As I build my photography side hustle while working full-time as a software engineer, I keep returning to one idea: minimalism. Both fields pull me in different directions. Programming has taught me to strip things down to their essentials. Photography constantly tempts me with more gear, more tools, more stuff. Balancing the two has made me think deeply about what minimalism really means in creative work.

The Simplicity of Code

In programming, I live in a world of virtual tools. A laptop, an editor, a few accounts, and I can build almost anything. Over the years, these tools have faded into the background. GitHub, IDEs, frameworks, and cloud platforms all exist, but they feel weightless. They live on the screen, not in my bag.

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We’ve all heard the classic question: “What would you do if you won a million dollars?” It’s a fun daydream, but let’s be honest, most of us know that’s a pretty unlikely scenario, so we don’t really think deeply and give very surface level answers. Instead, let’s talk about something that’s actually going to happen to most of us: retirement.

Thinking about retirement is a lot more grounded than fantasizing about sudden riches. Pretty much everyone retires at some point, and many of us are saving (or at least planning) for that phase of life. Even if it’s not something you’ve thought about in detail, it’s a realistic scenario. And the beauty of asking yourself what you’d like to do in retirement is that it can help you figure out what you truly want to do with your life right now.

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A lot of developers seems to be afraid of generative AI and LLMs because it may replace their jobs.

But as an older developer who sometimes have hard time keeping up with new frameworks and technologies, LLMs been life saving. Not only my productivity is high but I am able to keep up new langauges and codebases and be productive almost immmidiately. I used to think about moving to management because it seemed I could not keep up with tech but now I have new confidence that I can keep doing my hobby as a profession for another few years.

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Generative AI has made my job as a software engineer much easier, but it’s also a bit scary. The question everyone is asking is whether AI will replace my job.

The next question is, what can I do to secure my future? What are the skills that are hard for AI?

For years, I have enjoyed photography, and I hope to turn it into a business when I retire to stay busy. It does seem that generative AI will eliminate the need for a lot of photography as well. Businesses could create ads from quick snapshots of their products, and people could generate professional photos from their family snapshots, etc.

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Ski Mountaineering Shop

jcborro on HN is opened a ski mountaineering shop after 20 years in software development.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23952057

Realtor

Some developer pivoted to real estate.

For example, poulsbohemian on HN, switched to selling real estate after 20 years in software development.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23952181

Product Management

Product management seems an easy pivot for many software developers.

Ref: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23959642

Leadership Roles

Some developers switched to leadership roles and started to climb corporate ladder. These roles represent different challenges & skill set and opportunity to keep learning and avoid boredom.

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“The things you own end up owning you.” - Chuck Palahniuk.

I was minimalist. It was very easy and stress-free life. I did own many things but but only after careful planning and I was quick to sell things that didn’t meet my expectations or once I stopped using them.

I also used to live well below my means. I felt free because loss of job or any other financial crisis would not affect me much.

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1. Oppenheimer
2. The Matrix
3. Vivarium
4. The Social Network
5. Joker
6. Moneyball
7. The Founder
8. The Big Short
9. The Wolf of Wall Street
10. Dil Se
11. Taare Zameen Par
12. 3 Idiots
13. Crash
14. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
15. Life Is Beautiful
16. Pan’s Labyrinth
17. Scarface
18. Pulp Fiction
19. Fight Club
20. The Lion King
21. Raiders of the Lost Ark
22. Enterglatic

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Only when you have wrong expectations.

It is so easy to know what is right action but sometimes so hard to do it.

Ayden is having rough morning. Well he was having good morning until we took him to his soccer match. He got shy and didn’t want to play. I spend 45 minutes encouraging him. Getting frustrated. Getting embarrassed. Getting angry.

I wanted to leave.

I don’t know what is right behavior. What should have I done. Is it too much to expect your child to do what they wanted to do. If you don’t push your child will they never get out of their comfort zone and never grow. If you push too much will that cause them unnecessary anxiety when they will naturally grow up at their own pace.

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Interactive tutorials for math and algorithms — Read on www.redblobgames.com/

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Ask HN: How do you manage photos, philosophically? | Hacker News — Read on news.ycombinator.com/item

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