It was a week-long vacation trip for me and my wife.

Before anything else I would like to thank community here who warned about need to fill a travel authorization form (even for transit!) for Latvia. it could be possible that without such hint I would not fill it at all and our vacation could become a sad thing instead. UPDATE: as we were traveling from outside Shengen, we had to fill that form, which is the Electronic Travel Declaration form described here: https://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/electronic-travel-declaration and filled here: http://eta.gov.lv/

One of strongest impressions was is the most developed public transit system we seen in Tallinn.

Trams are very good. We used them many times.

Lots of trees across country and in Tallinn too, with well developed public transit, it all gives some special positive feel to me.

Going beyond some "standard" travel landmarks was an improvisation and while we was not able to visit the place we wanted to see, we seen something else, and it was a good experience as whole.

One of the most cute things seen was the signpost at Kaperi bus stop with directions to various places, from hairdresser to kindergarten. It gives some cute atmosphere that I can't describe well. most close metaphor coming to mind is it like walking into a quest game about a small medieval village.

The Elron trains are really good. I can say I dreamed to travel on an European train since last year, and during this travel that dream come true out of the blue, when we decided to travel to Tartu. Train interior design looks quite futuristic to my taste and I like it.

Intercity buses are quite good, better than I expected. We took a bus from Tartu to Kaperi and than later continued to Võru.

Just not all travels goals can be reached just by starting a "quest" as an impromptu without proper research and rely on internet search or Gemini output.

It may require not only better planning but some extra more "offline" research.

Also: it is not every hotel has own museum about soviet times and KGB. Hotel where we stayed has such museum. I now knew some new details about these harsh and difficult times.

I hope to arrive to Tallinn for vacation soon through Riga from Georgia very soon.

So I would like to hear a first-hand feedback about the overall flow of going through the EES registration on the border checks and passport control for transit.

Any first-hand details that may help go though the passport control checks without extra issues or additional stress, would be very helpful.

I always found these company type legal acronyms quite confusing, so decided to ask it here in hope to get an answer from someone here.

PS: I know I could ask quesion like this from e. g. Gemini or Mistral, but I don't want use these, prefer to get such answers by interaction with alive people.

Thanks for your time.

georgia, as well as a few other countries used to be a part of the russian playstation store, but after russia launched a full scale invasion in ukraine (slava ukraini, btw), georgia as well as a few other countries have lost their access to the store. this is why georgians and citizens of georgia rely so much on physical games and gift cards, or services that allow to create an account in countries like turkey and poland.

by shutting down the physical market, sony playstation effectively cuts off georgia, kazakhstan, belarus from being able to buy new videogames. and moreover, they still don’t allow to change your region.

So far I seen almost only PVA, resins, or sometimes - metal filaments, and so on mentioned regarding the 3D printing.

What are more solarpunk filaments for 3D printing? Easy to recut into powder for reuse, easy to recycle some way, produced via some eco-friendly way, from plants or from waste?

Clarification:

As 3d printing includes other materials (mentioned as "and so on" above, and it is possible to 3d print housing using concrete-like "filament" and a large "printer".

Also, as I heard, there are algae-based concrete projects for example.

To what extent all this more sustainable than standard construction practices widely used today?

Seen and Silenced: How Russian Surveillance Software Suppresses Georgian Civilians Rights

Over the past two years, the Georgian government has built a comprehensive face recognition enforcement system, procured by a Moscow-based company with ties to the Federal Security Service (FSB). The impact on demonstrators is appalling.

For example, I talking about software like Element client for Matrix or DeltaChat app. Or Fediverse apps like Lemmy (site similar to Reddit, there is compatible mobile apps as well).

Clarification.

Matrix is a a standard/protocol designed for instant messaging supported by W3C.

DeltaChat is a messenger that initially started as a thing based on IMAP (one of email protocols) but now getting some capabilities like calls which are beyond IMAP.

Lemmy is alternative to Reddit within Fediverse (that universe of software working though ActivityPub protocol, which are being standardized by W3C.

I was talking ONLY about these software platforms.

I was not talking about ANY other software.

This clarification has been added after someone decided I am a bot of pavel durov.

I find sad that someone decided that I am related to him somehow.

I thinking about vacation travel to Vilnius from Tbilisi via Riga.

If I will travel from Riga to Vilnius via train being not a EU citizen, is it realistic route?

Are there some legal gotchas? Like, what is best way to buy train tickets beforehand online?

Will it require extra effort at border to prove such route, compared to making second (connected) flight via AirBaltic from Riga and going through border checks already at Vilnius?

Documents obtained by investigative journalists describe how the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, is training students in hacking attacks and disinformation tactics at Bauman Moscow State Technical University. Yep, that’s where Sandworm and Fancy Bear get fresh talent from.

Illustrative image from original article

Some of the graduates are already serving in GRU Unit 74455, commonly known as Sandworm, which is responsible for attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, Georgia, and elsewhere.

During the courses, students are taught to create viruses and videos using “manipulation, pressure, and hidden propaganda,” and other skills relevant to the GRU. The training materials draw on the GRU’s experience gained during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source
PS: I decided to post link to this article here after seen it mention some attacks by GRU hackers against Georgia.

Tried to establish contact with an older neighbor. Done this first time in few years.

Instantly had shit shower full of kremlin disinformation shit with "gems" (or mind germs?) including "Ukrainian regime grabbed the saints remains from Kiev Pechorsky Lavra!!! Remains of saints!!!", "Russia are orthodox brothers so they did not bomb Tbilisi and stepped back in 2008!" "Do you know about Epstein files!? Pedophile [a humiliating word about Jews] ate children!!!!".

Disgusting. It gives me strong need to buy bunker somewhere in deep of Australia, or in the middle of Amazon jungles - the farther the better.

I guess this is typical thing here - people experiencing consequences of "disinformation lobotomy" via hours of watching TV swamp like Imedi, Objektiv, or drinking sewers right from the source - russian TV channels like "soloviev live", "1st channel", russia today, and alike.

Yes, there are some other sources of disinfo, but I thought first about TV.

But my question is this: is there any sense to interact with these people? Or imagine like they are annoying distraction, a Matrix glitch, and don't interact with these people at all, including in questions normally requiring cooperation with neighbors, like the repairs of apartment building?