Christina's January 2026 Five Questions
gemini://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space/~christina/2026-01-5Q.txt

What do you do when someone you don't know on a social or business 
network site tries to become a â"friend" or otherwise connected to you?

I rarely use the one business network site I have an account for, so 
anything that way tends to be ignored. Socially, depends on the nature
of the approach and what I know of the person. Relationship building in
remotely is similar to relationship building in person. I've met my wife
in a forum on Compuserve in 1995, and over the years have made many 
friends online with people I bumped into and grew to know. People who
want to be "sudden best friends" are a warning sign to me in person as 
well as online.


Do you worry about the data being collected by websites and search 
engines and what do you do to protect yourself? What do you advise for 
those who are not as technically skilled yet concerned nonetheless to do?

Yes, I do. I have moved as much as I can off Google, especially things 
like bank and financial details that I don't need them seeing. I have 
spent the last two years deleting old accounts, and removing data that 
didn't need to be out there. I try to talk with friends about how to be 
safer online, reduce dependency on big tech, and understand the risk of 
complacently accepting surveillance tech/culture. Some have listened and
shifted to more secure messaging or email options.

How do you reward yourself for completing a difficult task?
I have a problem doing this. Rewards from myself or otehrs make me 
uncomfortable. An imposter syndrome thing perhaps.

Have you or your family been affected by a natural disaster?
I currently live in a coastal region impacted by hurricanes. We've lived
through multiple hurricanes now, and moved last year because of the storm
related flooding and devestation in our old neighbourhood. In prior
homes we've lived through derecho, earthquakes, tornado, ice and snow 
events.

Have you ever called in a request or a dedication on a radio show or 
online radio stream?
Yes. BBC Radio 1 back in the eighties and early nineties, then a streaming
local radio show that a friend was DJing in the 2010s.