11/16/06 I Spy...

With all the hassles of flying these days, the only reason people continue to pile into airplanes is because they are addicted to the Sky Mall magazine. I know I am. Sure, you pretend like you're a seasoned flyer, and that you could care less about the amazing overpriced tech toys and bizarre travel accessories, but sometime during your cruising altitude, you'll reach for it.

So there I was, calmly waiting for my plane to taxi down the runway while casually flipping through the catalogue, when I noticed something; this catalogue has an unusually large number of spy devices. They have your secret listening devices, ranging from ones the size of a hearing aid for listening to people talk across a restaurant, to the slightly more high tech model (for eavesdropping on your neighbors from the comfort of your own home), to the same ones that the CIA is currently using to listen in on the chatter of Chinese rice farmers (think of the transcontinental conversations you'll be able to hear)! They have your secret cameras hidden in pens (ad copy actually states "Do your own investigation by taking snapshots of secret documents. Take photographs of a competitor's products at trade shows or retail stores"... like that won't get you in any trouble), in alarm clocks, cigarette lighters, on remote control cars ("with night vision!"), and airplanes. My personal favorite in the invasion of privacy department is the hidden gps tracker "secretly keep tabs on anything that moves - hidden in the trunk of a car, stashed in a child's backpack, zipped into a computer briefcase").

Does this worry anyone else? I've come to expect big brother to spy on me, but my neighbors? Strangers in the street, videotaping me with their ink pens? I say that's just a little too weird. People generally don't appreciate having their privacy invaded for fun. I find out that you're watching me sleep through your spy alarm clock, and I'm going to beat the crap out of you. Pervert.