Writing on AI, Energy, and Building Things

Crimes of Fathers: Deception, Accountability, and Corporate Narcissism (SAND - Part 22)

July 21, 2026

A permanent record of the example left behind by Ho Viet Hai and Nguyen Quoc Nam, examining how corporate narcissism destroyed ecosystem trust and damaged the startup community.

The Alterno Greenwashing Network: VCs, Shell Companies, and Serial Crowdfunding (SAND - Part 21)

July 18, 2026

A breakdown of Alterno's entity web: offshore control via zero.by.fifty, shell entities in Thailand and Japan, questionable supplier payment patterns, and systemic gatekeeper due-diligence gaps.

ESP32 + CM4/CM5: Our Hardware Architecture for Self-Hosted AIoT

July 14, 2026

The two-tier hardware stack behind our AIoT deployments — low-power ESP32 edge nodes plus a CM4/CM5 local core — keeping data on-site for homes, factories, resorts and schools.

Rust on ESP32 and Single-Board Computers: Our Embedded Stack

July 10, 2026

Why Rust replaced C and Python scripts in our embedded work — memory safety on ESP32, single static binaries on SBCs, and why AI agents write Rust so well.

The Lean Stack: Why We Went Back to HTML, CSS, and Fundamentals

July 4, 2026

How Alpine.js, htmx, Bulma, Bun and Hono replaced the React/Next.js pipeline in our work — and why self-hosting is the core of a real local AI strategy.

Which AI Level Are You? (Why Most Are Stuck at Level 1 or 2)

April 16, 2026

A practical 5-level framework for understanding AI maturity, and why most teams still stop at search, summarization, and copy-paste

Alterno Is Attempting Crypto Crowdfunding?! (SAND - Part 20)

April 14, 2026

A public-artifact analysis of SandBlock, its tokenized energy pitch, and the repeated external-contractor pattern visible in Alterno's crypto repos.

The Alterno Lawsuit Timeline: Corporate Restructuring and Document Discrepancies (SAND - Part 19)

March 28, 2026

A chronological, evidence-based review of the legal timeline, corporate restructuring, and document inconsistencies surrounding the Alterno management dispute.

AI Minions and the New Operating System for Work

March 18, 2026

If you are still managing people the traditional way, you might already be falling behind the invisible operating system that is quietly running modern startups.

Technology Is Real Power: The New Rules of Influence

March 3, 2026

We still pretend that politicians and legacy corporations run the world, ignoring the invisible digital rails where the actual power now resides.

The Rise of the One-Person Dev Team

March 1, 2026

Entire engineering departments are quietly being outperformed by single developers who have figured out how to orchestrate the right fleet of agents.

Sand Battery Simulation with AI

February 21, 2026

Looking back at the early days of Sand Battery, I wish I had today's AI tools like Antigravity and Opus 4.6. Here's a look at how we built the original models before AI made it all so easy.

Our servers were attacked on Vietnamese New Year 2026 by a Vietnamese Botnet - 18th Feb 2026.

February 19, 2026

How a forgotten caching database led to a major holiday outage, and why AI on the server saved the day.

Alterno Lawsuit: Court Evasion and Unverified Evidence in Vietnam (SAND - Part 18)

February 15, 2026

A breakdown of how Alterno Vietnam attempted an illegal corporate dissolution and repeatedly evaded court summons between August 2025 and January 2026.

AI Automation for Leaders Workshop, Jan 2026

January 20, 2026

Why most leaders struggle to adopt AI, and how a mindset shift toward automation is more critical than mastering any single tool.

Dev ơi đừng sợ AI! Bạn mới là người nắm giữ tương lai!

December 29, 2025

Nhiều lập trình viên lo sợ mất việc vì AI, nhưng sự thật là những ai biết tận dụng nó đang dần thâu tóm tương lai.

The (Software) Developer Advantage: Why AI is your future, not your Fear

December 29, 2025

Many believe artificial intelligence will replace software engineers, yet the very foundations of AI give developers an overwhelming structural advantage.

Digital Forensic with AI 101 - Corporate Espionage by NS and DNS manipulation

December 23, 2025

A deep dive into a case of corporate sabotage using DNS manipulation and how AI accelerates digital forensics.

Sand Battery IP Dispute: Patent Changes and Unpaid Compensation (SAND - Part 17)

September 24, 2025

Registry records show repeated attempts to remove my name from the Vietnamese Sand Battery patent while contracted payments stopped — the paper trail of the IP dispute.

Sand Battery Legal Fight Update: Court Documents, Claims, and What Happens Next (SAND - Part 16)

September 15, 2025

Alterno's own court submission contains an email disproving its central claim that I was uncontactable in August 2024. A walkthrough of the self-contradicting evidence.

Sand Battery Court Hearing Timeline and Claims Update (SAND - Part 15)

July 26, 2025

The revised Labour Regulation signed without my knowledge, the manufactured termination pretext, and the investors' silence — the full record ahead of the 31.07.2025 court hearing.

Những lời lăng mạ cá nhân vào tháng 5 năm 2025 (SAND - Phần 14)

July 17, 2025

Email lăng mạ ẩn danh, hành vi mạo danh, và tài liệu mật của hội đồng quản trị bị phát tán: tranh chấp pin cát Alterno trở thành công kích cá nhân vào tháng 5 năm 2025, kèm bản dịch đầy đủ các tin nhắn.

Personal Insults, Legal Escalation, and the Sand Battery Dispute in May 2025 (SAND - Part 14)

July 17, 2025

Anonymous insulting emails, impersonation, and leaked confidential board documents: how the Alterno sand battery dispute turned personal in May 2025, with full translations of the messages.

October 2024 Sand Battery Timeline: What Did Not Happen and Why It Matters (SAND - Part 13)

July 13, 2025

ACRA filings show a director quietly appointed and another removed without notice in October 2024 — while the USPTO patent approval, investor meetings, and financial data were withheld during share transfer negotiations.

The Sand Battery IP Dispute in Vietnam: Patent Ownership and Inventorship (SAND - Part 12)

July 10, 2025

Why I filed a formal objection with the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam over the sand battery patent (application 1-2023-05430) — the inventorship record, the USPTO priority link, and the seven months I was kept in the dark.

Can an Ice Battery Cool Singapore HDB Flats with Near-Zero Emissions? (ICE - Part 4)

July 1, 2025

What if the key to cooling millions of homes in Singapore without breaking the power grid has been sitting in front of us the entire time?

Vietnam Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Timeline in the Sand Battery Dispute (SAND - Part 11)

June 4, 2025

The full timeline of my wrongful termination lawsuit against Alterno Vietnam: the CSO transition, the fabricated uncontactable claim, failed mediation, court acceptance on March 20, 2025, and the no-show at the April 15 hearing.

The Ice Battery Breakthrough: Running Cooling Without Grid Electricity (ICE - Part 3)

June 2, 2025

Sometimes all it takes is a single, risky experiment to prove that cooling a room doesn't actually require the electrical grid.

Patent Authorship vs Ownership in the Sand Battery Case (SAND - Part 10)

June 2, 2025

Patent authorship vs ownership explained through the Sand Battery case: USPTO 12,130,086 B1 lists the inventors permanently, Alterno holds assignee rights — so why has the company never announced its own patent?

Sand Battery Saga: Antler Vietnam, Governance Failures, and Silent Enablers (SAND - Part 9)

May 28, 2025

Antler Vietnam matched the Alterno founding team, held equity, and stayed silent through the termination, patent concealment, and court no-show. A look at venture-builder accountability, with documents.

Ice Battery Cooling: The Science, Savings, and Carbon Benefits (ICE - Part 2)

May 27, 2025

Lowering cooling costs isn't just about better air conditioners - it's about shifting the burden of refrigeration entirely away from peak hours.

What Is an Ice Battery? Sustainable Cooling and Cold Thermal Storage Explained (ICE - Part 1)

May 25, 2025

The race to cool a warming planet might not require new exotic chemicals, but rather a radical rethinking of something as ordinary as ice.

Founder Psychology: Using the Light and Dark Triad Framework

May 25, 2025

You might think you know who to trust in business, until you measure their underlying psychology against the uncomfortable realities of the Dark Triad.

How the Sand Battery Patent Discovery Happened: The Untold Story (SAND - Part 8)

May 22, 2025

I discovered our USPTO sand battery patent had been approved on October 29, 2024 — seven months late, through my own search — after my company email was cut off 13 days before the grant.

Sand Battery Patent USPTO 12,130,086 B1: Full Text and Technical Summary (SAND - Part 7)

May 22, 2025

US Patent 12,130,086 B1 explained in plain language: heat isolation valves, distributed heating elements, and multi-layer insulation for sand-based thermal storage that dries agricultural products.

Sand Battery Origin Story: How the Technology Really Started (SAND - Part 6)

May 20, 2025

The documented origin of the Vietnamese sand battery: dated photos and security-camera video from September–November 2022, from balcony prototype to 150°C breakthrough — before Antler VN3 and before the co-founder match.

Sand Battery vs Lithium Battery: Cost, Lifespan, and Thermal Storage Tradeoffs (SAND - Part 5)

May 18, 2025

We have been conditioned to believe lithium is the only answer to energy storage, but a closer look at thermal tradeoffs might make you question that assumption.

Sand Battery Hot Water for Homestays and Resorts: A Practical Use Case (SAND - Part 4)

May 17, 2025

Heating water quietly drains the operating budgets of resorts worldwide, yet a pile of hot sand might be all it takes to stop the bleeding.

Why Sand Battery Delivers Near-Zero Lifetime Emissions (SAND - Part 3)

May 16, 2025

It sounds impossible to build a high-capacity storage system with near-zero lifetime emissions, yet the math behind thermal storage proves otherwise.

Sand Battery Origin: Correcting Misleading Claims About Who Built It

May 15, 2025

Recent PR articles blur who built the first sand battery in Vietnam and when. Here is the documented timeline — prototypes, photos, and patent records — to check those claims against.

Mental Health for Founders: The Core Operating System of Life and Leadership

May 9, 2025

Founders obsess over optimizing their tech stack, while completely ignoring the fragile mental operating system that actually keeps the whole company running.

How Sand Battery Can Cut Industrial Heating Costs by 50% (SAND - Part 2)

May 3, 2025

Some factories are cutting their heating bills in half without burning fossil fuels, but the secret lies in something as simple as hot sand.

What Is a Sand Battery? Thermal Energy Storage Explained (SAND - Part 1)

May 1, 2025

While the world obsesses over lithium, a far cheaper and safer energy storage revolution is quietly happening right beneath our feet.

From Mad Scientist to Serial Tech Entrepreneur: My Founder Journey

April 30, 2025

The transition from isolated lab experiments to leading a venture-backed tech company requires leaving behind more than just the scientist mindset.

The AI Tipping Point: What Founders and CXOs Should Do Next

March 30, 2025

The window to adapt your business model to artificial intelligence is closing much faster than the conservative projections want you to believe.

From Cash to Courage: Startup Leadership Lessons on Meaning, Risk, and Resilience

February 14, 2025

Chasing status and easy cash is the default path in tech, until a breaking point forces you to question what actually matters when the hype fades.

Digital Transformation for CXOs: A Practical Leadership Framework

January 2, 2025

Most executive-led digital transformations fail not because of broken software, but because leaders refuse to upgrade their own outdated mental models.

How a $1M Dream Shaped My Sand Battery Journey

April 1, 2024

Sometimes a ridiculous financial goal isn't just about money, but the exact forcing function needed to birth a seemingly impossible physical technology.

How Sand Battery Went from a Balcony Experiment to Commercial Deployment

February 9, 2024

What started as a messy, high-temperature experiment on a small balcony somehow wound up redefining commercial energy storage on a massive scale.

AI is my Co-founder, VC Mentor, Ghostwriter, and Coffee Buddy

November 15, 2023

How integrating proprietary AI tools transformed my daily workflow, from project management to materials science ideation.