TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Jul 24, 2023 8:51 am

First I must apologize for the weird things I said previously, six months later it’s beginning to sink in. Hours and hours of emails and phone calls, texting etc, finally got it nailed down to a face to face meeting. I started heading west July 13th along Route 66 at a leisurely pace took about 4 days to get to California, my first time back since 1980. So our time together all went well. The older kids 15,13, 11 have a grasp on what’s going on, the younger ones are content to eat gummy worms and be nice. How do you even begin to fill in the missing 43 years? DNA testing straightened out a few ideas that proved to be wrong and now it’s all out there for us to deal with.

As a boomer I was raised with that idea of trying to be upwardly mobile and saving money, working hard etc. but. I can also identify with that feeling of wanting your kids to do at least as well or better than you did. Three years ago after I retired we revised the Will and got our affairs in order we thought. Now I gotta go back and redirect it back towards my only living Child, isn’t that the right thing to do? I’m also thinking a few years from now if those kids wanted to go to school maybe they could without student loans and going into debt.

Is it all random? Do things happen for reasons we don’t understand? Is it better to know or not know? If you could avoid accountability for something you did 4 decades ago would you? Or would you find out what really happened?

My mind has been on an endless treadmill thinking about this and how I can deal with it in a way that helps us move forward. All I can give them is my love and time but I can also grease the skids because having money is not a bad thing if you can use it to help others.

Along the way I stopped here and talked to the proprietor. It seems this place is being relocated to Route 66 because where it is now just sucks very easy to miss. It will be be bigger and better with more cars. Obviously this was conceived as a spinoff idea after the Cadillac Ranch which is nearby and worth a look😀

Mon Jul 24, 2023 9:53 am

Zund - so this person you found is your only child?

Getting your affairs straight before you disappear is good thinking. Less problems for people you leave behind.

If you have seen the movie - All the Pretty Horses - will probably look like that...as far as distributing your wealth to offsprings.

43 years of void is a lot to make up..so catch up best way you can. Is exactly what I will do if I were in same spot.

I know someone who met up again w/ their old flame in their old age and the woman is in dire straights w/ all sorts of trouble...financial or otherwise. The man has done well for himself w/ a nice family and now seeing the woman he once loved gives him a broken heart.

WE all have to find and make our own way. Somewhere along the way, do what makes you happy. i am a happy father -raising two great kids now on their own and doing very well. I feel I have done my part in just looking forward to my retirement and see if I can find some comfort in my old age.

Hope you find all your answers, man.

Mon Jul 24, 2023 9:51 pm

Glad you're well 8)

Comparing a road trip by Bug Ranch via Colorado, 2011...
Zundfolge1432 wrote:

They're fixin' it up :P

Tue Jul 25, 2023 6:10 am

As long as your happy with the situation and never feel like your being taken advantage of. Then all is golden and enjoy! Get that will sorted.

Tue Dec 05, 2023 10:18 am

DNA collector & decoder 23andme hacked…

https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/04/23andme-confirms...users/amp/

Tue Dec 05, 2023 10:26 am

TDCTDI wrote: DNA collector & decoder 23andme hacked…

https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/04/23andme-confirms...users/amp/

I would not be surprised if one of the "hackers" was our own government. Law enforcement and government agencies have many uses for this data, not all of them legal or honorable. Add AI tracing of relatives, friends, whereabouts from license plate readers... it may get rather Orwellian.

We used to dismiss this threat as paranoia, and argue no agency has the manpower to do this kind of massive tracking. But AI changes this game.

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=588067978&am...&dpr=1
https://www.google.com/search?q=Ai+process+public+...s-wiz-news

Tue Dec 05, 2023 12:32 pm

I suppose I could stay up at night worrying about this. Since I’m a veteran and have worked for several defense contractors I’d not be surprised If the Govt knows my every thought.

We grew up in analog world 60s but I remember my mom telling me “ you be careful because whatever you do will become a part of your permanent record”. Holy shit she’s right. You’ll get an inkling of what I’m telling you when you apply for SSI you’ll realize they know you. 😂

We’ve had our credit cards hacked more than once and various other data breaches. Life goes on. In the meantime I continue to talk my family in California and like so many others they talk of leaving. I’m spending more time with my dad he’s 96 and has dementia, that’s 1400 mile round trip, was there thanksgiving or he’d have been alone.

Birthdays, graduations, nieces, nephews, and life is keeping me more busy now. I made time the other day to leave my IPhone at home and go for a ride in my VW. This is close to being disconnected unable to determine location but they are using flock cameras here that read every license plate. The eye in the sky❤️

Tue Dec 05, 2023 10:04 pm

KTPhil wrote: TDCTDI wrote: DNA collector & decoder 23andme hacked…

https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/04/23andme-confirms...users/amp/

I would not be surprised if one of the "hackers" was our own government. Law enforcement and government agencies have many uses for this data, not all of them legal or honorable. Add AI tracing of relatives, friends, whereabouts from license plate readers... it may get rather Orwellian.

We used to dismiss this threat as paranoia, and argue no agency has the manpower to do this kind of massive tracking. But AI changes this game

The government doesn't need to hack US entities, they just do a sealed court order/subpoena to request the data and no one can report it.

Wed Dec 06, 2023 12:45 am

Zundfolge1432 wrote: I suppose I could stay up at night worrying about this. Since I’m a veteran and have worked for several defense contractors I’d not be surprised If the Govt knows my every thought.

We grew up in analog world 60s but I remember my mom telling me “ you be careful because whatever you do will become a part of your permanent record”. Holy shit she’s right. You’ll get an inkling of what I’m telling you when you apply for SSI you’ll realize they know you. 😂

We’ve had our credit cards hacked more than once and various other data breaches. Life goes on. In the meantime I continue to talk my family in California and like so many others they talk of leaving. I’m spending more time with my dad he’s 96 and has dementia, that’s 1400 mile round trip, was there thanksgiving or he’d have been alone.

Birthdays, graduations, nieces, nephews, and life is keeping me more busy now. I made time the other day to leave my IPhone at home and go for a ride in my VW. This is close to being disconnected unable to determine location but they are using flock cameras here that read every license plate. The eye in the sky❤️

I find that my worrying is more efficient after a good night's sleep. Just sayin'.

Wed Dec 06, 2023 4:42 am

You cannot really hide your DNA anyway. If anyone in your family is in the military or has sent theirs in, enough of your profile is already in the system

Wed Dec 06, 2023 6:58 am

There’s a case here in Maryland with a murder. The dna matches an assault in California. That’s all they got. Hopefully they can connect the dots at some point.

Wed Dec 06, 2023 2:36 pm

What an amazing story, thank you for sharing.

I hope your newly discovered family is a joy for you.

Wed Dec 06, 2023 2:48 pm

EverettB wrote: KTPhil wrote: TDCTDI wrote: DNA collector & decoder 23andme hacked…

https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/04/23andme-confirms...users/amp/

I would not be surprised if one of the "hackers" was our own government. Law enforcement and government agencies have many uses for this data, not all of them legal or honorable. Add AI tracing of relatives, friends, whereabouts from license plate readers... it may get rather Orwellian.

We used to dismiss this threat as paranoia, and argue no agency has the manpower to do this kind of massive tracking. But AI changes this game

The government doesn't need to hack US entities, they just do a sealed court order/subpoena to request the data and no one can report it.

I agree a legitimate government use of the data works this way.

It's the nefarious uses that worry me. I have no doubt it is happening already. History is full of examples.