Most everywhere you look in the news these days, you see another article about the National Security Agency (NSA) and its network monitoring program.

Quite frankly, I assume anything transmitted electronically is potentially subject to ease dropping. If you are paranoid, and want real uncrackable security, use a one time pad. Otherwise, if a tired and weary NSA operative is tasked to look over my blog, I hope he/she is either a home wine maker or is undergoing their own home renovations so can find some solace and interesting useful commentary here.

As for claims about “better privacy in Europe”…. well let me tell you a little bit about that from a local perspective.

We bought our house here in Hungary from a couple that still lives in the local village. Our house is outside the village, and up on a hill. This is important to know given what I will mention next.

It is known by us that the husband of the former owner continues to make a series of rather derogatory comments in the local village about us, and what we are doing, on what is now our property. Property that has been ours for over a decade now.

Then one day, my wife met his wife in the village. It is a small village, so pleasantries were exchanged. Which then lead to a short conversation as is so common in Hungarian culture.

And during this conversation the other women made some rather interesting comments, with details, about some of the recent changes and renovations that we had been doing on our property that she said her husband had seen.

“Oh”, my wife said, “has your husband walked up the hill recently to see our property?”

“No”, the other woman said. “My husband has binoculars.”