hrbrmstr's Daily Drop

  • Bonus Drop #103 (2025-11-15): Fingerprints, Fabrications, And Foolproof Family Support

    The Weekend Bonus Drop discusses a variety of security and privacy topics, notably a new ja4-mcp server for JA4 fingerprint analysis, critiquing AI’s role in cyber espionage operations, and presenting Tailscale’s effective use of Raspberry Pi for remote family network access.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #731 (2025-11-13): That’s So Random

    Today’s Drop digs into Homebrew’s big 5.0 release, Chaser System’s research into just what these coding agents do on/from your system, and ends with a way to get rid of some “AI” frustration.

    hrbrmstr

  • Bonus Drop #102 (2025-11-09): It Always Feels Like Someone Is Watching Me

    The (depressing) Weekend Bonus Drop discusses modern surveillance practices, highlighting a new tool that removes tracking links from Google Docs exports and showcases the Surveillance Watch map, which reveals the surveillance industry’s global scope. It also critiques how gaming companies collect player data under the guise of achievements, normalizing surveillance in entertainment.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #728 (2025-11-06): Fincky, Functional, Friday

    Today’s Drop looks at three tools: a local, browser-based detective map for free-form note-taking; a vintage, command-line reminder system that prioritizes privacy; and a guide on How to Obsessively Tune WezTerm.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #703 (2025-09-02): Typography Tuesday

    Today’s Drop discusses some spiffy syntax highlighting hacks using OpenType features, shows how to de-Google your fonts, and intros the unexpected journey of “@” into our everyday lives.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #693 (2025-08-11): Long-form Monday

    Today’s Drop features Jimmy Hartzell’s critique of LLMs as unreliable assistants needing human oversight, Ian Ireland’s explanation of SpiderMonkey’s innovative four-tier execution model enhancing JavaScript performance, and concerns about Flock’s AI surveillance system flagging individuals based on travel patterns, raising issues of transparency, bias, and surveillance.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #688 (2025-08-04): Keep It [Conveniently] Seekrit [Enough]

    Today’s single-topic Drop looks at the integration of Tailscale with Mullvad VPN. The combined service provides a seamless blend of mesh networking and privacy. It enables folks to utilize Mullvad’s VPN exit nodes while maintaining encryption through WireGuard. Although Tailscale manages identity mapping for operational purposes, it offers conditional anonymity by ensuring that Mullvad does…

    hrbrmstr

  • Bonus Drop #89 (2025-06-28): Shop^wInfer Local

    The Weekend Bonus Drop highlights 2 projects using local inference models for generating alt text and enhancing OCR, encouraging experimentation with these tools as a safeguard against the impending instability of mainstream AI services.

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  • Drop #663 (2025-06-11): Wednesday Morning Grab Bag

    The midweek Drop covers MarkText, a FOSS Markdown editor with real-time preview and advanced features; fingerprinting w/WASM, highlighting its precision + privacy implications; & Cerberus, a Caddy plugin that implements SHA-256 challenges to combat automated AI bot abuse, prioritizing service protection over user convenience.

    hrbrmstr

  • Drop #659 (2025-06-03): Typography Tuesday

    Today’s typography-centric edition of the Drop again discusses the risks posed by modern printer surveillance, which can trace printed materials back to their sources, highlighting the importance of returning to analog methods like letterpress printing for security. It also features two free fonts: Comic Shanns Mono and Empty Marker, suitable for coding and creative uses,…

    hrbrmstr