As you know, if you have read my blog for a while – and, if not, you will know at the end of this post – I never post my current location when I travel except to those close to me so they know where I am or where I will be and when I will be there. My travel posts are always delayed until I am either at home (on a short trip) or several days later (when I am far away from the place I am posting about).

I don’t post this information because I value my own safety and the safety of others who might be with me. I’m not a celebrity, but there are plenty of people in the world who don’t need an excuse to cause someone harm. I do not need to “check in” to impress anyone with my whereabouts.

I mention this in today’s post because of an interesting article I found. It is surprising how many people share so much personal information that may seem fairly innocuous, but it all has so many implications and this article talks about some of those things. Many of these things are just common sense and people should really know better about posting any of the things listed. I hope after you read this article you will be more careful with what you post and share publicly.

Another one I did not see mentioned in this article is the extraordinarily stupid practice of pre-trip posting your boarding passes for those self-important bragging rights on that far-away destination. Since I am not on social media I have seen social media pictures of people doing that from other stories about security & safety. I just shake my head at the vanity…and the stupidity of doing that. Why would you not realize that, on top of personal info you are sharing, you are really opening yourself up to someone stealing your boarding passes? It is very possible that could happen.

All of these things have one big commonality – they ARE preventable. You just have to STOP DOING IT! It is a whole new world out there when it comes to personal safety and we have to take it seriously. Some may think of it as being paranoid, but it is just being cautious.

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I am really getting fed up with Apple and am beginning to reclaim my soul from those money-grubbing bastards. Tired of the political shenanigans, the prices, the software issues going on and on and on, and being stuck without any other options in the “Walled Garden” that is topped with barbed wire. I am also really tired of spending $1000 for a phone and Apple tells me what I cannot do with it if it doesn’t please them.

It is certainly not an easy task breaking free of the Apple bonds. It is so frustrating to change but I am starting the process. I have signed up for a couple of alternative email providers, am moving files and photos to a different backup system, and finding other apps for notes and other productivity/utility apps.

It is certainly not an easy task to make such a major change but I can no longer support Apple like I have in the past. I don’t know if I will completely get out of the ecosystem for a little while and will probably stay on my iPad and Mac for a few reasons. I do NOT like PCs though so there is that…

My first hardware purchase will be a Garmin Watch. I have an iPhone 15 ProMax so it is fairly new and has a lot of life left, but it also has a lot of value. I will probably move to an Android at some point so I can have more choice. But first I have to figure out a few alternative apps, with the big one being texting. Since I am not on FB that won’t work and really any Meta apps are a no for me.

There ARE expensive Android devices, but there are also lower-priced ones that still offer great features and get great reviews. There are more options of styles, software, apps, and the freedom to do with your device what YOU want.

I never anticipated getting to this point but I have had enough and fighting back with my wallet, leaving Apple to the fanboys who worship their leader.

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Today I had the fastest doctor appointment I have ever had…EVER.

I had a follow-up for my foot surgery. The surgeon walked in, said “hey how’s the foot doing”, I said “pretty good”, he looked at my foot and said “I’m very pleased with that, if you need anything call me!”.

Seriously…that was it. The appointment was about 12 seconds. I drove 40 minutes for that. And he made $300.

That’s a wrap! See you next tomorrow.

Shawn