Wfell, folks, it finally happened—TikTok is offline, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. TikTok was a platform that brought us cringe-inducing dances, questionable life hacks, and the soul-sucking horror of vertical videos. Seriously, who decided that filming through a keyhole was the way to go? I get it, everyone’s glued to their phones, but have we forgotten that screens can turn sideways? It’s not hard, people. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the drama behind TikTok’s shutdown. The official story is that we were worried about the Chinese government using it to spy on us. Because apparently, seeing Becky from Iowa lip-sync to Taylor Swift is a matter of national security. But really, why would the Chinese bother with TikTok when they could probably just hit up Hunter Biden for a discount on classified intel? The guy’s got a laptop full of goodies, after all. Throw in Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, and you’ve got a discount espionage dream team. Who needs...

Dragonfly Drone  Los Angeles, CA —Let me be the first to say that I find the increasing militarization and spying by police repugnant.  Government at every level is out-of-control. Today there is a demonstration in progress at City Hall protesting the use of two small multi-rotor drones in possession of the LAPD .  This group is uninformed and unfamiliar with the limitations of these devices also called unmanned aerial vehicles.  I suspect these demonstrators are confusing these drones with the much larger, multi-million dollar weaponized drones used by or military in combat zones. However there are substantial benefits of our first responders using multi-rotor drones to deal with instances such as common disasters, searches for lost people and potentially dangerous animals on the loose in neighborhoods.  The diminutive drones can more safely enter tighter spaces than any helicopter. As a camera drone pilot, former cop and licensed private inve...

Phantom 2 Quadcopter Los Angeles, CA —There is a bit of a debate going on involving one of technology’s newer gifts.  The somewhat inexpensive, Unmanned Aircraft System ( UAS ) drones are here.  Are they really a threat to your privacy?  I have the answer for you. As most of my readers know, I’m a licensed private investigator.  I now have my own Air Force consisting of two consumer type camera-armed drones!  Can these gee wiz gizmos help me learn more about the people I’m investigating?  The answer is, not really. First of all the devices are limited significantly by their power sources.  They are battery operated.  The longest they can stay in the air currently is under 25 minutes.  They may be quiet but are visible especially at night because of their running lights.  The lights must stay on or the pilot can’t see or control it.   For surveillance they are worthless because of the short flight time.  Tr...