Privacy

Can you really have a conversation about privacy without saying first, privacy is an illusion. 

People think that they can guard their privacy. Some of them go to great lengths to do so. Honestly though, you would have to live completely off the grid, from day you were born, to have privacy.

The definition of privacy is;
1. the state of being apart from other people or concealed from their view
2. the state of being free from unwanted or undue intrusion or disturbance in one's private life or affairs
3. freedom from damaging publicity, public scrutiny, secret surveillance, or unauthorized disclosure of one's personal data or information.

Ohhhhhh...look at #3! Hmmm. This is where it gets tricky, right? Facebook is in big trouble right now for not keeping their user's personal information, private. I think FB is pretty intrusive. When I set up my FB, I lied or omitted almost everything they asked for. Turns out, that was a pretty good idea. FB is sneaky. Really sneaky! And controlling. Wow! But people will get over it. FB will say they're going to do better and people will say, ok, and forget all about it. 

Just like Amazon Echo/Alexa. At first, people were a little freaked out about that whole "always on" technology. Then Amazon explained how it works and people said, oh...ok. 

But if you have a computer/laptop/tablet/smart phone, you don't have any privacy. 

I suspect that people aren't really concerned so much with privacy as they are with HOW someone is using their personal data. That's really what it comes down to, isn't it? If they use it to target what kinds of ads you see online, is that alright? How about if they arbitrarily decide if you're a liberal or conservative and then target you with specific political ads. Or, how about if they use or health care data to determine if you're an insurance "risk"? There are so many other examples it's mind boggling.

Technology is really still so new. It's hard to tell how it's affecting us. Is it good for us? Bad? People argue against too much of  it, while others embrace it. I wonder all the time, what it will be like in another 50 years. Will my great grandchildren rely so much on social media? Will they value their privacy? Or will the media in general control every aspect of their lives.

History

I know a lot of people loved the subject of history when they were in school. I wasn't one of them. Not that history isn't cool! I just didn't like school in general. Anyway, now that I'm old(er), I think American history is so fascinating. 

Right now, my fella and I are watching a series on the History Channel called, The Men Who Built America; Frontiersmen. The first episode was about Daniel Boone. Daniel Boone was so badass. Seriously. Not a thing like Fess Parker!! One of the stories they depicted of him, told about his escape from the Shawnee. He ran 150 miles in FOUR days, to warn his fort that the Shawnee were coming, on British orders, to destroy the fort. Think about that for a second. Here's the comparison I made; There is also a show on the History Channel called, Alone. It's about a bunch of people dropped off in different parts of a remote location and left to survive, alone. It's interesting. But they get to bring some supplies with them. The last season, they dropped off teams of 2. So they weren't really alone. But, they dropped them off in different spots, so they had to find each other. While one was trying to make a "camp" the other was hiking through the underbrush to get to them. The hiker has to travel approximately 10 miles. It took them an average of NINE days to go 10 miles. Yep. NINE days, TEN miles vs FOUR days, 150 miles. Granted, they had 50 pound packs to drag along...but come on!!! Daniel Boone had on moccasins. This completely freaked me out!

The 2nd episode was about Lewis and Clark. Hopefully, everybody knows this story. The narrator said one thing that really struck me though. We knew more about the moon before we headed into space, than they did about the American wilderness before they headed out. 

Imagine. It really gives you a whole different perspective about what bravery and courage really is.

free money!

What do you do with free money? For instance, if you have to work overtime does that extra money get absorbed into the budget? Do you put it towards a bill or in savings? Or do you just spend it frivolously?! Same for your tax returns. What about gift cards? Do you get something you need or something you just want to have? I know, when you don't have enough earned money, free money gets tagged for responsible things...if you're a responsible person.

I love free money. I love gift cards too. 
If it's a lot of free money, vacations or home remodeling jobs happen. Both are very exciting! If it's a little free money, maybe a nice dinner out or new shoes. 
Gift cards are great because obviously, you can get what you want. 
Amazon gift cards are the best! For several years now, whenever I get an Amazon gift card, I try to spend it on learning something new. Once, I bought a wood burning kit and a book. Another time I bought crochet needles and a book. Another time I bought a kit for doing Pisanki - look it up. Oh, and once I bought a couple books on knots and macrame and some cord. It's fun to learn new things! It's even more fun when you get to do it for free!

Acts of rebellion

Isn't that what protests are? Acts of rebellion?

Today, at approximately 10:00am, one month after 17 lives were ended at a high-school in Florida, thousands of students all over the country will be walking out of their classrooms. They're doing this for a myriad of reasons;
To honor those 17 people
To raise awareness about issues regarding school safety
To demand that Congress act to end gun violence
To say simply, I've had enough!

Good for them. I'm so excited to see where this will lead. I love this. Why? Because young people grow up to be voters. Because the passion, conviction, exuberance and rebellion of youth can not be contained. Because teenagers don't let things go. Because they haven't lived through a couple of decades being told how to be pc. They aren't yet jaded. They're still idealistic and naive. Because teenagers demand attention. I hope they don't let go. There are still so many conversations to have. I'm rooting for them to affect change.

Many years ago, long before the movies, I read the Hunger Games series. When I read the first one, I remember thinking, imagine-the courage of one young woman started a revolution. All it took was for one person to make a stand. Even when hundreds before her had done so, the timing was perfect this time. Had I actually been a teenager when I read it, I would have been so inspired by her!

Raise your fists young people! Make the world a better place!!

here we go again!

Because we are now officially in daylight savings time, you know I have to say this;

WE DID NOT GAIN AN HOUR OF SUNLIGHT!!!

OMG! What is wrong with people?!?! We get the same amount of sunlight today as we did 2 days ago! We did not magically get a 25 hour day! I hate daylight savings time. 

There is no law requiring a state to institute DST. Hawaii and Arizona don't bother. You know why? Because it's aggravating! 

In 1966, the Uniform Time Act only standardized DST, so if a state chose to participate, they had to do it at the same time everyone else did. It lasted 6 months. In 1986, it was extended to 7 months. In 2007, it was extended again, to 8 months. Essentially, we change our clocks for 4 months out of the year. WHY does that make ANY sense?! Grrrr.

OK, rant over - until November

Inventors

This was fun. AND interesting! It's all about inventions :-)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/these-are-the-best-inventions-to-come-from-every-state/ss-BBJMkMG?li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

a pets life

Do you have pets? Dogs or cats? Both? One or more? I have 2 dogs right now. I use to have cats. I still like cats but I prefer dogs. What's not to love about a dog? Dogs should live longer. Greta will be 14 next week. The average life span of a miniature Schnauzer is 15 years. She could live to be 20 though! Sweet, sweet Greta. Pepper will be 10 in the summer. She's our little joyful scamp. Sometimes I look at Greta and can't believe 14 years has gone by. I love a good butt wiggle and happy howl. And even though Greta is deaf, I can still see that look in her eyes, like she know exactly what I'm saying. She's slowed down a lot though. She sleeps more I think. My mom's dog, Bud, is having some physical problems right now. He's 13. His back legs aren't really working very well. The Vet said she can have an mri done - for around $1500. Would you do that? If your dog is part of the family, wouldn't you do that for a human family member? If it turns out to a tumor or cancer, she would probably have him put to sleep. Isn't it funny how it's ok to make that decision for your a pet, but not a person? I was thinking about all that because we have a chap at work with brain cancer. He's been given 6 months to live. His doctors told him that if he did chemo, he could live another 14 to 16 months...which means he's still going to die. He's opted for chemo. Honestly, anything could happen, right. I suspect his wife made that decision for him. What if it really was her decision though! What if she could decide whether or not to let him suffer and die on his own, or have him put to sleep? Does that sound awful? How come it doesn't sound awful if you're talking about your pet? Weird, huh?

Random Friday

Lisa Marie Presley says she's broke. Her manager mismanaged her 100 MILLION dollar trust. I don't know why that's newsworthy. Besides to say, Lisa Marie Presley is a world class idiot. 

Tori Spelling had another breakdown due to the stress of marriage, finances (she owes AmEx $87,000) and 5 kids. I don't know anything about her other than she's in the news a lot. I guess because her father was Aaron Spelling. Talk about a spoiled brat. Wow! Yeah, don't feel sorry for her either.

This is really fun pictorial of what tourist attractions really look like!
http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/epic-travel-fails-the-brochure-vs-reality/ss-BBIu1Nd?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=ientp#image=21

You'll never look at a travel brochure the same way again!

Last week, I read a funny little article about the joys of being over 50.
     * Life is way better when you can walk across your living room with the confidence that  
        you won't step on a LEGO!
     * Going gray is totally in!
     * You don't sweat the small stuff anymore
     * Nobody bothers you if you'd rather nap than go out  :-)
All of those, so true!

Yesterday, I ran into someone that had never heard Indianapolis called IndiaNOplace. Or, Nap Town. She was born and raised in Indy! My guess is that she was a "good" girl who grew up on a farm? I asked her if she knew anything about the WNAP raft race...nope. I'd explain it but you have to be from here and old, to get it. It sure gave me a smile though. All those misspent youth memories are so nice.

This Sunday will be the first one in EIGHTY years that you'll be able to buy liquor in Indiana. Every year, legislators argue about Sunday liquor sales. Last year, we became the only state in the nation that did not sell alcohol on Sundays. So this year, that bill passed pretty easily. I guess it just becomes embarrassing when you're the only one. Geesh.