This acts as a note keeper, bookmark and sort of time capsule for me. When I finish a book, i’ll always leave it in there. I don’t know why… but I just like the idea of random people (and my kids!) finding these random photos and notes in my books long after i’m gone! The photo in the book also links it to that period of my life.

I found a strange polaroid in a 2nd hand book when I was a little kid, then some years back I used a photo of my own as a bookmark, the memory bubbled back up, and here I am now. Wife and I kept saying we don’t print enough hard copies of photos, so this helps fix that a little bit as well - you could say I now print too many!

- Benito Mussolini

I've seen and experienced all manner of things the state would deem verboten, especially for younger eyes, whether it be the anarchists cookbook sparking my enthusiasm for chemistry and engineering, warez igniting my love of software development or the inescapable porn, memes, and other shit that's filled my screen for decade after decade. I've managed to make it through unscathed, dare I say even somewhat publicly respectable... I'd vote for my kids and any others having my childhood over the toxic stazi-esque nightmare we seem to currently find ourselves in. I LOVED my childhood growing up with the internet, CD-R's, Napster, etc. it inspired me & helped create the life I live today, but now all the kids using tech just look like methed out zombies.

It's also really funny reflecting on this & realising how very little I ever used or valued anything like Facebook, Instagram, etc. whereas things like BBS's, IRC, Discord, Telegram, etc. with random strangers and some shared interests is where I've always felt at home.

The verification process started out as “just a photo of my driving licence” - turned out to be a video recording of my whole environment with no obvious previous mention or disclaimer of this. Then the requirement for a “quick selfie” suddenly appeared (pretends to be a photo but is full video again), I complied up until the “do you want your data processed by AI or the lowest bid in India?”

I noped out there, moved all the cash straight out (6 figures) and closed the account. They are now on my personal “blacklist”.

Opened a new building society account, which is all paper based for ID. I shall be opening many more such building society accounts that only deal in paper for ID purposes in the coming weeks.

Look at how they flipped the switch on Mythos last week - do peope really believe these lunatic governments we’re all currently suffering from won’t go further after they start this? Some of you seem to think they still “ask” nicely... nope, they just do whatever they want now.

I seriously loath, hate & despise everything about this digital panopticon world being constructed around us.

I don’t want to live in a world where all knowledge is “guard railed” off, so the elite at the top get all the knowledge and power and we serfs at the bottom get all the scraps while paying the kings ransom for it both financially and ecologically. Everyday I wake up hoping these awful companies have self imploded through their fraudlent financing deals.

Notice the same people will also talk during the daytime about morals and equality, while then conducting genocide in the evening.