Mining For More Of Our Information

Websites and other businesses never rest in their quest to mine for more information on all of us. The information is then often sold to other businesses,* although some stores "claim" they only use the information to be able to tailor deals to us. In these cases, stores have their own discount cards issued to patrons, of course, AFTER the patrons fill out a form with lots of personal information. Shoppers must then present the card at checkout to receive any discounts on purchased items. Facebook, Google and other web businesses seem to always be asking for some tidbit from us; "Add your cell phone number to our records so we can send you info, or if you forget your password." Call to buy or inquire about an advertised item, what is the first thing they want? Your phone number, so they can then drive your crazy with calls about other "deals."** It never ends. With online sites, the next thing you find out is that there was a security breach and your personal info might be in the hands of criminals. These companies don't need all of this info! Now there have been recent scams of companies using telemarketers or robots to dial numbers in sequence to see which numbers are active; that is, where they get ringing and no message saying the number is not in service, or they get an answering machines or voice mail, or naturally a live person. Often these calls come from outside the United States as a way to circumvent the law. They also are often, but not always, recorded messages and another violation of the law. Perhaps we're fighting a losing battle, but it's OUR information and OUR privacy, protect it and use it wisely.

* I'm sure you've seen a "Privacy Policy" from many businesses. The thing is, who the hell takes the time to read the damned thing? They naturally want to keep things complicated so they can then say, "Well we gave you our policy and you didn't object." These policies often have clauses about sharing information with "affiliated" companies, which is another way to get around the intent of the law, especially for large corporations with many diverse companies under a corporate umbrella. In other words, if Randy sold you a fishing rod, does that mean Randy can now contact you to sell you a box of donuts from his "affiliated" doughnut shop? Or how about some auto insurance from his insurance agency? Or perhaps you'd like a book from his publishing company? And then, of course, I'm sure you'd enjoy a pizza from his pizza shop! (I AM joking about this stuff. I DON'T have a pizza shop! Ah OK, or an insurance company or a publishing company or....)

** Remember folks, once you buy or inquire and you give them your number, they are NOT bound by the "Do Not Call" laws, unless you eventually tell them to stop harassing, I mean, calling you. They then still have thirty days to remove your name from their call lists. Violations can be reported, even online, to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) or to many state governments, but to be quite honest, they are overwhelmed, and as I mentioned above, advances in technology have given the bad guys ways to disguise their identities, or to call from places outside the U.S., making it difficult to trace the calls. Not every organization is covered by the Do Not Call law, as political organizations and candidates can contact you, as can charitable organizations. Debt collectors may also call you, but there are restrictions.

WORD HISTORY:
Mine-This is the noun, as in "coal mine." The origins of this word are uncertain, but it apparently goes back to Old Celtic "meini," which seems to have meant "ore," but also "location to dig for ore." Gaulish,^ a Celtic dialect, had "mena," with the same meanings, and this was borrowed into Latin as "mina." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "mine," which was then borrowed by English circa 1300. The later additional meaning, "explosives usually planted in excavated ground," came from the idea of military engineers digging "mines;" that is, "tunnels, excavations," under enemy positions and then filling them with explosives to destroy them. The word then transferred to the explosive device itself, a "mine." This term then was even used for such explosive devices used at sea, and the ships used for distributing these sea mines were called "mine layers." The verb form "mine," meaning "to dig an (ore) mine," comes from the noun. Once the "explosive device" meaning emerged for the noun, so did the additional meaning for the verb; that is, "to dig and lay (explosive) mines in an area."

^ The Gauls were a Celtic tribal confederation who lived in what is now much of modern France, and indeed, the area was known as "Gaul," even after it was conquered by the Romans. The term "France" came later after the Germanic speaking Franks conquered much of the same area.