Tuesday Overnight Open Thread - September 15, 2026

Mystery click courtesy of Cow Demon

Howdy Hordelings! The Tuesday ONT has arrived. On time, as always. Open thread, as always. Ready to be whelmed?

[Top photo: Lake Matheson, New Zealand]

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Wholesome Content

Future Hall of Famer Mike Trout was opening baseball cards with his son when he pulled an incredibly rare card, his own rookie card. His reaction is priceless. pic.twitter.com/pZoyKFYhHk
— Dudes Posting Their W’s (@DudespostingWs) September 15, 2026

❤️ NOW: A young elementary student just walked up to First Lady Melania Trump in North Carolina and asked for a hug

“Will you give me a hug?”

Melania is LOVED by America’s children! ��

She’s currently in Western NC, a location ravaged by a hurricane a couple years ago

And…
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 15, 2026

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This looks fun!

One can is not enough pic.twitter.com/4uibosTTHg
— The Texas Longhorn (@DannyMintys) September 16, 2026

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Disappointing to say the least

Trump-appointed FBI Director Kash Patel echoed Trump's recent sentiments on Flock cameras and defended the FBI's access to and use of the cameras, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee he believes Flock license-plate cameras are not mass surveillance because they are in public… pic.twitter.com/dFmEDz8y2e
— Orwell Day (@OrwellDay) September 16, 2026

Trump-appointed FBI Director Kash Patel echoed Trump's recent sentiments on Flock cameras and defended the FBI's access to and use of the cameras, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee he believes Flock license-plate cameras are not mass surveillance because they are in public places, so people should not expect privacy there.
He also argued the FBI does not get constant access to the data and only asks for information after it already has a lead, such as a photo of a car.
However, in Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court said people have a privacy right in the record of the whole of their movements, even if each trip is on a public road.
A large camera network that stores old license-plate hits can show where a person has been for days or weeks, including which doctors they visit, which protests they may attend, whether they go to gun stores or visit gun ranges for target practice, and much more.
That kind of stored travel history is closer to the cell-phone location records the Court said generally need a warrant.

Kash Patel has his moments where he shines - like during recent exchanges with members of Congress. But this is a reprehensible take on his part. We really have nobody on our side, do we?

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Those of you who have traveled in mountainous areas have probably seen runaway truck ramps on the side of the road. But have you ever actually seen anyone use one?

Colorado troopers share video of semi truck using runaway ramp on I-70

The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) shared a recently-captured video of a runaway semi truck using an escape ramp along I-70.
CSP said that the video was captured a few days ago on westbound I-70 coming down Eisenhower Pass.
Troopers shared the video to encourage drivers to use the ramps if necessary and to educate motorists on how to respond if they see a commercial vehicle that needs to use a ramp due to brake failure.
“If you are driving down the road and observe a runaway semi-truck coming towards you in your rearview mirrors, stay calm and attempt to merge to the left, as all runaway truck ramps in Colorado are on the right shoulder. This will allow the truck to safely enter the ramp without colliding with anyone,” CSP said.

Video at the link

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I guess it's a Star Trek thread now

Physicist proves famous ‘Star Trek’ combat strategy works

The most impressive science fiction stories emphasize “science” over spectacle. The Star Trek franchise has featured plenty of examples since the original series premiered 60 years ago this month, but one of its most famous sci-fi moments may prove even more fascinating than fans realized. At Brazil’s Federal University of ABC, physicist Níckolas de Aguiar Alves determined that an early episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation demonstrates an aspect to the theory of relativity even better than its creators likely anticipated.
Season One’s ninth episode, “The Battle,” introduces a bit of backstory to Jean-Luc Picard’s illustrious career in the Federation. Years before he became captain of the USS Enterprise, Picard oversaw a ship called the Stargazer when it came under fire from an unknown assailant. Picard needed to navigate closer to the mystery attacker before responding, but the Enterprise’s shields were down.
The captain then quickly improvised what later became known as the “Picard Maneuver.” He ordered his crew to rush their foe at warp speed (faster than the speed of light) then quickly halt and begin firing. Relativistic physics dictated that if Stargazer traveled faster than visible light, it would technically generate two images of the ship from their attacker’s point of view—one Stargazer at the location just prior to warp speed, then a Stargazer where it halted. The operation was risky, but it gave Picard and his crew a 50/50 chance that the enemy would continue firing on an afterimage of Stargazer.
***
In actuality, Picard’s Maneuver wouldn’t result in two Stargazer ships; it would make three of them. This is because Picard’s crew didn’t travel at a constant speed during the gambit–they first sped up, then stopped closer to their opponent. That means Stargazer technically accelerated not once, but twice. This makes all the difference.

This mean something to you, Trekkies?

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Some of you should get outside tonight

How to Watch the Northern Lights from 12 States Tonight

Two fast-moving streams of solar wind, along with up to two passing bursts of charged particles from the sun, could make the northern lights visible late on Tuesday, Sept. 15, into early Wednesday, Sept. 16.
***
Look north after dark on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and keep an eye on the sky through the pre-dawn hours on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The most promising window is generally the darkest part of the night, after a crescent moon has set.
***
At G1 levels, the best odds are across Alaska and northern parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.However, if activity briefly reaches G2, the auroral glow could extend further south, including parts of Oregon, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York.

***

DJ Doof - Lights Edition

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Tonight's ONT brought to you by precautions

***

Doof Enterprises, LLC reminds you that this is the midway point between The Ides of March. Do with that information whatever you see fit.

Your feedback may or may not be very important to Doof Enterprises. Follow Mr. Doof on X @doof2112 or do the email thing – doof2112 at proton dot me.

Posted by: Doof at 10:01 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 ONT

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 15, 2026 10:01 PM (NnhvP)

2 steampunk

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:01 PM (vOxCS)

3 1

Posted by: JohnFNotKerry at September 15, 2026 10:01 PM (tuyt8)

4 YAY ONT! Now for the "content"!

Posted by: JohnFNotKerry at September 15, 2026 10:02 PM (tuyt8)

5 Good evening good people.

Posted by: Tonypete at September 15, 2026 10:03 PM (JWBZd)

6 Thanks Doof.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 15, 2026 10:03 PM (NnhvP)

7 Nooded.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 15, 2026 10:04 PM (NnhvP)

8 Thanks Doof! The last pic is good.

Posted by: LRob in OK at September 15, 2026 10:06 PM (Jr+re)

9 Real pic of Crooks
Trump shooter

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xS8Bfktj7zSJpWic8

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:06 PM (/+uur)

10 Evenin'

I'm not a metal head, but I do like Dream Theater, a LOT!! Well done on the song under the pic above!

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at September 15, 2026 10:08 PM (sAmhv)

11 "This mean something to you, Trekkies?"

TNG is not Trek.

Posted by: TOS at September 15, 2026 10:08 PM (Q+gd/)

12 Never gave much thought to the science in Star Trek. It was the characters and their interactions that interested me.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at September 15, 2026 10:08 PM (1Ff7Z)

13 Only a confident boy can wear a mullet like that and get a hug from the First Lady.

Posted by: huerfano at September 15, 2026 10:09 PM (2Xqig)

14 Those of you who have traveled in mountainous areas have probably seen runaway truck ramps on the side of the road. But have you ever actually seen anyone use one?

No, but I've seen a truck at the end of one when I was traveling down a mountainside once. My Dad, on the other hand, saw what was left of a truck whose brakes went out going down same said mountain (before the current freeway cut through it)...the driver had a Navy guy that had hitched a ride. Dad said all they found of the Navy guy was some melted brass buttons...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:09 PM (l3cgK)

15 Melania is just so cool. Can you imagine any of the recent first ladies (aside from maybe Laura Bush) hugging a kid so genuinely like that? I can't.

Posted by: JohnFNotKerry at September 15, 2026 10:09 PM (tuyt8)

16 That’s quite a load in that baby’s diaper.

Posted by: nurse ratched at September 15, 2026 10:10 PM (yEz+x)

17 You never think about Vicki Lawrence as anything other than Carol Burnett's sidekick. Not many people seem to know she was a singer as well.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at September 15, 2026 10:10 PM (1Ff7Z)

18 Journey - Lights
Too bad faggots and performers couldn't keep their historical
place and just STFU. Opinions are turning and they will be lucky not
cast to that island with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:11 PM (vOxCS)

19 How to Watch the Northern Lights from 12 States Tonight

Unless they get close to the border of Mexico, I won't be seeing any...besides, the marine layer will come in...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:12 PM (l3cgK)

20 I've always liked Vicki Lawrence. She reminds me of one of my aunts. Funny and sassy.

Posted by: My Cocaine at September 15, 2026 10:13 PM (0aYVJ)

21 >>> FBI Director Kash Patel echoed Trump's recent sentiments on Flock cameras and defended the FBI's access to and use of the cameras,...
---

Get the Flock out of here.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:14 PM (vOxCS)

22 16 That’s quite a load in that baby’s diaper.

Posted by: nurse ratched at September 15, 2026 10:10 PM

That baby is definitely printing.

Might have to add a jacket to complete the diaper ensemble.

Probably should check with Piper for some fashion tips.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at September 15, 2026 10:14 PM (HlyYF)

23 I'm not a metal head, but I do like Dream Theater, a LOT!! Well done on the song under the pic above!
Posted by: Puddleglum

Gotta let it segue into the next song, though! Just playing "The Mirror" without "Lie" is like metallus interruptus.

https://youtu.be/SZypHutlHZo

It was originally one long song in its "demo" days.

Posted by: \m/ mikeski \m/ at September 15, 2026 10:14 PM (VHUov)

24 Good evening Horde. Thanks Disco!

Posted by: TRex - solar wind dino at September 15, 2026 10:14 PM (63An5)

25 I know you don’t want to hear this, but I don’t think Carpenter is applicable to Flock cameras. Carpenter said police generally need a warrant to obtain seven or more days of historical cell-site location information because it creates a detailed, retrospective record of a person’s movements. The ruling was pretty narrow and SCOTUS said as much. But I am no Whig, or even an Elric.

Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:14 PM (ZdaMQ)

26 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?

Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (vTZFs)

27 I've seen a family parked at the bottom of that ramp taking pictures. Mouthbreathing, knuckle-dragging, 100% grade-A idiots.

Posted by: Not Enough Lampposts at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (o/vJD)

28 YAY ONT! Now for the "content"!
Posted by: JohnFNotKerry at September 15, 2026 10:02 PM (tuyt

You actually read the content?

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (QMAsf)

29 >>> But this is a reprehensible take on his part. We really have nobody on our side, do we?
--

It's not a body on your side.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (vOxCS)

30 28 YAY ONT! Now for the "content"!
Posted by: JohnFNotKerry at September 15, 2026 10:02 PM (tuyt

You actually read the content?
Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10

I do! And then say things that annoy you. 🤣

Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:16 PM (ZdaMQ)

31 Dang old sock anyway.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Sounding the Carnyx at September 15, 2026 10:16 PM (0aYVJ)

32 Evening all,

We have a launch in the morning.

Roscosmos - Soyuz 2.1b - Progress MS-35
LS 31/6 - Baikonur, KAZ - Space Affairs Live
Launch Date: September 16, 2026
Launch Time: 9:33 AM EDT (1333 UTC, 15:33 CEST)

https://youtu.be/7DitkTXRhMA

Posted by: Joyenz at September 15, 2026 10:16 PM (2F0/Y)

33 Great, it's now pretty much guaranteed to be cloudy in my area because there's the possibility of an astronomical phenomenon. Sigh...

Posted by: pookysgirl, perpetual bad luck charm at September 15, 2026 10:17 PM (Wt5PA)

34 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?
Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (vTZFs)

Not our job, mang.

Posted by: Colorado DOT at September 15, 2026 10:17 PM (1Ff7Z)

35 Also, you are on a public road and your license plate is displayed publicly all over the place. I don’t know Mr. Patel is wrong…but maybe an actual lawyer will chime in.

Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:17 PM (ZdaMQ)

36 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?
Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (vTZFs)

A lengthy extraction involving really large tow trucks. Then smoothing out the gravel, which is really deep.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Sounding the Carnyx at September 15, 2026 10:18 PM (0aYVJ)

37 Also had a friend who got hit by an out-of-control truck traveling the same highway eastbound just before it hits the Denver flatlands. Messed him up real good, but at least he lived.

Posted by: Not Enough Lampposts at September 15, 2026 10:18 PM (o/vJD)

38 Funny part about that runaway truck video?

Yeah, cars in the lefthand lane are usually doing 90 plus right there.

Posted by: Romeo13 at September 15, 2026 10:18 PM (mP0Kj)

39 Video at the link

Nop

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:19 PM (vOxCS)

40 26 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?

Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (vTZFs)

Well, first, the driver changes his shorts . . .

Then someone comes out and fixes the brakes, then tows the truck back onto the highway. The ramps typically are covered with a deep layer of gravel, so the truck is likely to sink into the gravel rather than roll backwards.

Posted by: a.moron at September 15, 2026 10:19 PM (X5Jzz)

41 In more fun topics, all my creatures are settling because it is bedtime, though I am missing 1 kitty- wonder where Sabi is.

Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:20 PM (ZdaMQ)

42 A lengthy extraction involving really large tow trucks. Then smoothing out the gravel, which is really deep.

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. Somehow I was just assuming it was paved.

Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:20 PM (vTZFs)

43 wonder where Sabi is.

As I have often said - plotting your demise. It's what they do!

Posted by: LRob in OK at September 15, 2026 10:21 PM (Jr+re)

44 I know you don’t want to hear this, but I don’t think Carpenter is applicable to Flock cameras. Carpenter said police generally need a warrant to obtain seven or more days of historical cell-site location information because it creates a detailed, retrospective record of a person’s movements. The ruling was pretty narrow and SCOTUS said as much. But I am no Whig, or even an Elric.
Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:14 PM (ZdaMQ)

Flock also creates a detailed, retrospective record of a person’s movements. And the data is readily available to law enforcement - the good ones and the bad ones. Cell phone records are not readily available to law enforcement.

I'd say Flock data is worse as a 4th Amendment violation. Carpenter should reinforce that.

But I'm no lawyer either.

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10:21 PM (QMAsf)

45 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?
****

Pull the air brake. Just like you would when idling the truck while parked. Also, the truck goes up the ramp because of speed and momentum. Once it stops, the wheels are buried in sand and gravel. A tow truck is necessary to get the truck and trailer out of the ramp.

Posted by: clarence at September 15, 2026 10:21 PM (MbV1j)

46 42 A lengthy extraction involving really large tow trucks. Then smoothing out the gravel, which is really deep.

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. Somehow I was just assuming it was paved.

Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:20 PM (vTZFs)

Yeah, gravel, lots of it to slow down the truck. With a little hill of it at the end of the one I see the most...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:21 PM (l3cgK)

47 I'd like to see the towing bill for the semi removal. It must be huge!

Posted by: LRob in OK at September 15, 2026 10:22 PM (Jr+re)

48
I'd say Flock data is worse as a 4th Amendment violation. Carpenter should reinforce that.

But I'm no lawyer either.

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10:21 PM (QMAsf)

The Flock camera was depressed and insane, so it gets a pass.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:22 PM (l3cgK)

49 Evening all,

We have a launch in the morning.

Roscosmos - Soyuz 2.1b - Progress MS-35
LS 31/6 - Baikonur, KAZ - Space Affairs Live
Launch Date: September 16, 2026
Launch Time: 9:33 AM EDT (1333 UTC, 15:33 CEST)

https://youtu.be/7DitkTXRhMA
Posted by: Joyenz at September 15, 2026 10:16 PM (2F0/Y)

thanks! After all these decades, the space race, cold war, hot wars, it is still just us and them. No one wants to take a ride on a Chinese rocket, amirite? You might end up going 25k mph to Alpha Centauri!

Posted by: runner at September 15, 2026 10:23 PM (AKptf)

50 I need that fucknut Wesley Crusher to explain the warp speed thing to me.

It's like using your blinker and then not turning it off?

Or what?

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 15, 2026 10:23 PM (2Cry5)

51 Trump-appointed FBI Director Kash Patel echoed Trump's recent sentiments on Flock cameras and defended the FBI's access to and use of the cameras, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee he believes Flock license-plate cameras are not mass surveillance because they are in public places, so people should not expect privacy there.

__________________________

Gentlemen, you have had nearly 11 years to get to know your constituency. You've still got a ways to go. Do better.

Let me take a few moments to scare the hell out of everyone. Two knuckleheads from Harvard will do it for me. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio created a viral project called I-XRAY that pairs Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses with facial recognition and AI to identify people in real time. It gives home names, phone numbers, home addresses, and occupations within 90 seconds using LLM's and AI data scraping.

That's where these flock cameras will take us...and I do NOT want to go there.

Posted by: Orson at September 15, 2026 10:23 PM (dIske)

52
26 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?
Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM

-------

The truck sits there, with deep gravel around it.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at September 15, 2026 10:23 PM (VWtfl)

53
thanks! After all these decades, the space race, cold war, hot wars, it is still just us and them. No one wants to take a ride on a Chinese rocket, amirite? You might end up going 25k mph to Alpha Centauri!

Posted by: runner at September 15, 2026 10:23 PM (AKptf)

Slow Boat to China >>> Slow Chinese Rocket to Alpha Centauri

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:24 PM (l3cgK)

54 35 Also, you are on a public road and your license plate is displayed publicly all over the place. I don’t know Mr. Patel is wrong…but maybe an actual lawyer will chime in.

Posted by: Piper
---

It's not just a license plate.
It takes that plate and cross references it to all information attached to it and all information attached to that information.
Before it's done it has compiled a dossier.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:24 PM (vOxCS)

55 You actually read the content?
Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10

I do! And then say things that annoy you. 🤣
Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:16 PM (ZdaMQ)

Not annoying at all!

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10:25 PM (QMAsf)

56 I think they are using flock all over the place for (paid) parking garages now. You just ride in and that's it. No more little tickets and card readers.

Posted by: runner at September 15, 2026 10:25 PM (AKptf)

57 I live my entire life from 0-25 feet above sea level. No need for runaway truck ramps here.

Posted by: The Proud Flatlander at September 15, 2026 10:26 PM (Fn+3X)

58 Good evening morons e grazie Disco

You see little sister don’t miss when she aims her gun!

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 10:26 PM (RIvkX)

59 But have you ever actually seen anyone use one?

Yes, I have. Scary.

Posted by: GWB at September 15, 2026 10:26 PM (kU0PQ)

60 >>>>>>>>>I'd like to see the towing bill for the semi removal. It must be huge!
Posted by: LRob in OK
******* AAA doesn't cover it.

Posted by: Cosda at September 15, 2026 10:27 PM (/TnVC)

61 it is still just us and them

The interwebs list 12 nations with proven ability to put stuff in space from their own or closely related launch sites.

Posted by: LRob in OK at September 15, 2026 10:27 PM (Jr+re)

62 Mike Trout should have married a girl in my high school class, Fern Bass.

Posted by: Gadabout Gaddis at September 15, 2026 10:27 PM (Fn+3X)

63 How to Watch the Northern Lights from 12 States Tonight

DJ Doof - Lights Edition

B-Sides! With one obvious one.....

Delain - Turn The Lights Out
https://youtu.be/Qp50RcICoso

Djam Karet - Lights Over Roswell
https://youtu.be/dK7RKKxV_S0

Renaissance - Northern Lights
https://youtu.be/HKBJqHvQvjg

Posted by: mikeski at September 15, 2026 10:27 PM (VHUov)

64 50 I need that fucknut Wesley Crusher to explain the warp speed thing to me.

It's like using your blinker and then not turning it off?

Or what?

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 15, 2026 10:23 PM (2Cry5)

I believe it's a speed of light thing. If you could travel quite a bit faster than the speed of light, light reflected from where you started and where you ended could conceivably show up at the same time at a give point if you warped a bit closer to the target. The third image I'm not too sure of.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:28 PM (l3cgK)

65 __________________________

Gentlemen, you have had nearly 11 years to get to know your constituency. You've still got a ways to go. Do better.

Let me take a few moments to scare the hell out of everyone. Two knuckleheads from Harvard will do it for me. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio created a viral project called I-XRAY that pairs Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses with facial recognition and AI to identify people in real time. It gives home names, phone numbers, home addresses, and occupations within 90 seconds using LLM's and AI data scraping.

That's where these flock cameras will take us...and I do NOT want to go there.

Posted by: Orson
---

Mr. Patel, Trump & Co. take a very myopic view on these cameras
and the perverse future they portend. All the cops busted for
abuse is not even the tip.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:29 PM (vOxCS)

66 Here's a fun Flock Fact...

Over 80% of the searches done on any given municipalities Flock system are done from other cities.

With no reason given.

Which answers a question I've had for a while... that being can city A search city B's flock data even if they've got no apparent reason. The answer is.... yes.

This will only meet some legal challenges if and when our political betters are inconvenienced by a warrantless search of their comings and going.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 15, 2026 10:29 PM (2Cry5)

67 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?
Posted by: Oddbob

Well, first, the driver changes his shorts . . .
Posted by: a.moron

Then he prays that he's the only one with brake issues today.....

Posted by: mikeski at September 15, 2026 10:29 PM (VHUov)

68
Regarding the gravel layer on the runaway truck ramps -- how is it kept from freezing into a solid mass in winter? I never thought about that.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at September 15, 2026 10:29 PM (VWtfl)

69 62 Mike Trout should have married a girl in my high school class, Fern Bass.

Posted by: Gadabout Gaddis at September 15, 2026 10:27 PM (Fn+3X)

The Bass-Trout marriage...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:30 PM (l3cgK)

70 I saw Deep Gravel open for Deep Purple on the Lake Geneva Shoreline in 1970.

Posted by: Some Stupid w/Flare Gun at September 15, 2026 10:30 PM (Fn+3X)

71 Guess we will find out! I asked Grok: A January 2026 Eastern District of Virginia decision in Schmidt v. City of Norfolk granted summary judgment for the city, finding its 176-camera, 21-day Flock system did not capture enough of residents’ movements to trigger Carpenter; that ruling is on appeal in the Fourth Circuit.

Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:30 PM (ZdaMQ)

72 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?
Posted by: Oddbob

A clip from my favorite Little Rascals short:

"Ain't got no bakes!"
https://t.ly/wnYMt

Posted by: Tonypete at September 15, 2026 10:31 PM (JWBZd)

73 Before it's done it has compiled a dossier.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:24 PM (vOxCS)

Including all the other data it has on where that plate has appeared.

If a single cop were to gather this information by following you constantly he would need a warrant or he could be charged with/sued for harassment. (For a non-cop it would be stalking.)

Posted by: GWB at September 15, 2026 10:31 PM (kU0PQ)

74 Biggest issue in Truck is illegal illiterates.

Approximately 5,370 people were killed in truck accidents in 2022.

My so let us say 7 out of 10.

3500 per year since 2022 is about 14,000 people KILLED.

How many of that is illegals?

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:31 PM (/+uur)

75 Yeah, cars in the lefthand lane are usually doing 90 plus right there.
Posted by: Romeo13

====

It is physically impossible for a car in the left lane to go faster than 60mph

Posted by: Indiana at September 15, 2026 10:31 PM (4HoLg)

76 Hello, fellow folks. I would have been here sooner, but I completely forgot there might be an ONT tonight. Totally unexpected. Well, yay.

Posted by: mindful webworker - sure, sure at September 15, 2026 10:31 PM (NggcA)

77 Lots of content tonight, Doof. The CO video did not work for me, at the link. Perhaps Kash Patel is just ignorant of how pervasive, and invasive, the Flock cameras are. But he can be educated.

Clear night here, and already down to 43 degrees. I'll go out later and check on the aurora. Still bright twilight here now.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:32 PM (1z8ji)

78

50 I need that fucknut Wesley Crusher to explain the warp speed thing to me.

It's like using your blinker and then not turning it off?

Or what?
Posted by: Martini Farmer at September 15, 2026 10:23 PM

--------

It was invented by writers, not physicists.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at September 15, 2026 10:32 PM (VWtfl)

79 I need that fucknut Wesley Crusher to explain the warp speed thing to me.

It's like using your blinker and then not turning it off?

Or what?
Posted by: Martini Farmer

Would you accept an answer in limerick form?

There was a young lady named Bright
whose speed was faster than light
she set out one day
in her usual way
and returned on the previous night.

Posted by: mikeski at September 15, 2026 10:32 PM (VHUov)

80 I remember driving with my family to St. Louis for my Dad's funeral. The trucks drove terribly. As I was driving back through the mountains of New Mexico, trucks were heading downhill going 80MPH+, and I was almost hit a few times. F'n maniacs.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:32 PM (l3cgK)

81 Real pic of Crooks
Trump shooter

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xS8Bfktj7zSJpWic8
Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:06 PM (/+uur)

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:33 PM (1z8ji)

82 I-80 across Colorado, going over the hill, sucks badly, in bad winter weather forget it. I avoid it whenever practical, and interstates generally. I like driving, but I hate traffic.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 15, 2026 10:33 PM (hefYs)

83 Sorry I'm late, I didn't realize the turntable was set to 33 instead of 45.

Posted by: tankdemon at September 15, 2026 10:33 PM (ToMNR)

84 Actually, warp speed is faster-than-light travel.

Posted by: Wesley Crusher at September 15, 2026 10:33 PM (RIvkX)

85 Freewheelin' (1933) is a wonderful Rascals episode.

Posted by: Stymie's A Hero at September 15, 2026 10:34 PM (Fn+3X)

86 83 Sorry I'm late, I didn't realize the turntable was set to 33 instead of 45.

Posted by: tankdemon at September 15, 2026 10:33 PM (ToMNR)

Wut, no 78?

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at September 15, 2026 10:34 PM (l3cgK)

87 You know nothing of my work.

Posted by: Zefram Cochrane at September 15, 2026 10:36 PM (RIvkX)

88 So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?
Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (vTZFs)

It settles into several feet of soft gravel.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:36 PM (1z8ji)

89 If a single cop were to gather this information by following you constantly he would need a warrant or he could be charged with/sued for harassment. (For a non-cop it would be stalking.)

Posted by: GWB
--

Technically true.
Now, tell me about the real world.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 10:36 PM (vOxCS)

90 Believe it or not - there is one (1) Runaway Truck Ramp in the state of Iowa, in the extreme NE part of the state, geologically part of the “driftless area” or remnants where the glaciers didn’t smooth everything out. Nice road if you want to break-in new brake linings.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 15, 2026 10:37 PM (hefYs)

91 Sorry if I post stuff that seems wrong to me here.

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:38 PM (/+uur)

92 >>>> So what happens when the truck stops on the runaway ramp given that it has no brakes?
Posted by: Oddbob at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (vTZFs)

It settles into several feet of soft gravel.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
****
Unless it's carrying 30,000 pounds of bananas.

Posted by: Cosda at September 15, 2026 10:39 PM (/TnVC)

93 If you go faster than light
you dont need blinkers

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:39 PM (/+uur)

94 Posted by: Not Enough Lampposts at September 15, 2026 10:15 PM (o/vJD)

Cool sock.

Posted by: Jack the Ripper did nothing wrong at September 15, 2026 10:40 PM (88C+u)

95 Lots of content tonight, Doof. The CO video did not work for me, at the link....

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:32 PM (1z8ji)

Looks like an embedded video from Facebook. Maybe your settings have that blocked somehow.

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10:41 PM (QMAsf)

96 Allison Kraus version of Good Time Charlie to smooth

needs to be rough

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:41 PM (/+uur)

97 Unless it's carrying 30,000 pounds of bananas.
Posted by: Cosda at September 15, 2026 10:39 PM (/TnVC)

or parakeets

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:42 PM (/+uur)

98 , or even an Elric.
Posted by: Piper

Thank you Lord!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at September 15, 2026 10:42 PM (NnhvP)

99 Looks like an embedded video from Facebook. Maybe your settings have that blocked somehow.
Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10:41 PM (QMAsf)

Could be. Fecesbook is evil, anyway.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:42 PM (1z8ji)

100 Open Source Intel
@Osint613
BREAKING: NBC Los Angeles helicopter crashes while covering Metro bus crash in Chatsworth, California.
Video: https://x.com/Osint613/status/2100048524578595271
7:25 PM · Sep 15, 2026

Posted by: BetaCuck4Lyfe at September 15, 2026 10:44 PM (iVhsR)

101 If you're in a spaceship that is traveling at the speed of light, and you turn on the headlights, does anything happen?

Posted by: Steven Wright at September 15, 2026 10:45 PM (AqMkH)

102 Sorry if I disappoint.

I don’t care about flock cameras. There is no assumption of privacy once I leave my apartment. My cellphone tracks me. My computer log in tracks every keystroke. I’m tracked by the toll cameras on my roads. I’m really not very interesting.

I’d rather illegals were tracked and deported, along with repeat felons, then petty criminals. I want cars impounded.

Sorry.

Posted by: nurse ratched at September 15, 2026 10:45 PM (yEz+x)

103 going downhill (to the sun)
maybe you could hit 500k/hr

186k/miles per second is not just the law
Its a good idea

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:46 PM (/+uur)

104 If you go faster than light
you dont need blinkers
Posted by: r hennigantx

So then, similar to BMWs?

Posted by: Tonypete at September 15, 2026 10:46 PM (JWBZd)

105 As I have often said - plotting your demise. It's what they do!
Posted by: LRob in OK at September

He is such a sweet boy, he would never!

Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:47 PM (ZdaMQ)

106 helo crashes at a bus crash

I bet helo deaths per mile are 25x bus crashes

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:48 PM (/+uur)

107 I'm with you on this, nurse. My only possible complaint would be if the flock data were the primary source for a ticket/crime arrest. I have the same concern about traffic cameras in many places.

Posted by: LRob in OK at September 15, 2026 10:48 PM (Jr+re)

108 BREAKING: NBC Los Angeles helicopter crashes while covering Metro bus crash in Chatsworth, California.
Video: https://x.com/Osint613/status/2100048524578595271
7:25 PM · Sep 15, 2026
Posted by: BetaCuck4Lyfe at September 15, 2026 10:44 PM (iVhsR)

1. Buses don't crash; they "plunge".
2. I guess Nora O'Donnell wasn't on the chopper?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:49 PM (1z8ji)

109 Biggest issue in Truck is illegal illiterates.

OTR driving is essentially slave labor given the whole trucking industry. If you are cool with living in a 7x7 box for 23 hours of the day, every day, and get rewarded with a net of $3-$5 per hour, and have massive debt due to the tractor lease/payments and maintenance, and insurance. Then sure. Recruiters have to hunt around homeless encampments, finding veterans with low skills, construction workers between jobs, etc. So the field is populated with low-lifes who are in financial bondage to the trucking school.

I can't think of a solution. You either get cartels and Teamsters holding the economy hostage for high wages (pre-Carter's deregulation in 1980) or get the foreigners who are cool with a pittance in pay.

Posted by: Community Notes at September 15, 2026 10:49 PM (a4flb)

110 Posted by: nurse ratched at September 15, 2026 10:45 PM (yEz+x)
=====

Kind of where I am with it too.

Posted by: Zefram Cochrane at September 15, 2026 10:50 PM (RIvkX)

111 Here is one for mul

Polar bear trap

Cut hole in ice
Line hole with Birdseye frozen peas
When the bear comes to take a pee
Kick him in the ice hole

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:51 PM (/+uur)

112 It settles into several feet of soft gravel.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
****
Unless it's carrying 30,000 pounds of bananas.
Posted by: Cosda at September 15, 2026 10:39 PM (/TnVC)

Fine. I'll do it...

https://youtu.be/OGldNpngDws

Posted by: Joe Kidd at September 15, 2026 10:51 PM (nbLIj)

113 Carpenter specifically said it doesn’t disturb security cameras. I don’t know, this fourth circuit thing might be more fun than originally thought.

Meanwhile, I have cameras all over the place in my studio. From the time you walk in the door onward, and I can pull that up on my phone, computer or iPad. One camera sees into the parking lot, too.so beware if you visit me! You are on camera!

Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:52 PM (ZdaMQ)

114 The OK highway patrol used to monitor traffic from small aircraft timing cars (any car they wished) between painted marks on the road. If they detected a speeding violation, the pilot/trooper had to land the plane, get to wherever another trooper had pulled you over and write the ticket as the "observing" official. They seemed to have stopped several years ago, probably due to the costs. So if some officer looks at flock info, discovers a crime, does he/she come to visit and arrest you?

Posted by: LRob in OK at September 15, 2026 10:52 PM (Jr+re)

115 Doof, thanks for the gun toting baby poster. I can always use a laugh.

Posted by: nerdygirl at September 15, 2026 10:53 PM (0Htd1)

116 /genius sock off

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 10:53 PM (RIvkX)

117 I can't think of a solution. You either get cartels and Teamsters holding the economy hostage for high wages (pre-Carter's deregulation in 1980) or get the foreigners who are cool with a pittance in pay.
Posted by: Community Notes at September 15, 2026 10:49 PM (a4flb)

If you actually drive the highways, which I do, a lot, you will notice "help wanted" ads on the backs of many trailers. Some companies hire drivers for company-owned rigs; others hire owner-operators, and some do both. There are some good companies, and some mediocre ones, and some scummy fly-by-night ones, too.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:54 PM (1z8ji)

118 Talley me banana!

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 10:54 PM (RIvkX)

119 I don’t care about flock cameras. There is no assumption of privacy once I leave my apartment. My cellphone tracks me. My computer log in tracks every keystroke. I’m tracked by the toll cameras on my roads. I’m really not very interesting.
Posted by: nurse ratched

The privacy cat has been out of the bag for decades. Insurance record clearing houses, bank transactions, phone calls, etc. along with what you mentioned above nurse have long eroded any privacy we thought we had.

It's sad really.

Posted by: Tonypete at September 15, 2026 10:54 PM (JWBZd)

120 If you actually drive the highways, which I do, a lot, you will notice "help wanted" ads on the backs of many trailers. Some companies hire drivers for company-owned rigs; others hire owner-operators, and some do both. There are some good companies, and some mediocre ones, and some scummy fly-by-night ones, too.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:54 PM (1z8ji)
======

Avenge me!

Posted by: Yellow Trucking at September 15, 2026 10:55 PM (RIvkX)

121 Also, isn’t it a bit hypocritical to be worried about Flock when right here it’s against the rules to turn ShowerCam off?

Bed time y’all. 🤣 Nightsie noodles.

Posted by: Piper at September 15, 2026 10:55 PM (ZdaMQ)

122 Bet the little kid felt funny in his pants after that hug.

Posted by: wth at September 15, 2026 10:56 PM (oq9dX)

123 68
Regarding the gravel layer on the runaway truck ramps -- how is it kept from freezing into a solid mass in winter? I never thought about that.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at September 15, 2026 10:29 PM (VWtfl)

Probably designed to drain well, so there's no standing water. Whatever moisture is present that might freeze and bind the gravel together doesn't form enough ice to be strong enough to resist a forty ton truck traveling 90 miles per hour.

Posted by: a.moron at September 15, 2026 10:56 PM (X5Jzz)

124 I want to do another business.
I am 66.
I have built a few people a quote system for contractors based on an OTS system.
Do I have 1 more business in me to go set up a model to take their old excel or paper sys and make it a real system?

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:56 PM (/+uur)

125 Avenge me!
Posted by: Yellow Trucking at September 15, 2026 10:55 PM (RIvkX)

No yellow!

Posted by: Hunter Biden at September 15, 2026 10:57 PM (1z8ji)

126 I'm with you on this, nurse. My only possible complaint would be if the flock data were the primary source for a ticket/crime arrest. I have the same concern about traffic cameras in many places.
Posted by: LRob in OK at September 15, 2026 10:48 PM (Jr+re)

That's already happening.

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 10:58 PM (QMAsf)

127 Doof: If you are still here, thank you! I have always wanted to see a truck on those runaway truck ramps. Having spent multiple long family drives between Maryland and Ohio and Maryland and Maine over 20 plus years, I would see the ramps and think there must be a video somewhere! :-)

Posted by: Iris at September 15, 2026 10:58 PM (286+n)

128 81 Real pic of Crooks
Trump shooter

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xS8Bfktj7zSJpWic8
Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:06 PM (/+uur)

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at September 15, 2026 10:33 PM (1z8ji)

The Special Ed teachers call them "FLKs". Funny Looking Kids.

Posted by: a.moron at September 15, 2026 10:58 PM (X5Jzz)

129 thanks! After all these decades, the space race, cold war, hot wars, it is still just us and them. No one wants to take a ride on a Chinese rocket, amirite? You might end up going 25k mph to Alpha Centauri!
Posted by: runner at September 15, 2026 10:23 PM (AKptf)

More likely you'll end up in the middle of a big kaboom. Perhaps one that Marvin the Martian would appreciate.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at September 15, 2026 10:58 PM (qx7Zg)

130 Doof, thanks for the gun toting baby poster. I can always use a laugh.
Posted by: nerdygirl at September 15, 2026 10:53 PM (0Htd1)

At least the knife isn't printing.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at September 15, 2026 11:00 PM (qx7Zg)

131 Colorado has launched an automated speed camera program on a stretch of I-25, where cameras calculate average speed versus a single instant reading.
The cameras make radar detectors and alerts from apps such as Waze obsolete, but they've greatly reduced excessive speeds in high-risk areas like work zones.
Violators face a $75 fine mailed to their registered address, with no points added to their license; vehicles without license plates can evade fines.

Colorado's New Speed Cameras Can't Be Outsmarted
https://t.co/c5eEnlAqoa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lUrpK9hCDo

Posted by: BetaCuck4Lyfe at September 15, 2026 11:00 PM (iVhsR)

132 119 I don’t care about flock cameras. There is no assumption of privacy once I leave my apartment. My cellphone tracks me. My computer log in tracks every keystroke. I’m tracked by the toll cameras on my roads. I’m really not very interesting.
Posted by: nurse ratched

The privacy cat has been out of the bag for decades. Insurance record clearing houses, bank transactions, phone calls, etc. along with what you mentioned above nurse have long eroded any privacy we thought we had.

It's sad really.
Posted by: Tonypete at September 15, 2026 10:54 PM (JWBZd)

Suddenly I care when the people who get the data can 1) deprive me of my liberty or 2) kill me. Whether or not I have anything to hide is beside the point. Besides, both TX and the Feds have done the equivalent of anal rectal exams on me in order for me to have two of the cards in my pocket. I am known to TX DPS, the local SO, and the Feds.

Still beside the point.

Posted by: Cow Demon at September 15, 2026 11:00 PM (x8AGr)

133 The Special Ed teachers call them "FLKs". Funny Looking Kids.

Posted by: a.moron at September 15, 2026 10:58 PM (X5Jzz)

my point was the pic they use is wrong

it was from 7 years ago

Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 11:00 PM (/+uur)

134 I'm not okay with Flock. It is a de facto warrantless search. God knows who all has access to the data, since it's an unholy public/private partnership. If you're not okay with a single person following you around with a video camera every minute you're out "in public", then you shouldn't be okay with Flock. Oh well, my your chains rest lightly....

Posted by: Matthew Kant Cipher at September 15, 2026 11:01 PM (B31te)

135 may

Posted by: Matthew Kant Cipher at September 15, 2026 11:01 PM (B31te)

136 Saudi Arabia and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have condemned what they described as a “heinous” Houthi attack targeting Mecca.
--
The Saudi- spokesperson, Turki al-Maliki, said Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces intercepted the hostile drone before it entered the restricted airspace [you know that's lie, they can't fly their planes for sh*t]
---
The Houthis have previously denied targeting Mecca, saying that they do not target holy sites.
---
[Houthis have previouly said that if Saudis would lift the siege and embargo they would stop fighting] **don't know enough about the original conflict to say**

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 11:01 PM (vOxCS)

137 131 Colorado has launched an automated speed camera program on a stretch of I-25, where cameras calculate average speed versus a single instant reading.
The cameras make radar detectors and alerts from apps such as Waze obsolete, but they've greatly reduced excessive speeds in high-risk areas like work zones.
Violators face a $75 fine mailed to their registered address, with no points added to their license; vehicles without license plates can evade fines.

Colorado's New Speed Cameras Can't Be Outsmarted
https://t.co/c5eEnlAqoa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lUrpK9hCDo
Posted by: BetaCuck4Lyfe at September 15, 2026 11:00 PM (iVhsR)

CO has quite the budget shortfall apparently.

Posted by: Cow Demon at September 15, 2026 11:01 PM (x8AGr)

138 I think Kash Patel gets to follow the law, and not make the law. Making the law is traditionally the legislature's job. The best the FBI can do, legally, is follow the direction of the Dept of Justice' interpretation of the law.

Posted by: Kindltot at September 15, 2026 11:01 PM (rbvCR)

139 The Special Ed teachers call them "FLKs". Funny Looking Kids.

Posted by: a.moron

The Lovely Mrs. claims that very term was written on IEPs when she first started teaching Special Ed kids during the Dark Ages.

Posted by: Tonypete at September 15, 2026 11:03 PM (JWBZd)

140 This mean something to you, Trekkies?
.......

Not as exciting as Uhura's chair.

Posted by: wth at September 15, 2026 11:04 PM (oq9dX)

141 The privacy cat has been out of the bag for decades. Insurance record clearing houses, bank transactions, phone calls, etc. along with what you mentioned above nurse have long eroded any privacy we thought we had.

It's sad really.
Posted by: Tonypete at September 15, 2026 10:54 PM (JWBZd)

You're not wrong. It just feels extra wrong with how these types of cameras flooded the country and are directly tied to government and law enforcement. There always has to be a tipping point for people to finally push back on things. This feels like exactly that to me. Those who don't share my opinion, so be it. We can disagree and still be friends!

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 11:04 PM (QMAsf)

142 90 Believe it or not - there is one (1) Runaway Truck Ramp in the state of Iowa, in the extreme NE part of the state, geologically part of the “driftless area” or remnants where the glaciers didn’t smooth everything out. Nice road if you want to break-in new brake linings.
Posted by: Common Tater at September 15, 2026 10:37 PM (hefYs)

-------

Was in Allamakee County a few years ago - that's where my great-great-grandfather homesteaded after coming from Ireland and working his way west on the railroad. It really is amazingly different from the rest of the state- looks more like Pennsylvania in the hilly parts.

Posted by: Matthew Kant Cipher at September 15, 2026 11:04 PM (B31te)

143 If I could press a button and make all the Flock cameras disappear, I would.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 11:05 PM (RIvkX)

144 138 I think Kash Patel gets to follow the law, and not make the law. Making the law is traditionally the legislature's job. The best the FBI can do, legally, is follow the direction of the Dept of Justice' interpretation of the law.
Posted by: Kindltot at September 15, 2026 11:01 PM (rbvCR)

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Mr, Patel took an oath requiring him to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He may want to reread it sometime.

Posted by: Cow Demon at September 15, 2026 11:06 PM (x8AGr)

145 On one hand, I understand like Nurse that I can't really expect privacy, but I fear a Dem Administration using Flock to target the normal people (parents, Christians) that are their targets.

Posted by: Iris at September 15, 2026 11:06 PM (286+n)

146 Doof: If you are still here, thank you! I have always wanted to see a truck on those runaway truck ramps. Having spent multiple long family drives between Maryland and Ohio and Maryland and Maine over 20 plus years, I would see the ramps and think there must be a video somewhere! :-)
Posted by: Iris at September 15, 2026 10:58 PM (286+n)

YW! I first saw one of those ramps in West Virginia many years ago. Obviously created out of necessity. I can't imagine what it would be like to need one and it not be there.

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 11:07 PM (QMAsf)

147 PSA - SCROLL DOWN FOR THE VIDEO

stupid #(*(+%*#* article has a *picture* up top, then an itty bitty window with the actual vid further along...

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at September 15, 2026 11:07 PM (+fdRY)

148 The privacy cat has been out of the bag for decades. Insurance record clearing houses, bank transactions, phone calls, etc. along with what you mentioned above nurse have long eroded any privacy we thought we had.

It's sad really.
Posted by: Tonypete at September 15, 2026 10:54 PM (JWBZd)

Suddenly I care when the people who get the data can 1) deprive me of my liberty or 2) kill me. Whether or not I have anything to hide is beside the point. Besides, both TX and the Feds have done the equivalent of anal rectal exams on me in order for me to have two of the cards in my pocket. I am known to TX DPS, the local SO, and the Feds.

Still beside the point.

Posted by: Cow Demon
---

Privacy has been out of the bag - more or less - New technology enables previously random privacy invasions to be collated and cross referenced. That's a brand new Rubicon.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 11:07 PM (vOxCS)

149 143 If I could press a button and make all the Flock cameras disappear, I would.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 11:05 PM (RIvkX)

---------

Or pull a trigger.....

Posted by: Matthew Kant Cipher at September 15, 2026 11:07 PM (B31te)

150 If I could press a button and make all the Flock cameras disappear, I would.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 11:05 PM (RIvkX

There is one about half a mile from my house. I flip it off every time I drive past.

Posted by: Diogenes at September 15, 2026 11:08 PM (2WIwB)

151 You're not wrong. It just feels extra wrong with how these types of cameras flooded the country and are directly tied to government and law enforcement. There always has to be a tipping point for people to finally push back on things. This feels like exactly that to me. Those who don't share my opinion, so be it. We can disagree and still be friends!
Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 11:04 PM (QMAsf)

The insurer, the bank, the credit reporting agency, et al, cannot deprive me of my liberty or kill me. The police CAN. That is the difference.

Posted by: Cow Demon at September 15, 2026 11:09 PM (x8AGr)

152 Do you guys also object to law enforcement using private surveillance cameras ?

Posted by: polynikes at September 15, 2026 11:10 PM (KC5Lt)

153 If I could press a button and make all the Flock cameras disappear, I would.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 11:05 PM (RIvkX)

I'd rather have every one of those cameras sending a recording of my colonoscopy on repeat, with no way to stop it. The lawsuits from cities and such would be interesting.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at September 15, 2026 11:10 PM (qx7Zg)

154 If I could press a button and make all the Flock cameras disappear, I would.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 11:05 PM (RIvkX)

---------

Or pull a trigger.....
Posted by: Matthew Kant Cipher at September 15, 2026 11:07 PM (B31te)

Been thinking the same thing about the ones in my neck of the woods. Only 3 that I'm aware of.

Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 11:10 PM (QMAsf)

155 Oh well, may your chains rest lightly....
Posted by: Matthew Kant Cipher

They are only chains if I allow them to be. I simply don’t care. Fine. Track me. But you sure af better be tracking the bad guys a helluva lot more. Arrest those motherfuckers and get them tf out of my country.

I have no privacy. That was taken away a long time ago. Even on a mountaintop, I am known. On a boat. In the woods. Everywhere I go. May as well put a chip in my brain so you can find me when I get Alzheimer’s and wander off. There is no expectation of privacy. It’s gone. Just like a pay phone.

Posted by: nurse ratched at September 15, 2026 11:11 PM (yEz+x)

156 Made note of the positioning of Flocking cameras in town.
They are positioned in such a way that makes it impossible
to interact with one camera without being viewed by another.

They thought about this.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 11:11 PM (vOxCS)

157 Made note of the positioning of Flocking cameras in town.
They are positioned in such a way that makes it impossible
to interact with one camera without being viewed by another.

They thought about this.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 11:11 PM (vOxCS)

The installers call the cops if you video them doing the install.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at September 15, 2026 11:12 PM (qx7Zg)

158
YW! I first saw one of those ramps in West Virginia many years ago. Obviously created out of necessity. I can't imagine what it would be like to need one and it not be there.
Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 11:07 PM (QMAsf)

The signs in CO at least reflect a sense of humor. For example, just west of Denver, eastbound on I-70: TRUCKERS YOU ARE NOT DOWN YET

Good on the CO State Patrol for showing how these things work and what the rest of us can do if we find ourselves dealing with a runaway truck. They didn’t teach us that in driver’s ed.

Posted by: Cow Demon at September 15, 2026 11:12 PM (x8AGr)

159 YW! I first saw one of those ramps in West Virginia many years ago. Obviously created out of necessity. I can't imagine what it would be like to need one and it not be there.
Posted by: Doof at September 15, 2026 11:07 PM (QMAsf)

British Columbia has a lot of them. A few in Alberta. None in Saskatchewan, AFAIK.

Posted by: Hunter Biden at September 15, 2026 11:12 PM (1z8ji)

160 Also, the argument that privacy has been out of the bag strikes me as akin to the British shrugging off the imported rape-cult invaders and saying "oh well, guess we're a caliphate now - might as well get used to Sharia".

Posted by: Matthew Kant Cipher at September 15, 2026 11:12 PM (B31te)

161 here is no expectation of privacy. It’s gone. Just like a pay phone.

Posted by: nurse ratched
--

Still pissed off about that covid shot episode, eh?

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at September 15, 2026 11:12 PM (vOxCS)

162 There is one about half a mile from my house. I flip it off every time I drive past.
Posted by: Diogenes

Don't think we haven't recorded that each time you did.

Posted by: Flock Camera #61 at September 15, 2026 11:12 PM (Fn+3X)

163 Do I have 1 more business in me to go set up a model to take their old excel or paper sys and make it a real system?
Posted by: r hennigantx at September 15, 2026 10:56 PM (/+uur)

Doing it for fun? Sure. Doing it for other reasons, or will a failure negatively affect your customers? I guess I would want to know if you are bringing someone else on with you to carry on if you falter.

Posted by: Kindltot at September 15, 2026 11:13 PM (rbvCR)

164 The OK highway patrol used to monitor traffic from small aircraft…
Posted by: LRob in OK

Haven't seen one of these signs in a long time:
https://bit.ly/4hthtia

Always thought it was a little funny. The aircraft don't really enforce the speed limit. At least, not in those pre-smart car days; maybe soon.

Posted by: mindful webworker - where are the flying cars?!? at September 15, 2026 11:14 PM (NggcA)

165
They are only chains if I allow them to be. I simply don’t care. Fine. Track me. But you sure af better be tracking the bad guys a helluva lot more. Arrest those motherfuckers and get them tf out of my country.

I have no privacy. That was taken away a long time ago. Even on a mountaintop, I am known. On a boat. In the woods. Everywhere I go. May as well put a chip in my brain so you can find me when I get Alzheimer’s and wander off. There is no expectation of privacy. It’s gone. Just like a pay phone.
Posted by: nurse ratched at September 15, 2026 11:11 PM (yEz+

The only people the cops should remotely care about are the bad guys. If I am not breaking the law - and I am required to walk a very fine line - they can fuck off and deal with real problems.

Everything you said is beside the point.

Posted by: Cow Demon at September 15, 2026 11:16 PM (x8AGr)

166 There are many things I am far more pissed off about than flock cameras.

#1 is the wasting of my hard earned money supporting assholes who are here illegally.

Posted by: nurse ratched at September 15, 2026 11:17 PM (yEz+x)

167 Hey the boss got a big callout over at Insty.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 15, 2026 11:18 PM (RIvkX)

168 Hi folks. Thanks for the ONT Doof. (I think? No COB credit in the title.)

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at September 15, 2026 11:19 PM (CHHv1)

169
114 The OK highway patrol used to monitor traffic from small aircraft timing cars (any car they wished) between painted marks on the road. If they detected a speeding violation, the pilot/trooper had to land the plane, get to wherever another trooper had pulled you over and write the ticket as the "observing" official. They seemed to have stopped several years ago, probably due to the costs. So if some officer looks at flock info, discovers a crime, does he/she come to visit and arrest you?
Posted by: LRob in OK at September 15, 2026 10:52 PM

--------

I never heard of the plane having to land. In Maryland, in 1992, it was certainly not so. State trooper waves you over, you get a ticket, no pilot.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at September 15, 2026 11:19 PM (VWtfl)

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