Intellectual Property Heists, and the Textbook Communist Reaction

 IP drama. Intellectual Property was never easy to protect.

• 1. All IP can be pirated.
• 2. Now the pirates are worth more than the total revenues of creators.

What is the means of production here? It is not a matter of producing IP - that's back-assward, as transferable IP disenfranchises producers. 

The means of production to be seized, is the superior capability to pirate. Which is to say, the producers have no choice but to go to war.

After all, communism means a return to jungle law.

I'm not saying you should be a pirate. I'm just saying that piracy is natural law.

My Malaysian Networks

 Come to think of it, I have had only two minor networks in my life as a Malaysian.

All my jobs from 2005 to 2010 were based on church networks I inherited or developed before 2000.

All my jobs from 2011 to 2023 were based on tech networks I developed after 2007.

Neither of these have been very deep, or interesting, and the people I know from these networks and I are not particularly close - we just happen to know/of each other.

So when I start work in 2032, I guess I will basically be networkless. Haha

My salary history in Kuala Lumpur : 2005-2025

Jumping on the trend. 

My salary history in Kuala Lumpur : 2005-2025

https://www.threads.net/@_jerng/post/DHdAK0wT99Y

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2005-2025 / Ballparks

I won't write about why I left each job - that's off-topic.

"No number is big enough - I'll always want more" - a college mate

2005 USA

My classmates graduate, and go to Wall Street. We're a tier-two liberal arts college ( bates.edu ) with a decent economics department. Goldman pays $/y 60,000. Smaller shops pay that, and a $10,000 hiring bonus to compete. IBM consultants make about $/y 40k, and school teachers as little as $/y 12k

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Elsewhere in the world, nepo-babies are getting $800k bonuses in their first year at hedge funds.

This is all irrelevant to me, as my entire college career is designed to avoid commercial subjects. I had planned to learn about commerce only after graduation. I'm also not interested in competing for visas in the US because I don't think I'm commercially competitive, so I burn my F1 student visa's "one free year to work in the US" and head home to Malaysia.

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2005 MY

RM/m 1900. My first job is via church networks, and I work in a think tank that supports Putrajaya.

2006

RM/m 2100. My first commercial job, is in management consulting data services, surveying local salaries. I get some strategic data. Public company bank CEOs make around RM 20-30k basic, with benefits.

My team manager makes RM/m 10k, the country manager makes about RM/m 40k, but is useless and is fired.

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McKinsey pays about RM/m 10k for fresh graduates at this time.

Accenture pays about RM/m 3k.

2007

RM/m 2300. My first and only IB job, is on the buy side in funds management. CIMB's chief investment officer is making maybe 10-years bonus in a good year. That's RM 3.6 m, which I think is pathetic, and so there are zero jobs which sound like "good money" in Malaysia at this point.

2008

RM/m 2000. I help some folks to pitch their startup to a listed company, and they are acquired.
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RM/m 500

As a bartender on Changkat, Malaysia has no minimum wage. Take home is about 1.6k

BCG pays about RM/m 15k for fresh graduates at this time.

In my own reflection, that's a good enough number to "just get by for life, even if it's a ceiling", so broadly I target to bill freelance work at that price.

2009

RM/m (4000 cash + 2500 in shares). I learn web development, while performing administrative duties for another startup. My shares are never encashed.

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2011

RM/m 15000. I do freelance work, and this is now comfortably billed given the acquired skillset.

RM/m 4500. I help out at a friend's tech public relations firm.

2012

RM/m 5500. I get a raise, but it is time for a proper sabbatical, and I manage to take 8 months off that year.

I am impressed by how easy it is to make money trading securities and derivatives, but I don't feel that I have enough corporate experience, so I make myself go back to work the next year.

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2013

RM/m 2000. I help a hipster cafe to pitch for family funding, and set up operations.

2014

RM/m 1500. After the place is set up, I train as a barista.

RM/m 3000. GM for a small systems integrator.

RM/m 5000. A software development gig.

RM/m 15000. A technical management gig.

2015-2020

RM/m 3500. I am the managing partner of a small cafe. It is a career move, as I finally get to work on an entire company without idiot bosses. I am the idiot boss.

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2021-2023

RM/m 20,000. I work for two companies, doing various forms of corporate development and mentoring.

2023-2025

RM/m zero. I am again in sabbatical. Hopefully I can keep my costs of living within the range of prison food, and complete a decade of this.

2x2 domain analysis of the term "autism"

There's a definitive distinction, between traits which ENABLE (E) and traits which DISABLE (D), the political capital of the bearer.

There's also a distinction between genomic/anatomical PREDISPOSITIONS (P), and cultural ADAPTATIONS (A).

Autism originally referred to : 

• DP

Autism has been co-opted as a label for : 

• EP, 
• DA, and 
• EA

 ... which I find problematic, but which I consider worth discussing for clarity.

Etiquette and Muslims in Malaysia

Here's an idea, for people who have been offended by Muslims in Malaysia : calling them out on social media is easy, but structurally ... write a letter to the editor of various newspapers, asking if JAKIM and MKI ( Federal Department of Islamic Development Malaysia; National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs ) have a comment on federal policy.

The problem with complaining below the federal level is that everyone responds without cohesive authority.

my relationship green flags are

 My relationship green flags are :

• 1. they're not looking for someone to make them feel different
• 2. they're not trying to change the way their partner feels
• 3. there's common interest in collaborative work
• 4. PS I wanna cuddle, so we have to find each other at least moderately hot

celebration of life

 Boring day. Going to celebrate my overengineered life as a distraction.

• - no advanced degrees, as a I haven't found a good use for them, and others who actually want it deserve the scholarship money more
• - ignoring LLMs, GenAI, cryptocurrency for the time being; studying POSIX, kubernetes, and college-level math
• - living in a third-world country where I have citizenship; governance is generally disappointing; aesthetics questionable
• - best friends are mostly struggling with executive function in mid-to-low-level careers; interactions often orientate around counselling and being an emotional crutch
• - no wages to speak of; incredibly volatile investment portfolio; significant risk of cratering in any quarter; mainly dependent on social media for data sources and economic advisory
• - 28-year-old car; no health insurance; full dependence on public health care;
• - prison food diet : mostly settled, but always a game of calibration for value
• - a 35kg weight is my current stimulation routine

I am happy with my various accomplishments ( not really listed here). Life could always be better, but that is trivial. Hm.

Alright, I am going back to work in a bit. Maybe after I lift the weight again.

Delineation of Purpose

 This is engineering, not theatre. 

For most of my technical career, I have struggled to understand why people use prose ( a linear medium ) to describe systems in a non-linear fashion. 

I have been linearising documentation that isn't linear, for most of my life. 

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This seems like a very optimisable task, for an LLM.

Blood sugar economics :

Blood sugar economics : 

1. Post-wake. High or low sugar-demand states will result from different hormonal cascades ( thyroid hormones, circadian hormones ) hence some people are "morning" people, others are less so. 

IMPORTANT : ensure high sugar-demand. This means shooting protein, and engaging in musculo-skeletal resistance, preferably prior to any caffeine therapy, or calorie loading.

2. High-demand state : moderate intake of fast carbs should be ok ; caffeine therapy should have the same effect, of raising blood sugar ; simply drinking water can drop blood sugar lower and may help to trigger glucagon. Slowing down carbs by mixing with fats can help. Ensuring carbs are always accompanied by protein also assists in reducing muscle-loss.

RISK : carb speeding ... causing sugar crashes.

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2025-03-19

3. Frequency of stimulus : if you have enough executive function to get up for a drink of water, snack, or caffeine therapy, then you have enough EF to do the more important thing before sitting back down : doing enough exercise to cause your body to spike its breath rate ... I find lifting heavy weights helps : or simply squatting ( this is trendy in soc med ).

simplifying human implementations

 Many enthusiasts about Deep Learning, fail to appreciate that DL is an optimisation technique. It costs a lot to run now, but once the best algorithms are determined for any operation, those will get spun out of neural networks into more efficient operational hardware and software.

I come into this discussion with some filthy prejudices, however. About twenty years ago, it occurred to me that humans were generally predictable and unnecessarily complicated.

I am looking forward to seeing this demonstrated in machinery - whether it is I, or anyone else who gets it done.

I have been waiting a long time. :)

partner roles : in social, business, and intimate relationships

• Folks who depend on external stimuli, seek stimulating social relationships. A partner is a reason to do things.
• Folks who depend on internal stimuli, seek functional social relationships. A partner is a method to do things.

pedagogy : POSIX Shell Command Language / SCL

WIP:

When teaching (shell command language) / This shit should be taught systematically. But no ... "let then figure it out" ... yeah, that's how you waste a lot of time.

study chart for the POSIX Shell Command Language 

- in today's "things you didn't need to see" 

Download PDF 

0. Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) vs. Linux ; kernel vs. shells

• POSIX is a standard of architecture for computer operating systems, the current version of which is POSIX.1-2024
• POSIX refers mainly to user-space concepts, and does not discuss kernel architectures
• Linux is not fully-compliant with POSIX, but tracks closely
• the rest of this article assumes the Linux environment
• a program is said to be (in a space) if the program (has access to that memory space)
• the security model of memory spaces, is typically described as concentric rings, where inner-circles have higher security than outer spaces
• in this context, an analogy of (seeds and nuts) is used, introducing the terms (kernel) and (shell)
• a (kernel) is the central part of a computer's software operating system, which is highly-secured, and highly-privileged
• (kernel-space) refers to secured-memory which is accessible only to a kernel 
• typically, programs running in kernel-space are not accessible to a computer's deprivileged human users
• human users may acquire privileges, which escalate access to kernel-space programs; these are typically referred to as "administrator privileges" held by an "administrative role" 
• (user-space) refers to insecured-memory which is accessible to programs other than the kernel
• a (shell) is a program located in user-space, and functions as a mediator between programs in kernel-space and programs in user-space
• deprivileged human users typically have access only to programs in user-space - so deprivileged human users can talk to user-space programs, and user-space programs can talk to kernel-space programs ; sometimes, but not always, that talking is mediated by a shell
• shells are conveniences, which provide standardised interfaces for user-space programs to talk to kernel-space programs ; shells are therefore necessary for efficient, safe, architecture ... but not necessary if efficiency and safety are compromisable
• the rest of this article assumes the use of text-based shells, a.k.a. command-line interfaces (CLI)

1. Introductions to Linux CLI tools for reflection

• (type type) should be the ( introduction to the ) first tool for reflection, 
• (help help) should be the second ( built-ins use this, in (bash) but not (dash) )
• (info info) should be the third ( GNU introduced this )
• (man man) the fourth ( ancient UNIX )

2. Introductions to Linux CLI shells

• (\$\$) is an alias to the current shell's process' identification number (PID)
• (ps -p \$\$) uses that PID to find the ( command which created the current shell's process ), and prints it under the column (CMD).
• The most common shell environments are 
• ( bash ) the Bourne Again Shell, which has many convenience features
• (bash) defaults to a POSIX non-complaint mode, but can also be run in POSIX-compliant mode under a special flag
• run ( ls -la `which bash` ) or ( stat `which bash` ), to check that it is a "standard" file
• ( sh ) the traditional name for the shell, which on most systems is an alias for ( dash ) the Debian Almquist Shell
• (dash) is POSIX-compliant
• run ( ls -la `which sh` ), or ( stat `which sh` ), to check that (sh) is a "symbolic link" file which points to (dash)

3. Introduction to POSIX file systems

• Files : POSIX.1-2024 defines seven types of "file" in (stat.h).
• (1) a "standard" file is a convenient name for a blob of data, which might be returned by a filesystem via various implementations.
• There exist specific executable programs named (file), but this is not the general case being discussed here.
• Historically, this comes from a time when hand-held files were used, to contain punch-cards.
• (2) a "directory" file is a convenient name for part of a ( pathname ), see Indices > Secondary Index below
• (3) a "symbolic link" file is a pointer from one ( pathname ) to another ( pathname )
• (4-7) "block special", "character special", "FIFO special", and "socket" files refer to various data sources, such as devices and networking abstractions, which are given ( pathnames ) for convenience
• Indices
• Primary index : serial number
• Each file may be referenced by an ( inode / index node), which is an address of the blob of data, on the storage media. POSIX calls this the "file serial number".
• Secondary index : address in a tree
• Hierarchical/tree-structured file-systems were introduced by the Multics operating system in 1969.
• This introduces the concept of nested "directories" a.k.a. "folders", analogous to the concept of physical encapsulation.
• An address in a hierarchical file-system is called a ( pathname ), in POSIX.
• Links
• (hard links) are links between a ( pathname ) and an ( inode ).
• When a file is given a new pathname ( due to changes in its directory location, or changes to its own name ), the new pathname refers to the same old inode, so you can find the same data. There are no changes to (other hard links), and so the change of a pathname is transparent/irrelevant from the point of view of (other hard links). 
• (soft links) are links between a ( pathname ) and another ( pathname ).
• When a file is given a new pathname, any (soft links) pointing to the old pathname will no longer be able to locate the file's inode, and the inode's data. This is referred to as a broken link.

4. Introduction to Linux CLI shell utilities

• POSIX.1-2024 Standard Utilities
• IMPORTANT : ( section 12.2. Utility Argument Guidelines ) explains how to write utilities 
• IMPORTANT : ( section 12.1. Utility Argument Syntax ) explains how to read the documentation of utilities presented by ( info and man )
• Utility Argument Syntax
• Notation
• [entity] indicates that "entity" is optional
• Examples
• [-A] an "option" a.k.a. "flag"
• [-ABC] a "group of inclusive options"
• "options" which take "optional option-arguments" must be at the end of such a list
• [-A|-B] a "group of mutually exclusive options"
• Mandatory Option Arguments
• [-A option_argument] an "option" with a "mandatory option-argument" as TWO arguments
• Recommended guideline
• [-A option_argument]... an "option" with a "mandatory option-argument" which can be input multiple times
• [-Aoption_argument] an "option" with a "mandatory option-argument" as ONE argument
• Allowed for legacy compatibility, but not recommended.
• Optional Option Arguments
• [-A[option_argument]] an "option" with "optional option-argument" as ONE argument
• Recommended
• If the option_argument is missing from the optstring, the utility SHALL behave as if the entire option is missing from the optstring
• UNSPECIFIED : an "option" with "optional option-argument" as TWO arguments
• [operand] an "operand" which follows after all (if any) "options"
• [operand]... an "operand" which can be input multiple times 
• Standard Utilities SHALL be implemented
• Built-in Utilities
• Implies there is no need to execute a (separate executable file), as the utility is built into the (shell) itself.
• Special Built-in Utilities SHALL be Built-ins
• An error in a (special built-in utility) SHALL cause the (shell) to abort
• (variable assignments) preceding the invocation SHALL affect the (current execution environment)
• Accessibility to the (exec) family of POSIX.1-2024 functions is NOT mandatory
• List of Special Built-in Utilities
• ... which SHALL recognise the "--" argument
• dot 
• exec 
• export 
• readonly 
• set
• trap 
• unset 
• ... which MAY OR MAY NOT recognise the "--" argument
• eval
• ... which shall NOT recognise/use the "--" argument
• break
• colon
• continue
• exit
• return
• shift
• times
• Regular Built-in Utilities 
• An error in a (regular built-in utility) will NOT cause the (shell) to abort
• (variable assignments) preceding the invocation shall NOT affect the (current execution environment)
• Intrinsic Utilities
• NOT subject to a PATH search during ( command and search execution )
• CANNOT be overridden with a utility from PATH
• ? Accessibility to the (exec) family of POSIX.1-2024 functions is NOT mandatory 
• List of Intrinsic Built-in Utilities : OFTEN provided as (Regular built-in utilities)
• alias
• bg
• cd
• command
• fc
• fg
• getopts
• hash
• jobs
• kill
• ? Accessibility to the (exec) family of POSIX.1-2024 functions is MANDATORY
• read
• type
• ulimit
• umask
• unalias
• wait
• Non-Special Built-in, Non-Intrinsic, Standard Utilities
• ? SUBJECT to a PATH search during ( command and search execution )
• CAN be overridden with a utility from PATH
• Accessibility to the (exec) family of POSIX.1-2024 functions is MANDATORY 
• MAY OR MAY NOT be provided as (Regular built-in utilities)
• List of Non-Special Bult-in, Non-Intrinsic, Standard Utilities
• admin
• ar
• asa
• at
• awk
• basename
• batch
• bc
• c17
• cal
• cat
• cflow
• chgrp
• chmod
• chown
• cksum
• cmp
• comm
• compress
• cp
• crontab
• csplit
• ctags
• cut
• cxref
• date
• dd
• delta
• df
• diff
• dirname
• du
• echo
• ed
• env
• ex
• expand
• expr
• false
• file
• find
• fold
• fuser
• gencat
• get
• getconf
• gettext
• grep
• head
• iconv
• id
• ipcrm
• ipcs
• join
• lex
• link
• ln
• locale
• localedef
• logger
• logname
• lp
• ls
• m4
• mailx
• make
• man
• mesg
• mkdir
• mkfifo
• more
• msgfmt
• mv
• newgrp
• ngettext
• nice
• nl
• nm
• nohup
• od
• paste
• patch
• pathchk
• pax
• pr
• printf
• prs
• ps
• pwd
• readlink
• realpath
• renice
• rm
• rmdel
• rmdir
• sact
• sccs
• sed
• sh
• sleep
• sort
• split
• strings
• strip
• stty
• tabs
• tail
• talk
• tee
• test
• time
• timeout
• touch
• tput
• tr
• true
• tsort
• tty
• uname
• uncompress
• unexpand
• unget
• uniq
• unlink
• uucp
• uudecode
• uuencode
• uustat
• uux
• val
• vi
• wc
• what
• who
• write
• xargs
• xgettext
• yacc
• zcat
• (in bash, but not dash) 
• compgen / expansion
• HISTFILE / history / !

5. Introduction to POSIX definitions which influence POSIX SCL

• (POSIX regular expression character classes), with the notation [:classname:]

autism and its discontents

My general approach to this sort of thing is to let the informalists keep whatever name they want, and use a new name for the formal treatment.

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Again, just separate the domains of discourse. You can have a political caucus as broad set of activity, and a clinical practice as a narrow set, and there will be some overlap. But the clinicians have little interest in the non-clinical bits until they're formalised.

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The philosophical detour is the only part of this I really care to comment on. A movement that consists of self-identified individuals, with no formal criteria, is of no interest to formalists 😂

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There are two things about this political concern.

1. If the self-identified autists reject the clinical definitions, then the clinicians should just pick a different term to do their work, and so autism ceases to be clinically defined.

2. If the self-identified autists include themselves in a group based on a common view about (i.e. in reaction to) clinical practice, then the self-identified autists can come up with some recommendations ( which is probably the middle ground ).

2.continued. it however starts leaning from (2.) towards (1.) if the recommendations refuse the notion of formalisability. So the harder the action about defining what autism is not, without defining what it is, the stronger the case to just change the name of the clinical practice.

Of course, such discourse evolves - many permutations, many deaths, something survives. Wait and see i guess.