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HPSHELTON

Programming, Privacy, Politics, Photography

Feb 1, 2021

ClearFlame Engine Technologies takes aim at cleaning up diesel engines →

ClearFlame isn't redesigning the diesel engine. Instead, [CEO BJ] Johnson and co-founder and CTO Julie Blumreiter have developed a way to modify the internal components of the engine to alter its thermodynamics to be able to quickly ignite and combust decarbonized fuels. The company's technology means 80% to 90% of the diesel engine parts remain unchanged, according to Johnson.

Hey, that's my friend Julie in TechCrunch!

Jan 31, 2021

Being Glue — No Idea Blog →

Every senior person in an organisation should be aware of the less glamorous - and often less-promotable - work that needs to happen to make a team successful. Managed deliberately, glue work demonstrates and builds strong technical leadership skills. Left unconscious, it can be career limiting. It can push people into less technical roles and even out of the industry.

Another great talk from Tanya Reilly.

Jan 30, 2021

Senators seek IG probe of border agency's warrantless use of phone location data →

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who have used cellphone location data to track people inside the country without a warrant are refusing to tell members of Congress what gives them the legal right to do so, a group of Democratic senators said.

The problem of course, is that it's almost certainly legal without any justification.

Jan 29, 2021

Meet the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle. It's Almost Uncrushable. →

In 2015, Jesus Rivera filmed a very unusual science experiment for posterity.

On the asphalt of a sun-soaked parking lot, he placed a mottled black beetle on a pillow of dirt and had a colleague run it over with a Toyota Camry. Twice.

Just about any other bug would have died. This one, a species called Phloeodes diabolicus, did not.

Jan 28, 2021

Bringing the chill of the cosmos to a warming planet →

Working with colleagues, [Raman] has developed a thin, mirror-like film engineered to maximize radiative cooling on a molecular level. The film sends heat into space while absorbing almost no radiation, lowering the temperature of objects by more than 10 degrees, even in the midday sun. It can help cool pipes and panels — like a booster rocket for refrigerators and cooling systems. Incorporated into buildings, it may even replace air conditioning. And it requires no electricity, no special fuel — just a clear day and a view of the sky.

A very cool invention (pun intended).

Jan 27, 2021

An 800-mile firebreak once protected California's forests from flames. What happened? →

Nearly lost to history and nature, the Ponderosa Way, which spanned from Mount Shasta to Bakersfield, was one of the largest projects of the Depression era. It still holds lessons for a fire-stricken California.

Jan 26, 2021

Dave Barry's Year in Review 2020 →

We're trying to think of something nice to say about 2020.

Okay, here goes: Nobody got killed by the murder hornets. As far as we know.

That's pretty much it.

I don't think I laughed as much at anything else in 2020. A must-read.

Jan 25, 2021

'The Big Shift': Internal Facebook Memo Tells Employees to Do Better on Privacy →

In an internal memo called "The Big Shift", obtained by Big Technology and first reported here, Bosworth called on Facebook employees to prioritize privacy as they built their products, even to the detriment of the user's experience. The public's expectations on privacy were changing, he said, and Facebook's old approach wasn't cutting it anymore.

I'm skeptical.

Jan 24, 2021

Facebook will pay more than $300 each to 1.6M Illinois users in settlement →

Millions of Facebook users in Illinois will be receiving about $340 each as Facebook settles a case alleging it broke state law when it collected facial recognition data on users without their consent. The judge hearing the case in federal court in California approved the final settlement on Thursday, six years after legal proceedings began.

Jan 24, 2021

Still going to the grocery store? With new virus variants spreading, it's probably time to stop. →

Health experts say you should avoid optional trips whenever you can. You probably need a better mask, too.

The title's a bit histrionic for my taste and the article barely addresses that not everyone has the privilege of social distancing, but it does contain lots of good data on what we know about the new variants so far and their danger.

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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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