POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.off-topic : Mission: improbable Server Time
14 Oct 2026 03:20:23 EDT (-0400)
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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 04:13:07
Message: <49eed193$1@news.povray.org>
nemesis wrote:
> Yaaaay!  That was a WIN, yes!

Damn straight!

> I myself never went so far with any waitress.

I know! It P3WNZ so much...

> Next step is showing your math, Haskell and organ skills and...

...uh, dude...?

> well, perhaps diner or movies would be better for a while... :D

...yes. :-P


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Mission: improbable
Date: 22 Apr 2009 04:18:07
Message: <49eed2bf$1@news.povray.org>
Warp wrote:

>   What if you get hurt?

Given what my mission was, Warp's comment seems oddly apt...


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 05:38:12
Message: <49eee584@news.povray.org>
Kevin Wampler <wam### [at] uwashingtonedu> wrote:
> I imagine it will go something like this:

> - stare at number
> - stare at phone
> - stare at number again
> - stare at phone
> - begin to dial
> - quickly close phone before finished
> - stare back at number
> - rehearse what to say
> - pick up phone again
> - realize critical oversight in planned speech
> - put phone back down so as to plan more
> - stare at number

  That sounds like a chessy movie script...

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 05:43:39
Message: <49eee6cb@news.povray.org>
Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
> andrel wrote:
> > Aside: I though the F-word was not to be used on this server and in this 
> > context it is really ill-advised and possibly crazy.

> Personally, I don't give an F-word whether anyone uses it. ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCcCzj_yRtk

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Mission: improbable
Date: 22 Apr 2009 08:45:34
Message: <49ef116e$1@news.povray.org>
Invisible wrote:
> Tonight, I am going on a crazy and ill-advised mission.

Oof... Why did I eat quite so much food last night? Suddenly I don't 
feel so good... :-S


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 09:28:20
Message: <49ef1b74$1@news.povray.org>
Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> Long story short: I now have her phone number.
> 
> ...or possibly the phone number of the local gay bar...
> 
> ..but it's *probably* her phone number.
> 
> I hope.

Well, whatever it is, it *does* respond to the SMS protocol. So we can 
now probably rule out a made up number. (She did write it from memory, 
which seemed impressive to me...)

A reply would be good though... Still, her day job is as an account 
manager, which as I understand it probably means she's in meetings all day.


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 09:49:35
Message: <49ef206f@news.povray.org>
Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> (She did write it from memory, which seemed impressive to me...)

  Wait... You don't remember your own phone number from memory?
Or expect anyone else to remember theirs?

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 09:59:08
Message: <49ef22ac$1@news.povray.org>
Warp wrote:
> Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>> (She did write it from memory, which seemed impressive to me...)
> 
>   Wait... You don't remember your own phone number from memory?
> Or expect anyone else to remember theirs?

It's an 11-digit random number. I myself never have to dial it, because 
I never phone myself. And since I never give it to anybody else, I don't 
have to write it either. *Why* would I remember what it is?


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From: Chambers
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 10:06:52
Message: <49ef247c$1@news.povray.org>
On 4/22/2009 2:38 AM, Warp wrote:
> Kevin Wampler<wam### [at] uwashingtonedu>  wrote:
>> I imagine it will go something like this:
>
>> - stare at number
>> - stare at phone
>> - stare at number again
>> - stare at phone
>> - begin to dial
>> - quickly close phone before finished
>> - stare back at number
>> - rehearse what to say
>> - pick up phone again
>> - realize critical oversight in planned speech
>> - put phone back down so as to plan more
>> - stare at number
>
>    That sounds like a chessy movie script...
>

It sounds like an episode of Friends...

(actually, now that I think about it, I think it is... one from Season 
1, I believe).

-- 
...Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com


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From: scott
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 10:09:47
Message: <49ef252b$1@news.povray.org>
>  Wait... You don't remember your own phone number from memory?
> Or expect anyone else to remember theirs?

When I need to give my home phone number to anyone, I have to look it up 
under "Me" on my mobile :-)


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From: Chambers
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 10:10:56
Message: <49ef2570$1@news.povray.org>
On 4/22/2009 2:43 AM, Warp wrote:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCcCzj_yRtk

F'ing F'tastic!

-- 
...Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 10:14:44
Message: <49ef2654@news.povray.org>
>>  Wait... You don't remember your own phone number from memory?
>> Or expect anyone else to remember theirs?
> 
> When I need to give my home phone number to anyone, I have to look it up 
> under "Me" on my mobile :-)

Likewise...

(And mine is unusually memorable.)


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 10:17:00
Message: <49ef26db@news.povray.org>
scott <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> >  Wait... You don't remember your own phone number from memory?
> > Or expect anyone else to remember theirs?

> When I need to give my home phone number to anyone, I have to look it up 
> under "Me" on my mobile :-)

  Maybe it's different in your countries, but at least here it's relatively
common to have to fill out some documents asking your personal info, including
your phone number, especially anything related to official/government things.
Knowing your own phone number by heart is as natural as knowing your own name,
date of birth, street address and social security number by heart.

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: scott
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 10:26:25
Message: <49ef2911@news.povray.org>
>> When I need to give my home phone number to anyone, I have to look it up
>> under "Me" on my mobile :-)
>
>  Maybe it's different in your countries, but at least here it's relatively
> common to have to fill out some documents asking your personal info, 
> including
> your phone number, especially anything related to official/government 
> things.

Well yes, when I moved house I had to write the number on several forms, but 
since then I have rarely used it, hence I can't remember it.  Actually I'm 
not even sure of the area code!  Then again I've only lived there for a 
little over a year, I can fully remember the complete phone number of the 
house where I grew up.

> Knowing your own phone number by heart is as natural as knowing your own 
> name,
> date of birth, street address and social security number by heart.

Social security number?  Again, cannot remember the last time I had to write 
that anywhere, no chance of remembering it by heart.


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 10:31:15
Message: <49ef2a33$1@news.povray.org>
Warp wrote:

> Knowing your own phone number by heart is as natural as knowing your own name,
> date of birth, street address and social security number by heart.

Oh, I can easily tell you my *home* phone number. (I'm not going to 
though...) But I have no clue what my *mobile* number is. I never give 
that to anybody...


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 11:18:12
Message: <49ef3534$1@news.povray.org>
Invisible wrote:
> I never phone myself. And since I never give it to anybody else, I don't 
> have to write it either. 

Then why do you have a phone?

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 11:21:40
Message: <49ef3604$1@news.povray.org>
>> I never phone myself. And since I never give it to anybody else, I 
>> don't have to write it either. 
> 
> Then why do you have a phone?

So that the handful of people who already have my number can call me?


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 12:43:27
Message: <49ef492f@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:59:05 +0100, Invisible wrote:

> Warp wrote:
>> Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>>> (She did write it from memory, which seemed impressive to me...)
>> 
>>   Wait... You don't remember your own phone number from memory?
>> Or expect anyone else to remember theirs?
> 
> It's an 11-digit random number. I myself never have to dial it, because
> I never phone myself. And since I never give it to anybody else, I don't
> have to write it either. *Why* would I remember what it is?

That's not unusual, actually.  I sometimes have to think a minute about 
my phone number - especially my work number - because I don't call it 
very often.

I've got a Google Voice number as well, but I don't give that out often 
yet, so I can never remember it.

Jim


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 12:44:29
Message: <49ef496d$1@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:26:24 +0200, scott wrote:

> Social security number?  Again, cannot remember the last time I had to
> write that anywhere, no chance of remembering it by heart.

I have to use it to sign in on a credit monitoring service from American 
Express....but I've always been able to remember my SSN.

Jim


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 13:26:07
Message: <49ef532f@news.povray.org>
scott <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> Social security number?  Again, cannot remember the last time I had to write 
> that anywhere, no chance of remembering it by heart.

  As I said, maybe it's different in your country.

  The social security number is your unique ID given at birth. It's asked
anywhere where you have to be uniquely identified.

  How else do they know who to send the bills to in your country?

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: Nicolas Alvarez
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 13:42:39
Message: <49ef570f@news.povray.org>
Jim Henderson wrote:
> Also, I should mention that what you've done is something I've never
> done.  Ever.  I've always been *far* too shy to ask anyone for their
> phone number in a setting like this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_shyness


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From: Nicolas Alvarez
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 13:45:23
Message: <49ef57b3@news.povray.org>
scott wrote:
> Social security number?  Again, cannot remember the last time I had to
> write that anywhere, no chance of remembering it by heart.

Everyone in Argentina is supposed to remember his ID number (DNI), since
it's asked often if you deal with banks, doctors, or...


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 14:43:17
Message: <49ef6545@news.povray.org>
Nicolas Alvarez wrote:

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_shyness

That was me 10 years ago... ;-)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 14:44:17
Message: <49ef6581$1@news.povray.org>
Invisible wrote:

> A reply would be good though...

Jesus, I *still* need to learn to let go and stop obsessing about stuff! >_<

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Nicolas Alvarez
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 14:59:51
Message: <49ef6927@news.povray.org>
Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Nicolas Alvarez wrote:
> 
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_shyness
> 
> That was me 10 years ago... ;-)

That's me now.


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 15:21:32
Message: <49ef6e3c$1@news.povray.org>
>> That was me 10 years ago... ;-)
> 
> That's me now.

Ah, don't worry. You just gotta relax and... who am I kidding? Right now 
I'm sat next to the phone waiting for it to ring, even though I know it 
won't. :-| How dumb is that??

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 15:38:46
Message: <49ef7246@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:42:39 -0300, Nicolas Alvarez wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> Also, I should mention that what you've done is something I've never
>> done.  Ever.  I've always been *far* too shy to ask anyone for their
>> phone number in a setting like this.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_shyness

Maybe something like that.  Extreme fear of rejection was a bit part of 
it.  I was always the kid the girls wanted to have as a friend so they 
could complain about their boyfriends (or the other boys they wanted as 
their boyfriends) to someone.

Jim


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 15:39:28
Message: <49ef7270$1@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:21:33 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>> That was me 10 years ago... ;-)
>> 
>> That's me now.
> 
> Ah, don't worry. You just gotta relax and... who am I kidding? Right now
> I'm sat next to the phone waiting for it to ring, even though I know it
> won't. :-| How dumb is that??

Go find something to do - a watched phone never rings.

If she phones and you're not there, she can leave a message, right?

Jim


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 15:39:58
Message: <49ef728e$1@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:26:07 -0400, Warp wrote:

>   How else do they know who to send the bills to in your country?

Because they're given a mailing address?

Jim


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 15:51:12
Message: <49ef7530$1@news.povray.org>
>> Ah, don't worry. You just gotta relax and... who am I kidding? Right now
>> I'm sat next to the phone waiting for it to ring, even though I know it
>> won't. :-| How dumb is that??
> 
> Go find something to do - a watched phone never rings.
> 
> If she phones and you're not there, she can leave a message, right?

She's at work right now. There's no way in hell she's going to call from 
work.

Also... my phone has a voicemail function, but I have no idea how it 
works. But I'll know she called, which is the main thing.

(I'm not seriously expecting her to call, rather to reply to my SMS...)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 15:57:28
Message: <49ef76a8@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:51:13 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>> Ah, don't worry. You just gotta relax and... who am I kidding? Right
>>> now I'm sat next to the phone waiting for it to ring, even though I
>>> know it won't. :-| How dumb is that??
>> 
>> Go find something to do - a watched phone never rings.
>> 
>> If she phones and you're not there, she can leave a message, right?
> 
> She's at work right now. There's no way in hell she's going to call from
> work.

OK, so that is a little nuts. ;-)

> Also... my phone has a voicemail function, but I have no idea how it
> works. But I'll know she called, which is the main thing.

I'm sure you could find out, though. :-)

> (I'm not seriously expecting her to call, rather to reply to my SMS...)

That's also a possibility....kids these days seem to prefer texting to 
phoning. :-)

Jim


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 16:28:59
Message: <49ef7e0b@news.povray.org>
Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:26:07 -0400, Warp wrote:

> >   How else do they know who to send the bills to in your country?

> Because they're given a mailing address?

  And if the person in question does not pay his bills and moves to
another place?

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 17:10:55
Message: <49ef87df$1@news.povray.org>
Warp wrote:
> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:26:07 -0400, Warp wrote:
> 
>>>   How else do they know who to send the bills to in your country?
> 
>> Because they're given a mailing address?
> 
>   And if the person in question does not pay his bills and moves to
> another place?

Then they keep the deposit.  :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 22 Apr 2009 17:35:30
Message: <49ef8da2$1@news.povray.org>
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:28:59 -0400, Warp wrote:

> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:26:07 -0400, Warp wrote:
> 
>> >   How else do they know who to send the bills to in your country?
> 
>> Because they're given a mailing address?
> 
>   And if the person in question does not pay his bills and moves to
> another place?

Then it goes to a collection agency which tracks them down.

In the US, credit reporting agencies tend to have good data on where 
people are located as well.

SSN is not a universal ID in the US.  It's a taxpayer identification 
number and really nothing more.

Jim


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 03:11:12
Message: <49f01490@news.povray.org>
Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> >   And if the person in question does not pay his bills and moves to
> > another place?

> Then it goes to a collection agency which tracks them down.

  And the easiest way of doing that here is with the social security number,
as it's an unambiguous unique identifier (and the government has your data
associated with it).

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: Invisible
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 04:04:47
Message: <49f0211f@news.povray.org>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_shyness
> 
> Maybe something like that.  Extreme fear of rejection was a bit part of 
> it.  I was always the kid the girls wanted to have as a friend so they 
> could complain about their boyfriends (or the other boys they wanted as 
> their boyfriends) to someone.

When *I* was a kid, "girls" were these mythical creatures that I'd never 
actually seen or interacted with before, but I desperately wanted to 
find one and keep her for ever and ever...

Of course, gradually I came to realise that girls are actually just 
normal human beings who are a bit special. Some of them are nice, some 
of them are arseholes. Oddly, attractiveness appears to be negatively 
correlated with personality... but it's only a general correlation, 
there is of course considerable variability.

Now, if I could just learn to not be terrified of all human beings, 
maybe I'd be getting somewhere! :-}


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 11:45:46
Message: <49f08d2a$1@news.povray.org>
Warp wrote:
> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>>>   And if the person in question does not pay his bills and moves to
>>> another place?
> 
>> Then it goes to a collection agency which tracks them down.
> 
>   And the easiest way of doing that here is with the social security number,
> as it's an unambiguous unique identifier (and the government has your data
> associated with it).

Yes. Here, if you refuse to give your SSN to (say) the phone company, 
they'll require about six months of deposit from you (i.e., about 6 bills 
worth of money), and they'll give that back after a year. And you'll still 
get sent to collections if you don't pay after that, and you won't get phone 
service without a big deposit next time even if you give your SSN. (That's 
one of the things those 300TB databases tracks.)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 13:54:05
Message: <49f0ab3d$1@news.povray.org>
On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:04:45 +0100, Invisible wrote:

>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_shyness
>> 
>> Maybe something like that.  Extreme fear of rejection was a bit part of
>> it.  I was always the kid the girls wanted to have as a friend so they
>> could complain about their boyfriends (or the other boys they wanted as
>> their boyfriends) to someone.
> 
> When *I* was a kid, "girls" were these mythical creatures that I'd never
> actually seen or interacted with before, but I desperately wanted to
> find one and keep her for ever and ever...

Heh, dude, you *are* a kid. ;-)  Aren't you in your late 20's?

> Of course, gradually I came to realise that girls are actually just
> normal human beings who are a bit special. Some of them are nice, some
> of them are arseholes. Oddly, attractiveness appears to be negatively
> correlated with personality... but it's only a general correlation,
> there is of course considerable variability.

Indeed there is. :-)

> Now, if I could just learn to not be terrified of all human beings,
> maybe I'd be getting somewhere! :-}

You're making progress.  :-)

Jim


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 13:55:46
Message: <49f0aba2@news.povray.org>
On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:11:12 -0400, Warp wrote:

> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> >   And if the person in question does not pay his bills and moves to
>> > another place?
> 
>> Then it goes to a collection agency which tracks them down.
> 
>   And the easiest way of doing that here is with the social security
>   number,

Maybe there, but not here...not everyone in the US has one.  Many people 
who live in the US don't, even though they're legal.

> as it's an unambiguous unique identifier (and the government has your
> data associated with it).

Over here we tend to be suspicious (some would say "overly suspicious") 
of the idea of a national identity database.  Governments around the 
world have demonstrated that they're not terribly good at keeping data 
that should secure secured.  Though the most recent examples I can think 
of are from he UK....

Jim


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 13:57:07
Message: <49f0abf3@news.povray.org>
On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:45:44 -0700, Darren New wrote:

>  if you refuse to give your SSN to (say) the phone company,
> they'll require about six months of deposit from you

I think that depends on where you are in the US, though.

I don't recall ever giving my SSN to a utility company in the states I've 
lived in, and don't recall ever having to pay a deposit, either - even 
when my credit rating was bad.

Jim


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From: Warp
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 14:44:36
Message: <49f0b713@news.povray.org>
Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> Maybe there, but not here...not everyone in the US has one.  Many people 
> who live in the US don't, even though they're legal.

  I can't understand how that can work. The most prominent problem which
comes to mind is: How do they collect taxes if they don't know who is who?
How can employers inform the government who is working for them if the
employees have no ID? (At least here employers have a rather strict duty
to have very accurate paperwork on who is working and every single cent
is accounted for and notified, mostly for taxing and insurance purposes
but also for other things, such as ensuring employee rights and such.)

> > as it's an unambiguous unique identifier (and the government has your
> > data associated with it).

> Over here we tend to be suspicious (some would say "overly suspicious") 
> of the idea of a national identity database.  Governments around the 
> world have demonstrated that they're not terribly good at keeping data 
> that should secure secured.  Though the most recent examples I can think 
> of are from he UK....

  One can be suspicious of a government that wants to keep accurate
information on every single citizen of the country, but I really can't
understand how a country can work without that. The Finnish government
(and I'm sure it's the same for many other countries) knows the exact
number of Finnish citizens, and their basic info (date of birth, etc.)

  That might sound a bit draconian when said like that, but I have yet
to feel that being abused. It seems to work quite well. One situation
where the government knowing who you are works pretty well is in, as
the name implies, social security. For example if you break a leg, you
just go to the hospital, tell your social security number, and they fix
you up for free. No hassle.

  To somewhat compensate, Finland has very strict privacy laws (probably
much stricter than in most other countries). For example, it's strictly
prohibited to publish lists of information about people, such as for
example people's names and their SSNs. This goes sometimes to rather
extremes: For example, at schools it's prohibited to put lists of
student names and their student numbers in public view (eg. in test
scores) because it's interpreted to break the privacy laws. (You can
publish lists which have only the numbers or only the names along with
the test scores, but not both. Most choose to publish only the numbers
because they feel more anonymous.)

  Another extreme example (and perhaps even a bit ridiculous) was a
Finnish website which collected photos of cars with funny license plates.
The website was shut down by authorities because it was interpreted to
break privacy laws (it connected license numbers with the technical
info of the cars, in the form of photographs).

  Naturally phonebooks are an exception to this. But even with them you
always specifically choose whether you want your number on the public
phone book or not when you create a phone contract. (And later you can
change this with one phone call.)

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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From: Darren New
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 16:26:24
Message: <49f0cef0$1@news.povray.org>
Warp wrote:
> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> Maybe there, but not here...not everyone in the US has one.  Many people 
>> who live in the US don't, even though they're legal.
> 
>   I can't understand how that can work. The most prominent problem which
> comes to mind is: How do they collect taxes if they don't know who is who?

The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) of course has your SSN, as does anyone 
with the authority to collect taxes.  (Interestingly, it's called "Social 
security number" because it was originally only to be used to collect social 
security, not even other federal or state taxes.)

Private companies (other than your employer of course) don't necessarily get 
your SSN unless you give it to them. Most places that key their database by 
your SSN have mechanisms to support people who don't have or refuse to 
provide their SSN.

> How can employers inform the government who is working for them if the
> employees have no ID? 

Only taxpayers actually need an SSN. You don't get it "at birth". You get it 
before you get a paying job. It's not a national ID number, it's a taxpayer 
ID number.

>   That might sound a bit draconian when said like that, but I have yet
> to feel that being abused.

It was certainly abused during various wars, by both the USA and Germany 
during WWII, for example. Not to invoke godwin or anything...

>   To somewhat compensate, Finland has very strict privacy laws (probably
> much stricter than in most other countries). 

We lack that here, which is part of the problem. And even when there are 
specific laws, our government is pretty good at ignoring them anyway. :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 16:32:02
Message: <49f0d042@news.povray.org>
>> Now, if I could just learn to not be terrified of all human beings,
>> maybe I'd be getting somewhere! :-}
> 
> You're making progress.  :-)

I am?

Right now I'm just miserable because she hasn't contacted me yet... :-(

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 16:44:27
Message: <49f0d32b$1@news.povray.org>
On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:32:04 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>> Now, if I could just learn to not be terrified of all human beings,
>>> maybe I'd be getting somewhere! :-}
>> 
>> You're making progress.  :-)
> 
> I am?

Yes, you are.  You're asking and talking to people, that's a huge step 
forward.

> Right now I'm just miserable because she hasn't contacted me yet... :-(

Now we need you to learn patience. :-)  You could always drop in the 
restaurant for dinner one night....

Jim


Post a reply to this message

From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 16:55:21
Message: <49f0d5b9@news.povray.org>
Darren's summed it up pretty well....

On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:44:36 -0400, Warp wrote:

> Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
>> Maybe there, but not here...not everyone in the US has one.  Many
>> people who live in the US don't, even though they're legal.
> 
>   I can't understand how that can work. The most prominent problem which
> comes to mind is: How do they collect taxes if they don't know who is
> who? How can employers inform the government who is working for them if
> the employees have no ID? (At least here employers have a rather strict
> duty to have very accurate paperwork on who is working and every single
> cent is accounted for and notified, mostly for taxing and insurance
> purposes but also for other things, such as ensuring employee rights and
> such.)

No SSN != No ID in the US.  But most (not all) IDs are issued by the 
state and not by the federal government.

For foreign workers, for example, there are other ways and methods used 
to report that information.

>> > as it's an unambiguous unique identifier (and the government has your
>> > data associated with it).
> 
>> Over here we tend to be suspicious (some would say "overly suspicious")
>> of the idea of a national identity database.  Governments around the
>> world have demonstrated that they're not terribly good at keeping data
>> that should secure secured.  Though the most recent examples I can
>> think of are from he UK....
> 
>   One can be suspicious of a government that wants to keep accurate
> information on every single citizen of the country, but I really can't
> understand how a country can work without that. The Finnish government
> (and I'm sure it's the same for many other countries) knows the exact
> number of Finnish citizens, and their basic info (date of birth, etc.)

We do a census every 10 years to find out how many people there are 
here. :-)

Looking at my credit report (not managed by the government but by three 
separate reporting bureaus), they all don't have the correct address for 
me.  But they still track my credit without too much trouble - and I know 
that, because I check it at least monthly.

>   That might sound a bit draconian when said like that, but I have yet
> to feel that being abused. 

You're not in the US.  Finland has what I certainly would consider to be 
reasonable privacy laws.

> It seems to work quite well. One situation
> where the government knowing who you are works pretty well is in, as the
> name implies, social security. For example if you break a leg, you just
> go to the hospital, tell your social security number, and they fix you
> up for free. No hassle.

Ah, socialism that works. :-)  Seriously, I admire the health care system 
you guys have, and wish we had something similar instead of the crappy 
insurance-based system we have now.  Granted, having insurance is better 
than not.

Out of curiosity, how much of your salary goes to taxes?  Over here it's 
typically in the 30-40% range.

>   Naturally phonebooks are an exception to this. But even with them you
> always specifically choose whether you want your number on the public
> phone book or not when you create a phone contract. (And later you can
> change this with one phone call.)

We do have an option to be unlisted, but that doesn't stop abuses.  Right 
now there seems to be a dearth of telemarketing companies that skirt the 
DNC list rules - like saying they're calling to do a survey (legal) when 
the point of the survey is to see if you want to buy something (not 
legal).  Or political/charity organizations.  Or people who just refuse 
to identify who they're with or play by the rules.

We had one the other day who insisted that they were legally required to 
NOT disclose the name of the charity they were calling on behalf of, 
except to the named person they were calling (they claimed my wife had 
"done business with" the charity in the past).  

I had another who just identified himself by name, and when I asked who 
he was calling on behalf of, he gave me his name again and asked if my 
wife was home.  I asked a second time and in a more demanding tone who he 
was calling on behalf of, and he said something like "national 
registry" (I actually couldn't make it out).  I told him to take us off 
their calling list - which they're required by law to do if you ask - and 
he actually started to argue before giving up, saying OK and hanging up.

It doesn't help that there are certain categories of numbers that we 
cannot block at all.  We have to make a note in our phone's electronic 
phonebook to have it display the note when hey call (as if it were the 
caller ID).

Jim


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 17:12:07
Message: <49f0d9a7$1@news.povray.org>
>>>> Now, if I could just learn to not be terrified of all human beings,
>>>> maybe I'd be getting somewhere! :-}
>>> You're making progress.  :-)
>> I am?
> 
> Yes, you are.  You're asking and talking to people, that's a huge step 
> forward.

On Tuesday it felt like a huge step. But...

<Smith>What good is a phone number if it doesn't do anything</Smith>

>> Right now I'm just miserable because she hasn't contacted me yet... :-(
> 
> Now we need you to learn patience. :-)  You could always drop in the 
> restaurant for dinner one night....

I intend to.

...but I'd like to avoid looking like I'm stalking her. o_O

Patience is one thing, but what if it's not really her number? What if 
she doesn't remember who I am? What if she just doesn't want to talk to me?

But... nobody *forced* her to give me the number, so...?

AAARRGH! I'm so *confused*! >_<

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Jim Henderson
Subject: Re: Epic win
Date: 23 Apr 2009 18:07:49
Message: <49f0e6b5@news.povray.org>
On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:12:10 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>>>> Now, if I could just learn to not be terrified of all human beings,
>>>>> maybe I'd be getting somewhere! :-}
>>>> You're making progress.  :-)
>>> I am?
>> 
>> Yes, you are.  You're asking and talking to people, that's a huge step
>> forward.
> 
> On Tuesday it felt like a huge step. But...

It was, and it is.

> <Smith>What good is a phone number if it doesn't do anything</Smith>

Sometimes life gets in the way.  Maybe someone in her family got sick or 
died.  Who knows?  Try not to assume it's because it's you.

>>> Right now I'm just miserable because she hasn't contacted me yet...
>>> :-(
>> 
>> Now we need you to learn patience. :-)  You could always drop in the
>> restaurant for dinner one night....
> 
> I intend to.
> 
> ...but I'd like to avoid looking like I'm stalking her. o_O

Certainly, but if it's a restaurant you like going to for the food, then 
just go for the food.  If she's working that night, she is, and if she 
isn't, oh well, at least you got a good meal. :-)

> Patience is one thing, but what if it's not really her number? What if
> she doesn't remember who I am? What if she just doesn't want to talk to
> me?

You can what-if yourself to death.  So stop it.  Just be relaxed and 
groovy and see what happens.  And keep on dancin'.

Jim


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From: Orchid XP v8
Subject: Fizzle
Date: 27 Apr 2009 16:55:07
Message: <49f61bab$1@news.povray.org>
Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I went out for a meal. It turns out that 
> my waitress was quite cute, and definitely very friendly. Long story 
> short: I now have her phone number.

Well, it _is_ her number. Unfortunately it's not going to do me much good.

I suggested to her that maybe we could meet up today. Her response was 
that she's trying to "sort things out" with her boyfriend so it's 
"probably not a good idea".

To summarise:

1. She already has a boyfriend, so she's not going to improve my 
lovelife (e.g., by allowing me to *have* one...)

2. She's not going to hang out with me either, so she's not going to 
improve my social life.

*sigh* So I now have another name to add to the list of people I 
sometimes contact electronically but almost never get to actually meet 
up with. Yay, me.

What a disappointing result...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*


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From: Tim Cook
Subject: Re: Fizzle
Date: 27 Apr 2009 17:38:44
Message: <49f625e4$1@news.povray.org>
"Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> 1. She already has a boyfriend, so she's not going to improve my 
> lovelife (e.g., by allowing me to *have* one...)

What, a boyfriend?

(you walked right into that)

-- 
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net


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From: Fredrik Eriksson
Subject: Re: Fizzle
Date: 27 Apr 2009 18:23:01
Message: <op.us2ggnw47bxctx@e6600>
On Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:38:35 +0200, Tim Cook <z99### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> "Orchid XP v8" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>> 1. She already has a boyfriend, so she's not going to improve my  
>> lovelife (e.g., by allowing me to *have* one...)
>
> What, a boyfriend?

http://basicinstructions.net/?p=322


-- 
FE


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