8.21.25 | Spherical helix visualization, anime catgirls blocking Linux kernel access, Zedless fork prioritizing privacy and local-first

This is a recap of the top 10 posts on Hacker News on Aug 21, 2025.

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:19) - Show HN: I was curious about spherical helix, ended up making this visualization
• (01:25) - Why are anime catgirls blocking my access to the Linux kernel?
• (02:43) - Zedless: Zed fork focused on privacy and being local-first
• (03:46) - Sequoia backs Zed
• (05:03) - Gemma 3 270M re-implemented in pure PyTorch for local tinkering
• (06:10) - Code review can be better
• (07:14) - An Update on Pytype
• (08:19) - Introduction to AT Protocol
• (09:24) - D4d4
• (10:28) - Home Depot sued for 'secretly' using facial recognition at self-checkouts
• (11:51) - Outro

Show HN: I was curious about spherical helix, ended up making this visualization
https://visualrambling.space/moving-objects-in-3d/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44962066

Why are anime catgirls blocking my access to the Linux kernel?
https://lock.cmpxchg8b.com/anubis.html
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44962529

Zedless: Zed fork focused on privacy and being local-first
https://github.com/zedless-editor/zed
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44964916

Sequoia backs Zed
https://zed.dev/blog/sequoia-backs-zed
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44961172

Gemma 3 270M re-implemented in pure PyTorch for local tinkering
https://github.com/rasbt/LLMs-from-scratch/tree/main/ch05/12_gemma3
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44962059

Code review can be better
https://tigerbeetle.com/blog/2025-08-04-code-review-can-be-better/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44967469

An Update on Pytype
https://github.com/google/pytype
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44963724

Introduction to AT Protocol
https://mackuba.eu/2025/08/20/introduction-to-atproto/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44965233

D4d4
https://www.nmichaels.org/musings/d4d4/d4d4/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44932401

Home Depot sued for 'secretly' using facial recognition at self-checkouts
https://petapixel.com/2025/08/20/home-depot-sued-for-secretly-using-facial-recognition-technology-on-self-checkout-cameras/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44962771