Untimely meditations
One man's thoughts, observations and rants
Welcome to the personal blog of Joop Beris. I blog about a wide variety of topics, ranging from atheism to information security and lots in between. I welcome feedback on my articles but there are some guidelines. Feel free to share articles you like by using the sharing buttons but please give me credit if you want to share something. Also, check out my privacy policy and other legalese.
Please note that the things I write here do not represent the views of anyone else but me. I do not represent an organization or a business and I have nothing to sell. My views do not necessarily coincide with or represent those of my employer. Just throwing that in there for legal reasons.
Below you’ll find the most recent things I’ve written. Feel free to check them out, leave a comment and share them with others who might be interested.
Latest posts
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Europa Universalis
I like to play complex games that allow me to immerse myself in an alternate reality or a historical setting. Sure, running around and shooting people can be fun for a while, don’t get me wrong. Especially after a stressful day! But at the end of the day, I get more satisfaction from games that…
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Who cares about information security anyway?
So what’s my day been like? Well, I’m glad you asked dear reader! Pull up a chair, pour your favourite alcoholic beverage and strap yourselves in. This ride is going to be hard and we don’t have any airbags! Airbags sound too much like risk management and who cares about that? Who cares about information…
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The “new normal”
With the Covid-19 pandemic seemingly under control in the developed world, many people are aching for relief of social distancing restrictions. People want to meet each other again, go out and go on vacation. However, the virus isn’t gone so many governments insist on certain measures for the expected return to normal. Societies prepare for…
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WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal?
There are many instant messaging solutions available these days. A quick browse of the Google Play Store or the Apple store gives me Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Facebook Messenger, Signal, Viber, Google Meet and a slew of others. So which do you choose when you care about privacy and data security? For the purpose of this…
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War on encryption
Every now and then, police or someone in government will complain that encryption is bad. The arguments are pretty much always the same: encryption is bad because it allows criminals to hide or because it enables terrorists to communicate without the intelligence agencies able to read along. Or, if all other arguments fail, it allows…
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Office pet peeves
Working with people can be challenging at the best of times and sometimes is just plain annoying. A lot of things can get on your nerves, like your word processor or the things people do in online meetings. But there’s a lot more that can really get on your nerves. Here is my list of…
Recent comments
I have a question. I believe life is valuable because you have a soul and are a unique person, precious.…
I used to believe in god until my life went downhill. Your reasons are actually good.
Joop, Hope you are well. It is amazing to me the gullibility of people. How can educated people believe in…
Those analogies don’t hold up, I’m afraid. Like marriage or choosing to have children. Or moving to someplace new because…
“What can be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence.”
Christopher Hitchens
Author and journalist
You seem to have multiple questions but let’s take them one at a time, shall we? I believe life is…