Less privacy

Finland has earlier been ranked as a top country concerning the integrity of the citizens but as it turned out now in the latest research done by Privacy International Finland is on a mere shared 11^th place in the EU together with Ireland and Czechoslovakia. Okay, I thought the Czechoslovakia was divided into Czechia and Slovakia or have I got this wrong?

Something here seems odd and peculiar, anyway, it seems odd that Greece and Rumania should have better security concerning the privacy of citizens, Canada I still somehow can buy. The reason for Finland to rank as low as this consist of several factors such as the phone company Sonera’s spy scandal, GPS satellite tracking and that the police can get your tax information to their mobile phones when on duty. Here comes my question, can the police do that even in their spare time?

Isn’t the tax register official knowledge anyway in Finland? And is it not good to be able to rack your own offspring by GPS to know at east where they are up to something?!?

Shopping today, the last day of this year, was as unpleasant if not to say as awfully hideous as it always is when the shops are crowded. I tend to avoid having to do any shopping at these times but this year’s holidays were quite placed unfortunately, I had no other choice. Everywhere I went I had to queue, at the pharmacists, at Alko for the midnight celebration bubbles, at the supermarket for some groceries and a couple of smaller specialized shops where there hardly is anyone else normally when I shop there. Being without wheels all of a sudden is the oddest experience. You take your car for granted, having access to it at any time of the day, and night for that matter, and always ready to go.

Well, sometimes you just have to give up your transportation, either out of convenience for mere peace in the house’s sake or to do someone a favour as they need the wheels more than you do. Having normally need for a car about twice a week, and here I strain on “must have” as in compulsory appointments in addition to all the other “just easier this way” or “just lazy right now”. When these appointments are in the middle of town it would be much easier to go by public transport as finding a parking space sometimes can be hell in bigger cities, even here in Finland. Not to mention the prices of the parking fees, and having forgotten about the parking fees the tickets are no fun to receive on your windshield. Anyway, where am I now going with this?

All of a sudden finding out what bus goes where, and when they leave can be hard enough if you are unused to it well that can be mended by either googling or asking the offspring about it as they are used commuters by now. No that hard part of it is the noise that all of a sudden surrounds you. Women happily chatting away their pastime on the bus, louder than convenient to any sitter nearby, brakes screeching, doors slamming open and shut and the odours, or maybe I should be all frank with you, the stench of bodily odours of the person sitting three rows away!

Imagine, wintertime not even summer when you get all sweaty and hot, no this fellow smelled like a full dustbin that had not been emptied for a fortnight, and believe me I do know what it smells like.

It does not smell like roses!