Flytrap Cyborgs, Telegram, and Home Snoopers

Venus Flytrap Cyborgs

Gizmodo Article
A team of researchers from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University learned it was possible to cause venus flytraps to close by applying a small current. Currently it works for up to a day after the leaves are separated from the plant. Gizmodo's article says that the technology can be used for picking up objects that require a soft touch. It's an interesting idea, and I hope they are able to start putting this kind of stuff into production.

J-L Else on Telegram

JLElse's blog Jan-Ariel's words on telegram here are nearly exactly what my feelings on Telegram are. I'd like to expand on a few points. 1. Telegram does use a custom crypto algorithm. It hasn't been broken as far as I've heard, but it is still a very poor choice. That said, the rest of the crypto in the app is perfectly appropriate as far as I've looked. 2. Signal is - quite frankly - rather terrible for user experience. Both on desktop and on mobile, Telegram is far more comfortable to use as opposed to the slow and clunky Signal versions. If security was the first-and-foremost concern, we'd all be using PGP-encrypted emails. I highly recommend reading JLE's post on the subject, as I'm writing this later in the eventing and am not thinking on all cylinders.

ADT Employee

Gizmodo Article (I promise I read more than Gizmodo) An ADT worker admitted to adding himself to customer accounts so he could view lady customers doing what anyone should expect to be able to do in their homes without being watched: being naked and having sex. Oddly enough, ADT's stock prices seem to have increased after the breach.
Not to blame the victims here - as they should have full expectations that this kind of things wouldn't happen - but this is one of the reasons why I'm not comfortable with the idea of indoor security cameras for homes. I've been looking around for something that I can feel safe installing in our home (which excludes things like Amazon's Ring), but sadly nothing has felt worth it. If you have any experience with security cameras and the like, please shoot me an email (found on the contact page).