Government Spying and Me
From time to time, I have to stop and take stock. Sometimes I\’ll write about something that prompts me to revisit it and wonder: should I rehash this? Have I said everything I could about a particular topic? Can I say more? Am I being redundant? Sometimes the answer to all these questions is an emphatic yes. Sometimes, it\’s a definitive no. Today, I think I\’d like to rehash a topic that still haunts me every time I pick up my blessed iPhone.
I\’m not deaf, dumb (though that\’s debatable), or blind. Now, I realize there is a tremendous amount of animus directed towards we Mac-lovers — and for good reason. I know it\’s annoying to have to put up with out smugness and our superior attitude. But don\’t blame us — blame Steve Jobs. He made us into the snobs we are. After all, we were just following orders. In fact, I get new orders, via my Cupertino-designed beauty everyday. I swear — Apple is talking to us…in our minds.
In the recent past, I\’ve written about the iPhone and its 3G network and its awesome apps, but the feature I find myself using — trailing behind the actual phone and the email access — is the GPS driven map. I can\’t tell you how many times that tracking beacon has directed me to assorted Shangri-las across this fine nation of ours. Taco stands, burger joints, coffee shops — I\’d be utterly lost without this function. I know — what a cliche. But like all good cliches, there is truth to it.
As my mind — and all my retention — bleeds out into the ever-increasing, ever-expanding cloud, I can\’t help but wonder…what was I talking about? Oh, yes, my GPS tracking device — I mean, my iPhone. Without it, I\’m rudderless, a mere pawn in the chess game of the Gods. With it, I defy the Gods, I stand vigilant, ready to be directed to the nearest ATM or Hot Topic store. You can never have too many racing flame high-top Chuck Taylor sneakers, you know.
The tinfoil hat set are always keen on impressing upon me the possible fact that the phone could be used against me — as if I had some worthwhile scheme or master plan to dominate the world that was worth the effort. No, if the government wants to track me, I\’d be flattered — but I\’m not picking up the tab if they show up at my local Starbucks. If they do show up, I can show them my six pages of solid apps and then maybe we could go for a walk and have dinner together. Again, I\’m not paying.
Snag your GPS tracking device — I mean your iPhone — online. Hurry, before the government shows up and eats all your Fritos.
