#personal-freedom — Public Fediverse posts

Freedom Day September 2026.

Happy Birthday to Thunder Meep Kitten and Noche Moop Kitten.

Today we have cat pictures. They’ve grown so much since they were tiny little balls of fluff. We found them hungry, cold, and scared last October 19th. The Animal Rescue League guessed they were 2-3 weeks old. I bottle fed them I-don’t-remember times per day until they finally transitioned to regular food. Now they get the zoomies at least a couple of times per day when they’re not napping or getting into something.

Now for the rest of the story: Why I don’t fit into the grand dichotomy of TTRPG community.

It’s probably a good thing that I have four loving fur children. \They do keep my spirits up and when I’m lonely I can go pick on at least one of them. Lately I’ve chosen cats over people. Yes, I still need to find a therapist I can work with.

I know it sounds silly. We’re constantly at odds with each other over a game about elves with sticks. One camp we’ll call the Old School Renaissance, (Old School Revival, Resistance, Rebellion, R-whatever today.) The other side of the coin is what I call “The Cool Kids Club.” You know, those younger 5E players who follow the likes of Ginny Di, and who think old white guys like me “can’t leave fast enough for this hobby.” There’s actually a third and maybe some more outliers to this particular social dichotomy who get swept under the rug because we don’t fit neatly in either category.

I’m too liberal and open-minded for the OSR. The conservative right wingnuts what populate the OSR do not like my politics or my stance on LGBTQIA+ issues. I also don’t embrace old Dungeons & Dragons BECMI, !st Ed AD&D, 2nd Ed AD&D, Old School Essentials, Basic Fantasy, OSRIC, or Shadowdark like they’re old wayward pets who I haven’t seen in years. That’s not to say I don’t love those games and more, but my ethical and political stance negates any opinion I might have if X (Twitter) and YouTube are to be believed.

But I was unceremoniously ejected from the Cool Kids Club, too. Between Knigobi’s Discord server and a couple of other DungeonTubers I followed on there; I really got the impression that there’s not a place for me with the younger crowd. I found it especially ironic on BlueSky and Instagram when a white dude younger than I am was telling me I needed to get out of the hobby. (Just because I blocked you doesn’t mean I forgot you, Craig of Inspiration.) Your sentiment is going to age like warm cottage cheese and I’m still here, dude.

This dichotomy might possibly be hindering my YouTube growth.

I tried early on to capitalize on the new D&D5.5E Dungeon Master’s Guide before it came out by putting out some videos on why we need more Game Masters in the hobby and how it’s easy/fun to be a GM. In fact, I’ve been ahead of the curve on more than one topic on YouTube; just six months ahead in some cases. I mean, I come out with a video for new GMs. Ginny Di with her 935K subscribers does basically the same video only with more skits and cleavage than I have and gets thousands more views. Go figure.

I’ve been further shamed and ejected from the Cool Kids Club, demographics aside, because of my use and occasional defense of AI tools. This is a topic for a much larger discussion that neither side of the coin seems to want to engage with. We’ll circle back to in at a later date. The high personal cost of the AI debate has been painful to me. But dumpy old AI-loving me can’t compete with Diana of the Rose or Dadi from Mystic Arts, right? Who would you rather be friends with on YouTube or IRL?

At the same time I’ve done a few hot take views on trending topics such as the Jason Buhlman political comment disaster and more recently this WotC Dark Sun business. Usually the negative heat videos do better. I pop off on the Wizards of the Coast and Paizo stupidity because I think something needs to be said and because I am an old white guy from the Midwest flyover states. (I have not forgotten you, Tondro.)

I’m actually ashamed to admit that the Paizo video and some of the hotter takes have gotten better metrics than my regular TTRPG videos. Unfortunately it was a painful lesson that needs to be pointed out. Saying “I don’t want ______ (person, demographic, political group) buying my product” sounds exactly like “Don’t buy my product. I hate making money.” That’s why I popped off on that one. Maybe some aspiring game company president will hear my pleas and not go down the same stupid road.

I will also point out that at least on YouTube, any time someone quotes Mike Shea (Sly Flourish) or any other DungeonTuber shill from the WotC 12-member Council of Doom? Thumbs down, gone, deleted from Watch History to keep the algorithm from serving more crap. If I want Mike Shea’s opinion, I live in a state with lots of cows. I’ll go find the proper end of the bull and wait.

You already have thousands of DungeonTube subscribers and work for Wizards of the (bloody) Coast? Good for you. Want me to take you seriously regardless of what you’ve published? Make better career choices. Play stupid (LARP) games, get stupid experiences. Same thing goes for you, BOB!

So the depression is hitting pretty hard these days honestly.

It is what it is, as much as I hate that freakin phrase. I’m in the same boat as a handful of other guys on YouTube and all-over social media. I’m not in either OSR or 5.5E camp. Honestly both extremes are a bit much for me. Maybe it’s my various diagnosed and undiagnosed neurodiverse issues talking. I just feel like a man without a camp most days. I’m forever alone in whatever crowd I’m standing closest to.

It’s a good thing I enjoy solo roleplaying as much as I do. Just give me a good oracle and a few characters. It’s all fine and dandy. It’s all fine and dandy unless I’m at a convention. YouTube is kinda f’cked though.

I do YouTube for me at this point. I don’t know if it will ever get any kind of monetization going on there. I guess I’m just too determined to keep putting out videos. I don’t think Chin Pecker Maps (whatever it’s called) or anyone from that talent agency will ever be banging down my doors for sponsored ad space.

Rest assured, you belong here.

If you’re breathing air and you’re still with me at this point, you belong here. I want to get back to talking about games instead of real-world politics and religion. I would rather serve an audience that wants to hear weird world building takes or about some kooky Dragonbane monster I cooked up. I’d rather talk about the fun stuff instead of what dumb thing Wizards of the Coast did this time and what we can learn from it. Let’s talk about Dragonbane, Twilight Sword, mallards, cat folk, monsters, traps, treasure, locations, quests and maybe even some unrelated superhero stuff.

I want to start working on cyberpunk/mecha stuff again. I realized the other day how much I miss the cyberpunk genre specifically. Plus I still have that cool idea for a space game floating about just waiting for some love. It doesn’t always have to be about elves with sticks, although if you thought the fantasy crowd was rough… Try finding players for a cyberpunk/mecha game sometime.

Regardless, thanks for being here. This month has been crazy. A couple of guys on YouTube gave me a lot to think about. Shout out to King Waspinator over at Total Party Skills and Grim Jim. I also have to mention the Boss, The OG GM as always because he gives me a lot to think about, too. Hopefully your weekend is going well. Here’s to October always being good for a laugh or two.

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Texas: Faith, Freedom, and Mind Your Damn Business

By Cliff Potts, CSO
Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026, 9:15 p.m. PHT

Texas talks about faith constantly and practices freedom inconsistently. Religion is waved like a banner while personal liberty is quietly narrowed, regulated, or punished when it doesn’t line up with political fashion. This contradiction has become so normal that many Texans barely notice it anymore.

Faith is not the problem. Power is.

Faith Is Personal, Not Administrative

Texas is home to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses, and people who believe quietly or not at all. That pluralism is not a flaw. It is a fact. Faith has always been part of Texas life, but it has never belonged to the state.

When government begins enforcing one version of belief, it stops protecting faith and starts weaponizing it. That does not strengthen religion. It cheapens it. Faith that requires government backing is not faith—it is insecurity dressed up as authority.

People believe deeply without being coerced. The state does not need to supervise that.

Freedom Means Leaving People Alone

Texas politicians love to invoke freedom while inserting themselves into private decisions about bodies, families, education, and belief. That is not freedom. It is control wrapped in familiar language.

True freedom is not loud. It is boring. It is the quiet confidence that your neighbor’s life choices are none of your business unless they cause real harm. A free society tolerates disagreement without demanding conformity.

If a belief system is strong, it does not need the force of law to survive.

Religion in Schools Without Indoctrination

Teaching about religion is not the same thing as preaching it. Students benefit from understanding the beliefs that shape history, culture, and global affairs. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Indigenous traditions, and secular ethics all belong in a serious education.

Teaching one belief as truth while excluding others is not education. It is indoctrination. Texas should be confident enough to teach broadly without fear.

Knowledge does not weaken faith. It strengthens discernment.

The Myth of Moral Decline

Texas politics often leans on claims of moral collapse to justify intrusion into private life. These claims rarely hold up under scrutiny. Crime trends, family structures, and social behavior are influenced far more by economics, education, and stability than by religious enforcement.

Blaming social problems on belief differences avoids addressing harder causes like poverty, healthcare access, housing, and education. Moral panic is easier than policy work.

A serious state solves problems instead of sermonizing about them.

Faith Communities Do Real Work

Faith-based organizations are often the first to respond when communities struggle. They feed people, shelter families, provide counseling, and show up quietly without demanding credit. That work matters. It deserves respect and support.

What it does not require is political dominance. Faith communities are strongest when they act voluntarily, not when they are fused to state power.

Service speaks louder than slogans.

Freedom of Conscience Cuts Both Ways

Freedom of religion includes the freedom not to believe. It includes the freedom to change beliefs. It includes the freedom to practice quietly without public approval. Protecting conscience means accepting outcomes you may personally dislike.

That is the price of liberty. It is also its strength.

Texas cannot claim to honor freedom while punishing people for living differently.

When Government Picks Winners

History offers no shortage of warnings about governments that decide which beliefs are acceptable. Even when intentions begin as sincere, outcomes tend toward exclusion, resentment, and abuse. Texas is not immune to that pattern.

Keeping church and state separate does not weaken either. It protects both from corruption.

Personal Faith, Public Restraint

Leaders are allowed their faith. They are allowed to be guided by conscience. What they are not allowed to do is impose that conscience as law when it infringes on the rights of others.

Restraint is not betrayal. It is maturity.

What a Confident Texas Would Do

A confident Texas would protect freedom of worship for everyone and freedom from coercion for everyone else. It would teach religion academically, not devotionally. It would trust families and individuals to handle belief without supervision.

Most of all, it would stop confusing moral authority with legal power.

Why This Matters Going Forward

Faith will continue to shape Texas culture. That is not in question. The question is whether it will be used to inspire service and compassion—or to justify intrusion and control.

Freedom survives only when people mind their own damn business.

Texas is strong enough to do that.

This essay will be archived as part of the ongoing WPS News Monthly Brief Series available through Amazon.

References (APA)
Pew Research Center. (2025). Religious diversity and belief in the United States.
First Amendment Center. (2025). Religion, government, and constitutional boundaries.
National Council of State Legislatures. (2025). Religious freedom and public policy analysis.
Gallup. (2025). Public attitudes toward religion and government.
American Academy of Religion. (2025). Teaching religion in public education.

Why I Had to Leave: I Was Done Asking Permission

I wanted a freer life. First, I had to stop waiting for an approved way out. The last…
#Economy #cbdc #centralbank #CentralBankDigitalCurrency #CentralBanks #emigration #expatlife #expatriation #freedom #governmentcontrol #individualliberty #InternationalLiving #leavingGermany #movingabroad #movingtoParaguay #Paraguay #PersonalFreedom #residencyabroad #self-government
https://www.europesays.com/3226000/

Freedom Day Five Years In.

It’s really been five years since they gave me the boot.

First off, let me start with saying, “no regrets.” Let me be the first to say I don’t miss the corporate grind or the corporate culture in the slightest. I definitely don’t miss four nights on, four nights off rotating while working 12-hour shifts. I certainly don’t miss the management.

As the Weird Al song Amish Paradise says, “I really don’t care, in fact I wish him (them) well
‘Cause I’ll be laughing my head off when he’s (they’re) burning in Hell”

That particular company will always have a spot of disdain and loathing with me for the rest of my life just given the way that last year went. (I still have PTSD from the butt chewings.) I won’t set foot in one of their establishments, and my family is free to do so only as long as I don’t hear about it. (LOL!)

But hey, I should be grateful, right?

That’s true. I am grateful. I’m more grateful to my loving wife for not kicking me to the curb during the lowest point of my whole life up to that point. But not having the burden of a regular job also came at the financial cost of not having a regular job.

About the time unemployment benefits ran out and the whole insane disability application process got rolling, I realized that being broke kinda sucks. Luckily for me I write from home. I hate being around people in general and don’t leave the house unless there’s no other alternative. Funny how no one in their right mind wants to hire me and I’m really, really okay with that fact.

Fast Forward four years and here we are.

It’s wonderful how I can never leave the house and still have plenty of things to talk about here within my own adorable little niche corner of the Internet. I’m glad I held off on the spiritual/self help guru idea that I had back in 2019-2020. I’m still following UFO/UAP, ET Experiencers, and paranormal topics daily; but again I’m not pursuing those interests past learning more about the subjects.

The way things are now I only deal with the people I want to have in my life or want to meet. If you’re in my kinda inner circle, family, tribe, (whatever-we’re-calling-it-today) chances are it’s because I really want you here. I don’t bestow that level of trust lightly since July 2021.

My hobby is one of the few things that keep me going.

Yeah, I know I likely would benefit from therapy. I sure can’t wait to inflict my own brand of weirdness upon the next unsuspecting therapist. If I wasn’t flunking every depression questionnaire the doctor hands me plus I’m already medicated to the nines for depression and anxiety. I wish some of these medical folks would just accept that I’m not meant to function in neurotypical society.

That’s one of the interesting parts of being a tabletop roleplaying gamer. We accept just about everybody. That has not changed since the dawn first broke over the hobby. Almost every gamer I’ve ever known has been just a wee bit different than most people around them. I’ve earned the right to fly my freak flag high at this point and will gladly continue doing so for as long as I’m around. Contrary to what some of these new kids in the hobby might say, we never turned anyone away based on gender, disability, political stance (*except Nazis,) religion, LGBTQIA+ affiliation, neurodiversity, or any other differences you can name. There were just too few of us in those days and chances are if you fit into our gaming group, you fit into our lives elsewhere, too.

Turning my passion for TTRPGs into sort of a job amongst YouTube, this blog, and DriveThruRPG has given me many more reasons to get up every day. I wouldn’t say it’s a “job” so much as a calling. If I wasn’t constantly involved in some aspect of my hobby, what would I be doing? Would I not be miserable doing so? I figured out in early 2022 this is where I belong.

This blog has been my lifeline.

When I did what I would call a rebranding in 2022, after spending over six months laying on the couch playing Fortnite, I decided to blog every single day. I felt like I was checking in even if I was barking in the dark. It gave me something to look forward to every day. Obviously not the same as a cash-paying job and we’re still no closer to monetization now than we were then, but at least it’s something regular. For nearly three years I felt compelled to do it daily even if I didn’t have much to say.

I finally relaxed a little bit on blogging after YouTube began to take off. Now, we still have a long, long way to go on YouTube on multiple fronts. As soon as the kids go back to school or the weather cools off significantly here in Iowa, I will resume creating audio to go with some sort of visuals. I’ve got plenty of video topics I want to cover as soon as I can go without being interrupted. The blog is a lot easier to get around to doing as long as I’m not getting the “Hey Dad!” every ten minutes. It’s gotten better, though.

DriveThruRPG is a different animal. I love publishing on there. I have so many ideas and so little time sometimes. I know I might sound delusional, but I have notebooks filling up with sourcebook ideas, adventures, tables, and all kinds of other things that I haven’t done here yet. There’s always been a disconnect between the blog and the projects. When I hit certain blogging milestones, I plan to change all of that.

I’m still around in one form or another. I’m still creating content for various platforms. Still a good duck. (Yippee!)

I’m my own employer and my own best employee.

As much as I joke about The OG GM being my boss, I’m really only held accountable for my actions here and elsewhere by one guy; me. I write the schedules. I create the deadlines. I revise everything when I have a pain flare, the depression hits like a ton of bricks, or one of the kids comes home sick from school. Hey, I never said I was perfect. Stuff happens. That’s life.

I would gladly accept a bag full of money; a position writing for an established TTRPG company; one of my own works to “go viral;” my entire DriveThruRPG wish list to be cleaned off and on its way to my house; all expense paid trips to conventions to speak on TTRPG related topics; and a private studio to record YouTube videos, but that’s all vision board stuff. Those are what my markers for success right now. I’d be happy for a cup of coffee and a quiet conversation about a game these days. Or just peace and quiet…

As always, more to come. I’m plugging away at several things and staying disconnected from social media (for the most part) has helped with the FOMO and imposter syndrome. I’m getting more done or what I feel are more meaningful things done. This article series might be ending or not depending on how I feel about it a month from now.

There is no adequate substitute for having my time free to pursue the things I want to go after in the way I want to do it. I love and respect you if you’re still in the daily struggle. I get it. Do what you gotta do to get by. But if the opportunity to do what you love and still get paid for it comes around, please say “Yes.”

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

Freedom Day Five Years In.

It’s really been five years since they gave me the boot.

First off, let me start with saying, “no regrets.” Let me be the first to say I don’t miss the corporate grind or the corporate culture in the slightest. I definitely don’t miss four nights on, four nights off rotating while working 12-hour shifts. I certainly don’t miss the management.

As the Weird Al song Amish Paradise says, “I really don’t care, in fact I wish him (them) well
‘Cause I’ll be laughing my head off when he’s (they’re) burning in Hell”

That particular company will always have a spot of disdain and loathing with me for the rest of my life just given the way that last year went. (I still have PTSD from the butt chewings.) I won’t set foot in one of their establishments, and my family is free to do so only as long as I don’t hear about it. (LOL!)

But hey, I should be grateful, right?

That’s true. I am grateful. I’m more grateful to my loving wife for not kicking me to the curb during the lowest point of my whole life up to that point. But not having the burden of a regular job also came at the financial cost of not having a regular job.

About the time unemployment benefits ran out and the whole insane disability application process got rolling, I realized that being broke kinda sucks. Luckily for me I write from home. I hate being around people in general and don’t leave the house unless there’s no other alternative. Funny how no one in their right mind wants to hire me and I’m really, really okay with that fact.

Fast Forward four years and here we are.

It’s wonderful how I can never leave the house and still have plenty of things to talk about here within my own adorable little niche corner of the Internet. I’m glad I held off on the spiritual/self help guru idea that I had back in 2019-2020. I’m still following UFO/UAP, ET Experiencers, and paranormal topics daily; but again I’m not pursuing those interests past learning more about the subjects.

The way things are now I only deal with the people I want to have in my life or want to meet. If you’re in my kinda inner circle, family, tribe, (whatever-we’re-calling-it-today) chances are it’s because I really want you here. I don’t bestow that level of trust lightly since July 2021.

My hobby is one of the few things that keep me going.

Yeah, I know I likely would benefit from therapy. I sure can’t wait to inflict my own brand of weirdness upon the next unsuspecting therapist. If I wasn’t flunking every depression questionnaire the doctor hands me plus I’m already medicated to the nines for depression and anxiety. I wish some of these medical folks would just accept that I’m not meant to function in neurotypical society.

That’s one of the interesting parts of being a tabletop roleplaying gamer. We accept just about everybody. That has not changed since the dawn first broke over the hobby. Almost every gamer I’ve ever known has been just a wee bit different than most people around them. I’ve earned the right to fly my freak flag high at this point and will gladly continue doing so for as long as I’m around. Contrary to what some of these new kids in the hobby might say, we never turned anyone away based on gender, disability, political stance (*except Nazis,) religion, LGBTQIA+ affiliation, neurodiversity, or any other differences you can name. There were just too few of us in those days and chances are if you fit into our gaming group, you fit into our lives elsewhere, too.

Turning my passion for TTRPGs into sort of a job amongst YouTube, this blog, and DriveThruRPG has given me many more reasons to get up every day. I wouldn’t say it’s a “job” so much as a calling. If I wasn’t constantly involved in some aspect of my hobby, what would I be doing? Would I not be miserable doing so? I figured out in early 2022 this is where I belong.

This blog has been my lifeline.

When I did what I would call a rebranding in 2022, after spending over six months laying on the couch playing Fortnite, I decided to blog every single day. I felt like I was checking in even if I was barking in the dark. It gave me something to look forward to every day. Obviously not the same as a cash-paying job and we’re still no closer to monetization now than we were then, but at least it’s something regular. For nearly three years I felt compelled to do it daily even if I didn’t have much to say.

I finally relaxed a little bit on blogging after YouTube began to take off. Now, we still have a long, long way to go on YouTube on multiple fronts. As soon as the kids go back to school or the weather cools off significantly here in Iowa, I will resume creating audio to go with some sort of visuals. I’ve got plenty of video topics I want to cover as soon as I can go without being interrupted. The blog is a lot easier to get around to doing as long as I’m not getting the “Hey Dad!” every ten minutes. It’s gotten better, though.

DriveThruRPG is a different animal. I love publishing on there. I have so many ideas and so little time sometimes. I know I might sound delusional, but I have notebooks filling up with sourcebook ideas, adventures, tables, and all kinds of other things that I haven’t done here yet. There’s always been a disconnect between the blog and the projects. When I hit certain blogging milestones, I plan to change all of that.

I’m still around in one form or another. I’m still creating content for various platforms. Still a good duck. (Yippee!)

I’m my own employer and my own best employee.

As much as I joke about The OG GM being my boss, I’m really only held accountable for my actions here and elsewhere by one guy; me. I write the schedules. I create the deadlines. I revise everything when I have a pain flare, the depression hits like a ton of bricks, or one of the kids comes home sick from school. Hey, I never said I was perfect. Stuff happens. That’s life.

I would gladly accept a bag full of money; a position writing for an established TTRPG company; one of my own works to “go viral;” my entire DriveThruRPG wish list to be cleaned off and on its way to my house; all expense paid trips to conventions to speak on TTRPG related topics; and a private studio to record YouTube videos, but that’s all vision board stuff. Those are what my markers for success right now. I’d be happy for a cup of coffee and a quiet conversation about a game these days. Or just peace and quiet…

As always, more to come. I’m plugging away at several things and staying disconnected from social media (for the most part) has helped with the FOMO and imposter syndrome. I’m getting more done or what I feel are more meaningful things done. This article series might be ending or not depending on how I feel about it a month from now.

There is no adequate substitute for having my time free to pursue the things I want to go after in the way I want to do it. I love and respect you if you’re still in the daily struggle. I get it. Do what you gotta do to get by. But if the opportunity to do what you love and still get paid for it comes around, please say “Yes.”

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

Freedom Day Five Years In.

It’s really been five years since they gave me the boot.

First off, let me start with saying, “no regrets.” Let me be the first to say I don’t miss the corporate grind or the corporate culture in the slightest. I definitely don’t miss four nights on, four nights off rotating while working 12-hour shifts. I certainly don’t miss the management.

As the Weird Al song Amish Paradise says, “I really don’t care, in fact I wish him (them) well
‘Cause I’ll be laughing my head off when he’s (they’re) burning in Hell”

That particular company will always have a spot of disdain and loathing with me for the rest of my life just given the way that last year went. (I still have PTSD from the butt chewings.) I won’t set foot in one of their establishments, and my family is free to do so only as long as I don’t hear about it. (LOL!)

But hey, I should be grateful, right?

That’s true. I am grateful. I’m more grateful to my loving wife for not kicking me to the curb during the lowest point of my whole life up to that point. But not having the burden of a regular job also came at the financial cost of not having a regular job.

About the time unemployment benefits ran out and the whole insane disability application process got rolling, I realized that being broke kinda sucks. Luckily for me I write from home. I hate being around people in general and don’t leave the house unless there’s no other alternative. Funny how no one in their right mind wants to hire me and I’m really, really okay with that fact.

Fast Forward four years and here we are.

It’s wonderful how I can never leave the house and still have plenty of things to talk about here within my own adorable little niche corner of the Internet. I’m glad I held off on the spiritual/self help guru idea that I had back in 2019-2020. I’m still following UFO/UAP, ET Experiencers, and paranormal topics daily; but again I’m not pursuing those interests past learning more about the subjects.

The way things are now I only deal with the people I want to have in my life or want to meet. If you’re in my kinda inner circle, family, tribe, (whatever-we’re-calling-it-today) chances are it’s because I really want you here. I don’t bestow that level of trust lightly since July 2021.

My hobby is one of the few things that keep me going.

Yeah, I know I likely would benefit from therapy. I sure can’t wait to inflict my own brand of weirdness upon the next unsuspecting therapist. If I wasn’t flunking every depression questionnaire the doctor hands me plus I’m already medicated to the nines for depression and anxiety. I wish some of these medical folks would just accept that I’m not meant to function in neurotypical society.

That’s one of the interesting parts of being a tabletop roleplaying gamer. We accept just about everybody. That has not changed since the dawn first broke over the hobby. Almost every gamer I’ve ever known has been just a wee bit different than most people around them. I’ve earned the right to fly my freak flag high at this point and will gladly continue doing so for as long as I’m around. Contrary to what some of these new kids in the hobby might say, we never turned anyone away based on gender, disability, political stance (*except Nazis,) religion, LGBTQIA+ affiliation, neurodiversity, or any other differences you can name. There were just too few of us in those days and chances are if you fit into our gaming group, you fit into our lives elsewhere, too.

Turning my passion for TTRPGs into sort of a job amongst YouTube, this blog, and DriveThruRPG has given me many more reasons to get up every day. I wouldn’t say it’s a “job” so much as a calling. If I wasn’t constantly involved in some aspect of my hobby, what would I be doing? Would I not be miserable doing so? I figured out in early 2022 this is where I belong.

This blog has been my lifeline.

When I did what I would call a rebranding in 2022, after spending over six months laying on the couch playing Fortnite, I decided to blog every single day. I felt like I was checking in even if I was barking in the dark. It gave me something to look forward to every day. Obviously not the same as a cash-paying job and we’re still no closer to monetization now than we were then, but at least it’s something regular. For nearly three years I felt compelled to do it daily even if I didn’t have much to say.

I finally relaxed a little bit on blogging after YouTube began to take off. Now, we still have a long, long way to go on YouTube on multiple fronts. As soon as the kids go back to school or the weather cools off significantly here in Iowa, I will resume creating audio to go with some sort of visuals. I’ve got plenty of video topics I want to cover as soon as I can go without being interrupted. The blog is a lot easier to get around to doing as long as I’m not getting the “Hey Dad!” every ten minutes. It’s gotten better, though.

DriveThruRPG is a different animal. I love publishing on there. I have so many ideas and so little time sometimes. I know I might sound delusional, but I have notebooks filling up with sourcebook ideas, adventures, tables, and all kinds of other things that I haven’t done here yet. There’s always been a disconnect between the blog and the projects. When I hit certain blogging milestones, I plan to change all of that.

I’m still around in one form or another. I’m still creating content for various platforms. Still a good duck. (Yippee!)

I’m my own employer and my own best employee.

As much as I joke about The OG GM being my boss, I’m really only held accountable for my actions here and elsewhere by one guy; me. I write the schedules. I create the deadlines. I revise everything when I have a pain flare, the depression hits like a ton of bricks, or one of the kids comes home sick from school. Hey, I never said I was perfect. Stuff happens. That’s life.

I would gladly accept a bag full of money; a position writing for an established TTRPG company; one of my own works to “go viral;” my entire DriveThruRPG wish list to be cleaned off and on its way to my house; all expense paid trips to conventions to speak on TTRPG related topics; and a private studio to record YouTube videos, but that’s all vision board stuff. Those are what my markers for success right now. I’d be happy for a cup of coffee and a quiet conversation about a game these days. Or just peace and quiet…

As always, more to come. I’m plugging away at several things and staying disconnected from social media (for the most part) has helped with the FOMO and imposter syndrome. I’m getting more done or what I feel are more meaningful things done. This article series might be ending or not depending on how I feel about it a month from now.

There is no adequate substitute for having my time free to pursue the things I want to go after in the way I want to do it. I love and respect you if you’re still in the daily struggle. I get it. Do what you gotta do to get by. But if the opportunity to do what you love and still get paid for it comes around, please say “Yes.”

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

Freedom Day Five Years In.

It’s really been five years since they gave me the boot.

First off, let me start with saying, “no regrets.” Let me be the first to say I don’t miss the corporate grind or the corporate culture in the slightest. I definitely don’t miss four nights on, four nights off rotating while working 12-hour shifts. I certainly don’t miss the management.

As the Weird Al song Amish Paradise says, “I really don’t care, in fact I wish him (them) well
‘Cause I’ll be laughing my head off when he’s (they’re) burning in Hell”

That particular company will always have a spot of disdain and loathing with me for the rest of my life just given the way that last year went. (I still have PTSD from the butt chewings.) I won’t set foot in one of their establishments, and my family is free to do so only as long as I don’t hear about it. (LOL!)

But hey, I should be grateful, right?

That’s true. I am grateful. I’m more grateful to my loving wife for not kicking me to the curb during the lowest point of my whole life up to that point. But not having the burden of a regular job also came at the financial cost of not having a regular job.

About the time unemployment benefits ran out and the whole insane disability application process got rolling, I realized that being broke kinda sucks. Luckily for me I write from home. I hate being around people in general and don’t leave the house unless there’s no other alternative. Funny how no one in their right mind wants to hire me and I’m really, really okay with that fact.

Fast Forward four years and here we are.

It’s wonderful how I can never leave the house and still have plenty of things to talk about here within my own adorable little niche corner of the Internet. I’m glad I held off on the spiritual/self help guru idea that I had back in 2019-2020. I’m still following UFO/UAP, ET Experiencers, and paranormal topics daily; but again I’m not pursuing those interests past learning more about the subjects.

The way things are now I only deal with the people I want to have in my life or want to meet. If you’re in my kinda inner circle, family, tribe, (whatever-we’re-calling-it-today) chances are it’s because I really want you here. I don’t bestow that level of trust lightly since July 2021.

My hobby is one of the few things that keep me going.

Yeah, I know I likely would benefit from therapy. I sure can’t wait to inflict my own brand of weirdness upon the next unsuspecting therapist. If I wasn’t flunking every depression questionnaire the doctor hands me plus I’m already medicated to the nines for depression and anxiety. I wish some of these medical folks would just accept that I’m not meant to function in neurotypical society.

That’s one of the interesting parts of being a tabletop roleplaying gamer. We accept just about everybody. That has not changed since the dawn first broke over the hobby. Almost every gamer I’ve ever known has been just a wee bit different than most people around them. I’ve earned the right to fly my freak flag high at this point and will gladly continue doing so for as long as I’m around. Contrary to what some of these new kids in the hobby might say, we never turned anyone away based on gender, disability, political stance (*except Nazis,) religion, LGBTQIA+ affiliation, neurodiversity, or any other differences you can name. There were just too few of us in those days and chances are if you fit into our gaming group, you fit into our lives elsewhere, too.

Turning my passion for TTRPGs into sort of a job amongst YouTube, this blog, and DriveThruRPG has given me many more reasons to get up every day. I wouldn’t say it’s a “job” so much as a calling. If I wasn’t constantly involved in some aspect of my hobby, what would I be doing? Would I not be miserable doing so? I figured out in early 2022 this is where I belong.

This blog has been my lifeline.

When I did what I would call a rebranding in 2022, after spending over six months laying on the couch playing Fortnite, I decided to blog every single day. I felt like I was checking in even if I was barking in the dark. It gave me something to look forward to every day. Obviously not the same as a cash-paying job and we’re still no closer to monetization now than we were then, but at least it’s something regular. For nearly three years I felt compelled to do it daily even if I didn’t have much to say.

I finally relaxed a little bit on blogging after YouTube began to take off. Now, we still have a long, long way to go on YouTube on multiple fronts. As soon as the kids go back to school or the weather cools off significantly here in Iowa, I will resume creating audio to go with some sort of visuals. I’ve got plenty of video topics I want to cover as soon as I can go without being interrupted. The blog is a lot easier to get around to doing as long as I’m not getting the “Hey Dad!” every ten minutes. It’s gotten better, though.

DriveThruRPG is a different animal. I love publishing on there. I have so many ideas and so little time sometimes. I know I might sound delusional, but I have notebooks filling up with sourcebook ideas, adventures, tables, and all kinds of other things that I haven’t done here yet. There’s always been a disconnect between the blog and the projects. When I hit certain blogging milestones, I plan to change all of that.

I’m still around in one form or another. I’m still creating content for various platforms. Still a good duck. (Yippee!)

I’m my own employer and my own best employee.

As much as I joke about The OG GM being my boss, I’m really only held accountable for my actions here and elsewhere by one guy; me. I write the schedules. I create the deadlines. I revise everything when I have a pain flare, the depression hits like a ton of bricks, or one of the kids comes home sick from school. Hey, I never said I was perfect. Stuff happens. That’s life.

I would gladly accept a bag full of money; a position writing for an established TTRPG company; one of my own works to “go viral;” my entire DriveThruRPG wish list to be cleaned off and on its way to my house; all expense paid trips to conventions to speak on TTRPG related topics; and a private studio to record YouTube videos, but that’s all vision board stuff. Those are what my markers for success right now. I’d be happy for a cup of coffee and a quiet conversation about a game these days. Or just peace and quiet…

As always, more to come. I’m plugging away at several things and staying disconnected from social media (for the most part) has helped with the FOMO and imposter syndrome. I’m getting more done or what I feel are more meaningful things done. This article series might be ending or not depending on how I feel about it a month from now.

There is no adequate substitute for having my time free to pursue the things I want to go after in the way I want to do it. I love and respect you if you’re still in the daily struggle. I get it. Do what you gotta do to get by. But if the opportunity to do what you love and still get paid for it comes around, please say “Yes.”

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

Freedom Day Five Years In.

It’s really been five years since they gave me the boot.

First off, let me start with saying, “no regrets.” Let me be the first to say I don’t miss the corporate grind or the corporate culture in the slightest. I definitely don’t miss four nights on, four nights off rotating while working 12-hour shifts. I certainly don’t miss the management.

As the Weird Al song Amish Paradise says, “I really don’t care, in fact I wish him (them) well
‘Cause I’ll be laughing my head off when he’s (they’re) burning in Hell”

That particular company will always have a spot of disdain and loathing with me for the rest of my life just given the way that last year went. (I still have PTSD from the butt chewings.) I won’t set foot in one of their establishments, and my family is free to do so only as long as I don’t hear about it. (LOL!)

But hey, I should be grateful, right?

That’s true. I am grateful. I’m more grateful to my loving wife for not kicking me to the curb during the lowest point of my whole life up to that point. But not having the burden of a regular job also came at the financial cost of not having a regular job.

About the time unemployment benefits ran out and the whole insane disability application process got rolling, I realized that being broke kinda sucks. Luckily for me I write from home. I hate being around people in general and don’t leave the house unless there’s no other alternative. Funny how no one in their right mind wants to hire me and I’m really, really okay with that fact.

Fast Forward four years and here we are.

It’s wonderful how I can never leave the house and still have plenty of things to talk about here within my own adorable little niche corner of the Internet. I’m glad I held off on the spiritual/self help guru idea that I had back in 2019-2020. I’m still following UFO/UAP, ET Experiencers, and paranormal topics daily; but again I’m not pursuing those interests past learning more about the subjects.

The way things are now I only deal with the people I want to have in my life or want to meet. If you’re in my kinda inner circle, family, tribe, (whatever-we’re-calling-it-today) chances are it’s because I really want you here. I don’t bestow that level of trust lightly since July 2021.

My hobby is one of the few things that keep me going.

Yeah, I know I likely would benefit from therapy. I sure can’t wait to inflict my own brand of weirdness upon the next unsuspecting therapist. If I wasn’t flunking every depression questionnaire the doctor hands me plus I’m already medicated to the nines for depression and anxiety. I wish some of these medical folks would just accept that I’m not meant to function in neurotypical society.

That’s one of the interesting parts of being a tabletop roleplaying gamer. We accept just about everybody. That has not changed since the dawn first broke over the hobby. Almost every gamer I’ve ever known has been just a wee bit different than most people around them. I’ve earned the right to fly my freak flag high at this point and will gladly continue doing so for as long as I’m around. Contrary to what some of these new kids in the hobby might say, we never turned anyone away based on gender, disability, political stance (*except Nazis,) religion, LGBTQIA+ affiliation, neurodiversity, or any other differences you can name. There were just too few of us in those days and chances are if you fit into our gaming group, you fit into our lives elsewhere, too.

Turning my passion for TTRPGs into sort of a job amongst YouTube, this blog, and DriveThruRPG has given me many more reasons to get up every day. I wouldn’t say it’s a “job” so much as a calling. If I wasn’t constantly involved in some aspect of my hobby, what would I be doing? Would I not be miserable doing so? I figured out in early 2022 this is where I belong.

This blog has been my lifeline.

When I did what I would call a rebranding in 2022, after spending over six months laying on the couch playing Fortnite, I decided to blog every single day. I felt like I was checking in even if I was barking in the dark. It gave me something to look forward to every day. Obviously not the same as a cash-paying job and we’re still no closer to monetization now than we were then, but at least it’s something regular. For nearly three years I felt compelled to do it daily even if I didn’t have much to say.

I finally relaxed a little bit on blogging after YouTube began to take off. Now, we still have a long, long way to go on YouTube on multiple fronts. As soon as the kids go back to school or the weather cools off significantly here in Iowa, I will resume creating audio to go with some sort of visuals. I’ve got plenty of video topics I want to cover as soon as I can go without being interrupted. The blog is a lot easier to get around to doing as long as I’m not getting the “Hey Dad!” every ten minutes. It’s gotten better, though.

DriveThruRPG is a different animal. I love publishing on there. I have so many ideas and so little time sometimes. I know I might sound delusional, but I have notebooks filling up with sourcebook ideas, adventures, tables, and all kinds of other things that I haven’t done here yet. There’s always been a disconnect between the blog and the projects. When I hit certain blogging milestones, I plan to change all of that.

I’m still around in one form or another. I’m still creating content for various platforms. Still a good duck. (Yippee!)

I’m my own employer and my own best employee.

As much as I joke about The OG GM being my boss, I’m really only held accountable for my actions here and elsewhere by one guy; me. I write the schedules. I create the deadlines. I revise everything when I have a pain flare, the depression hits like a ton of bricks, or one of the kids comes home sick from school. Hey, I never said I was perfect. Stuff happens. That’s life.

I would gladly accept a bag full of money; a position writing for an established TTRPG company; one of my own works to “go viral;” my entire DriveThruRPG wish list to be cleaned off and on its way to my house; all expense paid trips to conventions to speak on TTRPG related topics; and a private studio to record YouTube videos, but that’s all vision board stuff. Those are what my markers for success right now. I’d be happy for a cup of coffee and a quiet conversation about a game these days. Or just peace and quiet…

As always, more to come. I’m plugging away at several things and staying disconnected from social media (for the most part) has helped with the FOMO and imposter syndrome. I’m getting more done or what I feel are more meaningful things done. This article series might be ending or not depending on how I feel about it a month from now.

There is no adequate substitute for having my time free to pursue the things I want to go after in the way I want to do it. I love and respect you if you’re still in the daily struggle. I get it. Do what you gotta do to get by. But if the opportunity to do what you love and still get paid for it comes around, please say “Yes.”

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

Freedom Day: June 2026 Edition.

Almost up to 5 years away from the grind now.

Happy Juneteenth for those who celebrate.

The kittens turned 9 months old officially this month. Aww.

World War Flea has broken out in our house. Seriously contemplating NBC warfare to get rid of them. (The fleas, not the cats or the humans.) Not sure how they got in. We just want them out.

I’m slowly getting back into the groove.

Blog, blog, video, DTRPG project, then rest and repeat. My Magic Item Book is taking way longer than anticipated. I’m honestly shooting for Christmas 2026. The Dragonbane Book of Magic changed up a ton of things, but my goal is to be in line with official rules.

Other things are getting readjusted for mental and physical health, cats, kids, and my dear wife. Twilight Sword’s Third-Party expansion by yours truly is still waiting for the CAT license, and I have to write the stats for things. It’s been an idea running around in my head for years and I think the video game nature of Twilight Sword will fit perfectly. Also, there’s art issues…

2026 has been kind of a beating so far.

Depression, fell behind on all of my projects and then very slowly started getting better long enough to get hit with it all over again. The fallout over a discussion regarding AI art has driven a lot of this. But I’m not getting into all of that again. You didn’t see the first couple of drafts of this article. (Over 3K words the first time.)

On any given day I run the gamut of emotions from angry, frustrated, resentful, bitter, depressed, confused, exhausted, then quiet resolve and sleep. I’ve been all over the spectrum from wanting to abandon the hobby/industry entirely to doubling down on everything. But, knowing what I don’t want helps shape what I do want.

A DungeonTube thing I noticed is a number of creators that are either covering topics I had videos about last year or freakier yet, ones I planned to do next week. Like WtF? Am I that far ahead of the curve on some of this stuff? Odd for a guy in my position to be seeing that.

So, back to the daily grind we go. Blog, YouTube, DTRPG project, happy family. Eventually convention panels/con invites, monetization, book deals and maybe more. Sometimes I sure could use some good news. I’d like to go a week without a plumbing malfunction, sick kid, Biblical-level plague, angry wife, or major catastrophe first. We need to have a much, much larger discussion about AI art and editing tools at some point, too.

I say it every year, but I think 2026 bears repeating it. This year I intend to write more, read more, and discuss cool TTRPGs as well as supplements. Most of all, let’s just have more fun. Let’s explore. Let’s save the kingdom from the evil warlord. Let’s discuss all the fun stuff in gaming that we love.

With the world in the state it finds itself in today, please be kind. Please be considerate to one another even if we don’t agree. Lastly, please pursue the thing that brings you the most joy without harm to others. Thank you!

What truly matters in friendships? 🤔 It's about supporting each other's happiness and safety, no matter the choices. A little reminder to focus on what counts. New video now! ✨ #PersonalFreedom #Acceptance #LiveAndLetLive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmWi2TY5jQ

What truly matters in friendships? 🤔 It's about supporting each other's happiness and safety, no matter the choices. A little reminder to focus on what counts. New video now! ✨ #PersonalFreedom #Acceptance #LiveAndLetLive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmWi2TY5jQ

What truly matters in friendships? 🤔 It's about supporting each other's happiness and safety, no matter the choices. A little reminder to focus on what counts. New video now! ✨ #PersonalFreedom #Acceptance #LiveAndLetLive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmWi2TY5jQ

What truly matters in friendships? 🤔 It's about supporting each other's happiness and safety, no matter the choices. A little reminder to focus on what counts. New video now! ✨ #PersonalFreedom #Acceptance #LiveAndLetLive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmWi2TY5jQ

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

He had not learned that the majority in a democracy has no more right to tyrannize over a minority than, under a different system, the latter would have to oppress the former; and that, if there is a moral principle at stake, the saying that the voice of the people is the voice of God may be quite as untrue, and do quite as much mischief, as the old theory of the divine right of kings. The distinguishing feature of our American governmental system is the freedom of the individual; it is quite as important to prevent his being oppressed by many men as it is to save him from the tyranny of one.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Thomas Hart Benton, ch. 6 (1886)

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/2…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #teddyroosevelt #theodoreroosevelt #autonomy #civilrights #democracy #freedom #individual #liberty #majority #personalfreedom #tyranny #tyrannyofthemajority #voxpopuli

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

He had not learned that the majority in a democracy has no more right to tyrannize over a minority than, under a different system, the latter would have to oppress the former; and that, if there is a moral principle at stake, the saying that the voice of the people is the voice of God may be quite as untrue, and do quite as much mischief, as the old theory of the divine right of kings. The distinguishing feature of our American governmental system is the freedom of the individual; it is quite as important to prevent his being oppressed by many men as it is to save him from the tyranny of one.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Thomas Hart Benton, ch. 6 (1886)

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/2…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #teddyroosevelt #theodoreroosevelt #autonomy #civilrights #democracy #freedom #individual #liberty #majority #personalfreedom #tyranny #tyrannyofthemajority #voxpopuli

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

He had not learned that the majority in a democracy has no more right to tyrannize over a minority than, under a different system, the latter would have to oppress the former; and that, if there is a moral principle at stake, the saying that the voice of the people is the voice of God may be quite as untrue, and do quite as much mischief, as the old theory of the divine right of kings. The distinguishing feature of our American governmental system is the freedom of the individual; it is quite as important to prevent his being oppressed by many men as it is to save him from the tyranny of one.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Thomas Hart Benton, ch. 6 (1886)

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/2…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #teddyroosevelt #theodoreroosevelt #autonomy #civilrights #democracy #freedom #individual #liberty #majority #personalfreedom #tyranny #tyrannyofthemajority #voxpopuli

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

He had not learned that the majority in a democracy has no more right to tyrannize over a minority than, under a different system, the latter would have to oppress the former; and that, if there is a moral principle at stake, the saying that the voice of the people is the voice of God may be quite as untrue, and do quite as much mischief, as the old theory of the divine right of kings. The distinguishing feature of our American governmental system is the freedom of the individual; it is quite as important to prevent his being oppressed by many men as it is to save him from the tyranny of one.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Thomas Hart Benton, ch. 6 (1886)

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/2…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #teddyroosevelt #theodoreroosevelt #autonomy #civilrights #democracy #freedom #individual #liberty #majority #personalfreedom #tyranny #tyrannyofthemajority #voxpopuli

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

He had not learned that the majority in a democracy has no more right to tyrannize over a minority than, under a different system, the latter would have to oppress the former; and that, if there is a moral principle at stake, the saying that the voice of the people is the voice of God may be quite as untrue, and do quite as much mischief, as the old theory of the divine right of kings. The distinguishing feature of our American governmental system is the freedom of the individual; it is quite as important to prevent his being oppressed by many men as it is to save him from the tyranny of one.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Thomas Hart Benton, ch. 6 (1886)

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/2…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #teddyroosevelt #theodoreroosevelt #autonomy #civilrights #democracy #freedom #individual #liberty #majority #personalfreedom #tyranny #tyrannyofthemajority #voxpopuli

✮ Dreaming of Vanilla After Dark ✮

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✮ Dreaming of Vanilla After Dark ✮

Subscribe to keep reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

✮ Dreaming of Vanilla After Dark ✮

Subscribe to keep reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

https://www.europesays.com/people/65095/ “B****es. Money. No Taxes. Party.”: Elon Musk’s Cryptic X Post Divides the Internet, Again #BusinessCulture #ElonMusk #InternetCulture #Musk #PersonalFreedom #PublicStatement

https://www.europesays.com/iran/31219/ Syrians protest against alcohol sale limits, personal freedom curbs #AgenceFrancePresse #AlcoholSales #BabTuma #BasharAlAssad #ChristianNeighbourhoods #Damascus #HananAssi #IslamistAuthorities #Latakia #PersonalFreedom #RamiKoussa #SectarianDivisions #SectarianViolence #Syria #SyrianCapital #Syrians

Manchmal fühlt es sich so an, als würden wir nur noch funktionieren #NobodyAsks #DuBistDieFunktion #PlatonischerRebell #GothicMetal #IndustrialMetal #DarkRock #SymphonicMetal #Melancholic #Düster #RebellionSong #SelfEmpowerment #InnerStrength #PersonalFreedom #BreakFree #NeueMusik #StreamingNow

http://platonischerrebell.com/2026/03/19/zwischen-system-und-schatten/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

दिल्ली हाईकोर्ट की बड़ी टिप्पणी: ‘लिव‑इन रिलेशनशिप’ भी शादी जैसी, सुरक्षा का आदेश।

https://aliyesha.com/sub/articles/news/display/nd_livin_relationship_court

#LiveInRelationship #DelhiHighCourt #LegalProtection #PartnerChoice #FamilyThreats #PersonalFreedom #Judiciary #IndianLaw #SocialEquality #News

Enjoy tracker free reading with us. #privacy #privacymatters

दिल्ली हाईकोर्ट की बड़ी टिप्पणी: ‘लिव‑इन रिलेशनशिप’ भी शादी जैसी, सुरक्षा का आदेश।

https://aliyesha.com/sub/articles/news/display/nd_livin_relationship_court

#LiveInRelationship #DelhiHighCourt #LegalProtection #PartnerChoice #FamilyThreats #PersonalFreedom #Judiciary #IndianLaw #SocialEquality #News

Enjoy tracker free reading with us. #privacy #privacymatters

दिल्ली हाईकोर्ट की बड़ी टिप्पणी: ‘लिव‑इन रिलेशनशिप’ भी शादी जैसी, सुरक्षा का आदेश।

https://aliyesha.com/sub/articles/news/display/nd_livin_relationship_court

#LiveInRelationship #DelhiHighCourt #LegalProtection #PartnerChoice #FamilyThreats #PersonalFreedom #Judiciary #IndianLaw #SocialEquality #News

Enjoy tracker free reading with us. #privacy #privacymatters

दिल्ली हाईकोर्ट की बड़ी टिप्पणी: ‘लिव‑इन रिलेशनशिप’ भी शादी जैसी, सुरक्षा का आदेश।

https://aliyesha.com/sub/articles/news/display/nd_livin_relationship_court

#LiveInRelationship #DelhiHighCourt #LegalProtection #PartnerChoice #FamilyThreats #PersonalFreedom #Judiciary #IndianLaw #SocialEquality #News

Enjoy tracker free reading with us. #privacy #privacymatters

https://www.europesays.com/ie/302444/ New CDC Vaccine Chair Prioritizes Personal Choice #acip #covid #Éire #flu #Health #IE #Ireland #Mandate #measles #PersonalFreedom #polio #PublicHealth #Safety #Vaccine

Until you are willing to look stupid, you will never be free.
https://wp.me/p84YjG-acJ #PersonalFreedom #FearOfJudgment #TakingRisks
#SelfGrowth #MindsetShift
#HumanBehavior #growth #risk
#ConfidenceBuilding #zsoltzsemba

https://zsoltzsemba.com/until-youre-willing-to-look-stupid-you-will-never-be-free/

Mỗi người có một cách tận hưởng Tết riêng. Tôi chọn đi du lịch cùng bạn bè, không có nghĩa là vô tâm hay bất hiếu. Xin đừng phán xét người khác chỉ vì họ sống khác bạn. Trân trọng sự lựa chọn của nhau, đó mới là Tết nhân văn.

#Tết #DuLichTet #SongTheoCachMingMuon #DungPhanXet #TetKhacNhau #Lifestyle #Travel #LunarNewYear #ChooseYourOwnWay #Respect #TetViet #ChanDungCaNhan #PersonalFreedom #TựDoCáNhân

https://vtcnews.vn/nguyen-mua-tet-toi-di-du-lich-cung-ban-be-xin-dung-phan-xet-ar997326.html

Mỗi người có một cách tận hưởng Tết riêng. Tôi chọn đi du lịch cùng bạn bè, không có nghĩa là vô tâm hay bất hiếu. Xin đừng phán xét người khác chỉ vì họ sống khác bạn. Trân trọng sự lựa chọn của nhau, đó mới là Tết nhân văn.

#Tết #DuLichTet #SongTheoCachMingMuon #DungPhanXet #TetKhacNhau #Lifestyle #Travel #LunarNewYear #ChooseYourOwnWay #Respect #TetViet #ChanDungCaNhan #PersonalFreedom #TựDoCáNhân

https://vtcnews.vn/nguyen-mua-tet-toi-di-du-lich-cung-ban-be-xin-dung-phan-xet-ar997326.html

Be yourself. If you water yourself down to please people or to fit in or to not offend anyone, you lose the power, the passion, the freedom and the joy of being uniquely you. It's much easier to love yourself when you are being yourself. - Dan Coppersmith

#AuthenticSelf #BeYourself #UnapologeticallyYou #SelfLove #Authenticity #PersonalFreedom #SelfAcceptance #Quotes #ShareInspireQuotes

@marleenstikker @roeldobbe @dmugge Het probleem met „publieke waarden“ is dat het hele #extreemrechtse blok en hun kiezers hun morele compas compleet kwijt zijn. Ik zie maar weinig initiatief in de openbare ruimte om fundamentele waarden überhaupt nog te benoemen. #AI #techconcerns #digitalisering #innovatie #nofascism #humandignity #personalfreedom #sustainability #privacy

@marleenstikker @roeldobbe @dmugge Het probleem met „publieke waarden“ is dat het hele #extreemrechtse blok en hun kiezers hun morele compas compleet kwijt zijn. Ik zie maar weinig initiatief in de openbare ruimte om fundamentele waarden überhaupt nog te benoemen. #AI #techconcerns #digitalisering #innovatie #nofascism #humandignity #personalfreedom #sustainability #privacy

@marleenstikker @roeldobbe @dmugge Het probleem met „publieke waarden“ is dat het hele #extreemrechtse blok en hun kiezers hun morele compas compleet kwijt zijn. Ik zie maar weinig initiatief in de openbare ruimte om fundamentele waarden überhaupt nog te benoemen. #AI #techconcerns #digitalisering #innovatie #nofascism #humandignity #personalfreedom #sustainability #privacy

@marleenstikker @roeldobbe @dmugge Het probleem met „publieke waarden“ is dat het hele #extreemrechtse blok en hun kiezers hun morele compas compleet kwijt zijn. Ik zie maar weinig initiatief in de openbare ruimte om fundamentele waarden überhaupt nog te benoemen. #AI #techconcerns #digitalisering #innovatie #nofascism #humandignity #personalfreedom #sustainability #privacy

@marleenstikker @roeldobbe @dmugge Het probleem met „publieke waarden“ is dat het hele #extreemrechtse blok en hun kiezers hun morele compas compleet kwijt zijn. Ik zie maar weinig initiatief in de openbare ruimte om fundamentele waarden überhaupt nog te benoemen. #AI #techconcerns #digitalisering #innovatie #nofascism #humandignity #personalfreedom #sustainability #privacy

🔥 The Board Break 7/10
Choices, not events, shape life.
Let go of the past.
Fear fades when we face it, not when we hide from it.
#FearlessLiving #CourageBuilding #PersonalFreedom #EmberhartJourney

I'm rejecting the illusion that a degree defines success. My worth is non-negotiable. This is my declaration of sovereignty against the debt machine, academic gatekeeping, and the global capitalist trap.

https://blog.kalvin.my/sovereignty-defined-rejecting-the-capitalist-education-trap/

#Sovereignty #Education #Finance #DebtFree #Capitalism #Activism #PersonalFreedom #Malaysia #LifeLessons #Knowledge

I'm rejecting the illusion that a degree defines success. My worth is non-negotiable. This is my declaration of sovereignty against the debt machine, academic gatekeeping, and the global capitalist trap.

https://blog.kalvin.my/sovereignty-defined-rejecting-the-capitalist-education-trap/

#Sovereignty #Education #Finance #DebtFree #Capitalism #Activism #PersonalFreedom #Malaysia #LifeLessons #Knowledge

I'm rejecting the illusion that a degree defines success. My worth is non-negotiable. This is my declaration of sovereignty against the debt machine, academic gatekeeping, and the global capitalist trap.

https://blog.kalvin.my/sovereignty-defined-rejecting-the-capitalist-education-trap/

#Sovereignty #Education #Finance #DebtFree #Capitalism #Activism #PersonalFreedom #Malaysia #LifeLessons #Knowledge

Stoicism in the Age of Surveillance

Opening Insight

Fraud is a real threat. It costs governments billions, banks trillions, and citizens the security of their savings and identities. Each year, new scams emerge faster than regulators can write rules. Phishing, synthetic identities, deepfake voice calls. The methods multiply, and the losses mount. To counter this, institutions build stronger firewalls, stricter compliance checks, and ever-expanding webs of monitoring.

The justification is simple: we must protect the system. Yet each step forward in protection also tightens the circle around individual freedom. Every fraud-prevention protocol doubles as a surveillance mechanism. Biometric scanners at borders promise efficiency but normalize constant identification. Algorithms that track transactions to catch money launderers also record the intimate details of our lives.

Here lies the paradox. We want safety, but safety purchased at the cost of autonomy risks hollowing out the very dignity it is meant to protect. The surveillance that promises order may deliver conformity instead. And once conformity takes root, liberty is the first casualty.

This is not only a political question. It is also a philosophical one. What do we control in such a world? What must we endure, and what must we resist? In these questions, the ancient wisdom of Stoicism meets the modern dilemmas of surveillance society.

The Reality of Surveillance

We live in a world where fraud prevention has become the dominant justification for intrusive oversight. Banks are legally required to monitor transactions, flagging anything that looks unusual. Governments compel companies to store vast amounts of data under the banner of anti-money laundering laws. Social platforms scrape, analyze, and categorize human behavior to identify bad actors, and along the way, map our private lives in detail.

The scope of this monitoring expands quietly. Each new scandal, each fresh fraud, provides another reason to widen the net. A data breach here, a terrorist plot there, and suddenly a new law emerges requiring deeper access to personal information. It is rarely rolled back. What begins as targeted protection turns into default surveillance.

This is what scholars call surveillance creep. Small, justifiable measures gradually expand into permanent structures. ID checks at airports became biometric scans. Credit card fraud detection evolved into behavioral profiling. Fraud prevention in welfare programs led to predictive policing. Each step seems rational in isolation. Together, they create a system that treats every citizen as a suspect.

From a Stoic perspective, this is precisely the kind of external condition the individual cannot fully control. The structure of laws, the expansion of databases, the behavior of corporations, these belong to the domain of others. But to acknowledge this does not mean to surrender. It only means to see clearly what belongs to you, and what belongs to the system.

Stoicism as an Answer

The Stoics lived under empires, monarchies, and powers that dwarfed their personal agency. Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher-king, knew the tension of wielding authority while being trapped within the structures of history. Epictetus, born a slave, embodied the opposite perspective: stripped of freedom in every external sense, yet fiercely free in mind and soul.

Their philosophy was never about denial. It was about drawing boundaries between what is within your control, your choices, your values, your actions, and what lies beyond it. Stoicism insists that liberty is not primarily a political condition, but a moral one. A tyrant can chain the body but not the soul. A surveillance system can monitor your transactions, but it cannot dictate your principles.

This is where Stoicism speaks directly to our age. The cameras, algorithms, and compliance checks will not disappear tomorrow. Citizens cannot individually dismantle the systems of oversight. But they can refuse to internalize them as natural, inevitable, or justified. They can live without fear, without surrendering dignity, and without allowing the external to corrupt the internal.

To be Stoic today is to recognize that surveillance is real, and yet not absolute. It governs the external but cannot erase the inner life of conscience, character, and responsibility. That space remains sovereign.

Between Endurance and Resistance

Still, Stoicism alone is not enough. If we only accept external control, we risk confusing endurance with passivity. Marcus Aurelius reminded himself not only to endure but to act justly. Cato the Younger lived and died in resistance to tyranny, choosing death rather than surrendering to Caesar’s rule. Stoicism calls us to accept what cannot be changed, but also to resist what must not be normalized.

In our context, this means accepting that some surveillance is inevitable in a digital society, while refusing to accept that surveillance should be unlimited or unaccountable. It means using the tools we do control: voting, advocacy, encryption, decentralized systems, and the daily act of speaking against conformity. Endurance without resistance is resignation. Resistance without endurance is rage. The Stoic balance is to do both wisely.

The Ethical Cost of Conformity

Surveillance does not only strip privacy. It reshapes behavior. When people know they are watched, they act differently. They conform to expected norms, avoid risks, and suppress dissent. Over time, society becomes more obedient, but also less creative, less critical, and less free.

This is the quiet danger. Fraud may destroy wealth, but conformity destroys character. A free society depends not only on safety but on citizens willing to think, speak, and act without fear of punishment. The more surveillance expands, the more individuals hesitate. Self-censorship becomes habit. Habit becomes culture. Culture becomes silence.

A Stoic perspective sees this as the ultimate test. Can we act with integrity when watched? Can we choose freely even when algorithms judge us? Can we resist conformity by holding to values that surveillance cannot measure? These are not abstract questions. They are the daily choices of living under the gaze of modern systems.

A Citizen’s Compass

How then should a citizen live under surveillance? A Stoic compass offers guidance in three directions:

1. Endure what cannot be changed. Accept that governments and corporations will continue to expand monitoring systems, but refuse to let this provoke fear or paralysis.
2. Resist what must not be normalized. Speak against policies that erode liberty in the name of safety. Use your political agency, support privacy organizations, and practice technological self-defense.
3. Guard the inner life. Surveillance can track actions but not virtues. Protect conscience, dignity, and clarity of thought. This inner freedom makes resistance possible.

This compass does not guarantee freedom from surveillance. It guarantees freedom within surveillance, the kind of freedom no law or camera can take away.

Toward a Balanced Future

The future will bring more monitoring, not less. Fraud prevention will demand it. Artificial intelligence will power it. Quantum sensing may accelerate it. We cannot expect to turn back the tide. But we can shape the principles by which surveillance operates.

Here, Stoicism and liberalism must walk together. Stoicism teaches us how to live with dignity in systems we cannot fully control. Liberalism teaches us to design systems that respect dignity even while securing safety. Together, they form the ethical backbone of citizenship in an age of surveillance.

The task ahead is not to abolish oversight, but to demand proportion. To ensure that surveillance serves security without becoming control. To protect against fraud without erasing freedom. To preserve the conditions of human dignity in the very structures that seek to protect society.

Conclusion

Fraud prevention is real. Surveillance is real. Neither will vanish. But the true danger is not the camera on the wall or the algorithm in the server. The true danger is when citizens surrender both their inner freedom and their outer voice.

Stoicism tells us to endure what lies beyond our power. Liberalism tells us to resist what threatens our sovereignty. Together, they call us to action: to endure without despair, and to resist without hatred.

We live in the age of surveillance. But living as free people within it requires both resilience and resistance. Citizens must refuse to accept chains as inevitable, and refuse to believe that their choices do not matter. Surveillance may watch us. It cannot decide for us.

#agency #conformity #DigitalEthics #digitalSociety #ethics #fraudPrevention #liberalism #modernStoicism #personalFreedom #philosophy #Privacy #resilience #securityAndLiberty #stoicism #surveillance

Stoicism in the Age of Surveillance

Opening Insight

Fraud is a real threat. It costs governments billions, banks trillions, and citizens the security of their savings and identities. Each year, new scams emerge faster than regulators can write rules. Phishing, synthetic identities, deepfake voice calls. The methods multiply, and the losses mount. To counter this, institutions build stronger firewalls, stricter compliance checks, and ever-expanding webs of monitoring.

The justification is simple: we must protect the system. Yet each step forward in protection also tightens the circle around individual freedom. Every fraud-prevention protocol doubles as a surveillance mechanism. Biometric scanners at borders promise efficiency but normalize constant identification. Algorithms that track transactions to catch money launderers also record the intimate details of our lives.

Here lies the paradox. We want safety, but safety purchased at the cost of autonomy risks hollowing out the very dignity it is meant to protect. The surveillance that promises order may deliver conformity instead. And once conformity takes root, liberty is the first casualty.

This is not only a political question. It is also a philosophical one. What do we control in such a world? What must we endure, and what must we resist? In these questions, the ancient wisdom of Stoicism meets the modern dilemmas of surveillance society.

The Reality of Surveillance

We live in a world where fraud prevention has become the dominant justification for intrusive oversight. Banks are legally required to monitor transactions, flagging anything that looks unusual. Governments compel companies to store vast amounts of data under the banner of anti-money laundering laws. Social platforms scrape, analyze, and categorize human behavior to identify bad actors, and along the way, map our private lives in detail.

The scope of this monitoring expands quietly. Each new scandal, each fresh fraud, provides another reason to widen the net. A data breach here, a terrorist plot there, and suddenly a new law emerges requiring deeper access to personal information. It is rarely rolled back. What begins as targeted protection turns into default surveillance.

This is what scholars call surveillance creep. Small, justifiable measures gradually expand into permanent structures. ID checks at airports became biometric scans. Credit card fraud detection evolved into behavioral profiling. Fraud prevention in welfare programs led to predictive policing. Each step seems rational in isolation. Together, they create a system that treats every citizen as a suspect.

From a Stoic perspective, this is precisely the kind of external condition the individual cannot fully control. The structure of laws, the expansion of databases, the behavior of corporations, these belong to the domain of others. But to acknowledge this does not mean to surrender. It only means to see clearly what belongs to you, and what belongs to the system.

Stoicism as an Answer

The Stoics lived under empires, monarchies, and powers that dwarfed their personal agency. Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher-king, knew the tension of wielding authority while being trapped within the structures of history. Epictetus, born a slave, embodied the opposite perspective: stripped of freedom in every external sense, yet fiercely free in mind and soul.

Their philosophy was never about denial. It was about drawing boundaries between what is within your control, your choices, your values, your actions, and what lies beyond it. Stoicism insists that liberty is not primarily a political condition, but a moral one. A tyrant can chain the body but not the soul. A surveillance system can monitor your transactions, but it cannot dictate your principles.

This is where Stoicism speaks directly to our age. The cameras, algorithms, and compliance checks will not disappear tomorrow. Citizens cannot individually dismantle the systems of oversight. But they can refuse to internalize them as natural, inevitable, or justified. They can live without fear, without surrendering dignity, and without allowing the external to corrupt the internal.

To be Stoic today is to recognize that surveillance is real, and yet not absolute. It governs the external but cannot erase the inner life of conscience, character, and responsibility. That space remains sovereign.

Between Endurance and Resistance

Still, Stoicism alone is not enough. If we only accept external control, we risk confusing endurance with passivity. Marcus Aurelius reminded himself not only to endure but to act justly. Cato the Younger lived and died in resistance to tyranny, choosing death rather than surrendering to Caesar’s rule. Stoicism calls us to accept what cannot be changed, but also to resist what must not be normalized.

In our context, this means accepting that some surveillance is inevitable in a digital society, while refusing to accept that surveillance should be unlimited or unaccountable. It means using the tools we do control: voting, advocacy, encryption, decentralized systems, and the daily act of speaking against conformity. Endurance without resistance is resignation. Resistance without endurance is rage. The Stoic balance is to do both wisely.

The Ethical Cost of Conformity

Surveillance does not only strip privacy. It reshapes behavior. When people know they are watched, they act differently. They conform to expected norms, avoid risks, and suppress dissent. Over time, society becomes more obedient, but also less creative, less critical, and less free.

This is the quiet danger. Fraud may destroy wealth, but conformity destroys character. A free society depends not only on safety but on citizens willing to think, speak, and act without fear of punishment. The more surveillance expands, the more individuals hesitate. Self-censorship becomes habit. Habit becomes culture. Culture becomes silence.

A Stoic perspective sees this as the ultimate test. Can we act with integrity when watched? Can we choose freely even when algorithms judge us? Can we resist conformity by holding to values that surveillance cannot measure? These are not abstract questions. They are the daily choices of living under the gaze of modern systems.

A Citizen’s Compass

How then should a citizen live under surveillance? A Stoic compass offers guidance in three directions:

1. Endure what cannot be changed. Accept that governments and corporations will continue to expand monitoring systems, but refuse to let this provoke fear or paralysis.
2. Resist what must not be normalized. Speak against policies that erode liberty in the name of safety. Use your political agency, support privacy organizations, and practice technological self-defense.
3. Guard the inner life. Surveillance can track actions but not virtues. Protect conscience, dignity, and clarity of thought. This inner freedom makes resistance possible.

This compass does not guarantee freedom from surveillance. It guarantees freedom within surveillance, the kind of freedom no law or camera can take away.

Toward a Balanced Future

The future will bring more monitoring, not less. Fraud prevention will demand it. Artificial intelligence will power it. Quantum sensing may accelerate it. We cannot expect to turn back the tide. But we can shape the principles by which surveillance operates.

Here, Stoicism and liberalism must walk together. Stoicism teaches us how to live with dignity in systems we cannot fully control. Liberalism teaches us to design systems that respect dignity even while securing safety. Together, they form the ethical backbone of citizenship in an age of surveillance.

The task ahead is not to abolish oversight, but to demand proportion. To ensure that surveillance serves security without becoming control. To protect against fraud without erasing freedom. To preserve the conditions of human dignity in the very structures that seek to protect society.

Conclusion

Fraud prevention is real. Surveillance is real. Neither will vanish. But the true danger is not the camera on the wall or the algorithm in the server. The true danger is when citizens surrender both their inner freedom and their outer voice.

Stoicism tells us to endure what lies beyond our power. Liberalism tells us to resist what threatens our sovereignty. Together, they call us to action: to endure without despair, and to resist without hatred.

We live in the age of surveillance. But living as free people within it requires both resilience and resistance. Citizens must refuse to accept chains as inevitable, and refuse to believe that their choices do not matter. Surveillance may watch us. It cannot decide for us.

#agency #conformity #DigitalEthics #digitalSociety #ethics #fraudPrevention #liberalism #modernStoicism #personalFreedom #philosophy #Privacy #resilience #securityAndLiberty #stoicism #surveillance

Two years to freedom!

Exactly two years ago, I was sitting at my desk at my old job, bored, reading a blog post by a trans woman I had started following on Mastodon, when I saw this:

If you’re under the assumption that you’re a cis guy but have always dreamed of being a girl, and the only reason you haven’t transitioned is because you’re afraid you’ll be an “ugly” girl: That’s dysphoria. You’re literally  trans girl already, hon.

I stopped reading. I stared at the webcomic with this accusation. My mind started spinning. I said to myself, “Oh. I think I should keep reading.”

I gave a detailed account of the following week in this blog post. In brief, that week culminated in a moment of existential panic that resolved into knowing who I was for the first time in my life. By that time, I had adopted a new name. Two months later, I started hormone treatment. Six months after that, my new name was official. 

A lot has happened in the last two years. I feel like I’ve lived more than in the previous twenty years. I learned to love unconditionally. I’ve changed careers. I’ve moved. I’ve got boobs! 

But most significantly, I’ve come to know who I am on a profound level. I’m a chaotic genderfluid nonbinary transcendgender woman. “Chaotic genderfluid” because my energy shifts around the whole field of gender identities, and even I can’t predict when and how it will shift. I’ve accepted that, no matter how much I yearn for complete femininity, I have masculine aspects that are an integral part of who I am; I’m definitely nonbinary. 

But I don’t consider myself partially male, partially female. I’ve learned a lot about gender in the last two years.1 Gender is not tied to physical, hormonal, or chromosomal sex. It’s something we’re indoctrinated into from the time we’re in our third trimester, something we learn in childhood until it becomes deeply ingrained in our teens. Binary gender is an ideology that is so rigidly enforced, we come to think of it as normal, and every other possibility as a deviation. 

That’s where transcendgender comes from. I don’t consider myself pangender or agender—or even polygender. I identify more with the feminine than the masculine, but I transcend the need to identify with any specific gender. 

It was a liberating realization. As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m the best of both worlds, but bound by neither. After five decades, I’m truly free.

1. See Sex/Gender: Biology in a Social World by Anne Fausto-Sterling ↩︎

#genderfluid #identity #nonbinary #personalFreedom #trans #TransJoy

Two years to freedom!

Exactly two years ago, I was sitting at my desk at my old job, bored, reading a blog post by a trans woman I had started following on Mastodon, when I saw this:

If you’re under the assumption that you’re a cis guy but have always dreamed of being a girl, and the only reason you haven’t transitioned is because you’re afraid you’ll be an “ugly” girl: That’s dysphoria. You’re literally  trans girl already, hon.

I stopped reading. I stared at the webcomic with this accusation. My mind started spinning. I said to myself, “Oh. I think I should keep reading.”

I gave a detailed account of the following week in this blog post. In brief, that week culminated in a moment of existential panic that resolved into knowing who I was for the first time in my life. By that time, I had adopted a new name. Two months later, I started hormone treatment. Six months after that, my new name was official. 

A lot has happened in the last two years. I feel like I’ve lived more than in the previous twenty years. I learned to love unconditionally. I’ve changed careers. I’ve moved. I’ve got boobs! 

But most significantly, I’ve come to know who I am on a profound level. I’m a chaotic genderfluid nonbinary transcendgender woman. “Chaotic genderfluid” because my energy shifts around the whole field of gender identities, and even I can’t predict when and how it will shift. I’ve accepted that, no matter how much I yearn for complete femininity, I have masculine aspects that are an integral part of who I am; I’m definitely nonbinary. 

But I don’t consider myself partially male, partially female. I’ve learned a lot about gender in the last two years.1 Gender is not tied to physical, hormonal, or chromosomal sex. It’s something we’re indoctrinated into from the time we’re in our third trimester, something we learn in childhood until it becomes deeply ingrained in our teens. Binary gender is an ideology that is so rigidly enforced, we come to think of it as normal, and every other possibility as a deviation. 

That’s where transcendgender comes from. I don’t consider myself pangender or agender—or even polygender. I identify more with the feminine than the masculine, but I transcend the need to identify with any specific gender. 

It was a liberating realization. As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m the best of both worlds, but bound by neither. After five decades, I’m truly free.

1. See Sex/Gender: Biology in a Social World by Anne Fausto-Sterling ↩︎

#genderfluid #identity #nonbinary #personalFreedom #trans #TransJoy

Two years to freedom!

Exactly two years ago, I was sitting at my desk at my old job, bored, reading a blog post by a trans woman I had started following on Mastodon, when I saw this:

If you’re under the assumption that you’re a cis guy but have always dreamed of being a girl, and the only reason you haven’t transitioned is because you’re afraid you’ll be an “ugly” girl: That’s dysphoria. You’re literally  trans girl already, hon.

I stopped reading. I stared at the webcomic with this accusation. My mind started spinning. I said to myself, “Oh. I think I should keep reading.”

I gave a detailed account of the following week in this blog post. In brief, that week culminated in a moment of existential panic that resolved into knowing who I was for the first time in my life. By that time, I had adopted a new name. Two months later, I started hormone treatment. Six months after that, my new name was official. 

A lot has happened in the last two years. I feel like I’ve lived more than in the previous twenty years. I learned to love unconditionally. I’ve changed careers. I’ve moved. I’ve got boobs! 

But most significantly, I’ve come to know who I am on a profound level. I’m a chaotic genderfluid nonbinary transcendgender woman. “Chaotic genderfluid” because my energy shifts around the whole field of gender identities, and even I can’t predict when and how it will shift. I’ve accepted that, no matter how much I yearn for complete femininity, I have masculine aspects that are an integral part of who I am; I’m definitely nonbinary. 

But I don’t consider myself partially male, partially female. I’ve learned a lot about gender in the last two years.1 Gender is not tied to physical, hormonal, or chromosomal sex. It’s something we’re indoctrinated into from the time we’re in our third trimester, something we learn in childhood until it becomes deeply ingrained in our teens. Binary gender is an ideology that is so rigidly enforced, we come to think of it as normal, and every other possibility as a deviation. 

That’s where transcendgender comes from. I don’t consider myself pangender or agender—or even polygender. I identify more with the feminine than the masculine, but I transcend the need to identify with any specific gender. 

It was a liberating realization. As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m the best of both worlds, but bound by neither. After five decades, I’m truly free.

1. See Sex/Gender: Biology in a Social World by Anne Fausto-Sterling ↩︎

#genderfluid #identity #nonbinary #personalFreedom #trans #TransJoy

Two years to freedom!

Exactly two years ago, I was sitting at my desk at my old job, bored, reading a blog post by a trans woman I had started following on Mastodon, when I saw this:

If you’re under the assumption that you’re a cis guy but have always dreamed of being a girl, and the only reason you haven’t transitioned is because you’re afraid you’ll be an “ugly” girl: That’s dysphoria. You’re literally  trans girl already, hon.

I stopped reading. I stared at the webcomic with this accusation. My mind started spinning. I said to myself, “Oh. I think I should keep reading.”

I gave a detailed account of the following week in this blog post. In brief, that week culminated in a moment of existential panic that resolved into knowing who I was for the first time in my life. By that time, I had adopted a new name. Two months later, I started hormone treatment. Six months after that, my new name was official. 

A lot has happened in the last two years. I feel like I’ve lived more than in the previous twenty years. I learned to love unconditionally. I’ve changed careers. I’ve moved. I’ve got boobs! 

But most significantly, I’ve come to know who I am on a profound level. I’m a chaotic genderfluid nonbinary transcendgender woman. “Chaotic genderfluid” because my energy shifts around the whole field of gender identities, and even I can’t predict when and how it will shift. I’ve accepted that, no matter how much I yearn for complete femininity, I have masculine aspects that are an integral part of who I am; I’m definitely nonbinary. 

But I don’t consider myself partially male, partially female. I’ve learned a lot about gender in the last two years.1 Gender is not tied to physical, hormonal, or chromosomal sex. It’s something we’re indoctrinated into from the time we’re in our third trimester, something we learn in childhood until it becomes deeply ingrained in our teens. Binary gender is an ideology that is so rigidly enforced, we come to think of it as normal, and every other possibility as a deviation. 

That’s where transcendgender comes from. I don’t consider myself pangender or agender—or even polygender. I identify more with the feminine than the masculine, but I transcend the need to identify with any specific gender. 

It was a liberating realization. As I’ve said elsewhere, I’m the best of both worlds, but bound by neither. After five decades, I’m truly free.

1. See Sex/Gender: Biology in a Social World by Anne Fausto-Sterling ↩︎

#genderfluid #identity #nonbinary #personalFreedom #trans #TransJoy

🔒 Apple aggiorna le regole: nuove restrizioni per i browser su iPhone. La libertà online è a rischio? 📵 #AppleUpdate #PersonalFreedom

🔗 https://www.tomshw.it/smartphone/apple-limita-ancora-la-scelta-browser-iphone-2025-07-14

🔒 Apple aggiorna le regole: nuove restrizioni per i browser su iPhone. La libertà online è a rischio? 📵 #AppleUpdate #PersonalFreedom

🔗 https://www.tomshw.it/smartphone/apple-limita-ancora-la-scelta-browser-iphone-2025-07-14

🔒 Apple aggiorna le regole: nuove restrizioni per i browser su iPhone. La libertà online è a rischio? 📵 #AppleUpdate #PersonalFreedom

🔗 https://www.tomshw.it/smartphone/apple-limita-ancora-la-scelta-browser-iphone-2025-07-14

Self-Host and Tech Independence: The Joy of Building Your Own

https://www.ssp.sh/blog/self-host-self-independence/

#HackerNews #SelfHost #TechIndependence #BuildYourOwn #DIYTech #PersonalFreedom

Self-Host and Tech Independence: The Joy of Building Your Own

https://www.ssp.sh/blog/self-host-self-independence/

#HackerNews #SelfHost #TechIndependence #BuildYourOwn #DIYTech #PersonalFreedom

Self-Host and Tech Independence: The Joy of Building Your Own

https://www.ssp.sh/blog/self-host-self-independence/

#HackerNews #SelfHost #TechIndependence #BuildYourOwn #DIYTech #PersonalFreedom

Self-Host and Tech Independence: The Joy of Building Your Own

https://www.ssp.sh/blog/self-host-self-independence/

#HackerNews #SelfHost #TechIndependence #BuildYourOwn #DIYTech #PersonalFreedom

Self-Host and Tech Independence: The Joy of Building Your Own

https://www.ssp.sh/blog/self-host-self-independence/

#HackerNews #SelfHost #TechIndependence #BuildYourOwn #DIYTech #PersonalFreedom