u/RCInvestigates

I keep hearing that I’m supposed to be deeply concerned that Google, Meta, TikTok, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. collect, use, or sell my data.

But I’m struggling to understand what the actual, tangible harm to me is.

They know what I watch. They know what music I listen to. They know what products I look at. They probably have a pretty good idea where I go, what I’m interested in, and what stupid shit keeps me scrolling at 11:30 at night.

Okay.

What actually happens to me because of that?

I still get paid the same. I still live the same lifestyle. I still enjoy the same things. My standard of living hasn’t changed. Nothing has been physically removed from my life because some advertising company built a profile of me.
The most obvious consequence seems to be more personalized advertising, which apparently isn’t working particularly well anyway, because I genuinely cannot remember the last time I bought something because a targeted ad told me to.

And if the argument is simply **privacy**, I’m probably the wrong demographic to scare with that. I’ll walk around my house naked with the blinds open. At this point I’m pretty sure half the neighborhood has seen my dick. 😂

The same thing goes for the outrage over **Flock cameras** and the idea that we’re suddenly entering some unprecedented surveillance state. If people genuinely think we haven’t been living in an increasingly surveilled society for decades, I think they’re fucking ignorant of how much monitoring already exists. Security cameras, traffic cameras, doorbell cameras, parking-lot cameras, corporate surveillance systems, toll readers, access-control systems, and license-plate readers have been recording where people and vehicles are for years. People create these elaborate theories around Flock like the basic concept of identifying a vehicle at a particular place and time is some revolutionary new form of surveillance. At its core, a Flock camera reads a license plate and associates a vehicle with a particular location and time. Cameras have been capable of documenting that same basic fact for decades.

Obviously, the **scale, automation, retention, searchability, and ability to combine information across a network** could make modern systems meaningfully different. That’s actually an argument I’m interested in hearing. But “a camera saw your car at this location” isn’t exactly technology from the fucking Death Star.

So what is the *actual* danger?

And I’m not talking about vague answers like “corporations shouldn’t have your information” or “you’re making billionaires richer.” Billionaires are going to make money. Corporations are going to monetize things. If targeted advertising disappeared tomorrow, I have absolutely no doubt they’d invent another revenue stream by Tuesday.

People talk about data collection like they’re crusaders fighting some enormous existential threat, but I rarely hear anyone explain the **individual, measurable consequence** to the average person.

So I’m genuinely asking:
**What can a company realistically do with my collected/sold data that should make me personally give a shit?**

I’m especially interested in concrete examples where data collection or automated surveillance has actually caused someone harm—financially, professionally, legally, through discrimination, manipulation, security breaches, insurance, employment, pricing, false identification, etc. Because if the answer ultimately boils down to “they know what you like,” “they know your car drove down Main Street at 4:37 PM,” and “they use that information to sell you shit,” I’m having a really hard time finding the outrage.

Every time an on-ramp appears, drivers already on the interstate should not be expected to immediately jump into the left lane.

Moving over can be a nice courtesy when traffic allows, but the responsibility for safely merging belongs to the person entering the interstate. The acceleration lane exists so you can get up to highway speed, find an opening, and merge—not so everyone already on the highway has to rearrange traffic around you.

Yes, the short ramp coming from I-190, where drivers either merge onto eastbound I-90 or continue toward Haines Avenue,isn’t designed particularly well. It gives drivers less time than most entrance ramps. But there is still enough room to accelerate to around 65 mph before merging. You cannot coast through that connection at 40–45 mph and expect everyone on I-90 to scatter for you.

Matching the speed of traffic is critical. Trying to merge at 45 mph into traffic moving at 70 mph creates a hazard for everyone. At the same time, slower vehicles moving left to “help” can create another safety risk by cutting off faster traffic already occupying the passing lane.

If there’s a safe opportunity to move over and give someone room, great. If there isn’t, maintain a predictable speed and lane position.

If you’re entering the interstate: use the acceleration lane, match the speed of traffic, identify your opening, and figure it out. That is literally what merging is.

And While We’re Here: Learn How to Zipper Merge

When two lanes are reduced to one, use both lanes all the way to the merge point and then alternate—one vehicle from each lane. That is zipper merging, and it is the only correct answer when traffic is backed up.

Merging a mile before the lanes actually combine is a literal plague around here. It creates one unnecessarily long line, wastes usable roadway, and causes traffic to back up farther than necessary. Drivers using the open lane until the merge point are not “cutting.” They are using the road as designed.

Speeding up to block someone from merging is trashy, emotional behavior that makes traffic worse and increases the risk of a collision. You are not defending your sacred place in line. You are refusing to participate in the merge correctly because someone else used the empty lane that you voluntarily abandoned.

Use both lanes. Drive to the merge point. Take turns.

Hopefully, one day, everyone around here figures it out.

How does a 563-acre mining operation apparently operate inside Rapid City for 25 years without the proper city permits?

Genuinely curious about this one.

The recent reporting about GCC Dacotah Cement raises a pretty wild question: how does an industrial operation of that size continue for roughly a quarter century before the city realizes there’s a permitting issue? We’re not talking about somebody forgetting to pull a permit for a backyard shed. We’re talking about hundreds of acres of mining activity near established development.

So what happened?

Was it just an obscure jurisdiction/zoning issue that nobody noticed? Did city departments assume someone else had oversight? Was GCC operating under a completely different understanding of the requirements? Or did people know about it and simply not consider it a problem until recently?
I’m not claiming there’s some grand conspiracy here. I’m actually curious if anyone familiar with Rapid City’s planning history, GCC, or the permitting process knows how something this large could apparently exist in a regulatory blind spot for that long.

Twenty-five years is a hell of a long time for nobody to notice.

Title says it. I operate the flock system that utilizes these cameras. Ask questions. If I can, I’ll answer them.

Edit: I don’t work behind the infrastructure that operates these cameras. I simply work in security that utilizes them.

**Disclaimer: I have a working document regarding previous hazardous waste conditions, as well as site mapping and documentation, I’m looking for local sources info and accounts.**

I am looking for publicly available information regarding the former Black Hills Ordnance Depot / Black Hills Army Depot commonly known as Fort Igloo near Edgemont, South Dakota.

I am primarily interested in the site’s historical background, present-day land-access structure, and public records related to former depot operations.

Specifically, I am seeking information on:

1. Historical or current lawful points of access, including public roads, county roads, private roads, former base roads, or gated access routes.
2. General history of the depot’s operations, land transfers, redevelopment, and present-day ownership or leasing structure.
3. Publicly documented incidents, former employee accounts, local history, newspaper references, or agency records related to the property. (This can be related to landowners, companies, or personal accounts)
4. How lawful access to the Vivos xPoint area is handled today. (VIVOS residents only)
5. How nearby private landowners, ranchers, or parcel holders legally access their properties within or around the former depot area.

Any additional information, written accounts, public documentation, historical records, newspaper clippings, photographs, maps, agency references, personal recollections, hazardous materials or hazards on the site, or leads on where to look would also be greatly appreciated. Even small details may help point me toward the right public records or historical sources.

I am not seeking instructions to enter restricted or private property, bypass gates, access controlled areas, or interfere with landowners or leaseholders. I am only looking for lawful public-record sources, historical context, agency contacts, or firsthand local knowledge from people familiar with the area.

Any direction toward county records, historical archives, public maps, local accounts, or relevant agencies would be appreciated.

Feel free to PM or text (701)638-0637 if you wish to remain anonymous, or don’t want your information publicly posted.