No Radio Stuff today so now that you clicked on my link, you might want to find some other blog to consume your time.
Given our current political state, the red flashing lights are on. No doubt we are all being monitored and that suggests we need to be aware of what we once took for granted.
I took a sledgehammer to that Alexa ball sitting in my living room. Here is what the Microshaft Copilot had to say when queried if Alexa was spying on me.
Short answer yes! All the stuff you asked Alexa is being recorded and stored on a server. Alexa employees have been known to peek at your files and old what is his name can gain access to that info. Unplug your Alexa, do it now!
What we write in a blog is also being perused and so even this homily is being scanned by some non-government or government organization. You must never use someone's real name nor suggest doing harm or other key words involving overt actions or devices that could cause harm. But is OK to say high voltage power supplies or magic smoke.
What we say on the air is an open forum and just that! Be it known that your discourse is not protected in the sense anything heard can be repeated without your express permission. A third party can simply say I heard a QSO on 40M where a ham in call area 7 said...
Basically, freedom of speech is no more protected or respected.
I was subjected to a scam (not successful) but here is what happened. When I was on vacation in Denver, my #3 son rented a car, and Denver has toll roads that are also Diamond Lanes. Electronic readers scan your plates and automatically send a bill to the plate owner. In the case of rental cars, boom it gets added to the car rental fees.
So, I get a text message about owing a fee for a toll that was not paid. The scam device is somewhere on one of those roads as the scammer is pinging your cell phone number and then sends you a text message with a link where to send your credit card. I immediately identified the text sender as a scam. The scam software identifies any cell number outside of the Denver area and that is the scam target.
So, if this scam uses a sophisticated software program like this to get your credit card number just think what your government can do and is doing to watch what you do.
AI is at the root of this surveillance! Go to Copilot and make an inquiry using your call sign like: Tell me about the person with XYZ call sign. I was amazed and flattered that for the most part what was said about being a prolific SSB transceiver creator was true. Just a few simple words and you could get a visit from ICE or DHS. Trust me the government has far more sophisticated software than copilot.
Them that know are careful about what they do.
73's
Pete N6QW
(Who is watching you?)