Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Current Events

What The Flock?

Two of Wickenburg’s Six Motorola ALPR Surveillance Cameras (Image Courtesy Damsel)

Lately, there have been a flurry of news articles, social media posts and You-Tube posts regarding “Flock Cameras.” The issue with most outlets is whether or not these Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) violate the 4th Amendment to the Constitution Right to no unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause.

I did a little research with GROK and found that there are three places here in town with Motorola ALPR cameras monitoring traffic in both directions. See the installation in the (clickable) image above for one of the locations. Two of the three locations monitor traffic along the main drag, Wickenburg Way ((Route 60). The third location monitors traffic on the southside of the main drag along Vulture Mine Road which runs north and south. According to Deflocktheusa.com”

Three ALPRs are in Wickenburg as of mid-to-late October 2026:

  • East Wickenburg Way — 1 reader
  • West Wickenburg Way — 1 reader
  • Smoketree Street — 1 reader

These are tagged as Motorola Solutions (Vigilant LPR cameras) devices under the Wickenburg Police Department. The first was reported in December 2025 and the most recent in July 2026. No Flock Safety cameras appear in the Wickenburg-specific reporting.

Note that each “1 reader” consists of two cameras.

Both the Motorola and Flock devices communicate records to a database that show the license plate number, the make and model of the vehicles and several other attributes. They do this day or night thanks to their built in IR illuminators.

So, is this a case of Big Brother watching us, or is it just a good thing that law enforcement uses to catch wrong doers? We take no position either way.

However, there have been multiple cases of abuse by some with access to the database.

There have been dozens of documented cases of police officers misusing Flock Safety and other ALPR systems to track current or former romantic partners, exes, and people connected to them. A Washington Post investigation found at least 50 such incidents nationwide; other tallies (Institute for Justice, 404 Media) put the number in a similar range, with many involving Flock specifically.

I guess that we will wait and see what happens with some of the court cases and some of the vandalism destroying, disabling or taking the cameras down. Meanwhile, drive safely.

28 Oct 2026 by Current Events Notions Technobabble 0

Rachel Remnants Rainstorm

As of about 10:30 Arizona time (UTC-7), Tropical Depression Rachel remnants are parked northwest of us, near Las Vegas, NV. Rachel crossed the Baja peninsula as a tropical storm but quickly diminished to a depression as it moved north-northeastward to it’s present position.

We have been getting rain on and off since yesterday afternoon with some heavy showers. I took this (clickable) photo from our front door at about 10:48 AM during some of the moderate rainfall.

It has also been quite windy with perceived gusts of up to 35mph or so. So far, the worst has just been mild flooding which quickly runs off into the Casandro wash just south of our location. I expect that the catch basin behind Casandro Dam is getting quite a bit of runoff from the wash west and southwest of us.

Thus far, we are high and dry inside our little home in the desert. We don’t expect any of the really heavy stuff which, according to the radar map, is west and northwest of us along the Colorado River basin.

Yet He [God] has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.
— Acts 14:17 (NIV)

UPDATE 12 OCT 2026: Here’s Lower Casandro Wash with water flowing. Normally this is a dry wash. What is happening is there is water behind Casandro Dam and it is being let out slowly to flow toward the underground drain in another half mile. Eventually, the water will empty into the Hassayampa River which is east of us about a mile or so.

Lower Casandro Wash

11 Oct 2026 by Arizona Current Events Environment 0

Rodeo Season

Bowman Rodeo Grounds

On our way up to the Wickenburg Sportsmen’s Club shooting range today, we passed the Everett Bowman Rodeo Grounds where a bunch of cowboys and cowgirls were warming up for one of the upcoming rodeo events here in town. During the winter months (and to a lesser extent the rest of the year), we see a lot of horse trailers on the roads and in the downtown and outlying arena parking areas.

We like the fact that the rodeo brings a lot of welcome commerce to our little town, even if it means more traffic on the road and more competition while grocery shopping. Both of us, although we aren’t rodeo participant types, enjoy seeing good horses and riders. We have been known to go to rodeos in the past and may do so again.

26 Feb 2016 by Arizona Critters Current Events People

Islamic Terrorists in Europe and Beyond

solidarity.jpgOur neighbor with French ancestry flew this display of colors today, apparently in solidarity with France after the recent Islamic terrorist attacks in Paris. We noticed it this afternoon and I took this image from our driveway using the telephoto lens. Click on the image to enlarge.

With regard to solidarity, I’m not a Francophile by any stretch of the imagination, but if French President Hollande goes through with his resolution to fight terrorists, then I’m all for it and believe the US should help. I also believe that the terrorism in France is not a local problem and will soon spread to other places in Europe and, sadly, to America.

The Executive Branch of the US Government, on its own accord and without permission of the Congress has ordered the relocation of “refugees” to New Orleans and other places stateside. That is just plain wrong. I read that Ted Cruz wants to stop Obama’s illegal importation of terrorists, but I don’t know how he expects to do that. I support the notion since there is clear evidence that some of the French Islamic Terrorists were originally “refugees.”

Many of the pro-gun websites I frequent advise that wherever we go, we should all be carrying our guns all the time. That is nothing new for Damsel and I, but we will have to be especially vigilant for anything that smacks of potential terrorism. Unlike TSA and other politically correct government entities, we always have, and always will, profile people we encounter.

14 Nov 2015 by Current Events International Islamic Terrorism

The Sky is Falling

Here’s the latest report from NASA regarding UARS, the enormous satellite that will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere sometime today or tomorrow.

chicken-little.jpgNASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere late Sept. 23 or early Sept. 24 Eastern Daylight Time, almost six years after the end of a productive scientific life. Although the spacecraft will break into pieces during re-entry, not all of it will burn up in the atmosphere.

The risk to public safety or property is extremely small, and safety is NASA’s top priority. Since the beginning of the Space Age in the late-1950s, there have been no confirmed reports of an injury resulting from re-entering space objects. Nor is there a record of significant property damage resulting from a satellite re-entry.

It is still too early to say exactly when UARS will re-enter and what geographic area may be affected, but NASA is watching the satellite closely and will keep you informed. Visit this page for updates on the satellite’s orbital track and predicted re-entry date.

Update #10

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:45:08 AM MST

As of 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 100 miles by 105 miles (160 km by 170 km). Re-entry is expected late Friday, Sept. 23, or early Saturday, Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time. Solar activity is no longer the major factor in the satellite’s rate of descent. The satellite’s orientation or configuration apparently has changed, and that is now slowing its descent. There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent. It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 12 to 18 hours.

23 Sep 2011 by Aerospace Current Events Rocket Science

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