Google and Apple's updated default search agreement
United States v. Google, No. 20-cv-3010 (APM) (D.D.C. Aug. 5, 2024).
Posted 2024-09-15
#technology
#business
#game-theory
Package manager package manager package manager
Let’s pretend I’ve decided to manage my JavaScript projects with package managers.
Posted 2024-09-08
#humor
#programming
Firefox zero-day: You can't leave this page (2)
This a 0-day announcement showing web pages can prevent visitors from navigating back away from their website.
Posted 2024-08-16
#zero-day
#security
Hey Are you open to working on projects right now?
Sharing my experience here with a spearphishing campaign where somebody approached me as a potential client. But their intention was to have me run software on my computer. The goal was assumedly to steal any cryptocurrency I have access to.
Posted 2024-05-05
#scam
How to fully spend AmEx gift cards on Amazon in 2024
Great news! You just got an American Express gift card!
Posted 2024-02-20
#how-to
Numerology for 1 to 10,000 things
Have you ever been staring at a list of things for sale. And they are serial numbered between 1 and 10,000, inclusive, and you wonder which one to buy?
Posted 2023-12-27
#how-to
How to connect Roku to Xfinity Wi-Fi
Connecting your Roku device to Xfinity Wi-Fi can be tricky, especially since Roku devices do not come with any built-in browser. This limitation makes the standard login process through a web page impossible. However, there’s an effective workaround using a computer to spoof your Roku’s MAC address, allowing you to authenticate on the Xfinity Wi-Fi network. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it, specifically tested and confirmed for the Roku 4K version.
Posted 2023-12-18
#how-to
Open letter to American Airlines about also-known-as name policy
Here is an open letter to American Airlines about multiple system failures we found on a recent trip. I hope this letter is helpful, fun and… actionable! Please let’s work together to make flying better in the 21st century. I still have a lot of the world left to see!!!
Posted 2023-10-19
#my-life
IRS proposed regulation for crypto
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed regulations for how taxes and transaction reporting will apply to crypto and other digital assets.
Posted 2023-10-16
#blockchain
You can break into these dApp admin accounts today
Alternate title: how to properly implement logins with a public-key system
Posted 2023-09-13
#blockchain
What is the worst thing that could happen if I sign a bad message?
Did you ever quickly sign a message and not know what it was?
Posted 2023-08-13
#blockchain
#security
RainbowMask, use random accounts to login to Web3
Introducing RainbowMask, login to any Web3 website without making an account
Posted 2023-07-11
#blockchain
#dumb-business-ideas
The case for war against Canada
I trained a neural network using war-is-always-the-answer articles from Bill Kristol.
Posted 2023-06-29
#neural-networks
Which campaign is from a neural network?
In politics, the mechanics of winning relies on getting broad messages delivered in very specific ways to excite people enough to go vote.
Posted 2023-06-13
#neural-networks
The European Data Act and regulating calculator.exe
The European Data Act codifies requirements for smart contracts.
Posted 2023-05-31
#blockchain
Quasi fungible token and MiCA
This week, Europe passed legislation regulating markets for crypto tokens. This is the markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) regulation. There’s a few ways to read regulation:
Posted 2023-05-19
#blockchain
What is money, and how is Bitcoin/tokens different?
How well do you kow what money is? We will explore a few intuitive things that money is, break them down, and then see how Bitcoin and tokens on blockchain are so much different.
Posted 2023-05-15
#blockchain
Moon dust: auditable, versioned databases
Blockchain people have been to “the moon” and back down to Earth. We brought back moon dust.
Posted 2023-04-23
#blockchain
OpenSea cooperated transaction with SDN sanctioned entity
This article is a review of facts and is not an allegation of any crime.
Posted 2023-04-11
#nft
The future of Web3 is still custodial
And so was the past. A fairer title here would be “the future of digital-signature-based commerce (or ‘blockchain’) will still rely on custodians”. But we’re writing blog posts here, people, not dissertations!
Posted 2023-03-13
#blockchain
Why Plaid is a scam
Plaid.com is a company that collects bank account logins and passwords to “verify” your login to other quasi-banking institutions. They are a service provider to other companies, and here is what it looks like:
Posted 2023-02-06
#scams
Add your friends to the SDN list with this one weird trick
There is humor in this article title, you do not want to add your friends to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. This list is published by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and is used to enforce economic sanctions and other financial restrictions imposed by the United States government.
Posted 2023-01-28
#nft
#zero-day
Does OpenSea Shared Storefront have a backdoor?
This project demonstrates how OpenSea administrators can take any tokens minted on the OpenSea Shared Storefront. This is a previously-undocumented backdoor.
Posted 2022-11-04
#nft
What kinds of things should be standardized?
A standard, in technical settings, is an established specification which allows any compliant thing to work with any compliant user of that thing, also known as cross-connect. It is a set of restrictions, or marketing claims, incumbent upon the standardized product.
Posted 2022-09-30
#coding
NFTs, good or bad for art?
In the beginning there were cats.
Posted 2022-05-05
#my-life
#blockchain
My travel intentions
I would love to be on the road all the time meeting the designers and builders that craft the future we all see coming. This future is accountable, transparent, respectful of customers and increasingly built on concepts brought up by blockchain and NFTs.
Posted 2022-04-15
#my-life
#blockchain
Monthly updates
Part of my own new year’s plan was to set a professional mission (inspired by Musk’s “Die on Mars”) and organize my time to getting towards that. Here’s the mission:
Posted 2022-04-01
#my-life
Ethics statement on buying NFTs
How can you tell if a blockchain enthusiast is shilling? Their lips are moving.
Posted 2022-03-23
#my-life
#blockchain
The Perl script that rewrote Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four
I always dreamed of publishing my first book, a specific project, but it meant waiting for the 70th anniversary of George Orwell’s death.
Posted 2022-02-21
#programming
#predictions
Randomization strategies for NFT drops
ℹ️ This article assumes a basic/intermediate understanding of game theory, blockchain transaction settlement, entropy (mathematics) and Solidity. However the conclusions and reasoning are usable to anybody evaluating risks with different NFT drop approaches.
Posted 2022-02-04
#blockchain
Ethics statement
This blog is basically essays I write to myself to reminisce and organize thoughts.
Posted 2022-02-04
#best-practice
Mission
Did you ever sing in the shower just get a few extra bars out while you’re alone?
Posted 2022-01-26
#how-to
Token-Curated Registries, the Uses and Exploits
What are they, and are they useful?
Posted 2018-06-09
#blockchain
LinkedIn privacy case study: stealing private data from your address book
IF you give LinkedIn access to your Gmail account in order to find contacts on the site, you may be getting more than you bargained for.
Posted 2008-12-23
#privacy
An open response to President Bush
On Dec 18, 2008, President Bush, referring to GM and Chrysler, said:
Posted 2008-12-19
#politics
#rants
How to delete multiple posts in blogger
Use blogger draft
Posted 2008-12-13
#how-to
Q: how do you know you're getting old?
A: there a PBS documentary on Wu-Tang Clan
Posted 2008-12-03
#rants
You have a Bacon Number of 5
(This is old news for me, but it may be new news for you)
Posted 2008-11-15
#youhearditherefirst
Chinese dictionary
The Chinese dictionary can get ridiculous:
Posted 2008-11-03
#eastwest
#rants
Chinese books don't have roman numerals
In English books, the preface, introduction, et al. live on pages numbered with lower case roman numerals.
Posted 2008-11-01
#eastwest
#humor
Q: What's worse than leaving your window open
Q: What’s worse than leaving your car window open on a rainy day?
Posted 2008-10-28
#humor
Stock markets have gone down over the last 10-year period
I’m surprised no newspapers have picked up on this, so I’ll post it myself. Many people have talked about risk in the stock market and have used this phrase to sum it up:
Posted 2008-10-22
#finance
Unlimited FREE money from the US Mint (not a scam, link to .gov sites)
Order $2,500 in $1 coins, free shipping (order 5 different coins in $500 quantity)
Receive coins, deposit to bank, pay credit card bill
Get 1% cash back from your credit card
Posted 2008-10-15
#goodfind
Maximizing your clean with Old Spice or other alternatives
Posted 2008-10-11
#humor
Protein bars and whey protein, which ones have melamine?
Optimum Nutrition
Posted 2008-10-08
#scam-alert
Pre-announcement, investment banks security flaw
I have found a pretty big security flaw affecting multiple online investment banks. I’m in talks with them now, then I’ll post it here after a while. Just so you know where you heard it first, I’m posting an encrypted message here. When this goes public, I’ll post the unencrypted message.
Posted 2008-10-02
#security
Q: How do you pass a $700B bailout bill?
A: You don’t, you pass a $900B bailout bill
Posted 2008-10-02
#howto
#government
Oil prices and election years regression analysis
I have heard that oil prices are affected by an election year. After some analysis, this is clearly not the case. Here’s the data, relative oil prices on election years and non-election years:
Posted 2008-10-01
#finance
110th congress H.R. 1424, votes by people up for reelection
Regarding: H.R. 1424 - Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Posted 2008-10-01
#finance
Where do you get your finance news, why the DOW sucks
Here’s one of those “real content” posts.
Posted 2008-09-30
#finance
High volatility in the NASDAQ
Today is the third worst day for the NASDAQ, if anyone was watching…
Posted 2008-09-29
#finance
TD Ameritrade privacy case study: selling your position information to a third party
Here is some pretty conclusive evidence that TD Ameritrade is sharing your account positions information to News Corporation for profit…
Posted 2008-09-19
#privacy
How to read multi-lingual exit signs
How do you get out?
Posted 2008-09-08
#humor
#mylife
Quarter life crisis
John: lol
John: so what is new
Will: just working now
Will: waiting to see what it feels like when theres no school in september
John: yea
John: quarter life crisis
Will: lol
John: biggest jump in happiness from money
John: already happened
John: now u are just work work work
John: for marginal gains
Posted 2008-08-25
#quote-of-the-week
Expense receipts for past food purchases
This is how much Chinese food I eat at work.
Posted 2008-08-07
#eastwest
#humor
Review: Ralph's Italian Restaurant in South Philadelphia
Ralph’s [restaurant] is Italian; the veal parmigian was so good that I think I got sexually excited (sorry if that’s too much info but it was that good).
MW
Posted 2008-07-08
#quote-of-the-week
Goals Mid-year 2008 report
I’ve updated the goals page with two check marks today!
Posted 2008-07-01
#mylife
Perceptions of foreigners and the US drinking culture
I’m glad I’m from Taiwan, so I don’t have to play drinking games every weekend.
WY
Posted 2008-06-10
#humor
#quote-of-the-week
ING Direct communication case study: improving eStatements
eStatements are a great proposition for companies: save money on a low-value service provided to clients that is legally required. Making eStatements more usable will reduce banks’ postage costs and save customers money. Unfortunately, banks focus on revenue, not customer service or saving cost. Let’s look at ING’s execution:
Posted 2008-06-08
#user-interface
ING Direct communication case study: account sweep user interface
ING Direct does not include an account sweep function. There is an HTML hack possible to do this but I will not discuss. Following is the feature users would expect on the site:
Posted 2008-06-08
#user-interface
#howto
How to add iPhone presence indicator on your website
You can add presence indication to your website, i.e. it tells people whether your phone is on or not. This works for any phone that can check mail on a automatically.
Posted 2008-06-08
#how-to
Illegal photo you shouldn't be able to take from LeBow
Me and AD
Posted 2008-06-02
#mylife
LAN party, now and then
I remember when having a lan party was just for nerds…
Posted 2008-05-19
#mylife
Baby girl does not like wasabi peas
Posted 2008-05-10
#humor
ING Direct communication case study: failure in customer communication
On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 10:21 AM, ING DIRECT saver@ingdirect.com wrote:
Posted 2008-04-08
#user-interface
SanDisk privacy case study: Do not click accept
Here is a scan of SanDisk’s end user license agreement
Posted 2008-04-07
#user-interface
How to host a theme party
This is a theme party, the theme is drinking.
Posted 2008-04-03
#tips
What Firefox really needs
Firefox has been lying to you. They keep increasing their version numbers… but nothing is happening. The main selling point for Firefox 3 is “it’s fast… just like we used to be”. Here’s a table:
Posted 2008-03-28
#rants
Are you Looking for a rhino thimble?
Are you Looking for a Rhino Thimble?
One of the original eBay magazine advertisements.
Posted 2008-03-23
#youhearditherefirst
Munich and Prague trip
Here are the photos from my trip to Munich and Prague:
Posted 2008-03-15
#photos
#travel
Motorola "Unauthorized Charger" error
Unauthorized charger
Posted 2008-02-11
#rants
Alternate methods of horses and water
Today is another quote from the internet…
Posted 2008-02-11
#quote-of-the-week
Phone, Email, TXT battle
There are a lot of ways to communicate in this day and age. I have found that some communication channels consistently produce better news than others…
Posted 2008-02-09
#mylife
I calculated how much it costs to have a serious relationship
John’s wisdom never goes out of style:
Posted 2008-01-30
#quote-of-the-week
Engineers vs. baseline humans
Q: How is being an Engineer different than being a baseline human?
Posted 2008-01-29
#humor
#quote-of-the-week
I'm not a poet
I wish I could write interesting and funny things for you to read. Unfortunately, I can’t. Instead, here’s some photos for you to enjoy.
Posted 2008-01-27
#photos
My goals in life
Updated semi-annually:
Posted 2008-01-15
#mylife
Quote of the day 2008-01-11
I have sex with farm animals, especially sheep.
Juan, under duress
Posted 2008-01-12
#humor
As old as me
These are really old… like from back when I was born.
Baby Girl (examining dinosaur fossils at the Academy of Natural Sciences)
Posted 2007-12-30
#mylife
#quote-of-the-week
800-527-7415
800-527-7415 is a phone number for the Chase new credit cards dept.
Posted 2007-12-10
#research
XKCD ignores warming and velociraptors
In response to https://xkcd.com/164/
Posted 2007-12-08
#humor
MBA Starting Salaries
This is for the people who keep asking me what they should make after graduating:
Posted 2007-12-06
#mylife
#research
This is why you dont start a conversation with "sup"
Posted 2007-12-03
#rants
Bake-off smack talk!
Posted 2007-11-09
#mylife
Older people using Linux
The new Greenspan book mentions Linux, just so you know.
Posted 2007-11-07
#youhearditherefirst
How to properly indent paragraphs (Mac + Windows)
Quote of the day 2007-10-21
Posted 2007-10-21
#humor
#quote-of-the-week
LeBow Preston and Steve food drive details
Hi Will,
I don't want to get involved in censoring, however I'm having trouble finding an appropriate relationship between a food drive and handguns. Are you able to replace the Preston and Steve image with one that is more appropriate?
Thanks!
Dan
Posted 2007-10-13
#humor
Religious proof of a flat Earth
Quote of the day 2007-10-13
Posted 2007-10-13
#humor
#quote-of-the-day
How to avoid smearing nail polish
Quote of the Week 2007-09-09
Posted 2007-09-09
#humor
#quote-of-the-week
Fashion advice for business and casual settings
Quote of the day 2007-08-27
Posted 2007-08-27
#humor
#quote-of-the-week
Choosing the best roommates for a new apartment
Christopher Nolan: i got an apartment today
Christopher Nolan: moving on saturday
William Entriken: roommates?
Christopher Nolan: no
William Entriken: boring
Christopher Nolan: noone to live with
William Entriken: you smell that bad?
Christopher Nolan: no, i hate my friends
Posted 2007-08-19
#humor
#quote-of-the-week
Everything tastes like mint
I walked into my room today and found baby girl. She was in my bathroom making a huge mess. There was toothpaste on my sink, Polident tabs everywhere (for my retainer… I dont have dentures), and about a mile of floss strung out on the floor.
Posted 2007-08-10
#mylife
#quote-of-the-week
How to get banned from Google
This is what happens when you are a hacker…
Posted 2007-06-12
#mylife
How to open SealedMedia files on Mac with Adobe Acrobat
UPDATE 2013-12-16. If you are still using spdf files, please contact me so I can update these instructions.
Posted 2007-04-10
#how-to
Superbowl 2007 XLI cybersquatting advice
I saw the Super Bowl this weekend and I know some people tape the game so they can watch it when they get home, so I’m writing a quick spoiler to make those people upset.
Posted 2007-02-05
#goodfind
LeBow College of business billing
(This post has been edited. This is the original text, the revision follows.)
Posted 2007-01-26
#scamalert
Bad day
So yesterday:
Posted 2007-01-26
#rants
#my-life
Erin Quinlan is the Prom Queen!
That’s right… Erin Quinlan (the tea cup) is Prom Queen. Just though you’d like to know.
Posted 2006-12-31
#youhearditherefirst
Never use BCC
First, what is BCC?
Posted 2006-12-11
#how-to
Not everyone looks their best all the time
The least flattering photo of anyone ever
Posted 2006-11-29
#humor
Just like a babby seal
I shaved my beard today. And I got a lot of reactions, so I’ll tell you about them.
Posted 2006-11-28
#my-life
Always use adblock
Just making sure you have adblock installed:
Posted 2006-11-11
#scam-alert
World Affairs Council - Net Neutrality
I am attending the World Affairs Council session this Thursday 2006-10-05 to see David Cohen, the Executive Vice President for Comcast Corporation speak about net neutrality. They will likely support their opinion that they should have the power to charge for “guaranteed delivery of their services”. I think that this extreme and unchecked power is unwarranted, especially with their history of anti-competitive behavior towards Vonage.
Posted 2006-10-02
#rants
What happened in class today
What happened in class today? I heard presentations from every person in the LeBow program and got to meet fellow students, faculty and staff.
Posted 2006-09-22
#my-life
"Free beer" a flawed analogy
Please use the terms “Joe Sixpack” and “free beer” in a sentence that explains how Joe righteously denounces the giveaway to seek something even freer.
Posted 2006-09-11
#youhearditherefirst
Riddle: two coins
I have two coins.
Posted 2006-08-17
#my-life
DRM: controlling what you buy
There is an important issue affecting the consumer electronics world. New devices that are made and sold to the consumer will be unilaterally controlled by the creators of the device. What this means is that the next wave of products will not allow you to do things that they don’t want you to do.
Posted 2006-07-31
#rants
907068073421
907068073421
Posted 2006-07-27
#my-life
1,190,845 people had this in their profile
Of the 1,190,845 people I checked*, this many people have this in their profile:
Posted 2006-07-19
#my-life
Bicameral programming
You’re writing software and do the interface part first:
Posted 2006-07-12
#programming
Sing a song
Sing a new song a nice big songI got one in mine for youSo tell me what to do-oo
Posted 2006-07-11
#my-life
Why FairTax is stupid
Below are some basic notes against the book The FairTax Book by Neal Boortz and John Linder.
Posted 2006-07-07
#government
Hey we got ur thank you
Erin Quinlan: hey we got ur thank you card
Full Decent: did you see on the back where i wrote I hate hannah?
Erin Quinlan: nah lol
Erin Quinlan: let me go see
Erin Quinlan: no you didn’t
Full Decent: madeya look
Posted 2006-07-07
#humor
#my-life
Current notes patches diff kdesm
Current notes
Posted 2006-07-06
#my-life
#programming
I got ksmserver compiled
I got ksmserver compiled, thanks to a few changes by Lubos! And the advice here http://kopete-qq.blogspot.com/2006/06/howto-upgrade-to-head-kdelibs4.html helped me get rid of my segfault.
Posted 2006-06-28
#my-life
#programming
Some notes about my Google SOC project
Here's some notes I'm made about my Google SOC project.
Posted 2006-06-23
#my-life
Collatz research
When I was looking into the Collatz conjecture, I ran into this sequence:
Posted 2006-06-14
#math
Google SoC
I have been accepted into the Google SOC program. I will be working on session management for KDE. If those words don’t mean anything to you, it is unfortunate because there will now be technical content in my blog.
Posted 2006-05-24
#coding
Is it OK to skip wearing your retainer for a few weeks?
Do you know what it’s like to wear a retainer after you haven’t worn it in a long time? It’s like putting a fist in your mouth.
Posted 2006-03-14
#my-life
The molecular origin of hunger
the hunger molecules are accumulating in my stomach
Posted 2006-02-20
#my-life
Whammy pod
Mom: Are you saying that your friends are staying in that apartment past senior year?
Full Decent <AUTO-REPLY>: Will,
If you come home this weekend, perhaps you could give me some advanced I Pod lessons. Like, how to turn it on. What it does. How to wear the earphones. I haven’t used this thing at all.
Love, Mom
Mom: Hey, how did you get my email into the IM. Manually, or some type of hacker trick that automatically converts emails to IMs?
Full Decent: No, when you get something funny you want to tell everyone, you put it as your away message - then everyone can see it
Mom: So, I’m a laughing stock. I see how it works now. Careful, or I’ll put your nude baby photos on my website.
Full Decent: ulth
Full Decent: you have a website?
Mom: Ha! Ha! Ha! No, that was just a joke. I can’t even turn on the Ipod, remember?
Posted 2006-02-16
#my-life
#humor
Standards for online etiquette
I have been told several times that I have the absolute worst etiquette online. Well you know what? If you don’t have to wear pants to use instant messenger, isn’t it quite obvious that any other formalities do not apply?
Posted 2005-12-15
#my-life
Firefusk
Includes spyware! Phones home on each use.
Posted 2005-12-15
#privacy
Riddle beakers
The AIM profile riddles are back! The old rankings are still in effect. The current riddle is:
Posted 2005-10-18
#my-life
Best language for illicit code
So public safety comes into my room last night while I’m sleeping with a fanfare of the head of public safety, head of network security and 10+ other people. One is standing by to turn off the circuit breaker, and they’re ready to seize my computer. So I sat with them in the living room to answer some questions. Here is the conversation between the network security guy (herein: NSG) and myself:
Posted 2005-03-05
#my-life
School is canceled
In the middle of the night, I learned about a mysterious and FAKE message canceling class for all Villanovans:
Posted 2004-09-19
#my-life
C++ STL set functions… and liquids that can write code
Are you badass with C++ STL? Then fix this…
Posted 2004-06-13
#coding
Bad phone sex (that used to be good)
Is it possible to ruin sex with a phone call, if the person who called you is the person you’re sleeping with?
Posted 2004-06-06
#my-life
The special ingredient for growing young trees
Kristin Quinlan: the tree to which you feed BEER was STOLEN from an ARBORETUM!?
Kristin Quinlan: I legitimately purchased my tree, feed it water, and now it’s dying. Hmmmpppphhh.
Posted 2004-06-04
#my-life
10 weird things you can do on a couch
Ode to a couch
Posted 2004-06-04
#my-life
Riddle: answers to the coconut millionaire question
The last profile riddle:
Posted 2004-02-03
#riddles
#my-life
#funny