They're out to get us!

[Homburg]

And I hope, sincerely, that my phone calls have been fun for the NSA.

For a coupla years, a buddy of mine and I decided that we wanted to be listened to. So we'd pepper our phone conversations with various hot button terms.

"Dude, can you believe what *nuclear bomb* Professor So-and-so assigned yesterday for the next *fissionable materials* project?"

"Christ, I know! That *biological contaminant* shit is crazy! What does *mass insurrection* she expect us to do?"

Makes me wonder if there's an inch-thick file in some NSA facility detailing my boring-ass college years as a result.

 

[ThorkelGriersen]

I'm not paranoid about the store zipcode thing, more just freaking irritated at how much junk and spam you can attract without even trying. Why bother with nefariousness when they can just sell us all more shit?

And I hope, sincerely, that my phone calls have been fun for the NSA.

Send them a bill @ $1.99 a minute as a secondary user!

 

[Sweetdaisymae]

For a coupla years, a buddy of mine and I decided that we wanted to be listened to. So we'd pepper our phone conversations with various hot button terms.

"Dude, can you believe what *nuclear bomb* Professor So-and-so assigned yesterday for the next *fissionable materials* project?"

"Christ, I know! That *biological contaminant* shit is crazy! What does *mass insurrection* she expect us to do?"

Makes me wonder if there's an inch-thick file in some NSA facility detailing my boring-ass college years as a result.

LMAO!!!!
yep its the kind of thing i do!!
you know you can get arrested in an English Airport if you say BOMB!
I just love walking through saying "u da bomb baby!!" and see how long it takes for the tap on the shoulder lol
England is the CCTV capital of the world, there are few places where you arent watched, I think a bit of a hangover from the old IRA bombing days.

With the store cards, once again I have serious wonders about the sanity of the person who wants to collect data on my preferrence of toilet roll, but whatever turns them on!

 

[ZRT]

That Big Ear shit has always annoyed the hell out of me.

The notion that the recorder clicks on every time somebody says 'I'm gonna nuke me some dinner' is so...

I mean, man, talk about gazillions of terabytes of useless conversations, when your real bad guys might just be using such obscure techniques as 'code words'.

...basic logic, god damn it.

 

[Keroin]

That Big Ear shit has always annoyed the hell out of me.

The notion that the recorder clicks on every time somebody says 'I'm gonna nuke me some dinner' is so...

I mean, man, talk about gazillions of terabytes of useless conversations, when your real bad guys might just be using such obscure techniques as 'code words'.

...basic logic, god damn it.

You're so easily annoyed.

Tee hee

 

[Keroin]

What I dislike about loyalty cards, specifically as regards Big Food, is that I am assisting them in their ever narrower and narrower marketing campaigns.

Everything about a grocery store is designed to part you from as much of your money as possible – ask yourself why milk, the single most common purchase, is always placed in a position that requires you to walk past as much other product as possible. The colours, the smells, the product placement, the music, etc, every single detail is manipulated to make you spend as much time in the store and spend as much money as possible. Loyalty cards help them in this process. And I don’t really want to help someone find better and more efficient ways of taking my money Thankyouverymuch.

And of course, whenever there’s information collection there is the possibility of misuse, (though this is a secondary issue for me).

For example, there is the case of the firefighter in Tukwila, Washington whose home burnt down. (Yeah, there’s some irony). Police suspected that this firefighter started the fire himself, (his wife and child were inside at the time), and the central piece of incriminating evidence was his Safeway card, which showed a purchase of the same kind of firelighter that was used to start the blaze. Luckily, the real arsonist owned up before the start of the trial but had he not this fellow could have gone to jail on the basis of his Safeway card information.

No, I don’t think Big Food is comprised of a bunch of Dr Evil’s sitting around in a room, twirling their long, black mustaches, while plotting how to take over the world, I just know they do not have the best interest of the consumer at heart.

 

[rida]

What I dislike about loyalty cards, specifically as regards Big Food, is that I am assisting them in their ever narrower and narrower marketing campaigns.

*snip*

No, I don’t think Big Food is comprised of a bunch of Dr Evil’s sitting around in a room, twirling their long, black mustaches, while plotting how to take over the world, I just know they do not have the best interest of the consumer at heart.

And that is why I think that a course on "marketing" in middle school is really a good idea.

 

[Aquila1]

Whenever I take a long-haul flight there are two magazines I always treat myself to at the airport bookshop. The first of these is 'Nexus' magazine, and the second is the 'Skeptic' magazine. Whether or not there is much truth in either is debatable, but they keep me thoroughly entertained for hours on end.

 

[ThorkelGriersen]

What I dislike about loyalty cards, specifically as regards Big Food, is that I am assisting them in their ever narrower and narrower marketing campaigns.

Everything about a grocery store is designed to part you from as much of your money as possible – ask yourself why milk, the single most common purchase, is always placed in a position that requires you to walk past as much other product as possible. The colours, the smells, the product placement, the music, etc, every single detail is manipulated to make you spend as much time in the store and spend as much money as possible. Loyalty cards help them in this process. And I don’t really want to help someone find better and more efficient ways of taking my money Thankyouverymuch.

And of course, whenever there’s information collection there is the possibility of misuse, (though this is a secondary issue for me).

For example, there is the case of the firefighter in Tukwila, Washington whose home burnt down. (Yeah, there’s some irony). Police suspected that this firefighter started the fire himself, (his wife and child were inside at the time), and the central piece of incriminating evidence was his Safeway card, which showed a purchase of the same kind of firelighter that was used to start the blaze. Luckily, the real arsonist owned up before the start of the trial but had he not this fellow could have gone to jail on the basis of his Safeway card information.

No, I don’t think Big Food is comprised of a bunch of Dr Evil’s sitting around in a room, twirling their long, black mustaches, while plotting how to take over the world, I just know they do not have the best interest of the consumer at heart.

Yeah, the marketing part is really crazy. Best to use the old "perimeter" rule. All the things worth eating, are around the outside wall or one aisle in. The deeper into the aisles you go, the worse the [so-called] food is. [Interesting note: The UK tried to ban day-time TV commercials for Pringles because of their non-existent nutritional value. They lost. Since Pringles are 57% chemicals, they can't be classified as a food and therefore can't be regulated.]

As far as CAV cameras and coded tracking, it is interesting that a man in NYC had a murder charge dismissed based on tracking data. He had been in Rikkers for a couple of months when he finally got a public defender. He told where he was at the time of the murder and when the Metro Pass readings were checked, it proved that the pass that he was carrying at the time of arrest verified his story -- esp. since a check of the CAV cameras showed him going thought the subway turnstiles at the times on the Metro Pass

Win some and loose some.

 

[ZRT]

No, I don’t think Big Food is comprised of a bunch of Dr Evil’s sitting around in a room, twirling their long, black mustaches, while plotting how to take over the world, I just know they do not have the best interest of the consumer at heart.

But is it their business to have the best interest of the consumer at heart? I mean, beyond the obvious need for healthful, safe, and honest practices.

Sure, there's calculation involved in every level of store design, but why shouldn't they refine their craft in attracting purchases? Is it subtle manipulation? About on the same level as wearing perfume, to me.

I can blame and disdain corporate entities for a lot of things, but careful craftsmanship in their store layouts and designs isn't one of them. That's just good business sense, to me, and a larger extension of the sort of behaviors we all engage in in day to day life to better our own prospects. I mean, hell, I actually tuck in my shirt for job interviews.

 

[chy_girl]

For a coupla years, a buddy of mine and I decided that we wanted to be listened to. So we'd pepper our phone conversations with various hot button terms.

"Dude, can you believe what *nuclear bomb* Professor So-and-so assigned yesterday for the next *fissionable materials* project?"

"Christ, I know! That *biological contaminant* shit is crazy! What does *mass insurrection* she expect us to do?"

Makes me wonder if there's an inch-thick file in some NSA facility detailing my boring-ass college years as a result.

Yeah, that would happen when I'd talk politics with my mom or a friend over the phone. It was rather amusing once we made the connection between the quiet little clicks and key words. There was some less than gentle chastising when they screwed up our line and made it all fuzzy and staticy.

 

[Keroin]

But is it their business to have the best interest of the consumer at heart? I mean, beyond the obvious need for healthful, safe, and honest practices.

Sure, there's calculation involved in every level of store design, but why shouldn't they refine their craft in attracting purchases? Is it subtle manipulation? About on the same level as wearing perfume, to me.

I can blame and disdain corporate entities for a lot of things, but careful craftsmanship in their store layouts and designs isn't one of them. That's just good business sense, to me, and a larger extension of the sort of behaviors we all engage in in day to day life to better our own prospects. I mean, hell, I actually tuck in my shirt for job interviews.

Ah, but it goes so far beyond that, for me. "Big Food" are just corporations and the end goal of the corporation is always profit for shareholders. Capitalism. Yes. Good. Yes. However, desire for profit often means doing what is not, ultimately, in the best interest of the consumer.

It starts, for me, with the farmers and goes up a long chain of "bad". The consumer wants to buy a liter of milk but you make him run a gauntlet of product to do so - who benefits? I agree it is good marketing but in the big picture is it good to constantly encourage people to buy things they don't need?

Blah, blah, blah, I know. Look, I live in a place where I get to see viable alternatives to Big Food and I love them, they work, they're good and they benefit people at every point in the chain. No loyalty cards needed. Win, win, win!

*Puts on her rainbow t-shirt and lights the bong*

 

[ZRT]

Ah, but it goes so far beyond that, for me. "Big Food" are just corporations and the end goal of the corporation is always profit for shareholders. Capitalism. Yes. Good. Yes. However, desire for profit often means doing what is not, ultimately, in the best interest of the consumer.

It starts, for me, with the farmers and goes up a long chain of "bad". The consumer wants to buy a liter of milk but you make him run a gauntlet of product to do so - who benefits? I agree it is good marketing but in the big picture is it good to constantly encourage people to buy things they don't need?

Blah, blah, blah, I know. Look, I live in a place where I get to see viable alternatives to Big Food and I love them, they work, they're good and they benefit people at every point in the chain. No loyalty cards needed. Win, win, win!

*Puts on her rainbow t-shirt and lights the bong*

To me the primary failing of capitalism shows in its ultimate shortsightedness, and the quarterly mindset of the publicly traded corporation epitomizes that.

That said, I'd take it over a centrally planned economy which lets one batch of idiots Enron an entire country into the ground.

No such thing as an ideal system. Where I do say that capitalism works is when it's not so badly entangled with the government as to prevent the sort of alternative ventures such as your co-ops and so on represent, allowing the freedom of choice to operate.

Now, on the topic of encouraging people to buy things they don't need- meh. They're adult citizens capable of getting their own information and education on matters. I'd sooner treat them as adults and let them make their own mistakes than try to channel them forcefully into my point of view, any more than I'd appreciate being forcefully channeled into someone else's worldview.

Freedom means that we'll all see things we don't like.

(Not saying that you're trying to force your Canuckster snowback commietopia on us, mind. After all, if you do the NSA will bust you on all your nonsecured communications.)

 

[Keroin]

Canuckster snowback commietopia

Mmmmmm, talk dirty to me some more!

 

[ZRT]

Mmmmmm, talk dirty to me some more!

I'll recycle your god damned lentils, you CPC-voting eh-slut.

(Play along. THEY'RE watching.)

 

[graceanne]

I'll recycle your god damned lentils, you CPC-voting eh-slut.

(Play along. THEY'RE watching.)

*looks busy*

 

[ImOnIt]

My honey's colleague came out of the movie 'paranormal activity' thinking it was a documentary.



Fuck i raged. Handheld camera does not equal reality. FYI, there are people FLYING HORIZONTALLY THROUGH DOORS and horrible shrieking and much more. I wonder what that girl thought of cloverfield, eh...