I also put up signs in all the showers telling people to try using nickels

  • Thomas_Dankara [any,comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    This is based, but be careful posting your Wins online where the :fedposting: can see

    remember to scrub your image files of metadata :wink:

      • gremlin [they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        it does, that's why so many uploaded pictures end up flipped weirdly. still doesn't hurt to do it yourself to be sure

      • Thomas_Dankara [any,comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I would trust hexbear to do it more than imgur. Imgur has a strong incentive to sell user data to third parties, so even if they scrub metadata from your files so that other imgur consumers can't spy on you, imgur itself probably keeps the metadata somewhere private like a database and sells it to third parties as a commodity. No proof, just a hunch based on how other tech firms operate.

    • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      Good advice. I had all my location stuff turned off, and actually posted a screenshot of the picture, not the actual picture. I'm sure that's not much of a hurdle, but it's something.

      I also reset everything before I left. Those machines aren't really for profit at public campgrounds. I mostly just wanted to see if I could do it, and then my whole party got to shower for like 10 cents (along with anyone else who came along in the couple of days we were there).

      Mostly I was shocked at how easy it was. The locks were very simple, and the interface was braindead straightforward to manipulate. If I ever find myself at a private campground, they're definitely staying that way.

      • Thomas_Dankara [any,comrade/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        also reset everything before I left.

        :deeper-sadness: damn, that's sad. nobody else got to benefit

        Those machines aren’t really for profit at public campgrounds.

        Disagree. Private contractors install vending machines (i.e. any machine the provides a service in exchange for currency) specifically for profit. The park then takes a small cut of the money for upkeep of the park, etc. but public parks are mostly subsidized by the public through taxes, so they don't really need the vending machine money. The vast majority of the money gets pocketed by some capitalist who had enough money to buy the machine in the first place. It is passive income for a capitalist.

        Mostly I was shocked at how easy it was. The locks were very simple, and the interface was braindead straightforward to manipulate. If I ever find myself at a private campground, they’re definitely staying that way.

        I wish you the best of luck, but I wouldn't worry too much about the public-private distinction here since vending machines at public parks are privately owned. Especially in America.

        • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
          hexagon
          ·
          2 years ago

          The vending machines are, but I don't think the showers actually are. As someone said above, I think they're mostly just there to keep people from wasting water.

          I'll do some research, because I do a lot of camping over the summer. If it turns out you're right, then I'll be hitting a number of them all over the west.

  • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
    hexagon
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    Bypassing physical and digital security for fun and praxis. You can program then to take any kind of token and treat it as any quantity, it turns out. Should bulk buy some arcade tokens and tell the machines they're $5, then leave a stack in every shower stall.

    • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      Tubular locks (which are on most laundry and vending machines) are actually STUPIDLY easy to pick--easier than even a middle-grade padlock--they just require specialized tools that most people don't have. You can get a set of 7 and 8 pin (the most common types) tubular picks for about $60, and can teach yourself to open almost any of them in a single afternoon. It's mostly security through obscurity because of how few people actually own the tool.

    • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      I've been sort of casually involved in locksport for about 20 years, and I'm still in awe of that dude. Just incredible level of talent.

        • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
          hexagon
          ·
          2 years ago

          Yeah, it's unreal--like watching a world-class violinist or something. If you know a little bit about it, you can see how absolutely transcendently good he is. The tools he makes are also fantastic, incidentally. His lishi is absolute magic if you've got a little skill with it. The guy is top tier in every way.

            • Catherine_Steward [she/her]
              ·
              2 years ago

              There are locks that he recognizes he can't pick. But yeah, for most things it probably wouldn't be worth the cost or effort. Like, a lock he can't pick on his front door would probably be more secure than the doorframe itself, and certainly more secure than any windows, so there's basically no point.

              • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
                hexagon
                ·
                2 years ago

                Yeah, at a certain point a committed thief will just bust the door/wall/window. Locks are only a deterrent unless the entire structure is hardened to the same standard as the lock.

            • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
              hexagon
              ·
              2 years ago

              Yeah, I mean nothing is totally compromise proof if you have physical access, but there are definitely better and worse options. Pretty much anything that's not a standard pin or wafer and tumbler is very unlikely to be pickable unless you're being targeted by literal high-level professionals.

              Most stores in NYC, for instance, use dimple locks that can't be bypassed with a normal set of lockpicks. The problem is then that the lock ceases to be the weakest link in your security chain; LPL has a great video that shows you how to just pop the bolts on those storefront doors without ever touching the locks.

  • yellowparenti5 [none/use name]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    teach me how to do this

    NVM I looked it up on YouTube and it's easy as fuck for regular locks. Just a tensioner and a saw shaped pick and just jiggle around.

    • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      Yup! You can get a basic set and learn to do simple locks yourself very easily. It's a super fun hobby. I like southord.com for gear.

      I recommend getting a transparent practice lock if you really want to learn, and teaching yourself to do it pin by pin. Raking like you described will open lots of really cheap locks (like lower end padlocks and Schalges), but it'll also give you some bad habits you'll have to unlearn later if you don't learn to do it right from the start. Happy picking!

  • fishnwhistle420 [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Are there people out there in 2022 walking around with pockets full of jingling change?

    • sourquincelog [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Dad used to play this game where he would show me his pocketful of change in his palm real quick, just like a tenth of a second, and if I guessed the right amount of money, he let me keep it

  • hahafuck [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Fun! Worth doing for that reason alone, and to hone a very valuable skill. If this was in a CA state park campground, the shower prices are not set to generate revenue (they operate at a loss), but to prevent water waste. The 50c-a-minute thing is so people don't take showers longer than a few minutes, and the people working at a CA state park will just give you the appropriate amount of tokens if you say you have no quarters. They are sort of the opposite of privatized, state parks, and if you were staying instead at a private campsite you are a fool, since in CA private campsites are always way worse and way more expensive.

    • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      Yeah, I actually set them all back how I found them when I left this morning. It was just a fun little bit of fuckery. I'm 100% cool with state and national forest campgrounds.