David Chico Pham writes on technology, sourdough, and current events.

Fantastic home cook, not bad student of history, and slightly above average engineer.

I am a Senior Privacy Engineer at The Washington Post. My path into web development is somewhat unusual -- I'm a self-taught web dev with an a background in history and sociology. I didn't realize it back then, but my studies actually gave me all the right tools I needed for writing and storytelling. As an engineer, I've been fortunate to work with some of the most talented and creative folks in media and technology.

As a first-generation Mexican-Vietnamese American, Buddhist from the Midwest, and working-class person, I often felt like an outsider. The concept of "community" seemed abstract and elusive to me. It was something I didn't quite get. I had a hard time grasping its true meaning. However, over time, I've come to understand that "community" is fundamentally about our relationships with one another. This personal site is an entry to the community of indie web creators and thinkers.

Chico was my nickname in school.

StoryStream

Findings on the web, interesting stuff, or beautiful things to share

What do you need? A uniform, some dirty hands and an Imperial tool kit. They’re so proud of themselves, they don’t even care. They’re so fat and satisfied, they can’t imagine it.
...
"The arrogance is remarkable isn't it, they don't even think about us." "These days will end, Cassian Andor. The way they laugh. The way they push through a crowd." "The sound of that voice telling you to stop, to go, to move. Telling you to die. Rings in the ear doesn't it?"

Replicated under Fair Use from Star Wars: Andor by Andor, Season 01, Episode 03.


Mr. Musk is he is just some guy, with no authority to do what is doing. He's hijacked the Federal Government, breached sensitive systems including the Treasury's Direct Payment System. Let me put it this way: a foreigner who's loyalty is not to the Republic, infiltrated and plundered the people's money and laws. It looks to me an inside job as half of Congress are silent to the very thing they swore to protect. And his arrogance, fat and satisfied, is only matched by the depth of his loneliness and hatred. Aren't we tired of his hubris.

We must hit him where it hurts: telsa, spacex, and twitter. Maybe Diablo/Path of Exile 2, to which is an average player. Governor Newsom should send state inspectors to Telsa. Governor DeSantis of Florida should think about his ambitions to be president requires a republic to exist. Go find waste and fraud at spacex. Senator Cruz, the biggest troll in the Senate, is smarter than Musk. He should put Maximum Effort in securing his 2028 presidential ambitions too. Go fuck in the Senate with investigations on starlinks. Has Musk been working with the Russians? the Chinese? Cruz should make a big fuss about it.


Amaya Edwards reports on a net on storm drains helps solves for plastic pollution:

The nets collect the rubbish that comes out of the drainage pipe, so the water is clean when it goes into the rivers and streams. The nets get changed periodically and the rubbish is taken to the local waste removal area for sorting. Anything that can be recycled gets put in the recycling.


The editorial board at WSJ thinks President Trump is imposing tariffs for no reason. Here, WSJ and me agree:

Tariffs are taxes, and when you tax something you get less of it. Who pays the tariff depends on the elasticity of supply and demand for the specific goods.

We also agree Trump is stupid to pursue these tariffs. We all lose.


While emergency planning with my wife, I read this FEMA doc on food and water emergency. There's a section for shelf life for food, and instant coffee can be stored indefinitely. Pretty neat.

So it got me thinking, can you DYI instant coffee? You can but it takes a bit of effort and a contraption that freeze-dries it. The trick is freezing things ahead of time and then rapidly cooling brewed coffee in under 30 minutes.


Costco is going to raise pay for most of their hourly workers to more than $30 bucks. Costco and Apple are two major corporations who said no to ending their anti-discrimination policies. Also both share another thing in common: highest dollar per square foot retail.

It ain't no a coincidence they are two of the most beloved brands and companies in the country.


Tariffs are taxes by another name. Trump is about to raise taxes on everyone by a significant margin. Mia Sato of the Verge succinctly puts it:

Trump has called tariffs “the greatest thing ever invented,” but he either doesn’t understand how they work or regularly lies about it. For years, he has claimed that the exporting country or company would foot the bill. Despite what the president and subjects of viral videos seem to believe, however, the exporting country’s government does not pay the tariff — the importer (like a retailer or other entity) pays it, and generally that additional cost is passed on to the consumer by charging them more for the item. If a company imports T-shirts from Mexico and sells them for $10, for example, a 25 percent tariff would add $2.50 to their costs, and they’re likely to jack up the price of your shirt to cover it.

Paul Krugman, who god love him is more profane since leaving the Times titles his latest piece, The End of North America. He argues we've built a continental-scale machine that moves, assembles, and builds over $1.8 trillion of stuff. Tariffs are about to bust that all to pieces, hurting business, workers, and consumers. We as consumers are going to witness the highest taxes in decades, at a time when inflation is a major driver to voter discontent.

What are we going to do about it? Well, I think a better question is what are the Republicans going to do about it. They're in charge. Democrats should note prop a corrupt regime. Will they stop the president from deploying illegal tariffs -- excuse me -- illegal taxes?

Illegal, you may ask? The president has a wide aperture in respects to the kinds of tariffs he can impose, but he cannot scream in all caps, something like drug trafficking as the reason. Krugman:

U.S. trade law gives the president huge discretion to impose tariffs, but only for a specific set of reasons: economic injury from import surges (Section 201), national security (Section 232), unfair foreign competition (Section 301), dumping — sales below costs. Drug smuggling, especially imaginary drug smuggling, isn’t on the list.

Trump is saying its about fentanyl coming over the border. Last time I checked, Canada is not a major source fentanyl.

"This is stupid"! Yupe, you're right. The very states, the entire midwest, overwhelmingly voted for him will see higher natural gas and oil prices (Canada sends a good amount of oil to refineries in the States). Car parts will be in shorter supply, and cost more. In a word, inflationary. He's only move is to blame immigrants and DEI. So expect that.

Will Republicans impeach him for fucking up their easy slick path to unfettered corruption? Their base are awfully populous and care about business more than pronouns, so I am told. Politics didn't end when he got elected, argues Jamelle Bouie. Maybe the backlash is nigh.


In the book 1984, the main character's whole job was to replace documents's content with approved facts by the State. The country was in a permanent war against Eurasia and no one knew why the war started, nor why it continued on. The book demonstrates what a totalitarian regime will do to stay in power and what it must do to keep it's populace soaked in propaganda.

The Verge's Jay Peters reports, Google is replacing the Gulf of Mexico for Gulf of America:

Google announced yesterday that Maps in the US will show Gulf of America and Mount McKinley, and CNBC today reports that the company’s maps division has added the US to its list of “sensitive” countries.

This is just the beginning.


Emma Stone is the only person who can match the mouth energy necessary to pull off "Hook" rap section.


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Recent Thoughts

  1. The Enemy from Within Sourdoughs
    October 19, 2024
  2. Using Amplify as a Type
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  3. Convicted in 34 felonies, Sourdough is in deep trouble
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Essays

Loose, vague feelings on things I don't entirely understand yet.

  1. Where Do We Go From Here
    November 29, 2024
  2. Propaganda Primes for Cruelty
    November 13, 2024
  3. The Fifth Risk is Here
    November 9, 2024
  4. Hopeful Heartbroken Man
    November 7, 2024
  5. The Expensive Education of Jeff Bezos
    October 29, 2024
  6. Erin Kissane's Work
    October 12, 2024
  7. It's a Beautiful Life
    September 27, 2024
  8. Wanting to Write -- Even Done Poorly
    September 8, 2024
  9. Google is an Illegal Monopoly
    August 15, 2024
  10. Grief and Sacrifice
    July 22, 2024
  11. Vice President Biden 8 Years Ago On Colbert
    July 7, 2024
  12. Lego Movie and Destiny 2 have the same premise
    June 22, 2024

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Turbocharged hyperlinks

Chaos desires order -- links to things that happened

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    You can find out more about me, what I use, the books that I have been reading and what I am up to now.