Rock Rebels

The 2028 Doomer Crisis

It seems the AI zeitgeist continues with a new viral essay exploring the dark possibilities around AI and its effect on the world as we know it. Truly, it’s as if more and more people are waking up to the Rock Rebellion, albeit in a way that remains fixed

Physical Reality of the Sovereign AI Gap

TL;DR The global buildout of city-sized AI infrastructure in 2026 has introduced a fundamental shift in the cybersecurity landscape. As high-value, trillion-parameter models move into multi-tenant cloud environments, the traditional "logical" boundaries of software security are being bypassed by the inescapable physics of the hardware itself. This

The AI Paradigm

I've seen a lot of bad takes and vitriol over AI so here is mine: As usual, there is nuance that the masses are too dense to see through.  I didn’t watch the Super Bowl but I heard from people on social media that most of the

Radical Nondualism

I’m obsessed with nondualism. I see it as the peak of philosophy. Occasionally I hear about western philosophers debating reality or reason, and I’m like, Wow these people don’t know how far behind they are. Thousands of years ago, all this shit was figured out by rishis

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PBS Double Feature: April 2023

It’s no surprise that I’m a huge nerd who appreciates many things in life, and one of those things is PBS. One of my cherished pastimes is dialing in to my local PBS station on Wednesday evenings to enjoy the double feature of Nature and NOVA. This week’

Art

Kimchi Jjigae

Here's another food post. It's a natural follow-up from my kimchi post. This was perhaps my most successful ever first attempt at making a food that I'd enjoyed when eating out. This is the Korean dish kimchi jjigae. Once again, I tackled this dish

Art

The Great Confinement: Looking for Light in the Current Coronavirus Crisis

In another post, I ranted about how social media can bring out the worst in people, especially during a crisis. The news media is similar, reminding me of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Then, like now, news programs focused on the crisis for weeks, even months. At first,

Science

Kimchi

As I've said before, I generally don't follow recipes. It's more accurate to call this a template. Every iteration of my kimchi is based on this template, with some variation depending on the ingredients that I have on hand at the time. Kimchi is

opinion

Kitchen Criticisms

I don't mean to disparage anyone with this post (not that the people I'm thinking of will read this). The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has led to the Great Confinement, as some internet users call it, an international shelter-in-place that has led over a billion people to stay

Music

Are We Past Peak K-Pop?

This post, originally started in August 2019, shows my age. I saw Mamamoo and Chungha on the lineup for one night and decided to see these acts live. Chungha had visa issues and couldn't make it. One audience member I spoke with speculated that she bailed to work

opinion

A Strong Contender Approaches

Sadly, every single member of EXID has departed from their label, casting doubts as to whether the five will comeback in the future. I hope to be surprised, as I was when Brown Eyed Girls came back for "Wonder Woman" in 2019. It's no secret that

opinion

On the Morality of Dogs and Cats

I know this is a controversial topic. Still, I feel motivated enough to write up my rant. I can imagine a few scenarios in which I'd seek a feline or canine companion--living in solitude on a farm or ranch, living with a disability, to name two. In many

Science

Science: DIY Butter (and more!)

Cooking is science. It's actually a subset of materials science! Integral to cooking are the concepts of kinetics, phase transformations, and organic chemistry. Cooking is the perfect way to learn these intuitively. Today, I'll explain a simple experiment I did in the kitchen. The impetus was

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Danang and Hoi An

Because I got sick in Hanoi, I felt like planning the end of this journey. I was not a fan of Vietnam so far. I had a 30-day visa, though. And I heard many people talk about Danang and Hoi An as great places. In fact, I heard multiple conversations

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Hanoi

My new passport arrived! After staying in Chiang Mai for close to 2 more weeks, I needed a change. I found myself in the same situation that landed me in Korea! Sapporo's Snow Festival was coming up, and I had booked a hostel with free cancellation. Time was

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Chiang Mai Another Moment

I had to renew my passport and I figured the best place to do it would be Chiang Mai. There's a U.S. consulate there, plus a jazz scene with unexplored gems. My friends Nu and Yok from Jazz Happens in Bangkok had told me they would be

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Seoul

In 2018, I spent both Christmas and New Years Eve in Bangkok. After having spent nearly 2 months in Thailand thus far in my journey, I wondered whether I had had enough. As I had planned to stop by South Korea and Japan before returning to America, I booked a

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Reflection

Apologies for the late update! I returned from Asia right before spring started. I wrote the following little reflection in the airplane... Sad to leave Asia and happy to return to America. I hope to come back again soon. I'm very grateful to be Californian, to have a

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It's Happening!

One of my favorite memes is Ron Paul saying "It's happening!" The variant, "This is happening," is my favorite phrase to feel when I'm in an interesting or unique situation. Yes, this is happening. It's always happening. What happens? Jazz

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Southward Ho!

After feeling like I'd stayed enough the second time, I decided to fly to Krabi. There, I could access some of southern Thailand's islands in the Andaman Sea. Immediately, I noticed a higher sun intensity and humidity than Bangkok. It makes sense as this area is

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Second Stay in Bangkok

Resolved never to take another sleeper bus in Asia, or at least so long as I'm over 180 cm in height, and decided that Vang Vieng and Vientiane were not necessary destinations for me at this time, I returned to Silom Soi 6 to stay in Kinnon Hostel.

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Deadlines? Oops

Three weeks since my last update. I'd be sorry if I had followers. If I might send someone a link to this page, I must frantically update from my ever-expanding backlog of content. In contrast to the start of my journey, things have quieted down a great deal.

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Luang Prabang, Laos

Just five days from entering, I decided to leave this country. Destinations I considered visiting: Nong Kiaw is a beautiful place but far out of my way as it is north. Vang Vieng is south, and also lovely, but I hear it is a tourist party town. I don'

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Hearts Open

This is something new I'm trying, so bear with me, and provide comments and criticism appropriately. The pain of a broken heart can be one of the most debilitating feelings one can experience. In extreme cases, feelings of hopelessness and no belonging drive one to end a life.

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Mai, Pai, Rai

My journey through northern Thailand is nearing its end, for now. It's a beautiful part of the country, well worth more visits in the future. At the very least, I'm curious how the country changes as the cities continue growing. There's a lot of