I’m with you. I used to love being in on the bleeding edge of technology. Now it just disappoints me. Enshittifcation is the norm. Instead of “how can we make this game more fun,” it’s all about “how can we wring more profit out of this,” and gathering personal data for marketing is a favorite method. I never thought I’d become a Luddite, but here I am.
I’ve been running GrapheneOS for several years now and I love it, and currently run it on a Pixel 9 Pro XL. Super easy to install and use. With respect to the things you can’t compromise on, you should be fine if you run the sandboxed Google Play services. I will say that my banking app updated a while back and now will not work with GrapheneOS, saying something about a lack of security, which I assume is because they probably added checks for stock android, so YMMV. If you buy a used Pixel, make sure you get one with an unlockable bootloader. Carrier phones have locked bootloaders, along with carrier locking, and when they unlock them they just unlock the carrier aspect so that you can use them on other carriers, and the bootloaders remain locked so you can’t wipe the OS and install another, so you have to make sure you get one with an unlockable bootloader. Some ebay sellers advertise this, making it easy to find what you need. If you ever want to revert to stock android, it is an easy change. Google’s “unverified app” decision does not affect GrapheneOS’ ability to sideload apps, as it is a completely different OS.
Expect a lot more things like this to come out in all industries as the economy worsens. A thriving economy can hide a lot of financially problematic issues, in the same way a high tide can hide the rocks. As the economic tide recedes, all the ugly things below are revealed. This specific example involves the collapse of Prospect Medical, a for-profit hospital chain plundered by private equity. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Cats will often show you their belly as a sign of trust, as it makes them vulnerable. Some cats love to have their bellies rubbed, others view it as a breach of trust and will shred you, even though they flopped over. If it’s a cat you don’t know, the best thing is to just reach down and scratch the top of their head around the ears. If you want to see how far you can push it, give them scritches under the chin, move down to the upper chest, and inch your way lower to see how far they’re okay with going.
The fastest way to learn a language is with the comprehensible input method. You watch videos, all of which are 100% in the target language. The early videos are easy, involving simple things, and using props and gestures to provide the context for understanding. As you learn more, the videos progress and become more difficult. It’s amazing how quickly you pick up things and retain them. There is a lot of comprehensible input material for Spanish, French, and English, but you can use children’s television shows like Peppa Pig where there isn’t specific material for the target language. Here is a beginner video in Spanish.