Mark Jaquith

The <a href="https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/jetpack/" rel="ugc">Jetpack</a> plugin by Automattic does something sneaky: it auto-activates new Jetpack modules. Instead of allowing you to opt in to new modules, Jetpack cheerfully activates them without your permission. These modules can change how your site works and looks.
Manual Control puts a stop to that unwanted behavior. It prevents auto-activation of new Jetpack modules.
Metal texture in the plugin header image by <a href="http://urbandirty.com/gallery/photo/2568483179-m" rel="nofollow ugc">Urban Dirty</a>.

Manual Control for Jetpack

Jetpack auto-activates new modules, without asking your permission. This plugin stops that.

Now 'utopiamech'

Replacement for third-party timing scripts (cron) for timing events. Enter URLs and time intervals to get the URLs loaded at about those times. Useful for scripts that need a specific URL called to ‘manage’ the script.

Utopia Cron

Makes it easy to set up (semi)-timed page load events without messing with cron or other third-party timing scripts.

Manual Control for Jetpack vs Utopia Cron