Privacy: Do we want to live in a world where nothing is private?

©2008 Roger Blackwell, used under
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What does it mean to have privacy?  Immediately the ability to keep secrets comes to mind.  That can't be the only reason to have privacy can it? 

Let's start with how privacy is defined; "The state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people."  I like this particular definition because it carries a sense of inherent right, which allows one to live in a manner of their choosing without the threat of persecution.  This definition echoes the sentiments portrayed by the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in the Preamble as it describes, "...unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." 

Now, these are very broad definitions and feelings of privacy, so what does having privacy really mean?  Like most societal issues, the practical side of privacy is complicated and interwoven into many aspects of our lives, most notably with issues of public safety and technology.  I tend to look at these issues in a simplified way as if it only involved two people.  As far as I'm concerned, society shouldn't take away rights or interfere in person A's life unless the results of the actions of person A infringe on the rights of person B.  In other words, person B should not be allowed to infringe on person A's privacy without a clearly defined and direct conflict in rights between the parties.  The important thing here is the conflict has to be confirmed and defined BEFORE rights can be suspended and not the other way around.

Some might say, 'I have nothing to hide.  Only those that have something to hide care about privacy."  While it may be true that they have nothing to hide, the idea of privacy is misunderstood and the sentiment is misguided.  Privacy is about the information, which is taken without permission or consent, used to enable actions against those from whom the information was taken. 

Hypothetically speaking, imagine a woman with no privacy and the police are informed she was just divorced, bought a shotgun, asked her phone, "I need to hide a body," and bought a one-way plane ticket to Mexico.  Getting this information, the police might easily assume this woman was planning on murdering her ex-husband and planning on leaving the country.  Now, does this information create a complete picture and thereby require police action to intervene before this woman commits a crime?  Or could it be, this hypothetical woman while moving into her new place because of the divorce was mugged, which prompted her to buy a shotgun out of fear for her safety and a new cell phone because the last one was stolen.  Her new phone was an upgrade to an iPhone 4S, which her friend proceeded to show her all the funny responses Siri had for questions like, "Talk to me dirty" and "I need to hide a body," while they were planning a Cancun getaway to forget the horrible divorce and mugging when in a fit of laughter about Siri's responses she accidentally booked a one-way flight instead of round trip.  How does the innocent woman, who might have had the police forcibly enter her home, detain her while she was bathing, and brought to trial based on evidence gathered without a probable cause defend herself?  Sure given the right attorney, one would hope this hypothetical woman wouldn't go to jail; but now that she is detained, information like the email she sent month's ago in desperation telling her mother that, "...I don't know what I would do if he left me" begin to surface.  Given enough information to pull from there is certainly to be a sufficient number of little pieces of evidence pointing toward this woman's plot to murder her husband.

If you are thinking, 'that could never happen and even if it did they would have to tell me my information was being monitored!' you'd be unfortunately very wrong.  This NYTimes article describes how much information a cell phone and especially a smartphone can reveal about you if someone spent the time to look.  It isn't just the police that you might have to worry about.  Many "free" online services are only provided to you without charge because YOU are the product being sold to other customers who buy consumer information.  These tactics are described in detail, along with some things you can do to minimize your exposure in this TechEye article.

We don't live in a perfect world, one in which we can expect privacy at all times and in all places.  So the question is, 'How much privacy should we expect?'  We should stand up for ourselves so that we don't have to live in a world of fear and exploitation.  It is far too easy to give up our rights and liberties, but it is far from easy to get them back once we do.

Sustainable, Eco-Friendly, "Green" Dream House Layout

Dream House Layout - Version 1

Overview:

Basically what we have here is a 2-story with basement, 5 bedroom, 4 1/2 bath house.  Features include special rooms to be used as theater, fitness, playroom, office, and pantry.  Also, there is a full kitchen in the basement with a bar so the space can be used for entertaining as well as function for visitors staying for extended periods of time.  

Some features that are not necessarily represented in this layout but are in the design are the following:

 Orientation of the house is with the right hand side of the building facing to the north.  

All doors are to be wheelchair accessible, 36" wide and all hallways are a minimum of 48" wide (although the half bath is not intended to be a practical accessible bathroom).  The first floor bedroom and full bath are intended to be both accessible and elderly friendly.  Special features will be built in for both baby and elderly safety such that they are permanent and as aesthetically pleasing as possible (i.e. hidden baby gates in the kitchen cabinets and stair banister).

First floor, southern facing wall of the living room area is planned to be a trombe wall, but I haven't decided the specifics of the design; however, using a full wall fish tank as a heat sink would be pretty awesome.  I'm not sure if it would be practical due to wanting to maintain a certain temperature for the fish while still serving as an appropriate heat sink; I feel like it would be more effort then it would be worth.

The roof of the first story above the Southern most end of the living space will either have photovoltaic cells (PV cells)or more likely solar domestic hot water panels.  The roof will be covered in a photovoltaic solar panel array with garden beds beneath, such that all light will be utilized while simultaneously incorporating functional nature into the design.  The deck about the garage will also be used as a garden / PV cells space geared more toward children and set up as a place to learn about the technology and nature interface.

All the water that falls on a roof surface that is not absorbed by the garden area will be captured and sent through a gravel / sand filter.  After passing through this filter the water will flow into a sedimentation tank which will overflow into the primary holding tank.  The primary tank will have an aerator and a floating strainer to supply water to the house. After going through two primary filters the water will be held in a pressurization tank until needed.  Any water not to be used for purposes that will come in contact with a person will branch off here to be used.  Water that will come in contact with a person will be sent through either a micro filter or reverse osmosis filter and then a final UV filter.

Details for the waste water treatment haven't been figured out yet, but both grey water and black water will be treated using methods that don't heavily rely on chemicals.  The goal is to incorporate nature and use bio-mimicry to preserve balance and useability of the water.

Natural lighting is going to be a key part of the house and I want to utilize it wherever possible; therefore, every room on the second floor will have a skylight and the first floor kitchen will as well.  All south facing windows will have high emissivity coatings to allow for winter passive heat gain and appropriate overhang to shade in the summer, while all other windows that don't get direct sunlight will have low emissivity coatings.  Large windows with triple pane windows will be used wherever possible except on the West facing wall, which will have no windows except for the turret and master bathroom.

The basement level of the garage will be a full workshop (and might grow in size once I figure out all the tools I'll want / need).  There will be a car lift from the basement workshop that raises up to the first floor garage.

Side note: I'm still working on some details such as both kitchen bars and the layout in the basement kitchen.

I'm sure there is more that I have omitted, so please feel to ask questions and provide feedback on anything.

Floor Plan Layouts:

 

Basement

 First Floor

 Second Floor

Welcome to the inaugural post of Cynical Dreams.  I've had a few on again off again blogs in the past and this will be my attempt to have a more consistent go at it.

What will you find here might you ask?  Well, anything!  Mostly the blog will be the ramblings of this cynical dreamer.  I often think about the future and what it might hold.  Typically those thoughts are forcibly impacted with reality and the current state of affairs in the world.  I attempt to be open-minded and discuss topics from several viewpoints, but I am human and will inevitably err so forgive me.  I enjoy pleasant disagreements and the more distant the viewpoint than mine the better.

Topics will hopefully be diverse and interesting.  Enjoy the ride of why I hate politics, am passionate about science, love to dabble in and tinker with everything, enjoy art and music; even though I have no skill for it, and could not care less about who is dating whom in the gossip world.

I'm no English scholar, so I hope my grammar does not offend.

The first (real) post to come will most likely be about the house I am in the process of designing for myself (and future family).  See you again soon.

PS - Photo from a recent walk of a woodpecker.