Japan

     

This post is going to be pretty short. Our family will be in Japan next month for some much deserved rest and relaxation over spring break. While there, we plan to visit Tokyo, Nagoya, Kochi, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto, and Fuji. This will be the first time that any of us have been to Japan, and we’ve been cramming in as much Japanese culture as we can in preparation. Studio Ghibli movies, sushi and bento boxes, the Shogun miniseries, and the Shogun 2 game have all taken center stage.

Death and Taxes

     

It’s tax season again, and in the words of Benjamin Franklin “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” That’s why I figured this month I’d cover some tax “gotchas” that have snared me in previous years. I’ll specifically be addressing Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) contribution limits as well as Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP) and Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) sale tax implications.

Jetpack Compose Lessons Learned

     

Over the past couple months I’ve had the opportunity to refactor large swaths of our app user interface from XML to jetpack compose. Throughout the process I’ve come to gain an appreciation for some of the sharp edges that jetpack compose still has as February 2024. My hope is that by reading this blog post you might avoid cutting yourself on the currently jagged APIs of compose, at least in the same places that I did.

2024 Resolutions

     

2023 proved to be quite the turbulent year. Of my three2023 new year’s resolutions, I accomplished two. Specifically, I completed my Starcraft Rust AI (you can read about it here) and successfully summited four new mountains, Mt Hood, Old Snowy, Broken Top, and Three Finger Jack. My goals for 2024 are below: Update my Worldwide Equipment Guide app to use the new Odin API Climb three new mountains. Complete Intermediate Climbing School (ICS) I made token updates to in 2022 Worldwide Equipment Guide app.

Holiday Season

     

It’s been a busy past few weeks. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, a new part-time contract, family birthdays, and annual updates to my personally published mobile apps, I’ve had my hands full. My regular day job responsibilities have only increased as well. One of my new responsibilities has been the conversion of legacy xml Android layouts to Jetpack Compose user interfaces. Over the course of this process I’ve really come to appreciate the declarative style of Jetpack Compose.