June 5, 2023 at 4:40 pm
And here's another area of trust that worries me. I regularly reconcile all my financial accounts monthly. Why? Because they are all on computer systems that can cause errors. Just a few minutes ago we had to handle a strange thing. I got a check in the mail yesterday from an unknown source, addressed to me but pay-to-the-order-of Best Buy. Strange, since I don't owe Best Buy anything and haven't used the account in several years.
After calling the bill pay service, it seems my wife put in a bill-pay payment to Best Buy for $65.00 on her account, but bill-pay didn't have an address to mail a check, so it sent a check to me payable to Best Buy. I guess I'm the second name on her account.
Go figure... Even with my IT background, there are still many, many things that boggle my mind. I do get somewhat weary figuring out other people's problems when I should be on the patio with a bottle of wine... Woops, sorry about that, it's only noon.
OK. That's a weird one. My wife also reconciles all our bills every month. Same issues.
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June 5, 2023 at 5:15 pm
In my area (Central Ohio, USA) we not only have to deal with thefts of packages from porches and mail from individual mailboxes, there are also issues of people robbing postal carriers at gunpoint to obtain their keys to the big blue neighborhood mail collection boxes, and the thieves are stealing large batches of mail so they can remove outgoing checks, change the payee and amount, and cash them. We also have issues with theft of Kia and Hyundai vehicles (because the manufacturers made it so easy as to be irresistible to teens and even pre-teens), and catalytic converters from cars of various brands. We've even had a significant rise in people simply walking out of "big box" stores with carts full of high-value items, including the shooting of a security guard who dared to try to stop one such theft.
I am not convinced there is a technology-based solution to what seems to be a breakdown in basic behavioral norms and respect for the private property of others. Also, as I am also 60+, get off my lawn! 😊
June 5, 2023 at 6:20 pm
Perhaps some of this is because I am melancholy by nature. Also, I grew up in the country where our society expects everyone to be friendly, however the kids near me were cruel to me, hitting me, etc. And I also grew up in a time when you kept such negative behavior to yourself. Everyone just "sucked it up". That only resulted in bullies feeling more empowered, which led to more abuse, etc. Anyway, perhaps my early life trained me to expect some things to go from bad to worse.
Bottom line, from my point of view, technology doesn't increase trust and it may indirectly lower it.
Rod, I can relate to your feelings. When I was in HS in a small rural community we had to go across the street to the elementary school for lunch but were required to go around to the rear entrance of the HS. There were several upper grade kids who didn't like me and would meet me outside that rear door and hit me, knock me down, make fun of me being a farm kid. It wasn't pleasant at the time, but over all I think it made me more confident in myself and made me a survivor. And acccording to what I've learned from reunions and online communities, I turned out better off than any of the bullies. My main melancholy now is that I'm old and I get disappointed in myself when I can't do as much as earlier. We need to count our blessings.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
June 6, 2023 at 4:07 pm
Rod at work wrote:Perhaps some of this is because I am melancholy by nature. Also, I grew up in the country where our society expects everyone to be friendly, however the kids near me were cruel to me, hitting me, etc. And I also grew up in a time when you kept such negative behavior to yourself. Everyone just "sucked it up". That only resulted in bullies feeling more empowered, which led to more abuse, etc. Anyway, perhaps my early life trained me to expect some things to go from bad to worse.
Bottom line, from my point of view, technology doesn't increase trust and it may indirectly lower it.
Rod, I can relate to your feelings. When I was in HS in a small rural community we had to go across the street to the elementary school for lunch but were required to go around to the rear entrance of the HS. There were several upper grade kids who didn't like me and would meet me outside that rear door and hit me, knock me down, make fun of me being a farm kid. It wasn't pleasant at the time, but over all I think it made me more confident in myself and made me a survivor. And acccording to what I've learned from reunions and online communities, I turned out better off than any of the bullies. My main melancholy now is that I'm old and I get disappointed in myself when I can't do as much as earlier. We need to count our blessings.
Hi Rick, sounds like your experiences were like my own, for many of the same reasons. I don't know why some from the "city" considered us country folk to be idiots. In any case, I'm glad that my father got a job which took us away from that environment. I was better off leaving there.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
June 6, 2023 at 4:10 pm
In my area (Central Ohio, USA) we not only have to deal with thefts of packages from porches and mail from individual mailboxes, there are also issues of people robbing postal carriers at gunpoint to obtain their keys to the big blue neighborhood mail collection boxes, and the thieves are stealing large batches of mail so they can remove outgoing checks, change the payee and amount, and cash them. We also have issues with theft of Kia and Hyundai vehicles (because the manufacturers made it so easy as to be irresistible to teens and even pre-teens), and catalytic converters from cars of various brands. We've even had a significant rise in people simply walking out of "big box" stores with carts full of high-value items, including the shooting of a security guard who dared to try to stop one such theft.
I am not convinced there is a technology-based solution to what seems to be a breakdown in basic behavioral norms and respect for the private property of others. Also, as I am also 60+, get off my lawn! 😊
I am shocked to read what you've written here! We have porch pirates, but so far, they've not been violent. Breakdown of basic behavioral norms indeed.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
June 13, 2023 at 4:51 pm
Are we moving toward a lower trust society? I think the bigger question is are becoming less virtuous as a society? Our government It seems is finding it necessary to establish an ever-increasing number of laws to regulate peoples’ behaviors, so you could argue that yes, we are finding it necessary for more government establishing and enforcing virtuous behaviors in the populace. Peace is defined as the tranquility that comes from civil order. Order can either be provided by a virtuous populace or the power of government. How will it impact technology? I can see government utilizing technology to help enforce societal behaviors, much like we are seeing in China today. AI provides organizations, like the government, to harness big data to implement ever increasing control over processes, and people.
Technology can provide great benefits, but it can also be used in corrupt ways; virtue can guide how it is used. Will culture produce children’s books or pornography? Antibiotics or methamphetamines? (And we as a culture seems to be willing to sacrifice privacy for the convenience technology offers.) Optimism can be said to be dependent upon the amount a peace a person is experiencing in their life.
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