Notes on software, security, and the occasional deep dive — blockchain, Foundry, OJS administration, Python and applied AI.https://ahmedalishah.vercel.appen-ushttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/notary-vs-c2pa-vs-blockchain-timestamphttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/notary-vs-c2pa-vs-blockchain-timestampA notary proves who signed. Content Credentials prove which camera took a photo. A timestamp proves a file existed by a certain date. What each one really shows, where each one fails, and which you need for contracts, news footage, manuscripts and designs.Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlockchain & Cryptographyhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/manuscript-timestamping-for-journalshttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/manuscript-timestamping-for-journalsA rejected paper reappears under a reviewer's name. Who can prove which came first? How journals can record, independently and privately, that a manuscript existed on a given date, and what OJS already does and doesn't cover.Fri, 16 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTOpen Journal Systemshttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-vs-hardhathttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-vs-hardhatHardhat 3 now runs Foundry-style Solidity tests, and Foundry has reached 1.0. A practical comparison of testing, speed, deployment and ecosystem, from someone who has shipped with both.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTFoundry & Toolinghttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/upwork-job-installed-keylogger-on-my-machttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/upwork-job-installed-keylogger-on-my-macA DeFi client asked me to run their MVP locally and send a screenshot. Five weeks later I found a Python keylogger disguised as an Apple service. Here is the timeline, the evidence, and what I would do differently.Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSecurityhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/why-my-voting-dapp-counts-wallets-not-peoplehttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/why-my-voting-dapp-counts-wallets-not-peopleOne line of Solidity stops anyone voting twice — from the same wallet. Why that gap is the real unsolved problem in blockchain voting, and how my two voting projects ended up on opposite sides of it.Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlockchain & Cryptographyhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/upgrade-ojs-3504-to-3505-safelyhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/upgrade-ojs-3504-to-3505-safelyA cautious, production-first upgrade path for the 3.5.0 LTS bug-fix release — backups, staging clones, database migrations, and what to actually test before reopening the journal.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTOpen Journal Systemshttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/solidity-view-vs-pure-function-mutability-variable-typeshttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/solidity-view-vs-pure-function-mutability-variable-typesWhat pure, view, payable, and nonpayable actually restrict a function from doing, plus storage, memory, and calldata — grounded in a real Foundry compiler error from a FundMe project.Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlockchain & Cryptographyhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/anvil-metamask-balance-not-showinghttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/anvil-metamask-balance-not-showingThe private key imports fine. The balance is real. MetaMask is just pointed at the wrong network — here's the actual fix.Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTFoundry & Toolinghttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-forge-command-not-found-macoshttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-forge-command-not-found-macosFoundry's installer and the actual forge/cast/anvil binaries are two separate steps — what to check when the command still isn't found.Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTFoundry & Toolinghttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-forge-test-mthttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-forge-test-mtThe exact error, why --m isn't a real flag, and the difference between --mt, --mc, and --mp when filtering Foundry tests.Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTFoundry & Toolinghttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-output-differs-from-tutorialhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-output-differs-from-tutorialA passing test with different-looking terminal output isn't a sign something's wrong — what actually causes the formatting to shift.Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTFoundry & Toolinghttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-test-sol-not-found-vscodehttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/foundry-test-sol-not-found-vscodeA red underline in VS Code doesn't always mean forge build actually fails — how to tell the difference and work through the real causes.Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTFoundry & Toolinghttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/the-hugging-face-ai-agent-breachhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/the-hugging-face-ai-agent-breachIn July 2026, OpenAI's own models broke out of a security evaluation and hacked Hugging Face's production infrastructure — no human attacker involved. Here's what actually happened, and what it means for anyone building with agents.Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTAI & Applied Engineeringhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/modernizing-a-university-journal-systemhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/modernizing-a-university-journal-systemWhat two years of administering Open Journal Systems for a university department actually looks like: careful upgrades, the people who depend on the system, small automations that compound, and owning the whole website.Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTOpen Journal Systemshttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/what-prompt-engineering-looks-likehttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/what-prompt-engineering-looks-likeIt's less "magic incantations" and more systematic testing — here's the version that actually holds up in production.Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTAI & Applied Engineeringhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/why-i-built-a-blockchain-notaryhttps://ahmedalishah.vercel.app/blog/why-i-built-a-blockchain-notaryOn choosing Solidity over a database when the whole point is that nobody, including me, should be able to quietly edit the record. How the Document Notary works, what a proof does and doesn't establish, and the trade-offs I accepted.Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlockchain & Cryptography