Interesting Big Brother moment..

[Zero]

I arrived in Seattle yesterday, bought something called an Orca card at the airport vending machine. Charged $20 to a VISA card. Took the light rail to town. And went to Bellevue to visit a Microsoft employee, then up to Lake City to have dinner with a friend, etc, etc,

Midday today it was already out of money, so I thought, NO WAY?

Went to the window at the Transit Tunnel downtown, asked for them to check it and he gave me a list of WHERE I bought the card, WHERE I got either on or off each ride, and TIMES. Then I happened to notice that the screen appeared to have photos of me buying the card. I tried to look and he quickly blanked his screen.

Is it possible that we are being closely tracked and photographed?

Interesting to imagine how that could be used.

 

[haha]

I arrived in Seattle yesterday, bought something called an Orca card at the airport vending machine. Charged $20 to a VISA card. Took the light rail to town. And went to Bellevue to visit a Microsoft employee, then up to Lake City to have dinner with a friend, etc, etc,

Midday today it was already out of money, so I thought, NO WAY?

Went to the window at the Transit Tunnel downtown, asked for them to check it and he gave me a list of WHERE I bought the card, WHERE I got either on or off each ride, and TIMES. Then I happened to notice that the screen appeared to have photos of me buying the card. I tried to look and he quickly blanked his screen.

Is it possible that we are being closely tracked and photographed?

Interesting to imagine how that could be used.

From your evidence, I would say that it is not possible that we are not, at least as pertains to Orca card usage.

Ha

 

[Zero]

Well, I guess I'm just be naive because I have similar cards for San Diego, LA and NYC that I've used recently while traveling and never thought for a minute that my entire trail could be recreated with just some integrated database in FBI HQ.

 

[RonBoyd]

Well, I guess I'm just be naive because I have similar cards for San Diego, LA and NYC that I've used recently while traveling and never thought for a minute that my entire trail could be recreated with just some integrated database in FBI HQ.

Well, if that bothers you, don't use your cell either.

 

[audreyh1]

Or any of your credit cards.

Audrey

 

[Rustward]

Well, if that bothers you, don't use your cell either.

Don't even turn it on. You don't have to make or receive a call for the system to know where you are.

 

[Leonidas]

Don't even turn it on. You don't have to make or receive a call for the system to know where you are.

Don't think that the on/off switch is going to protect you either. Not all cell phones actually disable all their capabilities when you turn the power switch to off. If there is a working battery installed there is a risk that some functions will still work, and that other functions can be remotely activated - microphone, GPS, etc.

 

[calmloki]

Yeah - and those flu shots we were all urged to get? Did you know they came with free RFID chips in the vaccine? No? I've been noticing the cameras at more and more intersections - even the ones without redlight cameras. Face it - just no room left for low level crime anymore - need to move it indoors and white collar.

 

[Westernskies]

Be careful, they are watching you right now...

 

[Texas Proud]

Interesting in the technology....

A decade ago, when I bought monthly tube passed in London... the guy would go to the back, pull out a CARD and write down the info etc... now, this was a place that had cameras ALL OVER THE PLACE... I guess the unions were stong enough to not let this get modernized....

But yes, I can believe they know every time you use it... they do have a number etc. on it... I know that on the Houston transit they could get you a new card if you lost your old one.... as long as you knew what the number was... and our company kept those when you purchased them... no pics... but close enough...

Now, you just recharge a card (I don't use the new ones as I stopped going downtown)... but now I believe the card is connected to you... previously it was just another number...

 

[ERD50]

Interesting to imagine how that could be used.

Yes, it is interesting. Let's see:

1) If wrongly accused of a crime, it could provide a perfect defense of my whereabouts.

2) It could help track down someone who did commit a crime.

Yes, very interesting. Hooray for technology!

Now, if you want to think up ways that crooked cops or prosecutors could falsify that info to wrongly accuse you - guess what - they can already do that with no technology at all, so why worry about the technology?

-ERD50

 

[Zero]

Already when I Google, it keeps track of what I looked at, and puts ads on the margins of all the pages.

Now I'm worried that if I take a bus in Seattle and get off at Lil Darlings on Westlake Ave., that I will start receiving mail in San Diego for women's lingerie (of the kinky kind).

"Erh, hold on honey, I can explain, the darn Orca card, NO, really it was the Orca card.."

 

[WanderALot]

Interesting in the technology....

A decade ago, when I bought monthly tube passed in London... the guy would go to the back, pull out a CARD and write down the info etc... now, this was a place that had cameras ALL OVER THE PLACE... I guess the unions were stong enough to not let this get modernized....

The London underground has had the Oyster card system in place now for at least 6 years. It works very well and is about half the cost of paying for an individual ticket. This can be used to get exact travel information like the OP found. Combine this with the very sophisticated CCTV and red light cameras, I can see why some Brits are nervous.

 

[dex]

Haven't you watched Law & Order? They use the metro card all the time to track perps.

 

[calmloki]

Heard one should always conduct one's life as if under the watchful eyes of Superman, your Mother, the parish priest, the corner cop, and Miss Grundy's Second Grade Class. If one does that there is no need to fear being under surveillance.

I don't, but figure anybody watching is far too busy to bother with my boring life. Too much interesting crime and perversion out there.

 

[Zero]

The London underground has had the Oyster card system in place now for at least 6 years. It works very well and is about half the cost of paying for an individual ticket. This can be used to get exact travel information like the OP found. Combine this with the very sophisticated CCTV and red light cameras, I can see why some Brits are nervous.

I was in London for 4 months last year and the Oyster card was great, even got a flashy yellow Ikea plastic holder. Very cool. And yeah, almost every city center in the UK is covered in CCTV. And linked directly to police HQ.

I'm all for CCTV in public places.

 

[Zero]

Heard one should always conduct one's life as if under the watchful eyes of Superman, your Mother, the parish priest, the corner cop, and Miss Grundy's Second Grade Class. If one does that there is no need to fear being under surveillance.

I don't, but figure anybody watching is far too busy to bother with my boring life. Too much interesting crime and perversion out there.

So let me get this straight, I spent my whole adult life toiling away and being good. AND, now they have ways to kill my plan to be perverse and maybe commit a few petty crimes in a girly club. Damn them.

 

[W2R]

Heard one should always conduct one's life as if under the watchful eyes of Superman, your Mother, the parish priest, the corner cop, and Miss Grundy's Second Grade Class. If one does that there is no need to fear being under surveillance.

Kind of tough to become a parent, though.

I don't, but figure anybody watching is far too busy to bother with my boring life. Too much interesting crime and perversion out there.

I suppose. Flying under the radar is a good art to cultivate (especially flying under Superman's, your Mother's, the Parish priest's, the corner cop's, and Miss Grundy's radars when you are working on becoming a Mom or Dad).

 

[calmloki]

Kind of tough to become a parent, though.



I suppose. Flying under the radar is a good art to cultivate (especially flying under Superman's, your Mother's, the Parish priest's, the corner cop's, and Miss Grundy's radars when you are working on becoming a Mom or Dad).

Didn't even mention being under the all seeing, ever watchful, never sleeping eye of your omnipotent being of choice - doin' it under the gaze of Santa Claus (he sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake) adds just a hint of the kinky to things... No matter how staid the sex life, that's gotta be perverse enough for Zero.

 

[W2R]

Didn't even mention being under the all seeing, ever watchful, never sleeping eye of your omnipotent being of choice - doin' it under the gaze of Santa Claus (he sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake) adds just a hint of the kinky to things... No matter how staid the sex life, that's gotta be perverse enough for Zero.

That's pretty perverse, all right! Santa Claus?

 

[Zero]

Didn't even mention being under the all seeing, ever watchful, never sleeping eye of your omnipotent being of choice - doin' it under the gaze of Santa Claus (he sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake) adds just a hint of the kinky to things... No matter how staid the sex life, that's gotta be perverse enough for Zero.

Guess taking the Seattle Metro to the North Pole using my Orca card might raise some suspicions with the Big Brother Kinko Squad.

 

[Alan]

The London underground has had the Oyster card system in place now for at least 6 years. It works very well and is about half the cost of paying for an individual ticket. This can be used to get exact travel information like the OP found. Combine this with the very sophisticated CCTV and red light cameras, I can see why some Brits are nervous.

It still doesn't give value for money according to The Guardian Newspaper a couple of years ago.

CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police | UK news | The Guardian

Massive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime in the UK has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of pounds spent on the new technology, a senior police officer piloting a new database has warned. Only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more security cameras than any other country in Europe.

 

[Koolau]

It still doesn't give value for money according to The Guardian Newspaper a couple of years ago.

CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police | UK news | The Guardian

Besides the lack of value of all this tracking and photographing everything, there's the old adage I just made up. "Anything that can be used can be misused. Anything that can be misused will be." Supposedly, a contractor operating the red light cameras for a city shortened the time the yellow light stayed on. Can't confirm this, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Zero]

It still doesn't give value for money according to The Guardian Newspaper a couple of years ago.

CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police | UK news | The Guardian

Hilarious. So having pictures of the criminals has not helped solve the crimes and CCTV is to blame. Hmmm, and that's somehow an indictment of CCTV. Is it possible the police are doing nothing to actually try to solve the crime?

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

This is starting to sound like that scene from Blade Runner, when all of the advertising billboards address the Harrison Ford character by name.