Robin Monks

My latest writing on Flock (and additional similar companies) is out and available for reading and sharing now: robinmonks.com/the-money-an... It includes some new stuff from FOIA requests, as well as updates from here in Washington where Flock has been having some serious push back. #privacy

I've apparently pissed off a #USPS employee for writing "mis-delivered" on a letter that was dropped in our mailbox by accident and dropping it back in the outgoing mail chute. Is the implication I just shouldn't try and get misdelivered mail to its destination?

“The Anthropic Iceberg” — Tommy Thornton 👀 www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...

"Anything that stops crime and catches criminals is good" is the slipperiest slope there is for liberty.

I recently went through the process of making my own root and intermediates for my homelab… I didn't realize the bar for being a good CA was this low.

I recently went through the process of making my own root and intermediates for my homelab… I didn't realize the bar for being a good CA was this low.

In 1955, Canadian defence scientists took their radar to a goose sanctuary to find out whether a flock of birds could pass for a Soviet bomber. Project Wood Duck is the first issue of Cold War Tech Dispatches: https://coldwar.offprint.app/a/2dbcd70e-eabe-4ede-97a7-d2b721004f0c

I wrote a new #travel piece after getting back from Massachusetts. Go check it out! https://robin.offprint.app/a/3mtcmoe37g523-traveling-when-the-seasons-shift

Luxury cars should get special plates that cost 5x more, and when those plates use a toll road or a ferry, they should also pay 5x more. Let's watch the rich whine about the use fees they love so much.

Judge Sara Hill, N.D. Oklahoma, issued this decision on Thursday —>

Just wrote some thoughts on my camping trip from two weeks ago; and how I feel when I'm present for the last day of something. https://robin.offprint.app/a/3mvik3i6y7r23-the-last-day-of-the-season

I wish folks would adopt a perspective of allowing foreign cars ONLY if all software and firmware is made some flavor of open source.

It seems pretty clear to me that at some point when the cost of borrowing is too high and the end of the road is nigh, Amazon is going to spin out AWS and Microsoft will spin out Azure as a last ditch effort to refinance their debt and save the motherships. Probably in late 2027/early 2028.

Every police department requires constant, independent public oversight with extreme transparency. fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.ap...

This is the way. mastodon.social/@kottke/11711...

Looking forward to when those solar panels start showing up on government auctions. mastodon.social/@arstechnica/...

As I predicted months ago, we're going to keep seeing the share of ICE engines shrink because once you've driven one you're not going back for your daily driver. All big oil can go is try and scare people from ever trying them. m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/1171126288...

Now we have a second category of payday loans… m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/1171125432...

Very exciting! social.fairphone.community/@W...

pointing, laughing

Trying something new, a micro-travel-blog on Offprint (another ATproto-based service). If you want to follow along with my random travels, you can now: Hopefully a cozy read!

I was curious how long it would take to break Fedex's chatbot; turns out not long!

Turns out government can work.

Having been in Phoenix, I can confirm it exists as a testament to man's arrogance. m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/1170974414...

Sounds like they have a fear of accountability.

Amazon is forcing all uses into class-action waivers and mandatory arbitration. Amazon, the shitty company that they are, offer no opt-out. Very shady and shitty stuff. One has to wonder if they saw a lot of AI related lawsuits inbound.

There's a fundamental misunderstanding that companies want to supply unlimited amounts of a thing. Artificially constraining supply of non-discretionary goods is the way much money is made in fuel, food, and housing. social.coop/@00Aaron/11708499...

Yep.

Companies seem to think "it has AI" is a selling point. If folks want AI, they're going to use Claude or OpenAI directly. I'd love to see any stats showing AI feature inclusion has improved the sale of any product.

Amazon win for privacy rights!

Thankful to have much less smoke here today; my sinuses can finally start recovering.

Also worth noting how intertwined car dealers and politics are in the US. www.opensecrets.org/industrie...

Sounds like some rich folks are going to need to hire some live-in house sitters on short notice.

Can confirm, when I see a local business has gone AI mad I just avoid them.

For folks continuing to bang this drum (which we should!); remember the goal is no have NO ALPR systems at all, not just to remove Flock. Lots of cities are running to get the same bad tech from another supplier with less public outrage. mastodon.murkworks.net/@moira...

Does your neighbor have a self-propelled incendiary device? Make sure your fire insurance is good. m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/1170469309...

Just backed this all-in-one ADS-B, FIS-B, TIS-B, and Drone Remote ID tracker on Kickstarter:

Surprised this doesn't turn into an investor lawsuit.

Not excited to be 60 miles from an active fire. Have been hearing firefighting helicopters off and on all day.

Watching the smoke roll in here in Western Washington. I hope those in Spokane are able to recover from this.

It turns out effort is neither created nor destroyed, but moved around to whoever has the least leverage. Read my latest post on AI's Effort Transfer here:

Absolutely depressing.

Entitled asshole opens mouth…

This article validates all my priors that seals are: 1. Cute 2. Smart 3. For hugs

And we're down! #SFO

An electric ice-cream maker was listed at just $17.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. Then it became unavailable at Best Buy, and more than tripled in price to $59.99 at Amazon. Here’s how it happened… 🧵

Much like a lot of these teslas; accelerating. m.ai6yr.org/@ai6yr/1169654849...

Hey now, innocent is a strong word to apply to the bell.