Comments on: No thanks, CCCU

By: Mason

Mason — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:36:32 +0000

Personally, I think both of you are a little paranoid. Is it worth making all this fuss? Life is too short, live it to the fullest, quit wasting time making excuses why the world isn’t up to your standards, and either accept it as it is, and appreciate what you do have over people in poor living conditions, and stop making everything a big deal. Be thankful for what you DO have.

Pick your things to whine about, and either do something about it, or don’t say it at all. Whining isn’t going to solve the problem. People listening to other people’s whining isn’t either.

Make change happen.

By: Gabriolan

Gabriolan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:35:41 +0000

specialk, I wish I could find an .mp3 of The Privacy Song (by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie) to play for you. It's a classic. The give us your phone number/postal code thing is annoying, isn't it? I used to respond like the polite Canadian I usually am, saying no thanks, or sorry, no. But now I'm older and grumpier so I just say no or of course not. It's all just so stupid. There is no way that sharing that information is in my interest. And there's no way that allowing the credit union people to scan my BCDL is in my interest, either. BTW, we were in Home Depot last year, and had to give them our phone number because we were ordering some stuff from them and having it delivered. Upon typing our number into the computer, the sales guy asked Are you _____________ and do you live at ____________________ on Gabriola? This is how we learned the full name and address of the guy who had our phone number before we moved to the island: Home Depot spat it out for us. Debt collectors are after the guy, as we know from the nasty phone calls we get for him. It would be so easy for a debt collector (or stalker) to go into a store like Home Depot and place a bogus order. He could give the target's phone number, and would then have the target's address a moment later. Same thing with pizza ordering, yes? You order a pizza and give them a local number. They respond with Joe Blow? Are you still at 420 Clamshell? Poof! You've found the name and address behind an unlisted number. Maybe I'm the only one who considers these possibilities, but I suspect that debt collectors, stalkers, and private detectives are well aware of techniques like this. Of course, I might not be so concerned about it all if I hadn't dealt with a stalker of my own a few years back. Sigh.

By: specialk

specialk — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:45:42 +0000

It is all a little unnerving. At the checkouts on my last trip into Nanaimo I was asked for my postal code at one place and my phone number at another. Call me paranoid… but I’m not into divulging any more information than required. They can take their data mining strategies and pack sand as far as I am concerned. I shudder to think of the situations that could arise from some weird clerks out there asking whomever comes through the register for their phone numbers. I wouldn’t even want the person behind me in line knowing my phone number thanks. You know there are a bunch of crazies out there don’t you?

Staying over with friends in town a few weeks back we decided to pick up (take out) some pizza at Pizza Hut near Woodgrove. They wouldn’t even submit my order until I gave them my phone number. I told them I don’t even live in Nanaimo and my number didn’t matter for any reason… as I was picking the pizzas up 15 minutes later from the counter. The grumpy over-worked, under-paid manager said there was no way to submit my order without a phone number on the order… to which I replied, okay, 250 755-5555.

There were no visual clues that our pizzas were tampered with in any way.