Reflections & Insights

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. ...

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 has a hard time keeping up with new frameworks and technologies, LLMs have been life-saving. Not only is my productivity high, but I am also able to keep up with new languages and codebases and be productive almost immediately. 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. ...

“The things you own end up owning you.” - Chuck Palahniuk. I was a minimalist. It was a very easy and stress-free life. I did own many things, 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. ...

It’s both intriguing and somewhat disheartening to observe how trading concepts often mirror human behavior. Here’s how: Follow the Trend In the investment world, the saying “past performance does not guarantee future results” is well-known. Despite this warning, many successful trend followers have found that stocks moving up generally continue to do so, and vice versa. Interestingly, this concept applies to humans as well. Those who are happy and kind often continue in the same manner or even improve, while those who are miserable tend to spiral downward. ...

I love swimming but it is hard to swim for more than 30 mins, not because I get tired but because it gets boring. I had been looking for headphones for swimming but almost all of them are essentially mp3 players. That is because Bluetooth doesn’t pass through water very well. You need to pre-load songs or mp3s. Which would be fine if you only care for music. But I am mostly listening to news or audiobooks. It seems like too much work to use those headphones for anything but music. ...

In our backyard lay a series of deck drains that perennially harbored standing water. Despite my best efforts, tracing the end of these drains proved to be an elusive task, seemingly due to the fact that it was compacted and buried beneath layers of earth. I even ventured to employ a drain snake to address the issue, but the screws securing the drain covers were victims of rust, rendering them immovable. ...

I think a lot of people would love to live their life as if they are on a permanent vacation. Before I was married, I didn’t make a lot of money but felt like every day was a vacation. For me, vacation means: Eating out/not cooking Not cleaning Spending time outside Not working Ready to travel Eating out is cheaper than cooking, if you are not picky. I ate mostly fast food. Of course, it is not healthy but it is vacation. Also it is still better than overeating home-cooked meals. ...

Yesterday, I ordered some tissue culture and planting supplies. The indoor plants market is huge. There is a lot to learn. There are new terms, new communities to join. But it is pretty exciting. The main reasons I decided to explore this space is because: It is slower paced. Cannot pull an all-nighter to make plants grow faster. My kids should enjoy it. And I can get them involved. There are interesting methods to master, like creating a perfect environment for optimal growth, growing exotic plants, etc. It can be scaled to more commercial operations, renting a greenhouse or something similar. Plants are good for the planet. If it fails, I will have plants for our home.

Follow up to my last post, the people I admire the most are usually startup founders or business people. And then creators of open source software. This weekend, I also met my engineer turned entrepreneur friend and saw Jobs movie. It seems I know what I should do. I want a business that gives a lot of freedom, especially freedom to be with my kids. If I can involve kids in the business, it would be even better. Would love low stress business but it is not a requirement. ...

“What should you do with your life?” This is the question I almost ask myself daily. I am still not sure what my long-term goals should be. I have gone back and forth between pursuing my hobbies as a career, focusing on corporate career, and starting businesses. Recently, I learned a simple question that can provide you insights into your deeper aspirations. The question is: Who are your heroes? Ask yourself who are your heroes, who do you feel inspired by, who do you read about, and who were your heroes when you were a child. ...