bombs in bottles
Local schools are closed today because of power outages, so I spent my morning repairing a trellis and running a few errands I'd postponed. Now I don't have to deal with them in June. Neat.
I've been thinking a lot about surveillance recently. mostly because my RSS reader feeds are thinking a lot about it too:
Pluralistic: Trump's CFPB kills data broker rule
404 Media: License plate reader company Flock is building a massive people lookup tool
Reject Convenience: What DeleteMe and Incogni aren't telling you (YouTube link)
404 Media: Republicans try to cram ban on AI regulation into budget reconciliation bill
TechDirt: Missouri AG thinks Supreme Court ruling lets him control social media moderation (it doesn't)
404 Media: Meta to add facial recognition to glasses after all
TechDirt: Milwaukee PD wants to trade 2.5 million mugshots for free facial recognition tech
Anyway, here is my ranking of the places I bought stuff today, from most to least "feels like they're harvesting my data, including my face and fingerprints, for nefarious ends, the least nefarious of which is to sell me stuff I don't need or want."
Why I Went: I am out of Absorbine, and so is the local farmer co-op-owned feed store. (I also bought a deck of playing cards and cooed at the baby chicks.)
Surveillance Vibe: High. The cameras are obvious and everywhere, especially at the checkouts. Yes, even the checkouts staffed by actual human. (Singular - there are five lanes but there was only one human running the entire front of the store, both self- and regular checkouts.)
I paid cash, but I'm not convinced it'll make a difference to my privacy in that transaction.
Will I Return: Ugh. I can't say there won't be another situation urgent enough to propel me through those doors. But. Ugh.
Why I Went: I am short on tops that are both light enough for working inside a no-AC cinder-block oven and professional enough for working in the library stored inside said no-AC cinder-block oven.
Surveillance Vibe: Medium-High. I did not spot any obvious cameras, but I'm 95 percent sure they exist. The cameras are not as imposing as the little old ladies who run the place, though. They are EXTREMELY chatty and nosy and really, REALLY good at getting "conversational" info out of people. Forget algorithms - Meta needs to hire Doris and Laura.
Will I Return: Probably. This is my third favorite thrift store in town, and it may become my second-favorite (see below).
Why I Went: Tops (as above). Also, their CD, vinyl, and DVD collection is outstanding. All this surveillance reading has me jonesing to properly own media no one can snoop on as I watch it.
Surveillance Vibe: Medium-low. There are external cameras, but I've never been able to spot any internal ones. The staff are preparing for the store's move to a new location, so they were too busy to old-lady interrogate me about my personal life. I've used my debit card here before and never gotten mail from them, so they don't collect that data to sell people things. (Neither does the other thrift store, apparently.)
Will I Return: ...Odds are lower than one would expect, mostly because the new location is further away. I will at least check it out once it's set up.
(If you're wondering why I did not go to my first favorite thrift store, it's because its power was out.)
Why I Went: I need info on how to build a structure that will not collapse and kill me or my chickens. Also, they had John Green's Everything Is Tuberculosis, which my science teacher bestie WILL NOT STOP TELLING ME TO READ.
Surveillance Vibe: Medium. I spotted the cameras because they're the same type my workplace uses. If you're unfamiliar with them, though, you might mistake them for fire alarms or emergency lighting. The library also has both tattle-strip detectors and an actual metal detector at the door.
Will I Return: Yes, despite the cameras and detectors. The librarians delete circulation records as soon as an item returns, making them far more protective of my privacy than any store. This is the only place where I will believe the surveillance tech is actually for the public's protection.
Also, I bought "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" on DVD for fifty cents, so that's neat.
--