noticed that I would end up moving the camera enough for a visible “shake” effect in most pictures I took.

Whoa, yeah, that would absolutely rule out a TG. Was that occurring even with image stabilization turned on?

If you need waterproof, the Olympus TG series has long been my phone camera/de-Googling go-to. It ticks most of your requirements. I love its macro modes and it’s definitely pocketable. Also stands up to a lot of abuse and has a strong market for accessories,

Always, every time.
“Why do you want to work here?”

“Because you have an opening, and the pay looks commensurate for the responsibilities. So far, the role looks like a good mutual fit. But I’m going to need more details to ensure we’re good for each other.”

What is the best and most simplest way to make it a locked down phone

Feed it to an industrial shredder? No, seriously, because …

avoid tracked and monitoring by officials and corrupt officials… Like I have beef with local corrupt feds level.

This is called an “advanced persistent threat” (APT) in military computer parlance. Advanced because they can bring almost limitless resources against you. And persistent because they can attack you 24-7 to find a flaw in your security. You on the other hand need to sleep.

“Best” and “simplest” are almost mutually exclusive for threats from state-level actors. For example, your phone’s radio could have been compromised at the point of manufacture; maybe unlikely, but very possible. Also, even if the radio is fine, you can still be tracked by the cells and Wi-Fi networks to which you connect. Some basic OpSec might get you good return on your investment, but still no match for an APT if you have a smartphone with you.

I’m hoping someone comes along with something meaningful. I’m in my de-Googling journey, but I know a couple things about OpSec and computer security. And it’s a game of rock, paper, scissors. Consider asymmetric tactics.

Edit to add: if you need secure electronic communications, consider something like Briar for your trusted circle. Decentralized, peer-to-peer, E2EE.

Edit #2: It sounds like you might have already been down this path, but just in case you haven’t seen this: https://ssd.eff.org/module/attending-protest

I collaborate with other people who are also on DRS. Before I had teammates on DRS, I tried using Blender, Openshot, Shotcut, KDenLive. Those NLEs are just not there yet.

I actually started my solid modeling/parametric journey on FreeCAD, and I prefer the parametric workflow. I switched to Inventor when FreeCAD kept crashing when the object tree was ~60 primitives even on my monstrous workstation. I would love to go back to FreeCAD, because fuck AutoDesk in its ear, so hopefully they get the stability + complexity under control.

Rant on, bruddah! I am also in the “must use it for work” group, and I despise my work laptop with the fury of 1000 suns. In my personal work and prior to this new job, I was staying on Win 10 for Inventor, AutoCAD, FL Studio (and a bunch of VST synths I bought), and DaVinci Resolve Studio. My experience with my work laptop has spurred my nearly-complete jump to Linux.

FL Studio has been replaced by Bitwig, new learning curve and loss of the VSTs just being the cost I have to eat. I almost have DRS running in perfectly in Aurora Linux. And my two Win 10 machines will just go into an isolated network until I can figure out workarounds/replacements for the Autodesk garbage.

Per your first comment, I played around with the Vowel Filter in Grid. That certainly does seem to be a factor! Thank you!

Thanks. I was aiming for the learning process. I want to be able to hear or imagine a sound and then start linking up the oscillators and filters to get that specific sound. My end goal is to be all like… oh, take a square wave modulated by a sawtooth with a 4-pole notch here tumble-dried with an LFO insert, then hit the unison with muffler bearings and blinker fluid. Bam, There’s the sound I wanted. But with less nonsense.