[Railroader]

The thread about being on hold and Demonhood's comment about them listening reminded me of something:

An acquaintance of mine has a serious paranoia about riding in a car with OnStar installed in it. He simply won't talk because he believes they are listening to every conversation. He bought a GMC Envoy for his wife and it has OnStar installed and he won't talk when he's in it and he strictly obeys all traffic laws because he thinks they are tracking him with the GPS function. Even if traffic is flying along at 80 mph and blue-haired grannies are passing him, he'll stick to 69 mph.

Anyone else have a paranoia or know of anyone with an extreme paranoia? Share with the group please.

[kmkkid]

I think my iPod is tracking my listening habits.

[nredman]

my wife thinks i am overly paranoid because i always lock the car doors even in my parents small town...every morning when i get up i always check to make sure the apartment door is locked. and when i set my alarm at night i check the volume of the radio and the time about 5 times. those are the only strange things i do.

[BlueSky]

I keep thinking my sig is going to disappear.

[budster101]

Uhm. I'm not telling.
You can't make me.
You either.

[Sarc]

Checked the site but I couldn' find a 'What Is' section naywhere.

WTF is OnStar ?

[dreilly1]

Originally Posted by Sarc

Checked the site but I couldn' find a 'What Is' section naywhere.

WTF is OnStar ?

It's an in-car tracking and communications system that comes standard on a lot of new cars here. For a monthly subscription, you can get an operator at a touch of a button who will give you driving directions (or call the cops if you get in an accident). I hear commercials on the radio which have real-life idiots who lock their kids in their cars, and OnStar can unlock their doors remotely.

[budster101]

BTW: The FBI can tap your onstar account for any reason they want.

[Railroader]

I was one of those idiots. I didn't lock my kids in the car, but one time I was getting gas and I pulled the key out enough so the open door bell wouldn't ding. Completely by habit I hit the lock button as I was closing the door and I locked the keys in. I called OnStar and before I was done pumping gas they had the Van unlocked.

Another time we were in upstate NY in the mountains and there were five of us in the van. Everyone of us had a cell phone but none of us had a signal. We were looking for a restaurant and couldn't find it. I hit the OnStar button and we had a clear signal and the OnStar rep directed us to the restaurant and even called ahead and made reservations.

I always liked the fact that if I ever got into an accident and the airbags went off, OnStar would automatically connect and make sure I was OK. Luckily I never had to take advantage of it, but it was nice to have the backup.

Alas, it is an expensive service. We only used the free year and bought a few cell phone minutes for emergency use through the system.

Here's a link to the OnStar site to understanding the basics of the system.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by budster101

BTW: The FBI can tap your onstar account for any reason they want.

You sure? Do you know of any links I could find this out for sure? /gettingparanoid]

[budster101]

Anytime, any reason, and only they would know about it. Fact.

http://www.spywareinfo.com/newslette...es/1103/25.php

http://www.americasdebate.com/forums...php/t5744.html

I do think the 9th Circuit Court put the kybosh on that though.

[rjenkinson]

Originally Posted by Bluesky

I keep thinking my sig is going to disappear.

stranger things have happened.

-r.

__________________

[RAILhead]

I'm paranoid about taking a dump at work. Too many men, too few toilets, not enough Clorox.



Maury

[ManOfSteal]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I'm paranoid about taking a dump at work. Too many men, too few toilets, not enough Clorox.



Maury

I don't care who you are...that was funny right there.

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by budster101

Anytime, any reason, and only they would know about it.

Is this a perk of the heightened security since 9/11?

Personally they should state this when you buy onstar (I never heard squat about this) and then I wouldn't mind at all. My drive is very bland and I doubt ANYONE would want to know about it.

Similarly if you want to know about my spending habits call Amex, they have 95% of my monthly purchases.

I do however lock all house doors and car doors but I don't have any alarm systems (My car came with one but I don't use it unless I am out of my county)

[budster101]

It's a double-edged sword when dealing with security. How can you limit the freedoms of your own people when you are trying to secure them?

How about this. Stop the terrorists at the border?
Track them down?

It's the abuse of this power that worries most.

The more freedoms we lose, the less free we become... isn't that playing into the hands of the terrorists?
I don't know, I'm far from an expert on the whole thing.

[jasonsRX7]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I'm paranoid about taking a dump at work. Too many men, too few toilets, not enough Clorox.



Maury

I hear ya. I'll fog up the can at work cause only 3 others use it, but no other public place.

Also, I am paranoid about food expiration dates. I usually won't eat food that's within a day of the printed expiration date.

[goMac]

There's a big problem with the FBI's plan... it's called... terrorists just won't get OnStar.

I mean.... what would they use it for anyway?

[Mr.White]

Originally Posted by goMac

There's a big problem with the FBI's plan... it's called... terrorists just won't get OnStar.

I mean.... what would they use it for anyway?

"Hello my friend. I seem to have gotten lost, and I have about a ton of explosives in the back of my Yukon. Can you tell me how to get to the nearest U.S. national monument."

[budster101]

Well, if they left their keys in their car bomb then that would help.... :/

I can hear it now:

Hello? Onstar? This is saheeb, I'm afraid to have to say that i have left my keys locked into the carbom...err what I am meaning to be saying is this, please to open my car doors so I may be retreiving my keys, thank you.

...

[RAILhead]

I'm also mysophobic. It's not totally bad like Monk or anything, but I'm "bad" enough to be noticeable at times. I absolutely HATE going to the store (any store) -- especially if it's a place that will have a lot of people like the grocery store...people coughing, clearing their throats, sneezing, breathing...

It's making my stomach tighten just typing it.

I wash my hands after I shake someone's hand (or wipe my hand on my pants if I can't get to a sink (like at church)).

When I make a sandwich, I get everything out and open it -- then I wash my hands again before getting the bread out so I don't get whatever miniscule germs were on the packages onto my bread.

I hold my breath when I walk past people I don't know or about whom my germophobic radar signals.

I use a hand wipey (I keep them in my truck) after I though money, get gas, or if the drive-thru person's hand or fingers touch mine (CRIPES I HATE THAT!!!!).

OK, that's all I can type now or my head will asplode.

Maury

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by rjenkinson

stranger things have happened.

-r.

__________________

Good one.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I'm also mysophobic. It's not totally bad like Monk or anything, but I'm "bad" enough to be noticeable at times. I absolutely HATE going to the store (any store) -- especially if it's a place that will have a lot of people like the grocery store...people coughing, clearing their throats, sneezing, breathing...

It's making my stomach tighten just typing it.

I wash my hands after I shake someone's hand (or wipe my hand on my pants if I can't get to a sink (like at church)).

When I make a sandwich, I get everything out and open it -- then I wash my hands again before getting the bread out so I don't get whatever miniscule germs were on the packages onto my bread.

I hold my breath when I walk past people I don't know or about whom my germophobic radar signals.

I use a hand wipey (I keep them in my truck) after I though money, get gas, or if the drive-thru person's hand or fingers touch mine (CRIPES I HATE THAT!!!!).

OK, that's all I can type now or my head will asplode.

Maury

That, along with your goal to retire a multi-millionaire, makes you sound like a Howard Hughes in the making.

[RAILhead]

Originally Posted by Bluesky

That, along with your goal to retire a multi-millionaire, makes you sound like a Howard Hughes in the making.

Not a goal, my young padawan: a plan.

Maury

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I'm also mysophobic. It's not totally bad like Monk or anything, but I'm "bad" enough to be noticeable at times. I absolutely HATE going to the store (any store) -- especially if it's a place that will have a lot of people like the grocery store...people coughing, clearing their throats, sneezing, breathing...

It's making my stomach tighten just typing it.

I wash my hands after I shake someone's hand (or wipe my hand on my pants if I can't get to a sink (like at church)).

When I make a sandwich, I get everything out and open it -- then I wash my hands again before getting the bread out so I don't get whatever miniscule germs were on the packages onto my bread.

I hold my breath when I walk past people I don't know or about whom my germophobic radar signals.

I use a hand wipey (I keep them in my truck) after I though money, get gas, or if the drive-thru person's hand or fingers touch mine (CRIPES I HATE THAT!!!!).

OK, that's all I can type now or my head will asplode.

Maury

Hello Howard.


I can be germaphobic at times. I will NOT use any toilet out in public. And if I must, I make a toilet paper ring like 10 ply thick. And when I'm at my bf's house I always wash off the toiletseat first, not because of him, but more the people he has over I also tend to blow out my glasses before I pour anything into them. I also won't eat off a fork that has any crusties in between the 'teeth' ugh, ick, blech.

[rjenkinson]

Originally Posted by Bluesky

Good one.

what are you talking about?

-r.

[RAILhead]

I actually went to Subway (the sandwich shop) today, since I'm trying to eat better and lose about 20 pounds. To put it in perspective, this particular Subway is VERY small so if it's crowded in there at all, you WILL have another human being close enough to potentially touch you and breath on you. Further, it's small enough that when you're in line picking out your goods, the people that are still waiting are STILL really close to you. Not only THAT, but I quit going to this Subway several years ago when the main lady that runs the place had a violent coughing fit. She was only running the register and didn't touch my food, but she still hacked up a lung. I never went back.

It's probably been almost 5 years since then, and I was leery of going today -- but I cut out before any crowd could get there, got my food, and not a single person coughed, sneezed, or exhaled on my stuff.

It sounds crazy, but it's REALLY nerve wracking for me. The good thing is that I'm not so bad that "out of sight out of mind" doesn't work for me, meaning, I'll go eat at restaurants and stuff, trusting and telling myself they're clean (and I always look for the local health department rating sticker and only go there if it's current and rated "Excellent").

OK, my stomach is knotting up again so I better quit while I'm ahead -- but it was a proud day for me, visiting that old Subway again.

Maury

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I actually went to Subway (the sandwich shop) today, since I'm trying to eat better and lose about 20 pounds. To put it in perspective, this particular Subway is VERY small so if it's crowded in there at all, you WILL have another human being close enough to potentially touch you and breath on you. Further, it's small enough that when you're in line picking out your goods, the people that are still waiting are STILL really close to you. Not only THAT, but I quit going to this Subway several years ago when the main lady that runs the place had a violent coughing fit. She was only running the register and didn't touch my food, but she still hacked up a lung. I never went back.

It's probably been almost 5 years since then, and I was leery of going today -- but I cut out before any crowd could get there, got my food, and not a single person coughed, sneezed, or exhaled on my stuff.

It sounds crazy, but it's REALLY nerve wracking for me. The good thing is that I'm not so bad that "out of sight out of mind" doesn't work for me, meaning, I'll go eat at restaurants and stuff, trusting and telling myself they're clean (and I always look for the local health department rating sticker and only go there if it's current and rated "Excellent").

OK, my stomach is knotting up again so I better quit while I'm ahead -- but it was a proud day for me, visiting that old Subway again.

Maury

Why be frightened of colds? Getting colds is actually better for your immune system because it builds immunity to certain strains.

Myself, I'm afraid of catching diseases/bugs, not colds.

[RAILhead]

Never said anything about colds. I'm mysophobic, not so much spermatophobic -- there's a bigger difference than most people think.

To put it plainly, every human being and anything that has anything to do with Nature is disgustingly filthy and dirty and I have no desire to have any of it touch me -- except for those things I can control or have an affinity for (my wife, cat, bird, family (most of them), etc.).

Again, I'm not that bad, but if I don't know you and my germ spider-sense kicks-in, I'm going to avoid you like the plague.

One reason I hate going to the grocery store or Target or wherever, is I always seem to walk past someone and either smell their bodies or their breath or something and it makes me want to go insane. I shouldn't smell ANYTHING from ANYONE unless it's perfume, cologne, or freshly brushed teeth. If I do, it freaks me out -- not because I'm worried so much about their germs as I'm worried about their filth and me partaking of it.

I also especially hate shaking sweaty hands. Holy freaking crap. We should do away with hand shakes and simply hold our palms toward one another or something.

Unlike other sufferers of this, I enjoy talking about it -- probably because I'm low on the "nutzo" scale -- so feel free to ask any questions if you honestly have any.

Maury

[zerostar]

Wow just wow. I am up to my arms in baboon **** all day (literally sometimes!) and a disgusting public miami metro zoo restroom is the only one available to me most of that day. I haven't been really sick in at least 5 years, I get the occasional cold and whatnot but some of you people sound just scared to be living around others.

[Sherwin]

Pretty much the same hang-ups as Maury.
I don't class them as paranoia though - just a good hygiene thing.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by rjenkinson

what are you talking about?

Nothing.

------------------

[BlueSky]

Studies have shown that money (paper and coin) are relatively clean, strangely enough.

When I walk into a public place, I either grab the door handle far from where everyone else grabs it (makes it difficult sometimes) or I'll use the end of my shirt to grab it.

In a public restroom, I touch nothing with my hands, 'ceptin' for little bluesky.

[sminch]

Why be frightened of colds? Getting colds is actually better for your immune system because it builds immunity to certain strains.

railhead, re: the above quote, would i be right in assuming that it isn't that mysophobic / spermatophobic people are worried about germs or whatever in a rational way, but that they generally know it's irrational but can't do anything about it? just wondering if it's like, say, a fear of spiders - the arachnaphobe generally knows that the stupid little spider isn't going to harm him, but can't stop freaking out anyway. like, it's not so much a fear of what could happen as a gut level bleragghhhhgibbergibberblerk gross-out type reaction.

sminch

[Railroader]

After I leave a restroom I use the paper towel I dried my hands with to open the door. I hate those air dryers for this very reason. Sometimes I have to walk a fair way to throw away the used paper towel.

[sminch]

i have a thing about the faucets in restrooms - i figure they've got to be the grubbiest thing in the whole place, seeing as they're the first thing everyone touches after wiping their butts, plus they're constantly damp, and you've got to touch them again after you wash your hands.

sminch

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by sminch

i have a thing about the faucets in restrooms - i figure they've got to be the grubbiest thing in the whole place, seeing as they're the first thing everyone touches after wiping their butts, plus they're constantly damp, and you've got to touch them again after you wash your hands.

At least they get washed once in a while, I doubt the door handle gets as much attention, I would figure with the amount of people who don't wash their hands that would be the dirtiest place.

[Sherwin]

Some science-minded folk did a test a few years back on a bowl of complimentary peanuts sitting on a bar. Turns out there was something like 17 different urine samples in there where folks hadn't washed their hands after going to the head and dipped into the peanuts while they ordered their next drink.

[RAILhead]

Originally Posted by sminch

railhead, re: the above quote, would i be right in assuming that it isn't that mysophobic / spermatophobic people are worried about germs or whatever in a rational way, but that they generally know it's irrational but can't do anything about it? just wondering if it's like, say, a fear of spiders - the arachnaphobe generally knows that the stupid little spider isn't going to harm him, but can't stop freaking out anyway. like, it's not so much a fear of what could happen as a gut level bleragghhhhgibbergibberblerk gross-out type reaction.

sminch

Yes, there's a point of irrationality involved -- but the "phobia" isn't so much about the potential "harm" dirt or germs can do, it's about the simple fact that you don't want them/it on you.

That said, it may be irrational to you (meaning "you" in a general sense) for me to hold my breath when I walk near someone that sets-off my "radar," but to me, it's totally rational and I can't understand why you don't do it yourself!

One of my other things is with people who go around barefoot. There's a woman at church that does that...walks all over barefoot...like she's at home or something...and it drives me nuts. The thought of all the crap she has on her foot from walking where other people have walked (with their shoes on, which have been in parking lots, restrooms, etc.) is freaking disgusting and it drives me nuts. I just want to smack he upside the head and ask her what her problem is, you know? Then they touch their feet or their shoes, or put there shoes on furniture. Lord know what all they've walked through and over and into and then they put their hands on them, put them on the furniture, their carpet, etc.

To me, it's totally irrational to do that type of thing -- but others think I'm irrational for being so "clean."

Maury

[CreepingDeth]

Originally Posted by ManOfSteal

I don't care who you are...that was funny right there.

Me? I hate bugs. Not in the pussy 'OMG there's a spider under my desk" thing people do in school. For some reason, bugs love my window. I guess that's because I leave alot of food around, since I have my amp and stereo in there. There's some big old hole in my screen or something. Apparently, it's big enough for this huge secada-ish thing (cockroach big, very fat, slimy looking, with this pincers on it) to get in. Imagine my surprise when I saw this thing on the other side of my window this morning. Add that to my window having a 1/4" gap that it leaves there cuz it can't get shut, and I have a problem. I had to put some painter's tape across in, and **** still gets in there. A centipede got in there.

_______I guess I've been paranoid about ticks for the past few months. I was walking home from this little after-school political forum a few kids in my high school do, and I guess I got intp a little brush. My dad was in town and he saw me, so he picked me up. This was the same day I got my new Strat, so I needed to get a cable to plug it into the amp. But first, we had to go to Staples for some ink. So we're traveling down Route 15 here, and my sister looks back and sees a tick on my leg. I'm like, '****. I hate these bastards.' I take a notecard and toss the ****er out the window. Then I see a second one on my leg. Bad luck. I dispose of it. Then I felt something on my neck. I check and there's nothing there.

_______After we get the ink, we go the the local guitar shop. My fat sister wants to play bass for some reason (LAWL), so she looks at a few. I get bored and pick up a P Bass and play the bassline to 'Dazed & Confused.' Hehe. No luck with the one from 'Roundabout.' She says, 'Do you think they have an acoustic bass here?' I was surprised she even knew what one was on account of her awful taste. So my dad takes her into the little acoustic guitar room and finds the only acoustic bass in there. Then my dad sees a third tick on my leg. He's like, 'Damn, what the hell did you walk through?' So I get it off me and smash it with the wooden stool in there. I get a little ten foot cable and I bring it to the dude at the register. I notice copies of Blow By Blow and Truth, both by Jeff Beck, I think, 'Hell yeah.'

_______So now we're on the way home and I feel something under my Metallica shirt. I think to myself, 'Awww…Hell no…" I see it walking down my chest in the middle of the rib cage. So I start panicking. 'Another bloody tick!' I say. I also think to myself, 'Ok, there will be trouble if it goes below my pants. If a tick gets on my balls, somebody will die.' So I tip my belt in so it goes at an angle and I get the tick on my pant leg. I bunch up a few layers under where the tick is and I stab it with one of those drafting pencils. Then I see tick numero 6. I stab that bastard and I go up to the bathroom and check myself for any more. I put my clothes in a bag and tie it up. After I take a shower, I throw the clothes into the washer and, without trying to be funny, I mutter, 'If he in there, he ain't happy.'

[bradoesch]

Originally Posted by Bluesky

Nothing.

I get it.

[JustAnOl'Broad]

Originally Posted by rjenkinson

stranger things have happened.

-r.

__________________

Too funny.

[Cubeoid]

I'm so paranoid that I'm still wondering what comical graphic I should conjeour up from the Google image database.

[m a d r a]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

...I absolutely HATE going to the store (any store) -- especially if it's a place that will have a lot of people like the grocery store...people coughing, clearing their throats, sneezing, breathing...

...I wash my hands after I shake someone's hand (or wipe my hand on my pants if I can't get to a sink....

When I make a sandwich, I get everything out and open it -- then I wash my hands again before getting the bread out so I don't get whatever miniscule germs were on the packages onto my bread.

I hold my breath when I walk past people I don't know or about whom my germophobic radar signals.

I use a hand wipey (I keep them in my truck) after I though money, get gas, or if the drive-thru person's hand or fingers touch mine (CRIPES I HATE THAT!!!!).
Maury

Originally Posted by kmkkid

Hello Howard.
...I will NOT use any toilet out in public..... I make a toilet paper ring like 10 ply thick. And when I'm at my bf's house I always wash off the toiletseat first...... I also tend to blow out my glasses before I pour anything into them.... I also won't eat off a fork that has any crusties in between the 'teeth'......

Originally Posted by Bluesky

.....When I walk into a public place, I either grab the door handle far from where everyone else grabs it (makes it difficult sometimes) or I'll use the end of my shirt to grab it.

In a public restroom, I touch nothing with my hands, 'ceptin' for little bluesky....

very strange! yet i'm pretty sure most if not all of you will have had someone else's tongue [not to mention 'other bodily parts'] in your mouth on various occasions throughout your life.

personally i think germs [in moderation] are a good thing. the reason we've got so many kids growing up today with all these allergies that no-one had ever heard of a generation ago is because everyone's getting so obsessed with sterilising and disinfecting their homes, in case [shock! horror!] the little diddumses might get exposed to a microbe, that no-one gets a chance to build up any natural resistance to infection any more.

i remember as a kid picking the dog's biscuits off the lawn and eating them [for some reason i was strangely fascintated by the concept of a black bone-shaped biscuit] and we were forever doing stuff like poking about in dirty ponds or burying dead birds and the like we'd found [and then digging them up again a few weeks later to see if they'd turned into skeletons yet].

never did me any harm!

[m a d r a]

<a pedant writes>
BTW - you can't be "paranoid" about germs, animals or insects anyway. paranoia is an irrational belief that other people are out to "get you" in some way. what most of you folks have is a "phobia"
</ a pedant writes>

[Cubeoid]

[RAILhead]

You need to reread my posts, since I am a clinical mysophobic. Paranoia isn't an issue, no -- but some people use that word in their description/story-relating to make a point of their emotional feelings about their phobia.

And again, it's not about what the germs could do...just reread my posts and hopefully you'll understand.

Maury

[Zimphire]

/me rubs mold on RAILhead.