Computers are Perfect…are Perfect
Or Things that go Bump in the Night
Hi and Welcome to the A & J PEI Treasures E Jean Simpson Author Blog Post and Podcast. I’m your host, Jean coming to you from the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada!! The blog post and podcast is an opinion piece and only reflects this author’s opinion and not that of any other entity. I hold no designations in politics, economics or medicine. I am retired from the mental health field. I am a humanitarian and speak from that viewpoint only. Whether you agree or not, at least I hope it makes you think. This week, I talk about the computerization of things and how without proper supports, this is not the move ahead it seems. It can, in fact, become the thing that goes bump in the night…the thing we all dread. If you want to find out more, then stay tuned…!
Wednesday is my usual blog post writing day. Today was different…well, to a point. I was sitting finishing off my email when my husband called. He had been to the bank, the card got eaten. By the time he got home and half way down the road with me, he realized that he hadn’t checked his wallet. There was the errant card sitting in his wallet. It turns out the machine had not given him money. He looked at the amount he took out, panicked and knew it didn’t come out. Didn’t read the paper entirely where it said that it didn’t come out and then in his panic forgot he had pulled out the card and put it in his wallet without thinking. So, at this point we’re half way to town anyway. So, might as well continue and get stuff done.
Then we got home, once things were sorted, I checked and the cell seemed good…but then I went to check my messages…and that’s when it said that it wasn’t good. I was not hooked to my cell….or it didn’t know about my monthly paid account. I’ve been paying for an account that shows I’m paying for it, but no service. Isn’t that wonderful? I didn’t have need of the cell for the last while…and so I thought it was a scam that I was getting messages. At that point, in fact, I was apparently not connected to my cell as it told me that I only had urgent calls available to me…Though, I am … at least on the internet…on the cell, it’s quite another story. As far as I know, there is only one me on the account for my cell phone…
Of course in the meantime, I got a ‘replacement credit card’. There have been a lot of family things on my mind and I forgot to get it activated by phone. Didn’t realize it was a ‘replacement card’. I decided to do that before I forgot again. The computer voice doesn’t recognize it. I tried both ways…I put in valid information and it suddenly decided that it didn’t like the number it already liked….so then I looked at my other card. I’m not sure what is going on there. This necessitates a visit to the bank, because after fighting it for half an hour and it gave me all sorts of weird and wonky things, I gave up. I won’t use it for the next while anyway.
Now, at the same time, I have had e-book sellers wanting me to give them my SIN. I don’t think so. I can’t even get my cell phone to know that I’m using it…or that I’m on it. I don’t know whose phone I’m on…they aren’t paying the bill, but I am paying mine. Hopefully I’m not paying someone else’s bills. I was writing this while waiting for the call back. It really wasn’t too long before getting the call back. It took five minutes. Of course, I both Tweeted them and asked for a call back on the nice machine. It seemed to give me all sorts of suggestions. Remember computers are perfect. Apparently there was nothing wrong…though my cell told me that it would only do emergency calls. Oh yeah, and that call that started it all…I already knew it was likely not a call at all…but hubby calling from the earlier stuff. The problem fixed I think at least for the next few minutes…at least that’s what the person on the other end of the phone told me. The call back was emailed prior to happening. Then they called shortly after. It was not unpleasant…but there was no indication what the problem was and they got notifications to send. I don’t know what the problem was. Their voice, possibly at a call centre was so low that I had a hard time to hear them. Now, I still turn the whole mess off but should try to get some of what I want on it rather than what I don’t want. I don’t like giving any information either over phone or online. There was the earlier hacking stuff that makes me even more distrustful…because computers are perfect.
We have so many computers doing things for us that we take it for granted that they will work properly. When they don’t, we don’t know what to do about it. I’m not anti- technology. I’m more pro- finding ways to deal with computerized work in a more intelligent way. What was wrong with my cell, I had no idea. What was the button that had to be pushed, who knows. The whole thing literally looked fine on the internet. Why the cell didn’t know about it, I don’t know. I even pulled out my SIM card to make sure that I had the right SIM card number. Then people wonder that I’m not that keen to give my sensitive information to a computer or even a person online. This seems a monumental decision to make. If someone pushes the wrong button, who knows what the online metaverse would do with it.
The other thing that I wonder about is that the computers and cells you get all these messages…some of them have links. I’m not sure that all those messages have valid links. It is often better to be safe than sorry. Just today, we decided to look something up on one of the Provincial pages on another Province. When we clicked the link, it didn’t go anywhere. It literally was a dead link and there was more than one. Apparently things move at such a breakneck speed that even Provincial Governments don’t manage to keep their links up to date. This is just one more sign of the times. We have so much information, and it is changing so fast that even Governments are not able to keep up. So, given the lesser stuff…links to pages that they manage or are associated with do not have time to be updated, what else is not being done with regard to security etc.
I’m not saying that computers are bad or wrong. I’m saying that we have so much information online and with so much information available online how can we possibly keep anything safe? With so much changing so fast, how much of what is online is useful? How much is actually safe and should we freely give sensitive information? We do things without thinking online. We can find tons of information. Some people feel that they have the right to hack what is online. To some it is a challenge. To some it is a way to scam. For some the internet is just a source of information.
Another thing that happens online which is scary is that some people duplicate accounts and some hack accounts. Not that long ago, there was an indication that Gene Simmon’s wife had her account hacked. At least there was a Tweet on it. She got it back according to a subsequent Tweet. Not everyone is Gene Simmons and I suspect that others are left to struggle or find some other way. I, myself got kicked out of my Facebook account for almost a full year and actually got back in accidentally. I don’t know why it worked. The same when my Amazon account got locked on me. I got back in by accident because I got a new computer and it finally worked. So, with all this kind of stuff going on, it is little wonder that I am a way beyond ambivalent when it comes to putting more sensitive information online.
As Nina Easton has been quoted as saying, “Your company is probably going to get hacked. The velocity and complexity of hacking attempts has skyrocketed, with companies routinely facing millions of knocks on the vault door.” So, with it being so widely accepted that it happens, that it can happen and does happen, why do we take such a blasé attitude toward our sensitive information. I know the other side is that information needs to be sent to the Government. I think we might need to move toward finding ways of giving people access to the ability to do some things without the use of the SIN or Passports. The more we put our sensitive information online, the more we risk having our lives sold to the highest bidder. I’ve had companies ask for SIN and some Passport. I also know that there are hackers who would definitely find it worth their while to get access to this information. It would give them a treasure trove of fake ID’s that they could make. It gives dishonest people a way to use other people or their personal information. For example, some look to selling Passport information on the black market. We need to come up with some kind of business computer model for contractors and people who spend most of their lives online that does not endanger them nor their livelihood. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope I made you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you! Happy Halloween for those who celebrate!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures/...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi... or https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp... soon handle: youtube.com/@aandjpeitreasures
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Hi and Welcome to the A & J PEI Treasures E Jean Simpson Author Blog Post and Podcast. I’m your host, Jean coming to you from the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada!! The blog post and podcast is an opinion piece and only reflects this author’s opinion and not that of any other entity. I hold no designations in politics, economics or medicine. I am retired from the mental health field. I am a humanitarian and speak from that viewpoint only. Whether you agree or not, at least I hope it makes you think. This week, I talk about the computerization of things and how without proper supports, this is not the move ahead it seems. It can, in fact, become the thing that goes bump in the night…the thing we all dread. If you want to find out more, then stay tuned…!
Wednesday is my usual blog post writing day. Today was different…well, to a point. I was sitting finishing off my email when my husband called. He had been to the bank, the card got eaten. By the time he got home and half way down the road with me, he realized that he hadn’t checked his wallet. There was the errant card sitting in his wallet. It turns out the machine had not given him money. He looked at the amount he took out, panicked and knew it didn’t come out. Didn’t read the paper entirely where it said that it didn’t come out and then in his panic forgot he had pulled out the card and put it in his wallet without thinking. So, at this point we’re half way to town anyway. So, might as well continue and get stuff done.
Then we got home, once things were sorted, I checked and the cell seemed good…but then I went to check my messages…and that’s when it said that it wasn’t good. I was not hooked to my cell….or it didn’t know about my monthly paid account. I’ve been paying for an account that shows I’m paying for it, but no service. Isn’t that wonderful? I didn’t have need of the cell for the last while…and so I thought it was a scam that I was getting messages. At that point, in fact, I was apparently not connected to my cell as it told me that I only had urgent calls available to me…Though, I am … at least on the internet…on the cell, it’s quite another story. As far as I know, there is only one me on the account for my cell phone…
Of course in the meantime, I got a ‘replacement credit card’. There have been a lot of family things on my mind and I forgot to get it activated by phone. Didn’t realize it was a ‘replacement card’. I decided to do that before I forgot again. The computer voice doesn’t recognize it. I tried both ways…I put in valid information and it suddenly decided that it didn’t like the number it already liked….so then I looked at my other card. I’m not sure what is going on there. This necessitates a visit to the bank, because after fighting it for half an hour and it gave me all sorts of weird and wonky things, I gave up. I won’t use it for the next while anyway.
Now, at the same time, I have had e-book sellers wanting me to give them my SIN. I don’t think so. I can’t even get my cell phone to know that I’m using it…or that I’m on it. I don’t know whose phone I’m on…they aren’t paying the bill, but I am paying mine. Hopefully I’m not paying someone else’s bills. I was writing this while waiting for the call back. It really wasn’t too long before getting the call back. It took five minutes. Of course, I both Tweeted them and asked for a call back on the nice machine. It seemed to give me all sorts of suggestions. Remember computers are perfect. Apparently there was nothing wrong…though my cell told me that it would only do emergency calls. Oh yeah, and that call that started it all…I already knew it was likely not a call at all…but hubby calling from the earlier stuff. The problem fixed I think at least for the next few minutes…at least that’s what the person on the other end of the phone told me. The call back was emailed prior to happening. Then they called shortly after. It was not unpleasant…but there was no indication what the problem was and they got notifications to send. I don’t know what the problem was. Their voice, possibly at a call centre was so low that I had a hard time to hear them. Now, I still turn the whole mess off but should try to get some of what I want on it rather than what I don’t want. I don’t like giving any information either over phone or online. There was the earlier hacking stuff that makes me even more distrustful…because computers are perfect.
We have so many computers doing things for us that we take it for granted that they will work properly. When they don’t, we don’t know what to do about it. I’m not anti- technology. I’m more pro- finding ways to deal with computerized work in a more intelligent way. What was wrong with my cell, I had no idea. What was the button that had to be pushed, who knows. The whole thing literally looked fine on the internet. Why the cell didn’t know about it, I don’t know. I even pulled out my SIM card to make sure that I had the right SIM card number. Then people wonder that I’m not that keen to give my sensitive information to a computer or even a person online. This seems a monumental decision to make. If someone pushes the wrong button, who knows what the online metaverse would do with it.
The other thing that I wonder about is that the computers and cells you get all these messages…some of them have links. I’m not sure that all those messages have valid links. It is often better to be safe than sorry. Just today, we decided to look something up on one of the Provincial pages on another Province. When we clicked the link, it didn’t go anywhere. It literally was a dead link and there was more than one. Apparently things move at such a breakneck speed that even Provincial Governments don’t manage to keep their links up to date. This is just one more sign of the times. We have so much information, and it is changing so fast that even Governments are not able to keep up. So, given the lesser stuff…links to pages that they manage or are associated with do not have time to be updated, what else is not being done with regard to security etc.
I’m not saying that computers are bad or wrong. I’m saying that we have so much information online and with so much information available online how can we possibly keep anything safe? With so much changing so fast, how much of what is online is useful? How much is actually safe and should we freely give sensitive information? We do things without thinking online. We can find tons of information. Some people feel that they have the right to hack what is online. To some it is a challenge. To some it is a way to scam. For some the internet is just a source of information.
Another thing that happens online which is scary is that some people duplicate accounts and some hack accounts. Not that long ago, there was an indication that Gene Simmon’s wife had her account hacked. At least there was a Tweet on it. She got it back according to a subsequent Tweet. Not everyone is Gene Simmons and I suspect that others are left to struggle or find some other way. I, myself got kicked out of my Facebook account for almost a full year and actually got back in accidentally. I don’t know why it worked. The same when my Amazon account got locked on me. I got back in by accident because I got a new computer and it finally worked. So, with all this kind of stuff going on, it is little wonder that I am a way beyond ambivalent when it comes to putting more sensitive information online.
As Nina Easton has been quoted as saying, “Your company is probably going to get hacked. The velocity and complexity of hacking attempts has skyrocketed, with companies routinely facing millions of knocks on the vault door.” So, with it being so widely accepted that it happens, that it can happen and does happen, why do we take such a blasé attitude toward our sensitive information. I know the other side is that information needs to be sent to the Government. I think we might need to move toward finding ways of giving people access to the ability to do some things without the use of the SIN or Passports. The more we put our sensitive information online, the more we risk having our lives sold to the highest bidder. I’ve had companies ask for SIN and some Passport. I also know that there are hackers who would definitely find it worth their while to get access to this information. It would give them a treasure trove of fake ID’s that they could make. It gives dishonest people a way to use other people or their personal information. For example, some look to selling Passport information on the black market. We need to come up with some kind of business computer model for contractors and people who spend most of their lives online that does not endanger them nor their livelihood. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope I made you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you! Happy Halloween for those who celebrate!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures/...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi... or https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp... soon handle: youtube.com/@aandjpeitreasures
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
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A & J PEI Treasures/E Jean Simpson, BEd, BA, MA
A & J PEI Treasures is located on Prince Edward Island, Canada. We are a husband and wife team and our companion animals. There are a number of things that drew us to the Island…one of which was the n
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