On Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 9:58:46 PM UTC-4, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 9/16/2015 8:30 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:

I knew that AARP had an auto club but there are a bunch of others. ^_^

http://roadside-assistance-services-...enreviews.com/

[8~{} Uncle Road Monster


AARP, those are (some of) the guys who want to protect
old folks from crime by disarming the old folks. While
leaving the dobads alone.

-
.
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
. www.lds.org
.
.

There's an alternative group: https://amac.us/

On Friday, September 18, 2015 at 12:28:01 AM UTC-4, Don Y wrote:
On 9/17/2015 6:06 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 8:20:56 PM UTC-4, Don Y wrote:
On 9/17/2015 3:48 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
bob haller wrote in news:d7cb4e0a-c03e-42f9-aac2-
:

I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by
their service etc till
now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about
replacingmy one van....

Would've made a lot more sense to call your local Dept. of Motor
Vehicles branch...

ROTFLMAO! Perhaps *your* DMV is more "consumer friendly" than most of
those that I've dealt with over the last several decades! I'd imagine a
long wait on the phone -- followed by a dubious answer (with no
"guarantee" of accuracy... sort of like calling the IRS!)

My local DMV office is very "consumer friendly" and my recent
title/registration questions asked via the main DMV phone number for my
region were answered accurately and efficiently. Granted, getting through
was tough at times. The hold times weren't long because you simply are told
to call back later. Actually, that's even more frustrating, because I can
sit in my office and work while on hold, hanging up whenever I want. It's
more annoying to have to keep calling back.

However, the local office is pretty good. I have registered 2 used vehicles
in the past few months. In each case, there was a problem with the paperwork
(sort of my fault). In one case I had to get a different Bill Of Sale which
was going to take me a few hours. The nice lady at the counter gave me a
rain check so that I wouldn't have to wait on the main line once I had the
paperwork. I could get a window number immediately. The second time I needed
a different insurance card, but my agent's office didn't open for another 20
minutes. The (different) nice lady gave me the fax number of that DMV
office, told me to call my agent and have her fax it to the DMV and then
come right back to her window, "don't wait in any lines." I was in and out
in a matter of minutes, even though the line was out of the door.

I grew up in NYC, so I know what a brutal DMV experience feels like.
Unfriendly, unhelpful employees, long customer lines, hot crowded offices.
It's not like that where I live now.

I've only had to visit the local DMV (here) twice (at least, for *my*
needs) in the past ~20+ years. Once for a DL, and again for a DL
renewal (I think when the Feds instituted the new DL requirements;
I recall having another photo taken, etc.).

Unlike other places I've lived (New England, Midwest and West), a DL
is issued "until you're 65" -- none of this renew every 4 years sort of
crap. And, other places seemed to like to zing you with tehnicalities:
"Oh, you forgot to bring your birth certificate? Gee, you'll have to
come back another time..." "Hmmm, this birth certificate isn't
*notarized*. You'll have to fetch one that *is*..."

When SWMBO moved, she contacted DMV regarding getting a new license with
her updated address: "Oh, sweetie, just write your new address on a
slip of paper and attach it to your DL with a paper clip..."

[Yikes!]

The last two vehicle purchases had titling all handled by the dealer
so we just waited for a title to appear in the post. We kept the
plates (transferred) so didn't even have to pick those up.

I do all of my registration and license matters on-line, whenever possible. A used vehicle purchased from a dealer was handled by the dealer. The 2 recent private sale purchases had to be handled in person.


OTOH, I've had friends who've been spontaneously notified that they
must have new photos taken (!) and had to sit through the process.

The local office is probably the size of a football field. With a
"split" in the center ("50 yd line"). You roll the dice when you
decide where to sit -- you may be serviced by staff on either side
based (apparently) on some random criteria (e.g., whoever is FREE
when it's your turn).


Our local office might be smaller than a football field but is still pretty large. A cool feature is they recycled a large number of church pews as seats for their customers.

There is a "reception" counter staffed by 2-3 employees. First, you wait in line to talk to one of those individuals. They handle some transactions, such as license photos, eye exams, etc. For vehicle related matters, they ask you what you need to do, they may review your documents quickly just to make sure you have the correct forms - they don't review the details - and then they give you a number. Off you go to the pews to say your prayers that the wait won't be too long. There is a "wait time clock" behind the reception counter but it is far, far from accurate. A big board announces your number and the window you should go to.

In some cases, if there is long line for the reception counter, they will call out "Anyone just turning in plates?" or "Anyone have a rain check?" These folks get a number immediately and get sent to the pews.

There appears to be some specialization involved among the staff as
you will often see folks who arrived *after* you getting serviced long
*before* you!

Yes, this appears to be the case at my DMV also. The numbering system includes "A" and "B" series. I can only assume that these letters designate certain types of transactions but I haven't gone there enough (thank God) to figure out the pattern. As far as I can tell, the "A" and "B" numbers get called up sequentially within their letter group, but you might see more than one "A" get called before the next "B" or v-v. That's what leads me to agree with the "specialization" aspect.

In any case, it does take time, it will always take time. I accept it and deal with it.

i'm with Amica now in Calif, for house & car
[recommended by Consumer Reports]

i was with AAA in Nevada for 15 years,
but when i moved to Calif they treated me like i never existed,
and i had to start over as a new customer, basically.
It's a whole different entity/company in the 2 states.

Anyway, i was mad and looked around for something better.

marc

On 9/16/2015 3:33 PM, bob haller wrote:
I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their service etc till now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

snip

In cases where it is possible to go to a company to get service it is
usually far more time-effective to go there rather than to call. The DMV
and AAA are two good examples. Cellular carriers are another example.
The person on the phone is far less likely to give you an accurate answer.

Another example is HMOs. I gave up calling my HMO to get an appointment.
I just go there and make an appointment. The medical offices are 10
minutes away so it's generally faster to go there than to call. When I
explain why I didn't make an appointment on the phone they shake their
head, not at me, but at the people at the call center. First you're on
hold to talk to someone. Then they're unlikely to find you a timely
appointment even if you don't care about the appointment being with
other than your primary care physician. Then they want you to talk to an
advice nurse. Then they want you to make an appointment with a
non-physician. Then they wonder why they do poorly in patient
satisfaction surveys.

The other thing I learned about my HMO is that the ER is actually not a
bad deal. You get immediate care, referrals are included, and at $50
it's not much more than a PCP visit and a referral visit ($20 each).
There's a 24 hour pharmacy on-site, they take x-rays and read them while
you wait. My HMO has a wonderful ER with private rooms. They are very
fast and efficient.

On 9/17/2015 8:27 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 17 Sep 2015 06:15:39 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I mostly use them to get good paper maps (remember those?) and I have
had one road service call in the last 20 years.

I feel I have gotten my money's worth over the years. Mostly tows, but also some paper maps just for pre-trip reviews. My GPS and phone are my drive-time navigation tools, but I like to look for alternatives to the main routes. Sometime I program my way-points based on the AAA info so my nav tools take me on the route I want to go

I have not embraced GPS/Nav yet. It is certainly not what I want on
vacation. Some of the most interesting things we have found were
because we were "lost". I prefer a paper map so we can get an overview
of where we are and look for things we might want to see. Google Earth
is the new technology we use the most. We are mostly old school using
travel books and paper maps.

Businesses change so much that if you don't buy the updates every
year, your nav is not going to be right that often. It is pretty
discouraging to drive to a place that is out of business.

First of all, many GPS devices come with free updates so there is
nothing to buy.

Second, you can buy, for a one time charge of about $10, an app like
CoPilot for Android or iOS and it is updated frequently. I like it on a
7" or 8" tablet because the larger screen is nice but it'd be fine on a
5"-6" smart phone as well. I bought the European maps earlier this year
for a trip to England and Ireland. It was good for walking as well.
There are no data charges, the maps are stored locally on the device,
just like a stand-alone GPS.

I use a 7" Asus Memo Pad (ME170CX-A1-BK) that was $30 after a $60
rebate. Now it's $50
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9561735.
Activate the McAffee subscription with a single-use virtual credit card
so you're never charged for the subscription.

Beware that the WiFi-only iPads don't have a GPS chip, but most
name-brand Android WiFi-only tablets do have GPS functionality.

On 9/17/2015 3:48 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
bob haller wrote in news:d7cb4e0a-c03e-42f9-aac2-
:

I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their service etc till
now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

Would've made a lot more sense to call your local Dept. of Motor Vehicles branch...

In California you can't do that. You can call the DMV toll-free number
and you could get a hold time of several hours.

On 9/17/2015 5:43 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11:27:43 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Thu, 17 Sep 2015 06:15:39 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I mostly use them to get good paper maps (remember those?) and I have
had one road service call in the last 20 years.

I feel I have gotten my money's worth over the years. Mostly tows, but also some paper maps just for pre-trip reviews. My GPS and phone are my drive-time navigation tools, but I like to look for alternatives to the main routes. Sometime I program my way-points based on the AAA info so my nav tools take me on the route I want to go

I have not embraced GPS/Nav yet. It is certainly not what I want on
vacation. Some of the most interesting things we have found were
because we were "lost". I prefer a paper map so we can get an overview
of where we are and look for things we might want to see. Google Earth
is the new technology we use the most. We are mostly old school using
travel books and paper maps.

Businesses change so much that if you don't buy the updates every
year, your nav is not going to be right that often. It is pretty
discouraging to drive to a place that is out of business.

That's not an issue with Google navigation on a smart phone. No updates needed. In fact, not only don't I have to worry about a business being out of business, I often don't even have to worry about them being closed for the day. For example, I just searched for a Grainger location in another state. Before even showing me the route, Google displayed the following message:

Your destination may be closed when you arrive.
Open today: 7:00AM - 5:00PM
Estimated arrival at 2:16AM

I'm guessing your paper maps can't do that. ;-)

Now, a major difference between Google Navigation and my GPS is that I can tell my GPS to avoid highways so that it will guide me on the scenic route, which I often like to do. I can't do that with Google (or at least I can't get it to do that) I plan to look for a smart phone app that has that feature. Once I have that app, I won't need my GPS anymore.

The problem with Google navigation is that it only works if you're in an
area with cellular data. No problem in metro areas, but a big problem in
more rural areas, especially if you're on the T-Mobile or Sprint
networks, but sometimes on Verizon or AT&T. too. Also, Google navigation
uses quite a lot of data.

I have the CoPilot app on my Android devices. I think it was $6 when I
bought it, now it's $10. You download maps onto your phone or tablet
(helps to have a phone with a MicroSD card since map files are large).

For $60, the cost of a 7" tablet and the app for the U.S. you have a
very nice GPS. And the $10 is per Google account so multiple devices
with the same Google account on them can use the app. They also have
maps for other countries. I bought the European maps for a trip to
Europe for a lot less than a GPS for Europe would have cost.

It lets you select non-freeways if you want.

On 9/18/2015 5:54 AM, Pavel314 wrote:
On Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 9:58:46 PM UTC-4, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 9/16/2015 8:30 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:

I knew that AARP had an auto club but there are a bunch of others. ^_^

http://roadside-assistance-services-...enreviews.com/

[8~{} Uncle Road Monster


AARP, those are (some of) the guys who want to protect
old folks from crime by disarming the old folks. While
leaving the dobads alone.

-
.
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
. www.lds.org
.
.

There's an alternative group: https://amac.us/

Saw their web site. They look like a bunch of right wing wackos. I
counted about 60 lies in just three minutes.

On 9/18/2015 5:24 AM, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2015-09-18, Don Y wrote:
OTOH, I've had friends who've been spontaneously notified that they
must have new photos taken (!) and had to sit through the process.

It seems that most if not all states are amassing huge databases of facial
recognition data. Real police-state stuff. To do this they need high-res
digital photos. (Of course they assure us the data won't be misused,
will be protected, etc. Maybe they have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell
us as well.)

Yes, that was the assumption I made. A neighbor was told she had to
have her photo retaken "because she was smiling" (?) Perhaps they
assume most people RARELY smile and want the recognizers to work with
your face in its "normal", grumpy state! :

On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:24:02 -0700, sms
wrote:

There's an alternative group: https://amac.us/

Saw their web site. They look like a bunch of right wing wackos. I
counted about 60 lies in just three minutes.

I'm sure you can detail these alleged lies, right, or are you just
another left wing wacko?

On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:54:29 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/18/2015 5:24 AM, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2015-09-18, Don Y wrote:
OTOH, I've had friends who've been spontaneously notified that they
must have new photos taken (!) and had to sit through the process.

It seems that most if not all states are amassing huge databases of facial
recognition data. Real police-state stuff. To do this they need high-res
digital photos. (Of course they assure us the data won't be misused,
will be protected, etc. Maybe they have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell
us as well.)

Yes, that was the assumption I made. A neighbor was told she had to
have her photo retaken "because she was smiling" (?) Perhaps they
assume most people RARELY smile and want the recognizers to work with
your face in its "normal", grumpy state! :


I was told to remove my cap for the photo. DMV is not the only
database law enforcement can access for photos. Passports and a few
others can be used by LEO.

Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

On 9/18/2015 10:07 AM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:54:29 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/18/2015 5:24 AM, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2015-09-18, Don Y wrote:
OTOH, I've had friends who've been spontaneously notified that they
must have new photos taken (!) and had to sit through the process.

It seems that most if not all states are amassing huge databases of facial
recognition data. Real police-state stuff. To do this they need high-res
digital photos. (Of course they assure us the data won't be misused,
will be protected, etc. Maybe they have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell
us as well.)

Yes, that was the assumption I made. A neighbor was told she had to
have her photo retaken "because she was smiling" (?) Perhaps they
assume most people RARELY smile and want the recognizers to work with
your face in its "normal", grumpy state! :

I was told to remove my cap for the photo. DMV is not the only
database law enforcement can access for photos. Passports and a few
others can be used by LEO.

Your photo exists in *lots* of places -- credit cards, passports,
DL's, "membership clubs", etc.

Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

But those don't bind a unique identifier to the photo. My fingerprints
exist on thousands of "public" (i.e., freely accessible without a warrant)
items every day. But, even if someone wanted to "lift" them, they still
have to be tied to my name, address, etc.

On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 10:37:21 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/18/2015 10:07 AM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:54:29 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/18/2015 5:24 AM, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2015-09-18, Don Y wrote:
OTOH, I've had friends who've been spontaneously notified that they
must have new photos taken (!) and had to sit through the process.

It seems that most if not all states are amassing huge databases of facial
recognition data. Real police-state stuff. To do this they need high-res
digital photos. (Of course they assure us the data won't be misused,
will be protected, etc. Maybe they have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell
us as well.)

Yes, that was the assumption I made. A neighbor was told she had to
have her photo retaken "because she was smiling" (?) Perhaps they
assume most people RARELY smile and want the recognizers to work with
your face in its "normal", grumpy state! :

I was told to remove my cap for the photo. DMV is not the only
database law enforcement can access for photos. Passports and a few
others can be used by LEO.

Your photo exists in *lots* of places -- credit cards, passports,
DL's, "membership clubs", etc.

Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

But those don't bind a unique identifier to the photo. My fingerprints
exist on thousands of "public" (i.e., freely accessible without a warrant)
items every day. But, even if someone wanted to "lift" them, they still
have to be tied to my name, address, etc.


Nevada keeps a Black Book of cheaters that are banned by law. If a
guy walks in, they know him immediately. Whether government or private
business photos are used, facial recognition can match faces. That is
or might be the identifier, no?

On 9/18/2015 10:55 AM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 10:37:21 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/18/2015 10:07 AM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:54:29 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/18/2015 5:24 AM, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2015-09-18, Don Y wrote:
OTOH, I've had friends who've been spontaneously notified that they
must have new photos taken (!) and had to sit through the process.

It seems that most if not all states are amassing huge databases of facial
recognition data. Real police-state stuff. To do this they need high-res
digital photos. (Of course they assure us the data won't be misused,
will be protected, etc. Maybe they have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell
us as well.)

Yes, that was the assumption I made. A neighbor was told she had to
have her photo retaken "because she was smiling" (?) Perhaps they
assume most people RARELY smile and want the recognizers to work with
your face in its "normal", grumpy state! :

I was told to remove my cap for the photo. DMV is not the only
database law enforcement can access for photos. Passports and a few
others can be used by LEO.

Your photo exists in *lots* of places -- credit cards, passports,
DL's, "membership clubs", etc.

Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

But those don't bind a unique identifier to the photo. My fingerprints
exist on thousands of "public" (i.e., freely accessible without a warrant)
items every day. But, even if someone wanted to "lift" them, they still
have to be tied to my name, address, etc.

Nevada keeps a Black Book of cheaters that are banned by law. If a

But the cheater is uniquely identified WHEN he is banned. They don't
just decide, on their own, that "the guy in the red hat at table 6
will be forever banned". I.e., if someone *looking* like him (where
"looking like" is taken as "the uncertainty in the recognition
algorithm") comes in and is refused service, that person *could*
present a credential (passport, etc.) that "proves" he is not
"John Smythe" but, rather, just happens to resemble him (perhaps
not even *well*!)

[There's a formal process by which he identifies himself and is *then*
banned]

guy walks in, they know him immediately. Whether government or private
business photos are used, facial recognition can match faces. That is
or might be the identifier, no?

Businesses (e.g., Target) use cameras to monitor individual shopper's
travels through the store. Presumably, they can (and would WANT TO)
track each (as yet nameless) "individual" up to the checkout counter.
If the individual uses a credit card to pay, now they can bind a
name to a face (and any other characteristics that they can observe
from the surveillance video -- e.g., "gait" may have some value as
an identifier or disambiguator).

Windows 10 likes to listen to you. So, all those speech samples
sit on a server, somewhere (ditto for your TV and other similar
"appliances" -- "Echo"?). Google voice knows what you sound
like from all the phone calls you make.

I.e., there is a sh*tload of biometric data available along with
ways of accurately binding a name to those data -- or, coming up
with a probabilistic assessment that "this is Oren" (even if they
don't know for sure that it's you)

The downside of this (from the G-man perspective) is that you end up
with *massive* amounts of data. So, doing anything to actually
track individuals (not *an* individual) is beyond the capabilities of
any sort of processing power that is likely to exist in our
lifetimes -- and beyond.

E.g., if *I* suddenly appeared 2000 miles from here and there was
no "biometric trail" that *led* an observer to FOLLOW MY TRAVELS,
it would be hard for someone to discover that I was now no longer
"here" but, rather, "there".

I track the position of "occupants" in this house (ignore the details).
But, I rely on *watching* their movements. If you suddenly appear
somewhere else (in the blink of an eye), you'll confuse my softwa
"He *can't* possibly be over there -- cuz he was at the other end of the
house just a moment ago!"

[Given time, the software accepts the new reality. But, it defies the
assumptions that are built into it (to make the algorithms simpler and
more reliable!) because you've done something (i.e., the data that
represents your location) that is "impossible"]

On Friday, September 18, 2015 at 7:26:45 AM UTC-5, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2015-09-18, Don Y wrote:
OTOH, I've had friends who've been spontaneously notified that they
must have new photos taken (!) and had to sit through the process.

It seems that most if not all states are amassing huge databases of facial
recognition data. Real police-state stuff. To do this they need high-res
digital photos. (Of course they assure us the data won't be misused,
will be protected, etc. Maybe they have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell
us as well.)
--


What the hell good is a DMV database with pictures going to be when in some places Muslim women are allowed to keep their faces covered when they get their picture taken for their drivers license? Since pictures will be useless, perhaps government will now require that everyone be fingerprinted in order to get an official ID. I know that people of my faith, Pastafarianism, will object to wholesale fingerprinting because touch is a sacred part of our faith. If prints aren't used, perhaps everyone's DNA will be necessary to have on record and the information stored on a digital memory chip on your license. You'd be required to have your finger pricked for a blood sample to determine your identity and what's in your bloodstream every time a government agent demanded it. Where will it end? O_o

[8~{} Uncle DNA Monster

Doug Miller posted for all of us...



bob haller wrote in news:d7cb4e0a-c03e-42f9-aac2-
:

I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their service etc till
now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

Would've made a lot more sense to call your local Dept. of Motor Vehicles branch...

PA doesn't have any local branches, can do it over Inet but are problematic.

--
Tekkie

On Friday, September 18, 2015 at 4:40:29 PM UTC-4, Tekkie® wrote:
Doug Miller posted for all of us...



bob haller wrote in news:d7cb4e0a-c03e-42f9-aac2-
:

I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their service etc till
now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

Would've made a lot more sense to call your local Dept. of Motor Vehicles branch...

PA doesn't have any local branches, can do it over Inet but are problematic.

--
Tekkie

How do you submit all the paperwork required to register a used car purchased through private sale? How do you get plates the same day as the purchase?

On Thu, 17 Sep 2015 21:28:08 -0700, Don Y
wrote:
Snipped

[E.g., our local library is serviced by a firm in *Canada*! What
privacy guarantees are *they* required to observe?]


Generally a LOT more privacy protection in Canada than in the US of A
As with most bureaucracies, it's not something I'd want to deal with
unless I absolutely *had* to!

On 9/18/2015 4:49 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 17 Sep 2015 21:28:08 -0700, Don Y
wrote:
Snipped

[E.g., our local library is serviced by a firm in *Canada*! What
privacy guarantees are *they* required to observe?]


Generally a LOT more privacy protection in Canada than in the US of A

Are you familiar enough with their actual laws to know if these
protections extend to business and clients OUTSIDE their country?

As with most bureaucracies, it's not something I'd want to deal with
unless I absolutely *had* to!

On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 10:37:21 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

Your photo exists in *lots* of places -- credit cards, passports,
DL's, "membership clubs", etc.

Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

But those don't bind a unique identifier to the photo. My fingerprints
exist on thousands of "public" (i.e., freely accessible without a warrant)
items every day. But, even if someone wanted to "lift" them, they still
have to be tied to my name, address, etc.


Casinos have had sophisticated facial recognition software and they
may know a lot more about you than you think.
My sister was a power player at the Sands in AC and they would meet
her in the lobby with a gift box of personalized stuff, a few minutes
after she walked in and before she had actually checked in or swiped
her betting card anywhere.
They knew what brand of scotch my BIL drank, what cigarettes they
smoked and what kind of bath oil she liked.
This all came from a hit on the lobby camera.

On 9/18/2015 9:33 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 10:37:21 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

Your photo exists in *lots* of places -- credit cards, passports,
DL's, "membership clubs", etc.

Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

But those don't bind a unique identifier to the photo. My fingerprints
exist on thousands of "public" (i.e., freely accessible without a warrant)
items every day. But, even if someone wanted to "lift" them, they still
have to be tied to my name, address, etc.

Casinos have had sophisticated facial recognition software and they
may know a lot more about you than you think.

They don't know who "you" are unless and until you provide some
form of identification -- rent a room, use a credit card, etc.
Until then, you're just pixels on a display!

My sister was a power player at the Sands in AC and they would meet
her in the lobby with a gift box of personalized stuff, a few minutes
after she walked in and before she had actually checked in or swiped
her betting card anywhere.
They knew what brand of scotch my BIL drank, what cigarettes they
smoked and what kind of bath oil she liked.
This all came from a hit on the lobby camera.

This is relatively common, nowadays. Note, of course, the teenager
Target notified of her pregnancy before her folks knew -- based solely
on her *Target* purchasing habits.

In the ~70's, 60 minutes (or one of those shows) had a show which
illustrated how much information "leaks" from your transactions.

[Note this predates what we think of nowadays as "Big Data"]

The show starts with an interview of a "young couple" who *voluntarily*
hand over their canceled checks for the past year to the TV crew.
The crew flies those checks to a PI on the other coast. He is told
to find out everything he can about the couple *legally* without
contacting them, surveilling them, etc. They give him 30 days to
do this.

[Remember, there's no "Intellius", "Google", etc. to consult! The
only real "public databases" are phonebooks!]

Meanwhile, we return to watching the young couple go about their
lives. See the car they drive, the way they dress, the jobs
they hold, the two large dogs, the fact that the wife is pregnant,
etc.

A month later (i.e., 30 minutes into the show), the TV crew returns
to the PI and asks him what he's discovered. He suggests they
drive an older vehicle, the woman is pregnant, they have some large pets
(probably dogs, not cats), etc.

When asked how he came to these conclusions, the PI mentions the
amount of money they spend on pet food -- and, roughly, what that
would translate into (pet food being a commodity). The fact
that the wife gets her hair done every week or two. The number and
cost of repairs to the vehicle, etc.

Imagine how much easier it is to do this when all of your "guest's"
actions are directly observable! E.g., casinos are designed so
you never leave -- shop, eat, entertainment, gambling, etc. all
under one roof. So, *all* of those transactions are passing through
the casino's billing system.

Vendors, nowadays, can profile each of their customers to determine
how "susceptible" they are to specific "enticements". Will you
limit your purchases to *just* the loss leaders? Or, will those
coax you into the store so you can be tempted by some other more
profitable offerings?

Why is the milk located at the back of the store? Why all the
(high profit margin) impulse items located near the checkout??

On 2015-09-18, Oren wrote:
Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

Fortunately there are countermeasures to facial recognition. Even wearing
large mirrored sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat can be enough if there is
not already an identified facial image of you wearing those things in the
database. There are even active sunglasses using near-infrared LEDs under
development that will prevent the cameras from recognizing that a face
is present.

As the police state and corporate interests continue their inexorable
encroachment on our liberties in the U.S. It is definitely going to
become more difficult to preserve a modicum of privacy.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 22:40:29 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

Casinos have had sophisticated facial recognition software and they
may know a lot more about you than you think.

They don't know who "you" are unless and until you provide some
form of identification -- rent a room, use a credit card, etc.
Until then, you're just pixels on a display!

You are pixels in the computer and the computer will recognize you.

There is a lot of facial recognition software out there even though
people don't talk about it much.

On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 14:54:27 +0000 (UTC), Roger Blake
wrote:

On 2015-09-18, Oren wrote:
Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

Fortunately there are countermeasures to facial recognition. Even wearing
large mirrored sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat can be enough if there is
not already an identified facial image of you wearing those things in the
database. There are even active sunglasses using near-infrared LEDs under
development that will prevent the cameras from recognizing that a face
is present.

If you were wearing that the last time you were in the casino, they
have it.

As the police state and corporate interests continue their inexorable
encroachment on our liberties in the U.S. It is definitely going to
become more difficult to preserve a modicum of privacy.

What privacy?
Everyone got their panties in a wad over the NSA but Goggle knows a
whole lot more about you than the NSA and they read/analyse every byte
of thor Gmail if you use it. I imagine most "free" email services do.
We are the most spied on populatrion in the history of the world and
the computer power makes all of that information searchable, unlike
the Stasi in East Germany that collected reams of data that they could
never actually use.

bob haller wrote:
I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their service etc till now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

wait time on hold both times overa hour and a half..... finally got my questions answered by stopping by one of their stores for lack of a better term. one time they never answered when i finally gave up .

I complained loudly about the rotten service. was told all the AAAsare now owned and managed from california. where they consolidated all their telephone call centers. unfortunately they arent able to answer calls from pennsylvania in a timely fashion. they are attempting to move their phone help back to pennsylvania

what is wrong with america? service is non existent, college grads in suits give the orders how to cut costs while they enjoy all the perks.

in triple aaas case a rep promised me someone would call me back.

not only did they never call me back they tell me theres no way to complain.....

no address no phone number andmany levels you cant get thru to complain


I've been a AAA member for more years than I can remember, but I was
shocked, shocked to discover that they wouldn't tow my disabled car
(transmission failure) from my driveway to a used car place three miles
away willing to pay me an acceptable price for it.

Why? Because I'd taken off the license plates to transfer them to a car
I'd just bought from a dealer to replace the disabled one.

Had I known that in advance I would have had the car towed by AAA before
I took off the plates and transferred them and the registration to the
new car.

Yes, I probably could have "borrowed" the plate from my new car and put
it on the disabled one long enough for AAA to tow it, but I'm still
trying to live as much as possible by the rule, "There is no right way
to do the wrong thing."

So, I paid a private towing company a hundred bucks to put it on a flat
bed and take it to the used car place for me.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 14:54:27 +0000 (UTC), Roger Blake
wrote:

As the police state and corporate interests continue their inexorable
encroachment on our liberties in the U.S. It is definitely going to
become more difficult to preserve a modicum of privacy.

PBS: _Spying On The Home Front_ (1 hour video)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/homefront/

Unprecedented in Las Vegas. FBI demanded "all records".

On 2015-09-19, wrote:
If you were wearing that the last time you were in the casino, they
have it.

But at this time they don't have a name attached to it unless you
voluntarily give it to them. (Also if you use active glasses their cameras
will have difficulty even identifying a face.) The concern is now that
government is collecting facial recognition data into a huge database
you'll be able to be identified by name, address, etc. No doubt this
will ultimately be sold or leaked for corporate use.

What privacy?
Everyone got their panties in a wad over the NSA but Goggle knows a
whole lot more about you than the NSA and they read/analyse every byte
of thor Gmail if you use it.

No, Google does not, since I do not use any of their products or services.

It is still possible to have a modicum of privacy if you work at it;
and there are things you still have control over. For example, I don't
use any Apple, Microsoft, or Google products or services. For my primary
email I run my own mail server. I do not participate in any social
media. All local purchases are made in cash, and online purchases are
rare. I do not use a smart phone. (It's not really an effort, really I'm
just continuing to live the way I have for decades. For me it would be
strange to live any other way.)

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 9/19/2015 12:38 PM, Roger Blake wrote:

No, Google does not, since I do not use any of their products or services.

It is still possible to have a modicum of privacy if you work at it;
and there are things you still have control over. For example, I don't
use any Apple, Microsoft, or Google products or services. For my primary
email I run my own mail server. I do not participate in any social
media. All local purchases are made in cash, and online purchases are
rare. I do not use a smart phone. (It's not really an effort, really I'm
just continuing to live the way I have for decades. For me it would be
strange to live any other way.)


Is Roger Blake your real name? Google has 33,000,000 hits on it. One
of them may be you.

You do kep a low profile, but if you ever had your name in the newspspwr
or the like, they may have something.

On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 12:56:58 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 9/19/2015 12:38 PM, Roger Blake wrote:

No, Google does not, since I do not use any of their products or services.

It is still possible to have a modicum of privacy if you work at it;
and there are things you still have control over. For example, I don't
use any Apple, Microsoft, or Google products or services. For my primary
email I run my own mail server. I do not participate in any social
media. All local purchases are made in cash, and online purchases are
rare. I do not use a smart phone. (It's not really an effort, really I'm
just continuing to live the way I have for decades. For me it would be
strange to live any other way.)


Is Roger Blake your real name? Google has 33,000,000 hits on it. One
of them may be you.

You do kep a low profile, but if you ever had your name in the newspspwr
or the like, they may have something.

The only way there isn't a record of him is if he wasn't born yet

On 9/19/2015 8:22 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 18 Sep 2015 22:40:29 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

Casinos have had sophisticated facial recognition software and they
may know a lot more about you than you think.

They don't know who "you" are unless and until you provide some
form of identification -- rent a room, use a credit card, etc.
Until then, you're just pixels on a display!

You are pixels in the computer and the computer will recognize you.

Yes. But if I don't "reappear", they've lost track of me (my identity)
unless I have provided them with a persistent credential.

E.g., I track the occupants in this house. But, I (machine) don't
know who they are other than "occupant 1", "occupant 2", etc.
I could have the machine address me as "Benevolent Overlord",
"Tyranical Despot", or any other name and it wouldn't be any wiser!

There is a lot of facial recognition software out there even though
people don't talk about it much.

On 9/19/2015 8:28 AM, wrote:
On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 14:54:27 +0000 (UTC), Roger Blake
wrote:

On 2015-09-18, Oren wrote:
Casinos take ~80 photos per minute on the Las Vegas Strip. Street
cameras, red light cameras and such, too.

Fortunately there are countermeasures to facial recognition. Even wearing
large mirrored sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat can be enough if there is
not already an identified facial image of you wearing those things in the
database. There are even active sunglasses using near-infrared LEDs under
development that will prevent the cameras from recognizing that a face
is present.

If you were wearing that the last time you were in the casino, they
have it.

Or, they may insist that you *remove* it! E.g., walk into a bank
with a cap and sunglasses and you'll quickly draw attention to
yourself!

As the police state and corporate interests continue their inexorable
encroachment on our liberties in the U.S. It is definitely going to
become more difficult to preserve a modicum of privacy.

What privacy?
Everyone got their panties in a wad over the NSA but Goggle knows a
whole lot more about you than the NSA and they read/analyse every byte
of thor Gmail if you use it. I imagine most "free" email services do.

The difference is, you have the option of *not* using their services!
There's no way to "opt out" of NSA surveillance!

I self-censor what I discuss with folks based on their email provider.
This isn't foolproof; google handles mail for some ISP's without
applying their name to the domain!

We are the most spied on populatrion in the history of the world and
the computer power makes all of that information searchable, unlike
the Stasi in East Germany that collected reams of data that they could
never actually use.

China and Britain have excessive monitoring capabilities.

As to "never actually use", I contend that the volume of data collected
defies anything other than *targeted* use -- looking for something *specific*.

You can use Big Data to identify trends. But, only if those trends manifest
in reasonably "static" ways. E.g., if someone placed a Craigslist ad in
January using a particular phrasing; then visited the Bolshoi ballet 9 months
later (and happened to use the men's lavatory on the second floor);
then placed a phone call to a particular phone number 2 months later,
you'd be hard pressed to extract this relationship from the amount
of data you've collected. Even if it was a 100% positive indicator
of something of interest to you!

Instead, you look for more static data that "stands out" by itself in
shorter terms or with less associated "noise" (e.g., wanting flying
lessons and being of middle eastern descent)

On 9/19/2015 9:38 AM, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2015-09-19, wrote:
If you were wearing that the last time you were in the casino, they
have it.

But at this time they don't have a name attached to it unless you
voluntarily give it to them. (Also if you use active glasses their cameras
will have difficulty even identifying a face.) The concern is now that
government is collecting facial recognition data into a huge database
you'll be able to be identified by name, address, etc. No doubt this
will ultimately be sold or leaked for corporate use.

The problem runs the other way: companies collecting data (because they
can, legally -- part of the terms of use that you acknowledged but didn't
read0 and then the gummit accessing that data (search warrants, voluntary
disclosure, patriot act, surreptitious hacking, etc.).

What privacy?
Everyone got their panties in a wad over the NSA but Goggle knows a
whole lot more about you than the NSA and they read/analyse every byte
of thor Gmail if you use it.

No, Google does not, since I do not use any of their products or services.

Do you avoid contact with EVERYONE who has a gmail account? Are you
sure someone hasn't forwarded one of your messages to someone else
who does?? Are you sure MyISP.com isn't subcontracting their mail
services to Google??

Have you avoided every web site that uses scripts supplied from
other domains (googleadservices, ackamai, etc.)? Does your IP
address change frequently? MAC address? Do you alter the fingerprint
of your web browser with each HTTP request? Do you ever click
on links (which provide referrer tracebacks)? Does your ISP share
information with others (warrants, voluntarily, etc.) without
your consent?

There are many articles that decry the absurdity of "anonymous"
data sets; showing how many of them fail to truly hide identifying
information.

It is still possible to have a modicum of privacy if you work at it;
and there are things you still have control over. For example, I don't
use any Apple, Microsoft, or Google products or services. For my primary
email I run my own mail server. I do not participate in any social
media. All local purchases are made in cash, and online purchases are
rare. I do not use a smart phone. (It's not really an effort, really I'm
just continuing to live the way I have for decades. For me it would be
strange to live any other way.)

My eyes opened when I was in school (70's) and exposed to the capabilities
of (at that time, newly modern) technology.

My sister suspected my BinL of being unfaithful. Looking at *her* phone
records (which also covering *his* phone use), it was easy to show which
days he had CLAIMED to be "at work" -- yet was dozens of miles from work!
It was possible to actually track his travels along the roadways by
noticing which cell towers handled his calls along the way!

Looking at the phone numbers involved made it pretty easy to sort out
*who* he was "meeting up with".

Likewise, look at the credit card transactions on those days and times
and you can further confirm the "evidence" from the phone record.

"Oooops!"

On 9/19/2015 9:56 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Is Roger Blake your real name? Google has 33,000,000 hits on it. One of them
may be you.

You do kep a low profile, but if you ever had your name in the newspspwr or the
like, they may have something.

In the late 70's, I worked for Kurzweil Computer Products. We made a
machine that "read books" (or newspapers!). It was oriented towards
visually impaired users (Xerox now owns the technology).

Imagine (remember, this is 40 years ago!) someone sitting down and
placing each page of each major newspaper on the scanner, waiting
for it to "read" the text on that page, feeding that text into
a database that notes the publication, date, page number, etc.
for later (or current!) analysis.

Imagine MANY of these machines (they weren't particularly fast)
staffed by an army of GRUNTS. I.e., even without access to the
typesetting equipment of these newspapers, you could still get
"current data" in essentially "real time"! Store a photographic
copy of the page as you are scanning it (TIFF) and you can then
have a human analyst "review" any articles that a machine has
deemed interesting (e.g., look at the photos associated with
the article).

With todays technology, you could *photograph* pages quickly
and scan them just as fast -- without resorting to a serial,
mechanical "scanner".

But, you're doing this every day just to remain "current" with
the latest publications. When does the volume of data overwhelm your
ability to process it in a meaningful way?

On 2015-09-19, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
Is Roger Blake your real name? Google has 33,000,000 hits on it. One
of them may be you.

That would be telling. :-) For the sake of this discussion you may assume
that I don't use real names in anything online. It is not an uncommon
name in any event, there's even a UK actor by that name. Maybe that's
me? (Probably not.) Anyhow if it's real someone would have to check
quite a few people out.

I'm not completely off the grid by any means of course. That's why I say a
"modicum" of privacy. You'd pretty much have to live in a shack out in
the woods to be completely anonymous. I just believe in making whoever
might be interested work for the information rather than simply handing
it over to them. (One example is I do not receive any targeted ads.
How I spend my money is nobody else's business. Never even received
an AARP invite, and they're pretty relentless.)

You do kep a low profile, but if you ever had your name in the newspspwr
or the like, they may have something.

Hasn't happened. Likely won't except for possibly an obituary after
which it won't matter to me much. The young people out there are
the ones who are really going to have to deal with the consequences
of living in a full-blown police state.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 2015-09-19, Don Y wrote:
Do you avoid contact with EVERYONE who has a gmail account? Are you
sure someone hasn't forwarded one of your messages to someone else
who does?? Are you sure MyISP.com isn't subcontracting their mail
services to Google??

My ISP for email is myself. :-) I use a variety of different email
addresses for different people and different purposes. (I'll use
one-time throwaways on free services sometimes just to sign up
for something and then don't use that account ever again.

It's not perfect, but I don't just hand information over willingly.
Someone is going to have to do some digging and analysis.

Have you avoided every web site that uses scripts supplied from
other domains (googleadservices, ackamai, etc.)? Does your IP
address change frequently? MAC address? Do you alter the fingerprint
of your web browser with each HTTP request? Do you ever click
on links (which provide referrer tracebacks)? Does your ISP share
information with others (warrants, voluntarily, etc.) without
your consent?

I use a browser armored to the hilt where I control who can run scripts
and what other domains can be contacted. I use a foreign-based VPN service
that offers quite a few exit points and keeps no logs. Yes, I have an
addon that randomly changes the browser fingerprint. My ISP has no idea
what goes through my home connection beyond initiation of the VPN tunnel.
They have no information to share.

Likewise, look at the credit card transactions on those days and times
and you can further confirm the "evidence" from the phone record.

Another good reason to pay in cash.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

DerbyDad03 posted for all of us...



On Friday, September 18, 2015 at 4:40:29 PM UTC-4, Tekkie® wrote:
Doug Miller posted for all of us...



bob haller wrote in news:d7cb4e0a-c03e-42f9-aac2-
:

I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their service etc till
now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

Would've made a lot more sense to call your local Dept. of Motor Vehicles branch...

PA doesn't have any local branches, can do it over Inet but are problematic.

--
Tekkie

How do you submit all the paperwork required to register a used car purchased through private sale? How do you get plates the same day as the purchase?

Through one of title places or a notary (whom usually does not have plates)
one can also get temp plates which cling to back window and pink sales
paperwork will make you good to go.

--
Tekkie

On 9/19/2015 11:45 AM, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2015-09-19, Don Y wrote:
Do you avoid contact with EVERYONE who has a gmail account? Are you
sure someone hasn't forwarded one of your messages to someone else
who does?? Are you sure MyISP.com isn't subcontracting their mail
services to Google??

My ISP for email is myself. :-)

Then your MAC address is exposed -- uniquely identifying your machine
(at least to your upsteam connections).

I use a variety of different email
addresses for different people and different purposes. (I'll use
one-time throwaways on free services sometimes just to sign up
for something and then don't use that account ever again.

I use a variety of "disposable" email addresses simply because I
don't want to keep a server on-line *and* want to be able to
shed an address if someone that I've entrusted it with "slips up"
and shares it (or has their account hacked). Knowing who I've
given each address to allows me to know how it may have "leaked"
and who I should hold accountable.

I use guerilla mail for onetime contact (e.g., craigslist is
notorious for email harvesting; let them harvest an email
address that no longer works! : )

I spent a fair bit of time, deacades ago, trying to get my name
removed from "reputable" mailing lists. Ever since, I've opted
to just use a specific address for each such list and just
terminate the account when I no longer want to receive mail
from them.

It's not perfect, but I don't just hand information over willingly.
Someone is going to have to do some digging and analysis.

Have you avoided every web site that uses scripts supplied from
other domains (googleadservices, ackamai, etc.)? Does your IP
address change frequently? MAC address? Do you alter the fingerprint
of your web browser with each HTTP request? Do you ever click
on links (which provide referrer tracebacks)? Does your ISP share
information with others (warrants, voluntarily, etc.) without
your consent?

I use a browser armored to the hilt where I control who can run scripts
and what other domains can be contacted.

This makes your browser appear more unique! Given your range of IP
addresses and browser "uniqueness", you can probably be easily
identified (though not "named"). When I surf the web, my browser
is locked down hard -- no script, no flash, etc. When SWMBO uses
the same machine/IP to browse the web, her browser is more
"typically" configured. I.e., anyone watching (e.g., google searches)
knows that there are (at least) two different users, here.

I use a foreign-based VPN service
that offers quite a few exit points and keeps no logs. Yes, I have an
addon that randomly changes the browser fingerprint.

Again, that makes you stand out. You want to resemble Average Joes
if you want to be harder to "identify".

My ISP has no idea
what goes through my home connection beyond initiation of the VPN tunnel.
They have no information to share.

Likewise, look at the credit card transactions on those days and times
and you can further confirm the "evidence" from the phone record.

Another good reason to pay in cash.

Preaching to the choir, here! I paid my *tuition* in cash (though
decades ago, it was only a few $K / semester; OTOH, a few $K might
well be equivalent to today's rates!).

But, this sort of "profiling" also has worked in my favor. I
purchased my first two computers for ~$8,000/ea and charged
them. The guy at the store was flabbergasted when he phoned
in the credit charge: "They didn't even want to *talk* to you (to
verify your identity)!" Someone else making such a big purchase
might have stood out as "unusual"...

On 9/19/2015 8:29 AM, Jeff Wisnia wrote:
bob haller wrote:
I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their
service etc till now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy
one van....

wait time on hold both times overa hour and a half..... finally got my
questions answered by stopping by one of their stores for lack of a better
term. one time they never answered when i finally gave up .

I complained loudly about the rotten service. was told all the AAAsare now
owned and managed from california. where they consolidated all their
telephone call centers. unfortunately they arent able to answer calls from
pennsylvania in a timely fashion. they are attempting to move their phone
help back to pennsylvania

what is wrong with america? service is non existent, college grads in suits
give the orders how to cut costs while they enjoy all the perks.

in triple aaas case a rep promised me someone would call me back.

not only did they never call me back they tell me theres no way to complain.....

no address no phone number andmany levels you cant get thru to complain


I've been a AAA member for more years than I can remember, but I was shocked,
shocked to discover that they wouldn't tow my disabled car (transmission
failure) from my driveway to a used car place three miles away willing to pay
me an acceptable price for it.

Why? Because I'd taken off the license plates to transfer them to a car I'd
just bought from a dealer to replace the disabled one.

Had I known that in advance I would have had the car towed by AAA before I took
off the plates and transferred them and the registration to the new car.

Yes, I probably could have "borrowed" the plate from my new car and put it on
the disabled one long enough for AAA to tow it, but I'm still trying to live as
much as possible by the rule, "There is no right way to do the wrong thing."

So, I paid a private towing company a hundred bucks to put it on a flat bed and
take it to the used car place for me.

We carry towing coverage on our auto insurance. It's a small fee -- used
to be something like $3/6 mos -- I think it is double that, now. Only
used it once so I'm "behind" if you want to count that sort of thing.

OTOH, when I needed it, I just handed the receipt to my local agent and
he wrote out a check, on the spot.

On 2015-09-19, Don Y wrote:
*This* is the clincher! folks who voluntarily GIVE AWAY information!

That's it. Obviously if someone thinks I'm interesting enough they'll
be able to do some digging and put some things together. I'm not going
to willingly hand over the info though, whoever wants it is going to
have to work for it.

Buy a car, own real estate, get a divorce, have someone name you
in a lawsuit, have a driver's license, accept a package from UPS/FedEx,
win an award/honor, participate in a charitable organization,
own a business (or be an officer of any institution), etc.

For those sufficiently serious about it there are ways around that
too with dummy corporations, holding companies, etc. They can be
penetrated of course but someone will have to work at it.

[The last part being relatively easy -- I don't try to be "anonymous";
rather, I just want to be "hard to contact". E.g., list your phone
under a different name, use a *private* postal box (not a POBox as those
have rules regarding how the information can be disclosed)]

Pretty much the same thing I'm after. I'm not naive enough to think
that nobody would be able to put some pieces together. I just don't
hand it all over on a silver platter.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 2015-09-19, Don Y wrote:
Then your MAC address is exposed -- uniquely identifying your machine
(at least to your upsteam connections).

The MAC address is only used on the local LAN. The ISP gateway device
does not see it. They only have the MAC of the router between their
gateway and my LAN, which I can change at will since the router runs
Linux and is completely under my control. But it's not really a concern
since all they can see is a VPN tunnel established. There is traffic
flow analysis possible of course, but that's very general and there are
countermeasures to that as well if it becomes a problem.

I use a variety of "disposable" email addresses simply because I
don't want to keep a server on-line *and* want to be able to
shed an address if someone that I've entrusted it with "slips up"
and shares it (or has their account hacked).

Also a good way to do it. I've been working with the internet, mail
servers, etc. since the early 1980s so for me it's trivial to have
and control my own servers.

This makes your browser appear more unique! Given your range of IP
addresses and browser "uniqueness", you can probably be easily
identified (though not "named").

The "named" (and "located") part is what I would be most concerned
about. As I said, no targeted ads, so I'm managing to keep 'em at bay.

Again, that makes you stand out. You want to resemble Average Joes
if you want to be harder to "identify".

They still don't know exactly who I am or what my actual location is. That's
more important to me than some piece of analytical software seeing "oh,
it's some anonymous guy again."

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------