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How far are you gonna go?
... Today it is almost impossible not to be tracked ...

So True.

Yet, the ultimate result of accepting this meme on its current trajectory could mean that things go to a point that is as wrong/bad as anything my mind could ever conceptualize as wrong. Apathy is not the answer.
 
If you don't want to get tracked, make sure to not wear your face or body in public. Where I define "public" as places where you can be seen.

If it isn't obvious: this post is a mix of reality and irony. For the last ~50,000 years, humans have not had absolute privacy in public. The moment they can be seen, they can be identified, and therefore track. The only change is that the technology for identifying and tracking has become more accurate and efficient. Even 2000 years ago, a sufficiently powerful adversary could station enough of their henchmen at every corner and every tree in the forest to find you.
 
I need to figure out a digital curtain for my car license plate. Readable by human eye but not machines.
Something to screw up the focus of cameras.
The cops in my area are starting to adopt plate scanners.
Totally unconstitutional searches taking place. I did nothing wrong. You have no right to automatically check my tag.
Innocent until proven guilty?
 
Readable by human eye but not machines.
Depending on your state you'll very likely violate some law if you do that.

Totally unconstitutional searches taking place.
You were searched? The plate scanner stopped you, made you comply with an order to not leave, and then searched you? Probably not. I don't think you understand what "search" means.

The constitution doesn't say that the police (whether human officer or automatic device) don't have the right to look around. They are allowed to see everything that happens or is visible in public. That includes from example your face, by which you can be very likely identified. For cars, our society has decided that they need to have visible identification marks; and we have to assume that it is constitutional, since no court of last resort has ever declared it unconstitutional.

Innocent until proven guilty?
You were not found guilty; scanning plates does not automatically create convictions. Until you have been arrested and convicted for driving a stolen car (as an example), you are actually innocent. Even if the cop's automated device has seen your license plate, and has reasonable suspicion (a term of art) that this car was stolen. "Innocent until proven guilty" doesn't mean that law enforcement can not investigate things that might be crimes (even though in most cases it is not).

Remember: Your opinion (and my opinion!) on what is constitutional is worth exactly nothing. Only the opinion of courts count, in particular the courts that create precedent, in particular binding precedent.
 
I need to figure out a digital curtain for my car license plate. Readable by human eye but not machines.
Something to screw up the focus of cameras.

Some states are toying with the idea of LED license plates. Prototypes are indistinguishable from the real thing except at close-up distances. A small MCU and memory would hold the account info for the number on the plate. Can't imagine that'd ever get hacked.
 
In the old analog days a policeman was not allowed to run every tag in a parking lot for no reason.
With an automated tag scanner the process is now allowable?
If the data was destroyed immediately I might be OK with it. I have nothing to hide.
 
What really made me laugh is that NYC Police were beefing on Waze because they were giving away locations of speed traps and checkpoints.
 
In the old analog days a policeman was not allowed to run every tag in a parking lot for no reason.


The building complex liaison to Local Law Enforcement ran my tag last night when I was sitting in my truck on the lot smoking a stogie. He recognized my plates had recently changed and sat behind me while he ran them but did not approach the vehicle.

A Passive-Aggressive Personality trait I had already identified in him from past encounters and easy to spot in others. Though he was well within his rights to carry out.
 
Some states are toying with the idea of LED license plates. Prototypes are indistinguishable from the real thing except at close-up distances. A small MCU and memory would hold the account info for the number on the plate. Can't imagine that'd ever get hacked.
Never. Hacking is verboten!

Trihexagonal that behavior can backfire. Sadly not often enough. Like doing a house search without a warrant, waking the owner and then suddenly recognizing that face after he had donned his house gown. Say hello to Mr. State Attorny and good bye to your career.
 
Crivens, I've lived there for 11 years now and only had dealings with him a couple times.

Once when his puppy dog got him to tag my car for parking in what he thought was his space, which ended up with my car hours from being towed, me in his face and him packing black powder rifles in their case out to his truck as an attempted means to intimidate me.

It didn't.

The constable in question tried to defend him by saying "They were only black powder rifles."

I asked him if he knew how many people were killed during the Civil War with black powder rifles.

Anyway, that guy is the newly crowned building Security Guard and in his glory at the moment, so we'll see how this goes. I can deal with it.
 
Ouch passive aggressive with new powers and tools. What can possibly go wrong?
 
Crivens
... packing black powder rifles in their case out to his truck as an attempted means to intimidate me.

It didn't. ...

In my territory, we had a similar circumstance, but the guns (yes, there were two of them!) - were tossed onto the front seat of the vehicle. When he tossed them I waited for the sound of an accidental firing (which put visions of ambulances in my head). I have two bullet holes in my house, but they were not from this guy. This was many years ago. Things are a bit calmer in this area now (at least in some respects). Lasers seem to be the new thing.

The new normal for people is not really normal. Part of the problem are the food additives.
 
That's how he got away with it, they were in a case. He doesn't get a bullet with his new position, much less a gun. Just a free apartment and a title, which puts him under a new set of rules as an employee for me to work with.

He may feel a sense of power with his new position, but I specialize in slow learners and have no plans on moving.
 
The "wolf under every tree" mentality that almost every netizen feels has driven the population into self induced permanent anonymity from the rest of the population (you mostly only know other netizens as screen names) - while crooks and gubmints can know you better than any of your nameless screen friends.

There may not be a wolf under every tree, but the forest is full of trees.


To bring myself back on topic, I'm old and feeble minded, consider it a breach of security to have a plethora of personal info presented for public perusal on platforms like Facebook.

IMO, the average person is only feeding their own ego or engaging in self-promotion and as long as they don't have controversial political views or create conflict could go on to be a youtube star and eventually end up on TV like Diamond and Silk. And while they have their haters due to said expression of political views, it comes with the territory. They're strong and intelligent enough to deal with it.

Then there is Elmer Fudd who wanders into the forest going wabbit hunting with black powder gunz-a-blazin' only to find himself a mere babe in the woods at the mercy of that wascally wabbit.

T-t-t-t-that's all, folks.


The Security Guard and the Constable are two different people if I didn't make myself clear. The Security Guard is the one I had conflict with. He's a former Corrections Officer that got fired for sexual harassment and brown-nosed his way into this job acting like it was only a transfer when he moved in the building. He's in tight with the Constable but only a resident and at one point people talked about getting a petition up to get him out.
 
I like to post bullshit on Facebook, in the last one i pretend to be Jacques Cousteau. this is the only use i see for Facebook: share comic content with my far friends.

i spend about 10 minutes every 3 days on FB. In the past i used to spend there a lot more time.
 
I was slow on getting Facebook and the only social media I really liked was the MSN Messenger. What I never liked about Facebook was that everything about you was on display for "the people allowed". I didn't find it appealing to have any possible "flaw" about myself out in the open linked to my personal details; also: Where is the fun in getting to know a person you already know everything about?

Had Facebook for a few years because of peer pressure and the fright of being left out alone 'til a day I simply just couldn't stand logging in 8 times each 20 minutes checking the feed of plain "nothing". I quit and started focusing on other areas in my life and realised I had a lot of time to spend on other more important things.

The positive thing about Facebook would be for marketing and politics.

The main social media I use today is an old forum for rockers and occationally I lurk the websites for dating when wanting to meet someone new.
 
Next up ditch the fitbit or smart phone and get a phone with a removable battery for true locational freedom..

I've removed all traces of FB from my smart phone. The unit does have a good camera which is lighter to lug around than my Nikon. I like taking pictures with my phone. You are correct in that we are constantly being tracked.
 
Did anyone know that your Tesla is phoning home with position and speed every beeping second?
 
I am not much of a participant on Social Media. Sure, I write a few posts here. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an excellent webpage detailing the use/abuse of Automated License Plate Readers.
My local news media sources described how a law enforcement officer became the target of many
unauthorized searches, by other law enforcement officers! Maybe those are government checks and balances, but I kind of doubt that.
 
I am not much of a participant on Social Media. Sure, I write a few posts here. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an excellent webpage detailing the use/abuse of Automated License Plate Readers.
Interesting article thanks.

Sadly ANPR is only advancing and being extended in the UK. Unlike the US, there is really nobody interested in fighting the fight for privacy and pushing back against the onset of these Orwellian technologies. I think it's been said that we have more CCTV here than anywhere else in the world.
 
I think it's been said that we have more CCTV here than anywhere else in the world.
And did they figure out that each video of a crime on these cameras is proof that these cameras don't prevent crimes?
 
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