I don't know if this is true any longer, but in some two-party states, it's OK to record something if, for example, you're in a classroom and these are your notes, if the recording is made for career purposes (at a seminar, e.g.), or if the people you're recording are in a public place with no reasonable expectation of privacy. I assumed that meant if you're yelling to your lunch companion in a noisy restaurant or a mall food court, where anybody near you can hear you, you have no expectation of privacy and can, therefore, be recorded.
I looked up the laws in my state and in one other, and that's what I found. This was a few years ago, though, so the laws may have changed since then.
I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.