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HPSHELTON

Programming, Privacy, Politics, Photography

Dec 13, 2018

I've worn a hijab for decades. Here's why I took it off. →

I realized I missed being the girl in the headscarf. Uncovering wouldn't be as simple as just having one less accessory to worry about before leaving the house. To expose myself would mean giving up the me that I am today. I would have to unravel the past 25 years, and I'm not ready for that yet — to stand for something less than my faith.

Dec 12, 2018

Where in the World Is Denmark's $2 Billion? →

As large as it is, the building would be easy to miss. Plain, gray and near a McDonald's, it's part of a generic office complex surrounded by a vast parking lot in a suburb of Copenhagen. "Danish Tax Agency" is stenciled in both English and Danish on a glass front door.

This outpost of SKAT, as the I.R.S. in Denmark is known, seems an improbable setting for what the authorities call one of the great financial crimes in the country's history. For three years, starting in 2012, so much money gushed from an office here that it was as though the state had sprung a gigantic leak.

Prosecutors in Copenhagen say it was an elaborate ruse, one that ultimately cost taxpayers more than $2 billion — a spectacular sum for Denmark, the equivalent of a $110 billion loss in the far larger American economy.

Oct 20, 2018

The most surprising principle of good leadership? Don't be busy. →

Being busy as a leader is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

Oct 10, 2018

Project xCloud: Gaming with you at the center →

Project xCloud's state-of-the-art global game-streaming technology will offer you the freedom to play on the device you want without being locked to a particular device, empowering YOU, the gamers, to be at the center of your gaming experience.

I'm pretty skeptical on game streaming, but excited to test this out regardless. But seriously, that name? Oof.

Oct 9, 2018

Google+ shutting down after data leak affecting 500,000 users →

Google exposed the private details of almost 500,000 Google+ users and then opted not to report the lapse, in part out of concern disclosure would trigger regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people briefed on the matter and documents that discussed it.
The Wall Street Journal article is even more damning.

Oct 7, 2018

Detailed New National Maps Show How Neighborhoods Shape Children for Life →

The research has shown that where children live matters deeply in whether they prosper as adults. On Monday the Census Bureau, in collaboration with researchers at Harvard and Brown, published nationwide data that will make it possible to pinpoint — down to the census tract, a level relevant to individual families — where children of all backgrounds have the best shot at getting ahead.

Sep 24, 2018

News Site to Investigate Big Tech, Helped by Craigslist Founder →

The Markup, dedicated to investigating technology and its effect on society, will be led by two former ProPublica journalists.

So excited.

Sep 21, 2018

How Connected Is Your Community to Everywhere Else in America? →

In the millions of ties on Facebook that connect relatives, co-workers, classmates and friends, Americans are far more likely to know people nearby than in distant communities that share their politics or mirror their demographics.

Aug 12, 2018

Understanding differential privacy and why it matters for digital rights - Access Now →

"Differential privacy" is a powerful, sophisticated, often misunderstood concept and approach to preserving privacy that, unlike most privacy-preserving tech, doesn't rely on encryption. It's fraught with complications and subtlety, but it shows great promise as a way to collect and use data while preserving privacy.

This is a good overview, and see parts two and three for a deeper dive into implementations.

Jul 28, 2018

How robo-callers outwitted the government and completely wrecked the Do Not Call list →

In 2015, the call-blocking app YouMail estimated that close to a billion robo-calls were being placed every month. Two years later, that number has leapt to 2.5 billion. At best, these calls annoy. At worst, they defraud. By far, they constitute the top consumer complaint received by the FTC.

In theory, there is a fix: the National Do Not Call Registry, created in 2003. Today, 230 million numbers are on it. The point, obviously, is to not be called. And yet the FTC receives 19,000 complaints every day from list members who have, in fact, been called. There is a battle being waged over the inviolability of our telephone numbers — over the right to not be bothered.

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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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