Zach
@determinism.dev
Software engineer @eleventhhour.games, metalhead, Padres fan, generative AI hater.
determinism.dev
determinism.dev
Reposted by Zach
Here's our 25-min video news-documentary version of the story of Red Bull, the whistleblower who leaked me the secrets of a crypto scam compound while trapped as a forced laborer inside it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOcN...
Hope you'll watch and consider the immense scale of this global crisis.
Hope you'll watch and consider the immense scale of this global crisis.
February 2, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Here's our 25-min video news-documentary version of the story of Red Bull, the whistleblower who leaked me the secrets of a crypto scam compound while trapped as a forced laborer inside it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOcN...
Hope you'll watch and consider the immense scale of this global crisis.
Hope you'll watch and consider the immense scale of this global crisis.
Reposted by Zach
This wasn’t easy to share, but it mattered.
Thanks to WIRED for documenting what I witnessed.
It shows what’s happening behind online scam operations.
Thanks to WIRED for documenting what I witnessed.
It shows what’s happening behind online scam operations.
Last year, a human trafficking victim trapped in a crypto scam compound in the Golden Triangle region of Laos contacted me. He then proceeded to leak to me a huge collection of the compound's internal materials.
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive
A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.
www.wired.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:42 PM
This wasn’t easy to share, but it mattered.
Thanks to WIRED for documenting what I witnessed.
It shows what’s happening behind online scam operations.
Thanks to WIRED for documenting what I witnessed.
It shows what’s happening behind online scam operations.
arcane roots are back and I might cry right here right now
Arcane Roots - A Wave, Across The Sea (Official Visualiser)
YouTube video by Arcane Roots
www.youtube.com
January 27, 2026 at 11:58 PM
arcane roots are back and I might cry right here right now
Reposted by Zach
Last year, a human trafficking victim trapped in a crypto scam compound in the Golden Triangle region of Laos contacted me. He then proceeded to leak to me a huge collection of the compound's internal materials.
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive
A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.
www.wired.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Last year, a human trafficking victim trapped in a crypto scam compound in the Golden Triangle region of Laos contacted me. He then proceeded to leak to me a huge collection of the compound's internal materials.
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.
🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
With fear of sparking *that* discussion again, it can't be ignored that we're creating more code than we can reasonably review and feel confident in. The modern use of "software engineer" is an affront to actual engineering and the pursuit of quality.
(from cvedb.github.io/years.html)
(from cvedb.github.io/years.html)
January 19, 2026 at 4:27 PM
With fear of sparking *that* discussion again, it can't be ignored that we're creating more code than we can reasonably review and feel confident in. The modern use of "software engineer" is an affront to actual engineering and the pursuit of quality.
(from cvedb.github.io/years.html)
(from cvedb.github.io/years.html)
Reposted by Zach
This is why those of us who live here keep telling you he cannot be our president. For every fun “anti-Trump post” there’s something like this.
Newsom Vows to Stop Proposed Billionaire Tax in California
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was working behind the scenes to block a proposed tax on billionaires’ wealth and was committed to defeating the measure if it reached the ballot.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was working behind the scenes to block a proposed tax on billionaires’ wealth and was committed to defeating the measure if it reached the ballot.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
Newsom Vows to Stop Proposed Billionaire Tax in California
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:08 PM
This is why those of us who live here keep telling you he cannot be our president. For every fun “anti-Trump post” there’s something like this.
Reposted by Zach
Some people took down entire websites, changed mission statements and mandates or dropped entire projects at the start of this year
But kept the job
Kept the title
and kept posting online telling other people what they can do to save the world
But couldn’t even hold the line themselves.
But kept the job
Kept the title
and kept posting online telling other people what they can do to save the world
But couldn’t even hold the line themselves.
December 15, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Some people took down entire websites, changed mission statements and mandates or dropped entire projects at the start of this year
But kept the job
Kept the title
and kept posting online telling other people what they can do to save the world
But couldn’t even hold the line themselves.
But kept the job
Kept the title
and kept posting online telling other people what they can do to save the world
But couldn’t even hold the line themselves.
Reposted by Zach
I am 100% pro Larian doing whatever pervert shit it wants and I can’t wait for another game where you can like, fuck a squid or whatever, but it really does further drive home the two-tier system of enforcement on storefronts. Bg3 contains basically everything small games get banned for
December 12, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I am 100% pro Larian doing whatever pervert shit it wants and I can’t wait for another game where you can like, fuck a squid or whatever, but it really does further drive home the two-tier system of enforcement on storefronts. Bg3 contains basically everything small games get banned for
Reposted by Zach
One of the best things I've read about the AI bubble and how we should think about it from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
Pluralistic: The Reverse-Centaur’s Guide to Criticizing AI (05 Dec 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net
December 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
One of the best things I've read about the AI bubble and how we should think about it from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
Reposted by Zach
I play Pentiment while working and it makes my brain do the Bradley Cooper LIMITLESS thing, +10% total brain power for each separately licensed copy I watch concurrently.
Anthropic's employees self-report using Claude in 60% of work and achieving a 50% productivity boost, often using it for debugging and code understanding, more (Anthropic)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
December 2, 2025 at 10:47 PM
I play Pentiment while working and it makes my brain do the Bradley Cooper LIMITLESS thing, +10% total brain power for each separately licensed copy I watch concurrently.
really love Chris Wilson on his content creation arc, great video www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4RN...
They're Hacking Your Packets (and How to Stop Them!)
YouTube video by Chris Wilson
www.youtube.com
September 9, 2025 at 5:26 PM
really love Chris Wilson on his content creation arc, great video www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4RN...
I used to go to Goodreads after finishing a book to find a sense of fleeting community with others who enjoyed a book, and it's really a drag to see so many self-serving, excoriating reviews in an attempt to "build a brand" as a critic
August 7, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I used to go to Goodreads after finishing a book to find a sense of fleeting community with others who enjoyed a book, and it's really a drag to see so many self-serving, excoriating reviews in an attempt to "build a brand" as a critic
Reposted by Zach
cohost being gleefully eviscerated and now itch as well – single digit teams are going to make mistakes. they should receive feedback when they do, but treating them like faceless corporations will ensure that only the faceless corporations will stick around to provide these services.
July 28, 2025 at 9:16 PM
cohost being gleefully eviscerated and now itch as well – single digit teams are going to make mistakes. they should receive feedback when they do, but treating them like faceless corporations will ensure that only the faceless corporations will stick around to provide these services.
Reposted by Zach
An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed
July 24, 2025 at 5:46 PM
An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed
Your honor, the WSJ said they were monogamous
WSJ claimed the Trump–Epstein article was an “exclusive.” But what if I told you they fully intended to show it to people? storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
July 19, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Your honor, the WSJ said they were monogamous
Reposted by Zach
This was Vin Scully's call of Henry Aaron's 715th home run. Tonight Major League Baseball cut off the first sentence, starting it with the "What a marvelous moment" part because they don't want to anger the white supremacists who run our country and of whom Rob Manfred is an ardent supporter.
July 16, 2025 at 2:31 AM
This was Vin Scully's call of Henry Aaron's 715th home run. Tonight Major League Baseball cut off the first sentence, starting it with the "What a marvelous moment" part because they don't want to anger the white supremacists who run our country and of whom Rob Manfred is an ardent supporter.
A neat #mlb fact: 44.4% of Kyle Schwarber's hits against the Padres are home runs (48.7% incl playoffs).
Noted Dodger killer Christian Walker is 35.8% hits as home runs vs Dodgers for comparison (36.5% incl playoffs).
Please let us never pitch to Schwarber again thanks
Noted Dodger killer Christian Walker is 35.8% hits as home runs vs Dodgers for comparison (36.5% incl playoffs).
Please let us never pitch to Schwarber again thanks
July 12, 2025 at 2:47 AM
A neat #mlb fact: 44.4% of Kyle Schwarber's hits against the Padres are home runs (48.7% incl playoffs).
Noted Dodger killer Christian Walker is 35.8% hits as home runs vs Dodgers for comparison (36.5% incl playoffs).
Please let us never pitch to Schwarber again thanks
Noted Dodger killer Christian Walker is 35.8% hits as home runs vs Dodgers for comparison (36.5% incl playoffs).
Please let us never pitch to Schwarber again thanks
iterating on CI pipelines is the closest thing to watching paint dry that exists in software
July 6, 2025 at 3:20 AM
iterating on CI pipelines is the closest thing to watching paint dry that exists in software
Reposted by Zach
If you're a member of the Democratic gerontocracy, the chances of you catching a primary challenger just went up 1000%.
June 25, 2025 at 1:55 AM
If you're a member of the Democratic gerontocracy, the chances of you catching a primary challenger just went up 1000%.
Is there a named law for when a layperson makes an assertion about law, and a court inevitably rules against that assertion within a week? I feel like this happens to me every time I dare to interpret legal writings
June 24, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Is there a named law for when a layperson makes an assertion about law, and a court inevitably rules against that assertion within a week? I feel like this happens to me every time I dare to interpret legal writings
Reposted by Zach
“Divorce Your MAGA husband”
June 14, 2025 at 7:41 PM
“Divorce Your MAGA husband”
Reposted by Zach
This last week is a real demonstration of how capacious, yet flattened the word "violent" is in our political discourse. Political assassinations are obviously, clearly violent. But the same word has been used all week to describe protestors damaging objects--not people, objects.
June 14, 2025 at 4:19 PM
This last week is a real demonstration of how capacious, yet flattened the word "violent" is in our political discourse. Political assassinations are obviously, clearly violent. But the same word has been used all week to describe protestors damaging objects--not people, objects.
Reposted by Zach
I’ve never forgotten this picture from 2016 and how it completely reshaped my understanding of how the media covers protests.
But if a few people in masks start lighting stuff on fire? Then you have news. This creates an *enormous* attentional advantage towards the most violent and chaotic kind of protest.
June 11, 2025 at 1:06 PM
I’ve never forgotten this picture from 2016 and how it completely reshaped my understanding of how the media covers protests.
Probably my favorite exchange with ChatGPT, for an article I'm writing disparaging ChatGPT and other generative AI.
June 9, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Probably my favorite exchange with ChatGPT, for an article I'm writing disparaging ChatGPT and other generative AI.