Menu
Notes · August 2026
Notes for August 2026
Flock Has Already Become a Police Stalking Tool
Houston-area agencies are investigating officers accused of using Flock’s license plate database for personal stalking, while the Institute for Justice has documented at least 28 ALPR misuse cases—showing audit logs do not prevent abuse when nobody reviews them.
Inspired by chron.com · Chron
California Can Finally Make Data Brokers Delete What They Know About Us
California’s DROP platform reached its August 1, 2026 processing milestone—one request can reach hundreds of registered data brokers, with per-day fines for noncompliance, while the real test will be whether deletion results are audited and enforced.
Inspired by privacy.ca.gov · California Privacy Protection Agency
Phantom Twist Hides a Drone with Motion Blur
Northwestern engineers built Phantom Twist, a single-motor drone that spins its body up to 25 times per second so human vision sees haze instead of a craft—clever AI-assisted design for wildlife and infrastructure work, with clear surveillance implications.
Inspired by news.northwestern.edu · Northwestern Now
Of Course the Calculator Runs Linux
Remy van Elst updated a Linux port for the HP Prime G2 graphing calculator—console login, better keyboard and touchscreen support, X11, on-device C compilation and Doom—booting from RAM without replacing the stock firmware in flash.
Inspired by raymii.org · Remy van Elst
Atom Is Better Than RSS in Ways That Actually Matter
Chris Morgan’s case for Atom over RSS—not novelty, but clearer text constructs, summary versus content, and fewer parser guesses—while podcasting remains the stubborn RSS exception and twenty years of RFC 4287 still wait for wider adoption.
Inspired by chrismorgan.info · Chris Morgan