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| Sep 6, 2022 | » | Fiction Potpourri
10 min; updated Oct 26, 2025
A collection of notes/impressions from titles where I didn’t find enough to necessitate a dedicated page. Usually short works of fiction. Unknown NumberUnknown Number.
Blue Neustifter.
tells the story of a person who has gender dysphoria. In an alternate universe, they never transitioned but went on to become an established physicist who could communicate across parallel universes. ... |
| Apr 26, 2020 | » | Philanthropy
4 min; updated Feb 19, 2023
Criticism/Defense Of Billionaire PhilanthropyTaxes will probably not go to the same causes, e.g. reforming the bail system, grassroot efforts for migrants, etc. Foundations are more effective than governments as they do their due diligence, e.g. Bill Gates. Reforming the government is a long battle. ... |
| Jul 13, 2021 | » | On Becoming a Better Point Guard
10 min; updated Feb 12, 2023
Objective: Learn to read the game and make smart predictions. Reaction times are overrated; perception and prediction rule . Offensive Playmaking and Scoringtracks the following play types: transition, isolation, pick & roll ball handler, pick & roll roll man, post up, spot up, handoff, cut, off screen and put-backs. |
| Jun 15, 2021 | » | Thoughts on Academic Research
7 min; updated Dec 3, 2022
Why Even Read Papers?While tutorials and docs help you write code right now, the academic papers can help you understand where programming came from and where it’s going. You also understand the paths that foundational academic research did not take. There’s a lot of things that are old that are new again, over and over and over. The idea of Stack Overflow is that someone else has had your problem before; the idea of academic papers is that someone else has thought about this problem before. ... |
| Jan 25, 2019 | » | Facebook Monetizing Encrypted Messaging by Analyzing Metadata [Twitter]
1 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
Facebook Monetizing Encrypted Messaging by Analyzing Metadata.
@SarahJamieLewis.
Claim: FB will track relationships and social groups and make that information accessible to law enforcement. FB is a corporation that needs to make money; surveillance makes them money. Contention: Actual privacy and security must protect metadata as well as content. Cwtch by OpenPrivacy aims to minimize metadata exposed by apps used. It’s built on Tor. Challenges: message latency, server reliability & discovery, (online) first contact problem for key exchange. |
| Jun 1, 2010 | » | Myths and Fallacies of 'Personally Identifiable Information'
3 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
What is PII?From Breach Notification Laws:For example, California Senate Bill 1386: SSNs, driver’s license numbers, financial accounts. The list can never be exhaustive, e.g. email addresses and telephone numbers are not mentioned in Bill 1386. Focuses on data that are commonly used for authenticating an individual. Ignores data that reveals some sensitive information about an individual ... |
| Oct 11, 2020 | » | Brandolini's Bullshit Asymmetry Principle
1 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
The PrincipleBrandolini’s Bullshit Asymmetry Principle: The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it. In Essence of Bullshit , Frankfurt posits that the essence of bullshit is lack of concern for the truth, which may explain why bullshit is easier to produce. Jonathan Swift: Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it; so that when Men come to be undeceiv’d, it is too late; the Jest is over, and the Tale has had its Effect… ... |
Admittedly, these are things that the government should be doing, but it seems that the government doesn’t do enough. Furthermore, some of these issues so politicized, e.g. immigrants, that government support can be fickle.