Don't forget Emperor Norton, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.
He printed currency that was accepted as legal tender in San Francisco, sold Bonds, issued orders to the Army to "clear the Halls of Congress", passed laws, issued pardons, corresponded with Queen Victoria, the President of France (though I don't know if it was Patrice de Mac-Mahon or Jules Grévy) and Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He ordered that the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge be built, as well as the Bay Area Rapid Transit's Transbay Tube. He even issued an edict ordering that a "League of Nations" be formed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Norton
Hail Eris!!!
Are you an idiot? Here's some immediate problems with your 'RFID' scheme that make it unfeasible:
1) Out of state cars that aren't using RFID-tagged plates 2) Passive RFID range is a few inches, up to a maximum of about 20 feet. That maximum is under "ideal"
conditions = i.e. no weather interference, no potential EMI. This is unrealistic in most metropolitan cities. 3) Unshielded RFID tags in license plates could be used by unauthorized third parties to track the plate. Depending on what information is stored on the RFID tag (i.e. Model: H2 Make: Hummer) this would allow well-organized car thieves to locate and identify the most desirable cars in a city to steal. Combine a few days of RFID reader surveillance with Google Maps, and you can plot the car's home location, how long it stays in that location, and what approximate time it departs/arrives from that location.
Point #1 & #2 mean that the cops are pulling people over who have no reason to be stopped. This means more work for police departments, who are usually under-funded and under-staffed. Additionally, while they're occupied with these false alarms, real crimes are being committed that they could be focusing on.
Point #3 shows how your idea is a boon for organized car thieves. Drive around a well-to-do neighborhood for a week with an RFID reader and check what cars are in everyone's garages at different times throughout the night and day. Decide which cars you want to steal, and survey those particular cars while driving past the houses for another week or so to refine your schedule. Choose what day and time you know that car will be in the garage (presumably unattended) for 5 hours or more. Jack the car and drive with leisure, knowing that it's unlikely to be reported before you are able to get out of the city, and possibly the state. Even if the RFID tags were encrypted it makes little difference - because it's likely that the RFID encryption scheme used by the *entire state* would be cracked before you renew the tag and presumably get a new RFID tag with a different encryption scheme. Oh, and don't forget you'll have to update the software for *every reader* in *every intersection* in *every city* in the *entire state* at the same time, or you'll have false alarms and cops pulling motorists over. Refer to #1 & #2.
This is the problem with too many techno-wannabies - they *think* they have a good idea, but fail to think through all of the implications - especially when it comes to privacy. The attitude of "I have nothing to hide" is the worst possible one to have towards digital privacy. The purpose of privacy in a digital world isn't to protect the things you want to "hide" - whatever the hell that means. The purpose of privacy in a digital world is the basic right to control information about yourself.
To continue the car analogy, think about this: what kind of car you drive, where you drive it, what stores you drive it to, what restaurants you eat at, what gym you work out at, what nightclubs you patronize, what movie theatre you favor, what routes you take to and from work, whose house you visit, what garage you use for car repairs, what gas stations you patronize -
Is it anyone's business to know these things? Is it anyone's business to know these things without your permission? Is it anyone's business to know these things without your knowledge? Should a third party be able to collect this information about YOU, and sell it to some other third party for a profit- of which your share is absolutely nothing?
These are the real issues - not whether you have anything to "hide" - so please think before you eagerly speak up to sign away your privacy - and eventually - mine.
Eyeore, the old grey donkey, stood by the side of the stream and looked
at himself in the water. "Pathetic, " he said, "that's what it is."
"Oh, " said pooh. He thought for a long time.
Man... that bit really said it all. I suppose there CAN be truth in spam.
Slashdot Mirror
Don't forget Emperor Norton, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. He printed currency that was accepted as legal tender in San Francisco, sold Bonds, issued orders to the Army to "clear the Halls of Congress", passed laws, issued pardons, corresponded with Queen Victoria, the President of France (though I don't know if it was Patrice de Mac-Mahon or Jules Grévy) and Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He ordered that the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge be built, as well as the Bay Area Rapid Transit's Transbay Tube. He even issued an edict ordering that a "League of Nations" be formed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Norton Hail Eris!!!
Are you an idiot?
Here's some immediate problems with your 'RFID' scheme that make it unfeasible:
1) Out of state cars that aren't using RFID-tagged plates
2) Passive RFID range is a few inches, up to a maximum of about 20 feet. That maximum is under "ideal"
conditions = i.e. no weather interference, no potential EMI. This is unrealistic in most metropolitan cities.
3) Unshielded RFID tags in license plates could be used by unauthorized third parties to track the plate. Depending on what information is stored on the RFID tag (i.e. Model: H2 Make: Hummer) this would allow well-organized car thieves to locate and identify the most desirable cars in a city to steal. Combine a few days of RFID reader surveillance with Google Maps, and you can plot the car's home location, how long it stays in that location, and what approximate time it departs/arrives from that location.
Point #1 & #2 mean that the cops are pulling people over who have no reason to be stopped. This means more work for police departments, who are usually under-funded and under-staffed. Additionally, while they're occupied with these false alarms, real crimes are being committed that they could be focusing on.
Point #3 shows how your idea is a boon for organized car thieves. Drive around a well-to-do neighborhood for a week with an RFID reader and check what cars are in everyone's garages at different times throughout the night and day. Decide which cars you want to steal, and survey those particular cars while driving past the houses for another week or so to refine your schedule. Choose what day and time you know that car will be in the garage (presumably unattended) for 5 hours or more. Jack the car and drive with leisure, knowing that it's unlikely to be reported before you are able to get out of the city, and possibly the state. Even if the RFID tags were encrypted it makes little difference - because it's likely that the RFID encryption scheme used by the *entire state* would be cracked before you renew the tag and presumably get a new RFID tag with a different encryption scheme. Oh, and don't forget you'll have to update the software for *every reader* in *every intersection* in *every city* in the *entire state* at the same time, or you'll have false alarms and cops pulling motorists over. Refer to #1 & #2.
This is the problem with too many techno-wannabies - they *think* they have a good idea, but fail to think through all of the implications - especially when it comes to privacy. The attitude of "I have nothing to hide" is the worst possible one to have towards digital privacy. The purpose of privacy in a digital world isn't to protect the things you want to "hide" - whatever the hell that means. The purpose of privacy in a digital world is the basic right to control information about yourself.
To continue the car analogy, think about this: what kind of car you drive, where you drive it, what stores you drive it to, what restaurants you eat at, what gym you work out at, what nightclubs you patronize, what movie theatre you favor, what routes you take to and from work, whose house you visit, what garage you use for car repairs, what gas stations you patronize -
Is it anyone's business to know these things?
Is it anyone's business to know these things without your permission?
Is it anyone's business to know these things without your knowledge?
Should a third party be able to collect this information about YOU, and sell it to some other third party for a profit- of which your share is absolutely nothing?
These are the real issues - not whether you have anything to "hide" - so please think before you eagerly speak up to sign away your privacy - and eventually - mine.
Eyeore, the old grey donkey, stood by the side of the stream and looked at himself in the water. "Pathetic, " he said, "that's what it is." "Oh, " said pooh. He thought for a long time. Man... that bit really said it all. I suppose there CAN be truth in spam.
"why does so much bullshit science involve the usage of magnets or the explanation of "magnetic fields"?" One word. Mesmerism.