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Sometimes there’s so much to say there’s nothing to say. At moments like these, it’s best to take a breath, a sip from your cup of tea or coffee, and… start from the end. So welcome to the new home of The Art of Not Asking Why, helpdeskheadesk.net.

My last post on my old domain was about privacy. If you take a moment and read through it now, You’ll probably find it melodramatic, perhaps cheesy, like an intro to a hacker-matrix-like story. But this wasn’t fiction. It was an overwhelming awareness that dawned on me and then paralyzed me.

For about two months, I’ve been fighting myself on two opposing fronts. On one hand, I have a public blog, a place I want people to find and interact with. On the other, I was turning a hypocritical privacy advocate. Like Emacs and org-mode before, this new path became an obsession that consumed me and is now transforming me.

There’s a lot to write about, but for now, I want to point out a couple of principals I’d like you to keep in mind while you’re here.

  1. I am not an expert. I am a student. I’m writing about what I’ve learned, and I’m open to being taught. Please feel free to comment (even though comments are disabled at the time of this writing), help, or otherwise correct me. What I learned are my experiences, yours will likely be different.

  2. Some of the things I’m going to write about might feel on the gray end of the law. While I’m not planning on doing anything illegal, it turns out doing something unlawful is extremely easy when you defy normal practices. Unfortunately, in today’s technological world, privacy is abnormal. Please keep this in mind.

  3. I like to think my posts go beyond the usual RTFM. Specifically, as a person who RTFM a couple of times and was left with unanswered questions, I am going to do what I can to point out the basics directly or at least link to a source that will do so. Please be patient. Not just with me, but with other readers of this blog. Those who need privacy the most are those who are not aware of its absence.

learning more about privacy has changed what I’m doing online and how I do it. It might be too early to say so, but I feel it’s one of those life-changing intersections. My goal is not to convince anyone else, but to give them the option to make a choice. In other words, I want folks to be aware and make conscious and well-founded choices.