About

Hello and welcome! My name is Sunpech—though I also go by Steven. I grew up in Chicago, Illinois, with roots that are half Thai and half Chinese. I hold a BA in Computer Science from Boston University and an MS in Information Systems from Depaul University.

Blog Topics #

Technology #

I’ve always loved technology. My first taste of programming came in high school on a TI-85 calculator, and that curiosity only grew when I got my first Dell PC in college.

I’ve been blogging since 1999, experimenting with both custom-built platforms and off-the-shelf solutions. Over the years, I’ve written my own blogging software using stacks like Perl, PHP, MySQL, ASP, ASP.NET, C#, and MSSQL. I’ve also used platforms such as WordPress, Posterous, Blogger, and Jekyll/GitHub Pages. These days, I build with Hugo and host on Netlify, while my coding projects live on Github.

For more than 20 years, I’ve also contributed to distributed computing projects—like Team Spong World Community Grid—to help crunch numbers for good causes. And lately, I’ve become a fan of large language models (LLMs) and their potential to reshape how we work and create.

Photography #

Outside of tech, photography is another passion of mine. You can find my work at sunpechphotography.com, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr.

Much of my photography focuses on cosplay and conventions, including San Diego Comic Con, Anime Expo, and C2E2. I also enjoy food photography and share that side of my work at Foodishappiness.com.

Finance #

My latest interest is in finance and investing. Ironically, the spreadsheets I once found dull in high school are now tools I love using to analyze, plan, and track different aspects of life. These days, I build spreadsheets for just about everything.

Note: I am not a financial advisor. Everything I share here reflects my own opinions and experiences, not financial advice. Readers are responsible for their own financial decisions.

Support Me #

Running this blog takes time and effort, and one way you can support my work is through affiliate links. I’m part of the Amazon Affiliate program, so many of the product links on my site lead to Amazon. If you’d like to support me directly, you can also do your regular shopping through this Amazon link.

You’ll find other referral links I use and recommend on my Affiliates page. Every bit of support helps keep this blog going—thank you!