Notices by Miguel Arroz (arroz@mastodon.social), page 2

@inthehands @cocoaphony Macs don’t have GPS. They use nearby SSIDs but they need an internet connection to query those SSIDs to a central server. However I think they also use the external network IP to obtain a location. And, if they are tethered with the iPhone sharing network, I think the iPhone runs some sort of location server that the devices with no GPS can use to obtain location. Which of these is still true and in what conditions I’m not sure. 😅

@cocoaphony Are they on wifi with a working internet connection? I’m not exactly sure how they get the location (I think there are multiple sources) but from my experience, before having an internet connection they remain stuck at the last location.

@marioguzman Probably Portugal. The golden visa is gone, but I think it’s still pretty easy. They’re bringing back the low tax for people who were not previously residents so you may end up paying a flat 20% income tax rate for 5 or 10 years (details yet to come). Many people speak English (foreign movies are subtitled so we are used to hear it since kids) and understand Spanish. Extremely safe and peaceful country. Great food and people. Hot weather, though.

I rarely drive but drove more than a 100km today on narrow 1 lane each way roads with plenty of huge semi trucks going by. You know why I feel safe next to those trucks and know any problems I might have while driving on those roads likely won’t come from them?

Because their drivers can SEE me. Know why? Because the EU mandates flat fronts instead of a huge engine compartment blocking the view like in the state with rule of law.

And I don’t see truck manufacturers bitching about it.

I would like to report a bug.

@goatsarah They didn’t smoke, at least during the time I was there!

@goatsarah I forgot about that and I’m sitting downwind. 😖 The smokers left, thankfully. Let’s see if the new group that’s arriving and sitting at the same table is smoke free.

If there’s one thing I wish the previous majority government in Portugal hadn’t chickened out of, is banning smoking in restaurant patios. We must be the only western country where this is still allowed.

@goatsarah @lonvarscsak Haha! But Lagos is still big enough for you to not need to leave it often. I was thinking about something like Almograve or Zambujeira. Or something in the interior like Mourão (putting aside the local political tendencies) or another of those towns near Alqueva.

It’s sad to see a city I once loved being increasingly turned into a lawless circus for bros and criminals lead by a complete idiot supported by a wide majority of the voting population. But it is what it is and it’s clearly only going to change for the worse in the foreseeable future.

I can’t begin to describe how good it is to be able to relax at home on a Friday night without the unbearable noise of loud, illegally modified vehicles every 30 seconds.

One of the reasons I took this trip is to clear my mind and make the final decision of making Vancouver past history to me. And that seems more plausible every day.

There are many other reasons of course. But again, I have no words to describe how much lower my stress levels are here on Friday and Saturday nights.

@lonvarscsak Portugal.

@lonvarscsak There are many other reasons including my family of course. Inertia is a bitch but I’m starting to feel a big repulsive feeling towards Vancouver. I feel the city has been taken over my imbeciles and the few cool people that are still around are either suffering through it or moving somewhere else.

@lonvarscsak Initially, where I am now, a relatively peaceful suburb of Lisbon. Kinda boring and nothing really happens but it’s 15 minutes from Lisbon so not too bad. After that, not sure. I have the dream of living in the south, in a small village, but that’s not very compatible with my anti-car stance. Lisbon is already too noisy and chaotic. We’ll see.

Just a few years ago it would be extremely rare to see a Mac driving something like this. Today, it’s way more frequent. Imagine if Apple launched a cheap, low end Mac or even single board computer targeting embedded/hobby applications… https://hackers.town/@LambdaCalculus/112360077959647223

@goatsarah The other day I asked for transit directions between Lisbon and somewhere near Mont-Saint-Michel and holy shit no wonder people fly everywhere and rent cars locally. Even inside France it kinda sucks, since they built the TGV as a star centred in Paris, so you always need to go through Paris if you’re travelling between two different places. The only viable option to leave Portugal by train was Vigo which turns into buses as soon as it reaches Vigo. Lisbon-Madrid is badly needed…

@TimWardCam @goatsarah Spain and Portugal use the Iberian gauge (not sure what the historical reasons are). However, the AVE (Spanish high speed network) was built using the standard gauge so the trains can continue to France without interruptions. The Portuguese high speed network will be built using the same standard gauge but of course we have been debating it for several decades instead of building it, per fine Portuguese tradition.

@goatsarah I’m not sure if PS and PSD will form any sort of coalition. The history on that isn’t great. I’m not sure how long the next government will last but my guess is, not much. I’m still hoping the emigration ridings will repeat the result of last election, causing a tie in MPs and (hopefully) more votes for PS, forcing the president to invite the left-wing “majority” to power.

@goatsarah Every election so far people have been saying it’s their high water mark and then they triple or quadruple their voting. I’m not optimistic. 1.1M people voting for these fuckers… I’m still in disbelief. And some of the regions I love the most and the worst. The world is really turning to shit.

@goatsarah How do they know if you watched on iPlayer? Does the inspector ask for the browsing history? Or contact your ISP? That seems bonkers.