Rants and Stupid shit in Orange County

[DarkRoomDaddy]

Yeah, another good point. Teslas are freaking loaded with cameras. Even more the reason to park in a place that doesn't raise suspicions, like a Target parking lot or something like that. It may require some Uber rides.

Park at target and have a small collapsible scooter in the trunk to go half a mile down the road.

[Grimmy23]

All this talk about newer vehicles, why not buy a 'weekend vehicle', driven occasionally, that has no tracking? Could be, a sports car from your youth, or just a beater with a heater pickup to haul shit around?

Seems like the cleanest and surest way to avoid any accidental location disclosure.

In my situation, we just got rid of our last gas-powered vehicle. Literally, what we aren't paying in gas every month is a car payment on one of the other vehicles. We ordered the second Tesla with a trailer hitch installed for that exact purpose. Hauling shit, since the vehicle that just died is the one that we used to haul shit. Now it's just a matter of grabbing a $15/ day UHaul trailer and we can haul all the shit we want. I'd never be able to convince the wife that we needed another car for any reason.

A pickup truck isn't a bad idea though if you can pull it off. Definitely solves the problem.

[Oc Amper]

All this talk about newer vehicles, why not buy a 'weekend vehicle', driven occasionally, that has no tracking? Could be, a sports car from your youth, or just a beater with a heater pickup to haul shit around?

Seems like the cleanest and surest way to avoid any accidental location disclosure.

[Lift Her Up]

Do any of you have experience getting PrEP at the OC Health Care Agency (or whatever it's called)? Or is there a better way to get it in OC? I can't go to any of my regular doctors, because they might leak to my SO, who declines to have sex with me. I'm getting so old that condoms are a real barrier, in more ways than one.

Lift Her Up.

[Grimmy23]

So true you are, with the navigation systems and all the nice bells & whistles, how right you are, I was saying that more in jest than anything.

But seriously. Good point to all of us with others in our lives that we collectively need be mindful of things.

My "newest" car (I generally don't buy new) is a 2018 truck, and yeah, it will keep track of where you park, but also I regularly drive a 2004 SUV & a late 90's muscle car. So I can mix it up.

Point to the group is be careful when you go hobby. And don't share that Uber account with your spouse.

I used to be like you. Not buy new cars. For many years I bought used rental cars. The rental companies would put 20 k miles on them and sell them for a fraction of new price. There were some great deals to be had out there. My car that just died was a 2009 former Avis rental car. Now, rental car companies put 60 k miles on them and sell them for almost new price. It's insane and not really worth buying used in this day and age at least.

[Taws6]

Well my friend, I hate to break it to you, but most new cars these days are trackable and have cameras. You take the good with the bad.
.

So true you are, with the navigation systems and all the nice bells & whistles, how right you are, I was saying that more in jest than anything.

But seriously. Good point to all of us with others in our lives that we collectively need be mindful of things.

My "newest" car (I generally don't buy new) is a 2018 truck, and yeah, it will keep track of where you park, but also I regularly drive a 2004 SUV & a late 90's muscle car. So I can mix it up.

Point to the group is be careful when you go hobby. And don't share that Uber account with your spouse.

[Grimmy23]

Note to self, never buy a Tesla.

Well my friend, I hate to break it to you, but most new cars these days are trackable and have cameras. You take the good with the bad.

It's kind of like the good ol' days. I'm aging myself here, but back in the days before the internet and email, you'd be waiting for something to arrive at work that you needed to work on. FedEx overnight delivery was a thing, but that usually meant you had today to screw around because the package you needed wouldn't arrive until tomorrow. And if you were lucky, they missed the FedEx pickup so you also had tomorrow to screw around. Now everything is instant, so you lose your time for screwing around. You have to get right on it and get it done today. Good news / bad news.

[Taws6]

Yeah, another good point. Teslas are freaking loaded with cameras. Even more the reason to park in a place that doesn't raise suspicions, like a Target parking lot or something like that. It may require some Uber rides.

On HX, there is a KHouse in Tustin that's across a 6 lane street that has Costco, Lowe's and a Target.

I ALWAYS park across that street, allow for a bit of extra time to walk over.

Complex is gated, but so far, I have yet to do anything more than slow down, or speed up my walking speed to match an opening or closing gate.

Note to self, never buy a Tesla.

[SCJohn]

Yeah, another good point. Teslas are freaking loaded with cameras. Even more the reason to park in a place that doesn't raise suspicions, like a Target parking lot or something like that. It may require some Uber rides.

Sounds like Uber is the way to go.

[DaveSC]

. The last thing I need is for my wife to open the app and see that the other car is in Little Saigon or at some random hotel. It's possible to turn that off, but when you turn it off the app shows that you turned it off. That throws a bit of a wrench into this hobby for me. I haven't figured what my workaround is going to be yet. Maybe I turn it off and call it a "glitch. " But then we have location sharing on our phones too, which I turn off when I'm hobbying. The phone and the car can't both have glitches at the same time.

My other thought is get a burner phone and leave my regular phone in my office when I'm out, then the car can have a little glitch. The only thing I'd have to explain there is why it took me 2 hours to respond to a text.

Technology giveth and technology taketh away.

If I'm visiting a hotel I make sure it is next to a place I might visit.

Next to a Costco or business office or something. Or fast food joint.

Not only does it give an alibi but also hides your car from possible problems from the visit. (Boyfriend or popo etc).

So no hotel circle or Grove motel.

[Grimmy23]

Can Sentry be enabled with tracking disabled?

You'll need to park somewhere the cameras won't catch you.

Yeah, another good point. Teslas are freaking loaded with cameras. Even more the reason to park in a place that doesn't raise suspicions, like a Target parking lot or something like that. It may require some Uber rides.

[Domelike2020]

Yeah, that's exactly what you do. BUT it shows on the app that you disabled tracking. Maybe if I leave my phone behind and take a burner with me in case I need to make a call, then I could on rare occasion get away with saying it was a glitch that turned tracking off and hope my wife doesn't bother doing the research to figure out that getting that message on the app indicates that I purposely turned it off. It's a little dicey though. Definitely if tracking on the car and the phone were both turned off it would be suspicious as hell, so I'm thinking maybe the "leave the phone behind" idea is the best solution. Either that, or as I said in an earlier post, just create an alibi of having an off-location meeting somewhere, and then make sure to park the car in a location that doesn't draw suspicions. I certainly wouldn't be having a business meeting in a Motel 6, or on the corner of Magnolia and Westminster.

Can Sentry be enabled with tracking disabled?

You'll need to park somewhere the cameras won't catch you.

[Grimmy23]

From what I read, Go to Controls / Settings / Safety & Security and turn off Mobile Access. The issue with this is you disable tracking AND all Mobile Access to all devices, including your phone. You'll need to use the Tesla Key Card to start the car. Not sure if this is all that useful. Seems like this is a real issue for guys with SO's.

Any other ideas?

Yeah, that's exactly what you do. BUT it shows on the app that you disabled tracking. Maybe if I leave my phone behind and take a burner with me in case I need to make a call, then I could on rare occasion get away with saying it was a glitch that turned tracking off and hope my wife doesn't bother doing the research to figure out that getting that message on the app indicates that I purposely turned it off. It's a little dicey though. Definitely if tracking on the car and the phone were both turned off it would be suspicious as hell, so I'm thinking maybe the "leave the phone behind" idea is the best solution. Either that, or as I said in an earlier post, just create an alibi of having an off-location meeting somewhere, and then make sure to park the car in a location that doesn't draw suspicions. I certainly wouldn't be having a business meeting in a Motel 6, or on the corner of Magnolia and Westminster.

[SCJohn]

I wasn't even aware you could turn it off. If anyone has a way to get around the Tesla tracking, please share the knowledge.

I recently saw it could be disabled if you were in dangerous relationship, but I wasn't able to find it in the settings. Could be country specific.

From what I read, Go to Controls / Settings / Safety & Security and turn off Mobile Access. The issue with this is you disable tracking AND all Mobile Access to all devices, including your phone. You'll need to use the Tesla Key Card to start the car. Not sure if this is all that useful. Seems like this is a real issue for guys with SO's.

Any other ideas?

[Grimmy23]

Certainly get a burner phone, but one option that might work for you is a modified Faraday Cage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

If you turn off the tracking, I think it will show that you turned it off no?

Many potato chip and other bags have an aluminum lining.

Put your phone in a clean potato chip or other bag, seal it (test it first) and with a little trial and error, you can have a non-descript faraday cage.

Easy to explain away such a snack bag in your car.

Can't help with the automotive tracking, sorry.

Oh yeah, Faraday bags are easy to come by. Good ones are expensive, but as you say you can use a foil lined pouch and it will likely work. That part is the least of my worries though. I could always just get a burner phone to take with me on hobby trips and leave my normal phone behind so it looks like I'm where I should be. If the wife happens to text me while I'm out it's easy to explain that away. I was busy and didn't see the text notification.

The bigger concern is of course the vehicle tracking. For that I'll just have to create an alibi for being wherever I am. I had a meeting in that area or something, and then I park the car in some un-suspicious location and take an uber from there if I have to. It's going to take some creativity but I'll figure it out.

Yes, when you disable tracking on either a car or a phone it usually shows that tracking has been turned off. Fortunately I don't think my wife really tracks me, other than to occasionally see if I'm on my way home from somewhere. But with us getting a second Tesla, there's always the possibility that she decides to drive somewhere for lunch (she rarely does), and then if she opens the app she will very likely see that the other car is at some unexpected location. That's where the trouble starts. I think the only solution to that is to not take the car to said "unexpected location. ".