Google officially creeping me out

Was just at Summit Racing.  There was a set of no name LS swap headers, no idea what chassis they were for, extreme sweep back longtubes that don't fit anything with a close up firewall, for $60.  Texted Pat to see if he wanted to pick them up.

"I'm in in NC."  Derp, I forgot what weekend it was.  Want me to pick them up?  "Not really needed right now."

And I can't justify them, because I have a set of 6.0 manifolds from a heavy duty truck, and I prefer manifolds.

But, I'm thinkin' on the drive home.  The LS3 oil pan leaves a lot of room between an FC RX-7 subframe and the sump, there would possibly be room to cross 6 and 5, 4 and 3 under the pan, while rerouting 8 and 7 forward to both clear the firewall and even up the tube lengths some.  180 degree headers would remove a lot of what I don't like about the way V8s sound.

Not sure if it's worth going back to pick up the headers, when I don't even HAVE a V8 on the stand, you know?  I texted none of this, just thought about it a bit, never put any of it to digital media before right now.

I get home, checked my YouTube feed, which based on my viewing habits is mostly street food videos, stage rally videos (so four cylinder engined cars), stuff narrated by Simon Whistler (he's on like a dozen channels, very busy man!), Plainly Difficult, Qxir, and the latest Life of Boris.

And this.

I'm thinking that living in a cave, eating moss and nuts and the occasional squirrel that gets too close, isn't a bad idea.

What is scariest to me is how similar your YouTube channel list is to mine...I got this header video recommended about 3 days ago, but I assumed it was because I watched the Volvo crash and subsequent disaster analysis. This is our own Calvin Nelson's channel if you didn't know already. 

Wait. The company that has previously stated it's goal was to know everything about every human being on the planet is just now creeping you out? Skynet's self awareness was 1997 within weeks of Google's creation. Do you think that's a coincidence?  

Where's that tinfoil hat emoji when you need it?  

My GTFO with Googletubes was when I responded to a Bobcat/skidsteer thread here on GRM. Later that day I get an ad on YouTube. For a massive million dollar front end loader. Like one you'd find in a quarry. Riiiiight.

Weirds me out when I get ads to things I was just TALKING about. 
 

living in woods sounds better all the time. 

In reply to spandak :

That is the creepy part, I never said anything...

Google essentially knows about every Wi-Fi router and its location on the planet. When you go into the store, they precisely know your location there, because your phone is continually trying to connect to Wi-Fi, and stores install routers everywhere. Even when you turn Wi-Fi off on Android, Google continues to use it, under the pretense that it's to help with navigation (they combine Wi-Fi and GPS to tell you where you are). You can turn it fully off, but they bury it deep in a system menu -- it's not in their interest to make it easy to do.

In addition, the store could have Bluetooth technology that does similar tracking. All of this can easily pinpoint your location and activity in the store: they know you were in it, they know you were fondling the headers, and for how long. Conceivably, the store and Google are sharing data, e.g., where the headers are displayed. 

(Let me be the millionth person to point out the irony that the brainwashed and ignorant folks fearing nonexistent injected tracking chips are carrying around a device that is infinitely more capable of tracking them. The amount of data that Google and others have about you is staggering. If I were lying in my bed writing this, they'd literally know. A silly example, sure, but true.) 

As an aside, if you want to see how much tracking occurs via your third-party apps, install duckduckgo's browser app, activate Privacy Protection, and check out the logs it generates.

Weirds me out when I get ads to things I was just TALKING about. 

I spoke to a customer about lighted handrail for a construction project. Now I keep getting adds for glass railing on my phone. Never searched for anything to do with railing on my phone. 

procainestart said:

 

In addition, the store could have Bluetooth technology that does similar tracking. All of this can easily pinpoint your location and activity in the store: they know you were in it, they know you were fondling the headers, and for how long. Conceivably, the store and Google are sharing data, e.g., where the headers are displayed.

Oddly, I got nothing about 5" spring weight jacks ($20/ea, did not buy) or Wilwood 6-pot radial mount calipers (way cheaper than new, still too much for Pete, did not buy) that I was also fondling on the scratch and dent/returns racks along with the headers, or an assortment of Weatherpack 12 gauge and 18-22 gauge terminal/seal sets and 4-cavity Weatherpack shells, and a box of 1/4-20 rivnuts, all of which I did buy.

And the only 180 degree headers that I touched, fondled, spindled, or mutilated were in my private thoughts as I hurtled north on I-77.

I have a feeling I know what is up...  recognizing now WHO made the video, I did see a couple videos about the crash thanks to GRM embedded links, and the rest is just plate of shrimp. 

But I also saw those videos on a completely different device with a completely different Google account.... hmm.

All the same, after watching the video, that VW Bug is exactly the sound I am going for.  #sentencesnevercomposedbeforetoday

Currently listening to Corey Doctorow's "Attack Surface"

The book goes into excruciating detail about how exposed we are to anyone that wants to keep track of our thoughts. Your fridge IS listening.

I worked in ad targeting for a while.  Your phone near a summit brick and mortar store was enough to affect your youtube video feed.  Google's code scanning text messages for car part names or summit tracking you through the store is a little more dubious but within the realm of possibility.  At some point, they are going to make a $500 sale so there is only so much money you can spend to secure the sale.

You would be surprised how much is listening for voice commands these days.  Talk about "authentic Danish clogs" in front of your smart tv for a few days and see how your youtube feed changes.  If you want to nerd out, only talk about those clogs when logged into an account on device A, then see how long the ads take to show up on your spouse's account on device B.

This has been going on for years. None of us are that interesting. Deal with the fact there is no such thing as privacy with smartphones and the internet, or move to Montana and live off the land.

In reply to ojannen :

If they track me that much, they know that I mainly buy heavily discounted items from the returns rack, and smalls that I can't get cheaper anywhere else

edit: because, you know.... they have an account of what I buy from them, and send me a gift card every $500 that I spend with them (not counting S&D rack items anymore, dangit) and occasionally a $50 off coupon if I haven't bought anything in a while...

In reply to z31maniac :

My brothers live in Montana.  There is no privacy there, either.

Appleseed said:

In reply to z31maniac :

My brothers live in Montana.  There is no privacy there, either.

I meant Ted Kaczynski style. No utilities, etc. That's the only way you're going to get some sort of "privacy."

z31maniac said:

Appleseed said:

In reply to z31maniac :

My brothers live in Montana.  There is no privacy there, either.

I meant Ted Kaczynski style. No utilities, etc. That's the only way you're going to get some sort of "privacy."

I have not got any YouTube hits on how to make moss borsch, or squirrel stroganoff, yet, so there is hope.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

z31maniac said:

Appleseed said:

In reply to z31maniac :

My brothers live in Montana.  There is no privacy there, either.

I meant Ted Kaczynski style. No utilities, etc. That's the only way you're going to get some sort of "privacy."

I have not got any YouTube hits on how to make moss borsch, or squirrel stroganoff, yet, so there is hope.

 

Let's see if you do now since you mentioned it!

I know in a meeting years ago we talked about how our software, if you're using the app for the stores that use it, it will pick up keywords for suggested products.

I've replied to Frenchy so many times all I get are ads for hand hewn lumber and lakefront property. 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

They track you enough to know that but they don't target that specifically.  It is more like there are separate groups who get ads for American speed parts and Japanese speed parts.  If you hit a tracker for the first American part in a while, you get added to the American group.  Then, you get bombarded with ads as they try to convert the sale.  Those retargetting ads pay a lot more because they have a much higher chance of making money.

Summit probably isn't that sophisticated but they are probably selling their sales data to someone who is.