Information Stolen from everyone

I was having a conversation with my youngest daughter about this that often can become difficult because there is almost 50 years between us in age. So, things that are self evident to me and things that are self evident to her and even the way English words are used and their meanings are somewhat different. Because in the end I am basically 73 and she is 25 years old. She was concerned about the amount of information stolen by companies from our cell phones about it regarding our locations (24 hours a day), whatever we say or do when near our phones, etc.

So, she was thinking about getting a different kind of phone that reduces the amount of information stolen because her phone isn't working right anyway. I was trying to tell her that Verizon years ago we switched to because they tend to have better coverage than other networks, especially if you are remote out in the wilderness somewhere like my wife and I often are either alone or with friends.

I had an experience at Deadfall Meadows near Mt. Eddy which is across the valley from Mt. Shasta. We had driven up by Lake Siskiyou and went up to around Gumboot lake then in the Spring or Fall I believe it was a couple of years ago with another couple and turned on a forest service road that was dirt and rocks towards Deadfall Meadows. At the time we thought that the other road up from near Stewart Springs might be closed still by snow at that altitude so we were going the longer route. 

Well. The sharp lava rocks punctured somewhat my right rear tire on my 4 wheel drive truck so it had a slow leak that I discovered when we reached Deadfall Meadows to hike. I realized immediately if we didn't address this problem that we 4 (2 couples) could be stuck there for the night without camping gear or sleeping bags. Luckily, Someone came by after climbing Mt. Eddy and going through Deadfall Meadows and said to us: "Hey! Here is some compressed Rubber compound that can reinflate your tire enough to get out of here. 

It's true I had a spare tire but I realized my jack wasn't any good that came with my Tundra for this situation and wasn't working right. So, I put the compressed rubber into the tire and then had everyone sit away from that side of the truck and drove up to where we could get cell reception again. Then my friend met some people on off road motorcycles and one of them had a 12 volt tire pump at his campsite which he got so we could use it and this pumped up the rear tire enough to limp home on it.

The point is it is nice to have Verizon which has cell service in remote areas often too when you might need it to survive something like your 4 wheel drive stuck in snow or mud or other problems. So, this is one reason why we prefer Verizon even though they are not perfect as a company either. 

So, my daughter is considering switching away from Verizon simply because they won't cover this new type of more secure (information wise) phone she is considering buy now.

However, my point of view is that the internet and cell phones in general are like a form of prostitution where people get things for free which allows companies to steal all their private information. So, if you realize you are being stolen from and you are willing to pay this price you can own a cell phone (smartphone) or whatever but realizing you are going to have every text and every word you say recorded somewhere by someone even if it is only the NSA which records all phone conversations on earth anyway.

So, it's important to realize every phone conversation likely since the 1950s is recorded somewhere by some place like the NSA for future reference as well as all texts you have ever sent or anything you ever put on Facebook or anywhere else.

If you don't know this then why are you using all these types of resources?

For me, I just assume anything I say, text or write is being witnessed by potentially everyone on earth or people who haven't even been born yet. If you don't think this way then how do you expect you and your family to survive all this?

Note: After my Deadfall Meadows experience near Mt. Eddy I always brought my 12 volt small Air compressor along with me and I bought a 12 ton hydraulic Jack like my father always carried on his trucks before me since the one they gave me for the Tundra stock isn't worth anything in an emergency. So, I carry these two things year around in my truck because you never know when you will need them in an emergency. I also always carry home made jumper cables made from Arc welder leads that my Dad made which are usually better than anything you can buy for jumping a car or truck when you have to or need to in emergencies. (My Dad was an electrician and an Electrical Contractor while I was growing up.) He passed away in 1985 so I have kept these jumper cables because they are still better than anything you can buy these days and also they remind me of my Dad along with all of his tools I keep in my garage with my motorcycle, a 2009 KLR 650 which is a large dualsport with knobbie tires for off road but is also licensed because it is a dual sport. So, it's sort of like owning a motorcycle that is also a Jeep. end note.

Note: Regarding the compressed rubber it can be another problem if you use this stuff. Here is the problem: It cost us 250 to 300 dollars to replace the tire pressure sensors in the wheel after using this type of thing because it appears to kill the device that tells you inside your car whether your tires are going flat or not. So, unless you are really in an emergency situation like the one we were in you might not want to use the compressed rubber device in a can unless you really need it because it will gum up your tire pressure device on newer vehicles.end note.