Programming was my hobby, now it’s my job so instead of having a hobby I just work too much

I enjoy programming. However this opinion varies wildly if my code works or not.

It brang me to develop photon!

Studying rhetoric. It’s hella fun sometimes and hella depressing others times.

The paradigm shift that studying rhetoric has caused for me will probably influence me for the rest of my life. I’m now agnostic about the truth and barely interpret rhetoric in terms of truth/lies. Like I feel this paragraph from Post-Truth Rhetoric and Composition:

…post-truth signifies a state in which language lacks any reference to facts, truths, and realities. When language has no reference to facts, truths, or realities, it becomes a purely strategic medium. In a post-truth communication landscape, people (especially politicians) say whatever might work in a given situation, whatever might generate the desired result, without any regard to the truth value or facticity of statements. If a statement works, results in the desired effect, it is good; if it fails, it is bad (or at least not worth trying again).

Everything about political rhetoric makes more sense to me when I think in terms of post-truth.

But also, rhetorical figures are cool af. The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase is one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read about how to turn a phrase. Plus, being able to name why a sentence like “The liberal arts are the arts of liberty necessary to the exercise of citizenship in a free republic” has a particular rhetorical effect is fascinating. And that sentence is a kind of chiasmus, my favorite rhetorical figure.

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I build loudspeakers, both home and car. But, mostly car subwoofers, amplifiers, head units etc. But also home speakers for home theaters.

I absolutely love it. Music is a big passion of mine (despite never learning to play an instrument). I love it because every project has so many challenges. I love electrical work and designing a system from scratch and then getting to see it actually work iis awesome. It’s like little engineering challenges all throughout. Very engaging for me.

There’s also a lot of wood working involved. Making a functional piece of furniture and getting to expirement with different techniques is a lot of fun.

I sew. Specifically, I love sewing stuffed animals.

As a kid, I always wanted those giant stuffed animals, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Now I can make pretty much whatever I want!

I love the colors, the feel of the fabrics… but my favorite part is seeing my 2D drawings get turning into a tangible 3D object! Plus, it makes kids go “WHOOOOAAA” or smile or laugh when they see what I make. That really can’t be beat!

I like to just browse Wikipedia. It’s an endless wealth of knowledge that never ceases to impress me. It’s like the modern library of Alexandria.

I also make cocktails for fun, target shoot, fish, ride trails (not trials), make pens, collect knives, play skyrim, and i cook too.

I bounce between what i focus on often.

Building custom ROMs, it’s satisfying AF.

I like video games. Good video game can transport me to a world that doesn’t suck. Or at least a world where I can actually fix the problems in it.

Cooking in general, and baking in particular. It is actual fun for me, and is actually stress relief as well, because it allows me creative freedom in a medium that I apparently have natural talent in. I make my own bread every week for sandwiches, bake snacks for my weekly board game meetup, volunteer to make birthday cakes for friends and family, and give out giant boxes of cookies every Christmas. I am always inventing and researching new recipes, converting recipes to accommodate various dietary needs, and trying to find ways to use ingredients I have lying around in a way that will ensure I don’t have food going to waste. There is nothing better to me than when I figure out what each recipe needs at each step and why, and watching it all come together.

I grew up learning to bake from my grandmother, and I inherited her passion and apparently her natural talent for it. I have a lot of recipes memorized, can eyeball teaspoon and tablespoon measures of ingredients with good accuracy, and can somehow get anywhere from 5-10% more out of any given recipe. If a cookie recipe makes 5 dozen I get 6 or 7, even if I am not skimping on size. If I make bread, it rises quicker and larger, even if it is cold. Making cake, I always have extra batter for a couple of cupcakes. It works out though, because I can taste test everything and throw any extra cookies in the freezer so that way I am better prepared for Christmas.

It is always amazing to see someone’s face light up when they get baked goods they love, especially if their diets mean they don’t often get to enjoy them. For example, several of my friends have Celiac, and seeing how happy they are to get things like butter cookies, crinkly-top brownies, or gingerbread is just amazing. It is an easy way to make people feel included and happy, and I get to have fun in the kitchen while doing it.

Writing. I used to write short stories but recently I’ve begun work on a novel.

Retro computing. Programming things like a Commodore 64 in Assembly on the machine. It’s a wonderful experience and pretty removed from modern programming.

I started selfhosting just before the pandemic. I don’t know that I’d say it’s fun so much as sometimes satisfying.

Rocket League. The never ending journey of learning how to efficiently move a complicated 3D Pong paddle, just to hit a ball into a goal, will never not be fun to me. At least, it hasn’t in 3,176 hours played so far. There is, and never will be, any other game like it.

I compete in powerlifting and ham radio when I have the time.