“Your employer may share your salary, and Equifax might sell that data.”

The above headline is from a post by Bob Sullivan, a columnist at NBC News. His blog, The Red Tape Chronicles, is among the most popular consumer affairs columns on the Web. The incredible invasion of privacy for wage-earners outlined by Sullivan is beyond belief.  Rather than quote a few paragraph, I urge you to read the full account.

The only remedy:

Quit your job and work for yourself.

(If you disagree, feel free to leave a comment!)

This $10 garage alarm will scare away the burglars!

Most burglar alarm systems do not do anything until an entry is actually tempted. The sound of people talking loudly inside the garage will scare them into attacking some other home.  That's why I picked up a used radio for $10 at a yard sale.  It sits right by the side door to our garage--the most likely place of entry in our concrete-and-steel home. It's tuned to an FM talk station and the volume is turned up enough so it can be heard through the thick wall and solid door.

Since we're home all day, a timer doesn't turn the radio on until 9:30 pm, and it turns it off again at 5:00  am, when I get up.  On a recent trip to Los Angeles, of course, we left it on for 24 hours.  Highly recommended, folks!

QUESTION:

What other ideas might you readers have for low-cost protection against burglars?

If you have a good method and include your e-mail, I'll send you a free copy of my e-book Dirty Tricks which has many more ideas for keeping the bad guys at bay.

How to take your secrets with you to the grave

When you suffer a heart attack, are killed by a mugger, or die in a traffic accident, others are going to go through the things you leave behind. Your parents, your children, or even the government.

Is there anything you’d rather they did not find?
Any pictures, letters, documents, records, books,
or strange items? 

I am currently arranging for the storage overseas of small, medium, and large boxes. These boxes can be retrieved by you at any time, but otherwise, the contents will disappear when you die.

If you’ve already answered an email about this subject, please be patient—I’ll be contacting you soon.  Otherwise—should this be of interest to you—contact me today at Jack {at} jjluna.com.

Use “Secrets” for the subject line.

Attn: Luis Macedo, LAZ Parking, about fat woman in red dress

Last month, a woman in Boca Raton, Florida picked up her car from a valet service, later found the parking ticket with the words “red dress” and “fat” on it, and went on national TV to complain about the "insult."

Note to the lady: I saw you on TV. The f-word is accurate. I also heard a rumor that you want the parking attendant fired. I am a strong believer in privacy and I think you should be too. Just think:   Before you went public, only your friends knew what size you were.  Now, people  from all over the country know it. Worse, you come across not only as a complainer but a vindictive one as well.  Do the right thing.  Call Luis Macedo and tell him you're sorry to have stirred up such a fuss.  Please?

Note to Luis Mecedo:  Give the kid who parked her car a break--he was only doing his job.  I parked cars at the Radisson Ramp in Minneapolis in 1947 and 1948, and we too had to remember customers one way or another. Therefore, we made the same sort of notes your attendant did. To keep any crybabies from going on TV in the future, why not  give your drivers a simple number code?  Fat = 1, bald = 2, sunglasses = 3, etc. 

Just don’t keep any copies of your code system laying around!