LaurieWired
@lauriewired.bsky.social
researcher @google; serial complexity unpacker
ex @ msft & aerospace
ex @ msft & aerospace
If you take a picture of a Raspberry Pi 2 with a strong flash it will reboot.
A specific power regulator (U16) was chip-scale packaged to save on cost and die space.
Since the silicon is basically naked, a xeon flash can cause a massive (but very short) current spike.
A specific power regulator (U16) was chip-scale packaged to save on cost and die space.
Since the silicon is basically naked, a xeon flash can cause a massive (but very short) current spike.
February 12, 2026 at 6:12 PM
If you take a picture of a Raspberry Pi 2 with a strong flash it will reboot.
A specific power regulator (U16) was chip-scale packaged to save on cost and die space.
Since the silicon is basically naked, a xeon flash can cause a massive (but very short) current spike.
A specific power regulator (U16) was chip-scale packaged to save on cost and die space.
Since the silicon is basically naked, a xeon flash can cause a massive (but very short) current spike.
can you guess which one is me?
(hint I'm always the shortest)
(hint I'm always the shortest)
February 8, 2026 at 1:12 AM
can you guess which one is me?
(hint I'm always the shortest)
(hint I'm always the shortest)
A crazy mental trick is to map complex concepts onto regions the brain is “primed” for (Chernoff).
The most hilarious example I’ve seen is…multivariate portfolio data on cartoon fish.
Analysts would thus look for the "weird fish" in the aquarium.
The most hilarious example I’ve seen is…multivariate portfolio data on cartoon fish.
Analysts would thus look for the "weird fish" in the aquarium.
February 7, 2026 at 6:25 AM
A crazy mental trick is to map complex concepts onto regions the brain is “primed” for (Chernoff).
The most hilarious example I’ve seen is…multivariate portfolio data on cartoon fish.
Analysts would thus look for the "weird fish" in the aquarium.
The most hilarious example I’ve seen is…multivariate portfolio data on cartoon fish.
Analysts would thus look for the "weird fish" in the aquarium.
We take randomness for granted.
Early PRNGs were BAD.
Thousands of scientific papers used to rely on RANDU, created by IBM in the 1960s. In 1D space, it looks ok!
Map in 3D…you start to see the issues. Now, there *was* a better solution...but it would cost you.
Early PRNGs were BAD.
Thousands of scientific papers used to rely on RANDU, created by IBM in the 1960s. In 1D space, it looks ok!
Map in 3D…you start to see the issues. Now, there *was* a better solution...but it would cost you.
February 5, 2026 at 9:58 PM
We take randomness for granted.
Early PRNGs were BAD.
Thousands of scientific papers used to rely on RANDU, created by IBM in the 1960s. In 1D space, it looks ok!
Map in 3D…you start to see the issues. Now, there *was* a better solution...but it would cost you.
Early PRNGs were BAD.
Thousands of scientific papers used to rely on RANDU, created by IBM in the 1960s. In 1D space, it looks ok!
Map in 3D…you start to see the issues. Now, there *was* a better solution...but it would cost you.
A fun quirk of modern languages is variable names aren’t restricted to ASCII.
Most compilers won’t let you use emojis as identifiers in C++, but we *can* be pretty funny (notice cout).
A legitimate use case is replicating scientific paper notation in code.
Most compilers won’t let you use emojis as identifiers in C++, but we *can* be pretty funny (notice cout).
A legitimate use case is replicating scientific paper notation in code.
February 2, 2026 at 7:58 PM
A fun quirk of modern languages is variable names aren’t restricted to ASCII.
Most compilers won’t let you use emojis as identifiers in C++, but we *can* be pretty funny (notice cout).
A legitimate use case is replicating scientific paper notation in code.
Most compilers won’t let you use emojis as identifiers in C++, but we *can* be pretty funny (notice cout).
A legitimate use case is replicating scientific paper notation in code.
today’s one-sentence horror:
sudo has been largely maintained by a single person for ~30+ years
sudo has been largely maintained by a single person for ~30+ years
January 31, 2026 at 6:32 PM
today’s one-sentence horror:
sudo has been largely maintained by a single person for ~30+ years
sudo has been largely maintained by a single person for ~30+ years
Some of the most interesting software bugs involve Astral Planes.
Yes, you heard that right.
It’s slang for unicode characters beyond U+FFFF…aka above the standard memory space.
MySQL, for example, used to be allergic to poop.
Yes, you heard that right.
It’s slang for unicode characters beyond U+FFFF…aka above the standard memory space.
MySQL, for example, used to be allergic to poop.
January 30, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Some of the most interesting software bugs involve Astral Planes.
Yes, you heard that right.
It’s slang for unicode characters beyond U+FFFF…aka above the standard memory space.
MySQL, for example, used to be allergic to poop.
Yes, you heard that right.
It’s slang for unicode characters beyond U+FFFF…aka above the standard memory space.
MySQL, for example, used to be allergic to poop.
if you’re a CS/EE student
write your thesis on JIT compilation of eBPF for NVMe controllers
there’s huge career alpha in computational storage; the standards are *just* starting to exist (TP4091)
write your thesis on JIT compilation of eBPF for NVMe controllers
there’s huge career alpha in computational storage; the standards are *just* starting to exist (TP4091)
January 28, 2026 at 9:10 PM
if you’re a CS/EE student
write your thesis on JIT compilation of eBPF for NVMe controllers
there’s huge career alpha in computational storage; the standards are *just* starting to exist (TP4091)
write your thesis on JIT compilation of eBPF for NVMe controllers
there’s huge career alpha in computational storage; the standards are *just* starting to exist (TP4091)
someone built a Linux CPU scheduler that makes scheduling decisions based on planetary positions and zodiac signs
it actually works haha:
it actually works haha:
January 26, 2026 at 8:18 PM
someone built a Linux CPU scheduler that makes scheduling decisions based on planetary positions and zodiac signs
it actually works haha:
it actually works haha:
how's your saturday going
January 24, 2026 at 9:00 PM
how's your saturday going
You’ve heard of bits. Maybe even Trits.
What about Quats (base-4)?
It’s actually heavily used in VRAM, high speed networking (think 800G ethernet), and the PCIe 6.0 spec.
PAM4 is a neat little physics trick to squeeze out more bandwidth.
What about Quats (base-4)?
It’s actually heavily used in VRAM, high speed networking (think 800G ethernet), and the PCIe 6.0 spec.
PAM4 is a neat little physics trick to squeeze out more bandwidth.
January 22, 2026 at 7:25 PM
You’ve heard of bits. Maybe even Trits.
What about Quats (base-4)?
It’s actually heavily used in VRAM, high speed networking (think 800G ethernet), and the PCIe 6.0 spec.
PAM4 is a neat little physics trick to squeeze out more bandwidth.
What about Quats (base-4)?
It’s actually heavily used in VRAM, high speed networking (think 800G ethernet), and the PCIe 6.0 spec.
PAM4 is a neat little physics trick to squeeze out more bandwidth.
really looking forward to giving this keynote!
imo the best reverse engineers also deeply understand compilers; I’ll be getting into the weeds with LLVM for this one
imo the best reverse engineers also deeply understand compilers; I’ll be getting into the weeds with LLVM for this one
Laurie (@laurewired) is keynoting RE//verse 2026 with Thinking Like a Compiler: Obfuscation from the Other Side! From LLVM passes baked into the build to custom VM bytecode that leaves decompilers guessing, this one goes straight for the toolchain. Get your ticket: shop.binary.ninja/collections/...
January 22, 2026 at 4:36 AM
really looking forward to giving this keynote!
imo the best reverse engineers also deeply understand compilers; I’ll be getting into the weeds with LLVM for this one
imo the best reverse engineers also deeply understand compilers; I’ll be getting into the weeds with LLVM for this one
There’s only one place where code must be flawless, and unreadable.
The International Obfuscated C Code Contest.
Every year the entries are absurdly good…and there’s still room for more!
You’ve got until March 13th to enter.
The International Obfuscated C Code Contest.
Every year the entries are absurdly good…and there’s still room for more!
You’ve got until March 13th to enter.
January 21, 2026 at 9:38 PM
There’s only one place where code must be flawless, and unreadable.
The International Obfuscated C Code Contest.
Every year the entries are absurdly good…and there’s still room for more!
You’ve got until March 13th to enter.
The International Obfuscated C Code Contest.
Every year the entries are absurdly good…and there’s still room for more!
You’ve got until March 13th to enter.
This might be the most difficult CPU to program.
The Intel i860 was useless for general operating systems. Context switches took ~2,000 cycles.
*You* controlled the floating point pipeline. But, if you’re a genius, it was one of the most powerful chips that existed.
The Intel i860 was useless for general operating systems. Context switches took ~2,000 cycles.
*You* controlled the floating point pipeline. But, if you’re a genius, it was one of the most powerful chips that existed.
January 20, 2026 at 6:34 PM
This might be the most difficult CPU to program.
The Intel i860 was useless for general operating systems. Context switches took ~2,000 cycles.
*You* controlled the floating point pipeline. But, if you’re a genius, it was one of the most powerful chips that existed.
The Intel i860 was useless for general operating systems. Context switches took ~2,000 cycles.
*You* controlled the floating point pipeline. But, if you’re a genius, it was one of the most powerful chips that existed.
new article I posted!
January 19, 2026 at 10:02 PM
new article I posted!
An undergrad accidentally beat a Turing Award winner.
A dog outperformed IBM's quantum computer.
And Valve's video game code is now running Meta's datacenters.
These are the wildest CS papers from 2025.
A dog outperformed IBM's quantum computer.
And Valve's video game code is now running Meta's datacenters.
These are the wildest CS papers from 2025.
January 14, 2026 at 7:15 PM
An undergrad accidentally beat a Turing Award winner.
A dog outperformed IBM's quantum computer.
And Valve's video game code is now running Meta's datacenters.
These are the wildest CS papers from 2025.
A dog outperformed IBM's quantum computer.
And Valve's video game code is now running Meta's datacenters.
These are the wildest CS papers from 2025.
This string is the spammiest possible email you can get.
A typical spam threshold triggers at a score of 5.
GTUBE (Generic Test for Unsolicited Bulk Email) tests at 1000.
It's so, unbelievably strong, putting it in your email can ruin your sender score permanently.
A typical spam threshold triggers at a score of 5.
GTUBE (Generic Test for Unsolicited Bulk Email) tests at 1000.
It's so, unbelievably strong, putting it in your email can ruin your sender score permanently.
January 13, 2026 at 6:10 PM
This string is the spammiest possible email you can get.
A typical spam threshold triggers at a score of 5.
GTUBE (Generic Test for Unsolicited Bulk Email) tests at 1000.
It's so, unbelievably strong, putting it in your email can ruin your sender score permanently.
A typical spam threshold triggers at a score of 5.
GTUBE (Generic Test for Unsolicited Bulk Email) tests at 1000.
It's so, unbelievably strong, putting it in your email can ruin your sender score permanently.
Dolphin’s dev blogs are some of the best technical writing on internet and not enough people read them.
My favorite is their “Ridiculous Ubershader”.
Pre-Compilation of the GameCube’s graphical effects is impossible:
5.64 x 10^511 possible states! So what do you do?
My favorite is their “Ridiculous Ubershader”.
Pre-Compilation of the GameCube’s graphical effects is impossible:
5.64 x 10^511 possible states! So what do you do?
January 12, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Dolphin’s dev blogs are some of the best technical writing on internet and not enough people read them.
My favorite is their “Ridiculous Ubershader”.
Pre-Compilation of the GameCube’s graphical effects is impossible:
5.64 x 10^511 possible states! So what do you do?
My favorite is their “Ridiculous Ubershader”.
Pre-Compilation of the GameCube’s graphical effects is impossible:
5.64 x 10^511 possible states! So what do you do?
It’s impossible to regex HTML.
It also created the most famous StackOverflow post in history.
Regular Expressions are a Chomsky Type-3 Grammar.
Perfect for linear patterns…but no ability to “count”.
HTML is a Chomsky Type-2 Grammar. AKA, it relies on nesting.
It also created the most famous StackOverflow post in history.
Regular Expressions are a Chomsky Type-3 Grammar.
Perfect for linear patterns…but no ability to “count”.
HTML is a Chomsky Type-2 Grammar. AKA, it relies on nesting.
January 10, 2026 at 5:36 PM
It’s impossible to regex HTML.
It also created the most famous StackOverflow post in history.
Regular Expressions are a Chomsky Type-3 Grammar.
Perfect for linear patterns…but no ability to “count”.
HTML is a Chomsky Type-2 Grammar. AKA, it relies on nesting.
It also created the most famous StackOverflow post in history.
Regular Expressions are a Chomsky Type-3 Grammar.
Perfect for linear patterns…but no ability to “count”.
HTML is a Chomsky Type-2 Grammar. AKA, it relies on nesting.
The best ARM chips are illegal.
Well, illegal in a rule-sense. It’s caused a lot of drama in the Linux Kernel.
Apple, Fujitsu, and NVIDIA implement Total Store Ordering (TSO) in many chips.
Closer to x86...very *not* like ARM's traditional weak memory model:
Well, illegal in a rule-sense. It’s caused a lot of drama in the Linux Kernel.
Apple, Fujitsu, and NVIDIA implement Total Store Ordering (TSO) in many chips.
Closer to x86...very *not* like ARM's traditional weak memory model:
January 8, 2026 at 7:50 PM
The best ARM chips are illegal.
Well, illegal in a rule-sense. It’s caused a lot of drama in the Linux Kernel.
Apple, Fujitsu, and NVIDIA implement Total Store Ordering (TSO) in many chips.
Closer to x86...very *not* like ARM's traditional weak memory model:
Well, illegal in a rule-sense. It’s caused a lot of drama in the Linux Kernel.
Apple, Fujitsu, and NVIDIA implement Total Store Ordering (TSO) in many chips.
Closer to x86...very *not* like ARM's traditional weak memory model:
Everyone knows the PS3 Cell processor.
I bet you didn't know Toshiba had a strange, cut-down Cell as a PCI-E card…for video processing.
Essentially an early form of AI upscaling, the card also implemented face detection!
Emulation nerds also got *very* excited:
I bet you didn't know Toshiba had a strange, cut-down Cell as a PCI-E card…for video processing.
Essentially an early form of AI upscaling, the card also implemented face detection!
Emulation nerds also got *very* excited:
January 6, 2026 at 12:49 AM
Everyone knows the PS3 Cell processor.
I bet you didn't know Toshiba had a strange, cut-down Cell as a PCI-E card…for video processing.
Essentially an early form of AI upscaling, the card also implemented face detection!
Emulation nerds also got *very* excited:
I bet you didn't know Toshiba had a strange, cut-down Cell as a PCI-E card…for video processing.
Essentially an early form of AI upscaling, the card also implemented face detection!
Emulation nerds also got *very* excited:
There’s a lot of weird ways to store a bit.
Delay Line Memory might be the strangest.
Essentially, sound waves looped through a medium, creating a sequential “memory” inside the material itself.
Alan Turing suggested using…Gin
Delay Line Memory might be the strangest.
Essentially, sound waves looped through a medium, creating a sequential “memory” inside the material itself.
Alan Turing suggested using…Gin
December 30, 2025 at 8:08 PM
There’s a lot of weird ways to store a bit.
Delay Line Memory might be the strangest.
Essentially, sound waves looped through a medium, creating a sequential “memory” inside the material itself.
Alan Turing suggested using…Gin
Delay Line Memory might be the strangest.
Essentially, sound waves looped through a medium, creating a sequential “memory” inside the material itself.
Alan Turing suggested using…Gin
The “opposite” of a GPU is kinda weird.
Graphcore has a strange chip (IPU) that loves tiny batches...but is also massively parallel.
It used to cost ~$100k. Now you can get one on Ebay for $150 bucks.
The catch is it's almost impossible to use.
Graphcore has a strange chip (IPU) that loves tiny batches...but is also massively parallel.
It used to cost ~$100k. Now you can get one on Ebay for $150 bucks.
The catch is it's almost impossible to use.
December 29, 2025 at 8:59 PM
The “opposite” of a GPU is kinda weird.
Graphcore has a strange chip (IPU) that loves tiny batches...but is also massively parallel.
It used to cost ~$100k. Now you can get one on Ebay for $150 bucks.
The catch is it's almost impossible to use.
Graphcore has a strange chip (IPU) that loves tiny batches...but is also massively parallel.
It used to cost ~$100k. Now you can get one on Ebay for $150 bucks.
The catch is it's almost impossible to use.
Merry Christmas everyone!
December 25, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Merry Christmas everyone!