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HPSHELTON

Programming, Privacy, Politics, Photography

May 25, 2021

The Full Story of the Stunning RSA Hack Can Finally Be Told →

In 2011, Chinese spies stole the crown jewels of cybersecurity—stripping protections from firms and government agencies worldwide. Here's how it happened.

May 24, 2021

(via Disney Imagineering's Project Kiwi is a free-walking robot that will make you believe in Groot)

May 23, 2021

Arbitrary Code Execution in the Universal Turing Machine →

A Python program implementing and exploiting the Minsky Turing machine considered in the paper "Intrinsic Propensity for Vulnerability in Computers? Arbitrary Code Execution in the Universal Turing Machine" as per CVE-2021-32471.

Yep, that's right folks. We're finding CVEs in textbook examples of the most basic computers possible.

May 22, 2021

Starbucks, Monetary Superpower →

Starbucks has around $1.6 billion in stored value card liabilities outstanding. This represents the sum of all physical gift cards held in customer's wallets as well as the digital value of electronic balances held in the Starbucks Mobile App. It amounts to ~6% of all of the company's liabilities.

This is a pretty incredible number. Stored value card liabilities are the money that you, oh loyal Starbucks customer, use to buy coffee. What you might not realize is that these balances simultaneously function as a loan to Starbucks. Starbucks doesn't pay any interest on balances held in the Starbucks app or gift cards. You, the loyal customer, are providing the company with free debt.

May 21, 2021

These Invisible Whales Could Sink the Economy →

A very clear explanation of a complex financial problem and gaps in hedge fund regulations.

May 20, 2021

The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready? →

Exclusive research and expert insights into a year of work like no other reveal urgent lessons for leaders as hybrid work unfolds.

May 20, 2021

What Does It Mean To Buy a Gif? →

When viewed in this light, the nature of NFTs becomes quite clear. An NFT is a mechanism by which an artist can publicly attach their cryptographic signature to a digital work of art. In other words, it is a technology that supports in the context of digital arts the same kinds of signed editions that have existed in fine art photography for most of a century.

A much better explanation than this NYT article.

May 20, 2021

Is It Time to Panic About Inflation? Ask These 5 Questions First. →

To understand why inflation is so worrying to so many people, you could look at price charts for lumber or used cars or New York strip steaks. There is no doubt that the prices of many of the things people buy are rising at an uncomfortably rapid rate.

But inflation isn't so scary if you focus on the precise mechanics by which the value of a dollar changes over time — and how it might affect you. In an inflation-scare moment like this one, you can boil that down to five essential questions.

May 5, 2021

Berkshire Hathaway's Stock Price Is Too Much for Computers →

Nasdaq's computers can only count so high because of the compact digital format they use for communicating prices. The biggest number they can handle is $429,496.7295. Nasdaq is rushing to finish an upgrade later this month that would fix the problem.

32-bit numbers, man.

Apr 14, 2021

Why You Can't Meet God Over Zoom →

It is true that Zoom religious services are fundamentally inadequate. This is not a criticism of the clergy and lay leaders who have put in tremendous creative effort. In a sense it is an indictment of the very idea of what we look for in church, and a chance to realign our perspective. That is because even in-person services are, in a sense, inadequate.

[...]

Instead of encountering the transcendent, we bump against the limits of human talent.

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H. Parker Shelton

I'm just an ordinary thirty-something who's had some extraordinary opportunities. I graduated from Johns Hopkins University, work for Microsoft in Silicon Valley, code websites and applications, take the occasional photograph, and keep a constant eye on current events, politics, and technology. This blog is the best of what catches that eye.

 
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