So go ahead and delete all you want, but Facebook creepily never forgets. When it comes to your friendings, defriendings, pokes, and RSVPS, it keeps it all. Plus they  also keep track of what computers you’ve used to access your facebook account as well as others who have used your device to log onto facebook with their own account.

Facebook remembers 57 data points, at least that is what they are sharing with users they keep. Here is a list of those data fields.

Now while I understand websites have to have complex databases. That gives them no right to track so many things as well as the newly discovered information that even when you log out of facebook you never really log out. This is all very ultra creepy. I like many people use facebook, but as soon as a better solution comes along I am going to switch. And by the way I am not convinced Google Plus is going to be better. The Do NO Evil company has done plenty of creepy web following. Disappointing.

He’s now in jail and has an appointment with a doctor this week.

Study his face carefully, and then go look in the mirror. This is the face of the “new reality” in America. The American public has been sold out by the powers that be, and we will all pay the price sooner or later. Our tax dollars are going toward financing corporate greed and corrupt politicians and not for our citizens health.

Job promises for ex-politicians are the biggest contributor to the corruption, along with campaign finance which is nothing more than legal bribery. All the while the american people suffer, while the members of congress have stellar health car, at no cost to them.

Obama’s health care act will not go into place until 2014. James Verone needed medical attention and he didn’t want to be a burden on his sister and brothers. So he hatched a plan. On June 9, he woke up, showered, ironed his shirt and mailed a letter to the Gazette, listing the return address as the Gaston County Jail.

“When you receive this a bank robbery will have been committed by me,” Verone wrote in the letter. “This robbery is being committed by me for one dollar. I am of sound mind but not so much sound body.”

Verone’s problems started when he lost the job he’d held for 17 years as a Coca Cola deliveryman, amid the economic downturn. He then took a part-time position at the convenience store. But hiss body wasn’t up to it. The bending and lifting made his back ache. He had problems with his left foot, making him limp. He also suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis.

Then he noticed a protrusion on his chest. “The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept,” Verone told the Gaston Gazette. “I kind of hit a brick wall with everything.”

Verone hailed a cab to take him to the RBC Bank. Inside, he handed the teller his $1 robbery demand. “I didn’t have any fears,” said Verone. “I told the teller that I would sit over here and wait for police.”

Because he only asked for $1, Verone was charged with larceny, not bank robbery. But he said that if his punishment isn’t severe enough, he plans to tell the judge that he’ll do it again. His $100,000 bond has been reduced to $2,000, but he says he doesn’t plan to pay it.

In jail, Verone said he’s hoping to receive back and foot surgery, and get the protrusion on his chest treated. Then he plans to spend a few years in jail, before getting out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach.

Verone also presented the view that if the United States had a health-care system which offered people more government support, he wouldn’t have had to make the choice he did.

“If you don’t have your health you don’t have anything,” Verone said.

The Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s health-care overhaul passed by Congress last year, was designed to make it easier for Americans in situations like Verone’s to get health insurance. But most of its provisions don’t go into effect until 2014.

As it is, Verone said he thinks he chose the best of a bunch of bad options. “I picked jail.”

Mette Lindberg - The Golden Age

If you are like me you like to know who sings some of the cool pop tunes that get used in commercials. Most of the time I already know the bands that get featured but this one I did not know. So if you have been dying to know who is singing the song in that Heineken commercial. Its Mette Lindberg of That Golden age. You can get the short 6 song album on iTunes. She sings a remake of Safety dance ,and there is a remix of That Golden Age single. But the other songs might take some getting used to. but her voice is very interesting and I give That Golden age two thumbs up.

Asange Zuckerberg

Facebook has announced that developers of Facebook application can now gather the personal contact information from their users. The Security firm Sophos describes it as, a move that could herald a new level of danger for Facebook users, and advises users to remove their home address and phone numbers from the network immediately.

I know I am going to remove any information I have now. Here is a funny quip on data security. It really is ironic how Asange is a villain for giving away private information and then Zuckerberg is Man of the year for selling our private information. I am surprised how many people still are on Facebook.

Also Beware of bogus Facebook apps
You may have seen Facebook posts about subliminal Disney messages, showing celebrities caught in the act, or let you see who deleted you or viewed your Facebook profile. All of thees were attempts to trick you into surrendering your personal information.

Anna Pulley interviewed Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos. Cluley explained that the Facebook scammers can make money by convincing you to complete an online survey, or they may try to get your telephone number so they can sign you up for an unwanted subscription you won’t discover until you receive your next bill.

Even if you do not directly provide a scam Facebook app with any information, the app may still have access to your profile and get your private information. It can then propagate to your friends accounts.

I am thinking of starting an anti-social network. A place where you have to add your friends the old fashion way. You have to track them down and add them manually. No more scraping everyone’s email address books and trying to match them up and no more friend suggestions so you feel pressured to add people who you really don’t really know.

Facebook is going downhill. It started when he opened the service to high school students and, now, to any sleazy person worldwide. This was the downfall of MySpace.

Esquire put Mark 3rd on the hall of shame list? Due to his appearance at a black tie event where he wore jeans and a t-shirt. According to Esquire:

No matter how much money you have or how many people’s secrets you hold in your digital palm, you cannot show up to a black-tie event in a t-shirt and jeans and expect to be taken seriously.

I hope people quit taking him seriously he is more of a villain than Asange and he needs to stop being rewarded for it. If you want to read a great article on Zuckergerg then check out dikipedia.

I was reading an article posted on reuters about how 17 U.S. billionaires, including Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz, have pledged to give away at least half their fortunes in a philanthropic campaign led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Most of the comments were very good. You can tell who knows whats going on and the young idealistic people who have no clue. Saying things like; “In turn, we as consumers have an obligation to support companies that give back.” and “I don’t understand this new trend to vilify people who are successful.” and “The “rich” do not have any more or less obligation to our nation than you or me.”

My response on reuters…

Really?!? If you think these people earned their money with hard work and honesty then you are way too naive’ The facebook guy got lucky that was all. Actually Gates did also with the IBM blunder on his software rights. Bill gates should pay damages to the thousands of companies he bought up for no other reason than to shut down and reduce competition.

They are not really giving away 1/2 of their money. It goes into the foundations that they set up. Yes it does have some trickle down benefit but they provide mostly tax savings than anything else. So in the end yes its better than them stuffing it in their mattresses.

If they really wanted to help America and the rest of the world they would use their money to help stop corporate corruption in Washington. It never ceases to amaze me how people think new politicians are going to solve the economic problems when the same old big money lobbyists are still there waiting to pay them off each new re-election.

90% of the wealth in America is owned by 10% of the population. Read that again! Yeah the rich are getting richer because they buy politicians. If you think the country is hurting now wait until the Chinese quit buying our massive debt. Then watch unemployment triple what it is today.

The only solution is to make lobbying illegal and let the government run the country and not the rich elite.

Google Creeping you out?!?

Is Google creeping you out? Are all the ads you see the same type? This is their new retargeting campaign. It will work for a small percentage of people who need that extra reminder. For everybody else it will just seem really creepy. If this does creep you out, you can go to this page to see what Google thinks your interests are based on a cookie, and you can also download a browser plugin if you’re spooked about Google’s latest ‘interest-based advertising’ initiative.

What is ad “retargeting.” If you visit a page on an advertiser’s own site or YouTube channel, Google can now show a related follow-up ad to just that person when they visit another site which shows Google ads. Since there are millions of these sites in the Google Content Network, chances are Google will see you again.

The term “remarketing” has multiple definitions, but Google uses it describe a way for AdWords advertisers to run campaigns throughout the whole Google Content Network. The idea is that while visitors of a certain advertiser’s website may have shown interest for a product or service, leads don’t always convert to sales and Google aims to make it easier for AdWords clients to try and win over the potential customer at a later stage. Retargeting can be applied to either text or display ads, and during the trial period was used for everything from boosting brand awareness to driving clicks and sales.

If you’re spooked about Google’s latest follow you around until you buy something strategy then let them know it. Personally I feel like not using Google. Like they need more money?!?

Castle changes phones?!?

Last night on the TV show CASTLE, Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion, Also known as Caption Mel on Firefly, and his ever so small role on as Private Ryan. Needless to say he is an awesome actor. Now his Character on Castle, the TV show, has him portrayed as a pretty cool guy. He has been flashing his iPhone around all season. It seemed quite normal, it may have been a plug for Apple but it was considerably more subtle than last night when he pulls out his LG device in what has to be one of the more ostentatious product demos on TV. I mean it was awkwardly blatant. Like really a phone get’s that much screen time?

I will however give props to the ad agency who is making the Windows Phone 7 TV commercials. They are pretty funny. I don’t think they will sell many phones from it, and the sales numbers for WP 7 phone reflect that. Plus their logic in the TV commercials is quite flawed thinking the WP7 is has different behavior characteristics than other smart phones, but they are funny. If Microsoft really was interested in selling phones then they should take their name off of it. I mean it worked for the launch of X-box hardly anyone knew it was Microsoft for a long time. Plus then their flagship game HALO made by Bungie was a Macintosh only game developer. Nothing cool can ever be related to Microsoft its just not their culture.

So I hope Richard Castle can come to his senses and start using his iPhone again. Because that is believable for his character. WP7 is not. Sorry Microsoft another fail.

Bank of America

I have been banking with Bank of America for over 3 years. I have 3 accounts with them. Recently I bought a new car. A nice 2011 Kona Blue Ford Mustang. I went to my local BOA branch where I sat for an hour waiting for the loan officer. Once I finally was able to speak to the loan officer she told me to just go online and fill out the application. I thought this was the whole reason to have a loan officer so you could have a human to speak with. Big mistake #1 BOA!

So I go home and fill out their online form. Its short and sweet and does not let you put in any supplemental information. So forget it if you are like me and have extenuating circumstances that need explanation on your credit report. I am a Junior and the Credit reporting agencies always mix-match my father and my records. They are a complete mess. I could write a whole post on how screwed up the credit reporting agencies are. This was the whole reason I went to the BOA branch anyway.

Just as I expected a letter finally arrived in the mail and I was declined a car loan. I mean how bad does your credit have to be for a new car. It provides it own collateral. Really though my credit is pretty decent. So I then called bank of America and talked to them about my rejection. They had nothing to say and were not prepared to explain the reason for rejection nor where they prepared to listen to my case. The girl on the phone was patient enough but offered no answers and no solutions. I have no idea why they even provided me a phone number to call about the case!?! Big mistake #2 BOA.

Two huge strikes for Bank of America! When I get the chance I will be leaving for a bank who will listen to me as a customer. I guess Bank of America just lost an Opportunity. What a joke tag line.

Why You Shouldn't Vote!

I did not vote today! I am not unAmercian nor am I a political activist. I am tired of people having huge voting parties and rallies when they are all missing the point. Yes I am completely disenfranchised by the whole ordeal. As is half of America, they just are not sure why.

People come up with all sorts of various reasons to vote. Do it for the troops because they died for your fight to vote. Yes they did and if my vote mattered any then it would be a fitting tribute. Or just the basic premise that you should exercise your right to choose my representative government. Again right if that were the case.

You want to know why voter turn out is so low in America? Do you want to know why the voting public is so fickle? Its because it does not really matter who you vote into public office. No matter how many good intentions a person may have had coming into politics they will all eventually become puppets of the lobbyists. It makes no difference if you are republican or democrat. You as a voter can hold your ideas and ideals up and hope they are carried out by your representative. Its all a big lie. They are not your representative. They end up following the “Golden Rule” – Those with the gold rule.

90% of America’s wealth is controlled by 20% of the population. The top 1% controls 34% of that wealth . The people with big money are the ones who pay the enormous campaign expenses, just to get their people elected, then those elected officials put laws into play that make those people even more money. Then over time the rest of us (80%) are the ones to suffer due to unfair practices. So we the common man bicker and we complain and we get new public officials into office. Yeah problem fixed right!?! WRONG. this is treating the symptom not the problem. The lobbing interests don’t change, they are still there term after term corrupting our politicians. Bending them to their bidding no matter how long it takes.

This pattern will continue erode America’s greatness until one of two things happen; we create a law to remove all of the lobbyists, or America falls completely apart from all the corruption. Then we have the nerve as Americans to point the finger at other governments like China and stick our noses in the air and say look at their corruption and heavy handed tactics. Then we turn a blind eye to our own. Hmmm remind you of a certain biblical principal? We need to pull the stick out of our own eye.

It so simple really. Look at any problem, be it small or large. The answer to solving the crime is to follow the money.

So for all you people out there who vote and feel proud. You can sleep well knowing you have chosen the best politician who will be corrupted and then lie to you about it.

If you want to keep an eye on thing I found this group who does just that. Public Citizen