Facebook: is this a place for children?

Bottom line up front: I don't think children belong on Facebook.

Yes, Facebook is a fun place to connect, but even adults have been victimized via Facebook. Older kids, even college kids, have been bullied on Facebook. Some people think that kids can be on Facebook if properly monitored, but I disagree. Facebook has privacy issues, and kids just don't have the maturity and experience to deal with some of the issues that may be "faced" on Facebook. Facebook isn't just about playing games and posting pictures for your friends and family . . .  There are people who look for potential victims on Facebook--they look for children, women, etc. 

I am very careful with my own Facebook account--I wouldn't dream of allowing an elementary aged child to be on Facebook. Parents, grandparents, guardians . . . please think twice before allowing an elementary or middle school aged child to have an account on Facebook. Be a responsible adult and draw the line. I did.

Facebook: it's not me, it's you . . .

Dear Facebook,

It's not me, it's you. I've loved you--it's true. You have helped me connect to friends and family who are far, far away . . . You have helped me to share pictures, stories, good times and bad times; you have been there for me. You also have allowed me to learn things that have hurt--a lot. Yet through that I have grown . . .

But this time you have gone too far . . .  You are infringing on my privacy more than I imagined. My trust in you before was fragile, but now I have no trust in you at all.

I realize that you perceive your changes to be an enhancement for users, but every change you make appears to disrupt privacy settings. Every change you make requires me to check to see if my information is shared more than I feel comfortable sharing . . . And yes, your changes do change the settings previously set by users. I'm not happy about this, Facebook.

I want to be able to choose what I share on Facebook--I don't want to need to opt out by changing my privacy settings. Rather, if I want to share, let me take the time to share by posting on my own. You may think you are making things easier for me, but I'd like to close the door and have a little privacy. If I want to share, let me open the door--I don't need a butler.

Sincerely,

TK

Related:

Facebook is Scaring Me

Life is all about how you handle plan B . . .

"Plan A is always my first choice . . . you know, the one where everything works out to be happily ever-after. But more often than not, I find myself dealing with the upside-down, inside-out version where nothing goes as it should. Do I sink or do I swim? . . . The choice is all mine. It's at this point that the true test of my character comes in. Life really is all about how you handle plan B." [From a fun T-shirt that I own.]

Plan B

People make too big of a deal over plan B. Seriously! Plans should be flexible . . . what is most important is the mission! A change in plans isn't a change in mission--plan B is merely a different avenue of approach.

One thing that I always try to keep in mind is that my plan A may not be what is best for me. It may accomplish the mission, but at what cost?

I have a strategic plan for my life and my career--yes, it's true (I am THAT anal). And yes, I weigh every decision according to this plan. Yet at the same time, I realize that I may not have all of the information, and my original plan may not be the best plan to accomplish the mission . . .

Do I sink or do I swim?

That is a silly question--of course I swim! I look at life this way: if we create a plan or a map for our lives and everything goes precisely according to the plan, how boring would that be? Where are the challenges in that?

I love the twists and turns in life--they usually bring heightened success!


Dialing it in

What am I talking about here? One example could be my own change from the Army's MI branch to Finance. Attending Finance BOLC and becoming a Finance Officer was my plan B. I won't share all of the details of my personal strategic plan, but the goal in that segment of my plan had already been met, so the change wasn't truly significant. However, initially choosing MI was important to my end-state. My background is actually in finance, so this change made sense . . . but MI still holds my interest!

My point is that it's important to not only have a plan, but to fully understand the steps in the plan and the desired end-state . . . otherwise you may get so caught up in the details that you lose sight of the end-state which is the ultimate goal!

Priceless

Re-key Car                                                 $1350

Brighton Purse                                               280

Brighton Key Ring                                            25

Expedited Passport Replacement                    195

Passport Photo                                                10

Car Wash Card (5 washes remaining)               125

Contacting Banks, Credit Bureaus, FTC       Hassle

Miscellaneous other items in purse           Unknown

Covered by Safeco                                             0

I guess they have their priorities. 

Related Posts
[Photo Credit]

Urban Cow, etc

Is it wrong to start with a recovery photo? This is a "cookie recovery" photo following the Urban Cow Half-Marathon in Sacramento on October 3, 2010. This was my first half-marathon. It was fun!

The first 2.5 miles were definitely the most painful--I'm still trying to figure out how to warm-up my muscles earlier because that has been a problem for me since I started running distances. Unfortunately, the run for the APFT is two miles, which means that I'm in pain during the entire APFT! Runner friends--any suggestions???

My pace was 13.07, and I finished 13.1 miles in 2:51:49. I walked for most of the last two miles because I felt like I was getting a Charlie horse--I ran in the end.  I want to be faster, but I feel good about my race. This was my first half-marathon, I'm a fairly new runner . . . and I loved it!

Unfortunately, while Katie and I were on the course, someone broke the window in her car and stole everything that was in it--including my purse. My car keys were in my purse .  . and my passport (I know). So, after calling the Sacramento police (who don't respond to auto break-ins--at all), we drove back to my car. BMWs are very secure I learned. Both AAA and BMW Roadside Assistance told me that I needed to have my car towed to a dealership and have them re-key my car. After several hours and renting a car, I was finally able to get into my car with the valet key (don't ask). By that time, I was alone with two cars . . . what do you think I did? 

After finally getting into my car and starting it, I drove my car home and parked it in the garage. Then, after completing a half-marathon (13.1 miles), I walked over a mile to get my rental car and drive it home. I got a lot of exercise on Sunday!

I'm not complaining though. Today has been a hassle, to be sure. But I keep finding things that would normally be in my purse, but somehow they weren't. I had my WDL, my CAC, my debit cards, my BlackBerry, and my camera with me in a small backpack. I left my glasses and my iPod at home among numerous other things that I normally carry in my purse. It will still cost $1450 to re-key my car because the thieves have my keys and my address. I was lucky--it could have been so much worse. Katie, her husband, and I still have many hoops to jump through to make things right . . .

Katie and I were out making sacrifices to help people live longer while some pathetic person chose to take things away from us. I feel sorry for that person.

I would so much rather give freely by choice than take away by force.

Roseville BMW vs BMW Northwest

I've been spoiled--it's true. I bought my car last August and had it serviced at BMW Northwest in Tacoma until I moved to California in March.

BMW Northwest provides quality work and premium customer service. The service managers always explain everything to me thoroughly so I understand what needs to be done and why, and they provide a loaner BMW if they are keeping my car for a day or longer (even though my car is no longer under warranty). And it doesn't matter why I've brought in my car, they always wash and vacuum it for me--they even washed and vacuumed it for me once when I came in just to ask a question. The waiting area is nice, and the people who work there go out of their way to be helpful. And while I love their customer service, what I really appreciate is the quality of their work. I'm confident when I leave that I won't have any problems.

In contrast, I've had nothing but problems with Roseville BMW. In February, someone tried to steal my car from a hotel parking lot during a drill weekend by slicing through the convertible top. The top and the windshield were replaced in Vancouver, and I left the state only to find that the top leaked. When I arrived in California, the Allstate adjuster told me that I could take my car directly to the dealership to get the leak fixed, so I did.

Roseville BMW provided a loaner BMW as expected, and the repairs took two weeks to complete. The Allstate adjuster approved the estimate, but the final cost was more than $1400 over the original estimate. Allstate still agreed to pay, and the adjuster even faxed a copy of the check being mailed so I could pick up my car. However, the dealership wouldn't release my car until the actual payment was received--a week later. The service manager told me that insurance companies don't always pay, and asked me if I had a credit card and wanted to pay for it myself--I declined. When they finally released my car, it was dirty and even had bugs on the windshield. I wondered why they didn't wash it when they were checking to see if the top still leaked . . . strange.

Now, roughly two months after the repair, the liner is separating from the frame and needs to be repaired. Interestingly, the original statements provided to Allstate show that the work was subcontracted, yet when the adjuster contacted the dealership, he was told the work was completed at the dealership. In addition, even though the work was of questionable quality and has to be repaired, I was told that they no longer provide loaner vehicles when a car isn't under warranty. Fortunately, I have rental car coverage, but I would expect them to work harder to "make things right."

Finally, the repairs to fix the leak totaled almost $4000--the cost to replace the top and windshield in Vancouver was $3000. I'd like to understand why it costs more to fix a convertible top than to replace it.

I've tried to contact a manager to discuss all of this, but he won't return my calls.

My advice: if you own a BMW, don't have it serviced at Roseville BMW. If you don't own one, don't purchase one from them either--head north to BMW Northwest.