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© 2026 Kiet Nguyen

Writing

Notes

Technical notes I'm exploring on Linux, OS, languages, concepts, tools, pipeline, test & validation literacy, computer architecture, embedded systems.

Series

Mathematical foundationsPhysics foundationsDigital Electronics

Paths

Fundamentals pathHardware pathSoftware path
  • Jul 5, 2026

    Build the house. Open the saucer.

    You can walk a program from a requirement down to a binary, or from a binary back toward a design. Same road, two directions. A beginner essay on why you should practice both—including when the point is a flaw or a piece of malware.

    10 min·Engineering · Reverse Engineering · Software · Learning · Thinking · Systems

  • Jul 4, 2026

    Beyond the magic terminal box

    The terminal window is not one process. Six layers from key to kernel, copies of environment, pipes, signals, and who actually holds the TTY—plus commands you can run to prove it.

    23 min·Linux · Terminal · Kernel · Unix · Systems · Shell · Processes

  • Jun 15, 2026

    Decoding “Everything is an object” in Python

    Python’s slogan is a runtime contract, not poetry: values are objects with identity, type, and payload; names are bindings, not typed boxes. What it means, where it is honest, and where it bends.

    6 min·Python · Systems · Learning

  • Jun 13, 2026

    Understand YAML under 10 minutes

    A dense, honest pass over YAML as the language of pipelines: structure, types, gotchas, and the patterns that show up in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Jenkins-adjacent configs, so continuous testing YAML stops looking like magic.

    8 min·YAML · CICD · CI · CT · Toolchain · DevOps

  • May 22, 2026

    Von Neumann architecture — an overview breakdown

    A working breakdown of the von Neumann (stored-program) model: shared memory for code and data, CPU control and ALU, I/O, the system bus, the fetch–decode–execute cycle, the von Neumann bottleneck, and how the idea shows up (and is bent) on modern MCUs.

    7 min·Computer Architecture · Foundations · Embedded · CPU · Memory · Systems

  • May 14, 2026

    tmux: the viewfinder is not the engine

    tmux is a programmable session layer that decouples long-running work from the window you happen to be looking through. A how-to for junior engineers: four production situations, the expert mindset, and a complete script that builds a workspace without attaching too soon.

    10 min·Linux · tmux · Shell · Terminal · Operations · SSH

  • May 12, 2026

    Why web scraping is high-leverage (and how to do it in Python)

    Web scraping is a force multiplier for career research, personal finance signals, and technical curiosity—if you treat the web as a messy database, scrape with Python deliberately, and build a pipeline after the fetch. Philosophy, mental models, techniques, and what to do next.

    11 min·Python · Web Scraping · Automation · Data · Career · Learning

  • May 10, 2026

    What is regular expression, and why should I care?

    Regex as a practical pattern language for logs, configs, CI gates, mental model to use grep, journalctl, and validation scripts without drowning in theory.

    6 min·Linux · Toolchain · DevOps · Process · Python · Shell

  • Apr 26, 2026

    Systemd unit file: every bit that keeps a Linux service honest

    Unit types first, then a real production unit—systemd-journald.service from systemctl cat—dissected with first principles and rebuilt in layers, including drop-ins, sockets, and how the journal sits in the wider unit graph.

    13 min·Linux · systemd · Services · journald · DevOps · Systems

  • Apr 16, 2026

    Why comprehend how an operating system works?

    A general blueprint for OS literacy: processes, memory, files, time, identity, devices, and isolation, so software stops treating the machine as magic. Not a tour of any one commercial OS.

    9 min·OS · Systems · Foundations · Essay · Computer Science

  • Apr 14, 2026

    systemd, broken down

    what systemd is, PID 1, units, targets, systemctl, journalctl, network targets, API filesystems. Grounded in systemd.io and Grokipedia.

    15 min·Linux · systemd · DevOps · Sysadmin · Toolchain · Learning

  • Mar 26, 2026

    Data life cycle basics

    A curriculum-shaped breakdown of the data life cycle: why programs are state over time, then plan and create through collect, process, store, share and use, archive, and dispose—with quality, security, privacy, and provenance at every stage.

    11 min·Computer Science · Data · Foundations · Systems · Curriculum · Information

12

The main index lists standalone notes only (newest first). Ordered series live under Series; learn curricula live under Paths—so long tracks do not flood this feed.