Your Thermostats or Your Life!

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Lauren Weinstein [lauren () vortex com]
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:12 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: Your Thermostats or Your Life!

                       Your Thermostats or Your Life!

               http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000357.html


Attention citizens!  Attention to your Telescreen now!  That means
YOU, Roberts88739T, and YOU Debros02935Y.  Attention!

By order of the California State Regulatorium, your environmental
temperatures are hereby and forever placed under our direct command.

Starting next year, if all goes as planned, your new or
substantially modified homes and commercial buildings by edict shall
be equipped with thermostats that will be controlled via FM
broadcast signals
( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11control.html ).

We will transmit temperature recommendations!  We will override your
temperature settings as we see fit!

You and your equipment will freeze or burn by our dictates!
Oh glorious technology of the 21st century, come to fruition in
reality from the nether regions of bureaucrats' dreams!

You need not fear hacking of this wondrousness.  All associated
Internet connections will be protected with the same sorts of
precision security used for touchscreen voting systems!

And citizens, be warned!  While this will likely be a one-way system
for now -- making it difficult for us to detect simple but illicit
tampering directly -- our vast network of thermostat informants will
be ready and willing to report any and all transgressors, with the
full weight of the criminal justice system waiting like the Sword of
Damocles.

So give glory to the Masters of Megawatts!  All hail the Honchos
of Heat!  Genuflect to the Autocrats of Air Conditioning!

And coming soon, mandated devices that will allow us to control when
and where you have sex.  More details about these in our next
Telescreen bulletin.

Until then, you may return to your designated legal, state-mandated
activities.

This announcement has been brought to you by the California State
Ministry of Environmental Monitoring and Control.  Have a nice day!

 - - -

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
   - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com


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