Our great database migration
At the end of Q2 2024, we migrated Shepherd’s pricing engine database with zero downtime. We moved from SQLite to Postgres, and streamlined the ETL process into a one-click solution. Shepherd has underwritten and priced thousands of complex risks since our inception, spanning from Primary Casualty to Excess Casualty products. Much of the pricing magic […]
Apple II graphics: More than you wanted to know
The Apple ][ is one of the most iconic vintage computers of all time. But since Wozniak’s monster lasted all the way until 1993 (1995 if you could the IIe card, which I won’t count until I get one), it can be easy to forget that in 1977, it was a video extravaganza. The competitors– […]
What actual purpose do accent characters in ISO-8859-1 and Windows 1252 serve?
3 Answers
Five new ways to catch gravitational waves – and the secrets they’ll reveal
In September 2015, a vibration lasting just one-fifth of a second changed the history of physics. It was the first direct detection of gravitational waves — perturbations in the geometry of space-time that move across the Universe at the speed of light. Astronomers say it was like gaining a new sense — as if, until […]
Quaternion Differentiation (2012)
Quaternion differentiation August 24, 2012 I wanted to point someone to a short explanation of this today and noticed, with some surprise, that I couldn’t find something concise within 5 minutes of googling. So it seems worth writing up. I’m assuming you know what quaternions are and what they’re used for. First, though, it seems […]
Is Clear Air Turbulence becoming more common?
Amongst heightened awareness of CAT as a phenomenon, there has been a growing conversation around whether CAT events are becoming more common, and if climate change is a driver of these events. The apparent increase in incidents aligns with scientific observations and projections that climate change is intensifying atmospheric conditions conducive to CAT, making it […]
Substack Is Hiring Systems Engineers to Build a New Economic Engine for Culture
Systems Engineers at Substack are responsible for building the foundational infrastructure, tooling, and systems that enable product engineering and feature development. We architect systems to support Substack’s fast-growing product ecosystem at web scale. S&R engineers work closely across product teams to build the next generation of infrastructure for Substack. Substack’s compensation package includes a market-competitive […]
Canonical’s ‘distroless’ Linux images are a game-changer for enterprises
Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography/Getty Images Canonical has announced plans to offer customized Docker container Long Term Support (LTS) Linux images via its Everything LTS service. These custom “distroless” Linux images are set to come with 12 years of security support for Linux, and any included open-source application or dependency within the container. Canonical […]
Perplexity’s Grand Theft AI
/ More like Perfidy? a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>What, exactly, is Perplexity’s innovation?
A Novel way to curb poaching, injecting radioisotopes into 20 live rhinoceros
25 June 2024 – Wits University The Rhisotope Project at Wits is entering a new testing phase with the insertion of radioisotopes into 20 live rhinoceros. After three years of meticulous and dedicated hard work, the Rhisotope Project at Wits University has successfully inserted low doses of radioisotopes into 20 live rhinoceros. In this final […]