Bitchin Dave's Newsletter

Technology has evolved to the point where cameras and data are all connected to provide surveillance literally everywhere. We are, for all intents and purposes, a police state.

The information is used for some legitimate purposes, but it's also misused, too. By organized groups, factions of government, and even what might be considered rogue police officers.

And there's not much we can do to stop this. Sure, there are moves to limit the use of flock cameras, but the companies that run them are working to undo those limits and in some cases to simply re-brand as another name; make no mistake, they're still installing them just with a different logo.

Do you have any idea how many there are in your community? Well, here are some tools to find out. The first contains information about how much is being spent and where they are located. The second tracks the details of where they are installed. You can also get a sense of how quickly the number of them is growing.

I live in a small town near Ft. Lauderdale. 5 years ago, we had zero cameras. Today, we have 48! The city and police tell us it's for safety. The city was relatively safe 5 years ago - and appears to be about the same today. So please enlighten me on why this surveillance is needed?

https://mytownview.com/flock-cameras-near-me

https://maps.deflock.org/

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Disney patent hints at trick behind new Encanto ride

Always the innovators, Disney has come up with a new kind of ride technology which they are looking to patent.

It’s a method to trick a rider into thinking they are going up or down, without any physical lifts or drops - or moving parts.

The idea is that they use a kind of forced perspective coupled with narrowing walls that give the illusion of lifts and drops.

The plan is to use this technology in the under-construction encanto ride. It will be family friendly but exciting.

I look forward to seeing this when it’s complete.

https://boingboing.net/2026/08/17/disney-patent-for-a-fake-elevation-ride-trick-matches-new-en.html

In 2017, SpaceX proposed flying passengers from New York to Shanghai in 39 minutes by sending Starship through space and landing it vertically near the destination—and while that service remains speculative, the rocket architecture behind it has now flown through space and survived re-entry.

I’ve talked about this before. Among the (seemingly crazy) ideas that Elon had, was one whereby you could board a rocket in, say, Texas, and it would go up and you might land in Singapore within an hour or two.

The notion is intriguing - even if it’s far fetched.

https://spacedaily.com/t-spacex-earth-to-earth-new-york-shanghai-39-minutes/

1.3m plastic bottles collected in a day in global volunteer ocean cleanup | Plastics | The Guardian

There’s an adage to “think globally, but act locally.”

Back in the 1980s, a group called “ocean conservancy” held an event to clean up the beaches along Texas’s coastline. They managed to signup 2,800 volunteers and spent a weekend cleaning up.

They were on to something, and grew the organization. It currently consists of 19.7 million people, across 166 countries.

It’s not just a weekend of activity, but lots of individual events held throughout the year.

And to date, they estimate that they have managed to collect 184,000 tons of waste, with much of the 439 million items being plastic water bottles.

The great part is that you don’t have to belong to the group to contribute (though certainly you can). You can head down to a local beach (or a park that may have pollution) by yourself or with a group and just start collecting things and dispose of them properly.

The earth thanks you.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/26/plastic-bottles-coastal-cleanup-ocean-conservancy

Simon Weckert creates Digital Camouflage to avoid AI surveillance

Stylish (!!) and hides you from surveillance. That’s remarkable.

https://www.dezeen.com/2026/08/25/digital-camouflage-shirt-ai-video-surveillance-simon-weckert/

Lambs grazing beneath an Oregon solar array gained weight at statistically similar rates despite 38 percent lower pasture production, as higher forage quality helped offset the smaller crop

Hmmmm. From an agriculture perspective, the pasture did better with the solar array, due to shade and other factors.

Maybe we should use more of these arrays to provide a clean power source AND help the environment, and by extension could help with food production.

Just saying.

https://spacedaily.com/b-lambs-grazing-under-an-oregon-solar-farm-had-38-percent-less-grass-in-front-of-them-than-lambs-in-the-open-field-alongside-and-they-put-on-the-same-weight-to-the-gram-because-shade-makes-a-pasture-g/

BASF sues Apple in US, says iPhones infringe face authentication patents | Reuters

The world of corporate intellectual property is always interesting to me.

Here’s a case where BASF created a means to detect people’s faces, and patented it.

And Apple is accused of having stolen it for use in iPhones. They filed suit and the most likely outcome is that Apple winds up licensing it from BASF. Of course it’s also possible they created a new piece of technology, and they get the case dismissed.

But one thing to keep in mind: when Apple first invented the iPhone, much of their camera technology was “likely” infringing on some things Kodak had developed. But Kodak was a little disorganized at that time and also had some financial difficulties. So they chose not to pursue legal action. Thus letting Apple “steal” some of their work (or so would seem).

https://www.reuters.com/world/basf-sues-apple-us-allegedly-infringing-its-face-authentication-patents-2026-09-03/

Bonus: This … for lack of a better word … nonsense ... surrounding Ed Sheeran and one of his opening acts - Macklemore - is just another example of how messed up we are as a society.

Let me preface this by saying that the entire situation in the middle east as it relates to Israel and Palestine is complex. I don't think there is a "right" answer, and support or distrust of one element doesn't automatically mean that you are taking a stand. And to be clear, no matter what, there is a humanitarian crisis.

So, Macklemore says something. And people lose their minds. Doesn't he have a right to free speech, too? Yes, he has a public forum, and maybe he's abusing it in a way. But IMHO the conversation should be about whether that's the right forum - not whether he should be saying such things. And arbitrating that he's wrong.

Then Robert Kraft got involved, and it blew up. He told Sheeran that "you can't use my stadium" - which is also a complicated statement. The world of professional stadiums is just a mess. Like all stadiums, he took public funds to build it, and continues to get tax incentives and other considerations to continue to operate it. So while he will tell you he owns it, it's not quite that simple since it was a very nebulous "public-private partnership"... I would argue that he's speaking on behalf of the taxpayers who contributed to it. Which just makes this all somehow worse.

And implicated in this is Ed Sheeran, who did nothing wrong, per se. He has tried to calm these ruffled feathers, but the noise is really loud. But here's the thing: in case you weren't aware, his concert is all about uniting us; its a beautiful essay on that. And that sadly gets lost in all of it.

In the end, we all just need to settle down. Stop focusing on *what* the guy said and the kneejerk to it (seemingly based on politics, by the way) - and focus instead on there being a large humanitarian crisis with no easy answers... but where people are dying based on actions outside of their control. And they have no way out. The message should be about peace and unity, and love for our fellow man.

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