Recently updated blogs

It's triple zero, used to call the emergency services in Australia. That is the lowest possible number. We did it!Well that was boring. And you, dear reader, probably don't even live in Australia,* so it's not your shortest phone number. Let's come up with a new rule to make this more interesting: Everyone should be able to call the number.That means we'll only consider numbers that can start with an …

Welcome to Glimpse of Google, a blog series written by a former Google software engineer, offering a firsthand look into the inner workings of one of the most transformative companies of our time. This series will uncover how Google operates from an engineering standpoint and explore the broader company culture, guiding principles, and unique approaches that make it a powerhouse in technology. Whether you're an engineer, a tech enthusiast, or …

New Releases w/e 101/01/205 Blondshell – “T&A “ New year, new Blondshell Her second album “If You Asked For A Picture”, drops May 2, 2025, via Partisan Records. Featuring the new single “T&A” and inspired by Mary Oliver’s poetry, Sabrina Teitelbaum explores vulnerability, storytelling, and the complexities of love. If You Asked For A Picture by Blondshell Deep Sea Diver – Shovel Seattle-based alt-rock band Deep Sea Diver, fronted by …

For almost two decades (!) the de-factor object storage system for Rails apps has been AWS S3. It’s resilient (99.999999999% durability!) and Active Storage makes it very easy to use. There was also little competition so it was basically a no-brainer. We used S3 to store terabytes of customer receipt data for FreeAgent, and 37signals used it to store petabytes of data for Basecamp and HEY (recently 37signals have started …

2025 will become my personal year of philosophy. I turn forty this year, which, if all goes well, marks the first part of my life as over. Considering recent illnesses along my family and friends, I have little hope of ever reaching eighty, but let’s keep that as a grand goal for the sake of the argument. I’ve been reading more philosophy lately, including Joep Dohmen’s De kunst van het …

Echo is finally doing well, though winter is not great for him. He is active, eating and sleeping well. Though his urinary problems continue, they do not threaten his day-to-day activities. Temperatures have been quite low in Bengaluru this week, and Echo feels cold. I started using a standing table during COVID-19, and it's still a habit. I plan to mix it up a bit this year, alternating between standing …

Today's anniversary. Wiki

This is a writeup of research into using satellite imagery to track mining operations, funded as part of Bellingcat’s 2024 Technical Writing Fellowship, and is a more in-depth version of a short guide published on their online platform. The accompanying Multispectral Satellite Imagery Explorer tool is available here. This guide is intended as an overview of my research, and a starting point for these techniques. a false colour satellite image …

I recently encountered the following party game: Mumbo Jumbo, based on trying to pronounce a word while wearing a mouth-stretcher. Basically, you wear a mouth-stretcher, and then you are asked to read out a phrase. Your teammate has to figure out the phrase you're trying to say. The mouth-stretcher means that you cannot make labials. Of course, the words are selected to take advantage of this limitation as much as …

I needed to do something. My family's new house had sprung a leak, as in the outside air (-28C with the wind at one point) was gushing into a room in our house, making things very unpleasant. I have been wrestling with many renovations to our new house, which has been neglected for years and is in need of some TLC.But on Wednesday night, I had had my share of …

After clocking out from my day job, I usually look for games that help me unwind. Fast Food Simulator had a different plan. The game perfectly captures the hustle and bustle of a fast-food joint, placing you in the shoes of a manager who has to handle everything from taking orders to balancing the books. It’s a frantic, fast-paced experience that mimics the real-world stress of working in fast food—but …

Really. And no, I’m not about to follow that statement up with something annoying like “…Because I love it! Haha!” either. I know the general term has its uses but I could do without the retro gaming mindset entirely, if I’m honest. I think we’d all be better off chucking that artificial distinction in the bin. If I happen to say I like a game made in 1981, or for …

My favorite songs of 2024.

It’s now 2025, thank God. And if you’re a chick, wiith the coming of a new year comes, of course, horoscopes. I am a Libra (Libra sun, Libra moon, Libra rising), so it’s not exactly my year. But my horoscope … Continue reading →

Reading Time: 35 minutes New year, new worries, same old Web Curios! Even in the maelstrom of moderately-unsettling uncertainty that is Q2 of the 21st Century, rest assured that I am once again here to greet you with open arms, a tear-streaked face and a hug that you will initially find welcoming but will, as it continues without showing signs of stopping, begin to make you feel uncomfortably like I …