[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 17 points 2 months ago

I had to double check to see if this was an onion article.

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 34 points 2 months ago

Thank goodness someone explained that to me. I was startong to wonder if she was some sort of technology expert, or something.

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 23 points 2 months ago

One point of contention. I dont think tangles is some defunct meta app. Texas has recently acquired a contract with a law enforcement surveillance tool called tangles.

Tangles is a product offered by the cybersecurity company Cobwebs Technologies, which was founded in Israel in 2014 by three former members of Israeli military special units. The company has said their products, which are marketed as open source intelligence (OSINT) tools, have been used to combat terrorism, drug smuggling, and money laundering, but Meta has accused the company of operating as a surveillance-for-hire outfit. In 2023, Cobwebs Technologies was acquired by the Nebraska-based tech firm PenLink Ltd.

This tool is out there, and still being used.

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 17 points 2 months ago

Ohhh nooooo! That's not funny! Well, maybe for the dog.

But, that really sucks for the tech.

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 42 points 3 months ago

This is a fair view. I'm not sure anyone has gotten that far, especially outside the country.

Heres an article about a similar bill in Utah, that hasn't gone into effect yet.

What's not clear from the Utah bill and others is how the states plan to enforce the new regulations.

I mean if the general consensus is that it doesn't apply, then, cool.

236

"The SCOPE Act takes effect this Sunday, Sept. 1, and will require everyone to verify their age for social media."

So how does this work with Lemmy? Is anyone in Texas just banned, is there some sort of third party ID service lined up...for every instance, lol.

But seriously, how does Lemmy (or the fediverse as a whole) comply? Is there some way it just doesn't need to?

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 26 points 11 months ago

I feel like this is just a ploy, by the phone company, to figure out what they should deprive us of next.

Stop giving them ideas!!!

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This is disgusting. Hopefully this whole thing fails before Texas can enact the law.

As for teachers still being underpaid, that is the point. They are trying to gut public schools. All the teachers will need to make the switch to a private school, eventually, because that's where the demand will be.

The state will continue this voucher program until the majority of people have moved their children to private schools. Public schools will be left in a state of disrepair once they loose funding for every student that makes the switch.

The private schools will gradually raise tuition so that parents are paying as much as they can afford, even with the voucher. After everyone has move thier child over, they will discontinue the voucher program.

If the parents want their child to continue in a school that does any good, they will pay out thier ears. Everyone else will end up paying a huge chunk of thier check to send their child to whatever mediocre school is within their budget, or else they will have to go back to public school, which is now a underfunded shitshow.

Edit: some spelling

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 44 points 1 year ago

Can't give back everything. Poor co owner died from the stress. 90 something or not, you can't give back a life.

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago

They don't care. But they also don't realize that those paid armies are gonna turn on them real fast. What are they gonna pay the guards with when money is useless? Even if they hold some leverage, I bet most would crumble if the guards violently pried it away.

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 48 points 1 year ago

Stab in the dark...your on tmobile.

It does this to me too. You disable the damn thing, then you get a carrier update and it reactivates and downloads stupid games no one wants.

First time it did it to me, I thought I got a virus. Come to find out...nah it's just a thing tmobile forces on you for fun.

Assholes

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago

https://floor796.com/

Waste time watching pop culture animations.

[-] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 71 points 1 year ago

Everyone mentions cognitive abilities, which is also important, but really physical abilities should be tested as well.

Here in america, My 89 y.o. grandmother (at the time) used canes to get around. Got her license renewed just by a written test, no one batted an eye. The fact that she "walked" in was enough and no one saw that she would physically have to pull her leg up to push the brake pedal.

She got into quite a few fender benders after that, and 1 pretty bad accident that totalled her car. That bad accident was responsible for a huge decline in health. She cant drive any longer, but between the insurance and the burden on family to support her ailing health, it all could have been avoided if they required a doctor's signature for renewal.

I do realize that something like this takes away from feeling independent and maintaining autonomy, and i feel for that. It sucks that part of growing old is...well, growing old, but should those emotions outweigh personal and public safety?

273
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by FarFarAway@lemmy.world to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

This is completely strange, and very long. I've exhausted all my ideas, and need fresh ones.

Some background.

  1. my neighbor is old, very very old. Also, they are not very mobile. So something like creeping up to the window and listening in is out of the question. Although, a very long time ago (decades) they did used to hang out near an air condition vent, listening to our in person conversations.
  2. when I say neighbor, I mean they live in a small house connected by a breezeway to my house. I do admit they are rather close. Yes I do have access to thier house.
  3. i have no real idea of thier level of technological expertise. They are pretty manipulative so even though I'm under the impression they're very limited on expertise, it's possible they know more than they let on. Let's just say at this point, they say they have difficulties placing calls to thier saved contacts on thier jitterbug flip phone, but when your not looking they're already on the line with someone, like five seconds after you walked out the door. As far as we know they do not have access to the internet, but who knows. They do know how to navigate to at least a limited number of websites though. (Slight fear of them seeing this post, haha)
  4. they digest far right media. This in itself doesnt seem relavent, but I suppose, in my head, this might be able to give them awareness of the types of technology that one might use to pull something like this off.
  5. It is remotely possible that someone could have installed something inside the house maybe about 15-20 years ago, and given the neighbor access to it.
  6. they are on a limited income, and are not independently wealthy. Any technology would have to be no only easy to use, but on the less expensive side as well.

So... Maybe about once a year for the past few years a topic or phrase that was talked about over the phone would come up in conversation the next day. Not a big deal, written off as coincidence. That's just how it goes sometimes. Well now, we've had a falling out. For the past few weeks they have brought up many private conversations I have had over my cell phone with at least 2 different people. They repeat not just what I say, but what the person on the other end of the phone says as well. I say, "Man, im pretty sure they're hearing my phone calls." The other person says, "Maybe there's a bug somewhere." The next day they start to prattle on about...a bug on the wall. But not a real bug...oh what do you call those things...you know, bugs that know things. Or I say "I'm worried about this escalating." The other person jokingly says "Oh, don't eat or drink anything from them, unless they take some first.. They may try to kill you." The next day neighbor is handing me a concoction they've made. "Oh, I've just sat down with this mixture I've created for my health. Everything I put in it is sitting on the counter there. (Cue various herbal supplements / tinctures) here have the first sip... it's not going to kill you." They are bringing up / creating situations centered around private converstaions from the night before. They may skip a day or two here and there, but it's a pretty regular occurrence.

Something worth mentioning, is that while im on the phone call, I will turn on my Bluetooth and use my earbuds. Everytime the buds connect, the call drops, and we have to call each other back. I figured I was pushing a button wrong or something and hanging up. But since the neighbor has gone somewhere, we have not been able to replicate the situation.

Things we have tried but have since been disproven:

  • At first we thought we were leaving windows open and they could just hear it...but all windows were closed.
  • maybe they can hear through the walls somehow, they are thin. But its never been a thing before. (why would they have to hang out by aforementioned vent, then) We blast the radio real loud and see how much we can hear from neighbors porch. Can't make out exact words and doesn't explain hearing the other person.
  • well thier radio automatically connects to iPhones ( un-updated iphone from the air drop debacle/ f-ed up feature of the radio involving nfc and bluetooth) and it did pair with my phone at some point. Maybe they can the other person over thier radio. But we tried to make it work and just cant replicate it.
  • we've checked obvious places for a walke talkie looking receiver. Nothing.
  • we've used one of those cheap bug detectors off Amazon and checked the house...and the vent. No wires comming out of strange places as far as we can tell.

I'm at my wits end. What could they be using and how can I stop it? It maybe all a coincidence, but then its as much so as Facebook / Google targeted ads that arent listening your conversations. I mean, what, are they an advanced algorithm that can guess what your thinking based on all available data on you?

Help! And thank you for taking the time. Also, sorry about the format / spelling getting all this out on mobile is tough.

TL:DR. My really old neighbor seems to hear my both sides of cell calls to at least 2 different people. Is there simple, rather cheap technology put there that they could be using. And how do i go about finding it / making it stop.

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FarFarAway

joined 2 years ago