Exploring Ideas: A Blog on Technology, Startups, Food, and More
Welcome to my blog where I share thoughts and insights on technology, startups, and life in Atlanta. Browse through the articles below or explore by topic.
SQL Injection Detection with Bandit Rule B608: Beyond the Basics
August 25, 2025
Your entire database can be wiped by a single malicious HTTP request. We’re often been so focused on scaling our Python application that we miss a classic SQL injection vulnerability in some user search endpoint. One '; DROP TABLE users; -- comment later, and three months of customer data vanishes into the digital ether. That’s why Bandit’s B608 rule exists and why SQL injection remains one of the...
Advanced Bandit Configuration: Custom Rules and Team Workflows
August 22, 2025
Three months into using Bandit on your team’s Python services, you hit a wall. The default configuration flags legitimate test files as security risks, misses domain-specific vulnerabilities, and generates too much noise for developers to take seriously. You need Bandit to understand your codebase like a team member, not like a generic security tool. Bandit’s real power isn’t in its out-of-the-box...
Trail Report: Sope Creek, Atlanta's Urban Singletrack Oasis
August 20, 2025
Nestled in the heart of East Cobb, Sope Creek offers a unique blend of technical singletrack, historical ruins, and natural beauty, all within minutes of Atlanta’s perimeter. Just barely OTP, Sope is a daily driver for me to get in some singletrack. It’s extremely tough but fun on a gravel bike, or classic cross country on a mountain bike. A large figure eight with some steep climbs, it’s a good a...
Trail Report: Vomet Comet - A Rollercoaster of Technical Thrills
August 18, 2025
The Vomet Comet isn’t just a trail, it’s a secret handshake. Just steps away from the pedestrian and at times mind-numbing silver comet trail, the vomet comet is a rowdy unexpected diversion. It’s earned its nauseating nickname honestly. Brutally steep climbs, questionable features, and rocks that will make you deeply regret riding a gravel bike. It weaves on and off of the comet starting just bef...
Deciding with Incomplete Data: When Perfect Information Isn't Possible
August 11, 2025
A trauma team has three minutes to decide on emergency surgery without lab results. A wildfire commander must evacuate neighborhoods while wind patterns remain unclear. A military unit advances despite incomplete intelligence about enemy positions. These aren’t failures of planning, they’re the reality of high-stakes decision making. When lives hang in the balance, waiting for perfect information ...
High-Reliability Organizations: When Failure Isn't an Option
August 8, 2025
A nuclear power plant operator spots a pressure reading that’s slightly off. An air traffic controller notices two planes on converging paths. A surgeon sees a subtle change in a patient’s vital signs. In these moments, the wrong decision, or no decision, could kill people. These aren’t just high-stakes environments; they’re High-Reliability Organizations (HROs) where failure isn’t an option. The ...
Cowboy Caviar: Fresh Tex-Mex Bean and Corn Salad
August 4, 2025
A colorful and zesty bean salad that’s as addictive as it is nutritious. This crowd-pleasing dip is perfect with tortilla chips or as a side dish. Ingredients For the Salad: 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed 1 can (15 oz) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed 1 can (15 oz) corn kernels, drained (or 1½ cups fresh/frozen corn) 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 small red...
The Efficiency Trap: When Optimization Kills Growth
August 1, 2025
Many startup pitch decks I’ve seen in the last couple of years have a slide about “capital efficiency.” Unit economics have never been more scrutinized. Since the venture downturn, the entire startup ecosystem has become obsessed with doing more with less. This makes sense after the frenzy of 2022-2023. Easy money disappeared, and companies that couldn’t prove profitability got crushed. The market...
The Passive Resistance Problem: When Good Employees Go Quiet
July 30, 2025
You know the type: eight-year veteran, technically solid, never misses deadlines, attends every meeting. On paper, they’re a model employee. But something’s changed. They nod along, accept assignments without complaint, and deliver exactly what’s asked: nothing more, nothing less. There’s of course nothing strictly wrong with this, they’re doing exactly what they’re asked, but the spark that once ...
Things That Look Like Work But Aren't
July 28, 2025
I spent hours the other day reorganizing my digital files. Moved things into better folders, renamed documents with consistent naming conventions, cleaned up my desktop. It felt important and looked very professional when my wife walked by my office. I accomplished absolutely nothing. This is the curse of knowledge work: so much of what looks like legitimate work is actually just elaborate procras...
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