chaosplay

code, family, travel, and art

Starting a Portrait Photography Business

For the past few months, I’ve been trying to get my photography side hustle off the ground. My initial assumption was simple: people are always …

Dec 18, 2025 · 2 min

Photography vs Programming: a Minimalist Perspective

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 …

Oct 11, 2025 · 2 min

What Would You Do When You Retire?

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 …

Sep 22, 2025 · 2 min

Lake Tahoe Vacation

Family trip to Lake Tahoe over the winter. The kids had a blast at Emerald Cove Beach, even though the water was freezing. We hit up a tea house, took …

Jul 15, 2025 · 1 min

LLMs and an old dev

A lot of developers seem to be afraid of generative AI and LLMs because it may replace their jobs. But as an older developer who sometimes have a hard …

Jun 10, 2025 · 1 min

Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax

A trip to Louis Tussaud’s Palace of Wax in Grand Prairie, Texas. Celebrity wax figures, historical scenes, and the Odditorium. Featured …

Jun 7, 2025 · 1 min

Raising Mentally Strong Kids

Raising Mentally Strong Kids (affiliate link) is one of better parenting books that I read recently. Highly recommended, 5/5. A lot of parenting …

Mar 26, 2025 · 1 min

The Courage to Be Disliked

Just finished listening to The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi. The book is in the form of dialogue between philosopher and a youth. It …

Jan 30, 2025 · 1 min

Photography in the age of Generative AI

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 …

Dec 21, 2024 · 1 min

Former Developers and what are they doing now

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

Aug 9, 2024 · 1 min