Itās not always a viable approach, but nothing is more satisfying to me than attacking a poorly reinforced doorframe, and flexing it till the latch clears
Itās like mechanical sarcasm, and itās satisfying on an almost spiritual level lol
indeed.
yet always a fun approach! 
Does anyone have the YubiKey with fidesmo?
How is it? Should I get one?
I believe itās a very different chip than the Apex (some infeon thing afaik, but not sure), so Iām not sure it will run all the VivoKey applets, but it seems kinda interestingā¦ doesnāt seem like anyone actually bought one though, all I found was someone complaining thereās no PIV installed/enabled.
1 Like
Realized that I havenāt posted any updates in a bit, thought Iād throw one on here (Pilgrimsmaster gets what he wants 
). This should be a good halfway update.
I know that a lot of people are just going to scroll on past this, and no worries! Just throwing this into the void for anyone who is interested. My last post got a good amount of likes, so I guess some were interested? 
Itāll be a longer format, with some more pretty Pixel 4a pictures to look at. Iāll put the rest of it under an expansion thingy so it doesnāt clog up the thread. Warning: slight profanity
Update 2: SF and LA
Iām currently in my hostel in LA, I got here last night.
For my first 2 days, San Francisco was absolutely amazing. The third not so much, and Iāll get to that. The food was awesome (had proper Indian for the first time!), and the people in my hostel were great. I hung out with a different person each of the first two nights, and made some great friends. The hostel itself was fine, but it wasnāt air conditioned. The temp wasnāt too bad, although I get hot when I sleep, but the humidity was rough. Woke up sticky with sweat all 3 nights.
The public transport is awesome (
muni), and the entire city was pretty walkable. I never once wanted to have a vehicle with me.
Day 1: Burger time
The first night I didnāt do much except get In & Out. It was decent, especially for the money. Nothing groundbreaking, though.
Day 2: Alcatraz and the pier
Overall, Iād give Alcatraz an 8/10. It was really interesting as a history buff, and the island and the views from the ferry were beautiful. However, it was incredibly guided inside of the cellhouse, and felt more like a touched-up museum exhibit than a historical site. You were free to explore the island (the parts that werenāt off limits), but inside of the cellhouse you had to use an audio tour, and walk along with the audio. So, everything was in lanes with markers everywhere.
Sidenote: I got sunburned as hell that day, likely mostly from Alcatraz. Even though it was windy and a bit chilly, I should have known better. The tops of my ears are still sore. Be safe, kids.
That same day I tried clam chowder in a bread bowl from Boudin Bakery. Really good. Clam chowder isnāt my favorite dish, but it was really nice on a windy day. The entire pier area is neat, with Pier 39 feeling like a year-round state fair.
That night, I looked up the steepest segment of road, and walked there.
Pretty damn steep.
Day 3: Golden Gate and Insanity
Golden Gate day! It was a gorgeous day for this, but sadly my feet were already wrecked from the last day. Had a ton of walking to do.
It looked straight out of a film.
At about the point of this photo, my body violently remembered that Iām afraid of heights. However, I pushed on, and walked to the end and back.
The views were absolutely gorgeous, and it fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine. I also saw the full pacific for the first time. 10/10
After golden gate, I decided to check out Chinatown. This is where the sudden breakdown in fun happened. While walking to a lovely matcha cafe, I was passed by a large, very ripped black man, fully nude. I honestly questioned if I was going insane, as it looked like almost no one else noticed.
I got a delicious matcha frappe though
After this, I went back to my hostel, where I discovered that the bottom bunk in my bed was now taken up by a very grumpy 75 year-old diabetic, instead of the chill 19 year-old who I had made friends with the day before. He ranted about the hostel for a bit, and then another old man came in and got in one of the other beds, not saying a word to anyone else in the room. He then began speaking nonsense to himself, and would continue to do so throughout the day.
I then tried to get pizza. I wonāt go into detail on this one, but it was awful pizza, I missed my bus due to my phones GPS messing up, and it was an overall disaster.
While walking back to my hostel, a man walked towards me and yelled āyou better step the fuck back, right nowā. When I did as instructed, he then yelled āpiss on the wallā. I can only assume he was either on drugs or very mentally ill. Regardless, I got back to my hostel, and had the worst nights sleep Iāve ever had. The guy who was talking to himself was asleep and snoring loudly, and it took me 2 hours to fall asleep. I had to be up at 6:30am for my train. The diabetic then came in at like 1am, struggled with the lock for 5 minutes (waking everyone up), then flicked on the lights as he came in. Then he went to go to sleep, and kept making what can only be described as āold man noisesā loud enough that I couldnāt sleep. I tried for 2 hours, and then decided to just stay up.
The way to LA was uneventful, just a nice train ride. I took BART to Oakland as part of my trip (got on a bus there to take me to the train station). BART was neat, but quite filthy and run-down.
Day 1:
My first night in LA was terrible. Full of harassment by homeless people, and the state of the LA subway is a mess. My hostel is in a bit of a rough spot, and at times, I didnāt feel safe in the walk from the subway stop to the hostel.
Upon walking in, I was met with some trash on the table, and one of the beds being unmade. I assumed this meant there was another person here, but in the last day, I havenāt seen them. Wondered if they already checked out, but the cleaning lady came and cleaned the bathroom. Left the bed untouched. Idk. The room is air conditioned well though, so I slept well.
Day 2:
I first grabbed lunch from Shake Shack next door, and WOW theyāre good. I got a SmokeShack, highly recommended.
I then went to Hollywood via the subway. I know itās super touristy, but I figured I needed to tick that box.
I saw the walk of fame, the Chinese Theatre, and did one of those tours. It was a little shitty, but kind of what I was looking for. As mentioned, I love tourist trap type stuff, and this filled that role nicely. I donāt have a ton of photos of LA, so Iāll put the two decent ones Iāve got so far.
So far, I would say that I havenāt really enjoyed LA, but I think itās mainly because I donāt have a car. Everywhere Iāve been recommended is over an hour each way by public transit, and the safety on a lot of the walking routes isnāt great. LA is massive, but a lot of that is due to its physical size (rather than density).
I would feel much safer in LA if I could get from point A to point B without walking. I would just uber everywhere, but itās so damn expensive out here.
Either way, I leave morning after next for Portland, and thatās a 36 hour train ride. Iāll probably post my next update on the train back from Seattle, so they arenāt too frequent.
9 Likes
This made me laugh so hard! Welcome to SF! Hopefully Portland goes better for you!
3 Likes
Ironically was thinking about ya on my drive home, like āDomo hasnāt updated on his travels hope heās having a good timeā 
fucking gorgeous pics mate keep em coming (when you feel like it ofc)
4 Likes
Almost word for word what I was thinking about 2 hours ago.
Great update, and the stuff you didnāt enjoy you will always remember and look back and laugh at it.
Those experiences are as important as the āgoodā ones
All those memories make the storiesā¦
3 Likes
Those pictures are amazing. They really get my wanderlust going. Iāve been thinking about getting a hitch for my car and building one of those tear drop trailers for it. Then I would drive from coast to coast and just stay in national and state parks.
Keep the updates coming. I want to see more awesome pictures!
2 Likes
Thanks, and I will! Iāve been really happy with some of the pictures Iāve taken so far, considering that Iāve just got my phone with me, and limited time to frame a lot of these (I donāt like to block sidewalks or anything, so Iām moving for a lot of them).
Iām not happy with most of my LA ones, including the Chinese theater one I posted. Iāve been a little more worried about whipping my phone out here on random streets (although Iām sure Iām being too worried). Hopefully I can get some good ones before I leave.
The train on Saturday up to Portland is supposed to be crazy beautiful, Iāll try to take a lot during that as well. Hoping I get a window seat. Not sure what Iām doing tomorrow, thinking maybe Santa Monica Pier.
1 Like
You totally should! Thatād be such a fun journey. I had thought about trying to do some national park stuff on this trip, but it didnāt work out logistically (plus I have very little camping experience, doing it like this first time is a recipe for disaster). I still want to see the redwoods + Yosemite in-person, but thatāll have to wait for another trip haha
I donāt know the exact route that the train takes, but having driven between LA and Portland both on the coast (Highway 101) and down I-5 I am sure there will be memorable parts.
Unfortunately I live on the coast about 90 miles from Portland and we have an extreme heat advisory (113F in Portland on Sunday) so I am afraid I wonāt come visit. (Itās going to be in the 90F range here, I like 60 or less myself).
So, be safe and stay hydrated. Hopefully your stay in Portland is less eventful in a bad way (and more eventful in a good way)
1 Like
Agreed. The Oregon Coast is some of the most beautiful coastline in the country
3 Likes
Mostly the reason I logged in here now! XD
Totally agree!!
And we sure are! ^^
4 Likes
Itās Saturday night! Time to get cleaned up do a little prep and see if I can get one of these things in the other!
Iāll make a topic and post updates later tonight or tomorrow. Wish me luck!
6 Likes
2 Likes
I wouldnāt cut your thumb off and put it in the box if I were you. 
3 Likes
Instructions unclear, removed finger and sent to installer with the chip.
4 Likes
Man, after the magnet demo I really hoped the answer is a magnet implant HAHAHA
3 Likes
Unfortunately I was unsuccessful with the install. I started and got partway in, but it became more than I was willing to do myself.
I definitely plan on having it installed in my thumb, but Iāll have it done by a professional. Iāll just add that to the list for my next installation trip.
1 Like