Radar - page 2
December - Everything I Learned
Previously: EIL June, EIL July, EIL August, EIL September, EIL October, EIL November
SCEP - Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol
Technically, SCEP (RFC 8894) is an HTTP-based protocol that automates the distribution of X.509 certificates by wrapping a PKCS#10 request inside a PKCS#7 encrypted envelope. It authenticates these requests using a pre-shared challenge password, allowing "headless" devices like routers and mobile phones to securely enroll with a Certificate Authority without manual intervention.
- SCEP is like a hotel room you enter with a generic password (Shared Secret). If someone steals that password, they can get in.
- Modern TLS (EST/ACME) is like a high-end office you enter with a biometric scan or a unique, encrypted digital key. It ensures the device is exactly who it claims to be before it ever sees the "key."
**The Passion of the Cut Sleeve - Han Dynasty, China (~7–1 BCE)
** A story between Emperor Ai of Han & his favorite official, Dong Xian. While the two were napping together, the Emperor woke to find Dong Xian fast asleep on his long silk sleeve. Emperor didn't want to disturb Dod Xian, so he took a knife and cut off his own sleeve to leave quietly. The phrase "Passion of the Cut Sleeve" (duanxiu) became the standard literary euphemism for male homosexuality in China for two millennia.
Chandra OCR by Datalab - OCR model that handles complex tables, forms, handwriting with full layout
Datalab's Chandra is great at benchmarks:
- Supports 40+ languages
- Extracts complex texts, tables, formulas easily
100% open-source.
https://github.com/datalab-to/chandra
A very short story of Switzerland
Switzerland stayed out of major foreign wars mainly because it chose "permanent neutrality". European powers formally recognised Switzerland’s neutral status at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and the Swiss committed to not joining military alliances, not sending troops to fight and not letting warring armies use its territory. This became central to its foreign policy and helped it avoid participation in the World Wars and other conflicts. Switzerland did not fight in World War I or World War II. Its neutrality was backed by armed defence and diplomacy. Also the Alps and prepared defence forces made invasion unattractive to neighbours. 
Switzerland’s wealth comes from a mix of economic strengths: a very high GDP per capita; a globally important banking and finance sector supported by decades of stable, "neutral policy"; advanced pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports; and precision manufacturing like watches.
Neutrality kept Switzerland out of destructive wars, and long-term stability, global trade, and strong financial and tech sectors made it rich.
November - Everything I Learned
Previously: EIL June, EIL July, EIL August, EIL September, EIL October
In-Place Pod Resizing in Kubernetes
Kubernetes now supports true in-place pod resource resizing, allowing CPU and memory requests or limits to be increased or decreased without triggering a pod restart. This removes the need for disruptive rolling updates when tuning workloads. It improves cluster reliability, especially for autoscaled or performance-sensitive workloads where right-sizing can be done reactively instead of preemptively. Read more palark.com/blog/in-place-pod-resizing-kubernetes
OpenTelemetry Transformation Language (OTTL)
OTTL is a declarative transformation language integrated into the OpenTelemetry Collector pipeline. It enables deterministic manipulation of traces, metrics and logs through rule-based statements that resemble fluent-bit filter semantics but with stronger typing and composability. OTTL.run provides an interactive environment to write, test and validate transformations before deploying them in production. This simplifies complex telemetry normalization tasks such as attribute remapping, sampling logic and record enrichment. Reference: https://ottl.run
October - Everything I Learned
Previously: EIL June, EIL July, EIL August, EIL September
SAIF framework: Google's Secure AI Framework
A conceptual framework to secure AI systems by Google. safety.google/cybersecurity-advancements/saif/
Lattice-based cryptography and Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC)
Lattice-based cryptography secures data using math problems built on grids (lattices) that are easy to create but extremely hard to solve. It’s considered a top candidate for post-quantum cryptography because even powerful quantum computers (the so-called Q Day machines that could break today’s encryption) can’t efficiently solve these lattice problems. In short: it’s a future-proof way to keep encryption safe in the quantum era.
A book about the punk scene in Turkey 1978-1999
A nice website dedicated to “An Interrupted History of Punk and Underground Resources in Turkey 1978-1999” book turkiyedepunkveyeraltikaynaklarininkesintilitarihi.com
A nice album discovery "Folk tunes of pakistan on the latin american beat 1965"
The 1965 EP titled Folk Tunes of Pakistan on the Latin American Beat by Pakistani composer Sohail Rana takes folk melodies from regions like Sindh and the Punjab and re-imagines them in Latin and surf-inspired styles—tracks like “The Khyber Twist” mix electric guitar, organ and regional rhythm patterns. Rana is primarily known for his film-music work in Pakistan.
Chromatic Drift - P5.js visual work
"Chromatic Drift" is a visual work to to capture the gradual color transitions and the smooth, cloud-like movement of the organic natural pastel brush strokes.
See the project: https://hasantayyar.net/assets/chromatic-drift-p5-visual-work/
I used p5.js and p5.brush libraries to make this. Inspired from this work editor.p5js.org/acamposuribe/sketches/gSQP6hHbi
September - Everything I Learned
Previously: EIL June, EIL July, EIL August
Databases: RocksDB, FoundationDB & LMDB
Three very different types of databases caught my eye this month: RocksDB, FoundationDB, and LMDB.
RocksDB is an embedded, SSD-optimized key-value store from Facebook, great for local high-throughput workloads.
FoundationDB, Apple’s open-source project, flips that around. It’s a distributed, ACID-compliant database that scales horizontally while keeping strong consistency.
LMDB: It's minimalist database. Also suitable for embedded projects. It's a memory-mapped B+ tree with zero-copy reads and strong ACID guarantees. Small, fast, but limited to one writer at a time. Each one nails a different corner of the performance–consistency–simplicity triangle.
There are other interesting compact databases here in this tool to benchmark them: github.com/LMDB/dbbench
Random stufff
- StarRocks: an MPP SQL engine built for lightning-fast analytics.
- StateGraph.dev: Stategraph replaces the flat state file with a database-backed graph. Independent changes can run in parallel, and the state becomes queryable and auditable. Parallel teams. No lock waiting. Audit-ready state.
- Rebar4 Kickstarter: Erlang’s build system keeps evolving. Go support.
- Elixir Koans: a fun, interactive way to learn idiomatic Elixir.
Copying Files Faster on Linux
- For large local copies:
rsync -a --info=progress2 /source/ /destination/
- For tons of small files:
tar cf - /source | (cd /destination && tar xf -)
- Across disks:
rsync -a --info=progress2 --inplace --no-whole-file /source/ /destination/
256 Bytes of Art
Discovered A Mind Is Born by Linus Åkesson. A full audiovisual demo packed into just 256 bytes of code. Crazy part is it's audio and visual.
Micro animations
Inspired by this shortest film (256 Bytes of Code) Bitwise Liminal, I've vibe coded some small animation with the power of SVG.
Also see: - The smallest SVG possible - Some analysis on Bitwise Liminal
August - Everything I Learned
Previously: - EIL June - EIL July
The Japanese word "Kara"
- 🎶 Karaoke (カラオケ) = “Empty orchestra” → singing over instrumentals.
- 🥋 Kara-uke (空受け) = “Empty block” → defense with calmness, no force.
- 🥋 Karate (空手) = “Empty hand” → martial art of unarmed combat.
Salman Rushdie reads from Edward Said’s After the Last Sky book
Salman Rushdie reads from Edward Said’s After the Last Sky, a book about how Palestinian identity is lived through repetition and shared codes. One striking example is a letter from a self-proclaimed Palestinian karate champion, using karate as proof of belonging. Said notes that such repetition—being a “Palestinian karate expert” becomes a way of insisting on existence. At the same time, he shows how this identity is invaded by outside definitions and how women’s voices are often left out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf0J9KlHank
Bus telolek - The horn DJs - Indonesian underrated djs
I learned about the bus telolet culture in Indonesia, where kids gather along highways shouting “Om Telolet Om!” (which means “Sir, honk the horn!”) to passing bus drivers. In response, the drivers play their custom multi-tone horns, called telolet, which create melodic and often playful rhythms instead of simple honks. This was a roadside game but niow became a viral internet sensation since 2016, even inspiring famous DJs to sample the sound in their tracks. Today, it’s still alive, especially with tourism buses, showing how something as ordinary as a bus horn can turn into a joyful cultural phenomenon.
NIST Finalizes ‘Lightweight Cryptography’ Standard to Protect Small Devices
Traditional algorithms like AES or SHA-256 are too resource-intensive for many small devices. The new standard offers efficient, compact, and secure cryptography. It’s designed to resist side-channel attacks. The standard is built around a group of cryptographic algorithms in the Ascon family. Ascon was developed in 2014 by a team of cryptographers from Graz University of Technology, Infineon Technologies, and Radboud University.
| Algorithm | Function | Key Benefit | | --- | --- | --- | | ASCON-128 AEAD | Encrypt + Authenticate | Efficient, side-channel resistant AEAD | | ASCON-Hash 256 | Fixed-size hash digest | Lightweight integrity checks | | ASCON-XOF 128 | Variable-length hash output | Tailored performance vs. security | | ASCON-CXOF 128 | Labeled XOF for domain separation | Collision-resistant across devices |
Banana peel for plants
You can chop up a banana peel, leave it in a jar of water overnight, and then use that water (not the peels) to waqter your plants. This can repeat about once a month. This works because banana peels contains nutrients like potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium into the water, which support strong roots, and better flowering. It’s a natural fertilizer, but it’s best not to overdo it since too much can cause mold or disturb the balance of the soil.
Foundational concepts of Karate
Foundational concepts of Karate-Do, integrating technique and spirit. A summary from the books: - Dynamic Karate by Masatoshi Nakayama - Karate Basic Principles by Paul Kuttner - Karate Budo The Endless Search for Absolute Kime by Gilles Lavigne - Karate Technique Spirit by Nakamura Tadashi
Karate’s story goes way back to the 6th century BCE. The monk Daruma (Bodhidharma) brought meditation and martial practices from India into China. That mix of physical training and Zen thinking shaped what would later become the backbone of many martial arts. By the Tang Dynasty, Shaolin monks had made martial arts central, and Japan was already borrowing a lot from Chinese culture, including fighting systems. Some people even suggest karate might have roots in ancient Greece before Daruma, but honestly, those theories are pretty weak.
During Japan’s feudal era, the emperor’s power faded and the warriors took over. By 1192, Yoritomo became the first Shogun, and Japan entered centuries where the sword ruled. Meanwhile, in Okinawa, weapons were banned. With no swords to rely on, people turned farm tools into weapons and developed a hidden empty-hand system called Okinawa-te. That was the real seed of karate. By the 18th and 19th centuries, Okinawan masters like Matsumora Kosaku and Higashionna Kanryo refined these methods, blending them with Chinese Quanfa. Later, Itosu Anko simplified karate, brought it into schools, and created the first real curriculum. His student, Funakoshi Gichin (1868–1957), carried karate to mainland Japan, renamed it Karate-Do (Way of the Empty Hand), and shifted the focus beyond fighting to include discipline and character.
In the 20th century, karate spread quickly. The uniform and belt system came from Jigoro Kano’s Judo, and soon karate schools everywhere were adopting them. Different styles branched out — Shotokan, Goju-Ryu, Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Kyokushin. Each with its own flavor. By the 1950s and 60s, Japanese masters were bringing karate overseas, especially to the U.S., where it exploded through dojos, tournaments, and eventually movies. Since then, karate has grown into both a sport and a way of life. Some people chase medals, others go deep into kata and philosophy. Leaders like Tadashi Nakamura (Seido Karate) and researchers like Helmut Kogel and Tetsuhiro Hokama have pushed karate forward, making sure it evolves without losing its spirit.
Karate-Do: Way of Life and Self-Actualisation: "Do" = path of self-actualisation; integration of body, mind, spirit / cultivates whole person, not just combat / Aim: physical, spiritual, and mental perfection / influenced by samurai ethics, Zen, Bushido / Lifelong study and self-discovery
Unity of Mind, Body, Spirit (Shin Gi Tai): Physical: Strength, stamina, biomechanics, expansion or contraction / Mental: Focus, awareness, strategies, emotional control / Spiritual: Character, humility, Zen-based self-discovery
Kime (Focus & Decision): Definition: Complete focus in technique execution / Physical: Muscle contraction, alignment, timing, breathing / Mental: Precision, coordination, tactical awareness (Maai, Hyoshi, Yomi) / Spiritual: Willpower, commitment, present-moment energy
Stances (Dachi): Purpose: Stable, adaptable base for techniques and movement / Key Aspects: Weight distribution, hip/knee alignment, dynamic transitions / Examples: Zenkutsu, Kiba, Kokutsu, Sanchin, Heiko, Neko Ashi, Fudo, etc.
Breathing (Kokyu) & Hara/Tanden: Importance: Core of power, timing, and control / Technique: Tanden-based breathing, Ibuki, pulse breathing, IAP / Spirit: Breath as unifier of body-mind-spirit; Zen/Taoist/Buddhist methods
Kata (Forms) & Bunkai (Applications): Kata: Choreographed sequences, essence of training / Technique: Strikes, blocks, conditioning, bunkai/oyo, kyusho, tuite / Spirit: Vehicle for calmness, harmony, "moving Zen", mushin, zanshin
Kumite (Sparring) & Self-Defense: Purpose: Practical application, real-world readiness / Technique: Distance, timing, offense/defense, SSE sequence / Spirit: Self-mastery, non-violence, awareness, fighting spirit
Etiquette & Character: Courtesy: Bowing, uniform, respect, humility / Core: Respect, sincerity, self-control, ethical behavior / Principles: Omoiyari, Ko Gaku Shin, Fu Gen Jikko, Heijo Shin, etc.
Balance (Kuzushi) & Movement (Unsoku/Tai Sabaki): Kuzushi: Breaking balance (static, dynamic, mental, subtle) / Movement: Footwork, body shifts, rhythm (Hyoshi), hidden timing
Origins & Philosophical Influences: Okinawan roots, Chinese boxing, Bubishi text / Masters: Funakoshi, Miyagi → beyond combat / Zen & Bushido influence; “Moving Zen” / Perennial philosophy: matter → spirit continuum / Chakras/Kundalini energy model / Mantras/Kototamas: spiritual sounds for energy
July - Everything I Learned
Previously: - EIL June
Elixir is actually great
I keep learning that Elixir is actually great.
The BEAM (Bogdan/Björn’s Erlang Abstract Machine), the virtual machine that runs Erlang and Elixir, has native support for hot code upgrades, which is already a great feature.
This is a known fact. What I’ve recently learned is that BEAM can keep two versions of a module loaded at the same time.
Importance of the R.I.C.E. protocol
After twisting my ankle during karate training, I once again realized the importance of the R.I.C.E. protocol.
- Rest – no weight on the injured area for a minimum of 72 hours, ideally a week.
- Ice – ice pack covered with a cloth, 15–20 minutes every 2–3 hours during the first 24–48 hours.
- Compression – elastic medical band, not too tight. If the area turns blue, stop immediately.
- Elevation – elevate above heart level.
On top of this, supplements are important for a good recovery.
A sufficient amount of protein, 3g of creatine daily (or continue your usual dose if you’re already taking supplements), omega-3, vitamin C (double the daily recommended dose), magnesium (double the daily recommended dose), plenty of water, and collagen from any source.
This combo helps with proper recovery of the injured area.
After the 5th day, I started applying hot packs instead of ice packs. This helps circulate blood in the tiny vessels.
These are just parts of the recovery process. The first step should always be an ultrasound and/or x-ray to understand the extent of the injury.
Luxembourg has its own language – Luxembourgish
I didn’t know Luxembourgish is classified as a language. It’s indeed all about political borders. Some say “Limburgisch” is a German dialect, which is what I thought too. It sounds exactly like what you’d expect from its location—a mix of German and French.
I also learned that, unlike many European languages that have a direct word for “please” (like bitte in German), Luxembourgish doesn’t have a single standalone word for it. Instead, they use formal sentences and tones, with the phrase “wann ech gelift.” This literally means “If I may” or “if you please.” In a way, this is their version of “please.”
I find it similar to French. French has s’il vous plaît, which also literally means “if you please,” but is generally translated directly as “please.”
“wann ech gelift” can also be abbreviated as “w.e.g.” and, as far as I understand, even pronounced that way.
The City of London
The City of London, often called "the Square Mile," holds a unique legal status as a self-governing entity distinct from the rest of Greater London. Its roots trace back to Anglo-Saxon times, with its own ancient government, the City of London Corporation, headed by the Lord Mayor of London. Unlike other boroughs, it maintains its own police force, the City of London Police, and possesses special historical privileges and financial autonomy, stemming from its long-standing role as a global financial center.
The City of London's unique status greatly benefits the banking industry by creating a specialized, concentrated financial hub. Banks have a direct voice in local governance, and the unparalleled concentration of financial firms, legal services, and talent fosters collaboration and efficiency. A robust legal system provides stability and a secure environment for complex transactions, while the City itself actively promotes London as a global financial leader.
June - Everything I Learned
A new series I hope to keep monthly. Just a simple note of everything I learned whether trivial or significant.
Gleam vs Elixir
Wiki says:
Gleam is a general-purpose, concurrent, functional high-level programming language that compiles to Erlang or JavaScript source code.
Gleam is a statically-typed language, which is different from the most popular languages that run on Erlang’s virtual machine BEAM, Erlang and Elixir. Gleam has its own type-safe implementation of OTP, Erlang's actor framework. Packages are provided using the Hex package manager, and an index for finding packages written for Gleam is available.
So what I understand is Elixir users can easily use Gleam but why. That’s why I have learned:
Gleam and Elixir are both languages that run on the Erlang VM (BEAM), but they primarily different in their type systems and designs. Gleam is statically typed, meaning types are checked at compile time, which helps catch errors early and ensures predictability. It favors simplicity and performance, with a syntax inspired by ML-style languages. For example, a Gleam function looks like:
fn add(x: Int, y: Int) -> Int {
x + y
}
Elixir, on the other hand, is *dynamically typed * and focuses on developer productivity, expressiveness, and fault tolerance. It allows for powerful metaprogramming and a flexible development style. While it supports optional type specs, type checking happens at runtime unless explicitly enforced. An equivalent function in Elixir would be:
def add(x, y), do: x + y
Natural Greenfly Remedy: Milk Spray
A surprisingly effective natural solution: mix 1 part milk with 8 parts water and spray it generously on greenfly-infested plants.
Make sure to cover both sides of the leaves, especially the underside.
My father recommended this, advising to apply it only when there’s no direct sunlight. I was skeptical, but it worked amazingly well.
I had to repeat the treatment a few times to eliminate newly hatched greenflies from previously laid eggs.
Lavender Oil vs. Mosquitos
Lavender oil seems to repel mosquitos—at least the European kind—and smells pleasant during hot summer days. It also gives a refreshing feeling. I’m unsure about its safety on facial skin, so apply cautiously.
116116 – Emergency Blocking Hotline in Germany
In Germany, 116116 is the central number to block all your bank cards, SIM cards, and digital ID in case of theft or loss. Works fast.
Free SIM Card Replacement
Lost or stolen SIM in Germany? If you don’t have the PIN/PUK and the card doesn’t function, most providers will replace it for free. If it's functional, they may charge a small fee.
Key Cylinder Replacement Takes Time
If a master key for an apartment building (e.g., 8 flats) gets stolen, replacing all key cylinders takes at least 6 week; even if it’s urgent.
I have also learned that changing a basic cylinder lock yourself isn’t that difficult. It only takes 5 minutes if you have screwdriver and the replacement cylinder.