw a few days ago targeted or using Signal daily that isn't a decentralized service. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that I've started my privacy journey on the internet. I like using Signal even if it's not the best privacy tool in the world.

Improvments

I've been deleting a lot of my unused accounts. Deleting older accounts feels so good, especially when you find an account that you have forgotten about. I want to keep my internet presents at bear minimum. Having fewer accounts also helps me be a step closer to minimizing my data output.

I've convinced two of my good friends to switch to Signal. I know some problems are sounding Signal, but I still believe that it's the best choice for a non-privacy minded people.

I've checked permissions for most of my apps on my Graphene OS powered smartphone.

I've also finally created an almost completed a collection of all of my photos offline. I've encrypted all of my pictures and some important files using Cryptomator. There are other alternatives to Cryptomator like VeraCrypt.

Next Steps

I've been preparing for deleting my Google and Facebook accounts. I've stopped using these services and found FOSS or more privacy-focused alternatives. The problem with deleting my Google account is that I know I have some old accounts I haven't deleted using my old Google mail that I would like to delete before getting rid of Google. Facebook is a bit more complicated since most of my friends still use it for communication. I'm trying hard to convince some of my closest friends to switch to alternatives. It's annoying how hard it is getting rid of big tech.

I think I'm also going to word towards cleaning my online presence and starting a more minimalistic approach to technology. Using the bare minimum and getting rid of all of the distractions. I think the online cleaning has just begun, and I can't wait to update you on my progress.

Reading Recommendations

• I've written a Simple Signal Guide For Everyone, definitely worth sending it to someone.

• The Lesson We're Learning From TikTok? It's All About Our Data by The New York Times.

• Smart Home! Google just makes you “aware”! from Decentralize Today.

#PrivacyUpdate

I'm feeling great. Being around friends and family helps. I went on a hike with my friends and later today I'm going swimming in a river. I believe that these last days of August ☀️ are perfect for spending some time outside before returning to University in October.

I'm also thinking of paying 💸️ for Standard Notes since I've been using their services for so long. Paying for Standard Notes also unlocks extensions that are going to be especially useful at University. I think Standard Notes is going to be my primary note-taking app.

I love writing on a piece of paper because I can sketch, but I think I can learn faster and structure my notes in a better way with a note-taking app like Standard Notes.

I love that Standard Notes encrypts 🔒️ all notes even with a free version. I'm a fan of their business model, and I would recommend their services to everyone.

This is not a review, since I'm thinking of doing a more in-depth review on the Set Of Principles.

I've finally received the right number for my new running 🏃️ shoes. I decided to go with a more expensive pair this time around. I always want to get a good deal, but I've realized how much time I spend in my running shoes. I bought a pair of running shoes 👟️ from allbirds. They have a more sustainable approach to creating materials and making shoes. I'm super happy with my purchase.

I've worn my previous pair for years, and that's the reason for purchase. I think it's always good to find the real reason for purchase. Usually, I wouldn't say I like buying new things because most of the time I already own something that I could use instead. I don't particularly like having multiple tools, items, and things that do the same job; they get cluttered quickly. I also don't encourage you to buy new running shoes if you want to start running. Use older pair and upgrade when it's necessary ♻️.

I've been feeling better. I will soon do some more detailed writing for this blog. I think I have some great ideas that might even help some of you. Today, I've played volleyball 🏐️ with my friends, and it was great. Tomorrow I hopefully get my new pair of running shoes.

I had a rough day 😐️. Been dealing with the situation for quite some time, and it's getting worse. I also did a lot of writing for the upcoming feature peace for the Set Of Principles. Some days I'm happy some not so much. My mood is continuously shifting, and I'm not too fond of that. I wish everyone well.