Charlotte found an alpaca beside our hotel in Ollantaytambo, and had been calling to it with her alpaca hat on. We went up to see it, and the real alpaca seemed a bit confused by her hat. It was quite a sight. ​

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Spending a few days acclimatizing to 2800m before our train ride to Machu Picchu. I found this butterfly perched on a railing beside the Urubamba River. It appears to have laid eggs!

Privacy is one of my core values. I feel that governments and corporations should have a limited view on my life. That being said, I am a hypocrite. I use Facebook as part of my daily life for communicating with family and friends (like 19 million other Canadians). I’ve recently signed up (again) for Instagram, another Facebook product. I’m constantly conflicted about those services, yet I still use them. I waver constantly on using Facebook/Facebook Messenger/Instagram, and deleting these terrible invasions of privacy altogether.

These services aren’t free, of course. There is a tradeoff that I make everytime I login, post a photo, click on a link, or like a post. I realize that Facebook sells ads based on my location, interest, likes, habits, posts, photos, and anything else they can infer from the data that I provide to them. I provide a lot of data to Facebook, which uses tracking mechanisms to follow me across the internet to watch what we are doing. That data collection is always increasing. If you “interact” with an ad on Facebook, that advertiser can then watch where you go afterward. If you use a Facebook “share” button on another website, or use your Facebook account to comment on a news article or to sign up for a service, Facebook knows. It aggregates that data to learn more about you, and to sell that valuable data to advertisers.

Given the popularity of Facebook, it’s clear that Canadians (and users worldwide) fall into a few different groups: we don’t know, we don’t care, or we’re okay with it. Maybe you’re not okay with it, and are looking for some options to reduce what Facebook knows about you. I’d place myself in that last group, and I’d like to share what I’m doing to change how much Facebook learns about me and my behaviour.

First, delete the Facebook app on your phone. Facebook’s native iOS and Android app is a battery hog, and it drains your limited resources (data, battery, etc). The tracking mechanisms are also most powerful with the native app. That doesn’t mean you can’t use Facebook on your phone. Use the website instead, as it is nearly as full-featured but reduces the intrusion into your privacy.

Secondly, use the Ghostery browser plugin for Chrome, Safari, or Firefox to prevent advertisers and others from tracking you across the web. It is a fee plugin that blocks thousands of social media and advertising trackers, site analytics garbage, and more. It will have the added benefit of speeding up your web browsing too. Best of all, it’s free. If you use iOS, use a Content Blocker to block ads and javascript from tracking you.

Third, if you’re really interested in anonymizing yourself, purchase a yearly subscription to a quality Virtual Private Network. That’s an encrypted connection from your computer (or smart phone) to a server, similar to tunnel underground. Any tracking will be linked back to the VPN server, not your computer. This is particularly valuable when using public wifi, unsecured networks, or when you don’t want others seeing what you’re doing.

I’ve been picking on Facebook here, but they’re not alone. Google has also built their business on selling access to your eyeballs by finding as much as it can about your habits. They’ve been incredibly successful at it by building incredible tools that have changed the internet. Gmail, Search, YouTube, Google+, Maps, and Android all add to the comprehensive picture that they have of you. Avoid staying signed into their services, avoid using Google to sign into other services, start trying other search engines, map services, and mail services to avoid one corporation from building a complete picture of you.

In the end, Facebook and Google control a huge amount of the internet advertising that we see. They do that by collecting data on what we do online, and they have deep influence on what we see online. I find that incredibly concerning, which is why I am trying to limit what these services can learn about my habits.

I may find myself deleting these accounts entirely.

The iOS App Store has everything you could possibly want; the trouble is sifting through to find the gems . As a teacher (4 years with 11-year olds, and 5 years with students with developmental delays), and a parent of two children under 7, I’ve spent a lot of time looking for great apps that will both entertain and educate my children.

Some things that I look for include frequent updates, curricular links, open-ended exploration, and paid apps. Yes, I want to pay for the apps that I use. I would much rather pay for a quality app that is ad-free than subject my kids to popups, banner ads, and pay-to-play features. I also find that apps which require a one-time payment are of higher quality than ad-supported or pay-to-play. They’re also much less annoying.

Here are some of the apps apps that I’ve been using:

• Epic!: 20 000 books, on your (iOS or Android!) phone or tablet. Best for kids under 12. Well worth the incredible library of fiction, non-fiction, audiobooks, “read-to-me”, and educational videos. Get a free month to try it out, then there is a subscription of $4.99/month
• Quick Math Jr.: An amazingly well-designed app intended to improve number sense in a wide variety of ways. The fun, short games build skills that are vital to early numeracy awareness. Particularly geared toward children ages 5-7, even the free section is worth using. The rest of the “islands” cost $6.99 each, or $13.99 for all.
• GoNoodle Kids: A fun way to get kids active when they would rather not. This pairs with the GoNoodle website, which has the same videos, but requires registration. This is free!
• MyPlayHome: A digital play house, where your kids can live out endless domestic fantasies.   This is open-ended, with hundreds of discoverable features (such as turning off light switches, operating appliance). There are a number of related apps if you like these: School, Stores, Hospital. Costs $3.99.

Finally, I’ve got a trustworthy site to check whether media (movies, games, books) are age-appropriate and suitable for my kids. Take a look at Common Sense Media for tips on positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, etc, so that you can make an informed choice.

I’ve had a “photoblog” on-and-off (mostly off) for about 11 years. I’ve not posted here for nearly 4 years, and I’d love to start up again. I still love my photography, but I’m also interested in writing a bit more too. My family is presently travelling through Central and South America for 7 months, and there’s lots to comment on. You’ll also find some commentary about technology, and politics too.

Thanks for reading!

A gorgeous set of falls across the lake from Nakusp.

A gorgeous walk into Fosthall Falls, on Upper Arrow Lake, B.C. Lovely interior forest.

One of the benefits of having plenty of flowers in my yard is that we get lots of pollinators. The harmless bumble bee is my favourite.