My First Reaction to Reading A Chapter of Database Nation

This blog is about a journal entry I wrote in September 2006 soon after reading a chapter of Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century by Simson Garfinkel (http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnationtp/). I had just given birth to a 8lb baby boy three weeks after undertaking Introduction to Database Concepts for the first time. If I can recall (because I was quite delirious due to managing a newborn), I found the material in the course textbook to be overwhelming and a little dry. Thus, when I had the Database Nation book sent to me I was never happier to find an easy read that could be used to complete a journal assignment. Unfortunately, I had to drop the course due to health complications and was unable to attempt it again until the Spring 2008 semester. I began to approach the tasks of reading the book and completing the journal again when I found something I wrote the day I got the Database Nation book. The entry is included below.


September 27, 2006, 1:01 a.m.

I just received my Database Nation paperback outside my door today. No one knocked on my door to see if I was even home to receive the package. UPS just dropped it in front of my door unlike all of the other times when they require me to sign or will not leave a package otherwise. Usually, they stop by the rental office if no one answers the door to my apartment. It's funny because I was home this time, but never heard anyone knock on the door. I even sat in my livinging room near the door in anticipation of a package. Most of the day had gone by when my son arrived home from school with a package in hand (much to my surprise) that had been left outside our door. Now, I know it is typical for UPS to just leave packages outside if no one is home, but it was atypical for our UPS agent. I had been worried that the package would get delivered later today or days after we had gone out of town on a family trip.

My first thought was that I need to notify UPS not to just leave unattended packages by my door because someone could steal or discard them or much worse open them to obtain information about me. I can be a privacy lunatic sometimes, but feel like the issues that surround privacy are so infinite that we can not even begin to fathom the best solution. All of this I pondered just at the thought of receiving a book that explores the intricacies of privacy and its relationship to databases.

I am reluctant to open this book because I worry that it will be yet another dry read. However, I discover that I am more intrigued by each page I read. So many privacy issues and ideas cross my mind. There is much to consider. I think about how much this book speaks volumes to my every day life and how techology has evolved to cause an evolution of great proportions in my own life. I have changed so much without really being aware of the change.

As I read all of the examples of how databases can affect our lives via the aspect of privacy, I begin to think about the movie "Enemy of the State." It is one of my favorite movies because it explores the possibilities of privacy issues like Database Nation does. I begin to read more pages of the book and ponder what angle I will write about for my journal assignment. I think of so many things that I am overwhelmed. I can not remember them all. In fact, I find myself so overwhelmed that I can only relate it to how much of that same feeling overcomes me when I consider how to protect my privacy.

Ultimately, I feel naked no matter what I try to do to conceal my information. I shred things a lot now. In the past, I never cared about shredding and would never have thought about buying a shredder because there was no obvious need. Now, I shred anything with other household members' or my personal information on it if it must be discarded. Sometimes, I take shredded things and flush them down the toilet. Luckily, I have managed not to clog up the plumbing. Although, I fear any day my toilets are going to grow tired, give a big hiccup, and expel all of its contents that I tried to flush, conceal, eliminate, and or keep away from identity thieves.

I try to process all that I have read and all of the thoughts that the book has generated. Then, I think how I can tackle the journal entries. Maybe, I can compare and contrast the movie "Enemy of the State" and Database Nation. Another option would be to read the articles, Rob text book, and or Simson Garfinkel DB Nation book. Maybe I should just read Garfinkel's book and go with whatever I feel passionate enough to write about. How about voicing my concerns and how they relate or dont relate to Mr. Garfinkel? I could compare and contrast our ideas.
(to be continued....)